Cases involving three Collingwood deaths still working way through the courts

[ASFN Admin]

The 2019 cases of two people accused in three deaths in Collingwood continue to wend their way through the courts. In November, Cameron Gardiner was ordered to stand trial for manslaughter. Gardiner, 59, was originally charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the Jan. 22, 2019 shooting at his Collingwood home on Matthew Way that left Dean Copkov, 52, and Donovan Bass, 42, both of Wasaga Beach, dead. Justice Stacey Nicols found that the Crown did not present evidence required for second-degree murder. But she did determine a trial on manslaughter charges was warranted. A publication ban on the preliminary hearing prevents the reporting of details and the reasons for the judge’s decision to order Gardiner to face trial. Shortly after the shootings, police said there had been an "altercation" at Gardiner’s Collingwood home, which resulted in the deaths of two people and that a third had fled the scene. At the time, witnesses said they heard three loud bangs, believed to be gunshots, as well as the sound of shattering glass and screams at around 1:30 a.m. that morning. Gardiner is now scheduled to appear before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice Jan. 5 for a judicial pretrial. In a separate event on Sept. 14, 2019, an 86-year-old woman was walking on Market Lane when she was assaulted by a man riding a bike and knocked to the ground. The suspect then stole her purse and fled, leaving the woman with life-threatening injuries. Marion Fenwick later died in hospital of complications due to injuries. Members of the community organized a vigil on Market Lane, where they left flowers and candles on the corner in her memory. Fenwick, who was about four-foot-10 in height, was described by her nieces as a “fiercely independent,” healthy senior still living on her own independently in a Collingwood apartment building. Caleb Burgler of Collingwood was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Burgler, now 31, was already facing charges of robbery with violence, and aggravated assault. He is scheduled to next appear in court Jan. 19.Marg. Bruineman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, barrietoday.com

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