‘Cold and remorseless’ teenage fugitives planned more victims after killing three, Canadian police say

Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky made video confessions before taking their own lives

A pair of teenage fugitives confessed to murdering three people and planned to kill more victims before taking their own lives, police said.

Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, filmed a series of videos on a digital camera accepting responsibility for the deaths after sparking a huge two-week manhunt across Canada.

However, they did not reveal a motive for the killings of university lecturer Leonard Dyck, American tourist Chynna Deese and her Australian boyfriend Lucas Fowler.

The teenagers were first reported as missing after leaving their hometown of Port Alberni, British Columbia, in search of work.

Within a week they were named as suspects in the murders of Ms Deese, 24, and Mr Fowler, 23, who were found shot on the side of a highway near Liard River Hot Spring, in northern British Columbia.

A third body, later identified as Mr Dyck, 64, was found approximately 500 km (310 miles) away.

Schmegelsky and McLeod were charged with his death before their bodies were found on 7 August in dense bush near Gillam, Manitoba, more than 2,000 miles from northern British Columbia. Authorities say they died by suicide.

“The murders appear to be random and crimes of opportunity,” Kevin Hackett, assistant commissioner with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in British Columbia, told a news conference. ”We have no evidence that leads us to identify what the motive was. If there was a motive, it is gone with the accused.”

He said that the working theory was that Schmegelsky and McLeod came across Fowler’s van, shot and killed him and Deese, and continued up to the Yukon.

Investigators believe they then returned to British Columbia days later due to vehicle problems, encountered Dyck and shot him, stealing his car, money and personal belongings.

The teenagers used Dyck’s camera to make six videos. In the first film lasting 58 seconds, Schmegelsky says they are responsible for the three killings and are planning to march to Hudson Bay where they hope to hijack a boat and go to Europe or Africa.

In the second, 51-second video, Schmegelsky says they have reached a river that is fast moving and may have to kill themselves. They again take credit for the three killings.

In another 32-second video, Schmegelsky says the pair have shaven in preparation for their death and reveals they now plan to kill more people and expect to be dead in a week.

The pair use the fourth 19-second video to describe how they are going to kill themselves and described the fifth film as their “last will and testament”. They wish to be cremated.

A sixth, six-second video, appears to have been taken unintentionally.

Mr Hackett said the pair appeared “cold and remorseless” and indicated their “intentions to potentially kill others.”

The Deese family thanked the general public for their “empathy and aid” during the investigation. ”No one ever wants to be a victim or wishes that for their loved one,” the family said in a statement.

“Our beloved Chynna was a ray of sun shine... We hope Chynna’s legacy continues to grow and her spark allows us to build each other up.”

Ms Deese was visiting her boyfriend, the son of a chief inspector with the New South Wales Police Department in Australia, at his home in British Columbia. They were on a trip to visit Canadian national parks when they were killed.

Additional reporting by Reuters and Associated Press