The man and woman found dead on a stretch of rural road in Surrey were roommates and likely shot nearby, RCMP said Thursday as the investigation into the gruesome discoveries widened.
RCMP officers on a routine patrol spotted a man lying unresponsive on Colebrook Road early Wednesday, and a woman’s body was soon found nearby.
They have been identified as 54-year-old Brett Sheldon Lietz and 40-year-old Nicole Madelynn Brochu. Lietz does not have a criminal record, however Mounties say Brochu, his roommate, committed criminal acts between 1989 and 2003.
A woman by the same name also has outstanding sexual assault charges, CTV News has learned.
Their bodies were found not far from where two men were found dead in separate incidents within the last six weeks, a connection Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts calls “very concerning.”
Investigators with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team say it appears Brochu and Lietz were killed by gunfire, but the official autopsy results won’t be known for several days.
IHIT is exploring the possibility that the two latest victims weren’t dumped on Colebrook Road, but there was a shooting somewhere close to where their bodies were found.
Sgt. Jennifer Pound said while it’s too early to say that all of the four victims are unrelated to each other, initial evidence suggests they’re not connected – and only one had gang connections.
Watts has met with the city’s police chief to discuss what can be done to increase security in the area, including the possibility of installing closed-circuit cameras.
Colebrook Road, flanked by farmer’s fields and train tracks, is very rural, but quickly accessed from several highways.
The city has logged 10 murders in 2013, a number that rivals Toronto, at 11.
Anyone with information is asked to call the IHIT tipline at 1-877-551-4448 (IHIT) or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS
