BOYLE — More than five years after Boyle resident Melissa Lyne’s body was recovered from the ashes of Mario Bernier’s home, her family are still waiting for answers and justice.
Bernier, Melissa’s common law partner and fiancé, was charged with second degree murder, arson and indignity to a body after a house fire on Dec. 18, 2019.
After a nearly two-and-a-half-year trial extended by delays, Charter challenges and judge rulings on evidence and testimony admissibility, Bernier was found not guilty on all three charges by Justice Shania Leonard on June 6 in Edmonton's Court of Kings Bench.
“While I do not believe the accused’s version, his version of events is a reasonable and possible assumption in light of the evidence in this case and is inconsistent with the guilt of the accused,” wrote Leonard.
“There are simply too many unknowns in this case to come to a firm conclusion about what happened between Melissa Lyne and the accused.”
She said the Crown, who argued the position Bernier caused Melissa’s death intentionally or through an unlawful act, and purposely started the fire as a means to cover up his crime, failed to rule out other reasonably possible alternatives.
Crown Prosecutors Aaron Pegg and Brett Grierson argued that because pathologist Dr. Balachandra was unable to determine Melissa’s cause of death, she did not die of natural causes.
Melissa’s cause of death was unable to be determined due to extensive burn damage; examination of her arms, legs, thighs, head and neck wasn’t possible, but Dr. Balachandra could not rule out death as a result of injury to her damaged limbs, or a brain aneurysm or stroke.
An absence of soot in her airways and a low blood levels of carboxyhemoglobin — formed when carbon monoxide is inhaled — indicated she likely died before the fire started.
When investigators moved her body, two knives were found; a boning knife was located under her head, and a utility knife was under her leg. One of three ash samples taken at the scene tested positive for high traces of gasoline, and although Leonard ruled the collection of the samples violated Bernier’s Charter Rights, she allowed the results as evidence.
Despite the presence of evidence Leonard said was “suspicious” and “suggests guilt,” Bernier’s own testimony left too many questions unanswered.
An alternate story
According to Leonard's ruling and trial documents, Bernier was located by police on the morning of Dec. 19, 2019, the day after Melissa’s remains were discovered under the living room. He was found in his vehicle in Chamberlain, Sask., 742 km from Boyle.
The responding officer arrived to find Bernier with blood on his jacket and the seats of his vehicle, and later tests confirmed the presence of Melissa’s DNA. Bernier had two large cuts to one arm, injuries he admitted to inflicting on himself.
He was admitted to the Regina General Hospital, where he told two psychiatrists his volatile common-law relationship ended when his fiancé moved back to B.C. one or two weeks before the fire.
In police interviews in September 2020, the accused first denied any knowledge of Melissa’s death and the fire, but changed his stance during questioning. Bernier told officers he left the house in the dark after a night of drinking with Melissa, who was asleep in the bedroom. In his first version of events, there was no signs of fire when he left the trailer.
After officers showed him photos of bruises on Melissa’s arm she had previously sent to family, and texts with her brother outlining her plans to leave Boyle, Bernier’s story changed; he admitted to physically fighting with Melissa that night while they were both drunk, and suggested she fell on the coffee table after tripping on the carpet.
He testified he made attempts to resuscitate her, but he fainted. Upon waking, he said Melissa’s body was cold, and the house started filling with smoke. It was at this point he decided to leave, pointing to the trailers shoddy electrical work as the source of the blaze. Bernier made no attempt to call 911 to report the smoke or request medical assistance for Lyne.
The ruling
In her ruling, Leonard addressed issues with the fire investigation in December 2019 and the testimony of third-party fire investigator Wayne Pawlowski. While on the scene, Pawlowski drew several conclusions about the evolution and intentional nature of the blaze, but did not adequately document evidence to back up his findings, said Leonard.
Failure to document smoke patterns that would rule out a smouldering fire started by a dropped cigarette – both Melissa and Bernier were smokers – and no consultation of an electrical engineer to rule out electrical causes were flagged as investigation issues.
Leonard also cited “vague and unclear answers” and “a condescending and haughty attitude during cross examination” as factors in her decision to place little weight on Pawlowski’s testimony.
Testing of ash samples taken from the trailer scene did confirm the presence of gasoline accelerant at the scene. One of three samples taken tested positive, initially at such a high rate the test had to be re-done with a diluted sample. The positive sample was taken from what had previously been the doorway to the bedroom.
While the presence of knives found under the body, traces of gasoline accelerant on the scene and traces of blood on Bernier’s clothes and vehicle supported the Crown’s theory, Leonard was unable to rule out other possible conclusions.
The judge posited three theories that could be true based on Bernier’s conduct after the fire; one, that Melissa’s death was accidental and he fled out of panic. Two, Bernier caused Melissa’s death unintentionally or unplanned, and the fire was intended to conceal the crime. Or three, that Melissa’s death was intentional and the fire was lit to destroy the scene.
“I am of the view that the Crown has not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused started the fire,” wrote Leonard.
“I am of the view that even if the Crown had proved that the accused had started the fire, it would still not have proved that the accused caused the death of Melissa Lyne, because in my view the possibility of an accident remains in that scenario.”
After the 30-day appeal window closed following the not guilty verdict, the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service opted not to pursue appeals on any of the charges, stating a review of the case “determined there were no legal grounds on which to file an appeal.”
Bernier did not respond to a request for an interview, but did make a statement on the verdict through his lawyer:
“I am glad that this long process is finally over and that I can finally try to move on and rebuild my life without the weight of these allegations.”
But for Lyne’s surviving family members in B.C., the conclusion of the trial was not the end to the search for answers they were hoping for.
“I would have liked him to be locked up for good,” said Delsie Laird, Melissa’s aunt.
Devastated and betrayed
After the not guilty verdict was handed down in the Court of Kings Bench, it didn’t take long for the news to reach Melissa’s family in and around the Williams Lake, B.C. area, where she and Bernier had spent time before moving to Alberta.
“It was devastating,” said Beatrice Lyne, another of Melissa’s aunts. “I just felt shocked and disappointed and devastated, all of the words you can think of for someone that just feels like their hopes have been crushed.”
Beatrice and Laird said during Melissa’s time in Boyle, they and other family members received phone and video calls, texts and even emails from Melissa detailing the nature of her relationship with Bernier, photos of bruises, and confessions of her fears behind closed doors; fears Beatrice later testified to in court.
“Obviously the courts may have doubted when I told them how Melissa explained to me she had to get away because he’d been choking her during sexual activity and she would pass out. She was afraid if it happened again that she would die.”
During his 2020 police interrogation, Bernier did admit to causing bruises to Melissa in a picture shown to him by police officers, but denied being physically abusive to his fiancé.
“She was afraid for her life, she told me that very clearly,” said Beatrice.
Leonard ruled Melissa’s statements to six friends and coworkers in Boyle and family members in B.C. about the nature of her relationship with Bernier and her fears for her life as admissible evidence, pointing to her state of mind before the fire, but not as evidence of abuse.
But the ruling of not guilty means the second-hand testimony wasn’t enough to convince Leonard to find Bernier guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
“To think that a judge would judge him not guilty with all the people that had seen bruises on her body and seen how distraught she was, talked to her on the phone and answered her video messages and all these things; there was so much evidence she was in danger from this man,” said Beatrice.
“We feel betrayed, that’s the word. We feel let down, her life was not important. Was it because of her Indigenous background? This question goes through our brains.”
Melissa carried both Haida and Xatśūll Nation heritage, according to Beatrice.
More than a life lost
Beatrice said in the weeks leading up to Melissa’s death, her family made attempts to help her leave Boyle and return to her hometown of Williams Lake.
“We were trying our best to get her back here to B.C and we sent her money,” said Beatrice. Friends of Melissa’s in Boyle told court they had helped her make plans to leave, including stashing a suitcase at a neighbour’s house.
“She’d had a couple of drinks before she left, I think to get the courage up to leave because she was afraid all by herself to go,” Beatrice said. “(She) left at night, and the police stopped her.”
According to court documents, Melissa was pulled over in Wabamun shortly before 1 a.m. on the morning of Dec. 8. After being given a ride to a motel in Spruce Grove, she returned to Boyle with intentions to leave for B.C. within the next week.
Beatrice said they made arrangements for Melissa to depart Boyle on Dec. 17, 2019. When the day arrived, family couldn’t get in touch with her. The next day, news of the fire that destroyed Bernier’s trailer and the discovery of Melissa’s body reached them.
Both of Melissa’s aunts said they lost more than their niece that day; they lost the possibility of a life reunited with Melissa, and her daughters lost the chance at reconnecting as a family over Christmas.
“It’s been sad. I used to go have lunch with her or dinner with (Beatrice) sometimes, and we miss her. Her kids would come and visit me, and now I don’t see them at all,” said Laird. “She was always smiling and all happy, and we used to take her shopping. But now we can’t do that anymore.”
“She would have had a good life with her girls and her dad and her family,” Laird added. “She’d have a good job, and she would be with her girls. But it didn’t work out that way.”
Beatrice pictured Melissa coming to stay with her after returning to B.C. as she got herself back on her feet, and was looking forward to reviving their outings.
“I loved her just like a daughter,” said an emotional Beatrice. “She was precious, she was warm, loving, very caring. Her daughters loved her dearly; she hugged you, you knew you were being hugged by someone who really cared.”
Clare's Law
In Alberta, anyone at risk of domestic violence can request information about intimate partners through Clare's Law, which came into effect in April 2021. Individuals in an emotionally or physically intimate relationship with a partner who they believe is potentially harmful can submit a Right to Ask application through the Government of Alberta's website.
Right to know applications can be submitted by police who believe an act of domestic violence is likely, and relevant information can be disclosed to individuals at risk.
In order to receive potential disclosure from a Clare's Law application, applicants must be a resident of Alberta, are dating, common-law or married to the person they're seeking information on, have met the person physically, and be willing to talk to and meet with police to receive any relevant information. All disclosure will be provided verbally, and information cannot be shared with others, online, or used in court proceedings.
"The police review every single request, and we balance the right to privacy against the against the need to protect the person making the request. If there's a risk of harm that we can see from the files that is appropriate for us to share, then we'll disclose that relevant history, even if no charges were laid," said Const. Kyle Hotchkiss of the Athabasca RCMP.
Police can review an individual’s criminal record, data around charges where no conviction was received or police calls that didn't result in charges, including files from out of province. History of mental health issues, substance abuse, and escalating behaviour can also be reviewed for any signs that domestic violence is reasonably likely to occur. Officers decide on a case by case basis whether previous history is relevant to disclose.
"It is a bit of a grey zone where you're trying to find if these things are related to domestic violence or there's potential that it is," said Hotchkiss. "It does come down in some ways to officer discretion."
Hotchkiss said in his four years at the Athabasca detachment, he's seen two Right to Ask applications under Clare's Law.
"They're not common; I don't know if that's because of education, that people aren't aware that it's something they can do, or if people are aware and there's just not an interest in making the applications," he said.
"It's a phenomenal step in the right direction, and it really is a good resource for people that are worried or have some potential concerns," Hotchkiss added. "If it's something you're interested in, definitely do it and make that application, because it doesn't hurt to know."
