London man guilty of murder in long-unsolved slaying
A London man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a Sarnia-area homicide case that went unsolved for more than four years and saw a $50,000 reward offered for tips.
Article content
A London man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a Sarnia-area homicide case that went unsolved for more than four years and saw a $50,000 reward offered for tips.
The body of David Oliver, 29, of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, was found by police on Aug. 2, 2020, after an extensive search. His remains and his red Dodge Ram pickup were discovered on Army Camp Road in Lambton Shores. His death was deemed a homicide by Lambton OPP two days later.
Recommended Videos
tap here to see other videos from our team.
London man guilty of murder in long-unsolved slaying Back to video
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Oliver was remembered as a funny, polite young man who loved sports and travel,
Last September, a London man, 20, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and committing indignity to a body, police said. The man they arrested can’t be publicly identified as he was a boy at the time.
He pleaded guilty to the murder charge on Friday in a packed Sarnia courtroom. He’ll be sentenced in October.
In the meantime, new light was shed, through an agreed statement of facts, on what happened to Oliver almost exactly four years ago. He was shot, point blank, 10 times while sitting in his pickup truck by the then-youth, who, to this day, still doesn’t know why he did it.
Oliver worked for his family’s cannabis dispensary on the First Nation and regularly drove his pickup truck around the reserve at night while doing security patrols. He was reported missing around 7 p.m. on July 31, 2020, when he didn’t show up for work that day.
Police found his blood-soaked truck the next day in a bush area about 600 metres off Army Camp Road. Tests later confirmed it was Oliver’s blood in the driver’s area.
Two days after he was reported missing, officers found his body face down about 800 metres from the truck. Drag marks were seen nearby. An autopsy confirmed Oliver was killed by multiple .22-calibre gunshot wounds to the left side of his head, the court heard.
The boy was interviewed multiple times by police, initially as a witness, and he denied knowing Oliver or having any involvement in his death. But two years later, his DNA, taken by police following an unrelated case, was found inside the finger of a glove left in the bed of Oliver’s pickup.
The boy continued to deny killing Oliver, but his alibi and recollection of the weather that night didn’t add up, so police had an undercover officer befriend him. They became close and he eventually admitted to shooting Oliver and led them to his father’s house, where two guns were stashed.
Oliver’s blood was detected on one of them. The boy, 20 by this time, confessed and was arrested in early September 2024. But he added he doesn’t know what he was thinking or why he did it, according to the agreed statement of facts.
While driving around with the two firearms, he pulled up beside Oliver that night. They shared a joint while sitting in their respective driver’s seats, then, after pointing to something off in the distance, he raised one of the guns and shot Oliver in the head.
The boy then emptied the entire magazine of approximately 10 bullets.
In shock over what he had just done, he dragged Oliver’s body away and hid it. Then he went home, wiped down the guns and put them away.
The boy, who couldn’t sleep for the next two to three days after the shooting, is believed to have mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and PTSD, but there are no official diagnoses, the court heard.
The case was adjourned soon after hearing the agreed statement of facts. Victim-impact statements are expected to be heard when the case resumes in October. In the meantime, the accused is still in custody.
West Region OPP announced in November 2020 that Ontario was offering a $50,000 cash reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible. A dedicated tip line also was opened. But the $50,000 reward was not claimed, an OPP spokesperson has said.
Police renewed their plea for tips around the third anniversary of Oliver’s death by installing two large billboards near the First Nation.
Since 2020, there have been 21 homicide probes in Sarnia or Lambton County. Until last fall, this was the only one that was unsolved.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.