MONCTON, N.B. — A New Brunswick woman who spent two-and-a-half-months as a fugitive on charges of first-degree murder and arson has been found fit to stand trial.
Marissa Shephard was arrested March 1, under a Canada-wide warrant, outside a hotel in Moncton.
The 20-year-old is charged in the Dec. 17 killing of 18-year-old Baylee Wylie, whose body was found in a burned-out triplex.
Outside the court, Amanda Wylie — Baylee's mother — said she was very pleased with the outcome of Shephard's 30-day psychiatric assessment.
"Being fit is what the whole family was hoping for," she said.
Defence lawyer Gilles Lemieux did not take issue with the findings of the assessment. He asked for a month to review the disclosure of evidence from the Crown.
Shephard is now due to return to court June 3.
Taylor Lutes, who says she is a friend of Shephard, says she was disappointed with the outcome of the psychiatric assessment.
"She's a mess," Lutes said outside the courthouse in Moncton, claiming Shephard was a heavy drug user.
"With the ... problems that she had and stuff like that, she was never really stable enough to stand fit for trial for anything."
Days after the Moncton blaze, 18-year-old Devin Morningstar was charged with first-degree murder and arson.
Tyler Noel, 18, was arrested on a Canada-wide warrant Jan. 9, in Petitcodiac, N.B., and has also been charged with first-degree murder and arson.
