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Canadian Teen Murder Suspects Left Video 'Last Will And Testament,' Family Says
Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky's family members were allegedly shown about 30 seconds of a video found on a cell phone that detailed what the teens wanted done with their remains.
Teen Canadian murder suspects—who sparked one of the largest manhunts in Canadian history—left behind a video “last will and testament” that could shed light on the teens' motivations during their final weeks alive.
Canadian authorities suspect Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, of killing three people along remote Canadian highways in July, shortly after the pair told family they were going to Alberta to find work.
Authorities launched a massive manhunt to find the teens that spanned across Canada as the pair continued to evade authorities. Their bodies were discovered earlier this month near a river in Manitoba in what officials believe were suicides by gunfire, according to a statement from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
It’s not known what may have motivated the teens to embark on the allegedly deadly road trip — but a new video message left on a cell phone before the teens died could provide new clues.
A family member of one of the teens told The Star Vancouver that authorities shared about 30 seconds of video from the message that detailed the teens’ wishes for their remains and their final goodbyes.
Its unclear what other information may have been left on the message.
The RCMP declined to comment on whether the video existed.
“We have committed to providing an update with regards to this investigation in a couple of weeks,” RCMP senior media relations officer Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet told the paper. “We will not be confirming any details in advance of that update.”
Schmegelsky’s father, Alan Schmegelsky, tearfully told The Canadian Press before the two teens were discovered dead that he believed his son would likely go out in a “blaze of glory.”
“He’s on a suicide mission. He wants his pain to end,” he said at the time.
McLeod and Schmegelsky are considered suspects in the death of an American, Chynna Deese, 24, and her Australian boyfriend, Lucas Fowler, 23. The couple’s bodies were discovered on July 15 along a rural Canadian highway after their van had broken down.
Just four days later — and nearly 300 miles away — investigators would discover the body of 64-year-old Leonard Dyck.
The camper van the teens had been driving was found engulfed in flames about a mile away from where the body was discovered, and Dyck’s RAV4 was missing, authorities said.
The childhood best friends are accused of taking Dyck’s vehicle on a trek across Canada, before it too was found burnt out and abandoned in Gilliam on July 22, 2019.
The teens' bodies were later found about five miles away from the burned-out vehicle.
“While both individuals were deceased for a number of days before they were found, the exact time and date of their deaths are not known. However, there are strong indications that they had been alive for a few days since last seen in July and during the extensive search efforts in the Gillam area,” authorities said.
The RCMP is now trying to determine whether the two guns found alongside the bodies were the same weapons used in the three homicides, The Guardian reports.
