A Sarnia father is hoping for closure following the arrest of three people accused of his son's murder.
The Sarnia Police Service held a media conference Monday to provide an update on the investigation into the homicide of Bradley James Ogilvie.
Police announced Robin Alexander Maness, 44, Trevor John Waller, 47, and Nikki Jean Cottrelle, 42, have been charged with first degree murder.
Bradley, who would have turned 42 on Sunday, was reported missing in November of last year, and on Friday police announced his disappearance had been deemed a homicide.
Police said Bradley was last seen alive leaving a Stuart Street home in the company of the three suspects.
Bradley's father Glenn Ogilvie addressed the small crowd gathered at Sarnia police headquarters.
He and his family are hoping Bradley's body will be found soon to bring them some peace.
"Brad was not without flaws, we all have flaws and we all have demons that we have to deal with," said Glenn. "Brad did not deserve to die for any of those reasons. Brad had a drug addiction, like many people in this community have drug addictions. They have alcohol addictions, they have gambling addictions. Anything you can think of can become an addiction to an addictive personality."
Glenn is imploring the community to show some compassion for those who are struggling.
"I take exception that there are people in our community who don't care about our addicted people," said Glenn. "Well, they're sons and daughters and they deserve to live whether they're addicted or not. I just hope and pray that the Sarnia Police Service will continue their investigations into the men and women who are missing and will go missing in the future. I believe in my own heart that this is not going to get better immediately. I think the community needs to wake up and realize that we need to do more to support our police services, our addiction councillors, our hospital workers, and our frontline workers of all kinds."
Glenn said those struggling with addictions can't wait for help.
"They need to be thrown a lifeline," he said. "They need drug rehabilitation, mental help, physical and spiritual help, whatever it takes. It's just not there. We've got councillors that are trying to tear this community apart, it's that simple. And, you know what, they're wrong and they don't know what they're talking about. They don't have family that are suffering, they've never suffered, so how would they know? Some of these guys, they need to be unelected. I'll be the first in line to unelect them, the people who are so negative to this community. The majority are fine, it's the minority."
Sarnia Deputy Police Chief Ron Hansen said finding Bradley's remains is still a top priority for them.
"Anytime we can bring closure to a family or help find a missing loved one, that's a great feeling. Obviously, our goal here would have been to find Bradley alive and well and to bring him to his family. But, in this case we couldn't. At least we're able to provide them with some solace to know that we've identified people responsible for Bradley's death. Through the court process, we just hope that the courts support that as well."
Hansen said officers worked hard, knocking on doors and gathering video.
He said the investigation continues.
"We also look for other witnesses, not just eye witnesses but people who have heard what's happening. Not that that's evidence for us, but it allows us to put things into context. We're in the market of information. Any information is not too big or too small for us. I would encourage if people heard rumors or speculation, that will help us. Anything to find Bradley, that's key."
Hansen said Bradley's disappearance is not linked to those of Dustin Ireson and Trevor Chaput.
"They're not connected, they have different circumstances," he said. "In one case, we did a water search. We're hoping we can find these people. Obviously, as time goes on, the chances of finding them in good health is lessened. Sometimes there are tell-tales, when their bank accounts aren't being used and people don't hear from them for a long time. The sad reality is, the outcomes usually aren't going to be well."
Sarnia police weren't able to release any further information about the arrests because the investigation continues.
Anyone with information that can assist police can contact investigators directly at 519-344-8861, or it can be done anonymously through Sarnia-Lambton Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.p3tips.com.
