Sixth person charged in murders of three Six Nations residents

Police have made a sixth arrest in connection with the murders of three Six Nations residents.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has charged 33-year-old Vernon Shipman with three counts of accessory after the fact to murder.

Shipman was arrested on March 28 in connection with the deaths of 37-year-old Melissa Trudi Miller, 33-year-old Alan Grant Porter and 32-year-old Michael Shane Jamieson.

Their bodies were found in a field on Oneida of the Thames, on Nov. 4, 2018 – about 120 kilometres west of their community in Six Nations of the Grand River. Miller was seven months pregnant at the time of her death.

Earlier this week, police announced 21-year-old Roland Sturgeon had been arrested on March 26 and charged with three counts of accessory after the fact to murder in the triple homicide.

OPP previously charged two men and a woman in connection with the deaths. Nicholas Shipman, 36, faces three counts of second-degree murder, Thomas Bomberry, 30, faces two counts and Jamie Beaver, 32, faces one count. A 36-year-old woman from Six Nations was arrested last year and also charged with accessory after the fact.

Police are not commenting on specific details of the investigation to protect the integrity of the case. They say a publication ban is in place.