Sarnia carpenter, 42, charged with murder in double-death investigation

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It’s been more than a week since provincial police said they had one person in custody following the discovery of two dead bodies in Sarnia and rural Lambton County, but the name of the suspect still hadn’t been released as of Thursday.

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However, The Observer has learned Matthew Edward Theriault, 42, of Sarnia is facing two second-degree murder charges, along with two charges of indignity to a body. Theriault lives in a basement apartment at 102 Watson St. – the same complex police “swarmed” with a battering ram on Dec. 28, according to multiple neighbors.

A Lambton OPP spokesperson was asked Thursday to confirm if Theriault was the person they said they had in custody on Dec. 29, but Const. Jamie Bydeley said he was waiting for the detectives assigned to the case to provide more details.

A Sarnia police spokesperson directed all questions to Bydeley as it’s “their investigation.”

Police have said investigators believe the two deaths are connected but, as of Thursday, have yet to call the investigation a homicide or release any details about causes of death or potential weapons.

Lambton OPP, though, did identify one of the two deceased in a Jan. 1 update – Lance Richardson, 31, of Mississauga – but the identity of the accused and the second person who died have not been released.

A document filed at the Sarnia courthouse containing the four charges laid against Theriault does not include Richardson’s name. All of the charges are linked to an “unidentified” body or person.

Jim Bell, who lives at the same Watson Street apartment complex, said it was “shocking” to hear Theriault is a murder suspect, adding he was a “good” neighbor who kept to himself.

“We never had an issue with him,” Bell said Thursday. “That’s the shocking part about all this.”

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But Bell added Theriault, who worked sparingly for the local carpenters’ union, battled drug issues in the past and was “trying to get himself straight” by “religiously” attending sobriety meetings.

“He was looking good compared to previous times I’ve seen him,” he said.

Theriault worked for the Sarnia-based Carpenters Local 1256, according to his Facebook page. The union’s business manager did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for information about whether he was still a member or if the charges would affect his standing.

The Dec. 28 investigation started with a complaint about a suspicious person – initially it was a “low-key” call, one officer said – on Crooked Road in Enniskillen Township, police said. Officers found the “subject” of the complaint in the 5000 block of Oil Springs Line, police said.

Theriault is originally from Oil Springs, according to his Facebook page.

Police said the first body was discovered in Enniskillen Township, but more specific details haven’t been released. One officer said the remains were not found in the Crooked Road area – a dirt path used by youth for “mudding” and area farmers, a neighbor said – where the suspicious person call came in.

Police also said the suspect was with their vehicle, although they did not describe it.

Theriault owned a “banged-up” Ford Escape that hasn’t been parked at the apartment complex, where he lived in across the street from Sarnia’s hospital, since Dec. 27, Bell said.

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The Sarnia police mobile command vehicle wasn’t stationed on Watson Street Thursday – Bell said it left Tuesday after being parked there for a week – but one of the garage doors was boarded up.

Theriault has made at least two appearances in Sarnia courtrooms since his arrest, including Wednesday via Zoom from the Sarnia Jail. Clad in standard-issue, bright-orange clothes and a blue surgical mask below thick brown eyebrows and messy brown hair, Theriault stood with his tattooed arms folded in front of him while criminal defense lawyer Terry Brandon spoke on his behalf.

Brandon called it a “very serious case.”

As the case plays out in court, the Crown listed 27 people – including Bell – it wanted Theriault banned from contacting. Justice of the peace Debra Isaac made an order under the Criminal Code.

“OK, sir, so while you’re in custody you’re not to have any communication, directly or indirectly, with any of those individuals listed by the Crown,” Isaac said to Theriault. “OKAY?”

“OK,” he responded.

A short-ordered publication ban was already in place on any evidence called at any potential bail hearings or preliminary inquiries.

In the meantime, Brandon asked for the case to be adjourned until Jan. 24 for an update on disclosure.

Police have said they’re continuing to work with Ontario’s chief coroner and forensic pathology services to positively identify the person. Anyone with information or who had contact with Richardson before his death is being asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-8477.

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Bell said he last talked to Theriault on the morning of Dec. 27 in the driveway and recalled asking how his Christmas went.

“He said, ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’” Bell said. “He said it very pleasantly, (but) he just didn’t want to get into it.”

Despite their identical first and last names, this accused is not the same Matthew Theriault who was sentenced almost exactly one year ago to 10 years in prison for manslaughter in the 2019 stabbing death of 26-year-old Sarnia resident Jesse Mowat-Caudle.

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