Sydney River McDonald's murders

Sydney River McDonald's murders
Back of the restaurant on May 7, 1992, shortly after the discovery of the murders.
Location	Sydney River, Nova Scotia, Canada
Coordinates	46.107623,-60.224056
Date	Thursday, May 7, 1992 12:50 am ADT (UTC-03:00)
Attack type	shooting
Weapons	.22 calibre pistol Knives Shovel
Deaths	3
Injured	1
Perpetrators	Freeman Daniel MacNeil Darren Muise Derek Wood

The Sydney River McDonald's murders occurred on May 7, 1992, at the McDonald's restaurant in Sydney River, Nova Scotia, Canada. They were committed by a trio of friends who only intended to rob the restaurant, but ended up murdering three people and permanently disabling a fourth. It was one of the highest-profile murder cases in Canada at the time.

Robbery and murders

Derek Wood, 18, an employee of the restaurant along with two friends, Freeman Daniel MacNeil, 23, and Darren Muise, 18, broke into the restaurant after closing, planning to rob the establishment. They shot, stabbed, and beat three employees to death and left a fourth to die after shooting her in the neck.

The killers claimed they had not planned on using any violence in the break and enter; it was meant to be quick and easy money. The three inched their way into the restaurant via a basement door Wood had left ajar earlier in the evening with his knapsack which he left at the crime scene. Darren Muise wore a Halloween mask. They murdered their victims with a .22 calibre pistol, several knives, and a shovel handle. Expecting to find over $200,000 in the restaurant's safe, they made off with just $2,017.^[1]

Victims

Killed:

• Jimmy Fagan, 27
• Donna Warren, 22
• Neil Burroughs Jr., 29

Injured:

• Arlene MacNeil, 20 (permanently disabled, died 2018)^[2]

Community response

The murders put Sydney into the spotlight as this became a news story worldwide. The restaurant was in the shopping district of Sydney River on Kings Road. It reopened two weeks later, with restaurant sales reaching former levels within a year. The location was demolished in 2000 and moved down the road to a more accessible location.^[3] The location of the former McDonald's is currently an empty lot.^[4]

Trial and sentence

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MacNeil was sentenced to 25 years before parole eligibility and is now in a maximum-security prison in Renous, New Brunswick. Muise received 20 years before parole eligibility. Wood was given two terms of life imprisonment for first degree murder and attempted murder, as well as two ten-year terms for unlawful confinement and the armed robbery. He will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years. In March 2007, it was reported that Muise was working outside his minimum-security prison facility in Laval, Quebec. A spokeswoman with Correctional Service of Canada was unable to comment on his case because of confidentiality limitations.

Parole dispositions

On March 29, 2011, the National Parole Board announced their decision to grant Muise day parole. A member stated: "Given the significant and real progress you have made over the years, your case management team is of the opinion that the probability that you commit a crime after your release is low." He received full parole on November 22, 2012.^[5]

On April 8, 2015, the National Parole Board rejected an application for day parole by Wood.^[6]

See also

• San Ysidro McDonald's massacre

References