Sydney River McDonald's Murders
Encyclopedia
The Sydney River McDonald's Murders occurred on May 7, 1992, at the McDonald's
restaurant in Sydney River, Nova Scotia
, Canada
.
Derek Wood, 18, an employee of the restaurant along with two friends, Freeman 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 head. She is now permanently disabled. The victims were:
The killers claim they had not planned on using any violence in the break and enter; it was to be quick and easy money. Yet MacNeil, Muise, and Wood 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 and Darren Muise wore a Halloween
mask. They murdered the three with a .22 caliber pistol, several knives, and a shovel handle. Expecting to find over $200,000 in the restaurant's safe, the three made off with just over $2,000.
Freeman MacNeil is now in a maximum-security prison in Renous, New Brunswick
, sentenced to 25 years before parole
eligibility. Darren Muise received 20 years before parole eligibility. Derek 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. Wood will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years.
In March 2007 it was reported that Muise has been working outside his minimum-security prison facility in Laval, Quebec
. A spokeswoman with Correctional Service of Canada
was unable to comment on Muise's case because of confidentiality limitations.
The Sydney River McDonald's murders were one of the highest profile murder cases in Canada as well as the first fast-food murders in the country. The restaurant re-opened two weeks after the killings but was demolished in 2000. A new building was constructed a few blocks from the former location down King's Road towards the city of Sydney, Nova Scotia
.
maker Research in Motion
. As noted by Phonse Jessome in his book Murder at McDonald's, Muise had planned to work with computers before his 1992 arrest, declaring them to be the "way of the future". He is eligible for release in 2012.
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
restaurant in Sydney River, Nova Scotia
Sydney River
This article is about the river. For the community of the same name, see Sydney River, Nova Scotia.The Sydney River is a short river located in Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia, Canada....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Derek Wood, 18, an employee of the restaurant along with two friends, Freeman 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 head. She is now permanently disabled. The victims were:
- Jimmy Fagan, 27
- Donna Warren, 22
- Neil Burroughs Jr., 29
- Arlene MacNeil, 20 (permanently disabled)
The killers claim they had not planned on using any violence in the break and enter; it was to be quick and easy money. Yet MacNeil, Muise, and Wood 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 and Darren Muise wore a Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
mask. They murdered the three with a .22 caliber pistol, several knives, and a shovel handle. Expecting to find over $200,000 in the restaurant's safe, the three made off with just over $2,000.
Freeman MacNeil is now in a maximum-security prison in Renous, New Brunswick
Renous, New Brunswick
Renous is a Canadian rural community in Northumberland County, New Brunswick.Located where the Renous River discharges into the Southwest Miramichi River, Renous makes up part of the local service district of Renous-Quarryville....
, sentenced to 25 years before parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
eligibility. Darren Muise received 20 years before parole eligibility. Derek 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. Wood will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years.
In March 2007 it was reported that Muise has been working outside his minimum-security prison facility in Laval, Quebec
Laval, Quebec
Laval is a Canadian city and a region in southwestern Quebec. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third largest municipality in the province of Quebec, and the 14th largest city in Canada with a population of 368,709 in 2006...
. A spokeswoman with Correctional Service of Canada
Correctional Service of Canada
The Correctional Service of Canada , or CSC, is the Canadian federal government agency responsible for the incarceration and rehabilitation of convicted criminal offenders sentenced to two years or more...
was unable to comment on Muise's case because of confidentiality limitations.
The Sydney River McDonald's murders were one of the highest profile murder cases in Canada as well as the first fast-food murders in the country. The restaurant re-opened two weeks after the killings but was demolished in 2000. A new building was constructed a few blocks from the former location down King's Road towards the city of Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
.
Darren Muise inheritance
Darren Muise is said to have invested an inheritance heavily in the tech industry during the mid to late 1990s, generating millions of dollars in profits from stocks such as BlackBerryBlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
maker Research in Motion
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
. As noted by Phonse Jessome in his book Murder at McDonald's, Muise had planned to work with computers before his 1992 arrest, declaring them to be the "way of the future". He is eligible for release in 2012.