2012-03-07

A familiar name arrested in Shernell Pierre's murder


Today murder charges were finally laid in the death of Shernell Pierre who was murdered in Edmonton in 2008. Long-time readers may remember that the Pierre murder was a noteworthy event for Third Edge of the Sword, as within a few days I reported (first in the media, as it happened) that Shernell Pierre had just ended a relationship with a man who was already married, and in fact had recently married another man as well.

Okay, reported is perhaps a strong word. I was placed in a situation where I was told this, and then a couple of days later blogged about it. That's roughly when all hell broke loose.

Both CTV News and the Edmonton SUN entered into the comments section of that post to ask me to speak to them with more information. I was accused of making things up and slandering Pierre (indicating that even if 100% of what I heard wasn't accurate, what I was told wasn't too far from the mark). The trouble is, I didn't know anything more than what I had put on that post. I even explained this in the followup post where I explained what I knew, and suggested a couple of areas of attack where somebody (say, a media person) could go for further information. Last Link on the Left reported the police were possibly frustrated with my "internet speculation", which was kinda cool, but besides that I was pretty much finished with Shernell Pierre.

Until today, when I was again asked to comment to the media. It was then that I learned that Devon Hugh Saunders, Shernell Pierre's ex-boyfriend, has been charged with her murder. Today, the internet is lit up with Devon Hugh Saunders. Yesterday, a Google search for him revealed exactly one hit: you guessed it, Third Edge of the Sword. For on that second post came the following comment:

THE NAME OF THAT JAMAICAN MAN IS DEVON HUGH SAUNDERS. HE IS THE MURDERER OF SHERNELL. HE IS THE EX-BOYFRIEND A VERY COLD AND CALLOUS PERSON. HE CALCULATES HIS EVERY ACTION TO A "T" AND DOES NOT CARE WHO GETS HURT. EVERYTHING HAS TO BE TO HIS SATISFACTION. WHEN YOU SEE THIS MAN STAY FAR AWAY FROM HIM. HE DRIVES A NAVY BLUE AVALANCHE WITH "HUGH'S HOME RENOVATIONS ON THE BACK WINDOW.
Now this same Devon Hugh Saunders is in custody. No word from official sources if he is indeed Jamaican, but I think at this point I can be pretty confident that I told you all how you could go about finding Shernell Pierce's killer.

On March 16th, 2008.

Update, April 1 2012 1:27pm: Had the police been just a few weeks slower in their arrest, I could have broke the news of Saunder's confession to friends and family (well, okay, that's a little strong, he probably confessed after his arrest).