Boyle - A Regina man, charged with second-degree murder in the December 2019 death of Melissa Lyne of Boyle, made his first appearance in Fort Saskatchewan Provincial Court last week, reserving his plea and Crown election, and will appear in Boyle Provincial Court again Oct. 13.
Mario Bernier was arrested in Regina Sept. 9 and transported to Alberta for his first court appearance Sept. 17 to answer to the second-degree murder charge, along with one charge of arson and one charge of indignity to remains, in relation to a mobile home fire in Boyle Dec. 18, 2019. He was remanded into custody following a judicial hearing to await his court date.
Lyne, 41, and Bernier, 55, were known to be in a relationship at the time, and the accused worked in and still has connections to the Plamondon area.
Boyle RCMP were called to the scene of the fire at the Aspen Grove Trailer Park at approximately 5:40 a.m. Dec. 18, along with fire and emergency personnel, where they found the body of Lyne during the investigation.
RCMP deemed the fire suspicious at the time and the Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit was called in to investigate further and officially announced the charges Sept. 15.
Following the fire, Lyne’s brother Neil spoke to the Athabasca Advocate about his younger sister. He described her as a lover of movies with hopes to travel around the world some day. She was able to travel around B.C. and Alberta though and lived in several communities before settling in Boyle and taking a job with Canada Post that she was very excited about, and had just completed her probationary period there.
“Melissa was always laughing, she always listened to what you had to say and had comforting words. She had a big heart and asked for nothing … She was so strong for everyone especially me. My family and I miss her greatly. It’s going to be tough not being able to talk to her,” he said.
The Advocate did reach out to Neil and other family members for a reaction to the charges, and while they were willing to talk, they would like to see the case progress before saying anything further.
