Image

Teen from Ajax is the murder victim found in Oil Springs

January 26, 2022

Lambton OPP has identified a teen from Ajax as the person found south of Oil Springs in a double murder.

On. Dec 28, around 2:30 pm, OPP were called to Crooked Road in Enniskillen Township, south of the village. Police say human remains were found. Shortly after, police searched a home on Watson St in Sarnia and found another man dead.

Forensic investigators and the coroner have been trying to positively identify the person found in Enniskillen. Today, they say Jelani Byer-Coates, 18, of Ajax has been identified as the second victim.

Police identified the first victim as Lance Richardson, 31, of Mississauga on Jan. 1.

Richardson, who had a criminal record which dated back over ten years, had been arrested in a summer drug raid in Toronto. In October he was released after the crown dropped the charges.

Richardson was in Lambton visiting friends before Christmas according to his lawyer, Stefan Peters. His partner was expecting Richardson would spend Christmas with her and their two year-old son, but he never returned home.

Peters says Richardson had recently called him, concerned about rumours he had traded information about other drug dealers in return for the trafficking charges being dropped. Peters says that wasn’t the case.

A 42 year-old man is facing second degree murder charges. Matthew Theriault, of Sarnia and a native of Oil Springs, had been charged with two counts of second degree murder and two counts of indignity to a dead body.

Share This

Image
Front Page

Lambton County Plowing match draws more competitors than usual as 2027 IPM in Petrolia nears

September 14, 2026

Blake Ellis/The Independent Enniskillen Mayor Kevin Marriott may not have a municipal election contest this year, but he did face some of his political colleagues at the Lambton County Plowing Match. And Marriott, who is also Lambton’s Warden, handily handled the competition. Marriott won the annual plowing contest between politicians over St. Clair Township Mayor Jeff Agar, Plympton-Wyoming Mayor, Gary

Read More

Image
Front Page

Oil Springs okays asset retirement study

September 14, 2026

Blake Ellis/The Independent It turns out the cost to complete asset retirement obligation estimates on its five municipally-owned buildings is much less than the Oil Springs council expected. The study will determine the cost of abatement of designated substances, such as asbestos, lead, silica and mercury, during decommissioning and demolition at the end of each building’s life. This will better

Read More

Image
Front Page

NPHL shrinks as Stratford and Halton Hills bow out this season

September 14, 2026

Barry Wright/The Independent The Alvinston Killer Bees will not be taking trips to Stratford or Halton Hills during the upcoming Northern Premier Hockey League season. Following the completion of a league review, the NPHL says the operations of the Irish and Coyotes franchises have been suspended for the coming season and despite the Irish posting that they fully intend on

Read More

Image
Front Page

Lambton to study truck traffic on Oil Heritage in 2027 preparing for York 1 transports to Dresden

September 11, 2026

Heather Wright/The Independent It will be 2027 before Lambton County takes a close look at truck traffic patterns on Oil Heritage Line. Plympton-Wyoming council is asking for an origin-destination study of Oil Heritage Road – which includes Wyoming’s main street – as concerns mount about increased traffic due to the rehabilitation and expansion of a dump near Dresden. The town

Read More