Derek Jensen

Case record: Derek Jensen

Background

Derek Jensen was the ex-boyfriend of Tabitha Stepple. Jensen had encountered Stepple and the other victims earlier in the night at a pub.

Friends described Jensen as a possessive and jealous boyfriend. Claire Sullivan, a friend of Stepple’s, said: "She would tell me he's very controlling." Sullivan added: "She would say things like, 'I'm not allowed to do things without him. He wants to know where I am and what I'm doing.'"

A girlfriend agreed to drive Tanner Craswell and Mitch MacLean to the Calgary airport, where they were to catch a flight home to Prince Edward Island. Stepple and Shayna Conway were taking the two men to the Calgary airport. Friends said Stepple and Conway were taking the two men to the Calgary airport for a flight back home to Prince Edward Island for Christmas.

It was also described that Stepple and Jensen had broken up a few months earlier, but were still living together, although Jensen was supposed to have moved out the day of the shooting.

The offence

Four people were shot to death on Highway 2 north of Claresholm: Tabitha Stepple (21), Mitch MacLean (20), and Tanner Craswell (22). Derek Jensen (21) opened fire and then turned the gun on himself. Shayna Conway was shot three times but survived.

RCMP described the slayings as having a domestic violence, jilted-boyfriend motive.

Police said Jensen rammed his car into theirs on the dark highway, after spotting Stepple’s car at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Claresholm and following her car early Thursday morning.

Witnesses said Stepple’s former boyfriend Jensen went "berserk" when he found Stepple and the other three celebrating Craswell's birthday in a Lethbridge pub on Wednesday night. Caitlin McFarland, a friend of Stepple’s, said: "He saw her and lost it, lost his mind ... and he was like yelling." McFarland continued: "Then we left, he was phoning her, phoning her, phoning her and said to her, 'This night's not going to end well for you. I hope you know that.'"

McFarland said Jensen pushed Stepple out of her chair during the confrontation at the pub.

Investigation

RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb said investigators were examining “a domestic violence, jilted-boyfriend motive” in the slayings. Webb said: "We can surmise there was definitely a certain amount of planning in this," and added: "No one drives around for the most part with three loaded weapons. Exactly how they were to be utilized or what his intentions were, we may never know."

Police investigators came across a car and an SUV in a ditch and discovered three bodies and two injured people. One man died later in hospital.

Investigators were hoping to speak with Shayna Conway as she recuperated from the ordeal. Webb said: "We actually have an eyewitness, someone who was on scene and knows exactly who was there and exactly what happened." Webb added: "We're working with her so that she's in a state she can help us."

RCMP released few details about their investigation but said officers looked back at every possible detail. Webb said: "Our investigators on scene, what they're doing is looking back at every possible detail. Literally in the seconds, hours, minutes, days before this happened on that highway."

Investigators probed whether an earlier encounter at a 7-Eleven store may have played into the deadly incident. Police seized surveillance footage from the shop and were reviewing it for clues. Webb said: "Yes, there was something that happened at the convenience store, but we want to get the story from our lone survivor."

Arrest

No arrest was stated.

Trial

No trial was stated.

Sentencing

No sentencing was stated.

Appeals

No appeals were stated.

Outcome

Derek Jensen was found dead at the scene on Highway 2 after turning the gun on himself. He committed suicide by shooting himself the same day.

Shayna Conway was the only survivor. She was admitted to an intensive care unit at a Calgary hospital after the shooting, and by late December was speaking and breathing on her own and able to move her leg.

Conway left a Calgary hospital on Saturday to attend a memorial service for Tabitha Stepple, Mitch MacLean and Tanner Craswell. Conway did not take the stage and opted to speak in a video message in which she said: "For obvious reasons, it would have been difficult for me to get up in front of you today," and: "I want you all to know that I'm doing well," and: "I'm on the road to recovery and looking forward to getting home just as soon as I can."

During the memorial service, a slideshow presentation referred to Conway’s survival as a miracle.

Conway extended her condolences to the victims' families in the video message, saying: "thoughts and prayers are with you always."

Aftermath

More than 1,500 mourners attended a baseball-themed service that honoured the three young adults in videos, songs and shared stories. A slideshow divided different sections of the service into nine "innings," each of which touched on part of the victims' lives, with presenters paying tribute to their childhoods and formative years.

Friend and teammate Marc Clausen said: "Tanner Craswell and Mitch MacLean have been called up to the true major leagues and will continue to turn magnificent double-plays in a much better place as true angels in the infield."

Loved ones praised Stepple for her “genuine love for her family” and how she “lit up the room with her fun energy.”

Funeral services for MacLean and Craswell were set for later that week. MacLean’s funeral was to be at Winsloe United Church in Charlottetown on Thursday at 10 a.m. local time. Craswell’s funeral was to be at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, also in Charlottetown at 10 a.m. on Friday. Credit Union locations on P.E.I. were to start accepting donations starting Tuesday from anyone looking to help the families.

Friends and family held a memorial game of catch at Colonel Gray High School in Charlottetown. Principal Kevin Whitrow said: "To do something that the boys would love to do — and a lot of them would have even done with Mitch and Tanner — you know, just play a game of catch," and: "That's what we're expecting that there will be a whole lot of people who bring a ball and a glove and kind of just play catch and remember... the guys." Whitrow also said: "These were boys that even if you didn't teach them, you knew them," and: "Everybody is caught by the sheer tragedy of this."

Matt Dixon, a former teammate, said: “I think everybody in the province is kind of in a state of shock,” and: “They made an impression on not just ball players, but people who knew them outside of baseball, too. They made lasting impressions on everybody. They were both just great guys. Great guys.”

Craswell’s father, Keith Craswell, and Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee attended.

Cr aswell and MacLean were described as promising ball players, with MacLean named rookie of the year and Craswell described as an all-star shortstop.

Lethbridge Bulls manager Kevin Kvame said the pair set out for a two-hour road trip to the airport so they could fly home to P.E.I. for Christmas and said: "That was one of the reasons he ended up lining up transportation to go to Calgary that time of the day," and: "Because he was out celebrating his 22nd birthday and wanted to go up with his girlfriend and her friend. I'd offered to take them up earlier if they wanted to go, but they wanted to be with their friends that last night in the city before they went home."

Kvame said: "Those boys had nothing to do with (Jensen)," and: "They were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Baseball P.E.I. president Don Leclair said: "A number of my children went to school in western Canada and I know the excitement you felt waiting at the airport and now these people are waiting for their caskets to come."

In Edmonton, Jimmy Morrison said: "They weren't friends, they were brothers," and: "Two great talents, you know?"

Allison MacDonald, who coached MacLean on the Islanders baseball team in the summer of 2010, said MacLean was preparing to head to the U.S. to play college ball this winter.

Matt Hood said the two shared a love of baseball and said: "Tanner and Mitch would have a catch with them in the dead of winter with snow up to their shins … just to help them out," and: "That's the kind of people they were."

Conway’s sister, Courtney Crosby, said Conway was scheduled to have an operation Monday and was expected to recover. Crosby said the family was grateful for messages of support. Rebecca Sanderson said: "Shayna is the type of girl that just lights up a room," and: "Everybody that works here, everybody that comes into the Juice Zone, everybody just loves her. We just want to show her how much we love her and that we all care for her."

Other details

RCMP said Derek Jensen was driving a car that rammed another to stop it on a highway near Lethbridge before four young people were shot to death.

Police said Jensen had three loaded and registered guns: a handgun, a shotgun and a rifle. They also said they discovered another rifle and ammunition at his home in Lethbridge. Police confirmed the guns were registered.

CTVNews.ca described Conway’s injuries as multiple gunshot wounds and said she was expected to recover.