It appears Derek Simmerson was in the wrong place at the wrong time and it cost him his life.
Simmerson was allegedly stabbed and left for dead on a busy stretch of Coldwater Road on a cool, rainy night on Thursday (Nov. 19).
The 34-year-old Orillia man succumbed to his injuries soon after being transported to Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.
On Sunday, Justice Snache, a 19-year-old from Severn Township, contacted Orillia OPP and surrendered, without incident, at a Husky gas bar on Highway 11.
He is being charged with first-degree murder.
Det.-Insp. Matt Watson, of the OPP’s Criminal Investigation Branch, who is heading up the probe, told OrilliaMatters this morning that it appears the two men did not know one another.
"We have not been able to find any previous relationship between the two, which is extremely unusual,” said Watson.
Early on in the investigation, Watson said there was “no evidence” to indicate the attack was random.
“I don’t want to use the word random because it’s a bit inflammatory ... almost always there is a relationship between the victim and (suspect),” Watson said. “In this case, we have not found any evidence that suggests there was any previous relationship between the two and do not have any evidence that it began as an altercation or confrontation or anything like that.”
Watson, noting he couldn’t disclose many details of the ongoing investigation, said there was nothing to indicate the murder is drug-related.
“There’s no evidence (Simmerson) was involved in any kind of criminal or nefarious activity,” he said. “We don’t know what precipitated it.”
He said such a homicide is rare and concerning.
“It’s very unusual. I can understand why people would find that disturbing. I find it disturbing,” he said, referencing what appears to be an unprovoked attack.
Watson said there “is still an active investigation ongoing and we will see what we find,” adding he could not provide further details.
He disclosed that Saturday’s post-mortem in Toronto revealed Simmerson had been fatally stabbed. He would not provide any other details about the nature of the stabbing, the weapon used or the number of wounds.
Snache was to appear in Barrie court today and it’s expected he will be remanded into custody.
