Man charged in the death of SFU scientist
Posted March 5, 2012 12:05 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A man with an on-again off-again relationship with a murdered SFU scientist has now been charged with her death.
Matthew James Scott, 24, is accused of killing Dr. Melanie O’Neill. The 37-year-old was found killed inside her Vancouver home on West 13 Avenue and Manitoba in July.
Police are saying little about how Scott and O’Neill knew each other, just that they were friends for the most part and that Scott sometimes stayed at her Vancouver home.
Port Moody Detective Paul Dungey says Scott became key to their investigation. “It appeared that there were no other viable subjects.”
“Investigators began employing extraordinary investigative techniques to learn the truth about what happened to Dr. O’Neill at her apartment on July 22nd,” adds Dungey.
Scott is charged with second degree murder. He has had previous contact with police, though they will not say what for.
Scott appeared in court over the weekend.
Dr. O’Neill was an associate professor of biological chemistry at SFU. She had been teaching there for six years, and had been recently promoted to tenure before her death.
