St. Catharines man charged with second degree murder after parents found dead

“Once they (officers) entered the residence, there was obvious trauma to two deceased persons that were located inside,” he said, adding the couple “had been married for a long time.”

“Based on the observations within that residence, it became clearly apparent that this was a homicide investigation.”

Cassie Kemp, 21, a former student at St. Catharines Collegiate who lives in the neighbourhood, said Allen was a popular ESL teacher at the school. Allen’s LinkedIn page said she started at the DSBN in 1990.

“She was a good person, a really good person,” Kemp said. “She always had a smile on her face, even on the hardest days. I don’t know why someone would do something like this. It’s hard to believe.

“I used to stop at her house when I was trick-or-treating, and she had a beautiful dog. I hope nothing happened to Jax.

“Her husband was really nice. He would wave at me every time he would drive by, and I would wave back.”

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• Dec 31, 1969

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Milica Petkovic, the DSBN’s senior communications and public relations manager, said Allen was “a beloved teacher.”

“DSBN is deeply saddened by the unexpected loss of Jennifer Allen, a former English as a second language (ESL) teacher who spent much of her time supporting students at St. Catharines Collegiate,” Petkovic said in an email. “While she retired two years ago, she continued to support students as a supply teacher in many of our schools.”

Petkovic said support is in place for students and staff through DSBN’s Mental Health and Well-Being Team and Human Resource Services.

Shortly after the bodies were discovered Thursday, Magistrale said officers were called to The Village Square, at 249 St. Catharines St. in Smithville to deal with a person there.

An NRP spokesperson said police are not able to speak about the nature of the call to the shopping centre, “due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.” 

However, Magistrale said after officers spoke with him, they determined the man had a connection to the suspected homicide in St. Catharines.

At about 9:30 a.m., police arrested Andrew Mummery, 33, of St. Catharines, charging him with two counts of second-degree murder in the death of his parents.

Magistrale said Mummery was remanded into custody after a bail hearing Friday morning.

Magistrale said investigators are now trying to determine “what happened inside that residence, and more importantly, why.”

He said police are trying to determine the precise time of the deaths, as well.

“Part of the investigative process is trying to track down the movement of (the suspect)” he said. “Investigators are looking at the dates of April 30 to May 2, and we’re just asking anybody who either knows Andrew or had interactions with Andrew in those days to come forward to police.”

Given the distance of almost 40 km between the parents’ home, near the intersection of Queenston and Lorne streets, and the shopping centre in Smithville, Magistrale said “anybody could have had an interaction” with the suspect.

“He could have been a complete stranger. He could have been seen walking along the street. He could have been seen walking by your house in a residential area. He could have been seen in a rural property and there could have potentially been an interaction with residents,” he said.

At the time of his arrest, Mummery was wearing a black coat, dark green hoodie, blue jeans, with a green backpack. He’s a white male, 5-feet-10 inches, 160 lbs, with short dark hair and unshaven.

“You might not know who this person is, but if you’ve had any interaction with a person matching that description between April 30 and May 2, between St. Catharines and Smithville, it would be really helpful to come forward to police to help us try and identify his actions between those times.”

Police are also asking people in the areas to check their security cameras and search for dash camera footage for anyone matching Mummery’s description.

“There’s no indication to believe that this was a random act of violence,” said Magistrale.

He said police are not commenting on the nature of the deaths or if any weapons were involved, “to maintain the integrity of the investigation.”

Despite appealing for information from the public to aid in their investigation, Magistrale said police need to be sensitive to privacy concerns “as well as a grieving family” that is having to cope with a tragedy.

“We’re really trying to be sensitive to the healing process of the family, and right now the information we provided … that’s something the extended family was comfortable about releasing,” he said.

It’s the second homicide investigation in the past two weeks for Niagara police, after a 62-year-old woman was found dead in a Smithville home on April 26. A suspect in that incident remains at large.

“It’s been a very trying time for our investigators,” Magistrale said. “But they don’t stop. They work around the clock.”

Although Mummery was arrested in Smithville, Magistrale said there is “absolutely not” a connection to the homicide investigation underway in that community.

The incident is the fourth homicide investigation for Niagara police so far this year, with six victims reported.

Previous investigations include the April 26 incident in Smithville; a shooting on April 1 in Niagara Falls that claimed the life of a 29-year-old food delivery driver; and the deaths of another St. Catharines couple on March 25, also allegedly by their son.