Woman dies two months after attack; man faces murder charge

By Ashley Clark

BELLEVILLE – A man who was charged with two counts of attempted murder is now facing a first-degree-murder charge.

The attacks happened New Year’s Eve. Two people were seriously injured at a home on Northumberland County Road 2 west of Grafton.

The victims were taken by ambulance to a local hospital and then transferred to a trauma centre in the Toronto area. Meanwhile, Northumberland OPP officers arrested a 61-year-old man of no fixed address and charged him with attempted murder.

Last week, one of the victims, 82-year-old Delores Byers, died of her injuries. As a result, one of the charges against the suspect was changed to first-degree murder.

The ongoing investigation is being run by the Northumberland Crime Unit with Det.-Insp. Gilles Depratto of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch in charge.

The accused will be in the Ontario Court of Justice in Cobourg on March 16.