CRANBROOK KILLINGS 'ABSOLUTE ATROCITY'

Police Believe Gunman Sought Previous Tenant

Police say it is an "absolute atrocity" that a successful Cranbrook
couple was shot to death in what appears to be a tragic case of
mistaken identity.

Leanne MacFarlane, 43, and Jeffrey Taylor, 42, owners of Shuswap
Wireless Connections Inc. in Salmon Arm, had just moved on to her
brother's rural property east of Cranbrook, where they hoped to open a
second store.

A man in camouflage gear is believed to have entered the couple's home
early Saturday morning and shot both MacFarlane and Taylor.

He was confronted by a family member who lived in a separate house on
the same property but managed to get away. MacFarlane died on the
scene and Taylor succumbed to injuries later in hospital. They had two
sons and grandchildren.

"It is an absolute atrocity . . . whenever innocent bystanders are
killed . . . look at the Surrey Six," said RCMP Cpl. Chris Faulkner
referring to the deaths of two bystanders during a grisly gangland
slaying of six people in Surrey in October 2007.

"In the last five years, Cranbrook has become a victim of the drug
trade and all that it brings with it," said Faulkner.

The property is owned by Wayne MacFarlane, Leanne's brother, who
Faulkner said is a "longtime Cranbrook resident who works in the mines."

However, a house on the same property was apparently rented out a year
ago to Doug Mahon, 38, who is now out on bail but facing
attempted-murder charges in connection with a shooting in front of the
Sam Steele Hotel on Oct. 29, 2009.

Two other men are charged in the incident, which police describe as
targeted and drug-related.

Also facing charges in connection with the October 2009 shooting are
Kevin William Winters, 51, and Donald Clarke Faid, 53.

Mahon is the only one of the three who is out on bail. Faid violated
his parole and was returned to jail.