Convicted killer Nicholas Shipman dies in prison

Nicholas Joel Shipman in a photo from his obituary. (Source: RHB Anderson Funeral Homes)

A man, serving an 18-year sentence for killing three people from Six Nations of the Grand River, has died in custody at the Millhaven Institution near Bath, Ont.

Correctional Service Canada said Nicholas Shipman passed away on Oct. 2. They did not share the 43-year-old’s cause of death but said, “as in all cases involving the death of an inmate, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) will review the circumstances.”

According to an online obituary, Shipman was the father of six children.

He began serving his sentence at the maximum-security facility in March 10, 2022 after pleading guilty to three counts of manslaughter.

The bodies of 32-year-old Michael Jamieson, 33-year-old Alan Porter and 37-year-old Melissa Miller were found in a pickup truck, parked in a field just outside of Oneida Nation of the Thames, on Nov. 4, 2018. Miller was seven months pregnant at the time.

Court later heard that all three died at the home of Kristin Bomberry. Jamieson had been shot in the chest, while Porter and Miller were stabbed. Their bodies were then wrapped in blankets, bound with cord and placed in the truck bed before being driven to the field where they were discovered days later.

By March 2019, police had charged six people in connection to the case.

Shipman initially faced three counts of second-degree murder but later pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 18 years behind bars.

For Miller’s death, Jamie Beaver was charged with second-degree murder. She pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in November 2021 and sentenced to time served, as well as a three-year peace bond.

Thomas Bomberry was found not guilty of second-degree murder.

Police also charged three others with being an accessory after the fact to murder.

One of them was Kristin Bomberry, where the murders took place. She was found not guilty even though the 36-year-old admitted to hiding the weapons used to kill Jamieson, Porter and Miller. Her lawyer argued she was afraid for life when she ripped up the floors of her home, burned the furniture and buried the weapons in a Six Nations field.

CTV News reached out to representatives for Six Nations of the Grand River for comment but have not yet received a response.