Barrie men headed to trial charged with murder in 2024 Keswick park double shooting

Mark Sutcliffe and Reilly MacDonald were accused of murder following a September 2024 double shooting at a park in Keswick appear headed for trial.

Two young men accused of murder following a September 2024 double shooting at a park in Keswick appear headed for trial.

A Newmarket judge ruled Jonn McKay, 20, will stand trial accused of two counts of second-degree murder along with 22-year-old Ethan Pashka-McNeil.

The Barrie men were arrested hours after the bodies of 39-year-old Mark Sutcliffe, of Stouffville, and 21-year-old Reilly MacDonald, of Newmarket, were discovered at Bayview Park by York Regional Police at about 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 18, 2024.

Police were called to the scene after residents reported hearing gunshots nearby.

McKay and Pashka-McNeil were arrested at a Letitia Heights plaza in Barrie by York Regional and Barrie police. They were initially charged with first-degree murder.

McKay was granted bail in March 2025, when loved ones pledged half a million dollars to secure his release after six months behind bars. Pashka-McNeil has been in jail since.

Following the arrests, police searched the Barrie neighborhood for days with metal detectors and the K9 unit, along with a home along Barrett Crescent, where witnesses said an SUV from the driveway was seized by investigators.

Pashka-McNeil was committed, in January, to stand trial. Both men are accused of two counts of second-degree murder in the double shooting that stunned the community.

Evidence heard during the preliminary hearing proceedings is protected by a publication ban. Investigators have not revealed how all four men knew one another but said the deadly shooting was targeted.

The accused returns to court next week in Newmarket. The allegations against them have not been tested in court.