Woman Denied Bail in Murder Case After Emotional Courtroom Outburst
Erin Lynn Mackie, a 40-year-old woman charged with first-degree murder in the 2023 homicide of Robbie Thomson, has been denied bail following an emotional courtroom scene where she sobbed and declared, "I wouldn't hurt anyone!" The decision was delivered by Ontario Superior Court Justice Narissa Somji on Thursday, March 19, during a hearing in Perth.
Courtroom Drama and Emotional Pleas
As Justice Somji left the courtroom, Mackie, wearing glasses with her hair pulled back, broke down in tears and cried out to the court. She turned to her supporters in the gallery, adding, "They know me, they know I'm not a bad person." Later, she addressed others in the courtroom, saying, "Why did you do this to me? My children need me!"
The bail denial followed three days of hearings in Perth over recent weeks. A routine publication ban prevents reporting specific details of the evidence presented during these proceedings.
Sureties and Supervision Concerns
Mackie's supporters included four people who had offered themselves as sureties, pledging to provide round-the-clock supervision as part of an elaborate release plan. These sureties took up most of the seating in the small courtroom.
In her ruling, Justice Somji expressed concerns about the proposed supervision arrangement, stating she did not have confidence that the sureties knew Mackie well enough to adequately supervise her if released.
Multiple Defendants and Property Connections
Mackie is one of three people charged in Thomson's death. The other defendants are Christopher Philip Fenton, 48, and Joshua Joseph Belfiori, 34, of Bath, Ontario. Both will have bail hearings scheduled for May 12.
Mackie and Fenton are longtime domestic partners who had been living at 572 Kelly-Jordan Road, a densely treed 40-acre property just outside Smiths Falls in Montague Township. Property records show this address is co-owned by Fenton and Robert Lambert, the first of four men to vanish or be found dead in the Smiths Falls area since 2018.
Background of Missing Persons Cases
The series of disappearances and deaths in the Smiths Falls region began in summer 2018 when Robert Lambert, then 75, was last seen. Lawrence Bertrim, 42, disappeared in autumn 2022. Thomson, 34, was last seen alive in 2023. Steven Tate, also 34, was found dead at the side of Highway 15 outside Smiths Falls in November 2023, with police identifying him as a hit-and-run victim.
While police have not stated these cases are connected, Thomson's death remains the only one of the four to result in criminal charges. The Ontario Provincial Police laid murder charges against Mackie, Fenton, and Belfiori in October 2025, before Thomson's body had been recovered. Investigators executing a search warrant at the Kelly-Jordan Road property the day after the arrests discovered Thomson's remains there.
Fenton's name was added to the property title in April 2018, just months before Lambert's disappearance, according to land registry documents.
