Mark Jayden Harrison had his bail application denied following a hearing in Nanaimo on Wednesday, March 1. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

bail hearing

Bail denied to co-accused in fatal stabbing attack at Nanaimo’s Maffeo Sutton Park

Mar 2, 2023 | 5:42 AM

NANAIMO — A provincial court judge swiftly rejected a bail application by one of two men charged with manslaughter in the shocking death of a man with special needs.

Mark Jayden Harrison, 19, waved to several supporters as he was led away back to jail by sheriffs following an unsuccessful bid for pre-trial release on Wednesday, March 1 in Nanaimo.

He was charged following what police called a random attack in which a small group of youth approached another group of people at the playground at Maffeo Sutton Park late on the evening of Sept. 5, 2022.

The incident led to the death of 29-year-old Fred Parsons. One of his friends was blasted with bear spray, police said.

Due to a publication ban evidence presented during the bail hearing and reasons given by judge Tamara Hodge are sealed.

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Harrison was represented by his attorney Bobby Movassaghi.

The co-accused, Aiden Matthew William Bell, was previously granted bail. Bell has no prior criminal record and court was told Bell is currently living under house arrest.

Both accused are scheduled to appear in provincial court in Nanaimo in May for a two-day preliminary inquiry. The hearing is being held for a judge to decide if there is enough evidence against Harrison and Bell for the matter to proceed to a BC Supreme Court trial.

Neither Harrison or Bell have entered pleas.

Harrison was originally charged with second degree murder, while Bell was charged with a pair of weapons offences.

Those charges were adjusted in November after the BC Prosecution Service stated it received additional information.

Members of the RCMP’s E Division Underwater Recovery Team scoured the ocean near the crime scene several days following the stabbing in an effort to help advance the Nanaimo detachment’s investigation.

Harrison has an extensive youth record dating back to 2019 with five convictions for crimes of violence and 15 breaches of court orders.

He’s been locked up for the past six months at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre in Saanich.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes