Court documents contain more details about Lunenburg County murder case

A Lunenburg County man who was arrested last month and charged with first-degree murder made a brief appearance in Bridgewater provincial court Monday.

Arthur Abdul Mosher, 40, of Blockhouse is accused of killing Josh Evan Veinotte, 49, of Bridgewater, whose remains were found in Parkdale, Lunenburg County, on the afternoon of July 26.

Mosher appeared in court via a video link from jail.

Defence lawyer Mark Bailey of Dartmouth, who phoned into court for the proceeding, confirmed he has been retained by Mosher.

Bailey asked that the case be adjourned for about a month to allow him to receive the evidence from Crown attorney Rick Hartlen and review the material.

“I’m hoping to be in a position to set dates for a preliminary inquiry,” Bailey said.

Judge Catherine Benton scheduled the case to return to court Oct. 25.

If Mosher wants bail, he will have to make an application in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

RCMP announced Aug. 24 that the remains found in Parkdale, near New Ross, on July 26 were those of a man, that an autopsy had determined the death was a homicide and that Mosher was wanted on a provincewide warrant for second-degree murder.

Mosher was apprehended later that day in Gold River, Lunenburg County.

By the time he was arraigned in provincial court the next day, the charge had been upgraded to first-degree murder. That indicates investigators believe the killing was planned and deliberate.

Court documents reveal RCMP allege Veinotte was murdered in Blockhouse sometime between July 22 and July 27. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

‘Heart of gold’

According to Veinotte’s obituary, Monday would have been his 50th birthday. He is survived by two sons, his sister, a nephew, a niece and a grandmother.

“Josh loved to spend his time writing and playing music on one of his many instruments” and designing and creating a variety of art, the obituary said.

“He had a great sense of humor and a heart of gold.”

Cremation has taken place and a family celebration of life will be held later, the obituary said. Burial would be at the family plot in Upper Blue Rocks Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family asked that memorial donations be made to the Lunenburg Food Bank.

Lengthy record

Mosher has more than 40 convictions on his criminal record going back to 2001, including 17 under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

The drug convictions include one for production, five for possession for the purpose of trafficking, and 11 for simple possession.

Most of the remainder of his convictions are for breaching release conditions or probation, but he also has convictions for possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of stolen property, impaired driving, refusing the breathalyzer, driving while disqualified and mischief.

Mosher was arraigned Monday on four additional charges, including one count of stealing fuel from an Esso station in Bridgewater on July 16 and three counts of breaching probation in July and August.