Man wanted for murder in death of Oyebode Oyenuga arrested in Sault Ste. Marie

A 21-year-old man wanted for first-degree murder in connection with a 2021 homicide probe on Walpole Island First Nation was arrested last week in Sault Ste. Marie, police there said.

The accused, 21-year-old Turuk Thomas of Kitchener, Ont., is the eighth person to be charged in the investigation into the death of Oyebode Oyenuga, 25, of Windsor. At least six have been charged with first-degree murder

Oyenuga was reported missing to police in Windsor in February of 2021. His remains were located on Walpole Island First Nation the following month on March 17, 2021. Few details have been released about the ongoing investigation.

Thomas was taken into custody last week by police in Sault Ste. Marie for an unrelated matter, charged with possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking along with another man.

Sault Ste. Marie police say they responded to a location on Grace Street in the core of the city around 3 a.m. on March 24 for a report of a man in possession of a firearm.

Two men were seen by officers running from the area, police said, and the pair were later placed under investigative detention.

Police say 99 grams of a substance believed to be fentanyl, valued at roughly $49,000, was located in the area by a canine team.

Thomas and another man, a 20-year-old also from Kitchener, were both charged with possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.

In an update Monday, Sault Ste. Marie police said they later learned Thomas had been wanted by Lambton County OPP for murder.

Thomas was placed into the custody of provincial police on Saturday.

Eight people have been charged in connection with the Oyenuga investigation, including six with first-degree murder:

• Dwayne Jahton Blair, 40, of Toronto, arrested on Aug. 20, 2021.
• Rolf Rodley Agard, 31, of Windsor, arrested on Aug. 20, 2021.
• Saccara Johnson, 28, of Windsor, arrested on Aug. 21, 2021.
• Dejour Millington, 23, of Toronto, arrested on Sept. 23, 2021.
• Nashaye Walker, 21, of North York, arrested on March 10.
• Turuk Thomas, 21, of Kitchener, arrested on March 26.

Two others are also charged in the ongoing probe.

Zy’Shaun Lawrence, 20, of Kitchener has been charged with accessory after the fact to murder and indignity to a dead body, while Jeffrey Drew Bliss, 36, of Erieau, faces a charge of trafficking a firearm, weapon, device or ammunition.

According to the Windsor Star, Oyenuga was a computer science student at the University of Windsor who was last seen alive in Windsor driving a white BMW on Feb. 2, 2021.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the OPP or Crime Stoppers.