Timeline in case of Harley Lawrence, man burned alive as he slept in bus shelter

KENTVILLE, N.S. – Here is a timeline in the murder case of Harley Lawrence, a 62-year-old homeless man who died after two men set him on fire in Berwick, N.S.:

Oct. 23, 2013, 1:45 a.m. – 2 a.m.:

— After a night of drinking and drugs, Daniel Wayne Surette and Kyle David James Fredericks buy $10 worth of gasoline and pump it into a plastic jug. Surette douses Lawrence with the gas as he sleeps inside a bus shelter. Either Surette or Fredericks set him on fire with a cigarette lighter.

Oct. 24, 2013:

— Autopsy conducted on Lawrence. It concludes that his cause of death was from thermal and inhalation injury, indicating he died as a direct result of the fire.

December 2013 — February 2014:

— A plaid jacket found under a bush is sent to an RCMP forensic lab for analysis. It confirms that biological material found on the jacket matches a DNA sample belonging to Surette. It also finds that the front of the jacket had damage consistent with being exposed to a heat source.

April 24 – 25, 2014:

— Surette and Fredericks are charged with first-degree murder following a Mr. Big sting, an undercover operation where police pose as gangsters. During the sting, Surette told undercover officers that they thought Lawrence was a “rat” who was watching them deal drugs because he had arrived in town out of nowhere and people had seen him with a cellphone.

Feb. 23, 2015:

— Surette and Fredericks plead guilty to second-degree murder.

April 28, 2015:

— Surette is sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 20 years. Fredericks is given a life sentence with parole eligibility set at 18 years.