Brutal double murder ends Lucas Fowler’s dreams to settle down with Chynna Deese
Just weeks ago Lucas Fowler, the ‘man with a golden heart’, and his love Chynna Deese set off on their latest travels, but their joy was short-lived — the pair were found shot dead on the side of the highway.
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After years crisscrossing the globe from one exotic location to another, Lucas Fowler finally settled in Canada for love.
The son of a highly respected NSW police officer, he wanted to be close to his 24-year-old girlfriend Chynna Noelle Deese, originally from North Carolina in the US, who shared his love of travel.
Now they are both dead, shot by teen suspects Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky beside a remote Canadian highway.
“Not many people would leave everything behind to be with the person they love, but he did,” close friend Sebastian Barrios said.
“He was like that, he had a golden heart.”
Mr Fowler and Ms Deese had been inseparable since meeting at a hostel in Croatia in 2017, travelling to Central and South America, Japan and Southeast Asia together.
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Mr Barrios, who was a schoolmate of Mr Fowler, had never known his mate to have a girlfriend before. But when the couple visited him for a week in Peru last year, it was clear they were in love.
“For the short time we got to know each other, I can say she was lovely and loved Lucas as much as he loved her,” he said.
When Mr Barrios first met Mr Fowler in 2010 after arriving at Ku-ring-gai High, in Sydney’s north, from Peru, he knew no one and had only a loose grasp of English. But Mr Fowler took him under his wing.
“He always stood up for people or helped anyone without them having to ask,” Mr Barrios said.
Mr Fowler left school in Year 10 to pursue an apprenticeship with a mechanic. It was there he saved up for his trip around the world.
“He decided to take the time to travel to see what he wanted to do afterwards,” Mr Barrios said. “He did tell me he liked travelling but he also wanted to learn something else to know what he really wanted to do.
“So this trip was to figure out what to do with his life after his apprenticeship.”
Neighbours said Mr Fowler had two brothers and a younger sister. One of his brothers had followed his father, Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Fowler, into the force and is an officer with the Northern Territory police.
After Mr Fowler and Ms Deese returned from Peru in late 2018, they stayed with Ms Deese’s family in North Carolina for three months.
On January 2, 2019, Mr Fowler published a picture on Instagram of Ms Deese sitting in a clothing basket at home with the caption: “I’ll miss this lil basket case.”
By February, Mr Fowler had arrived at Venator Ranches in Hudson’s Hope, a remote property in British Columbia. He had made the 4500km trip alone, planning to work as an intern for at least the next five months.
It was close to Ms Deese, who stayed in North Carolina, without having to navigate the complicated US visa system to get a job.
Just last month, Ms Deese travelled from Charlotte to the ranch where Mr Fowler worked to do the “branding of the cows” before going on “to travel through the top half of the globe”.
According to Christoph Weder, from Venator Ranches, they set off for a three-week holiday to north Alaska, planning to return on July 31.
One day into that trip, 20km south of the popular Liard Hot Springs, witnesses saw their 1986 blue and grey Chevy Bonavista van on the side of the Alaska Highway.
Sandra Broughton and her husband Curtis stopped to help and found the “happy” couple sitting in the grass having a picnic.
“My husband spoke to him and Mr Fowler seemed to think one of the cylinders was cracked and the engine was flooded,” she said.
“They were waiting for the engine to drain. There was nothing we could do.”
Years of working in a mechanic’s workshop meant Mr Fowler knew his cars “left to right”, Mr Barrios said. “Lucas knew his mechanics. I feel maybe someone messed up with the van. He would always have tools around.
“I heard a lady stopped and they said they didn’t need help. So it’s a bit hard to swallow for me.”
The next morning, Royal Canadian Mounted Police found their bodies.
Mr Fowler’s father and mother eventually boarded a flight from Sydney to Vancouver on a long journey to bring their son home.
Ahead of them were two NSW homicide detectives, dispatched personally by Commissioner Mick Fuller to be by the family’s side and liaise with Canadian authorities.
Chief Insp Fowler, a duty officer based at Castle Hill Police Station, visited his neighbour before the trip to say he would be gone for a while.
“We had a talk for a few minutes, he wasn’t well at all as you can imagine,” the neighbour, who asked not to be named, said. “He wasn’t sure when he would be back.
“We are devastated for him, he is a very good neighbour and friend.”
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