Killer Donald Musselman dies in custody
Donald Musselman, who was convicted for the murder of an Ottawa musician and pleaded guilty to killing another inmate while in custody, has died.
Correctional Services Canada (CSC) confirmed Musselman's died on Oct. 15 while in custody at the Joyceville Institution near Kingston, Ont., in a news release Wednesday. CSC did not provide a cause of death, nor any additional information.
Musselman's next of kin have been notified of his death, CSC said. Spokesperson Mike Shrider said both the department and the coroner's office will review the circumstances of his death.
At the time of his death, Musselman was 24 and had been serving a life sentence for second-degree murder since May.
'Now there will be no redemption'
Musselman was found guilty in December 2023 in the shooting death of Ottawa musician Markland Campbell, 42, in the ByWard Market in 2019. He was sentenced to life in prison for that crime.
In September, he pleaded guilty to the jailhouse beating death of Zakaria Sheek-Hussein at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. That conviction added eight years to his sentence.
Christopher Wiens, 45, knew Campbell for 34 years. The two were members of the same hip-hop group Half-Sized Giants.
Wiens called Musselman's death "a tragedy" and said Campbell, who tried to reach and give voice to marginalized youth in Ottawa through his music, would have wanted the young man to turn his life around.
"The whole foundation of [Campbell's] message was to give a voice to the same marginalized youth, like Donald Musselman, who was convicted of his murder," Wiens said.
"Now, there will be no redemption from Mr. Musselman, and I believe Markland would have wanted [redemption for him]."
