REGINA — Juries comprising six Indigenous people are to participate in two public inquests examining what happened on Sept. 4, when several people were killed or injured in a stabbing rampage in Saskatchewan, and in the days that followed.
The first inquest, scheduled to take place by next summer, will focus on 11 deaths on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon.
It will include the death of Damien Sanderson, one of the suspects who was found near a crime scene on the First Nation with non-self-inflicted wounds.
A second inquest will focus on suspect Myles Sanderson, who died in police custody three days after the stabbings.
RCMP have said Myles Sanderson went into medical distress shortly after he was arrested on a rural road near Rosthern, Sask. He was pronounced dead at hospital.
Chief Coroner Clive Weighill said Wednesday that preliminary autopsy results show he did not suffer from blunt force trauma.
He said the Saskatchewan Coroners Service is still awaiting final results from his autopsy and a toxicology report which could take up to four months to complete. The reports won’t be released to the public until the inquest begins because investigators don’t want to taint the process, Weighill said.
“We have due processes in Canada, to make sure the public is aware of what’s happened. It takes a while to put a picture together,” Weighill said Wednesday.
“The last thing we want is to give out some preliminary information, and then the witnesses at the inquest give different information and now we have a real quagmire of ‘What really did happen?’
“It’s prudent to make sure we have all the information, everything is gathered in a proper form and then presented in an inquest.”
In Saskatchewan, public inquests are mandatory when a person dies in police custody. The coroners service can also hold inquests as a way to inform the public about sudden unnatural deaths.
“With the suspect(s) deceased, there will not be a public criminal trial … it will leave many questions unanswered from the families involved and the public pertaining to the circumstances leading to the deaths,” Weighill said.
After hearing all the evidence, jury members will be tasked with determining how the suspects and victims died, and will make recommendations to police and other parties on ways to prevent similar deaths.
Weighill said the families of those killed were contacted Tuesday by the coroners service about the inquest. He said their response was positive.
Saskatchewan RCMP have not yet completed their investigation into the killings. Weeks later, several crime scenes on James Smith Cree Nation still need to be cleaned up.
Vice-Chief Alvin Moostoos told The Canadian Press on Sunday that the community about 200 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon is awaiting more information from police.
“Right now there’s a lot of speculation, but speculation leads to rumours. We’re asking the RCMP to do their investigation, and to give us a timeline of where it started and where it ended, without the gory details,’ Moostoos said.
RCMP spokeswoman Jessica Murphy said its investigation remains ongoing with officers still gathering, reviewing and compiling information needed to provide a timeline of events. The timelines will be released to the public once completed, she said.
“There is still a police presence in the community in relation to the ongoing investigation and to provide support to members in the community,” Murphy said in a statement Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2022.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
