The victims of the mass casualty in James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Saskatchewan. (Submitted Photos/RCMP)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Coroner's Inquest

Sask. Chief Forensic Pathologist details five deaths from mass stabbing attack

Jan 26, 2024 | 12:16 PM

Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic details of violence and testimony from those who performed autopsies on the victims of the mass stabbings.

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Saskatchewan’s Chief Forensic Pathologist was brought in to testify at the coroner’s inquest for the mass stabbing attack on the James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon on Friday morning.

Dr. Shaun Ladham spoke about five of the victims and how they ended up passing away. His testimony came after Dr. Derek Musgrove spoke about the deaths of Bonnie Burns, Gregory Burns, Lydia Gloria Burns, Christian Head, Lana Head, and Damien Sanderson.

The inquest is a fact-finding exercise to determine the events leading up to a death, in this case, the 11 people who were killed and 17 others who were injured on Sept. 4, 2022. The jury is not tasked with determining fault but rather looking at the circumstances and making recommendations to prevent similar incidents from happening.

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Robert Sanderson

Ladham said Robert Sanderson’s cause of death was a stab wound to his neck.

He explained Sanderson was stabbed a total of seven times.

It was suggested he would have bled out in about three to five minutes, possibly 10 minutes. Ladham noted because of this timeline, there was nothing paramedics could have done to save him as it would have taken them 25 minutes to arrive.

Carol Burns

Carol Burns was only stabbed once.

Ladham said she was stabbed right next to her mouth. She suffered injuries to her tongue and neck, while also having one tooth broken and another dislodged.

Due to her injuries, Ladham believes Burns probably passed away 10 to 20 minutes after the attack.

He also doesn’t believe paramedics could have done anything to save her as she would have needed immediate surgery.

Thomas Burns

Just like Robert Sanderson, Thomas Burns was stabbed seven times.

Ladham said he suffered two wounds which would have been fatal. One of the wounds ended up hitting his heart.

Because of this, Landham believes Burns would have most likely died a few minutes after being attacked. He also suggested that paramedics wouldn’t have been able to save him as he would have needed immediate surgery to fix his heart.

Earlier evidence shared at the inquest showed that Burns had been pinned between two vehicles before being stabbed. Ladham explained there were no significant injuries caused by the vehicles.

Earl Burns

Ladham said Earl Burns was stabbed 14 times, the most among all the victims.

No major blood vessels were damaged, but the overall number of wounds led to excessive blood loss.

Despite chasing after Myles Sanderson, the man responsible for all the deaths, in a school bus, Ladham believes he still would have died after just a few minutes, possibly as much as 10 minutes.

Just like the other victims, Ladham suggested paramedics wouldn’t have been able to do much to help Burns.

Wesley Petterson

The last victim of the attack was Wesley Petterson.

Ladham explained he suffered one stab wound to the neck. He ended up having a major blood vessel and most likely passed away in under 10 minutes.

Ladham said paramedics wouldn’t have been able to save him.

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jaryn.vecchio@pattisonmedia.com