A total of eight different people are facing charges in connection to the death of 25-year old Tiki Laverdiere. (submitted photo/Battlefords RCMP)

By Angela Brown

Year in review

Year in Review: Homicide investigations lead Battlefords crime

Dec 26, 2019 | 5:00 PM

When it comes to crime, this past year has been a difficult one in the Battlefords area, particularly when referring to the number of homicide investigations.

Maclean’s Magazine once again listed North Battleford among cities with the worst crime rates.

In its November 2019 published rankings for Canada’s Most Dangerous Places, Maclean’s listed North Battleford first for Canada’s most dangerous places based on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (CSI) report from 2018 data. North Battleford had the highest rating overall for all crime and the second highest rating for violent crime.

The RCMP reported four homicides for the Battlefords in 2019.

Mark Douglas Jonson, 61, was found dead in a home on 15 Ave. and 100 St. on July 5.

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Two co-accused, David Keller and Nicolas Buck, are facing charges of first-degree murder in Jonson’s death.

Preliminary inquiry dates have been set in February for Buck and the following month for Keller.

Another complex case in 2019 involved a young woman from Edmonton.

Tiki Brook-Lyn Laverdiere, 25, was reported missing on May 12 and last seen in North Battleford on May 1. Human remains were found in a rural area outside North Battleford on July 11 and it was confirmed to be Laverdiere on July 16.

Eight accused are facing charges related to Laverdiere’s homicide investigation and are in the court process. On Dec. 20, one of the accused, Brent Checkosis, 19, pleaded guilty to a charge of accessory after the fact to the murder of Laverdiere on May 1 in North Battleford. His sentencing is scheduled for February. He has not pleaded to remaining charges of improperly interfering with a human body and theft of a motor vehicle. Checkosis was seriously injured during a stabbing at the Saskatoon Provincial Correctional Centre on Aug. 22.

Seven others are also facings charges.

Soaring Eagle Whitstone and Nicole Cook are both charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, improperly interfering with a human body and theft of a motor vehicle.

Nicole is the mother of Tristen Cook-Buckle, whose funeral Laverdiere attended on April 27 on the Thunderchild First Nation.

Shayla Orthner, Danita Thomas and Jesse Sangster are charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, improperly interfering with a human body and theft of a motor vehicle.

Mavis Takakenew is charged with accessory after the fact to murder.

Nikita Sandra Cook is charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping connected to Laverdiere’s death. Her case moved to pre-trial at Court of Queen’s Bench in Battleford

All of the accused are in the court process.

The allegations against the accused have not been proven in court.

Also in 2019, Ryan John Gatzke, 27, was found with serious injuries around 1 Ave. and 26 St. in Battleford around 1 a.m. on Oct. 18. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. RCMP said on Oct. 19 they were investigating the death as a homicide.

Police asked anyone who was in this area between midnight and 2 a.m. to come forward with any information on suspicious or out of the ordinary activity they may have seen.

Ashley Morin was last seen July 10, 2018. (supplied photo/Saskatchewan RCMP)

In July, RCMP said they believe North Battleford woman Ashley Morin was the victim of a homicide, after a year-long investigation following her disappearance.

Police shared an image of a two-tone van that is lighter on top and darker on the bottom and appears to have no windows.

The van was seen on the corner of 96 St. and 16 Ave. in North Battleford on Tuesday, July 10, 2018, at around 9:30 p.m. This is one of the last places Morin, 31 at the time, was seen. Police continue to investigate and are seeking the public’s assistance.

Morin’s family and supporters walked from Saskatoon to North Battleford over three days in July 2019 to mark the one-year anniversary since the Ahtahkakoop First Nation woman was last seen in North Battleford. Tiki Laverdiere’s mother Carol also took part, walking beside Morin’s mother Diane.

Two other murder investigations outside of the Battlefords are currently in the court process this year.

Joshua Roy Tucker, 27, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 59-year-old Gordon Tucker, his father, last year.

The RCMP previously reported they found Gordon Tucker deceased on May 31, 2018, on a rural property south-east of Cochin.

Joshua Tucker is currently in the pre-trial stage at Queen’s Bench Court in Battleford.

The allegations against the accused have not been proven in court.

Also in 2019, RCMP reported a case involving a man facing a charge in the death of Roger Standingwater on Thunderchild First Nation in 2018 following their investigation.

Ivor Antoine Wapass, 44, who is in custody, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Standingwater, 57, on Sept. 15, 2018. Wapass was arrested Nov. 1, 2019.

His case has been adjourned to Jan. 14, 2020, at North Battleford provincial court. His defence counsel expected to apply for a bail hearing in early January.

The allegations against the accused have not been proven in court.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW