Michael MacKay was sentenced for his wife's death, Cindy MacKay, in November 2023. (battlefordsNOW Obituaries/Courtesy of Tyler Mack)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

RCMP investigation

Year in Review: Homicide investigations highlight Battlefords crime in 2023

Dec 28, 2023 | 3:28 PM

As 2023 draws to a close, battlefordsNOW is taking a look back on the most important and impactful stories of the year, as selected by our reporters and editorial staff.

The past year has been a painful one for many who have lost family members impacted by crime. Several cases stood out in the Battlefords area.

Cindy MacKay

There was a resolution on Nov. 20, 2023 at the Court of King’s Bench in Battleford in a homicide case from 2020 involving a Meota woman. Michael MacKay, 41, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife Cindy MacKay.

He instead pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder. Justice M.L. Dovell accepted the joint submission from the Crown and defence recommending life imprisonment with no chance of parole for at least 10 years.

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Gregory Cope

In another case, a man was charged in the death of Gregory Cope. His remains were located on Feb. 27, 2023, inside a house destroyed by fire a week earlier.

Cope, 32, was previously reported missing to Battlefords RCMP on Feb. 21. Travis Jean, 34, is charged with first-degree murder and arson – disregard for human life. Jean is due back in North Battleford Provincial Court on April 16, 2024, for a preliminary hearing.

Damian Moosomin

The case continues for some of the accused in the death of Damian Moosomin. The trial for Jannay Blackbird, 34, of Saulteaux First Nation, wrapped up Sept. 15, 2023, at the Court of King’s Bench in Battleford.

She is facing a charge of second-degree murder in the case. The decision was originally reserved for Dec. 11, but the date has been moved to Jan. 5, 2024.

Several other individuals were also charged in the case. Stormy Wapass-Semaganis, 25, of Edmonton, Alta., pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to manslaughter at the Court of King’s Bench on Oct. 10, 2023. She had been in custody since April of 2021. She was sentenced to time served and 12 months probation. A charge of manslaughter was withdrawn.

Tye Partridge, 26, of Moosomin First Nation, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on May 27 after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the case. A first-degree murder charge was withdrawn.

Denver Roy, 38, of Sweetgrass First Nation received 10 months in custody and nine months probation on Oct. 29, 2021, after pleading guilty to offering an indignity to a dead body. An additional charge for accessory after the fact was withdrawn.

Melissa Semaganis and a male youth under the age of 18 at the time of the incident, who were both facing a charge of accessory after the fact to murder, saw a stay of proceedings in their cases on April 25, 2022.

Tiki Laverdiere

Edmonton woman Tiki Laverdiere, 25, was last seen in North Battleford before her remains were discovered outside the city in 2019. (Submitted photo/Battlefords RCMP)

In July, it was reported the trial that was originally scheduled for last January for the last of the accused in the death of Tiki Laverdiere had been set for next year.

Jesse Sangster, 27, of Edmonton, Alta., is facing charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, improperly interfering with a human body, and theft of a motor vehicle. Sangster is scheduled for a four-week non-jury trial at the Court of King’s Bench in Battleford, to begin Sept. 3, 2024.

Nine others have already been sentenced in the case: Nicole Cook, Soaring Eagle Whitstone, Danita Thomas, Shayla Orthner, Samuel Takakenew, Nikita Cook, Charles St. Savard, Brent Checkosis, and Mavis Takakenew. A publication ban is in effect until all the accused have gone through the court process.

Ryan John Gatzke

In June 2023, one of the people facing charges in the death of Ryan John Gatzke back in 2019 was sentenced to eight years in prison in the Court of King’s Bench in Battleford, after previously pleading guilty to manslaughter.

Jacob Joseph Ballantyne , 28, of Edam, was originally charged with second-degree murder in the case. He instead pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter on June 12.

Among the co-accused, Charles Michael Lewis McLean, 25, of North Battleford, was previously sentenced to four years in custody, after pleading guilty to manslaughter last year. Isaac Melko, 25, of North Battleford, received a sentence of 12 years in custody, after pleading guilty to manslaughter in February of 2023.

An 18-year-old male North Battleford resident, who was 17 years old at the time of the incident and cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, who was facing a charge of second-degree murder had a judge-alone trial in April of 2023. The youth was instead found guilty of manslaughter in May. Justice Heather MacMillan-Brown reserved the sentencing decision to Jan. 22, 2024.

Beatrice Geering

In November, the preliminary hearing for a 47-year-old North Battleford man charged in the death of his mother wrapped up at North Battleford Provincial Court.

Walter Geering is charged with second-degree murder for Beatrice Geering’s death. His case has now been committed for a jury trial at the Court of King’s Bench in Battleford with the date still to be set.

The next pre-trial conference will be Jan. 12, 2024.

Richard Buck

As reported in July, a North Battleford man is facing a manslaughter charge in connection with the death of Richard Buck.

Clarence Buck, 29, was originally charged with aggravated assault. The charge was later upgraded to manslaughter. The two are related.

Clarence is due back in North Battleford provincial court on Jan. 8, 2024.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW