A picture of Bernie and Braden Herman together. (Facebook)

By Nigel Maxwell

Crimes of passion

Judgment day arrives for former Sask. Mountie, responsible for death of young lover

Jun 18, 2024 | 12:05 AM

Emotions are expected to run high, when a former Saskatchewan RCMP officer, responsible for the death of his young gay lover, appears Tuesday at Court of King’s Bench in Prince Albert for sentencing,

Bernie Herman has been custody since last January, when he was found guilty of manslaughter.

His last appearance was in April when lawyers made their sentencing submissions.

The case dates back to May of 2021 when Braden Herman’s naked body was found in a forested area of Prince Albert’s northeastern outskirts. The cause of death was a single bullet that had penetrated his lungs and severed the spinal cord.

During the trial, which commenced last December, it was revealed the two men drove out to the secluded area to have sex when an argument occurred, and a naked Braden was shot while standing outside Bernie’s truck.

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Bernie, who later claimed he was acting in self-defence and blacked out, was still wearing his uniform and had pulled his service pistol from its holster. Earlier that day he had attended an ATV safety course at the nearby Prince Albert Wildlife Federation grounds.

A picture of Herman from last January, not long after he was found guilty of manslaughter. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

Describing the act as close to murder as you can get, Crown prosecutor Jennifer Schmidt is seeking a life sentence.

In turn, defence lawyer Darren Kraushaar is seeking a sentence of four to six years, and explained the split second decision made by Bernie was both impulsive and provoked, based on previous threats and even blackmail.

Kraushaar also noted Herman has no criminal record or previous history of violence, did not cause any issues while out on bail, is a good dad, and is not considered a danger to the community.

While the two men share the same last name, and have family connections to the La Loche area, they are not related. At one time Braden had lived with Bernie’s wife and family in Prince Albert before their relationship became sexual.

Thousands of text and social media messages were analyzed by police. Many made references to sexual acts, others from Braden referred to Bernie being too afraid to publically admit his sexual preference.

“I’m not embarrassed to say I (expletive) you,” Braden said in one message, usually referring to Bernie as “my love.”

Throughout the proceedings so far, Bernie Herman has remained calm and listened attentively to everything said in court.

Tuesday’s sentencing hearing is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. paNOW will have a reporter in the courtroom to hear Justice G.A. Meschishnick’s final decision.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell