Duane Brett Ledoux was a father of two. (File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Court proceedings

Trial begins for final suspect in Ledoux murder case

Feb 1, 2021 | 4:00 PM

A murder victim’s final Facebook messages were the focus of discussions Monday morning, as the trial for Marissa Bird got underway at Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench.

The 31-year-old represents the fourth and final suspect in the case that dates back to Aug.16, 2017, when the remains of Duane Brett Ledoux were found inside a home in the 800 block of 17th St. W. For her part, Bird has entered a not guilty plea to a charge of first degree murder.

Sheena Peekeekoot, Ledoux’s sister, testified that days after learning of her brother’s death, she decided to take a look at his Facebook account and found several suspicious messages indicating Ledoux planned to go to the house for a meeting, and “show his loyalty” by receiving “a minute.”

A minute is a gang related term that describes the act of a person voluntarily getting beat up by two or more other gang members, but does not typically involve death. Peekeekoot explained she had access to the account because she had previously acted as a liason between her brother and his friends, whenever he was in jail and wanted to let people know he was okay. When asked by defence lawyer Patrick McDougall how long her brother had been in a gang, Peekeekoot replied she did not know.

A photo of the house where the remains of Brett Ledoux were found. (File photo/ paNOW Staff)

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Sgt. Mark Malenfant was the first officer on scene of the address having been brought there by Ledoux’s mother. He recalled a “strong, rancid” smell coming from the house, and upon further inspection found a human limb in the living room area, covered up by a Saskatchewan Roughriders flag and a couple sweaters.

Ten days have been set aside for Bird’s trial. The three co-accused all entered guilty pleas at separate hearings last year.

Lenny Daniels received an eight year sentence after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Boden Umpherville and William Chaboyer received three year sentences for their respective roles. The two men pleaded guilty to charges of assault, and participation in a criminal organization. Chaboyer also pleaded guilty to pointing a firearm at the victim. He was also among the men mentioned in the Facebook messages.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell