Clive Weighill, Saskatchewan's chief coroner, speaks to media prior to the opening day of the public coroner's inquest into the mass stabbings that happened on James Smith Cree Nation in 2022, in Melfort, Sask., Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

By CJME News Staff

Day 1: Jury selection complete for James Smith Cree Nation inquest

Jan 15, 2024 | 3:01 PM

Dozens of people gathered at the Kerry Vickar Centre in Melfort on Monday for the start of a two-week inquest into the deadly stabbing rampage by Myles Sanderson in September of 2022.

The communities of James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon were devastated by the attacks that left 11 people dead and 17 others injured.

RCMP Staff Sergeant Robin Zentner, the first of 32 witnesses expected throughout the inquest, spoke to jury members on Monday afternoon.

He shared that this was the largest homicide investigation in Saskatchewan RCMP history, with 548 employees involved, along with other municipal and federal police and justice agencies.

Zentner says he got the call about the incident around 7 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2022 and the number of dead and hurt kept rising as they gathered and went out to Melfort from Saskatoon.

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He went on to explain details relating to Myles Sanderson’s criminal history and activities in the days before the stabbings occurred, much of which RCMP had previously outlined in a timeline of events presented in April 2023.

Saskatchewan’s Chief Coroner Clive Weighill said this is the largest inquest ever held in the province and perhaps in Canada.

“We had to wait for all that investigative information to come in so we could do our disclosure to the people that have standing and then have everything ready for today,” Weighill told reporters early in the day.

The first agenda item was to select jury members who will make recommendations once the inquest is complete.

Eight jurors were chosen, but only six can make recommendations, with two standing as backups. Jurors cannot be related to or have relationship with any of the victims, lawyers or witnesses.

Weighill originally wanted an entirely Indigenous jury for the inquest, but said the leaders of James Smith Cree Nation suggested a 50-50 split of jury members from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous backgrounds.

Over the next two weeks, the jury will hear from the parole board, Corrections Canada and the RCMP. A forensic pathologist will give a detailed account of each cause of death for the 11 victims.

This inquest will give details related to Myles Sanderson before, during and after the killing spree, but the events surrounding his capture and death in police custody will be examined in a separate inquiry starting Feb. 26 in Saskatoon.

A statement provided by Saskatchewan RCMP on Monday stated that its Criminal Operations Branch will respond in writing to each recommendation resulting from both inquests.

Jury selection finished Monday around noon after narrowing the final selection from more than three dozen candidates. Many people were excused after saying they couldn’t spare the three weeks the inquest could take, while a few others said they knew or were related to some of the victims.

With files from Lisa Schick.