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More details have emerged during the jury trial of Roderick Sutherland in an interview with police, where he voluntarily shared information about Megan Gallagher’s death.
According to the agreed statement of facts, Gallagher was killed in a garage on Weldon Avenue, where Sutherland was living between Sept. 20 and Sept. 21, 2020. Her body was placed in the back of a truck and then thrown off the St. Louis Bridge into the South Saskatchewan River.
Read more:
- Megan Gallagher was killed in garage and thrown off bridge, court hears
- Remains found in September are those of Megan Gallagher: Saskatoon police
- Megan Gallagher’s parents prepare for ‘next chapter’ after killer sentenced
Sutherland is facing charges of unlawful confinement, offering an indignity to human remains and manslaughter in connection with Gallagher’s death.
On Tuesday at the Court of King’s Bench, Crown Prosecutor Jennifer Schmidt showed video footage of an interview with Sutherland and the lead investigator of Gallagher’s case Anthony Boensch, with the Saskatoon Police Service.
Boensch has since retired, but previously worked in the Major Crimes Unit. He testified that on Aug. 5, 2021, Sutherland had gone to a police detachment with his uncle.
“Roderick had some crucial information with regards to Megan Gallagher’s homicide, and he was worried that anything he might have may implicate him in the homicide,” Boensch said.
In the video interview with police, Sutherland is shown grabbing tissues and crying before making his statement.
He said a group of people came over to his house to “ask this girl some questions.”
In the video, Sutherland explained that he went into the house but went into the garage multiple times, where he said he saw her moved to different parts of his garage, where she was tied up, and he said he eventually saw her corpse covered with a blue tarp.
Sutherland told police in the video that he said he wasn’t there to see what exactly happened to Sutherland and that he said he wasn’t involved in her death, nor did he see any injuries to Gallagher.
He said that when Gallagher was left in his garage, he didn’t know what to do, so he contacted his sister Jessica Sutherland and brother-in-law, John Sanderson. In the video, Sutherland explained that Sanderson told him he would “take care of it,” but said he needed gas money.
According to the statement of facts, Jessica Sutherland had sent an e-transfer to Sanderson on Sept. 23, 2020 for $120, which he used to purchase gas at a Petro-Canada gas station.
When Boensch asked Sutherland why he had decided to come forward to police he said a “green light” was put on him.
In the video, Sutherland was treated as a witness, but Boensch testified that Sutherland was later found as a suspect.
The trial for Sutherland is set for two weeks.
He is one of nine people originally charged in connection to Gallagher’s death.
Other people have been sentenced in connection to the death of Gallagher include Robert James Joseph Thomas, Cheyann Crystal Peeteetuce and Summer-Sky Henry.
