Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look back at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list ...
A jury is set to get its instructions from a judge Thursday and begin deliberations in the high-profile murder trial of Gerald Stanley. The Biggar, Sask.-area farmer is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Colten Boushie, 22.
The following is a timeline of some of the major events surrounding Boushie’s death, the reaction to it and the unfolding of criminal proceedings against Stanley.
Aug. 9 2016
Colten Boushie, 22, and four friends are driving through the RM of Glenside, near Biggar, Sask.
They’re on their way home to the Red Pheasant Cree Nation when they pull onto a farm owned by Gerald Stanley around 5:30 p.m.
Two people from the vehicle get into a confrontation with Stanley and his son.
Boushie is shot and killed.
An RCMP officer mans a roadblock near the Biggar, Sask.-area farm of Gerald Stanley following the Aug. 9, 2016 shooting of Colten Boushie. (Bryn Levy/650 CKOM)
Aug. 11, 2016
Eric Meechance speaks to media on the Red Pheasant Cree Nation near Biggar, Sask. on Aug. 11, 2016. (Bryn Levy/650 CKOM)
RCMP report that Gerald Stanley has been charged with second-degree murder.
An initial press release issued by police outlines a confrontation between Stanley and people in a vehicle that came onto his yard. The release states that Stanley is in custody facing the murder charge, and that people who had been in the vehicle with Boushie were also being held as part of a theft investigation.
Following the RCMP press release, many people living in rural Saskatchewan express concerns about crime.
Later in the day, a different account of the events surrounding Boushie’s death emerges as family tell media the youths had gone onto Stanley’s property looking for help with a flat tire. Eric Meechance, one of the people in the vehicle when Boushie was killed, tells 650 CKOM the same.
Aug. 12, 2016
Bobby Cameron, chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations.
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations criticizes the way RCMP handled the initial release of information following Boushie’s death.
FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron says the first RCMP press release created a climate of prejudice by linking Gerald Stanley’s murder charge with the theft investigation involving the youths from the vehicle.
Aug. 14, 2016
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall issues a statement calling for calm as social media erupts with racist commentary regarding the Boushie shooting.
Aug. 18, 2016
Stanley enters a plea of not guilty in North Battleford Provincial Court.
A bail hearing is held for Stanley at Battleford Court of Queen’s Bench.
Hundreds of demonstrators gather throughout the day in support of the Boushie family. Demonstrations are also held in cities across the province.
Demonstrators gathered out front of Court of Queen's Bench here in Battleford. #ckom pic.twitter.com/x5Fy7d7zgg
— Bryn Levy (@BrynLevy) August 18, 2016
Aug. 19, 2016
Gerald Stanley leaves Battleford Court of Queen’s Bench following a bail hearing on Aug. 18, 2016. (battlefordsNOW)
Gerald Stanley is released on $10,000 cash bail.
His release includes a number of conditions. Among them: he is forbidden to possess weapons and is ordered to enroll in the province’s electronic monitoring program.
Stanley is also ordered to stay within six kilometres of his home and is forbidden from going within 32 kilometres of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation.
He’s also ordered not to have any contact with any member of the Boushie family, or any of the people who were in the SUV with Boushie the day he died.
October 21. 2016
An overhead photo of Gerald Stanley’s farm taken by RCMP following the shooting death of Colten Boushie. (RCMP)
The Globe and Mail newspaper publishes details from an Information to Obtain (ITO) the RCMP presented to a judge in order to get a search warrant for Stanley’s property.
The document includes a brief summary of what police believe happened the day Boushie died.
October 24, 2016
Chris Murphy, a lawyer retained by the Boushie family, accuses RCMP of jeopardizing the case against Stanley by losing track of the SUV Colten Boushie died in before the defence had a chance to have it independently analyzed.
The grey SUV Colten Boushie’s body was found near sits in an RCMP secure bay with a shredded front tire and broken windshield. Witnesses say the tire popped on a culvert, while Sheldon Stanley hit the windshield with a framing hammer. (RCMP)
October 26, 2016
Members of the Boushie family start a petition calling for an out-of-province prosecutor to handle the Stanley case, citing a lack of faith in Saskatchewan officials to handle the matter fairly.
December 2016
Debbie Baptiste (left) and Jade Tootoosis (right) in North Battleford on Aug. 18, 2016.
Boushie’s family lodges a complaint with the RCMP over the treatment of Boushie’s mother, Debbie Baptiste, in the hours following the shooting.
It later emerges that police showed up at Baptiste’s residence shortly after Boushie’s death and searched the home.
Members of the Boushie family say officers told Baptiste to “pull herself together” when she broke down upon hearing of her son’s death, then asked her if she’d been drinking.
March 14, 2017
SARM president Ray Orb. (SARM photo)
A resolution calling on leaders of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) to lobby Ottawa to loosen self-defence laws passes with 93 per cent support at the SARM annual convention in Regina.
The FSIN denounces the resolution as an incitement to violence.
SARM president Ray Orb says the resolution is the result of ongoing frustration with rural crime.
Both Saskatchewan Attorney-General Gord Wyant and federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale say they have no interest in seeing American-style “stand-your-ground” laws in Canada.
April 4 2017
Demonstrators hold up signs outside North Battleford Provincial Court on April 5, 2017.
Stanley’s preliminary hearing begins in North Battleford Provincial Court to determine if there is sufficient evidence to send him to trial an a second-degree murder charge.
RCMP set up heavy security outside the courthouse.
Demonstrators show up to support the Boushie family throughout the proceedings.
April 6 2017
Gerald Stanley, 55, leaves North Battleford Provincial Court on April 6, 2017. (Chris Vandenbreekel/650 CKOM)
A judge rules there is enough evidence to proceed with Stanley’s second-degree murder trial.
He is committed for trial at Battleford Court of Queen’s Bench.
Aug. 9, 2017
Family and friends mark the one-year anniversary of Boushie’s death with a traditional feast on the Red Pheasant Cree Nation.
Guests look at a framed photo of Colten Boushie at a feast held Aug. 9, 2017 to mark one year since the 22-year-old man’s death. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW)
November 2017:
An internal investigation clears RCMP officers of any wrongdoing in their interactions with Boushie’s family following his death. Officials say the situation was “unique” in that officers were still looking for a potential witness to the shooting when they arrived at Debbie Baptiste’s home.
Jan. 29 2018
Gerald Stanley’s second-degree murder trial gets underway in Battleford Court of Queen’s Bench.
