Live updates: Coroner’s inquest into James Smith Cree Nation, Weldon mass killing enters second day

MELFORT — The second day of the coroner’s inquest into the mass killing on a Saskatchewan First Nation and in a nearby community began with a summary of what happened on the morning of Sept. 4, 2022.

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That was the day Myles Sanderson killed 11 people and injured 17 others on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon.

Staff Sgt. Robin Zentner of the Saskatchewan RCMP’s major crimes division continued his testimony from Monday afternoon, laying out a timeline of events based on forensic evidence, witness interviews and phone calls to the RCMP.

To begin his testimony Tuesday morning, Zentner played a video describing Myles’ movements and activities on the morning of the Sept. 4. Community members at the inquest were riveted to the screen as it showed a rapid-fire account of where Myles went over the course of those chaotic few hours, leaving a trail of injuries and deaths behind him.

It was difficult to establish a clear timeline for some portions of the morning, Zentner said, because many survivors and witnesses couldn’t call RCMP right away, as they fled to safety and treated their own injuries.

MINUTES BEFORE THE ATTACKS BEGAN

At 5:30 a.m. that day, Damien Sanderson’s teenage daughter Cora was at home with her little sister when Myles and Damien kicked open the front door.

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They were looking for her mom, Skye Sanderson. The brothers were cursing Skye’s name as they kicked in the master bedroom door and tossed the bed, trying unsuccessfully to find her.

Before Damien left the house, Cora said her dad kissed her on the head, told her he loved her, and said this would be the last time she would ever see him.

He was right.

HE ‘STARTED STABBING ME’

At 5:40 a.m., Melfort RCMP picked up the first of 92 emergency calls they would receive about the stabbings.

Martin Moostoos was at home, asleep, when he was awoke to someone banging on the door. As he got out of bed, Myles kicked in the door — RCMP later identified the print of his shoe left behind — and started attacking, stabbing Moostoos with a pair of scissors found on the counter.

When the scissors broke, Myles grabbed a black-handled knife.

Damien Sanderson stepped in between them, stopping the attack and trying to calm Myles down.

Moostoos fled back to his bedroom, but Damien stopped him from closing the door.

Moostoos remembers Damien telling him, “Don’t call the police” before the brothers left. Bleeding on the carpet, he called 911 before applying pressure to his wounds.

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“Myles Sanderson broke into my house,” he told a dispatcher, asking for police to come to the house. “He pulled a knife on me and started stabbing me.”

‘EXTREMELY SERIOUS’ RCMP RESPONSE

Constables Tanner Maynard and David Miller of the Melfort RCMP were on-call that morning. Melfort doesn’t have 24-hour policing; it took the officers about 15 minutes after the 911 call for them to get to the detachment, pack the equipment they needed and get on the road.

Then, the police vehicle was driven down the highway at about 170 kilometres per hour — its maximum speed — lights flashing as it raced towards James Smith Cree Nation.

Under normal circumstances, the drive from Melfort to JSCN takes over 30 minutes. Maynard and Miller made it in 22.

“Upon their arrival, they immediately began an investigation into what was taking place while focusing on providing medical assistance and keeping the community safe,” Zentner said. “The complaint … was taken extremely serious, right off the get-go.”

DEATH OF DAMIEN SANDERSON

In the immediate aftermath of the stabbings, both Damien and Myles Sanderson were suspects.

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Martin Moostoos had seen Damien and Myles together at his house, and some other survivors and witnesses said Damien had been part of the attacks later in the day, though Zentner says RCMP has now determined that these witness reports, except for Martin Moostoos’, were cases of mistaken identity.

“All of the actual attacks were perpetrated by Myles Sanderson,” Zentner clarified.

In fact, after leaving Martin’ house, the brothers fought.

According to Zentner, investigators believe Myles was angry that Damien had intervened during the attack.

So, as Myles drove away and Damien sat beside him in the front passenger seat, Myles attacked Damien with the knife.

Stabbed and bleeding, Damien got out of the vehicle and fled, dropping his bloodstained shirt on the road as he ran away,

RCMP investigators did find Damien’s shirt later that same day, but they didn’t investigate it right away. As Zentner explained, with so many people dead and injured, the RCMP’s forensic investigators were stretched thin and there simply wasn’t time.

With daylight fading, they had to prioritize. For the sake of the families, Zentner said, they didn’t want to leave the dead bodies in homes or laying outside any longer than they had to.

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A single bloody shirt seemed less urgent and had to wait.

Meanwhile, Damien Sanderson’s body lay hidden in the bushes and tall grass by the road.

To explain why it took so long for his body to be discovered — he was found on September 5 — Zentner showed the inquest two photographs the RCMP took of the scene.

These are the only images of a dead body the RCMP intends to show the inquest.

“We really struggled about whether we should include any of these images,” Zentner said. “But we believe these are important … for people to understand. One of the questions that was asked early on was how could we not have found (Damien’s body)? How could we not have seen? … Some of these images demonstrate the terrain and the vegetation he was located in, and help explain how concealed he was.”

Once the RCMP found his body, they realized Damien Sanderson was no longer one of their suspects. He was the first homicide victim.

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of self-harm or experiencing suicidal thoughts, please contact Crisis Services Canada (1-833-456-4566), Saskatoon Mobile Crisis (306-933-6200), Prince Albert Mobile Crisis Unit (306-764-1011), Regina Mobile Crisis Services (306-525-5333) or the Hope for Wellness Help Line, which provides culturally competent crisis intervention counselling support for Indigenous peoples (1-855-242-3310).

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