By Canadian Press

Families of stabbing rampage victims say inquest details are ‘horrifying’

Jan 18, 2024 | 2:03 AM

MELFORT, Sask. — Family members of people killed during a stabbing rampage on a Saskatchewan First Nation say it has been difficult to hear the details of their deaths during a coroner’s inquest. 

Stewart Head, whose family members were among those murdered by Myles Sanderson, says some of the details are horrific.

Sanderson killed 11 people and injured 17 others on James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon on Sept. 4, 2022.

The 32-year-old died in police custody a few days later. 

The inquest has heard how Sanderson, armed with a knife, went from home to home, kicking in doors and stabbing people. 

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The first Mounties who responded to 911 calls testified Wednesday that they found people who were injured and dead. 

The detachment commander for the Melfort RCMP at the time of the attacks, who has since retired, is expected to provide testimony as the inquest enters its fourth day Thursday morning.

“The heartbreaking stories that our loved ones went through, the survivors, the injured and all the trauma that all the witnesses witnessed,” Head said Wednesday. 

“That’s pretty horrifying.”

The inquest, which is being held in Melfort, northeast of Saskatoon, is to establish the events leading up to the killings, who died, and when and where each person was killed.

A second inquest focusing on Sanderson’s death is scheduled for February.

The inquest has heard how Sanderson and his brother, Damien, were causing chaos in the community in the days before the attacks. 

Text messages show the brothers communicating with community members about drug deals and debts. Damien Sanderson was also texting his wife, Skye Sanderson, fatalistic messages about death.

The inquest heard many questions about how Mounties respond to outstanding warrants. 

Myles Sanderson, who had a record of violent assaults, received statutory release earlier in 2022, but was unlawfully at large at the time of the killings.

Skye Sanderson called 911 the day before the massacre saying her husband took her vehicle without permission and there were outstanding warrants in relation to domestic violence charges.

The officers told the inquest they located on the vehicle outside a home on the First Nation. Const. Tanner Maynard said he later learned he spoke to Damien Sanderson in the home but was given a false name.

The photo police had was from 2014 and Maynard didn’t recognize him.

Skye Sanderson is expected to provide testimony later Thursday. 

In an overview of how the massacre unfolded, RCMP said that Damien Sanderson was the first person killed by his brother.

Myles Sanderson then went around the community bringing chaos and death.

RCMP have said because the killer is dead, people may never get all the answers about why the massacre happened.

“Our community is broken,” Head said. “It’s been broken for the last year and a half.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2024.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press