The 12 jury members in the trial of Roderick Sutherland are currently in the process of reaching a verdict. Sutherland is the final individual among nine who were implicated in the murder of Megan Gallagher on September 20, 2020. Although not on trial for murder, Sutherland faced charges of manslaughter, unlawful confinement, and desecration of human remains, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Gallagher met a tragic fate after being confined and assaulted in a Saskatoon garage. Her remains were discovered on the bank of the South Saskatchewan River, approximately 105 kilometers northeast of Saskatoon, close to the village of St. Louis, on September 29, 2022.
With the jury now secluded for deliberations, any publication bans related to evidence, agreed statements of facts, and victim impact statements from prior trials and sentencing hearings are no longer in effect. This includes information about other individuals charged and their legal outcomes that were not disclosed to the jurors.
Robert (Bobby) Thomas was initially charged with murder on September 20, 2022, and later confessed to second-degree murder in October 2024, receiving a life sentence with no chance of parole for 18 years. This plea marked the sole murder admission among the accused and the only murder charge made known to the jury.
Cheyann Peeteetuce and Summer-Sky Henry, initially accused of first-degree murder, admitted to manslaughter in January 2025 and were each sentenced to seven years. Ernest Vernon Whitehead, Jessica Badger (Sutherland), and John Wayne Sanderson pleaded guilty to desecrating human remains. Charges against Robin John (unlawful confinement and aggravated assault) and Thomas Sutherland (manslaughter) were dropped.
The jury was unaware that Roderick Sutherland’s initial charge was first-degree murder, later reduced to manslaughter in August 2025. While this information was available online, jurors were instructed against independent research.
During the trial, undisclosed developments and facts emerged that could not be reported until the closure of the cases by the Crown prosecutors, defence lawyers, and Justice John Morrall. Upon reviewing trial evidence and explaining the law surrounding the charges, the jury commenced their deliberations under sequestration.
Some aspects not presented to the jury during the trial included an incident involving Gallagher’s friends and family wearing hoodies bearing her image and messaging, leading to a request for a wardrobe adjustment. Additionally, jurors were unaware of Peeteetuce’s criminal history, including a previous manslaughter plea and her affiliation with a street gang.
The trial also featured discussions on the ‘Vetrovec warning,’ a cautionary measure concerning unreliable witnesses, and the defense of ‘abandonment,’ which posited Sutherland’s attempt to distance himself from the situation. These elements were presented to the jury for consideration as they deliberated on Sutherland’s charges.
