Sask. RCMP to release ‘preliminary timeline’ on September mass murders

A preliminary timeline on the mass killings is set to be shared Thursday by the Saskatchewan RCMP, giving the public a better idea of exactly what happened during the Labour Day weekend last September.

Myles Sanderson killed 11 people — 10 on the James Smith Cree Nation and one in Weldon — and injured 18 in an attack on Sept. 4. He then became the subject of a three-day manhunt before being arrested.

Shortly after Sanderson was apprehended, he went into “medical distress,” according to the RCMP, and died.

On Thursday, the Saskatchewan RCMP is expected to share more information it has pieced together about what happened in those four days.

During an update on Oct. 6 — about a month after the attacks — Saskatchewan RCMP commanding officer Rhonda Blackmore cleared the late Damien Sanderson of committing any of the murders during the long-weekend rampage.

“Evidence collected and analyzed by investigators to date have determined Damien was involved in the initial planning and preparation for the attacks on Sept. 4,” Blackmore told reporters. Investigators also determined Damien was killed by his brother, Myles.

“After completing 250 interviews, processing over 670 exhibits (and) reviewing and following up on over 100 9-1-1 calls for service, investigators have determined that Damien Sanderson was a victim of homicide by Myles Sanderson,” Blackmore said. “Myles Sanderson committed all of the homicides alone.”

Blackmore said in October that all charges related to the investigation had been withdrawn by the Crown following the deaths of both Damien and Myles Sanderson.

The assistant commissioner said the Sandersons were actively selling drugs in the community Sept. 3 and were involved in at least three violent altercations before the murders, which weren’t reported to police at the time.

A partial timeline was laid out during Blackmore’s Oct. 6 comments, including that Damien had stolen a car on the James Smith Cree Nation on Sept. 3 and had provided police with a false identity when he was initially located in a house with six other people.

Blackmore said RCMP officers could only refer to a photo of Damien from 2014 when they were searching for him that night and his appearance had changed significantly, so they weren’t able to recognize him.

At the time, Blackmore couldn’t answer questions as to when Damien was killed, whether he was involved in hurting any of the victims who survived, or whether either of the brothers was ever really in Regina as had been suggested.

“We understand the significant interest in this investigation and know there are still many questions left unanswered. Many of these answers will be released during the coroner’s inquest scheduled to take place in 2023,” Blackmore said at the time.

“This will take time to complete,” she added in reference to the investigation, “and the reality is we may never really know exactly why (it happened).”

In October, Blackmore didn’t answer questions about Myles’ death in police custody, saying it would be up to the independent investigation being done by the Saskatoon Police Service to release any information on that.