James Smith inquest looks into allegations that police overlooked key evidence

Melfort -

An inquest into one of Canada's worst mass killing events is looking into allegations that police overlooked key evidence following stunning witness testimony on Thursday.

The coroner's inquest into the September 2022 mass stabbings in James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Sask. heard extensive testimony from the RCMP in the first days of proceedings, which began Jan. 15 in Melfort.

Witnesses from the RCMP were adamant they received no reports that Myles Sanderson was in the community of James Smith prior to the start of the fatal violence on Sept. 4, 2022.

In her testimony on Thursday, the wife of Damien Sanderson – Myles' brother and first victim – alleged she made repeated 911 calls reporting the two brothers and the assaults they committed in the early morning before the killings began.

"I was reporting them, everywhere that they went … They just seemed annoyed with my calls," Skye Sanderson said.

"I was explaining to them that they were in my vehicle, still, and they were driving around drunk, and they're going around intimidating people. I explained that they already did two assaults at two homes and that they're going northbound," she said.

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The statement shocked inquest counsel Tim Hawryluk, as it contradicted the narrative offered by the RCMP, which only disclosed a 911 call from Skye on Sept. 3 reporting that Damien had stolen her vehicle and that he had warrants out for his arrest.

"Are you sure you're not referring to September the third in the early morning hours, not September the fourth? So let's stop for a second because you're changing the entire narrative of what I understood the evidence to be," said Hawryluk.

If there were other 911 calls reporting the assaults of Myles and Damien mere hours before the killings, it would mean police overlooked information vital to the investigation.

In its timeline of events, witnesses from the RCMP testified that none of the violence prior to the stabbing spree was reported to police.

"So are you saying that an hour or two or three before those homicides, you placed additional calls?" Hawryluk asked.

"Yes I did," Skye said.

She testified she made three or four 911 calls in the hours leading up to the event, and told the inquest the name of the man whose phone she says she used to make the calls.

Part of the confusion around Skye's claim is that the calls she describes refer to the two brothers driving in her vehicle, which police say was recovered by RCMP on the morning of Sept. 3.

Skye also disclosed that she and Damien kept firearms in their home, and she believes the two brothers were searching for these weapons when police say they forced their way into the home around 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 4, less than an hour before the first stabbing.

On Friday morning, the inquest counsel said this potential new evidence disclosed by Skye would be investigated over the weekend, with more information to come in the following week.

The inquest resumes on Monday in Melfort. Over the next week, the jury expects to hear testimony from a forensic pathologist, the Correctional Service of Canada and the Parole Board of Canada.