James Smith Cree Nation killer broke into homes covered in blood, bragged about murders: RCMP

RCMP have shared a timeline of a bloody rampage on a Saskatchewan First Nation that left 11 dead and 17 injured.

A string of fatal stabbings in James Smith Cree Nation led to an intensive four-day manhunt for Myles Sanderson, the man police say was responsible.

Sanderson died after going into medical distress shortly after his arrest on Sept. 7.

On Thursday, Saskatchewan RCMP released its timeline of the mass killings and a related death in Weldon, Sask.

While the timeline was comprehensive, it omitted many details that RCMP say might interfere with planned coroners' service inquests and other independent investigations related to Sanderson's in-custody death.

Superintendent Joshua Graham, who leads the provincial RCMP's major crimes unit, spoke for most of the news conference.

He reiterated the RCMP's finding that Myles Sanderson was solely responsible for all the killings.

ARRIVAL, INITIAL VIOLENCE

Graham began by talking about Thursday Sept. 1, the day when Sanderson travelled to James Smith where he spent the next 24 hours selling cocaine in the community.

The first act of violence came the next day, according to police.

During the afternoon of Friday Sept. 2, Sanderson and his brother Damien were passengers in an SUV.

Myles seriously assaulted the woman driving it, who then exited the vehicle.

He then attempted to use the vehicle as a weapon to cause further injury to the woman, Graham said. The woman left the First Nation a short time later.

Myles and Damien took the SUV, picked up another woman and continued to drive around selling cocaine. It would be the first of many vehicle thefts.

The trio later went to a bar in the nearby community of Kinistino to pick up alcohol before returning to James Smith.

After midnight, on Saturday Sept. 3, Myles, Damien and the woman went to a house on New York Road.

Damien and Myles got into a physical altercation with a man at the home.

"No weapons were involved. No one was seriously injured and the altercation was believed to be drug-related," Graham said.

Around 4 a.m., the brothers then went to a house on North Road to socialize.

Melfort RCMP soon received a report that Damien Sanderson had stolen a vehicle.

The caller asked for their vehicle back and told RCMP that Damien was wanted on outstanding warrants. The caller asked multiple times to remain anonymous.

Around 5:30 a.m., police located the vehicle at the house on North Road.

"The officer spoke with the occupants of the residence and searched the house with the homeowner's consent; the keys for the vehicle were located on a table inside the residence," Graham said.

"The occupants denied Damien was present in the house and could not explain how the vehicle got there."

Over the next three hours, police searched the community for Damien.

Based on interviews after the mass homicides, police discovered Damien was present in the North Road home when Melfort RCMP arrived, but he gave the name of another community member to officers.

At the time police had an eight-year-old photo from the last time he was charged and didn’t realize it was him.

Just after noon, a woman picked up Damien and Myles and took them to the Kinistino bar.

Around 1:30 p.m., they were dropped off again in James Smith.

They spend several hours walking between several houses on Edward Burns Avenue, Graham said.

'A MISSION TO DO'

Around 5 p.m. on Sept. 3, Damien and Myles went to a home on Edward Burns Avenue and Myles said he was there for "one body," Gregory Burns. Someone inside the home proceeded to invite Burns over.

Upon arrival, Burns was physically assaulted by Myles and Damien. No weapons were used and no one was seriously injured, Graham said.

After 6 p.m., Damien and Myles separated several hours.

Damien and two other men went back to the bar in Kinistino where they had picked up alcohol earlier. Myles remained in James Smith.

According to Graham, Damien told a woman acquaintance that he and his brother "have a mission to do" and said "people would hear all about it in the next few hours."

Before midnight, Damien returned to James Smith and met up with Myles. The pair walked to a house on Melrose Place and assaulted another man.

Again, no weapons were used and no one was seriously injured, Graham said.

The pair spent time at two homes on Edward Burns Avenue before taking a 2006 grey Dodge Caravan.

Around 4 a.m., the pair made their last drug sale to two women in the community, Graham said.

At about 4:45 a.m., they returned to one of the Edward Burns Avenue homes they had been hanging out at it.

A witness said the brothers were "guzzling booze" and were "pumping themselves up for something."

They left together in the Dodge Caravan, heading northbound along North Road.

Investigators consider this moment the start of the mass stabbing, Graham said.

"With the exception of the [Sept. 3] vehicle theft report, none of these violent altercations or interactions were reported to police prior to [Sept. 4] the mass casualty homicides occurring," Graham said.

"The Saskatchewan RCMP had no information or indication that would suggest any violence of the sort was to occur," he said.

FIRST ARMED ATTACK

Around 5:30 a.m. Sunday Sept 4, Myles and Damien forcibly entered a North Road home looking for a woman.

Unable to find her, Damien told a child present at the home that this would be the last time they see him.

Still travelling in the grey Dodge Caravan, the brothers headed to another North Road home where they again forced their way in.

Myles started attacking a man with scissors. However, as Graham explained, Damien "stepped in between Myles and the injured adult male, which stopped the assault."

Damien told the injured man not to call the police. Myles grabbed a knife from the kitchen before leaving, according to Graham.

It was then the injured man called 911.

"This call to police was the first indication that any violence was taking place in the community that day," Graham said.

On-call Melfort RCMP officers received the complaint at 5:40 a.m. and were en route by 5:52 a.m., Graham said — barrelling towards the community at 178 kilometres per hour, based on vehicle data.

At 6:18 RCMP arrived in the community and started providing medical assistance and investigating. Additional officers were called to help, Graham said.

Graham noted that further information regarding the police response and how RCMP handled the search for Myles would not be shared due to the forthcoming coroners' service inquests into the tragedy.

After Myles and Damien left the North Road house, investigators determined an "altercation" occurred between the brothers inside the Dodge Caravan.

"We've determined that in an effort to escape the attack inside the van, Damien fled from the vehicle and ran into the nearby bushes and trees where he later died," Graham said

Damien's body was found the next morning.

MYLES CONTINUES ALONE

After Damien fled from the Dodge Caravan, bleeding, Myles drove to a house on New York Road alone.

He drove the van into the front of the house and then kicked his way through the back door. Inside, he attacked Robert Sanderson and another man before fleeing on foot, abandoning the grey van.

Sanderson died from his injuries.

Myles walked to another house on New York Road, attacking a man and woman. When they fled, he fatally attacked Christian Head and Lana Head.

He left the residence in Christian's white 2004 Ford F350 truck. He drove to Edward Burns Avenue and forced his way into another house, attacking a man and woman.

They managed to escape, stealing the keys from the truck to prevent Myles from chasing them.

Again without a vehicle, Myles left the home on foot. He entered another Edward Burns Avenue house through a window, attacking Bonnie and Gregory Burns and two boys. Gregory Burns ran outside, where he later died.

Bonnie survived, but this would not be her last encounter with Myles that morning.

From there, Myles stopped briefly at another house on the street, where an occupant described Myles as “bloody” and saying something about “10 bodies” while demanding keys to a vehicle.

The person refused and Myles said they were “lucky.” He left without injuring anyone.

SCHOOL BUS CHASE

Myles left on foot and forced his way inside an Angus McLean Drive home, again demanding the keys to a vehicle.

He told the person "not to make things harder than they already are."

Myles grabbed a set of keys and left driving a white 2011 GMC Terrain.

He headed to a North Road home where the people inside witnessed the vehicle pull up and saw Myles get out.

Myles forced his way inside and attacked Earl Burns and a woman who was able to run out of the home.

Burns climbed in the school bus he drove in the community and chased Myles, who was driving the Terrain.

The school bus was later found in a ditch on North Road with Burns dead inside, Graham said.

'WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY BODIES I GOT?'

After the school bus chase, Graham said Myles headed to a McLeod Street home where he entered through a back door and attacked Thomas Burns, Carol Burns and two other men.

Thomas made his way outside and was followed by Myles in the Terrain. He struck Thomas and then exited the vehicle and attacked him again. Thomas and Carol both lost their lives.

At this point, Myles abandoned the Terrain.

He continued on foot to a Melrose Place home, where he knocked on the door and was let inside.

According to witness statements, Myles talked about the number of "bodies" he had so far and was wearing blood-stained clothing.

He attempted to attack two men inside the home but only injured one.

Myles left the home on foot and headed to another house on Angus McLean Drive.

He knocked on the door, and a man answered. The man later told police Myles had blood on his face and clothes and was holding a knife.

Myles asked for the keys to a vehicle and asked "Want to know how many bodies I got tonight?"

The man tried to shut the door and was attacked and injured by Myles before he retreated into the home, Graham said. Myles left, still travelling on foot.

He went back to the Melrose Place house where he previously had been let inside after knocking. This time he had to force his way in.

"He was confronted by an adult female who would not allow him to hurt anyone else inside," Graham said.

Myles again demanded keys but left the home on foot.

He then forced his way into another home — located on George Burns Lane — and demanded keys from a woman. After he received them, he attacked the woman and man at the residence.

Myles left travelling in a red Dodge Caravan and abandoned it near an Edward Burns Avenue home.

There he again found Bonnie Burns, who he previously had attacked, and Lydia Gloria Burns.

Both women were fatally attacked.

Myles then ran away and kicked in the door at another home, demanding another vehicle.

Graham said Myles was described as holding a knife and bloodstained.

He left the home with the keys to a black 2016 Nissan Rogue.

Myles then drove to a house on School Road, knocked and asked for a man who was not home at the time. He forced his way in and searched the house before leaving in the Rogue.

He headed for Kinistino by an unknown route, Graham said.

Around 7 a.m., he drove to a home on Railway Avenue in Kinistino, demanding money and gas from a woman. He left without getting either. The woman was not injured in the interaction.

Based on video surveillance from a gas Station, Myles headed west on Highway 3 toward Weldon. In Weldon, he drove to the house of Wesley Peterson and fatally attacked him on the porch before entering the house.

Peterson was the 11th and final person Myles killed that morning.

Another resident heard a scuffle upstairs and stayed in the basement, later finding Peterson dead on the porch. Myles drove around Weldon in the black Nissan Rogue.

On Sept. 4 at 7:12 a.m., an emergency alert was issued to the public, coming 54 minutes after RCMP first responded to the community.

"Responding officers were able to understand the scope of this event, obtain the required information for an emergency alert and have that alert prepared, approved and issued to the public," Graham said.

It would be the first of 11 alerts issued throughout the emergency and subsequent four-day manhunt.

According to Graham, several residents in Weldon witnessed a black Nissan Rogue that morning and a male driver believed to be Myles.

A woman in the community said a man covering his face approached her home and asked for help. She was not injured.

Police also received a report that a vehicle was rifled through and a first aid kit and crowbar were stolen.

Surveillance video from the community showed the black Nissan Rogue on Weldon Avenue around just before 7:30 that morning.

Between Sept. 4 and 7, Graham said hundreds of tips poured in regarding potential sightings of Myles and Damien — who was considered a suspect until his death was confirmed.

In the days that followed the unimaginable explosion of violence, the province remained on edge — particularly in Regina where police intially beleived the black Nissan Rogue may have been spotted.

Four days after the killings, on Wednesday Sept. 7, Myles approached a house on an acreage in the Crystal Springs area.

A woman heard pounding on the door. Recognizing Myles from the RCMP photos, she didn’t answer.

Myles broke a window and entered the house, demanding a vehicle, Graham said.

He left the acreage in a white 2008 Chevy Avalanche after stealing the woman’s cell phone and drove to the One Arrow First Nation.

In One Arrow, Myles offered a man $250 for a ride to the city. Presumably, he meant Saskatoon.

The man said he didn’t have a working vehicle, so Myles drove off in the Chevy.

Around 2:50 p.m., an emergency alert was again issued, this time alerting the public about the theft of the white Avalanche and that the suspected driver was Myles Sanderson.

At 3:17 p.m., an RCMP officer in an unmarked vehicle spotted the truck driving westbound on Highway 312.

Graham said "all available RCMP resources" responded.

The truck was travelling at 150 kilometres per hour as police forced it off the road into a nearby ditch just before 3:30 p.m., according to Graham.

Myles was removed from the vehicle and placed under arrest. At 3:33 p.m., Myles "began displaying signs of medical distress."

He was taken to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon by paramedics where he later died.

Graham said all other information concerning Myles' arrest and death would be withheld at this time to avoid interfering with the work of the coroners' service.

The release of the timeline marks the first major public development in the investigation into the tragedy since October's RCMP announcement that Myles Sanderson was solely responsible for the stabbing attacks.

In the wake of the tragedy, the head of the Saskatchewan RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore pledged RCMP would continue to investigate the killings and publicly release the timeline.

 Blackmore provided opening remarks before Graham's presentation began and started by naming Myles' victims. 

"We know everyone has been waiting for answers, answers to what happened, answers as to why it happened. Some of these answers, unfortunately, may never be known," Blackmore said.

She said RCMP met with survivors and affected families on Wednesday to share what would be discussed during the news conference.

"The details are unimaginable," she said.

Blackmore said RCMP investigators processed more than 40 crime scenes and performed more than 1,200 "investigative tasks." She said nearly 700 exhibits were seized.

At the conclusion of the presentation. Blackmore was asked by a reporter about the out-of-date photo police had access to when looking for Damien.

“We’re not allowed to go and just randomly take pictures of individuals,” Blackmore said.

“So, depending on their criminal history, and when those photographs were taken as part of charges against them, it would dictate when the photographs were [from] on our files.”

If someone hasn’t been charged with a crime, Blackmore said police “can’t go and demand an updated photograph."

The RCMP timeline will likely be the most significant release of information concerning the tragedy until a pair of planned coroners' service inquests take place.

One of the inquests will focus on the 11 killings and the other will specifically examine Myles' in-custody death.

The circumstances surrounding Myles' death are also currently under investigation by Saskatchewan's police oversight body and the Saskatoon Police Service.

RCMP Sgt. Audrey Soucy served as a moderator during the news conference, she said some details discussed may be troubling and that supports were available on-site for those affected as well as in their communities.

Gloria Burns' brother Darryl Burns is one of those who attended the news conference in person. He and his sister worked together as crisis workers in the community.

He said despite the omissions in the RCMP's preliminary timeline, he was satisfied with the information provided.

"I kind of have all the answers that I need. I have all the answers that I want to process," Burns told reporters following the news conference.

"I have been working in this field for a lot of years so I can understand the issues and the feelings and all that kind of stuff that maybe these boys were experiencing before they went off over the edge," he said.

"I also understand the impact that drugs had on those feelings and emotions before he went over the edge and how they work together to create a madman I guess you could say."

The pair of inquests into the tragedy are tentatively scheduled for next January.