Judge rejects arguments against publication ban in Gallagher homicide

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Ruling that a “real and substantial risk to trial fairness” exists, a King’s Bench judge has rejected arguments from two media outlets who challenged a publication ban in the case of two women who pleaded guilty in a high-profile Saskatoon homicide.

Cheyann Crystal Peeteetuce, 31, and Summer-Sky Jodylynn Henry, 26, were charged with first-degree murder in the death of Megan Gallagher. They were set to stand trial, but instead agreed last month to plead guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 6.

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At the outset of the proceedings, the Crown requested a sweeping publication ban “restricting the media reporting, publication, broadcasting or dissemination in any way of the proceedings, including any evidence led, submissions made, exhibits filed or victim impact statements in the proceedings herein.”

The interim publication ban, imposed on Jan. 6, was requested by the Crown to protect the integrity of the upcoming jury trial of Roderick William Sutherland, who is also accused of first-degree murder in Gallagher’s death.

Crown prosecutor Bill Burge last week argued that the Crown’s objective is to be able to present evidence to a fair and impartial jury, and that a publication ban would protect the potential jury pool.

Candice Grant, a lawyer representing the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, asked Justice Mona Dovell to set the ban aside, arguing it did not meet the appropriate standards under the law.

Dovell, in her ruling on the publication ban arguments, said that evidence in the agreed statement of facts and admissions “creates a real and substantial risk to trial fairness.”

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Moreover, Dovell added, “I find that no reasonable alternatives could adequately mitigate this risk.” Alternatives were “carefully considered but found lacking,” she said.

“This has been a prolonged, high-profile case that has garnered significant attention across the province, extending well beyond Saskatoon.”

The publication ban will be in place until the last jury in the matters of Thomas Sutherland or Roderick Sutherland have retired to consider their verdict or until both matters are concluded, Dovell said.

The judge acknowledged that the right of the media — and, therefore, the public — to timely information regarding court proceedings would be curtailed.

“However, this limitation is temporary. The information subject to the publication ban will eventually become public once it no longer poses a risk to trial fairness,” Dovell said in the ruling.

Dovell said the ban is “narrowly tailored, restricting only the publication of evidence, facts and submissions from the sentencing hearing, while allowing the media to report on the process, identities and sentencing verdict.”

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Grant argued last week that the court could impose a more narrow ban and safeguard the upcoming trial’s integrity by questioning potential jurors. Grant said the presiding judge could also provide instruction to the jury to combat potential issues.

Such bans are not out of the ordinary, Burge argued, noting that a similar one was also ordered in the case of Robert “Bobby” James Joseph Thomas, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with Gallagher’s death.

“Publication bans are part of the DNA of the criminal justice system,” Burge said.

The circumstances of Gallagher’s death have not yet been made public due to a series of court-imposed publication bans.

The 30-year-old mother went missing from Saskatoon on Sept. 20, 2020. Her remains were found along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River near St. Louis on Sept. 29, 2022, based on information provided to police by three people involved in disposing of her body.

“The circumstances of the offence are particularly shocking, would remain in the mind of prospective jurors long after their publication, and have the potential to create bias in prospective jurors,”  the Crown said in its latest publication ban application.

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Peeteetuce and Henry are two of nine people who were charged in 2022.

During their sentencing hearings in 2023, court heard Jessica Faye Badger paid John Wayne Sanderson to drive Gallagher’s body out of the city and Ernest Vernon Whitehead helped Sanderson do so. All three pleaded guilty to offering an indignity to human remains.

Late last year, Robert “Bobby” Thomas was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 18 years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. The details from his sentencing hearing, including his involvement in Gallagher’s death, were banned from publication to protect the upcoming jury trials.

— With Saskatoon StarPhoenix files from Michael Joel-Hansen and Bre McAdam

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