Editor's note: In an in-depth interview with the RCMP Major Crimes Staff Sergeant who led the investigation into Tiki Laverdiere's murder, seasoned crime reporter Lisa Joy – who was the only reporter sitting through five years of preliminary hearings and trials of the 10 convicted – sits down with S/Sgt. Rob Zentner to delve into the intricacies of the case, offering readers a glimpse into the investigation.
The unwavering determination of Tiki Laverdiere’s family played a pivotal role in cracking open the investigation into her brutal murder. Their collaborative efforts with RCMP led to the arrests and convictions of 10 people involved, according to RCMP.
On April 26, 2024, the last of 10 people charged in the May 1, 2019, murder of 25-year-old Tiki Laverdiere was sentenced. She was reported missing to Battlefords RCMP on May 12, 2019. Her body was found by a police dog in a rural area outside of North Battleford while RCMP were conducting a ground search on July 11, 2019.
“We had been receiving information, some of it actually stemmed from efforts that Tiki’s family directly had been doing,” RCMP Major Crimes S/Sgt. Rob Zentner told SaskToday.ca in an interview May 21. “They had come down to the community. They were walking around, talking to people, putting up posters, different things like that.”
The information from the public to Laverdiere’s family was that they believe “a lady had been assaulted at a particular residence,” said S/Sgt. Zentner.
“Then once we went in, we confirmed yes there was an assault that had taken place at this particular residence. We still didn’t have an identity of who had been assaulted because unfortunately that happens more regularly than one would like to believe. Then once we started getting some of that feedback from the community directly, although some of it could not be sourced as sometimes it was second or third-hand information, but it did seem to be lining up. Once we were able to identify some potential locations then we were able to specifically go out and target certain individuals for interviews, and use other police techniques, in order to then get more firsthand information about what had taken place. Once we were able to do that, we were able to break things a lot more wide open and then get down to OK ‘who are the people who were directly involved and responsible for what took place?’ The efforts were to arrest and deal with those individuals."
As the harrowing details of the torture and murder of Tiki Laverdiere began to surface, disbelief swept through the investigating officers.
“It would be fair to say that it was almost hard to believe that people would do this to another person,” said S/Sgt. Zentner. “I think it was common, by a number of investigators, to think 'could this actually have happened in the way we are hearing that it did?' Then it took time for our forensics to confirm and verify that yes, what we are hearing actually did happen.
“Because of the nature of it, and how violent and senseless, and how brutal it was, it definitely took some time to understand that yes, this is what happened, this isn’t a movie, this isn’t something made up. Unfortunately, this lady suffered tremendously at the hands of this group.”
During court proceedings involving the 10 people convicted, testimonies from Mavis Takakenew and Nicole Cook, who are respectively Tristen Cook-Buckle’s grandmother and mother, revealed that Laverdiere was purportedly associated with the Edmonton-based street gang Redd Alert and was involved in drug activities alongside Cook-Buckle.
S/Sgt. Zentner, however, said they didn’t learn that in their investigation.
“I don’t recall evidence specifically saying she was selling drugs. We know that she was associated, and close friends with Tristen Cook-Buckle who was involved in Redd Alert but I don’t recall there being any specific evidence saying she was selling drugs. That did not come up in our investigation and it really wouldn’t have been a factor anyway because it doesn’t matter what a person’s lifestyle is. If they are a victim of a crime, we will work that investigation the same as any other victim of a crime. Our view, it had really no bearing in terms of her involvement other than it kind of set the stage for why she was here in Saskatchewan, and unfortunately, why she was with the people she was.
“No matter what anybody is doing or involved in nobody deserves to have what happened to Tiki happen to them,” he added.
Complex investigation
Five years after 25-year-old Tiki Laverdiere was reported missing on May 12, 2019, the last of the 10 arrested was convicted, ending a complex investigation and long process of bringing justice for Tiki Laverdiere and her family.
“One of the things that made this investigation quite complex is you have a missing Indigenous woman in the community of North Battleford,” said S/Sgt. Zentner. “Unfortunately, there are other similar investigations from that community as well, so when we receive information when someone is missing, first of all, we have to sort through that information to see what case that might be related to. Obviously in this particular case Ashley [Morin’s] case was one that was top of mind because we were already investigating that.
"So, when we are getting information we have to sort through ‘is this information related to Ashley’s disappearance or is this information related to Tiki’s disappearance?’ Once we get in and get moving just the mere number of suspects adds to the complexity of an investigation such as this when you are dealing with multiple people all involved in the same incident. The number of crime scenes added to the complexity and then the recovery of Tiki’s remains in the slough outside of North Battleford. All of those come with challenges because of the role the suspects played in the community involving drugs and gangs. There were some challenges to overcoming that sort of lifestyle.”
S/Sgt. Zentner said Laverdiere’s body was found approximately 40 kilometres northeast of North Battleford.
“It was just a rural area. There was a gravel road that went down a little bit of a hill. On the east side of the road there was a large slough and her body was found at the edge of that slough.”
The investigation spanned the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta with 120 witnesses interviewed and nine crime scenes investigated.
"The scenes the RCMP investigated were the three residences in North Battleford,” said S/Sgt. Zentner. “It also included a Dodge Caravan we know was driven. We have a couple of vehicles associated with that. We did some searches of garbage dumps because we heard that some of the clothing was disposed of and burned there. We also dug up a backyard looking for the murder weapon, and the autopsy. There were nine key locations we were searching or collecting evidence from.”
The backyard they dug up was at Mavis Takakenew’s house at 952-105th Street in North Battleford. It was the home where the assault and torture of Laverdiere started. She was later taken to two more homes in North Battleford. They included the house at 1412 – 101st Street where Soaring Eagle Whitstone lived with Valene McCallum, and the trap house at 1432 – 101st Street where Rob Morrison and his girlfriend Shanice Morin lived, along with another couple, Jason Peters and Erica (Tracey) Opwam, court heard.
The investigation, led by Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes and S/Sgt. Zentner, had support from 20 additional RCMP units and four partner agencies.
“We had quite a number of RCMP units,” said S/Sgt. Zentner. “The Major Crime Historical case unit, a number of GIS sections assisting, Major Crimes in Alberta, RCMP Alberta, Criminal Analysis, Air Services, Violent Crime Linkage Analysis (ViCLAS), Truth Verification Unit, Covert Ops, RCMP Witness Source Protection, blood stain analysis from the lab, prisoner escorting unit, special constable Dr. Ernie Walker, and the Saskatchewan Coroner Service. We had all of those of units assisting us.”
During Jesse Sangster’s preliminary hearing in North Battleford Provincial Court in September 2020, it was revealed that the RCMP had reached out to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for help.
“We did use the FBI forensic lab to assist us with examination of one particular exhibit we obtained from the autopsy,” confirmed S/Sgt. Zentner. “A piece of scalp. We wanted to confirm it had a substance that had been poured on it and it had been set on fire so they were able to assist us with that.”
Coordinating all of the police units and information from the investigation was no easy task.
“It was a huge coordinated effort by quite a number of people,” said S/Sgt. Zentner.
Sorting through statements of 10 accused and numerous witnesses
Amidst the relentless pursuit of truth in the Tiki Laverdiere murder case, investigators faced a staggering challenge sorting statements from about 120 witnesses and the 10 suspects who were all pointing fingers at each other.
“It’s pretty common that when we interview suspects, often times they will downplay their role or involvements, and try to push more of the blame, or the direction in terms of criminal activity, on to other people,” said S/Sgt. Zentner.
“In this case, we had quite a number of ultimately convicted individuals and in each case, I would say it was pretty common for them to minimize their role or involvement and then provide factual details about events that were taking place, albeit minimizing their role. But when you add all those up, we put them altogether, and we look at all those people, the picture was pretty clear in terms of who was doing what and when and then understanding the role that each of those individuals played in this group in North Battleford. Who was leading the charge? Who was in control? Who were the followers? All of those things factor in to determining, or clarifying, what a person actually did verses what they said, which was not as detailed or incriminating per se.”
Stolen truck never recovered
After Laverdiere was murdered at the third home where she was tortured in North Battleford, Jesse Sangster and Danita Thomas stole a truck to dispose of her body. To this day, that truck has never been found.
“Numerous efforts were made to recover that particular vehicle with even searches by air,” said S/Sgt. Zentner. “We had helicopter and air support searching in the location it was reported abandoned.
"One of the things we have to consider is the fact that it is very common for vehicles stolen to be then re-stolen and taken and used for other things as well," he added. "So just because a vehicle was left at one particular location that does not necessarily mean it will remain at that location. We searched all of the locations we were shown, or that we had learned about through the course of the investigation, ground searches and air, and we were not able to recover the truck.”
One witness dies before trial
The second home Tiki Laverdiere was taken to was Valene McCallum's at 1412 – 101st Street where Whitstone lived with McCallum. She gave RCMP a statement in mid 2019 and died months later on Feb. 25, 2020. Her death, however, was not suspicious, say RCMP.
“There was no foul play,” said S/Sgt. Zentner.
Missed opportunities to save Tiki Laverdiere
There were multiple instances where Tiki Laverdiere's life could have been spared, yet tragically, they were missed.
Just days before her brutal murder, Laverdiere and Jesse Sangster were arrested together by Battlefords RCMP, and later released. She posted a desperate plea for a ride home to Edmonton on Facebook on April 30, 2019. She tried to flee before the assault started, which resulted in her passing out on a neighbour's lawn. Two people tried to intervene but were warned by Soaring Eagle Whitstone and Nicole Cook to back off.
More disturbing, numerous people either witnessed or heard the horrifying torture but didn't call police.
“It is definitely sad that there definitely were opportunities for the involvement of others, or potentially the interdiction by police at varying times throughout the events that took place,” said S/Sgt. Zentner.
“Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. The police were never called. No one reported any of those incidents to the police to let them know so that they could try to prevent anything more serious from happening.
“I think a lot of people have regrets that if they have would have only done this or that maybe the outcome would have been different,” added S/Sgt. Zentner. “Unfortunately, those people will have to carry those with them moving forward because despite that being the thought of quite a number of people, nobody unfortunately took action to put that thought into motion.”
A case that haunts
S/Sgt. Zentner could be seen sitting in the courtroom gallery day-after-day during Jesse Sangster’s preliminary hearing in North Battleford Provincial Court in September and October 2020, and at the trials and sentencing hearings of the accused in Battleford Court of Queen's and King’s Bench.
The brutal murder of Tiki Laverdiere will stand as a haunting memory for S/Sgt. Zentner, a seasoned RCMP Major Crimes investigator.
“Sadly, I have been with major crimes here for almost 18 years and there have sadly been a number of investigations throughout the province that will not leave a person’s mind, and this is definitely one of them.”
S/Sgt. Zentner was involved in the investigation of the La Loche school shootings in 2016, where four lives were lost and seven were wounded, as well as the chilling James Smith Cree Nation stabbing rampage, claiming 10 lives and injuring 18. These tragedies resonate deeply with investigators.
“They are all brutal and tragic in their own ways but this is one of the worst that a guy has investigated, involving an Indigenous woman not even from the province, so it was pretty rough for sure.”
S/Sgt. Zentner sat alongside Tiki Laverdiere’s grieving family in Battleford Court of King's Bench on April 26, 2024, for the sentencing of the last of the 10 people convicted. As the proceedings unfolded, a visible display of emotion swept over him, evident as he wiped a tear from his eye. The solemn moment underscored the profound impact the case had on him.
“It has been a long road for us, especially for the Laverdiere family, we're talking 2019 and it’s into 2024,” said S/Sgt. Zentner.
“We have maintained a good strong relationship with the family throughout the investigation and obviously the court process. To understand that we can never bring Tiki back, we can never return her to her family and her kids, but to hold the people that did this to her as responsible as we can, based on our justice system here, it was rewarding to be able to do that. Just the sense of after the long road that we all had to go down, none of us obviously wanted to go down that road or had ever dreamed that we would, but it was nice we were able to get the answers for Tiki’s family and at least bring justice to those that had done what they had done.”
