POUNDMAKER CREE NATION – “Somebody does know something and it’s just a matter of time before somebody spills the beans,” said Nicole Bull, spokesperson for the family of homicide victim Lee Bearsears.
Cut Knife RCMP found his body in a rural area on Poundmaker Cree Nation Oct. 16, 2023. Bearsears, 31, was from Little Pine First Nation.
“He had injuries to his face and body and we believe he got lured by some individuals and we believe they drugged and tortured him and beat him up for a few days in a field on Poundmaker before they left him dead in the field like a dog,” Bull told SASKTODAY.ca in a phone interview Friday.
“He trusted the wrong people at the wrong time and maybe he knew something he wasn’t supposed to and maybe he was going to tell and they stopped him from doing that, maybe he walked in on something.”
Bull, who works for Little Pine First Nation security, said that people on both Little Pine and Poundmaker aren’t talking.
“The people on Poundmaker who we believe were involved, they are not saying anything. Both on Little Pine and Poundmaker, people are not saying anything. I don’t know who they are scared of and what they are scared of. Why aren’t people coming forward? Why aren’t people saying anything?”
Bearsears’ death a homicide, say RCMP
The RCMP have ruled Lee Bearsears death a homicide.
“Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes continues to investigate the death of Lee Bearsears, which has been determined to be a homicide,” Saskatchewan RCMP Media Relations in Regina told SASKTODAY.ca in an email Friday.
“The investigation is active and ongoing and as such, we have no additional details to provide at this time.”
Bearsears’ family need justice
Bull said it’s difficult to see Lee Bearsears’ mother, Leslie-Ann Bearsears' pain as she tries to cope with the loss of her son in a violent murder.
"She is very disconnected with the world right now and her surroundings because of the way her son died and how tragic it was," said Bull. "She finds it difficult to continue but she has grandchildren and other children to live for. I think it would be a different kind of mourning if your son died of natural causes or an accident but to be brutally murdered, as a mother I don't know what that feels like and I can only imagine.
“It’s hard to see her suffer the way she is right now. I don’t know how to console her except to try to help her find justice for her son’s murder and for the individuals who did this to be caught and to be tried in court."
Lee Bearsears' mother, along with Lee's wife and children, need justice, said Bull.
“How long does the family and his kids have to live not knowing who the killers are and that they are not being brought to justice?
“There’s no closure. There’s no insight on exactly what had happened. We just know that he went missing three days prior before they discovered his body in a field, in a field on Poundmaker.”
Leslie-Ann Bearsears was receiving text messages from her son’s cell phone but believes someone else was texting her and trying to sound like him a few days after he went missing.
“She knows it was not him by the way this strange person was texting. Her son never texted like that using proper grammar. He used slang words like ‘wyd,’ ‘brt,’ ‘wru,’ and ‘atm.’”
Bearsears’ truck was left abandoned by the perpetrators at the Little Pine Land fill site, said Bull, adding that a smaller black SUV was seen leaving the area the same time the truck was abandoned.
Bearsears a family man
Bearsears was a father of seven children and worked as an apprentice at a garage in North Battleford, said Bull.
“He was a mechanic. He was always working on vehicles. He was always fixing up his mom’s vehicles and his Kookum’s vehicles. He was working in the shop in North Battleford. He was working on his journeyman.
“He was a caring father and he was a good big brother who tried his best to provide for his family to make sure that vehicles were safe and ready for the highway any time they needed to go anywhere,” she added. “He wasn’t violent. He wasn’t a criminal offender. He wasn’t anything bad.
"We hope his killers will be brought to justice and that his family will have peace and closure and his kids will grow up healthy like he did," said Bull.
Anyone with information about the death of Lee Bearsears should report it to their local police of jurisdiction. Dial 310-RCMP to reach your local RCMP detachment. Information can also be submitted anonymously by contacting Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.saskcrimestoppers.com.
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