BATTLEFORD – A trial for an Edmonton man charged in 25-year-old Tiki Laverdiere's death isn’t proceeding Monday and is instead going to case management Friday for a possible resolution.
Jesse Sangster, 26, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and improperly interfering with a human body.
In October 2020, Sangster was committed to stand trial following a three-week preliminary hearing in North Battleford Provincial Court.
Sangster is one of 10 people charged in connection to Laverdiere’s murder. From July 2019 to August 2020, the RCMP made arrests in Saskatchewan and Alberta for Laverdiere’s murder. Sangster was arrested in July 2019 and charged with accessory after the fact to murder. A month later the charge was upgraded to first-degree murder.
In October 2021, Sangster was additionally charged with possession of property [tractor] over $5,000 obtained by crime, and failing to appear in court. The charges stem from the time frame of Laverdiere’s murder. The details are under a sweeping publication ban prohibiting details from the preliminary hearings, trials, and sentencing hearings of the 10 accused until all of those charged have gone through the court system.
Eight of the accused have been sentenced. After the conclusion of Sangster's case the only accused remaining to be dealt with is Nicole Cook. She has elected a judge and jury trial, which is scheduled for March. The charges against Sangster and Cook haven’t been tested in court.
Prosecuting 10 people charged with the murder of Tiki Laverdiere is likely one of the most complicated cases in Saskatchewan, North Battleford Associate Regional Crown Prosecutor Chris Browne, told SASKTODAY.ca previously.
Laverdiere, from Edmonton, was reported missing to Battlefords RCMP May 12, 2019. On June 10, 2019, Saskatchewan RCMP announced that Laverdiere’s disappearance was the result of foul play and they would be investigating her disappearance as a homicide. Her body was found July 11, 2019, during an RCMP ground search in a rural area outside of North Battleford.
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