One of the suspects accused in the murder of Tiki Laverdiere has had their case delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Jury Trial for 32-year-old Nikita Cook, charged with alleged first-degree murder and kidnapping in Laverdiere’s death, was slated to begin on January 11th but has been moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has postponed all trials at the Court of Queen’s Bench. Her trial has been tentatively moved to August 30, 2021.
Laverdiere was reported missing to Battlefords RCMP on May 12, 2019, after she had come to the area to attend the funeral of Tristen Cook-Buckle. Her body was found July 11, 2019, during an RCMP ground search of a rural area near North Battleford.
Cook, taken into custody on August 16, 2019, is one of ten people who have been charged in relation to her death. Some of the other accused have trial dates coming up as well.
Charles St Savard was is slated to appear on January 11th, 2021, Samuel Takakenew on January 15th. Those two are the only ones with trials this year, with Shayla Orthner’s trial set for April 2022 and Soaring Eagle Whitstone’s planned for August 2022.
There has not been a date set for Nicole Cook and Jesse Sangster. They are on the March 2021 pretrial list at Battleford Court of Queen’s Bench.
Nicole Cook, Soaring Eagle Whitstone, Shayla Orthner, Danita Thomas, and Jesse Sangster were all charged with alleged kidnapping, first-degree murder, improperly interfering with a body and theft of a vehicle. Charles St. Savard was charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping.
The charges against the eight remaining people on trial have not been proven in court. In May 2020, after both pleading guilty to accessory after the fact to murder, Brent Checkosis was sentenced to seven years in prison and Mavis Takakenew was handed 18 months.
According to the CBC, there is a ban on publication on the sentencing hearings for Checkosis and Takakenew until the trials of all the co-accused are finished.