Laverdiere case a complex one, says Saskatoon lawyer

Two more people were charged in the suspected murder of Tiki Laverdiere this week.

In mid-May, Laverdiere was reported missing. She had left her home in Edmonton to attend a funeral in North Battleford. Shortly after, the RCMP ruled her disappearance a homicide.

Two months later, police identified human remains as hers.

The investigation is still ongoing.

In total, seven different suspects are facing a variety of charges including murder, kidnapping, improperly interfering with a human body and vehicle theft.

A Saskatoon lawyer said cases with this many accused parties can lead to long, complicated trials.

Kevin Hill, a criminal defence lawyer with Hill Law Office, said the possibilities are nearly endless.

For instance, he said suspects can testify in each other’s trials.

“(It’s possible for) the Crown to call people as compellable witnesses at the various proceedings … They can’t be called to be a witness at their own proceeding,” he explained.

“But if there are other sets of charges, they could potentially be called to give evidence.”

He said he has seen trials where this has played a major factor.

“I’ve seen charges dropped against people that the Crown viewed as less blameworthy after they testified against the other group,” he told 650 CKOM.

He predicted that the prosecution in Laverdiere’s case could go after a similar course of action.

“The Crown may have a theory about the case in terms of levels of responsibility,” he speculated.

He thinks they’ll have to answer a few questions to come up with such a theory.

“‘Who was the driving force behind this?’ ‘Who has more blameworthiness?’” he said.

No matter what the outcome, Hill thinks it won’t be a straightforward series of trials.

“It’s a complicated process, and it’s likely going to take a significant amount of time and court proceedings,” he said.

The RCMP are still searching for Nikita Sandra Cook, the seventh person suspected in Laverdiere’s death.