Regina man gets life sentence for Bitternose murder

For the third time in less than a year, a 28-year-old Regina man has been sentenced to life in prison.

According to court personnel, Dillon Whitehawk was handed a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years on Tuesday in connection with the murder of Keesha Bitternose in early January of 2020. It’s the maximum sentence for a second-degree murder conviction.

Last June, Whitehawk received the same sentence in relation to the shooting deaths of Keenan Toto and Jordan Denton in Regina in late 2019.

Bitternose, a 29-year-old mother of four, was found dead in a house in the 1500 block of Cameron Street on Jan. 5, 2020. It was Regina’s first murder that year.

Whitehawk initially was charged with first-degree murder in her death, but he pleaded not guilty to the charge and chose to be tried by judge alone. The trial began in September, and closing arguments were heard in early November.

On Dec. 13, Justice Janet McMurtry found Whitehawk guilty of the lesser included offence of second-degree murder. Sentencing submissions were made in February, with the Crown seeking life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years and the defence seeking life with no parole for 10 years.

McMurtry delivered her decision Tuesday, accepting the Crown’s submission.

Whitehawk was one of three people charged with first-degree murder in connection with Bitternose’s death.

A woman pleaded guilty to manslaughter in September and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Another man pleaded guilty to manslaughter in November of 2021 and was given an 18-year prison sentence.

In April of last year, Whitehawk was found guilty on two charges of first-degree murder in the drive-by shootings of Toto and Denton. Last June, Whitehawk was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years on those charges.