Megan Gallagher was killed in garage and thrown off bridge, court hears

New details released during the trial of Roderick Sutherland are shedding light on the events leading up to Megan Gallagher’s death.

The 30-year-old woman was last seen at a convenience store in Saskatoon in 2020, and her remains were found two years later along the South Saskatchewan River, near the community of St. Louis.

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Sutherland’s trial began on Monday at the Court of King’s Bench in Saskatoon. He’s facing charges of unlawful confinement, offering an indignity to human remains and manslaughter in connection with Gallagher’s death after a previous charge of first-degree murder was reduced.

The court heard that in September of 2020, Gallagher was killed in a garage in Saskatoon and her body was thrown off the St. Louis bridge into the South Saskatchewan River.

Crown prosecutor William Burge presented his theory of the case to the jury on Monday, saying Sutherland was not alone in causing Gallagher’s death.

Others have already been sentenced in connection with Gallagher’s death, including Robert James Joseph Thomas, Cheyann Crystal Peeteetuce and Summer-Sky Henry.

Burge said early on the morning of Sept. 20, 2020, Gallagher took a cab to a home on Weldon Avenue in Saskatoon where Sutherland lived. He said Thomas, Peeteetuce and Henry later arrived at the same location and spoke with Sutherland.

“They wanted to use his garage to ask Megan Gallagher some questions,” Burge told the jury.

Burge said Sutherland knew at least some of the individuals to be members of the Terror Squad gang. The prosecutor said Sutherland handed his garage over to them and went into the house.

“Some time later, these people were still in the garage and Megan Gallagher was tied to a chair,” he said.

Burge said Sutherland told police that he returned to the garage sometime afterward, and the individuals were still there, while Gallagher was tied to a different chair in another part of the garage.

“Roderick Sutherland told the police that what was going on was bad,” Burge said.

According to Burge, Sutherland made arrangements with others to dispose of Gallagher’s body after she was killed.

Burge said Gallagher’s personal property was also taken, including her wallet and ID, and on the afternoon of Sept. 20, 2020, Thomas used her bank card to purchase food and alcohol.

The following day, Burge said Gallagher’s phone was used to call a cab, and Sutherland’s voice could be heard giving directions to the cab driver.

Burge told the jury that Thomas and Peetetuce are expected to testify during the trial.

“Our objective is to get from them a more complete picture of what happened,” he said.

Agreed statement of facts presented

The agreed statement of facts – points accepted by both the Crown and defence – presented by Crown prosecutor Jennifer Schmidt on Monday aligned with many of the details given in Burge’s opening remarks.

The statement explained that Gallagher was killed in the garage on Weldon Avenue where Sutherland lived between Sept. 20 and Sept. 21, 2020.

At 4:30 a.m. on Sept 20, 2020, Peeteetuce called Gallagher to purchase drugs. At 4:57 a.m., Gallagher contacted a man to buy drugs so she could supply them to Peeteetuce.

That same day at 5:34 a.m., Gallagher took a cab to the Circle K convenience store on Diefenbaker Drive where she met the man. She withdrew $243.14 from her bank account inside the store.

Between 1:14 p.m. and 2 p.m. that day, Gallagher’s bank card was used by Thomas at various locations in Saskatoon until there was no money left in her account.

The agreed statement of facts also revealed that Gallagher’s phone was never found by police.

Gallagher’s body was later put in the back of a truck and thrown off the St. Louis Bridge by two individuals, who the statement identified as Ernest Whitehead and John Sanderson. Sutherland was not present when Gallagher’s body was moved.

Sutherland’s trial is set to continue on Tuesday.