Sentencing arguments were given on Wednesday for the stabbing death of Jenny McKay in 2017.

McKay was convicted of second-degree murder in the death back in 2020 and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years. He appealed and the conviction was overturned and sent back for a new trial.

That second trial was supposed to start last week, but two business days before it was expected to begin, McKay pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

The hearing started with the reading of victim impact statements from friends and family. There were 13 in total, some people spoke for a group and others had their statement from 2020 read out, along with a new statement for this second sentencing six years later.

They spoke about the hole left in their lives with the loss of Jenny and all the things they wanted to do with her that they couldn’t – her sister talking about getting married without Jenny and her kids never being able to know their aunt.

“She will not be there for my biggest moments, the way a big sister should. She will not know my husband or see me as a mother,” read Ali Campbell’s statement, Jenny’s sister.

And all that Jenny wanted to do that she now won’t.

“She wanted to see so many parts of the world, she wanted to spend more time in Nova Scotia where she grew up, she wanted to write more, she wanted to build a more fulfilling career. I believe Jenny would have made all of these things happen and more someday,” wrote Ben Campbell, Jenny’s brother, in his victim impact statement.

Many also talked about the anger and hurt they still feel, and in some cases, the fear that’s come into their lives since the murder.

Alyssa McKay, Jason’s daughter, was the only one to read their own victim impact statement out in court.

She talked about it being the first day of Grade 12 for her, and that, while she was nearly an adult, looking back, she was just a kid who lost both her parents.

She says she grieved Jenny’s death and wishes she’d agreed to join in more things with her, like cooking and yoga, she also grieved the loss of her father.

“One of the hardest things for me, still to this day, is not being able to talk to or see my dad whenever I want. I miss our bonfires, our long talks and dancing in the living room,” explained Alyssa.

She got emotional when she talked about how much Jenny and her father would have loved being grandparents, and says it’s difficult now answering her kids’ questions about her father.

The lawyers for the Crown and defence went through their arguments around sentencing in detail – the Crown asking for 18 years before McKay is eligible for parole, the same sentence asked for in the first trial. The defence asked for 12 years.

Both lawyers brought up his guilty plea in their arguments, but each for a different purpose.

Crown lawyer Adam Breker argued that while the guilty plea might be mitigating, he said it should be an extremely minimal mitigating factor and shouldn’t lower the parole eligibility.

Breker argued that the guilty plea came more than eight years after the death and just two business days before the second trial was due to start.

Defence lawyer Mike Nolin argued the guilty plea should be taken as a mitigating factor as it normally is, explaining it was done to save the families the pain and suffering of another trial.

He argued that McKay never tried to say he was innocent; the point of contention in the first trial was whether he had committed second-degree murder or manslaughter.

“This isn’t a situation where Mr. McKay failed to take responsibility for Jenny; he was prepared to take responsibility from the beginning. The Crown insisted – as is its right – to have a trial on second-degree murder,” said Nolin.

In his submission, Nolin gave his opinion that it was, indeed, second-degree murder, but said he couldn’t fault McKay for the advice he received early on in the court process. Nolin has only been the defence lawyer on this case for a few months.

McKay only spoke a few sentences to court when he was given the opportunity to speak.

“I’m just sorry for this horrific tragedy. I hope that everybody can move on from this. And I think of Jenny every day,” he said, facing toward the judge and lawyers.

Justice B.L. Klatt reserved her decision on the sentencing until Feb. 24. She said she was cognizant of the time this matter has already taken and she didn’t want to take much longer.

According to police, officers tried to stop a vehicle in traffic just before 3 a.m. on Jan. 19, but the driver took off and evaded the officers. A police plane later spotted the vehicle on Princess Street, and when officers on the ground arrived they discovered the body of 56-year-old Michael Norman Ross inside.

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Police said a 33-year-old woman was arrested on Tuesday evening and is now facing a charge of first-degree murder in connection with Ross’ death, along with an additional charge of committing an indignity to a dead body.

Two other people have previously been charged in connection with the case.

A 37-year-old man is facing a charge of committing an indignity to a dead body along with an additional charge of acting as an accessory to murder after the fact. Meanwhile, a 26-year-old man is facing the same two charges, along with additional charges of flight from a peace officer, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm contrary to a prohibition order.

Police noted that the case remains under investigation, and asked anyone with information that could help further the case to contact the Regina Police Service or make a report anonymously through Crime Stoppers.

The suspects were a father and son, aged 50 and 24, authorities have said. The older man, whom state officials named as Sajid Akram, was shot dead. His son was being treated at a hospital.

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A news conference by political and law enforcement leaders on Tuesday was the first time officials confirmed their beliefs about the suspects’ ideologies. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the remarks were based on evidence obtained, including “the presence of Islamic State flags in the vehicle that has been seized.”

There are 25 people still being treated in hospitals after Sunday’s massacre, 10 of them in critical condition. Three of them are patients in a children’s hospital.

Also among them is Ahmed al Ahmed, who was captured on video tackling and disarming one assailant, before pointing the man’s weapon at him and then setting it on the ground.

Those killed ranged in age from 10 to 87 years old. They were attending a Hanukkah event at Australia’s most famous beach Sunday when the gunshots rang out.

Calls for stricter gun laws

Albanese and the leaders of some of Australia’s states have pledged to tighten the country’s already strict gun laws in what would be the most sweeping reforms since a shooter killed 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996. Mass shootings in Australia have since been rare.

Officials divulged more information as public questions and anger grew on the third day following the attack about how the suspects were able to plan and enact it and whether Australian Jews had been sufficiently protected from rising antisemitism.

Albanese announced plans to further restrict access to guns, in part because it emerged the older suspect had amassed his cache of six weapons legally.

“The suspected murderers, callous in how they allegedly coordinated their attack, appeared to have no regard for the age or ableness of their victims,” said Barrett. “It appears the alleged killers were interested only in a quest for a death tally.”

Authorities probe suspects’ trip to Philippines

The suspects traveled to the Philippines last month, said Mal Lanyon, the Police Commissioner for New South Wales state. Their reasons for the trip and where in the Philippines they went would be probed by investigators, Lanyon said.

He also confirmed that a vehicle removed from the scene, registered to the younger suspect, contained improvised explosive devices.

“I also confirm that it contained two homemade ISIS flags,” Lanyon said.

The Philippines Bureau of Immigration confirmed Tuesday that Sajid Akram traveled to the country from Nov. 1 to Nov. 28 along with Naveed Akram, 24, giving the city of Davao as their final destination. Australian authorities have not named the younger suspect.

Groups of Muslim separatist militants, including Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines, once expressed support for the Islamic State group and have hosted small numbers of foreign militant combatants from Asia, the Middle East and Europe in the past.

Decades of military offensives, however, have considerably weakened Abu Sayyaf and other such armed groups, and Philippine military and police officials say there has been no recent indication of any foreign militants in the country’s south.

Albanese visits man who tackled shooter

Earlier, Albanese visited al Ahmed in a hospital. Albanese said the 42-year-old Syrian-born fruit shop owner had further surgery scheduled on Wednesday for shotgun wounds to his left shoulder and upper body.

“It was a great honor to met Ahmed al Ahmed. He is a true Australian hero,” Albanese told reporters after a 30-minute meeting with him and his parents.

“We are a brave country. Ahmed al Ahmed represents the best of our country. We will not allow this country to be divided. That is what the terrorists seek. We will unite. We will embrace each other, and we’ll get through this,” Albanese added.

Lifeguards praised for actions during massacre

The famous blue-shirted lifeguards of Bondi Beach attracted praise as more stories of their actions during the shooting emerged.

One duty lifeguard, identified by the organization’s Instagram account as Rory Davey, performed an ocean rescue during the shooting after people fled, fully clothed, into the sea.

Another lifeguard, Jackson Doolan, posted to his social media a photo taken as he sprinted, barefoot and clutching a first aid kit, from Tamarama beach a mile away toward Bondi as the massacre continued.

“These guys are community members and it’s not about the surf,” Anthony Caroll, one of the stars of a popular reality television show called “Bondi Rescue,” told Sky News on Tuesday. “They heard the gunshots and they left the beach and came right up the back here into the scene of the crime, into harm’s way while those bullets were being shot.”

Record numbers sign up to donate blood as Australians mourn at scene of shooting

Israeli Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon visited the scene of the carnage on Tuesday and was welcomed by Jewish leaders.

“I’m not sure that my vocabulary is rich enough to express how I feel. My heart is torn apart because the Jewish community, the Australians of Jewish faith, the Jewish community is also my community,” Maimon said.

Thousands have visited Bondi from all walks of life since the tragedy to pay their respects and lay flowers on a mounting pile at an impromptu memorial site.

One of the visitors on Tuesday was former Prime Minister John Howard, who was responsible the the 1996 overhaul of gun laws and an associated buyback of newly outlawed weapons.

In the aftermath of Sunday’s shooting, a record number of Australians signed up to donate blood. On Monday alone close to 50,000 appointments were booked, more than double the previous record, the national donation organization Lifeblood told The Associated Press.

Almost 1,300 people signed up to donate for the first time. Such was the enthusiasm at Lifeblood’s Bondi location that appointments to give blood were unavailable before Dec. 31, according to the organization’s website.

A total of 7,810 donations of blood, plasma and platelets were made across the country on Monday, spokesperson Cath Stone said. Australian news outlets reported queues of up to four hours at some Sydney donation sites.

According to police, officers were called to a home on the 1000 block of 12th Avenue just before 1 a.m. on Nov. 1.

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“Upon arrival, police located a 19 year-old male who was the victim of a gunshot wound. EMS declared the male deceased on scene,” the Regina Police Service said in a statement.

“The name of the victim will not be released at the request of the family.”

Police said the 20-year-old man is facing a charge of acting as an accessory to murder after the fact. He’s expected to appear in Regina Provincial Court on Thursday morning.

Four other people have already been charged in connection with the shooting death.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with second-degree murder, possession of a firearm contrary to a prohibition order and failing to comply with conditions of an undertaking.

A 44-year-old man, a 43-year-old woman and 17-year-old girl have also been charged as accessories to murder after the fact. Police said the teen girl was also charged with possession of a firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized and possession of a firearm contrary to a prohibition order.

Police said the case marks the city’s 11th homicide investigation of 2025.

According to police, officers were called to a home on the 1000 block of 12th Avenue just before 1 a.m. on Nov. 1.

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“Upon arrival, police located a 19 year-old male who was the victim of a gunshot wound. EMS declared the male deceased on scene,” the Regina Police Service said in a statement.

“The name of the victim will not be released at the request of the family.”

Police said the woman was charged amid the ongoing investigation into the alleged killing, and she’s expected to appear in Regina Provincial Court on Thursday morning.

Three people are already facing charges in connection to the man’s death.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested over the weekend. He’s facing charges of second-degree murder, possession of a firearm contrary to a prohibition order and failing to comply with conditions of an undertaking.

A 44-year-old man and 17-year-old girl have also been charged as accessories to murder after the fact, police said. The girl was also charged with possession of a firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized and possession of a firearm contrary to a prohibition order.

“At this time, the investigation is ongoing,” police noted.

Police said the case marks the city’s 11th homicide case of 2025.

Two witnesses said they remembered the accused saying either “I stabbed a guy” or “we stabbed a guy.”

The man is charged with second-degree murder in connection with Pavelick’s death, but he cannot be named publicly because he was a youth at the time. Witnesses who were under 18 at the time are also not being named.

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Josh Senkow, Daniel Price and a woman, A.L., said they were driving around in Senkow’s mother’s minivan along with a few other people on the night of May 21, 2006.

Senkow said they saw a bunch of people and vehicles in the parking lots closest to the beach in the community of Regina Beach, and they went to check it out.

Previous witnesses in the trial said a group of people, including the accused, gathered at Regina Beach following the grad party where Pavelick was killed.

Senkow said he recognized the accused at Regina Beach because they’d previously played baseball together. He said he opened the door of the van and shouted for the accused, and he and a few others came over to the vehicle to talk.

At one point, Senkow said a member of the group that included the accused asked if they’d heard the sirens. Senkow said someone claimed to have “shanked some kid with a beer bottle,” or words to that effect, but he wasn’t clear on who might have said it.

Price and A.L. said the accused was the one who spoke about the violence.

A.L. said the accused seemed excited, like he was full of adrenaline, and claimed he’d stabbed someone.

Price remembered the accused saying “We stabbed a guy,” claiming those were the exact words he used.

“When someone says the statement ‘We stabbed someone,’ that’s an important event that doesn’t slip your mind too easily,” Price said to defence lawyer Andrew Hitchcock when he was questioned about his memory.

Price and Senkow said the accused and another person who was with him stepped in front of the minivan’s headlights to see if they had any blood on them. Neither saw blood on the accused, but both said the other person had blood around his midsection and legs.

A.L. wasn’t sure about whether she saw blood on the man accused of Pavelick’s murder.

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In his questions to the witnesses, Hitchcock pointed out details they couldn’t remember – whether music was playing in the van, who else was there with them, and whether or not there were any other conversations that night.

Hitchcock also questioned the witnesses about when they brought the information to police.

The RCMP released a podcast in 2021 about Pavelick’s death and appealed for more information from the public. A.L. said she came forward to tell police what she heard that night after listening to the podcast.

Price said he went to police in 2014. When asked why he didn’t tell police before that, he said he believed Senkow had spoken to police already. Senkow confirmed he spoke to the RCMP within days of Pavelick’s death.

The man facing a second-degree murder charge in Misha’s death cannot be named publicly because he was a minor at the time of the killing. In accordance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act, witnesses who were under 18 at the time are also not being named.

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Scott Nelson, a friend of the accused who was with him and a group of other people when they went out to the grad party at Kinookimaw Campground, took the stand on Thursday. Back in 2007, Nelson pleaded guilty to an aggravated assault charge for stabbing Derek Enns in another fight that happened on the night of the party.

Nelson said the man accused of killing Misha drove him out to the campground, and was with that group during the party.

Nelson said their friend, Andrew Perkins, was worried about being in a fight that night, and asked Nelson and his other friends to “have his back” during the party.

Soon after, he said Perkins was hit with a glass bottle and knocked out – other witnesses have testified it was Misha who struck Perkins with the bottle. Nelson said that when he picked Perkins up, they were hit with another bottle, and that’s when Nelson said he went after Enns, believing him to have thrown the second bottle.

He described the fight he had with Enns, and said once he got up, he saw a group of people attacking someone on the ground – a person who ended up being Misha. He identified the accused as being part of that group.

Nelson said he was seriously cut in his fight because he’d used a folding knife, and it had closed several times onto his finger.

He said he went back to the vehicle and waited for everyone else to arrive. When the accused got back, Nelson said they continued to hang around for a little while.

Nelson said the accused was bragging about stabbing the person in the other fight, saying, “I got him, I stabbed him.” Nelson said he seemed “pumped” about it.

After they left the party, Nelson said the group met in a parking lot at Regina Beach, where they heard that someone had died as a result of the fights.

Nelson said the accused started acting differently around that point, becoming visibly upset and crying at points for the rest of the night. Driving back with the group to Regina, Nelson said the accused stopped the vehicle abruptly and then went running off down the highway. Nelson said his friends had to go to him and convince him to get back inside the car.

The group then returned to Regina and spent some time in a restaurant parking lot. Some of them later went to a house party, first stopping at Nelson’s home and the home of the man accused in Misha’s death, so they could change. Nelson said the accused continued acting strangely for the rest of the night, though he didn’t think much of it at the time.

“(The accused) was visibly upset, like actually crying,” said Nelson.

A couple days later, Nelson was arrested. He was charged with aggravated assault related to the fight with Enns, but he said he was also originally arrested for second-degree murder.

Nelson said he gave police his clothing and showed them where he’d gotten rid of the knife. He claimed he cooperated enough to show he didn’t kill Misha, but he said he didn’t tell police anything about the accused.

He said he lived a different life at that time and had a firm belief that he was there to protect his friends.

Nelson’s comments came in response to questions from Crown prosecutor Adam Breker. In his cross-examination, defence lawyer Andrew Hitchcock spoke with Nelson about the murder investigation hanging over his head ever since that night.

Nelson had been interviewed about the killing in 2006 when he was arrested, and again by RCMP in 2021 for around eight hours. They established that Nelson hadn’t mentioned in 2006 that the accused admitted to Nelson that he’d stabbed Misha.

In court, Nelson said, at the time, he cared a lot about his reputation and what people thought of him, but not as much now.

“Now, I mean, if you want to call me a rat because I’m sitting here testifying, fine. Good for them, who are they to judge?” he said.

Hitchcock then queued up a video of the interview in 2021 when Nelson first mentioned the accused’s admission and played it – it showed a room with Nelson and an RCMP officer. The officer said they’d found Misha’s blood on Nelson’s clothing from that night. He then talked about Nelson’s life in 2021 – a business, a wife, kids – and asked if he’d be willing to lose everything he’d built by fighting a murder charge in court for years. He asked if Nelson was willing to risk that by sitting and not telling the officer the whole truth.

Nelson responded in the video, “Would you believe me?” Hitchock stopped the video there, and he and Nelson then talked about whether he had felt pressured by police in that 2021 interview.

Hitchcock also asked Nelson whether it was possible that he blacked out during the fight – Nelson said no. And when asked about it, he said it isn’t possible that he also hit Misha with his knife.

The knife

Nelson also testified about the knives that were in play that night.

He said before the fights happened, members of his group took out their knives, showing them off, as they were walking through the campground back to the car to get more alcohol. He said his friends produced two, maybe three knives, and that’s when he got hold of the knife he ended up using on Enns.

Nelson said he got the knife from the accused.

Dustin Scudder had previously identified that same yellow folding knife with an eagle on the handle as his, and said he’d tried to toss it away before going into the campground.

Nelson said the accused asked for the knife back once they’d returned to the car, and was very insistent that they get rid of them. Nelson said he didn’t give the knife back and instead hid it in a Smarties box in a public garbage can near his home, later directing police to it when he was arrested.

According to the Saskatchewan RCMP, officers got a report of an injured man in the community northeast of Lac La Ronge on Saturday morning.

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“Officers responded and located a seriously injured male, who was later pronounced deceased by EMS at the scene,” the RCMP explained in a statement.

“He has been identified as 23-year-old Dillon Charles from Grandmother’s Bay. His family has been notified and victim services made available to them.”

Police said Charles’ death was deemed suspicious, and the teenager was arrested at the scene.

After an investigation, police said the boy was charged with second-degree murder, and he made his first court appearance in La Ronge on Tuesday.

The teen cannot be named due to provisions in Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act.

According to the Regina Police Service, officers were called to the 2200 block of Lindsay Street, in the city’s Al Ritchie neighbourhood, at around 1:15 p.m.

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“Police and EMS arrived on scene and attempted life saving measures, but the 38-year-old victim was declared deceased on scene,” the police force explained in a statement.

The police force’s major crime unit and forensic identification unit were both called to the scene, along with the Saskatchewan Coroners Service.

After an investigation, police said 36-year-old Alexandra Crowe was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. She’s also facing a charge of failing to comply with a probation order.

Crowe made her first court appearance on Wednesday morning in Regina Provincial Court, police noted.

“I’ve been going crazy ever since,” Allan said. “I haven’t slept much, ate much.”

Regina Police Service launched a murder investigation into the death of 35-year-old Aron Lunan, after he was found in a field near Grand Coulee on June 10.

Three people have since been charged with first-degree murder in connection with his death. Britain Volk, 24, made his first court appearance Thursday.

Patrick Akapew, 30, and Tyler Wayne Edwards, 38, were both arrested on Thursday and appeared in Regina Provincial Court on Friday morning.

The two men are people Aron treated like family, Allan said, making the situation even harder to handle.

Akapew swayed while he spoke with Judge Michelle Brass, and Edwards folded his arms in front of him and kept his head down.

“He knew he did wrong and he couldn’t look at me in the face,” said Allan.

“It’s frustrating, my temper was up. I had to cool my jets, and not say anything.”

Both men applied for Legal Aid and were returned to custody. Judge Brass gave them an order to not speak to anyone who was charged in relation to Aron’s death and adjourned both their matters to July 14.

“My mind is just racing,” Allan said outside the courthouse. “It hasn’t fully hit me, the whole process.”

He said Aron was a great guy, who loved to play guitar and ride his dirt bike.

Aron loved music and often practiced his guitar, according to his dad. (Allan Lunan/ Submitted)

Allan said that Aron had a sweet tooth for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and likely kept the company in business.

“If you needed (the) shirt he had, he’d give you the shirt off his back,” Allan said.

The pair shared many memories of meeting musicians while Allan worked backstage security during concerts.

The two had fun on screen as well, acting as extras in a few movies, including Another WolfCop when it was shooting in Lumsden.

The last words that Allan told his son was that he loved him. About four days later, he got the news from police that his son had been found dead.

“He’s always going to be in our hearts,” Allan said.

Allan is now searching for answers as to what led up to his son’s death. No matter what he finds out, he’s holding Aron close to his heart with his ashes in a highland cross around his neck.

“I hope justice is served,” Allan said. “Then we can lay Aron to rest properly.”