BATTLEFORD – Shayla Orthner was sentenced Friday in Battleford Court of Queen's Bench to 10 years for her part in the death of 25-year-old Tiki Laverdiere of Edmonton.
Justice Richard Danyliuk gave Orthner 1,671 days credit for pre-custody time served. This means she has 1,981 days left to serve effective Aug. 26. The remaining charges against Orthner were stayed by Senior Crown Prosecutor Chris Browne. She was also banned from owning firearms for life and must submit her DNA to the National DNA Data Bank.
Orthner, 30, was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, improperly interfering with a human body and theft of a vehicle. In April, she pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and entered a guilty plea to the lesser offence of manslaughter.
She has been in custody at Pine Grove Correctional Centre since she was arrested July 20, 2019, in North Battleford.
Orthner was the first of 10 people charged in connection to Laverdiere’s murder. She is the seventh person to be sentenced and there are still trials remaining for three co-accused. There is a ban on publication of all preliminary hearings, trials, and sentencing hearings until the trials of all the co-accused are concluded.
Those sentenced so far include: Nikita Cook from Onion Lake Cree Nation, Brent Checkosis from Poundmaker First Nation, Samuel Takakenew and Charles St. Savard from Edmonton, Mavis Takakenew and Danita Thomas from North Battleford.
Trials remain for Soaring Eagle Whitstone from Onion Lake Cree Nation, as well as Jesse Sangster and Nicole Cook from Edmonton.
Laverdiere was reported missing to Battlefords RCMP on May 12, 2019. On June 10, 2019, RCMP announced that Laverdiere’s disappearance was the result of foul play and they would be investigating her disappearance as a homicide. On July 11, 2019, a police dog found Laverdiere's remains in a rural area outside of North Battleford while RCMP were conducting a ground search.
Laverdiere was in Saskatchewan April 2019 for the funeral of 20-year-old Tristen Cook-Buckle on Thunderchild First Nation.
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