Some details of the below story are violent and could be upsetting to some readers.
A woman has been sentenced for her role in connection with the September, 2016 murder of Lawrence Skoretz of Yorkton. Desiree Musqua was charged with robbery for stealing the wallet, keys, glasses and choir books of Skoretz. Musqua received a sentence of two years, four months and one day for her role, with four months credit for time served.
According to the version of events read out in court, Musqua was at Wiggly Field with the two young men who have plead guilty of murder, who cannot be named due to being under 18 at the time of the offense. They were drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. Skoretz pulled up near them and was described as friendly, and she went to the bathroom. When she returned, she saw the co-accused holding Skoretz, and they accused him of attempting to buy sex, saying “This guy’s a ****ing pig.”
Musqua kicked Skoretz in the groin and took his glasses. She later started trying to get the co-accused to stop. In a statement, she described the two co-accused stomping on Skoretz’ body and head, as well as jumping on his body. They estimated that there were 5-10 hits from each co-accused. As they drove away from the scene of the crime, one of the co-accused stated “I was stomping him bro.”
The accused also believed Skoretz was alive when they left the dog park. He died of chest trauma, with broken ribs and a punctured spleen. Musqua kept his keys as they left, and the keys were thrown away when the group learned Skoretz died of his injuries. They also burned the remaining evidence they had. Musqua later assisted police in recovering the keys. They also burned some of the stolen material, which was later recovered.
Judge Donna Taylor, after reading the victim impact statements, said that she could see that the loss was a very serious one to the family, and noted that they have faithfully attended court during the duration of the case. However, she also noted that it is unlikely anything that happens in court will lessen the impact to the family. Taylor also noted that many of the victim impact statements were connected to the murder, which Musqua was not charged with, though she recognized that this was a complicated case and the murder and robbery were connected. One challenge for sentencing was a lack of similar case law.
Musqua was also charged with failure to appear in court on June 1 and July 27, as well as with a breach of undertaking on April 24.
In a statement to the court, Musqua took full responsibility for her actions and apologized.
The Skoretz family also released a statement regarding the sentencing.
“What [Musqua] was found guilty for was obviously part of a much larger serious crime resulting the death of our dad. Never will there be enough justice or time served. We are glad that this part of the case is resolved so we can try to move on and carry on with the next step of our lives. We will forever remember our dad as a wonderful, supportive, fun person who was the anchor of our family and an asset to the entire community.”
