Four individuals charged in the Tiki Laverdiere murder case saw their matters return to North Battleford provincial court Oct. 18, and an election has been made for one of the suspects.
Counsel for Brent Checkosis entered an election for trial by Queen's Bench judge and jury. There will be no preliminary hearing as that has been waived for Checkosis. He faces charges of accessory to murder, theft of a motor vehicle and interfering with human remains.
The next court date for Checkosis is set for Nov. 1 in Queen's Bench court. This would be for a pre-trial case management meeting and it will not be open to the public. As well, a no-contact order has been continued and a permanent publication ban has been issued for all the names in that no-contact order. Checkosis was not present for this latest appearance.
Three other accuseds appeared before Judge Murray Pelletier by closed-circuit TV: Shayla Orthner and Danita Thomas, who face first-degree murder and other charges, and Mavis Tatakenew, who faces accessory to murder and other charges. Matters for all three have been adjourned to Nov. 15 to appear by closed-circuit TV. Lawyers for all three suspects appeared by phone and the indication from counsel was that more time was needed for more disclosure and for more discussions. No-contact orders, as well as permanent non-publication orders of the names listed in those orders, were also issued.
