Last week, there was a reports of increased police presence at the Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation and now RCMP have issued a news release indicating one person is dead while two have been charged in connection to what is believed to be a homicide in the community.

The RCMP Major Crime Unit North has taken the lead in the investigation that began with a report of a deceased male in a truck shortly before 7 in the morning last Friday near the First Nation.

Rosthern RCMP believed the death was connected to a call they had answered at 1:21 a.m. September 3rd of a fight in a home at Beardy’s and Okemasis. Police searched for the three people allegedly connected to the incident but did not find them, then a second report came in a few hours later at 3:55 a.m., concerning the same home. Because investigators believed the calls regarding an altercation were connected to the discovery of the truck, a search of the home at Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation was conducted at 7:00 a.m. by Rosthern RCMP.

Around 12:30 p.m. Friday, Straughn Smallchild, age 22 years, from Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation, was arrested at a home in the community and charged with one count of second degree murder. On Saturday, Cory Littlepine, age 33 years, was also arrested without incident in a home on the First Nation and charged with one count, accessory after the fact to aggravated assault. Both men are in court in Saskatoon Tuesday (Sept 7).