REGINA — The province’s highest court has upheld the second-degree murder conviction of Dillon Ricky Whitehawk in Keesha Bitternose’s death, simultaneously dismissing a Crown attempt to have the charge upgraded to first-degree murder.
In a split decision released Friday, the Court of Appeal dismissed Whitehawk’s challenge of his conviction, as well as the Crown’s attempt to have his original acquittal on a first-degree murder charge overturned. Justices Georgina R. Jackson and Keith D. Kilback were in agreement on both. Justice Jillyne Drennan dissented on the conviction appeal, though agreed the Crown’s appeal should be dismissed.
The ruling upholds Whitehawk’s December 2022 conviction, where the trial judge found him guilty of second-degree murder but acquitted him of the more serious first-degree murder charge. In April 2023, he was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
The Court of Appeal decision of Whitehawk’s sentence remains pending and will be addressed in a separate decision at a later date.
First-degree murder rejected
At the original trial, the Crown argued the killing was planned or was carried out for the benefit of the Indian Mafia street gang. The trial judge, however, found that the murder was actually against the gang’s rules, as such a killing required the authorization from senior leaders, which was never given. In fact, the gang later issued a “green light” on Whitehawk and an associate, marking them for punishment for their rogue actions.
Appeal Court Justice Jackson agreed with the trial judge’s assessment, saying in her Oct. 10 written decision there was no legal error.
Bitternose’s murder
Two others were convicted in Keesha Bitternose’s death. Kelly Stonechild and Kurt Thomas pleaded guilty to manslaughter. They received prison sentences of seven and 18 years respectively.
Bitternose was only 29 years old when she was brutally murdered Jan. 2, 2020. Her body was discovered at a home on Cameron Street in Regina.
Court heard the assault against Bitternose was prolonged. She was beaten and perhaps stabbed in the basement, then managed to crawl upstairs – only to endure continued assault before being killed in the kitchen of the home. Testimony from forensic pathologist Dr. Andreea Nistor noted over 100 injuries with multiple instruments to Bitternose’s body.
-Witih files by Ryan Kiedrowski
ljoy@sasktoday.ca
