SASKATOON — When Thomas Sutherland appeared in Saskatoon Provincial Court on March 17, Megan Gallagher's father, Brian, was there to watch the proceedings. Sutherland’s new charges come almost a year after the Crown stayed his manslaughter and unlawful confinement charges connected to Megan's death.
Sutherland, 46, was remanded in custody on new charges of possessing a loaded prohibited handgun and trafficking fentanyl, with his case being adjourned to April 7 for case management.
‘We had to find out through the media’
But the news of Sutherland’s recent arrest didn’t come from officials, said Megan's mother, Debbie, in an interview.
“We had to find out through the media,” she said.
The Gallaghers said they are outraged that during the year Sutherland’s charges were stayed nothing was done to keep him in jail or find new evidence.
They said they later learned prosecutors had “no intentions of bringing the charges up again.”
For a family that has attended more than 400 court appearances for the nine charged in connection with the torture and murder of their daughter, the revelation was devastating, they said.
A familiar feeling of being left in the dark
The sense of being left in the dark is a familiar and demoralizing feeling for the Gallagher family.
Sutherland was originally arrested in September 2022 at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre, where he was being held on unrelated matters, when he was charged in connection with Megan’s death. Those charges were stayed in mid-March 2025 ahead of his scheduled April 2025 trial. A stay pauses prosecution but allows the Crown up to one year to revive the charges, though this rarely happens.
Sutherland’s recent appearance marked a return of the nightmare they have lived for years.
“We predicted that would happen,” said Debbie, reacting to Sutherland’s arrest.
Their frustration isn’t new. They said it has increased over years of court delays, procedural setbacks, and a justice system they view as sidelining victims’ families.
‘Lost complete faith’ in the justice system
The Gallaghers say they have “lost complete faith” in the justice system they believe prioritizes the rights of the accused. They point to the decision to stay Sutherland’s previous charges a year ago as a prime example.
“What we had the problem with, and still have a problem with,” said Brian, “is that during the preliminary hearing, there were three witnesses that testified he actually was part of Megan’s murder.”
Brian said court testimony and police interviews from the case painted a horrific picture of Sutherland’s alleged involvement. He was seen, Brian said, “beating Megan with brass knuckles while she was tied to a chair.” In addition, Brian said Sutherland was identified as the person who, after Megan had been beaten so severely that she likely wouldn’t survive, “called it that she needed to go.”
For Brian, the image is overwhelming.
“I can’t imagine a universe where multiple men, especially grown men, would find it acceptable that they should be hitting women. That speaks to the violence against women. That’s just wrong.”
No answers for a stayed case
Despite this, and after the Crown had upgraded the charges to manslaughter, they were abruptly stayed.
“And to this day, we have never been given any answers as to why,” said Debbie.
This lack of transparency, they say, is systemic. Debbie believes the focus is never on the victim.
“The only way we get to find out what happened to one of our kids is to go through the court system,” she said. “When Thomas Sutherland’s charges were stayed, we were told the day they were doing it. He had the paperwork filled out, so it was already a done deal.”
They said they are frustrated by plea bargains and what they perceive to be “sweetheart deals” made behind closed doors. They cite the fact that two people convicted in Megan’s murder only received seven-year sentences.
They were appalled that, during Roderick Sutherland’s trial, he was allowed to walk freely around the courthouse, go to restaurants, and use the same washrooms as the victim’s family. They said they found this profoundly disrespectful to them.
A stark contrast in pace
The speed with which Sutherland’s new case is moving – adjourned to April 7 for case management – is a stark contrast to the years of delays in Megan’s case, said the Gallaghers.
For Debbie, the cumulative weight of these experiences has become unbearable, taking a toll on her health. She recently stopped attending court proceedings, a decision due to self-preservation after years of physical and mental toll.
“You go to court and you get [re-triggered], and then when the media asks you, your mind goes blank,” she said. “But then I come home and think about it all night. You don’t sleep. You don’t eat.
“My health has suffered immensely over the last five and a half years to the point that I have zero faith in the justice system,” she added.
Before Megan’s body was found in 2022, their two-year search for her caused them to lose themselves and become incapable of parenting their other children and grandchildren. They feel immense guilt over this, they said. They described their trauma as “perpetual,” aging them significantly, causing severe health problems, and making it difficult to function.
‘The truth is that Megan was viciously and brutally tortured’
Despite their exhaustion, they feel the truth of what happened to their daughter – and the systemic failures that followed – must be told.
“None of [the court process] has been about getting to the truth,” said Brian. “The truth is that Megan was viciously and brutally tortured and murdered over a period of at least 24 hours. It’s not unlike the case in North Battleford. The torturing and the brutality of what these gangsters are doing is something that needs to be addressed.”
A pattern they see repeated
The Gallaghers have sat through multiple gang-related trials and say the pattern is unmistakable, including intimidation by gang members, endless adjournments, and delays.
“We sat through four or five trials now and it’s the same playbook,” said Brian.
At one point, they describe a man “in all black… a balaclava over his face,” coming into the courtroom to intimidate them. They also recount gang members wearing their colours inside the courtroom and driving past them in front of the courthouse.
They said they see parallels between the torture and murder of Megan to that of Tiki Laverdiere.
“I couldn’t believe the similarities between Tiki’s case,” said Debbie, adding, “And Sheena Billett’s case, there’s another one. They all have the same pattern.”
“The gangs know how to get away with murder,” said Brian. “They really do.”
They also spoke about the grooming and recruitment of children into gang life – something Brian witnessed firsthand while searching for Megan near the garage where she was murdered.
“My truck got swarmed by about five young people on bikes…one of them couldn’t have been 12 years old,” he said. “She’s already groomed into a lifestyle where there is so little hope for her.”
A deliberate strategy to break through indifference
The Gallagher’s advocacy started long before the arrests were made in Megan’s case. They said they had a deliberate strategy to break through the silence and public indifference – especially the indifference they say surrounds missing Indigenous women.
“We intentionally didn’t target it as an Indigenous issue, but as a missing persons issue first,” said Brian. “If you target it as an Aboriginal or Indigenous issue, some people are just going to say, ‘Oh, another one.’”
While searching for two years when Megan was missing, before her body was found, they focused on branding, media engagement, and community mobilization. They chose a specific photo of Megan – the one on the lawn – because it captured who she was, not what happened to her.
“That was the last time we saw her, the last time we hugged her,” said Debbie.
They organized walks that passed directly by the area they believed Megan was last seen – and by the garage where Megan was killed – even before they could confirm it. They put up posters that were torn down, then replaced them with twice as many.
“We were shaking the streets,” said Brian. “And it worked.”
Megan's remains were found on Sept. 29, 2022, by searchers on the river near the community of St. Louis.
‘We focus on who Megan was’
Brian and Debbie are also upset with what they describe as a culture of victim shaming by defence lawyers, which they find “extremely hurtful.” They were devastated by the victim shaming of Megan in court and also pointed to the treatment of Nykera Justice Brown.
They said this practice needs to stop and called for victims to have their own lawyer appointed to protect them during trials.
“People always want to focus on what happened to Megan, but they don’t know who Megan was,” said Brian.
The Gallaghers describe Megan as a strong, athletic young woman who grew up in Saskatoon's west side, playing on the ball fields now named after her grandfather, Joe Gallagher.
They said she was a vibrant person on the verge of turning her life around. She was a cook working toward her Red Seal, the highest national standard for skilled trades in Canada, allowing certified people to work in any province without re-certification. She was also in the process of trying to gain access to her daughter.
The last photo of her, used on missing posters, was taken on Debbie and Brian's front lawn on a beautiful, normal day, two days before she disappeared.
‘Silence is letting monsters walk amongst us’
The Gallaghers are glad the publication bans have been lifted and they are able to discuss the case.
“I’m relieved that we’re able to talk finally about some of this openly,” said Brian. “It definitely takes us back to an uncomfortable spot but I think the truth needs to be told.
“Silence is letting monsters walk amongst us,” he added.
ljoy@sasktoday.ca
