NORTH BATTLEFORD — A woman convicted in the 2019 killing of Tiki Laverdiere has again been granted day parole, with the Parole Board finding that a closely supervised release is safer than waiting for her statutory release later this year.
The Parole Board of Canada approved a six-month term for 34-year-old Shayla Orthner. The decision follows her failed October 2024 day parole, which resulted in alcohol use, emotional instability and a return to custody. She had been granted day parole in May 2024.
“A structured day parole now is more protective of society than waiting for a later, less gradual release,” wrote the Board in its April 8 decision.
The new parole decision said the gravity of Orthner’s offence and her earlier failure on release are aggravating factors. It also cites the profound and ongoing harm to the victim’s family.
“The Board also considered more recent victim information received in September 2024,” said the parole decision. “In that statement, concern was expressed about your release to the [Edmonton] area, as members of the victim's family reside and work there. The victim's family requested that you not be released to [Edmonton].”
Orthner was a member of Westside Outlawz and was a “soldier,” according to both court testimony and parole documents. She initially started selling drugs for the gang, and later progressed to committing violent acts for them, such as assaulting people.
Court heard that Orthner was the only white person in the street gang and was called White Girl.
Parole documents reveal Orthner was “beat out” of Westside Outlawz in January 2020, while she was in custody. According to RCMP, Orthner was arrested on July 20, 2019, in North Battleford.
From July 2019 to August 2020, police arrested 10 people in Saskatchewan and Alberta, including Orthner and other Westside Outlawz members and associates. Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes led the investigation, with support from more than 20 RCMP units and four partner agencies.
In 2022, Orthner was sentenced in the Battleford Court of Queen's Bench to 10 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Laverdiere’s death. Orthner was given 1,671 days credit for pre-trial time served, leaving 1,981 days left to serve as of Aug. 26, 2022.
Orthner was originally charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, improperly interfering with human remains, and theft of a vehicle. Court evidence established that the killing was carried out by the Westside Outlawz, a street gang based out of Onion Lake Cree Nation with ties to the Redd Alert in Edmonton. Evidence showed that Laverdiere was held captive and tortured for hours before she was killed and her body dumped in a rural location approximately 40 kilometres from North Battleford.
Parole documents also outlined the motive, saying the killing was ordered as retaliation for the murder of a Redd Alert member in Edmonton weeks earlier. Court heard that Laverdiere’s death was a revenge killing for Tristen Cook-Buckle, the Edmonton “commander” of Redd Alert, and that Laverdiere was considered his “right-hand" woman.
Soaring Eagle Whitstone, as "Queen" of Westside Outlawz street gang, ordered the murder of Tiki Laverdiere, court heard.
On May 12, 2019, Laverdiere’s mother had reported her missing to Battlefords RCMP. Laverdiere’s last contact with her family in Alberta was on May 1, 2019, according to RCMP.
On July 11, 2019, a police dog found Laverdiere's remains in a rural area outside of North Battleford while RCMP were conducting a ground search.
The prosecution of the 10 people convicted in Laverdiere's murder took five years. North Battleford Senior Crown Chris Browne and Prosecutor Charlotte Morden prosecuted all the cases.
In April 2024, during Jesse Sangster's sentencing hearing — the last of the 10 to be sentenced — court heard how kind, caring, loving and generous Laverdiere was. Justice Krista Zerr said, "Her life mattered."
Justice Zerr said the Laverdiere family’s “steadfast, quiet, but profound presence,” served as a reminder to those who work in the criminal justice system.
“You have served Tiki very well,” she told the Laverdiere family sitting in the gallery at Sangster's sentencing. “Thank you. You have honoured her.”
In an exclusive interview with RCMP Major Crimes Sgt. Rob Zentner— who led the investigation from the outset and spoke publicly only after the five-year publication ban was lifted — he said Laverdiere's family played a pivotal role in cracking open the investigation into her brutal murder. Their collaborative efforts with RCMP led to the arrests and convictions of 10 people involved, according to RCMP.
