Michael Joel-Hansen
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Robert “Bobby” James Joseph Thomas says Roderick William Sutherland told him he “got” Megan Michelle Gallagher “back for him” while the two were in a garage in Saskatoon’s King George neighbourhood more than five years ago.
Thomas, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Gallagher’s death last year, testified on Thursday about being in the garage at 709 Weldon Avenue, where Gallagher was killed between Sept. 20 and 21, 2020.
He said he saw her tied to a chair and that she looked like she’d been “beat up.”
During his testimony, some members of Gallagher’s family wiped away tears while others held hands.
Sutherland, 47, is charged with manslaughter and offering an indignity to human remains. His jury trial began this week at Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench.
Gallagher, 30, was last seen by her family on Sept. 19, 2020. She was a missing person for two years, until information led to the discovery of her remains along the bank of the South Saskatchewan River near St. Louis on Sept. 29, 2022.
Thomas, 30, was charged along with several others shortly after.
On Thursday, he testified that he came and went from the garage several times. At one point, he said Sutherland showed him a pair of “knuckle busters” and implied that he hurt Gallagher. Thomas told the jury that he never actually saw Sutherland assault her, and that Sutherland wasn’t in the garage when Gallagher was being tied to an office chair with an extension cord.
Sutherland said Gallagher admitted to trying to “set up” Thomas, court heard.
Thomas told Crown prosecutor William Burge he was introduced to Gallagher through his aunt, Cheyann Peeteetuce. She pleaded guilty earlier this year to manslaughter in Gallagher’s killing.
Thomas said he’s also related to Sutherland, and identified him in the courtroom.
He testified that many people were coming and going from the garage and that for a while, the mood was light.
“Everybody’s getting high, drinking,” he said.
Thomas admitted hitting Gallagher — while she was tied up — with his elbow and asking if she played any role in him being held hostage at a home where he was assaulted and stabbed.
He also said he used Gallagher’s bank card on the afternoon of Sept. 20, 2020 because she gave him the pin number before she was tied up.
He told defence lawyer Blaine Beaven that Summer Sky Henry wrapped Gallagher’s body in plastic before he wrapped her body in a blue tarp. He had previously told police that he had wrapped her in plastic, but denied it during cross-examination.
Thomas said there was no plan to kill Gallagher. When pressed further, he eventually told the jury that Sutherland was aware of a plan to “question” Gallagher about the attack on Thomas before she was tied to a chair — despite previously saying the opposite was true.
Thomas admitted that he had been up for 10 days using crystal meth, which would sometimes cause paranoia and hallucinations.
The defence played video of a statement Thomas gave police in September 2022 in which he denied knowing about what happened to Gallagher.
On the stand, Thomas admitted the statement was a lie.
His testimony differed significantly from what Peeteetuce told jurors on Wednesday. She said she had no memory of the details surrounding Gallagher’s killing.
When asked about her guilty plea, Peeteetuce did not directly answer, and responded that at the time of the killing she was high. She also said she couldn’t identify Sutherland in the courtroom.
When asked about her guilty plea, Peeteetuce did not directly answer, and responded that at the time of the killing she was high. She also said she couldn’t identify Sutherland in the courtroom.
Jessica Badger, the accused’s sister, testified this week that she was told something was “wrong” with her brother. When she got to his house on Weldon Avenue, she said Sutherland was crying and told her there was a body in the garage.
The trial is scheduled to resume on Tuesday.
