‘To me he was looking for fame ... or some kind of recognition’

Inquest hears of police chase and death of mass murderer

A mass killer on the run after a stabbing rampage in Saskatchewan was “smug” while officers took him into custody, a coroner’s inquest heard Wednesday.

Const. Bill Rowley told jurors Myles Sanderson was laughing as police placed him in handcuffs.

“Smug, cocky and arrogant,” Rowley said of Sanderson’s demeanour during his arrest on the side of a highway on Sept. 7, 2022.

Sanderson had been on the run for several days when police caught up to him. Three days earlier, he had kicked in doors and attacked people on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon, killing 11 and injuring 17.

During the third day of the inquest into the killer’s death, RCMP officers shared dramatic details of Sanderson’s arrest, during which he went into medical distress.

A forensic pathologist testified Tuesday that Sanderson overdosed on cocaine.

The inquest, scheduled until Friday in Saskatoon, is to establish when and where Sanderson died and the cause of his death. The sixperson jury may also provide recommendations.

Jurors were shown video from RCMP dashboard cameras of a high-speed police pursuit.

Rowley told jurors that Sanderson drove above 160 km/h in the wrong direction on Highway 11, a main travel route for vehicles heading from the north to Saskatoon.

“It was a very dramatic, unfolding situation,” Rowley said.

The chase ended after a Mountie used her vehicle to ram the truck Sanderson was driving. Sanderson lost control and went into a ditch.

Officers descended on the truck. Sanderson moved his hand toward his mouth while he was still in the vehicle, said Rowley.

Const. Travis Adema, who was among the responding officers, said it’s possible the movement was Sanderson ingesting drugs. But “at that time, it could have been anything.”

Rowley, Adema and other officers removed the killer from the truck and took him into custody.

The inquest was shown video of Sanderson, as he was being searched, asking officers how many people he had killed.

Darryl Burns, whose sister was killed on the First Nation, said watching Sanderson’s capture in the video brought conflicting emotions. There was relief to see the danger was gone but anger Sanderson didn’t show any remorse, said Burns.

“I felt anger when he was talking about the body count … to me, he was looking for fame, looking for some kind of recognition,” Burns said.

The inquest was shown video captured on RCMP dashboard cameras of Sanderson asking officers how many people he killed as he was being searched