Judge orders pub ban on sentencing hearing in Megan Gallagher homicide

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Holding an eagle feather and wearing a black bunnyhug with Megan Michelle Gallagher’s photo and the words “Murdered but not forgotten,” Brian Gallagher was one of many family members in the gallery of a Saskatoon King’s Bench courtroom on Monday. 

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Robert “Bobby” James Joseph Thomas, 29, sat in the prisoner’s box with his head down as victim impact statements were read during his sentencing hearing.

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Justice Daryl Labach imposed a publication ban on the entire proceeding — including the facts of the case, sentencing arguments and victim impact statements — citing a concern for trial fairness for four co-accused who are still before the court.

Neither Crown prosecutor Tyla Olenchuk nor defence lawyer Mike Nolin requested the ban. Limited facts of the case were presented in court during three previous sentencing hearings last year.

Megan, 30, was last seen on surveillance video at a Saskatoon convenience store on Sept. 20, 2020. Her disappearance went unsolved for two years, until her remains were found along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River near St. Louis on Sept. 29, 2022.

That same year, nine people were charged in connection with her disappearance and death. Three people have been sentenced, charges were stayed against one man, and four more are scheduled to go to trial.

Thomas, 29, was the first person to accept responsibility for Megan’s murder when he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last month. He’d been committed to stand trial for first-degree murder after a preliminary hearing was held last year.

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Brian and his wife Deb provided an emailed statement after Thomas’s guilty plea in October.

“Even though it was difficult to hear, it did help us after four long years, to hear and see him in person plead guilty to causing the death of Megan. It was an admission of guilt from his own mouth, no more game playing, or dragging it out, so I guess it just eases our souls and spirits a bit.

“These crimes reach so deep into our community, it’s alarming. Even watching (Thomas’s) mother and family crying in court put into perspective how deep it truly goes, and had a huge impact on us. There are absolutely no winners and everyone suffers far and wide from these inhumane acts of violence.”

Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence, but parole eligibility can be set between 10 and 25 years.

Labach adjourned his sentencing decision to Dec. 6.

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