The family of the late Gwenda Gregory of Usherville can experience some closure in knowing that the man responsible for her brutal murder was given the mandatory sentence of life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years.
Jaycee Mildenberger was found guilty of committing the murder in the victim鈥檚 home in Usherville on March 7, 2009. The sentence means that with time served, Mildenberger will be in jail until at least June 8, 2037. He will be 71 years old.
For three years the horri铿乧 crime went unsolved. Then on June 8, 2012, the RCMP made an arrest. Jaycee Mildenberger was Gwenda and Alton Gregory鈥檚 next-door neighbour, a friend and co-worker of Alton鈥檚.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for March 2013, but did not proceed because the defence consented to commit the matter to trial. Eventually, a voir dire (a preliminary examination to determine competency) for a justice of Court of Queen鈥檚 Bench to hear a Charter of Rights and Freedoms application was scheduled for March 2014 with the trial to begin September 15. The voir dire was adjourned until the September 15 date and a new trial date was set for January 2015. The trial did not proceed in January either. Finally, on June 8, exactly three years to the day after he was arrested, Jaycee Mildenberger went on trial for the murder of Gwenda Gregory.
On June 30, a jury in the Court of Queen鈥檚 Bench in Yorkton jury found Mildenberger guilty of 铿乺st-degree murder.
