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A North Battleford man was sentenced to seven years in prison for his part in the murder of Tiki Brook-Lyn Laverdiere, 25, of Edmonton. 

Brent Checkosis, 18, was sentenced May 15 in Battlefords Court of Queen’s Bench for accessory after the fact to murder. The media wasn't allowed in the courtroom for the sentencing.

Checkosis has been in custody since his arrest in July 2019 and pleaded guilty in December 2019.  Given credit for time served, Checkosis will only have five and half years to serve.

Laverdiere’s body was found in a rural area near North Battleford in June 2019. She was last heard from on May 1, 2019, after she sent a text from North Battleford to her family saying she wanted to return home to Edmonton. She was in North Battleford to attend a funeral. 

Seven other people were charged in connection to Laverdiere’s murder. Over a three-week period during July and August, police arrested all eight co-accused in North Battleford and Edmonton.

Mavis Quinn Takakenew is also being sentenced today for accessory to murder after the fact.

Shayla Orthner, Danita Thomas, both of North Battleford, Jesse Sangster, Nicole Cook and Nikita Cook of Edmonton, and Soaring Eagle Whitstone of Onion Lake Cree Nation, are all charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. 

The court imposed a publication ban on sentencing hearings for Checkosis and Takakenew until the trials of the six remaining co-accused are finished.

The cases against Nikita Cook and Nicole Cook were also adjourned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nicole Cook is from Edmonton and is the mother of Tristen Cook-Buckle, 20, whose funeral Laverdiere attended on April 27, 2019. Cook-Buckle’s body was found in a burned vehicle near Vegreville, Alta. on April 5, 2019. Police later determined, through DNA evidence, that blood found behind a house in Edmonton near 92 St. and 100 Ave., was that of Cook-Buckle. An autopsy revealed that Cook-Buckle’s death was homicide. Police haven’t released the cause of death.

Numerous weapons charges against Checkosis were dropped by the Crown earlier this year. The charges were unrelated to Laverdiere’s murder.