Uncle, nephew sentenced for roles in 2011 rural Sask. murder where victim died in car trunk

An uncle and nephew are going to prison for murdering 64-year-old Edward Geddes in 2011 and then burying his body on a farm near Baldwinton, Sask., about 200 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.

Robert Pich, 61, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. His uncle, 73-year-old John Gregoire, pleaded guilty to burying the victim's body on his farm.

Justice Richard Danyliuk accepted a joint sentencing submission from prosecutor Cory Bliss and defence lawyers Brian Pfefferle and Jonathan Bodvarson.

Pich was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years. With credit for time on remand, he can apply for parole in 12 years. Gregoire, who was out on bail, was sentenced to five years.

In a victim statement read in court, Geddes's young sister said her brother had problems in his life, "but he was never a mean man."

Danyliuk also noted that, even though the victim may had personal issues, "his life was not yours to take."

Bliss read an agreed statement of facts into the record.

In late 2010, Gregoire hired Geddes, 64, as a mechanic and manager at a business he owned in Neilburg, Sask., Coupar said.

Gregoire came to suspect Geddes was stealing from him. On April 11, 2011, Gregoire called Pich and told him to get Geddes to the farm.

Pich told Geddes he needed help getting a filter off a front-end loader and Geddes came.

"Mr. Pich clubbed Mr. Geddes in the head with a four-by-four piece of wood when Mr. Geddes was changing the filter," Bliss said.

Pich then tied up Geddes with zip ties and waited for Gregoire. While he waited, he drank alcohol and questioned Geddes, shooting a pistol near him. After Gregoire arrived, they moved Geddes to an empty house and continued questioning him and shooting the pistol.

At some point later on, Gregoire told Pich to get rid of Geddes and take him to Saskatoon or Battleford. Pich put Geddes, who was still alive, in the trunk of a car.

"Mr. Pich was driving to Saskatoon when due to his intoxication and the freezing rain, he lost control of the vehicle and hit the ditch on Highway 40 outside Battleford, Saskatchewan," Coupar said.

Police don't know when exactly Geddes died. Police impounded the car after a passersby reported the crash at 12:34 a.m. on April 12, 2011, but they didn't search the trunk.

From jail, Pich called Gregoire to get the car. Even though Gregoire picked up the car that same day, he didn't look in the trunk until about a week later, when the foul odour from the trunk was unmistakable.

Geddes was dead. That night, Gregoire dug a hole in a brush pile on his property in the RM of Hillside, near Baldwinton, Sask., about 200 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. Gregoire used a front-end loader to carry Geddes's remains to the hole, where he piled brush and dead cows over top of Geddes's body.

Danyliuk noted that RCMP investigated and chased down leads for more than a decade. The break in the case came when undercover officers befriended Pich and he made admissions that led to the recovery of the body.