Trial begins for Michael Smillie, accused of killing Saskatoon mom

The trial of two people charged in the death of a Saskatoon mother nearly four years ago began with guilty pleas from one of the accused.

Taya Sinclair’s burned body was found on March 15, 2022, near the Alfred Jenkins Field House on the southwest side of Prince Albert. She was 24 years old.

Michael Smillie, 58, is charged with one count of first-degree murder. On Monday he pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial in Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench.

A second accused, Chelsey Crowe, 35, was charged with manslaughter, but she pleaded guilty on Monday to being a party to the lesser included offence of assault.

She also pleaded guilty to unlawfully confining Sinclair and being a party to the aggravated assault and unlawful confinement of a male victim, also in March 2022.

A third accused, Stephanie Halkett-Stevenson, 28, previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Sinclair’s death and was sentenced in November 2024 to 18 years in prison with no chance of parole for nine years.

After Crowe entered her pleas on Monday, she was remanded in custody to return to court on Jan. 30 for sentencing arguments.

Lured and beaten

Crown prosecutor Michael Pilon read out a brief summary of the facts regarding Crowe’s pleas.

On March 12, 2022, Crowe lured a man to an address in Saskatoon, where he was “immediately attacked and beaten,” zip-tied and stripped of his clothing by four people, he said.

The man was then taken to Crowe’s apartment and further assaulted, including being stabbed, and was confined in a closet.

Crowe used the man’s phone to lure Sinclair to the apartment, where she was also beaten, zip-tied and confined, Pilon said.

Sinclair was taken out of the apartment on the morning of March 13. It wasn’t clear from the brief facts presented in court on Monday whether Sinclair was alive at that point.

The man was set free on the night of March 13.

Police witness

The first witness at Smillie’s trial on Monday was the Prince Albert police officer who responded to a report of the discovery of a burned body on March 15, 2022.

Const. Justin Parenteau said a Prince Albert city employee reported the incident, in a snow dump south of the Alfred Jenkins Field House. When he arrived, Parenteau said he could see smoke rising from the scene, where a person’s body and some other items were on fire.

There were no signs of life, Parenteau testified.

Members of Sinclair’s family who were in court on Monday declined to comment at this time.

At a news conference in 2022, they said Sinclair was a Métis woman who left behind two young children.

"Taya was so incredibly beautiful. She had the most beautiful smile, the craziest sense of humour, the wildest spirit," said her aunt Donna Aubichon in 2022.

"She was a warm person with a spirit, a heart and a voice that was valuable to many people. Life may take us down different paths but our family would like to remind everybody that Taya mattered."

Although Smillie’s trial is scheduled for three weeks, lawyers indicated in court that the witness list is shorter than expected and it may not last the full time. Three witnesses who were subpoenaed to testify did not attend court, and warrants were issued for their arrests.

Smillie is represented by Blaine Beaven and Alora Arnold, while Crowe’s lawyer is Jonathan Adams.

Smillie’s trial is being heard by Justice Andrew Davis.