Charges laid in connection with woman's death

RCMP say two people have been charged in connection with the death of a woman who's body was found along a highway west of Saskatoon.

Police say Dustin Cookman-Watts, 25, from North Battleford is charged with second degree murder while 18-year-old Melissa Kaponyas from Biggar is charged with accessory after the fact.

The family of 24-year-old Wendy Bird is reeling after her body was found along Highway 16 near Maymont, Sask.

“I was devastated and hurt. I didn’t want to believe it was true. I was hoping it wasn’t her,” said her older sister Kaylynne Freeman, 27.

Bird is a member of Pelican Lake First Nation and attended high school in Prince Albert. She has two children, a six-year-old and one-year-old.

Freeman describes her sister as a “happy, joyful person” who liked to joke around and was always there for her. She says it was difficult to explain her death to her children, knowing that they will now go through life without their mother.

“He’s so young, she won’t get to see him grow or graduate,” she says. “He really loved his mom.”

Freeman says there will be a hole in their family with her passing and learning that her sister’s death may have resulted from a homicide makes it more difficult to grieve.

“I don’t know why they did that to her. Why it had to go that way I don’t know,” she said.

POLICE INVESTIGATION

Police say the investigaiton is ongoing and are seeking more information.

Warman RCMP received a call about a body on Highway 16 shortly after 8:00 a.m. October 16.

“Based on preliminary investigation, her death is considered suspicious,” said RCMP in a statement to media.

The Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crime Division is looking for information about Bird’s whereabouts from Oct. 14 onward. They are asking the public to report any suspicious activity observed in the area.

RCMP say an autopsy was conducted and the Saskatoon RCMP Forensic Identification and North Battleford RCMP General Investigation Sections are involved in the investigation.

Bird’s body has been brought back to Prince Albert and wake services are underway with a funeral planned for Saturday. Bird’s relatives are gathering to attend the services and celebrate Bird’s life.

“My heart just dropped actually when I heard about it and I honestly didn’t think or want to believe it was actually her,” said Bird’s cousin by the same name, Wendy Bird, 30.

She says it’s “disturbing the way they left her body like that.”

She says prior to her death, Bird had been hanging around the “wrong crowd”.

She will be remembered for her great sense of humor and says she was a “good person”.

“It’s sad that there are so many women that are going missing. I hope they actually find the person who did this,” said the cousin.

RCMP says people with possible information or witnessed any suspicious should call police or Crime Stoppers.