Pair sentenced for historical Sask. murder uncovered by Mr. Big sting

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Almost three years after a Saskatchewan man and his uncle confessed during an undercover police investigation, Robert Wesley Pich and John Robert Gregoire were sentenced for their roles in the historical homicide of Edward (Ted) Keith Geddes.

Geddes, 64, went missing from the area of Baldwinton, Sask. on April 11, 2011. Eleven years later, in 2022, Pich and Gregoire made admissions during a Mr. Big sting that led to the discovery of Geddes’s remains in a slough on Gregoire’s property near Baldwinton, west of North Battleford. 

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Earlier this month, Pich, 61, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and Gregoire, 73, pleaded guilty to indecently interfering with human remains.

Pich was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years. His parole eligibility starts from the day he was arrested — Feb. 6, 2022.

Gregoire received the maximum five-year sentence for interfering with human remains by tying a chain around Geddes’s body, using a loader to put him in a hole he dug in a brush pile on his farm, and covering him with dead cows to disguise the scent.

The men’s sentences were jointly proposed by the Crown and defence.

The details of the crime were part of an updated agreed statement of facts filed during the sentencing hearing in Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench on March 20.

Court heard Pich hit Geddes on the head with a four-by-four piece of wood — leaving him nearly unconscious — and confined him in a barn before putting him in the trunk of Gregoire’s car, where he was left to die.

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Geddes was a mechanic and manager at Gregoire’s business, Bob’s Corner Gas in nearby Neilburg. Gregoire believed a large amount of money was missing, and suspected Geddes stole it.

He contacted RCMP to ask how he could “legally terminate Geddes’s employment,” but didn’t pursue criminal charges, the facts state.

Instead, Pich lured Geddes to the farm and confronted him about the money.

While Geddes was bent over a loader, Pich struck him, ziptied him and fired pistol shots near his body until his uncle arrived two hours later.

“Geddes was not answering Pich’s questions, his speech became slurred, and he bled from the ears. His condition became worse as time passed,” the facts state.

Gregoire told his nephew to put Geddes, who was still alive, in the trunk of his car and take him to Saskatoon or Battleford.

“Gregoire did not instruct Pich to harm Geddes,” the facts state.

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On the way, Pich lost control in the freezing rain and hit the ditch. Police were called, Pich was arrested for impaired driving, and the car was impounded with Geddes still in the trunk.

Gregoire got the car that morning — April 12, 2011 — but believing Geddes was already dead, he waited six or seven days to open the trunk and dispose his body in a five-foot hole that later became a slough known as Max Lake.

RCMP launched a missing person investigation when they couldn’t find Geddes, and his disappearance was soon believed to be suspicious.

His chain-wrapped remains were found on Oct. 12, 2022 after the slough was drained. Gregoire and Pich were initially charged with first-degree murder.

Posters filed as exhibits at the sentencing hearing showed that for years, Gregoire held an annual winter carnival charity event on his property, where Geddes was secretly buried.

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Defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle said he wanted to show that his client made positive contributions to his community.

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