The mother of Lee Bearsears left court in tears Friday afternoon after Craig Fox was sentenced to life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for 15 years.
“The sentence he was given is still not gonna bring my son back. It’s not gonna make me feel any better,” said Leslee Bearsears. “I am happy for the sentence, it’s fair I guess, but me as a mother… I am not happy at all.”
Fox was found guilty earlier this year of second-degree murder in Bearsears’ October 2023 death.
During the trial, Justice Rochelle Wempe found that Preston Checkosis was driving Bearsears’ truck, with Bearsears in the front passenger seat and Fox seated behind him when the shooting occurred.
Bearsears’ body was found Oct. 16, 2023, in a rural area on Poundmaker Cree Nation. His truck was later found abandoned at the Little Pine transfer station. Fox and Checkosis then walked across an open field to a nearby residence and the gun was later found near Fox’s home.
Crown prosecutor Oryn Holm characterized the killing as an act of vigilante justice connected to a sexual assault charge Bearsears was facing after an allegation involving Fox’s niece.
Bearsears denied the allegation and pleaded not guilty, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for January 2024. Wempe found during the trial that Fox had learned about the allegation before the killing and that it provided a motive.
“It’s just all over a little lie,” Bearsears’ mother said after the sentencing, referring to the allegations. “It should have been handled better; they should have just talked it over… but it is what it is. I hope now my son can rest.”
At the end of August, defence lawyer Pamela Wayman argued that the minimum 10-year parole-ineligibility period would be appropriate, asking Wempe to consider Fox’s personal and Indigenous background alongside the seriousness of the offence.
Court heard about the intergenerational effects of residential schools in Fox’s family, periods he spent in foster care, childhood abuse and early exposure to substance use. The defence also pointed to his family relationships, cultural and spiritual connections, and opportunities for treatment and programming while in federal custody.
“I’m glad it’s over, that we have closure now,” said Bearsears’ mother.
“I went into a deep depression, but for him, I’m gonna come out of it. I am going to continue fighting for the missing and murdered Indigenous people, like him.”
-with files from battlefordsNOW’s Kenneth Cheung
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alyssa.rudolph@pattisonmedia.com
