EDMONTON — A video of two Métis hunters being shot on a rural road was played in court Monday as a second-degree murder trial began for the shooter and his father.
At the outset of the pandemic, in March 2020, Jacob Sansom, 39 and his uncle, Morris Cardinal, 57, were gunned down on a range road just north of Glendon, a small village in eastern Alberta. The incident sparked international headlines.
Glendon residents Roger Bilodeau and his son, Anthony Bilodeau, are both facing charges of second-degree murder in the killings. Both have pleaded not guilty and are being tried together by a jury of eight women and six men.
The jury heard Monday that after Sansom was laid off from his job as a heavy-duty mechanic at the start of the COVID-19 upheavals, he and Cardinal decided to go hunting near Siebert Lake. After bagging a moose, they went to Glendon to drop off meat, relatives have said.
What happened next was caught on a nearby surveillance system that was part of a Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. gas facility; the video was shown in Edmonton court to begin the trial.
Crown prosecutors say the video shows how Roger and Anthony Bilodeau, aged 56 and 31 when charged in 2020, intended to kill Sansom and Cardinal. The defense is arguing that the Bilodeaus acted in self-defence that night.
In the black-and-white video, a truck carrying Sansom and Cardinal pulls up to a stop sign near the gas plant and then a second truck, carrying Roger Bilodeau and Anthony’s younger brother, pulls up alongside it before driving just in front of it . It’s about 9:45 pm on March 27, 2020.
One of the occupants in the Dodge truck that was driven by Sansom exits, and walks toward the truck driven by Roger Bilodeau. It appears that Roger Bilodeau then throws the truck into reverse, coming close to hitting the man approaching it. The Crown has said this was Roger Bilodeau trying to hit Sansom, but the defense denies that it was his attempt.
A physical encounter seems to take place and Crown prosecutor Jordan Kerr told the jury that it appears Sansom punches the passenger-side window before Cardinal approaches the driver-side window.
A few minutes later, Anthony Bilodeau shows up in his truck, pulling up just behind the others, which are parked. Sansom begins approaching Anthony Bilodeau and appears to be shot in the chest before collapsing onto the ground. Anthony Bilodeau goes on foot across the road, away from the second man, Cardinal, now holding a weapon, before shooting him as well.
Then Anthony Bilodeau goes around to Sansom’s truck and appears to shoot Cardinal again, causing him to collapse to the ground.
“Anthony Bilodeau’s actions were not committed in self defence,” Kerr told the jury.
Both the Crown and defense lawyers seem to agree on the identities of the men appearing in the video, based on their statements to the jury, although the figures are hard to make out with the naked eye.
Shawn Gerstel, Roger Bilodeau’s defense lawyer, told the jury during his opening remarks that the events that night happened the way they did because the Bilodeaus were acting in self-defence. Gerstel said that Roger Bilodeau never wanted a violent altercation. Anthony Bilodeau’s lawyer, Brian Beresh, did not make an opening statement to the jury.
“Like most things in life, there are at least two sides to a story,” said Gerstel. “This is not a case about how the deceased died or who pulled the trigger.”
Gerstel said that Roger Bilodeau, a father of nine, had been at his residence that night, when one of his sons, who lived on the rural property with him, noticed a truck parked near their driveway. The son believed it may have been related to trucks they’d seen earlier and had suspicions that someone could have been scoping out the property, perhaps with intentions to steal from it, according to Gerstel.
Roger Bilodeau and Anthony’s brother then got in the truck and set off to chase Sansom and Cardinal, at times at high speeds, according to evidence to be heard at trial. After a six-minute pursuit, the two vehicles came to a stop at the intersection of Range Road 484 and Township Road 622 where the gas plant is located, and the altercation ensued.
During their pursuit, Anthony Bilodeau got a call from his father and brother as they chased the Dodge truck. Roger Bilodeau said “These sons of bitches are coming to steal or do something” and told Anthony Bilodeau to bring a gun, according to Gerstel.
Gerstel suggested on Monday that Sansom and Cardinal had been drinking and were violent and threatening when dealing with the Bilodeaus that night.
The trial is set to resume on Tuesday and continue until May 27.
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