Woman sentenced for role in violent death of Saskatoon mother

A Prince Albert, Sask., woman who admitted to her role in the violent death of a Saskatoon mother is going to prison.

Stephanie Halkett-Stephenson pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter in the death of Taya Sinclair in March 2022. Halkett-Stephenson also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and unlawful confinement.

She had originally been charged with first-degree murder.

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Halkett-Stephenson was sentenced to 18 years in prison with no chance of parole for nine years for the manslaughter charge, prosecutor Michael Pilon said in an interview.

She also was sentenced to four years on the aggravated assault and unlawful confinement charges, with the time to be served concurrently.

The specific details of what happened around Sinclair's death cannot be reported because of a court-ordered publication ban. Halkett-Stephenson's two co-accused are still before the courts.

Sinclair, 24, was found dead in a snow dump near the Alfred Jenkins Field House in Prince Albert on March 15, 2022. Her body had been burned.

Sinclair's family said she left behind two young children. They want her to be remembered for her smile.

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