Prosecutors in Saskatoon stay 1st-degree murder charge for third time in less than a month

For the third time in less than a month, prosecutors have stayed charges in a Saskatoon first-degree murder case.

Justice officials confirmed to CBC News that the case against Taylor Peequaquat is not going ahead. The 32-year-old had been charged in the death of Nicholas Bell on Dec. 14, 2023.

The Saskatoon chef, drywaller and MMA fighter was shot walking home in the Meadowgreen neighbourhood. The apparent motive was to steal a case of beer from Bell.

The Crown stayed the charge against Peequaquat at the start of his preliminary hearing at the end of June.

"To move forward with a prosecution, Public Prosecutions must be satisfied that there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction and that it is in the public interest to continue with a prosecution," Kerri Ward-Davis wrote in an email to CBC.

Bell's mother, Hilda, and her son's siblings came to court to see Peequaquat in person a year ago. After, she struggled to articulate how the shooting affected them.

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Bell worked as a drywaller and a chef. His mother also works in construction and said they would often meet for lunch when their paths crossed during the workday.

"We would meet anytime. All the new areas, that's where he'd be — Aspen Ridge, Rosewood — all those new buildings and houses," she said.

"So everywhere I look at these new buildings, new houses … my boy helped build this city."

Bell said the lengthy investigation also changed how she looked at people in the city.

"I wonder how many times I went into a store, or was coming out of a store or a gas station, and walked past [Peequaquat] and didn't even know," she said.