Crown stays murder charge against only accused in Sask. triple homicide
The Crown has dropped the murder charge against a woman who said she shot a man before he had the chance to shoot her at the scene of a triple homicide near Turtleford, Sask.
Madison Jimmy would have argued self-defence if case went to trial
Hannah Spray · CBC News
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The Crown has dropped the murder charge against a woman who said she shot a man before he had the chance to shoot her at the scene of a triple homicide near Turtleford, Sask.
Madison Jimmy was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Tonio Cantell on Nov. 5, 2025.
From the beginning, Jimmy has said she shot Cantell in self-defence, after he killed her boyfriend and swung his rifle toward her and another woman. The third victim at the scene was another man who was shot by Jimmy's boyfriend just before that.
Jimmy, 26, then drove to Turtleford and turned herself in at the RCMP detachment in the community, about 210 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.
Her case was committed to trial in June, after a two-day preliminary hearing in Lloydminster provincial court. On Oct. 22, the Crown issued a written stay of proceedings in Battleford Court of King's Bench.
Madison Jimmy's case was in the pre-trial stage at Battleford Court of King's Bench when the Crown stayed the charge against her on Oct. 22. (Hannah Spray/CBC)
Jimmy's lawyer Alora Arnold said the Crown called two civilian witnesses at the preliminary hearing, who testified about what they saw in the farmyard that day.
She said their evidence backed up the "very strong case for self-defence" Jimmy's defence was preparing to present.
"I think the Crown did their due diligence, we ran the preliminary hearing, they got to hear from other people who were there," Arnold said in an interview.
"The Crown took some time to think about things, and I'm sure it was not an easy decision, but ultimately came to the decision that there wasn't a reasonable likelihood of conviction."
Alora Arnold says her client feels like a weight has been lifted off her after the Crown stayed the murder charge. (Scott & Beaven Law Office)
The Crown consented to Jimmy's release from custody in August, on strict bail conditions that included a 24-hour curfew and electronic monitoring. Now that the murder charge is stayed, Jimmy is free without conditions.
CBC requested an interview with the Crown, but the request was declined. In a statement, public prosecutions said it is "unable to discuss the specific evidence or circumstances resulting in a stay," adding that the decision is not made lightly, particularly when there is a loss of life.
Arnold said that when she told Jimmy the charge was stayed, Jimmy was "understandably" very emotional.
"I know her first reaction was just pure emotion, and then … we touched base the next day and she's obviously very, very happy and feels this weight lifted off of her," Arnold said.
Jailhouse interview
Jimmy shared her story with CBC reporter Dan Zakreski in an exclusive phone interview two weeks after the killings. She was in the women's jail, the Pine Grove Correctional Centre, near Prince Albert.
She said on the morning of Nov. 5, 2025, she and her fiance, Dustin Roberts, had gone to the farmhouse where they lived near Turtleford.
They were in a truck with three people she knew casually — Cantell, who she knew by his gang name "DoughBoii," his girlfriend and another man, known to her as "Rboy."
She said after they arrived at the farm, Rboy shot a window of the farmhouse, and when Roberts asked him why he'd do that, Rboy pointed a gun at him.
"That's when my boyfriend reacted and he pulled out his gun and shot [Rboy]," Jimmy said. She said things seemed under control as they talked about taking the injured man to the hospital, but then Cantell shot Roberts.
Tonio Cantell died after he was shot on Nov. 5, 2025. (DoughBoii Cantell/Facebook)
Jimmy said Cantell's girlfriend was yelling at him, and she felt Cantell would kill his girlfriend and her.
"The look on his face," Jimmy said.
"He already shot my boyfriend, like, 'Who cares if I kill these two' kind of look, y'know? So I shot him before he could shoot us."
Jimmy said another man in the farmhouse who'd witnessed the shooting told her they should leave everything as it was, because all three shooting victims were dead. That's when the three survivors drove to the RCMP detachment.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hannah Spray works as a reporter and copy editor. She began her journalism career in newspapers, first in her hometown of Meadow Lake, Sask., moving on to Fort St. John, B.C., and then to the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. She joined CBC in 2022. Send story tips confidentially via Signal to HannahSpray.10
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