Events surrounding the shooting of four Alberta RCMP officers
Published Monday September 8th, 2008
Some key events in the case of four Alberta RCMP officers, who were shot and killed near Mayerthorpe, Alta.
March 2, 2005: RCMP called by bailiffs trying to execute a court order at the farm of James Roszko, who flees in his truck. Chop shop and marijuana grow operation found in a Quonset hut; officers brought in to guard the hut until investigators can arrive.
March 3: Roszko somehow returns to his farm overnight and guns down constables Brock Myrol, 29; Anthony Gordon, 28; Leo Johnston, 32; and Peter Schiemann, 25. He then kills himself.
March 8: Schiemann is the first of the slain officers to be buried after a service in Stony Plain, Alta., presided over by his father, a Lutheran minister, who also baptized his son when he was born.
March 10: Memorial service draws 10,000 officers from across North America, who march and ride down Edmonton streets in a solemn kilometre-long parade. Thousands of mourners, dignitaries, school children and citizens pack a cavernous pavilion to honour the slain Mounties. "Canadians are shaken," says Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson.
March 11: Funeral for Gordon in Red Deer, Alta. His pregnant wife reveals to mourners that her unborn son will be named after his father.
March 12: Funeral in Red Deer for Myrol, on the job in Mayerthorpe for only 17 days when he was killed. On the same day, Johnston is buried near his hometown of Lac La Biche, Alta. A court fight later ensues between his parents and his widow over where his grave should be.
March 15: Town of Mayerthorpe holds ceremony to mark the end of a week of national mourning. Myrol's mother urges Canadians "to move on - we must look to the future."
Oct. 3: Families of the slain officers ask Canadians to leave on their porchlights Monday nights as a symbol of a fight for justice reform. They say a lax system allowed Roszko, a convicted child molester and known cop-hater, to walk free.
Oct. 31: Search warrants unsealed by the courts indicate police believe Roszko had help in the hours before the shootings. Documents also say he was carrying three guns at the time of his death and at least six more were seized on his property.
January 2007: RCMP complete a report on workplace safety issues. It recommends Mounties in Alberta be supplied with better body armour and night-vision equipment.
July 8: Shawn Hennessey, 28, and Dennis Cheeseman, 23, both of Barrhead, Alta., charged with first-degree murder. Police allege the two helped Roszko in some way.
May 12, 2008: Preliminary hearing begins for the accused. Both men receive bail after spending about 10 months in jail on remand.
June 6: Judge rules there is enough evidence to send Hennessey and Cheeseman to trial.
July 4: Opening of the Fallen Four Memorial Park in Mayerthorpe; life-sized bronze statues of each of the officers unveiled. "We have found a beautiful way ... to have them with us always," says organizer.
Sept. 12: Hennessey and Cheeseman to make their pleas in court.
April 5, 2009: Tentative start for their trial.
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