Maskwacis resident Donovan Kyle Rain, 33, charged with second degree murder, has a hearing date set for May 29, 2025, at the Wetaskiwin Court of Justice.
Rain pleaded not guilty on Feb. 13, 2025, and chose a judge and jury trial.
Rain, 33, was arrested on Dec. 6, 2024 following a 10-month long investigation by the Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit.
On Feb. 11, 2024, Maskwacis RCMP were alerted to a deceased person in a residence on 6 Mile Road in Samson Cree Nation.
Rain was eventually charged with the second degree murder of the victim, 26-year-old Gordelle Soosay.
Rain is currently facing unrelated charges linked to an alleged carjacking in Ponoka on May 9, 2024.
A trial has been scheduled for that case for May 5 and 6 2025 in Ponoka.
Life sentence
A man who fired three shots at a victim and then shot him again in the head at close range outside of a convenience store in Samson Cree Nation is now serving a life sentence.
Shayden Trey Rain, 24, was charged with second degree murder in the killing of Jeremy Soosay in Samson Cree Nation on Sept. 1, 2022.
Rain was scheduled for a jury trial from June 10 to 21, 2024, in Wetaskiwin, but pleaded guilty on June 12, to the lesser and included charge of manslaughter.
On June 14, 2024, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with parole eligibility after 12 years. He was also given a DNA order and a seized items order.
According to court documents, Soosay was killed in the early evening hours on Sept. 1, 2022.
Rain exited a vehicle and chased down Soosay, who had been walking outside of the store with his girlfriend.
Rain fired three shots and Soosay fell to the ground. He then walked up the victim and shot him again before fleeing the scene.
Soon after, police located a crashed vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle. Rain was found nearby, hiding in a bush, and was wearing clothing that matched the suspect shooter, as seen in video footage from a nearby bank.
"This was an offence committed in broad daylight, in a parking lot with a number of people present, all of whom were at risk," said the appellant judge panel in their written decision denying Rain judicial interim release before the trial.
"It appears to be random. It appears to be a case where clearly injuring the victim was not enough, the victim had to be finished off."
