UPDATE: This article has been updated since it was first posted online to correct custody information. Donovan Kyle Rain has been in custody since his arrest according to RCMP.
Maskwacis resident Donovan Kyle Rain, charged with the second degree murder, pleaded not guilty on Feb. 13, 2025, and has chosen a judge and jury trial.
Rain appeared for another court date on Feb.27. The Crown prosecutor filed their statement in preparation for a preliminary hearing.
The next court date is set for April 15, 2025, at the Wetaskiwin Court of Justice, to set a date.
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 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, 2025 in Ponoka.
Kidnapping
The court case against three people accused with an alleged kidnapping in Samson Cree Nation on Feb. 24, 2025, is proceeding.
Clarence Northwest, 36, Silas Soosay, 25, and Chevez Louis, 18, have all been charged with kidnapping with a firearm.
Northwest is additionally charged with aggravated assault, intimidation, flight from police and several other offences.
Officers arrived on scene in the early evening, and determined the victim had been kidnapped and tied to a chair in the basement of a residence. The victim had been beaten and had a gunshot wound.
The three accused are scheduled to appear on March 25, 2025, at the Wetaskiwin Court of Justice, to set a date.
Attempted murder
Kashton Fearious Bull, 24, charged with attempted murder, was scheduled to enter his plea and for a pre-trial conference on March 13, at the Wetaskiwin Court of Justice, however, he was not present.
Defence counsel made a motion to ask to proceed remotely, but the judge disqualified the application and it was abandoned.
A new court date has been set for March 27.
On Aug. 7, 2024, Maskwacis RCMP responded to a shooting in front of a residence in Louis Bull.
Emergency workers tended to a 15-year-old victim that had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The victim was flown to hospital with serious life-threatening injuries.
