Woman sentenced for role in Saskatoon mother’s violent death

A Prince Albert, Sask., woman who admitted her role in the violent death of a Saskatoon mother is going to prison.

Stephanie Halkett-Stephenson pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter in the death of Taya Sinclair in March 2022. Halkett-Stephenson also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and unlawful imprisonment.

She had originally been charged with first-degree murder.

Halkett-Stephenson was sentenced to 18 years in prison with no chance of parole for nine years on the manslaughter charge, prosecutor Michael Pilon said in an interview.

She was also sentenced to four years on the aggravated assault and unlawful detention charges, to be served concurrently.

Specific details of what happened surrounding Sinclair’s death cannot be reported due to a court-ordered publication ban. Halkett-Stephenson’s two co-accused are still before the courts.

Sinclair, 24, was found dead in a snow pit near Alfred Jenkins Field House in Prince Albert on March 15, 2022. Her body had been burned.

Sinclair’s family said he leaves behind two young children. They want her to be remembered for her smile.

“Taya was so incredibly beautiful. She had the most beautiful smile, the craziest sense of humor, the wildest spirit,” her aunt Donna Aubichon said at a press conference in 2022.

“He was a warm person with a spirit, a heart and a voice that was valuable to many people. Life may take us on different paths, but our family would like to remind everyone that Taya mattered.”