Jake Sansom, was a volunteer firefighter in Nobleford (Photo courtesy Nobleford & District EMS Facebook)

By The Canadian Press

Father, son accused of killing Metis hunters in Alberta denied bail

Mar 20, 2021 | 3:50 PM

EDMONTON, AB. – A man and his son accused of killing two Cree-Metis hunters northeast of Edmonton on March 27 of 2020, have been denied bail a second time.

Roger Bilodeau, who is 57, and 32-year old Anthony Bilodeau, are both charged with two counts of second-degree murder.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Robert Graesser says the Bilodeaus must remain in custody to ensure public confidence in the justice system.

The accused were originally denied bail last summer and had applied for a bail review.

Family and friends of 39-year-old Jake Sansom and his uncle Maurice Cardinal, who was 57, have said the men were out hunting when they were shot last March on a rural road near Glendon, about 215 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.

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Sansom’s widow, Sarah Sansom, has told media last that her husband’s family has had a trapline in the near Glendon for almost a century and that he knew the area well.

She said he’d been working for a company contracted by Suncor Energy, but was laid off at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The couple and their children lived in Nobleford, but she said finances were tight so he drove seven hours north to hunt moose with his uncle near Bonnyville, where the family has hunting rights.

Jake Sansom, was a volunteer firefighter in Nobleford (Photo courtesy Nobleford & District EMS Facebook)

RCMP have said the shooting happened after a verbal confrontation turned into a fight between the occupants of two vehicles.

A trial is to begin in St. Paul, Alta., on May 25.