Dexter Laplante and Michael Gamble, both 33, are accused in the stabbing death of Morgan Doucette on Nov. 16, 2009. They were charged in 2023.
Two men have been committed to stand trial at Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench in the historical homicide of Saskatoon man Morgan Doucette.
Dexter Saul Laplante, who was facing a first-degree murder charge, was committed on the lesser included offence of second-degree murder.
The decision came Thursday after a preliminary hearing was held last week in Saskatoon provincial court. The hearings seek to establish whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial. A standard publication ban prevents the reporting of the evidence presented at a preliminary hearing to ensure the accused has a fair trial.
Instead of holding a preliminary hearing last week, lawyers agreed to send Michael Wayne Gamble directly to trial on a charge of first-degree murder.
The allegation dates back to Nov. 16, 2009, when Doucette, 33, was stabbed at a house party in the 400 block of Avenue H South. The case went cold for 14 years, until three men were charged last year.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30.
The three men are also charged in connection with the death of 22-year-old Spencer Whiteman, who died after he was stabbed in the 300 block of Avenue T South on Jan. 1, 2009.
Police said a 24-year-old man was found stabbed along with Whiteman. He survived; Gamble and Laplante are charged with assault with a weapon.
The men were only committed to trial on charges relating to Doucette’s death. The assault charges and murder charges in Whiteman’s death are still before the court.
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