Cindy Gladue was a mother of three when she died in June 2011. Photo: APTN file
The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal from Bradley Barton, the Ontario truck driver convicted of killing Cindy Gladue.
Barton is currently serving a 12 and a half year sentence for manslaughter in connection to her death.
Barton’s previous appeal before the Court of Appeal of Alberta was dismissed in January 2024.
He claimed that he was denied “procedural fairness” during his second trial in the death of the 36-year-old Cree and Métis mother of three at an Edmonton motel in 2011.
The legal proceedings have been ongoing for more than a decade.
Previous trials heard that the truck driver from Mississauga, Ont., performed a sexual act on Gladue that severely wounded her vagina. Barton testified the sex was consensual.
A jury found Barton not guilty in 2015 of first-degree murder. That decision sparked rallies and calls for justice for Indigenous women across the country.
There was also outrage because Gladue’s preserved vaginal tissue was presented in court during the trial. She was also repeatedly referred to as a “native” and a “prostitute.”
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In a 2023 interview, the family told APTN News that Alberta Justice had lost her remains. The Crown appealed the verdict. The Alberta Court ordered a new trial and the Supreme Court of Canada later agreed.
After the manslaughter conviction at the second trial in 2021, the Crown filed a sentence appeal calling the prison term “demonstrably unfit.” It had recommended Barton be sentenced to between 18 and 20 years.
With files from the Canadian Press
