The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
A preliminary inquiry next year will decide whether charges stick to a man accused of murdering his uncle on a snowmobiling trip between Pelican Narrows and a camp near Creighton. Thurston Jack Thomas, 24, remains in custody awaiting the inquiry, set to begin on Feb. 24, 2014 in Creighton Provincial Court. The inquiry will determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial. Thomas has not entered a plea. Thomas, a Pelican Narrows resident, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his uncle, John James Ballantyne, 39, also of Pelican Narrows. Ballantyne was taken to the Flin Flon General Hospital on the evening of Feb. 23, 2013 with serious injuries. It was reported to both the hospital and police that he had been in a snowmobile accident. Ballantyne subsequently succumbed to his injuries. As is the case with all sudden deaths, an RCMP investigation was triggered. It involved Mounties from Creighton and Pelican Narrows as well as the RCMP Major Crimes Unit North, the forensic identification section from The Pas and the Manitoba Chief Medical Examiner's office. See 'Homicide' on pg. Continued from pg. They collectively determined that Ballantyne was the victim of a homicide, not an accident. Cpl. Rob King, a Saskatchewan media spokesperson for the RCMP, previously told The Reminder that Ballantyne's injuries did not involve a snowmobile. He said the men were traveling on a snowmobile and toboggan from Pelican Narrows to a remote, non-commercial hunting and fishing camp 30 kilometres west of Creighton. Cpl. King could not identify the specific location between Pelican Narrows and the camp where Ballantyne's injuries were allegedly inflicted. He said he believed Thomas and Ballantyne were the only people on the trip. If convicted, Thomas could face life in prison without parole for up to 25 years.
