OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed the order of a new trial for an Alberta man accused in a beating death.
Joshua Dennehy’s bludgeoned body was found late one night in July 2020 in central Alberta.
Dennehy had socialized that evening with Dylon Saddleback and a number of others outside a trailer, and at some point everyone but the two men left to attend a nearby birthday party.
The timing of the group’s departure was key to establishing how long the men were the only ones at the trailer.
Saddleback was convicted of second-degree murder.
The Alberta Court of Appeal ordered a new trial on the basis the trial judge erred in law by improperly relying on a statement by Dennehy in a phone call with his girlfriend.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2026.
Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press