Man who killed Indigenous woman in northern Alberta released from prison
EDMONTON — Nicole Gladue-Weesemat wailed after learning the man who stabbed her mother in northern Alberta a decade ago, then moved her dead body to Manitoba, is out of prison.
She says she has been overwhelmed with emotions since Corrections officials told her that 74-year-old Grant Sneesby was freed earlier this month after being granted statutory release.
"I haven't cried like this since (police) told us they found her," she said Friday from her home in Edson, west of Edmonton.
She said she misses her mother, Gloria Gladue, and has a hard time forgetting Sneesby's trial.
"I'm shaking because it's never easy talking about."
Gladue, a member of Bigstone Cree Nation, was last seen in Wabasca, Alta., in October 2015. The remains of the 44-year-old were found in rural Manitoba almost three years later.
Sneesby was sentenced in 2022 to 11 years after being convicted of manslaughter and causing indignity to a body. He was credited seven years for time in pretrial custody.
A December decision from the Parole Board of Canada says Sneesby's statutory release date was pending and that he was planning to live in a seniors home after his release. A spokesperson said it couldn't confirm the release due to privacy.
The law requires federal offenders who have served two-thirds of their sentence to be freed under statutory release.
The parole document says Sneesby told his trial he was drinking with Gladue when they got into an argument and he stabbed her in the chest three times with her knife.
Sneesby's lawyers argued Gladue was the initial aggressor.
The trial heard Sneesby wrapped Gladue's body in plastic, taped both ends and placed her in his trailer. He also destroyed her cellphone, burned her clothing and disposed of the knife.
He moved the trailer twice over the next two years before taking her body to a wooded area in Manitoba.
He told investigators that he last saw Gladue when she left his home to go to a wedding. Officers learned that no one saw her at the event.
In 2018, Sneesby admitted to undercover police officers that he killed Gladue and took them to the place he had left her body.
Nicole Gladue-Weesemat said it was difficult to sit through Sneesby's trial and now, with his release, she's worried again.
But she said it's important to talk about what happened to heal and remember her mother and other missing and murdered Indigenous women.
"We're trying our best to cope and honour her at the same time," she said.
"It's important to keep my mom's story going."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2025.
Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Hamilton Spectator
U.S. man sentenced for child luring in case involving Saanich, B.C., girl
SAANICH - An American man has been sentenced to 40 years in a U.S. prison for grooming children in a case that began when the parents of a 12-year-old girl from Saanich, B.C., went to police. The Saanich Police Department says in a news release the girl's parents told officers in April 2020, that they had discovered sexually explicit messages on their daughter's phone from an unknown person. It says officers immediately began a child-luring investigation and determined the suspect to be an American. Police say they worked with U.S. law enforcement officers, who eventually took over the case and arrested Mark Wallen in July 2022. They say investigators determined the Los Angeles man had been preying on girls and boys ranging in age from nine to 16 years old, grooming them to send him sexually explicit photos and videos. Police say Wallen pleaded guilty to the production of child pornography and the enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity last September. He was sentenced on May 16 to four decades in prison, and has a restitution hearing scheduled for Aug. 13. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Father, teenage son charged in hate-motivated incidents east of Toronto: police
Police say a father and his 14-year-old son have been arrested and charged after an investigation into hate-motivated incidents east of Toronto. Durham Regional Police say a male entered a Canadian Tire store in Bowmanville, Ont., on Jan. 30, and placed antisemitic pamphlets in various places. Officers were also called on May 24 to a mosque in Orono, Ont., where several vehicles and the front door were vandalized. Police say they executed two search warrants on Monday at a residence in Orono where two males were arrested and several items were seized. A 34-year-old man from Clarington has been charged with mischief to property and a 14-year-old boy from Clarington has been charged with mischief relating to religious property. Police say the incidents have had a significant impact, particularly on members of the Jewish and Muslim communities, and they are committed to ensuring everyone's safety, dignity and well-being. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
At a troubled fashion company, workers found community. Then ICE came
Saraí Ortiz's father Jose worked 18 years for Ambiance Apparel, rising to become a floor manager at the sprawling fast-fashion warehouse in downtown Los Angeles. His tenure ended Friday, when federal authorities raided the company, arresting Jose Ortiz and more than 40 other immigrant workers as Saraí watched. "You know this is a possibility all your life, but then when it happens, it plays out differently than what you think," she said Monday, standing in front of the wrought iron fencing of Ambiance's parking lot. Ambiance was one of four businesses raided by ICE on Friday, igniting a weekend of civil unrest that has led to the controversial deployment of the National Guard and active-duty Marines in Los Angeles. It was also the site of the arrest of labor leader David Huerta, who was released Monday on a $50,000 bond. Ortiz was joined at a protest Monday by other families of those detained, making a public plea for help and due process. Many of the wives and children of those taken by ICE — all men — have had little or no contact with their loved ones. Even lawyers have been denied access, they said. Read more: Union leader David Huerta released from custody Many are also from the Indigenous communities in the central Mexican region of Zacatecas. They have formed tight bonds as they started new lives in Los Angeles, including helping others to find jobs at Ambiance, a company that has a history of run-ins with federal law enforcement, but also one that provided steady work for immigrants, including Ortiz. "Ambiance complies with the law when it hires employees and it has always only hired people it believes have the legal right to work in the United States," said Benjamin Gluck, a lawyer representing Ambiance. "We have reached out to the government to try to learn more about this raid but have not yet learned anything more about it. Ambiance will continue to both follow the law and support its employees, many of whom have been with us for decades." Although it's unclear why Ambiance Apparel was targeted in the recent operation, the company landed on the radar of federal authorities more than a decade ago. In 2014, law enforcement authorities executed dozens of search warrants as part of an investigation into money laundering and other crimes at Fashion District businesses. Federal authorities seized nearly $36 million in cash from Ambiance and the company's owner, Sang Bum 'Ed' Noh, according to a 2020 news release from the U.S. attorney's office in L.A. The company, which was incorporated in 1999, was described by prosecutors as an importer and exporter of textiles and garments from China, Vietnam, Cambodia and elsewhere. Among its customers were retail apparel chains and people who owned small businesses, mostly in Mexico. Its goods can also be found on Amazon, and in Walmart. Federal prosecutors filed charges against Ambiance Apparel and Noh in 2020, accusing them of undervaluing imported garments and avoiding paying millions of dollars in tariffs to the U.S. Among those investigating Ambiance and Noh were Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as well as local law enforcement agencies including the Los Angeles and Long Beach police departments. The company was also accused of failing to report cash payments to employees. The government contended that Ambiance employees received "approximately 364 payments of more than $10,000 over a two-year period," totaling more than $11 million. But the company failed to file the required reports on those cash transactions to the federal government, prosecutors said. That same year, Noh pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of subscribing to a false tax return. Ambiance Apparel — the operating name for two corporations, Ambiance U.S.A. Inc. and Apparel Line U.S.A., Inc. — pleaded guilty to eight counts, including conspiracy, money laundering and customs offenses. In 2021, Noh was sentenced to a year in prison 'for scheming to undervalue imported garments and avoid paying millions of dollars in duties to the United States, failing to report millions of dollars in income on tax returns, and failing to report large cash transactions to the federal government,' prosecutors said in a news release. Noh 'made defrauding the United States a significant revenue stream for Ambiance, appropriating approximately $35,227,855.45 from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Internal Revenue Service in less than four years,' prosecutors said in a sentencing memo. "While [Noh] was cheating the United States and facilitating money laundering, he enjoyed a house in Bel Air, bought luxury cars, and squirreled away bundles of cash worth $35 million in shoeboxes and garbage bags," prosecutors wrote. The company was sentenced to five years' probation and was ordered to implement an effective anti-money laundering compliance and ethics program with an outside compliance monitor. That monitorship was set to end in October of this year. Despite those troubles, the company, and its employees, seemingly continued to thrive. Montserrat Arrazola's father, Jorge, is another of those workers detained Friday. She said her father is the family's "breadwinner," and without his paycheck, there are "hard times coming" for her and her three brothers. Read more: No, Dr. Phil wasn't present at L.A. ICE raids, but he taped interview with Trump's border advisor But it's the pain of separation that hurts her the most. Her family was able to speak to Jorge once, and he told them to stay calm. So Montserrat, a college student who wants to become a social worker, is trying. She talked instead about their recent family outing, when they all tried bowling, and how her dad is charismatic and caring. "He's a family man and he gives all his time to his family," she said. But not being able to contact those detained is stressful, said Carlos Gonzalez. His older brother Jose was also taken by ICE and like others at the protest, Gonzalez called for due process rights. Gonzalez and his brother had gone camping at Sandy Flat in Sequoia National Forest just the weekend before the raid, a rare chance for them to spend time together. Carlos said he received a call from a cousin Friday, and went to Ambiance, but couldn't reach his brother in the chaos. So Gonzalez went to the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown, but was told there were too many people to process, and was unable to get further information. He went back the next morning to try to bring his brother a sweater, because "you don't know if it's cold in there," he said. But he was told his brother had been moved to Santa Ana. That is the last he has heard. His family is caring for Jose's dog Coffee, a 100-plus pound chocolate lab and pit bull mix who cries when Jose isn't near, and working with a lawyer. But there is not much else they can do except wait, and speak out. "I want people to know that this was inhumane," Gonzalez said. "They were just working." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
