A man who murdered a 15-year-old girl in a small Northern Alberta community has received an automatic maximum life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
On Friday Afternoon, 37 year old Jason Alec Tallcree was given the sentence after he was found guilty of first-degree murder, sexual interference, and interference with a body in the death of Roderica Ribbonleg, from the Little Red River Cree Nation.
According to court records, Ribbonleg was found in John D’Or Prairie on July 12, 2020 in a shallow grave in a beaver burrow.
Court heard that community members who led a search saw crows circling, and followed them down a trail a few kilometres away. That is when members found Ribbonleg’s body and called the RCMP to secure the scene.
An autopsy found she had been strangled to death, potentially with her own bra strap, and suffered blunt force trauma to her head.
There was also evidence suggesting sexual assault. The court heard DNA was found in Ribbonleg. Investigators eventually linked the DNA sample to Tallcree, who was 35 at the time and is now 37.
Tallcree did not address the court during sentencing.
Family members say Ribbonleg was outgoing and artistic, and had dreams of one day going to college or university.