Dillon Whitehawk has taken his case to the Supreme Court following Saskatchewan’s affirmation of his guilt in the gang-related killing of a Regina mother in 2020.
In October, Saskatchewan’s Court of Appeal upheld Whitehawk’s second-degree murder conviction in the death of 29-year-old Keesha Bitternose. Two of the three appeal court judges rejected Whitehawk’s appeal of his December 2022 conviction, while all three dismissed the Crown’s bid to upgrade the charge to first-degree murder.
Thomas Hynes, representing Whitehawk, stated that an appeal has been lodged with the top court based on Justice Jillyne Drennan’s dissenting view. Hynes expressed optimism that the Supreme Court would overturn Whitehawk’s conviction and order a new trial.
Whitehawk has the automatic right to appeal to the Supreme Court within the accepted arguments of dissent. Hynes mentioned that they are confident in the arguments put forth and are hopeful for a favorable decision from the Supreme Court.
Whitehawk is required to submit written materials, including a factum and case record, to the Supreme Court within eight weeks. The court is expected to schedule a hearing a few weeks after the submission, likely in the spring of 2026.
Bitternose was found deceased in January 2020 at a residence on Cameron Street linked to gang activities. A forensic pathologist testified during Whitehawk’s trial in 2023 that Bitternose had suffered multiple injuries from beatings, stabbings, and potentially gunshots, making it challenging to determine her exact cause of death.
Whitehawk was sentenced to life imprisonment with no parole eligibility for 25 years, the maximum penalty for second-degree murder. Justice Janet McMurtry criticized Whitehawk for lacking remorse and labeled him as a “serial murderer.”
Whitehawk has prior first-degree murder convictions from 2022 for the drive-by shooting deaths of Jordan Denton and Keenan Toto three years earlier. Those convictions were successfully appealed, leading to a new trial set to commence in March 2026. The Crown alleged that Whitehawk had committed the murders to advance within the Indian Mafia gang.