An 18-year-old and a teenager have been arrested in relation to the four muders on Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

By CJME News

RCMP investigations

18-year-old and youth arrested in Carry the Kettle quadruple homicide

Feb 19, 2025 | 10:05 PM

Two arrests have been made in the Carry the Kettle Nakoda First Nation quadruple murders.

18-year-old Darrius Racette was arrested in the Yorkton area. A male youth was arrested on Carry the Kettle, he cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Both were taken into custody Feb. 18.

Racette has been charged with four counts of first degree murder. He is scheduled to appear in Yorkton Provincial Court on Feb. 20.

Charges against the youth are expected Wednesday evening.

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“Investigators are confident that these two individuals are responsible for these homicides, and that the home where these homicides occurred was targeted,” said inspector Ashley St. Germaine, senior investigative officer with the Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes branch.

As the investigation determined the homicides were targeted, RCMP did not believe there was an imminent risk to the public and did not issue an emergency alert.

RCMP also confirmed that 29-year-old Keagan Panipekeesick was not involved with the Carry the Kettle murders.

Panipekeesick was allegedly pointing a gun at people on Zagime Anishinabek, formerly known as the Sakimay First Nation, roughly 95 kilometres away, four hours after the incident on Carry the Kettle.

“The RCMP communicated the two incidents together as we wanted to warn the people living in those areas to be aware of any potential threats and to remain vigilant while the investigations unfolded,” St. Germaine said.

Ashley St. Germaine thanks the team of investigators who worked tirelessly to come to this conclusion. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

St. Germaine said the investigation is ongoing.

“We could come across information or be told information that could lead us in a different direction and that may lead to additional arrests,” she said.

“It could lead to additional charges being laid in consultation with our crown, but our process doesn’t end now that we’ve got somebody charged and in court.”

Major Crimes Regina took primary carriage of the investigation with assistance from Major Crimes Investigators out of Saskatoon. They were also assisted by the File Hills Police Service and investigators out of Prince Albert, Battleford, Saskatoon and Regina. It also received assistance from Indigenous Policing Services as well as a dedicated family liaison team to provide information to the families.

St. Germaine said the investigative team did well over 50 interviews and hundreds of investigative tasks.

The arrests come two weeks after the murders.

Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore wants to remind the public that investigations like this take time.

“I understand that from the outside, it may seem like this wasn’t a quick resolution, but I think it’s important for the public to realize investigations like this are incredibly complex,” she said.

“Conducting solid investigations that help bring justice to those impacted by crimes is one of the best ways we can build and maintain trust with the communities and the people we serve. We owe it to those who rely on us as their provincial police service to be meticulous and exhaustive in our efforts.”

(Lisa Schick/980 CJME)