Man sentenced to life in prison for 1996 murder of Cree woman Joanne Ghostkeeper

Brayan Boucher, 51, has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years for the first-degree murder of Joanne Ghostkeeper, a 24-year-old Cree woman killed in her Edmonton apartment on Christmas Day 1996.

Justice Marta Burns said the facts of the case were horrific. Ghostkeeper died from ligature strangulation—an object wrapped around her neck. Boucher, who was 22 at the time, sexually assaulted her while using her bathrobe belt and a shoelace to strangle her, "violating her sexual integrity," according to court testimony. There were no signs of forced entry to her apartment.

Boucher maintained he did not kill Ghostkeeper throughout the trial, but the jury concluded he killed her during the sexual assault. Burns said the jury's verdict meant the Crown established beyond a reasonable doubt all elements of first-degree murder, including intent.

The case went unsolved for decades until investigators re-examined DNA evidence, leading to Boucher's arrest on June 14, 2023. A publication ban had protected Ghostkeeper's identity throughout the trial, but the ban was lifted Thursday at the request of her two children.

Victim impact statements from Ghostkeeper's daughter, Martina, and cousin Sheila Kirsch were read in court Thursday. Kirsch told Boucher directly: "You had over three decades of being free." Martina's statement said: "I will always remember my mom … and now she will rest in peace."

Ghostkeeper's parents and both brothers died before the court proceedings finished. In 2023, her mother, Mary Willier, told media she hoped Boucher would remain behind bars: "I hope he doesn't walk on the other side of the walls again, because he did his 27 years of walking."