WARNING: This story contains graphic details about how a person was killed.

It took only three days for the joint first-degree murder trial of Cheyann Peeteetuce and Summer-Sky Henry in Saskatoon to implode.

On Jan. 8, 2025, the third day of the judge-alone trial at Court of King's Bench that was scheduled to run eight weeks, Justice Richard Danyliuk spoke to the family of murder victim Megan Gallagher.

"Truth grows best when exposed to sunlight," he said.

"However, there are sometimes matters involving what I'll call, inelegantly, state or other secrets. Things that need to remain confidential."

With that, Danyliuk sent the family, media and public from the courtroom.

In the following days, Crown prosecutors Carla Dewar and Tyla Olenchuk were removed from the case without explanation. Within a week, court reopened with Justice Mona Dovell replacing Danyliuk on the bench.

Dovell ultimately accepted manslaughter pleas from Peeteetuce, 31, and Henry, 26.

Instead of a potential life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years, the Crown and defence jointly submitted seven-year manslaughter sentences for each woman. After credit for time in custody, the time left to serve worked out to about six years for Peeteetuce and five years, four months for Henry.

"To hear it, you hear the word 'manslaughter' — it hit me in the gut, real hard," said Gallagher's father Brian, outside court.

"I was sick to my stomach. I've got a strong stomach, but this one really got to me."

LISTEN| New CBC podcast series explores the life and murder of Megan Gallagher :

What happened to turn an eight-week first-degree murder trial into pleas to a lesser charge after less than a week?

Extensive publication bans because of then-upcoming trials prevented reporting on what happened back in January. With the manslaughter trial of Roderick Sutherland now complete, though, those bans are no longer in effect and the behind-the-scenes story can be told.

The answer to how Peeteetuce and Henry got their deals traces back to the early days of the police investigation into Megan Gallagher's disappearance, and the critical role a confidential informant (CI) played in their trial.

Megan Gallagher is shown in a photo taken at a family wedding. (Submitted by Gallagher family)

The garage

Even with the publication bans, a basic narrative emerged through police news releases and earlier trials around what happened to Megan Gallagher.

The 30-year-old parent of a young daughter went missing in Saskatoon in the fall of 2020. Her last contact with her family was on Sept.