Saskatoon

Inquest to be held into murderer's death in cell at Saskatoon psychiatric centre

A public inquest into the death of convicted murderer Traigo Andretti has been scheduled to begin later this month.

Traigo Andretti was convicted of killing his wife and in 2006 slaying of a Manitoba woman

Traigo Andretti, 40, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Myrna Letandre in Winnipeg. He was already serving a life sentence in the first-degree murder of his wife, Jennifer McPherson, in British Columbia. (Family photo)

A public inquest into the death of convicted murderer Traigo Andretti has been scheduled to begin later this month.

Andretti, who was serving time for two murders, was found dead in his cell at the Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatoon on July 2, 2016.

Medical personnel responded and performed CPR, but Andretti could not be revived.

Andretti was serving a mandatory life sentence for the first-degree murder of his wife, Jennifer McPherson, who was a longtime Winnipeg resident. He was subsequently charged wtih second-degree murder in the 2006 slaying of a Manitoba woman, Myrna Letandre, to which he plead guilty. 

The inquest, which is to be held in Court of Queen's Bench in Saskatoon, is to begin Oct. 29 and will run until Nov. 2. 

An inquest into the death of a person who dies in custody is mandatory, unless the coroner is satisfied that the death was due entirely to natural causes and not preventable.

The inquest is to establish who died, when and where that person died and the medical cause and manner of death. It can also make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.

Coroner Brent Gough will preside at the inquest.