A Facebook selfie turned villain for 21-year-old Cheyenne Rose Antoine who was seen with the belt that was used as murder weapon.
She pleaded guilty for a murder done 2 years ago.
Saskatoon police said that a Facebook selfie was instrumental in a murder investigation that ended in a guilty plea and a seven-year prison sentence for the killer.
On Monday morning, Antoine pleaded guilty to killing 18-year-old Brittney Gargol, who was discovered fatally injured on a road near the Saskatoon landfill two years ago.
Antoine says Gargol was her best friend and they had been out drinking on the night of her death and got into an argument. Antoine says she doesn’t remember strangling her friend to death, but doesn’t dispute that she killed her.
Antoine was initially charged with second-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter inside a Saskatoon courtroom. She was sentenced to seven years behind bars — a joint submission request from the Crown and defence — early Monday afternoon.
In court, Crown prosecutor Robin Ritter outlined a complicated investigation that took nearly two years to complete.
One key piece of evidence was a belt, believed to be the murder weapon, that was found lying by Gargol’s body. A selfie on Facebook, posted hours before Gargol’s body was found, showed Antoine wearing that same belt, which ultimately made her a suspect in the crime.
Police used more Facebook posts to develop a timeline of Antoine and Gargol’s movements on the night of Gargol’s death.
“It’s quite remarkable how the police developed this information,” said Ritter.
The prosecutor said Antoine also used social media to lead police on a wild goose chase. Several hours after Gargol’s death, the accused posted on Facebook, asking where Brittney was.