Among them were missed calls and texts from his wife, Bonnie. “Bonnie tried to call me at about 6.30am and I was sleeping. He texted me, saying, “Why aren’t you answering your damn phone?” Burns, affectionately known as ‘Buggy’ to all who know him, was horse racing about 50 kilometers east of his home in the James Smith Cree Nation (JSCN) when Myles Sanderson allegedly broke into his home, armed with a knife. Bonnie Goodvoice-Burns, pictured with her three youngest children. Is provided His wife, Bonnie Goodvoice-Burns, 48, and son Gregory “Jonesy” Burns, 28, were murdered in the early morning stabbing that left 11 dead and 17 injured. An ensuing manhunt for Sanderson ended Wednesday when his car ran off the road and he was arrested. He died hours later in custody. The body of Damien’s brother, who is co-accused in the murders, was found on JSCN land on Monday. The families of those Sanderson is accused of murdering struggle to come to terms with Sanderson’s death, as it means they will never face the consequences of their actions. Gregory Burns, 28, known as ‘Jonesy’, was killed outside his home as his mother tried to protect him. Saskatchewan RCMP Many, like Bonnie, died trying to protect the family. Buggy says his wife died trying to save their oldest son and her three other children, as well as two grandchildren, who were also home at the time. “Like any [mother] The bear would always protect their cubs,” says Buggy sadly. Five days after the attacks, Buggy can barely understand what happened in the small community of about 1,900 people, where “everybody knows everybody.” Dressed in a hoodie and sweatshirt, wearing his trademark black fedora with an eagle feather on the side, Buggy cuts a formal figure as he enters a restaurant in Melfort, Saskatchewan, about 40 kilometers from JSCN. He is ready to share his grief. In his first interview, he tells Global News that he wants Bonnie to be remembered for the support she gave him and their community and for her heroic final actions. Buggy Burns recounts the night his wife and son were murdered in a busy Melfort restaurant. Slavo Koutas “I’m devastated. I’m very tired. My heart is in a million pieces right now. I always thought I would be the first to go. And then you bury your son and your wife at the same time.” As he speaks, Buggy stares at the plate of food in front of him, his eyes downcast. He occasionally looks up from under the brim of his fedora, but rarely makes eye contact. He’s still in shock, he admits, and doesn’t know if this will ever go away. But he also wants to talk about drugs and alcohol in his community, which are believed to have played a role in the killings. Miles Sanderson had a history of substance abuse, according to his extensive court record. Buggy says he would never have survived a life of crime, addiction and drug and alcohol abuse if not for his wife. His son had fallen into a similar trap. “He was my rock,” she says. “I’ve had some pretty bleak years. But Bonnie stayed there with me.”
“The house was so bloody”
Buggy is a well-known figure not only in the JSCN community, but also in the surrounding area. As he tells his story over dinner with his nephew Sean Burns at his side, he is twice approached by friends and loved ones to offer their condolences. Later, the wait staff, after recognizing him, deleted the food order from the bill. Buggy takes his seat and orders steak and eggs. It will be a long day, he says, with a possible two-hour drive to Saskatoon to collect his son’s body. When asked how he feels, he says “devastated.” In addition to caring for his three boys – Dayson, 13, Mason, 11 and Grayson, 9, two grandchildren – a three-month-old, Bonnie’s niece, and an 18-month-old, Gregory’s child, he is also organizing two funerals. “Yesterday was hard, picking caskets for my wife and son,” he says, looking down at his breakfast. Buggy Burns, right, and his nephew Sean Burns, left. Slavo Koutas On Saturday, September 3, the night before the murders, Buggy was at the Muskoday First Nations for a horse racing tournament. Between 21:30 and 22:00 his wife called. She was scared and upset. “He said [Myles and Damien] he hit Gregory and Bonnie said he was covered in blood and bleeding. I told her to hold the bolts and not let anyone in. No one,” he says. He went to sleep, hoping they would be safe. Meanwhile, the house was in chaos.
Read more: Amid manhunt, a Saskatchewan bowling team reflects on loss and a terrifying close call with Myles Sanderson
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Amid manhunt, a Saskatchewan bowling team reflects on loss and a terrifying close call with Miles Sanderson
Shawn woke up around 6:40 am. with a personal message on Facebook from Buggy’s son, Dayson. “He said his mom was gone and he was going down there. I flew to his house as fast as I could,” Shawn tells Global News. “It’s about a five to six minute drive from my house, south of the refuge. When I got there, I saw the bodies lying there and some of the people told me what happened.” Gregory and Bonnie’s bodies were found in the street next to Gloria Burns, a 62-year-old addiction counselor and Bonnie’s close friend. Gloria was responding to an early morning crisis call from Bonnie when she was caught up in the attacks. A window in their basement was broken, Buggy says, which is how Sanderson – Miles and Damien allegedly gained access. He does not know why Grigoris was targeted. “The house was so bloody, it was all over the kitchen. They chased Grigoris through the house and caught him outside. Bonnie came out to try to help,” says Shawn. Meanwhile, Dayson, Buggy’s second oldest, had locked his two brothers and two babies in a bedroom and told them not to come out. During the frenzy he was stabbed in the neck. “I went in right away to check on the boys,” says Shawn. “People started shouting about it [Myles and Damien] it’s still out there. Everyone was running and shouting, ‘Where are the police?’” When Buggy woke up to the news around 7:30 a.m., he was shocked. He told his teammates he had to go home. Despite the lucrative match scheduled for that morning, his entire team insisted on packing up and going with him. Bonnie was “my rock,” says her husband Buggy. Is provided Upon his return, Sean and an RCMP officer picked up Burns to take him home. “My first reaction [when I saw Bonnie]I just wanted to go and hold her… but they wouldn’t let me destroy evidence, they said,” Buggy recalled, fighting back tears. “There was blood everywhere. I want to go check on my boy, go hold him. But… they said let the coroners do their job. So we sat there waiting and waiting. Seeing them .. they are crying and waiting.” At about 5 p.m., investigators allowed the families to say goodbye. The bodies had been moved from the crime scene to the lawn, Buggy says. “But we still couldn’t see them because they were in bags.”
Read more: Saskatchewan mass-murder suspect carried out similar attack in 2015, court record shows
“We said a prayer with an old man, with [Bonnie] ahead of us, blurring away. And we stopped at each one and on the three bodies we put a cigarette, said a prayer, moved on to the next one and did the same. And then we watched them load.” Dayson had been taken to hospital with the injured but was discharged the same day. He needed three stitches for his stab wound. The whole family is now staying in a hotel in Melfort. Buggy doesn’t know if it could have turned out differently if he hadn’t been away that weekend. “What if I was home? Maybe this would never have happened,” he says. “Or maybe I’d be the fourth victim there on the ground.” Bonnie was a popular figure in the community. Previously a janitor at the school, he was most recently a member of their COVID-19 response team and was charged with taking people’s temperatures at the entrance and disinfecting the playground. Bonnie and Buggy’s house had an open door policy as it was a popular place for the neighborhood kids to sleep over or for Bonnie to feed anyone who was hungry. Buggy and Sean start laughing as they remember her kind, but “cheeky” nature. “She was wonderful, caring and generous,” Buggy says, smiling into his plate of steak and eggs. “She was lovable and cheeky, always rooting for someone.” Shawn laughs. “Yeah, definitely cheeky.” Buggy and Bonnie Burns on their wedding day, 17 years ago. Is provided. Buggy smiles to himself as he remembers meeting Bonnie 32 years ago during an awwwww in Prince Albert. He was just 18 when the couple welcomed their first son, Gregory. “I married her on her birthday so I would never forget it. It would have been our 17th anniversary this month,” says Buggy. But it was a turbulent marriage. Buggy struggled with addictions and was jailed “a few times” for assault. “I was sexually abused by a family member in reservist at a very young age. And I started to hate everybody, you know, fighting at school. And they didn’t know how to challenge that trauma, I guess you could say,” says Buggy. “And then I was sent to a residential school in Prince Albert and abused there again by former students. And that added more fuel to the…
