Mackaylah Gerard-Roussin, a 20-year-old First Nations woman from Manitoba, was first reported missing on Aug. 25, 2022. In the days leading up to her disappearance, 24-year-old Josh Benoit had already begun planning her killing.

On Aug. 23, surveillance footage showed him purchasing items including a plastic storage bin, tarp, baseball bat, duct tape, and bags of concrete. Two days later, he dug a grave in a remote area south of Woodridge, preparing a burial site sized to fit the container.

That same night, Benoit picked up Gerard-Roussin. She was later beaten and stabbed to death. On Aug. 27, Benoit’s father discovered a tarp-covered bin containing what appeared to be a human hand in the back of his son’s vehicle and immediately called 911. Benoit fled, later burying her body along an ATV trail before being arrested near La Broquerie after attempting to set his car on fire. Gerard-Roussin’s remains were found in a plastic container days after she was reported missing.

On May 5, 2026, Benoit was found guilty of first-degree murder by Justice Candace Grammond. According to Global News, the court determined the killing was planned and deliberate, despite no clear motive being identified. The conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Update July 3 2026:

Josh Benoit was sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder of 20-year-old First Nations woman Mackaylah Gerard-Roussin, who was killed in August 2022. Under Canadian law, he will not be eligible for parole for 25 years.