The Supreme Court of Canada has ordered a retrial in the case of Cindy Gladue, the woman found in a tub in an Edmonton motel room back in 2011. But instead of facing another first-degree murder trial, Bradley Barton, the Ontario truck driver who admitted to hiring her for sex, will only be retried for manslaughter.
Warning: This story contains graphic content
For those who haven’t followed this case closely, let’s break it down. Gladue was a 36-year-old Métis mother who bled to death from an 11 cm wound inside her vaginal wall. Barton said it was an accident caused by “rough but consensual” sex. The Crown argued it was a violent assault. A jury found Barton not guilty of murder—after hearing her repeatedly described in court as a “prostitute” and a “native.” That verdict set off a firestorm, especially among those who fight for justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women.
The Alberta Court of Appeal later overturned the acquittal and called for a new trial for first-degree murder. The assertion is that serious legal mistakes were made. But on Friday, in a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled Barton should only face manslaughter charges. The reasoning? While deeply flawed, the errors made in the first trial didn’t “taint” the jury’s decision enough to warrant a new murder trial.
A Justice System That Failed Cindy Gladue (The Ongoing ‘Woman Found In Tub’ Case)
This case is messy, to say the least. What stood out in that first trial was how Gladue herself was put on trial just as much as Barton. Instead of focusing on what happened that night, a considerable part of the proceedings revolved around her sexual history. The prosecution even went as far as showing her preserved vaginal tissue in court as evidence. A move that was widely condemned for dehumanizing her.
Justice Michael Moldaver, writing for the Supreme Court majority, did not call out the system’s failures. He said the court process “let her down—indeed, it let us all down.” He reminded everyone that her life mattered. Being an Indigenous woman who did sex work didn’t make her any less valuable.
But here’s the thing—while the ruling acknowledges the injustice of Gladue’s treatment, it stops short of doing anything to correct it fully. Some legal experts and advocates believe this was an opportunity to set a precedent in how the courts handle cases involving Indigenous women. Instead, it feels like another reminder that the justice system doesn’t work the same way for everyone.
What’s Next?
Barton’s lawyer is already preparing for his manslaughter retrial, which is set for next year. His defense? Pretty much the same as before. His lawyer has said Barton will “tell his story again” because the jury believed him once, so why wouldn’t they believe him a second time?
Meanwhile, Indigenous rights advocates and legal experts are calling for systemic changes. Melanie Omeniho, president of Women of the Métis Nation, said that Indigenous women are often treated like criminals themselves when they step into a courtroom—even when they’re the victims. And she’s not wrong. Cases like this follow a familiar pattern: a woman found in a tub, a trial filled with bias, and years of appeals before justice (or something resembling it) is finally served.
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls has been pushing for major legal reforms. They are fighting to prevent cases like Gladue’s from being handled the way they were. But for now, it’s unclear if anything will change.
Author: Daniel Mercer
Bio: Daniel Mercer is an independent legal analyst and former investigative journalist with over a decade of experience covering Canadian court cases and justice system reforms.
