Three men have been arrested and charged with first degree murder following an altercation which ended in a fatal shooting on Oct. 5. The incident occurred near 5th Street and 6th Ave in Slave Lake.
An autopsy was completed on Oct. 7 by an Edmonton Medical Examiner, and it has been established that 28-year-old Blaine Alfred Cardinal, of Slave Lake, Alberta died as a result of a gunshot wound.
Two of the men held in police custody are from Kinuso, Alberta and were scheduled to appear in Slave Lake Provincial Court on Oct. 8, 2008. One of the men, The Leader has learned, was the victim of a stabbing roughly a week prior to the Oct. 5 shooting. Some people who spoke to The Leader anonymously have suggested the two incidents may be related, but there is no official word on that.
The third man was arrested at his Fishing Lake residence late on Oct. 8.
Corporal Wayne Oakes, Media Relations Officer for the RCMP’s “K” Division spoke with The Leader on several occasions leading up to the official news release of the event.
“RCMP are cautioning everyone impacted by this death not to engage in any form of vigilante activity,” said Oakes, in response to suggestions that members of the immediate family had received threats and were in hiding. Oakes denied that the RCMP advised anyone to ‘lay low’ or to leave home following the attack , although The Leader is aware of at least one case where relatives of one of the accused did exactly that.
Reporters with the Edmonton Journal spoke with the family of the deceased, who have added the recent tragedy to two other deaths in the family.
The uncle of victim Blaine Cardinal said he lost another nephew and niece in the past few years, one from illness and another from an overdose. “The family is starting to feel short on luck,” said Joseph Cardinal. The relative also informed Journal reporters that his nephew is survived by a common-law wife and a three-year-old son named Carmine. Two brothers, two sisters and a mother reside in Slave Lake.
His uncle remembers him as an outgoing man with many friends and a talented tattoo artist, sought after by those looking for body art. He last visited with his nephew at a family gathering last summer and now regrets not visiting him more. “I watched him grow up, from a little baby, and now he’s not going to be around anymore,” he said. “It’s sad.”
A funeral service for Cardinal was held on Oct. 13, officiated by Pastor Deano Young and interment followed at Slave Lake Cemetery.

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