Family of woman killed in Saskatoon seeking accountability after charges stayed

Warning: This story contains graphic details.

Shukri Hashi remembers being speechless when a Crown attorney told her over the phone last week that the manslaughter charge against the woman accused of killing her younger sister was being stayed.

"I feel like I just really blacked out," said Hashi. "We were just stunned and didn't have any words to say."

Hodan Hashi, 23, died after a bloody fight with another woman at a Saskatoon nightclub in November. Video of the incident was widely shared online.

Saskatoon's Paige Theriault-Fisher was initially charged with second-degree murder, but the charge was reduced to manslaughter the same day.

That charge was stayed last week, with Crown prosecutors saying the fight was mutual, no weapons were used and the fatal injury was an accident. The defence team maintains Theriault-Fisher acted in self-defence.

"[It] was way beyond anything that we thought would happen," said Hashi.

Now, Hashi said shock has turned to anger.

"This is a death and it's a family member that we lost in a very brutal and violent and public way," she said.

"We think it deserves all the resources of the prosecution's office, whether they believe it's going to lead to a conviction or not."

Race played a role, sister says 

Hodan Hashi graduated from Sir Robert Borden High School before moving to Saskatoon in the summer of 2021 to pursue studies in early childhood education at Saskatchewan Polytechnic, according to her sister.

The family had lived in Saskatoon in 2015 and Hashi wanted to return to a familiar place where she had many friends, her sister said.

Videos widely circulated on social media show Hashi's last moments fighting Theriault-Fisher on the dance floor of Lit Nightclub Nov. 5, 2022.

Theriault-Fisher is seen repeatedly striking Hashi in the face and neck as her head bashes against the floor. A pool of blood can be seen beneath Hashi in the video.

An eyewitness told CBC at the time that from her vantage point, it was clear Hashi was injured when she fell onto broken glass on the floor.

Police were called to the building in Saskatoon's downtown just before 3 a.m. Shortly after, paramedics tried to treat Hashi, but she died of her injuries.

"It was a gruesome, violent death and someone played a role in that," Shukri Hashi said. "That person needs to be held accountable for it."

In an emailed statement, the provincial Ministry of Justice said it filed a stay of proceedings because the incident did not meet all the standards for prosecution: a reasonable likelihood of conviction and being in the public interest.

"During the fight, the two women went to the ground and, tragically, Hodan Hashi was cut by a broken glass lying on the floor. Based on the evidence, that cut was the fatal injury that caused Ms. Hashi's death," the Ministry of Justice wrote in the statement.

"After careful consideration, Public Prosecutions has concluded that the fatal injury resulted from an accident; there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction for the charge of manslaughter or any other criminal charge."

Hashi's sister disagrees. She said she believes race "played a role" in the charges being stayed. Hodan was Black of Somalian descent while Theriault-Fisher is white.

"There's no way that someone like my sister, any person of colour, would have walked away with zero consequences for their actions that night if the roles were reversed," said Hashi.

WATCH | Reaction to the stayed charge:

Khadija El Hilali, a community organizer in Ottawa who was behind a vigil and rally held for Hodan last year, said the news has shaken Black and Somali-Canadian community members.

"We've seen time and time again how this legal system continues to protect white people at all costs and sometimes that cost is black people," she said.

"The justification for staying the charges is very insulting."

"Everybody Hodan met, loved her," said Shukri Hashi, wiping away tears. "She had friends from like all different cultures and backgrounds, she would just make friends with the elderly women on the streets."

Hashi said her sister's death has left a void in her family.

"She's really close to her baby sister, who misses her a lot."

Apology not accepted

Theriault-Fisher gave a tearful speech at a press conference last week, while her lawyer maintained she acted in self-defence.

"It was never meant to happen. If I could give everything back, I would take that day back," she said in between tears. "I really do wish Hodan was with us today — and I really hope that they can heal and move forward."

Hashi said her family is unable to heal and does not accept the apology.

Hashi said her family now plans to hire a private investigator to gather new evidence. It would need to be presented in front of a court within a year in order for the case to be resumed.

The family also filed a lawsuit against Theriault-Fisher and the nightclub in March.

To her, fighting for justice for her sister means to seek "accountability."

"We understand that it's going to be a complicated and lengthy fight, but we're just not going to stop until we have some sort of resolution," she said.

"We just wholeheartedly believe there was a crime committed that night, and we believe that not enough was done by the prosecution's office."

Protests are now being planned by supporters of the Hashi family and Somali-Canadian community members for April 29 in Ottawa, Regina and Saskatoon.

Support is available for anyone affected by this news. You can talk to a mental health professional via Wellness Together Canada by calling 1-866-585-0445 or text WELLNESS to 686868 for youth or 741741 for adults. It is free and confidential.

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