Life Sentence for Saskatchewan Man Who Killed Wife With Strychnine in Drink

Michael MacKay (L) was escorted out of Battleford Courthouse by a RCMP officer after being convicted of second-degree murder of his wife Cindy MacKay in Battleford, Sask., on Nov. 20, 2023. The Canadian Press/Heywood Yu

Michael MacKay drove two of his daughters to school then returned home to the family farm in Saskatchewan, where he mixed a deadly drink of Gatorade and strychnine for his wife.

Court heard Cindy MacKay, 38, died in February 2020 after drinking the concoction. Strychnine is a toxic pesticide that has been used to kill gophers and coyotes on farms.