Cheyenne Antoine, accused in Brittney Gargol death, appears in court

Accused in Gargol death was friend of teen Cheyenne Antoine, a 20-year-old recently charged in the death of Brittney Gargol, was a friend of the teen, according to Gargol's stepmom.

Family and friends of an 18-year-old woman found dead on the outskirts of Saskatoon two years ago sobbed as a Crown prosecutor read charges against her accused murderer on Wednesday.

Brittney Gargol’s family were in Saskatoon Provincial Court for the first appearance of Cheyenne Antoine, a 20-year-old woman recently charged with second-degree murder and causing an indignity to a body in connection to Gargol’s death.

“So thankful that the investigators that have been working on this for almost two years never gave up hope, because it was very hard for us at times to keep that hope up,” Gargol’s stepmother Kristi Wickenhauser told media outside court.

Gargol was found dead March 25, 2015, near Valley Road. Police initially said she was found severely injured and pronounced dead in hospital, but an update Tuesday clarified Gargol was found dead at the scene.

She and Antoine were friends, according to Wickenhauser. A post shared on Gargol’s Facebook page the day she died shows the two together in a selfie.

“She was a wonderful person whose life was cut short, and it’s not fair. It’s just not fair,” Wickenhauser said.

Friends told CTV shortly after Gargol’s death the 18-year-old had hoped one day to open a hotel. She was a hard worker who befriended everyone, they said.

Antoine was the subject of missing persons report in August 2016. She was found about a week after being reported missing.

She put her hands over her face when the charges were read in court.