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On February 7, 2020, Cindy McKay was poisoned by her husband, Michael McKay on their family farm located near Meota, in North Battleford. Michael made a lethal blend of strychnine and Gatorade, the former is a fatal poison that is meant to kill the pests. Cindy soon began to feel its effects, as the poison began to blend into her bloodstream. She felt it extremely hard to breathe and started screaming.
She was soon rushed to the nearby hospital. In the ambulance itself, she suffered a cardiac arrest and was eventually taken by flight to a hospital in Saskatchewan. The doctors declared her dead on February 12, 2020, with multiple organ failure. The murder of Cindy McKay is known to be one of the most cold-blooded crimes in Battleford.
Here we will take a look at some of the most chilling details surrounding the death of Cindy Mckay.
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Killed with poison: 5 chilling Details about Cindy McKay's murder
1) Cindy MacKay was killed with a pesticide
On the morning of February 7, 2020, Cindy was not feeling well, so Michael dropped the kids at school. Their youngest child was with Cindy. When Michael reached home, he asked about Cindy's whereabouts and went to the farm warehouse.
He mixed an unmeasured proportion of strychnine along with a drink of Gatorade and provided it to Cindy. Cindy had a cardiac arrest in the ambulance, suffered for five days in the hospital, and eventually died of multiple organ failure.
Strychnine is an extremely lethal poison that is used to kill pests and small animals on farms. Strychnine poisoning takes effect quickly in the form of muscle convulsions and asphyxia leading to the person's death.
2) Cindy McKay was choked with poison and screamed unable to breathe
Strychnine is a very fatal poison, that after entering the body makes the muscles contract. Cindy McKay was provided with a drink by Michael and she drank it without any suspicion. In the beginning, she didn't feel anything different except a powdered mixture sticking to her teeth and her drink tasting bitter.
But eventually, as the poison started blending into the body, Cindy's body muscles began to contract deeply. She screamed unable to breathe. Her youngest daughter was present at that time. Michael made an emotional call to 911 asking for help. She was rushed to the nearby hospital but she had a stroke on the way. Cindy McKay was shifted by air to the hospital in Saskatchewan but died five days later.
3) Michael McKay was having an affair months before the murder
Michael and Cindy McKay met each other at a church back in 2005 and then married in the same at the farm. Eventually, as years passed by, they had three children and in 2015, the family decided to shift to Cindy's family farm in Meota.
As per an article posted on November 20, 2023, by the National Post, the authorities discovered that Michael McKay began an extramarital affair a few months before Cindy's death. He met a woman on an online 'hookup site' and soon began a physically intimate relationship with her.
Investigators also found out that on the previous day before the poisoning, Michael had responded to the woman inquiring about Cindy's health by saying,
"Goodbye will likely be in the next few days."
This made it clear that Michael had pre-planned everything and the murder was not committed in a sudden fit of rage.
Cindy's father, Larry Mack shared with Brantford Expositor, that he believed Michael McKay killed his wife to get the farmhouse to himself and move in with the woman he was having an affair with.
4) Cindy McKay died of multiple organ failure
Cindy McKay was rushed to a hospital after she had suffered a heart attack in the ambulance. As recommended by the staff, she was taken by flight to a hospital in the nearby town of Saskatchewan.
She fought for life for five whole days and was taken off life support on February 12, 2020. The doctor confirmed that she died from multiple organ failure.
5) Michael shaped Cindy McKay's death as a suicide
Strychnine is a colorless pesticide that Michael mixed into a drink of Gatorade. The poison completely blended into the potion, avoiding any suspicion from Cindy.
After Cindy succumbed to multiple organ failure, the hospital staff informed the police of their suspicions regarding her death. Michael tried to shape Cindy McKay's death as a case of suicide. He maintained this lie for years among relatives and community members. But as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigated the case their suspicions seemed to point towards Michael.
He was arrested in 2021 and charged with first-degree murder. Michael pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2023 and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years.
