Saskatoon woman calls common-law partner’s death ‘senseless’

Ashley Hague’s first cause for concern was when her phone went silent.

“If I texted him or call him he’d always, always answer,” said the 22-year-old Saskatoon woman.

“When he wasn’t answering my calls or texts, I knew something was wrong.”

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READ MORE: Saskatoon man dies after hit with pool cue at southern Manitoba bowling alley

Her 25-year-old common-law partner, Zachary Straughan, was at a bowling alley in Winkler, Man., on Saturday night. Hague said he was in the community working a construction job.

Hague eventually did receive a call, but it was from a woman at Winkler’s hospital. She would later find out Straughan had been assaulted and was airlifted to Winnipeg.

Authorities said Straughan was struck multiple times with a pool cue. The community is about 20 kilometres north of the Canada-U.S. border.

“I thought, you know he’s going to be really hurt, he’s going to have a concussion,” Hague said.

However, it was much worse; doctors informed her that Straughan was showing no brain activity. She eventually arrived in Winnipeg and was able spend time at his bedside before saying goodbye.

“You get there and he’s laying there, he’s breathing, his heart’s beating, but … he doesn’t move, he can’t do anything, he just lays there,” Hague said.

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A 29-year-old Saskatoon man is now in custody in connection to the assault. Hague said she learned it was over $16 and she wants the man charged with second-degree murder.

“What do you think is going to happen when you smash somebody’s skull open with a pool cue? You know nothing good is going to come of that,” Hague said.

Straughan leaves behind three children from a previous marriage and Hague said the two had just discovered they were also expecting a child.

“Parts of me say ‘I don’t want to do it, I don’t want to do it without him, I don’t want to be a single mom’ and I didn’t want my baby to not know their dad,” Hague said.

“But then another part of me tells me ‘know, you have to stay strong because he’s going to be there the whole time anyways.’”

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Hague said she wants Straughan to be remembered as a generous man, who thought of others before himself. GoFundMe pages have been set up to cover funeral costs and provide support for Straughan’s children.