Megan Gallagher's family dismayed when accused killer makes 1st court appearance over phone

The family of Megan Gallagher went to court in Saskatoon on Monday to see the man charged with killing her.

Instead, BrianGallagher heard a disembodied voice on a telephone.

Bobby James Thomas, 27, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Megan Gallagher. She disappeared on Sept. 19, 2020 in Saskatoon.A year after her disappearance, Saskatoon police said they were treating the case as a homicide.

Thomas was arrested in Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

Outside court, Brian Gallagher said it's been a long and heartbreaking process since his daughter vanished. Hearing the alleged killer's voice but not seeing his face, and having the reading ofthe charges waived, are just the latest frustrating steps, he said.

"There's something very cold about a telephone call or a video appearance,"he said."There's something much more human about somebody being in person, seeing their eyes and having them see us and face us as well."

Megan Gallagher's family and friends wore shirts and pins emblazoned with her image. Debbie Gallagher, Megan's stepmother, wanted Thomas in court to see the image of the person he's accused of killing.

"Look at Megan's face and tell us how this doesn't make you stay awake 24 hours a day like us," she said.

Gallagher waslast seen on Sept. 19, 2020, when she left a friend's home in Saskatoon's west end. Her family last saw her the day before that, when she was at their farm just outside of the city.

A police report was filed on Sept. 30.

Four people arrested in connection with her disappearanceare already facingcharges of indignity to human remains.

Thomas returns to court Oct. 6.