Woman faces murder charge in fatal Whale Cove fire
Second-degree murder and arson charges laid after unconscious man found in home during fire
Roberta Etigaitok, 36, is charged with second-degree murder and arson in connection with a Whale Cove fire this week. She is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 21. (File photo)
A 36-year-old woman has been charged with second-degree murder of man in a fatal house fire in Whale Cove this week.
Roberta Etigaitok was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and arson with disregard for human life, RCMP announced Thursday in a news release.
The release did not indicate when Etigaitok was arrested or whether she and the victim knew each other.
Early Monday morning, police officers and volunteer firefighters responded to a house fire in the 200 block of Whale Cove. After the fire was extinguished, firefighters discovered an unconscious man in the home, RCMP said.
The man — who RCMP identified Thursday as Jonathan Ekwalak, 37 — was taken to the local health centre where he was pronounced dead.
After the fire was deemed suspicious, the Nunavut RCMP’s major crime unit took over the investigation with assistance from the Nunavut fire marshal’s office and the Nunavut coroner’s office.
Etigaitok remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court in Iqaluit on Oct. 21.
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