Clyde River grieves hamlet councillor, victim of Iqaluit homicide

Community members in Clyde River are grieving the death of Sandra Aipellee, who was the victim of what police say was a homicide in Iqaluit in October. She was a hamlet councillor, who had just been sworn in this summer.

Steven Aipellee, her brother, said she had been visiting Iqaluit with her partner when when she was fatally stabbed on Oct. 17.

“It’s unbelievable, that happening to the family,” he said in a phone interview from Clyde River on Friday. She had one sister and five brothers.

Nunavut RCMP had reported her death to the public on Oct. 19, but didn’t identify her then. Police charged 32-year-old Christie Nutarariaq with second-degree murder. She was taken into custody and had a court appearance scheduled for Nov. 17, an RCMP news release said.

Steven Aipellee said police told the family that Sandra knew the accused.

He described his sister as a social person who looked out for those around her, and as a dedicated caregiver to her mother. She leaves behind three children, he said, one young girl and two teenage boys now being cared for by their grandmother.

“Sandra was kind to everyone,” her brother said. “She had love when she talked to people, whoever they were, children, elders or adults. A lot of people knew her.”

On Oct. 19, flags at the hamlet office were lowered half mast in her honour, said Billy Palluq, the hamlet’s chief administrative officer.

“We were shocked and we’ve been saddened,” he said, saying she had joined council in early July.

She had recently earned a certificate from the Piqqusilirivvik Inuit cultural school, he said, and was an active member on the hamlet’s recreation committee.

“She was doing an excellent job,” he said.

Dr. Anna Banerji, a Toronto-based pediatrician, has since launched a Go Fund Me fundraiser in support of the family.

Banerji described Aipellee as part of her extended family, saying she was the aunt of her late adopted son Nathan, also from Clyde River. She said the money raised will go to supporting Aipellee’s three children.

“Financially, it’s very difficult for them, plus emotionally very traumatic to lose your mother in such a tragic way,” she said in a phone interview from Toronto. “I know the cost of living is so high, and if there’s anything we can do to help to make it a little bit less difficult, then why shouldn’t we?”

The fundraiser has set a goal of raising $16,000, and has raised just over $2,000 as of Friday.