Nunavut court: Igloolik man guilty of 2nd degree murder

Peter Angutimarik is guilty of second degree murder, Justice Neil Sharkey found in a verdict judgment issued Feb. 16 at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit. (FILE PHOTO)

Justice Neil Sharkey found Peter Angutimarik guilty of second degree murder in the killing of his roommate, Esa Angutiqjuaq, in a verdict issued Feb. 16 at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit.

“I am satisfied… that the Crown has met the burden establishing the actus reus in this case beyond a reasonable doubt, namely, that Peter Angutimarik caused the death of Esa Angutiqjuaq,” Justice Sharkey read from his prepared decision.

(Actus reus means “the guilty act.”)

Esa Angutiqjuaq, 19, died after Angutimarik slit his throat with a single cut from a seven-inch knife in the early morning hours of Feb. 28, 2009, at an Igloolik house which he shared with his cousin Jonah Innuksuk and Angutimarik.

“It is obvious from the nature of the wound that the person who slit Esa’s throat wanted Esa to die,” Sharkey said.

According to a post-mortem report, an eight-inch knife wound to the neck — two inches deep — severed the major arteries on the right side of Angutiqjuaq’s head as well as the larynx and lead quickly to his death.

Angutimarik, now in his 30s, pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge on the first day of his trial on Dec. 15, 2015.

He entered the not guilty plea in spite of an earlier confession to RCMP officers in the hours immediately after the murder in 2009.

The admissibility of the confession as evidence was the subject of a voir dire hearing before the trial, when Angutimarik’s lawyers argued the comments were made under duress and only done to end his police interrogation.

“Voir dire” hearings are special court processes held to decide if certain pieces of evidence should be admitted in court.

But Sharkey ruled in the voir dire hearing that Angutimarik’s confession was admissible, and his confession was presented during the trial.

“He [Esa] was alone. I saw the opportunity. I took a knife, slit his throat. I panicked, went upstairs, pretended to be sleeping until I heard a scream,” Angutimarik told RCMP interrogators in 2009.

Angutimarik said he was upset that Angutiqjuaq wasn’t contributing around the house, or paying for groceries.

“He was taking my best friend [Jonah Innuksuk] away from me, the only one in the world to accept me,” Angutimarik added, saying the murder was committed in a fit of jealousy.

“There is nothing in Peter’s distress during the police interview which leads me to doubt the truthfulness of his confession,” Sharkey said.

Angutimarik’s decision to plead not guilty required Crown prosecutor Amy Porteous to supplement the confession with physical evidence gathered at the crime scene by forensic investigators.

Bloody rubber gloves worn during the attack were discovered by police inside the Igloolik residence, and later testing revealed Angutimarik’s DNA on the inside of both gloves.

A knife testing positive for Angutiqjuaq’s blood was also found — stashed in a box in an upstairs cubbyhole, where Angutimarik told police to look for it.

Angutiqjuaq’s blood was also found on a pair of pants in Angutimarik’s room.

Jonah Innuksuk, the third roommate at the house, gave evidence on the first day of the trial.

Innuksuk told the court Angutiqjuaq fell into his bedroom coughing blood before heading downstairs, where Innuksuk called emergency services and attempted to treat his cousin’s injury.

Those statements were corroborated by testimony from forensic investigators, who gave a similar account of Innuksuk’s movements based on the blood marks he left around the house while tending to the mortally wounded Angutiqjuaq.

Alison Crowe, Angutimarik’s lawyer, suggested during her cross-examination of Innuksuk that he was one who committed the attack.

“I found Jonah’s testimony to be plausible and internally consistent. Beyond that I found his evidence to be both credible and compelling,” Sharkey said.

After reading his decision, Sharkey addressed members of Angutiqjuaq’s family sitting in the courtroom.

“This is a sad case, the sadness that you have as a family at your loss, which cannot be repaired, and the sadness that we all feel for the wrong-headed youth [Angutimarik] that has led to this tragedy,” Justice Sharkey said.

“Peter makes no sense when he makes this accusation that Esa was not sharing, because Peter was the one who ended up taking more.”

Angutimarik’s conviction of second degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence.

Lawyers will make submissions for parole eligibility the week of Feb. 29 at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit.

Sharkey will likely impose a sentence shortly thereafter.

NUCJ R. v. Angutimarik by NunatsiaqNews