In near-fatal attack, Nunavut man leaves his friend paralyzed

Joey Aqqiaruq, 29, of Igloolik, has received a seven-year sentence for attempted murder last month for trying to kill an unconscious friend by smashing a chair over his face and ramming a screwdriver into his skull. (FILE PHOTO)

An Igloolik man who tried to kill his unconscious friend by smashing a chair over his face and plunging a screwdriver into his skull will get a seven-year prison sentence for attempted murder, Justice Susan Cooper ruled last month.

Joey Aqqiaruq, 29, of Igloolik, committed the crime during a drunken brawl in March 2016. He admitted that he intended to kill his victim.

The brawl occurred while children were in the house. No one in the house intervened, Cooper said.

The victim, Mario Auqsak, 25, has difficulty speaking and spent three months in hospital followed by many months of care at a rehabilitation centre and a long-term care home.

He was left paralyzed on the left side of his body, and only recently regained control of his bladder and bowels.

“There is no doubt that he will suffer impairment for the rest of his life and both he and his family will have to make significant adjustments to accommodate his limitations,” Cooper said in her judgment.

The incident occurred after Aqqiaruq and some friends had gone out to get some ice, and had drunk whisky and vodka.

After dropping the ice off at his brother’s house, Aqqiaruq visited a friend at a house where they were joined by other people, some of whom brought alcohol. Auqsak was among those visitors.

After getting intoxicated, Aqqiaruq and Auqsak fell asleep. But Auqsak woke up when Aqqiaruq’s brother, known only as “PA” in the judgment, kicked him in the groin.

After Auqsak and PA started fighting, Aqqiaruq intervened on the side of his brother.

He and Auqsak began fighting and after exchanging punches, Aqqiaruq got Auksaq into a headlock, brought him to the floor, sat on top of him and, while holding him down with one hand, punched him numerous times in the face with the other.

After that, Aqqiaruq kicked Auqsak in the head four or five times with his stocking feet.

By this time, Auqsak was unconscious, Cooper said.

But Aqqiaruq didn’t stop. He picked up a chair and smashed it twice over Auqsak’s face, breaking the chair into pieces.

Then Aqqiaruq grabbed a screwdriver from a nearby table, turned Auqsak’s head to one side and plunged the screwdriver into his head just behind his right ear, causing profuse bleeding.

“It is admitted that, at the time he smashed the chair down on Mario and stabbed Mario, Joey intended to kill him,” Cooper said in her judgment.

While some children went to get the RCMP, Aqqiaruq and his friends tried to stop the bleeding and took Auksaq to the health centre. From there, he was medevaced to Iqaluit and then Ottawa, in critical condition.

Auksaq received emergency neurosurgery to decompress his brain. He could breathe only with the help of a ventilator and was fed through a tube, Cooper said.

After numerous surgeries and treatments, he was moved after three months into a rehabilitation centre.

“He was confined to a wheelchair. He had no use of his legs or his left arm. He had to wear a helmet to protect his head and a diaper because he had no control over his bladder or bowels. He had no recollection of the incident,” Cooper said.

In September 2016, Auksaq was transferred to a long-term care centre, where he has made some progress, Cooper said.

“He can now lift five pounds with his right arm. He is able to use his right leg. He does not have any use of the left side of his body. Using the strength of his right side, Mario is now able to transfer himself from his bed to his wheelchair and is able to move his wheelchair, thus, giving him a somewhat greater measure of independence,” she said.

Cooper said Auksaq is not able to work or go to school and worries about the strain on his family, who must now look after him.

“There has been and will continue to be financial loss as both parents were unable to work for some time. It is expected that the mother may be required to stay home full time,” she said.

In reaching a seven-year prison sentence, Cooper accepted a joint submission from Crown and defence lawyers, saying it falls “within the range of appropriate sentences.”

She gave Aqqiaruq credit for the 684 days he spent in custody waiting for the court to deal with the case on a 1 to 1.5 basis, which amounts to a total pre-trial custody credit of 1,026 days.

Subtracted from the 2,555 days represented by the seven-year sentence, that leaves 1,529 days left to serve, which works out to roughly four years and two months.

Cooper received conflicting information about Aqqiaruq’s life history. The young man told his lawyer that his family life was good, but a psychiatric report found that he suffered from childhood neglect.

Cooper also said Aqqiaruq had been sexually abused by an uncle and by a friend of the uncle.

And Aqqiaruq has seven previous convictions for crimes of violence, but until now, has served no time in jail, Cooper said.

“There is no dispute that Joey is extremely remorseful for what has happened. He accepted responsibility immediately. He entered an early guilty plea,” she said.

R. v. Aqqiaruq, 2018 Nunavut Court of Justice by NunatsiaqNews on Scribd