Nunavut murder case may be resolved without trial

Dwayne Sateana’s next court appearance here, at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit, is scheduled for Jan. 5

Dwayne Sateana of Rankin Inlet, who faces second-degree murder charges in connection with the Nov. 22 death of his girlfriend, Edith Angalik, may not have to go to trial.

“It may be possible to resolve this matter, depending on the disclosure from the Crown,” said James Morton, Sateana’s defence lawyer, over the telephone in open court Dec. 16, in an Iqaluit court room, suggesting the possibility of a plea agreement.

Nunavut RCMP opened an investigation into the death of Angalik, a 25-year-old mother of three, after her nude body was found outdoors in the Area 5 section of Rankin Inlet Nov. 22.

Police charged Sateana, 30, with second-degree murder on Nov. 25, shortly after officers from the major crimes unit and forensic identification services began investigating Angalik’s death.

“If [Sateana’s] version of the facts are the same as the Crown’s, then we may be able to resolve this. But the facts could be very different,” Morton told Nunatsiaq News later.

“So far I’ve received absolutely nothing from the Crown, though.”

Crown lawyer Zack Horricks told Justice Robert Kilpatrick that Sateana, remanded in custody since his arrest, did not have a defence lawyer at his last scheduled appearance at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit on Dec. 2.

That explains why Morton has yet to receive the Crown’s disclosure on the case.

Sateana’s next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 5, via video-conference from the Baffin Correctional Centre in Iqaluit.