Photo: Cape Dorset man guilty of first degree murder in killing of Daisy Curley

Jeffrey Salomonie, 49, is guilty of first degree murder in the May 2009 death of Daisy Curley of Iqaluit, Justice Neil Sharkey ruled April 5 at the Nunavut Court of Justice. “Jeffrey Salomonie is guilty of first degree murder because he caused Daisy Curley’s death while committing the offence of sexual assault,” Sharkey said. Salomonie had entered a plea of manslaughter at the start of his trial Feb. 1, saying he was too drunk to know what he was doing and remember what happened. “I reject that notion outright,” Sharkey said in his decision. “It just does not make common sense, and the law and common sense are not strangers.” Salomonie, who was detained in a cell at the courthouse, did not appear in the courtroom to hear Sharkey’s decision. Sentencing is scheduled for April 6, when Crown lawyers will offer additional recommendations for Sharkey to apply to Salomonie’s mandatory life sentence, which carries an automatic 25-year period of parole ineligibility. (PHOTO BY STEVE DUCHARME)