Iqaluit killer was granted day parole 3 months before new murder charge

Jopey Atsiqtaq, accused in 1986 killing of Iqaluit teen, served sentence for 2 other murders committed in the city that same year

Jopey Atsiqtaq enters court in Iqaluit on Sept. 25, following his arrest in connection with the killing of Mary Ann Birmingham in 1986. (File photo by Arty Sarkisian)

By Jeff Pelletier - Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In June — three months before being charged in the killing of an Iqaluit teen 38 years ago — Jopey Atsiqtaq sought full parole for two other murders that occurred in 1986 that he was convicted of and imprisoned for.

On June 25, the Parole Board of Canada denied that request but instead granted him a six-month day parole, according to a copy of the board’s decision obtained by Nunatsiaq News.

Atsiqtaq is back in custody after being charged last month with second-degree murder in the May 1986 killing of 15-year-old Mary Ann Birmingham.

The decisions to deny full parole but grant him day parole for six months, where he would have to return each night to a “community-based residential facility,” are dated June 25, 2024. Three months later, he made his first court appearance in the May 1986 killing of Birmingham.

After that September 25 court appearance, Crown prosecutor Stephanie Boydell revealed that at the time of his arrest the day before in Ottawa, Atsiqtaq was on parole for the 1986 murders in Iqaluit of Pootoogoo Eyesiak, 21, and his mother Oolayou Eyesiak, 51.

The parole board decision describes Atsiqtaq as having “slashed” the throats of his two victims after a night of drinking and playing cribbage in November 1986.

After the murders, he showered, went to a pool hall and then to a friend’s house where he fell asleep and was arrested the next day.

On June 16, 1988, Atsiqtaq was given a life sentence for the two second-degree murders, with no parole eligibility for 15 years.

The 2024 parole board decision indicates the Correctional Service of Canada recommended day parole, believing Atsiqtaq’s “risk is manageable with the proposed release plan and supervision strategy.”

It said the correctional service also noted that “despite your poor community supervision history, you have been successfully managed in minimum security for almost four years, you have been sober for seven years, you have not displayed aggressive behaviour for almost 10 years, you have completed programming, and you successfully completed several escorted temporary absences.”

According to the parole board decision, Atsiqtaq’s increasing risk factors include his history of criminal convictions, including assault, arson, resisting arrest and escaping custody.

It said his decreasing risk factors include the completion of numerous programs on substance use and violence prevention.

The parole board decision noted Atsiqtaq “had not engaged in aggressive behaviour” since December 2014 and that over the past decade he was mostly incarcerated in medium- and minimum-security facilities.

None of the institutions, nor the community-based residential facility, are named in the parole decision.

Atsiqtaq’s “release plan” included continuing counselling and earning some income by selling carvings. The report said Atsiqtaq maintains a relationship and communication with his brother, and was hoping to eventually develop a relationship with his sons.

Some of the parole conditions included no use of alcohol or drugs, participating in a treatment plan, and having no contact with the family of his victims.

Atsiqtaq’s next court date is Oct. 29.

 

 

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