Iqaluit man gets life sentence for violent killing of woman
William Autut pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2020 death of Leah Kilabuk, he is eligible for parole after serving 9 years
William Autut pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Leah Kilabuk. In court Tuesday, a judge sentenced him to life in prison with no parole eligibility for nine years. (File photo)
This story was updated on Thursday, March 7, at 10:30 a.m. ET.
In a packed Iqaluit courtroom Tuesday, William Autut was handed a life sentence for the violent killing of Leah Kilabuk four years ago.
“Violent crime against Indigenous women is holding this territory back profoundly,” Justice Christian Lyons said in handing down his sentence.
He said it’s important “that people in this territory know that if you butcher a woman with a knife, even if you’re extremely intoxicated, that you sit in jail for a long time.”
Approximately 20 people, including members of Kilabuk’s family, were in the courtroom. Many wore red shirts with the acronym MMIWG, which stands for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
After the sentence was handed down, they embraced and many cried after waiting four years for the outcome.
Autut pleaded guilty in December to manslaughter in the death of Kilabuk, 43.
According to a joint submission by Crown and defence lawyers, Autut was arrested and charged Feb. 6, 2020, after surrendering to the RCMP and telling officers that Kilabuk was dead. He was 52 years old at the time.
Officers investigated and found Kilabuk’s body at her home. She had been stabbed numerous times.
Although Autut and Kilabuk had been in a relationship for three years and lived together until her death, at the time she died, Autut was on probation for two separate assaults on Kilabuk.
He had also been ordered by the court not to be in Kilabuk’s presence while drinking, but both were drunk at the time she was killed. Kilabuk was last heard from on Feb. 4, 2020.
Lyons called her violent death “chilling,” saying “this case is about more than Mr. Autut. It’s about the kind of Nunavut we want.”
Before sentencing, three victim impact statements were read aloud by members of Kilabuk’s family. All of them spoke of the mental and physical toll that losing her has had on them.
Eileen Kilabuk Weber said she had lost her emotional support and suffered multiple strokes because of the stress of her younger sister’s death.
Ann Marlene Kilabuk said she has been unable to work a full-time job for three years, blaming it on the toll her sister’s death has had on her.
Kilabuk’s niece, Samantha Giroux, described the emotional pain she has joinendured, adding Kilabuk left behind two sons and several grandchildren.
“Leah was so smart and loving,” Giroux said.
Leah Kilabuk, seen in this undated photo, was described by her niece Samantha Giroux as “smart and loving.” (Photo courtesy of Inga Kilabuk)
In a joint submission, Crown and defence lawyers had asked for a life sentence in prison for Autut, the highest sentence available under Canadian law.
Crown lawyer Mike Himmelman cited two factors for agreeing to a manslaughter plea, rather than having Autut stand trial for second-degree murder.
He said a lack of understanding regarding what happened before, during and after the killing, along with Autut possibly using severe intoxication as a defence, left reasonable doubt that Autut could be convicted in a trial.
The Crown argued Autut should wait 10 years before being eligible for parole. Himmelman said that although Autut’s conviction is for manslaughter, “these acts come as close as they possibly can to murder.”
Autut’s lawyer, Ilan Neuman, sought seven years for parole eligibility. He agreed Autut “committed a horrendous act,” which is why the defence agreed to the life sentence.
However, Neuman argued for parole eligibility in seven years due to efforts Autut made to heal while in prison.
He said Autut sought help through programs while in prison and received multiple letters of support from people he’s dealt with in jail.
Before Lyons’ decision, Autut himself spoke. He said he was sorry and took full responsibility.
“Every day, I regret and am remorseful for what I did,” Autut said, acknowledging the pain he caused Kilabuk’s family.
In sentencing, Lyons acknowledged Kilabuk’s death was as close to murder as a manslaughter charge can get.
Lyons also acknowledged Autut faced severe challenges growing up.
Taking that into account, Lyons said the facts of the case called for a harsh sentence.
He said that’s why he decided Autut must serve nine years before will be eligible to apply for parole. Even if it’s not granted while he is in prison, Autut will remain on parole for the rest of his life after release.
Later, Kilabuk Weber told Nunatsiaq News she felt relief and was satisfied with the sentence, but that does not take away the pain of losing her sister.
“We are going to do a lot of healing from now on,” Kilabuk Weber said.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct information in the photo caption about the length of William Autut’s sentence and in the body about the Crown and defence’s joint submission, which called for a life sentence.
Everyone’s regretful when they get caught and sentenced. Amazing how that works!
Give him life without parole. Take a life, give up your life. Send a message.
I allways thought life mean life , not out after 9yrs
He did get a life sentence. He will only be eligible for parole after serving 9 years in prison, it is not for certain that he will be a free man after 9 years.
He should have seeked help long before all this happened. Now he’s seeking it in prison.
Only in Nunavut you have these monsters allowed to be free to continue their horrendous acts of violence against women and children. Why does he get to live his life and not Leah? This barely seems like justice to me.
He received a life sentence, he isn’t free…
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If you’re asking why he doesn’t receive the death penalty for killing someone, there is no death penalty in Canada.
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Nothing about criminal law is specific to Nunavut, it is the same all across Canada. So not only is he not free, this is not something that’s “only in Nunavut”.
I know of other murders in Nunavut where others were handed 9 to 14 years for 2nd degree murder, one I am aware similar to what Mr Autut has done to the decease. Why aren’t all murder case serve the same? Life sentence!! Murder is murder, intoxicated or not and should all be given life sentence
The sentence for murder is incarceration for life. Parole eligibility is 25 years for first degree murder, between 10 and 25 as decided by the court for second degree murder. The maximum sentence for manslaughter is life and the court can sentence the accused for any number of years depending on each case, here the accused got the maximum sentence of life and parole eligibility is set by the judge at 9 years but that doesn’t mean the person will be released after 9 years – it depends on many factors and decided by the Parole Board. Yet, with a life sentence, the person is under supervision by Correctional Services for life. The difference between murder and manslaughter is the intent to cause death for murder and criminal recklessness for manslaughter, including criminal negligence causing death.
I was in attendance. The crown and defense agreed to the lesser charge of man slaughter instead of second degree murder. He is eligible for parole after 9 years with a life sentence. The news refers to numerous stab wounds. She had 44 stab wounds. Her arms had 25 defensive wounds. He was on probation for assaulting her when he killed her. Inuit women deserve better. Sending love to my cousins and her children
They may have recommended the lesser charge but he was convicted of 2nd degree murder.
That’s not what the articles says. It would also make this sentence illegal. I think you must have misunderstood.
The article appears to be a bit confusing. The way I read it, there was a guilty plea to manslaughter, that the lawyers made a joint recommendation for a life sentence. That said, it appears that the lawyers did not agree on the number of years he would have to serve before he could apply for parole and the judge decided that he serve 9 years before that could happen. That’s how I read it anyway.
Yeah that is basically accurate. The difference between Murder and Manslaughter is mostly on the intent to kill, the pre-planning. Second Degree murder comes with automatic life sentence, and at least 10 years served before eligibility of parole. Manslaughter can come with a sentence up to imprisonment of life, with no restriction on parole. So in this case, he got a life sentence, with 9 years serve before eligibility of parole.
He is still guilty of murdering, it is simply a question of law when it comes to intent. Regardless, he has a long road ahead of him due to his act of murder
May Leah rest in peace, and may her family’s healing from such sudden, tragic, wounding loss be eased with love and support. Live one day at a time. May memories – tender, loving, bittersweet help you through this grief. Those memories can never be taken from you. Nothing can detract from the joy you and Leah shared. Your love for her and her love for you cannot be altered by time or circumstance. The memories are yours to keep. Each day’s survival is a triumph.
Can or the courts stop saying…”Residential school this. Residential school that”?
A bad child hood is no excuse for today’s bad behaviour.
Can’t do that time? Don’t do it.
Duh.
Residential School will be around for a very long time, it’s a Trauma that will be passed down from one generation to the next. Residential school trauma caused a ripple effect, and the effect goes down to generation to generation.
And now until recently it was finally being acknowledged by the the very people who created all the pain N suffering done to us.
For someone to say something like this, one has to assume, one was never affected by the very thing one thinks is so easy to forget the whole thing.
Crimes against Indigenous women will continue thanks to this courts decision. It’s weak. Period. This woman was brutally stabbed 44 times and fought for her life and this is the respect that the courts show her and her family? Not good enough. Seeing how the crown said it’s a Canada wide law, then send this animal to an Ontario prison not the “healing centre” where he can fish and take boat rides. The media needs to quit peddling their garbage in defense of criminals. It’s getting old and civil society is tired of it.
You seem unclear about what happened. He got a life sentence in the federal pen, not a couple of years in a healing centre. There is no pen in the territories, so he’s headed south.
Judging a man does not make you look better
What does that even mean?
I have never repeatedly inflicted physical and emotional terror on another person culminating in murder by multiple, deliberate stabs to a body. I’ve never come close to that. There’s nothing to judge. It IS horrible, it IS wrong, no judgement required. And tolerating it means you are comfortable with it.
Are trying to express that we should care about things that may have happened to Autut in his past, things that might have shaped his repeated abusive, terrifying personality? I do care, and hope he continues to get help with that and learn compassion. But he is dangerous at this time, and needs to be kept from the public, and experience the consequences that come from choosing to act on his dangerous impulses and selfish desires rather than seek help for them.
I submitted a comment to Nunatsiaq News, but it wasn’t posted. I wanted to clarify that the man mentioned in the article is not from Iqaluit, although he is from Nunavut. He was only in Iqaluit to attend the Environmental Technology Program and lived in a Nunavut Arctic College unit designated for out-of-town students.