Nunavut man faces murder charge after “sudden death” near Pond Inlet

A 57-year-old Pond Inlet man faces a charge of second-degree murder in connection with what RCMP describe as a “sudden death” near the north Baffin community of about 1,700.

Pond Inlet RCMP responded Feb. 26 to an alert about the death, which is alleged to have taken place roughly 45 kilometres east of Pond Inlet at an area called Guys Bight.

“The circumstances surrounding the death appeared to be suspicious in nature,” the RCMP said in a March 10 news release.

After learning about the death, members of the Pond Inlet RCMP detachment, the V Division Major Crime Unit and the V Division Forensic Identification started an investigation, the release said.

To reach Guys Bight, they received the assistance of the Pond Inlet Search and Rescue team.

During the course of the investigation, police arrested and charged a 57-year-old Pond Inlet man with second-degree murder, although neither he nor his alleged victim were identified in the release.

The RCMP told Nunatsiaq News that there is a publication ban on the release of their identities.

The accused appeared before a justice of the peace in Pond Inlet and was remanded into custody, the RCMP said.

Second-degree murder is non-premeditated killing, resulting from an assault in which death of the victim was a distinct possibility.

The accused’s next scheduled court appearance is set for March 17 at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit.