‘Trauma to the head’ cause of man’s death, doctor testifies
Peter Toonoo, 40, is on trial for manslaughter in 2024 death of Jimmy Kownirk
Peter Toonoo leaves the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit on Monday, the first day of his manslaughter trial, which is scheduled to continue until Friday. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
Jimmy Kownirk died in 2024 from a “blunt force trauma to the head,” a doctor told an Iqaluit courtroom Wednesday, the third day in the manslaughter trial of 40-year-old Peter Toonoo.
After an alleged fight that witnesses say involved Toonoo, Kownirk had an “irreversible traumatic brain injury,” said Dr. Philippe Laflamme, a pathologist who did the autopsy.
Toonoo is on trial this week, charged with manslaughter in Kownirk’s death. He was arrested on the night of June 6, 2024, after Kownirk was found with what police called “severe injuries” and medevaced to Ottawa.
Kownirk allegedly sustained the injuries in his apartment in Iqaluit’s downtown area, after a fight with Toonoo on June 5, said Siuqjju Toonoo, Kownirk’s girlfriend at the time, during her testimony on Monday.
On the night of the incident, police discovered “red staining, appearing to be blood” across Kownirk’s unit, Sgt. Lisa Deverinchuk, an RCMP forensic investigator, testified Wednesday.
The court saw 96 photos she took that showed the apartment in disarray, with a bookshelf and a coffee table knocked over. There were what Deverinchuk described as “red stains” in almost every room of the unit.
Before the incident, Kownirk had consumed alcohol and some valium — anxiety medication — defense lawyer Alan Regel told the court.
In response to Regel’s question, Laflamme testified that both substances could have caused Kownirk to have “unsteadiness in his feet,” making him fall.
But that was unlikely to have caused his injuries, neuropathologist Dr. Leslie Hamilton later testified.
She examined Kownirk’s brain shortly after his death and found “multiple areas” that were injured.
“These types of injuries are typically seen when there’s either been multiple impacts like an assault or in a high-speed motor vehicle collision or a fall from great heights,” Hamilton testified.
The trial is set to continue Thursday with more witnesses testifying.
Iliya Toonoo, one of the witnesses and initial suspects in the case, was supposed to testify Monday from the RCMP detachment in Kinngait. She didn’t show up.
Justice Mark Mossey, who presides over the trial, issued a warrant for her to be brought to the detachment to testify at a later day.
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