Denecho King exploited 'pre-existing' gap to escape from Yellowknife jail

A review into how an inmate escaped from Yellowknife's jail has found that Denecho King used a gap in the security at the North Slave Correctional Centre in order to access the roof.

The N.W.T.'s Justice department launched a critical incident review after King escaped from the jail on Aug.10. King, a 23-year-old man charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder, evaded law enforcement officials for days. RCMP finally apprehended him on Aug.13.

• Denecho King arrested in Yellowknife, 3 days after jailbreak

In a news release Monday, the Justice department says the review revealed that King exploited a "pre-existing gap in the physical security" of the North Slave Correctional Centre to get to the roof.

"The area the inmate used to escape has been isolated until necessary security modifications can be completed. No inmates will have access to this area until the necessary security upgrades to the building are completed," the news release said.

Critical incident reviews examine the hours or days before an incident, the escape itself, and the time after, to determine what happened. It also recommends any improvements that should be made.

"I want to assure residents of Yellowknife, this was an isolated incident. I continue to have full confidence in the corrections staff at our facilities," said Louis Sebert, minister of Justice, in the news release.

King was the first inmate to escape from the North Slave Correctional Centre since it was built in 2004, according to the Justice department.