Most Yukon murders remain unsolved for 2017

The level of violence in Yukon has never been matched in records going back to 1961.

Eight people have been murdered in Yukon this year.

The Yukon Bureau of Statistics, compiling from Statistics Canada,says the yearly average for homicides inthe territory is just over two.

Nearly half the years since 1961 have seen either one person killedor none at all.

CBC has compiled information about this year's cases and the progress of investigations.

One killinghappened in Carmacks, one in Pelly Crossingbut all the others happened within or close to Whitehorse.

This year Yukon RCMPSuperintendent Brian Jones said Yukon's police force has relied on outside helpand called the workload for investigating crimes "unsustainable."

So far only two of the eight cases have led to criminal charges.

Derek Edwards

Dec. 13

Status: Unsolved

RCMPhave confirmed they are investigating the death of 37-year-old Derek Edwards as a homicide. He died in Pelly Crossing on Dec. 13.

No details have been released as to the cause or circumstances of the death.

Mohamed Nagiel Saddek Nagem

Sept. 20

Status: Unsolved

Mohamed Nagiel Saddek Nagem, originally of Surrey, B.C., was shot while driving a vehicle in Whitehorse. The shooting occurred at the intersection of Wann Road and the Alaska Highway on the evening on Sept. 20.

A red pickup truck was reported to havefledthe scene.

The victim died a day after the shooting in hospital. However a passenger in the vehicle survived.

Police have described the crime as "not random," but have provided no further information about the investigation which has not lead to charges.

ClaytonBenoit

Aug.30

Status: Unsolved

Fifty-one-year-old Clayton Benoit was brought to Whitehorse General Hospital with injuries on Aug.30. He died later as a result of those injuries while in hospital.

Police have released no information regarding the case, other than saying they consider the death a homicide. Benoit was originally from the N.W.T. but had been living in Whitehorse.

Adam Cormack

June 28

Status: Charges laid

The body of 25-year-old Adam Cormack was found outside Whitehorse this summer. It was besidea turnoff at kilometre 1450 along the Alaska Highway.

Police said "the incident was quickly deemed a homicide" when officers visited the scene.

Yukon RCMP have charged a B.C man, Edward James Penner, 20, with first degree murder in the death. The case is making its way through the courts.

Wilfred Dickie Charlie

June 19

Status: Charges laid

Wilfred Dickie Charlie was reported missing in Carmacks in June.

People in the community searched far and wide, as police helicopters and dogs were called in.

Charlie's body was eventually found in the Yukon River near Fort Selkirk on July 5.Police deemed his death a homicide after an autopsy.

Two men from Carmacks have been charged with first-degree murder.

Tyler Aaron Skookum, 27, was initially charged with second-degree murder but this was later upgraded to first-degree.

Mario Rueben Skookum, 25, is also charged with first-degree murder.

The case is still making its way through the courts and both men are in custody.

Wendy Carlick and Sarah MacIntosh

April 19

Status: Unsolved

Sarah MacIntosh and Wendy Carlick were identified by Whitehorse RCMP as victims of homicide in April.

The two Indigenous women were found dead in the same house in Whitehorse's McIntyre subdivision on April 19.

Wendy Margaret Carlick, 51, and Sarah MacIntosh, 53, were mourned in a community march that gathered hundreds of people.

Carlick's portraithas since been added to a mural in Whitehorse, depicting her and her daughter Angel, who was killed in Whitehorse 10 years earlier.

Angel Carlick's death also remains unsolved.

Greg Alvin Dawson

April 6

Status: Unsolved

Greg Alvin Dawson, 45, was found dead on April 6 in the Riverdale neighbourhood of Whitehorse.

He was a member of the Ta'an Kwch'n Council, grewup in Whitehorse and lived in Vancouver.

A copy of the eulogy read at his service, provided by TheTa'anKwch'nCouncil, says he "grew up in the old Kwanlin Dn Village, in a time and place where your children could run freely all day and you didn't need to worry about them, because you could rest assured that a close family member who lived nearby were always looking out for them."

Whitehorse Mayor Dan Curtis said he'd known Dawson for 35 years.

Police say they're treating thedeath as a homicide. They do not believe it is connected to the murder ofSarahMacIntoshand WendyCarlick,which occurred in Whitehorse the same month.