Crown opens case against Ottawa man accused of killing Inuk woman

WARNING: This story contains graphic details of an alleged murder in a sexual context.

Nikolas Ibey on trial for first-degree murder in the death of an Inuk woman who had just movedto Ottawa from Nunavut to attendcollege in 2022 was drinking, taking drugs, and had been frustrated in his efforts to find an escort "for eight hours straight" before he finally took what he wanted from his new housemate and left her dead in her room, the Crown alleged in its opening remarks to a 14-member jury on Wednesday.

The victim, 22-year-old Savanna Pikuyak, had arrived in Ottawa and moved in with Ibeyjust four days earlier, after she responded to an ad he had posted on Facebook Marketplaceabout a room forrent,according to assistant Crown attorney Sonia Beauchamp.

Ibey, now 35, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in Ottawa's Superior Court at the outset of his trial this week, after his guilty plea to the lesser offence of second-degree murder was rejected by the Crown. He is represented by defence lawyers Ewan Lyttle and Maggie McCann.

The trial isscheduled to run for five weeks.

'Frustrated,''lied to,''duped'

The Crown contendsthat Ibey started talking about his plans for the Saturday night of the killing two days earlier, when he asked a friend if he and his girlfriend wouldbe interested in a foursome.

The friend told Ibey hethought it would be fun, but when Ibey wasn't able to reach his friend Saturday night hemoved his search for sex online, Beauchamp told the jury.

In all, Ibeywas on his phone communicatingwith 30 sex workers the night of the killing sometimes carrying on multiple conversations at once.

He was "frustrated by being lied to" and "duped into sending money as deposits, only to have no one showup," Beauchampalleged.The only sex worker who did show upleft after speakingto Ibeyfor about 15 to 20 minutes.

His search continued "for eight hours straight,"from 7 p.m. on Sept. 10 to 3:08 a.m.on Sept. 11, when all communication came to a halt, Beauchamp said.

Text confession

At 9 a.m. on Sept. 11, Ibeytexted his father and confessed to killing his housemate earlier that night, Beauchamp told the jury.

Just before thattext, Ibeyhad searched online about the lengths of sentencesfor murder and first-degree murder.

Ibey'sfather and brother were the ones who called 911and are expected to testify for the prosecution, Beauchamp said.

Police found blood at the entrance to Pikuyak's doorand a bloodied piece of wood on the floor.Pikuyak was foundnaked on her bed, gagged with a sweater and bloodied from multiple gashes on her head.

She had also suffered defensive wounds, Beauchamp said, and DNA evidenceformspart of the case.

Struggledto find accommodation

Savanna Pikuyak's older sisterGeneva Pikuyakwas the Crown's first witness Wednesday.

"We were the best of friends. I would say we were the closest siblings in probably all of Sanirajak," Geneva Pikuyak testified under questioning by assistant Crown MichaelPurcell. Sanirajak is their hometown in Nunavut.

She recalled being sad that her sister was moving to Ottawabecause they were finally living together without their parents. But she was happy for her, too.

Before Savanna Pikuyak moved from Sanirajakto Ottawa to attend pre-nursing courses, she was having trouble finding somewhere to live, Geneva Pikuyak testified. She hadn't made it into Algonquin College'sdorm, her smartphone's internet connection wasn't working, and when she could get online, itwas hard to find somewhere to rent close to the college, Geneva Pikuyak said.

On Sept. 2, Savanna Pikuyakanswered an ad she found on Facebookto rent a room in a three-bedroomrow homeon Woodvale Green in Ottawa, the Crowntold the jury.

Ibey's brother had bought the home the previous month. He offered Ibeythe basementroom there, and had put him in charge of finding other tenants and collecting rent, the Crown said.

Under cross-examination by Lyttle,Geneva Pikuyak testified that the arrangements for her sister's living situation came together at the last minute, thatshe wasn't aware her sister took medication, and that when the sisters spoke after the move,Savanna Pikuyaksaid she was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Geneva Pikuyakalso testified that her sister was outgoing, extroverted, an overachiever, and liked to joke around a lot.

Set aside any bias, judge tells jury

Before the Crown's brief summary of the evidence and Geneva Pikuyak's testimony, Justice Robert Maranger told the jury to keep an open mind, putaside anyconscious or unconscious bias they may have when hearing the case, andavoid stereotypes.

"Indigenous people in Canada, in particular Indigenous women and girls, have been subject to a long history of colonization and systemic racism, the effects of which continue to be felt," he said.

Maranger added that there are unfounded myths and stereotypes about sexual assault victims, too.He cautioned jurors not to make assumptions about sexual assault, what kind of people may or may not be victims of sexual assault, or what kind of people may or may not commitsexual assault.

The trial continues.