Autopsies completed on slain Iqaluit family
Autopsies have been completed on the bodies of four family members who were found dead in Iqaluit last week, according to the RCMP.
Sula Enuaraq, Sylvain Degrasse, and their daughters Alexandra, 7, and Aliyah Degrasse, 2, were found dead on June 7, in a tragedy that has shaken Nunavut's capital.
The bodies of Enuaraq, 29, and the girls were found inside their home, while the body of Degrasse, 44, and a rifle were found at the local cemetery.
The deaths are believed to be a case of murder-suicide involving the children's father. RCMP are describing the case as a homicide, but say they are not looking for any suspects.
With the autopsies now complete, police are waiting to receive the results, Sgt. Jimmy Akavak said on Tuesday.
In the meantime, it is up to the Nunavut coroner's office to release the bodies for burial, he added.
"Basically, the coroner has power or authority over the bodies and return [them] to the community where they came from," Akavak told reporters in Iqaluit.
"Family [members], working with the churches or funeral home, they make the memorial service or funeral [arrangements] in their community."
Officials with the coroner's office told CBC News that the bodies will be released once they have received the results of DNA identification tests.
$10K raised by woman's family
Enuaraq and her daughters will be buried in the northern Baffin Island hamlet of Pond Inlet, Nunavut. Family members are raising money to fly relatives to Pond Inlet for the funeral.
Enuaraq's cousin, Karliin Aariak of Iqaluit, said more than $10,000 has been raised to date, with some of that money coming from a rummage sale over the weekend.
"We started receiving calls and people started dropping off donations, and it just grew from there," Aariak told CBC News. "The support from the community is amazing."
Family members have also set up a bank account at the Royal Bank for people who want to deposit donations.
Aariak said people in Iqaluit and across Nunavut have been extremely supportive over the past week.