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 moved to Ottawa from Nunavut to attend college 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 Ibey just four days earlier, after she responded to an ad he had posted on Facebook Marketplace about a room for rent, 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 is scheduled to run for five weeks.

'Frustrated,' 'lied to,' 'duped'

The Crown contends that 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 would be interested in a foursome.

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

In all, Ibey was on his phone communicating with 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 show up," Beauchamp alleged. The only sex worker who did show up left after speaking to Ibey for 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, Ibey texted his father and confessed to killing his housemate earlier that night, Beauchamp told the jury.

Just before that text, Ibey had searched online about the lengths of sentences for murder and first-degree murder.

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

Police found blood at the entrance to Pikuyak's door and a bloodied piece of wood on the floor. Pikuyak was found naked 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 evidence forms part of the case.

Struggled to find accommodation

Savanna Pikuyak's older sister Geneva Pikuyak was 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 Michael Purcell. Sanirajak is their hometown in Nunavut.

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

Before Savanna Pikuyak moved from Sanirajak to 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's dorm, her smartphone's internet connection wasn't working, and when she could get online, it was hard to find somewhere to rent close to the college, Geneva Pikuyak said.

On Sept. 2, Savanna Pikuyak answered an ad she found on Facebook to rent a room in a three-bedroom row home on Woodvale Green in Ottawa, the Crown told the jury.

Ibey's brother had bought the home the previous month. He offered Ibey the basement room 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, that she wasn't aware her sister took medication, and that when the sisters spoke after the move, Savanna Pikuyak said she was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Geneva Pikuyak also 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, put aside any conscious or unconscious bias they may have when hearing the case, and avoid 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 commit sexual assault.

The trial continues.