Jury begins deliberations in Ibey murder trial

WARNING: This story contains graphic descriptions of alleged sexual assault.

A jury will begin deliberations Tuesday after hearing closing statements in the trial of Ottawa man Nikolas Ibey, who is charged with the first-degree murder of Savanna Pikuyak in the September 2022 death.

On Monday, Ibey’s lawyer told the jury that the 35-year-old was not sexually assaulting his new roommate when he killed her.

But shortly afterwards, deputy prosecutor Sonia Beauchamp said in her closing statement that sexual assault was the only possible explanation for how the 22-year-old Inuk woman came to be stripped, bound and gagged in her bedroom.

It is undisputed that Ibey killed Pikuyak on September 11, 2022, days after she moved into the Nepean house where he lived.

Nikolas Ibey, 33, allegedly called the police and surrendered to officers when they arrived at the scene. (Facebook)

Ibey pleaded guilty to second-degree murder at the start of his trial in Ottawa Supreme Court earlier this month, but his plea was rejected by the Crown.

The Crown argues that Ibey also sexually assaulted and forcibly confined Pikuyak, which upgrades the offense to first-degree murder.

At stake is the possible length of time Ibey will spend behind bars. A conviction of first-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole for 25 years, while a conviction of second-degree murder carries a shorter minimum non-parole period of 10 years.

Ibey took drugs and looked for sex online

Since Ibey’s trial began Nov. 13, a jury has heard how Pikuyak responded to a post Ibey made on Facebook that listed a room for rent. Pikuyak had traveled from Nunavut to Ottawa a week earlier to attend Algonquin College, where she planned to study to become a nurse.

But just days after Pikuyak moved in, Ibey killed her after a long cocaine binge in which he spent hours searching for sex online, visiting hundreds of websites and exchanging nearly 1,000 messages with dozens of sex workers.

Ibey killed his new roommate on September 11, 2022, in the basement of this home in Woodvale Green, southwest Ottawa. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

Pikuyak’s body was found on her bed, her bloody pants and underwear at her feet and her top and bra pushed over her chest.

Ibey’s DNA was found on Pikuyak’s breasts and on the waistband of her underwear. Pikuyak’s DNA was found in Ibey’s underpants.

But defense attorney Ewan Lyttle said that circumstantial evidence did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ibey sexually assaulted Pikuyak, but rather that he could have killed her for non-sexual reasons or that he killed her after a consensual sexual encounter.

Ibey’s silence during his trial could not be used against him, Lyttle noted as Ibey sat slumped and motionless in the dock.

“What happened was terrible, heartbreaking and tragic,” Lyttle said at the start of his closing speech. “But Mr. Ibey did not commit sexual assault.”

DNA evidence is missing, the defense argues

Lyttle urged the jury to put their emotions aside, telling them: “If you believe that Mr. Ibey probably sexually abused the deceased, that is not good enough.” You have to be safe.”

Pikuyak may have been undressed before the attack began, Lyttle suspects: “The bedroom is a place where you find people in a state of undress.”

The defense argued that the DNA evidence was also inconclusive. Ibey’s DNA was not found on Pikuyak’s genitals, and her DNA was not found on his genitals.

“The presence of DNA is not that helpful, but the absence of DNA is telling,” Lyttle said.

Regarding the forcible confinement charge, Lyttle said the killing could only be classified as first-degree murder if it could be proven to be a separate felony.

“If they are grouped together in the same act, there is no forcible detention,” he said, arguing that there was a lack of evidence of two separate acts.

Ibey pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, but the Crown has sought a first-degree murder conviction. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

“Undeniable sexual assault”

Beauchamp began her final submission by showing the jury photos of Pikuyak’s body as it was found: face down on her bed, with her legs spread and her mouth, nose and eyes tightly wrapped with a sweater.

“These pictures say it all,” she said, as Pikuyak supporters sobbed into tissues in the public gallery. “These are the images of first-degree murder and an undeniable sexual assault.”

Blood stains on the carpet and on the front of Pikuyak’s pants showed that the attack began at her bedroom door while she was still clothed, Beauchamp said, arguing that this proved she was forcibly detained before she was sexually assaulted and killed.

There was no blood on her upper body from her head wounds, Beauchamp noted, which would have been expected if she had been naked before the attack began.

“There is no reason other than sexual assault to beat her, confine her, tie her up, gag her and remove her top or pants,” she concluded. “She died suffocated and strangled. Nikolas Ibey is guilty of first degree murder.”

The jury will begin deliberations on Tuesday after receiving final instructions from Judge Robert Maranger.