Sexually frustrated murder suspect took what he wanted from housemate, jury hears

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

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Nikolas Ibey — who was on trial for first-degree murder in the death of a woman who had just moved to Ottawa from Nunavut to attend university in 2022 — was drinking, using drugs and frustrated in his attempts to find an escort ‘for eight months’. for hours at a time” before finally taking what he wanted from his new housemate and leaving her dead in her room, the Crown alleged in his opening statement to a 14-person jury on Wednesday.

The victim, 22-year-old Savanna Pikuyak, had arrived in Ottawa and moved in with Ibey just four days earlier after responding to an ad he 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 at the start of his trial this week in Ottawa Superior Court, after his guilty plea to the lesser offense of first-degree murder was rejected by the Crown. He is represented by lawyers Ewan Lyttle and Maggie McCann.

The process will take five weeks.

‘Frustrated’, ‘lied to’, ‘duped’

The Crown alleges Ibey started talking about his plans for the Saturday night of the murder 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 couldn’t reach his friend Saturday night, he moved his search for sex online, Beauchamp told the jury.

In total, on the evening of the murder, Ibey was on the phone with thirty sex workers, sometimes having multiple conversations at the same time.

He was “frustrated at being lied to” and “tempted to send money as a deposit, but no one showed up,” Beauchamp claimed. The one sex worker who did show up left after talking to Ibey for about 15 to 20 minutes.

His search lasted “for eight hours,” from 7 p.m. on Sept. 10 to 3:08 a.m. on Sept. 11, when all communications came to a standstill, Beauchamp said.

Text confession

At 9 a.m. on September 11, Ibey texted his father and confessed to killing his roommate earlier that evening, Beauchamp told the jury.

Just before that text message, Ibey had searched online for the length 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 bloody piece of wood on the floor. Pikuyak was found naked on her bed, gagged with a sweater and bloodied from multiple wounds on her head.

She also suffered defensive injuries, Beauchamp said, and DNA evidence is part of the case.

Difficulty finding accommodation

Savanna Pikuyak’s older sister Geneva Pikuyak was the Crown’s first witness on 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 birthplace in Nunavut.

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

Before Savanna Pikuyak moved from Sanirajak to Ottawa to take pre-nursing courses, she had trouble finding a place to live, Geneva Pikuyak testified. She didn’t get into the Algonquin College dorm room, her smartphone’s Internet connection didn’t work, and when she was able to get online, it was difficult to find a rental near the college, Geneva Pikuyak said.

On September 2, Savanna Pikuyak responded to an advertisement she found on Facebook to rent a room in a three-bedroom townhouse on Woodvale Green in Ottawa, the Crown told the jury.

Ibey’s brother had bought the house last month. He offered Ibey the basement room there and put him in charge of finding other tenants and collecting rent, the Crown said.

Under cross-examination by Lyttle, Geneva Pikuyak testified that arrangements for her sister’s living arrangements were made at the last minute, that she did not know her sister was taking medication, and that when the sisters spoke after the move, Savanna Pikuyak said she felt a bit overwhelmed.

Geneva Pikuyak also testified that her sister was outgoing, outgoing, overachieving and liked to joke.

Put aside all prejudices, the judge tells the jury

Before the Crown’s brief summary of the evidence and Geneva Pikuyak’s testimony, Judge Robert Maranger told the jury to keep an open mind, to put aside any conscious or unconscious bias they might have in dealing with the case and avoid stereotypes.

“Indigenous people in Canada, especially Indigenous women and girls, have been subjected to a long history of colonization and systemic racism, the effects of which are still being felt today,” he said.

Maranger added that there are also unfounded myths and stereotypes about victims of sexual violence. He warned jurors not to make assumptions about sexual assault, about what types of people may or may not be victims of sexual assault, or what types of people may or may not commit sexual assault.

The process continues.