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 Inuit woman who had just moved from Nunavut to Ottawa to attend university in 2022 – was drinking, using drugs and frustrated in his efforts to find an escort “for eight hours straight” before finally taking what he wanted from his new roommate and leaving her dead in her room, the Crown said in its opening remarks to a jury of 14 members on Wednesday.

The victim, Savanna Pikuyak, 22, had arrived in Ottawa and moved in with Ibey four days earlier, after responding to an ad he had posted on Facebook Marketplace for a room to rent, according to the assistant prosecutor of the Crown, Sonia Beauchamp. .

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

The trial is expected to last five weeks.

“Frustrated”, “lied”, “tricked”

The Crown alleges Ibey began 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, Ibey was communicating on the phone with 30 sex workers the night of the murder – sometimes carrying on several conversations at once.

He was “frustrated at having been lied to” and “tricked into sending money as a deposit, so no one would show up,” Beauchamp alleged. The only sex worker who showed up left after talking 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 stopped, Beauchamp said.

Confession by SMS

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

Just before this piece, Ibey had done an online search on sentence lengths 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 gate and a bloody piece of wood on the ground. Pikuyak was found naked on her bed, gagged with a sweater and bleeding from multiple cuts on her head.

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

I had difficulty finding 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 probably in all of Sanirajak,” Geneva Pikuyak testified during questioning by Crown Assistant Michael Purcell. Sanirajak is their hometown in Nunavut.

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

Before Savanna Pikuyak moved from Sanirajak to Ottawa to take pre-breastfeeding classes, she had difficulty finding housing, Geneva Pikuyak testified. She hadn’t arrived at the Algonquin College dormitory, her smartphone’s internet connection didn’t work and when she could connect to the internet, it was difficult to find a place to rent near the college, Geneva Pikuyak said.

On Sept. 2, Savanna Pikuyak responded to an ad 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 the month before. He offered Ibey the basement bedroom and instructed him to find other tenants and collect the 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 Speaking after the move, Savanna Pikuyak said she felt a little overwhelmed.

Geneva Pikuyak also testified that her sister was outgoing, outgoing, a high achiever and liked to joke a lot.

Put aside all prejudice, 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, putting aside any conscious or unconscious bias they may have when considering hearing the case and avoiding stereotypes.

“Canada’s Indigenous peoples, particularly Indigenous women and girls, are victims of a long history of colonization and systemic racism, the effects of which continue to be felt,” he said.

Maranger added that there are also unfounded myths and stereotypes about victims of sexual assault. He warned jurors not to make assumptions about sexual assault, about the type of people who might or might not be victims of sexual assault, or the type of people who might or might not commit sexual assault.

The trial continues.