Nikolas Ibey, 33, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 22-year-old Savanna Pikuyak. Photo from Facebook

Content of the article

The man accused of killing 22-year-old Savanna Pikuyak was on probation after being convicted and sentenced in January for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, breaking and entering, making threats and failing to comply with a parole order.

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Nikolas Ibey, 33, was charged Monday with second-degree murder in connection with Pikuyak’s death. Her body was found in a Woodvale Green condominium on Sunday morning. He was arrested on the spot. Sign up to receive daily news headlines from the Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

Thanks for subscribing!

A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, check your spam folder. The next issue of the Ottawa Citizen Headline News will be in your inbox soon. We encountered a problem with your registration. PLEASE try again

Content of the article

Pikuyak, from the small Inuit community of Sanirajak, Nunavut (formerly known as Hall Beach), arrived in Ottawa last Thursday to study nursing. An autopsy completed Tuesday found Pikuyak had head injuries, though the cause of death could not be determined definitively but was likely due to asphyxiation, according to a Facebook post by her mother, Sheba Pikuyak. Court records show Ibey was sentenced in Belleville to 45 days in jail and 18 months of probation on Jan. 5 and was given 67 days credit for pre-sentence custody. The crimes occurred on Halloween night 2021.

Advertising 3

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Ibey posted an online ad seeking a tenant at 34C Woodvale Green on September 1, to which Pikuyak responded. On Tuesday, Pikuyak’s friend and mentor Joan Deibs placed a bouquet of flowers outside the mansion, which was still cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape. Deibs, who happens to be visiting Ottawa from Calgary, is planning a candlelight vigil at the scene Thursday night. “She landed here Thursday morning and I landed Friday afternoon, so I haven’t even had a chance to sit down and make plans with her,” Dibes said Tuesday. “It’s really awful. She literally moved here to restart her life after COVID.” Savanna Pikuyak with her niece, Alexis, in Sanirajak. (Photo provided) jpg Deibs is friends with Leesa Leroy, the Calgary woman who adopted Pikuyak’s baby. Pikuyak had met Leroy when Leroy was a school teacher in Sanirajak and decided to ask if Leroy would adopt her child.

Advertising 4

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Both Deibs and Leroy were in Dawson Creek, BC, when Pikuyak flew there to give birth to a son, Kalluk, in August 2020. Deibs’ mother is an Inuk woman and had adopted an Inuk baby herself. Deibs and Pikuyak became close, with Deibs acting as a confidant and intermediary between the two families. “Savannah was so strong. She had a hard time leaving Kalluk, but we talked about giving her son to this family that would really love him,” Deibs said. “He asked me if she would regret leaving him. I said, “You want more out of your life. It might take two years, it might take 10 years. But whatever you want to do, that’s what you’re supposed to do.” Pikuyak was born in Iqaluit but grew up in Sanirajak. She was in Ottawa when the COVID-19 pandemic began and flew back north to be with her family, including her three brothers and a sister with whom she was extremely close. She returned to Sanirajak after giving birth to Kalluk in BC. and returned to Ottawa last week to begin the nursing program at Algonquin College.

Advertising 5

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Pikuyak didn’t drink or do drugs and suffered severe postpartum depression after Kalluk was born, Leroy said. She was public about her mental health struggles and worked hard to improve her life. “I see this as a story of a failed justice system,” Leroy said in a text conversation Tuesday. “A story about indigenous women who are forgotten and not protected or honored. A story about how hard it is to get out of the north… “She loves her family. She loves her family so much. But more than anything, Savannah wanted to get out of the north and get an education…”

Share this article on your social network

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourages all readers to share their views on our articles.  Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site.  We ask that you keep your comments relevant and respectful.  We’ve enabled email notifications—you’ll now receive an email if you get a reply to your comment, there’s an update on a comment thread you’re following, or if a user follows the comments.  Visit the Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.