Kevin Wilson
Northern News Services

Inuvik - An Inuvik couple accused of second-degree murder made their first court appearance Tuesday.

Shelley Elanik, 18, and Ronald Sayers, 22, appeared before territorial court Judge Michel Bourassa to speak to the charges against them.

Their appearances took less than five minutes each, and neither said anything during the proceedings.

Elanik and Sayers were charged last week with the Oct. 16 murder of Keith Blair, an employee of the Mackenzie Hotel. The arrests capped-off a lengthy police investigation.

The two accused were separately brought before Bourassa. Neither had any contact with the other.

Clad in a black hooded sweatshirt, Elanik stared straight ahead in the prisoners dock, glancing occasionally at her lawyer, John Bayly.

Following her appearance, she was whisked from the courthouse by two plainclothes police officers in an unmarked car. Elanik is being held on a remand warrant at the territorial Women's Correctional Centre in Fort Smith.

Robert Gorin, Sayers' lawyer, was not in court, but an agent spoke on his behalf.

Wearing a blue T-shirt, Sayers craned his neck, intently watching the proceedings, before being remanded in custody.

The Crown Attorney requested both Elanik and Sayers have "no contact" with each other, "or with six witnesses."

Elanik and Sayers will appear Feb. 7 in Yellowknife to set a date for a preliminary inquiry and a bail hearing.