Yellowknife (Sep 29/04) - Proceedings began in NWT Supreme Court Monday against Ian Adam Kirby, a Yellowknife man accused of criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life in the death of his wife, Betsy Kalaserk-Kirby.

The charges stem from a Sept. 30, 2003 incident in which Kalaserk-Kirby was found nearly dead in the couple's downtown Yellowknife apartment.

RCMP Cpl. Ken Cooper told the court Monday that he responded to an attempted suicide call at around noon.

In the apartment, he and paramedics found Kalaserk-Kirby unconscious on the floor of the bathroom. She appeared to have hanged herself using a shower curtain.

The charges against Kirby stem from allegations he was in the bathroom at the time of the hanging. Prosecutor Loretta Colton told the court that "the theory of the Crown is that (Ian Kirby) was in the washroom when this happened," and cited evidence to support the claim.

Cooper told the court there was a "prominent bend" in the curtain rod. Both rod and curtain were entered into evidence.

Beer and vodka bottles were found on the kitchen table and blood spots were noted around the house, but Cooper said there was no sign of a struggle in the bathroom.

Travis Brehaut, an emergency medical technician and firefighter, told the court that Kalaserk-Kirby was not breathing and had a "weak, erratic" pulse. She later died at Stanton Territorial Hospital.

Dr. Graeme Dowling, Alberta's chief medical examiner and the forensic pathologist who performed an autopsy on Kalaserk-Kirby, testified in court that she died as a result of hanging or injuries sustained from hanging.

He said testimony given by Brehaut -- that the patient had pupils dilated to five millimetres and an erratic heartbeat -- supported the theory.

"That sounds to me like a person who is brain dead or very close to dead," Dowling told the court, explaining that signs during the autopsy were "subtle" and he had to rely heavily on the scene description in determining cause of death.

Dowling testified that Kalaserk-Kirby had a blood alcohol level of 0.26, more than three times the legal limit for driving, but short of the lethal range around 0.35-0.4.

The case is being tried before Justice John Vertes and is scheduled to last five days.