Yellowknife (Feb 24/06) - Eli Ulayuk, a self-described necrophiliac, pleaded guilty in Supreme Court Wednesday to second degree murder in the 2004 death of Yellowknife parole officer Louise Pargeter, 34.

Eli Ulayuk hides his face underneath his sweatshirt as he leaves the Yellowknife courthouse after being sentenced to life in prison for the 2004 murder of parole officer Louise Pargeter. - Dorothy Westerman/NNSL photo

More than 30 of Pargeter's friends and family, including her partner Anne Lynagh, were in court, some in tears, as the facts were presented and Justice Ted Richard handed down the sentence.

Richard called the killing "an especially brutal and vile attack" and sentenced Ulayuk, 37, to the maximum of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. Ulayuk was originally charged with first degree murder, but that was reduced in exchange for a guilty plea.

It was a bittersweet moment for Lynagh.

"At first we were horrified (at the charge being downgraded), but in our mind the justice system gave him the maximum amount of time as it most possibly could," she said.

"After that, it is Corrections, Louise's employer, that decides whether he is eligible or ineligible to be released again into the community. But I know enough that too many murderers are released shortly after their parole eligibility date comes up. Then they kill again," Lynagh said.

She vowed that Pargeter will not be forgotten."When he is eligible for parole, I'll be there. You bet." Ulayuk is eligible for parole on Oct. 7, 2029.

She also called on the Department of Corrections to do more to protect parole officers and the public.

One initial change is that parole officers supervising parolees with a history of murder or sexual assault will have to be visited by two parole officers for three months.

"I think they have to have workplace safety everywhere on their job."

Lynagh said she wants this incident to shed light on the release of prisoners on parole.

"I think we really have to know who is in our community," she said. "Parole officers need to put the rights of the public above the privacy of these individuals."

Court heard that Ulayuk told police that - after he learned Pargeter was to be his parole officer - he did not want to meet with her in his home, because he was concerned he would not be able to control his desire to kill her.

Ulayuk had suggested to her that they meet in a public place for their meeting.

Prior to sentencing, Crown counsel John Cliffe read aloud several victim impact statements from Lynagh and several of her friends and colleagues.

Describing Pargeter as "the person I laughed with," and having "a huge hole in my life with my best friend gone," the statements were reflective of both Pargeter's character and the positive effect she had on the lives of others.

Pargeter also left behind an 18-month-old daughter.

Defense counsel Glen Boyd told the court his client accepts responsibility for the crime.

"He recognizes the emptiness of an apology, but he wants the court to know he is sorry for his actions," Boyd told the court.

This is not the first time Ulayuk has killed a woman. At age 23, Ulayuk was convicted of manslaughter for murdering his girlfriend Martha Ammaq in Iglulik in 1988.

What happened on that day

On Oct. 6, 2004, parole officer Louise Pargeter visited Ulayuk, a carpenter, at his Range Lake apartment for a routine meeting at 9:45 a.m.

Anne Lynagh, partner of murdered Yellowknife parole officer Louise Pargeter, reacts to the sentence given to Eli Ulayuk, Wednesday in Supreme Court. - Dorothy Westerman/NNSL photo

Ulayuk was on parole for the 1992 conviction of manslaughter in the 1988 death of his girlfriend in Iglulik.

According to information read in court, Pargeter came in and sat with Ulayuk on the couch, discussing Ulayuk's performance while on parole and rumours that he was using drugs.

He got up, walked to a closet and retrieved a hammer.

He then struck Pargeter on the back of the head with it, then hit her on the head four more times before wrapping twine around Pargeter's neck and strangling her.

He later fled the apartment, and drove off in Pargeter's government vehicle, heading down Highway 3 toward Rae.

Court also heard that Pargeter's supervisor called RCMP at 3 p.m. to report the fact she hadn't returned from her meeting with Ulayuk.

Officers found Pargeter's body in the apartment and commenced a search for Ulayuk.

At 6:30 p.m., police spotted Pargeter's vehicle. After a 10-minute chase, the vehicle went off the road and Ulayuk fled into the bush. He surrendered to police at 1:15 a.m. Oct. 7.

In four separate statements provided to police, he freely admitted that he had killed Pargeter.

He also participated in a re-enactment of the crime.

Ulayuk told police he first met Pargeter in 2001 and began fantasizing about killing her. He also told police he considered himself to be a necrophiliac.

He first desired to have sex with dead bodies when working as a gravedigger in Iqaluit while incarcerated.