SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Alice Nitsiza has been sentenced to 14 months in jail for assaulting an 84-year-old Ndilo elder who later died in hospital.

Set to stand trial on assault causing bodily harm, Nitsiza, 43, changed her plea to guilty in territorial court Friday.

She was given two-for-one credit by Judge Christine Gagnon for six months already spent in custody, leaving only two months of jail time remaining in her sentence.

In August, Nitsiza's charge was downgraded from aggravated assault - and the Crown had considered charging her with manslaughter before autopsy reports determined there wasn't enough evidence for such a serious charge.

The assault occurred on Jan. 15, when Nitsiza entered Mary Doctor's home uninvited. While inside, she pushed Doctor to the ground, causing her to fall into her bathroom, breaking her wrist and her hip. Nitsiza then left.

While the coroner later determined there was no link between the injuries and Doctor's death several weeks later, the injuries were serious. Doctor had to have surgery on her hip and wear a splint on her wrist.

"This one push had extreme consequences for Mary Adele Doctor," Crown prosecutor Janice Walsh told Yellowknifer. "(It's) extremely tragic Ms. Nitsiza walked into the house uninvited and was violent toward an elder."

Walsh had asked, unsuccessfully, that Nitsiza only receive one-and-a-half credit for time served, as opposed to the common "double time" given to those awaiting trial.

In addition to her jail term, Nitsiza was also sentenced to 18 months of probation. While in custody, Gagnon recommended Nitsiza take a residential treatment program in Hay River.

Doctor died in Stanton Territorial Hospital on Feb. 8.