Man charged with murder
Kevin Mantla also faces attempted murder, assault charge after attack at Lanky Court on Monday morning
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Monday, September 28, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A man has been charged with second degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault after an attack that left one man dead and a woman critically wounded at a Lanky Court apartment building early Monday.
Charges were laid against Kevin Mantla, 36, on Tuesday. He is being held in custody and is expected to appear in court Wednesday.
Court files show Mantla was due to go on trial Oct. 14 on charges of impaired driving, failing to provide a breath sample, driving while disqualified and breaching probation. Those crimes are alleged to have occurred March 12 of this year.
He has convictions for a sexual assault in 2001, assaults in 2006 and 2008, mischief under $5,000 and assaulting a peace officer from 2011, being illegally in a dwelling house in 2013 and various other breaches of court conditions.
The court registry also shows several family court matters, although the details of those records are not public.
Police have not confirmed the identities of the male Mantla allegedly killed or the female who was also wounded, although family members have identified the male victim as Elvis Lafferty.
Police were called to the building for a disturbance at about 12:55 a.m. Monday, according to a news release issued by RCMP spokeswoman Const. Elenore Sturko.
A "critically injured female and a critically injured male" were found in a residence at the scene, she stated. How the injuries were inflicted has not been disclosed. It's not yet clear whether a weapon was used.
Two ambulances were dispatched to Lanky Court, according to the city. Two people were rushed to Stanton Territorial Hospital.
The male was pronounced dead at the hospital and the female was medevaced to Alberta for further treatment. There was no update available on her condition Tuesday afternoon.
The families of the male killed and the female injured have been notified, Sturko stated.
Family members and friends have been posting online condolences since very early Monday about Lafferty, who multiple people say was stabbed, and that a woman was in hospital in Edmonton because of the same incident.
A representative from Lafferty's family declined to comment Monday. Police declined to confirm the identity Monday.
Police say the suspect turned himself in to RCMP in the early hours of Monday morning.
Yellowknifer posed several questions to Sturko, including questions on the nature of the injuries, whether the male and female are adults, where the three are from and what's believed to have transpired.
"We will not be releasing any further information at this time," she wrote in an e-mailed response to the questions Monday. The investigation is ongoing, she stated.
The coroner's office is assisting police with the investigation, said Adrianna Zibolenova, NWT deputy chief coroner.
On Monday morning just after 9 a.m., police tape remained around the a balcony and walkway outside one of the buildings on Lanky Court and an RCMP truck was parked nearby.
The homicide is the second of the year in this region.
The first was Archie Paulette of Ndilo in June.
