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Davidee Nowdlak, 47, was beaten into a coma the evening of July 13, 2002. He died Aug. 6, days within returning to Iqaluit after being treated in Ottawa.
Head injuries inflicted by the beating brought on a bout of pneumonia, which eventually caused his death.
A 19-year-old man, who was under 18 when the crime was committed and cannot be identified under the Young Offenders Act, has been charged in connection with the death.
Dr. Trina Greene, who testified at the trial on Aug. 30, said Nowdlak had multiple bruises and cuts on his face and was not responding well to visual stimulation when she first began treating him on July 14, the morning after the incident.
Despite being treated for the disease while he was in Ottawa, upon his return to Iqaluit, Aug. 2, he died of pneumonia.
Nowdlak "died as a result of complications of one head injury," ruled Dr. Bernard Bannach, who performed the autopsy on Nowdlak.
Defense attorney Michael Chandler questioned whether the medical treatment received by Nowdlak was appropriate.
But Michael Jones, one of two Crown attorneys working on the case, said the Criminal Code of Canada states that "where a person causes... a bodily injury that results in death, he causes the death of that human being," regardless of how the medical treatment is handled.
The accused sat quietly, wearing a blue blazer and light khakis with his hands clasped in front of him for much of last Monday's court session.
Staring straight ahead at the witness stand, he diverted his attention only to play with a styrofoam cup.
Slow coming to court
A Crown appeal to have the young man tried as an adult was not turned down until March of this year, said Crown attorney Michael Jones. The trial was broken into two sessions, the first of which began on June 9. The most recent session was scheduled for expert witnesses and began on Aug. 30.
Justice Johnston is expected to hand down a verdict on Oct. 12.
