Amanda Vaughan
Northern News Services
Published Friday, January 25, 2008

YELLOWKNIFE - A nearly empty courtroom heard yesterday that the man accused of murdering a police officer in Hay River in October has finally found a lawyer.

Emrah Bulatci, 23, replied "yes" when asked by Chief Justice Brian Bruser whether he had obtained legal counsel.

Emrah Bulatci

Lucy Austin, appearing as an agent for Bulatci's defence, said the man had actually retained two lawyers, although neither were in the courtroom yesterday.

The accused's primary counsel is Edmonton lawyer Laura Stevens.

She will be assisted by local defence lawyer Dan Rideout.

Austin said Stevens is still in the process of applying for admission to the NWT bar, a requirement for her to work as a lawyer in the Northwest Territories.

After Bulatci's counsel was announced, the crown and defense scheduled the next appearance for late in February.

Crown lawyer Christine Gagnon said that would give her time to meet with the defence. Both her and Austin agreed that by the next court appearance they would likely be in a position to schedule a preliminary inquiry into the case.

The territorial courtroom where the appearance was held drew a much smaller crowd than either of Bulatci's two first court appearances

Only a handful of people were seated in the gallery, most of whom were reporters.

This is the accused Mountie killer's third appearance in court since his arrest in October.

The Alberta man stands accused of first degree murder in the shooting death of 30-year-old Hay River RCMP officer, Const. Christopher Worden.

He was killed in the line of duty in the early morning hours of Oct. 6, 2007, after responding to a call in a residential area of Hay River.

Bulatci lead the police on a six-day manhunt through the NWT and Alberta before he was arrested without incident in an Edmonton area home.