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TUKTOYAKTUK
The death of a young couple in Tuktoyaktuk on Dec. 19 was a murder-suicide, according to RCMP.

Tuktoyaktuk, pictured here on Dec. 20, lost two residents just six days before Christmas in a murder-suicide. - Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison/NNSL photo

Diamond Klengenberg, 38, shot and killed his long-term partner Jenny Pingo, 33, before taking his own life, the police investigation concluded.

"The post-mortem examination ordered by the NWT Coroner’s Service has confirmed the causes of death," wrote Sgt. Wes Heron, a media relations officer with the RCMP G Division, in a news release on Dec. 28.

Klengenberg and Pingo were both found dead in a shack near the Northern store on Dec. 19 after police responded to a call for service at approximately 3:50 p.m.

Yellowknife's G Division major crime unit and forensic identification unit were in the community from Dec. 20 to 22, according to Heron.

Following the investigation, the chief coroner of the NWT ordered post-mortem examinations be conducted on their bodies.

"The Royal Canadian Mounted Police wish to advise the residents of Tuktoyaktuk and the NWT that public safety is not at risk as a result of this matter," Heron wrote in a news release on Dec. 21.

The deaths have stunned the community, which recently buried two of its elders. On Dec. 20 the annual Santa Claus parade was postponed to allow time for residents to mourn.

Sister Fay Trombley of the Roman Catholic Mission said residents are doing their best to focus on the positive aspects of the holidays while still remembering those they have lost.

"Once we had the Christmas Eve services, I know that it helped to focus people on the faith dimension," she said. "It's just a tragedy."

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