SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The RCMP is investigating a suspicious death after the body of a 63-year-old aboriginal woman was found behind Adam Dental Clinic Sunday morning.
Media spokesperson Cpl. Barry Ledoux said police found the woman lying on the ground near 53 Street and 50 Avenue at about 7:30 a.m. after responding to a call. The woman was then transported by ambulance to Stanton Territorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police are not releasing information on the woman's identity at this point, but Ledoux said charges could be forthcoming depending on the schedule of the autopsy. The major crimes unit is currently gathering evidence on the incident, reviewing camera footage from areas in the downtown, and making inquiries with area residents and businesses.
Ledoux would not disclose whether alcohol was a factor in the death and said police are still determining how long the body had been laying on the ground prior to their arrival at the scene. He said the -30 C temperatures overnight was a noted concern by officers in the investigation.
"At this point, it is a suspicious death and we have no information otherwise to treat it any differently," said Ledoux. "Until the autopsy is done or scheduled, it is only then that we will determine a course of action that takes place."
NWT chief coroner Cathy Menard said Monday that the body has been sent to Edmonton for a post-mortem autopsy, but she could not provide more information since the investigation is ongoing.
"Being as it is suspicious, my role is very minimal and if there is any hold-back evidence, I don't have any of that," said Menard. She said deaths of this nature don't happen that often in Yellowknife or the rest of the territory.
"This might happen a few times a year where we have a suspicious death," said Menard.
A final autopsy report will take four to six months, she added.
