Darcy Brian Nerysoo stood in Supreme Court on Tuesday morning and admitted his guilt in the death of Davey Stewart in Fort McPherson last summer.
Showing little emotion, the 31-year-old agreed to the lesser charge of manslaughter. He was originally accused of second-degree murder in the death of Stewart, 32, after a fight on June 29, the start of the Canada Day long weekend.
“Mr Nerysoo is able to admit the unlawful assault was a substantial contributing cause in Mr Stewart’s death,” said defence lawyer Ryan Clements.
“Or in more basic terms, if the fight had not occurred that night, Mr Stewart would not have died that night.”
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After court, Crown prosecutor Alex Godfrey told reporters the plea agreement was made in consultation with the RCMP, the victim’s family and the accused.
While there is an agreed statement of facts, there will not be a joint recommendation on the severity of the sentence.
A sentencing hearing will be held June 18 and 19 in Fort McPherson. A pre-sentence report was ordered.
As Cabin Radio previously reported, RCMP stated they had found a man unresponsive after receiving a call in the early hours of June 29, 2018.
Medical staff subsequently pronounced the man dead, after which the RCMP major crimes unit and a forensic team arrived in the community to investigate.
Nerysoo was charged, taken to Yellowknife, and placed in custody on June 30. He has been in jail since.
