A woman from Jean Marie River charged with manslaughter in another woman’s death in Fort Simpson has been convicted of the lesser charge of assault.
RCMP charged Alison Sanguez, now 29, with manslaughter early last year after Trish Isiah, 29, was declared deceased at a home in Fort Simpson on the morning of January 19, 2024.
Following a trial in Hay River last week, Justice Kent Teskey found Sanguez guilty of the lesser charge of assault.
Teskey sentenced Sanguez, who had credit for 45 days in pre-trial custody, to time served for the charge.
An autopsy performed in Edmonton had determined Isiah’s cause of death was an acute subdural hematoma – or the collection of blood between the covering of and surface of the brain – due to a blunt impact head injury.
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Court documents state Isiah had reportedly been in a fight with another woman early on January 18, 2024, in which she was allegedly punched in the head a couple of times, pushed to the ground and kicked in the head. Part of the assault was captured on security camera footage.
Isiah did not go to the local health centre following the assault.
Shortly after 7pm that night, police arrested Isiah on an unrelated matter. She told police she wanted to go home rather than to the health centre and officers dropped her off in the care of her boyfriend.
Around 10pm, court documents state Isiah complained of a headache but said she did not want to seek medical attention.
Isiah later told a friend and her boyfriend that she was tired and was going to lie down, but asked that they check on her as she was not feeling well.
She was found unresponsive in the bedroom around 3:30am. Bystanders attempted first aid until emergency medical services arrived and pronounced her dead.
