A 29-year-old man has been convicted of one count of impaired driving causing the 2021 death of Kristine McLeod, then deputy grand chief of the Gwich’in Tribal Council.
Following trial in NWT Supreme Court in Inuvik last month, Justice Elizabeth Hughes found Malcolm Nerysoo guilty of the charge on July 20.
RCMP had charged Malcolm Nerysoo in February 2024 in connection with a fatal August 2021 single-vehicle collision on the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway around 26 kilometres north of Inuvik.
According to court documents, when firefighters and police responded to the crash on August 8, 2021, a truck was upside down off the side of the highway and McLeod was trapped inside in the passenger’s seat.
McLeod was pronounced deceased at the scene. She was 38 years old.
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Nerysoo told police he had been ejected from the vehicle. He was medevaced to Stanton Territorial Hospital for treatment.
McLeod has been described by loved ones and colleagues as a kind, generous and dedicated leader who was passionate, caring and an active participant in the Gwich’in Nation from a young age.
In late 2021, the NWT government launched the Kristine McLeod Emerging Indigenous Leader Award to honour her memory and support new Indigenous leaders in the territory as they pursue education, training and development opportunities.
A medical examiner determined McLeod’s death was caused by blunt chest trauma from the motor vehicle collision.
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An examination of the truck found there were no malfunctions in its mechanics.
Ahead of trial, Nerysoo’s lawyer, Alyssa Peeler, had challenged the admissibility of laboratory investigation results and two statements Nerysoo gave to police.
Justice Hughes ruled against many of the defence’s arguments but found that Nerysoo’s Charter right to unreasonable search and seizure had been violated related to blood samples being kept at the Inuvik RCMP detachment.
RCMP had said in 2024 that toxicology results found Nerysoo’s blood alcohol content was at least 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milligrams of blood, the minimum concentration for impaired driving charges under the Criminal Code.
Hughes has ordered that a specialized pre-sentencing report for Indigenous offenders be prepared for Nerysoo. The case is next scheduled to appear in court on September 21 to determine a date for sentencing.
