Man pleads guilty to manslaughter over death of Behchokǫ̀ father

Alecus Quitte pleaded guilty to manslaughter in NWT Supreme Court on Monday regarding the April 2019 death of Archie Wedzin in Behchokǫ̀.

The 22-year-old admitted stabbing Wedzin, a 59-year-old father of eight, twice in the neck. His sentencing hearing is expected to take place in Behchokǫ̀ on April 16.

Quitte was originally charged with murder in May last year.

Canadian law considers murder to be the act of killing someone with malice aforethought (in other words, the prior intent to kill or seriously harm). Manslaughter is the act of killing someone where no such intent is proven to exist.

Police found Wedzin dead at his home near the community’s Kǫ Go Cho Complex on the morning of Monday, April 8, 2019.

The court heard Quitte stabbed Wedzin following an argument. Alcohol and drugs had been involved.

Following his death, Nora Wedzin remembered her brother Archie as “a loving father … and a very loving brother to all.”

He left behind six daughters and two sons, she said.

James O’Connor contributed reporting.