Nikolas Ibey trial hinges on one question — was it first-degree murder?

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Jurors are set to commence deliberations in Nikolas Ibey’s first-degree murder trial after hearing closing arguments from Crown attorneys and from Ibey’s defence lawyers Dec. 2.

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Ibey has already admitted to killing Savanna Pikuyak and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder at the outset of his trial on Nov. 12.

That plea was rejected by Crown prosecutors who told the jury that Ibey sexually assaulted Pikuyak before killing her, a factor that “elevates” the crime to first-degree murder.

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Ibey’s defence lawyer, Ewan Lyttle, said Pikuyak’s murder was “awful, tragic and heartbreaking.”

“At the very least, you will be finding Mr. Ibey guilty of second-degree murder,” Lyttle told the jury. “He is not leaving these proceedings without a murder conviction and the punishment that comes with that.”

Ibey admitted to the murder on “day one” of his trial, Lyttle said, and he took responsibility two years ago when he texted his father on Sept. 11, 2022 and confessed to killing Pikuyak.

“But Mr. Ibey did not commit a sexual assault,” Lyttle said. “It is the allegation of sexual assault that turns a second-degree murder into first-degree murder.”

Lyttle said Crown attorneys Michael Purcell and Sonia Beauchamp fell short of proving the sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt.

The prosecution countered by showing the jury graphic crime scene photos of Pikuyak’s half-naked, beaten body as she was found lying face-down on a mattress.

“The pictures tell all,” Beauchamp told the jury, as she outlined the evidence that pointed to an “undeniable” sexual assault.

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There were drops of blood on the carpet at the entrance to Pikuyak’s bedroom where, according to the Crown, Ibey attacked Pikuyak with a piece of wood that was later found spattered with the victim’s blood.

There were pools of blood on the carpet that showed “the attack continued while she lay there” as Ibey forcibly confined her to the bedroom, Beauchamp said.

Ibey struck Pikuyak in the arms, face and head “over and over again” with the piece of wood Beauchamp said, and Pikuyak suffered defensive injuries as she tried to fight back.

Prosecutors pointed to the positioning of the victim’s body, lying face-down, legs spread apart and naked from the waist down, her underwear and pants around her ankle. Her shirt and bra were lifted up over her chest and twisted together. She was gagged and strangled with a knotted sweater.

“She died suffocated and strangled,” Beauchamp said, and there is “ample evidence” of both forcible confinement and sexual assault.

No male DNA was found in a post-mortem examination of the victim’s genitals, but Ibey’s DNA was found on Pikuyak’s left and right breast.

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“When you use common sense, and when you look at the pictures, the only reasonable conclusion is that there was a sexual assault,” Beauchamp said. “It is clear that (Ibey) entered that room with one purpose in mind, the same purpose he had been chasing all night.”

Prosecutors allege Ibey sexually assaulted and strangled Pikuyak between 3 and 9 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2022 after he was left sexually frustrated by an hours-long search for a sex worker earlier in the night.

The Crown presented a volume of text messages, sex chats and internet searches for “escorts” that began around 7 p.m. the night before the killing and ended around 3 a.m. on Sept. 11.

Ibey arranged to have a sex worker visit him at his apartment at 34C Woodvale Green, but she left after about 15 minutes when Ibey told her to go home. He had been bingeing on beer and cocaine that night and could not maintain an erection, the woman told court during her testimony.

About an hour after the woman left, Ibey’s phone data showed he started scrolling through photos of Pikuyak, his new housemate, from her public Facebook profile.

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Pikuyak, a 22-year-old nursing student, had recently rented the room from Ibey at the townhouse and moved from her home in Sanirajak, Nunavut to pursue her studies at Algonquin College when she was murdered.

“There is no reason, other than a sexual assault, to beat her, confine her, bind her, gag her, lift up her shirt and take off her pants,” Beauchamp said.

Beauchamp said the act of removing PIkuyak’s clothing was enough to constitute a sexual assault, even if the attack went no further.

“This was a sexual killing,” she told the jury. “This was, and is first-degree murder.”

Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger will deliver his legal instructions to the jury before they commence deliberations Dec. 3.

ahelmer@postmedia.com

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