Mounties in Nunavut have made an arrest in the murder of a 15-year-old girl almost 40 years ago.
Mary Ann Birmingham was found dead in Frobisher Bay in what was then the Northwest Territories in May of 1986. Frobisher Bay later became Iqaluit and is now the capital of Nunavut.
Police said Thursday an indictment was signed a week ago and on Tuesday, Jopey Atsiqtaq was arrested in Ottawa.
He appeared in court Wednesday on a charge of second-degree murder and has been remanded in custody. RCMP have said Birmingham was "brutally murdered" in her home while her family was out of town.
Police say she was found by her sister, Barbara Sevigny, who had just returned from visiting her brother in Montreal. The front door to the house was locked, and she had to pry open a window with a makeup compact.
In 2018, Sevigny shared further details to panel members with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
"When I turned to the living room, I saw her body on the couch," she told commissioners at the time.
"And then I'm saying, 'Mary Ann?' I'm calling her (name) out. I wanted her to wake up, but my mind's telling me, 'But there's a pool of blood, she cannot wake up."'
Since the family didn't have a telephone, Sevigny went door-to-door to ask her neighbours for help. It felt like hours had passed when first responders showed up at the house, she said.
After police arrived, Sevigny went to her grandmother's house. In the months and years since, she said she has felt the immediate after-effects of post-traumatic stress.
"I was hearing voices, I was paranoid," she said. "I thought I was going to be killed next. I was crying in corners."
Birmingham's mother, Sarah, also spoke to the panel.
She said she was in Montreal at the time to support her three-year-old adoptive son, who was receiving treatment for leukemia.
While there, she was told that a social worker wanted to see her.
"It was then I would be told (of the death)," she told commissioners in Inuktitut. "I couldn't cry. Mary Ann was so important to me and I couldn't accept that she was gone."
Birmingham remembered Mary Ann as being a welcoming and friendly girl.
"We used to dress her up as a hunter and pretend she was going out hunting when she was little," she said.
"We used to play with her, and she enjoyed it in the days when everybody was fine."
RCMP said Atsiqtaq was remanded into custody and is scheduled to be back in court Oct. 29.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
By Aaron Sousa in Edmonton
The Georgia governor says at least 11 people in his state have been killed and dozens are still trapped in homes damaged by Hurricane Helene.
The family of Jon Wells, a man killed by Calgary police earlier this month, say they are seeking time to grieve their loss.
More than 550 symptomatic people responded to an online questionnaire about a gastrointestinal illness at a Prince Edward Island shellfish festival last weekend.
Maggie Smith, the masterful, scene-stealing actor who won an Oscar for 1969 film 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' and gained new fans in the 21st century as the dowager Countess of Grantham in 'Downton Abbey' and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, died Friday. She was 89.
A series of intense Israeli airstrikes hit one of Beirut's heavily populated southern suburbs on Friday as blasts were heard throughout the Lebanese capital.
Chroming, or getting high via inhaling hydrocarbons by misusing a variety of legal products, is trending among adolescents, and it sometimes ends in death.
Police have arrested four more people in connection with a viral video that showed a woman stealing a Porsche from a Mississauga driveway and then striking its owner as she attempted to flee the scene.
The U.S. Justice Department unsealed criminal charges Friday against three Iranian operatives suspected of hacking Donald Trump's presidential campaign and disseminating stolen information to media organizations.
A man from Alberta has been at the Medipal International Hospital in Kampala, Uganda for over two months with a hefty medical bill. He says he can’t leave until it’s been paid for.
There were some tense moments for a B.C. family this week after their dog came face-to-face with a protective mama bear right outside their front door.
Singer and songwriter Jann Arden is in Vancouver on Friday to raise donations and awareness in an effort to stop the export of live horses for slaughter overseas.
The City of Kamloops is issuing a public apology for what it’s calling "inappropriate behavior" that happened during Tuesday's council meeting.
Police have arrested four more people in connection with a viral video that showed a woman stealing a Porsche from a Mississauga driveway and then striking its owner as she attempted to flee the scene.
Ontario Education Minister Jill Dunlop is advising school boards to leave politics out of the classroom in the lead-up to the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attack which sparked the Israel-Hamas war.
Three people have been charged with attempted murder after an exchange of gunfire at a home in King Township on Thursday morning, York Regional Police say.
The family of Jon Wells, a man killed by Calgary police earlier this month, say they are seeking time to grieve their loss.
Suncor Energy has been fined $90,000 after pleading guilty to two charges stemming from a worker injury in 2019 aboard its production vessel in an oilfield off the coast of Newfoundland.
A construction supervisor has been fined $30,000 in connection with a serious workplace injury in Calgary in 2021.
Parking rates at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) will increase as of Tuesday for patients, visitors and staff.
Ontario Provincial Police say they responded to 29 calls related to domestic disputes last week in eastern Ontario.
Police in Gatineau, Que. say two suspects have been arrested following the third homicide of the year in the city. A 35-year-old man has been identified as the victim following an apparent assault.
Environment Canada said that two tornadoes reportedly touched down Thursday afternoon in Quebec's Mauricie region.
Quebec solidaire (QS) accused Quebec's liquor control board of being supported by 'racist, far-right pro-genocide groups."
Several people gathered near Mount-Royal and Papineau Avenue Thursday night to protest the closure of La Tulipe.
New data shows Alberta spends the lowest amount of money per inmate in Canada – a number the province says is value for money but critics label short-sighted and worrisome.
A crash scene made westbound Highway 16 impassable west of Edson Friday morning.
The wind may put a damper on the last 20-degree day we'll see for a while in Edmonton.
More than 550 symptomatic people responded to an online questionnaire about a gastrointestinal illness at a Prince Edward Island shellfish festival last weekend.
A youth charged with stabbing two staff members at a Bedford, N.S., high school in March 2023 will be sentenced Friday afternoon.
Nova Scotia’s deficit is expected to reach $654 million for the 2024-2025 fiscal year – a $187-million increase from the government’s projections in March.
An Ontario woman who allegedly abducted her three children from Ontario and crossed into Manitoba was arrested in Saskatchewan this week.
One non-profit organization is laying claim to the phrase 'Every Child Matters' in an attempt to control how it is used.
The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) has arrested a Saskatchewan man on human trafficking charges.
The most important issues for Saskatchewan voters depends on which party they support, according to a new poll.
The Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan says a former government-run liquor store would be turned into a government-operated grocery store if the party were to form government.
White Butte RCMP said officers were called to a two vehicle collision Friday morning along Highway 1 just east of Regina near the bypass.
Advocates are demanding an apology after a staff report regarding the destruction of corn crops in Wilmot Township was found to be lacking in detail.
Guelph police say an elderly woman has died after she was struck by a vehicle Thursday afternoon on Eramosa Road.
A high school student from Guelph has been charged after police were called to a south-end school on Thursday.
The most important issues for Saskatchewan voters depends on which party they support, according to a new poll.
The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) has arrested a Saskatchewan man on human trafficking charges.
A lawyer defending a 14-year-old accused of setting a classmate on fire says 'voices told her to do things' prior to a fiery attack which severely injured a classmate and a teacher at Evan Hardy Collegiate earlier this month.
There were some tense moments for a B.C. family this week after their dog came face-to-face with a protective mama bear right outside their front door.
A northern Ontario man was in the bush hunting for partridge with his fiancé Monday when he came across a big bull moose with its antlers entangled in some hydro lines.
Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial resumed this morning with a brief, emotional exchange during the continued cross-examination of his accuser.
A third person has been arrested following a shooting in London in July. Police had previously said officers were looking for Dean Robert Dickieson, 31, who they say has now been arrested.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims and Hikma Public Affairs Council have both released statements on social media regarding the reported incident.
The person was previously described as thin white man between 20 and 40 years old. He was wearing a black hoodie with a white logo on the front, and was also wearing a black and white baseball cap.
Several heavily armed officers descended on a home in the southeast area of Barrie Thursday afternoon after reports of a man armed with a crossbow.
Members of the Southern Georgian Bay OPP and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) are sounding the alarm on a rising number of online and phone scams targeting residents.
A Beeton, Ont., man accused in a historical sex crimes case involving a five-year-old girl made his first virtual court appearance on Thursday in Bradford.
A second fire is being reported at the former Mission Thrift Store location on Giles Boulevard.
OPP have seized four guns and around $120,000 after a search warrant was executed in Tecumseh.
A 20-year-old from Windsor was arrested for dangerous driving following a collision in Amulree on Wednesday.
When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.
A chemical firm based in Port Coquitlam, B.C., claims Health Canada wrongfully cancelled its licences to make natural health products after being sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for alleged involvement in importing precursor chemicals that could be used in illicit drug production.
A Royal Canadian Navy warship was rearmed with missiles and munitions in Australia this week, marking the first ever overseas rearmament for the service's Halifax-class frigates.
A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.
The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.
A man and woman have been charged after a Lethbridge ice creamery was broken into earlier this week. Staff arrived at Cookie Crimes, in the 300 block of Sixth Street South, just before 5:30 a.m. on Monday to discover the front window broken.
Fire investigators are working to determine the cause of a blaze that killed about 9,000 turkey chicks in Vulcan County, Alta.
Four Lethbridge high school football players accused of sexual assault last year won't go to trial.
A 41-year-old from southern Ontario has been charged with identity theft after someone tried to buy a $30,000 boat in Dryden using a stolen credit card.
Four hunters from Ear Falls west of Thunder Bay, Ont., have been fined for an illegal moose hunt in October 2022 and two of them lost their hunting licence for multiple years.
Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial resumed this morning with a brief, emotional exchange during the continued cross-examination of his accuser.
A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now they’re about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.
A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.
Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.
Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.
A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.
An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.
An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.
Fire has destroyed a barn and 17,000 plants at a family-owned business in Lower Coverdale, N.B.
Current and former officials of Canada's spy agency are slated to appear today at a federal inquiry into foreign interference.
Canada's ambassador to Lebanon says she is 'confident' in plans to evacuate Canadians out of Lebanon amid the escalating conflict between Israel and militant group Hezbollah, but is still urging those there to leave while commercial flights are still available.
The federal government's deficit has grown to $7.3 billion so far this fiscal year.
A man from Alberta has been at the Medipal International Hospital in Kampala, Uganda for over two months with a hefty medical bill. He says he can’t leave until it’s been paid for.
More than 550 symptomatic people responded to an online questionnaire about a gastrointestinal illness at a Prince Edward Island shellfish festival last weekend.
A partial masking mandate has returned to Nova Scotia hospitals and provincially run healthcare facilities for visitors and healthcare workers.
Members of the Southern Georgian Bay OPP and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) are sounding the alarm on a rising number of online and phone scams targeting residents.
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen feels 'extremely hopeful' about society's ability to push social media platforms into being safer but for change to come, she says these companies need to be motivated in a new way.
OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati — who has been instrumental in the development of ChatGPT and the artificial intelligence image generator Dall-E — said Wednesday she is leaving the company.
Maggie Smith, the masterful, scene-stealing actor who won an Oscar for 1969 film 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' and gained new fans in the 21st century as the dowager Countess of Grantham in 'Downton Abbey' and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, died Friday. She was 89.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs wants to testify at his criminal trial for charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, according to his attorney.
Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial is set to resume today with further cross-examination of his accuser, after several heated exchanges on Thursday.
Canada's gross domestic product expanded at a faster-than-expected 0.2 per cent rate in July, driven by growth in retail trade and public sectors, but the economy likely stalled in August, Statistics Canada data showed on Friday.
Switching to an online-only bank more than a decade ago was just another way Jessica Morgan was trying to save money at the time as a new grad.
Suncor Energy has been fined $90,000 after pleading guilty to two charges stemming from a worker injury in 2019 aboard its production vessel in an oilfield off the coast of Newfoundland.
A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.
Regina and John Zdravich left the U.S. for Italy after falling in love with the European country, then unexpectedly found themselves 'homeless.'
Home Depot was about to launch something big — really big — when the pandemic hit in the spring of 2020: a 12-foot skeleton.
The Winnipeg Jets announced Friday they are signing Bryan Little to a one-day contract, allowing the centre to retire with the franchise he spent his entire NHL career with.
Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube says he doesn't think Auston Matthews' upper-body injury is too serious and expects the captain to be fine.
Daniel Ricciardo, one of the most popular and likeable drivers on the Formula 1 grid, was released by Red Bull Racing on Thursday and will be replaced immediately by Liam Lawson.
Ontario's Premier Doug Ford wants to dig Canada's largest city out of its traffic woes.
A bizarre discovery was made on a dirt road in Clearview Township.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he wants to build a tunnel under Highway 401 that would stretch from Brampton to Scarborough.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
