A Nunavut man accused of murder was already pleading his innocence in the minutes after he choked another man to death in a cabin on Roaches Lines almost four years ago, a witness testified today.
Thirty-four-year-old Patrick Sulurayok is on trial at Supreme Court in St. John’s, charged with second-degree murder in the death of 30-year-old Bernard Otuk.
Otuk died from a loss of blood flow to the brain, brought on by a choke hold administered by Sulurayok.
That part is not in dispute.
The key question for the jury is whether the force applied crossed the line from self-defence to murder.
After 30 days at sea, the men, along with other crewmembers on a Baffin Fisheries vessel, were anxious to land at Bay Roberts and unwind a little.
Or a lot, as was the case for Otuk, Sularuyok and two others from Nunavut in a cabin at Hillside Cottages on June 22nd, 2021.
Defence lawyers Bob Buckingham and Danny Vavasour with their client, Patrick Sulurayok, in Supreme Court on Tuesday. (VOCM News)
Fellow crewmember Nate Andrews, who was in another cabin, testified he saw the four, each with a case of beer, walking to their cabin that day.
He would later see Otuk, now barely able to walk, helping him back to his cabin, where Andrews said he saw marijuana and cocaine.
Andrews left, and it was just before 9 p.m. when one of the four ran to him for help, saying “Bernard’s not breathing.”
Re-entering the cabin, he said he saw Otuk on the floor and Sulurayok frantically doing CPR on him while repeating: “He was trying to fight all of us. I choked him. It was self-defence.”
Otuk’s eyes were open but he was unconscious, moaning and frothing at the mouth, said Andrews, as the victim’s grieving mom sobbed in the courtroom.
Crown attorneys Robert Roche (left) and Tim O’Brien speak with the victim’s parents in Supreme Court on Tuesday. (VOCM News)
He described Sulurayok as “hysterical and panicking, doing CPR as fast as he could, trying to revive him.”
Andrews, affectionately referred to as “Big Nate” due to his imposing stature, said he was concerned about doing CPR himself, fearing he might do more harm given his size and the dozen beer he’d consumed himself.
Court has heard that Otuk got upset and unruly over personal family issues, possibly exacerbated by the drugs and alcohol.
Meanwhile, the only eyewitness to the choking is in custody at the city lockup, waiting to testify this week.
He was arrested last week on unrelated charges in Iqaluit and flown to St. John’s for the trial.
