Man slain in Tsiigehtchic by cousin: police
Last Updated: Monday, June 30, 2008 | 9:06 AM CT
CBC News
RCMP investigating the weekend death of a man in Tsiigehtchic, N.W.T., say they believe he was stabbed to death by his cousin.
Two police officers enter a house in Tsiigehtchic, N.W.T., where residents say a man died over the weekend. (Chris Harbord/CBC)Police have charged 28-year-old Michael Douglas Andre Blake with second-degree murder in the death of Roy Patrick Blake, 25, according to a news release issued Monday.
Patrick Blake was found stabbed to death on a road in the tiny hamlet of 175 people early Saturday.
The small community is about 115 kilometres south of Inuvik and is accessible only by ferry.
Ferry worker Rick Hegge told CBC News that late Friday, on the ferry's last run of the night, he saw two men he believed to be Michael and Patrick Blake aboard the ferry.
"One guy was going to buy a truck; the other guy was going to sell it to him," Hegge recalled. "They were sailing together on the boat here."
Hegge said Patrick Blake looked like he was drinking at the time.
Police have not confirmed Hegge's account.
A Tsiigehtchic bylaw officer discovered Patrick Blake's body on the road around 3 a.m. MT.
As there is no RCMP in the community, officers had to travel from Inuvik to Tsiigehtchic early Saturday morning. Ferry workers said they were woken up at 4 a.m. to bring the police to the hamlet.
Police spent the weekend inside a house in the community, taking photographs and video of the scene, CBC reporter Chris Harbord said.
Residents in the tiny hamlet were reeling from the man's death. Local elder Barnaby Natsie said police would not let anyone enter or leave the community for hours on Saturday.
Longtime resident Olive Blake said she is related to Patrick Blake, who she said was from nearby Fort McPherson.
She said she could not believe such an incident could happen in Tsiigehtchic and blamed the death on alcohol and drug use.
"Alcohol and drugs tend to be getting worse instead of better," she said. "Things like this [will keep] happening over and over again if no one sits down and talks to the young people."
Olive Blake said she wants to see the RCMP stationed in her community.
Micheal Douglas Andre Blake is currently in custody in Yellowknife and is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.
