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Hay River man accused of murder, robbery applying for bail

A Hay River man accused of first degree murder and robbery is applying for release and wants his trial held in Hay River rather than Yellowknife.

Levi Cayen, 22, has been in jail since his arrest in early January 2018. He and three others were charged with murder in connection with the death of Alex Norwegian in late December 2017. Norwegian's frozen body was found in the Sandy Creek Road area of Hay River.

In affidavits filed in court, Cayen says he's always had a weak immune system and that measures to protect against the spread of COVID-19, such as social distancing, are not being used at the North Slave Correctional Centre (NSCC).

Cayen said he works in the kitchen with five others and nobody is wearing masks. He said he and the other kitchen workers eat side-by-side at a small table. Cayen says it is also difficult to maintain distances from others when using phones at the jail, because they are only two feet apart.

In an affidavit of his own, NSCC warden John Nahanni says corrections officers have been instructed to enforce physical distancing. He said when that is not possible, people are required to wear masks. He said all inmates are issued two cloth masks when they arrive.

Nahanni detailed a number of other measures in place at the jail, including checking new inmates for symptoms and taking their temperatures before they're allowed to join the general population.

Cayen is proposing to stay with his mother who, he says, has lined up a job for him at the West Point First Nation near Hay River.

His bail hearing is scheduled to begin Tuesday.

Push to move trial to Hay River

The courts typically attempt to hold trials in the community or, if the community is too small to find an impartial jury, in the region where the alleged crime occurred.

Cayen previously consented to having his jury trial in Yellowknife but, with a new lawyer, is now applying for it to be held in Hay River.

In another affidavit he says the town is big enough to find an impartial jury. He says it will be helpful for jurors to have knowledge of the town to follow the narrative of the trial: "The benefit of having a jury who understands the lay of the land in Hay River will outweigh the harm arising from the additional delay that may result if the trial is held in Hay River."

He noted that the crown intends to call more than 50 witnesses and only 15 of them are from Hay River.

No date has been set yet for Cayen's trial. The trial of another man, James George Thomas, also charged with first degree murder and robbery in Norwegian's death was scheduled to begin on April 20, but has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. No new date has been set.