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Levi Cayen manslaughter sentencing pushed to June

Levi Cayen, who was found guilty of manslaughter in the spring, must wait until June to find out what his sentence will be. (Natalie Pressman/CBC - image credit)
Levi Cayen, who was found guilty of manslaughter in the spring, must wait until June to find out what his sentence will be. (Natalie Pressman/CBC - image credit)

A sentencing hearing for Levi Cayen has been pushed back to June 27.

Cayen, who was found guilty of manslaughter in the 2017 death of Alex Norwegian, appeared in a Yellowknife courthouse on Thursday where Justice Shannon Smallwood said she needed more time to review submissions from the Crown and the defence to make her sentencing decision.

Cayen was initially charged with first-degree murder in the 25-year-old Hay River man's death — but back in March, a jury found him guilty of manslaughter instead.

Early in the morning of Dec. 27, 2017, Norwegian was robbed, beaten and left to die on a remote road on the Kátł'odeeche First Nation reserve. During Cayen's trial, a medical examiner testified Norwegian had ultimately died from hypothermia.

Cayen was the last of four people charged in the death to be tried in court: Sasha Cayen pleaded guilty to manslaughter and robbery, Tyler Cayen pleaded guilty to being an accessory to manslaughter, and James Thomas was convicted of second-degree murder and robbery.

The maximum sentence for manslaughter is life imprisonment, but the typical sentence ranges from four to seven years.

Cayen has been in custody at the North Slave Correctional Centre since 2017.