Crown begins presenting case against Hay River man charged with first-degree murder

It was cold the night Alex Norwegian died, and getting colder that much, Crown prosecutors and defence lawyers agree on so far in a first-degree murder trial for Levi Cayen.

Norwegian's body was found inside a vehicle near Hay River in December 2017. Cayen was charged with first-degree murder and robbery in connection with his death.

His trial began in Yellowknife Monday.

On Wednesday, Crown Prosecutor Duane Praught gave his opening statement to a jury of 14 people.

Praughtsaid Norwegian was a "low-level drug dealer" at the time of his death, and characterized the killing as a violent robbery that left Norwegian injured and alone the night of Dec. 26, 2017.

Temperatures hovered around 23 C that night. By the time his frozen body was found the morning of Dec. 28, they had plummetedto 38 C.

With the consent of defence lawyer Alan Regel, Praught also submitted nearly 1,000 photos from different scenes as evidence. Most of the photos were taken by RCMP officers during their investigation.

On Wednesday afternoon, the jury heard from the first witness in the case. RCMP Sgt. Brandon Humbkecommanded the Hay River detachment at the time of Norwegian's death, and was the officer who got the call that a body had been found along Sandy Creek Road on the K'atl'odeeche First Nation.

Humbke said he and another officer attended the scene, where they found a vehicle with its windows smashed in. Norwegian's body was in the driver's seat.

Police charged Cayen and three others in connection with Norwegian's death. Cayen's case is the last to make its way through the courts.

On Monday, as jury selection began, Cayen entered a guilty plea to robbery. He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

Supreme Court Justice S.H. Smallwood told the jury on Wednesday not to take his robbery plea as a sign that he is also guilty on the murder charge.