Ross River, Yukon, man pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2019 death of Mary Ann Ollie

WARNING: This story contains graphic content

A Ross River, Yukon, man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2019 death of Mary Ann Ollie.

Philip Atkinson, 66, faced one count of first-degree murder in the case but entered a plea to the lesser charge in a Whitehorse courtroom Thursday.

The date was originally scheduled to be the start of his five-week-long jury trial on the murder charge.

According to an agreed statement of facts read to the court by Crown attorney Adam Halliday, Ollie, aKaska woman and Ross River resident, was last seen alive on July 31, 2019 her 59th birthday.

Community members and family saw her walking around the community and at the store, the document says, and then at Atkinson's house in the afternoon and evening.

Two people who went to Atkinson's at approximately 12:40 a.m. the next day found Ollie on the floor, not breathing.

Medical personnel who responded to calls for help pronounced her dead soon after. They noted that the "civilians first on scene were very intoxicated."

While police were also dispatched to Atkinson's house, the agreed statement of facts says"there were no obvious signs of struggle" at the scene and officers didn't initially consider Ollie's death suspicious. As a result, the home was not "preserved," nor did police search for evidence as it wasn't considered a crime scene.

That changed following an autopsy on Ollie's body two weeks later, the document continues, which revealed that she'd suffered "multiple injuries" including bruises on her head and "anorectal wounds" that caused "significant trauma" and internal bleeding.

The bruises, according to the agreed statement of facts, could have been the result of falls or "strikes" and "could have resulted in a loss of consciousness."

The document says the pathologist couldn't determine what exactly caused Ollie's death, but believed that the injuries, combined with the "acute toxic effects of alcohol," likely contributed.

Police launched a homicide investigation and Atkinson was arrested and charged on Sept. 16, 2020.

The agreed statement of facts say Atkinson "does not have a memory" of July 31 or Aug. 1, 2019, but "does not dispute" that he caused the "traumatic anorectal injury that was a significant contributing cause" of Ollie's death. The facts do not elaborate on why he doesn't remember what happened.

Atkinson, wearing jail-issued blue scrubs, sat next to his lawyer Jennifer Cunningham and remained largely silent throughout the proceedings on Thursday, speaking only when asked by the judge or Cunningham if he understood the process.

"I don't have any memory, your Honour, but I take responsibility," he said in response to one question.

A sentencing date for Atkinson has not been set yet.

The Crown and defence, however, indicated that they would be giving a joint sentencing submission. The Crown also confirmed it would be asking for the sentencing hearing to be held in Ross River, and that there would be at least six victim impact statements submitted during the process as well as a possible community impact statement.

The case was adjourned to next week to give the defence time to discuss the location of the sentencing hearing with Atkinson, and to decide if Atkinson, who is also Kaska,would ask for a Gladue report.