NORTH BATTLEFORD – A Pelican Lake First Nation man charged with second-degree murder in the death of a 54-year-old British Columbia man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
A preliminary hearing for 62-year-old Walter Jack Abbott was scheduled to start in North Battleford Provincial Court on Jan. 23 but the charge was amended by the Crown prosecutor to manslaughter.
Abbott is back in court on March 1 to set a date for his sentencing hearing. He has been in custody since his arrest.
In June 2022, court heard that Abbott would be pleading not guilty to the second-degree murder charge.
According to police, at approximately 8:30 a.m., on Sept. 17, 2021, Spiritwood RCMP received a report of a deceased man at a residence on Pelican Lake First Nation. Officers and EMS responded and the man was declared deceased at the scene. Police didn’t release the victim’s name but said the victim and the accused were known to each other.
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