Court of King's Bench in Prince Albert. (File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Court proceedings

Wahpeton manslaughter case proceeds to trial

Oct 16, 2022 | 2:00 PM

Starting Monday, two weeks have been set for a trial at the Court of King’s Bench in Prince Albert, which will hear the details surrounding a man’s death over two years ago at Wahpeton Dakota Nation.

Nathan Waditaka, 22, is accused of killing Zellall Highway. He’s also charged with the assault and sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl.

At the conclusion of a pre-trial conference last December, it was decided the case would be tried by judge and jury. That has since changed to judge alone.

On December 26, 2019, Prince Albert RCMP responded to a report of an injured 17-year-old girl at the Wahpeton Dakota Nation Health Centre.

After they arrived the investigators found her injuries were due to an assault. They then returned to the residence on the reserve where the assault happened

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At the residence they found Highway suffering from life-threatening injuries. He was quickly transported to the local health clinic and later pronounced deceased.

Waditaka, who was 19 at the time, was found at a nearby residence, arrested, and transported to hospital to be treated for his own injuries obtained during the incident.

While he was initially charged with second-degree murder, it was changed to manslaughter at a hearing last year. The trial is scheduled to run from Oct. 17 to Oct. 28

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell