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Guilty plea in Hay River homicide case

Tyler Cayen, one of four people charged in connection with the December death of Alexander Norwegian, pleaded guilty to being an accessory to manslaughter in NWT Supreme Court Thursday.

Tyler, 32, was arrested in February and charged with murder and robbery after Norwegian's body was found inside a vehicle on the access road to Sandy Creek on the Hay River Reserve on Dec. 28.

Three others – Sasha Cayen, 25, Levi Cayen, 20, and James Thomas, 26 – were also charged in relation to the homicide.

In May, Tyler saw his charges downgraded to robbery and being an accessory to murder.

He is the first of the four to enter a plea.

A preliminary inquiry for Levi Cayen, who faces one count of first-degree murder and one count of robbery, has been set for November.

James Thomas, who is also charged with first-degree murder and robbery, also opted for a preliminary hearing.

Preliminary hearings are used to determine if the Crown has enough evidence to take a case to trial.

Sasha Cayen – originally charged with murder and robbery – saw her charges downgraded along with Tyler's in May. She is now charged with robbery and manslaughter.

Sasha was denied bail in May.

Tyler Cayen will be back in court in September to set a sentencing date.