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Man charged with attempted murder for New Year's Eve stabbing pleads guilty to aggravated assault

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Editor's note: The following story contains graphic details that some readers may find disturbing.

A man originally charged with breaking and entering and attempted murder for a New Year's Eve stabbing of his estranged partner appeared in Supreme Court Monday to enter a guilty plea to the lesser charge of aggravated assault. 

Tariq St. Croix, admitted Monday to breaking and entering his former partner's Yellowknife residence and stabbing her repeatedly. Originally charged with breaking and entering and attempted murder, St. Croix plead guilty to the lesser charge of aggravated assault, which the Crown accepted
A Yellowknife man admitted Monday to breaking and entering into his former partner's Yellowknife residence and stabbing her repeatedly. Originally charged with breaking and entering and attempted murder, the offender pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of aggravated assault, which the Crown accepted.
Natalie Pressman/NNSL photo

The offender admitted that he broke a window and entered the house of his former partner in her Williams Avenue residence on Dec. 31, 2018. The man armed himself with a steak knife and went to the second floor of the house, where the pregnant victim was watching fireworks with her children. 

The woman was holding her youngest child when the assault started on New Year's Eve and handed the toddler to another family member as the stabbing continued. 

The offender stabbed the woman several times in the face, left shoulder, left chest and stomach. Throughout the assault, the assailant repeatedly said to the victim, “You don’t love me.”

The stabbing stopped only when the knife broke. The blade remained lodged in the woman’s stomach. 

When she tried to escape, the man dragged her back into the house and kicked her in the head. He fled the scene shortly afterwards and was arrested several hours later. 

The woman was brought to the hospital and later told NNSL Media that her life was saved as a result of RCMP’s quick action. She gave birth to the baby after the traumatic assault.

The court heard that the assailant and the victim had an “on-again, off-again relationship” that was “characterized by domestic violence.” The offender had been charged with assaulting his estranged partner on three separate occasions before the New Year's Eve stabbing. They now have two children together. At the time of the 2018 stabbing, their first child was 18 months, and the victim was pregnant with their second. She also has children from a previous relationship.  

Crown prosecutor Blair McPherson accepted the offender's guilty plea. Therefore, the trial for attempted murder will be cancelled. 

The guilty party is set to be sentenced in the Supreme Court of the NWT on Feb. 11, 2021.