Brandon Lyta found not guilty of second-degree murder in Iqaluit

A Nunavut man who stood trial for second-degree murder was found not guilty on Tuesday. 

Nunavut Chief Justice Neil Sharkey said it's plausible that Brandon Lyta acted in self-defence when he stabbed Levi Michael in May of 2020 in Iqaluit. 

Michael later died in hospital in Iqaluit from a single stab wound in his left shoulder. 

Lyta, now 25, admitted during the trial that he killed Michael, who was 29, when he stabbed him with a knife during a fight. 

Lyta and Michael got in a fight after leaving a poker game at Michael's apartment on the evening of May 14, 2020.

Lyta said that as he left, he grabbed a knife and Michael followed him outside. 

During the trial, Lyta said Michael had charged at him with an ice chisel and that he stabbed him with the knife in order to defend himself.

"I found Mr. Lyta's story plausible, particularly in light of injuries he suffered and which were documented," Sharkey said. 

Lyta had told the court at trial that he tossed the ice chisel and the knife into a ditch on the side of the road. 

No ice chisel or knife was ever found and there were no witnesses to the event, Sharkey said. 

"I am left with a reasonable doubt about whether Mr. Lyta was defending himself from an attack with an ice chisel, or not," Sharkey said. 

At trial, the Crown had argued that Lyta intended to cause bodily harm to Michael that could cause death when he stabbed him

In his decision, Sharkey rejected this argument.

The court also heard that Lyta had gone to the RCMP the next day after he heard the police were looking for him.