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A Lac La Biche man has pleaded guilty to interfering with the body of a young Indigenous woman whose death prompted vigils and calls for justice in the northern Alberta community.
Ali Wayne Cunningham, 31, was in Edmonton Court of King’s Bench Monday, where he admitted to hiding the body of 21-year-old Tytiana Janvier in a wardrobe after she fatally overdosed in his home.
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Janvier’s death attracted the attention of advocates for missing and murdered Indigenous women, who —along with Janvier’s family — suggested she was a victim of foul play. RCMP ultimately deemed her death non-suspicious.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Janvier was a friend of Cunningham’s who visited his Churchill Drive home on the afternoon of March 9, 2022. At 7:30 p.m., Janvier “went into medical distress as a result of a drug overdose” and died.
After realizing she was dead, Cunningham wrapped her body in garbage bags, a duvet, and bedsheets, and hid her body in a wardrobe.
Janvier was reported missing around 6 p.m. the next day. An RCMP officer visited Cuningham’s home to ask about her. Cunningham met the officer at the door and said Janvier left the previous night.
After the officer left, one of Janvier’s loved ones visited and asked where she was.
“At this point, the accused permitted (her) to enter the residence, directed her to the closed wardrobe, (and) opened the wardrobe door, revealing the deceased inside,” the agreed facts state.
RCMP later searched the home. The garbage bags wrapped around the body tested positive for Cunningham’s fingerprints and DNA.
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Tavia Janvier, Tytiana’s mother, remembers feeling uneasy when she couldn’t reach her daughter after she went into town on the day of her death. Tavia also went to Cunningham’s house and was told she left the night before.
“All the time she was inside,” she said.
Cunningham was arrested on July 13, 2022, and charged with committing an indignity to a body. He was released from custody ahead of trial.
Cunningham’s next court date is Oct. 28 to set a date for sentencing. A presentence report is being prepared in the meantime.
‘Sick to my stomach’
Hundreds attended a vigil for Janvier organized shortly after her death. Some family members and supporters initially said they believed she was killed. Some reports said her body had been tied up, though no such detail is mentioned in the agreed statement of facts.
In the wake of Janvier’s death, RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff acknowledged the mood in Lac La Biche was “very contentious,” but said there was nothing to suggest Janvier’s death was suspicious.
Tavia said reading the agreed facts made her feel “sick to my stomach.”
“I don’t understand why he would do that to her. She was such a good kid. I just don’t get it.”
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“She was a wonderful girl,” she added. “She was loveable — that was my baby, my pride and joy. She helped out others. She was a friendly kid.”
Court records show Cunningham has a 2019 conviction for drug possession, for which he received a year of probation and a $2,000 fine. The original indictment included charges that Cunningham was trafficking prescription pharmaceuticals and MDMA, though those counts were withdrawn.
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