Warning: This story contains content some readers may find disturbing
THUNDER BAY — One of the two accused in the 2020 death of 31-year-old Christopher Meeseetawageesic, who recorded the brutal and violent assault and shared it with others, has been sentenced to nine years after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Natalie Moonias, 33, appeared before Justice Bruce Fitzpatrick in a Thunder Bay Courtroom on Thursday where she entered a plea of not guilty to the original charge of second-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to the lesser included charge of manslaughter.
Kenneth Moonias, 31, who is Natalie Moonias’ cousin, also pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in November and will be sentenced at a later date.
The charges date back to the evening of Aug. 28, 2020 when Meeseetawageesic was with Kenneth Moonias and Natalie Moonias in an industrial site near the Thunder Centre off of Main Street.
According to an agreed statement of facts read into the court record, Kenneth Moonias repeatedly stomped on Meeseetawageesic’s head with his foot while Natalie Moonias filmed the assault with her cell phone.
The video was shown to the court and it depicts Meeseetawageesic lying on the ground with his head and face covered in blood. The video stopped right before Kenneth Moonias was about to stomp on his head with his foot again.
Meeseetawageesic’s body was found by the owner of the industrial site two days later. It appeared that his body had been dragged behind a truck trailer and a cinder block had been placed upon his chest.
A post-mortem examination revealed Meeseetawageesic suffered 14 blunt force injuries to his head and neck and died as a result of blunt force trauma. The forensic pathologist was unable to conclude if the cinder block was used in the assault but noted the force of the blows Meeseetawageesic sustained were strong enough to fracture his skull.
The Thunder Bay Police Service launched an investigation into the incident. On Sept. 1, 2020, investigators received a video from an anonymous source that depicted the assault. In the video, Natalie Moonias could be heard stating: ‘rest in peace’ and when Meeseetawageesic was heard gasping for air, she said: ‘he’s still breathing.’
Investigators interviewed several witnesses who helped identify Kenneth Moonias and Natalie Moonias as the two responsible for the assault.
One witness said Natalie Moonias sent him the video and admitted to "seeing Chris die."
Other witnesses told police that they observed Natalie Moonias with blood on her shoes and that she admitted to killing Meeseetawageesic and "needs a good lawyer."
Surveillance video footage from the area on the evening of Aug. 28, 2020 also shows Kenneth Moonias and Natalie Moonias walking through a parking lot with what appears to be blood like staining on their shoes, and Kenneth Moonias discarding a sweatshirt into a dumpter.
DNA evidence also linked Natalie Moonias to the scene where Meeseetawageesic was found.
Kenneth Moonias and Natalie Moonias were both arrested on Sept. 3, 2020 and originally charged with second-degree murder.
Prior to sentencing, the court heard an emotional victim impact statement from Meeseetawageesic’s mother, Flora Moonias.
The mother said her son was a friend to many who knew him and was loved by all his family. She recalled first hearing of his death, saying she didn’t want to believe it.
“I couldn’t believe a word that was said to me. My whole body couldn’t move. And I froze. I cried and cried and screamed,” she said. “My heart sank and my heart shattered and broke into two million pieces. My heart still aches today for what you have done to my son Chris. I didn’t want to believe my son was gone.”
Flora added that when she first heard Natalie Moonias had been arrested, she felt anger knowing that she was from her home community of Neskantaga First Nation.
“When I see you sitting across from me all I see is a murderer sitting there who took my son’s life away from me and my family,” she said in court. “Still today I feel the pain, grief, hurt that you caused. The grief I carry deep inside me. I feel like I’m never going to heal from this trauma, the loss of my child.”
Repeatedly asking why and if Moonias was sorry, Flora then asked her how she can live with herself after what she did.
“How can you take another life by murdering a human being? I simply wanted to ask you why. Why did you kill him?” she said. “Do you think I could ever forgive you for what you did to my son? I know god says we should forgive, but I am not ready to forgive you at all.”
When given the opportunity to speak, Natalie Moonias apologized for her actions, saying she was very sorry.
Defense counsel Patricia Vo and George Joseph, along with Crown attorney Stephanie Baker, presented a joint submission for sentence.
Vo provided details of Moonias’ background, which included numerous family losses, being displaced from her home community, and struggling with addiction issues from a young age.
However, Vo also noted that Moonias has completed numerous programs while in custody and has been sober since being arrested. She has also accepted responsibility for her actions as demonstrated through her guilty plea and expressions of remorse.
Baker noted there are aggravating factors, including Moonias having previous criminal convictions for crimes involving violence and the assault on Meeseetawageesic having been committed while she was on probation.
“She has now been convicted with what can only be described as a horrific offence. This was an attack that was brutal, violent, and in the Crown’s view, cruel,” Baker said. “She participated by documenting the killing and sharing the video with others. The brutality of the assault and the manner in which she watches another human beings’ death is simply put, shocking.”
Fitzpatrick agreed with the joint submission, saying nine years in custody falls within an acceptable range for the charge and the circumstances of the incident.
“No doubt this was a crime of violence and involved a brutal application of force,” Fitzpatrick said. “The act of standing by and recording the act on a cell phone was particularly heinous and incomprehensible, but Natalie is owning up to her very bad decisions.”
Fitzpatrick recognized Moonias entering a guilty plea and taking responsibility for her actions, but he noted those actions will have a lasting impact on all those involved
“The family is having very difficult time understanding why,” he said. “They must live with the results of this senseless death for the rest of their lives.”
With pre-sentence custody of 819 real days, enhanced to 1,229 days, she has approximately 5.7 years more to serve.
Moonias is also required to submit a DNA sample and is subject to a lifetime weapons prohibition.
