Hearings begin for Nunavut Mountie murder trial

A Nunavut court has started hearing evidence that might  be used in the first-degree murder trial of a Kimmirut, Nunavut, man accused of killing an RCMP officer in 2007.

Pingotauk Kolola, 39, appeared in an Iqaluit courtroom on Monday for the first day of a voir dire hearing for his eventual trial.

Kolola is charged in the Nov. 5, 2007, death of Const. Douglas Scott, 20, who was shot dead while responding to an impaired-driving call in the Baffin Island hamlet.

Court-ordered publication bans prohibit media from reporting details from the voir dire hearings, which determine what evidence can be admitted at trial.

No date or venue has been set for the trial, which could take place either in Kimmirut or Iqaluit.

Trial dates will be scheduled when the voir dire hearings wrap up. Court officials say the hearings could run for more than a week.