A room at Gold Pan Motel on Front Street in Quesnel was taped off during the Oct. 2017 investigation. Melanie Law/Observer file photo

A room at Gold Pan Motel on Front Street in Quesnel was taped off during the Oct. 2017 investigation. Melanie Law/Observer file photo

Quesnel woman set for inquiry on charges relating to 2017 homicide

Dawn Gunanoot has 2019 date set; co-accused Nathan Doucette is in court again this month

  • Nov. 2, 2018 12:00 a.m.

Dawn Gunanoot, 43, will be in Quesnel Provincial Court in April next year for a preliminary inquiry on charges in connection with an October 2017 homicide.

A preliminary inquiry is held to determine if there is enough evidence for an individual to be tried on their charges.

Gunanoot is charged with assault causing bodily harm and break and enter of a dwelling to commit an indictable offence in connection to the homicide, in which a local woman died in police custody, after reportedly being assaulted at the Gold Pan Motel on Front Street.

Gunanoot is also charged with breach of undertaking.

She’ll be in court April 11, 2019, and is not currently in custody.

Co-accused Nathan Doucette, 33, is charged with identical offences and has a court date Nov. 13, 2018 to fix a date for a trial or hearing. Court Services Online also shows Doucette is scheduled to appear in Quesnel Provincial Court Nov. 23 for a bail hearing. He is currently in custody.

In the early hours of Oct. 1, 2017, Quesnel RCMP were called to the Gold Pan Motel after a report of an assault on a man and a woman.

The RCMP discovered the female victim was in breach of a court-imposed condition and took her into custody. She was transported to hospital for her injuries, and later died. The Quesnel RCMP were investigated by police watchdog the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., which found no connection between actions of police and the death of the victim.

A year later, Doucette and Gunanoot were charged with assault and B&E.

The assault victims’ names have not been released.

READ MORE: Watchdog rules out police involvement in Quesnel homicide


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