A man accused of murdering nineteen-year-old Zellall Highway and sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl is headed to trial in Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench.
A preliminary hearing for Nathan Waditaka, 20, was scheduled Feb. 8, 2021, in Prince Albert Provincial Court, but he waived his right to a preliminary hearing and consented to committal to stand trial. Waditaka elected to be tried by Queen’s Bench judge and jury.
Waditaka was arrested after Prince Albert RCMP were called to Wahpeton Dakota Nation Health Centre just after midnight on Dec. 26, 2019, about a complaint of a girl being assaulted. She was taken by ambulance to a Prince Albert hospital for treatment. At the residence police found Highway suffering from life-threatening injuries and took him to a local clinic where EMS pronounced him deceased.
In May 2020, Waditaka was released on bail with conditions. He is required to wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and remain in the house 24-hours a day unless otherwise allowed to leave by his probation officer. He was ordered to answer the door for police when they conduct checks on him. He was ordered to seek employment or education. He is banned from using any drugs or alcohol and not to have any weapons. Waditaka is not to contact certain individuals whose names the court banned from publication.
A trial date in Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench will be set at a later date.