RCMP close cold-case file on 2011 death of N.W.T. teen after lone suspect dies

N.W.T. RCMP say the lone suspect in a cold case dating to 2011 has died.

On Wednesday, police announced they would be closing the file on Cody Dempster, a 16-year-old who died on May 3, 2011, in Yellowknife. They said an autopsy revealed Dempster had been given fatal quantities of drugs without his knowledge.

"Cody's family and friends never stopped pursuing justice in this case," wrote RCMP Sgt. Jason Hurley with the Northwest Territories Major Crime and Historical Crime units.

"Their persistence was a great asset to our investigators and we are grateful for the amount of support that our investigators received as they tried to bring this matter to a conclusion."

The case was passed to the Historical Crime Unit when the unit was formed in 2018. It was thanks to a renewed investigation by that unit, RCMP said, that they identified a lone suspect.

That person died outside the N.W.T. in 2022. Police are not naming them.