Inquest into death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet on hold for investigation: coroner

3:17 SIU says no charges in death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet

A coroner’s inquest into the death of a Toronto woman who fell from a 24th-floor balcony while police were in her home was put on hold indefinitely Thursday just as it reached the final stretch of the proceedings.

“I know everyone has been working extremely hard during this inquest. Unfortunately, I will be adjourning the inquest until further notice,” said Dr. David Cameron, the coroner presiding over the inquest into the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet.

“The reason for this is that we have some quite unanticipated investigation that needs to be done before we can continue.”

The coroner gave no details on the nature or focus of the investigation but said jurors and the public would be informed when the inquest was ready to resume.

The inquest finished hearing evidence on Wednesday and was set to reconvene Thursday afternoon so that lawyers for about a dozen parties could make their closing remarks and suggest recommendations to the jury.

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Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old woman of Afro-Indigenous and Ukrainian descent, died on May 27, 2020 after police were called to the west-end apartment she shared with relatives.

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The inquest was temporarily thrown off course after her mother, Claudette Beals, made a new allegation against police, who were cleared of wrongdoing by a watchdog agency.

Beals alleged officers pushed her daughter toward the balcony, causing the inquest to go on an extended break so that lawyers could figure out a way forward.

Two officers who were in the apartment had previously testified that Korchinski-Paquet was allowed into the apartment to use the bathroom, then introduced to a paramedic. Korchinski-Paquet moved quickly to the balcony, knocking over an air conditioning unit in the process, they said.

The Special Investigations Unit, one of Ontario’s police watchdog organizations, found she died while trying to move from her apartment’s balcony to the one next door. The SIU did not participate in the inquest, and its investigation is outside the scope of the proceedings.

Jurors in coroner’s inquests do not assign blame or legal responsibility, but they may make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths in the future.

The inquest has focused largely on Korchinski-Paquet’s history of seizures from epilepsy as well as education and training around epilepsy and postictal delirium or psychosis, mental states that can occur after seizures and lead to uncharacteristic behaviour.

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Korchinski-Paquet had experienced two seizures earlier in the day, hours before police were called over a fight involving knives. Korchinski-Paquet, her mother and her brother each called 911 and mentioned her diagnosis and seizures to the call taker, jurors heard.