Overdose deaths of 3 inmates to be investigated through inquests: Manitoba medical examiner

WARNING: This story contains details about suicide.

The deaths of several inmates found dead in their cells after overdosing are among six fatalitiesthat will be the subject of inquests,Manitoba'schief medical examiner said in a series of news releases Friday.

Three of the inmates were found at Stony Mountain Institution, a prison just north of Winnipeg, ina span of less than six months in 2021, according to a news releasefrom chief medical examiner Dr. John K. Younes.

Dwayne Simard, 37, was found unresponsive on the floor of his cell on the morning of March 1, 2021, shortly after complaining to staff he felt unwell and was withdrawing from opiates. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, the chief medical examiner's news release said.

Simard had been taken into custody two days earlierand was transferred to Stony Mountain 24 hours after that. Medical consultationdetermined Simard didn't require medication, and he got an appointment with a nurse practitioner for the next day which is when he died.

An autopsy determined his cause of death was mixed drug toxicity, while the manner of death was undetermined.

Clinton McGeough, 39, was found dead on July 9, 2021, during a routine check in his cell, where drug paraphernalia was found. An autopsy determinedfentanyl toxicity as the cause of death,while the manner of death was deemed accidental, a separate news release from Younes's office said.

David Midouin, 28, was found dead on Aug. 28, 2021, on the bed in his cell, where "apparent drug and drug paraphernalia" were found, the medical examiner said. Midouin was last seen alive on surveillance video the previous evening.

The immediate cause of death was determined to be drug toxicity of fentanyl and MDMA, while the manner was deemed accidental.

An inquest was also called into the death of a fourth man who died while in custody at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.

Darren Wood, 28, was found unresponsive on the floor of his room on June 3, 2021, after being taken into custody a few days earlier, the medical examiner said.

Wood told officers at the remand centre that the evening before his arrest, he had taken methamphetamine and down heroin that's been laced with fentanylorbenzodiazepines.

Two days before he died, Wood experienced several episodes of vomiting. That continued the next day, when he also complained about pain in his legs and was moved to the medical unit.

Staff found him unresponsive, and attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful. The immediate cause and manner of death were deemed undetermined.

Patient suicide, police shooting

Younes also called an inquest into the death of 29-year-old Ji Kim, who had been an involuntary psychiatric patient atthe Health Sciences Centre andwas found dead on April 8, 2022.

Three days earlier, Kim had gone for a smoke break at the Winnipeg hospitaland didn't return.

He was reportedly seen briefly by his mother at 5 p.m. the evening he went missing, then notagain until his body was found hanging from a tree branch near a Winnipeg park.

His immediate cause of death was determined to be hanging, while the manner was ruled a suicide.

The death of 39-year-old David Rainville after being shot by police on Aug. 27, 2022, will also be the subject of an inquest, according to the medical examiner.

After failing to stop at a roadside checkstop, Rainville was followed by the police helicopter to the back lane of his home, where he was met by an officer.

Rainville then got out of his vehicle with a bat and started charging and swinging at the officer. The officer shot him with a stun gun, but it had noeffect, a news release from the medical examiner said.

When a second police car got to the scene, Rainville went back to his vehicle before returning toward the officers with the bat. Two police officers shot him multiple times, then tried to resuscitate him until first responders arrived.

Rainville was taken to Health Sciences Centre, where he died. The immediate cause of death was determined to be gunshot wounds, while the manner was ruled a homicide, the release said.

The inquests into all sixdeaths announced Friday were called in accordance with Manitoba's Fatality Inquiries Act, which requires an inquest if it's believed a person died as a result of use of force by police, or if they were in custody or an involuntary resident of a facility under the Mental Health Act when they died.

The inquests will aim to determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths and determine whether anything can be done to prevent similar onesin the future.

Information about when and where the inquests will happen will be determined at a later date.

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:

• Talk Suicide Canada: 1-833-456-4566 (phone) | 45645 (text between 4 p.m. and midnight ET).
• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (phone), live chat counselling on the website.
• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.
• This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.