Super inquest into Barton jail deaths underway
‘All of us here ... are here for one reason, we want to prevent similar deaths in the future’
AFTER YEARS of delays, a super inquest into eight drug-related deaths at the Hamilton Wentworth Detention Centre began Monday with the coroner’s counsel saying everyone has the “common goal” of seeing no more overdose deaths in custody.
“All of us here ... are here for one reason — we want to prevent similar deaths in the future,” Crown Karen Shea told the five-person jury, as the families of those who died looked on.
The long-awaited inquest, which is expected to last six weeks and call 100 witnesses, aims to take a balanced
look at security and health care concerns, she said. The jury must determine the cause and manner of each death, with the option of making recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future.
• Louis Unelli, 40, died on March 17, 2012.
• William Acheson, 42, died on Sept. 12, 2012.
• Trevor Burke, 38, died on March 25, 2014.
• Marty Tykoliz, 38, died May 7, 2014.
• Stephen Neeson, 44, died on Feb. 15, 2015.
• David Gillan, 46, died on May 19, 2015.
• Julien Walton, 20, died on Oct. 2, 2015.
• Peter McNelis, 47, died on March 13, 2016.
For April Tykoliz it’s been four years of waiting for answers about her brother Marty’s death.
“It hurts, I miss him, but if this does help anybody ... I would love to see some changes,” she said outside the hearing, which is being held at the Hamilton Place Hotel and Conference Centre.
While Shea spoke about Marty, photos April provided were shown on a screen in the background.
“I wanted people to see his face, this is a person, this isn’t a number, just another name. No this is my brother and he’s gone, so let’s fix something,” she said.
Detention Centre Staff Sgt. Michael DuCheneau, the first witness called, explained the layout and operations inside the jail.
As a remand centre, where people are held while awaiting trial, the jail does not have a set maximum capacity and often has so many inmates there are people sleeping on mattresses the floor, he said. The jail commonly holds between 400 and 500 inmates. The highest he’s seen in 30 years is 650.
He also explained that while there are cameras in the common rooms, those cameras are not actively watched by correctional officers and are only typically used by management after an incident. There are no cameras in cells (except for a segregation unit) or washrooms. Instead the jail relies on regular rounds where correctional officers are supposed to check on inmates.
Several times when explaining policies or procedures he spoke of how things are “supposed” to be, or “in an ideal world.”
But in reality there are mistakes. For instance, inmates are served lunch in their cells, where on occasion staff forget to relock hatches that allow inmates to pass items between cells.
There have been security upgrades since these deaths, including full body scanners and parcel scanners introduced in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
They are both used on every inmate, every time they enter the jail along with a number of other security checks.
These make it more difficult to get drugs into the jail, but drugs are still getting in hidden in inmates’ body cavities, through deliveries and sometimes through jail staff.
The Spectator is aware of five “undetermined” deaths at the Barton Street jail since 2016 that are also suspected of being drugrelated. These deaths will likely have separate inquests.
“Part of the problem with this detention centre is that it’s overcrowded, that there is a culture of drug use that’s prevalent, and that there is a habit of not following policies and procedures,” lawyer Kevin Egan, who is representing April Tykoliz, said outside the hearing.
Ultimately, he believes the culture inside correctional institutions needs to change.
“It has to become rehabilitative and not just a warehouse where we keep people who’ve done bad things, who just learn to do more bad things, and then go out on the street and continue it.”
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It hurts ... but if this does help anybody ... I would love to see some changes. APRIL TYKOLIZ
Sister of victim