Tory hopes investigation into Toronto woman’s death will bring answers

Toronto’s mayor says he hopes an investigation into the death of a woman who reportedly fell from her 24th-floor balcony while police were in her home will give the community the answers it needs.

John Tory offered condolences Thursday to the family and friends of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, and said he knows questions have been raised about her death.

Tory says he supports the investigation being carried out by the province’s police watchdog and hopes it will shed some light on Wednesday’s events “as soon as possible.” The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) announced it was launching a probe on Wednesday evening, hours after the 29-year-old woman fell to her death. The watchdog agency and Toronto’s police chief also acknowledged concerns in the community regarding what happened to Korchinski-Paquet.

Tory is urging anyone who witnessed the incident to contact the SIU. “I know that any delay in getting answers is incredibly frustrating for people, myself included, who want to know what happened, but this independent investigation is necessary to provide our community with all the facts and to ensure full accountability and transparency,” Tory said in a statement.

The SIU said police went inside the apartment Wednesday afternoon after receiving a call for a domestic complaint and noticed the woman on the balcony. The SIU said the woman fell from the balcony a short time later and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Both police and the SIU say they cannot comment further while the investigation is active.