Fall down laundry chute has experts baffled

Conflicting testimony on whether drugs, alcohol in victim’s system played a role

Asked about Nadine Machiskinic’s ability to crawl into a laundry chute on her own, a scientist likened his evolving opinion to putting together a puzzle with missing pieces and changing colours.

“It’s probably been one of the most challenging cases I’ve ever been involved in,” said Chris Keddy, an RCMP toxicologist based in Ottawa, testifying at an inquest into Machiskinic’s death.

It’s also characteristic of the baffling case. Found unconscious in the basement of a downtown hotel in the early morning of Jan. 10, 2015, the 29-year-old woman died two hours later in hospital.

A forensic pathologist earlier testified her devastating “blunt force” injuries were likely caused by a high velocity fall down a laundry chute from the Delta Hotel’s 10th floor.

Given the drugs and alcohol in Machiskinic’s body, Keddy initially believed she would have been physically incapable of getting into that chute on her own. Located inside a small utility room, the 53-by-46-centimetre entry door to the chute opens upwards, with the bottom about mid-thigh off the floor.

However, Keddy subsequently revised that opinion after further information emerged: video of a woman, likely Machiskinic, walking into an elevator, a report that she likely pulled a fire alarm and banged on a hotel door, additional testing and understanding about the drugs in her system, and her drug history and level of tolerance.

“She may not have been as incapacitated as I believed and may well have been capable of climbing in the chute on her own,” read the revised opinion.

Keddy testified she was still impaired and intoxicated.

It’s one more piece of evidence for jurors to consider when they begin deliberations Thursday morning. By law, their role is restricted to determining when, where, and how Machiskinic died. They can also make recommendations.

Former chief coroner Kent Stewart, the final witness, traced the chain of events that led to delays and shifting theories.

Hotel staff and paramedics believed Machiskinic was passed out, possibly from the effects of drugs or alcohol. Two pill bottles lay nearby, and she had track marks on her arms.

It was only after her death in the hospital around 6:30 a.m. that Saturday when the community coroner was contacted. Her role is to try to get as much information to clarify the circumstances.

Had the on-call coroner recognized the circumstances or degree of injury, police would have been immediately contacted.

“That did not occur in a timely manner,” Stewart testified, adding that his office called police on the Monday, Jan. 12.

Because of a miscommunication between officers, there was also a delay in sending samples to the lab, taking longer than normal to get toxicology results.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Shaun Ladham, in his draft report, suggested Machiskinic was likely incapable of climbing into the chute on her own. That was based, in part, on Keddy’s findings of methadone (used for treating opiate addiction), zopiclone (a sleeping pill), and bupropion (an antidepressant), as well as alcohol, in her body.

Stewart said he was left with questions, given seemingly conflicting witness reports of Machiskinic being mobile. In consultation with Ladham and police, he decided to get further expert opinion.

Keddy revised his opinion based on the additional information, and Dr. Graham Jones, Alberta’s chief toxicologist, provided a report in April 2016.

“Most people would probably be rendered unconscious or incapable of voluntary action,” Jones testified. But Machiskinic had been in a methadone program for some time and built up tolerance, the zopiclone wasn’t excessively high, and bupropion if injected or inhaled could have created a stimulant effect.

So “there was at least a reasonable possibility” Machiskinic could climb into a chute on her own, he said.

However, Keddy clarified in testimony that, just because she could do so, doesn’t mean she actually did.

In other testimony, Sgt. Guy Criddle explained that, because police only got involved two days after the death, the focus was securing evidence on the 10th floor and obtaining hotel video.

But he also recalled speaking that day to the hotel manager about accessing the full guest list and being told it could be made available when needed.

“I don’t know if we ever specifically said we need it right now,” he said.

When police finally sought the list a year later, the hotel had changed hands and computer systems. One-third to half of the names had been purged.

The identity of two men, hotel guests seen on video getting a room card and entering the elevator as Machiskinic stepped inside, remain a mystery.