REGINA – The family of a Regina woman who died after plunging 10 storeys down a hotel laundry chute wants the case reopened.
Nadine Machiskinic was found at the bottom of the chute at Regina’s Delta Hotel in January 2015.
A fatality inquest jury last week found it could not determine the cause of Machiskinic’s death.
Delores Stevenson, Machiskinic’s aunt, says she has written to Justice Minister Gord Wyant asking that he order a new investigation into her niece’s death.
But Wyant says the attorney general does not direct the actions of police in the province nor would it be appropriate for him to do so.
Wyant says the family should contact the Public Complaints Commission to hear their concerns.
“The Public Complaints Commission is the most appropriate body to hear concerns of this nature. I know they have looked into the matter a year ago and determined at that time they did not have an issue with the work of the Regina Police Service,” Wyant said in an emailed statement.
“With the inquest now being complete, they might revisit that review but it would be up to them to make that determination if a request was made.”
He said the inquest raised a lot of questions and it’s up to the Regina police, coroner’s office and the ministry to make the necessary changes.
Machiskinic’s family has questioned how she fit through the opening of the laundry chute, which was only 53 centimetres wide, and why it took police 60 hours to launch an investigation.
Toxicology expert Chris Keddy testified that because Machiskinic was a long-time drug user and had a high tolerance, she would have still been mobile and capable of climbing into the laundry chute on her own.
The inquest heard blood tests showed Machiskinic had alcohol and a mix of methadone and three other drugs in her system, as well as high levels of sleeping medication.
An empty bottle of prescription sleeping pills was found along with her body.
Regina’s police chief Evan Bray has admitted mistakes were made in the investigation, but says he’s confident in the police force’s findings and doesn’t believe they were biased.
But Stevenson said with so many unanswered questions, more investigation is needed.
“I would most definitely like that,” she said Monday.
The inquest jury of three men and three women made just one recommendation — that laundry chutes in hotels should always be kept locked and only ever be accessible to staff.
(CKRM, The Canadian Press)
