A five-day coroner’s inquest into the 2020 death of a Sarnia Jail inmate will start Monday, the province says.
A five-day coroner’s inquest into the 2020 death of a Sarnia Jail inmate will start Monday, the province says.
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Travis Havers, 31, died Dec. 5, 2020, while in custody at the city’s jail. The inquest, mandatory under the Coroners Act, will examine the circumstances surrounding his death. A jury may make recommendations – while not placing blame – aimed at preventing further deaths, a provincial release said Friday.
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By jury suggested a dozen changes after a November 2021 inquest into the death of inmate Aaron Moffatt. Moffatt, 32, was found on Jan. 22, 2018, hanging in his jail cell from a bedsheet tied around the cell door and frame. He died a few weeks later in hospital.
He’d been receiving methadone for about six years, but went days without his regular doses after being remanded into custody in mid-January. Moffatt expressed distress over not getting his medication and began showing mild withdrawal symptoms before jail staff found him and temporarily restored his pulse.
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The jury came back with 12 recommendations for new or updated policies for the corrections ministry and Sarnia Jail. One was all inmates on methadone should receive continuity of care with no gaps leading to withdrawal and every effort to give them a daily dose within 24 hours of incarceration.
Details surrounding Havers’ death haven’t been released yet. Next week’s inquest, starting at 9:30 am Monday, will hear from about six witnesses, Friday’s statement said. It’s a virtual event, but open to the public. A video link is available at tinyurl.com/56en8c7u.
Havers, a father of four, had many family and friends, according to his obituary.
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