Ontario Coroner's office to hold inquest into 6 deaths at Niagara Detention Centre

An inquest will investigate the deaths of six people at the Niagara Detention Centre in Thorold, Ont., the Ontario's Ministry of the Solicitor General has announced. 

The deaths of Timothy Anderson, Murray Balogh, Jordan Case, David Cowe, Michael Croft, and Jahrell Lungs will be investigated, at a date yet to be announced, regional supervising coroner Dr. Karen Schiff said on Thursday.

Each person died either while in custody at the Niagara Detention Centre or after they were transferred to hospital, according to the ministry's press release.

"All six deaths will be explored at the same inquest. The Office of the Chief Coroner may decide to do this when it is believed that the deaths arose from the same event or a common cause," a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General said by email. 

 "These deaths were all investigated by coroners and it was determined that they are all non-natural deaths," the ministry wrote. 

Coroners' inquests are mandatory when a death occurs while a person is in custody or being detained, except in circumstances where a death investigation determines the death occurred from natural causes, according to a government website.

Angela Case, the mother of 22-year-old Jordan Case, previously told CBC Hamilton her son died of an overdose while at the facility. 

At the time, she said the issues of jail conditions and the accessibility of drugs in jail were not getting enough attention. "Everything's been shoved under the carpet in Niagara," she said.

She also said she wasn't given enough information about her son's death. "It's really hard because I don't have a lot of answers. I was told one thing and then told another thing."

At the inquest, jurors will seek to determine how all six died and might make recommendations aimed at preventing future deaths.

"Examining them together provides more opportunity to identify potential systemic issues that may have contributed to the deaths," the ministry said in an email. 

According to the ministry, the deaths occurred between 2018 and 2022: 

• Cowe, 32, died on Jan. 11, 2018.
• Case, 22, died on Dec. 1, 2018.
• Croft, 38, died on July 25, 2020.
• Anderson, 42, died on Dec. 19, 2020.
• Lungs, 26, died on Aug. 1, 2021.
• Balogh, 20, died on Feb. 23, 2022.

The ministry website says detention centres hold people awaiting trial, sentencing or other proceedings, and offenders sentenced to terms of 60 days or less, and awaiting transfer to a federal or provincial facility.