SAINT JOHN, N.B. – A young male psychiatric patient who was seen with Serena Perry the night she died won’t appear at a coroner’s inquest in Saint John, N.B.
Perry was unresponsive when she was found on the floor of the Saint John Regional Hospital on Feb. 14, 2012 with a blue hospital house coat wrapped around her neck.
The inquest was earlier told that the young man – whose name is protected by a publication ban – had told nurses he had been with Perry in the amphitheatre but left because she was acting strange.
Police considered the young man a suspect when he was questioned on the day after Perry’s death, but he was released and no charges were laid.
Pathologists were not able to confirm the cause of death, but the probable cause was deemed to be asphyxiation as a result of neck compression.
The counsel for the coroner issued a summons for the young man to appear at the inquest but he declined because of his mental health issues. He is in another province, and the coroner doesn’t have the power to force him to comply.
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