Delores Stevenson still grieves the loss of her niece Nadine Machiskinic. The 29-year-old mother of four was found at the bottom of a hotel laundry chute in January 2015.
“It’s been a struggle to get the truth about what happened to Nadine. I know I’m not going to get all the answers that I need, but I know that the Ministry of Justice and the coroner’s office does have a big part to play in how this is happening,” Stevenson said.
The coroner found Machiskinic’s death accidental. An inquest later ruled it was undetermined.
Chief forensic pathologist Dr. Shaun Ladham was involved in Machiskinic’s case. He was also recently named in a civil case in which there were allegations of racism.
“I feel like it’s a big, it’s a scandal,” Stevenson said.
The civil case was launched by a Metis doctor against the coroner’s office and Dr. Ladham. Ladham was supposed to assess the other doctor’s abilities. He gave him a negative assessment, saying the other doctor didn’t have the skills or knowledge to be a forensic pathologist.
The other doctor disagreed, and it went to civil court.
Court documents in that case allege that Dr. Ladham made racist remarks during autopsies, including referring to “another drunken Indian.”
In court documents, Dr. Ladham specifically denied those allegations.
The jury in the civil case ruled against the coroner’s office, finding that Dr. Ladham acted in bad faith in failing the other doctor.
The civil case did not involve allegations that Dr. Ladham or others were negligent in performing autopsies.
The jury was also not asked specifically about the racism allegations, so they remain unproven.
But it still raises questions.
Richelle Dubois found her 14-year-old Haven dead in shallow water in May 2015. The original coroner’s report had four important details wrong, she said.
The coroner later amended the report, but the cause of death remained unchanged: accidental drowning.
Dubois still believes there’s more to the story, adding that the coroner refused to document marks on her son’s face.
“You feel like you don’t matter. You feel like your case doesn’t matter…You feel like you’re the one on trial, like we did something wrong.”
Dr. Ladham wasn’t the forensic pathologist in Haven’s case, but Dubois feels her concerns are validated by the jury’s findings.
“We’ve said right from the beginning that there was something wrong in the coroner’s office, that there was racism there, that we weren’t given a fair shot,” Dubois said.
“How many other families are out there with incidents related to the coroner’s office, the manner of death, the pathologist and how everything works within that office?” Stevenson said.
The government said it will appeal the ruling against the coroner’s office.
An external investigation will also be launched, Justice Minister Don Morgan said.
“The doctor is still working now. The officials within the ministry say they have confidence in the work that’s being done and do not believe that there’s anything that’s been compromised as a result of that,” Morgan said.
As for Richelle Dubois, she wants accountability.
“Nothing can bring my son back. Nothing can change what has already been done, and the fight that we have already been going through. I want to see change,” she said.