Six inquests called, including into death of homeless woman run over by cruiser

Manitoba’s chief medical examiner has called inquests into the deaths of six people, including a woman who was run over and killed at a homeless encampment at a Winnipeg park two years ago.

Dr. John Younes announced the inquests Thursday, noting such reviews are mandatory under the Fatal Inquiries Act. They will probe the deaths of four people following interactions with police, and two others who died while in custody.

Tammy Bateman, 39, died Sept. 2, 2024, when she was “run over by a police vehicle moving at a low speed” while “reportedly lying down on a gravel road” in Fort Rouge Park, Younes said.

“The medical examiner’s office was notified, and an autopsy was authorized. The immediate cause of death was determined to be multiple traumatic injuries due (to) pedestrian vs motor vehicle collision. The manner of death was accidental,” he said.

Bateman was treated at the scene, and later in hospital, but efforts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful, Younes said.

The Independent Investigation Unit conducted a review of Bateman’s death. The police watchdog did not recommend charges against the Winnipeg Police Service officer who struck Bateman, describing the incident as an “unfortunate accident” in a final report released in October.

Another inquest will review the death of 17-year-old Elgyn Muskego, who was fatally shot by RCMP in Niska View in Kinosew Sipi Cree Nation on Nov. 22, 2024.

Police responded to a home on the First Nation, also known as Norway House, after a family member called 911 to say Elgyn was high on pills and walking around the house holding a knife, with younger kids around. 

The Mountie who fired his weapon said in a statement to the IIU that after he pointed a pistol at the teen, Elgyn “locked eyes with him and slowly started walking towards him” while holding the knife.

The IIU released its final report on the incident in October and determined the police action was reasonable given the circumstances. It did not recommend charges against the officer.

The death of Tristan Mariash, 30, will also be subject to an inquest, Younes announced.

Mariash was a passenger in a stolen truck that led WPS officers on a high-speed chase through southern Manitoba. Two officers fired numerous rounds into the vehicle after the driver tried to ram their cruiser in the parking lot of Providence University College and Theological Seminary in Otterburne. The IIU did not recommend charges against the officers in that case.

A fourth inquest will examine the death of James Wood, 35, who died Jan. 27, 2024, when Winnipeg police responded to a disturbance call in the Crestview neighbourhood.

Police arrived shortly before 12:30 a.m. and found Wood had wandered into the complex’s parking lot and collapsed on a snow-covered boulevard.

Officers involved in the incident told IIU investigators they punched Woods and struck him with a baton while placing him under arrest.

Woods became unresponsive after he was restrained. His cause of death was an anoxic brain injury — caused when the brain is deprived of oxygen — as a complication of cardiac arrest, tied to coronary artery disease.

Cocaine toxicity and the physiological stress of struggling and being restrained also contributed to his death, an autopsy found.

The IIU released a final report on the incident in March, recommending no charges against police involved.

Wood’s family launched a lawsuit against the City of Winnipeg and six officers.

Shane Franklin Kruchak, 50, died Jan. 23, 2025, while serving time at Stony Mountain Institution on a manslaughter conviction. Younes said the manner of his death was suicide.

Nehemiah Fehr, 23, died Dec. 29, 2024, following an assault at the Brandon Correction Centre. He had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the August 2023 stabbing of 50-year-old George Demos in Winnipeg.

Fehr was found unresponsive in his cell. His cause of death was blunt head and neck injury, Younes said.

The provincial court will determine the date, time and location of all six inquests.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca