LaFontaine is said to have fallen from the fifth floor of Regina’s YWCA in 2023. A coroner’s inquest into her death started Monday in a conference room at Royal Hotel Regina.
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Valerie LaFontaine placed three photos and an urn in front of herself on Monday morning.
The photos were of her daughter Nicole LaFontaine as an infant, then at age five, and also as a young woman.
In the urn were her ashes.
“She was a beautiful girl,” said LaFontaine.
Monday marked the first day of an inquest into the 2023 death of Nicole LaFontaine at Regina’s YWCA.
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Inquest coroner Aaron Fox, a well-known Regina-based lawyer with over four decades of experience, said the six-person jury (four women, two men) would include at least three people with First Nations ancestry since LaFontaine was Indigenous.
“Three from the general population, three from the Indigenous population,” said Fox, who estimated that the inquest at Royal Hotel Regina could take three days, though five were booked.
Sixteen witnesses have been called.
During Monday’s proceedings, Fox summarized the lead-up to LaFontaine’s death on July 22, 2023.
At the time, LaFontaine, 31, had been staying at the YWCA for about a week. Fox said there was an agreement between the YWCA and the Ministry of Social Services to offer shelter to women and mothers experiencing homelessness.
On July 21, LaFontaine started acting “somewhat strange,” said Fox. Her roommate thought she was going into psychosis, trying to open the window in their shared fifth-floor room and “saying something about getting out of it.” The roommate went for help but, by the time they returned, LaFontaine had fallen from the window.
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At 3:40 a.m., she was pronounced dead at Regina General Hospital. An autopsy confirmed that LaFontaine “suffered multiple blunt force injuries from what appeared to be the fall,” said Fox.
He outlined the purpose of the public inquiry, explaining that the jury would establish the identity of the deceased as well as how, when, where and by what means the death occurred. In addition, the jury can make recommendations in hopes of helping to prevent similar deaths from occurring in the future.
“That’s really an important part of the inquest process,” said Fox.
The first witness called by coroner’s counsel Robin Ritter was Regina Police Service (RPS) Const. Ryan Buhr.
Buhr photographed the scene at the YWCA, calling it a “suicide.” Buhr explained that, in his role with the forensic identification unit, he is “sent to document scenes of crimes, accidents, deaths.”
Buhr talked the jury through his photos, which were taken as he approached the building and the site where Nicole LaFontaine was found.
“Some sand is disturbed,” he said. “You can see what would be blood.”
Buhr described her room as “fairly tidy” with “not a lot of belongings.” A green Saskatchewan Roughriders’ blanket could be seen in the open window.
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“I found that the crank on the window wasn’t attached so the window could move freely and could be pushed all the way open,” Buhr said.
“If the crank was attached, how much could the window open?” asked Ritter.
Buhr said 10 centimetres.
“If the crank was attached properly, there’s no way a human could get through it?” asked Ritter.
Without the crank, Buhr said “a person small enough, just small enough,” could fit through the window. He added that the screen was in the room, but not attached.
In the state he found it, Buhr estimated the window could open 20-23 cm wide.
Buhr described LaFontaine as “fairly petite.”
Dan LeBlanc, counsel for YWCA, specified that Buhr was not able to discern when the crank was damaged or removed.
“Obviously I can’t tell you that for sure,” said Buhr.
As for characterizing it as a suicide, Buhr said he saw nothing knocked over in the room and nothing indicative of a fight or struggle.
Const. Matthew Kerr also attended the scene, along with another constable. Kerr told the inquest that “we saw a female laying face down” in the “daycare area” or playground in front of the YWCA building on McIntrye Street.
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Ritter asked what condition she was in.
Kerr said he saw blood on her head.
“It appeared that she was struggling to breathe,” he explained. “She was still breathing. My partner cradled her head and neck area.”
Kerr said although her breath was sporadic and she was gasping, she was alive when they turned her over.
As Kerr was speaking on Monday, Valerie LaFontaine’s crying grew louder.
Kerr said EMS was advised to “come hot” to the scene, meaning at speed with the lights and sirens on. It took “two, possibly three to five minutes,” before EMS arrived.
LaFontaine asked if Kerr was the first person to see her daughter. She asked if YWCA staff members were there checking on her prior to his arrival.
“I can’t say,” said Kerr. “I don’t know.”
Four additional witnesses were set to be called on Monday afternoon.
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