LLOYDMINSTER - A public inquest into the death of 19-year-old Randy Wolfe will start in February after it was adjourned last year.
Wolfe was found unresponsive in his cell at the Onion Lake RCMP Detachment on Oct. 12, 2019. Medical personnel responded and after completing an assessment pronounced him deceased.
The inquest into Wolfe's death was scheduled to start in July 2022 in Lloydminster, Sask., but Coroner Blaine Beaven "reluctantly" adjourned it at the request of Coun. Hubert Pahtayken from Onion Lake Cree Nation.
Pahtayken told the coroner that Wolfe’s family needs support to prepare them for what they will hear and it will take time to get the support in place. In addition, he said OLCN required time to prepare because they plan to seek standing at the inquest and will represent Wolfe's mother Elaine McAdam. Pahtayken said that they want their own lawyers to question witnesses.
“We can get our legal in the room, our [wellness support], and our counsellors, to prepare [Wolfe’s family] for what they are going to hear in disclosure,” Pahtayken said previously.
Wolfe ‘had a smile that would light up a room’
Wolfe’s obituary on Marshall Funeral Home states that he “had a smile that would light up a room. The sound of his laughter couldn’t be missed.”
Wolfe had a great sense of humour and didn’t like to take life too seriously and had determination to get ahead in life.
He graduated high school in Onion Lake in 2018 and then enrolled in the Husky Oil and Gas program at Lakeland College in Lloydminster. He was the youngest person to finish the program, reads his obituary.
“Randy was the happiest when he got a job at Husky Refinery. He had plans in life that would make him enjoy life. To enjoy his achievements with friends and family. He rarely got upset because with the negative, he would turn to a positive. He's down for a minute but happy most of the time. He also enjoyed his time alone. When he wasn't with friends and family, he was on his X-box, playing his game, and talking to his friends from afar. He had friends from northern Alberta to northern Saskatchewan. Jr. was kind, caring, protective, passionate, and a smart kid; always looking out for the women in our family, good with kids, and always happy.”
Inquest starts Feb. 27
The inquest will be held from Feb. 27 to March 3, at the Lloydminster, Sask., Agricultural Exhibition Association at 5521 - 49th Ave, with Coroner Blaine Beaven presiding.
The Coroner’s Act states that the Chief Coroner will hold an inquest into the death of a person who dies while an inmate at a jail or a correctional facility, unless the coroner is satisfied that the person's death was due entirely to natural causes and was not preventable.
The Saskatchewan Coroners Service is responsible for the investigation of all sudden, unexpected deaths. The purpose of an inquest is to establish who died, when and where that person died and the medical cause and manner of death. The coroner's jury may make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.
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