Murray Wood: Of Easter bunny bells and Juicy Fruit gum
For Murray Wood, Easter brings to mind grandma's practical advice about repurposing, and some of life's little lessons.
Medical examiners will testify to the condition of Nadine Machiskinic’s body on the second day of the coroner’s inquest into her death.
On the first day, the hours leading up to her death were examined.
The 29-year-old fell 10-storeys down the laundry chute at the Delta Hotel in Regina two years ago.
The jury learned it took 60 hours to involve major crimes and consider her death criminal. A catalogue of circumstances led those involved to initially believe it was simply a case of an intoxicated woman wandering into the laundry room in the basement.
The jury heard the 911 call made by Delta Hotel security manager Ian Johnson, in which he describes an unconscious woman he believed had overdosed.
Machiskinic was found on a pile of laundry underneath the chute. Johnson can be heard conjecturing to a colleague in the background, “If she came down the chute she’d be dead.”
Regina police Staff Sgt. Kelly Trithart told the jury when he was initially called to the Delta, he believed he was responding to an intoxicated woman with “a high-risk lifestyle.”
On the night Machiskinic died, only one room of the 10th floor of the Delta was occupied by an out-of-province guest, William Creedon. At roughly 3:45 a.m. he reported that a woman, believed by police to be Machiskinic, was knocking and banging on the walls.
Creedon opened the door to Machiskinic, who said there was “a fire.” He told her he would call security.
The fire alarm on the 10th floor was set off shortly after and fire crews can be seen arriving on security footage from the lobby of the hotel.
Machiskinic was discovered at 4:09 a.m.
The door to the laundry room in the basement was not latching properly and, with earlier reports of a woman causing a disturbance, it led to initial thoughts that Machiskinic simply wandered in and collapsed on the pile of dirty sheets.
Dr. Shaun Ladham, Saskatchewan’s pathologist, will be the first witness on the second day. He will detail Machiskinic’s injuries and how it became clear she was more than an intoxicated person.
The inquest is scheduled to last all week.
