In Toronto, an Inquest Begins for a Life That Ended in Three Seconds

There is a particular kind of grief that refuses to settle, even after years have passed and official reports have been filed. It is the grief of a family who watched a loved one fall from a twenty-fourth-floor balcony while police stood inside her apartment, and who have spent more than six years asking a question that no investigation has fully answered: what happened in those final moments? This week, a coroner's inquest opened in Toronto, and for the first time, the public is hearing a fuller account of the medical and human context surrounding Regis Korchinski-Paquet's death.

Korchinski-Paquet was 29 years old when she died on May 27, 2020. She was a woman of Ukrainian, Black, and Indigenous ancestry, a gymnast, a volunteer in her parish, and someone who had lived with epilepsy for years . On the morning of her death, she had two seizures. By late afternoon, police had been called to her apartment in High Park North for what coroner's counsel described as a "rapidly developing and violent family disturbance that involved knives" .

The inquest heard that five calls were made to 911 that day—three of them by Korchinski-Paquet herself. A neurologist who reviewed the recordings testified that she sounded distressed and repetitive, as though she could not remember her previous calls . Dr. Julien Hébert, who examined her medical records for the inquest, said that in the years before her death, Korchinski-Paquet had shown symptoms consistent with postictal delirium or psychosis—mental states that can occur after seizures and are marked by confusion, agitation, and aggressive behavior .

What makes Hébert's testimony particularly significant is the distinction he drew. Postictal delirium and psychosis, he told the jury, are "indistinguishable" from the same behaviors caused by other factors. Without knowing a person's medical history, it would be "nearly impossible" for a lay person—or a police officer—to determine that someone's aggression stems from a post-seizure state rather than something else . In other words, the officers who arrived at Korchinski-Paquet's apartment that day may have had no way of knowing what they were walking into.

Six officers attended the scene. According to the agreed narrative presented at the inquest, Korchinski-Paquet went out onto the balcony alone around 5:35 p.m. and prevented officers from joining her. She climbed onto the railing in an attempt to cross to an adjacent balcony, which was blocked by netting. She lost her balance and fell. The drop lasted three and a half seconds . She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit cleared the officers of wrongdoing in August 2020, finding no evidence of police involvement in her death . Her family has never accepted those conclusions. At the inquest's opening, her family said in a statement: "Regis brought people together across our city. Let's take this opportunity to work towards meaningful change for the years to come"

The inquest is expected to last fourteen days. Its scope includes how police and first responders are informed about epilepsy and how to ensure safety when a person's behavior may be influenced by postictal delirium . The jury will decide on a verdict of natural, accidental, or undetermined death, or suicide or homicide . For a family still waiting for answers, the hearing is a step—not a conclusion.

The images accompanying this article are AI-generated for illustrative purposes only.

Sources: CBC News, CTV News, CHCH, Radio-Canada, Wikipedia