Ex-boyfriend testifies at inquest into woman's death at Regina remand centre

Breanna Kannick's ex-boyfriend said she told him she was always scared of going to jail.

Matt Ursan testified at the coroner's inquest into Kannick's death that began Monday morning at the Holiday Inn on Prince of Wales Drive in Regina. He said she feared going through withdrawal from the hydromorphone she was addicted to.

The 21-year-old died in August 2015 while in custody at the White Birch Female Remand Unit in Regina, Sask.

Kannick was in custody after she failed to appear in court on drug possession charges. She was scheduled to have a bail hearing on the day she died.

Woman injected drugs to 'forget'

Ursan told the jury how he watched her spiral deeper and deeper into addiction during the nearly two years they spent together.

He testified Kannick had once told him "she would rather die than go to jail."

Ursan and Kannick lived together in his house in Moose Jaw, Sask.  

He testified Kannick was addicted to injecting hydromorphone to "escape reality" or "forget." He said Kannick was prescribed fentanyl by a doctor when she was 15 years old.

Ursan said he reached his breaking point about a month-and-a-half before she died. He said he caught her with needles on their living room table. He kicked her out.

He said there had been signs before that. He started really noticing changes in her around January 2015.

Ursan said Kannick was losing a lot of weight. She started wearing sunglasses often to hide her tired eyes. Closer to the time she died, he said, she became fidgety and restless.

He said he would encourage her to go into detox — and she even had told him she had gone into detox at one point — but he knew she was scared of the withdrawal.

Kannick's mother has called for an investigation into how inmates suffering from drug withdrawals are handled in Saskatchewan jails.

Inside the cell

Constable Tyler Boynton of the Regina Police Service was the first witness to testify Monday morning. He was called to investigate the scene where Kannick died.

The jury was shown photos of the cell where Kannick was found unresponsive. She was lying on the floor on her back in the middle of the cell with her face covered in a black substance.

He testified that Kannick was "very, very skinny".

Boynton showed pictures of a "concerning amount" of a similar black substance found in a trash bag near the bed in the cell. He estimated the bag held about a litre of the substance.

He said that there were similar stains on the floor by the trash can, the bottom bunk mattress, pillowcases, and blankets. He testified there were also black stains on the shirt she wore that was removed by emergency services while trying to revive her.

Coroner opts for half-Indigenous jury

An inquest is held if a person dies while in custody, unless a coroner determines the person's death was due entirely to natural causes and was not preventable. The inquest provides a public hearing to examine the details surrounding the death.

The six-person jury for the inquest was selected Monday morning. The jury selected is made up of three Indigenous and three non-Indigenous people. Under provincial rules, the coroner has the right to insist the jury be half-Indigenous.

The jury will have evidence sworn before them, and they may also make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.  

The inquest is expected to last the rest of the week.