Barton St. jail inquest hears inmate under 24-hour guard still overdosed

The inquest into the drug related deaths of 8 inmates at the Hamilton Wentworth Detention Centre continued on Monday with evidence from a pathologist and toxicologist.

Thirty-eight-year-old Trevor Burke died at Hamilton General Hospital on March 25, 2014.

He was an inmate at the Barton Street jail and was hospitalized for three weeks before his death from an infection in his skin from injecting drugs.

The inquest heard Monday that he was under 24-hour guard but still overdosed on opioids.

He was found with two syringes and a package of pills hidden in his buttock cheeks, as well as cigarettes and matches.

“It raises the question about what the level of supervision is even in the hospital if someone is able to get those kinds of drugs and cigarettes etc. and consume them in the hospital. There’s supposed to be guards there watching them,” said Kevin Egen, Lawyer for the family Marty Tykoliz – another inmate who died of an overdose. He says that the inmate should not have had any of these, especially in hospital.

The inquest has said that drugs get into the jail four ways. Hidden inside an inmates body, in packages thrown over the jail wall, hidden inside deliveries or smuggled in by staff or volunteers.

The pathologist says three plastic baggies of cocaine were found during the autopsy of another inmate, 47 year old Peter McNelis, who died March 13, 206. They were swallowed and ruptured leaking the drugs into his body.

38 year old Marty Tykoliz died of an overdose 4 years ago, he was taken to hospital and saved by Naloxone, then sent back to jail and died the following morning.

The toxicologist explains that Naloxone can wear off before Opiods do, and if those suffering from an overdose aren’t monitored the symptoms can return.