School staff checked on Samuel Brown throughout night before he died, inquest hears

A coroner’s inquest has heard that overnight staff at an Ontario school for blind children were shocked to find a disabled teen unresponsive after routinely checking on him.

Student support staff working at W. Ross Macdonald School between Feb. 8 to Feb. 9, 2018 testified that they had been checking on Samuel Brown at half-hour intervals all night and keeping a close eye on him, given he appeared to have cold symptoms.

Former student support counsellor Stephanie Rymon-Lipinski says it was only when she went into Brown’s room at 6 a.m. to change his diaper that they noticed he suddenly wasn’t breathing.

Brown, who was born with a genetic condition that left him blind, deaf and non-verbal, died that morning while attending the Brantford, Ont., school.

The inquest into Brown’s death is in its third day and is exploring the circumstances around his death – medical experts have disagreed about its cause.

His family has alleged he was in good health the weekend before he died and only 12 hours passed between the time they received a phone call indicating their son was slightly unwell and when he was pronounced dead in hospital.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2023.

READ MORE: 5 years later, family still seeks answers surrounding son’s death at Brantford boarding school