Inquest into death of northwestern B.C. woman ends with 16 recommendations

TERRACE, B.C. – A coroner’s jury in Terrace, B.C., has made 16 recommendations to conclude an inquest examining the in-custody death of a 25-year-old Terrace woman.

Alyssa George, who also used the last name of Oleksiuk, died in September 2013, several days after collapsing in the Terrace RCMP holding cells.

After hearing three days of testimony, the jury has ruled the death was due to natural causes related to long-term drug and alcohol abuse.

Jurors recommend the Northern Health and First Nations Health authorities begin discussions with the province about building a substance abuse and detox centre for the Terrace area.

Other recommendations focus on the City of Terrace and the RCMP detachment, with calls for better staffing, more training and improved monitoring of prisoners.

Jurors want to see guard checks every 15 minutes, in-cell checks every four hours and improvements to the jail’s closed circuit TV system.