Coroner’s inquest announced into death of man implicated in London arson

The province has announced an inquest into the death of Drew Pearson back in December 2018.

The provincial government has announced an inquest into the death of a man who died while being transferred from the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre.

Drew Pearson was charged with arson in December 2018, connected to a house fire on Saint Andrew Street.

The fire was set to a mattress in a hallway of the building, which housed several apartments and saw some of the residents flee to a roof top, or jump out of second floor windows.

The 29-year-old died in hospital on December 27, 2018.

Provincial law mandates an inquest when someone dies while in police custody.

A Special Investigations Unit (SIU) inquiry into the death that concluded in 2019 indicated that Pearson was arrested at a London men’s shelter on arson charges. A post-mortem examination indicated that Pearson died of sepsis due to or as a consequence of a history of intravenous drug use.

The SIU is the Province of Ontario’s police watchdog that is required by law to investigate when a member of the public is injured or killed while interacting with police. Their investigation cleared London police in Pearson’s death.

According to a media release, details on when and where the coroner’s inquest will take place will be provided at a later date.

- with files from CTV London’s Sean Irvine, CTVNewsLondon.ca Staff