Day one of inquest into hanging death of EMDC inmate

An inquest has begun into the death of Keith Patterson, who hanged himself inside his cell at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre.

On Monday, the jury of five - including three men and two women - heard about the circumstances that led to Patterson being found in his cell with a torn blanket tied around his neck.

Patterson had been remanded to EMDC after being charged with public mischief and possession of a controlled substance.

In the days leading up to his death, Patterson had been moved into segregation after causing several disturbances, and setting fire to his cell.

Correctional Officer Ainsley Jackson, a 14-year veteran at EMDC who had known Patterson for 10 years, was the first witness.

Jackson was on duty on Sept. 29 when staff checking on Patterson discovered he had hanged himself with a ripped blanket from his cell.

The jury were shown pictures from the cell and a pair of surveillance videos from the hallway and heard that efforts to gain entrance to the cell were hampered by magnets Patterson had used to jammed the door.

The correctional officers were able to perform CPR on Patterson and restore life signs before he was transported to hospital, but he died the next day.

Testimony in the inquest is expected to last until Thursday, and the jury may have recommendations to prevent a similar incident in the future as early as Friday.

It has been just over a year since Patterson's death.