Nadine Machiskinic’s family renews call for RPS to release RCMP review into her death

Family calling on RPS to release report The family of Nadine Machiskinic is calling on RPS to release an RCMP report into her death. Cole Davenport explains.

The family of a woman who died after falling down a laundry chute at a Regina hotel is continuing to call on the Regina Police Service to release a report by the RCMP on her death.

Nearly four years since death

Nadine Machiskinic was found in the laundry room of the Delta Hotel in January of 2015. She later died in hospital of her injuries. Her death wasn’t reported to Regina police until days later, leading to delays in the investigation.

An autopsy showed she died of blunt force trauma, and her death was ruled accidental. A jury at a coroner’s inquest then ruled her cause of death to be undetermined last year.

Regina police then turned to the RCMP, asking them to do an additional review into the investigation and bring forward any recommendations to help improve their investigative process. Chief Evan Bray met with Machiskinic’s family in October, but didn’t share the full report.

Want to see report

Machiskinic’s aunt, Delores Stevenson, brought a delegation to the Regina Board of Police Commissioners meeting on Wednesday morning to renew her call to have that report released in full.

“If not to the public, then at least to my family,” she said.

She said she’s not satisfied with just hearing about the report.

“For myself, as a family member, I feel that there needs to be transparency and there needs to be accountability to the general public, to myself and my family,” Stevenson said. “Releasing the findings of an institution that you trust in, I think that it should be held to an accountable level to release that information.”

She also said she is willing to work towards a compromise with Bray and the Regina Police Service, btu her preference would be to see the full report.

“I don’t feel like it’s enough for me, especially in a position where I feel a lot of mistrust,” Stevenson said. “I feel like I need to actually see reports, because I’ve been asking to see reports for the last three years.”

“The fact that I still have to ask at the end of the day to see another report is ridiculous.”

Recommendations for RPS

At a press conference on Monday, Bray told reporters the report wouldn’t be released, partly because it shared some of the police service’s investigative techniques. Bray acknowledged delays in the investigative process, including it taking several months to send off a blood sample for a toxicology report due to communication errors in the investigation.

Based on the report’s findings, Regina police will be making some changes to the way they handle major cases. Starting next year, two officers will be moving into a newly formed Major Case Management Section to help oversee and coordinate major investigations.

On Monday, Bray said he doesn’t plan to release any of the report. But on Wednesday, he said there might be an opportunity to release a portion of it. If he decides to release all or some of the review, he will first meet with Machiskinic’s family.

“I have an obligation and have built a mutual respect between the two sides on this issue, so I would want to meet with them first and talk about that if we’re able to make any changes,” he said.

He said Regina police will see some positive changes from Machiskinic’s case.

“These aren’t new concerns to me and these are challenges in our community,” he said. “I never lose sight of the fact that we’re working with families who are grieving, we’re working with families who have lost a loved one.”

Bray added that he understands that it can be frustrating for families when police investigations don’t find the answers they are looking for.

“Not all investigations yield answers to every question,” he said. “That’s frustrating for us as well.”

Barring further evidence coming to light, Regina police consider the investigation into Machjskinic’s death to be closed.