Korchinski-Paquet's mother makes new allegation against police at coroner's inquest

Claudette Beals-Clayton, second left stands with family members during a memorial service to mark the first anniversary of the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, the 29-year-old African Indigenous woman who died in the presence of Toronto police officers, in Toronto on Monday, May 24, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO — A coroner’s inquest into the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet is scrambling to find a way forward after the Toronto woman’s mother unexpectedly made a new allegation against police officers during her testimony this morning.

Korchinski-Paquet fell from her 24th-floor balcony in the late afternoon of May 27, 2020, while police officers were in the west-end apartment she shared with several family members.

As she described her memories of that day, Claudette Beals told the inquest this morning that she saw officers push her daughter toward the balcony, prompting lawyers for several of the parties to raise concerns in the absence of the jury about previously undisclosed evidence.

Among them were lawyers representing the officers at the scene, who said their clients weren’t given a chance to respond to the allegation when they testified earlier this week.

The presiding coroner has called a recess so that counsel can discuss how to proceed.

The inquest has heard Korchinski-Paquet had a history of seizures from epilepsy, often followed by erratic and aggressive behaviour, and had experienced two seizures earlier in the day before police were called over a disturbance involving knives.

One of the province’s police watchdogs later cleared the officers of wrongdoing in the fatal fall, which it said happened as she was trying to move from her apartment’s balcony to a neighbour’s.

The inquest’s scope includes how first responders are informed and trained about epilepsy but is not meant to examine the various watchdog investigations into the case.

“There’s lots of good things to explore about epilepsy, about public support for families, about awareness of postictal delirium, about police response and how those two can intermingle,” presiding coroner Dr. David Cameron said before the recess.

“We’ve explored lots of great things during this inquest and everyone has worked really well together ... and now we’ve got a bit of a problem and we’ll have to work through it.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.

The Canadian Press