WARNING: This article contains details that may be disturbing to some readers
Franca G. Mignacca · CBC News · Posted: May 14, 2021
When Stéphane Echaquan saw his sister cry out for help in a Facebook video, he rushed to the Joliette, Que., hospital as quickly as he could. But when he got there, it was already too late.
“I never thought I’d see her like that — restrained like an animal,” Echaquan said Friday.
Joyce Echaquan was 37 when she died at the Centre hospitalier régional de Lanaudière in Joliette, just days after being admitted there for stomach pains. She filmed her final moments in a Facebook video, as hospital staff hurled racist insults at her.
Her brother was the first to testify Friday, as the coroner’s inquest into her death continued.
Quebec Coroner Géhane Kamel also heard testimony from Echaquan’s daughter, sister-in-law, her cousin and a close friend.
Echaquan’s daughter, Wasianna Echaquan Dubé, who testified Thursday, was asked to do so again Friday, following a special request by the family’s lawyer, Patrick Martin-Ménard.
A video shot by the daughter was shown to the courtroom, the contents of which is under a publication ban.
Relatives describe bruising, restraints
When Stéphane Echaquan arrived at the hospital on Sept. 28, he was told his sister Joyce was already dead.
“They told me to leave immediately,” he said. “When I entered the room she was in, I saw her lying down — restrained. … She had bruises.”
Echaquan said he took photos of the bruises which will be shown to the coroner later on in the inquest.
To read more, click on: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/joyce-echaquan-coroner-s-inquest-day-two-1.6026793
