Delores Stevenson holds a photo of family member Nadine Machiskinic
The details of the last minutes of Nadine Machiskinic’s life will be closely examined at an inquest that will begin in Regina on Monday.
The 29-year-old Aboriginal woman fell 10 floors down a laundry chute of a downtown Regina hotel in January 2015. She died a few hours later in hospital of massive internal injuries.
Her aunt, Delores Stevenson, has been tirelessly looking for answers to questions that still bother her more than two years after the death.
Stevenson has always felt that something wasn’t right about the investigation into the death. She also questions the coroner’s findings, which listed the death as accidental with drugs and alcohol contributing factors.
“I’m uncertain about the outcome of all of the findings of the inquest,” she said. “So, I am a little nervous about that.”
There were two conflicting pathology reports into the death, one listed the death as accidental, the other questioned whether Nadine Machiskinic could have been capable of climbing into the laundry chute on her own because of her high level of intoxication.
Stevenson is hoping for answers.
“My biggest question is the circumstances around Nadine’s death, that is my biggest question and concern,” she said.
It took nearly 18 months for the coroner to complete his report into the death. Blood samples were misplaced by Regina police, toxicology reports were delayed and police are still looking for two men who may have witnessed something the night of January 10th, 2015 at the Regina hotel.
The death is also the subject of a lawsuit against the hotel. Machiskinic’s family is being represented by the Merchant Law Group.