The SQ and the coroner’s office are investigating a death in Dolbeau-Mistassini


The Sûreté du Québec and the Coroner’s Office will both investigate the death of Bertrand Bernier, this octogenarian found in critical condition early Friday morning in the streets of Dolbeau-Mistassini.

Mr. Bernier, an 81-year-old resident of the Manoir des Cinq Saisons, was found scantily clad at 5:30 a.m. on Walberg Boulevard, when the thermometer read around -25°C.

He had been transported to the hospital in a condition deemed critical, but he died Monday morning around 10:15 a.m. at the Dolbeau-Mistassini hospital center.

The police want to establish the circumstances surrounding the death, in particular to determine what the man was doing outside his seniors’ residence in the middle of the night, in winter, scantily dressed.

The police will try to determine if there are criminal elements, such as negligence, in this case, or if it is a death caused by an accidental cause.

The Coroner’s Office has also opened its investigation, entrusted to a lawyer trained in Quebec, Monique Tremblay.

The latter is awaiting the report of the SQ investigator who is still working on the file, as well as the report of the doctor who treated Bertrand Bernier during his three days spent at the Dolbeau-Mistassini hospital.

This stay could provide important details in the coroner’s inquest.

Me Tremblay also wants to obtain the autopsy report, as well as a toxicology test, a usual procedure to rule out, or not, the hypothesis of any intoxication.

The Sûreté du Québec must also provide video tapes from surveillance cameras where Mr. Bernier can be seen on the night of Thursday to Friday. According to the coroner, it seems that these images were captured, but obviously no one was watching them when they were recorded.

Me Tremblay will also go through the medical file of the deceased over the past year in order to establish, too, the circumstances of the death and make recommendations, if necessary.

La Manoir des Cinq Saisons refused to answer questions from TVA Nouvelles.




Reference-www.journaldequebec.com

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