Inquest into Regis Korchinski-Paquet's 2020 death reveals hours before balcony fall
A neighbor testified she broke up multiple fights between Korchinski-Paquet and her brother hours before the fatal fall from a 24th-floor balcony.
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An inquest into the May 27, 2020 death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old Indigenous, Ukrainian, and Black Canadian, heard testimony Thursday about a volatile morning in the hours before she fell from a 24th-floor balcony.
Doreen Gayle, a neighbour who lived next door to Korchinski-Paquet's family, testified that she broke up fights between Korchinski-Paquet and her brother Reece multiple times that morning. Gayle said Korchinski-Paquet's mother, Claudette Beals, asked her to intervene as tensions escalated.
Gayle described finding Reece holding Korchinski-Paquet in a chokehold on a bed as she struggled. When Reece told his mother and Gayle "look what's going to happen. She's gonna go get knives," Korchinski-Paquet went to the kitchen and grabbed two knives. Gayle stopped her in the hallway. After Reece flung a chair in Gayle's apartment, breaking a lamp, Gayle locked the door and told the family to leave.
Reece later told Gayle: "Regis went over the balcony."
Gayle told the Special Investigations Unit in a roughly 50-minute recording made less than a week after the fall — played on the inquest's second day — that she did not know what happened after the family left her apartment. She described the situation as volatile, noting Korchinski-Paquet's state after having two seizures that morning and the presence of Reece, his girlfriend, and their children.
Korchinski-Paquet had a long history of seizures from epilepsy, often followed by confusion, aggressive behaviour, and episodic amnesia. Police were called in the late afternoon over a "rapidly developing and violent family disturbance that involved knives." Five 911 calls were made—three by Korchinski-Paquet herself—and six police officers and two paramedics responded.
The family opened the inquest with a statement: "Regis brought people together across our city. Let's take this opportunity to work towards meaningful change for the years to come."
The Special Investigations Unit cleared Toronto police of wrongdoing in July 2020.
The facts
When did Regis Korchinski-Paquet die?
Regis Korchinski-Paquet died on May 27, 2020, after falling from a 24th-floor balcony.
What did the neighbor testify happened that morning?
Neighbor Doreen Gayle testified that she broke up multiple fights between Korchinski-Paquet and her brother Reece, and that Korchinski-Paquet grabbed two knives in the kitchen before Gayle stopped her in the hallway.
How many police officers and paramedics responded to the 911 calls?
Six police officers and two paramedics responded to the five 911 calls made that afternoon.
