Warden transferred from jail where N.B. woman died

The warden and deputy warden at an Ontario prison where a 19-year-old Moncton, N.B., woman died are being transferred.

Ashley Smith died at the Grand Valley Institution for Women near Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.,in October in what police are calling "self-initiated" asphyxiation.

Smith had been serving a six-year, one-month sentence for offences she committed as a youth. She would have been eligible for release in November.

Corrections Canada spokeswoman Julie Doering said the unusual step of transferring the warden and deputy is being taken to ensure the investigations into Smith's death are transparent.

Five investigations are underway into the death, including one by New Brunswick Ombudsman Bernard Richard.

Richard said he'll examine Smith's time in New Brunswick's justice system and find out why she wasn't transferred to a federal women's prison closer to home. He will also be looking at the availability of mental health services for inmates.

Where the administrators are being moved to is not being released.

Four corrections officers are already facing charges of criminal negligence in connection with the death.Four other guards and a supervisor have been suspended without pay.

Prison employees Travis McDonald, 36, of Cambridge, Ont., Karen Eves, 52, of Kingston, Ont., Valentino Burnett, 47, of Stoney Creek, Ont., and Blaine Phibbs, 31, of Caledonia, Ont., are scheduled to appear in court in December.