Inquiry seeks answers in RMC cadet's death

A coroner's inquest opensFriday into the mysterious death of a Royal Military College cadet who disappeared from his dormitory three years ago.

Joe Grozelle, 21, of Ridgetown, near Chatham, Ont., was last seen studying in his college dormitory room in Kingston, Ont., on Oct. 22, 2003.

He went missing and hisbody was found three weeks later in the Cataraqui River after a massive search.

An autopsy concluded he drowned, but multiple investigations by police and the Canadian Forces never determined what led to the drowning.

Bruce Carr Harris, a lawyer for the cadet's parents, said they hope those answers will be revealed in the inquest presided over by Dr. David Eden, regional supervising coroner for Niagara.

"They have been told they will eventually have all their questions answered," Harris said.

The Department of National Defence originally ruled that Grozelle's death was a suicide.

But Grozelle's parents, Ron and Minnie, and his friends insisted that he wouldnot have taken his own life.

In March 2004, Ontario's deputy chief coroner asked the Ontario Provincial Police to reopen the case.

Grozelle's body was exhumed in November 2004 for a second autopsy, which was not conclusive.

In November 2005, Dr. Jim Cairns, Ontario's deputy chief coroner, said the OPP investigation concluded Grozelle's death was not the result of foul play.