First Nations family pushes for inquest on anniversary of teen's mysterious death - Action News
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First Nations family pushes for inquest on anniversary of teen's mysterious death

One year is too long to wait to launch an inquest into the death of a child, says the lawyer representing the family of Azraya Ackabee Kokopenace from Grassy Narrows First Nation in northern Ontario.

Vigil on Monday night to mark 1 year since Azraya Ackabee Kokopenace was found dead in Kenora, Ont.

Azraya Ackabee-Kokopenace, 14, was last seen walking away from the Lake of the Woods hospital in Kenora, Ont. Her body was found in the woods nearby two days later on April 17, 2016. (Ontario Provincial Police)

One year is too long to wait to launch an inquest into the death of a child, says the lawyer representing the family of Azraya Ackabee-Kokopenace,whose body was found in Kenora, Ont., on April 17, 2016.

The 14-year-old girl from Grassy Narrows First Nation was last seen two days after walking away from the Lake of the Woods Hospital, where she'd been taken by provincial police. Her body was found by a volunteer searcher in a wooded area nearby.

The coroner has concluded Ackabee-Kokopenace died by suicide, but that's a "very narrow answer to a very narrow question," said Glen Stuart, the lawyer for the teen's family.

An inquest would provide answers to wider questions about how so many agencies from police to health-care providers to child welfare workers failed to help a teen in obvious distress, he said.

Ackabee-Kokopenace left her home in Grassy Narrows First Nation to seek help for the grief she was experiencing after her brother Calvin's death in 2015, according to her aunt Lorenda Kokopenace.

Calvin, 17,died from health complications, including mercury poisoning, which is endemic in the First Nation, located about 100kilometres north ofKenora, after the river that flows through the community was contaminated with industrial pollution.

Police try to restrain Azraya Kokopenace in March, 2016

8 years ago
Duration 2:59
Police try to restrain Azraya Kokopenace in March, 2016

A few weeks before her death, Ackabee-Kokopenace had an altercation with a provincial police officer. Police have refused to comment on the nature of any of their contact with the teen in the days and weeks leading up to her disappearance.

A spokesperson for Ontario Provincial Police told CBC News that no internal investigations have resulted from any officer's conduct involving Ackabee-Kokopenace, but wouldn't say if the teen was in custody on the night she disappeared.

It's a critical point, because deaths in custody result in mandatoryinquests in Ontario

The coroner's office has yet to make a decision on whether to call an inquest into Ackabee-Kokopenace'sdeath.

"Is it mandatory? The decision is pending,"said regional supervising coroner Dr. Michael Wilson. "We're aware of many of the concerns. It's a very complexsituation with a number of agencies involved."

Arzaya's twin brother Braeden Kokopenace, 15, and his girlfriend Paris Meekis, 13, at home in Grassy Narrows First Nation, one year after Azraya's death. (Ed Ou/CBC)

Lawyer Glen Stuart, however, said police were clearly involved with Ackabee-Kokopenace on the night she was last seen, which should be enough to trigger an inquest.

It's unusual and unacceptable for the coroner's decision to take so long, he said, as memories of people involved begin to fade and evidence can become obscured by time.

"It's always best done sooner rather than later, and to the extent that other [agencies]are trying to find out answers, that should all be taking place in the inquest process where it's transparent to the public," he said.

Both police and hospital officials say the ongoing coroner's investigation prevents them from commenting on their involvement withAckabee-Kokopenace on the night she disappeared.

Her aunt says an inquest would help identify the gaps in social services for First Nations youth and help keep them alive.

"You know I want them to have that access, to feel that safeness and love and comfort to deal with whatever they're dealing with, instead of them being turned away," Lorenda Kokopenacetold CBC News after Ackabee-Kokopenace's death last year.

Stuart said many of the circumstances that led to the teen's death are familiar to families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

"It's a bigger issue for Indigenous women, it's a bigger issue for Indigenous youth, and I think that's why having somediscussionin a public forum is important," he said.

To honour Ackabee-Kokopenace andmark the one-year anniversary of their friend'sdeath on Monday, the Grassy Narrows Youth Organization is hostinga vigil inKenora, starting at 4 p.m. at Knox United Church.

Azraya Ackabee-Kokopenace left home in Grassy Narrows First Nation seeking help with grief over her brother Calvin's death in 2015. He died of health complications, including mercury poisoning endemic in the First Nation, about 100 kilometres north of Kenora. (Google)