Dates set for Sudbury inquest involving Barrie police

An inquest into the death of Steven Thornton will begin Aug. 26 and is expected to last seven days. 

The dates were announced Friday in a news release from the Regional Supervising Coroner for North Region's Sudbury Office, Dr. Harry Mikael Voogjarv.

Thornton, 63, was found dead in his Garson home, in the City of Greater Sudbury, on Sept. 13, 2018, after barricading himself inside against Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS) and Barrie Police Service.

An inquest into his death is mandatory under the Coroners Act due to police involvement. Thornton was found dead during a police action, so the incident is considered an in-custody death, even though he was not physically in police custody at the time of his death.

The inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding his death.

Village Media reported on the incident in September 2018. Coverage states the man had barricaded himself in a Garson home and was later found deceased inside. A standoff with police lasted nearly 20 hours, ending shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 13, 2018.

Greater Sudbury police officers had surrounded the single-family home on Sunny Street, where a 57-year-old woman, Thornton’s wife, had been shot and a man had barricaded himself inside.

A neighbour on Old Skead Road posted to Facebook that they’d heard a woman screaming and two gunshots that sounded like they came from a shotgun.

The victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Health Sciences North.

Police entered the residence when they lost communication with the suspect, where they found Thornton deceased.

Additional details were released in a Special Investigations Unit (SIU) 2019 report, which cleared police of wrongdoing.

“The officers who responded to the residence on Sunny Street were there lawfully seeking to contain and arrest the complainant following his attempted murder of his wife,” according to the SIU’s conclusion. 

“While they were unable to prevent the complainant from taking his own life, they did what they reasonably could in the circumstances to thwart his destructive course," the SIU report added.

Thornton died as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head, according to the SIU report. 

The 20-hour standoff was initially headed by trained negotiators from GSPS, who passed it on to Barrie police after several hours to get some rest.

Negotiators made telephone contact with Thornton and spoke to him until approximately 6:52 a.m., when Thornton said he needed a break.

This was the last moment he was heard from.

Tactical officers breached the side door at 12:30 p.m. and sent in robots with video surveillance capability. They captured an image suggesting Thornton was motionless on his bed.

This was followed by a team of tactical officers and a police dog entering the home, where they found Thornton dead at 12:50 p.m., with a shotgun next to him. 

The inquest will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 26. It will be conducted by video conference and is expected to hear from approximately 12 witnesses.

Members of the public who wish to view the proceedings can do so live by clicking here.

Bonnie Goldberg will be the presiding officer and Grace Alcaide Janicas will be the inquest counsel. 

The inquest jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing further deaths.

For more information about inquests in Ontario, click here.