Family looking for answers after death at Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre

On May 17, Daniella Soberal and her dad went to the cemetery to visit her mom's grave as they always do on the anniversary of her death.

While she was there, she asked her mom to say a little prayer for her brother, Robert, who had struggled in the years since losing his mother.

When her dad got home, he was met by Hamilton police who told him his son had died earlier that day. The 47-year-old was found in his cell at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre at 5:30 a.m. on the eighth anniversary of his mom's death.

The family has been told his death is a suspected overdose, although no drugs or paraphernalia were found on him or in the cell. He was sick and going through withdrawal. The family was also told jail staff tried to revive him with three shots of the opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan. But it was too late.

Now, amid their grief, the family is searching for answers.

I loved my brother so much," Daniella said. I need answers. This is unacceptable."

Rob was kind and cared deeply for his family. He struggled with addiction for many years, but had it under control enough in his younger years to maintain jobs, including doing basement waterproofing and making bumpers for transport trucks. At one time, he had a house in St. Catharines with a girlfriend. He was very close with his mom, and when she died, things fell apart.

He couldn't handle the grief of losing my mom," Daniella said.

There were times when he lived with family in Hamilton, but his addiction to opioids worsened and he ended up homeless. He spent time at the Good Shepherd men's shelter, he lived in an encampment and also at Mission Services, where the family had joined him for Christmas dinner in past years.

Over the years he tried to get clean and went to various treatment programs. At times he would succeed, only to relapse. He also wracked up an extensive record for mostly petty offences. He would steal copper wire from vacant sites to sell. He was never violent, Daniella said.

He had been on a wait list for housing at Good Shepherd when he was arrested last year. But by the time he was released last March amid the pandemic, he told his sister he had nowhere to go. While in jail, he tested positive for COVID-19 so he couldn't stay with family.

Early morning on May 15, he was arrested in relation to stolen property. He appeared virtually in court the next day and was transferred to the Barton Street jail.

In a transcript of the brief video appearance, duty counsel noted the charges he faces before the court are non-violent in nature and very minor."

The matter was remanded to the following day, but before disconnecting, duty counsel also noted Rob was sick and asked that his warrant of remand be marked for medical attention.

He's in significant withdrawal currently and he's very ill."

The court made the order, but it's not clear what happened after.

Daniella has been contacting the jail, the coroner and police trying to get answers. She said she was told that upon admission to the jail, her brother was placed in an isolated cell in a droplet range because he had a runny nose and that's a possible COVID-19 symptom. He had lunch and dinner and then was found dead the next morning.

Daniella said she was told by police that there was no suspicious activity. Nothing was found in his cell or on him.

The preliminary autopsy results show no medical cause of death. The coroner told the family it's a suspected overdose, she said, but toxicology results are still pending.

Daniella wonders if it was the withdrawal that killed him.

I want to know if he received medical care. How often did they check on him? Why he wasn't sent to a hospital if he was so ill?" she asked.

If it was an overdose, where did he get the drugs and how did nobody notice?

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General confirmed an inmate died at the jail on May 17.

Given this matter is the subject of an investigation, it would be inappropriate to provide further detail," said Brent Ross.

Rob's death is a coroner's investigation. When someone dies in custody and the death is not from natural causes, an inquest is mandatory in Ontario. Inquests, presided over by a coroner, examine the circumstances of a death. A jury can make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.

There have been many inquests into deaths at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre, including a super inquest in 2018 that examined eight overdose deaths at the jail. The jury made 62 recommendations that led to some improvements, yet families and inmates say conditions at the jail continue to be a problem.

There are multiple inquests into other deaths at the jail in recent years still pending. Inquests have been on hold during the pandemic.

Now the Soberal family finds themselves facing the same struggle as other families demanding answers over their loved one's deaths.

I'm not going to give up on him," Daniella said.

Nicole O'Reilly is a Hamilton-based reporter covering crime and justice for The Spectator. Reach her via email: noreilly@thespec.com