Montreal police looking at new information in death of Siasi Tullaugak
Urgences-Santé said death of 27-year-old Inuk woman had been considered suicide
Montreal police say they are looking at new information in connection with the death of an Inuk woman, which Urgences-Santé initially told CBC News had been treated as a suicide.
The body of Siasi Tullaugak, 27, was found on the balcony of her downtown apartment on Aug. 28.
Her sister told CBC News that Tullaugak hadn't appeared to be suicidal before her death. She said earlier on the day she died, Tullaugak told her she felt someone was putting her life in danger, but she was too afraid to say who it was.
Police spokesperson Sandrine Lapointe said she cannot confirm the nature of the information that has come to light but that the investigation continues.
David Chapman, the director of the Open Door homeless shelter, knew Tullaugak. He said workers at the shelter are happy to hear that police are conducting what he called a "more thorough investigation" into her death.
"It's important that when an Indigenous person dies, that their death is taken just as seriously as anyone else's," said Chapman.
The decision is also being praised by Nakuset, the executive director of the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal, who organized a recent vigil to commemorate the lives of Tullaugak and Sharon Barron, another Inuk woman who died in Dorval in late August.
Nakuset said Tullaugak's death has made waves in the community.
"I think they need to look into new information because since we heard of her death, everybody — the Inuit community, the homeless community, people in the Cabot Square area — they've been bringing information forward."
Questions raised after death
Tullaugak had come to Montreal from Nunavik, the Inuit territory of northern Quebec. Chapman said she had been in the midst of "trying to break free of street life."
"These women are not just statistics, you know," Chapman said. "Siasi was a mother. There are women who came here for a better life."
In an interview last week, Chapman said that a friend of Tullaugak's had told police he had seen her in the company of a man a little more than an hour before her death. The friend then heard a scream.
The friend could provide exact times for the events he witnessed, including hearing police sirens approach Tullaugak's building, according to Chapman.
Chapman said at that time that he believes officers may not have been receptive to Tullaugak's friend's story because of a run-in he'd had with police in the past.
With files from Sudha Krishnan and Salim Valji