Guards accused of criminal negligence back in court in March

Three former guards and a supervisor from a women's prison in Ontario will reappear in court in mid-March relating to charges in the death of a 19-year-old New Brunswick woman.

The former employees of the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ont. — Valentino Burnett, Karen Eves, Blaine Phibbs and Travis MacDonald — face charges of criminal negligence causing death.

Ashley Smith of Moncton was found unconscious on Oct. 19 in her segregation cell at the jail and later died in hospital of what police have only described as "self-initiated asphyxiation."

Lawyers of the accused made a brief appearance in Kitchener's provincial court on Tuesday, but the court has adjourned until March 18 to allow the lawyers to review Crown evidence.

Waterloo Regional Police have never elaborated on the circumstances surrounding Smith's death, except to say that she didn't hang herself.

Several investigations are underway into the death, including one by New Brunswick Ombudsman Bernard Richard.

Under the Criminal Code of Canada, charges of criminal negligence relate to "omitting to do anything that it is his duty to do, shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons."

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Court documents filed by Waterloo police allege the guards and supervisor "did, by criminal negligence, fail to come to the aid of Ashley Smith thereby causing her death."

Smith was serving a six-year sentence for a range of offences, including assault with a weapon and assaulting a police officer. She would have been eligible for release in November.

The guards and their supervisor were fired by the Correctional Service of Canada in January. Four other guards were suspended for 60 days without pay. The warden and deputy warden at the Ontario prison have also been transferred since the incident.