RCMP investigating death of inmate from P.E.I. correctional centre
Police say there is no evidence of foul play at this time
RCMP on Prince Edward Island are investigating the death of an inmate from the Provincial Correctional Centre.
According to a news release issued Friday, police received a report of the death at around 7:50 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31. RCMP are called in to investigate on behalf of the provincial coroner's office whenever there's a death involving an inmate at a corrections facility.
Cpl. Gavin Moore, the RCMP's media relations officer for the Island, said the prisoner had been taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment on Wednesday, a day before dying at the Charlottetown medical facility.
"At this point, based on the information that we have to date, there is no evidence of any foul play with regards to this death," Moore said.
No other details were available, including the inmate's age and gender.
However, a CBC News journalist was in court in Charlottetown Wednesday afternoon when court officials were told that inmate Alan Wood had been taken to hospital from the jail earlier that day and was not able to be present for a scheduled remand hearing.
Alan Wood taken to hospital Wednesday
Wood, 60, had been arrested on Saturday and charged with attempted murder after separate assaults with a bat on two seniors in their Stratford homes. Police said he knew both people.
The victims sustained serious injuries and were taken to hospital. There is no information on their current state.
Wood was also charged with robbing the woman who was attacked, uttering threats to a corrections officer, and assaulting a gas station employee worker.
When he appeared in court by video link on Monday, he was in restraints and appeared agitated, at times shouting incoherently. The Crown said it intended to have him evaluated to see whether he was fit to stand trial.
On Wednesday, court heard that an ambulance had been called to take Wood to hospital, where he was intubated and admitted to the intensive care unit. Due to the circumstances, his legal case was put off until Nov. 4.
With files from Nicola MacLeod