BC Coroners Service announces inquest into Oak Bay teen’s overdose death

BC Coroners Service announces inquest into Oak Bay teen's overdose death
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Sixteen-year-old Elliot Cleveland Eurchuk. Photo courtesy of Rachel Staples

Sixteen-year-old Elliot Cleveland Eurchuk. Photo courtesy of Rachel Staples

The BC Coroners Service has announced a public inquest into the death of Elliot Eurchuk.

The 16-year-old boy from Oak Bay died on April 20, 2018, after he was found unresponsive on his bed at his family’s home. There was a combination of cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine in his system.

His parents, Rachel Staples and Brock Eurchuk, have been lobbying for an inquest since Eurchuk’s death. They said last year that they fell victim a healthcare system that allowed Elliot to choose the terms of his own treatment following a series of surgeries and he became addicted to painkillers before turning to street drugs.

The BC Coroners Service said the inquest has been called to review the circumstances of Eurchuk’s death and to explore whether there are opportunities for a jury to make recommendations that may prevent deaths in similar services. According to the BC Coroners Service, there were 1,489 illicit-drug overdose deaths in 2018. Fentanyl was detected in 86 per cent of deaths in 2018.

The inquest into Eurchuk’s death has been scheduled per Section 18(3) of the Coroners Act, as the public has an interest in being informed of the circumstances surrounding his death.

An inquest is a formal process that allows for public presentation of evidence relating to a death. Presiding coroner Michael Egilson and a jury will hear evidence from witnesses under oath to determine the facts surrounding this death. A jury must not make any finding of legal responsibility or express any conclusion of law.

The inquest will be held at the University of Victoria on June 17 at 9:30 a.m.

With files from Cindy Harnett, Times Colonist

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