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Coroner pronounced 1997
death of Qu'Appelle Valley man as a drowning
Bruising from handcuffs
evident, even through mortuary make-up
Six years later,
a family member who has kept these pictures is asking people
to take another look. On June 21, 1997, Gordon James Severight
was last seen alive in the early hours of the morning. A few
hours later his body was discovered.
The revelations
from the Stonechild inquiry are giving many others hope. I was
told that the family of Gordon James Severight were nervous about
bringing forth these pictures. While there is more confidence
that allegations his death was not from natural causes will now
be taken more seriously, they are nervous about having photographed
the body lying in the coffin. Roman Catholics often photograph
their loved ones, but Native people do not. A desire for justice
overrode spiritual hesitations to produce these pictures which
document the doubts which were in everyone's mind as soon as
Severight's body was discovered, face down in Mission Lake, with
a broken nose, grass stains on the knees of his jeans and handcuff
marks clearly visible on his wrists. He had a blood alcohol content
of .021
The coroner
who signed the death certificate stated the cause of death as
"drowning." The original newspaper report was just
a few lines:
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RCMP seek details in man's drowning June, 1997
Fort Qu'Appelle RCMP are investigating
the apparent drowning of a 26-year-old Regina man on Saturday.
Police have released few details, but the man was found at about
6 p.m. on Saturday after a combined search by the RCMP underwater
recovery team, RCMP air services, and members of the Fort Qu'Appelle
detachment.
Further information will be released after next of kin have been
notified.
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Severight
was 26 years old.
Severight.
Rhymes with Night. Time to do right.
There are other
deaths which should be looked into as well. John Melenchuk has been carrying
around with him a stack of newspaper clippings which contain
so many injustices against Native people that he overwhelms anyone
who will listen to him with the list of injustices. He has gone
to Prince Albert to protest and he has protested at the Saskatoon
Police station as well. This summer, he was arrested while protesting
in front of the Little Chief station on Twentieth Street, the
one the new mayor is so eager to close. Ironically, the arrest
followed a complaint from the liquor store across the street
which claimed Melenchuk's protest was interfering with their
business. His case will be heard in late January. Melenchuk ran
for city council and received just under 500 votes. The authorities
and the media have been trying to shut him up and shut him down
but he is gaining a lot of support in the community where he
lives.
One of the
clippings Melenchuk is carrying around regards Robin Ermine who
was shot in the head at point blank range with three bullets
in his own living room. August 15, 1987. Police deemed the murder
not worth looking into because they said Ermine was part of "the
criminal fraternity."
See also the story of Clayton
Miller in Nova Scotia and compare the photos
FORENSIC Security Classification: PROTECTED
A
LABORATORY REPORT Date: July 4, 1997
Lab File No: 97R649
THIS REPORT OR ANY OTHER RELATED Your File No: 97-1094
PHOTOGRAPHIC OR OTHER MATERIAL MAY
NOT BE PUBLISHED, IN WHOLE OR IN PART,
WITHOUT THE WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE
COMMISSIONER OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN
MOUNTED POLICE
TO: NCO i/c Fort Qu'Appelle Detachment FROM: Forensic Laboratory
Regina
R.C.M. Police R.C.M. Police
Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan Regina, Saskatchewan
ATTN: Cst. R. Levesque. Toxicology Section
REFERENCE - Gordon James SEVERIGHT 71-05-29
Suspicious Death
COPIES TO:
Dr. E. Jones, Pathologist, Plains Health Centre, Regina, Sask.
Mr. Gerald Traves, Coroner, Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask.
Coroners Branch, 1874 Scarth St., Regina, Sask.
1. GENERAL The following exhibits were received from Cst.
R. Levesque at the Forensic Laboratory Regina on 97-06-23:
Exhibit A: One vial of urine
Exhibit B1 to B3: three vials of urine
Exhibit C: gastric content
Exhibit D: liver
2. PURPOSE To analyze the above exhibits for the presence
of common drugs (excluding alcohol).
3. DATA Blood from exhibit B2 was extracted and analyzed for
common drugs or metabolites (e.g. opiates, tetrahydrocannabinol,
cocaine) by gas chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, and
an enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT).
4. RESULTS No common drugs (excluding alcohol) were detected
in exhibit B2.
5. REMARKS 1) Exhibit B2, blood, was transferred to K. Okamura,
Alcohol Section on 97-06-24.
2) Exhibits A, B2, B3 C and D are being retained pending further
advise. Kindly advise if you want the exhibits destroyed here
or held for pickup (Phone (306) 780-7266, fax (306) 780-5804).
Submitted by:
J.C. Hudson, M. Sc.
i/c Toxicology Section
ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE
FORENSIC Security Classification: PROTECTED
A
LABORATORY REPORT Date: July 7, 1997
Lab File No: 97R-0649
THIS REPORT OR ANY OTHER RELATED Your File No: 97-1094
PHOTOGRAPHIC OR OTHER MATERIAL MAY
NOT BE PUBLISHED, IN WHOLE OR IN PART,
WITHOUT THE WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE
COMMISSIONER OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN
MOUNTED POLICE
TO: NCO i/c Fort Qu'Appelle Detachment FROM: Forensic Laboratory
Regina
R.C.M. Police R.C.M. Police
Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan Regina, Saskatchewan
ATTN: CST. R. LEVESQUE ALCOHOL SECTION
REFERENCE - Gordon James SEVERIGHT
Suspicious Death
COPIES TO:
Dr. E. Jones, Pathologist Plains Health Centre, Regina,
Sask.
Mr. G. Traves, Coroner Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask.
1. GENERAL: The following exhibit was received personally
from Mr. J. C. Hudson of this laboratory on 97-06-24:
Exhibit B1 a vial of blood.
2. PURPOSE: To analyze Exhibit B1 for alcohol and similar
volatile substances.
3. DATA: The analysis of Exhibit B1 consisted of gas chromatographic
procedures.
4. RESULTS: Exhibit B1 contained 240 milligrams of ethyl alcohol
in 100 millilitres of blood.
5. REMARKS: Exhibit B1 is being held here pending your instructions
regarding disposition.
Submitted by:
K. O. Okamura, M. Sc.
i/c Alcohol Section
ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE
REGINA HEALTH DISTRICT
DEPARTMENT OF LABORATORY MEDICINE
4101 Dewdney Avenue
Regina, Saskatchewan S4T 1A5
(306) 766-2240 Fax (306) 766-2752
FINAL AUTOPSY REPORT
NAME: SEVERIGHT, Gordon AUTOPSY NO: 97-RAM-242
DOB: May 29, 1971 ADMITTED:
HIN: 286583 EXPIRED: June 21, 1997
NURSING UNIT: AUTOPSY DATE: June 22, 1997
HSN: 740199668 LOCATION: Pasqua Hospital
DOCTOR: PATHOLOGIST: E. Jones, M.D.
CORONER: Mr. Gerald Traves Reference Numbers:
ANATOMIC DIAGNOSES
DROWNING
ABRASIONS TO FACE, ARMS AND HANDS
ALCOHOL INTOXICATION
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
This man was pulled from a lake dead on the 21st of June 1997.
The body was found lying face down.
The gross autopsy findings including redness and swelling
of the face with several abrasions over the face and a fractured
nose. There were abrasions over the back of the hands and the
forearms. There was blood around the collar of the jacket that
the body was wearing but there was no evidence of trauma or disruption
of the clothing. The lungs were heavy and there was frothy reddish
material throughout the tracheobronchial tree. The cut surface
of the lungs was oedematous and congested. The heart was unremarkable
as were the other internal organs. The brain was unremarkable.
There was no evidence of skull fractures.
The autopsy findings in this case point to a diagnosis of
drowning. There was evidence of trauma to the face and abrasions
of the hands and arms. These injuries were of a minor nature.
E. Jones, M.D./di/jak
July 11, 1997
REGINA HEALTH DISTRICT
DEPARTMENT OF LABORATORY MEDICINE
4101 Dewdney Avenue
Regina, Saskatchewan S4T 1A5
(306) 766-2240 Fax (306) 766-2752
FINAL AUTOPSY REPORT
NAME: SEVERIGHT, Gordon (97-RAM-242)
CLINICAL SUMMARY
This man was apparently pulled out from the lakeshore of
a lake near Fort Qu'Appelle dead. He had been found by a fisherman.
He had been last seen in the early morning of the 21st of June
1997. The body found several hours later. The body was found
face down.
GROSS AUTOPSY FINDINGS
The autopsy was performed at 1200 hrs on the 22nd day of June
1997 in the Pasqua Hospital Morgue. The body had an identification
tag. Constable Rodney Levesque and Assistant Constable Nicole
T. Cyr were in attendance as well as Sgt. Ken Bullock of the
identification unit. The body had a tag over the right wrist
which was an identification tag.
The body was wearing a blue jean jacket, a black "Jack Daniels"
t-shirt, blue jeans, grey under shorts, white socks and Ditra
runners which were black and white. There was some blood around
the collar of the jean jacket and lesser amounts of staining
over the back of the jean jacket. There was no evidence of trauma
to the jean jacket or the other cloths. There was some grass
staining around the knees of the jeans.
The body was normally developed and somewhat obese. The height
was 172 cm and the weight was 100 kg.s. There was rigor mortis
present in all limbs. There was no significant edema. The body
was of normal color. There was abrasions over the forearms and
dorsal surfaces and the hands. These measured 13 x 6 cm on the
left and 7 x 20 cm on the right. There was a 20 x 2 cm abrasion
over the lateral surface of the left forearm. There was a tattoo
of a heart with the words "who do you love" and this
was present over the left shoulder. There was a 0.8 cm half-moon
indentation of the right forearm. There was a 3 cm old scar of
the right second finger. There was a 3 cm old scar of the right
forearm. There were numerous old scars horizontally placed over
the left forearm.
HEAD AND NECK:
There was redness and abrasions over the entire face especially
over the tip of the nose which appeared to be broken. There was
foam in the nostrils. There was bruising on the upper and lower
lips. There were abrasions over the chin and the forehead. The
eyes were brown the pupils were at 3 mm. There was a pinhole
puncture wound on the left upper eyelid. The nose was swollen.
There was a moderate amount of sub capsular haemorrhage underlying
the frontal scalp.
PLEURAL CAVITIES:
Unremarkable.
LUNGS:
THE RIGHT LUNG WEIGHED 600 GRAMS AND THE LEFT LUNG 550 GRAMS.
On sectioning through the tracheal bronchial tree there was frothy
reddish material throughout. The cut surface of the lungs was
oedematous and congested. There was no pulmonary emboli.
PERICARDIUM:
Unremarkable.
HEART:
The heart weighed 450 grams. The heart chambers were unremarkable
as were the valves. On dissecting the coronary arteries there
was no coronary artery disease. The cut surface of the left ventricle
measured 1.4 cm and the right 0.3 cm.
REGINA HEALTH DISTRICT
DEPARTMENT OF LABORATORY MEDICINE
4101 Dewdney Avenue
Regina, Saskatchewan S4T 1A5
(306) 766-2240 Fax (306) 766-2752
FINAL AUTOPSY REPORT
NAME: SEVERIGHT, Gordon (97-RAM-242)
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM:
Unremarkable.
PERITONEAL CAVITY:
Unremarkable.
LIVER:
The liver weighed 1800 grams. It was unremarkable on surface
and on sections.
SPLEEN:
The spleen weighed 100 grams. It was unremarkable on surface
and on sections.
PANCREAS:
Unremarkable.
ADRENAL GLANDS:
Unremarkable.
KIDNEYS:
Each kidney weighed 175 grams. They had unremarkable sub
capsular and cut surfaces. The pelves were unremarkable.
URINARY TRACT:
The ureters were unremarkable. The bladder was unremarkable.
GENITALIA:
The prostate was unremarkable.
BRAIN:
The brain weighed 1625 grams. The circle of Willis was unremarkable.
The cut surface of the brain was unremarkable.
MUSCLES, BONES AND JOINTS:
Unremarkable. There is no evidence of skull fracture.
TOXICOLOGY:
Specimens of blood, urine, liver and stomach contents were
sent with the RCMP for toxicology. Photographs were taken by
the RCMP.
MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION
LUNGS:
The section of the lung showed that the architecture is normal.
There is some congestion of the vasculature. There are few bacteria
present in alveoli which represent post mortem growth.
REGINA HEALTH DISTRICT
DEPARTMENT OF LABORATORY MEDICINE
4101 Dewdney Avenue
Regina, Saskatchewan S4T 1A5
(306) 766-2240 Fax (306) 766-2752
FINAL AUTOPSY REPORT
NAME: SEVERIGHT, Gordon (97-RAM-242)
HEART:
The sections of the myocardium are within entirely normal
limits.
LIVER:
The sections of the liver show that the portal tracts are
unremarkable. There is no significant inflammation in them. The
hepatic parenchyma has a normal architecture.
SPLEEN:
The sections of the spleen show that the white pulp is unremarkable.
The red pulp is also unremarkable.
PANCREAS:
The sections of the pancreas show considerable autolysis.
The background architecture of the pancreas is, however, within
normal limits.
ADRENAL GLANDS:
The section of the thyroid are within normal limits.
KIDNEYS:
The section of the kidneys show some degeneration of tubules
consistent with autolysis. The glomeruli are unremarkable. There
is some congestion of the vasculature.
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Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
