The coroner’s report on the death of Marcel Saint-Laurent was made public Tuesday evening.
On September 8, 2023, the 61-year-old man was found on a conveyor at the Quebec incinerator, around 9:45 a.m. Employees quickly called emergency services.
According to the coroner, Mr. Donald Nicole, the man entered a waste container “to try to recover something” earlier in the day. He was homeless and under the influence of a “stimulating substance” at the time.
During the autopsy, the pathologist noted “significant traumatic injuries” that occurred after death and resulted from “compression of the body.” No evidence of third party intervention was observed.
Unable to climb back
The police investigation did not make it possible to identify the precise container in which the victim died. However, the truck that transported it had collected waste from approximately 27 “semi-buried” containers.
“It can be difficult to differentiate a semi-buried container from a surface container and to assess the danger associated with the depth of the container,” notes the coroner.
These containers have a total height of 2.97 meters. Only a part of 1.07 meters is visible outside the ground. The other part, 1.90 meters, is buried and the walls are smooth.
-When Marcel Saint-Laurent entered the container, he found himself stuck. “It is very difficult, if not impossible, for a person who falls inside the container [semi-enfoui] to get out without help,” says Mr. Donald Nicole.
Suffocation
The coroner concludes that Marcel St-Laurent died of asphyxia by suffocation. It was an accidental death.
“Being stuck in this enclosed space with waste, including some decomposing organic waste, he died of suffocation following a lack of oxygen,” he said.
As part of his investigation, Mr. Donald Nicole spoke with the manufacturer of the containers concerned. Management will add a notice to this model, in order to inform users of the danger that the depth of the buried and non-visible part of this type of container may represent.
There is therefore no need to make recommendations, according to the coroner.
