Loved ones seek justice for inmate's death in Penetanguishene jail

Loved ones of Tyler McCue, who died just before Christmas in 2022 while in custody at the Central North Correctional Centre, are speaking out, alleging he didn't receive the medical attention he needed.

"He was grey in colour. How did they not know?" said Dana Da Silva, McCue's partner, expressing her frustration and grief.

Da Silva, who planned to marry McCue the following summer, is calling for accountability, believing McCue's death was preventable.

McCue, 32, of Beausoleil First Nation, was a father of three young girls and had two stepchildren. Da Silva contends that McCue complained of excruciating abdominal pain for several days but was ignored by jail staff.

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She said the coroner's report concluded that 32-year-old McCue's cause of death was ultimately ruled undetermined.

The report noted that with the "absence of another clear cause of death, the most reasonable cause of death is complications of enterocolitis," which is inflammation of the small intestine and colon.

"For three or four days, he was sick, and they just kept saying ... the one nurse told him he drank a bad brew and to go sleep it off," Da Silva said.

According to Da Silva, McCue struggled with mental health issues and had been in and out of jail for years.

Despite his past, she insists he was working towards a better future.

"Just because they're criminals, doesn't mean that they're not people. They're still people. He was changing his life around. That's the worst part of it," she said.

A statement from the Office of the Ministry of the Solicitor General, which oversees Ontario's jails, explained the ministry is unable to comment on individual cases, "especially where personal health information is involved."

It continued, "The ministry takes inmate deaths very seriously. The Office of the Chief Coroner is responsible for conducting death investigations, determining cause of death and determining whether and when an inquest would take place."

McCue's loved ones are seeking an investigation into the days leading up to his death, asserting he should be alive today and those who failed to save his life should be held accountable.