Motion hearing date set for inquest into Samuel Brown’s death

A date has been set for a motion hearing related to the pending inquest into the death of a teenager who died at a government-run school for blind students in Brantford.

Samuel Brown was an 18-year-old blind, deaf and non-verbal student who attended W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind. He died overnight on Feb. 9, 2018 in a hospital.

There are conflicting conclusions on his cause of death as the initial coroner’s report suggested he died of natural causes, while an autopsy pointed to pneumonia.

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Public outcry led to an inquest into Brown’s death taking place virtually in 2020. However, it was postponed to address accessibility concerns and provide more time to explore evidence without the constraints of a virtual environment.

Brown’s family pushed for another inquest last month, calling on the coroner’s office to announce a start date by Feb. 9, which was the fifth anniversary of his death.

Dr. Karen Schiff, regional supervising coroner for West Region, Hamilton Office, announced Tuesday a motion hearing related to the pending inquest is scheduled at 9:30 a.m. on March 23.

Dr. David Cameron, presiding officer for the inquest, will preside at the motion hearing. Maria Stevens will be inquest counsel.

READ MORE: Family of a deaf, blind student who died at school calls for an coroners inquest