Further investigation, autopsy results and surveillance footage have determined the death of a 22-year-old woman on New Year’s Day is non-criminal in nature, according to Saskatoon police.
Rudy Kishayinew’s body was found late in the morning Jan. 1 behind a building in the 1500 block of 20th Street West.
Police say major crimes investigators interviewed a witness a number of times who was with Kishayinew the evening before she died and reviewed surveillance video showing her entering an alcove behind the building. Officials say the video matches witness information.
Police released the information after repeated calls from the public for further investigation, police said in a media release. Four days after Kishayinew’s body was found police ruled her death as accidental.
Friends and family of Kishayinew continue to question the police investigation and the events that transpired before her death. Her friend Lynn Thompson previously told CTV News Kishayinew and another woman were asked to leave St. Paul’s Hospital after Kishayinew requested to use the phone to ask a family member if she could spend the night at their home. The temperature at the time was about -23 C, with wind chills reaching -35.
The Saskatoon Health Region said last week it has no record of anyone being forced to leave the hospital that night and that it has provided police with surveillance video. The surveillance footage showing Kishayinew behind the building is not from St. Paul’s Hospital, according to police.
The investigation is now being led by the chief coroner’s office. Saskatoon police say if any new information calls into question the nature of Kishayinew’s death, investigators will review that evidence.
