Canada - Gursimran Kaur, 19, Walmart worker found dead inside bakery oven - October 22, 2024

[otto]

Refuse to release details

Halifax police say Walmart employee's death isn't suspicious, refuse to release details

Police in Halifax say the death of a Walmart employee who was found inside an oven in the store last month is not suspicious, but they are refusing to release any additional details.

atlantic.ctvnews.ca

The death is not suspicious, so it is either an accident, or suicide. Either way, as soon as a death is not suspicious, out of respect for family, no further details are released. That is normal.

The use of the word "refuse" sounds rather dramatic, as though the author of the article feels entitled to know the gory details of a non-suspicious death.

 

[JDG]

The death is not suspicious, so it is either an accident, or suicide. Either way, as soon as a death is not suspicious, out of respect for family, no further details are released. That is normal.

The use of the word "refuse" sounds rather dramatic, as though the author of the article feels entitled to know the gory details of a non-suspicious death.

^^^ and the investigation is still on going.

There will likely be court cases and all information is to be protected for any interested parties in said court cases.

It is only the business of the public if they are at risk. We are not, it’s not our business.

 

[abyquinn]

@abyquinn : Link ?
Some of your info. was new to me.
Thanks in advance.

Death of 19-year-old employee found in Walmart walk-in oven was not foul play, police say

“We do not believe anyone else was involved in the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death,” a Halifax Regional Police spokesperson said.

www.nbcnews.com

If this article doesn’t answer your question could you be more specific?

The organization said Kaur was discovered by her mother, who also worked at the store…

The evening of Oct. 19, Kaur’s mother tried to find her after not having seen her for an hour.

“Imagine the horror that her mother experienced when she opened the oven, when someone pointed it out to her!”

Something else I’ve read a couple times and I found again in this article. Simran had turned off her phone at some point -

“Mother started panicking as it was unusual for her to switch her phone off during the day,”

 

[Chimera]

<modsnip>

I also thought her mother getting so upset over not hearing from her daughter for an hour while she was at work was odd. One of the articles even said the other employees blew her mother off at first. Mother eventually got a supervisor to help look, which at some point led to another employee noticing leakage from the oven. Her mother then opened the door and found Simran. I’m shocked that they let her mother be the one to open the oven door. But I’m sure everyone involved was in shock by this point.

Bbm.
Thanks for the link in your reply.

I meant the bolded.
Agrred w/your assessment, it would indeed be a bit odd if Gursimran was supposed to be working-- why would she be texting or in contact with her mom, why not wait to connect after work hours were over ?
What was the cause for alarm if the daughter was busy at work.
Also, why'd the employee seem dismissive ?
Piqued my interest.
Omo.

 

[Deleted member 296739]

Bbm.
Thanks for the link in your reply.

I meant the bolded.
Agrred w/your assessment, it would indeed be a bit odd if Gursimran was supposed to be working-- why would she be texting or in contact with her mom, why not wait to connect after work hours were over ?
What was the cause for alarm if the daughter was busy at work.
Also, why'd the employee seem dismissive ?
Piqued my interest.
Omo.

Mine too, in an ideal world I’d like to know:

what hours and in which departments they were supposed to work?

Did mom often seek to find her immediately after work?

Why was it several hours of searching ?

How do a 911 about a trapped person in the oven and possibly inability to shut oven off square with someone alerts mom to leakage (but no mention of person trapped)? How can both be true?

What ACTUALLY happened, so that this accident didn’t happen in the first place and could be prevented in the future? Did she need help? Was she in distress? If horrible unfortunate series of events how do we warn others to be careful?

Who first saw the seepage? Who called 911?

Who saw her last? When? Where?

All my own thoughts and musings

 

[sunspun]

Bbm.
Thanks for the link in your reply.

I meant the bolded.
Agrred w/your assessment, it would indeed be a bit odd if Gursimran was supposed to be working-- why would she be texting or in contact with her mom, why not wait to connect after work hours were over ?
What was the cause for alarm if the daughter was busy at work.
Also, why'd the employee seem dismissive ?
Piqued my interest.
Omo.

One of the strangest things to me was that her mother was so sure she was still IN the store when she hadn't seen her for a long while. Why wouldn't she have thought she just left, if she'd looked all over for her inside? I would think she had left, or maybe was outside somewhere for some reason. I mean, I know she was on the clock, but sometimes people do just decide to leave even when they're supposed to be working. I'm sure that's a lot more common happening than what ultimately happened.

 

[DS2021]

Refuse to release details

Halifax police say Walmart employee's death isn't suspicious, refuse to release details

Police in Halifax say the death of a Walmart employee who was found inside an oven in the store last month is not suspicious, but they are refusing to release any additional details.

atlantic.ctvnews.ca

"Out of respect for the family's wishes, we will not be providing any further comment on this matter," said Cromwell in an email to CTV News Monday morning.

CTV News has been in touch with the Maritime Sikh Society, which says the family did not ask police not to share information with the public or media. The society also says it is deeply upset by the findings and noted the family has retained legal representation.

 

[Ray_of_hope]

There should ALWAYS be an escape route from situations such as this with an escape button for accidental lock ins. All vehicle trunks, large scale freezers, dryers, etc That beautiful girl's death won't have been in vain if there's legislation to make things safer. I feel for her mother. What a horrific tragedy.

 

[Ray_of_hope]

Moreover, there should be a final check by management each shift with a sign off sheet and perhaps a piece of tape across the entry to let staff know a check's been completed. Perhaps even cameras in management's office to easily view safety concern areas. This should never have happened. Or maybe even motion detectors which will not allow the instrument to turn on with motion detection.

 

[abyquinn]

Bbm.
Thanks for the link in your reply.

I meant the bolded.
Agrred w/your assessment, it would indeed be a bit odd if Gursimran was supposed to be working-- why would she be texting or in contact with her mom, why not wait to connect after work hours were over ?
What was the cause for alarm if the daughter was busy at work.
Also, why'd the employee seem dismissive ?
Piqued my interest.
Omo.

Ahhh, your post #379 ended up following my post #378 I wrongly assumed that was the post you meant when asking for more information - I’ll look in the post you meant.

I believe the employees reaction seemed dismissive for the reason you said - they were busy at work ‘mom’, calm down! It’s a big store, with customers asking for help. That comment was from one of the earliest articles I read.

<modsnip: No known fact to support such opinion/speculation>

I’m still not sure of how long they searched before finding her or when her phone was turned off. Was her phone turned off or did it ‘break’ from the heat so it powered down? IDK.

 

[byo]

I can't find the article now but I remember reading that what led mother to looking for her daughter is that the daughter usually walked her out of the store after work every night (to a bus stop I believe). When Gursimran didn't show for their nightly walk, mother tried to reach her via phone but couldn't, and grew increasingly worried as she couldn't find her, involving other workers in the search.

It sounds like they must have been close. From the beginning, her mother knew Simran was in trouble, simply because she wasn't there to walk together.

*edited to fix incorrect name that was upthread

Yes, thank you. I remember reading that article.

 

[rleigh123]

According to CBC, the Nova Scotia Department of Labour is now leading the investigation: https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7383140

I think it’s likely they don’t want too much information out there to preserve their ability to conduct a review that is as unbiased as possible by outside commentary. It’s also entirely possible the police don’t have all those answers - their mandate was just to figure out whether criminal liability/foul play was involved, while OHSA violations and worker safety standards are the DOL’s domain.

OK that makes a little more sense. Several articles I've seen made it sound like the investigation was closed. The authorities made comments such as they wouldn't be releasing any further details, and didn't expect any more updates.


MOO/IMO

 

[rleigh123]

The death is not suspicious, so it is either an accident, or suicide. Either way, as soon as a death is not suspicious, out of respect for family, no further details are released. That is normal.

The use of the word "refuse" sounds rather dramatic, as though the author of the article feels entitled to know the gory details of a non-suspicious death.

A young woman on the job at a public place dies an inexplicable death that the general public thinks is so unlikely, online videos are created to explain why.
A public demand for even minimal answers is fair, and honors the victim.
Minus the exploitive appetite for true crime, it's humans looking out for each other.
Equipment, corporate, or human?
Accident, greed, neglect, or error?
Every detail isn't needed, but total blackout breeds distrust and curiosity.


IMO

 

[rleigh123]

Mine too, in an ideal world I’d like to know:

what hours and in which departments they were supposed to work?

Did mom often seek to find her immediately after work?

Why was it several hours of searching ?

How do a 911 about a trapped person in the oven and possibly inability to shut oven off square with someone alerts mom to leakage (but no mention of person trapped)? How can both be true?

What ACTUALLY happened, so that this accident didn’t happen in the first place and could be prevented in the future? Did she need help? Was she in distress? If horrible unfortunate series of events how do we warn others to be careful?

Who first saw the seepage? Who called 911?

Who saw her last? When? Where?

All my own thoughts and musings

IMO:

Same. I've also been confused about the events, details, and sequence regarding these things. Who exactly discovered the oven/leakage and called 911? Was there an odor? Did someone shut off oven? Did they see her in there but let Mom open door? Where were the managers in charge?

Now I'm reading we're not even sure she worked in bakery? Do we know if the bakery was open or closed?

I suppose this will come in time.

I agree this is a case where the public should be asking questions, and perhaps be a case that we can learn lessons from. And maybe equipment companies or corporate retail or bakers can learn from as well.



All spec and moo

 

[rleigh123]

I can't find the article now but I remember reading that what led mother to looking for her daughter is that the daughter usually walked her out of the store after work every night (to a bus stop I believe). When Gursimran didn't show for their nightly walk, mother tried to reach her via phone but couldn't, and grew increasingly worried as she couldn't find her, involving other workers in the search.

It sounds like they must have been close. From the beginning, her mother knew Simran was in trouble, simply because she wasn't there to walk together.

*edited to fix incorrect name that was upthread

Yes I thought it might be something like this. I've never understood the reaction that it's odd behavior for Mom to be so concerned.


It would seem quite reasonable to think they had a routine, like for breaks and such. Seems normal for one to go looking for the other if they were unusually unresponsive.


The more one looks, it would seem reasonable the more concerned they would become. Especially a Mom.


MOO/IMO

 

[ttcRider]

I am not sure what the policy is at Walmart with family members working together. I know some companies do not allow it.

 

[LadyL]

Maybe the oven was on a timer for self-cleaning. Who knows. The question is - why did her mother know to check the oven? Was this not the first time her daughter was in it?
Bizarre way to die!

another worker told the mother that they saw leakage

 

[LadyL]

<modsnip>

I also thought her mother getting so upset over not hearing from her daughter for an hour while she was at work was odd. One of the articles even said the other employees blew her mother off at first. Mother eventually got a supervisor to help look, which at some point led to another employee noticing leakage from the oven. Her mother then opened the door and found Simran. I’m shocked that they let her mother be the one to open the oven door. But I’m sure everyone involved was in shock by this point.

[bbm]

sometimes we listen to our intuition and a mother's intuition for her children is especially strong IMO
I think if she had already checked several places, maybe tried to call her, it's possible she started to panic when her 'gut feeling' knew something was wrong JMO

 

[LadyL]

I am not sure what the policy is at Walmart with family members working together. I know some companies do not allow it.

well they apparently did cause they both worked there

 

[Lexiintoronto]

“Police have yet to identify Kaur as the victim.[…]
…the oven was assessed and determined to have been operating as per the manufacturer's requirements.”

Update in Walmart worker's death in store oven leaves questions unanswered

Police say the death of 19-year-old Walmart employee Gursimran Kaur, who was burned in a walk-in bakery oven, is not suspicious.

www.newsweek.com

This makes me lean more towards self-harm.