Lucia Vega Jimenez's CBSA custody death going to inquest
The B.C. Coroners Service has called an inquest into the death of Lucia Vega Jimenez, a Mexican woman who died in Vancouver after she was found hanging from a shower stall in the custody of Canada Border Services Agency.
Vega Jimenez, a Mexican hotel worker, was found unresponsive in the immigration holding centre at Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 20, 2013. She died in hospital eight days later.
Presiding coroner Margaret Janzen will oversee the inquest, which is scheduled to begin Sept. 29. The coroners service said the jury will have the opportunity to make recommendations about preventing similar deaths at the inquest's conclusion.
In January, Mexican Consul General Claudia Franco Hijuelos demanded answers about Vega Jimenez's apparent suicide.
Franco Hijuelos said Vega Jimenez was afraid of going back to Mexico because of a "domestic situation."
The CBSA immigration holding centre at the Vancouver airport can accommodate up to 24 low-risk detainees for up to 72 hours.
The law enforcement agency said detained individuals are monitored and have access to legal counsel, medical personnel, interpreters and telephones.
The Canada Border Services Agency is in charge of the airport holding centre, but contracts it out to the private security firm Genesis Security Group.
