On Tuesday Sept. 12, the sentencing of Lindsey Coyle, was scheduled for January 16, 2024, much to the disappointment of the family of the late Hermina Fletcher.
Coyle pleaded guilty to Criminal Negligence Causing the Death of Hermina Fletcher in September of 2022.
In a statement issued on behalf of the Fletcher family, lawyer Douglas Judson says the family is not pleased with the decision to push the sentencing so far into the future.
“Our clients are angry, frustrated, and distressed by the apparent complacency of prosecutors in bringing this matter to a close,” Judson wrote. “Justice Joubert specifically directed at the sentencing hearing last month that he expected counsel to find a date for sentencing as soon as October. Despite that very clear direction, today the Crown Attorney’s office consented to another significant delay in any accountability for Ms. Coyle’s heinous and disgusting actions.”
Judson and his firm Judson Howie LLP is representing the family in a civil suit against Coyle.
According to the statement, the sentencing date will be nine years to the day from when Coyle was suspended by Riverside Health Care in relation to an investigation of missing drugs at La Verendrye Hospital in Fort Frances.
The Fletcher family has also asked the Minister of Health to investigate Riverside, alleging that Coyle likely altered other patient’s charts in an effort to steal opiates.
“We now know, from the facts admitted by Ms. Coyle in court, that she likely targeted other vulnerable hospital patients,” Judson said.
The family has yet to receive a response from Minister of Health Sylvia Jones regarding their request for an investigation into Riverside’s management of medication during Coyle’s employment at the hospital.
