No foul play is suspected in the death of the 19-year-old Walmart employee whose body was found in the store’s walk-in oven in Canada last month, police said Monday.
Halifax Regional Police had responded on a report of a sudden death to the Walmart at 6990 Mumford Rd. the evening of Oct.19, and found the victim, Gursimran Kaur, deceased in “a large walk-in oven belonging to the store’s bakery department.”
The investigation has determined that her death was not suspicious and “there is no evidence of foul play,” police said in a news release Monday.
“We conducted several interviews, reviewed video footage, and worked very closely with our partners at Nova Scotia Department of Labor and medical examiner service,” Martin Cromwell, public information officer for Halifax Regional Police, said in a video statement. “We do not believe anyone else was involved in the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death.”
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Investigators met with the victim’s family to share the update and extend condolences, police said.
Cromwell said police expect this to be the final update on the case.
The young woman was identified as Kaur by the Maritime Sikh Society in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which launched a fundraiser on behalf of the family last month.
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The organization said Kaur was discovered by her mother, who also worked at the store. The two had worked there for two years.
The evening of Oct. 19, Kaur’s mother tried to find her after not seeing her for one hour. She asked around and tried to call her to no avail.
“Mother started panicking as it was unusual for her to switch her phone off during the day,” the fundraiser said. “Imagine the horror that her mother experienced when she opened the oven, when someone pointed it out to her!”
Kaur and her mother are originally from India, the Maritime Sikh Society said.
Walmart told NBC News last month that the store was closed until further notice. It remains closed as of Monday, CBC reported.
The Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration also said it issued a stop-work order on Oct. 22 for the Walmart’s bakery and a piece of equipment at the store. That order was lifted on Oct. 28 “after the oven was assessed and determined to have been operating as per the manufacturer’s requirements.”
In a statement Monday, the department said: “Now that Halifax Regional Police have concluded their investigation, effective November 18, the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration has assumed the lead in the ongoing workplace investigation.”
Walmart told CBC last week the bakery oven was being removed from the store, as part of a standard remodel program being implemented across the country.
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