Oxford OPP have been cleared of any wrongdoing in relation to the death of a 39-year-old Zorra Township woman last month.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) announced Wednesday it was ending its investigation into the July 29 incident, noting police had no criminal liability in the woman's death.
An Oxford OPP officer had called the woman on July 28 and asked her to turn herself in to police in relation to an undisclosed investigation. The woman promised she would come to the OPP detachment, but then never showed up and did not answer the officer's subsequent phone calls.
The officer went to the woman's home around 9am the following day, but no one answered the door or his calls. He left a phone message indicating he would return later with a warrant. Soon after the woman's boyfriend and a friend found her body in a shed on the property. Her death was determined to be a suicide.
"The evidence indicates the woman’s death was solely the result of a suicidal act, and therefore there is patently nothing further to investigate as far as any potential criminal liability on the part of any police officers is concerned in connection with her death," said Acting SIU Director Joseph Martino. "As such, I have terminated the investigation into this incident.”
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.
