A coroner’s inquest is set to begin Monday, into a standoff in Surrey five years ago that left a hostage-taker and his hostage dead.
Nona Marnie McEwen and her boyfriend, Randy Crosson, were killed by members of the RCMP’s Emergency Response Team on March 29, 2019, following the 10-hour standoff.
An investigation showed, when police entered the home in Whalley, they spotted Crosson holding a knife to McEwen’s throat, reportedly using her as a human shield.
At the time, police had evacuated neighbourhing homes in the area of 98A Avenue near 132nd Street as they dealt with the hostage situation.
The RCMP said officers made “multiple efforts to engage the barricaded male and a female hostage within the home in order to peacefully resolve the situation.”
Police at the scene of a hostage taking in Surrey in March 2019. Both the hostage taker and hostage were killed in a standoff with police. (CityNews Image)
Officers entered the home and, after a confrontation, RCMP said the man was shot to death. McEwen, meanwhile, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, which she succumbed to.
She left behind three children, aged 26, 22, and 16 at the time.
A probe by the Independent Investigations Office of BC cleared the officers involved of any wrongdoing, with the watchdog suggesting the woman’s death was accidental.
The coroner’s inquest — which is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. in Burnaby — will look into the actions of everyone involved to determine whether deaths like this could be prevented under similar circumstances.
“Margaret Janzen, presiding coroner, and a jury will hear evidence from witnesses under oath to determine the facts surrounding these deaths. The jury will have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances. A jury must not make any finding of legal responsibility or express any conclusion of law,” the province explained in a noticed in March.