It’s been more than a week since the death of 19-year old Halifax Walmart employee Gursimran Kaur, whose body was discovered in an industrial oven in the store’s bakery.
As of Monday, the Walmart on Mumford Road remains closed, marked only by caution tape. Her grieving family and community say they have been left in the dark with no word on the circumstances surrounding the cause.
“There’s only three or four different things that could have occurred. They not only have to prove one of them to be what occurred but to prove three to not be what occurred,” said Chris Lewis, CTV News public safety analyst and former commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police.
Kaur died on Oct. 19. So far, police are only calling the incident a sudden death.
According to a fundraiser set up by the Maritime Sikh Society, Kaur’s mother, who also worked at Walmart, found her daughter after an hour of looking for her around the store. The mother had been calling Kaur’s phone but the call was not going through.
The story has gone far beyond Canada’s borders, making international headlines. Some people have been searching for answers on social media and making their own assumptions.
“It certainly puts pressure on police to say something,” explained Lewis. “For them to say it’s an accident and have the charges for murder laid out will affect any court proceedings in the future,”
For their part, Halifax police are saying very little. In an email, police told CTV News the investigation is ongoing and it’s working with other agencies to determine the cause and manner of the death.
Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour declined an interview, stating the police investigation is still underway and the department will be in a better position to answer questions when the investigation is further along.
Meanwhile, the family says they are waiting for answers and the community believes Walmart hasn’t helped ease their pain.
“We are disappointed. What we were expecting Walmart to do, now (the) Maritime Sikh Society is doing all that,” said Balbir Singh, Maritime Sikh Society secretary.
Singh said the Sikh Society is covering food costs and providing professional mental health support. They have also applied for an emergency visa to bring Gursimran’s father to Canada.
“Up to this point Walmart’s approach is casual and indifferent. That’s what I can see,” said Singh.
CTV News has made multiple requests to Walmart following the company’s initial response to Kaur’s death, including reaching out to president and CEO Gonazalo Gebara about whether the company will be providing any support to Kaur’s mother. However, the inquiries were directed back to the PR department and no response has been given yet.
CTV News also reached out Baxter MFG, the manufacturer of conventional ovens that Walmart uses, but has not heard back yet.