Investigation ongoing into death of 19-year-old Walmart employee in Halifax - Horrific allegations emerging online that the teenager was killed in a walk-in oven.

The investigation into the sudden death of a 19-year-old Walmart employee over the weekend is ongoing in Halifax.

The woman’s identity has not been released, but the Maritime Sikh Society confirmed to CTV News that she was a member of their community. Members say she moved to Nova Scotia two to three years ago.

In a news release Monday, Halifax Regional Police said they were called to a sudden death at the Walmart at 6990 Mumford Road around 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

According to police, a 19-year-old woman who was employed at the store was found dead inside the building.

The store has remained closed since Saturday night while the investigation is ongoing. There is no word on when it might reopen.

HRP Const. Martin Cromwell says police are aware of online speculation about the woman’s cause of death, but would not confirm nor address the information being shared.

“The investigation is complex,” said Cromwell.

“We understand the public is involved, and we just wanted to encourage the public to be patient with our investigation and be mindful that there are family members and coworkers involved.”

Cromwell says Halifax police are coordinating with the appropriate agencies to help with the investigation.

The Department of Labour told CTV News it has not conducted its own investigation into the incident yet.

“The Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration is aware of the situation and continues to engage with our partners the Halifax Regional Police who have control of the scene,” a spokesperson said.

The department said it is unable to share further information at this time.

Walmart released a statement on Sunday, stating the company was aware of the incident and working to support its staff.

“We are heartbroken and our deepest thoughts are with our associate and their family. We extend our sincerest condolences to those who were closest to them,” said spokesperson Amanda Moss in the statement.

“We’re also supporting our associates during this incredibly difficult time and have provided access to 24/7 virtual care and will provide on-site support, including grief counselling.”

CTV News reached out to Walmart on Monday, but the company declined to comment further.

Archive

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This has been all over Canadian news, and is spreading further. Some huge occupational health and safety implications.

The locals (and employees of the closed store) have been sharing details that the media aren’t reporting.

Apparently is was common for employees to stand in front of the open oven door to warm up when temperatures were cold.

The walk-in oven used to be a closet in the back room that was converted.

The girl’s mother also worked at that store and was supposedly on shift when it happened.

Of all the ways to go, being cooked to death in a closet oven is up there as one of the worst I can think of.

I actually hope she was murdered first, as terrible as that would be.

 

[My cravat doesn't flutter]

View attachment 6563944

That lends credence to the oven being a means of destroying evidence/staging rather than the murder weapon. It's possible her assailant(s) put something heavy in front of the door, but they'd need something pretty hefty and I hope to God that's not the case. I'd rather remain optimistic - if you can even call it that - and say she was already dead.

 

[Snazzy Sneedy Snake]

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-family-of-gursimran-who-lost-her-life-at-walmart (just reposting, but I guess it's moot now)

Here is what this girls life was monetarily worth:
View attachment 6566203

I wonder how many camels that is...

 

[Mordecai "3 Finger" Brown]

The woman’s identity has not been released, but the Maritime Sikh Society confirmed to CTV News that she was a member of their community. Members say she moved to Nova Scotia two to three years ago.

I guess this is proof my jeet-hate rank has reached a new level.

I got to this part of the article and immediately thought "Good. All sympathy immediately dissipated."

Slight PL, but I'd hazard to guess the store would be anywhere from 25% on the low end to upwards of 50% to 60% or more for later / weekend shifts. Based on the demographics of walmarts in my area not too terribly far from this one.

I think 60% jeet staffing levels at any given Leaf Walmart is still too low.

 

[repentance]

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-family-of-gursimran-who-lost-her-life-at-walmart (just reposting, but I guess it's moot now)

Here is what this girls life was monetarily worth:
View attachment 6566203

It's obviously a lot more money than is required to pay for bringing the father and brother out for the funeral, paying for the funeral, and giving the mother money to live off while she looks for another job.

That the GFM hasn't been taken down yet speaks volumes.

 

[AllieKat]

At the end of the day it's one less shit skin.....and one less woman.

 

[Kiwisee]

Police are calling it “sudden death”, which is Canuck code for “suspicious”.

• Link
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  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 location remains closed, marked only by caution tape. Her grieving family and community are 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 Oct. 19, with what police called a sudden death.

According to a fundraiser set up by the Maritime Sikh Society, Kaur’s mother found her 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 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 it 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 answer questions when the investigation is further along.

The family is 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 the 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 have not heard back yet.

From the sounds of it, there’s a bit of pushback from residents regarding the nature of death. If you look at more recent comments (that are permitted), very few people believe it was a workplace accident. The fact that there’s still an investigation is very telling.

 

[PhoBingas]

New article as of like an hour ago.
The labor board ended the work stoppage, but the store's still closed.
Looks like the police investigation is ongoing still.
We probably won't hear much more unless they make arrests and start charging people.

 

[Pipit]

New article as of like an hour ago.
The labor board ended the work stoppage, but the store's still closed.
Looks like the police investigation is ongoing still.
We probably won't hear much more unless they make arrests and start charging people.

This is interesting:

The department said the order was lifted Monday evening after officials determined the store had complied with safety standards.

If Walmart has been determined as compliant with safety standards, it’s basically confirmed the oven didn’t have or lack any features that made it “unsafe” for standard use, such as a faulty lock or door.

So it only really leaves egregious human error, suicide, or foul play. The first two seem very unlikely, but we knew this already.

imo it’s a small but significant update if an article has acknowledged and published this.

 

[Nonga Tork]

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-family-of-gursimran-who-lost-her-life-at-walmart (just reposting, but I guess it's moot now)

Here is what this girls life was monetarily worth:
View attachment 6566203

When a bakery in Britain who killed two workers by sending them into the oven to do maintenance without letting the oven cool down enough before doing so and the men burned to death before they could be gotten out, they paid about $175,000 in fines.

The government says your life is only worth a slap on the wrist to a business.

 

[PunkinMan]

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-family-of-gursimran-who-lost-her-life-at-walmart (just reposting, but I guess it's moot now)

Here is what this girls life was monetarily worth:
View attachment 6566203

I've seen family members work together frequently, wouldn't surprise me if they killed her to scam people. Money to these people is worth more than life or integrity itself.

 

[veritarded]

I've seen family members work together frequently, wouldn't surprise me if they killed her to scam people. Money to these people is worth more than life or integrity itself.

so many scammers are indian to the point that people associate them with scams before anything else. and those who know… associate them with scams AND the most horrifying rape and murder cases of women in numbers that rival most other countries on earth… i’m getting more and more convinced that this girl was killed by her family. if it’s true that her father and brother applied for a visa just days before she died, then that pretty much settles it for me. they’re not the brightest with their plans, they coast along just because they can spot and scam the people who are dumber than them

 

[ATI Escapee]

It's a Walmart that probably sees a lot of shoplifting. People might have just assumed someone was making a scene after getting caught by security, or some junkie having an episode. I don't blame people for not investigating the screaming right away,

Late but if youve ever heard the screams of someone finding their dead child, its very different than some junkie making a scene. Its harrowing, and there is an innate immediate understanding that something is very, very wrong. That said I am also not sure most people would really go investigate, they would probably instinctually flee from the danger if I were to guess, unless physically close enough to see who was wailing.

That poor mother

 

[Kiwisee]

Looks like Police are hellbent on holding the scene for a while longer.

 

[PhoBingas]

No real new updates a week later. Looks like they planned to remove the oven for a bit, and they're getting rid of it when it re-opens. Store's still closed as of the 7th of November.

 

[WonderWino]

The fact the cops are taking this long the say obvious murder is obvious means they have a pretty good idea who the killer is, that its likely involving the family in something the public is not going to be happy about when it gets out and they're making sure they have all their ducks in a row before they dare say a word about it publicly. They're absolutely expecting backlash at this one

 

[OutInTheRain]

It's Nova Scotia, I doubt we are going to hear anything about it. There might be a quiet story in a local paper but that's it. This is a province with an RCMP which has covered up mass graves before. Hell look at that shooting a few years back, and nothing came out about it, and that's after an inquiry. The RCMP in that province are very good about keeping their mouths shut.

I imagine the Halifax Police are just as good at it. They had a gang war in the 2000's that was covered up and reported as mysterious shootings. The Melvin family is still running drugs and guns unimpeded through the province.

 

[MerelyAPlateOfSpaghetti]

they're getting rid of it when it re-opens

This seems to confirm that she was dead before going in the oven, and stayed in long enough to leak fluids in the oven. If she was pulled out while still alive and screaming, there would be no need to replace the oven.

 

[WonderWino]

This seems to confirm that she was dead before going in the oven, and stayed in long enough to leak fluids in the oven. If she was pulled out while still alive and screaming, there would be no need to replace the oven.

Ehh I don't think it really implies anything in itself one way or the other, though she was obviously dead when she was put in it or would have been able to get out easily. Realistically they were always going to replace the oven no matter what the situation was, for the simple fact it had a human cooking in it. If they sold anything that had been cooked in an oven that a human had been cooking in and people found out, customers would be suing their asses off in droves and they'd find themselves in a very serious incident and PR nightmare. Walmart isn't that nuts

 

[PhoBingas]

This seems to confirm that she was dead before going in the oven, and stayed in long enough to leak fluids in the oven. If she was pulled out while still alive and screaming, there would be no need to replace the oven.

Article seemed to imply that the store planned to get rid of the oven before the accident. Maybe this was just the proverbial kick in the ass that Wal-mart needed to deprecate their bakery?
Plus, even if they weren't baked in, I don't imagine you could Barkeeper's Friend the smell out of the thing. Hell, they might close the whole store if they can't get the stink out.

 

[RodgerDodger]

When a bakery in Britain who killed two workers by sending them into the oven to do maintenance without letting the oven cool down enough before doing so and the men burned to death before they could be gotten out, they paid about $175,000 in fines.

The government says your life is only worth a slap on the wrist to a business.

For the Curious

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