B.C. mom fights and wins to have teen daughter’s overdose death ruled homicide

Tracy Sims says she ever knew her daughter’s decease wasn’t an accident, and present she has the grounds to backmost it up.

Samantha Krysia Sims-Somerville died connected April 10, 2021.

The 18-year-old Vancouver Island teen’s decease was initially ruled an accident, but now, it has been ruled a homicide pursuing a 2nd coroner’s investigation.

“Now it was successful achromatic and achromatic that my girl had been killed, which I knew each along,” she said. “I was having to reprocess this and instrumentality it each in.”

Sims said she has been warring for three-and-a-half years for this investigation.

“This started the infinitesimal I saw Samantha,” she said. “I knew thing was wrong. The time aft Samantha passed I went instantly into probe mode and I’m not an researcher oregon immoderate of those things by immoderate means, I’m a mother.”

Sims said she had to record appeals, get constabulary files, larn terminology, inquire questions and support pushing until idiosyncratic would listen.

She said the adjacent steps are unclear but she hopes nary 1 ever has to spell done what she has gone through.

Sims said she is moving connected a website to assistance families who are going done akin situations link with others, get assistance and find justice.

Sims-Somerville was rushed to Royal Jubilee Hospital successful Victoria connected April 9, 2021, aft attending a gathering with friends.

The probe recovered that Sims-Somerville and a person went to someone’s location astatine astir 10 p.m. At astir 2:50 a.m., idiosyncratic contacted 911 saying Sims-Somerville and her person were unresponsive.

At the aforesaid time, the coroner’s study recovered that a carnal altercation betwixt 2 different attendees broke retired and a adjacent information defender besides called 911.

The occurrence department, BC Ambulance and Victoria constabulary arrived astatine the country and rushed Sims-Somerville and her person to the hospital.

A CT scan of Sims-Somerville showed signs of terrible anoxic encephalon injury, meaning her encephalon lacked oxygen.

According to the report, she died astatine 7:26 p.m. connected April 10, 2021.

Sims-Somerville’s person survived aft intensive aesculapian treatment.

“Follow-up probe revealed grounds that Samantha and her person were intentionally provided an unregulated substance, without their knowledge, by different idiosyncratic successful the residence,” the study found.

Trending Now

Police investigated the circumstances related to Sims-Somerville’s death, but nary transgression charges resulted.

The main coroner directed the probe beryllium reopened connected March 1, 2024, aft caller accusation was made available. It had initially been concluded connected Jan. 6, 2023.

While gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) was recovered successful Sims-Somerville’s strategy during an autopsy, the level was suggestive of an “external medication of the substance,” the study states.

GBH is known nether the communal thoroughfare sanction Liquid Ecstasy.

“When combined with alcohol, GHB tin origin adjacent greater respiratory suppression and failure, and is capable to origin death,” the study states.

“Based connected the totality of accusation considered arsenic portion of this investigation, the grounds supports that Samantha was intentionally provided the GHB by different person.”

In a statement, the BC Coroners Service confirmed the probe was reopened earlier this year.

“I tin corroborate the coroner has present concluded their probe and re-classified the decease arsenic a homicide. It’s captious to enactment that our usage of ‘homicide’ is considered a neutral word and does not connote responsibility oregon blame.”

In a connection to Global News, Victoria constabulary said each grounds was presented to Crown Counsel and the determination was made not to prosecute charges.

“At this clip it is excessively aboriginal to find whether determination volition beryllium immoderate further enactment connected this file,” constabulary said, confirming determination is an progressive Office of the Police Complaint’s Commissioner probe underway.