VANCOUVER — In a troubling incident from three years ago, police discovered the body of "Jimmy" Van Chung Pham in a single-room occupancy building in East Vancouver. However, they overlooked the remains of missing Indigenous teenager Noelle O'Soup and another woman named Elma Enan, whose decomposing bodies were only found months later in the same unit. Vancouver police described the scene as belonging to an “extreme hoarder.” As a result of these grave oversights, the attending officer is under investigation for neglect of duty by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, British Columbia's civilian police oversight body.
Compounding the issue, the community coroner responsible for Pham's case also failed to notice the additional bodies. The coroner did not attend the scene personally; instead, they conducted the initial investigation by phone with the police officer on-site. Former community coroner Sonya Schulz explained that the BC Coroners Service had adopted a policy to save costs by allowing coroners to assess certain scenes remotely, a move that has since faced significant criticism.
Schulz noted that if a coroner had been present, they likely would have detected signs of decomposition, such as an unpleasant odor that residents had reported prior to the discovery of the bodies. The incident has sparked conversations among coroners about the implications of not attending scenes in person. Schulz expressed concerns over the diminishing respect for their critical duties and the financial restrictions that limit the effectiveness of coroner services.
It remains unclear why the BC Coroners Service allowed Pham's death scene to be cleared without a physical presence. When questioned, the service cited the ongoing investigation into Pham’s death and declined to provide further details. Historical correspondence from field coroners indicated frustrations regarding policies that reduced in-person attendance at death scenes, raising doubts about the impact on the quality of service during a family’s period of grief.
The service acknowledged that their guidelines had evolved and that coroners now attend the majority of reported deaths, but discretion might still lead to virtual assessments in certain situations, such as unsafe scenes or when multiple deaths occur simultaneously.
Current and former community coroners have highlighted ongoing issues, including low pay and lack of support, contributing to high turnover and low morale. A lawyer from the advocacy group Justice for Girls indicated that the Pham case exemplifies systemic problems within the BC Coroners Service stemming from inadequate resource allocation. This incident has prompted calls for a coroner's inquest into the deaths of O’Soup and other Indigenous women, such as Tatyanna Harrison and Chelsea Poorman.
Schulz, who worked within the coroner's office since 2018, stated that she had left due to personal circumstances as well as growing frustrations over working conditions. She recounted participating in a union drive for coroners seeking better policies and improved working conditions, although past efforts had largely fallen on deaf ears. The financial constraints have permeated the coroner service, with compensation issues leading to recruitment challenges and a decrease in the quality of services.
Multiple past attempts to reform the way community coroners are compensated have been documented, including a 2011 report from former B.C. Auditor General John Doyle. The findings suggested that the on-call staffing model for community coroners was problematic, emphasizing the need for a structured salary to reflect their critical roles.
In addition to financial issues, former coroners have reported facing severe psychological stress stemming from traumatic death cases without adequate support for mental health care from the service. One former coroner noted a lack of follow-up or debriefing following particularly distressing scenes, which unfortunately further emphasizes the inadequacies in the current system. The complex nature of handling death scenes, especially those with additional complications like hoarding or foul odors, may have been contributors to the failures observed in the Pham case.
The overall findings of these experiences underline the urgent need for systemic reform within the BC Coroners Service to ensure that death investigations are conducted thoroughly and compassionately, prioritizing the well-being of both victims and their families.
