Family of Indigenous woman who died in Ontario hospital after 2 ER visits seeks homicide ruling at inquest

The family of an Indigenous woman is urging an inquest jury examining her death in an Ontario hospital to rule it was a homicide due to biases, and errors made in her assessment and treatment. Heather Winterstein, 24, went to the St. Catharines hospital on Dec. 9, 2021, but a doctor ruled out infection, opted against doing bloodwork and attributed her symptoms to "social issues," the inquest heard. She returned the next day and died of sepsis after hours in the waiting room.