Woman, 76, found dead in Charlottetown apartment elevator shaft, police confirm

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 09, 2025 3:03 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 hours ago

WARNING: This communicative contains details that immoderate readers whitethorn find disturbing. 

A 76-year-old pistillate was recovered dormant successful the bottommost of an elevator shaft of a Charlottetown flat gathering past month, Charlottetown Police Services confirmed connected Wednesday.

Det.-Sgt. Darren MacDougall said that erstwhile officers responded to a telephone astir an antithetic odour successful the gathering astatine astir 9 a.m. connected June 27, they discovered the assemblage of the woman in the basement elevator shaft.

Officers conducted an probe to find whether determination was immoderate criminality involved, but MacDougall said the grounds did not enactment that.

"The tenants should cognize that determination was nary foul play, truthful there's nary interest successful that regard," helium told CBC News.

MacDougall said the pistillate had apt been dormant for much than a mates of days earlier she was found.

In a connection to CBC News, the P.E.I. Department of Justice and Public Safety said the coroner's bureau has been notified and the probe is inactive underway.

"Results from this probe volition pass the origin and mode of death. As the probe is ongoing, it is excessively aboriginal to marque immoderate determinations of inquests," the connection reads.

On Wednesday, signs posted successful the gathering said the elevator would be unavailable until further notice. CBC News has reached retired to Weymouth Properties, the building's owner, for remark connected the situation.

'A precise atrocious mode to die'

News of the decease and the breached elevator has raised interest among tenants successful the building, including Fairouz Gaballa.

"I felt truly bad," she said. "I thought it would beryllium a precise atrocious mode to die, particularly aboriginal successful life."

Gaballa said she has spoken lone to neighbours astir the incidental and has not received immoderate connection from gathering management.

She believes absorption should person informed tenants and provided transparent updates.

"It's their occupation arsenic a institution that owns this property, knowing that there's a batch of seniors present that trust connected the elevators," she said.

"It's 100 per cent their occupation and their work to nonstop an email out, to possibly clasp a gathering successful our assemblage country oregon thing similar that, and speech to people."

Gaballa said immoderate seniors successful the gathering who usage walkers are struggling to permission their apartments due to the fact that they can't usage the stairs.

She besides called connected the state to analyse thoroughly and clasp an inquest into the incident.

Other residents shared akin concerns. Hannah Ghiz said she had met the deceased woman.

"She's rather an bonzer woman. She was truly nice," Ghiz said.

With the elevator present retired of service, Ghiz said she's utilizing the stairs and managing, but she inactive wonders wherefore residents weren't informed.

"We didn't get immoderate announcement astatine all, and cipher called america oregon fto america cognize what's going on."

Farhana Akhter Monalisa, a nonmigratory of the gathering for six years, said she worries astir seniors surviving alone.

She believes a elemental attendance strategy to cheque connected aged tenants, particularly those implicit 80, could marque a difference.

"Somebody died, oregon idiosyncratic is sick wrong the apartment, it should beryllium recovered immediately," she said.

Monalisa said she had complained to gathering absorption astir elevator issues successful the past, including a period during which she could consciousness the elevator shaking whenever she utilized it. Management yet looked into that issue, she said.

But she said much needs to beryllium done, and each elevators crossed the state should beryllium checked rigorously and much frequently.

Under P.E.I.'s Elevators and Lifts Act, each elevating instrumentality indispensable beryllium inspected by an inspector astatine slightest erstwhile a year, oregon much often if deemed indispensable for information by the main inspector.