Murder charges are expected to be laid into the sudden death of a Bowden Institute inmate last weekend.
The violent death of David Tung-Louie, 38, is the first recorded homicide at the prison since it opened in 1974.
“Charges will be laid,” said Innisfail RCMP Staff Sgt. Lyle Marianchuk, whose detachment is assisting the Lethbridge RCMP Major Crimes Unit in the investigation. “The investigation is progressing very well and we anticipate charges being laid down the road.”
Marianchuk said four officers from the Innisfail detachment were assisting in the probe,
Rita Wehrle, assistant warden at Bowden Institution, said prison staff responded to a medical emergency outside a living unit at 10:50 a.m. on Sunday.
“The inmate was found to be in medical distress. Officers and nursing staff administered first aid and he was transferred to Innisfail Hospital,” she said.
Wehrle said Tung-Louie succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
Wehrle said a lock down was immediately ordered at the prison while RCMP from Innisfail, Red Deer and Lethbridge conducted their investigation.
“We remain in that (lock down) until we feel it is safe to resume operations,” said Wehrle, adding all visits at the institution have been cancelled until further notice.
“The institution is extremely stable right now,” she added. “Obviously it is a sombre day. It is a tragedy, and something we take very seriously.”
She confirmed that the death of Tung–Louie is the first homicide at the institution since the federal prison opened 37 years ago.
“We give credit to our staff, for sure. We certainly have had violent incidents but this is definitely different than our history would indicate,” said Wehrle. She said Tung-Louie’s family, who are residents of Alberta, have been notified.
Tung–Louie was convicted in 2003 on robbery, weapons and drug charges, and was serving a 12-year prison sentence. He had been at Bowden Institution since January of 2010.
On Monday neither Wehrle nor the RCMP would disclose the nature of Tung–Louie’s wounds.
RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb, media relations officer at RCMP K Division headquarters, said Tung–Louie’s body has been transported to the Calgary Medical Examiner’s Office where an autopsy is being performed.
“The Medical Examiner has not given us a cause of death yet. Right now we are in their hands,” said Webb, who will not officially call the crime a murder until the cause of death has been determined.
Webb said on Monday that RCMP investigators, including forensic specialists, were still at Bowden Institution probing the death scene and interviewing witnesses and inmates.
