Hospital Security Guards Charged With Manslaughter Over Death of Toronto Woman

Two hospital security guards have been charged with manslaughter in the killing of a Toronto woman earlier this year, according to police.

Amanda Rojas-Silva, 42, and Shane Hutley, 35, have both been charged with one count of manslaughter and one count of criminal negligence for their involvement in the death of 43-year-old Danielle Warriner. They are scheduled to appear in court on December 15.

Warriner died in May after a group of four security guards—including Rojas-Silva and Hutley—placed her in physical restraint during an altercation at Toronto General Hospital that was captured by security video.

Warriner was a patient of the hospital who had recently been treated for COVID-19 and suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She also had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

According to the coroner’s report into her death, the altercation began when one of the security guards assailed Warriner for leaving her room and then slammed her into a wall as she tried to walk away.

While being held on the ground by multiple security guards, Warriner stopped breathing and was resuscitated, but remained in a braindead state until her death on May 11, at which point her family chose to end life support.

A provincial coroner’s investigation concluded that Warriner died from brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen she sustained during the altercation with security.

The investigation also found that footage of the incident was knowingly tampered with by another member of the security staff, who reportedly turned the camera away to obscure the view of the altercation.

Police refused repeated calls from Warriner’s family to release the security video.

“I’m devastated my sister died in such suffering,” Warriner’s sister, Denise, told VICE World News after learning of the charges. 

“I will never let up. They can be certain I will be in this through to the very end. No bully ever won over my sister, and it won’t start now.”

Follow Jake Kivanç on Twitter.