Ontario’s Office of the Chief Coroner has set a date for the inquest into the 2021 death of Darren Keillor, a case that will be examined publicly as part of the province’s oversight process aimed at strengthening systems related to public safety, health care and custodial environments.
Dr. Jennifer M. Dmetrichuk, Regional Supervising Coroner for the Central Region (Toronto East Office), announced Tuesday that the inquest will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, December 8, 2025. Dr. John Carlisle has been appointed as the presiding officer, and Peter Napier will serve as inquest counsel.
Keillor, 39, died in hospital on May 8, 2021. Under Ontario’s Coroners Act, inquests are convened when a death may raise broader questions of public interest, particularly where recommendations could prevent similar incidents in the future. Although the press release does not specify the circumstances surrounding Keillor’s hospitalization or death, the inquest’s mandate is to establish the facts, examine contributing factors and consider systemic issues.
According to the announcement, the jury may make recommendations “aimed at preventing further deaths,” a standard component of Ontario inquests, which function as non-adversarial fact-finding proceedings rather than assigning blame or civil liability.
The inquest is expected to run for 10 days and hear testimony from approximately 20 witnesses. Witness lists typically include medical personnel, first responders, subject-matter experts and individuals with direct knowledge of the events under review. The process will culminate in a public verdict outlining the cause and manner of death, along with any recommendations endorsed by the jury.
The proceedings will be held entirely by video conference—an approach Ontario coroners have used regularly since the COVID-19 pandemic expanded the use of virtual hearings. Virtual inquests allow broader public access, particularly for cases that have generated community interest or involve systemic issues that extend beyond a single region.
Members of the public will be able to watch the proceedings live through a viewing link provided by First Class Facilitation, the external service that hosts many of Ontario’s virtual inquests:
https://firstclassfacilitation.ca/office-of-the-chief-coroner/inquest-into-the-death-of-darren-keillor/
Ontario’s coroner system routinely uses inquests as a mechanism to identify gaps in public services and improve institutional practices. Recent inquests have led to recommendations in areas such as mental-health response, police training, emergency medical protocols, corrections operations and community health supports.
The Ministry of the Solicitor General emphasized that the inquest will examine “the circumstances surrounding Mr. Keillor’s death,” consistent with the fact-finding mandate laid out in provincial legislation. While the findings are not binding, recommendations from coroner’s juries are often taken into consideration by ministries, agencies and service providers.
No additional details about Keillor’s case were included in the release, and matters addressed in the inquest will unfold publicly during the December hearings.
Information about Ontario’s inquest process, including legal framework, public access and past jury recommendations, can be found at:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/coroners-inquests.
The upcoming proceeding adds to a series of inquests scheduled for 2025 as the Office of the Chief Coroner works through outstanding cases from the past several years, including deaths that occurred during the height of the pandemic when health-system pressures and emergency protocols were rapidly evolving.
With dates now confirmed, the Keillor inquest will be among the year’s first major public examinations of a death involving hospital care, providing a forum for scrutiny and potential guidance on improving safeguards for Ontarians.
