Third employee charged in death of elderly woman who was locked out of Oshawa assisted-living facility overnight

Aspira Traditions in Oshawa is shown on Dec. 17, 2024.

An assisted living facility in Oshawa, along with a third employee, have both been charged with criminal negligence in the death of a “vulnerable” resident who was locked out of the building overnight almost two years ago.

On April 1, 2023, police were called to Aspira Traditions of Durham Retirement at 1255 Bloor St. E., just north of Highway 401, after a 79-year-old woman was found dead on a bench outside the retirement home.

Paramedics brought the woman to the hospital where she was pronounced deceased.

An investigation determined that the victim had wandered out of the facility. They said she entered a stairwell and exited the building at about 7:30 p.m. on March 31, 2023.

“Over the course of the night, the female attempted to gain access to the building but was unable because the doors were locked. She sat on a bench and was located the following morning without vital signs,” Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) said in a news release.

An autopsy later determined that the woman’s cause of death was “exposure to the elements,” they said.

On Feb. 6, police announced that Aspira Traditions employee, 32-year-old Jessica White, has been charged with criminal negligence causing death.

Aspira Traditions of Durham Retirement Living, at 1255 Bloor St. E. in Oshawa, has also been charged with criminal negligence causing death.

Padmini Kisseur, 34, of Oshawa, and Danika Harrison, 29, of Newcastle, were both charged last December with criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life for a person under their charge in connection with incident. The accused were both working at the facility at the time of the resident’s death.

Police continue to investigate and are asking anyone with information about this incident to contact Det. Const. Peden of DRPS’s East Criminal Investigations Branch at 1-888-579-1520, ext. 1659, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.