Housing activist who died hours after hospital release 'wasn't a nobody,' says Ontario family seeking answers

WARNING: This story contains reference to a possible suicide.

It's been five days since Brandy Schlemko learned her daughter died after reportedly falling from a building under construction in downtown Toronto, and she's still searching for answers.

The Ontario Provincial Police knocked on Schlemko's door in Jarvis, Ont., about 50 kilometres south of Hamilton, to tell her Vanessa Amos died after being found on the street at the corner of Bathurst and Bloor streets in Toronto.

Since then, Schlemko, with the help of Amos's friends, has been trying to piece together the final days of the 22-year-old's life, but says they're facing roadblocks as they try to get information from police, the hospital where Amos reportedly was checked into shortly before their death, and the coroner. 

Amos "cannot just be swept under the rug and off the street like a piece of garbage. I'm not going to let that happen," Schlemko said during a Monday news conference in Toronto.

The Hamilton-based activist was well known among encampment supporters in the city. They often went by the name Ezra and identified as trans non-binary, using they/them pronouns. (Family and friends said that before their death, they had gone back to using their birth name, Vanessa.)   

"We, alongside 'Nessa's family, demand that the Toronto Police Services release the details surrounding 'Nessa's death, hospitalizations, and allow their family to see their child's body," fellow encampment activist Sahra Soudi told those at the Monday news conference.

Two of the many questions Schlemko says she's trying to answer are:

"It just doesn't make sense," Schlemko said.

The details of what happened to Amos last week are a patchwork of reports from those who interacted with them. 

The Toronto Police Service told CBC that Amos was pronounced dead Thursday, March 31, after being found on the ground near a construction site. But events Schlemko is questioning started the day before.

Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) spokesperson Stuart Green said transit special constables arrived to Bathurst station after reports of a person in apparent medical distress.

Toronto police Const. Laura Brabant said it happened around 10:30 p.m. ET.

Green said that, as usual in these cases, TTC contacted first responders. Police said an "incident with a TTC special constable" led to Amos being arrested for attempted assault, and they were given a court date of May 24.