Investigators Offer Update in Tragic Story of Teen Employee Found Dead in Walmart Oven

News By TooFab Staff |
Getty/GoFundMe

19-year-old Gursimran Kaur was found dead inside a walk-in oven in the bakery department at the retail giant on October 19.

As questions continue to circulate about the tragic death of 19-year-old Gursimran Kaur, found dead in a walk-in oven at a Walmart location in Halifax, Nova Scotia on October 19, authorities are offering an update on their investigation.

In a press release issued on Monday, November 18, investigators with the Halifax Regional Police reported that they have determined Kaur's death as not suspicious.

"Today, I can share that our investigation has not led us to suspect foul play," said the department's public information officer, Martin Cromwell, in a video statement. "We do not believe anyone else was involved in the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death."

Cromwell detailed that through the course of the ongoing investigation, authorities had "conducted several interviews, reviewed video footage and worked very closely with our partners at the Nova Scotia Department of Labor and Medical Examiner Service."

According to the police department, the Department of Labor and medical examiner service are continuing to look into the case, but as police "do not believe the death to be suspicious," they will be offering no further updates, "out of respect for the family."

"The family asks the public to respect their privacy and the dignity and memory of their loved one, as they receive this news," the Halifax Regional Police said in their release.

According to a GoFundMe launched in the wake of the tragic death of the teen employee, it was her mother -- who was also employed at the retail giant -- who found her body.

"Imagine the horror that her mother experienced who herself opened the oven," the post states.

Audio of the police response to the incident was detailed by The Daily Mail, with the dispatch officer describing the situation as a "female locked in an oven in the bakery" and the "oven is on." Sources subsequently told CBC News that the appliance at the store "did not lock."

Police first responded to the Walmart location on Saturday, October 19, reporting in a press release October 22 that she "was located in a large walk-in oven belonging to the store's bakery department." The Walmart store was "closed until further notice," per the company, in the wake of Kaur's death.

Walmart spokesperson Amanda Moss told People on October 23 that staff at the store are "heartbroken." She went on to add, "Our deepest thoughts are with our associate and their family. Our focus remains on taking care of our associates and making sure they have the support they need."

Speaking with the CBC, Satnam Sing Randhawa, chair of the Maritime Sikh Society board, confirmed that the employee was a member of the Sikh community. "It's pretty distressing, you know, young people come here with all kinds of hopes and dreams and they're working hard and then this is what happens," he said.

The organization additionally told the outlet that they have been in contact with the young woman's mother, sharing that the two were originally from India and had moved to Canada two to three years ago.