Edmonton remand homicide victim was soldier discharged with mental health issues

The man killed at an Edmonton jail last week was a young military veteran struggling with mental health issues, his grieving girlfriend says.

Nathaniel Burchat, 25, died in hospital after suffering a head injury during an “altercation” on Dec. 18 at the Edmonton Remand Centre, police say.

Brooke Murray, Burchat’s girlfriend, said she was stunned to learn what happened and is desperate for answers.

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‘He did not deserve this’

In an interview on Christmas Eve, she called Burchat her “soulmate.”

“He was just the sweetest person I’ve ever met in my life,” she said through tears. “He was always five steps ahead of me, taking care of me, making sure I had everything I needed and that I was OK before himself. He was so selfless. He had such a big heart.”

“He would have done anything for anybody,” Murray added. “He did not deserve this.”

Burchat was a member of the parachute company of 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Burchat’s father also served in the military, along with his three older brothers, according to a fundraiser launched to return his body to Ontario.

According to Murray, Burchat deployed to the Middle East, including Iraq, before they met. The Patricia’s unit were among the Canadian units in the region for Operation IMPACT, part of a joint task force responding to the so-called Islamic State. When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Kuwait City in early 2020, Burchat appeared in the background of a photo.

Murray says Burchat suffered from seizures and post-traumatic stress disorder. He took a turn in October 2023 after his father died. He was medically discharged from the military in January 2024.

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Murray and Burchat met earlier this year. They spent nearly every day together and liked driving around listening to music.

On Dec. 1, he disappeared.

“I didn’t know where he was,” Murray said. “I called every hospital. I called the remand centre. They said, ‘We can’t give you information.’ If I knew he was in there, I would have done something.”

According to court records, Burchat was accused of assaulting a person and damaging their cellphone on Dec. 2. He was charged with counts of assault, mischief under $5,000, and failing to comply with a release order requiring him to “keep the peace and be of good behaviour.” His next court date was Jan. 31, 2025.

Murray learned of her boyfriend’s death from one of his brothers.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” she said.

She’s left to wonder why exactly Burchat was in remand and why his mental health issues — which she says were well-documented — weren’t better accommodated. She did not recognize the name of the man he was accused of assaulting.

“Because of his records, it should have shown that he should have been either a mental institution or some sort of section that’s not with the regular population,” she said.

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The man accused in his homicide remains in custody and has not been identified pending charges.

‘Systemic lapses’

The Edmonton Remand Centre is the largest jail in Canada with room for 1,952 inmates, most of whom are awaiting trial rather than serving sentences.

In recent years, it has been the subject of several critical reports. In 2023, Alberta’s Public Interest Commissioner found “systemic lapses” in medical care contributed to inmate deaths and hospitalizations. Last year, a judge studying an inmate’s suicide concluded mental health care at the facility was “completely inadequate.”

Another inmate died shortly after Burchat last week after suffering what officials called a “medical emergency.”

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