Two inmates awaiting trial died at the Edmonton Remand Centre within two days and one of them was a former soldier who served overseas before developing PTSD.
On Wednesday afternoon, police were called after a fight broke out between two inmates.
One of the inmates involved in the fight was 25-year-old Nathaniel Burchat, who died of his injuries. An autopsy on Thursday found he died from a blunt head injury and the death has been deemed a homicide.
Nathaniel’s family is questioning how this could have happened in a jail filled with guards.
“We’re scratching our heads as to how this even happened,” Gabriel Burchat, Nathaniel’s older brother, said on Friday during a video call with Global News from Ontario, where the family lives.
Gabriel describes Nathaniel as an amazing kid who came from a large, loving family of 10 kids, but someone who also struggled with mental health issues.
“He was always passionate with everything he did — super smart, super intelligent, very skilled at whatever he did,” said Gabriel, adding his brother sought a lot of validation.
Nathaniel served in the military for three years and was stationed at the Edmonton Garrison.
Nathaniel Burchat, right, being sworn into the Canadian Armed Forces by his brother.
Supplied by Gabriel Burchat
“The military was a great place for him as an infanteer in the PPCLI (The Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry),” said Gabriel, who is an active member of the military himself and serves with the Royal Canadian Air Force.
He said Nathaniel was deployed to the Middle East, developed PTSD and was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder — and substance abuse followed, his brother said. Nathaniel was medically released from the military in January 2024.
“He was a military veteran, you know, and things just started going downhill for him,” Gabriel said. “The transition centre, the Veterans Affairs, nurses, case managers, everyone went above and beyond for him — but there kept coming a point in time when they were limited by what they could do.”
“Everyone just ran out of options or how to help him.”
Nathaniel Burchat, right, on deployment with the Canadian Armed Forces in the Middle East.
Supplied by Gabriel Burchat
Nathaniel was in the Edmonton Remand Centre awaiting trial. He was charged with assault related to an incident on Dec. 2, but no other details on that situation are known.
“He hasn’t been a perfect citizen, to say the least. He’s been he’s been causing trouble, I think primarily caused by his mental illness. But he did it nonetheless,” Gabriel said, explaining his brother missed some court dates for prior assault charges so after the latest incident, he was denied parole.
“I’m not trying to paint him as the perfect man, but I don’t think he deserves this. I think he deserved his day in court and to be properly treated and protected.”
Now at what should be one of the happiest times of the year, the Burchat family is grief-stricken and planning a funeral.
“My family is not doing well,” Gabriel said. “We’re a proud Catholic family. We’re going to cling to our faith and get through this one step at a time.”
Nathaniel Burchat, middle, at his brother’s wedding.
Supplied by Gabriel Burchat
The family wants an investigation launched into the Edmonton Remand Centre.
“Would make his death a little less meaningless, you know?”
One day after Nathaniel died, police were called again to the Edmonton jail.
On Thursday around 8 p.m., officers responded to a sudden death but no further details on that incident have been released. Police said they’re investigating, and an autopsy has been scheduled.
Global News reached out to Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis’s office but as of publishing, had not received a response.
