Kimberly Rogers Inquest Alerts

House arrest a relief, inquest told

by Kate Harries
Ontario Reporter
The Toronto Star
October 18, 2002 – 01:00 EDT

SUDBURY — A pregnant woman who pleaded guilty to welfare fraud was relieved that her sentence was to be served in her home, her boyfriend testified yesterday.

"It just seemed she was glad to get it over with," Terry Pyhtila told an inquest into the death of Kimberly Rogers, 40, whose body he discovered on Aug. 9, 2001.

"She told me she didn't want to go to jail."

Pyhtila, a guard in the Sudbury jail, said he didn't know whether Rogers was aware that her conviction would lead to an automatic three-month suspension of her welfare benefits.

"I don't recall her saying anything about it," he said.

Asked if Rogers sought financial help from him, Pyhtila replied: "Sure. She always asked for money."

Pyhtila said Rogers appeared to become revitalized by her pregnancy, changing from a lifestyle in which she spent most of her time in bed watching television to one in which she cleaned up her apartment and was less passive.

He said he last spoke to her on Aug. 6. He called her several times over the next three days, getting no answer. He said she often unplugged her phone if she didn't feel like talking.

But by Aug. 9, he was concerned and stopped by. He noticed the smell as soon as he unlocked the door.

Pyhtila testifies again today.

The inquest jury also heard from pathologist Nihad Ali-Ritha, whose post-mortem examination Aug. 11 found that Rogers was healthy, eight months pregnant with a baby girl and identified no cause of death.

Lethal concentrations of the anti-depressant amitriptyline were found in her blood, forensic toxicologist Randall Warren said.

Rogers had been prescribed 300 mg a day, the maximum recommended, to treat depression, insomnia, migraines and pain from a knee injury.