Late one evening in February 2021, a woman called the Tofino RCMP seeking help. She said she’d been confined and sexually assaulted by two men in a home in the remote Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation community of Opitsaht.

The woman — whom CBC News is not naming as she is a victim of sexual assault — says she was in a bedroom when police arrived. She said she remembers hearing muffled voices, then gunshots. She ran out into the living room where she says she saw one of the men who assaulted her, Julian Jones, lying dead.

She spoke before a coroner’s inquest into Jones’s death on Tuesday, under legal obligation of a summons. Jones’s brother, John Lucas Jr., was convicted of sexual assault against her. 

She told the inquest it was difficult to talk about, stopping at times to wipe away tears.

“I just think things could have gone way differently than what happened to him,” she said. 

“I have to live with it the rest of my life, what happened to me and thinking about what happened to him.”

The facts and circumstances surrounding Jones’s death after he was shot multiple times by Tofino RCMP are the focus of the coroner’s inquest that began Tuesday in Port Alberni. 

A seven-person jury will make non-binding recommendations to prevent similar deaths, as a coroner’s inquest does not find blame or criminality.

The first day of the inquest focused primarily on Jones’s life.

He was convicted of numerous offences, including assaulting strangers and an RCMP officer in Tofino. David Paruk, who worked as Jones’s parole officer, said Jones was restricted from contacting several RCMP officers, including Const. David Robichaud.

Robichaud, who fatally shot Jones, is not expected to testify. Inquest counsel Rolf Warburton said Robichaud received a summons to testify, but the officer has since retired from the RCMP and moved outside of B.C., so he is not legally required to participate.

Dr. Luke Williston, who saw Jones at the Tofino clinic, said he had experienced significant challenges, including a diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).

FAS causes cognitive impairment including challenges with attention, memory, understanding consequences, and poor judgment, he said.

Jones also struggled with substance use and alcohol addiction, Williston said, and was exposed to alcohol from a young age. 

Laura Manson, Jones’s sister, shared memories of her brother dancing as a child with their family in a living room potlatch.

“Julian’s life matters,” she said. “He was my baby brother and I miss him with every fibre of my being. He did not deserve to die. And I just really want you to remember that throughout this proceeding, that he was a human being first.”

Paruk said he knew Jones and his family well, noting that he had a “very traumatic upbringing.”

He said he wishes Jones had access to culturally relevant treatment options and closer access to probation officers in his community, as he feels that could have made a difference. 

“I just hope something positive comes from this, I really do,” said Paruk.

The inquest continues on Wednesday.