A mother has described the horrific moment she discovered her teenage daughter's charred remains inside a walk-in oven at a Walmart store in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Gursimran Kaur, 19, was found dead in the bakery department's commercial oven on October 19, 2024.
Her mother, Mandip Kaur, who worked in the same department, had been searching for her daughter for about an hour before opening the oven door. 'I opened the door and she was there,' she told The Daily Mail. She recalled seeing a black-brown liquid resembling tar coming from inside the oven, later identified as residue from her daughter's body.
Halifax Regional Police responded to reports of a woman locked inside an oven at around 9:30pm. The oven, used to bake frozen bread and capable of reaching temperatures up to 400 degrees, remained on when officers arrived. Gursimran's body had already been removed but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Initially investigated as a potential homicide, the death was ruled non-suspicious one month later. Mandip Kaur rejected suggestions that her daughter had taken her own life, saying: 'Does she look depressed? She was so happy.' The mother and daughter had moved to Canada from India approximately two years prior.
Walmart Canada expressed condolences, stating: 'We’re supporting our associates during this incredibly difficult time and have provided access to 24/7 virtual care and on-site grief counselling.'
