This image provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police shows an undated image of Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32. Zehaf-Bibeau spent the better part of a decade after turning 18 racking up criminal charges that were mostly drug- or alcohol-related.
The regional coroner’s office has completed its examination of the body of Parliament Hill shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau.
Regional supervising coroner Dr. Louise McNaughton-Filion said Tuesday that Zehaf-Bibeau’s body was released more than a week ago, following the completion of the examination. McNaughton-Filion said she is prevented by law from providing specific details about exactly when that occurred, who the body was released to, or the findings of the autopsy.
Zehaf-Bibeau was killed inside Parliament’s Centre Block on Oct. 22 in a shootout with House of Commons security, including Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, and the RCMP. It is not known how many times he was shot.
The 32-year-old had stormed the building after shooting and killing Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial.
A media report last week appeared to imply that the coroner’s office still had possession of Zehaf-Bibeau’s body and that the examination of it was ongoing. McNaughton-Filion’s comments suggest that was not the case.
“In general, after our examinations, release of the body occurs within a few days,” said McNaughton-Filion. “The investigation is ongoing and the body was released after the initial examination.” She didn’t say when that examination was completed.
Before his attack on Parliament Hill, Zehaf-Bibeau had reportedly indicated a wish to be buried as a Muslim.
Generally, routine autopsies are forbidden for Muslims as they are regarded as a desecration of the body. Exceptions are made, however, if the prevailing legal system requires otherwise.
Islamic law requires burial as soon as possible after death, with the body facing Mecca. In preparation for burial, the family or other community members wash and shroud the body, although if the deceased died as a martyr this step is not necessarily followed and the deceased can be buried in the clothes in which they died.
Traditionally, Islam prohibits the erection of large grave monuments, elaborate decoration of the grave or the display of flowers.
McNaughton-Filion noted that a coroner’s investigation can continue for months past the release of a body. That investigation is not complete, she said.
With files from Robert Sibley
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