MONTREAL -- An inquest into the death 17 years ago of John Watkins has found the former Canadian ambassador to Moscow died of natural causes unrelated to months of intensive questioning by two RCMP officers.
Watkins, a career diplomat who served as ambassador to Moscow during the 1950s, died in a suburban hotel room Oct. 12, 1962, in the presence of RCMP officers Henry Brandes and Leslie James Bennett.
At 62 years old and in failing health, Watkins was being investigated by the Mounties on a report from two Russian defectors that he had been blackmailed by Soviet intelligence agents after being exposed as a homosexual.
Coroner Stanislas Dery was appointed last September by the Quebec justice department to investigate whether Watkins' death was related to an RCMP investigation that took place over several months in Paris, London and Montreal.
He rendered his informal verdict Wednesday, and would write a formal report in the next few months.
During the inquest 21 witnesses testified. Many were police officers who offered frequently contradictory evidence.
Dery completely exonerated the RCMP, and thanked members of the force for their cooperation. During his impromptu ruling, Dery said the only recommendation he would consider writing into a formal report would be directed to the coroner's office, which initially ruled on Watkins' death.
Testimony showed a coroner's report concluded Watkins die of natural causes, but there was virutally no examination of the corpse.
A doctor who had seen Watkins days before his death testified he knew Watkins to be in failing health. 'It came as no surprise to me to learn of his death,' Alec Capon told the inquest.
Finally, two Quebec Police Force officers reported on an interview they conducted last month with Bennett in Australia where the former RCMP agent now lives.
