Woman who died in Saskatoon home was domestic violence complainant

A Saskatoon real estate agent accused of assaulting his wife, who is now deceased, will have to wait until Oct. 27 to find out if he will be released on bail.

Court documents show that Michael Paul Welsh, 43, was charged with aggravated assault against his wife, stemming from an incident on Sept. 13. The 45-year-old woman was found dead in a home on Paton Crescent a month later, on Thanksgiving day.

Welsh is not charged in connection to his wife’s death. He has been in custody since his arrest on Sept. 17.

The accused was supposed to go to trial on the assault charge on Oct. 19, but the trial was adjourned after his wife died. The cause of her death has not been released and the details presented at Tuesday’s bail hearing are subject to a publication ban.

Dr. Pradosh Kumar Panigrahi told CKOM News last week that the couple had been renting their Willowgrove neighbourhood home from him since June, but did not pay their rent on Oct. 1. He said the woman answered the door when he went to the house asking for payment and appeared to have a cut on her face and hand.

According to a police news release, investigators determined that foul play was not a factor in the woman’s death.