Summary Investigation Regarding Death of Four Officer Cadets Concluded

The Canadian Armed Forces announced it concluded the Summary Investigation into the incident where four cadets lost their lives at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in 2022.

“The circumstances surrounding this accident are truly tragic and I want to express my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the officer cadets. While the process was lengthy, I have accepted the findings of the Summary Investigation. My thoughts continue to be with the families who I hope can eventually find peace in the midst of this tragedy,” said Major-General Denis O’Reilly, Commander Canadian Defence Academy.

Four Cadets Lost Lives

Officer Cadet (OCdt) Jack Hogarth, OCdt Andrei Honciu, OCdt Broden Murphy and OCdt Andrés Salek lost their lives when the single vehicle they were in entered the waters on the RMC campus at Point Frederick.

Major-General O’Reilly convened the Summary Investigation to examine service-related circumstances surrounding the tragic deaths of the Officer Cadets and to recommend, if any, applicable preventative measures.

According to the news release released in January 2024, “The Summary Investigation was convened to examine the cause of death, service-related contributing factors, whether the death was attributable to military service and whether the members were on duty at the time of death.”

The Summary Investigation concluded the following:

• The cause of death was drowning. This finding was informed by the post-mortem examination completed by the Ontario Coroner’s Office.
• Through an in-depth examination of the relevant evidence, the Summary Investigation identified no service-related contributing factors to the deaths.
• The Summary Investigation concluded that the deaths were not attributable to military service.
• The Summary Investigation determined the officer cadets were not on duty at the time.

Tragic Accident

At the time of the accident, OCdt Hogarth and OCdt Salek were completing a Bachelor of Arts in Military and Strategic Studies to be Armored Officers in the Canadian Army.

OCdt Honciu was completing a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration to become a Logistics Officer in the Canadian Army, and OCdt Murphy was completing a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration to become an Aerospace Control Officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

“Specifically, the Summary Investigation was convened to examine the cause of death, service-related contributing factors, whether the death was attributable to military service and whether the members were on duty at the time of death,” stated a news release.

Canadian Forces Provost Marshal

The Canadian Forces Provost Marshal (CFPM) released the following statement on April 14, 2023, “On 29 April 2022, the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS), collaboratively with the Office of the Chief Coroner (OCC), launched an investigation into the sudden deaths of four cadets at the Royal Military College of Canada after their personal motor vehicle entered the water at Point Frederick, on the campus of the Royal Military College of Canada, at CFB Kingston. The Kingston Police Service provided forensic and collision reconstruction specialists who assisted with the investigation.

“While the CFNIS investigation did not find any evidence of foul play, the investigation determined that the dangerous operation of a motor vehicle was a factor resulting in the vehicle entering the water. With the families’ agreement, the OCC and CFNIS can confirm that the cause of the four deaths was drowning.”

The CFPM is also the Commander of the Canadian Forces Military Police.

The news release shared that the families of the four cadets were briefed separately on the conclusion of the CFNIS investigation.