At the time of his death at the federal prison in Gravenhurst, the inmate had been serving an "indeterminate sentence" for second degree murder, which commenced on Jan. 11, 2016, noted a news release from Correctional Service Canada (CSC).
In 2015, when Cote was 54, he was given an automatic life sentence after a jury determined he was guilty of second-degree murder in the death of a retired carpenter, James McQuhae, 63. The two had been long-time friends.
McQuhae had been stabbed five times in the early morning hours on June 19, 2012. Cote, a Beeton native, turned himself into police later that day.
According to CSC, the inmate’s next of kin have been notified.
As in all cases involving the death of an inmate, Correctional Service Canada will review the circumstances. CSC policy requires that the police and the coroner be notified of all deaths that occur within the prison.
Beaver Creek is a minimum- and medium-security federal prison that has a "rated capacity" of 717 inmates.
