The GoFundMe set up for the family of a young woman who was found dead inside of a walk-in oven at a Walmart in Halifax have paused donations after the amount quadrupled from the original ask.
The goal for the GoFundMe campaign was $50,000, and as of Friday, it reached just shy of $200,000 soaring to $194,949, before being turned off.
The Maritime Sikh Society Executive, the organizer for the GoFundMe, turned off donations “as we begin the process of distributing the funds to the family.”
The fundraiser was set up to provide financial support to the family of 19-year-old Gursimran Kaur, identified by the society with the permission from her mother. The funds would cover funeral costs and bring home Kaur’s relatives such as her father and brother who live in India.
“We want to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who has donated to support Gursimran Kaur’s family during this unimaginable time,” an organizer wrote on the page. “Your contributions will help them in their next steps, and we cannot thank you enough for standing with them during this painful period.”
The updated noted that the original goal had been reached in just 10 hours.
Both mother and daughter are a part of the Sikh community and had been working at the Walmart store on Mumford Road in west-end Halifax for about two years.
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It was her mother, according to the society, who found Kaur inside the store’s bakery department while the store was still open on the night of Oct. 19. Halifax Regional Police have confirmed the victim’s body was found in a walk-in oven.
Halifax Regional Police have remained tight-lipped on the details surrounding how it happened and have not released much information from the investigation.
When asked on Friday if police would be releasing any more details, nearly six days after the incident, a spokesperson said “we do not have any updates to provide at this time.”
Nova Scotia’s medical examiner is working to determine the cause of death which has not yet been made public.
Walk-in ovens, also referred to as cabinet or batch ovens, allow for curing, drying or baking in batches using wheeled racks or carts. They are often found in large-volume bakeries in places such as supermarkets and big-box stores.
Meanwhile, the store remains closed to the public. Walmart Canada has not provided a date or possible timeline for reopening, noting again on Friday to Global News that the store will be closed until further notice.
A spokesperson for the big-box store told Global News earlier this week that associates who had shifts scheduled during the store closure will be paid. The spokesperson added they “will consider other alternate work arrangements in the event the store remains closed for a longer-than-anticipated period of time.”
According to the Maritime Sikh Society, Kaur and her mother had moved to Canada within the past three years from the U.K., and were originally from India.
— With files from Global News’ Rebecca Lau
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