The mother of a Winnipeg teenager who collapsed while in custody at the city's Public Safety Building during the long weekend says an autopsy has not revealed an obvious cause of his death, but the family still wants answers.

Sheila McKenzie said she didn't find out about her 19-year-old son Wilfred's death until five hours after it happened Sunday, when police showed up at her workplace at the Health Sciences Centre.

Sheila McKenzie hopes to review videotapes showing her son's last moments in an interview room at Winnipeg's Public Safety Building. Police have not confirmed that tapes exist.
(CBC)

"They just said my son passed on. They said that he collapsed," she said, her voice breaking.

"When we got to the police station, they started asking us if he had a heart condition. He was very healthy, very strong. He worked really hard."

A provincial inquest is mandatory when someone dies in police custody.

McKenzie said the provincial medical officer released her son's body Tuesday, and the autopsy failed to pinpoint cause of death.

Wilfred Asham was arrested around 12:30 a.m. CT Sunday during an investigation into a stolen vehicle in the Weston area, police said.

Within an hour of his arrest, Asham collapsed while alone in an investigation room in the Public Safety Building, police said.

Moments after placing Asham in the room, police realized he was not breathing. CPR was administered and Asham was rushed to hospital, where he died, police said.

McKenzie wants to know if the interview with her son was videotaped; if it was, she wants to see the tape.

"I want to know what happened in the room. That's the only way I'll be able to relax." 

Police said some investigation rooms have cameras and others don't. They have not yet said whether there was a camera in the room where Asham collapsed.

"These things are obviously fully investigated by our units within and Winnipeg Police Service, and the medical examiner's office is always involved," said Sgt. Kelly Dennison. "Getting definitive answers is the next step." 

But Asham's sister, Leah McKenzie, said an independent party should carry out the investigation, not the local police.
  
"We're worried about the cops investigating the cops and covering something up," she said.