A 29-year-old woman from the Garden Hill First Nation in Manitoba was laid to rest on Thursday and the band's former chief wants to know why the man charged with her assault isn't facing more serious charges.

Geraldine Beardy got into a confrontation with a shopkeeper in Winnipeg on September 13. Police say Beardy was attacked by the man, age 61, because she was trying to steal a $1.49 can of lunch meat.

Beardy fell into a coma and died on September 18. Authorities have only charged the man with assault because her death hasn't been conclusively linked to the attack.

David Harper, the former chief of Garden Hill First Nation who now serves as grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, has asked a lawyer to see if manslaughter or other charges are warranted. "It shouldn't have gone that far. It went too far," he told CBC News. "I mean, over a can of [lunch meat]?"

Get the Story:
Manitoba chief pursues stiffer charges in death of shoplifter (CBC 9/24)
Store owner faces assault charge after death of shoplifter (CBC 9/22)