Whisper
July 14th, 2009, 01:36 AM
June 25 2009
Saskatoon police are investigating a 100-year-old murder mystery using modern-day science.
"This is totally solvable," said Saskatoon forensic archeologist Ernie Walker.
"We just need a name and the right circumstances."
Human remains were found in the city in June by construction workers removing old underground gasoline tanks at a convenience store at the corner of 108th Street and Central Avenue. Work stopped when the crew came upon a human skull in an abandoned well.
Walker and other investigators have determined the remains are that of a healthy Caucasian woman, who was 5-foot-1 and 25 to 35 years old at the time of her death.
"Surprisingly, we know quite a bit about her," Walker said at a news conference held at the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon.
The woman was of the middle class, at the very least. She was wearing an 18-carat gold chain necklace, which would have been uncommon in Western Canada in the early 1900s. The chain was likely made in Europe or somewhere with European influence at that time, such as Montreal, and it probably had an attached pendant that has been lost.
The woman had also seen a dentist. Despite missing teeth due to abscesses, the woman had one tooth that was filled and another one that needed attention.
She had some kind of injury that police will not divulge, due to the ongoing investigation. They haven't determined the cause of death.
Walker believes the woman was dead when she was thrown into the wooden well. The body landed on a piece of broken cribbing, which was lying diagonally in the square well. Over the past century, most of the body was under water or a mixture of water and gasoline. The site was formerly the location of a service station.
The woman's skeleton was preserved as her soft body tissues were converted to a waxy substance called adipocere. When removed from the well, her skeleton -- except her hands, feet and skull -- was encased in a large block of wax. Hair from the woman's head, armpit and pubic area was also preserved. The digestive system was intact and even a small amount of fecal matter was present, although not enough to determine the woman's last meal. Walker extracted from the remains mitochondrial DNA, which investigators hope to match to a living descendent of the woman.
"We will never give up and the reason that we don't is for that potential surviving family member who doesn't know what happened," said Sgt. Phil Farion, who's with the historical case unit of the Saskatoon police missing persons task force. "The potential still exists that whoever this individual is has a surviving family member who is wondering, 'Whatever happened to grandma or whatever happened to Aunt Mary.' "
But Farion says Saskatoon police need help.
"We're at a standstill. It's a hundred years old. It's a difficult file to investigate. We're hoping with added media attention . . . we can have some more tips generated," Farion said.
Police thought they had part of the mystery solved. A woman from British Columbia called Saskatoon police after learning about the body, believing the deceased woman may have been her mother.
When a photograph of the caller's face was superimposed over a photo of the deceased woman's skull, it was a near perfect match, but their DNA was different.
Now, police are following up on a call they received from France from a potential relative of the woman.
Investigators were able to pin down the time frame of the woman's death because of the clothing and other artifacts found in the well and surrounding area.
Fragments of the woman's outfit indicate the woman was murdered from 1910 to the 1920s. The woman was wearing either a cotton dress with a ruffle on the bottom or a skirt and matching jacket. Her blouse was silk. She also had on wool undergarments, which suggests the murder happened in late fall or early spring, says Carole Wakabayashi, an expert in historic costumes and textile chemistry who volunteers at the Western Development Museum.
A man's vest and pair of pants was found near the old well. The wool garments were intact.
"The only thing that had disintegrated was the thread," said Wakabayashi.
About 30 pieces of glass from bottles found at the site narrows the date of death to between 1920 and 1924, says Margaret Kennedy, an associate professor of archeology at the University of Saskatchewan.
Remnants of a wooden barrel were also located in the well. Police aren't sure if the woman's body was put in the barrel or if it was thrown in the well around the time she died.
Farion says investigators will now turn to historical records. They have conflicting information about the business that was located at the site in the early 1920s. They also want to find out who worked at the business.
The woman may not have lived in the area. It's possible she was passing through what was, at the time, the town of Sutherland, a stop on the mainline of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Anyone who believes they have information about the case is asked to call Saskatoon police at (306) 975-8300.http://www.thestarphoenix.com/opinion/editorials/Whodunit+stumps+cops+City+police+perplexed+murder+ committed+years+2006/1728630/story.html
Saskatoon police are investigating a 100-year-old murder mystery using modern-day science.
"This is totally solvable," said Saskatoon forensic archeologist Ernie Walker.
"We just need a name and the right circumstances."
Human remains were found in the city in June by construction workers removing old underground gasoline tanks at a convenience store at the corner of 108th Street and Central Avenue. Work stopped when the crew came upon a human skull in an abandoned well.
Walker and other investigators have determined the remains are that of a healthy Caucasian woman, who was 5-foot-1 and 25 to 35 years old at the time of her death.
"Surprisingly, we know quite a bit about her," Walker said at a news conference held at the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon.
The woman was of the middle class, at the very least. She was wearing an 18-carat gold chain necklace, which would have been uncommon in Western Canada in the early 1900s. The chain was likely made in Europe or somewhere with European influence at that time, such as Montreal, and it probably had an attached pendant that has been lost.
The woman had also seen a dentist. Despite missing teeth due to abscesses, the woman had one tooth that was filled and another one that needed attention.
She had some kind of injury that police will not divulge, due to the ongoing investigation. They haven't determined the cause of death.
Walker believes the woman was dead when she was thrown into the wooden well. The body landed on a piece of broken cribbing, which was lying diagonally in the square well. Over the past century, most of the body was under water or a mixture of water and gasoline. The site was formerly the location of a service station.
The woman's skeleton was preserved as her soft body tissues were converted to a waxy substance called adipocere. When removed from the well, her skeleton -- except her hands, feet and skull -- was encased in a large block of wax. Hair from the woman's head, armpit and pubic area was also preserved. The digestive system was intact and even a small amount of fecal matter was present, although not enough to determine the woman's last meal. Walker extracted from the remains mitochondrial DNA, which investigators hope to match to a living descendent of the woman.
"We will never give up and the reason that we don't is for that potential surviving family member who doesn't know what happened," said Sgt. Phil Farion, who's with the historical case unit of the Saskatoon police missing persons task force. "The potential still exists that whoever this individual is has a surviving family member who is wondering, 'Whatever happened to grandma or whatever happened to Aunt Mary.' "
But Farion says Saskatoon police need help.
"We're at a standstill. It's a hundred years old. It's a difficult file to investigate. We're hoping with added media attention . . . we can have some more tips generated," Farion said.
Police thought they had part of the mystery solved. A woman from British Columbia called Saskatoon police after learning about the body, believing the deceased woman may have been her mother.
When a photograph of the caller's face was superimposed over a photo of the deceased woman's skull, it was a near perfect match, but their DNA was different.
Now, police are following up on a call they received from France from a potential relative of the woman.
Investigators were able to pin down the time frame of the woman's death because of the clothing and other artifacts found in the well and surrounding area.
Fragments of the woman's outfit indicate the woman was murdered from 1910 to the 1920s. The woman was wearing either a cotton dress with a ruffle on the bottom or a skirt and matching jacket. Her blouse was silk. She also had on wool undergarments, which suggests the murder happened in late fall or early spring, says Carole Wakabayashi, an expert in historic costumes and textile chemistry who volunteers at the Western Development Museum.
A man's vest and pair of pants was found near the old well. The wool garments were intact.
"The only thing that had disintegrated was the thread," said Wakabayashi.
About 30 pieces of glass from bottles found at the site narrows the date of death to between 1920 and 1924, says Margaret Kennedy, an associate professor of archeology at the University of Saskatchewan.
Remnants of a wooden barrel were also located in the well. Police aren't sure if the woman's body was put in the barrel or if it was thrown in the well around the time she died.
Farion says investigators will now turn to historical records. They have conflicting information about the business that was located at the site in the early 1920s. They also want to find out who worked at the business.
The woman may not have lived in the area. It's possible she was passing through what was, at the time, the town of Sutherland, a stop on the mainline of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Anyone who believes they have information about the case is asked to call Saskatoon police at (306) 975-8300.http://www.thestarphoenix.com/opinion/editorials/Whodunit+stumps+cops+City+police+perplexed+murder+ committed+years+2006/1728630/story.html