Posted on 10/01/2025 6:29:48 AM PDT by lowbridge
Saskatoon police say they have solved a mystery that goes back more than a century.
The remains of an unknown female were discovered in a well shaft in Saskatoon's Sutherland neighbourhood in 2006. Now, almost 20 years later, she has been identified as Alice Spence (nee Burke), a woman of Irish ancestry who was about 35 years old at the time of her death.
Investigators believe Alice, who lived in what was the town of Sutherland at the time, died of foul play sometime from 1916 to 1918.
-snip
The case sat for nearly 20 years without a lead until genetic science offered another avenue.
Saskatoon police worked with members of Toronto police's investigative genetic genealogy team to track down possible relatives and develop a family tree. Othram, a forensic genetic genealogy company, found five genetic relatives living in Alberta, the U.S., and Ireland.
Alice lived a few blocks from the well. She moved to Sutherland in 1913 from St. Louis, Minnesota, with her husband Charles and young daughter Idella.
Police say injuries on the body show Alice was assaulted prior to the murder.
"We know she was murdered and put in the barrel, but we don't know by whom," Camp said.
Alice's remains were found by workers excavating underground fuel tanks at a gas station site at Central Avenue and 108th Street in 2006. The site was once occupied by the Shore Hotel.
The body had been placed in a burlap sack, stuffed in a barrel and dumped about two metres down in a water well that was once used by the hotel.
Forensic anthropologist Ernie Walker was called to the scene. He said the body was "well-preserved" due to the mixture of water and gasoline in the ground. He gathered DNA from two teeth and hair.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbc.ca ...
Ding, dong, bell,
Pussy’s in the well.
Who put her in?
Little Johnny Green.
Who pulled her out?
Little Tommy Stout.
What a naughty boy was that,
To try to drown poor pussy cat,
Who ne’er did him any harm,
She was probably murdered by hubby...........................
So...
How many people, in and around this little town, have their \\completely unrelated DNA\\ registered in the Canadian DNA database?
Think about that.
Gasoline in the ground water? I think not. It is a refined product.
Giardia is not fun.
How do you know she was a she wasn’t alive she couldn’t tell you how she did identified?... And we all know you can’t tell a man or a woman from their skeleton
/Sarcasm off
“ How many people, in and around this little town, have their \\completely unrelated DNA\\ registered in the Canadian DNA database? “
Six, I believe.
Where was Lassie when she needed her?
They were excavating an underground storage tank.
The husband is always the main suspect... I don't suppose he's still around... What about the daughter? Maybe they can charge her as an accessory after the fact.
Well, alrightie then.
“...and the water tasted bad for a week...”
The husband is always the main suspect... I don’t suppose he’s still around... What about the daughter? Maybe they can charge her as an accessory after the fact.
I think it’s safe to assume neither the husband or the daughter would be around 112 years later.
Paging Dr. Brennan…
A HS classmate was in that movie
Leaked out of the underground tanks or was spilled during filling. Common.
What are the chances there are more, in similar circumstances, even now. Yeachhhh!
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