This may not be big news in some cities, but here in St. John's it is. From todays local paper, the Telegram
www.thetelegram.com/
Gruesome discovery investigated
Local children find body in downtown backyard
EVERTON MCLEAN
The Telegram
Const. Greg Stanley of the RNC's Forensic Identification Section is seen on Warbury Street as part of the investigation into the discovery of a body in the area Friday afternoon. - Photo by Rhonda Hayward/The Telegram
Const. Greg Stanley of the RNC's Forensic Identification Section is seen on Warbury Street as part of the investigation into the discovery of a body in the area Friday afternoon. - Photo by Rhonda Hayward/The Telegram
A group of elementary-aged children made a gruesome discovery Friday afternoon when they came upon a human body while playing in a St. John's backyard.
Resident's crowded Warbury Street Friday evening as RNC officers searched a backyard off the street, where local children say they found a suitcase containing a dismembered body.
As police began their investigation - children, several of who said they saw the body - swerved on bicycles and skateboards between police cars, officers and other adults who were looking curiously at the scene.
RNC Const. Paul Davis said police were called at 4:30 p.m. by a resident of the area who said a body was found.
"I can confirm for you now there has been a discovery of human remains here in the area of Warbury Street in St. John's," he said.
"They were children who located these remains this afternoon ... Our investigators are talking with at least some of these children right now."
Area resident Paula Williams said her 11-year-old son was the first to see the body, along with three others.
"He said he found something in a suitcase," she said. "He opened it up, he said, and he said 'Mom, there was no arms, no head and no legs.'
"He said the hum on it was enough to knock him out. He got sick twice, threw up."
Williams said she was in shock.
"It's very scary. I hope nothing happens to my kids," she said. "That's what I'm worried about now, my kids.
"My legs are still like jelly."
Davis said the police will help any of the children find the assistance they may need to deal with the shock.
Investigators will be on the scene well into today, securing evidence and creating an investigation plan.
"Our forensic identification team is here on the scene, our major crime unit has been called in as well as the office of the medical examiner," he said.
Davis would not comment on the condition of the body.
"At this point in time there are certain details that I am not able to provide," he said when asked to confirm if the body was found in a bag. "We are very early into an investigation."
He said the case is being treated as a homicide.
Another neighbour, who asked not to be identified, said the property where the body was found had three apartments in it and was occupied.
"It's scary when it happens in your neighbourhood," the man said. "It's usually quiet."
Watching her children play on the street, Williams said her son seemed to be doing well for now, carrying a hockey stick up and down the road, watching as police talked about the case and interviewed residents.
"I hope he don't have no nightmares," she said.
There are one or two homicides a year here. Poor kids will have nightmares for a while. Just like something out of books. Ironically, like "the Shipping News" when a body was found in a suitcase off the coast of NL! So that brings St. John's up to
2 this year.
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