Discovery of human remains has many in Regina neighbourhood shook

Regina police say human remains found on Retallack Street have been buried since at least 2021 and are now seeking answers. Jacob Carr reports.

On June 9, Daniel Woodley found what was later confirmed to be human remains in the backyard of the property he rents on the 1300 block of Retallack Street.

The news then spread fast amongst the neighbourhood due to the vast police presence on scene, causing many residents nearby now be in an alerted state of caution.

“They had the crime unit bus out, and I’m like, ‘Okay, this is obviously something a bit more substantial,’” said neighbourhood resident Amber Button.

“I didn’t really know what was going on because I’ve never even seen that bus before, and then later that night or the next day, that’s when the neighbours said they confirmed they found human remains.”

Button said she has been in the neighbourhood for around six months and said while she was saddened to hear the news of the findings, she was not surprised by it, given the location.

“That makes me question how many other houses around the city or this area in particular, could there be remains sitting there? Right? Which is crazy, but yeah, and then to find out it’s been there for about five years. So hopefully they can figure out who the victim was,” she said.

An autopsy of the remains by the Saskatchewan Coroners Service was able to reveal some details about the victim.

The Regina Police Service (RPS) believes the victim to have been a man between the ages of 30 and 40 at the time of death and discovered that the remains had been buried on the property since at least 2021.

CTV News also spoke with the landlord of the property, Carl Humphries.

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He has owned the property since 2009 and says around seven to eight tenants have come through the space in that time.

Humphries said he is now on the hook for the cleanup of debris on the property, after the police ordered a shed demolished near where the remains were found.

“I said to the police, ‘You can demolish it as long as you’re prepared to clean up any mess that you make,’ and they indicated that they would do what was necessary. That’s how they worded it.”

Humphries added that he didn’t get a definitive answer from the City of Regina as to how long he has to clean up the debris from the shed, but that the city bylaw said two to three weeks.

RPS was unavailable for comment on the demolition cleanup and are currently appealing to the public to help identify the victim.