The bodies of three or four dead infants were found in a storage unit in Manitoba, Canada. Police say that the discovery in a Winnipeg U-Haul is “tragic beyond belief.”
Police spokesman Const. Eric Hofley said the bodies were found Monday afternoon in various stages of decomposition. Autopsies are planned to determine cause of death, age and the exact number of bodies. Hafley says the bodies were newborns or someone “of a very young age” and called the incident “disturbing.”
The bodies were found by employees who phoned police at around 1 p.m. Sources told CBC News it’s “a gruesome scene.” It is still unclear how long the bodies had been in the locker.
Hofley said that member of the department’s child abuse unit are currently on the case, but that depending on the development of evidence, the homicide unit may become involved. Even if it is found that there was no foul play involved, charges will likely be filed.
“Obviously, you’re not allowed to store or conceal human remains. That in itself would be a charge,” Hofley said. “Again, until such time as the autopsies have determined what is the cause of this, we won’t know what the full extent of the charges may or may not be.”
Kirsten Kramar, a criminologist and chair of the sociology department at the University of Winnipeg, said that the challenge for investigators will be determining whether or not the babies were born alive. “Obviously, we don’t know who may have been present at the time of the birth,” she said. “It’s extremely difficult for forensic scientists to tell us if the babies have been born alive or not, so that’s one of the challenges for sure.”
A CBC News update indicated that a woman renting the U-Haul unit was being questioned by authorities.
Razmin Mansoub, a spokesman for U-Haul, released the following statement:
U-Haul team members made a disturbing discovery when taking inventory of a delinquent storage locker on Monday.
They immediately contacted law enforcement who believed the locker contained human remains. U-Haul is deeply shocked and saddened by this discovery.
Out of respect for the ongoing investigation, U-Haul cannot comment with any further details. We will continue to fully co-operate with authorities.