Body found inside wall of women’s restroom at Calgary mall
Calgary Canada May 1 2018 Calgary police are investigating after a body was found inside the wall of a shopping centre washroom.
“Despite the circumstances of where the body was located, investigators do not suspect foul play and the death remains classified as undetermined,” the Calgary Police Service said in a statement released Monday afternoon. “Police can confirm that the body located is an adult male, however, the victim’s identity and cause of death is still being determined.”
Police say a maintenance worker found the body at approximately 9:30 a.m. Monday after removing a wall panel to examine a faulty flushing mechanism in a fourth floor women’s washroom at the CORE Shopping Centre in downtown Calgary.
“If you were to look at the toilet, there’s a panel behind it, so that when people move it would automatically flush,” Calgary police spokesperson Emma Poole explained to The Canadian Press. “When they removed that panel, they found a deceased person behind that wall.”
It is unclear how long the body had been there.
“The investigation into when the victim died and how he ended up inside the wall is still ongoing,” Calgary police added in their statement.
An autopsy is scheduled for later this week.
Part of the mall’s fourth floor food court was cordoned off by police Monday, yet during lunchtime, diners could be seen eating mere metres from the women’s washroom, which had yellow caution tape strung in front of its entrance.
Firefighters soon arrived to help extricate the body. Later Monday afternoon, a gurney was seen being wheeled out of the area.
Poole suggested it’s possible that the man had been crawling through a duct or vent before falling and getting stuck behind the toilet.
“That would be the most logical … that it was from above,” she said. “That is obviously something they would be looking at is someone crawling through the ventilation system.”
In a brief statement, the mall said it will be providing counselling to the maintenance worker who made the gruesome discovery.
