Friends and family of a murdered Canadian woman are enraged after discovering the woman’s remains were tossed into a dumpster by first responders who mistook the charred body for a mannequin. The coroner’s office in the province of Quebec is said to be investigating the discovery, blaming it on a “miscommunication” between police and firefighters who were responding to a fire at a clothing factory. Needless to say, this is beyond anyone’s worst nightmare and such a tragedy.
- How could this happen? Just after 10 a.m. on Friday, firefighters were alerted to a brush fire behind a clothing factory on Cabana Way. There, they were told by witnesses that someone had set a silicone mannequin on fire, TVA Nouvelles reports. When police arrived a few minutes later, they instructed firefighters to throw the “mannequin” in a police dumpster out of public view.
- They didn’t realize their mistake for hours. The woman’s husband called to report that she’d gone missing, only for police to realize that the “mannequin” they’d disposed of bared quite a big resemblance to the woman in question. They then tracked her phone to the area where the fire occurred and realized their mistake.
- The police have apologized to the family and community at large. “We are obviously sorry for this situation,” Sherbrooke police service chief Danny McConnell told the Montreal Gazette. “Rest assured that the family was notified at every key point in the investigation.”
- This incident was “shocking” even to the authorities. Stéphane Simoneau, head of the fire department, promised to “shed light” on what happened, calling it “unusual to say the least, perhaps shocking.” He also offered his apologies, saying, “I’m quite stunned by the news, and this applies to my entire service. First responders are in a state of shock.”
