After nearly two decades of investigation — and more than a century of mystery — Saskatoon police have finally identified the remains of the “woman in the well.”
The body, discovered in 2006 inside a barrel at a former hotel site in the Sutherland neighbourhood, has now been confirmed as Alice Spence (née Burke), a woman of Irish ancestry who lived in Sutherland in the 1910s. Police believe Alice was murdered between 1916 and 1918, at around the age of 35.
A breakthrough through DNA
For years, the case sat cold. But advances in genetic genealogy changed that. Working with Toronto police and forensic firm Othram, investigators built a family tree that connected Alice to descendants in Alberta, the U.S., and Ireland.
Her great-granddaughter, Cindy Camp, spoke at a police news conference Monday.
“The whole thing was a total shock… We are so grateful to the many individuals who worked tirelessly over the years to give the ‘woman in the well’ her name back.”
Camp said her grandmother, Idella — Alice’s daughter — never spoke of her mother and died in 1995 without answers.
Life and death of Alice Spence
Alice moved to Sutherland in 1913 with her husband Charles Spence and daughter Idella after living in Minnesota. She worked as a seamstress and clerk before tragedy struck. Police say injuries on her body indicate she was assaulted before being stuffed into a barrel, placed in a burlap sack, and dumped about two metres down a water well once used by the Shore Hotel.
Forensic anthropologist Ernie Walker, who examined the site in 2006, recalled how the mixture of water and gasoline preserved the body:
“My colleagues and I… took the well apart board by board. Unknown to the individual who dropped it, a piece of cribbing had blocked the barrel from sinking to the bottom.”
Alice’s remains were buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in 2009. With her identity now restored, Camp’s family plans to place a headstone.
A family shattered
Records show Alice and Charles lost an infant daughter in 1916. In 1918, a fire destroyed their home. By the 1921 census, Charles was raising Idella with the help of a housekeeper. Charles died in 1923, leaving Idella orphaned at 17.
Despite having a suspect in the case, police say the individual is long deceased. The case is considered closed.
Historic first
Police say this is believed to be the oldest investigation in Canada to be solved through investigative genetic genealogy. For Camp, three generations of her family standing together at the news conference marked more than closure:
“Now that we know we are genetic matches, it’s important for Alice to have her place.”
