WARNING: Details in this story are graphic and may be disturbing to some. Discretion is advised.
CALGARY – An expert in forensic anthropology told jurors in the Ryan Lane murder trial that the remains found northeast of Calgary were human.
After months of searching a 13,000-acre zone near Beiseker, investigators came across a burn barrel.
Inside, police made a grisly discovery: what the Crown alleges to be the charred remains of Lane.
Three people are accused of killing Lane over custody of the child he fathered with Sheena Cuthill. She’s charged with first-degree murder along with her husband Tim Rempel and his brother Will Rempel.
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The first bone removed from the burn site was a vertebrae.
University of Calgary professor, Dr. Mary Anne Katzenberg, was taken to the inactive gravel pit for a closer look. Katzenberg was able to identify dozens of bones and bone fragments.
She told the jury all of the bones were human and all belonged to one person.
“We found part of the lower jaw. We also found some teeth,” Katzenberg testified Thursday.
Two diagrams were shown to the court, highlighting just how many bones were able to be identified.
“This was a complete individual in the barrel,” she explained.
Many of the bones were not identifiable to specific parts. Katzenberg testified: “bones basically explode in a fire situation and that was the case here.”
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Although the remains were too charred to determine gender, Katzenberg was able to narrow down the age of the person to between 19 and 30 years.
Lane was 24 when he disappeared.
Police were led to the gravel pit after cellphone “pings” from the accused led them to the Beiseker area.