Mother of man buried under Edmonton garage pleads for tips on homicide investigation

Nearly four months after her son’s remains were discovered underneath the floor of a north Edmonton garage, a mother is pleading with the public for help.

Lynn Macgregor is hoping people will tell police anything they know about her son’s death.

“For the sake of Derek’s children and for his family – we also need to know what happened to him, who did this to him,” Macgregor said via a police news release on Tuesday, in which she spoke at length about her late 42-year-old son Derek James Winnig.

“Please reach out to police and do the right thing.”

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Winnig’s remains were found on Sept. 29, 2017 in the area of 118 Avenue and 96 Street. He had been reported missing four months earlier.

Police recovered the remains about two metres down in the ground and while they never released details about how they believe Winnig died, his death is being investigated as a homicide.

READ MORE: Man found buried under Edmonton garage identified

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Watch below: On Oct. 3, 2017, JuIia Wong filed this report about Edmonton homicide detectives investigating the discovery of a man’s body buried under a garage in the Alberta Avenue area.

1:18 Man’s body found buried under floor of garage in north Edmonton

“He wasn’t without his problems, but he was a good man and a good father,” Macgregor said. “He had a heart of gold.”

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Macgregor said she had a hunch something wasn’t right when Winnig never got in touch with her on Mother’s Day. She and Winnig were planning a July family reunion in B.C. and that he was planning to bring two of his sons with him.

Police phoned Macgregor in September to tell her they believed a body they had found may be her son.

“It was really quite a shocking phone call, which left us all devastated,” she said. “We waited three agonizing days for the autopsy results to prove that it was our beloved son Derek.”

READ MORE: Man’s body found buried deep under floor of garage in Edmonton’s Alberta Avenue

Anyone with information about Winnig’s death is urged to call the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.

-With files from Emily Mertz and Karen Bartko