deadmonton 2005 - other police matters

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miscellaneous matters in the metro area

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Not all police matters covered by these pages involve homicide.

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All the information presented on this page has been compiled from published media reports and should not be interpreted as having legal bearing or other prejudice against the individuals named on this web site.


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2005 - month by month


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July 2005

Charles Jacob Wula >permalink<


A call to a family dispute ended a few days later with the discovery of the body of a man who drowned while fleeing police.


When officers arrived at a house near 32 Street and 113B Avenue, a woman's ex-husband ran through Rundle Park and jumped into the waters of the North Saskatchewan River. The man was last seen flailing as he entered the water.


A police boat was deployed and STARS air ambulance was called in to help scour the river east of the city with its searchlight. After an hour-long search the man's body was not found.


Charles Jacob Wula had breached an undertaking not to appear anywhere near the home of Rose Juawn, his wife.


Wula's body was spotted nearly a week later by a youth riding a motocross bike along the river near 195th Avenue and 25th Street. He was found trapped against a pipe connected to an irrigation pump that was sucking water from the river.


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"Dan" >permalink<


House fire

The normally quiet east-Edmonton neighbourhood of Gold Bar was rocked by an explosion that destroyed a home in a resulting fire. After emergency crews put out the blaze they discovered the body of a man in the basement of the structure.


The house at 10332 42 Street was moved off its foundation during the blast. The home's cedar wood interior added to the intensity of the blaze. As a precaution, firefighters were decontaminated after battling the flames.


Area neighbours described the occupant of the house, an Asian man in his late 20s or early 30s named Dan, as quiet and a nice guy. One neighbour who once entered the house to retrieve a cat said there was little furniture in the home but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.


The man had been in the neighbourhood for more than five years, but often let mail and flyers accummulate and left his yard unattended.


At the time of the blaze he was visiting a neighbour who drew attention to the smoke pouring out of his house. The man ran back into his home where he met his death.


Fire officials did not confirm that the explosion was caused by a chemical reaction. Arson investigators were called in, believing the blaze was deliberately set. Damage to the house was estimated at $200,000.


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October 2005

Homeless man found dead >permalink<


In the late afternoon of October 13th, 2005, police were called to investigate the suspicious death of a homeless man.


Emergency medical service personnel were called to the Stan Daniels Healing Centre when a man in his forties was found lying against the building located at 9516 101 Avenue. The man's wallet was visible and his shoes were missing. When police arrived to investigate they could not detect any trauma to the man's body and first treated the death as suspicious.


An autopsy report released the next day reported the man died from natural causes.


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November 2005

Dave Mullen >permalink<


At first, police remained tight-lipped when it came to the details of Edmonton's latest possible victim of homicide.


At 1:30 p.m. on November 11th, 2005 43-year-old Dave Mullen told his co-workers at the Shell gas station near 23 Avenue and 110 Street that he had to pop over to his apartment to let someone in. His suite, located at 10945 21 Avenue, was just two blocks away and he said he'd be right back. He never returned.


At about 5:00 p.m. that same afternoon, Mullen's ex-wife came by to his apartment to drop off his six-year-old daughter. Mullen's dead body was found on the floor. Two young women, who later arrived at the building separately, were questioned by police and were seen driven away in the back of a police cruiser.


While police received a report from the medical examiner's office they did not characterise the nature of Mullen's death. Search warrants were obtained to further the investigation into a case that has been deemed as "suspicious only in the manner in which the body was discovered," a police spokesman said. Results of post-mortem toxicology tests that would definitively show cause of death could take up to three weeks.


On December 5th, 2005 police ruled that foul play was not involved in Mullen's death. Police are awaiting post-mortem toxicology results before issuing an exact cause.


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December 2005

Trailway Motel investigation >permalink<

Updated April 25th, 2006


Photo from www.edmontonsun.com

For six weeks in the fall of 2005, police carried out surveillance and an undercover operation at the Trailway Motor Inn at 3815 Gateway Boulevard.


On December 15th, 2005 police raided the motel and seized more than $100,000 in stolen goods. The motel's owner, Salim Jessa, was charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000. Two others, Claudio Noce and Sue O'Dell, were charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana for the purposes of trafficking and possession of stolen property.


Police allege that Jessas provided accommodation for people in exchange for stolen property. The motel has long-been a refuge for prostitutes and pimps, according to an ex-vice cop and an official police press release.


On December 30th, 2005 police returned to the motel armed with a search warrant that allowed them to look for "blood-soaked panties, a pillowcase, a shovel, hair and any genetic cellular material suitable for DNA analysis ... to support a charge of murder." Detectives said evidence collected from the December 15th raid compelled them to return to the motel.


Police wouldn't confirm they were looking for evidence of a new murder victim or clues to a past homicide, but did indicate that Project KARE detectives had been notified of the search.


Police initially focused their search on Suite 29, the motel basement and its crawlspaces. The search warrant was valid until January 13th, 2006 and had provisions for extension.


Despite a heavy police presence, including yellow crime tape and marked cruisers, the motel experienced a broad day break-in. At 3:30 in the afternoon of January 4th, 2006 a citizen spotted a man entering a suite and leaving in a cab with some property. Police have no leads in the robbery.


Nearly week into the search of the motel, investigators found a sock, a dead mouse, an old toilet and small chunks of concrete -- but nothing to indicate the foul play they were searching for. Tenants of the Trailway described the scene to reporters as "a really bad episode of CSI."


Police called in the assistance of a team of University of Alberta forensic anthropologists and professors from the geophysics and geology departments equipped with ground-penetrating radar to search for anomalies in the ground structure under and around the motel.


There were reports that cadaver dogs were brought in but the Search and Rescue Dog Association of Alberta, a group that provides dogs for searches of human remains, wouldn't confirm details.


Police were seen digging in the basement, sifting soil and debris into wheelbarrows, with motel tenants looking on through holes in the floor above the search area. Police had the site under 24-hour guard as the investigation continued.


On January 13th, 2006 police announced they were not seeking a renewal of their search warrant and ceased their investigation at the motel. During their search they found a pair of women’s panties, hair, a pillowcase and a knife -- but no human remains.


Police also said results from tests conducted by the University of Alberta forensic anthropologists indicated there was "no need to look further into the ground.”


The items police did find were sent for further testing and depending on results they may continue their investigation of the motel site in the future.


On April 25th, 2006 police announced that items found at the motel tested negative in connection with "any known person or any known or reported crime."


"There was nothing that came back to indicate any linkage to criminal activity," a spokesman said. "That aspect of the investigation is closed."


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