Plumber working in shopping center shocked to find body of woman behind washroom wall
Police from Calgary, Canada has launched an investigation after a body was found inside the wall of a washroom of a shopping mall, according to reports.
The Calgary Police Service, in a statement on Monday afternoon, said: "Despite the circumstances of where the body was located, investigators do not suspect foul play and the death remains classified as undetermined. Police can confirm that the body located is an adult male, however, the victim’s identity and cause of death is still being determined."
Officials said that the body was found by a maintenance worker close to 9:30 a.m. on Monday. The worker was reportedly removing a wall panel to examine a faulty flushing mechanism in a fourth floor women's washroom at the CORE Shopping Shopping Centre in downtown Calgary.
Calgary police spokesperson Emma Poole, while speaking to The Canadian Press, said: “If you were to look at the toilet, there's a panel behind it, so that when people move it would automatically flush. When they removed that panel, they found a deceased person behind that wall.”
It is still not clear how long had the body had been there in the washroom of the mall. Reports state that an autopsy is scheduled for later this week. “The investigation into when the victim died and how he ended up inside the wall is still ongoing,” Calgary police added.
A certain part of the mall’s fourth food court was cordoned off by police on Monday. Shortly after the body was found by the worker, firefighters arrived to help extricate the body out of the wall. A gurney was later seen being wheeled out of the area.
The police spokesperson added that it is possible that the man had been crawling through a duct before falling and getting stuck behind the toilet.
She said: "That would be the most logical ... that it was from above. That is obviously something they would be looking at is someone crawling through the ventilation system."