“It was something that you could not dream of or imagine”
Archdeacon Sam Rose
The province’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Nash Denic, told the Squamish Chief it’s the first case of grave robbery he’s seen in Newfoundland.
“Cases like this, this is the first time that I know of and I was involved in in Newfoundland,” he said.
Local police say that the medical examiner had determined that the partial skeleton was “quite old” and that there is no connection to any current missing person cases.
The Chronicle reports the human remains had been taken from the Anglican parish cemetery and belonged to a person who died a significant time ago — possibly more than 100 years ago.
Archdeacon Sam Rose, executive officer of the Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, said that he had been advised that the remains had been taken from a mausoleum-style tomb, with a heavy concrete slab on top of the grave that would need to have been have been removed during the theft.
He says the parish has been shocked by the violation of a sacred resting place.
“Certainly it was something that you could not dream of or imagine,” Archdeacon Rose said in an interview.
“When someone buries their loved one in a graveyard, there’s the assumption this will be their final resting place as we say in the liturgy, so when this happens in such a shocking violation of that sacred act, it was (shocking) for me, personally.”
Dawe was reportedly arrested after a witness reported seeing him him licking the bones.
Dawe has agreed to remain in custody until the case returns to court on May 1. Meanwhile the defence have requested more time for disclosure of evidence.
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