Man charged with murdering missing women

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A Saskatoon man has been arrested in connection with the murders of three Saskatchewan women whose skeletal remains were found in a farmer's field just outside of Saskatoon.

The Jan. 19 arrest came after an intense four-month investigation involving RCMP and city police, a forensic anthropologist and more than 3,000 "tips".

The trail leading to the arrest began when human bones were discovered protruding from a shallow grave approximately 16 kilometres southwest of the city in early October 1994. The body, since identified as Calinda Waterhen, 22, of Loon Lake, was the first of three to be discovered within a 60-metre radius.

RCMP subsequently discovered the bodies of Eva Taysup, 28, and Shelly Napope, 16, two weeks after a hunter found Waterhen's body in an area locally known as "Bare Ass Beach."

Since the bodies were in an advanced stage of decay and had been disturbed by animals, police forwarded their skulls to Dr. Ernie Walker, with the anthropology department of University of Saskatchewan.

"He was the catalyst for the identification," said RCMP Cpl. Jerry Walker. It was through his people they were able to make composite sketches of the victims. All we had were bones, and unless you're an expert, a bone is just a bone."

The sketches were circulated to the media and published across the province, as well as nation-wide through Windspeaker. The response was huge and within weeks the victims were named.

Taysup, of the Yellow Quill Reserve, was identified through dental records after an acquaintance called the RCMP to say she hadn't been seen in several years, while Napope, of Duck Lake, was identified after the drawings were released in November. Both had been reported missing by their families two years ago. Waterhen was the last to be identified.

"Three months ago we had non-identified remains and no leads," said Wilde, RCMP crime prevention co-ordinator. "Now they're identified and we have a suspect."

John Martin Crawford, 32, has been charged with three counts of first degree murder. He remains in custody at press time.