More than a century after her death, Canadian police have identified the "Woman in the Well," whose preserved remains were unearthed in a Saskatoon construction site back in 2006. The remains belonged to Alice Spence, who was born in Michigan in 1881 and moved to Canada in 1913. Modern DNA technology revealed her identity in what is believed to be the country's oldest cold case solved by genetic genealogy, CBS News reports. Police believe she was murdered sometime between 1916 and 1918.
The mystery began when workers discovered a barrel in an old well on the site of the former Shore Hotel. Inside was Spence, partially dismembered, her body wrapped in burlap and surrounded by early 20th-century clothing. An autopsy revealed foul play was involved, but for years, traditional forensic methods and facial reconstruction yielded no solid leads. Forensic anthropologist Ernie Walker says the body was well-preserved thanks to the mixture of water and gasoline in the ground at the site, which became a gas station after the hotel was demolished. "Unknown to the individual that dropped it, a piece of cribbing of the well had broken loose and blocked the barrel from going all the way down to the bottom," he tells the CBC.
A breakthrough came in 2023, when Saskatoon police partnered with Othram, a private DNA lab, to build a robust genetic profile from Spence's remains. Inspired by a similar Toronto Police case involving genetic genealogy, Saskatoon investigators reached out for help. DNA from possible relatives—tracked down using public records and city archives—was compared to the mystery woman's profile. The result pointed to Spence, whose last recorded mention came in the 1916 census. Police said she was married to an American man named Charles Spence and their daughter Idella was born in 1905. In early 1916, Alice Spence gave birth to another daughter, who died the same day. Charles Spence died in 1923.
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Spence's modern-day relatives, found through the genealogy effort, had no knowledge of her fate. "The whole thing was a total shock," Cindy Camp, Alice's great-granddaughter, said Monday. She said Idella, her grandmother, died in 1995 and never spoke about her mother. Sgt. Darren Funk of the Saskatoon police said there is "circumstantial evidence" pointing to the killer but police aren't going to release the name, CTV News reports. "We believe we know who did it, but it's 100 years old. That person does not have the right to defend themselves in court today," he said Monday. "We're going to considered this case closed."
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