‘I saw them doing CPR:’ Saskatoon police investigating body found in car

Saskatoon police are looking for the public’s help after a suspicious death Saturday.

Just after 3:30 p.m., police responded to a report of a deceased 19-year-old woman in a vehicle on the 3700 block of Diefenbaker Drive. Patrol officers confirmed the death upon arrival.

Cathy Lavoie was sitting in her living room on Fisher Crescent when she got a notification from her security system on her cellphone. When she opened the alert, she saw a woman leading two police officers and a police dog east of the apartment complex.

“I did hear about an hour earlier some fighting going on, some woman screaming: ‘Get out of here right now! What you’re doing is crazy,'” Lavoie said. “It’s not uncommon for this area though. Shortly after that, all of this happened.”

Officers returned minutes later and asked Lavoie if they could access her security cameras.

“They seemed to still be looking for somebody,” she said.

Lavoie said officers remained in her backyard pouring through her security footage for roughly an hour before saying they would return to download it later.

Jenn Crain is another neighbour along the back alley who heard a woman screaming but didn’t think anything of it. When she heard sirens arriving at the apartment building she looked out her backyard to see roughly 10 police cars and a man laying next to red car motionless.

“I saw them doing CPR,” Crain said, adding she noticed two other people sitting in the car at the time.

Multiple residents in the area said the apartment building was quiet and largely vacant until one year ago. That’s when residents began noticing disturbances, loud noises and police vehicles constantly dropping by.

“In the last few months since it’s filled in there, it’s been pretty crazy,” Lavoie said.

“There’s a lot of loudness back there. Cops are there lots,” Crain said.

Lavoie said a smaller-scale incident at the building that required police on July 4 forced officers to run through the back alley, jump her fence, grab an item laying on her lawn and continue down the alley, all with her permission.

Lavoie said the uptick in police activity in the area doesn’t shake her confidence in the neighbourhood.

“I prefer the police presence around my house, I feel a lot safer,” she said.

An autopsy to determine the cause of the death has been ordered by the Office of the Chief Coroner.

Saskatoon police’s major crime section and forensic identification section are actively investigating the incident.

Police said no additional information would be provided, pending the notification of next of kin for the deceased.

Earlier in the day, police confirmed the city’s fifth murder of the year. Police were called to a home on the 100 block of Avenue K South just after midnight on reports of a man being shot. When officers arrived, an 18-year-old man was found injured and pronounced dead at the scene. On Sunday, two men and a woman were all charged with second-degree murder in connection to the man’s death.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Saskatoon Police Service and speak to a major crime investigator, or contact Crime Stoppers.