The small community of Krydor is in shock after human remains were found Monday morning.
Blaine Lake RCMP and the RCMP Major Crime Unit North could not identify the body without an autopsy but have arrested Arnoldo Rey Jr, the son of the property’s owner.
Rey Jr., 42, has been charged with second-degree murder and indignity to a dead human body.
The investigation began in May.
“It came in as a missing persons’ investigation back in May. We carried on with the investigation speaking to family members, to acquaintances, to friends, to try to help us locate this man,” Sgt. John Redlich, detachment commander with Blaine Lake RCMP, explained.
Without any luck locating the man, Redlich explained that his disappearance became suspicious. The family initially told RCMP they had last contacted Rey Sr. in November 2012 but after further thought said it had actually been June 2012.
“It grew into a homicide investigation from the information we received,” he said.
“There was suspicion that Mr Rey Sr. had been murdered and his son was a person of interest. It developed to more than a person of interest and he was arrested for the murder of his father.”
RCMP obtained information during the investigation that a body could be located at Rey Sr.’s residence in Krydor. Once they obtained a warrant, RCMP went to work digging in the property’s greenhouse Monday afternoon.
“As we began to search, we discovered a portion of human remains. The day was getting old so we decided to cease the search at that time and remain continuity of the property overnight and we began the search once again Tuesday morning,” he said.
Redlich said that they believe that the murder took place on July 26, 2012 and it is likely that the body was buried on that day or shortly after.
Redlich also explained that the indignity to a body charge is rare but deals with how a dead human body is dealt with.
“This could mean the way it was buried, and that’s generally speaking, the reason why that charge was laid. It was not given the dignity that the death of a human being deserves,” he said.
“I believe that the charge is being laid because of the manor in which the body was being buried,” he said.
Rey Jr. appeared in provincial court on Tuesday and will be held in custody until his next appearance on Nov. 12.
He was already waiting for trial in regards to failing to comply with the National Sex Offender Registry.
Rey Sr. and the town of Krydor
Krydor is about an hour drive northeast of Saskatoon. It has around 25 people, so the loss of even one impacts the whole community.
“It’s sad. It’s really, really sad because he was a good man,” Cynthia Rao said.
She had lived next door to Rey Sr. for about four years and now lives only a few doors down.
“I came out here in 2004 and he said he came out in ’83 or ’84. So, he’s been living here a very, very long time,” she said.
Rey Sr. is originally from Chile and Rao said that he often took trips back to his home country. His frequent travels were one of the reasons people weren’t immediately alarmed when they didn’t see him around.
“I knew that he was going to go to Chile because he did every year,” Rao explained.
“But what was really strange was the fact that come spring Arnold wasn’t out taking care and getting his garden together. And that was really odd in the nine years that I had known him and lived here.”
Rey Sr. loved to garden. He had built a brand new greenhouse last summer to grow grapes in which he then made into wine.
“When the grapes were ripe he would make this phenomenal wine and we would get together and have this wine and laugh and talk,” she said.
“He was just a wonderful, wonderful man. To have this happen and to have his son arrested is just devastating because the man was just a beautiful person and it it’s devastating to hear that this happened.”
Rao said that when the garden became untended come spring she started to get worried. Then in June RCMP started talking to people around the community and even checking the wells to see if he had fallen in.
She said that she never expected it to result in human remains being found only a few doors down.
“Nobody knew anything, we had no idea, none whatsoever,” she said.
“It’s not going to change our community but I do think we are going to be a little bit more careful.”
On Twitter: @princealbertnow
