Burial
From lisamarieyoung.ca
⚠ CAUTION: Information presented on this page is blunt and technical, as it's intended for the BC Coroners Service to aid with the recovery of Lisa's remains. This is the shortest possible version of the facts. There's a lot more to this story, but this is a summary of the details required to actually locate and excavate the grave.
Victim
- 21-year-old woman of mixed European and Indigenous heritage
- 52kg, 163cm
- long brown hair
- dressed all in black:
- black shirt
- black skirt
- black imitation-leather crop jacket
- distinctive black thigh-high zip-up thigh-high boots
- a belt made up of several heavy 4" stainless-steel rings (~8 gauge × ~4″)
Location
- Precisely 49.14502, -123.97504
- adjacent to the back of the home located at 827 Nanaimo Lakes Road (Nanaimo)
- approx. 8 to 10 feet below a 4ft² concrete slab.
Burial Method
- A deep (possibly 10 feet) hole was dug using a backhoe.
- The backhoe arrived on a trailer towed by a pickup truck.
- The body was tossed in, fully clothed, and the hole was immediately back-filled.
- The victim may have still been breathing at the time that she was buried.
Concealment
At least two methods were used to conceal the grave:
Concrete
- Immediately after burial, a 4ft² concrete slab was poured above.
Garden
- Several months later, the concrete square was covered with soil, and a garden was planted above.
Unearthed
- Several years later, new owners unearthed the oddly-located and impractically-sized "patio", which has since been home to a wooden picnic table.
- In 2022, a full-sized patio was poured behind the home, incorporating the existing concrete square, which is clearly a different shade compared to the newly-poured area.
Recovery
Detection
- Detection of the remains using Ground Penetrating Radar or a Resistivity method requires removal of the concrete.
- The coordinates provided are precise however the exact depth is unknown.
It may be helpful to use a Metal Detector to determine burial depth — the victim was likely buried wearing a belt made up of heavy steel (~4″) rings, and her boots had long ("thigh high") metal zippers.
Equipment
Equipment required for recovery of the remains includes:
- Concrete saw
- Jack hammer
- Mini excavator (eg., 3-ton, rubber tracks)
- Metal detector (to determine depth)