VPD turns local body parts case over to Montreal Police

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The VPD is turning their investigation into a human hand and foot mailed to two Vancouver schools yesterday over to police in Montreal.

The first package was found at False Creek Elementary School around 1 p.m. yesterday. A staff member opened the package that police say contained a human hand. Another package containing a human foot was sent to St. George’s School.

Vancouver Police say they decided to hand the case over to police in Montreal after they noticed the packaging and addresses on the boxes were similar to those discovered earlier this week in eastern Canada.

Police have since confirmed the right hand and right foot were sent from Montreal.

Montreal Police are still looking for missing body parts in the gruesome killing of student Jun Lin.

Luka Rocco Magnotta is accused of murdering and dismembering Lin, a 33-year-old Chinese national and student at Montreal’s Concordia University. One of the strongest links between this case and the discovery of limbs in Vancouver is the fact that police were looking for Lin’s right hand and foot.

Magnotta was recently arrested in Germany after becoming the subject of an international manhunt. He is expected to be extradited from Germany to face charges of murder in the case of Lin.

Police say Magnotta was not in Vancouver between the time of Lin’s murder and Magnotta’s arrest.

Postal workers on high alert

Postal worker are being put on high alert for any suspicious packages.

“They can’t tell most of the time what’s in a package, so people are being extra cautious and extra sensitive to what they are delivering,” explains the postal union’s Robert Mulvin.

He says the two drivers that delivered the packages to the schools yesterday have been, “given the attention that we had requested in advance and hopefully they’re getting the care that they need.”

Grief counsellors have also been made available to any other workers who may have been affected by yesterday’s deliveries.

Warning children about the dangers

Many parents may be sheltering their kids from the gruesome discoveries.

Dr. Lawrence Miller says it’s important to convey to children that there are dangers out there. “But a crime like this is so disturbing I think many children would have trouble with that. Every parent needs to make their own decision.”

He says in many cases, it’s not beneficial to scare them by describing what has gone down in too much detail.

Miller believes anxious kids will not do well with this news. “They should not be hearing about this. It will make them even more stressed and anxious and there is really no need to be doing that in my opinion.”

“You have to warn children of the dangers in society, but the dangers need to be realistic,” adds Miller. “It’s not like there is a pedophile hanging around their school or something like that. In that, case they would need to know.”

Schools bringing in trauma counsellors

Trauma counsellors will be False Creek Elementary and St. George’s schools in Vancouver today to help staff and students cope with yesterday’s discoveries.

News1130 caught up with one man out for his morning walk; he lives just steps away from False Creek Elementary. He’s still in shock, and as a teacher himself at a different school, he feels for the community. “Certainly for the secretary and the principal. I can imagine, with ours, they would be very upset over it.”

“The kids, I’m sure they’ve heard about it now and seen all the police yesterday. It’s going to be quite traumatic for them,” he adds.

In a written release yesterday, St.George’s School said:

“There is no danger to anyone at the school, and our students are in no way affected by this matter. We are not aware of any connection of the package to the school, and at this point, the VPD are suggesting that the targeting of the school is random.”

Police say there has been no indication that any of the students or staff at either school was being targeted.

News of the gruesome school deliveries in Vancouver has put communities on edge. People in the quiet neighbourhood around St. George’s Junior School on West 29th don’t understand why this has happened in their community.

“I’m curious to see if it’s connected to the Montreal incident,” says Katherine Tucker, who lives across the street from St. George’s.

“It’s just nauseating, whoever’s doing that, sending that to school is very sick,” says Sue Ferguson who also lives nearby.

Lina Chuang, walking past the school last night echos those thoughts. “They shouldn’t do that. A big school has lots of kids here, it’s very bad.”

“That’s so disgusting, I can’t believe it.  Why are they doing this?” questions Roz Simons, who adds her thoughts immediately turned to her kids’ safety “I’m very worried.”

Written statement by Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson reacting to yesterday’s findings of human remains at two Vancouver schools.

“Both as Mayor and as a father, I find today’s events at False Creek Elementary and St. George’s School to be deeply disturbing and repugnant, and the VPD will have my full support at every stage of this investigation. The police investigation is still in its early stages, but it is my hope that justice for these acts will be delivered swiftly. My thoughts are with the staff, parents and students of each school community.”

Written statement from Patti Bacchus, Chairperson of the Vancouver School Board

“Late this afternoon, the Board met with Senior Management on this serious matter. On behalf of the Vancouver Board of School Trustees, I would like to express our deepest concern regarding the disturbing incident that took place at False Creek Elementary on Tuesday afternoon. This is a difficult time for the False Creek Elementary community. Staff are working closely with the Vancouver Police Department to support their investigation. The district is providing all the necessary resources and support for the school during this challenging time. School will continue to be open and counsellors will be available in the coming days to support our students and staff.”