Published July 28, 2020
'He'll be my reason to retire:' Coroner holding out hope to solve Regina John Doe case 25 years later
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This digital rendering of John Doe was done by Jo Orsatti, a police artist for the Toronto Police Service in 2005.)
Even though it’s been a mystery for 25 years, Saskatchewan coroner Jerry Bell still desperately hopes he can solve Regina’s John Doe case.
It’s the only case Bell has unidentified, and he hopes one day he can bring closure to everyone involved.
“I hope, and I mean this from my heart, that I can put a name to John Doe, and then I will retire,” said Bell on Tuesday, which marks the 25th anniversary since John Doe’s death.
“He’s my only case that I have unidentified, and I hope I can connect John with his family,” he said.
The unidentified man died after being hit by a train on July 28, 1995.
On that day, CP Railway employees told police there was nothing they could do to stop the train.
They said a man appeared on the south side of the tracks and deliberately laid down in the direct path of the eastbound locomotive, which was towing 144 boxcars.
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Bell responded to the scene, which occurred on a section of CP Rail east of the intersection at 13 Avenue and Courtney Street in Regina.
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He said the death has had a tremendous impact on the people who were involved in the incident.
“They couldn’t do anything,” Bell said. “That train was moving and John walked up onto the tracks and they had to visualize that and observe that and the impact is tremendous.”
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“Here we are 25 years later, and we still have a cold case investigator who is working on this file and still trying to develop some new avenue of investigation,” she said. “Perhaps technology has changed, and maybe people’s recollection has changed. Some new piece of information that could solve the mystery of who this young man is.”
Bell said this is the only case in his 36 year career that remains a mystery.
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“To be able to put him to rest, with his own name, the name his parents gave him… I think would bring closure to all of us,” Popowich said.
Bell said he’s holding out on retirement because we wants closure for family and people involved in the incident.
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This composite drawing of John Doe was created by Gail Duesterbeck of the Regina Leader Post in 1995. It was released to the media for distribution at the time. )
(In Regina’s Riverside Cemetery, a generous community member created a headstone to remember John Doe. Inscribed on the unassuming headstone is a line from Matthew 11:28, along with a brief description of the mysterious circumstances of his death.
“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened.”)
'He'll be my reason to retire:' Coroner holding out hope to solve Regina John Doe case 25 years later
