CANADA Canada- Alexandra “Alex” Wiwcharuk, 23, Nurse, Johnny Cash's, “Girl in Saskatoon', went for a walk, her brutalized & S.A. body @ riverbank, 31/5/62

[dotr]

Feb. 17, 2024, By Anna Turning

Nieces refuse to give up fighting for justice for Canada’s “Girl in Saskatoon,” their beloved aunt, Alexandra Wiwcharuk, murdered 62 years ago

The 23-year-old nurse vanished on the evening of May 18, 1962. 13 days later, her body was found buried along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River.

www.nbcnews.com

“But knowing that I’d see her made my spirit bright as June​

I’m freezing but I’m burning for the girl in Saskatoon…”​

Johnny Cash, “Girl in Saskatoon”​

Alexandra with Johnny Cashjusticeforalex.net
''In 1961, Johnny Cash was set to perform in Canada. In the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, specifically. Among the songs he would perform was his recent single “Girl in Saskatoon.” A local radio station sponsored a contest to choose a young woman for Cash to pluck out of the audience and sing the song to on stage.''

Alexandra Wiwcharuk on stage with Johnny Cashjusticeforalex.net

"Just a year later, the Girl in Saskatoon would be dead. Alexandra “Alex” Wiwcharuk was just 23 years old.''
''Around 8:00 p.m. on May 18, 1962, the 23-year-old went for a walk before her night shift at the hospital.''

''Police learned that Alex had been spotted at several locations that night on her walk — one being at a drugstore near her home between 8:30 and 8:45 p.m. There were also some unconfirmed sightings afterward of her walking by the riverbank.''

''According to a local newspaper article, one of Alexandra’s hands was partially sticking out of what was described as a shallow grave. She was nude from the waist down, and her clothing was ripped. ''

 

[dotr]

May 18, 2022 rbbm

Sixty years later, investigation into Wiwcharuk's death continues

The death of Alexandra Wiwcharuk remains unsolved. Here is a look at the key points in one of Saskatoon's most notorious homicides.

thestarphoenix.com

City Hospital nurse Alexandra Wiwcharuk was bludgeoned to death and her body was discovered with her hand protruding from a shallow grave on Saskatoon's riverbank by a six-year-old boy on May 31, 1962. Her murderer has never been found. PHOTO BY STARPHOENIX FILE PHOT

''The nurse was last seen by roommates when she told them she was going to mail some letters and take a walk before work. A six-year-old boy exploring the bushes along the riverbank found her body, with her hand protruding from a shallow grave, nearly two weeks later. Her autopsy revealed dirt in her windpipe, which led police to believe she was still alive when buried.''
''With each passing year, investigators have used new technology, including DNA testing.''

 

[Rush4087]

Could this be a case @othram could help with?

Jmo

 

[dotr]

Courtney MarkewichMay 18, 2022

https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/alexandra-wiwcharuk-murder-cold-case-saskatoon

'WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced violence and/or sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
Lynn Gratrix fondly remembers her music-loving aunt babysitting her and her siblings when they were children.''

''The young woman’s skull had been fractured by a blow from a concrete block. She had been sexually assaulted, and the autopsy would determine that her unconscious body was buried before she died.
Over six decades, the investigation by the Saskatoon Police Service would involve interviews with 700 people and amass thousands of documents.''
'If you have a tip about the Alexandra Wiwcharuk case, you can contact the Saskatoon Police Service at 306-975-8300 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.'

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May 10, 2022
Bill Tschetter spoke to CBC's The Fifth Estate, describing the gruesome discovery he and his cousins made in 1962 when they were boys.Clip from CBC's The Fifth Estate episode The Girl in Saskatoon.

 

[dotr]

'The Girl in Saskatoon' revisits murder of Saskatoon beauty queen

Johnny Cash once sang "Girl in Saskatoon" in front of a crowd to Alex Wiwcharuk, a beautiful young woman who had just started her career as a nurse in the small Saskatchewan city.

www.thestar.com

''On May 31, 1962, Wiwcharuk's body was found in a shallow grave beside the South Saskatchewan River. She was 23 years old and had been beaten and raped, her skull smashed in, and buried alive.

"It was the event that catapulted the city into the world," says Butala, whose book on the subject, "The Girl in Saskatoon," was released earlier this year. "People continue to be devastated."
It's said that when Cash heard what happened to Wiwcharuk, he never sang the song again.''

 

[dotr]

NBC News

MSN

12h VIDEO

Cold Case Spotlight: Alexandra Wiwcharuk
'The “Girl in Saskatoon,” Alexandra Wiwcharuk was murdered on the night of May 18, 1962 and later found along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. She had gone on a walk before her nursing shift and never made it to work or returned home. Her case has been unsolved for 62 years. If you have any information about Alexandra's case please contact the Saskatoon Police Service at 306-975-8300.'

 

[dotr]

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'Mar 15, 2024
The “Girl in Saskatoon,” Alexandra Wiwcharuk was murdered on the night of May 18, 1962, and later found along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. She had gone on a walk before her nursing shift and never made it to work or returned home. Her case has been unsolved for 62 years. If you have any information about Alexandra's case please contact the Saskatoon Police Service at 306-975-8300.'

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Perhaps police have interviewed the murderer. Family members might already know his name. They have a short list of suspects, people they talk about when they’re together.

This is what they know about the man: He murdered Wiwcharuk when she was 23 years old. He sexually assaulted her, broke her skull, buried her alive in a thicket along Saskatoon’s riverbank. She died, officially, of suffocation. Her windpipe was clogged with sand and dirt, and her face battered.

It was 13 days before a little boy saw her hand sticking out of the ground, ending a prolonged police hunt.

Who murdered Alexandra Wiwcharuk? Her family is still trying to find the killer

The 1962 murder of beauty queen Alexandra Wiwcharuk remains unsolved. Her family is still looking for the killer.

thestarphoenix.com

 

[tangcameo]

Her address was in her obituary. If you find a Henderson (reverse) Directory for Saskatoon in 1962 you will find her next door neighbour across the alley was a person whose name will ring a very loud bell with true crime buffs and you’ll find yourself going down a rabbit hole. Look up Wiwcharuk or this person and their internet rabbit holes will cross more than once. For example there is research from a former Fifth Estate producer who left her papers to her university and one record mentions the producers research on the Wiwarchuk case and it includes court case records of an infamous California case the neighbour was involved in. The adopted son of the neighbour was even a very open and publicized suspect but ruled out by DNA. He claimed to not remember her but then went on not long after to co-write a biography of his father the neighbor. The neighbor died in 1991. When asked about their list of suspects, Wiwcharuk’s surviving relatives list three; one who’s deceased and one who was ruled out by DNA. Would love a genealogical dna search be done on what they found when she was exhumed.

 

[tangcameo]

Her address was in her obituary. If you find a Henderson (reverse) Directory for Saskatoon in 1962 you will find her next door neighbour across the alley was a person whose name will ring a very loud bell with true crime buffs and you’ll find yourself going down a rabbit hole. Look up Wiwcharuk or this person and their internet rabbit holes will cross more than once. For example there is research from a former Fifth Estate producer who left her papers to her university and one record mentions the producers research on the Wiwarchuk case and it includes court case records of an infamous California case the neighbour was involved in. The son of the neighbour was even a very open and publicized suspect but ruled out by DNA. He claimed to not remember her but then went on not long after to co-write a biography of his father the neighbor. The neighbor died in 1991. When asked about their list of suspects, Wiwcharuk’s surviving relatives list three; one who’s deceased and one who was ruled out by DNA. Would love a genealogical dna search be done on what they found when she was exhumed.

Sorry. Forgot one piece of info. The son of the neighbour was adopted and not a blood relation.

 

[dotr]

Very lengthy and nicely written article.
Kevin Mitchell • Saskatoon StarPhoenix Jan 02, 2025

Who murdered Alexandra Wiwcharuk? Her family is still trying to find the killer

The 1962 murder of beauty queen Alexandra Wiwcharuk remains unsolved. Her family is still looking for the killer.

thestarphoenix.com

Lorain Phillips (left), Patty Storie, Gwen Taralson and Lynn Gratrix pose in front of the Saskatoon billboard they erected in 2008, asking the public to help solve the 1962 murder of their aunt Alexandra Wiwcharuk. Photo by Gord Waldner /Saskatoon Star Phoenix

''The man who murdered nurse Alexandra Wiwcharuk in 1962 might be alive right now.

Maybe he’s reading this story.

If he’s still breathing, still moving, he can visit his victim at Saskatoon’s Woodlawn Cemetery — walk right up to the snowy patch where she’s buried near the cemetery border, visible from busy Warman Road.

That man would be in his dotage now, clinging to a secret. He and Wiwcharuk are the central figures in one of Saskatoon’s most notorious cold cases, with tendrils reaching to Johnny Cash, to a carnival crown, to a slow-burn search for a body.''

''This is what they know about the man: He murdered Wiwcharuk when she was 23 years old. He sexually assaulted her, broke her skull, buried her alive in a thicket along Saskatoon’s riverbank. She died, officially, of suffocation. Her windpipe was clogged with sand and dirt, and her face battered.''

.................

''Family members hope somebody reading this story, or a report from the past, might find an old memory, something they saw or heard, the key to the case.

“If anybody out there remembers their aunt or their uncle or their grandparents speaking about this, or even any odd things that were happening, reach out,” Gratrix pleads. “I remember things my grandmother did. I remember certain things that were said, or how somebody down my block was out of sorts from something that happened. That’s how we got most of our information.

“If anybody can recall anything, some of the stories, please — contact the police. This is not ever going to go away with us girls. So if it’s helpful, before everybody’s gone … information could still be very important''.

 

[dotr]

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Jun 17, 2025
''This week on crime stoppers unmasked. We are needing your assistance for any information to an unsolved homicide that took place in May of 1962.On the evening of May 18 1962, 23 year old Alexandra Wiwcharuk was last seen leaving her home in City Park before stopping at a nearby drug store and taking a walk by the river. She was reported Missing the next day after not show up for her evening shift at City Hospital or returning to her residence.Thirteen days later, on May 31st, Alexandra’s remains were found along the riverbank near where she was last seen; her skull was fractured and she had been sexually assaulted before being buried.The investigation into this historical homicide remains open and Police maintain contact with Alexandra’s family. The service has interviewed over 600 people and have followed countless leads, throughout the years. At present, investigators have employed new technology, including recent advancements in DNA testing to continue the investigation.To date, Alexandra’s murder remains unsolved.Investigators believe members of the public may have information helpful in solving the caseDo you have any information about this crime, If so, please give us a call at 1-800-222-8477 or leave a tip online at saskatooncrimestoppers.comSaskatoon Crime stoppers,Do your part to stop crime in our community.''

 

[annemc2]

There is a notorious case which involves connections to people from Saskatoon

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/abused-father-s-story-told-in-son-s-book-1.820271

 

[nao]

Moo.how was she buried? Did he bring a shovel with him?