Maintenance man discovers body in shopping centre toilet

WHEN a tradie was called in to fix a shopping centre toilet, nothing could have prepared him for what he discovered.

A HORRIFIC discovery was made when a tradie was called in to fix a broken toilet at a shopping centre.

It all began when the busted lavatory on the fourth floor of the CORE shopping complex — a luxury mall with more than 140 stores — in Calgary, Canada wouldn’t flush.

Mystified by the problem, the shopping centre decided to call the experts in and enlisted an external maintenance man to take a look.

On first glance, he couldn’t see what was wrong with the faulty toilet. A spokeswoman for the shopping centre, Emma Poole, said the contractor had to remove a wall panel which the loo was attached to in order to identify the problem.

“If you were to look at the toilet, there’s a panel behind it so that when people move it would automatically flush,” Ms Poole told Canadian Press. “When they removed that panel, they found a deceased person behind that wall.”

The washroom is located in this corner of the food court, which has remained completely open to the public as police investigate. pic.twitter.com/afcOWdrRHy

— Sammy Hudes (@SammyHudes) April 30, 2018

BREAKING: the body found in the walls of the fourth floor women’s washroom at CORE shopping centre has been removed. It was wheeled away in a body bag moments ago. pic.twitter.com/RMW5Ev4Sn0

— Sammy Hudes (@SammyHudes) April 30, 2018

Curious shoppers wondered what was happening when police were called in and began wrapping the entrance with yellow police tape.

Firefighters were then called in to help remove the body — which police said was that of an adult male — and wrapped it in a body bag. It was pushed on a trolley through the crowds near a gelato stand.

“Despite the circumstances of where the body was located, investigators do not suspect foul play and the death remains classified as undetermined,” Ms Poole said.

The deceased man’s identity and cause of death have not yet been determined.

However, according to The Washington Post, investigators said the man, in his 20s, walked into the women’s bathroom on Friday night. No one else was inside at the time.

The newspaper reports that he climbed on top of a “pony” wall, a seven foot tall wall located right behind the toilets.

The wall, which is used to hide utilities, is not connected to the ceiling and has no other access points.

The notice left on the toilet door. Picture: Sammy Hudes/ Calgary Herald

Police added that the man removed a vent cover located on top of the wall and climbed into the wall through the vent opening. He then became stuck inside the wall and eventually died

Ms Poole told Canadian Press it was possible someone crawling through a vent or duct fell from above and got stuck in the wall.

“That would be the most logical at this point is that it was from above,” said Poole. “So that is obviously something they would be looking at is someone crawling through the ventilation system.”

Originally published as Maintenance man discovers body in shopping centre toilet