Wednesday, July 11, 2007

EDMONTON (CP) - A woman whose remains were found in a rural area south of Edmonton last month has been identified as a Fort Smith Woman reported missing last spring.

Police say Leanne Leanne Lori Benwell, 27, was last seen March 12 after visiting her mother in Edmonton and was reported missing in April. Her body was found near Wetaskiwin on June 21. Police said at the time it was believed her remains had been there for at least six weeks.

"Leanne Lori Benwell, 27, is shown in this undate police handout photo. Benwell's body was found near Wetaskiwin, Alta., on June 21. Police said at the time it was believed her remains had been there for at least six weeks. (CP PHOTO/HO)"

"Project Kare has conducted investigations into a number of cases involving missing persons and homicide cases where people had a similar high-risk lifestyle," he said.

"So their resources, knowledge and the opportunity to, at the earliest possible opportunity, pick up on perhaps any links or commonalities with other cases could play a critical role."

A cause of death for Benwell was not released, but the case is being treated as a homicide, said Oakes.

Since 1975, the bodies of 25 people, many of them prostitutes, have been found in the area around Edmonton.

No connections have been made between any of those cases and Benwell, said Oakes.

"At this point in time, there are no known links to any of the ongoing investigations involving unsolved homicides or missing persons cases currently active in the greater Edmonton area."

Project Kare has made its database available and will offer any expertise it can, but hasn't taken over the investigation, said Const. Tamara Bellamy.

"At this time, there's no discernable link as to any of our other files, and therefore we acted in an assistance capacity, and we will continue to do so again if they need us or want us," she said.

In order for Project Kare to take over an investigation, Bellamy said, the case would need to have a specific link to their other files.

Such a link could be something specific about the offence itself, the victim or the crime scene, she said. They may also take over if a person of interest in the investigation had links to Project Kare investigations.

"Obviously, the sex trade is a very high-risk profession, and so there a number of horrible ends that come to these people's lives, but we can't possibly take on all of those files. We have to determine other links and other significant factors that would make them part of our mandate," she said.

One man has been charged with second-degree murder and interfering with a human body in the deaths of two prostitutes. Police have always said they thought more than one person was responsible for all of the missing and murdered women.

Thomas Svekla, 39, is scheduled to go to trial in February in the slayings of Rachel Quinney and Theresa Innes. He's been in custody for over a year.

The body of Quinney, 19, was found in a patch of trees near Sherwood Park, Alta., on June 11, 2004.

The body of Innes, 36, was found nearly two years later, on May 8, 2006. She had been stuffed in a hockey bag at a Fort Saskatchewan home.

Oakes said police are asking for the public's help in tracking down any information about Benwell's life and death.

They're looking for details such as where and when she was last seen, where she was known to hang out and any circumstance that may have put her at risk.

Benwell was described in a police news release as being aboriginal, five-foot-six-inches tall and with a slight build. She had brown eyes and several tattoos that included the word "vodka" on an ankle, the name "Ozzy" on the knuckles of one hand and the word "love" on the knuckles of the other hand. Her jaw was out of alignment as a result of a previous injury.