Winnipeg police investigate after witnesses say body found in garbage bin

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This article was published 28/03/2025 (204 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A back lane in Winnipeg’s West End was cordoned off by police Friday, with residents telling the Free Press they saw a man’s body inside a garbage bin that was tipped over on the ground.

A man who lives in the area said he went to collect his garbage and recycling bins when he noticed and then approached the bin in an alley behind Wellington Avenue, between Arlington and Home streets, shortly before 10 a.m.

“I went to look and opened the thing, and I saw a head,” said the man, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. “The body was sticking out. I was shocked. It’s better that I found it than some little kid.”

The man said he went home and called 911. Police officers arrived minutes later.

“They blocked off all the (area) and checked it out,” the man said.

He remained shaken, hours after the discovery.

So, too, was James Tobin, who lives in the area and also saw what he said was a man’s body in a garbage bin.

“All I saw was the bin was tilted over and from here up, the chest up, was a body,” he said, motioning to his chest. “I went to cry. It’s a human being.”

Tobin and the man who called 911 said they spoke to officers, but police did not give them any information about the person who was in the bin or the investigation.

“I’m still a little shaky. It’s still unsettling,” Tobin said. “It’s just crazy.”

Friday is the neighbourhood’s garbage and recycling collection day, Tobin and the other man said.

Within the cordon, garbage and recycling bins were lined up and partially covered by a tarpaulin by police. The Winnipeg Police Service’s forensic identification unit attended the scene.

Police have not yet disclosed whether a body was discovered nor the type of investigation that was underway in the back lane, which is in the Daniel McIntyre area of the West End.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca