Body found near Cochrane believed to be murder victim

Body found near Cochrane believed to be murder victim

Police have recovered the body of a missing Calgary man they believe was murdered.

Officers were called to the Stoney Nakoda First Nation west of Cochrane June 30 following reports human remains had been discovered there.

The remains were sent to the office of the chief medical examiner and, following an autopsy, were identified as 25-year-old Suryan Giama.

Giama, the father of two young children, was last seen by family Feb. 17 at a home in the Calgary community of Woodbine. About a month later, police recovered his vehicle in the Britannia-Elboya area.

Giama’s family members, who long believed he had been murdered because his disappearance was unusual, have found some closure after the discovery, said Abdi Hersy, a Calgary imam who has been advocating on behalf of the family.

But they are concerned nobody has been arrested in connection with the suspected homicide, Hersy said.

The family has also been in the dark about why Giama’s body turned up near Morley and how police discovered it, he said.

Giama’s family, originally from Somalia, is now making arrangements to have his body sent to Toronto, where loved ones are flying in from outside Canada for a funeral.

“They are very sad and mourning,” Hersy said.

“They are a little aggravated about the justice system. That is the biggest worry for everybody ... He deserves his justice and that was delayed and delayed. They are really sad, feeling less important.”

Based on forensic evidence gleaned from multiple scenes in Calgary, police believe Giama was the victim of a homicide, though authorities have not yet determined the cause of death.

Investigators have also not identified any suspects and they are still trying to trace Giama’s final movements before he disappeared and died.

Police have faced sharp criticism from Hersy, who argues officers had initially appeared reluctant to investigate the case thoroughly and were not sensitive to the family’s suspicions that Giama was dead.

Hersy said in a previous interview that it wasn’t until he emailed Chief Rick Hanson March 3 outlining concerns with the investigation that police began to take the case more seriously. Four days later, the issued a public call for help in finding Giama.

But police disputed this claim, saying any suggestion investigators did not take the case seriously is wrong.

Police have said they initially had no evidence to suggest foul play. When more evidence came to light, officers asked for the public’s assistance in the case, located Giama’s car and found forensic evidence inside that led them to be suspicious, Emma Poole, spokeswoman for the Calgary Police Service, said previously.

Police on Monday urged anyone with information about Giama’s disappearance to call them or Crime Stoppers.