Skip to content

Police identify man whose body was found near Watson Lake

Yukon RCMP and Yukon Coroner’s Service announced Tuesday they identified the man whose remains were found outside Watson Lake last week.
web-watson-murder

Updated:

Yukon RCMP and Yukon Coroner’s Service announced Tuesday they identified the man whose remains were found outside Watson Lake last week.

The victim is 36-year-old Andy Giraudel, a Watson Lake resident.

In a press release, police said the identification was done through fingerprint records and dental comparison.

A forensic autopsy was performed at Vancouver General Hospital on July 22.

Yukon RCMP also said Travis Dennis, the man charged with second-degree murder and offering an indignity to human remains, was known to Giraudel.

Dennis, 22, was arrested and charged July 19.

Last week, a judge imposed a publication ban that prohibited disclosing the victim’s identity.

Last Friday, territorial judge Donald Luther agreed to lift the ban Tuesday morning at the request of Crown prosecutor Eric Marcoux.

Marcoux said the short time period between the remains being discovered and Dennis’s arrest prompted the Crown to seek the ban.

“It has been a very trying week for the residents of Watson Lake,” said Watson Lake RCMP Sgt. Cam Lockwood.

“We currently have the suspect in custody and don’t believe that there are any further safety concerns for the community.”

On Monday, Yukon RCMP’s Major Crimes Unit asked for the public’s help in its homicide investigation.

Police want to speak with anybody who may have been on the Two Mile trail system between July 13 and 16.

The trail is on the east side of the Robert Campbell Highway in Watson Lake.

It includes the Ski Hill trail, CMD trail and North Fire Guard trail.

Anybody who may have seen someone or spoken with anybody while on that trail is asked to contact the police.

“Any information should be reported, even the smallest detail, as it could be helpful to the investigation,” police said in a press release Friday.

When the remains were first discovered, police would only say they were found in an industrial zone outside of Watson Lake.

Watson Lake RCMP can be reached at 867-536-5555.

Dennis is scheduled to be back in court on Aug. 12.