Family members of Alyssa Turnbull, who had been missing for more than three years until her remains were recovered last week, held framed pictures of her in court as they stared at the two men who helped hide her body.
“The right thing to do was three years ago. You didn’t take that opportunity,” said Alyssa’s father, Kevin Turnbull.
“I went to the actual spot where you left her body,” said Alyssa’s mother, Debra Otway. “Cold and alone for 1,289 days. Cold and alone. I lay in the cold mud in that exact spot and cried a heart wrenching cry only a mother can cry.”
Kevin Turnbull and Debra Otway shared with the court the heartbreak the entire family has felt since her loss during a sentencing hearing for 29-year-old Nicholas Soos and his father, 61-year-old Brian Soos.
Nicholas and Brian Soos both pleaded guilty to one count of committing an indignity to human remains before Justice Elaine Burton in a Thunder Bay courtroom on Friday.
As part of a joint sentencing submission, which Crown attorney Gordon Filmore acknowledged was reached in an effort to locate Alyssa’s remains, the two men were sentenced to time served.
Alyssa was 26 when she was first reported missing on April 14, 2020 and was last seen in the Nipigon area. The last indication that she was alive was through cellphone activity that ceased on March 24, 2020. It is believed she died on or about that day. Her remains would not be found until Oct. 25, 2023 in a remote area of Kaministiquia west of Kakabeka Falls.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Alyssa was in what was described as a ‘short term and troubled’ relationship with a man named Storm Borg. Borg has since passed away in October 2020 and his involvement in the case has not been tested in court.
Borg’s internet search history from March 26, 2020 included searches related to the disposal of a body.
