Human remains found in Haldimand woods

J.P. Antonacci

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Human remains discovered in Haldimand County on Thursday, Oct. 16 are connected to a recent homicide in Simcoe, police say.

According to a media release from Norfolk OPP, investigators found the remains around 6 p.m. in a wooded area off Highway 6, west of Caledonia.

Police say an autopsy was scheduled for Friday to confirm the identity of the deceased and the cause of death.

Robert Sykes, 49, of Simcoe has been missing since Oct. 4, the day before 71-year-old Barbara Morgan was found dead inside her house on Head Street South in Simcoe.

Morgan’s death was ruled a homicide.

Her son, Justin Morgan, was arrested five days later and is charged with second-degree murder. He remains in police custody pending a bail hearing.

Neighbours told The Spectator Sykes lived in the basement of Barbara Morgan’s house and had a long-standing relationship with the Morgan family.

Police say Sykes was last seen walking on Head Street South.

On Friday, half a dozen police vehicles were parked along the west side of Highway 6, west of Caledonia, with officers appearing to scan a wooded area just off the shoulder of the highway.

Police did not explain what prompted the search or how investigators were able to locate the remains in the dense woods.

The OPP is asking for help from residents and passersby who were in the area of Highway 6 west of Caledonia and south of Stirling Street on Oct. 5 between 10:30 p.m. and midnight.

Police ask anyone who remembers  seeing anything suspicious that night, or who captured something  strange on their home security or dashboard cameras, to contact the OPP  at 1-888-310-1122 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at  1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or ontariocrimestoppers.ca.

“Even details that seem minor or unrelated may prove to be important,” said OPP Sgt. Ed Sanchuk.

That window of time - between 10:30 p.m. and midnight - is 12 hours after Barbara Morgan’s body was found, suggesting the body discovered outside Caledonia was potentially dumped in the woods while officers were already combing through the house on Head Street South.

Justin Morgan’s house on Stanley Street, a few blocks from his mother’s, was searched on Oct. 8, and he was arrested on Oct. 10.

News of his arrest left his coworkers “pretty shocked,” said Steve Harrison, who works at the same Delhi-area greenhouse manufacturing operation where Morgan is a general labourer.

“I obviously feel horrible for everybody involved. Especially the family,” Harrison told The Spectator.

Harrison said he has only known Morgan a few months. He described the accused killer as “quiet and normally soft-spoken.”

“I’m very surprised. He drove me home from work Friday, so the day before it all happened, and he was always really nice to me,” Harrison said.

“But he did have a short temper. He didn’t say much to many people at work.  Honestly, he seemed to be in his own world a lot of the time.”

According to Harrison, Morgan talked about his animals - he had cats and a pet snake, and Barbara Morgan had dogs in her home - and seemed close with his mother.

“He did talk about his mom quite a bit. Everything I heard about her was positive,” Harrison said. “I know he saw her all the time and she would help him with many things still, like doing his laundry.”

Harrison said Justin Morgan apparently thought less kindly toward Robert Sykes, the man living in his mother’s basement who went missing around the time she was found dead.

“He was his former best friend, but he seemed to be pretty bitter towards him when he spoke about him,” Harrison said.

- J.P. Antonacci is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.