QUEBEC CITY, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A 21-year-old Canadian man is facing charges he dug up a grave in a Quebec City cemetery and took several bones from the corpse he found, police said.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Francois Gagnon of Quebec City was charged Saturday with mischief and desecrating a body. He is free on bail pending a Feb. 8 court hearing.
Early last month, Gagnon allegedly dug up the remains of a man who died of natural causes in the mid-1990s. There were no apparent ties between the deceased and the suspect, authorities said.
Police recovered the bones after searching Gagnon's home. It wasn't reported how authorities came to suspect Gagnon.
QMI Agency reported police suspect Gagnon, who was arrested Friday, did the grave-robbing along with someone else, but the alleged accomplice has not been charged. The (Montreal) Gazette reported the motive for digging up the remains was unclear.
A daughter of the deceased told QMI Agency she was relieved her father's remains apparently have been found.
"It really took a weight off my shoulders," she said. "But now, every time I visit my dad's tomb to lay flowers, I'm going to think of what happened."
Gagnon could be sent to prison for up to five years if convicted.
