Peterborough police will soon be providing information about a macabre cold case from 36 years ago involving a victim only known as “The Otonabee River Man.”

On July 10, 1988, members of a recreational dive club who were diving in the Otonabee River near Lock and McKellar streets made a gruesome discovery: a disembodied human head. The divers found the human head on the river bottom around 130 feet from shore.

Although the discovery was followed by an extensive air and underwater search by police, the rest of the victim’s body was never recovered.

Because of evidence that the head had been dismembered, police concluded the victim was murdered.

However, they were unable to identify the victim, and it was unknown when or where the victim was killed or how long his head had been in the river before it was found.

The man was believed to be between 40 and 74 years old. He was missing some lower molars from well before his death, and there was no evidence of dental care. He had staining on his remaining teeth that indicated he was a smoker. He may have been bald or partially bald at the time of his death, and possibly had a beard because of a small amount of facial hair. His hair and beard may have been dark coloured.

Because there were no reports of missing men in Peterborough at the time the remains were found, police suspect the head may have been brought to the area from elsewhere.

Peterborough police will be holding a media conference at the Water street police station on Wednesday morning (December 11) to provide what they call “a significant update” about the case.

Since a DNA profile has been on file with the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, it’s possible police will announce the victim has finally been identified. However, they have provided no details about the nature of the announcement.

If the resolve of Friends of Bonnerworth Park was somehow ever in doubt, what transpired Wednesday night (December 4) at St. Peter Catholic Secondary School in Peterborough provided clear evidence that the grassroots resident group isn’t folding up its tent quite yet.

On a night when very few were traversing icy snow-packed city streets, some 60 people braved the elements to receive an update on where things are at and where things are going in the group’s now 10-month-old fight against the City of Peterborough’s $4.1-million redevelopment of Bonnerworth Park to install a 14-court pickleball complex, an expanded skate park, a bike pump track, and a parking lot.

From the outside looking in, it would seem Friends of Bonnerworth Park has lost the battle. Work on the now-closed-to-the-public park has already begun, with the park resembling a moonscape until work resumes in the spring, and the group has abandoned an attempt to apply for a stop-work injunction against the city.

However, as the attendees at Wednesday night’s meeting heard from Friends of Bonnerworth Park leads John Gerelus and Richard Scott, the group is moving forward and considering its next steps.

“There is a way to legally do something — that’s (still) an option,” said Gerelus in a post-meeting interview with kawarthaNOW. “Another option is we become an official stakeholder so we can have input on what goes into the park.”

“There are court rulings and studies being done worldwide about the long-lasting detrimental effects of pickleball noise, especially (the effect on) seniors and young people. In the next few months, we can present to (city) council, saying ‘We’ve done your due diligence. We now know, where you’re putting it, isn’t going to work.”

Asked if Friends of Bonnerworth Park would go as far as suing the city, citing loss of quality of life for park-neighbouring residents, Gerelus says they have been advised that such action couldn’t be taken until after the park’s redevelopment is done.

“There are types of action you can take, but that’s only after the fact. Then you do your studies. That costs money and it’s very expensive. But a preemptive suit is unlikely to succeed.”

Gerelus notes a GoFundMe appeal for donations to go toward the group’s legal costs has been disabled but, before it was, just more than $43,000 had been donated. He adds all legal bills incurred to date have been paid, and what’s left has been deposited in a bank account.

Wednesday night’s meeting followed two recent major setbacks for the group.

First, on November 7, it learned that its Kitchener-based lawyer had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was closing his practice. Then it was informed that a hearing for a notice of an application for a stop-work injunction, filed with the Superior Court of Justice, would not be heard November 25 as they were originally told. Instead, pending civil cases wouldn’t be heard until the spring.

As a result of those developments, Friends of Bonnerworth Park applied for an abandonment of its application for an injunction and disabled the GoFundMe appeal.

Group spokesperson Richard Scott, who also addressed the meeting, echoed Gerelus’s thoughts on what could transpire over next few months with work at the park halted for the winter.

“We have four or five months before they start up the work again, so who knows what could happen,” Scott said. “We’re going to be exploring what the avenues are.”

“If there aren’t realistic legal options, there all kinds of other options. Those 14 (pickleball) courts are only going to be used for tournaments. Surely they can convert some of them for dual use so the community can use some of the courts for tennis. The community can have, and should have, a very strong voice in the details of this thing and how it operates.”

“We haven’t exhausted all of the options. That’s why we feel it’s worth our time, and our lawyer feels it’s worth his time, to investigate what, if any, options might be available, and then we’ll have a definitive answer.”

Fresh on the minds of both Gerelus, Scott, and most of those at the meeting was an exchange that took place Monday night (December 2) between Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal and city solicitor David Potts during city council’s general committee meeting.

At the end of the meeting, when chair Andrew Beamer asked if there was any other business, Mayor Leal raised his hand. He said the city had been accused of placing “roadblocks” before Friends of Bonnerworth Park in the legal process for obtaining a hearing on an application for a stop-work injunction and asked Potts if this were true.

Potts, who said he was “grateful for the question,” replied that city staff had made preparations for the hearing a top priority before discovering the November 25th hearing date was, he claimed, “a fake hearing date.”

“There was never any engagement with the Superior Court office by the applicant to secure a hearing date,” Potts said. “It was made up.”

On December 3, Friends of Bonnerworth Park issued a statement vehemently refuting that allegation, noting the November 25th date was clearly noted on the notice of application for an injunction issued by the Superior Court of Justice and served on the city.

The statement went to say the group was informed by its lawyer that, “due to a clerical or administrative reason,” the hearing was not scheduled for that date, leaving the group “as surprised as anyone.”

“Friends of Bonnerworth Park interpret Mr. Potts’ comments as suggesting we deliberately sought to mislead the city,” the group’s statement read. “Nothing could be further from the truth. Mr. Potts might have done us and council the courtesy of ascertaining the facts from our lawyer before making unfounded statements.”

After earlier characterizing the exchange between the mayor and Potts as “clearly prearranged” and “a sickening manipulation of the truth,” Scott told kawarthaNOW that the city “is obviously still listening to us (Friends of Bonnerworth Park) … we’re still under their skin and I think somewhere, in whatever little nugget of conscience they still have, something must be nagging at them.”

“Why would they react that way? It’s because we’re not going away, and people know we are fighting for what is fair and right.”

For his part, Gerelus termed the exchange “scripted bravado.”

“It’s another attempt to misdirect blame and disparage our efforts to save the park. Everything we’ve done has been honest and above board. To insinuate this (court date) was deceitful or made up is offensive. It is another failed attempt to garner support for an ill-conceived, tax-funded project meant to service a private 400-member club (of pickleball players).”

Both Scott and Gerelus, who have each put aside much personal time to help co-lead Friends of Bonnerworth Park, said the turnout for the meeting on a foul-weather night should tell anyone everything they need to know about the group’s resolve.

Further, Scott said if the city wants to challenge the group’s accumulated documentation, whether that be in relation to noise, traffic, or environmental impacts of the park’s redevelopment, well, bring it on.

“I’ll stack any of our documents and their integrity against anything that the city has put out,” he said. “We have been thorough. We have a lot of technical expertise on our team. The city says the public doesn’t understand technical standards. We all have experience. We’ve been around for awhile.”

“It’s very insulting when the city say things like that, when they’re the ones who don’t know what they’re doing. If they did, they would have had a successful outcome and we wouldn’t be meeting here tonight.”

Of note, city councillors Joy Lachica and Keith Riel attended the meeting but did not speak to group. Both, along with councillor Alex Bierk who sent his regrets, have consistently voted against various council motions that moved the park’s redevelopment forward.

“They have been steadfast in their support — they have really stuck their necks out,” assessed Scott, adding “They’ve risked a lot as well.”

With the next municipal election set for the fall of 2026, Gerelus said the 8,000-plus people who signed a petition to keep Bonnerworth Park as a greenspace have long memories.

“People are going to remember,” said Scott.

“This is not just a Bonnerworth issue. Why are these people elected into office and what motivates them? They are not serving the larger population and, in fact, are punishing a certain part of the community. As a result, expect there’ll be an impact on the 2026 election.”