Father of Saskatoon homicide victim says son was more than his addictions

Dan Zakreski · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 12, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 hours ago

Terry Romanski says helium knew by the May agelong play that thing atrocious had happened to his son.

Terry runs a sandblasting concern successful Alberta. He said his lad Chad Romanski, 31, struggled with addictions done overmuch of his big life — sobriety was a moving target — but that Chad ne'er wholly mislaid interaction with family. By May, Chad was surviving "all over" successful Saskatoon and fighting, again, to get clean, Terry said.

Terry said helium got what proved to beryllium a last substance from Chad at 1:16 a.m. connected May 13.

"Dad, tin you nonstop maine $30, I'm moving debased connected gas?"

There were nary texts oregon telephone calls aft that.

Days later, Chad's achromatic Dodge Journey turned up on the 1500 artifact of Avenue F N., the keys inactive successful it.

The household reported his disappearance to constabulary and made a missing idiosyncratic poster, the representation showing a gaunt young antheral successful a shot headdress with tattoos wearing a achromatic vessel top. Terry said determination is inactive a disconnect betwixt that representation and the lad helium saw successful a photograph taken a twelvemonth before.

The hold ended connected June 4, erstwhile Saskatoon constabulary called Terry and said they'd recovered his son's remains successful a shallow grave. Chad's decease is being considered a homicide.

Days later, Terry and his member stood unneurotic adjacent to a shallow sedate successful a heavy basal of trees and brushwood successful George Genereaux Urban Regional Park connected the occidental fringe of Saskatoon. The park, off Range Road 3063, is bracketed by fields, bid tracks and Highway 7.

"I needed to see, from my ain eyes. I needed immoderate benignant of closure," Terry said successful an interview.

He spoke to his son.

"I told my lad I loved him, that helium was astatine bid now. He wasn't successful symptom anymore."

WATCH | Father of Saskatoon's latest homicide unfortunate speaks astir his son: 

'He enjoyed his family'

Chad was calved and raised successful Saskatoon, the youngest of two, with an older sister. Terry described his lad arsenic "a handful."

"He played hockey. He liked to get into mischief. He was a cocky small kid, right? He played video games a small portion backmost successful his younger days."

Chad enjoyed hunting and sportfishing with his maternal grandfather. He went to schoolhouse successful Saskatoon and had dreams of going into business.

Most of all, Terry remembers, "laughing and joking with me. He enjoyed his family."

Terry is not entirely definite erstwhile addictions began taking implicit his son's life.

"I don't adjacent cognize however to reply that."

By his 20s, Chad was bouncing betwixt years of sobriety and abuse. Eight years agone helium had a daughter and it broke his bosom that the addictions separated him from her, Terry said.

"He loved her to the satellite and back," Terry said. "It conscionable ate my lad alive."

At 1 point, Chad bought a motortruck with a mobile powerfulness wash, readying to commencement a business.

"That was his dream. He was truthful arrogant of that. But his addictions took him connected different path."

Terry said helium spoke frequently and frankly with Chad about his struggles. Terry wanted Chad to get distant from his Saskatoon lifestyle, travel to Alberta and enactment with him. His son, helium said, did not deficiency self-awareness.

"'Dad, I aftermath up successful the morning, it's not what I want. I miss my sober life. Sometimes it's conscionable excessively overmuch to travel backmost from,'" Terry remembers him saying.

"Me and him talked aggregate times implicit the past period astir getting the due help."

Terry met with CBC hours aft taking his son's assemblage for cremation.

"We enactment a clump of worldly successful determination with him," helium said. "A drafting his girl did when she was younger of a chicken — I enactment that successful there. When they had the ultrasound done of her. A representation of him and her connected the bid bridge. A representation of maine and him. One of my dad."

Terry returned location to Alberta with Chad's remains connected Wednesday.

"I conjecture helium ended up coming with maine anyway," helium said.

"It had to beryllium this way, but he's going to beryllium retired there."