t.o. crime

Lockdown

2008-09-16T16:26:00.004-06:00

In some Toronto schools, cops walk the halls. Call it an upgrade from Hall Monitor.

Concern has been growing over the past few years, and the safety of school children seems to be in greater and greater peril. Thus, the Toronto District School Board decided it was time to patroll the classroom.

But we're only a couple weeks into the school year, and the number of school "lockdowns" in this city is astonishing. It almost seems like a daily occurance. Like recess.

At one point today -- nine schools were locked down.

Nine.

Granted, three of them were related to the same incident, the one you've no doubt heard about:

A 16-year-old boy is fighting for his life after being shot today outside an east end Toronto high school.
Bendale Business and Technical Institute on Midland Ave., north of Lawrence Ave E., was locked down after the student - identified by friends as Taimone Moore - was shot just before noon.

Nearby Donwood Park Junior Public School and David and Mary Thompson Collegiate Institute and Highbrook Learning Centre were also locked down but those were lifted around 2:30 p.m., just in time for regular dismissal.

The Star

When I went to school, not even the Cold War was a threat. The days of kids learning how to "Duck and Cover" in case of a nuclear attack were long over.

One day we had Elmer the Safety Elephant come and talk to us about safety, and how we shouldn't talk to strangers... but other than that... the thought of someone getting shot on school premisis was absurd.

These days, I imagine it's part of the daily curriculum. Parents must be having "the talk", with their kids, where they explain the importance of following strict protocols when there is a S.W.A.T. team running in your school hallway.

I know things weren't actually that much safer back then. After all, the Centennial Secondary School massacre happened in Brampton in 1975. But it was not a plausible threat. It was abstract. It was... a nightmare unlikely ever to happen.

Toronto 2008 is a different place.

I miss Elmer.

Duck and cover, kids. We're in lockdown.

Cloak and Dagger

2008-09-15T09:47:00.004-06:00

Thirsty people take heed. When searching out that local watering hole, you may want to pay attention to the name. Those ironic, clever, and sometimes non-sequitious pub names often say more than you may know...

A man is lucky to be alive and has many people to thank after he was stabbed at a College Street bar early Saturday morning.

Police allege that a fight escalated and the young man was attacked.

"Currently we're investigating an altercation that took place here at the Cloak and Dagger," confirms Sgt Dan Pravica of Toronto Police.

It "resulted in one male suffering some stab wounds in the lower back portion of his body," he continued.

CityNews

It seems to me police may very well recover the dagger in this case, but what about the cloak?

I prefer to choose pubs with less threatening titles. Names like "Pogue Mahones" (Gaelic for "Kiss my ass"), "The Brazen Head", or even "The Village Idiot". While they may not have the warmest, most welcoming connotation, at least there are no references to weaponry.

There are, mind you, a few places that offer more than a pint. Sin and Redemption offers a chance at both damnation and salvation in one sitting. The Dog's Bollocks(not yet open), offers... well... I shudder to think.

My personal favourite Toronto pub name was "The Pawnbroker's Daughter", which is long gone. While the Dostoyevski reference was lost on most patrons, the potential to make a pretentious idiot of yourself was always most welcome. Once, a waiter asked me if I'd made a choice. I said, "I can't decide between Crime or Punishment." He said he didn't think they had either but he would check.

I ended up with Guiness.

Bus Stop Killer

2008-09-11T16:57:00.003-06:00

News broke last night on the arrest of Daimon Sinclair. The 18-year-old Toronto man is charged with second-degree murder for the shooting death of Stephen Barton.

It is alleged that he gunned him down at a bus stop last week.

Recall the sounds you heard, on that morning, over the radio? They were the sounds of violent screams and verbal abuse... not directed toward the young man's killer, but to the police.

Apparently, friends of the victim were angry that his body was left on the scene of the crime, most indignant, for far too long. They wanted him left alone. Left in peace.

Of course, it was much too late for peace. Whatever peace he would find, he'd already found.

During the initial hours of the investigation, these very same friends refused to cooperate with the men and women committed to bringing his killer to justice.

That's Toronto.

One Toronto Sun Columnists wrote:

Friends of 18-year-old Stephen Barton, shot to death Monday afternoon at a bus stop near Keele St. and Eglinton Ave. W., need to realize something.

That is that their foolish, youthful bravado, which included rushing a police line demanding to see his body on Monday and since then refusing to co-operate with homicide investigators, was utterly misguided.
But, thankfully, people are coming around. A growing number of witnesses have been willing to supply information. Thus, a break in the case.

An optimist would express hope that this was a sign that Toronto's code of silence on youth violence is breaking, that people are learning there is nothing to be gained by hiding in the shadows.

I am not an optimist.

If you are... dare to dream.

Death's Highway

2008-09-10T13:55:00.006-06:00

A forensic tent on the 401 is not an Ontario destination. Unlike the Big Apple outside of Colbourne, the Giant Goose in Wawa, or the Great Nickel that towers over Sudbury, this roadside attraction marks a different part of our heritage.

Homicide #49

Toronto police are investigating the shooting death of a man whose body was dumped from a speeding car on Highway 401 yesterday afternoon, creating traffic mayhem.

After the car, a gold-coloured Lexus, sped away, stunned motorists stopped to call police, turning Canada's busiest highway at Keele St. into a parking lot just as rush hour began.

The Toronto Star

In the aftermath, there is confusion and speculation. Those of us with the most morbid of imaginations wonder if the man was shot and dumped, or shot while trying to escape a speeding vehicle. We envision the final moments of his journey. The sight of the gun, the fear, the terror. The choice: open the door and take your chances on the freeway… or get a bullet in the head.

And the motive?

There is much speculation…

So far, no arrests have been made and police refuse to speculate on a link to the fatal bus stop shooting that claimed the life of 18-year-old Stephen Barton Monday afternoon. Authorities say they have no reason to believe, right now, that the two crimes are connected.

CityNews

There is, of course, one indisputable connection. Both men are dead. And, both men… were in transit. Moving from point A… and not quite arriving at point B.

Sometimes life’s journies can be a nightmare. They don’t bring us where we expect, or where we want to go.

They bring us to hell.

And there’s no coming back.

Grand Theft Cycle

2008-08-07T12:29:00.005-06:00

It seems like years since I pleaded with video game producers to come up with a Toronto version of True Crime.

I’m still waiting.

But now, it seems, the stars are aligned to create the perfect marketing storm for setting a game in the dirty, grimy streets of T.O.

Grand Theft Cycle.

Imagine, similar to the lead character in Grand Theft Auto IV, you get to play a Russian immigrant who comes to Toronto with the promise of free health care, good employment opportunities, and a low crime rate. But instead you arrive to find out hospital wait times take forever, the jobs are all leaving due to the high loonie and energy prices, and crime is on the rise. What’s more, your cousin isn’t a rich entrepreneur living the Canadian dream. Instead, he drives a taxi and pretends to run a prostitution ring.

So, you’re forced back into that life of crime you thought you left behind in the mother land.

But then you meet this guy… Igor Kenk.

Kenk gives you a chance, an opportunity, to make something of yourself. All you have to do is steal bikes from around the city, and deliver them to a depot "chop shop" on Queen Street West.

Of course, to live up to the drama and excitement of Grand Theft Auto, you’d have to work for these bikes. But instead of dragging the rightful owners out of their cars and beating them down with a baseball bat or… shooting them in the head… you basically get to complain your victims to death.

You whine about the smog, the shitty transit system, the traffic, the ineffectiveness of city council, and the fact that everyone in the rest of the country hates Torontonians. Once your victim begins their own rant (which they will, 9 times out of 10), you hop on their bike and ride off.

Now, one has to allow for variances. That one time out of ten you meet a happy, contented Torontonian who doesn’t complain… you shoot him in the head.

Yes, of course you’ll have to battle Toronto Police Services as well. They’ll come after you if they see you steal a bike. But, all you really need to do is ride super fast, turn into a park, get far enough out of their surveillance zone, and they’ll forget you ever existed.

At the end of the game comes the twist. A major takedown by TPS nails your boss, Igor Kenk, to the wall. They confiscate thousands of stolen bikes and… low and behold… Kenk sells you out. He sings like a canary.

You’re screwed until you come up with the most brilliant disguise ever. One that will fool the press, the cops, and the law…

You get a shave and a haircut.

You just beat the game.

(BTW, you earn extra points if you find the bike lanes that are hidden throughout the city on secret, go-nowhere, inconvenient roads).

Katelynn Angel Sampson

2008-08-06T08:11:00.005-06:00

If looks could kill

It is a sharp talent... capturing a moment like this. I'm always amazed at the precision and skill of courtroom artists, as they freeze time and create these images for public consumption.

Here we see the silent response of the accused to the emotional cry of the victim's mother. But what is behind that face? Rage? Disbelief? Or is it a solemn guilt, an acknowledgement of her crime?

It matters not to little Katelynn Angel Sampson, the child who was so brutally beaten, even the most seasoned police officers were shocked and horrified.

The accused is Donna Irving, the woman who had been entrusted to care for Katelynn: a woman with a criminal record; a woman with an alleged violent past.

How she ended up with custody of this child is a mystery. Nobody seems to know. Nobody has a clue.

Katelynn's legal guardian, 29-year-old Donna Irving, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the girl's slaying. Det. Sgt. Steve Ryan confirmed that Irving has been charged and convicted of violent crimes in the past.

According to Ryan, Irving was granted sole custody of Katelynn in January, although she has had contact with the girl since May 2007.

Court documents obtained by CBC News show Irving took final custody of Katelynn in June. The documents said that both Katelynn's mother, Bernise Sampson, and her father were drug addicts.

According to the documents, Irving said Katelynn had been living with her since May 2003.

Outside her west-end home Tuesday, Sampson said she was unaware of Irving's violent past.

"I do not know about Donna's past and I don't want to hear about no custody and what I did and what I didn't do. Everybody makes a mistake in life, there's nobody perfect. But I thought I had a friend," Sampson said.

CBC Report

Katlynn didn't stand a chance. Her network of caregivers was severely lacking in basic common sense, to say the least. She would have been better off left to be raised by wolves than the lot she was given. Fate was cruel to this poor child, and whatever social safety networks we pretend to have in the province of Ontario... we failed dismally on this count.

What a bloody waste.

Please Kill Me

2008-08-05T19:53:00.004-06:00

A death wish is redundant.

A wish for death is always fulfilled.

But asking for it to be administered by another, is something else entirely. It is a desperate plea from one fleeing his demons in terror, unable to face himself or the things he's done.

And yet, sometimes it is the most appealing option.

When your chip goes off and you do something you may have thought... may have believed... yourself to be incapable of, what happens when you wake up? When the cloud clears and all that's left is a shadowy image of yourself holding the severed head of a fellow human being, how do you go on?

So many questions linger on that prairie road where the bus stopped. Brutal images haunt the air, and they bring no solace.

Did he have a death wish? Did he come to this country to die? Is that why he committed this heinous act?

If it is, he came to the wrong country. Here, he will live a long time. His demons will eat away at his soul for years before he finally succumbs.

Whatever happened to Vince Weiguang Li... whatever made him do this... it's sad.

It's sad that this man is what he is, and has done what he's done. It's sad that this man has a monster at heart that led to such gross indecency and such a savage breach of human trust. It's sad that he must himself in the real world.

But he must.

Whatever he is at heart, here, on this earth, he's a killer.

It's just sad.

Where have I been?

2008-07-31T20:39:00.004-06:00

Far far away.

Living. Working. Playing.

A bit of rehab.

Whatever keeps your blood flowing and your mind clear.

One thing I haven't been doing, is taking a bus.

One summer, many summers ago, I bought a Greyhound bus pass and I rode across the country. From the wooded, fairie-like Ontario forests, through the wonderous open skies of the prairies, to the rolling foothills in Alberta, to the majesty of the Rockies, I saw it all.

And I met some facinating people. Lumberjacks. Runaway teenagers. Book salesmen. Evangelists. Tree planters (who hated the lumberjacks).

Lonely young women.

Desperate young men.

Frauds phonies and freaks.

You ride that bus and you feel seasoned. You've seen life and it makes you cold at heart. You know people's secrets and all the dirt they hide them in. You know their ghosts.

You know your own.

But when you think you've met everyone and you've got their number and you're comfortable in your understanding of humanity and the dark side of the heart...

That's when you stop paying attention to the strange, quiet man in the shadow, sitting at the back of the bus, breathing softly... on the edge of murder.

Police said this afternoon that they don’t know what prompted a passenger on a Greyhound bus heading to Winnipeg to viciously attack the man sitting next to him.

Passengers said the man repeatedly stabbed his seat-mate before beheading him and carrying the victim’s head around the bus.
Toronto Star

Carvinal of the True Crime Blogs, 76

2007-05-15T20:05:00.000-06:00

It has been far too long.

I know you missed me.

I've missed you too.

I will be truthful to you, because you have been so true to me. It has been a month since my last post, and there are two reasons.

One - quite simply - I'm in the thick of writing my novel, and a series of short stories, so time has been short. But, sadly and more importantly...

Two - the shootings at Virginia Tech got to me. In short, I needed a break from writing about true crime cases. I needed to veer off and visit happier, less troubling things (like soccer, for instance). I had to climb out of the darkness for a short while.

During my hiatus, I learned something. I learned that the true crime bloggers of the TCB provide a vital public service. While I haven't been writing it so much, I have been paying attention. It is clear to me now, more than ever, that mainstream media have a very particular, almost narrow focus of the crimes they cover. The editorial choices that go into reporting are limited to a very small, virtually unnoticeable number of criminal cases. True crime bloggers bring an infinite number of them to the surface, and focus on details that the popular dailies tend to miss, or skim over.

This week's Carnival of the True Crime Blogs marks my re-entry in the world of True Crime (albeit at a slower pace), while providing some excellent examples of the important crime cases that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Trench takes a look at a school bomb threat, and offers his take on the ensuing punishment, and the $1 Million Bond for School Threat.

Home Sweet Home looks at parental responsibility, and the need to protect children. She also peers into a case where such Parental Instinct is lacking.

In Bonnies Life of Crime, she tells the harrowing story of a boy who was shot and killed in Chicago. She calls him the Boy Who Became a Hero With His Murder.

Lost in Lima Ohio tells the sickening story of Larry Akins, who used a children's daycare as a hunting ground for prey.

Finally, The Slabtown Chronicle reveals a story about a very unfortunate mother... who did not have a Happy Mother's Day.

These are this week's stories. Stay in touch, and...

Be kind.

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, LXXII

2007-04-18T11:16:00.000-06:00

Bat Boy! Oh how I've missed him.

Thankfully the Cellar has revived his haunting and delightful image, and brings you this week's Carnival of the True Crime Blogs.

When you open the cellar door... watch out for bats.

Lamentations on Virginia Tech

2007-04-17T10:57:00.000-06:00

There is nothing I can say that hasn't been said. This monumental tragedy has broken many, many hearts, and I join in the lamentations heard around the world.

In times like these, people look to see how the tragedy is effecting their home community, and so in Toronto, today, there has been much talk about the effects of the shooting on people here. There are a few points people are paying attention to.

This morning, the Premier noted that it would not be helpful to pretend that we are immune to this kind of tragedy.

We now are led to believe that a Canadian is among the dead.

Students at Dawson College are sharing their personal experience, offering advice to survivors of the Virgina Tech shootings.

But these things are like petals in the wind. With 33 dead, the agonizing analyses of this event will occupy our airwaves for months to come.

And we'll never come up with any answers.

We never do.

God bless Virginia Tech.

For a blogger's perspective, visit TCB's expert blogger on school shootings, The Trenchcoat Chronicles.

Be kind.

TTC Homicide

2007-04-16T10:10:00.000-06:00

This young man, described by family as “strong, vivacious, bubbly, always with a smile” was murdered on the TTC.

Nick Brown was only 21, and had a lifetime of hopes of dreams ahead of him.

On Friday morning, I told you about the crime scene investigation that had closed down part of the subway. It proved to be a minor inconvenience for commuters, but a major blow to the happiness of Brown’s family, who will forever remember it as the darkest day of their lives.

This morning, the Toronto Star includes a nice article about Mr. Brown, who he was, and how deeply he will be missed.

Police do have some leads, but at this point a motive is not known. It seems that there was a “struggle” on the train. This is not surprising, as TTC efforts to improve the safety of its travelers is an evergrowing struggle against a swelling population and increasing violence across the city.

The plague of violence our city faces, far too often, cuts our youth down with callous, sadistic malice. It often feels that with every step forward, we take two back. When something as simple as a train ride can result in a young man’s death, for what appears to be no good reason… you may wonder why we bother.

Sincere condolences go out to Nick’s family. I hope they find peace and better days.

But for Nick, we must find justice.

Police have released surveillance images of the man they suspect to be the assailant. You can read the full release, here.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Wayne Fowler at 416−808−7418, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416−222−TIPS (8477), or online at www.222tips.com.

Speaking for Rebecca - Bermuda Review Underway

2007-04-16T09:06:00.000-06:00

The family of Rebecca Middleton have arrived, finally, at a breaking point in their long struggle for justice. Rebecca was murdered while vacationing in Bermuda, in 1996. Her brutally beaten body was found half naked in the street, having been stabbed about 35 times.

The Toronto Star reports:

While vacationing in the summer of 1996, 17-year-old Rebecca was found by a passing motorist early one morning in the middle of a road in a remote area of the island. She was barely alive and covered in blood and died before the ambulance arrived.

An autopsy revealed she had been raped, sodomized, tortured and stabbed.

In the days following her murder, police on the island narrowed their search to two men: Kirk Mundy and Justis Smith.

Before the evidence was analyzed, Mundy cut a deal with the attorney general at the time. In exchange for testifying against Smith, he would serve five years for being an accessory.

Smith was charged with the murder.

However, DNA results at the time put only Mundy at the scene and prosecutors were left to try a man with no physical evidence.

Smith's trial in 1998 ended in an acquittal as the judge dismissed the case citing lack of evidence.

The Middletons, however, could not let that stand. They persisted for years in a struggle to get Bermuda courts to review the case.

Now, finally, with the help of British Privy Council lawyer Cherie Booth (married to British Prime Minister Tony Blair), a review will be heard in the courts today and tomorrow. Authorities will decide if new charges can be laid.

If you would like to read more about Becky and the quest for justice, visit rebeccamiddleton.org.

Ianiero Investigation Revealed - A W-FIVE Exclusive

2007-04-14T10:21:00.000-06:00

No Habs?

No Leafs?

No problem.

Tonight, instead of Hockey Night in Canada, tune in to CTV. A W-FIVE investigation into the murders of Dominic and Anunziata Ianiero will shed new light on who may be responsible for the killings.

This, you will not want to miss.

Not only does it promise us a candid view of the Mexican police report that makes a prime suspect out of the Cancun hotel employee who disappeared mysteriously from work last year after the couple was slain in their room, but tonight’s episode will expose the conflicting views of Bello Melchor Rodriguez y Carillo, the attorney general for the state of Quintana Roo.

According to Rodriguez, the missing hotel worker is not a suspect. He’s not even looking for him. Hell, he doesn’t even care where he is.

Rodriguez still clings to the theory that Thunder Bay gals Cheryl Everall and Kimberly Kim are professional “assassins”, and are responsible for the grisly murders.

Rodriguez also claims traces of Dominic's and Nancy's blood were found in the room where Kimberly Kim and Cheryl Everall were staying.

"For us, they remain the principal suspects," he told W-Five through a translator.

Another Rodriguez claim is that DNA from a hair in Nancy Ianiero's hand did not match a DNA sample taken from Delgado's mother. Yet another claim by Rodriguez is that the missing guard didn't have the expertise to carry out the slayings.

The police report makes no mention of blood anywhere near Kim and Everall's room, according to W-Five.

[Source – Toronto Star]

Of course, I need not remind you of how vehemently the Thunder Bay gals do protest! They have an ongoing campaign to have their names cleared for good. What's more, they have been star features on my blog for over a year, having acquired a bit of celebrity over the implication that they may have been involved in, or at least have information about, the double homicide.

Now it’s been a while since I’ve posted about this case, so if you need a little background prior to watching tonight’s episode, click here.

Also, to see the vast array of commentary I’ve offered, click here.

But, to see W-FIVE’s indepth report, tune in to CTV tonight at 7 pm ET. If you miss it, don’t worry. W-FIVE’s website carry’s broadband video clips of all their episodes.

So, will a group of Canadian journalists finally crack the case that two international police forces have not been able to solve?

We’ll have to wait and see.

Friday Files: A City in Mourning

2007-04-13T11:29:00.000-06:00

We are today... a city in mourning.

Still.

If you can believe it.

We just can't seem to get over it.

Can't let it go.

The Leafs did not make the playoffs!

Add to that the dismal weather, with little or no hope of spring on the horizon, and it's a miracle any of us even bother going outside.

Not to mention these stories, from this week's Friday Files...

That subway homicide investigation I told you about this morning is ongoing, but the station has reopened, so your commute home will hopefully be a little simpler. If you're going to Kennedy Station, however, be careful not to slip on the blood. Based on what people are saying, Kennedy seems to be a pretty scary place at the best of times. Read about it here:

Man Found Dead In Subway Car

Apparently, the weather is a little better in Calgary, and their team, the Flames, are actually in the playoffs! Not to rain on their parade, but this story must dampen a few spirits, especially if you're a teacher:

Teen Planned to Kill Teachers

Finally, where did all the bubble gum go? It seems that a thief has been stalking Toronto, stealing chewing gum. Either she's got really big jaws, or is planning to set a new record for the world's largest bubble (which has been burst, by the way)!

Suspect in Gum Thefts Turns Herself In

Thank god for that.

Be kind.

The Better Way

2007-04-13T05:20:00.000-06:00

Take the TTC.

The better way.

Ride the Rocket.

This morning you may find your commute a little difficult, as Kennedy and Victoria Park stations are closed for a homicide investigation.

A man was found dead, apparently stabbed to death just after 1:30 this morning. CityNews reports:

Police believe the victim, in his early 20s, may have been knifed at Victoria Park and are looking for suspects in the area as well as reviewing surveillance tapes from Kennedy in the hopes of identifying the man's attacker.

The body was found by a transit worker that was doing a final check of the empty subway cars and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

[Full Article]

I spoke recently about the intimacy one feels with their fellow travellers when riding the subway. I even made this short video, to show out-of-town folk what life is really like underground.

It seems that such closeness did not bring out the affectionate "brotherly love" that Torontonians usually display for one another.

No doubt, with people clammering for a spot on a shuttle bus this morning as they try to make it to work, tensions will run high and people will feel that all too close connection with their fellow passengers.

Try to remember we're in this together... and be kind.

(I'm walking to work today).

I'll provide details of this homicide as they come avaialbe.

Pump Up the Volume

2007-04-12T09:44:00.000-06:00

There is hope in Flemingdon Park… and it’s from the most unlikely of places.

We all know it’s problems.

We know about the gangs and the guns, the chaos and the destruction.

We know too well about the murder of Omar Wellington.

We know about the cowardly silence that came from witnesses to his death.

What we don’t know… because we never speak or hear of it… is that through the cries of despair comes a new sound.

A vibrant, life affirming sound, that offers a touch of hope in an otherwise gloomy world.

It’s the voice of 11-year old Tarun Rajasekar, and he’s a bi-weekly host on Flemo City Radio.

The Star’s Leslie Ferenc writes:

A rising star at the radio station, Rajasekar knows what he's talking about. With boundless curiosity, he spends the better part of a week researching and writing about topics that pique his interest – including the environment, renewable energy, the goings on in cabinet, world affairs and even how street lights work. After polishing, he goes on air, live, to speak his mind.

"I broadcast for fun and to educate people about the world and things in it," said the aspiring astrophysicist, who has an insatiable appetite for reading and all things scientific.

His program on FM 92.1 Flemo City Radio (CFPK) has been broadcast since last fall, after the enterprising youth approached the station's volunteer board of directors with his proposal.

"I was attracted to the radio because it was a way to express my views," he said, explaining he'd read about the station in the newspaper.

[Full Article]

The reason I’m posting this is because I have become painfully aware, of late, of how bleak the stories on my blogs are.

In truth, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The darkness attracts me. Compels me, really.

But once in a while it’s important to point out the not-so-tragic things in life. The things that make life better. The brighter things.

This young man, showing more astuteness, political awareness, and communicative intelligence than most adults I know, is worth paying attention to.

I have been really down on Flemindon Park. The Omar Wellington incident really got to me and I have been somewhat ruthless in my commentary.

So, it was refreshing for me to read about this, and worth sharing:

Through the station, they're also helping to change attitudes about Flemingdon, starting from the inside out. Their aim is to focus on the positive. It doesn't mean they turn a blind eye to the community's dark side. But they're tired of the bad rap that continues to batter their neighbourhood because of the rotten apples involved with gangs and gun, violence and crime.

No doubt I will be tuning in to FM 92.1 Flemo City Radio (CFPK) for Tarun’s next broadcast.

I hope you will too.

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, LXXI

2007-04-11T12:54:00.000-06:00

As Batman once told Robin, "Even Crime Bloggers need to rest," or something like that.

Anyway, that need to break away from death, murder and corruption is the reason why I have been so curiously absent over the last week.

In fact, I'm still resting now! Lucky for me, the Crime Scene Blog is doing all the work... and posting the week's best crime blog posts at the Carnival of the True Crime Blogs.

And don't worry. I'll be back soon enough.

Be kind.

Good Friday Files: No Leak Here

2007-04-07T11:59:00.000-06:00

I know many readers are wondering why I haven't commented on the recent massive raids on Hells Angels Clubs across the province. The truth is, I can't cover everything, and this week I chose to focus on schoolgirl rapist and murderer Karla Homolka and her new family. I planned on including news of the raid in this week's "Friday Files".

But now it appears that another true crime blogger has covered - with too much vigour - the raid. In fact, said blogger has allegedly posted confidential legal documents that could hamper the case the Crown is trying to make.

The Toronto Star's Peter Edwards writes:

An Internet blogger leaked a confidential court document on a massive police bust of the Hells Angels biker gang clubhouses 11 days before tactical officers launched their dawn raids this week, the Star has learned.

Leaked on the Internet was a judge's order allowing federal authorities to seize the Hells Angels' fortified clubhouse on Eastern Ave. in Toronto, which was home to the largest Hells Angels chapter in Canada.

"It's very shocking," said Toronto-area organized crime expert Antonio Nicaso, who has lectured police around the world. "That could have jeopardized the whole operation. It can be dangerous for the informer. It can be dangerous for everyone."

Despite police comments that they needed extreme secrecy to protect officers, hints of the upcoming raids and a digital file of a court order allowing authorities to secretly seize the Eastern Ave. clubhouse were posted on at least five Internet sites, including one for true crime aficionados, on March 25.

Well, I can assure you that T.O. Crime was not one of those blogs. There are a number of reasons why such information will never appear on this blog.

First... ethics. To illustrate this point, the True Crime Blogroll has actually developed an ethics code for all true crime bloggers. This code calls for responsible "crime blogging" that does not interfere with the pursuit of justice, and basically practices the same principles that main stream media journalists operate under.

Secondly, I follow the letter of the law. I will not post confidential information that is protected under privacy rules in Canada. This includes everything from confidential court documents, to publication bans, to the Young Offenders Act.

Finally, and most importantly... I just don't have access to this information. I'm not on the inside of the justice system, or the operations of the OPP. Really, what I know about the Hells Angels comes from media or books written by journalists.

I believe that bloggers have great powers of communication. We can move information fast, and as we don't report to editors or media moguls, offer fresh perspectives from the MSM. But that doesn't mean we operate above social or legal responsibility.

There's getting the word out... and there's obstructing justice. The line can be blurry, but frankly, if you can't see it... you don't belong on the blogosphere.

Alas, Poor Karla...

2007-04-05T13:45:00.000-06:00

The poor lass.

A new born baby. A man. A new lease on life.

Why can’t we just LEAVE HER ALONE?

This is what the father of the child is asking. Fed up with being hounded by reporters, Karly Kurls hubby, Thierry Bordelais, lashed out. "She paid her debt to society. She has the right to the private life," he said.

You know, I’ve been hearing a lot of that lately. I’ve been getting comments, here and there, from supporters of Karla, who think we should cut her some slack.

I know, I know. I’m so mean. I’m intolerant. Politically incorrect. I’m just so full of hate. (Okay, so... I did say she was impregnated by an alien reptile). But, no matter how hard I try, I simply must admit it:

I have a real problem with child rapists and murderers!

I can’t let it go. I hate to use stereotypes here, but you know what they’re like. I mean, come on, what with all the raping and the murdering of children.

A reporter from the Toronto Sun writes:

Leave us in peace," Homolka told us as we approached her for comment.

Her husband, Thierry Bordelais, told us it was time the media left his wife alone.

Some weeks ago, a source told Sun Media that the couple intended to get married in the Antilles, where Bordelais's family hails from.

When asked if the new family was planning to move overseas as rumoured, Bordelais said no.

"We want to stay, we want to live here," he said.

But Bordelais said life in Quebec is anything but easy for his wife who is trying to put the past behind her.

"It's not a life," he said, noting the renewed media interest in his family following the birth of their son.

Well, Thierry, I’d get used to it. I mean, you really picked a turkey when it comes to a mate. I realize that to find a princess you have to kiss a lot of frogs… but man! You really dug into the bottom of the barrel.

Karla Homolka may have done the time she was sentenced to, but she has not paid her debt. No way. Not even close. Get on with her life?

Tell that to the French and Mahaffey families.

It’s a travesty that she’s free. We have to live with that. It’s a disgusting, pathetic, vile twist of fate that she has ventured to have a family of her own. We have to live with that.

So, if you have to deal with a little media pressure, some name calling, and social abhorrence… cry me a river.

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, and an excerpt from HOUSE.

2007-04-04T12:39:00.000-06:00

House: What seems to be the problem?

LiLO: I can't really explain it. It's like a burning sensation in my body.

House: I see. So you ate something spicy for dinner, and for some reason you think you need to waste my time.

LiLO: No, it's not that. It really... hurts doctor. It hurts bad.

House: Right. Well, not as much as this is going to hurt. (House pulls out a giant, four inch needle). You're going to have to lift your shirt.

LiLO: Are you sure?

House: Unless you want me to tear it off to give you this needle.

LiLO: Ah... that would be fine.

House: Are you always such a bad, naughty girl?

LiLO: No, I'm usually a good girl, Doctor.

House: Just raise your shirt.

LiLO: Why don't I just take it right off?

House: If you want. But it might get a little cold in here.

LiLO: Oh, I doubt that very much.

[House examines LiLO with a stethescope]

House: Well, your problem seems pretty clear to me.

LiLO: Yes?

House: You've got a bad case of wanting me.

LiLO: My Heavens! What do you prescribe?

House: Only one thing will do...

LiLO: Yes?

House: You need 300 milligrams of...

LiLO: Yes?

House: Good Loving!

LiLO: Oh doctor!

House: Oh LiLO!

[House goes to kiss LiLO. She stops him in his tracks.]

LiLO: But... but I can't.

House: Why not?

LiLO: It's my turn.

House: Your turn for what?

LiLO: For the Carnival of the True Crime Blogs.

[Scene.]

Here's to Bob (A Tribute to Bob Edmonds)

2007-04-03T18:39:00.000-06:00

He won the lottery.

Then he lost… big.

Phyllis Laplante, a store clerk, stole his ticket, and cashed in. She made a mockery of him. Forced him to face years of humiliation and degradation.

But he didn’t give up.

This man, who was 80 years old at the time, did not submit to the bureaucratic nightmare that the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission (OLG) unleashed. Nothing kept him down. Not a dismissal. Not a rejection. Not even a lawsuit.

In the end, Bob Edmonds won bigger than he ever imagined. He brought a Crown agency to its knees. He turned a billion dollar corporation into a bunch of sniveling schoolchildren, fighting for their jobs and reputation. He forced the province, in fact the country, to look at how our lotteries work. Because of him, the system has changed… for the better.

This was not just luck of the draw. This was determination and resolve. This took courage and perseverance. He gained more, and gave more, than that winning lottery ticket could ever have promised.

Phyllis Laplante can’t buy that kind of dignity.

She’ll never have it.

Bob Edmonds passed away last night, but his legacy lives on.

God bless you, Bob. You’re a hero to us here on street level.

You stood up where others fell before you.

You were greater than you knew, and we thank you for it.

April is the Cruelest Month

2007-04-02T13:19:00.000-06:00

Joy.

Roy Halliday’s first pitch was a strike.

Doc is back.

The Jays scored three in the top of the first, on three hits, and two stolen bases. Maybe that’s a sign… they’ll play the running game this season. Put guys in motion. Score runs, win games.

Get us to the post season for the first time since the glory days.

Ah! All is well in T.O.

Or not…

Just when you think things are looking up, spring is in the air, and there is good reason to get out and about in the city…

Someone tries to take over a subway train.

I don’t know what’s sadder, the obviously “afflicted” mental state of the man who thought taking over a TTC subway train – which really has some very limited, inconvenient, not-at-all-useful destinations to choose from – was a good idea… or the fact that we oh-so-wanted it to be a bigger story.

Sometimes a nutcase on a train is just a nutcase on a train.

Sometimes a sinking fastball is just a strike.

Now the Tigers have tied the game, and I hear it’s going to snow on Thursday.

Crap.

Friday Files: Out Like a Lion

2007-03-30T14:22:00.000-06:00

Thank God it's Friday.

As the week ends, so does the month. March came in like a lion, but it's not exactly going out like a lamb... in the world of crime, anyway. If only the coming of the weekend meant the end of stories like these, or a break from police files piling up to the ceiling.

I recently wrote about Paola Queen, a teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year old. Ms. Queen is not alone, as such stories abound. Here are a couple, hot off the press:

Headmistress at Exclusive Manhattan School Convicted of Sodomy Charges

NEW YORK (AP) -- A headmistress and teacher at an exclusive Manhattan Montessori school, accused of sex liaisons with two barely pubescent students, was convicted Thursday of sodomizing one of them when he was 13.

Lina Sinha, 40, also was convicted of sodomizing the student when he was older, a crime with a lesser penalty than the same act with a 13-year-old, and of trying to bribe a second boy to get him to lie about their sexual relationship.

and...

Woman jailed for sex with boy, 12

QUEBEC city–Julie Dorval, 31, collapsed and burst into tears yesterday after being sentenced to 15 months in jail for having sex with a boy of 12.

The affair ran from January to June 2005 after the boy made Internet advances. "It was her daughter's boyfriend," prosecutor Carmen Rioux said later. "She stole her boyfriend and made him her lover. They were totally involved sexually.

Also recently, I ranted about a sick bastard who sexually abused his four-year old daughter, infected her with a disease, and only got 3 years. What is it with these pathetic sentences?

Man Convicted Of Brutal Child Assault Receives Five-Year Sentence

Thursday March 29, 2007
It took a Canada-wide warrant to bring Cedric Wilson into custody, but when the 31-year-old was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a child in 2005, his sentence basically began immediately.

Wilson was charged in a brutal child assault case that garnered a great deal of attention in the GTA. Police began the search for him after a TTC rider noticed a Wilson with six-year-old boy that had severe injuries during a bus ride.

On Thursday Wilson was sentenced to five years in prison, though he'll only spend one year behind bars because of time served.

Finally, we have News of Doom.

There's always something to lament at Trench's hot blog of reasons to blow up the world. Today he posts...

Teens Filmed Rape

VIENNA, Austria — Three teenage boys took turns raping a 12-year-old girl, filmed the assault with a mobile phone camera and showed the video to classmates, Austrian authorities said Friday.

That's all for this week.

It's about all I can take.

Be kind.

Breakthrough... and Arrest!

2007-03-30T13:40:00.000-06:00

This morning brought hope. It appears that what happened in Flemingdon, back in July, has been brought to light.

The savage killing of Omar Wellington was met with utter silence. The murder occured in broad daylight in a public area, but witnesses refused to come forward or help police with their investigation. In fact, I've heard that a subsequent parade on Omar's behalf, meant to appeal to people's consciences and stir their hearts into wanting to help, resulted in marchers being heckled and pelted with bottles.

But thankfully police did not give up. Using the innovation that T.O. cops are famous for, they posted a YouTube video of Omar.

The move has paid off.

Police have announced the arrest of six youths, ranging in age from 14 - 17, for the murder of Omar Wellington.

Perhaps the people of Flemingdon will sleep a little better, knowing that justice has a way of finding the truth.

Despite their cowardly silence.

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, LXIX

2007-03-28T10:01:00.000-06:00

Quelle Chance!!! Ace Magazine is carrying the Carnival of the True Crime Blogs! This week's main feature is "Death by Installments", by J.D. Chandler (of slabtown chronicles fame). Miss it if you dare!

Trial of the Vampire

2007-03-27T14:03:00.000-06:00

The creature is taken from his cell, shackled and under heavy guard, dragged into the light of day.

The sunlight burns his skin. The creature howls in pain but his cries fall on deaf ears. He is a frightful monster, terrifying to behold.

This creature takes many forms. Some say he’s a vampire. Others say he’s a 300-year old werewolf.

Mercifully, there is no full moon over Alberta.

A Medicine Hat court begins to hear the grisly details about the slaying of a local family.

Hide your children, cover their eyes and their ears.

The preliminary hearing for accused triple-killer Jeremy Allen Steinke is scheduled to run until Thursday in provincial court.

Steinke, 24, faces three counts of first-degree murder after Marc and Debra Richardson and their eight-year-old son Jacob were found slain inside their home April 23, 2006.

A co-accused, a girl who was 12 at the time, faces the same charges. She has pleaded not guilty for her Court of Queen's Bench trial in June.

[Source – The National Post]

This is the last chapter, about to be written, of the Vampire Chronicles, Part One and Part Two.

Once the town has the creature tied to a tree, a wooden stake in hand, and a silver bullet loaded in a gun… perhaps we will learn the creature’s true identity.

Perhaps we’ll get a glimpse of his dark soul.

But, be warned. Not all may be revealed. There is a publication ban on details of the trial.

Some things are better left in the dark.

Longing for Justice of the Gods

2007-03-27T13:05:00.000-06:00

The ancient gods knew a justice skewed.

For crimes against Olympus, Prometheus, charged with bringing fire to mortals, was chained to a rock for eternity. Every day, a cursed bird, a giant eagle, would devour his stomach. He'd writhe in agony.

Every night, his stomach would heal, only to be devoured yet again.

A punishment to fit for a monster, to appease the deities above, given to an innocent man who meant no person harm.

Yet it is this kind of justice I long for.

Would we had it now, for real life monsters who do true, vile crimes and never pay the price.

Would an eagle, horrifying and fierce, swoop down to earth and deliver a justice that the courts refuse to deal.

Instead... mere mortals... we suffer a different tale...

A man rapes a five year old girl.

He infects her with gonorrhea.

She is his daughter.

He gets three years.

Because the victim shares his name, we can never know who he is.

I have never been so angry.

It leaves me speechless.

Why Can't We Throttle Phyllis Laplante?

2007-03-26T16:51:00.000-06:00

Phyllis Laplante must be thinking, in light of the Ombudsman’s report on the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission that revealed years of fraud and theft of lottery winnings to the tune of millions of dollars… “why did they pick on me?”

If you remember Phyllis, she’s the store clerk who cashed the winning lottery ticket of Bob Edmonds and kept the money for herself. The story blew wide open when the fifth estate aired an exposé of Mr. Edmonds’ struggle to get the OLG to admit their mistake.

After my original post, When Your Numbers Come Up, many of T.O. Crime’s justice seekers asked the poignant question… What Ever Happened to Phyllis Laplante? If you click that last link you’ll find the answer.

Also on that link, you’ll find my list of things that I thought needed to happen for the sake of fairness and integrity… for the sake of a Crown corporation that operates on behalf of the great people of this great province. Number one on my list?

Fire Duncan Brown – the OLG’s CEO.

Well, that’s happened… sort of. He did tender his resignation… but we all know why. It was a forced resignation that will give him a payout of over $700,000.

So, of what we know… Phyllis Laplante got away with $100,000. Duncan Brown doesn’t have to lift a finger and he gets $700,000. That’s $800,000 for sure.

Our money.

But it doesn’t stop there. According to the Ombudsman’s report… the blood runneth deep. As he says, the problem is in the “bowels of the OLG.” An entire culture shift is needed to fix the problem so that this doesn’t ever happen again.

The problem that I have, and that many media seem to share, is that there are no provisions to go back and seek restitution for those already wronged, nor to punish those who have committed acts of fraud.

It’s deplorable when you think about it. Phyllis Laplante blatantly robbed and cheated a man of $250,000, and not only did she never do a day of prison time… she got to keep $100,000 of that money.

Is that justice? What does that say about our society? About our Crown corporations?

When all is said and done… somebody owes Phyllis such a smack!

And anybody else who stole from us.

Bastards.

Incidentally, when I use the terms "smack" and "throttle", I am speaking metaphorically, of course. By no means would I encourage or condone physical violence towards anyone, not even Ms. Laplante.

Friday Files

2007-03-23T11:58:00.000-06:00

“My name is Joe Friday, and I’m a cop.”

Okay, my name is not Joe Friday, and I’m not a cop. I was just desperate for a kicker of an opening line.

Sometimes a writer needs a break. This week, after expending all my creative energy on the Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, I have nothing of value to add to the world of true crime.

When I look back over my short, yet raucous blogging career… Friday’s postings lack the punch and verve of my usual rants. I think I succumb to “end of the week exhaustion”… all I can think of is that glorious martini at the end of the tunnel.

Still, this is one sick, deranged world we live in, so there is certainly no lack of material.

It occurred to me… why should I do all the work? There is a bevy of intriguing, gripping and disturbing stories out there. One need only click on Crime News to see the headlines that turn the stomachs of all justice loving persons every day of the week.

These are the stories that need to be told. So, for the time being, Friday will be my day to rip stories from the headlines and to plagiarize from fellow bloggers.

Friday is time for Friday’s Files.

Starting off, how can you resist this one:

Man gets probation for dead deer sex
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SUPERIOR, Wis. -- A 20-year-old man received probation after he was convicted of having sexual contact with a dead deer. The sentence also requires Bryan James Hathaway to be evaluated as a sex offender and treated at the Institute for Psychological and Sexual Health in Duluth, Minn.

Deer me, some people are really fucked.

Of course, there has been much talk about this story:

Woolmer was strangled, police say

KINGSTON, Jamaica (CNN) -- A pathology report indicated that Pakistani cricket coach Bob Woolmer died of "manual strangulation," according to a statement from Jamaican police commissioner Lucius Thomas.

"In these circumstances, the matter of Mr. Woolmer's death is now being treated by the Jamaican police as a case of murder," the statement said Thursday night.

Woolmer's death came less than 24 hours after former world champion Pakistan was beaten and eliminated by the relatively unknown Irish team on St. Patrick's Day, one of the biggest shocks in World Cup cricket history. The loss on Saturday prompted outrage among the team's hardcore fans, with protesters burning effigies of Woolmer and the team captain in Karachi.

Clearly, some people just don’t get it. IT’S JUST A GAME!!!

This one’s a little hard to take:

Indictment: Molester, dad abused boy while mom watched

SAVANNAH, Georgia (AP) -- A convicted child molester and his father took turns sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy while the molester's mother watched, then they choked the boy to death, according to an indictment issued Wednesday.

Bloody hell.

Finally, the blog Home Sweet Home currently features a story about a man who shot his wife in the stomach, then called 911 himself. Reportedly when the dispatcher asked about his wife’s condition he did check on her. He was allegedly overheard asking her...

“Are you alive or are you dead?”

Of course, you can read all the major top true crime headlines any time by visiting Crime News.

Have a nice weekend, and…

Be kind.

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs: Pulp Fiction Edition

2007-03-20T21:09:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday morning I crawled out of bed half the creature I was when I’d crawled into it, and smelling even worse. I knew it would be a hellish day, because they all were hellish days, and there was no reason to think otherwise. That was just the way I liked it.

I hosed myself off and settled in for a nice breakfast gin, followed by my morning glory… marmalade on toast, a cup of coffee, and… wouldn’t you think it… one more breakfast gin.

When I got to my office Baby Doll – my Girl Friday who always thinks it’s Monday – gave me a stack of messages. People I was supposed to call. People that needed my help. People that were desperate. Some, even in worse shape than me… if you can imagine what kind of low-life scum that would be.

I didn’t care much for most of them. There was only one message I was interested in. Only one that mattered. Only one that would make a difference.

It was from Trench.

I knew it by the way Baby Doll had scribbled the name, sort of with a shaky hand, as if just marking it down had chilled her to the bone.

I opened my desk drawer and took out “Ole Blue”. I’d like to tell you it was a bottle of prune juice but you know damn well it was Bombay Sapphire and I was just getting started.

I read the message. Trench had the goods.

It seems that dirty rat Jack Thompson was at it again, sticking his honker where it didn’t belong. A Florida lawyer with some pretty rickety ideas of how people should live, he’s kind of goon who would shake you down for a nickel. Yeah, you know the type.

Anyway, Trench had a plan and I had to meet him. I was just about to get my coat when the door swung open and in walked a hurricane.

She was sleek, and sexy in a sinister way. Legs like silk that went on for days, striking red hair, and curves a BMW couldn’t handle.

“I’m sorry sweetheart,” I said, “but I’m late for an appointment. See my secretary and she’ll set you up for a meeting.”

“Oh, I think you’ll want to hear what I have to say, Mr. Harding. That is, if you’re a dangerous man.”

About as dangerous as a drunken mouse, I thought, but didn’t let my intoxicated eyes give up the goods.

“Depends on what I’m driving,” I said.

“Maybe then we should go for a ride,” she said.

“I’ve got the keys in my pocket, if only I could remember where I was parked, and who my passenger was.”

“My name is LiLO, Mr. Harding, and I have something that I believe will interest you very much.”

She wasn’t kidding.

It seems Jack Thompson wasn’t the only clown in the judicial circuit. A Judge by the name of Daniel Howsare was muddying up the system. This mutt couldn’t even get his own job straight, and was on the verge of letting a sick criminal out on the street.

It’s the kind of work I go for, and she knew it. A fellow in my business can take a lot of abuse, but one thing I can’t handle is a gimp who lays a hand on his spouse or his kid. Those kinds of dirtbags need a special touch. One that puts them down, permanent.

Unfortunately, these cases were hard to shake. They got into your blood and they stayed there for good. Like this one case that Trish brought me.

Trish is a fellow P.I. who looks for the Missing, and the Murdered. She digs up some scary facts and sometimes they’re not so pretty. Like this one case of a Runaway Girl who ended up a Jane Doe. Stories like that shake your soul.

(Remembering Trish, I made a mental note to read the latest True Crime Magazine, which included an interview with her!)

“Have a seat Ms. LiLO," I said, "and tell me all about it.”

She sat down and I worked harder at not staring at her legs than I did to get through the police academy. I never did graduate the police academy… and was failing here too.

As luck would have it, I was saved by the bell. The phone rang.

An operation I did some field work for back in the 90’s was looking for some leads. True Crime UK was hot on the trail of the Minstead Rapist, and hoped I could shine some light. I’d spent some years in London, back when I was half-sober, and they were good years. True Crime UK was a class-op, always keeping tabs on England’s biggest wankers, and grabbing them by the bollocks.

That was the time I met Ole Blue, and haven’t had clear blood ever since.

I got off the phone but before LiLO’s precious lips could part, Baby Doll was in the room.

She always has the worst timing.

Or the best… depending on how you look at things.

“Mr. Harding, there’s a Mr. Steve Janke here to see you. He says he’s a fellow Canadian.”

Like that would make a difference. When there’s a toss and it’s between a Canadian and a redhead… the redhead wins every time.

But this guy had something I needed to know. It was a tip, see, about my shrink.

Yes, I see a shrink. You would too if you looked in the same mirror at the same time with the same eyes as mine.

Anyway, it was time to change docs, it seemed, because Mr. Janke got me wise to good ole Doctor Gregory Nye… a doctor with a black history. One that involved the assault of a patient.

As if my blood wasn’t at a boiling point.

I thanked Mr. Janke and tried to get back to business. I hoped that Ms. LiLO would forgive my interruptions, and not hightail it out at her first chance.

“Mr. Harding,” she said, “Do you always drive this fast?”

“Only when I have somewhere worth getting to.”

“Well slow down and enjoy the scenery. I’d hate you to miss the best part.”

“My foot is on the brake—

That’s when the envelope slid under the door. I sighed heavily and grabbed it and ripped it open. “This better be somebody’s death certificate” I said.

It wasn’t. It was from Ima.

Ima was a bright eyed kitten I knew back in the 40’s. She had sweet lips and jazz in her hips. She was a dame you never looked away from, out of fear of turning to stone.

Anyway, she had worked this kicker called the Chloe Davis Case, involving potential matricide. It was a murder with a lot of mystery, and she was onto something. Her story was pretty gripping, I tell you. It left me wanting more.

Ms. LiLO was losing patience, and I was losing steam. I needed another drink. I poured one for me and one for her and another for me. Then my computer dinged and a message popped up. Apparently I had “TWO MESSAGES”.

Life was easier in the 40’s… before the damned internet.

The first message was from Home. Home Sweet Home. Home is where the heart is. Home is where hell is. Home is not always so safe, and this message was proof. It told me about the Crash that happens when domestic bliss runs sour.

The second message was from L’Undone. It was a tale of high-weirdness, big love, cyber-crime and the mutual insane obsession of two people that never even met. Just the kind of story I could sink into.

But now was not the time.

I looked up to Ms. LiLO and all I saw was the shadow of where she used to be. On the desk was a note, clearly scribbled by her hand…

“It seems you’re not right for the job after all, Mr. Harding. You may be a fast driver… but you take too many U-turns… and indulge far too heavily in…

True Crime.

I sat back in my chair and poured another drink.

Dublin Noir

2007-03-19T08:32:00.000-06:00

Irish eyes were smiling Saturday night.

Not Sunday morning, God knows.

Somewhere between the two, I find myself alone on the streets of Dublin, bleeding Guinness. As Irish as a Galway swan.

The Celtic Tiger roars.

Tourists clutter the Temple Bar. Locals complain. Heritage lost...

From page 123, paragraph 5:

"Dublin's the same. Temple Bar, I was down there the other week, it's full of coffee shops. Theme pubs. Feckin' yanks coming over here claiming they have ancestors from the feckin' bogs. You know what I say? I say feisigh do thóin féin, that's what I say".

I stumble on, searching for James Joyce’s grave. Want a lay down. All I find is a door that used to be his house.

So I settle for a seat at a dirty, worn-out pub. I sit and watch. Engrossed. Engaged. Emerged in Irish blood.

There are no leprechauns here. No bodhrans. Nobody says, “Top o’ the mornin’”.

It’s all shite.

Instead I hear stories. One is of a man who stole a can of Fanta from his boss. For that, he came close to having his penis removed and forced down his throat. It didn’t turn out that way, lucky for him.

I hear of an art thief. A feisty lout pretending to be American. No feckin way. He ended up with a bullet in the gullet.

Another sod goes to an Irish wake to cut off someone’s balls… but finds his mark is the one in the grave. He decides to go for the brother. He’s determined. Somebody’s balls will end up in his hands before the night is through… but he’ll never make it out alive.

The stories are disgusting. Tormenting. Repulsive.

Gripping. Compelling. Astonishing.

Dark.

Gritty.

Green.

Dublin Noir.

I wish thee… May you be in heaven half an hour before the Devil knows you’re dead.

Cop Cars

2007-03-16T05:27:00.000-06:00

The Ontario Provincial Police have unveiled their new cruisers… and they’ve gone retro. Intending to be more visible on the highways (the cars will feature brighter, more expansive lights), the new design is hoped to provide OPP officers with a measure of safety themselves as they patrol our roadways.

Hey, why mess with a classic?

"The program being introduced today places a renewed emphasis on community patrol 24 hours a day, seven days a week," Chief Fantino said. "OPP officers will be more visible throughout Ontario, not just on our major highways, but also on our trails and waterways."

"This program will help to improve traffic safety in Ontario," said Bas Balkissoon, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. "Additionally, returning to black and white paint schemes on OPP cruisers will make these vehicles more recognizable as the traffic safety program is rolled out across the province."

[OPP Press Release]

But, what of the design?

You’d think we had nothing else to talk about. I can hear some of my readers right now, “Hey, Harding! Don’t you have some brutal murders to cover? No shootings? No axe bludgeoning? Do you have to talk about paint jobs on cars?”

This morning on CBC Radio One’s Metro Morning, Jane Houghton interviewed a woman from the Design Exchange, who hates the design. Aside from not meeting her standard for design aesthetic, she thinks it just won’t serve its purpose of being more visible… in the city. Granted, the interviewee was from Texas, but was sadly misinformed. She kept talking about the “Toronto police force”, not understanding that the OPP is a different force altogether, patrolling highways throughout all of Ontario.

These are not meant to be inner-city vehicles. (Jane, you should have known better, and corrected her.)

It seems to me that the “black and white” look stands out. No other vehicles have two-tones like that, not to mention all the bright flashing lights.

What do you think? Are you aesthetically offended? If you saw one of these bad boys coming up behind you… would you pull over?

Hopefully, these new cruisers will do at least one thing. They’ll stop this…

Speaking for Rebecca - The Prime Minister's Wife

2007-03-15T11:10:00.000-06:00

Ten years ago Rebecca Middleton was killed in Bermuda.

She was on a trip to celebrate her 17th birthday.

She was raped, beaten, and stabbed to death.

One man pleaded himself to five years in prison… as an “accessory to murder”. One man… was acquitted.

Not enough evidence.

While Double Jeopardy would usually apply, new British rules which allow for serious cases to return to the courts when new evidence comes to light are being considered.

The Middletons sought a judicial review after Bermuda's top government prosecutor decided last year not to reinvestigate the killing. The family had asked the director of public prosecutions to revisit the evidence for the purpose of bringing sexual assault charges in the case.

[Full Story – CBC]

There is hope… however faint… that Rebecca Middleton will find justice. There is a chance, however slim, that she may be spoken for.

But not by us.

Canada has not been a prime mover in seeking the justice so richly deserved by the Middleton family.

Instead, it’s British attorney Cherie Booth leading the charge.

If the name is familiar to you, she is known in some circles as the British Prime Minister’s wife. Married to Tony Blair, Ms. Booth has maintained her legal practice throughout his premiership, and has agreed to represent the Middletons in this case.

Canadians murdered abroad has been a common theme of late on T.O. Crime (see Crime Travel). Canadian authorities have been readily criticized regarding the Mexican investigation into the murders of Domenic and Nancy Ianiero for not doing enough to force the issue. In fact, Canada has a long history of appearing to ignore crimes against Canadians committed abroad.

Thank god for the Brits.

In fact, for the Middletons, and anyone else who craves justice for their sweet child, Prime Minister Blair may come to be known as, “the husband of Cherie Booth.”

To many, he probably already is.

The hearing for Rebecca Middleton will be in Bermuda, this April.

Proud Losers

2007-03-15T09:32:00.000-06:00

Be yourself.

Always show your true colours.

Be proud of who you are. Let the world see the real you.

Oh… and try not to hide the obvious.

This advice I give freely, and hope that it will be adhered to by all, law abiding citizens and criminals alike.

Certainly, it appears to have been the practice of at least two Toronto scumbags, who now find themselves under arrest after brazenly letting the world in on their sad little secrets.

The first, pictured above, is Earl Joseph Robert Maillet, and he's facing a variety of charges, including possession of child pornography. It seems that Earl had nothing to hide this past weekend, when he, allegedly, started showing child pornography to children at McDonald’s in the Eaton Centre. As CityNews says:

Normally, pedophiles operate undercover, in the dark recesses of their own fantasies and behind closed doors.

But Toronto Police allege a suspect they arrested this weekend was more open about his activities. And they fear other children may have been exposed.

It started just before 9pm Saturday when cops were called to the McDonald's in the Eaton Centre. They'd received complaints that a man was allegedly showing young kids pictures featuring child pornography.

They allege he wasn't even trying to hide what he was doing and that other patrons could clearly see what was going on.

[Source – CityNews, including video clip]

Now, unfortunately, this recent alleged act of malice may not be his first, so police are afraid that he may have had contact with other children. They're looking for witnesses to the alleged incident on Saturday. And they're asking anyone who may have anything else to tell them to call (416) 808-7361.

The second case involves a hate-crime. Also from CityNews:

At about 3am, the Chabad of Midtown Toronto Jewish Centre on Bathurst near Davenport had its front windows smashed out. It's believed rocks were hurled at the glass to break it.

A TTC driver saw the crime in progress and called police.

They searched the area and took 20-year-old Jason Belfiglio into custody shortly thereafter. Police say he was wearing a swastika.

[Source – CityNews]

Again, thanks to the appropriate signage, Belfiglio stood out like a Hitler mustache on a giraffe.

I really, really, really hate Nazis, neo or otherwise. But, one thing I’ll say for the pathetic freaks… at least they’re usually pretty clear about who they are. Once in a while they crawl out of the rat infested sewers they dwell in, and wave that swastika around for all the world to see.

Better to know them for the losers they are, then fear the hate that dwells within.

Ah, Pride…. A deadly sin that reveals the soul.

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs LXVII

2007-03-14T07:24:00.000-06:00

There's a Bonnie Lass south of the border, and she's living a life of crime. Not committing it, thankfully, but blogging about it, and this week she's hosting the Carnival of the True Crime Blogs.

While your there, you might want to add Bonnie's Life of Crime to your favourites. It's a great blog, and this month she's featuring cold and unsolved cases... covetted reading for any true crime aficiando.

Ice Crime

2007-03-13T08:38:00.000-06:00

I’m heading into stereotype territory here.

But, as the only Canadian member of the True Crime blogroll, I feel it’s my duty to, once in a while… talk about hockey (while promising not to mention David Frost).

There’s plenty of that going around Toronto these days. Aside from the usual torment of whether or not the Leafs are going to make the playoffs, the talk of the town is about Chris Simon’s lumberjack whack on Ryan Hollweg during a game last Thursday. Simon has been handed the stiffest sentence in NHL history, is out for the rest of the season and will miss the playoffs.

What’s more, authorities in New York State are reviewing the incident to see if there is reason to pursue criminal charges.

Such issues have arisen before, where on ice violence has begged the question… is this criminal assault? Usually, the verdict is that there is a level of risk assumed, when one steps onto the ice, that you may end up involved in some kind of “consensual” altercation of physical violence.

However, people do feel that the slash on Hollweg’s face crossed some sort of line.

Personally, I hate fighting in hockey. I think it’s ridiculous, unsportsmanlike, and primitive. Hockey fans across the country just gasped, no doubt. They’ll rant and rave about how fighting is just a part of the game. If you don’t like it, you’re a wimp.

Well, I could turn that around and say, if you do like it, you’re an animal.

But hopefully it won’t come to that.

It may be part of the tradition, but it is not part of the game. If it were part of the game, you wouldn’t be penalized for it at all. It is against the rules. It does nothing to score goals (the object), or improve the level of play. Sure, it riles the fans, raises their “ire”, and gets them in a frenzy. But it is “illegal”. The only difference is, it gets overwhelming support from players and fans alike.

Not to mention intense media coverage.

So, why is it such a surprise when someone “goes too far”?

Really, is this…

So very different from this…

Regardless of what you think about fighting in hockey, I don’t understand the outcry. Sure, Simon deserves a lengthy suspension, but why single him out as some sort of evil psychopath on skates? He’s no different than a bunch of guys out there with no real skill who goon around the league looking to start a punch-up.

After years of watching the skill-less, boneheaded moron “enforcer” Tie Domi lug his useless ass around the Air Canada Centre, I know of what I speak.

Ian Mendez from Sportsnet, in his blog, makes an interesting point about the vilification of guys who are simply doing what hockey players have always done:

McSorley, Bertuzzi and Simon are no worse than the perpetrators that have gone before them. It's just that they picked the wrong time in NHL history to commit their sins. Somewhere, a camera is rolling and a network and radio station have time to fill.

I applaud Colin Campbell and the NHL for sticking Chris Simon with what could be the lengthiest suspension in league history.

But don't expect it to change to change the culture of the NHL. Like it or not, it's been this way for more than a half-century. The only difference is now we have the ability to analyze the sport 24 hours a day.

[Source – Sportsnet]

He has a point. I mean… even crime bloggers are talking about it!

(See… I didn’t mention David Frost!)

A Schoolyard Named Desire

2007-03-10T10:09:00.000-06:00

From North York to New York, parents beware. Your little boys may be doing some very naughty things with their teachers.

Today’s Toronto dailies look like National Enquirer tabloids, plastered with this photo of Paola Queen, a Toronto high school teacher charged with sexual exploitation following allegations that she has been romantically involved with a student for the last 18 months.

What’s more, it seems that Ms. Queen is pregnant, possibly carrying the baby fathered by the teen.

Possibly not, but that wouldn’t make as good a headline.

Paola Queen, 35, was arrested Tuesday night.

Queen began teaching in September 2005 at Nelson A Boylen Collegiate Institute, on Falstaff Ave. near Jane St. and Hwy. 401, in North York. It was her first job as an educator after graduating from U of T that same year.

"Shortly thereafter she commenced a romantic and sexual relationship with the student at that school -- one that has continued to the present time," Duncan alleged.

[Source – Toronto Sun]

This is one of those shady cases where morality and righteousness are blurred. Under current Canadian law, the boy (believed to be 16) is old enough to have a sexual relationship with an adult. However, adults are forbidden from partaking in such carnal relations with youths under their authority – i.e. a teacher-student relationship.

So, if Ms. Queen had been a neighbour, and the young man was, say, a newspaper delivery boy… well, even Blanche Dubois would have been allowed her indulgence. She wouldn’t be plastered all over the media today, I’ll tell you that.

Instead, Paola Queen is talk of the town, not to mention the schoolyard.

Interestingly, given that this happened in North York, the headline could have easily been:

NY Teacher Accused of Sex With Student

This is an actually headline today at Fox News, as twenty-three-year-old Emily Streb was arraigned yesterday in New York, under charges of having an affair with her 16-year-old special ed student who suffers from depression.

Maybe schools need to start introducing single’s clubs in the teachers’ lounge. Perhaps that would help them avoid reaching out for extra-curricular activity with students.

But then, I suppose, some teachers will always rely on the kindness of strangers…

LiLO Reveals All in Shocking CrimeNews Interview

2007-03-09T09:04:00.000-06:00

A recent Carnival of True Crime cover suggests, though in jest, that perhaps crime blogger LiLO should run for president.

After reading Trench's interview with LiLO at CrimeNews, however, I have to say I like the idea. I think she'd make a formidable candidate, and would even consider immigrating to give her my support.

The background is this, extracted from Trench's introduction:

Recently there was some mention in the news about how Senator and Presidential candidate Barack Obama had his attorneys contact an admitted pedophile to have pictures of Sen. Obama's children removed from the pedophile's website. What most of the media failed to mention is that this was all started by one woman. A blogger to be specific. I interviewed the blogmistress of Lost in Lima Ohio about it. We here in the crime-blogging community call her Lilo.

Read the full interview by clicking here.

Anyone who feels strongly about protecting children from on-line sexual predators and pedophiles should take note. Sometimes, maggots like Ashford are too easy to ignore, and they revel in the silence. Sometimes, it helps to make a little noise.

Back to School

2007-03-08T06:16:00.000-06:00

I recently posed the question: how safe are our schools?

This was in response to an attack of an elementary student by an intruder.

Yesterday a similar incident has, yet again, helped launch the issue to the forefront. Today, school trustees, teachers, principals and administrators from around the city, and indeed, the province, are scratching their heads and wondering… could that happen to us, here at our school?

I would suggest that, if you have to ask the question, the answer is "yes".

The principal of Winchester St. Public School spent most of the day reassuring parents over the phone and in person, after a disturbing incident the day before.

"There was an intruder in the school yesterday at lunchtime," she repeats. "A staff member saw the intruder and got the intruder out of the building and we called the police right away."

A man is accused of infiltrating Winchester's building and two other Cabbagetown schools - Sprucecourt and Lord Dufferin - and hiding in the boys' washroom.

The incident happened at the noon hour at Lee's campus, but no students were there and none was hurt.

Police were able to quickly make an arrest in the case and the man they accused has further stirred up parental concerns across the area.

[Source – CityNews, including video newscast clip]

Frankly, I don’t have kids so I don’t really know what parents think of all this. No doubt they fear for their children’s safety, but there must be an element of regret in that we now, basically, have to fortify our schools to the point that they look like prisons. Children are forced to enter a learning environment that grows more and more like a detention centre every day. (Incidentally, the school in the photo above is NOT one of the schools involved in yesterday’s incidents).

My school days were vastly different. Our schoolyard did not have a fence. At recess, my friends and I would venture down to an industrial field below a bridge, and play on the train tracks. We used to throw snowballs and rocks at each other, and at passing vehicles on the bridge above. We used to jump on and play with giant bins of toxic waste left from a nearby auto-plant.

Then, when the teacher asked us where we were, we’d say, “Oh, we were just playing on the train tracks under the bridge, jumping on the bins of toxic waste.” And the teacher would say, “Well, that’s nice. As long as no one got hurt.”

Now I imagine such activity would cause more than one alarm to go off. I imagine it would include rather swift and decisive action.

That school I went to is still there, although it’s no longer a school. I think it’s a warehouse for all those bins of toxic waste.

Granted, considering some of the teachers we had… that may have been an improvement.

Crime Mobility

2007-03-07T18:45:00.000-06:00

"Hello. Oh hi! You will not believe where I am right now. I'm like... totally committing a violent crime. Seriously. No kidding. Hey, if you don't believe me, I'll send you a pick. It's totally on its way, dude!"

When the cellphone rings, we're all a target.

We’re sitting ducks.

All of us.

Anyone with a cellphone can snap a photo, and e-mail it instantly around the world.

All while pretending to take a call.

Whether we’re riding the streetcar, or changing in the gym locker room… we are photographic subjects for people with cellphones.

This, for the sake of technology?

Not really. The photos aren’t very good, and camera phones are a far cry from a digital camera.

It’s about marketing. In a tough competitive market, cellphone companies need to make their phones do everything, from playing MP3s to internet access, video and photo.

But what makes them revolutionary is the fact that everyone has them, and the ability for people to document real events as they happen, in real time, has changed the world forever.

An example is, if you recall, the recent Toronto Pearson airport incident, involving a plane over-reaching the runway and bursting into flames. No one was killed, but people were able to send photographic and video images of the burning wreckage while they were escaping the scene.

They are also useful in capturing idiot criminals who, for the sake of bravado, make a photographic record of their crimes.

Such is the case in Peel, as four scumbag youths will face justice for the callous act of abuse they are alleged to have performed on a young girl.

Four teens have been charged after a 16-year-old Mississauga girl was sexually assaulted while she was unconscious – attacks that were videotaped and photographed with students' cellphones, police say.

Police are also investigating more than a dozen other high school students in the alleged gang sexual assault of the girl, who may have been knocked out with a date rape drug…

The girl went to police after she discovered a photo of her being sexually molested, and in a state of undress, had been shown to other Cawthra Park Secondary School students, police said.

[Source – Toronto Star]

The old adage applies... crime makes you stupid. But thankfully these morons who, allegedly, committed this horrible crime will likely, though unwittingly, supply police with the evidence they will need for a conviction.

My heart really goes out to this poor girl who had to endure this. I can only imagine the kind of humiliation she felt upon seeing these images, circulating around the school as if they were hockey cards.

Now, the Peel School Board has gone into damage control mode, delivering the message that their schools are generally safe and this is a one-off, so we're not going to get any details about the crime from them. What we do know is this:

Philip Perry, 18, and Barton Reeder, 18, and two 17-year-old boys, all from Mississauga, have been charged with gang sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon, sexual assault, uttering death threats and manufacturing child pornography.

Perry and one of the youths were also charged with possession of child pornography.

The teens can’t be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Police also believe another girl may have been attacked, and are urging people with information to come forward. You can contact Peel police at 905-453-2121 ext. 3460 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

All we can do is hope that justice is served, and that this poor girl can get on with the rest of her schooling with happier days, and better friends.

Oh... and when you hear that horrible tinny ringtone... smile for the cellphone!

(Incidentally, if you were to photograph your computer screen right now... the image above should repeat, ad infinitum!)

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, LXVI

2007-03-07T08:30:00.000-06:00

There is some heavy news from the world of true crime today, as the Carnival of the True Crime Blogs reveals more truth than most people can handle!

Trench is hosting it this week, and you know you can always count on the hard boiled facts from the Trenchcoat Chronicles.

Speaking of the Zodiac code, have you been out to see Zodiac yet?

Killer.

What I found most intriguing about the film was the focus on a non-journalist (a cartoonist, in fact), with no law enforcement background whatsoever, who becomes obsessed with writing about a series of crimes.

Sound familiar?

I think any crime blogger can relate...

A Frosty Day in Hell

2007-03-06T13:48:00.000-06:00

Frost Case Cools.

Frost Case Falling Apart.

These frosty headlines describe the latest development in the case against David Frost, master manipulator and former hockey agent bully.

It’s coming apart at the seams.

David Frost himself, no doubt, is loving it. I’m sure he watched with wicked delight as six sex exploitation charges against him were dropped due to lack of evidence.

The case against sports agent David Frost started to fall apart Tuesday as prosecutors dropped six sex exploitation charges against him, saying they didn't have enough evidence.

But the former NHL agent's trip through the justice system is far from over. Prosecutors said Tuesday they still intend to have him face six other sex exploitation charges dating back to the early 1990s when he coached a junior hockey team in Deseronto, Ont.

[Source – Montreal Gazette]

Mr. Frost has been a regular subject for T.O. Crime, and was featured in one of my very first posts. His story is shocking, chilling, unnerving… yet riveting.

While there is hope yet that other charges will stick, today’s decision by the Crown sent shockwaves through the unfortunate community of David Frost’s victims. There is much fear and trepidation amongst the families of those he has, allegedly, wronged. His shadow looms large, and they fear he will pay no price for the things he has done.

For the Jeffersons, parents of Mike Danton, it is the most frightening possibility of all. Their son has been taken from them in a most bizarre and horrific fashion. I don’t know how else to describe it other than an abomination. It’s like the young man’s brain has been absconded, and he has been zombified into a shadow of his former self.

It’s a parent’s nightmare. Imagine losing your child while they are still alive. Imagine having them turn from you, barely recognize you… because they have lost their sense of identity. They belong to someone else.

David Frost would tell you a different story, of course. So, I imagine, would Mike Danton. There have been allegations of parental abuse that sent Danton in search of a father figure, and landed him in Frost’s all to eager lap. Frost would tell you he’s the father Danton never had.

I don’t believe that.

Of course, I can’t tell you what’s right or wrong, or who’s lying and who’s telling the truth. These are merely my opinions. But one just needs to look and listen, watch and learn, and one gets a sense of what happened.

Add to that the fact that Danton is not Frost’s only subject or victim. He had a bloody army of young boys in his control. He has been accused of assault on several young people, boys and girls.

You know what? I’m going out on a limb… the guy’s a monster.

He’s a bastard.

Just an opinion, but one I feel the need to express.

I really hope we put him in jail.

If we don’t… then Hell truly will freeze over.

Interview with a Crime Blogger

2007-03-05T07:50:00.000-06:00

With special thanks to Home Sweet Home, the True Crime Blogroll has been conducting a series of interviews with various crime bloggers from around the world. This week, it is my honour and privilege to be the subject of this thought provoking and insightful excercise.

The questions were fantastic. They dug deep. They forced me to ponder things about myself and my blog that I hadn't really considered before, and now you can reap the results of this soul searching process.

Click here to read the Blogger Interview with T.O. Crime!

The Pickton Farm's Legacy

2007-03-02T11:58:00.000-06:00

Who knew?

We’ve asked that question before.

We’ve even considered if others may have been involved.

Now we know that police have the same questions, as we learn that an investigation into the Pickton farm continues, even while Robert Pickton stands trial for the murder of six women.

His brother, the trial jury heard, is being investigated.

NEW WESTMINSTER - Police continue to investigate the possible involvement of David Pickton in the missing women case -- five years after the arrest of his older brother Robert (Willie) Pickton, a police officer confirmed Thursday.

"Police are continuing to investigate the possibility that David Francis Pickton was involved in the disappearance of some of the missing women who have been the focus of the Missing Women Task Force?" defence lawyer Richard Brooks asked Vancouver police Det.-Const. Mike McDonald.

[Source – Vancouver Sun]

Of course this is basically a defense ploy, attempting to plant more seeds in the minds of jurors to consider the possibility that Robert Pickton is not guilty… or at least… not the most guilty.

The trial has been on now for over a month, and it has lived up to its ghastly promise. Every day more horrific details come to light. Every day, things seem to get a little worse. A little darker.

A woman's skull found 12 years ago near a British Columbia highway was cut the same way as remains found on Robert William Pickton's farm, a police officer testified at Pickton's trial Monday.

Sgt. Timothy Sleigh said the skull found near the highway of the unidentified woman, known only as Jane Doe, appeared to have been bisected with a saw.

[Source – CBC]

But now, I think, we’re pretty numb to it all.

How much worse can it get?

I mentioned earlier that the on-line citizen’s newspaper, Orato, has been covering the trial from the point of view of two ex-sex workers from the Vancouver area. They have seen their share of this darkness, and have now broadened their discussion to be about prostitution and drug addiction – their dangers and potential solutions.

Trisha Baptie writes:

Society should be more concerned with looking at the issues behind prostitution than offering the Band-Aid solution of legalization. We should hold our stand that it is illegal, for I think society has an obligation to watch out for those who cannot look after themselves. Anyone thinking that prostitution is a solution for anything is probably in need of some emotional assistance and a new perspective on what paths to take in life. So we should instead be looking at why so many women are resorting to it.

[Full Article – Orato.com]

Orato also features an article by Pauline VanKoll, entitled Monster, where she confesses her own state of mind when she was living the life of a prostitute. She speaks of a world where one doesn’t care much about themselves or anyone else. A world where drugs and alcohol are all that matter, and human life has about the same worth as a farm animal.

The Pickton trial is stirring up those old memories for her, bringing her back to a time rather forgotten.

This is the legacy of the Pickton farm. Regardless of who is proven guilty and who is found innocent. Regardless of who faces a jury, and who does not. The farm will live on in the darkest nightmares of all who come to know of it, and with such visions will come an infinite sadness, and a large measure of despair.

So, could it get any worse?

Worse than you could possibly imagine.

Age of Consent - Pass the Bill

2007-03-01T13:25:00.000-06:00

Currently, before the House of Commons, there is a bill that, if passed, would raise the age of sexual consent in Canada from 14-years to 16-years.

It is time to pass this bill.

The bill is in its final stages before a vote.

I urge you to press your local Member of Parliament to vote in favour of this bill. There is no need for further discussion. The bill is long overdue.

As it stands, it's embarassing. It's a joke. Canada is a breeding ground for child pornography. Having seen some of the chatrooms and forums held by "out of the closet" pedophiles, they see Canada as a haven, a place where they can come and conduct acts of child abuse without recourse. They use us as an example when attempting to justify their depravity.

Pass the bill.

Certainly, many people in Stellerton, Nova Scotia, would agree. The following is from a Global National report:

Police say sex charges will not be laid following a seizure of videotapes in northern Nova Scotia because the youths on the tapes are 14 or older.

However, a 66-year-old man (Carl Skidmore), a former teacher, will still face drug charges following the search of his home in Stellarton on Feb. 16.

"The search resulted in the seizure of sexually explicit videotapes and a small quantity of marijuana," police Chief Amby Heighton said Tuesday.

"Officers have been viewing seized tapes and have determined that all identifiable youth in these scenes range from ages 14 to 18."

"Due to the fact that the age of consent for sexual acts in Canada is 14 years, police, in consultation with Crown attornies, have concluded that no charges of a sexual nature can be laid under the Criminal Code of Canada."

[Source - Global National, including link to video report]

Pass the bill.

The days of farming out your 14-year old daughters for marriage in exchange for a cow are long over. The days where sexual predators use the internet to lure young, vulnerable children into comprimising, if not abusive, positions are here.

The bill, of course, will not solve the problem. But, it will certainly help, if for no other reason we can put people like Carl Skidmore, who blatantly make victims of children for their own sexual gratification, in jail.

Pass the bill.

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, LXV

2007-02-28T12:38:00.000-06:00

I've just been to this week's carnival, and believe me, there's no place you'd rather be.

So, why not hop on the subway, and get off at Home Sweet Home. That's where you'll find the 65th edition of theCarnival of the True Crime Blogs.

Toronto Underground

2007-02-27T23:00:00.000-06:00

Danger lurks in tunnels. Subter- ranean dwellers seek sustenance and sexual satis- faction. They hide in anonymity, a shadow among the throngs, taking what they can while the world above remains oblivious.

This is the subway.

Walls covered in graffiti. Rats scurrying through the tracks. Blood and vomit stains the floors, the walls and the stairwells.

It’s a dirty world.

The Toronto Transit Commission calls it the better way. Our subways are cleaner than most systems. They’re safe. They’re patrolled.

TTC Cops are now standing on guard. They keep their eyes peeled. They intervene where intervention is necessary.

Cameras peek from behind the walls, giving nervous travelers… transitory visitors of this underworld… a slight sense of safety.

But no one is really safe.

For when the crowds gather, when the cars swell with masses of people… you’re too close for comfort.

Bodies press together. Hands hold whatever they can, as the train rumbles and rocks and rolls from station to station. Passengers jostle for position. Seats are coveted. Poles are clutched.

When the train grinds to halt, balances are lost. People collide. Hands stray. Sometimes… you may end up uncomfortably close to your neighbour.

Take a tour of the TTC. Below is a journey into Toronto's underground world. It begins with a few commuters, and an empty train car. The car fills up, and by Dundas Station people are packed in like a litter of kittens. You get cornered. You can't move. All you want is that fresh air of the world above.

This was my journey today (including a little sample from that great Canadian band, The Arcade Fire).

There are those, however, who seek such hordes. They enjoy the claustrophobic enclosures, putting themselves in the centre of the swarm, anxious for touch.

The difference… when these people cop a feel, they mean it.

It’s part of their M.O.

They touch, feel, grab, rub…

Assault.

Their victims are helpless, left immobile by clusters of people. Surrounded by others, they can disappear into the fold and no one is the wiser.

Such a man is currently on the prowl. But, he’s being hunted.

Toronto Police have issued an alert about a potential sex offender they believe is stalking the TTC.

They point to an incident that happened this past Saturday as evidence of how bizarre and potentially dangerous this guy is.

It was around 6:20pm when a woman was heading eastbound on the always busy and bustling Bloor-Danforth line.

She suddenly felt someone touching her and as she turned to investigate the man escalated his groping, grabbing the startled commuter several times.

When she screamed he stopped, then exited the train when it reached the Greenwood subway station.

"She did exactly the right thing. That's what we're asking people to do. If you raise your voice, scream, you are creating witnesses," said Det. Indy Esken.

"You think you are safe, but it does happen on crowded subways. Often times, women don't even know it's happening to them."

The suspect is described as :

Male,
Brown skin with a dark complexion,
5'2",
161 lbs.,
Pudgy face,
Brown eyes,
Full beard with black facial hair.

[Source – CityNews]

Be wary.

And… keep your distance.

On Motherhood

2007-02-27T14:21:00.000-06:00

From east to west, two horrific stories emerge. Both involve mothers... and both involve murder.

In Quebec's Eastern Township, where Suzanne Grosser-Lauder has plead guilty to accessory to murder. As the story goes, Madame Grosser-Lauder loved her son so very much, she was willing to do anything for him... including cleaning up his bloody mess. The following is from the National Post:

SALABERRY-DE-VALLEYFIELD, Que. - The mother of convicted killer Kurt Lauder pleaded guilty Monday to helping her son clean up the blood-soaked room where he murdered a 16-year-old girl in 2005.

In pleading guilty to being an accessory after the fact, Suzanne Grosser-Lauder, 54, still claimed that when she helped remove pieces of a blood-stained rug and other items from her home she did not know her son had murdered Shanna Poissant.

She says she did not know... but in truth, she simply refused to believe. A blood soaked room is evidence of one thing only. Her little boy did a very, very bad thing. It's something she just could not comprehend.

Kurt Lauder was 23 when he killed Poissant. A small-time professional wrestler who called himself "Career Killer," he pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder.

For his mom, no doubt she never thought he'd ever kill more than his own career. For her to come to terms with what he did... it's hard to fathom. What would you do, if you found out your child was guilty of such a heinous crime?

Would you mop up the blood? Destroy evidence? Keep your mouth shut?

At the very least, justice prevailed, and Madame has admitted the truth. She's owned up, and acknowledged her guilt. There is a measure of mercy in that.

Although, for Shanna Poissant... it's too little too late.

Across the country, in the winter-ridden city of Calgary, a mother is accused of the opposite.

Instead of protecting her child, she's been charged with killing her.

A Calgary mother-of-two will be in court this morning, charged with second-degree murder for allegedly killing her daughter.

Although the autopsy on 14-year-old Aminat Magomadova's body has yet to be completed, police charged the woman, Aset Magomadova, 36, Monday and held her overnight for a bail hearing this morning.

Neighbours said the police had been at the Fay Rd. S.E. house several times since the family moved in just before Christmas.

The woman lived alone in the home with her daughter, and her 12-year-old son who is confined to a wheel chair.

[Source - Calgary Herald]

What happened in this house is a troubling mystery that sends chills through the neighbourhood, and throughout the nation. It has people scratching their heads with wonder.

Details will emerge, but they will hardly be comprehensible. The hardest thing to fathom is the truth.

I've spoken it before. I've written about the deep seeded hurt we all feel when we acknowledge this simple and terrifying truth... that mothers can kill their children.

Reader Poll Results: Karla's Baby

2007-02-26T08:03:00.000-06:00

Well, there were 175 voters last count, and the results are in. A majority of voters think we should take Karla Homolka’s baby away!

The question, as part of a T.O. Crime reader poll, was, “Will Karla Homolka make a good mother?” Here are the responses:

No, authorities should take her baby away – 71 Votes
No, but there is nothing we can do about it – 66 Votes
Yes, she’s reformed and will make a fine mother – 11 Votes
Who cares? – 27 Votes.

For those who think her baby should be taken away, it’s just a poll, so there’s no way to know what people think we she do with the baby. I suppose the idea is that it doesn’t matter, the baby would be better off raised by a pack of wolves than a depraved sex killer who raped and killed her own sister.

Second in voting were a good number of people who felt that Karla was unfit to be a mother, but that there was nothing we could do about it. This is the sad reality. Nothing can be done. She’s served her time and in Canada we don’t legislate family planning.

A number of people said they don’t care. “Who cares?”, they voted. It’s hard to figure how little they care, because they did read the poll, and they did take the time to vote. That must say something.

Finally… 11 people think Karla is reformed and will make a fine mother.

Who are these 11 people? It’s hard to say. I would guess they would include Karla herself, her boyfriend, her family, and maybe her lawyer.

School Daze

2007-02-23T08:32:00.000-06:00

Ahhh... to be in school again.

When I was in high school there were a few special days we could always count on. Snow Days of course, were number one. The days there was so much snow the schools would shut down and we would spend our time tobogganing or throwing snowballs at each other.

Then there were study days. Days that were dedicated to preparing for exams, but really were meant to frolic in the sunshine and NOT go to class.

But one thing we never had… were open-fire gun days, where the threat of a school shooter makes you stay at home.

That’s exactly what some kids at Iroquois Ridge High School are dealing with this morning.

Some parents of students who attend Iroquois Ridge High School will be keeping their kids home today in the wake of a threat scrawled on a bathroom stall earlier this week.

The Oakville secondary school will be open Friday and classes are going ahead as planned, but Halton police will be there to make sure the staff and students who do attend are protected.

The message, discovered earlier this week in one of the school's men's washrooms, suggested a gunman would open fire at the facility on Friday. Authorities aren't sure if the disturbing missive - reportedly written on a toilet paper dispenser - was a prank, but they're taking the case seriously.

[Source – CityNews]

It appears that the silicon chip inside somebody’s head got switched to overload. But, the good news is, if it’s true, he or she left a warning note, so they’re not making everyone stay at home. Instead, the school is hyped-up with cops and extra security.

It probably is a prank. If it’s not, and something is planned for today… it’s just bad communications. It’s like tipping your pitch to the batter.

The real danger here, I should think, is that it has now become painfully clear how easy it is to inflict fear on a school. It’s a step up from pulling the fire alarm to avoid getting caught with unfinished homework. It’s another weapon in the artillery used to “screw the teacher”.

I think we can probably expect more of this in the days to come.

Hey, when the snow clears… how else are you going to get the day off.

Extra Innings in the Ianiero Investigation

2007-02-22T07:54:00.000-06:00

Spring training is around the corner.

Last year at this time we were gearing up for the World Baseball Classic, which saw the best ball players the world had to offer go head to head for national pride.

Also at this time last year, we were stunned, puzzled, shocked, and deep in mourning as news trickled out of Cancun that two Canadians, Domenic and Nancy Ianiero, had been murdered in their hotel room.

A year later, the Baseball Classic was a huge success, but the Ianiero murder investigation is not one step closer to being solved.

You have to wonder if we struck out on this one. Mexican authorities dropped the ball in the first inning. Everyone else has been bumbling around the field ever since.

On the heels of the Globe and Mail article that turned the perceptions of many regarding the investigation into the murders, CTV is gearing up for an exclusive documentary on W-Five. Yesterday, they aired a little teaser of what to expect in the upcoming episode:

Exactly one year after his parents were found murdered in Mexico, Anthony Ianiero told CTV in an exclusive television interview that he believes a security guard carried out the brutal killings.

"I feel 100 per cent, like I always have, that this security guard, an employee of the hotel who has since that day been missing, is responsible for what happened," Ianiero, his parents' oldest child, told W-FIVE for an upcoming report.

[Source – CTV]

At the time of the Globe article, Anthony Ianiero would offer no comment, being committed to this CTV exclusive. It seems we are going to get a rendition of events from his point of view, detailing what he, and his lawyer Edward Greenspan, believes happened on that horrific night.

Ianiero’s theory has been floating around for months. The security guard suspect seems to be the most plausible. The least plausible… or perhaps the least palatable for Canadians… is the possibility that Cheryl Everall and Kimberly Kim are tied up in this whole nasty affair. The two have been desperate to clear their names once and for all. When you look at it from point blank range, the most likely scenario is that the Thunder Bay lovlies are as innocent as new born babes, and the mysterious security guard, who has not been seen since, has got blood all over his hands.

Mexican authorities do not see it that way.

Thus, we have an all out war, on several fronts. Whether it’s Greenspan lashing out at the Mexican police, or Kim and Everall’s campaign for help from the Canadian government, or the Mexican authorities insistence that this crime was “Made in Canada”, there seems to be little, or no, progress on the actually investigation.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries haven’t been so low since the Mexican national baseball team beat us in the World Baseball Classic (those bastards!). Now everybody has a little mud to sling.

So, we're in extra innings, with no end in sight. You almost wish we could have a rainout and start the whole damn thing from the beginning.

It would be nice to see this put to rest, and justice done. First and foremost for the Ianiero family, who suffer daily. Secondly, for Domenic and Nancy Ianiero, the victims, who cannot speak for themselves and deserve justice. Thirdly, for Everall and Kim. Despite the celebrity that I think they actually enjoy, being suspects of a crime is very unfortunate. And, most importantly…

Wouldn’t it be nice to put this behind us and play a game of baseball?

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, LXIV

2007-02-21T11:05:00.000-06:00

Time for another visit to The Cellar, the host of this week's Carnival of the True Crime Blogs.

This time you'll be lucky to find stories from around the globe.

This time... you'll be luckier to get out alive!

Enjoy.

CSI Cancun

2007-02-20T08:55:00.000-06:00

“Anyone who watches CSI knows more about investigating a crime scene than any cop in Mexico.”

Edward Greenspan said that. I heard it this morning in an interview with Andy Barrie on CBC Radio One.

Greenspan is clearly frustrated, brimming with anger and anxiety. In addition to what he feels has been ultra-incompetence by Mexican authorities in the investigation into the murders of Domenic and Nancy Ianiero, he’s currently at odds with the Globe and Mail.

The Globe ran an article this weekend in which they claimed that Anthony Ianiero, son of the victims, was a person of interest by Mexican police. Not a suspect, to be clear, but someone they want to talk to. The Mexicans continue to be convinced that the murder was contracted by a Canadian.

In fact, the Attorney General for the state of Quintana Roo, Bello Rodriguez, says, quite clearly, “The killers were contracted by Canadians.”

What Greenspan is miffed about is that, as he claims, the Globe did not allow him proper time to respond to this claim. He says they let him know only the day before they ran the article. He insinuated that they intentionally avoided him so that they could run their “exclusive” as a clean hit… with no real opposing opinion.

The Globe maintains that they tried to reach him well in advance, several times, with no result.

Listening to Mr. Greenspan this morning caused me a few concerns. I do believe that he has the best interest of his clients in mind, and I understand that the Ianieros must be suffering terribly.

But, in the end, are his confrontational actions really helpful? Will justice be served quicker by lambasting, over and over again, the people in charge of the investigation? Further, does it help to go head to head with a major national newspaper?

I’m only asking…

The Globe’s article does get into some pretty juicy allegations. The overriding suggestion of the piece is that there is much more to this than meets the eye. It goes so far as to say that there are some, even within the Ianiero family, who believe, or at least entertain the notion of, the debt theory… that Domenic Ianiero had agreed to cover a $300,000 gambling debt of a "person known to him".

The theory that Domenic and Nancy were killed over a debt has surfaced before, and Mr. Greenspan has dismissed it entirely, saying: "There is no debt. .ƒ|.ƒ|. This is baseless."

Since then, however, a close family member has also told The Globe that, a few years before the slayings, Domenic let it slip that he had paid that same person's earlier gambling debts, which were between $10,000 and $30,000.

The story of the $300,000 has also reached another Ianiero family member and a friend of Domenic's from Torella del Sannio. And by one account, Domenic refused to pay it. Records also show that, less than three weeks before Domenic and Nancy flew to Cancun, the couple gave this alleged debtor a $120,000 loan with a 5-per-
cent interest rate, with $500 to be repaid on the first day of every month.

[Full Article: Globe and Mail]

The article is very interesting and worth a read. Regardless of what you believe, or what the truth may be, it is apparent that the condition of this case is a mess. Perhaps the Mexicans are right, perhaps not. Maybe Greenspan has a point, maybe not. Either way, facts and fictions are crossing paths, making for very murky waters.

Today is the one year anniversary of the deaths of Domenic and Nancy Ianiero, and we are no closer to knowing the truth than we were 12 months ago.

In fact, with all the international mudslinging, the diplomatic wrangling, and the legal grandstanding… maybe we’re a step behind.

The Crown vs. Stephen Truscott

2007-02-19T09:11:00.000-06:00

The winter storm that blew through Toronto last week certainly took its toll, much like the double homicide in Markham. The case hit the media like a blizzard, and there has been talk of little else.

One of the casualties, unfortunately, has been coverage of Stephen Truscott’s appeal, which concluded last week.

The submissions are in. Now, we wait. The five judge panel has taken the submissions and has gone into hiding. Some time in the spring, they will re-emerge with their findings. They will tell us if Stephen Truscott is innocent of the 1959 murder of Lynne Harper, acquitted of the crime, or if the original conviction still stands. They could, though it’s virtually impossible because many of the witnesses are now dead, order a new trial.

Having watched much of the proceedings, the most crucial thing to strike me was the Crown’s question to the defense: “So, what’s new?”

WHAT? Have you been watching this appeal???

I’m a bit dumbfounded, to say the least. It’s so painfully obvious what is new here. Evidence that was withheld from the defense in 1959. That’s new in that it can now be considered. New testimony from witnesses that weren’t questioned. New scientific evidence. New rules of law.

In fact, it’s like a whole new case. There are about 250 new bits of information that point away from Truscott as the killer.

Truscott’s lawyers submit that this new evidence should, at the very least, be cause for reasonable doubt, and thus acquit Truscott. New science is key, as it casts extreme doubt on the “time of death” that was so important for the prosecution of Truscott in the first place.

The Crown’s case… actually… I’m not sure they have a case. They seem to think there is no case. They have basically submitted that they shouldn’t even be here. The court should just call the whole thing off and let the previous decision stand.

A really good blog resource for this trial is from Guelph Mercury reporter Scott Tracy. He followed the hearings live, and offers many great insights. Of the Crown’s approach, he says:

But for most of the hearing, the Crown has seemed less interested in running and more interested in simply asking the judges to disqualify Truscott from the race and allow the prosecution to win by default.

The province's principle position is simply that the judges should throw out the appeal and allow the most controversial verdict in Canadian history to stand. Failing that, prosecutors argue, if the judges believe Truscott's trial was unfair they should order a new trial and place the matter back in the capable hands of the Ministry of the Attorney General.

Back in the same hands that once sent a 14-year-old boy to the gallows.

[Source]

In his blog, Tracy asks one simple but very poignant question, “"Does the Crown still believe Steven Truscott killed Lynne Harper?"

Based on their approach to this appeal… I would say they just don’t care.

To read Tracy’s coverage of the Stephen Truscott appeal, click here.

Who Will Speak for Paula and Julie?

2007-02-16T06:40:00.000-06:00

The temperature is on the rise.

Toronto’s cold snap seems to be coming to an end, and instead of the deathly chill of minus 28, we’re enjoying a balmy minus 14 (with the wind chill, as I write). But as mourners gather at the funeral of Julie Crocker this afternoon, there will be something colder in their hearts.

Saying goodbye to someone who died so young, someone with a close family, children, and a bright future ahead, isn’t easy at any time. But how heartwrenching it must be to not know what really happened. All you can do is speculate, and hope that your worst fears… aren’t true.

Even then, is it any consolation?

Would the Crockers be happier if Christopher Little, the accused, did not kill Julie? Is it easier for them to swallow that Paula Menendez committed a murder/suicide?

No doubt, that’s what they’d rather believe. But does it make it any easier?

Last night at the funeral home, both Crocker’s family, and the family of Christopher Little, stood side by side in grief.

But while the Little family stood beside the Crockers in their grief, Chris Little was noticeably absent from the photos, which included Julie on her wedding day.

Her funeral is today at 2 p.m. at the Central United Church on Main St. in Markham.

"We're going into a hard couple of days right now," Darren Little, Chris Little's cousin, said yesterday.

[Source – Toronto Sun]

There is nothing so absurd about that. Even if Christopher Little is guilty, his family is due their share of sadness. In fact, it may weigh all the heavier on their hearts to know that one of their own is responsible.

But they are clinging to the hope that he did not do this. They are sticking to his version of events. They WANT to believe the murder/suicide story. They can’t imagine it any other way.

I imagine the family of Paula Menendez is going through the exact same thing.

I imagine they would rather see their loved one as an innocent victim, than violent perpetrator.

Neither scenario brings anyone back.

But it is so very important that we know the truth. Julie Crocker and Paula Menendez have been robbed of their voices. They can’t tell us what happened that night.

Hopefully the evidence will speak for them.

Hopefully, it will speak loud and clear.

Just the Facts, Please

2007-02-15T12:28:00.000-06:00

Compare these two descriptions of the crime scene:

This, from the Globe and Mail:

When police arrived at the home formerly shared by Mr. Little and Ms. Crocker, they found the 33-year-old mother of two lying beside her bed, her throat cut, the source said.

On the floor of the garage was the body of Toronto physiotherapist Paula Menendez, 34, who perished from what the autopsy report described as ligature strangulation.

And this, from the Toronto Sun:

Crocker, 33, was found dead in the bedroom of her Larkin Blvd. home in Markham Monday morning. Menendez, 34 -- whose only obvious connection to Crocker was that Crocker was dating Menendez's estranged husband -- was found in Crocker's garage with her hands and feet bound, hanging from the rafters.

Notice the difference. One on the floor, one hanging from the rafters.

This variance is huge, because one could support a murder/suicide theory (which Christopher Little would have you believe), and one refutes it entirely.

If she was found on the floor, it could support an allegation by Little that he found Menedez’s body hanging, and cut her down. That would support a scenario where Menendez, eager for revenge against the woman who stole her husband, stabbed Crocker to death, then hanged herself in the garage, prior to Little’s early morning arrival.

If she was found hanging from the rafters… feet and hands bound… well, it’s not bloody likely it was suicide.

The Sun’s version certainly supports my theory, which was in my last post. The Star’s version doesn’t actually kill said theory, but doesn’t actually lend it any credence either.

It is worth noting, however, that I have seen no police confirmation of the “hanging from the rafters” detail. Could it be Sun speculation? That wouldn’t surprise me, although the manner in which they write it as fact suggests they are confident this is what happened.

Also, many media outlets are reporting, as T.O. Crime did yesterday, about the obituary for Julie Crocker. They have noticed the irony in the words “beloved wife of Christopher Little”.

The other bit of news today is that Rick Ralph has made a public statement. He is, quite understandably, distraught over the whole affair. He's just back from his father's funeral, so he's not even really begun to process all that has happened.

I can't blame him. This tragedy has a scope Sophocles and Aeschylus could only dream of.

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, LXIII

2007-02-15T06:25:00.000-06:00

With so much love in the air yesterday, whether it was all that speculation over the Love Triangle Murders, or just the tender love I give my wife every day that somehow gets enhanced on Valentine's... I forgot something very important!

The Carnival of the True Crime Blogs!

This week's Carnvial is hosted by Crime Scene Blog, and features many stories of love gone wrong.

It truly is a case of True Love meets True Crime.

Be kind.

Love,
H-

A Little Theory of Murder

2007-02-14T16:02:00.000-06:00

I can’t take full credit for this one. K-Dough and I brainstormed and came up with the following theory on the puzzling, and gruesome Markham love triangle murders.

Please note that the following is a theory. It is only a theory, based on what few facts we know, and a great deal of speculation…

Christopher Little was still in love with Julie Crocker. Though they were separated, the fact that she was dating sportscaster Rick Ralph made his blood boil. He couldn’t take it. It drove him nuts.

On learning that Rick Ralph was away at his father’s funeral, he decided to take action. He would get back at them all, and ruin their lives the way they had ruined his.

But, this involved doing something he would have, under normal conditions, been unthinkable. He would have to murder Rick Ralph’s estranged wife, Paula Menendez.

So that’s what he did. He drove out to Menendez’s home. Possibly, he gained access by discussing with her the fact that they were in the same position. Their loved ones had run off together. But, once her guard was down, Little attacked her. He strangled her to death.

This was only the beginning of his plan. He then put Menendez’s body into his truck, and drove her to Crocker’s Markham home.

You see, he knew that Rick Ralph had left his BMW in her garage. He knew that she was picking him up at the airport the next day. He knew, that the two of them… eventually, would be together… in that garage.

So, he bound Menendez’s hands and feet, and hanged her from the rafters… right above Ralph’s car.

To him, it was to be the sweetest twist of irony. An act of revenge fit for a Greek tragedy. He could almost see the looks on their faces. He was reeling with the thought that the rap would fall on them. He believed, in his shattered state of mind, that they would together be blamed for her murder. (Even if this theory isn’t quite accurate, I can only believe that the body was hanged in the garage, above that car, for a very specific reason.)

But, something went wrong.

Julie Crawford heard him in the garage. She came out… and saw Little there, with the hanging corpse. Little’s goose was cooked.

He panicked. There was screaming and shouting and a struggle ensued. They got into the kitchen, where Little had no choice… but to take a knife and stab his “beloved” wife in the neck.

Now he didn’t know what to do. It was not supposed to end like that.

But, there was one play left to make.

He called the police, and told them that he just happened to find these two women… dead.

Who knows if this is what really happened? Maybe we’ll never know. But, it seems to me, it’s as good a theory as any. Hopefully the police have considered this same scenario, and regardless of what really happened, will come to the truth very soon.

A Chilling Obituary

2007-02-14T10:21:00.000-06:00

JULIE ALEXANDER CROCKER: October 15, 1973-February 12, 2007 Tragically on Tuesday, February 12, at the age of 33. Beloved wife of Christopher Little. Devoted and loving mother to Madison aged 4 and MacKenzie aged 3.

This is the obituary for Julie Crocker, posted in today’s Toronto Star and Globe and Mail.

I felt chills when I read that the deceased is the “beloved wife” of her accused killer.

With all the mystery surrounding this love triangle, all the gruesome details, and the endless speculation, it’s hard to remember that a family is in ruin.

Children are left motherless.

Two women are taken from their families, and from their friends.

The obit also notes that, for friends of Ms. Julie Crocker, you can send your condolences via www.dixongarland.com

Still, there is much ghastly business to conduct, as police continue to sift through the evidence and piece this puzzle together.

One thing they are asking of us, is if you have seen this truck. If it’s familiar to you, please contact York Regional Police.

A LITTLE Problem

2007-02-14T06:49:00.000-06:00

The morning emerges with a heavy blanket of snow, a wind chill of -26, and details about how Julie Crocker and Paula Menendez died.

Papers are reporting that Crocker was found inside her home, dead from stabbing wounds to the neck. Menendez was found strangled to death in the garage.

However, the Toronto Sun is offering another gruesome detail…

Downstairs in the garage of the home Crocker once shared with Little, Paula Menendez, Ralph's estranged wife, was found hanging from the rafters, her hands and feet bound.

An autopsy confirmed Crocker, 33, died from sharp force trauma to the neck. The ad account manager at radio station CHFI leaves behind two girls, 4 and 3, who were sleeping as she was killed and who are now with relatives.

Menendez, 34, was strangled with a ligature. Co-workers told reporters her twin sister delivered a baby the day she was killed.

But how -- and why -- the popular Etobicoke physiotherapist wound up dead at 95 Larkin Blvd. in Markham early Monday remains a mystery, with detectives looking into whether she was lured or snatched from her home sometime Sunday evening.

[Source – Toronto Sun]

The horrific image of Menendez hanging from the rafters adds a deeper chill to the day's deep freeze. What's more, it destroys all plausibility of a murder/suicide.

This was a double murder.

Christopher Little continues to deny responsibility. He claims he found the women that way.

There are a few problems with his story, however. A few puzzles to work out. Why was he at the house at 3am? And, how did Menendez get there in the first place?

As these mysteries get pondered, Christopher Little’s problem looms largely over his head.

Like a storm cloud blowing in from the south.

The Love Triangle Puzzle

2007-02-13T13:42:00.000-06:00

How did this play out?

This Love Triangle in Winter is looking more like a Rubik’s Cube – a messy puzzle that seems impossible to solve.

What’s more, it’s closer to a square than a triangle. See if you can make any sense of this drama…

Dramatis Personae:

Julie Crocker – radio sales executive, separated from husband Christopher Little, currently dating Fan 590 sportscaster Rick Ralph.

Christopher Little – estranged husband of Julie Crocker.

Paula Menendez – estranged wife of Rick Ralph.

Rick Ralph – Fan 590 sportscaster, separated from wife Paula Menendez, currently dating Julie Crocker.

The Crime:

Julie Crocker and Paula Menendez were both found dead, early yesterday morning, in Crocker’s home. Christopher Little claimed to have found their bodies when he called 911. Police clearly didn’t buy his story, because he has since been charged with the double homicide.

Rick Ralph was away, attending his father’s funeral in Nova Scotia.

The Theories

They abound. The kicker in the mix is Menendez, because her presence in the home is most peculiar. What motive would Little have, even if he were homicidally angry over his wife’s affair, to also kill this woman? After all, Little and Menendez were in the same boat. Their spouses were having an affair with each other. As a pair, Little and Menendez make better allies than enemies.

One theory I’ve heard kicked around is that Christopher Little was telling the truth. Menendez went to confront her husband’s lover, shot her, then shot herself. Little finds the two of them already dead, and calls police.

Another theory is that Little does ally with Menendez, and together they go to confront Crocker. They bring a gun (which hasn't been confirmed), and as so often happens with guns, more people end up dead than originally intended. A struggle ensues, and in the end Menendez and Crocker end up dead.

The latest news is that Rick Ralph’s home in Etobicoke is now a crime scene. So, here’s one that may make some sense…

Christopher Little doesn’t realize that Ralph is not at home. He goes, in a rage, to confront him. Instead, Menendez is there, and either by accident or in a fit, he kills her. He panics. He puts Menendez in his car and drives her to Crocker’s home. Inside the garage (which appears to be where the bodies were found), he calls Crocker to come out. He kills her.

Then he calls the police.

Alternately, Little always intended to kill Menendez, and use her as a set-up to make it look like theory #1...

The Whole Story:

I’m sure we’ll be getting a more accurate version of events from police, eventually. In the meantime, there is nothing but speculation.

All that is really certain is that this is a most tragic tale, and one that will be told over and over again, for years to come.

[For latest news links on this case, click here.]

A Love Triangle in Winter

2007-02-13T09:01:00.000-06:00

Toronto braces for the coming of the storm.

For a household in Markham, the storm has already blown through, and it has left two dead.

But it was not the bone chilling temperatures, the wind or the snow that took the lives of Julie Crocker and Paula Menendez. It was, allegedly, Christopher Little. CityNews reports:

He's her estranged husband. And the 35-year-old is charged with her murder and the killing of another young woman.

Both were found at 95 Larkin Ave. in the 9th Line and 16th Ave. area of Markham Monday morning after a 911 call came in at 3:30am. It supposedly was placed by a friend of the family.

At first police weren't sure whether they were dealing with a murder suicide or a double homicide. But after waiting several hours for a warrant to go into the premises, they now have a better idea of what went on - if not why.

But this story still has a lingering mystery. Cops aren't entirely sure why the other woman was there and they have refused to release her name until next of kin can be notified.

[Source, with video – CityNews]

Mercifully, the children were fast asleep, unaware of the horrors that took place. Of course that will not stem the cold, bitter reality of what happened here. That will not be of any consolation as they will deal with this for the rest of their lives.

There have been allegations that this tragedy is the result of a love triangle. On the eve of Valentine’s day, there was either too much love, or not enough, going on in the home. Three is never a good number. Love triangles often end up with broken hearts and blood on the floor. T.O. Crime has featured a few.

Love triangle murders do tend to attract much media attention. They make reporters get hot under the collar, and start brewing their sensational, highly seductive speculations. Add to this story the fact that Julie Crocker was a well known sales executive for a popular Toronto radio station, and it has the makings of a dime store novel.

You will hear much, in the coming days, of what went on in that home on this cold night. As one distraught family member put it:

"I don't wish this on anyone. This was the biggest shock I've ever felt in my life. No one expects a TV show to unfold in front of them."

No, they don’t. Not like this.

Crime Scene Blog Hunts the NorCal Rapist

2007-02-12T20:36:00.000-06:00

We're a long way from the scene of the crime, but there's a bunch of bloggers trying to find this guy.

The Crime Scene Blog is leading the charge tonight with a post chronicling the sordid history of this bastard. Police feel his string of rapes date back to 1991, and his latest, which occured on October 13, 2006, may have triggered a long awaited break. You can read the history, the specifics, and a detailed description by clicking here.

We may be far away, but there are enough bloggers in the North that we can really help to get the word out. Feel free to post a link to the Crime Scene Blog, and help track this rapist down.

Karla's 7 Pound Alien Baby!

2007-02-09T14:49:00.000-06:00

It's looking more and more like the rumours were true! Karla Homolka, using her new name Leanne Teale, has given birth to a baby boy! A 7 pounder!

I got the tip from an anonymous commenter in my last post, and some news outlets are now reporting it as fact.

Frankly, I prefer my own version of events, which include an alien abduction, impregnation, and underground delivery. But, some think that story is far fetched.

Is it though? Is it as far fetched as a man, in his right mind, falling in love with this schoolgirl rapist and murderer... this vile thing that continues to haunt our world?

Apparently not. In fact, word is Karly Curls is going to have herself a nice, big fat serial-killer wedding.

I can't even fathom who will be on the guest list. After all, her last wedding was such a great affair. It was a dream come true, marred only by the fact that her sister could not attend. It was really sad for Karla, that her precious sibling was so busy. Oh, no... right... sorry, her sister couldn't attend because Karla helped drug her, rape her, and kill her. That's right.

In any case, it looks like the Sun's rumour mongering may have had some truth to it after all.

All I can think is... this poor, poor baby. Another victim in her abominable wake.

Canada ♥ Mexico!

2007-02-09T08:16:00.000-06:00

“What needs to happen before (the foreign affairs) department will finally issue a travel warning for Canadians visiting Mexico? Last month, a teenager from Woodbridge was killed while vacationing in Mexico. Two weeks later, another hit-and-run killed a Chatham man. Just last Saturday, a gunman opened fire and shot two more Canadians in Acapulco. All this has happened less than a year after the brutal murders of Domenic and Nancy Ianiero in Cancun."

This is the question posed to the government during Question Period by Liberal MP Ken Boshcoff. [Source – Toronto Star]

The governing Tories’ response? Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Mackay (pictured above) says:

"I don't think that it's necessary to have an emergency debate on this because millions of Canadians have travelled to Mexico without incident.”

When you look at it from a numbers standpoint, it makes sense. If you went to Mexico, you’re more likely NOT to get shot than you are to get shot. Chances are… you’ll make it back.

What has some Canadians concerned, however, is the handling of these incidents when they occurred. Certainly the investigation into the deaths of the Ianieros was severely lacking in competency, not to mention surrounded by controversy. The instant reaction by Mexican authorities to protect their tourism industry, in the eyes of many, marred the investigation and likely destroyed any chance of solving the case.

Certainly Kimberly Kim and Cheryl Everall would agree… there are problems there.

Of course, T.O. Crime readers have been sharing their views over the past few months. Some vehemently opposed to travel to Mexico. Others, including my good friends over at Mex Files, feel we are overreacting, and that there is no real problem.

A T.O. Crime reader poll (still available in the right sidebar if you’d like to vote) shows a majority of voters want the Canadian government to do something to stop people from going to Mexico. 52% say that the government should either issue a ban, or a travel warning, on Canadian visits to Mexico. An additional 28% of voters want Canadians to voluntarily boycott travel to Mexico. Only a slim 7% say that Mexico is perfectly safe for travel.

Here are the raw numbers:

Government ban on travel………. 25% (32 votes)
Government "Travel Advisory"….. 27% (34 votes)
Voluntary boycott…………………. 28% (35 votes)
Canadians use own discretion…...13% (17 votes)
Mexico is perfectly safe for travel…7% (9 votes)

127 votes total (Click here to see results)

Personally, I voted that Canadians should use their own discretion. While I will not be going to Mexico in the near future, and I believe that we need to do something to pressure Mexican authorities to do better when investigating crimes against tourists, I think we’re all grown ups and can make decisions on our own. Thousands of Canadians are in Mexico right now. Most of them will come back and tell you how great it was, how nice the people were, how they enjoyed the sun and beach.

A few may come back dead… but let’s be realistic. That could happen anywhere.

Besides this… I have to remember what Toronto was like under SARS. I remember being really pissed off when the WHO issued a travel warning to Toronto, based on overblown reports of an epidemic raging through the city. The chances of getting SARS in Toronto were pretty slim, and really… there was no threat provided people used common sense.

Still, your chances of getting SARS in Toronto were probably greater than getting shot in Mexico.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you may see this position as a flip-flop. It is not. I still feel that people need to be aware of the risks and the record of police in providing safety. I still feel that Mexican authorities need to be more upfront, cover up less, and clean up their act. The good news is that headway is being made, and Canadians are helping. Mexico is allowing the RCMP to assist them in their probe. [Read about it in the Houston Chronicle].

Moreover, you can’t blame a nation for a few bad apples. I love my Mexican friends, and I would visit them almost anytime. For the time being, though, I’d rather they come and visit me here, that’s all.

Hey, if you really want to play the odds… you don’t have to go to Mexico. Just hang out at Yonge and Dundas… or in Flemingdon Park.

Karla Homolka Gives Birth To Reptilian Alien Baby

2007-02-08T08:57:00.000-06:00

Have you heard the latest on Karly Curls? She’s gone and got herself a man, a dog, and… a baby! (It seems the rumours are true! Click here for update.)

Yes, the Toronto Sun is full of rumours today that the infamous Karla Homolka has given birth.

If you believe the gossip, she’s lived out her fantasy within two years of leaving prison to finding the perfect mate, and settling down to raise a child on her own. I assume, were it true, that her intention would be to NOT rape and kill this child. You gotta hope Karla’s got that out of her system.

But, how much weight can we put behind these rumours?

Not much.

The National Post (the only other outlet to cover the story this morning), says that the rumours appear to be unfounded.

Lawyers and others close to Karla Homolka said yesterday they knew nothing about reports the released sex killer had recently given birth.

Tim Danson, who represents the families of two of Ms. Homolka's victims, said he understood the woman's father, Karel Homolka, had publicly suggested that Ms. Homolka had had a baby, though the lawyer said he was skeptical about the report.

The story was news to Ruth Gagnon, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Quebec, the offender social service agency that helped Ms. Homolka when she was still in prison and since she was released in July, 2005.

[Source – National Post]

Regardless, how could the Toronto Sun resist yet another opportunity to put Karla Homolka on their front page? Given that the baby killer has sold more papers for the Sun than their marketing team could ever manage, this unsubstantiated, unfounded, and improbable speculation makes a great cover story. After all, who needs facts and details when you can print whispered rumours.

Anyway, that Karla gave birth is NOT what I heard. I heard from the brother of a guy who shopped at the same store as this lady whose son delivered newspapers to Karla Homolka’s neighbour, and he said that Karla was abducted by an alien spacecraft where she was impregnated with a reptilian infant, returned to earth, and gave birth in a sewer.

If only I’d brought my story to the Sun sooner!

Omar's Killer?

2007-02-07T19:48:00.000-06:00

Could this be the guy who murdered Omar Wellington, the young man savagely beaten to death in Flemingdon Park?

Police may not have his name, but they know his mug, and this composite drawing may just be the key to finding him.

Flemingdon Park became infamous for cowardice the night Omar died. It was the same night people shut their curtains, their doors, their mouths. They turned a blind eye and let a young man die in their backyard.

But Toronto Police services has not turned away.

The following is from their press release:

On Saturday, July 15, 2006, at approximately 6:35 p.m., police were called to a wooded area near the southwest corner of Flemingdon Park for unknown trouble.

The lifeless body of a 17-year-old boy was discovered there.

A composite drawing of a person-of-interest in this case, as well as photographs of a weapon believed to have been involved, are being released.

As a result of information recently received, witnesses have been able to supply investigators with the description used to develop the composite drawing.

This person-of-interest is known to have roots in the Flemingdon Park area and previously resided or currently resides in this neighbourhood.

Witnesses describe him as black, about 18, light complexion, 5’6"–5’8", and between 140 and 150 lbs.

[Full Release]

More than that, Toronto cops continue to use innovative and creative methods for police work. In this case, they are using popular technology to get word out.

TPS has made a music video.

It's been posted on YouTube, featuring music by Jesse David, highlighting the things you need to know to bring Omar's killers to justice.

Take a look, and jog your memory. This YouTube video may just help Omar to get spoken for.

Celebrating Chantel

2007-02-07T15:33:00.000-06:00

Last week I posted a piece titled Remembering Chantel Dunn, marking efforts being made by family and friends to keep her memory alive, and to find the people who killed her.

Today, a university student handed me something that touched me deeply. It was a flyer which read:

"Chantel Dunn was a second year York University student pursuant of a law degree. She was born on April 30th 1986 in Scarborough, Ontario. She departed the world at the tender age of 19, and was another innocent victim of gun violence. She received multiple gunshot wounds on Monday, February 6, at approximately 11:15 PM outside Northwood Community Centre... and was pronounced dead on February 7, 2006. Today, we students celebrate the life of one of our own who was taken before her time. Chantel will be infinitely missed and lovingly remembered by her many family and friend as an "ANGEL".
If you would like to join in this special remembrance, and share the celebration of a beautiful young woman who deserved so much better... visit the website www.chanteldunn.com.

And if you know anything about the night she died... now is the time to speak.

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs LXII

2007-02-07T10:57:00.000-06:00

If you want to play with Lilo (and I know you really, really do), now is the perfect time. Lost in Lima Ohio is hosting this week's Carnival of the True Crime Blogs.

Get over there quick... before her mood changes.

Searching for Jessie

2007-02-06T13:29:00.000-06:00

Have you seen this woman?

This is Jessie Foster, a Calgary woman who went to Las Vegas and never came back. She’s been missing for about a year, having last contacted her family in March of 2006. The 21-year old has not been seen or heard from by anyone since. Her bank accounts and credit card have shown no activity. Her regular calls to family members have ceased altogether.

Over one year ago, Foster arrived in Las Vegas on her way home from a trip to Florida with a friend.

"She called me from Las Vegas and said, 'Mom, I like it here, I'm going to stay," Grant said.

Foster apparently met and befriended a man named Peter Todd, who told her he raced cars and came from a wealthy family.

"To her, he was like Prince Charming," Grant said. Before long, Foster had moved into Todd's expensive condo.

But a private detective hired by Foster's dad, Dwight Foster, uncovered some disturbing information.

[Source – Global National]

What the detective found out was that Jessie Foster had become involved in prostitution during her stay in Vegas. The common lure of Sin City appears to have drawn her in, but what happened after remains a mystery.

It also seems that her “Prince Charming” was no prince at all. Peter Todd was married to a convicted prostitute and had a record of spousal abuse.

There is not much more Vegas police can do. They say they have no evidence of what possibly could have happened to her. The case is closed pending new leads.

But Foster’s family has not given up. They’ve gone to Vegas to spread word, hand out posters, talk to people, and have even started their own website, www.jessiefoster.ca, with hopes of finding their daughter.

I know that my blogging friends on the True Crime Blogroll, spread across the United States, will search through their memories and files to see if they have anything that may match her description. I’m hoping you will do the same.

Here are her particulars:

Jessica Edith Louise Foster
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Hazel
Height: 5’6” – 5’7”
Weight: 110-120 lbs
Age: Disappeard: 21 Current: 22

If you have any information at all that may help, please contact Jessie’s mom at jessiesmom@jessiefoster.ca, or Detective Dave Molnar, North Las Vegas Police Department, Phone: (702) 633-1779.

In the words of Jessie’s mom, “Jessie, we're looking for you, baby. Don't worry, we're going to find you."

Happy Birthday, Sweet 16

2007-02-05T15:19:00.000-06:00

There may have been sixteen candles on the birthday cake, but there is nothing to celebrate this evening in the Scarborough home where 17-year-old Kemar Long Thompson was shot dead.

It seems that this was a party that got way out of hand.

Frightened neighbours peered out their windows yesterday morning as police investigators from the forensic identification unit collected evidence from the one-and-a-half-storey yellow stucco home with the green roof, its front yard cordoned off by yellow police tape.

The property is owned by Toronto Community Housing Corporation, neighbours said, noting that the current tenants – a woman in her 50s named Barbara, her son Leonard and daughter Carrie-Anne, 16 – are "lovely people.

One neighbour said he was in his bedroom about 10 p.m. Saturday when he noticed about 40 people, many with their cellphones open and screens lit up, arrive at the house.

"I got the impression that a lot of the people that were at the party weren't invited," he said, speculating some may have learned of it via text messages. "You don't invite that many people to a little house."

About two hours later, he was rousted from bed after what he described as a "big commotion" on the usually quiet residential street. When he looked out the window, the man said, he saw "a ton of people being disgorged from the house.

[Source – Toronto Star]

There are some unfortunate similarities here to the recent murder of Matthew Daly. Daly also had some uninvited guests at a party, and when he confronted them they beat him to death. The boys involved in that incident have been convicted of second-degree murder.

The people involved in this case, are still on the run.

Given the number of people at this party, there were no doubt plenty of witnesses who could help police apprehend the suspects. I know that may seem a given, but, sadly in this city, it is not. Far too often people in the presence of a crime “see nothing, hear nothing, and say nothing.”

Hopefully, this is not one of those cases. Please, if you know something, call. Here’s the information you need:

Police are looking for three male suspects, with these updated descriptions:

Suspect #1 is now described as: brown, 5'6" to 5'7", with a slim build and dark hair in cornrows. He was wearing dark clothing.

Suspect #2 is now described as: black, 5'9" to 6', with a dark complexion. He was wearing a black hoodie and a baseball cap.

Suspect #3 is described as: black, 5'9" to 6", with braided hair. He was wearing a black hoodie and a baseball cap.

At the time of the shooting, a large number of people were in the house for a party. Many have come forward with valuable information. Investigators are encouraging those who have not yet come forward to call.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Graham Gibson at 416−808−7405, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416−222−TIPS (8477), or online at www.222tips.com.

[Police Press Release]

More Canadian Victims in Mexico

2007-02-05T06:03:00.000-06:00

People from Woodbridge take heed.

You're dropping like flies in Mexico.

The latest incident involving Canadians victimized in Mexico is a double shooting in Aculpulco. The idyllic vacation spot is gaining notoriety for violence, and it seems that people from the true north are paying a price much greater than airfare.

Granted, in this case, the victims have thus far survived, although one is reported to be in critical condition. And, I'm hearing some reports on CBC Radio One that they were not from Woodbridge. Possibly, at least one is from Niagara.

But, according to the Toronto Star:

Two Toronto-area residents have been shot in Acapulco, Mexico, as the toll of Canadian casualties from one of this country's favourite sunshine destinations continues to rise.

The man and woman, both from Woodbridge and travelling in the same group, were not badly injured in the weekend shooting at Casa Inn Hotel, according to Acapulco police.

The victims were identified by a Toronto TV station as Rita Calara, 55, and Yoyo Manela, 73, but police have not confirmed their identities. The hotel management also declined to comment last night, saying they would comment today.

Mexican police confirmed the two victims, from Ontario, suffered minor injuries to their legs late Saturday and were treated in a local hospital.

The duo are the second and third Canadians from Woodbridge to suffer violence in the Pacific Ocean coastal resort in the past month.

[Source]

Add these to the "hit and run" death of Adam DePrisco, and the double homicide of Nancy and Domenic Ianiero, and it would appear that there is a death wish for Woodbridgers who travel to Mexico.

And yet, Canadians continue to clamer in the hotspot, by the thousands.

That doesn't mean it's business as usual. There are some indications that the numbers of Canadian vacationers have declined dramatically since this violence began.

Of course, the Woodbridge connection, if there is one, is a coincidence. It really can't be anything more. And, as I noted in my post Crime Travel, tourists are victims of crime the world over. It's nothing new.

But there is a certain level of security that one expects from a resort, and when the bodies start to pile up... it may be time to pause and take note and... maybe... choose somewhere else to go.

I hear Toronto has some great deals right now... and your chances of survival are pretty good... considering. And as for the temperature, who can beat -30 degrees?

Remembering Chantel Dunn

2007-02-02T15:14:00.000-06:00

Bitterness. Anger.

These are the first two words that came to mind to Pastor Lennox Walker this morning, as he discussed the murder of 19-year old Chantel Dunn on Metro Morning.

The pastor was interviewed by CBC’s Andy Barrie, as he, along with friends and family of Chantel, are doing what they can to ensure the young lady is not forgotten. (You can listen to the interview on-line by clicking here. Unfortunately, the website will be replaced on Monday with a new episode, so you’ll have to access it this weekend if you want to hear it.)

It’s been a year since Chantel picked her boyfriend up at a basketball game. The two were sitting in a parked car when two people approached the vehicle and shot them both. Her boyfriend survived.

She did not.

Police believe that Chantel was not the target. It seems the shooters were after her mate.

Still, no arrests have been made.

No one has come forward with any information.

Not even the boyfriend.

It has been alleged that, maybe, the boyfriend knows who the shooters were.

When asked, this morning, how he felt about this, Pastor Lennox could only say, “sad.”

And how sad it is, that no one will stand up and speak for this beautiful child, whose life was cruelly taken by cowards.

Tomorrow (Saturday, February 3), a memorial service will be held for Chantel Dunn at the Praise Cathedral in Mississauga.

Please keep Chantel in your thoughts. She deserves to be remembered.

What’s more, her killers deserve to be caught.

Someone knows who they are.

Someone should stand up and speak.

Victim Torment: The Matthew Daly Trial Sentences

2007-02-02T09:49:00.000-06:00

The sentences are in, but the question of justice remains.

When the boys who beat Matthew Daly to death were convicted of second degree murder, I said that Matthew Daly had been spoken for. I still believe this. A court of law tried, convicted and sentenced the people responsible for his death. Sadly, that’s more justice than many murder victims will get.

But, it’s a bit hard to take that one man will be set free.

Yesterday, Ontario Superior Justice Fletcher Dawson sentenced Stephen Papadopoulos to an extra day in jail on top of the five years and three months he has spent in custody awaiting his trial.

A jury had earlier convicted him of manslaughter and the judge concluded he had driven some of the killers to the scene, but hadn't participated in the fatal attack.

The jury had also convicted Sam Nop, 24, and Neil (Fadil) Mujku, 23, of second-degree murder. To reach this verdict, the jurors had to believe they were among the five men who punched, kicked and clubbed Daly to death.

[Source – The Hamilton Spectator]

Taking it harder than anyone on the planet are Matthew's parents. Certainly, Matthew Daly Sr. was very expressive in his anger:

A fuming Matthew Daly Sr. kicked a garbage can outside the courtroom after hearing the man who drove the getaway car at his son's murder was about to get out of jail.

The distraught father had apparently reached the breaking point after waiting almost six years to see justice done for his oldest son, Matthew.

It will be difficult, but hopefully the Dalys will soon be able to let this go. The justice system isn’t perfect and maybe Papadopoulos got off too easy… but this was considered by a judge and jury, and it’s the best we can do.

I know this is of no solace to a grieving family. They may never recover. But perhaps someday soon they will move on from the torment of the trial and all the legal madness that comes with it. Hopefully, they will remember Matthew for how he lived, and forget how he died.

Wishful thinking, I know.

A Question of Fairness: Truscott Appeal Day Two

2007-02-01T20:32:00.000-06:00

"I don't understand. If something was done in accordance with the accepted rule of that day, how does it turn out to be unfair?" asked Justice David Doherty. "To me, it's a distortion of the meaning of the word."

These words were spoken at today’s Court of Appeal hearing for Stephen Truscott. (Full story here.)

I find them very troublesome.

They came in response to Truscott’s lawyer James Lockyer’s submission that even if the Crown attorney at Truscott's 1959 trial was playing by the rules of the day in withholding evidence vital to the 14-year-old's defence, Ontario's justice system should today, some 48 years later, conclude his trial for 12-year-old Lynne Harper was unfair.

In response, Justice Doherty even went a step further. He noted that, before the 1890s, accused people were not permitted to testify in court. He asked, "Do we just declare every trial that happened before 1896 unfair?"

Well… frankly… yes.

Why not?

To be clear, I'm not suggesting we reopen every case that occured prior to 1896. I'm not suggesting we reopen any case. But the fact is, this case has already been reopened... for the sake of fairness.

We know that things didn’t work on the up and up back then. For bloody sake, they still don’t. Not entirely. Nothing is completely fair and mistakes get made, but we should be moving forward, not backward. We should, when the opportunity presents itself, be able to rectify the wrongs of the past.

We don’t often get that chance.

This is our chance. We have new rules today and if this appeal is to be worth anything… worth the countless hours, the endless days, and the burdensome decades spent by a man convicted of murder; worth the efforts of legal teams from across the country; worth the multitudes of taxpayers’ dollars; worth an ounce of justice, in fact… then, we really should try to get it right. We should apply today’s rules to yesterday’s trials. We should use today’s methods to answer yesterday’s questions.

Otherwise, what the hell’s the point?

Seriously? What would be the point of opening up this case if we can’t admit that there is a chance… however slight… that the 1959 trial was not conducted fairly?

Does anyone have an answer to that?

I’m curious, to say the least.

Day One of the Truscott Appeal

2007-01-31T19:29:00.000-06:00

When the first image, here, of Stephen Truscott’s lawyer James Lockyer graced television and computer screens across the country, history was made on more than one count. Not only is this the first time cameras have been allowed in a courtroom, but this is the first case in Canada’s history where a Supreme Court of Canada ruling has been reviewed by a lower court.

The Ontario Court of Appeal is looking at the 1966 ruling that withheld Truscott’s 1959 conviction. Because of the barrage of new facts to come to light in the decades since, the Ministry of the Attorney General has seen fit to allow this appeal to happen.

Here is a summary of today’s events:

The day began with a swarm of reporters crowding Truscott for a pre-hearing scrum. He expressed hope that his nearly half-century quest for exoneration had entered a final chapter. "If the exoneration is there, it's all been worth it," he said. "We're quite confident."

Once the proceedings began, Lockyer presented the court with his submission.

James Lockyer, Truscott's lawyer, began his oral submission Tuesday by saying the case against his client was "based on fallacies that have only now come to light."

Lockyer said the review is a chance to present the case as it should have been in 1959 — including an examination of material he says was kept from the defence.

"If all that material had been before the court in 1959 … rather than being sentenced to death, he would have more likely been set free," Lockyer told the court.

He said the only reason the lawyers did not use certain evidence to help Truscott was that it had not been disclosed.

He dismissed the prosecution's notion that it was an oversight by Truscott's lawyers or "trial tactics."

Lockyer also asked the court to exercise "creativity" in judging evidence in the "historical case," whether it's "fresh evidence" or material that was available in 1959.

[Full Details – CBC]

The Crown maintained that the jury in 1959 were convinced that there were enough coincidences in the case to uphold a finding of guilt. These coincidences included the fact that neither Lynn Harper nor Stephen could be found, shortly after they had been seen together on the bicycle; the fact that some children claimed that Stephen had gone looking for Lynn earlier; and, the fact that Stephen had lesions on his penis. None of these alone would have been sufficient, but all together… could mean only one thing.

The penis lesions were front and centre for the Crown today. I can’t even tell you how many times the term “penis lesions” came up. At the time of the trial, the prosecution maintained that lesions found on the boy’s penis were consistent with someone who has just committed sexual assault. Anyone familiar with this case knows that there was evidence that Truscott had these lesions prior to the day Lynn Harper went missing. But, some doctors who examined him said that, even if that were that true, the condition they were in was consistent with having been “aggravated” by sexual activity.

Truscott’s lawyers, of course, insist that these lesions were already there. In fact, they have since been privy to a document by another examiner, who had written that the description of the lesions had been grossly exaggerated.

In the coming days, we’ll no doubt hear much about the contents in Harper’s stomach. Truscott’s case is dependent on this angel, as the time of the young girl’s death has been directly associated with those contents, and current science conflicts with the medical findings at the time.

Tomorrow’s proceedings begin at 10:30. You can watch it on CBC's website.

You can view the Ontario Court of Appeal documents related to this case by clicking here.

Truscott: Televised Appeal Begins

2007-01-31T09:00:00.000-06:00

Today could be the beginning of the end, as Stephen Truscott's long journey into Canada's dark history culminates at the Ontario Court of Appeal.

And, for the first time in Canada's history, the proceedings will be televised.

The following networks will be providing live coverage, beginning at 10:30 am:

Court TV Canada

CTV Newsnet

CityNews

CBC Newsworld

Also, if you can't get any of these channels, CBC's website will carry a live feed.

I'll keep you posted.

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, LXI

2007-01-30T21:51:00.000-06:00

Now that Dr. House has shared his deep, dark secret with us all, let’s get on to sharing some secrets of our own, shall we?

My secret? Here it is. I think House is right.

We talk about crime. We search it out. We ponder, review and regurgitate. We force it out of people. We make people look.

We blog it.

Does it make any difference? Really?

Not at all.

It always happened, it always will. It’s happening right now… to somebody, somewhere else. Some place we can’t see.

But then, we don’t expect to make a difference.

We don’t suffer that delusion.

We know that it won’t stop. What’s more, we know that you don’t need to hear it.

But, the fact of the matter is… we need to tell it.

Besides, what else would we do with our time once House is over?

Yes, it’s time for the Carnival of the True Crime Blogs.

These are the things we need to talk about this week…

First up this week is Home Sweet Home. She’s going to talk to you about Rosa Merida, the innocent friend of domestic abuse victim Darlin Romera. Rosa went to Darlin’s aid, but was able to provide no help. Instead, she suffered A Needless Death.

Lilo revisits an old story. Old heartbreaks die hard, and some never heal. This one lingers and never lets go. It’s the story of little girl, beaten to death. It is the story of Kelsey Briggs.

The Chatanooga Choo Choo may be a dangerous ride for any of the 300 girls who made the hit-list that Trench wants to tell you about in “6 Girls Arrested in Chatanooga Threat”. While on board, why not visit the game room, and check out Trench’s new site about “Crime Gaming”, called Public Enemy, Player 1. Make sure you depart the train early though, and visit MyCrimeSpace, where you can read the latest on the MySpace Sex Offender Registry.

Crime abounds The Year Round in Holland. And it has for centuries. These stories certainly do linger, and Nene will tell you all about them. This week she’ll tell you about An Attempted Murder and Suicide… from the 1870s. It caused a considerable sensation in Chesterfield back then… it will do the same to you tonight!

Speaking of old stories, here’s one I couldn’t resist. CLEWS brings you another gem in her crime history coverage. This week, she’s going to give you A firsthand account of rioting picknickers at Walpole Prison, 1972.

If you think I rant about crime, you should visit Crime Rant. These guys really know how to tackle big issues. This week the blog features another in the ongoing chronicles of Michael Devlin… kidnapper. Oh, and… If You Don’t Know Anything, Shut Up!

Bonnie is always telling us about her Life of Crime, but this week she's got the goods on somebody else's wayward ways. She tells the chilling story of Christopher Jay Swift.

Finally, tomorrow is a big day for me. A story I have been covering for a while, and following for years, is that of Stephen Truscott, a man I believe wrongfully convicted of murder in 1959. His case comes before the Ontario Court of Appeals tomorrow. Also, this will be the first court case in Canada’s history that will allow TV cameras in the courtroom. I will be watching the proceedings and promise to keep you informed. You can read about it by clicking here.

There. Now that we’ve talked… don’t you feel better?

Victim Impact

2007-01-30T09:54:00.000-06:00

Nightmares never cease.

Matthew Daly’s parents know this all too well, haunted by images of their murdered son. As the men convicted in his murder face a judge for final sentencing, his father speaks out:

"I remember hugging him, as he lay lifeless in the bed. To this day, I cannot get the horror out of my mind when I felt the back of his head."

The blood was pouring and I mean pouring out of the back of his head," he read from his victim impact statement. "Many nights I have nightmares in which I hear Matthew's screams and the sound of the bats hitting his head and body. I wake up screaming, thinking about him trying to defend himself against the vicious beating."

[Source – Hamilton Spectator]

This Thursday will mark, to some extent, the end of this terrible ordeal, as the sentence is scheduled to come down. (Update: the sentenced has been handed down. Read comments here.) But this is of little solace to friends and family, who will continue, for the rest of their lives, to feel the pain of a senseless death.

All we can hope for, at this point, is a fulsome sentence, as severe as the law will allow. The men who committed this crime did so brutally, showed little or no remorse, and have spit in the face of justice. To me, the most disturbing bit of evidence to come to light is the taped conversation one of the killers had on his phone. Matthew’s mother, Jo-Ann Daly, feels the same. Also from the Hamilton Spectator article:

Jo-Ann Daly, who cried every day for three years after her son's murder, was the only family member to mention any of the killers by name.

She referred to a wiretapped telephone conversation in which Nop was overhead saying: "That kid was a nobody."

"There were 1,500 people at that nobody's funeral. There's a scholarship in Matthew's name at Assumption Catholic Secondary School..." she said.

At Mohawk College, she added, there's another scholarship in his honour and a tree with a plaque in Matthew's memory.

The inscription reads: "Matthew Christopher Daly. A good friend to many. A polite, well-spoken handsome individual. A Friend that could be counted on, who stood out amongst the group and as one who had great potential."

She finished her statement with an impassioned plea for justice.

I will second that plea. I imagine thousands more will do the same.

Excerpts from the victim impact statements can be read in the Hamilton Spectator, by clicking here.

Truscott Appeal: Science, Forensics and the CBC

2007-01-29T13:13:00.000-06:00

Four decades have passed and still Stephen Truscott pursues acquittal.

He’s long been free from prison, having served his time

He’s married, raised a family, and held a good job.

All in all, he’s lived a pretty good life.

But he’s still a convicted murderer, and that does not bode well. It’s a burden he wants rid of. To him, it’s no different than the prison cell that once held him for the murder of Lynne Harper in 1959. He wants to be free of it for good.

For four decades he’s pursued this freedom. This week he hopes to move one step closer as the Ontario Court of Appeals will hear his case.

On Wednesday, January 31st, Truscott’s lawyers will make the case to have his previous conviction overturned. The court can rule for a new trial, uphold the prior conviction, or acquit Truscott entirely.

Up front and centre in their arguments will be the fact that:

Four decades of research and new thinking in forensic pathology have brought a fresh perspective to one of the most crucial issues in the case, the time at which 12-year-old Lynne died, Truscott's lawyers say.

They believe evidence about the state of Lynne's remains, stomach contents and insect activity on her body could be decisive in his quest to be acquitted. But Crown lawyers contend it should play no part in the Ontario Court of Appeal's ruling.

A fascinating real-life tale of crime scene investigation, the evidence is expected to be centre stage during oral arguments in the case, which begin Wednesday.

[Source – Toronto Star]

The case may not, on the surface, appear to have the same dramatic effect as, say, Gary Sinese and his CSI unit rummaging through crime scenes and solving crimes in a lab… but, if you look deeper, you’ll find that this case is probably more dramatic, more thrilling, with much, much higher stakes.

This case is real, and a man’s life hangs in the balance.

Not his physical life, of course, but the whole of his life. How this case plays out will determine what kind of life, in the eyes of the world, Stephen Truscott lived. Was he a rapist and a murderer? Or, was he an innocent boy, wrongly accuses, and deserving of heroic praise?

The case also marks a new beginning in the Ontario justice system, for it will see the birth of a new media policy. Cameras will be allowed in the courtroom, and CBC will be covering the case live. I’ll provide links to whatever feeds they provide, and any scheduling information I find.

Personally, I believe in Truscott’s innocence. I will be following this case with much interest, and, as always, will share my thoughts with you, however insignificant they may be.

The Scary Thing About Pickton...

2007-01-26T09:39:00.000-06:00

Is that Pickton is a scary thing.

But what’s scarier to me is the potential… even the vague possibility… that maybe there are a number of people who were involved who will never face justice.

You’ve heard the rumours. You know that there has been talk of wild murderous parties, some even involving the Hells Angels.

[A] senior officer told Mr. Pickton that half of the police officers involved in the case think his brother, Dave Pickton, was involved. Other people think the Hells Angels are involved, he added.

"We know it's only you," Insp. Adam said.

Mr. Pickton later said neither his brother nor the Hells Angels were involved.

"I'm the head honcho," Mr. Pickton said. "I'm the head guy."

[Source – Ottawa Citizen]

But Robert “Willie” Pickton has also said that other people were involved. He's not the only bad guy out there. And, besides... they're blowing the whole thing way out of proportion.

"You're making me more of a mass killer than I am," he said, repeating the statement three times during the interview before bursting into a belly laugh the final time.

Come on guys! Don't exaggerate!

Pickton seems to think he’s martyring himself. He’s taking the fall. He’s sucking it up for the team.

It’s reasonable, I think, to speculate that there must have been numbers of people involved, or at least who knew. So many women. So much traffic. So much blood, bile and bones.

Hells Angels? Pickton’s brother, David? What about Pickton’s sister Linda? Other friends and family? Staff?

Who knows. Maybe we’ll never know. And, maybe, for the families and friends of the victims… maybe it’s enough for Pickton to take the fall. As long as somebody pays, perhaps we can all sleep a little better.

But will justice be done? Not by a long shot.

Incidentally, the on-line newspaper Orato.com has begun it’s coverage from inside the courtroom. Two former sex trade workers, Pauline VanKoll and Trisha Baptie, are writing their perspectives for the magazine. You can read their columns, which I will discuss in a later post, by clicking here.

How Safe Are Our Schools?

2007-01-25T11:29:00.000-06:00

Trench, I think, would call this News of Doom. The story is yet another indication that the world is getting worse by the minute. It seems that every step we take forward, we take four or five back.

The Toronto Sun reports:

This morning, the school doors are now locked tight, an accused child sex offender is in jail and a victimized little girl is expected back in her class.

It would almost seem that everything had returned to normal, but life at High Park Centennial Montessori School will never be quite the same again.

Not when they have been visited by the bogeyman.

A bogeyman on a tear, it would seem.

Police now say that Nicholas Finelli, 42, faces nine charges from three separate incidents between Monday and Tuesday, including the sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching of a 7-year-old student.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, he also allegedly assaulted a woman in a nearby medical building washroom just before the school incident.

How such a sexual predator is able to roam freely through our streets is an age old question. We know he’s not alone. We know there are hundreds like him. In some cases, we even think we know who they are… but we can’t seem to stop them.

When parents send their children to a Montessori school, they have certain expectations, and safety is probably on top. It costs money to go to these schools, and it’s not cheap.

But, really, is safety something parents can count on absolutely? Many of these schools, particularly those which are not certified officially as "Montessori", have very little by way of regulation. While the head of the school may be a certified Montessori teacher, it's no guarantee that any of the hired staff have the same credentials. In fact, it's really difficult to know what credentials, if any, the staff possess. So how do you really know you can trust them?

Parents need to take a keen interest in the safety measures of a private school. They need to be aware of the pitfalls of an education system that is not under the purview of governmental policy, and to ensure that such schools provide adequate safety precautions. The Ontario Minister of Education agrees.

News of the assault prompted Ontario's education minister to urge private schools to become more secure.

"My hope would be that people in the private sector and private institutions would be looking at what we're doing in the public sector, and would be making the changes that they need to make," Kathleen Wynne said.

[Source – Toronto Star]

I remember when I was in grade 5, a strange man was seen wandering around the schoolyard. There was nothing particularly weird about him, except that he apparently had no reason to be there.

Then, after recess, a grade 2 girl did not return to class.

There was mass panic. Parents were called and children were picked up. We left for home, and were suitably afraid of coming back.

It turned out that the girl had wandered home for lunch, felt sick, and did not return to school.

No harm was done, but what’s interesting about that incident is how simple it was for a man to get on school ground. There were no real fences. There was access from three different streets. There was also a ravine that led beneath a bridge and into a rail yard.

Frankly, that school yard was a paedophile’s paradise.

You wouldn’t see that today. Now there are high fences, cameras in schools, and admin- istrative staff monitoring who goes in, and who goes out. Actually, schools are starting to look more like prisons than learning institutions.

And yet…still… we’re not entirely safe, are we?

How safe are your children?

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, LX

2007-01-24T18:43:00.000-06:00

Bonnie always wants to tell you about her Life of Crime. But, this week is special... because this week...

She's got plenty of other lives of crime to tell you about.

That's right, it's time for the Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, LX.

Read all about it!

The Pickton Farm: Sin City

2007-01-23T16:54:00.000-06:00

A field in the middle of hell… where sex was bought and sold and murder hard and cold. This is the nightmare vision.

This is the Pickton farm.

There is no art here.

But as some hellish visions are imitated, however inadequately, through art, so is this place.

I’m reminded of Sin City, a movie based on a graphic novel, where a very sick bastard kills women and eats their flesh. He is a cannibal. A dark monster in a darker world. An over-the-top demon, living in seclusion on a farm where he is free to partake in his evil delight.

Women are missing. Dis- appearing for good. A man named Marv – a beast of a man – looses an angel of his own, and sets out to find her killer. To find him, and kill him.

I'll stare the bastard in the face as he screams to God, and I'll laugh harder when he whimpers like a baby. And when his eyes go dead, the hell I send him to will seem like heaven after what I've done to him.

In the Pickton case, the police did not quite approach the missing sex trade workers of Vancouver with the same zealous vigour. But, in the end, they did find their man… or so they intend to prove.

Many ask why it took authorities so long. Many wonder why they did not feel their lives worthy of this kind of justice yeast ago. What are their lives worth?

To Marv, they were would have been worth something…

Priest: ...ask yourself if that corpse of a slut is worth dying for.
Marv: Worth dying for.
[shoots priest]
Marv: Worth killing for.
[shoots him again]
Marv: Worth going to hell for.
[shoots him again]
Marv: Amen.

The trial, with it’s entourage of media carnivores, continues today. The jury is privy to interrogation tapes, where they hear Pickton admit, then later deny, killing 49 women. They also listen to his recorded voice, while watching him sit across the courtroom, stoic and relaxed.

Unnerved.

The cannibal in Sin City, named Kevin, is the epitome of stoic. As Marv tears him apart, cutting him limb from him, he doesn’t make a sound. No screams of terror. No cries of pain. Only a faint, insensitive smile simmers on his face.

Marv: He never screams. Even after the dog has its fill and his guts are hanging out, he never screams.

A family member of one of Pickton’s victims sat in the courtroom today, and remarked at how the most difficult thing of all… was hearing Pickton’s voice… giggling and laughing.

Whatever happens in this trial, whatever the outcome, there is no doubt that it will mark people for the rest of their lives. Horror has a life of its own, and this one may be the worst of them all.

Hopefully justice will have its day. A day like Marv – for every single woman who’s life was lost in that sinful place.

Amen.

The Pickton Trial: 49

2007-01-22T21:39:00.000-06:00

Day one of the trial has already floated a number.

49

It’s the number the prosecution says Robert “Willie” Pickton admitted he murdered.

He wanted 50.

Allegedly… he got sloppy, and came up one short.

In his opening remarks to the jury in a New Westminster court, prosecutor Derrill Prevett said Pickton allegedly told an an RCMP officer: "'I should be on death row.'"

[Full story, including video from CBC]

Along with this number comes the first taste of what will no doubt be a countless number of stomach turning details… the details that will make this case nothing short of a “horror movie”. The kind of details… the press loves to report…

Prevett said that when police searched Pickton's trailer in 2002, they found belongings of missing Sereena Abotsway, and that triggered a mass search of the farm that lasted nearly two years.

When investigators checked freezers on the property, they made a disturbing discovery, he said before Justice James Williams… They found two five-gallon laundry buckets stacked inside each other. The buckets contained the skulls, hands and partial feet of two of the missing women, Abotsway and Andrea Joesbury.

The case is making headlines and dominating airwaves from coast to coast. Clear across the country, in Halifax, Global Maritimes’ top story on both their newscast and their website is all about the trial. Their newscast tonight even featured an interview with a woman, now living in Nova Scotia, who, as a former prostitute, used to work for Pickton. She was one of the lucky ones. She got out alive, got away from that life… far away… and never turned back.

This case will become an obsession. People will need to know every detail every day. No matter how unsettling… no matter how disturbed, demented or deranged…

We just can’t look away.

Pickton Trial - The Horror Movie Begins

2007-01-22T09:10:00.000-06:00

The death count is high.

The media count is higher, and grows by the minute.

Hundreds of media personnel have descended upon a New Westminster courthouse in anticipation of the long-awaited start of the trail of pig farmer Robert Pickton, accused of murdering 26 women over the course of nearly 20 years.

Reports from outside the courthouse say that about 300 reporters from around the world are lining up in hopes of getting one of the coveted courtroom seats reserved for press.

All want to hear, first hand, the grisly facts, in their most grotesque detail.

News organizations have been wrestling with questions of what to publish or broadcast and how graphic the coverage should be. The CBC has decided, among other things, to offer warnings at the beginning of stories containing disturbing facts.

[Source – CBC]

Of course, such warnings usually result in hooking an audience, rather than repelling them. This is the true reason for such a media presence. This case offers a hyper-sensationalism that has not been seen in this country since the Bernardo/Homalka trial.

In fact, the media frenzy is so overwhelming, Vancouver’s sex trade workers are gearing up to be held under a microscope. By some estimation, they will be the stars of the show. Reporters will be hovering around them like horny sailors just off the boat. They have been bracing themselves by getting expert advice on how to handle all the media attention.

Sex-trade workers in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside are getting a crash course in public relations to prepare for the arrival of journalists covering the murder trial of Robert (Willie) Pickton.

Organizations that work with prostitutes have distributed pocket-sized cards and posters listing media-related rights for sex-trade workers.

[Source - Montreal Gazette]

In an earlier post, 54 Women Fed to Pigs, I noted that one outlet, the on-line journal Orato, will be covering the trial from the perspective of a former Vancouver sex-trade worker. That includes Trisha Baptie, who writes about “The Calm Before the Storm”.

As the 22nd of January inches closer, I find myself growing more and more nervous. How will it be to lay my eyes on Robert Pickton?
She’s not the only one expressing anxiety over this coming storm. Families of the victims, who forever wait for a chance at justice, must surely be dreading what this case will unfold. In some ways, the case will mean closure, in others, it’s the beginning of a most horrendous journey. A journey through hell, by which they will come to know too well what really happened to their loved ones.

Of course, I will be following this trial with some interest, but from the sidelines across the country. Mostly, my coverage will focus on the media response to this trial. Already, people are gearing up for a “horror movie”.

Knowing how the media works… a horror movie is what we’ll get.

To see CBC’s preview of the trial, click here, then click on the video link.

Yorkton Trial: Guity of Murder in the Second Degree

2007-01-19T19:28:00.000-06:00

The verdict is in. The jury has found Kim Walker, of Yorkton, Saskatchewan - Guilty.

A Saskatchewan man was found guilty Friday of second-degree murder in the death of his daughter’s drug-dealing boyfriend.

A Court of Queen’s Bench jury recommended the minimum sentence, life in prison with first eligibility for parole in 10 years, for Kim Walker in the death of James Hayward, 24, on March 17, 2003.

Justice Jennifer Pritchard accepted the recommendation.

[Source - Vancouver Sun]

It is the right verdict. The jury has fulfilled its charge well.

While some may feel Kim Walker only did what any father in his situation would have done... they're wrong.

No way.

There are those who say the system failed. It failed to protect young Jadah Walker, who, dismayed, cried as the jury read out the verdict against her father. It failed, and therefore the system is to blame for the Hayward's death.

Wrong again.

The system did not load a gun, go to a house, and shoot an unarmed man five times, once in the back at close range.

Kim Walker did that.

Kim Walker committed this murder and he must pay the price.

He's not the first father to fear for the wellbeing of his daughter. He won't be the last. The choices he made that day did not have to be made.

There is obviously going to be an appeal of this case, so we may not have heard the end of it yet. But, for now, it's safe to say that justice has been done in the prairies this night.

Prairie Justice: The Yorkton Trial Continues

2007-01-19T08:15:00.000-06:00

The judge asked the media not to report it, but that hasn’t stopped word from getting out.

The lawyer representing Kim Joseph Walker has asked for a mistrial.

[The lawyer] argued that the judge in this case overlooked a recent Supreme Court decision when issuing final instructions to the jury.

In her charge to the jury, Madam Justice Jennifer Pritchard said they could find Mr. Walker guilty of either first- or second-degree murder or manslaughter. Mr. Bodnar said that ruling denies the jury the right to find Mr. Walker not guilty, and so violates the precedent established in the Krieger decision of 2006.

"The Krieger decision says that a judge cannot direct a jury to bring in a finding of guilt. That decision is for the jury and only the jury," Mr. Bodnar said outside court.

A mistrial has to be declared."

In court, Judge Pritchard said her inclination was not to declare a mistrial, but to bring the jury back and give them new directions on how to proceed.

[Source – The Globe and Mail]

I made my feelings on this case fairly clear in my last post. I can’t see how Walker could be found anything but guilty of murder, either first- or second-degree. But, I do see how that should be decided entirely by a jury. I found it peculiar that acquittal was taken off the table by the judge.

What would a mistrial mean? It would mean this case could get dragged on for a long time. A mistrial does not negate the possibility of a retrial.

Still, what I find most interesting about this case, is how people are making Walker into some kind of hero. They say he sacrificed himself for his daughter. They say he was only being a good father when he went to the house of James Hayward and shot him five times.

Hayward’s brother disagrees.

Outside court yesterday, Mr. Hayward's younger brother Danny said he was upset with the way the case has been portrayed.

"I think it's despicable the way this community has turned Kim Walker into some small town hero for executing my brother while he was trespassing in his home," Danny Hayward, 22, said.

I think Danny has a point.

UPDATE: The judge has ruled against a mistrial. The jury has not been recharged, and has resumed deliberation.

The Yorkton Trial

2007-01-18T13:51:00.000-06:00

Is it murder? If so, to which degree?

Or, is it manslaughter?

These are the questions a jury is asking itself as the trial of Kim Joseph Walker, of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, comes to a close. Walker is accused of murdering his daughter’s boyfriend.

The basic facts of the case are this:

Jadah Walker, the young woman whose father is accused of murdering her boyfriend in 2003, was addicted to morphine.

She was 16 at the time, living with 24-year old James Hayward.

Jadah’s father, Kim Joseph Walker, believed that Hayward was responsible for her addiction, and that if he didn’t intervene, it would kill her. He believed that the man was even injecting morphine into her system while she slept.

On March 17, 2003, he went to Hayward's house, there was a confrontation and Walker shot Hayward five times.

Walker’s defense is quite simple. He believed that what he did was his only chance at saving his daughter’s life. No doubt, his situation touches a chord with many a father, especially those with teenaged daughters. The instinct to protect is pretty strong, and may, at times, override reason.

Walker and his wife, Elizabeth, said their daughter means everything to them so when they thought her life was slipping away, they had to step in.

"She was living in a drug house and James Hayward was killing her," Elizabeth Walker told reporters.

"She was being shot up with morphine. In her sleep," Elizabeth continued. "Ten or 12 times a day he was shooting her up with morphine. She wouldn't be alive today, I know that."

[Source – CBC]

On the other side of the fence, sits a bereaved mother, whose son was shot dead before she had the opportunity to intervene.

Hayward's mother, Lorrie Getty, insists that what Walker did was murder.

She also told reporters her son has been unfairly demonized in the media.

She said he was addicted to morphine, too, a fact she learned too late.

"Because no one told me that James was taking morphine before Mr. Walker murdered him, I was never given the opportunity to save my son," she said.

Now, the judge in the trial has instructed the jury that acquittal is not on the table. Walker must be convicted of First Degree Murder, Second Degree Murder, or Manslaughter.

The Manslaughter scenario arises from Walker’s testimony that, when he went to the house that day, he did not intend to kill the man.

The jury is in its second day of deliberations.

Now, as you may have expected, here are my two cents…

Walker claims he did not intend to kill the man. He went to his house with a loaded gun. Hayward was unarmed. Walker shot him.

FIVE TIMES!

That’s murder folks. Plain and simple.

I know that Hayward may not have been the best sort of character. And, I believe fully that the Walkers had every right, in fact, duty, to intervene. Their daughter’s life was at stake.

But there are other ways. Other options. Many different roads that led to much better destinations than one man in the morgue and another in prison.

If anything, I could see how a finding of Second Degree Murder may be appropriate. Given his frustration, his feeling of helplessness, and his desperate fear for his daughter, he was not at full capacity.

Still, regardless of whether or not you believe Hayward had it coming, we don’t get to make that choice.

Murder is murder.

Toronto: Land of the Dead

2007-01-17T13:15:00.000-06:00

This week has been ringing like a death knell.

Monday, before I even got out of bed, news reports of the weather made it sound like Armageddon was upon us. With all that snow and ice on the roads, they made it sound like the end was near. I half expected to hear that the dead were rising and walking the streets, alligators were roaming the city feasting on human flesh, and the moon was on a collision course for the C.N. Tower.

At least those things would have made the day fun!

Instead, the week has delivered a series of other signs that doom fast approaches. Not only did the elite board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists plan to move the minute hand on their Doomsday Clock two minutes closer to the fatal hour of midnight, but we have seen such troublesome events as:

TORONTO’S BUSINESS CORE NOW A CRIME SCENE!

Ontario’s Special Investigation Unit is investigating after two Toronto officers opened fire on a vehicle that collided with an unmarked police cruiser in the heart of the city’s financial district early yesterday morning. Police confirmed they approached a reported stolen vehicle with an unmarked police cruiser at the intersection of King and Bay Sts. The two officers in the unmarked cruiser got out and confronted the car’s occupants. Both officers fired their guns as a result of the confrontation, hitting both the driver and the passenger.

CABBY BEATEN AND ROBBED!

Detectives are waiting to see if a taxi surveillance camera captured the faces of two men who robbed and beat a Brampton cabby. The 31-year-old cabby was beaten about the head with what appeared to be a piece of metal in the 8 p.m. Tuesday heist on Folkstone Cr.

Oh, I know, I know. This kind of crap happens all the time. What’s so crazy about all that? Well, here are the kickers:

MOTHER THERESA ARRESTED!

A woman described as "Mother Teresa without a conscience" and accused of bilking a dozen people out of at least $1.5 million has been arrested by police on an immigration warrant. Janice Del Rosario was arrested last night by the Toronto police Fugitive Squad at a four-storey apartment building on Bathurst St., just south of Highway 401.

And finally…

MAN SETS SISTER ON FIRE!

A man sets himself and his sister on fire in a long-standing family dispute. Toronto police say a man entered Queen 444 Textile Inc. with a can of gasoline at about 11 a.m., argued with his sister and brother-in-law over a long-standing business disagreemnt, then doused himself, his sister and the sidewalk in gasoline. He lit himself, and then his sister, on fire. (Fred Chung Fai Quong, 58, of Toronto has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and mischief endangering life).

Frankly… I’d rather have the zombies and the alligators.

That’s it my friends. While there may be no point…do be kind.

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, LVIX

2007-01-17T04:52:00.000-06:00

The clown is back, and he's as dangerous as ever!

This week's Carnival of the True Crime Blogs is brought to you by Trench at the Trenchcoat Chronicles. It's filled with tales of killer clowns, kidnapped kids, and all kinds of other madness.

Just don't make the clown angry. You won't like him when he's angry.

Crime Travel

2007-01-15T10:33:00.000-06:00

As you make your travel plans for the coming year, you may want to consider more than what to pack. You may want to consider your chances of coming home alive.

This morning the Toronto Star paints a grim picture of Canadians travel abroad. More than 250 Canadians have been slain outside the country since 2000. Many cases remain unsolved.

On the list, of course, are Domenic and Nancy Ianiero, and Adam DePrisco, the young man who Mexican police say was the victim of a hit and run.

The main criticism that emerges is how little help the Canadian government offers to its citizens when dealing with murders in foreign jurisdictions. Certainly, Carm DePrisco, young Adam’s grief-stricken mother, agrees with this indictment. In fact, she says she “hates being Canadian”. Convinced that her boy was the victim of a beating, rather than hit and run, she is desperate for help from Foreign Affairs.

But, in actuality, the story is nothing new. As long as I can remember, I’ve heard stories of how dangerous some places were for travelers. Crime against tourists is common everywhere in the world. Even in places we consider safe, like, say, London, England, where there is a common joke among muggers that they go after American tourists to help them feel like they’re at home.

The Star article also highlights a few other recent murders of Canadians. Among them:

Kristen Deyell: 20-year old Deyell and a friend were killed in 2004 outside a popular nightclub in Guadalajara, Mexico. It appears that a group were harassing the young couple. They tried to leave the bar, then, for reasons unknown, they were shot dead.

Louise Chaput: Chaput, 52, had left her Quebec home in 2001 to spend a few days hiking in New Hampshire. Her body was found on Thanksgiving, and she had been stabbed.

Marcia Rose McKenzie: The 35-year old lab technician was discovered slain in 2002 on Abaco Island, with multiple wounds to the head, neck and torso. A 17-year old was charged with her murder.

Most recently, this past Christmas season, in fact, a horrible crime occurred in Thailand:

An armed thief opened fire at a Christmas party in Thailand killing a Canadian businessman and wounding three others, police said Tuesday.

Mark Jay Keffer, 42, was celebrating Christmas with his wife and six others Monday night at a relatives' condominium in the capital Bangkok when a man sneaked into the party from a balcony, Police Lt. Col. Sarawuth Dejsri said.

Keffer's wife hit the robber over the head with her handbag as he was collecting US$400 and a digital camera from the party guests.

The thief became angry and started firing his pistol, killing Keffer and wounding his wife and a couple from Brunei, Sarawuth said.

[Source – CBC]

Regardless of what Foreign Affairs can and cannot do when you get killed abroad, one must accept the fact that crime is universal, and tourists, everywhere, are targets for criminals. One needs to be very cautious while traveling.

My first time in New York City was in the early 80’s, before the major “Clean-Up” had occurred. I was visiting with my American cousins, who made it very clear to me (a young, naïve lad of about 14), that if I wasn’t careful, I would be robbed and murdered. It was as simple as that. In the end, I was not robbed or murdered. In fact, it was one of the most enjoyable vacations I had as a youth.

However, years later I returned. This was after the “Clean-up”, when crime rates had been dramatically lowered, and NYC was allegedly a safe place again. Of course, that doesn’t mean I was prepared to walk through Central Park alone at night. But, with a false sense of security, I found myself victim of a mugging at a subway station. I was lucky in that no harm came to me. A knife was held to my neck, and I gave the young man all I had.

He was actually kind enough to leave me a subway token so I could get home.

Aside from being dramatically shaken (and left with an image I will never forget), I was unharmed.

As I said, I was lucky.

But there is nowhere on this earth where Canadians can walk and truly be at home. Travelers need to be aware of that. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t travel. There is a world out there worth seeing. Do your research. Make educated choices (for example, right now, I have no desire to visit Mexico, but that could change). Be aware, and keep your senses about you.

Still, I understand that the figure of more than 250 Canadians murdered abroad since 2000 may be unsettling.

After all, that’s almost as many people who have been murdered in Toronto.

A Serial Killer Weekend

2007-01-14T16:35:00.000-06:00

Say what you will… serial murder is interesting.

It’s not for everyone.

Some people are rather put off by it.

I’m not condoning it, or saying you should try it… but you have to admit, there is a part of you that is intrigued by it. You’re a little fascinated by it. You want to know more about the process by which a seemingly normal, even docile person is compelled to kill… multiple times.

This weekend I had two ventures into that process.

The first was a long time coming. I’d read about the television program Dexter on the Killer Blog (now, there’s someone who’s into serial killers!). The program stars Michael C. Hall (of Six Feet Under fame), and features a man who must kill. But… he uses his evil instincts… for good. A police forensics expert by day, a serial killer of criminals by night.

Finally, the show has come to Canada, and if you have a good yearning to be creeped out on a Friday night, tune in on the Movie Network at 10:00 pm.

The second was the movie version of a most disturbing book. I read Patrick Süskind’s Perfume several years ago. The haunting vision of 19th Century France, where a man with no scent pursues the perfect perfume by capturing women’s scents (for which, as you may have guessed, he must kill them), stays with you for a rather unsettling long time.

Now can see it all in 2.5 hours on the big screen. Perfume, the Story of a Murderer is now in theatres. I can’t say it will have the same effect as reading the book, but it certainly arouses one’s olfactory sense, and is visually quite stunning.

I'm not sure this was the most uplifting way to spend my weekend, and of course there are the usual drawbacks. For one, I owe my wife at least one weekend of non-homicide related entertainment of her choosing... possibly two.

She may have a case for three.

Be kind.

Travel Advisory, #2

2007-01-12T13:55:00.000-06:00

The DePrisco mystery is heating up, and much like all that Ianiero stuff that we know so well, it’s not casting a very good light on Mexico.

The latest in the saga is news that, while young Adam DePrisco lay on his death bed, his hotel room was being ransacked and robbed. DePrisco’s family believe that he was the victim of a viscious beating, rather than the hit-and-run police claim to be the cause of death, and this new twist seems to lend credence to the family’s theory. What’s more, the hotel apparently will not share their video footage with the family.

It seems even the hotel has something to hide. But what?

What we do know, is that stories are starting to flow. Other Canadians who have experienced similar woes are telling their tales, and it seems clearer and clearer that Mexico is simply not a safe place to visit.

What does the hotel have to hide? Well… the fact that tourists get robbed. The fact that tourists get killed. The fact that tourists, if they get robbed or killed, also get screwed by the Mexican authorities who desperately want to maintain an image of the perfect tourist destination.

Come to Mexico. Enjoy the sun and the sand, the Corona and the tequila.

Early on in the Ianiero investigation (almost a year ago, now), there was much discussion about the Canadian government issuing a travel advisory. While the government agency warns Canadian travelers going to Mexico to be careful and cautious, they don’t seem to have any interest in making it official.

But some Canadians are taking matters into their own hands. Certainly, many of them have been leaving comments on this site and on other blogs, indicating that they will not be traveling to Mexico any time soon.

In fact, you, too, can voice your opinion, by taking part in the poll to your right in the sidebar!

Cheryl Everall and Kimberly Kim are likely not feeling so alone these days, as it seems there are countless stories of people suffering injustice down there.

The message is clear. Boycott Mexico.

If you plan to ignore the warnings and go anyway… just don’t drink the water.

Oh… and try not to get murdered, will you. It really isn’t good for business.

Just Another Bloody Day in the City

2007-01-11T20:14:00.000-06:00

It was one of those days.

It began with reports of a coroner’s autopsy on Adam DePrisco, the young man who was killed in Mexico on the weekend. His family still searches for answers.

Before I even had my first coffee, I heard reports that there was a gunman on the loose, roaming Hospital Row, adding another security concern to a scheduled press conference by held this morning by the Prime Minister of Canada.

Later, some school kids in the area found a gun in a playground. While there are some suspicions that the gun belongs to the above noted fugitive, there was no conclusive statement, and it seems the man has not been found.

This afternoon, there was a double shooting in Flemingdon park. Of course, Flemingdon if infamous in Toronto for the recent murder Omar Wellington, and for a community of cowards who turned a blind eye while the young man was beaten to death. Today…

One man was pronounced dead and another was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries after a shooting in Flemingdon Park this afternoon.

Emergency crews were called to a parking lot at Pavane Linkway and Spanbridge Rd. for a shooting around 3 p.m., a Toronto Ambulance spokesperson said.
Both men are in their early 20s.

Just when you were ready to take a break... another violent incident.

Police were called to a domestic dispute on Kingswood Road in the Victoria Park-Kingston Road area around 7:30pm. They say they were confronted by a disturbed man armed with a knife at the residence, threatening to kill both his family and himself.

The specifics of what led cops to draw their guns and fire at the suspect aren't clear, but he was rushed to St. Michael's Hospital suffering from a bullet wound to the stomach.

[Source - CityNews]

Finally, on top of all that madness, I was witness to a police takedown at the corner of College Street and University Avenue. At the time, people wondered if maybe he was the gunman police were looking for, but it doesn’t seem like that was the case.

All I can tell you… you can see for yourself in the video below. I warn you, I had to run to get close, while my camera was rolling… so you may get a little dizzy at the start.

Pay attention, however, to the onlookers, pedestrians, and passers-by. I found it interesting how some people were captivated and wanted to be as close as possible, so that they could get a good hard look at the poor sod’s bloody face. Others only paused for a quick glance. Then, there were those who just walked by as if nothing was happening.

And… there were some (clearly people who are deeply disturbed), who felt the impetus to videotape the ordeal on their Sony digital camera.

We live in an interesting city.

Cops Hunt Suspect On Hospital Row

2007-01-11T13:02:00.000-06:00

The hunt continues for a gunless gunman. The man allegedly pointed a gun at cops early this morning, then took off. A chase ensued, but the man got away. However, thanks to some school kids who knew enough not to play with it, it looks like police may have recovered the gun... if not the man.

Police recovered a gun but are still hunting for a suspect following an early morning incident that threatened to affect the Prime Minister's scheduled announcement at a downtown hospital.

[Source - City News]

Incidentally, Prime Minister Harper's press conference went ahead as scheduled, without a hitch.

Coinci- dentally, I happened to capture some video footage of a police takedown on the corner of College Street and Avenue Road, just in front of Queen's Park. I don't believe that this was the same man police have been hunting all morning, but I'll keep you posted.

In any case, I'll be posting the video on this site later in the day.

Say No To Mexico

2007-01-10T10:34:00.000-06:00

Here we go again.

Deep in the thick of one slipshod murder investigation, it appears that Canadian tourists in Mexico have been fed to the dogs once again.

This time, a young man was killed outside a nightclub, and Mexican authorities are calling it a "hit and run".

The family of the young Woodbridge man, 19-year old Adam DePrisco, who had been saving for months for a vacation in Acapulco, believe that their son is the victim of a homicide. They suspect that the boy was beaten to death by a jealous rival – for dancing with the wrong girl.

Certainly the DePriscos have much in common with the Ianiero family, who are desperate for justice after Nancy and Domenic Ianiero (coincidentally also from Woodbridge) were murdered in their hotel room in Cancun last year. Mexican authorities continue, a year later, to botch a sham of an investigation – all, it would seem, to protect their vital tourism industry.

The kicker in this case is that the young man has wounds only to his head. That doesn’t seem to jibe with a hit and run. Unless he literally head-butted an oncoming vehicle, then it’s likely he would have suffered wounds elsewhere on his body. It just doesn’t add up.

Their theory is based on the story of the young man's friend:

DePrisco visited a popular nightclub with a friend Saturday night, but was kicked out of the establishment early Sunday morning when a Mexican man became upset about the Ontario man dancing with a local woman. Newspaper reports say the woman was the Mexican man's girlfriend.

DePrisco's friend, who discovered him injured, claims he was beaten — a belief shared by his family. His uncle, Bellio, says hospital officials told him the man's injuries weren't consistent with being hit by a vehicle.

[Source - CBC]

Of course, if you’ve been following this blog, you’re familiar with Cheryl Everall and Kimberly Kim, two Thunder Bay women who have been considered suspects by Mexican authorities for the murders of the Ianieros. They have been working diligently to have Canadian officials impose a travel ban on Mexico, or a travel advisory at the very least. Their website, mexicoinjustic.ca, has been set up for just that purpose.

I doubt that Canada will impose such a ban or advisory, although they have issued a stern warning that Canadians should “use extreme caution” when travelling in the southern hotspot. But, I think the best thing we can do, as Canadians, to press upon Mexican police to pursue justice to the fullest of their abilities, is to simply not go.

Ban Mexico.

Stay away.

Don’t go.

As a nation we supply the Mexican tourist industry with more visitors than any other country.

I, for one, will never travel there until they clean up their act, and do what’s necessary to ensure public safety, not just what’s necessary to protect their image in the tourist industry.

Cuba, anyone?

In the meantime, heartfelt condolences to the DePrisco family. We hope that justice will be done, and that Adam will be spoken for.

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs, LVIII

2007-01-10T10:25:00.000-06:00

We pull no punches when it comes to telling tales of true crime, and this week's Carnival of the True Crime Blogs is no exception.

Visit Home Sweet Home for this week's hard hitting stories of bad people doing very bad things.

Smile

2007-01-09T14:36:00.000-06:00

You’re in a public space. Everyone can see you… but no one really does. Nobody pays you any mind. Nobody cares.

Until you pull out a pistol and start open firing into the street.

Then you’re a public spectacle.

But, even then, you manage to disappear, and through all the confusion, nobody has a clue who you are, what you look like… that it was even you who had the gun.

No matter. It’s all on camera.

You’re nailed.

This scenario is, ultimately, the reason for closed circuit cameras on street corners, that have become the subject of much controversy of late. The recent addition, and subsequent removal, of police cameras at Yonge and Dundas were part of a pilot project to see how useful cameras would be in deterring crime, or apprehending criminals.

How successful were they? It’s hard to say. As Rosie Dimanno says in the Star:

It isn't clear whether the pilot project had any quantitative benefit. Police have not said whether this surveillance tool helped identify bad guys, even in the shooting that occurred only days after the cameras were affixed, bullets shattering windows just steps from where Jane Creba was killed on Boxing Day, 2005.

It was that brazen gunfire, so shocking to Toronto, which prompted a look-see deployment of round-the-clock video shadowing.

[Source]

Still, the cameras are getting much support, particularly from some of our top politicians:

Ontario's Premier [Dalton McGuinty] is unhappy that officials have taken down the three unblinking eyes that have been watching over the Yonge St. strip since the holidays. Police put them up to ensure there wouldn't be a repeat of the Boxing Day violence that claimed the life of Jane Creba in 2005…

"I like the notion of cameras being there," he contends. "I don't find them invasive. I find that they lend comfort, and they're there specifically at the request of the people of Toronto."

And what does the Mayor think?

"I've always said that I think if we're going to use cameras, they should be ones that use tape and identify whether there are problems," Miller concedes. "They seem to be helpful to the police. I will be meeting with local businesses to discuss their opinions on the issue as well."

Conservative Leader John Tory has also entered the debate, saying he wants the cameras installed in the often-rambunctious Entertainment District.

"I have been very consistent on (the issue)," he said. "This, I think, is a tool we should be using… I think in light of a lot of activities that are going on on a repeated basis, you know, seemingly week after week, it's certainly something we should be looking at."

[Source – CityNews]

There are those, however, who feel that our privacy is invaded enough, and that further extension of surveillance just adds to our already overexposed lives. I mean, if you can’t conduct your private affairs on a public street… where can you?

I think it all comes down to expectation. When we walk into a government building, or a shopping mall, or a convenience store, or even, these days, a taxi cab, we know we’re going to be filmed or photographed. We have no problem with this. We expect it. If we don’t expect it, we’re idiots, and probably the reason we need the cameras in the first place.

In London, England, CCTV cameras have been a part of urban living for years. Have the lives of Londoners been so oppressed that they can’t move without the government knowing about it? Are they staying home, with their windows boarded up, cowering in their basements?

Of course not. Why? Because they’ve come to expect it. They know, when they walk out on to the street, they are in a “public” place. They are being recorded.

That’s different than being watched. Nobody is really watching you unless you’re doing something worth watching.

If Tor- ontonians come to expect the same, it will not be an issue. Unless, of course, you want to go gun crazy on a busy public street. If that’s your desire, I imagine you would take issue with these cameras.

I suppose a counter argument would be: where does it stop? How far are we from having our phones bugged or having hidden cameras in our bedrooms? Since when did our government become Big Brother.

I think that’s entirely a different thing, but it raises a good point. Whatever footage is captured by these cameras, there has to be some very stringent protocols as to what that footage will be used for.

That said, as police and politicians consider what could become the norm in this city, now is the time to speak out.

Let me know how you feel about these cameras, or take part in the poll in the sidebar to your right.

And… do remember to be kind. We’re watching.