Murder of Iryna Zarutska: Atrocity on a train in North Carolina

Originally published Sep 10, 2025 and  Updated

A Refugee’s American Dream Ended in 4 Minutes

Caleb Harrison and morbid coincidence

The year is 1972, the dialogue is terrific the film unfolds with twists superbly disguised, secrets spill. Sleuth a mystery thriller comes to a shocking climax as the pollen light shifts and freezes across the screen. It is mid-December and somewhere a call girl labours . . . Caleb Harrison is born. His death will form its own mystery.

Sammy Yatim killed on a street car by a cop

Forcillo convicted of attempted murder

 (second six shots, as Yatim was no longer a threat)

Those of us who have traveled on a streetcar seldom remember our brief interactions with the strangers who stare ahead glazy eyed, waiting for their next stop. The homeless man, the laces of his shoes untied, shivering as he unwraps the elastic band off a scrumpled ball of paper. The mother who comforts an overweight child grasping a take away bag. The woman who speaks loudly into her cellphone at a supposed husband who didn't return home last night. The business man who gives away his seat and the boy attached to his ipod who pretends to sleep. The green eyed teenager of small build surrounded by police as they yell into the street in aggressive tone, "Drop the knife, Drop the knife . . . ."

Woman from Quebec murdered for $130

Originally aired Oct 24, 2024, on CRIME BEAT

The spiraling racial violence and hate of Thunder Bay, Ontario

Thunder Bay reports are the tip 

of the iceberg

This one's top secret. You should keep it to yourself, and Statistics Canada. They have a report shows Thunder Bay has one-third of Canada's reported anti-Indigenous hate crimes, indicating justice gone missing in the lives of First Nations people in northwestern Ontario, since the reports are the tip of the iceberg. The City of Thunder Bay is inundated with mysterious deaths and violent acts of racism, and hate crimes against Indigenous youth keep spilling into the news (or should I say 'dribbling', since these atrocious conditions are never making a splash in Canada).

Northern Ontario news has seen several incidences of horrific Thunder Bay racism. Often these are bright kids coming out of remote communities to further their education. Future leaders are winding up dead. Indigenous leadership in the region has declared a complete loss of faith in Thunder Bay Police and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

Here's a partial list of Indigenous people who had their lives cut short in Thunder Bay:


Stacy DeBungee, 41, was discovered dead in the McIntyre River on the morning of Oct. 19, 2015.

Christina Gliddy, 28, resident of Wunnumin Lake First Nation was found unconscious on the gravel by the bridge over the Kaministiquia River at 8 a.m. on March 29, 2016, and died in hospital later that morning.

Clayton Chuck Mawakeesic, 38, of Sandy Lake First Nation, was discovered in the McIntyre River on July 29, 2016.

Jethro Anderson, 15, student at Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School in Thunder Bay, went missing in 2000 and his body was found in the Kaministiquia River

Curran Strang, 18, Pikangikum First Nation, student at Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School, went missing in 2005, body was found in the McIntyre River.

Paul Panacheese, 21, Mishkeegogamang First Nation, student at Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School, died in 2006. Cause of death unknown, "We don't know exactly how Paul died . . . we are still waiting for some answers," said his mother, Maryanne Panacheese.

Robyn Harper, 18, Keewaywin First Nation died in 2007, student at Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School, alleged to have died of an overdose, but questions remain.

Reggie Bushie, 15, Poplar Hill First Nation, student at Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School, went missing in 2007 and his body was found in the McIntyre River.Kyle Morriseau, 17, Keewaywin First Nation, student in Thunder Bay, and apparently the second student from Keewaywin to die while at school, went missing in 2009, his body was found in the McIntyre River.

Jordan Wabasse, 15, Webequie First Nation, student at the Matawa Learning Centre, went missing on Feb 7, 2011, body was found in the Kaministiquia River three months later.Tammy Keeash, 17, an artist from North Caribou First Nation, living in a Thunder Bay group home, went missing May 6, 2017, and was found dead the next day in the Neebing-McIntyre Floodway. "No evidence to indicate criminality," Thunder Bay police say.

Josiah Begg, 14, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, missing since early May, found in the McIntyre River May 18, 2017, a post-mortem examination was performed to determine the cause of death.

Stephan Banning, 22, Fort William First Nation, iron worker, body was found in the Kaministiquia River a day after his 22nd birthday on July 5, 1990, cause of death a question mark to everybody but the Thunder Bay police.

Along with student and other deaths, survivors tell of murderous assaults walking alone by rivers. Darryl Kakekayash, a survivor, was 17, from Weagamow (North Caribou Lake First Nation) attending Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School for indigenous youth from the Sioux Lookout district in 2007/2008, which is run by the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council. On Oct. 28, 2008, he was attacked, assaulted by three white males, and nearly drowned. “The ground was slimy. It wasn’t sand or anything but your whole foot would go in… when I stood on two feet, I couldn’t get my feet out. . ."

One unnamed man in his 30s is witness to such attacks, on Oct. 22, 2016. Tara Lewis tells news services that she was closing her restaurant at 11 p.m. when she encountered a First Nation man, dripping wet. He told her a group of white men driving a blue truck stopped and beat him up, threw him in a river, and returned for another attack as he emerged from the water. Lewis called police and the man filed a statement but never heard back.

A safety audit done in Thunder Bay and an inquest called for City of Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay police, and First Nations to work together to find a way forward including better lighting, emergency button poles, under-bridge barricades, and increased police patrols.

Hatred and violence directed at Indigenous people continues at an appalling rate in Thunder Bay. An act of senseless criminal violence put resident Barbara Kentner on death's door earlier in 2017. She was hit in the abdomen by a heavy trailer hitch thrown from a moving vehicle. Kentner's sister Melissa was walking with Barbara when someone in the vehicle yelled: “I [expletive] got one of them.”

Bushby's parole revoked

Barbara Kentner’s recovery never came, stomach filling with fluids, kidneys failing, doctors saying they can do little else to save her. She succumbed to her injuries Jul. 5 and was laid to rest in Thunder Bay Jul 12. Police charged 18-year-old Braydon Bushby with aggravated assault, and eventually upgraded the charges to manslaughter. He is white. Kentner was Indigenous from Wabigoon First Nation.

Francis Kavanaugh, Chief, Grand Council of Treaty 3, says, “In the face of the OPP’s refusal last fall to support our communities with an independent investigation into the Stacy DeBungee death, the logical next step is to bring in the RCMP with respect to the three latest river deaths including the DeBungee case. With all that has transpired to date, it is painfully obvious that the Thunder Bay Police cannot credibly investigate the river deaths.”

“The river deaths are an epidemic that urgently needs to be addressed by law enforcement before further tragedies occur. Alternating silence, denial, and contempt of evidence-based Indigenous concerns about a widespread and racialized policing crisis is not in fulfilment of the statutory obligation to provide adequate and effective police services,” wrote a group of chiefs in a complaint letter to the Ontario Civilian Police Commission.

The system is obviously encountering failure when the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD), which handles complaints about police in Ontario, undertakes to examine Thunder Bay police service. Chiefs from Indigenous communities in the region discussed a letter they received from Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) regarding an investigation into the Thunder Bay Police Services Board providing inadequate oversight to the Thunder Bay Police.

Deanne Hupfield, Kentner’s friend, says racist violence in Thunder Bay is non-stop. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a grandmother or an adult woman or a teenage girl or even a kid, it’s always people in vehicles coming by, yelling racist things, throwing water bottles, beer bottles, garbage. If you’re visibly brown, it’s common to have stuff thrown at you." Hupfield's sister had a crowbar thrown at her from a passing car. Police officers saw it happen and apprehended the men. “They came back and told us: ‘Don’t worry, we scared them, so they won’t be bothering you again.' Even if we call the police, they don’t come for an hour, and that’s common. And no one reports it because it’s normal.” Hupfield left the city and lives in Toronto.

Hospitalization of an Indigenous man resulted when he was hit in the head by a brick in 2014, thrown from a passing car. According to a report from Stats Can released Jun. 13, 2017, "Thunder Bay had the highest rate of hate crime reported to statisticians by police among the country's census metropolitan areas with 22.3 per 100,000 people," which, Stats Can says, was, "mostly the result of 10 incidents against Aboriginal populations, which accounted for 29 per cent of the total anti-Aboriginal hate crimes a in 2015."

Rebecca Johnson, Thunder Bay councillor, says, “Is some of it happening? Without question, I’m not going to defend that. But I don’t think it’s like, every day, people are getting things thrown at them.” The city’s mayor, Keith Hobbs, himself a former police officer who is not seeking another term as mayor, said, in 2015, “Every city — I don’t care where you are in the world — has issues with racism. Don’t be afraid to say you have racism in your city. If you never admit it, you’ll never fix it.”

Thunder Bay police apparently acknowledge reports of Indigenous people having objects thrown at them from passing vehicles, and say much of it is goes unreported. “We deal with approximately 30 incidents a year, where hate could be considered as a motivating factor,” said Chris Adams of the Thunder Bay Police Service.

David Perry, a private investigator with experience on files from Thunder Bay, says Thunder Bay police make assumptions based on what amounts to systemic racist stereotypes, and are missing the bigger picture. "I truly believe that there is likely a pattern. I personally don’t accept the fact all of these people ended up in the river as many of the cases stated because of the consumption of alcohol, falling asleep and rolling into the river. It doesn’t make sense.”

Jason Smallboy is Nishnawbe Aski Nation deputy grand chief, and his organization endeavors to educate people by conducting anti-racism campaigns and rallies. “It’s still pretty bad out there.” Smallboy says he’s heard reports of ‘moonlight riding,’ “I don’t know a specific number, but I know it’s happened a lot,” the practice of Indigenous people being abducted in cars and taken to Mount McKay, a site near Thunder Bay, and being abandoned to face winter. Known as ‘starlight tours,' this egregious behaviour was made famous by Saskatoon and Edmonton police services. Thunder Bay Police told media they’ve never heard of such incidents.

Teresa Trudeau is an employee of Anishnawbe Mushkiki Aboriginal Health Access Centre, involved with traditional healing coordination. She informs that her youngest daughter took to dyeing her hair blonde to disguise her race, to not “have to experience the racism and the hatred at school. It’s almost an expected social behaviour, and they’ve been living with it all these years,” said Trudeau.

Thunder Bay has its own slanderous term for Indigenous people, "bogan," whatever that means. A common assessment of Thunder Bay by Indigenous people is that the city is filled with hatred. “It’s not an isolated incident. We’ve been aware for several years of anecdotal reports of this kind of behaviour,” said John Hannam, Thunder Bay City Clerk, in charge of the Aboriginal Liaison Unit. Hannam said the city did a documentary series in 2014 on issues related to the Indigenous community, which is used to train city staff on cultural sensitivity.

Jayden Matthews was walking in the south end of Thunder Bay one recent Saturday night when two white men jumped out of a black SUV and tried to force him inside. "One guy came out and a second dude came out. Tried pulling me into the SUV.” That’s when he reached for a rock. “I grabbed it and I threw it at that dude there. Then the other dude, I had to bite him. I had no choice but to bite him. Then they let go of me. I thought I was going to die that night,” he said. “The worst experience of my life.”

Thunder Bay police were called and Matthews was taken to hospital by ambulance. “I just thank God he’s still alive with us,” said his aunt Ruth Mathews. His family is concerned about Thunder Bay police nvestigating. "I’ve been hearing a lot of stories about Thunder Bay police. They don’t even do their jobs. There’s too many stories going on.” Matthews walked home alone after being discharged from the hospital at 6 a.m.

The sole Indigenous community situated in Thunder Bay is Fort William First Nation and the family of Stephan Banning is trying to learn what happened, why he was found dead in the Kaministiquia River in 1990. The death was first ruled a suicide, then accidental. When further evidence was presented to police a decade later, it appears little or nothing was done to investigate what may of potentially been a murder.

Thunder Bay’s acting police Chief Sylvie Hauth this week rejected the idea of RCMP intervention and declared it was “business as usual” with her police force which faced no crisis. Hauth is acting chief since J.P. Levesque, the police chief, became charged with obstruction of justice and breach of trust for disclosing confidential information about Mayor Keith Hobbs.

Let us move 500 km west on the TransCanada Highway to Kenora, Ontario, with the case of Delaine Copenace. Such a beautiful and unusual name that is so sad to hear because of the shortness of her life, and the story behind it. The body of Delaine Copenace was discovered in frozen Lake of the Woods in the City of Kenora at the end of Water Street by city employees on Mar. 22, 2016, at 8:00 a.m..

In the immediate aftermath of the discovery, "(We) the family of Delaine Copenace would like to thank everyone for the continuous support and prayers," they said, "At this time, Delaine’s loved ones are asking that their privacy be respected as they take some time together to grieve the devastating loss of their daughter, sister and granddaughter and friend."

An investigation began early in March 2016, “There were two officers that came to the house, and both of them automatically said, ‘Oh, she probably just ran away,’” said her mother, Anida Ross. This was at least three days after the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) received a report that Copenace was missing on Feb. 27, 2016. Detective Inspector Randy Heida of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch was in charge under the direction of the OPP North West Region Crime Unit.

Findings of the investigative branch and Regional Coroners Office did not satisfy the family. It took a lot of cajoling by Delaine's mother, and a lot of haggling with authorities to keep this unsolved crime an ongoing investigation; supposedly the investigation continues although part of it has since moved to the Office of the Chief Coroner and Forensic Pathology Services in Toronto.

Copenace went missing Feb. 27, and police called off the ground search Mar 14. "I believe she was murdered. I truly believe somebody hurt her and put her there and they have to look deeper into the cause, why, why she was there." Ross says police and coroner draw the wrong picture of Delaine, and denies she was a 'depressed' daughter, "engaging in risky behaviour on the ice."

OPP spokespersons responded that the police service, "considers all people as equals and every investigation receives equal service."

Ross says, "I just want justice for my daughter. I don't want people to think she was just another Indigenous kid who didn't know which way was up and which way was down. She was a smart kid." How did Delaine go from downtown Kenora onto the lake ice with nobody seeing? How did a girl go through the ice where day by day they search and find no holes?

Dr. Michael Wilson, regional supervising coroner, believes the investigation answered all questions about Copenace's death "to the best of our ability." Is that right? asks Delaine's mother. What caused bruising on Copenace's ankles and wrists? "To me that's not a common injury that you get just from walking somewhere. I find that suspicious because she didn't have bruises when she left home."

With security cameras all over Kenora's downtown, how is it Copenace was last seen at 5:30 p.m. on the night of her disappearance? Ross asks why no other camera picked up her daughter? Why did the teen's body turn up at a downtown dock when weeks of searching in that same area turned up nothing? "She was within metres of a police station where her body was found 24 days later. They want me to believe that she was there the whole time. That area was so extensively searched. How did her body just pop up?"

According to coroner Wilson, privacy rules will not allow comment on the details of the investigation. Ross says, "It's like they're telling me this is the end, but this is not the end. I'm still going to seek those answers and they [police] should be doing the same thing too. I think it should be further investigated because right now my daughter is getting no justice."

When the body was recovered, for example, “Her face still had colour, her lips still had colour.” Police say the body was, “well preserved.” Ross believes Delaine’s wrists must have bound. If her body was in the water from Feb. 27, why did the skin show little wrinkling? “It looked like she wasn't in there very long,” she says, and she was found where the water had been searched at least 100 times by family, friends, police dogs, and even police divers. “There were no reported holes where her body was and the water is not very deep in that area. There was no current around the shores.”

Move forward to the memory of Azraya Ackabee-Kokopenace, 14, found dead in Kenora on Apr. 17, 2016. In this case the coroner decides, "Ackabee-Kokopenace died by suicide." Family remains compelled to call for further investigation into the death of the girl from Grassy Narrows a year after the fact. Her father Marlin Kokopenace wants an inquest into his daughter's death.

She disappeared Apr. 15, 2016, after provincial police dropped her off at the hospital, last seen leaving the Lake of the Woods District Hospital in Kenora at 11:20 p.m.. Her body was found nearby two days later. Azraya's aunt, Lorenda Kokopenace, says, "Pretty much everyone failed her. They were supposed to be there helping and protecting her and they failed her."

Warren White, Treaty 3 First Nations Grand Chief, says the families of both Delaine Copenace and Azraya Ackabee-Kokopenace are being supported in their need for inquests. Systems do little service to Indigenous peoples interests in justice, ignoring them in their search for answers. "It will be a life-long process of healing and accepting, but at least in an inquest you'll have direct questions asked and ways of finding solutions. All we really want is a process where we get fair treatment in order to find those answers and closure."

Regional coroner Wilson replied, "Anytime you have a young person dying in unexpected circumstances there are going to be added complexities," saying that investigations may take months to conclude.

​Freelance Writing by Mack McColl 2018 Updated

Thunder Bay has a race problem, and Indigenous people die from it

Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald Offers Condolences to the Family of Braiden Jacob 

TORONTO -- On behalf of the Chiefs of Ontario, Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald extends her deepest condolences to the family of Braiden Jacob and the community of Webequie First Nation.

“I am saddened to see another body of our youth found in Thunder Bay, Ontario. I am sending my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Braiden Jacob during this time and to Chief Wabasse, his Council and the community of Webequie. There is no reason for this individual to have lost his life after travelling to Thunder Bay to attend counselling services for trauma and grief. Clearly, our funding partners must continue the ongoing work of increasing essential mental health services directly in First Nation communities.” said Ontario Regional Chief Archibald.

“While we do not know the full details of Braiden’s disappearance, we do know the loss of life and the lost potential of young people, like Braiden, is an ongoing tragedy must be addressed with real on the ground solutions in Thunder Bay. I ask our allies to work with us and stand with us as we take further steps to keep our youth safe. Like all families, we want our children to be safe and treated with dignity by everyone.”

A vigil took place for the family of the Braiden Jacob at the Victoria Inn in Thunder Bay on December 8th, 2018 at 7pm. We are sending our hearts and prayers to the family of Braiden and the community during this difficult time.

Submitted to the media by
Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald

The Chiefs of Ontario is a political forum and a secretariat for collective decision making, action, and advocacy for the 133 First Nation communities located within the boundaries of the province of Ontario, Canada. Follow Chiefs of Ontario Twitter @ChiefsOfOntario.

Triple Murderer Garland receives two beatings in three weeks

Douglas Garland, who killed couple and their grandson, in hospital after second prison beating in three weeks https://t.co/Z11kSrLqMP pic.twitter.com/mAs72sPHdU

— National Post (@nationalpost) March 8, 2017

Cortney: Arguments made, horrors revisited on final day of Garland triple-murder trial https://t.co/PXPqP984FL pic.twitter.com/FKkzQeY8u9

— Calgary Herald (@calgaryherald) February 14, 2017

The Abbotsford, B.C., School Stabbing Video

The Abbotsford, B.C., school stabbing video: Why we can't look away, but should https://t.co/IxIl1oZ2lj pic.twitter.com/T1VcAqer3s

— CBC News (@CBCNews) November 3, 2016

Travis Vader back in court in Edmonton

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/decision-travis-vader-case-could-120000104.html

Travis Vader murder convictions vacated, guilty of manslaughter instead
https://t.co/Z76TnYvpVG

— National Newswatch (@natnewswatch) October 31, 2016

Rachel Pernosky murdered by half-brother

Culprit evaded justice for three years

The more popular social media and android communications becomes the more the world seems to shrink. Internet connections enable us to communicate with anyone online and form new friendships. In fact the internet has opened up an alternative reality where now it is perfectly okay to speak to strangers, furthermore, the fact is through social media we are able to share our entire lives with them. But what happens when the stranger turns out not to have an ounce of humanity as is to often the case?

Recently we saw the conviction of Dellen Millard and Mark Smich for the first degree murder of Tim Bosma in Ontario and this was a crime that was especially arranged in email and cellphone conversations that might never have occurred in a previous time. Even more recently there was an arrest for the murder of Rachel Pernosky, allegedly committed by her step-brother, Matthew Joseph Pernosky, charged in 2016.

Rachel Pernosky was a bubbly, friendly 18 year old with her whole life ahead of her. Her friends described her as having the ability to, "lighten up the room, everywhere she went. "On the 22nd March 2014 tearful family and friends attended a candlelight vigil in Mission B.C. in memory of the murdered teen. What makes the loss so much harder to bear is knowing her then-18 month old son Marco has been left without a mother.

It was Saturday the 10th of March 2013 Rachel was reported missing. A 25-member strong RCMP police search for the missing teenager commenced some time later when her interaction online became absent. When the police entered her home they were instantly concerned due to the discovery that she had left her personal belongings including her purse money and perhaps more worryingly her cellphone.

On the day Rachel had last been seen she was on her phone tweeting a moment by moment account of things going on in the street, Rachel was an avid fan of social media including Facebook. Religion, politics, friendship, love, humor, entertainment, hatred, insanity and murder, apparently social media has it all.

Rachel's neighbor Leila James saw her drinking and smoking outside her home on the Saturday afternoon. More notably she recalled that Rachel had been talking to a stranger in a baseball cap. Was this Rachel's killer? Leila did not detect any cause for alarm at the time. "They were just having a friendly conversation together." She told the Vancouver Sun.

Sgt. Jennifer Pound, speaking on behalf of the RCMP homicide investigation team, reported that, "there had been no forced entry into Rachels home." This appeared to have been a targeted attack and so it is not believed that other women in the area are in danger. It is estimated that 175 million a day sign into Facebook and 55 million tweets are written daily on twitter. That is just two popular social media websites there are many many others. I think it would be reasonable to presume someone, somewhere may very well be in danger.

On a Tuesday evening 44 km from Rachel's home, a passerby made a terrible discovery and called the police. Rachel's body had been left down a steep embankment and search and rescue had to be employed to retrieve her discarded corpse. Meanwhile her son Marco none the wiser remained in the custody of his father. Sgt. Jennifer Pound emphasized, "The father is not considered to be a suspect."

The discovery of Rachel's body came as a surprise even to the police as they had not suspected homicide as a reason or her disappearance. Rachel Allard said of her friend, "She was like a big sister to me and kept her head up in any situation"

Investigators to scoured her many Facebook and twitter messages in search of the killer. Friends and family had to grieve the loss of such a beautiful young lady who had a whole life ahead of her. During the candlelight vigil they were reminded that Rachel had left the most beautiful gift to the world behind in her son Marco, who looks very much like his green eyed petite mother.

Freelance Writing by Staff 

Jonathan Robert Pickett charged in Joan Foulds' murder

C0ld case murder of two decades solved

Joan Foulds was a very dependable and charitable 57 year old woman, which is why on 20th July 1990 when she failed to appear to open the doors to an AA gathering co-workers considered that to be an odd occurrence. She took her part-time receptionist job at the Friendship Inn in Saskatoon very seriously never had she failed to show up for work on time or disregarded the numerous tasks she volunteered to do for the community . . . so where was Jean?

Perhaps thought Jean's co-workers her duty to open the door for the AA meeting had slipped her mind. Maybe she was at the Anglican Church, her usual place of worship doing volunteer work. Still it seemed to Robin Bellamy the Friendship Inn's director her absence was out of character. He instructed another employee to proceed to Joan's home with due haste to check on her welfare. But there was no response. Inside Joan's home everything was eerily quiet she lay on her bed unconscious and bleeding.

Joan was unmarried and had no children but was loved by her friends and community. A broad shouldered woman who was most often neatly dressed, she had trained as a teacher and did not suffer fools easily. She did however have a heart of gold, she had on one occasion donated her pay cheque in entirety towards helping someone bail out a member of their family from jail in time for Christmas celebrations. Joan had no enemies although Bellamy recalls her generosity led to some patrons demanding money or accusing her of having more money than she actually had. She was a popular member of the community who impacted on the lives of all those around her but she died alone.

On the 22nd July 1990 the unthinkable happened; Joan failed to appear at work for the second time in a row. "She never, ever missed work," Bellamy later told reporters. In a panic immediately Bellamy phoned the police. Police responding to the call forced Joan's door open and discovered a lifeless corpse in the bedroom. Joan Fould's had been mercilessly beaten and stabbed to death. An autopsy report also revealed bruises on her head ,she had also been sexually assaulted. The Autopsy report also proposed that Joan had bled to death roughly 24 hours to 48 hours from the time her lifeless body was found. "Today we all feel somewhat diminished as human beings by this outrage . . . ," said the Reverend McColloch at Joan's funeral. The Reverend managed the funeral extremely well given that Joan had been a long time friend of his for over 25 years. Joan was as her friends told a uniquely kind hearted soul.

Almost 23 year's have passed since Joan was so cruelly taken from the world but it had remained an unsolved case. Robin Bellamy recalled to reporters how hard that had been, thinking everyday that the murderer may be close and a part of the community going unpunished. "Someone passing everyday could have been the one who killed our good friend." Thankfully as technology has advanced and more tools are made available to police cold case’s like Joan's are beginning to be solved. In May 2013 Saskatoon RCMP staff were able to solve a cold case dating back 50 years. Then in late May police Insp. Rick Penny made a press release announcement regarding Joan Foulds "Finally we got a break in the case."

Jonathan Robert Pickett who had attended the Friendship Inn as a regular was 19 when Joan met her demise. He has lived in Saskatoon for the past 23 years unquestioned. In May Pickett 42, was arrested and charged with the first degree murder of Joan Foulds. Whilst police declined to provide details on how they have concluded Pickett was involved, Insp. Rick Penny said, "There were a number of things that came together." Joan's case has been of ongoing interest since 1990 and police have been relooking at crucial evidence for years. Saskatoon police hope to solve a number of cold case's this year and are currently looking at 16 cases involving murder or deaths where there were suspicious circumstances. Pickett's case has been adjourned until the 27th June.

"If you have committed murder and think you have got away with it, think again!" said Inspector Rick Penny.

Grok explains, Jonathan Robert Pickett (also spelled Johnathon Robert Pickett in some reports) was convicted of the second-degree murder of Joan Foulds (likely the intended "J Foulds") in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The murder occurred on July 20, 1990, when Foulds, a 57-year-old former teacher and volunteer at the Friendship Inn, was sexually assaulted, beaten, and stabbed to death in her home at 415 Avenue D South. Pickett, who was 19 at the time and a regular at the Friendship Inn where he knew Foulds, was not initially a suspect. The case went cold for over two decades until Saskatoon police reopened it in 2013 as part of their Historical Case Unit. They re-tested evidence from Foulds' clothing at the RCMP Forensic Lab, yielding a DNA match to Pickett, who was already serving a sentence for manslaughter. On May 29, 2013, the 42-year-old Pickett was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and sexual assault. On March 7, 2014, he pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of second-degree murder in Saskatoon Provincial Court. He was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 16.5 years. Foulds' family expressed mixed feelings about the outcome, noting the apology from Pickett felt insincere. No further appeals or overturned convictions have been reported since.

Wyatt DeBruin Murdered Laura Szenrei

The past couple years have borne witness to a lack of safety for women in Vancouver-area parks, awareness of which was raised to frightful new heights in late September 2010 with the murder of 15-year-old Laura Szendrei. She was a Grade 10 student at Burnsview Secondary School in Delta, B.C., who died in hospital early Sunday morning, September 26, 2010, succumbing to injuries from a severe blow to the head.

The lethal attack took place only a few hours earlier, on Saturday, September 25 in a park next to the school she attended in North Delta. The attack which became fatal occurred in broad daylight at 1:30 p.m. while she was walking through the woods on the way to meet friends. Szendrei's friends were near the park and heard two loud cries for help and ran in that direction, arriving seconds after the attack to find her laying on the ground.

Delta Police Force told media they were looking for a 'person-of-interest', and said, “As a result of initial investigative efforts Delta Police were looking to speak to a person who may have information that may further our investigation." The person of interest was described as a young male seen leaving the park at about the same time as the attack, walking swiftly while preoccupied with a cell-phone.

He was Wyatt Debruin. He was convicted of Laura Szenrei's murder.

Wendy Ladner-Beaudry was an avid jogger, a mother of two young daughters, who entered Pacific Spirit Regional Park (adjacent the UBC campus) where she was attacked and murdered April 3, 2009, and the body was discovered by a hiker the same afternoon. Ladner-Beaudry was co-chair of the BC Games Society and was well-known as an avid promoter of sport and fitness for women in the province, and she was the sister of former Vancouver councillor and mayoral candidate Peter Ladner.

Her husband Michel Beaudry said in the days after the murder, “She was a loving wife, a dedicated mother, a consummate professional and a source of joy, love, and inspiration to everyone she met,.” The murder of Ladner-Beaudry remains unsolved while she was posthumously inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame this year.

This unsolved murder was preceded by another earlier in the spring of 2009, when a 43-year-old woman named Tammi-Lynn Louise Cordone was found in West Vancouver's Lighthouse Park. Her body was found lying near a tent that was set-up close to Juniper Point. Cordone had apparently been living as an itinerant in Lighthouse Park, a 74-hectare park off Marine Drive where camping was not permitted. Initially investigators treated Cordone's death as 'suspicious', then the investigation turned to homicide.

A relative of Cordone from Thunder Bay, Ontario, where Cordone was from, said the family received few details about the attack, and told the Vancouver media, “All we know about what happened was she was a good kid.” This investigation is being handled by both West Vancouver and Vancouver police departments because the West Vancouver Police Department does not have its own homicide unit. This murder also remains unsolved.

About a year ago, Oct. 19, 2009 9:20 AM Vancouver police issued a public warning after a local woman was violently sexually assaulted while walking through a west side park not far from the Pacific Spirit Regional Park. Reports said she was attacked in Hastings Mill Park, located next to the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club on Point Grey Road.

"He repeatedly punched her, multiple times in the head and face, then dragged her towards the centre of the park," said Cst. Jana McGuinness. The woman was able to fend off her attacker after a violent struggle during which the assailant began a sexual assault on the victim. The attacker left the scene, and police reported the victim sustained "significant" facial injuries and bruises.

"Obviously this is a violent and traumatic event," said Cst. McGuinness. "There will be an emotional toll -- no doubt for many weeks, and potentially even longer." Police said the suspect was described as 5-5 to 5-8 tall, medium-skinned with a medium build, and, “speaking in a distinctly British accent.” He wore a hooded sweatshirt and jeans, had a handkerchief over his face. Police discussed a possible connection to the murder of Wendy Ladner-Beaudry in April the same year because the park on Point Grey Road lies in relatively proximity to Pacific Spirit Regional Park.

Cst. McGuinness said the public must exercise caution in these relatively benign circumstances, and she listed a few safety suggestions, including: walk with a partner, carry a cell phone, stick to well-lit routes, and let someone know where you are. "These are just minor steps, but they can be really helpful in dissuading a serious attack," she said.

Jodi Arias trial an International Spectacle

Jodi Arias gunned down Travis Alexander

then stabbed him

then slit his throat ear to ear

"You are as enlightened as you are beautiful." - Travis Alexander. Indeed Jodi Arias was beautiful with a delicate voice that could call the birds from the tree's. Not really the perfect image of a killer, although as with most women perhaps you should be wary of what flashes in her eyes. Was she driven over the edge, was she insanely jealous did she stalk Travis?

Jodi Arias is a talented artist and photographer, but will always be best known as the accused murderess of Travis in June 2008. The evidence against her is outstanding and even includes dark, out of focus photographs of the event. I am still confused why she was not able to provide the media and court with better pictures given her photographic experience. In Jodi's own words, "You couldn't not like Travis he was a cool guy!" In the last photograph taken of Travis he looked anything but cool and collected, he looked petrified as his deep green eyes, red possibly with tears stared into the glare of the lens. If only we could see through his eyes in that moment, see the truth and in Travis's own words in a motivational speech on Myspace, "Step out of the Matrix."

It's a startling coincidence that before 1990 a Mormon blood oath included the words, "We agree that our throats be cut from ear to ear," (should they reveal Mormon secrets). Travis is pictured curled dead in the shower in a disturbingly graphic crime photo his throat cut ear to ear. But Mormon's are not violent people even if there is a Wikipedia page titled, "Mormons and violence" and the last time anyone's throat was documented as cut ear to ear by a Mormon was in 1866.

Jodi Arias, all 120lbs of her, was responsible for stabbing the handsome 200lb weighlifter 27 times, slitting his throat and shooting him in the head. Clearly she was unsatisfied at having spent hours with him making love. Jodi Arias was a stalker, she followed him everywhere trips to Arizona, California, Ohio, Canada, on the same airplane, in a seat beside him. The poor guy couldn't get rid of her no matter how hard he tried. "She was like a drug to him," the prosecution insists. In the police report friends and family testified she was an obsessive stalker. Jodi Arias is guilty of first degree murder!

Jodi's long term friend Bryan Carr disagrees emphatically, as reported in Britain's Daily Mail, "Jodi never actually killed Travis, the Mormons actually killed Travis!" He told this to Radar Online, a popular gossip-spreading website, adding, "In the Mormon faith, they have a thing called a blood atonement that the bishop will practice on people high in the church like Travis was if sex sins or adultery were committed. They believe that it washes away your sins and use a scapegoat, to protect the religion!" The weapons used to commit the crime have never been found. "I will not be first person to be wrongly convicted," Arias told CBS news.

In a excerpt of original police interrogation videos Jodi says that it would be easier to say she was guilty implying her family were in danger. "Jodi don't go there" replies the officer. Bryan Carr says, "She is afraid of implicating the real killers because she is afraid they will go after her family."

Back to the eyes of Travis Alexander on the day of his murder, because they say a camera never lies. ABC15 reported that a man believes something is missing in this murder case, he see's two other people in the reflection of Travis's eyes. Mr Blankenship has a lot of experience in photography, "If your seeing a single person, then that person should be taking up the middle part of his eye" he said. 

On YouTube he posted enlarged images which seem to clearly show these reflections and many others have followed. Jodi Arias once told investigators that two people, a man and a woman broke into the home and attacked Travis but she was not believed. Once the truth is lost all that is left is lies. The eyes of the law stare down at Jodi and she stands to lose more than her freedom if convicted, she could lose her life, why would such an important valuable piece of evidence be ignored?

On Myspace Jodi posted many photographs "in loving memory," of Travis, post-mortem; they seemed like the perfect couple. Her friend commented, "I'm so glad that you had the opportunity to spend your time with him doing things that most people never do. So special." Did that include stabbing him 27 times, cutting his throat from ear-to-ear and shooting him in the head? I don't think so but few agree, I suppose I am stepping out of the Matrix here.

Grok adds, The murder of Travis Alexander by Jodi Arias took place on June 4, 2008, in his home in Mesa, Arizona. Alexander, a 30-year-old salesman and devout Mormon, was stabbed 27 times, had his throat slit, and was shot in the head while showering. His body was discovered five days later by friends. Arias, his ex-girlfriend, initially denied involvement but later claimed self-defense during her highly publicized 2013 trial in Maricopa County Superior Court, Phoenix. She was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in 2015 after the jury deadlocked on the death penalty. The case drew massive media attention due to graphic details, including crime scene photos and testimony about their tumultuous relationship.  SOURCE 

The senseless US shooting by Adam Lanza hit home in Canada

Earthquakes, hurricanes, plane crashes and terrorist attacks to name just a few. It really doesn’t matter how horrendous the disaster, the reality remains the same in most cases, someone survives. What separates the survivors from those who perish ? Nancy thinks she knows, it is the failure to react when a threat is staring you in the face. That is why she stockpiled food and water in her home and why she registered five guns in her name.

Nancy Lanza 52, was an intelligent, self-reliant women, she was proud of her home situated in the prosperous town of Newtown, near the city of New York. She believed we are all facing an uncertain future that the global economy will collapse. She thought that financial disaster would lead to the fall of civilized society and signal the beginning of barbarism. She could never have guessed that a threat lay closer to home. She was the loving attentive mother of two boys. Once when her youngest was sick she had slept outside his room on the hard floor just so she could reassure him she was there should he wake.

Nancy was asleep in her bed when he years later crept into her room. He shot her four times in the head, using her own weapon a 22 Marlin rifle.

Adam Lanza, 20, must have felt powerless for years, and perhaps his mother seemed demanding. His parents were divorced. He had virtually no contact besides his mother. A year ago he had burnt himself with a lighter in the desperate attempt to feel something. Adam suffered from a medical condition which meant he could not feel pain. This condition stressed him and led to complex psychological issues. He also suffered from Asperger's Syndrome (autism spectrum) and had difficulty with normal social interactions. He was shy, reclusive and seemed unable to make friends.

Lanza was wearing black clothing and a mask when he drove to Sandy Hook Elementary along with a .223 calibre Bushmaster rifle and two pistols.

Victoria Soto was a young, bright eyed teacher, she loved her job and the students. One of her friends Rachel Schiavone remembers her as "a ball of energy with an incredible personality" Victoria spoke about her pupils and had reportedly planned to make gingerbread houses with them that day. When she heard gunfire and screams in the classroom opposite her plans had to change.

Victoria busied herself hiding her students in the cupboards. Then she bravely tried to distract the gunman by telling him her pupils were in the gym. First graders later recalled to their parents and policeman how Victoria had shielded children from bullets with her own body. In her yearbook she quoted Victor Hugo by writing "You have got to dance like nobody s watching. Dream like you will live forever. Live like you will die tomorrow and love like it will never hurt." Hugo s last printed words included "I beg a prayer to all souls."

Gene Rosen’s auditory senses perceived within seconds the abrupt sound of gunfire close to his house. He dismissed it, he was not unfamiliar with the sound of a hunter in the woods. Gene Rosen is a retired man of 69 who had once worked as a psychologist. A peaceful married man who lives in his modest-sized home, painted in bright welcoming yellow. Some might call it the idyllic lifestyle. He had built his small garden with the help of his two young grandchildren who often visited and they had chosen a small fish pond and a bubbling waterfall. He had taken his grandson a few times to a local school parking lot out of hours and taught him how to use his bike. His granddaughter he later recalled had enjoyed being pushed on the swings in the playground.

He could not have conceived the events that were transpiring around him. At 9.30 am Rosen found two young boys and four young girls sat in a semicircle on his driveway. One little boy then made him aware of a terrible event "We cannot go to our school" "Our teacher Mrs Soto is dead, we don’t have a teacher" A school bus driver then revealed to him the true scale of the disaster and that the children had fled a gunman. In total Adam Lanza shot dead 20 children between the ages of six and seven as well as six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary before committing suicide. One 52 year old teacher was reportedly found dead with her arms around a student in an attempt to protect them from harm. Adam Lanza killed 27 people on Friday 14th December 2012, including his mother, and the resounding question through tears will always be "... why ?"

On the 20th December a funeral was held for one of the victims. Ana Marquez Greene was six years old and already a talented singer, ”She didn’t walk anywhere. She danced.” Even at the young age of six she was known for selfless acts of kindness often leaving notes under her mother's pillow just to tell her how much she loved her. She left for school on Friday December 14th, “wearing a white shirt with a purple peace sign,” according to her mother Nelba Marquez Greene who revealed to the media that the day before the shooting she had purchased a new Kindle Fire HD for Ana's Christmas present.

Ana was originally a Winnipeg girl. Her mother had a job at the Aurora Family Therapy Centre, University of Winnipeg and Ana`s father Jimmy Greene worked at the University of Manitoba as a music professor. Her family had moved to Connecticut a year ago. Isaiah, Ana`s older brother also attended Sandy Hook Elementary School but was unharmed.

The last thing Nelba remembers is giving her beautiful daughter two kisses on the cheek before Ana got on the school bus. Uttering the last words her mother would hear, Ana said smiling, “There is something for you under the tree.” Nelba emphasized to the media that she felt the school had all the necessary safety procedures in place, and that, “No lock down procedure in the world could have prevented anyone with that kind of power and ammunition.”

As Winnipeg City Council continue to table the plans for Winnipeg's 2013 budget, Councillor Paula Havixbeck in the district of Charleswood-Tuxedo called for Winnipeg to increase the funding of the (SRO) program. The School Resource Officer Program places uniformed police officers in city schools. She believes in light of the recent shootings in Newtown it is now imperative schools improve on their security. Speaking to the Winnipeg Sun she said of her proposals for change, “Every student and every teacher has a right to be safe.

It's a zombie apocalypse underway in crime

A naked man leans over his nude victim tearing chunks of flesh from his face with his teeth which he readily consumes. An officer approaches and orders the crazed man to get off the victim, the man looks up at the officer blood dripping from his face and growls like a wild animal then continues to devour the victim. This is not a horror film, it's a macabre attack in Miami that some people are understandably calling the start of a zombie apocalypse. Grab your, uh, popcorn. 

More abbreviated justice in society via the abuse excuse

Jeremy Steinke

Accused of a ghastly murder? Evidence stacked against you? Is your defense council struggling to find any redeeming qualities that humanize you? Don’t panic, there is another get-out-of-jail card to play. No, you can't call the Human Rights Act because courts have yet to recognize the human right to commit homicide. But you can try another fashionable legal device: the plea that you were abused as a child and therefore cannot be held responsible for your actions as an adult.

We might call it the abuse excuse, or perhaps - given that parents are usually blamed for the abuse - the Mother of All Mitigating Circumstances. It is a confession, not of your own sins, but the sins of somebody else from your past. You are not really seeking forgiveness, since you do not accept that anything is your fault. Instead, you demand recognition that you, too, are a victim, a ‘survivor’ in need not of punishment but of support.

And it is not just high-profile, low-life murder cases. The abuse excuse has become a staple argument, almost a fashion statement, for any public figure in need of sympathy. Why did rock musician Pete Townshend access pay-per-view child pornography websites? Because: ‘I believe that I was sexually abused between the ages of five and six and a half ... I cannot remember clearly what happened.’ Why was President Bill Clinton such a philanderer? Because, explained his wife, he was ‘scarred’ by psychological abuse at the age of four.

No doubt many of these people are telling the truth. But why should it now be so readily accepted that childhood abuse can automatically explain what happens in later life? Whereas, once it might have been thought that people would leave these childish horrors behind as they grow and learn coping mechanisms to lead a good and moral life, now the belief seems to be that there can be no escape from traumas suffered as a toddler or teenager and the pains of childhood should be inflicted on others.

What makes the abuse excuse attractive to the accused is the displacement of responsibility. Since you cannot change what was done to you in the past, how can you reasonably be blamed for whatever your childhood drives you to now? What makes the excuse resonate more widely, however, is our diminished view of the human condition. As a society, we seem to have lost faith in the capacity of individuals to overcome adversity and try to shape their destinies. A culture in which it is assumed that we are victims of forces beyond our control, where we are all experiencing diminished responsibility for our lives, provides fertile ground for the abuse excuse. No matter what happens these degrading appeals seem set to continue.

It is a syndrome that more and more attorneys are using when they explain the aberrant behaviour of the accused, telling the court why the crime was committed and indeed why the accused is expecting to get away with it. The abuse excuse gets abused itself, as seen when Jeremy Steinke tried to explain why he committed the Richardson family murders in Medicine Hat, except he wasn't the one being abused. He said it was his then-12 year old girlfriend and accomplice being abused, that she became the youngest mass murderer in Canadian history because of the treatment she received in the household. Thankfully the court rejected Steinke's defense, and rightly so, basically rebutting the abuse excuse as described by legal scholar Alan Dershowitz, a "legal invitation to vigilantism."

The abuse excuse gives us the reason an accused cannot tell right from wrong - responsibility for actions go out the door. The abuse excuse was the reason parole was a free pass for Darnell Pratt who killed in the act of stealing $12 worth of gas to fuel a stolen vehicle, scurrilously ending the life of young gas station attendant Grant DePatie by dragging him for 7 km in the undercarriage of the stolen vehicle. He continues to claim that a childhood spent in the revolving door of foster care created the Pratt that society must deal with today, problems he doesn't necessarily see in himself. His defense appeared to be holding sway as he ran amok in the parole system to be set completely free in July 2012.

The abuse excuse gives us all reason to commit a crime once we clearly make our accusations against our abusers, but since we have all been abused in someway over the course of our lives, the abuse excuse may be doing a major job abbreviating justice in present day society.

Alberta peace officer’s grisly death in the line of duty

Blue Heelers have a distinctive sounding bark

A bold and inviting sign, amongst the grass and sporadic trees, reads "Tangled Spur Ranch." Below it a small green model tractor, its red flag lowered downwards.This ranch is close to the community of Priddis just outside of Calgary, Canada. For Southern Alberta bylaw officer and former Mountie, Rod Lazenby, 62, it was just another day at work on Friday, August, 10th, 2012. He could not have suspected that today someone lay in wait for him,that he was part of a dispute that would lead to his death.

Trevor Kloschinsky 46, had ongoing disagreements with his neighbours ."I said you can leave now and don’t come back," said one neighbour, "He was erratic and foul mouthed, you couldn’t guess if he would do one thing or another." For a few months there had been a number of complaints made about the dogs at the acreage, Kloschinsky is said to believe these complaints were made by a neighbour who wanted to sell his own property.

Kloschinsky had somewhat of an obsession for breeding dogs, he had 30 Australian Cattle dogs (estimated) commonly nicknamed "Blue Heelers" at his rented ranch. He was often visited in response to calls about noise disturbances and had numerous animal and property-related complaints lodged against him. "They didn’t bark unless you went near them," said the Ranch owner Bruce Adams, who had himself been visited and probably cited by Lazenby.

Blue Heelers have a distinct and intense high-pitched bark but usually only bark when alarmed or as a sign of boredom to draw attention. They are a medium-sized dog. Wayne Ryder, a previous landlord of Kloschinsky, court-evicted him from a ranch west of Turner Valley because his dogs barked at all hours and he received numerous complaints from the neighbours."They are always barking and never go outside," said Chuck Caswell who lived close by.

"Theres no reason to have so many dogs,unless your a hoarder," said a dog breeder in Priddis.
  
Kloschinsky was a loner and a volatile man, RCMP were aware of this, unfortunately their concerns regarding this were not passed on to Foothills peace officers. Rod Lazenby who responded to a noise complaint, arrived at the Ranch unarmed. Peace Officers are not permitted to use guns. Hidden amongst the trees, Kloschinsky allegedly ambushed Lazenby on arrival. Lazenby was then handcuffed and severely beaten.

Lazenby had worked for the RCMP for over 35 years as an undercover officer and homicide detective, he had retired in 1996 then taken a job as a Peace Officer to be closer to his daughter. "He did some very unique and dangerous work," said Mike Butcher, former RCMP colleague and best friend. He was a quiet respecful man who showed understanding to people of all walks of life. Lazenby was a regular community volunteer, he was once the mascot for the Ototok Oilers hockey team.

Lazenby had spent his life dedicated to locking up dangerous criminals and was highly trained. According to the City Of Calgary, Peace Officers are also "trained in conflict resolution and mediation to better assist with neighborhood issues." Nonetheless Lazenby was ill equipped for the events that took place that day.

After allegedly beating Lazenby within an inch of his life, Kloschinsky then drove his victim to a South Calgary police station in a SUV claiming to have captured a person who wanted to "steal his dogs." Sources suggest some of Kloschinky’s dogs had been seized in the past. Lazenby was described as being in severe "medical distress" and was rushed to Rocky View General Hospital, Calgary but died on the way to the hospital from his injuries. He left behind a devastated wife and daughter, he also had a grandson he was devoted to.

 The RCMP charged Kloschinsky with first degree murder, on August 15, 2012, he made his first court appearance briefly to answer questions about his mental fitness. Kloschinsky, a large built man, heavily bearded with glasses may have seemed menacing as he faced the court had it not been for the handcuffs and shackles. He was however polite to the judge and thanked him before leaving the stand. A mental fitness assessment cannot be conducted until Kloschinsky has secured a legal representative. Crown Prosecutor Jim Sawa told reporters, "We are concerned that Mr Kloschinsky have legal representative. . . until we see the police material I cannot disclose anymore."

The Calgary Humane society offered its condolences, emailing the CBC, "Its a stark realisation at the capacity of risk these officers take to protect the welfare of animals everyday" Kloschinsky’s dogs are still at the property and "still barking " according to a neighbour. They are being cared for by the SPCA who are ensuring they have plenty of food and water but it is not yet known what will happen to them in the future and if they will need rehoming in light of Kloschinsky’s arrest.

Lazenby was a level 2 Peace Officer as such he was not even equipped with pepper spray or a baton. Alberta Solictor General stated that considering changing the equipment given to Peace officers is something the department will be doing after this investigation.

The mystifying elements of murder

One of the situations in crime investigation involves the interview process, and the news and social media services have allowed the public to become a fly on the wall in these proceedings. 

The police have a problem, a missing person, and they have a strong scent of foul play, sometimes a whack in the nose with the stench of death. The police have to go through the process of interviewing a person of interest, or a suspect, or an alleged murderer.

When the trial of Mark Twitchell in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, was being prosecuted in the Criminal Court of the Queen's Bench in the Provincial Court of Alberta, the police interviews prior to his arrest made the rounds, and the public saw his behaviour after the murder and before he was charged with the first degree murder of Johnny Atlinger. It is a fact that this was a murder conducted with amazing alacrity and aplomb by a relatively unstoppable (until 'after the fact') moron, in the City of Edmonton, on Oct. 10, 2008. It was carried out in a rented garage on the south-side of Edmonton by a self-confessed Star Wars movie buff.  By all appearances the so-called movie set-slash-garage was rented for murder, and murder was done under cover of atrocious film-making (atrocious in the Ed Wood sense), and a whole lot of specious plotting.

The mystifying element to the bloody atrocity was the faux double life led by the perpetrator. He is a cartoon character in real-life, setting up shows, himself as the central caricature, a role immediately present when the cops start doing the interviews, as these appear in the video-tapes. He's a performer of atrocious deeds, and is the director, the stage hand, doorman to the performance, or would most certainly do so if he thought it was contributing to the outcome of the  'something or other' that he's unempathetically doin', which was attempting one murder and doing another.

The trial is a case that began with the disappearance of Johnny Atlinger on Oct. 10, 2008. Johnny Atlinger didn't just disappear at that date because he was killed without mercy, and that's the thing that makes this trial so interesting. Police interviews of Mark Twitchell before he was arrested and charged with murder contain about six hours of video interview that comes across as conversational dialogue between a couple of guys in a room, except Mark is on curtain call.

The detectives were adept in breaking down character even when they are caricatures. This character was never in focus in Mark Twitchell's mind because of the interviewing technique and the set-up of interviews. They have a physically exhausted prime suspect who they are treating as a person of interest but they are dragging it out; the interviews are 4 hours, then 6 hours within the same 24-hour period.

Embed of Twitchell Viedeo Pt 1

Twitchell is tired, and the detectives are leading him gently through interrogation, and Twitchell is compliant throughout the interrogations, which he is probably treating as casting calls. It is Twitchell's opportunity to lead the cops into various digressions, but not once do they show any regard for his dissembling narratives. Nor can any reasoning viewer discern an actual character in Mark Twitchell, but that is largely due to the police interrogators and their ability to keep pulling the real person back from the dissembling two dimension Twitchell pining for a role.

This trial has given Canadians an insight into the police interview techniques by allowing the evidence to be presented on video as two Edmonton Police Service homicide detectives engaged the murderer Mark Twitchell in an intensive questioning process, to which he submits without a lawyer, and does so for a lengthy examination before he breaks down and probably realizes he's a fucking idiot for not asking for a lawyer a lot sooner. At the end of these long interviews he finally asks for a lawyer.

The reader requires some background on the first degree murder charges involved here. Johnny Atlinger was lured into a garage by a woman named 'Sheena', whereas Atlinger was a person who spent a lot of time on PlentyofFish so he must have been meeting with some success. So is Mark Twitchell one such user, historically, for dates that included a date that led to a miserable marriage, and within the time-frame of the murder, for victims. Mark Twitchell's wife Jess was found on Plenty of Fish. So is the girlfriend of Mark Twitchell, Traci, and she's also a Facebook user, as are they all. Aren't we all?

The interviews of Oct 20, 2008, took place before the police gathered the evidence that pointed to Mark Twitchell, including DNA evidence found on butchery tools in his possession in the rental property he frequented for the purpose of making films. "You're there on the 10th. Is that the day you're trying to clean up all the corn syrup and stuff?" (Gag scene.)

"And on the tenth when are ya there?"

"Some time between three and five and five-thirty," says Twitchell.

That's the crime scene the detective is trying to zero in on, the Friday afternoon or early evening when Johnny Atlinger's disappearance is practically immediately discerned.
 

The two detectives spent those hours under close scrutiny of their own cameras with a primary suspect in a perplexing disappearance. It's not a stretch to suggest that the disappearance was more perplexing than it might normally be simply because the disappeared was a person of interest in his own right, as a sexual predator.