CANADA Canada - Cindy James, 44, Vancouver, BC, 25 May 1989

[kadman]

A lot of speculating going on by too many people. Probably by every person who's ever heard about it, but that's nothing new. Today, evidence would be a lot more available to assist in such a situation, of course. Although phone call tracing wasn't as easy back then, I do wonder what records the phone company may have had regarding incoming and outgoing calls. The message left on Roy's answer machine instantly made me believe it was a woman. In my own LE experience I have dealt with people suffering from various mental health issues that were the perpetrators of their own reported crimes, so I know it's possible. This is a tough one for sure, and I too wondered initially if Roy was the cause, but the more I learned about the case, the more I wondered if it was in fact CJ. The tying of her limbs makes one really struggle to accept that it could have been her, but we just don't know what she knew about such things. Some people say that "there is no evidence to suggest" this or that, but that doesn't mean it isn't possible just because there isn't evidence. She was very private, and yet some of her medical practitioners say that she did suffer certain mental health issues. This is tragic, no doubt about it. Most wouldn't like to think that CJ was responsible for her own death, but there are cases of hoax stalkers etc, with one that comes to mind being Ruth Finley. I cringed a little when I heard that the cop (McBride) moved in to her home, and got intimate with her, and later the GP (Connelly) visiting CJ at home and not charging a fee, but wonder what he may have got in return, if anything. But then, there was a few sightings of unidentified males around CJ's house by others, and police finding Roy there once, and the no-voice call that McBride listened in on that might've originated from the airport; so that all makes you wonder. Evidence is what this case is lacking unfortunately.

 

[Eloise]

I've listened to the entire podcast now (I was most of the way through it when I posted) and I'm inclined to agree with the podcast's conclusion: it was psychosis and dissociation on Cindy's part, caused as a reaction to childhood trauma (her father) and the abuse from her (ex)husband. That conclusion is entirely sympathetic to her and the traumas she endured, but acknowledges there is no evidence it came from anyone else, and plenty of evidence that "the call was coming from inside the house' both literally and figuratively. It's a tragedy of mental health care, and of failure of institutions to care about abuse of women and children, but not murder.

 

[dotr]

'' Jan 13, 2023 #CrimeBeat #GlobalNews
For seven years, Cindy James told police she was being stalked. She claimed she received chilling phone calls, threatening letters and dead cats thrown onto her front lawn. Cindy said she was stabbed, strangled and her home was set on fire – after phone lines had been cut. When the Vancouver nurse’s lifeless body was found two weeks after she went missing, and no suspects, a coroner’s inquest was called in hopes of solving the mystery of who killed Cindy James? ''
''In this video

• 10:25
  Midnight Prowler
• 15:22
  Frustrated with Police and Terrified
• 23:12
  Her Alarm System
• 36:16
  Cindy James Terror in the Shadows
• 38:25
  Cindy James''
• Who Killed Cindy James? A Woman's Story of Persecution …

''On May 25, 1989, Cindy James, a former nurse and social worker, disappeared. On June 8, 1989, her body was found in a vacant lot in suburban Vancouver. Her hands and feet were bound. She had a puncture wound in her right arm. Initially police investigated the case as a murder, but later claimed it to be suicide. On May 28, 1990, a coroner's jury ruled the cause of Cindy's death "indeterminate."

For nearly seven years Cindy's life had been a nightmare. At least ninety incidents had been reported to the police, including threatening phone calls, abusive notes, cut phone lines, strangled animals left in her yard, and physical and sexual assaults. Several of these events could be substantiated by coworkers or relatives who were present when they occured.

Was Cindy killed by a sadistic tormenter who is still free, or did the very real persecution drive her to stage horrifying incidents to gain the help and attention she so desperately needed? Why did all our social institutions fail her at every turn? Because one thing is certain: Cindy James's death was the result of systematic indifference and abuse on the part of the authorities-all men-who might have saved her. From difficult relationships at home to the indifference of psychiatrists and members of the police force, Cindy James's tragedy embodies a nightmare women everywhere share.''