CANADA Canada - Donna Stearne & Wendy Tedford, both 17, Toronto, 26 Apr 1973

[dotr]

This case is believed to have a Windsor connection, thinking of the gun stolen in Windsor..
CANADA Yvonne Leroux, 16, North York, Ontario Nov.30 1972 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[Chorley8]

Have nothing new but...

1. I think the fence gate is significant.

2. I think the fact that the witnesses (HK hearing gunshot) witness at SitnEat , witness at Lawrence and Keele, witness who found the body are all 17 same age as girls.

What are the chances of that?

Something is wrong.

We need to think of some alternative scenarios e.g. 1. that they never went to the SitnEat 2. were never at Keele and Lawrence 3. never went to Yorkdale 4.DID go to YOnge and College (receipt proves that)

Does the evidence make it possible they were dumped/laid out not shot in the field?

 

[Chorley8]

Just bumping this. Maybe the car is a red herring.

Lets hope that the right eyes do find there way to this site. Now to your questions.

No, I don't think they ever had a particular suspect or motive at that time. I think what they thought was that the girls were hitchhiking and just got in the wrong car. But then you have to think, why did they take the bus all night and then decide to hitch at the end. It was just a ten minute walk from home.

Nothing came from the gun other then that it was the weapon used. They told me that it had been passed around to much so it couldn't be traced to any one person.

Nothing was ever said to me about the car the witness saw.

I have tried like you to bring more attention to Wendy and Donna's case and over the years have had small success's. But since the advent of the internet I see more and more opportunity. When people like you with sites like this show such a genuine interest we may just have someone stumble in with the key that unlocks the truth.

 

[Chorley8]

Sorry multiple posts.......

I still cannot figure out if there was MORE than the single witness at the SitnEat. The only other person I have seen interviewed were the owners who said they were too busy to notice. Their presence makes it unlikely the girls went through the kitchen to the back door parking lot if they were there. Restaurant owners would not easily let someone into their kitchens almost impossible.

If there are no witnesses other than the 1 that would cast doubt on his story.

 

[Chorley8]

1. The owners said they were busy. The could be dissimulating either not to get involved or something else.

2. But if it was busy then should have been MANY witnesses. Now maybe there was but I only have the sense of one a 17 year odl....who saw them one minute....didn't the next.

3. So some have suggested they went out the back. But in my experience with restaurant owners that isn't likely.

4. So were they really there? After all they hadn't been there for a year according to the witness. So according to him they come then are dead an hour later. He says one blushed when she saw him in the halls at school typically.

5. Seen at bus Keele and Lawrence I would say just half and hour before.

Of course maybe I have this all wrong and there are lots of witnesses. But if you think so please provide proof (if you can) I think this is important.

6. Then we have the 17 year old hearing the gunshots tells her parents the next morning. Then another 17 year old finds the bodies early a.m.

They would have been able to get dope on Yonge Street not sure why they would need to go to SitnEat.

If I could get the sister to answer one question right now it would be...did they have keys to the new apt. already?

 

[Chorley8]

Sorry if I had more time for this I would have put last few posts more elegantly together here is the Toronto Star Sept 1st 2009 why not WITNESSES instead of a witness if the place was too busy for the owners to notice them?

"Wendy Tedford and Donna Stearne, both 17 and attractive, were out for a late night Coca-Cola at a 1950s diner just north of Wilson Ave. at Keelegate Dr. A witness reported seeing them at the restaurant, which was not far from Tedford's home, around 11 p.m".

Also same article: "And there's no motive whatsoever," (Det.) Wilkinson says, his voice tinged with anger." There is probably a motive of some kind we just don't know what it is.

And hang on I don't think we have noticed this:

"A sample of semen was recovered from the scene, but it did not match either of the girls' on-again, off-again boyfriends." I wonder if the semen was found to the exterior of the bodies or whether they checked both boyfriends in case there was some kind of lovers' feud?

 

[Chorley8]

I wish LE would clarify what they now think the girls did that night Yorkdale AND Yonge College or one of these?

 

[Snively]

Does anybody have any information in regards to the "unrelated investigation" in Windsor where the gun was recovered?

 

[dotr]

Does anybody have any information in regards to the "unrelated investigation" in Windsor where the gun was recovered?

Just this, so far..

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2009/09/01/a_relentless_hunt_for_elusive_clues_in_1973_slaying.html
rbbm.
"As years went by the investigation went cold. Every now and then, a promising lead would emerge, only to result in another dead end. Several months later, a revolver was found on the side of the highway in southwestern Ontario. Police eventually linked the weapon to the Tedford and Stearne murders by analyzing the bullet riflings. It had been used in a Windsor robbery.

In 1972, two girls, 15 and 17, were shot and killed west of Tilbury, Ont., which is about a 45-minute drive east of Windsor. Each sustained a bullet wound to the head. "There are other connections, but it's still early. I can't give you any more details than that at this stage," said Det. Insp. Ian Maule, who heads the province's cold case unit."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

From CrimeSolver's link,
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ford-in-Toronto-ON-1973&p=1329149#post1329149

"Despite the short amount of time from the last sighting to the believed time of death, all enquiries by police failed to resolve the matter. Several months later, in an unrelated investigation, Ontario Provincial Police Officers in the Windsor, Ontario area, recovered a .38 Colt revolver, 6 shot, with a 6" barrel.

The revolver was routinely submitted by the O.P.P for examination at the Firearms Section of the Centre of Forensic Sciences. The Colt was examined and positively identified as being the weapon that fired the bullets which killed both girls.

It was determined that the Colt revolver had been stolen from a home in the Windsor area during a break and enter several months prior to the homicide of the girls. Extensive enquiries in the Windsor area failed to reveal any information concerning the homicide."
rnnm.

 

[Snively]

1. Follow the gun! It was definitely used in a robbery in Windsor. Does anyone have any more information regarding this robbery?
2. Was the gun used by bikers in a murder in Tilsbury? The police said there was a connection. Was it a biker member or the gun itself that was the connection? The police must have tested to see if the bullets would match? What connection got the Toronto Police to look into a murder one year older than the case of Stearne and Tedford? It sure seems they knew the same gun was used to kill the girls in Tilbury and Stearne and Tedford and when they found the gun on the side of the highway during the robbery investigation it all matched up or was it actually a person that was the connection?
3. Two teenage girls (one the wife of the motorcycle gang leader) were shot because they were witness to a fatal beating. Were Stearne and Tedford shot for the same reason?
4. Was the biker connected to Toronto or any of the other members connected to Toronto and that is how the gun travelled?
5. Were Stearne and Tedford just in the wrong place at the wrong time and saw something? A drug shipment or a gun shipment, in which case was somebody with the trucking facility actually involved? A biker member or just the driver?
6. Was one of the bikers just a sociopath who Stearne and Tedford happened to meet that night?
7. Or was the gun sold by the bikers to a drug dealer operating in and around North York? Bikers were major suppliers of drugs and guns and Windsor was a major hub. Did Stearne and Tedford go with a dealer they knew, or meet him, and the dealer was with the biker and something got out of control? There are some thoughts on this thread in regards to at least two people being involved.
8. Did the bikers take the gun off of the guy they beat to death?
9. Did a drug dealer shoot Stearne and Tedford then sell the gun to another dealer or biker? Did this person, unaware that the gun had been used to shoot anybody at all, by coincidence, end up committing the robbery in Windsor and ditched the gun in a panic? I don’t believe in coincidence. What is the connection to Windsor?

The Windsor link seems to be the only information that hasn't been thoroughly researched and discussed, yet it's the only concrete link to a crime (the robbery) that there may be information on regarding an arrest. Or was the robbery never solved?

 

[dotr]

This case apparently has a Windsor connection too, no idea if this unsolved Nov. 30 / 1972, murder of 16 year old Yvonne Leroux, is connected to the DS and WT murders, but LE do have dna for the YL murder..

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...k-Ontario-Nov-30-1972&p=10412691#post10412691

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/yvonne-leroux-killing-still-unsolved-42-years-later-1.2851483
rbbm.


"Killby said that police have a male DNA profile from the crime scene, which remains unidentified.

A $50,000 reward is available, in a bid to generate tips that can help police close the case.

Killby said he is "100 per cent confident" that there is someone out there with the information police need."

 

[dotr]

A bit more about the Windsor connection in the Yvonne Leroux murder..

http://metronews.ca/news/windsor/989808/cold-murder-case-could-have-windsor-connection/
rbbm.

"The 16-year-old girl was last seen the day before, near what is now the Humber River Hospital.

A $50,000 reward has been posted in an effort to revive interest in the case. Police are also looking for clues from as far away as Windsor.

According to Sgt. Clint Whitney, Leroux lived in Windsor as a child, and frequently visited the area after her family moved to Toronto.

“Any tip, no matter how small, could yield the critical piece of information that solves this,” Whitney said."

 

[Snively]

Re: Post #194

In the article “Slain Girls Seeking Drugs” it says that Wendy had broken up with her boyfriend a few days prior to their murder. Was the boyfriend ever ruled a suspect?

 

[dotr]

Re: Post #194

In the article “Slain Girls Seeking Drugs” it says that Wendy had broken up with her boyfriend a few days prior to their murder. Was the boyfriend ever ruled a suspect?

This is the post, glad you mentioned it as I had completely missed that page.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ford-in-Toronto-ON-1973&p=8732846#post8732846

 

[Snively]

Thanks again for the informative articles on this CrimeSolver.
My reasoning on why I'm now doubting the car seen leaving the field is that I have read that it was raining off and on for days before the murders. In fact I read that April 73 was one of the wettest as indicated here in the very first few sentences. From the aerial photos it certainly does not look like the field was paved, doubt it was graveled over, most likely it was just a dirt field. Given the rains, snow melts, this field must have been an absolute muddy, swampy, puddled filled sink to you ankles in spots, mess. Would you drive your car into that, especially if you think you might need to leave in a hurry? Can you image the tire tracks, shoe tracks, etc you would leave behind let alone the fear of getting stuck. Don't recall anything like that in any articles I read but if there was a car in that field they would be there. I too recall reading about the witness seeing the car leaving the field but it's mentioned very sparsely, maybe one or two articles in all of the ones I read and like you hard to track down. Things that make you go hmmmm?????

If it was a former concrete plant the field would almost certainly be paved (concrete or asphalt) or at least have a gravel base or else trucks would have been getting stuck all the time when the plant was in operation. The one picture does seem to show the police are standing on a solid base.

The gate referenced at the vacant lot was used to keep cars from using the lot as a thoroughfare.

 

[Snively]

Did anybody actually see them at Yorkdale Mall? The June 4, 1973 Toronto Star article doesn’t even mention them being at Yorkdale Mall.

 

[Snively]

Just to say this answers a few question for me:

1. Both were shot from behind most articles simply say Wendy was shot twice in the neck I was not sure front or back.

2. Article names different street for Wendy's new apartment NOT Connie Street interesting it says a two minute walk - surely that is not exact - was reporter thinking something about relationship of new apt. to crime scene?

3. CSolver - it does say here driven to field not sure if that means car parked in the driveway which there does seem to be at Wilson - or drove to the crime scene - I am guessing the former since surely there would be aural evidence from neighbours.

4. Why so close to the houses? Could there have been an actual witness in one of the houses or garages? The crime as a "gift". This I admit very speculative. But why so close to the houses - of course the "madman" theory allows almost anything.

5. Don't think I can make anything of this but shopping trip to Isabella and Yonge the mode of travel is unknown - I assumed TTC before. Also I thought this trip was new info as of 2009 - yet here it is.

So in 1. above shot standing up from behind: I guess the shot could spin someone around so the bodies fell as they were found? Anyone know why they would know this, "standing up" (?).

The probable reason that the police knew the victims were shot standing up was that they were probably found with one foot crossing the other. When a human dies standing erect, one foot will cross the other. It's known as the Dead Man's Fall.

 

[dotr]

Thinking of the teens shot while standing by the concrete bricks and squares, reminds one of an execution. jmo.


http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2009/09/01/a_relentless_hunt_for_elusive_clues_in_1973_slaying.html

rbibm.
"Wendy Tedford and Donna Stearne, both 17 and attractive, were out for a late night Coca-Cola at a 1950s diner just north of Wilson Ave. at Keelegate Dr. A witness reported seeing them at the restaurant, which was not far from Tedford's home, around 11 p.m.

No one noticed when they left.

The next morning, April 27, 1973, a boy named T I took a short cut on his way to school. He discovered the girls' bodies in a grassy field about two kilometres from the diner.

Wilkinson pulls a yellowed crime scene photo out of a wrinkled folder. The victims are slumped almost on top of each other, in front of a bank of concrete squares and bricks. Tedford was shot twice in the neck, he says. She was left face down with her arms at her sides. Stearne had been shot once in the back of the head. She fell on her back."

 

[Snively]

Is this murder connected? The area is close to where Stearne and Tedford had been shopping.

On Tuesday, October 7th, 1975, 33-year-old data processing student Albert Chan was shot to death in the underground parking garage of his apartment building on Isabella St. in downtown Toronto. The killer stole Chan’s car and dumped it near the intersection of Carlton and Metcalfe Sts., not far from the crime scene.

 

[Snively]

What if they met someone downtown who gave them a ride up to Keele and Lawrence, telling them he will go pick up drugs and meet them at the Sit n’ Eat in a half hour or so. Could be someone they know, or possibly somebody they chatted up downtown. They see his car pull in and leave and get in his car, and somebody figures he’s owed something for getting the drugs, they refuse and he just loses it and shoots them. It doesn’t need to be a dealer (but it sure could be), it could also just be someone else who smoked up.

With MA saying he never saw them leave, it’s quite possible and likely, they left when he went inside the Beckers to give his brother his coffee. If they were waiting for the guy to come back, he probably didn’t park and just waited outside until they walked out. Even a 30 second window while MA was inside would be enough for the car to pull in, the girls get into it, and the car to leave. They had already paid for their Cokes so they wouldn’t need to wait around for a bill. Just see the car pull in and grab their purses and go.

Too bad more wasn’t known about their time spent downtown. Did they talk to somebody working at the store they bought the blouse from? A customer? Seems with the food found in their stomachs they stopped somewhere before the Sit n’ Eat. Again were they at this place having burgers with someone? Meet someone there?

It seems there was a sighting at Keele and Lawrence of them getting on a bus, but did that person who saw them, see how they got to Keele and Lawrence in the first place?

Seeing how the gun started out stolen in Windsor, ended up in North York, then back to Windsor for a robbery, it seems likely the gun was passed around through low level dealers and may have ended up with someone going on a drug pickup in Windsor that had no idea it had been used to kill Stearne and Tedford. The police admit it was hard to trace the gun since it had been passed around so much. I don’t think the person who tossed the gun after the robbery had any idea it had been used in a murder, but I sure would like to know who passed the gun on to the last person with it. I wonder if the police were able to get any names at all?