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

[Chorley8]

"Logically, the Sit'N'Eat would be the place, but we have the claims of persons there of only the consumption of cokes. There seems to be something rotten here, i.e. the flashpoint of confusion, by timeline and locality, is the Sit'N'Eat - persons there, owners, patrons, visitors, witnesses thereof...Big time mystery."

This from Dxman this thread:

1. M.A.'s witness is VERY detailed too detailed (?). How would most associates of the girls have heard about the murders? From their friends in person by telephone. The claim that he saw the pictures in the paper and then called police (he sounds like is a 50 year old bachelor not 18) is less likely than it first appears especially as the tone of his evidence is very squeaky clean. He talks about it being a bad place before less so "now" at the time of the murders (possible but unlikely). If the Star video from September 1st 2009 is accurate and Sit and Eat was what is now the Downsview old diner type narrow with booths cozy) then it is VERY unlikely nobody would see them leave from the front almost impossible because it looks as though the Beckers was next door? Or at least nearby. At 12:00 on a Friday night in spring? And he noticed the one girl blushed at school when he said hello an interesting detail. I agree with poster D. above there is something almost certainly wrong with the evidence of witnesses/staff at the restaurant. And LE are putting tremendous weight on that testimony it seems. He phoned them could certainly be false info. Claim that restaurant was cleaned up a year ago but yet sold in January not likely. Girls hadn't been there for a year or so matches the one year in which it was cleaned up a likely false detail. Had seen girls hitch hike before there. He is hanging around this bad place a lot remember he hadn't seen them for a year yet it was a year since it was a bad place - makes no sense.

2. Not sure how similar the back of the restaurant would be to now, I have only looked at Google street view it looks lonely even now. Back door is very possible but it needs connivance of the staff and again lying witnesses. Over all those years.

3. The biggest problem is that the crime for the time is so excessive very over the top for 1973 a minor drug debt and how could a drug debt could they possibly have had. Obviously everyone knows that and that is the central problem.

4. Maybe not likely but is it possible they were never at the Sit and Eat that night? (I realize this means disbelieving the witnesses but I at least doubt them so if we go a bit further......) How many witnesses do we have at the restaurant?

5. Organized crime: does getting shot in the neck mean anything? I did a bit of a search nothing definitive. But for example "sticking your neck out' as an expression. There is conflicting testimony as to how the bodies were found the sister thought it could be "ritualistic" not sure what she means I assume meaning having gang "meaning" or content. Very very unusual though for the time though and two girls.......

7. Doubt they hitch-hiked. Doubt it is a trucker.

8. Running away: possible but how could they get way into the middle of the field without getting caught up to? Unless older perp? Multiple people in the field is an interesting idea - someone is "egged on" to shoot them by somebody yes possibly a female. Next part I will put in separate post.

 

[Chorley8]

Homicide was 25th or early a.m. 26th discovered on 27th a.m. but some sites have this incorrect let me know if this is not correct now.

The gun lots of sites differ is the following correct: stolen in Windsor used in crime in Toronto used in crime in Windsor found on highway in Ontario. (?)

 

[Chorley8]

"So Tedford and Stearne hopped the bus downtown. They had planned to purchase a black sweater from a market-style shop on Yonge St., north of College St. Detectives confirmed the story after discovering the sweater and $5 receipt inside Tedford's purse.

Next the girls grabbed the subway to Yorkdale Mall, and spent hours wandering around. At 10:45 p.m., they were spotted boarding the northbound Keele St. bus at Lawrence Ave. W. They got off north of Wilson Ave. at Keelegate Dr. and popped into the Sit 'n Eat diner, where they ordered two Coca-Colas. A witness remembered seeing them around 11 p.m., but no one noticed what time they left. (Toronto Star September 1st 2009)

Heather Korenblum, whose family still lives on Winston Park Blvd., told police she heard "loud bangs" coming from the adjacent field shortly after midnight."

Sorry for multiple posts and sorry I know my thinking of this case is still a bit "wild" need to visit the locations etc and make some notes. But want to add and ask:

1. Yorkdale would close at 9:00 then they are spotted (by who?) getting on bus at Lawrence and Keele which is a fair amount west and somewhat south of Yorkdale at 10:45. So there is a substantial time gap there and they did something that brought them to that bus stop not on any kind of straight trajectory (?).

2. Someone mentioned the new apartment on Corrie Street wonder if the friend had seen it. This would be a huge deal at that age your first place would be interesting to now if her friend had seen it yet I would want to show it to them. Corrie street is VERY close to the crime scene just on the other side of the 401.

3. North of the expressway did the (industrial?) road you see on google earth just to the east of Corrie street run right through the expanse where they were found or was it gated? I read "the gate had been open lately" I assume they mean at the north end south of Wilson?

4. Anyone know if the Montessori school on Cornelius Parkway was there back then?

 

[CrimeSolver]

Homicide was 25th or early a.m. 26th discovered on 27th a.m. but some sites have this incorrect let me know if this is not correct now.

http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/homicide/case/3
They were last seen at the restaurant at 10:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 26, 1973.
According to witness accounts in newspapers, they were murdered right around midnight of 4/26 ---> 4/27, and the bodies were found early Friday morning by Tony Iscero, who took a shortcut through what was then an empty industrial lot on his way to Downsview Secondary.

The gun lots of sites differ is the following correct: stolen in Windsor used in crime in Toronto used in crime in Windsor found on highway in Ontario. (?)

Yes, gun stolen in Windsor, used in the murders, recovered by police in Windsor. This is one of the reasons I believe in the trucker/travelling-salesman theory. Even if not true, the killer clearly has a strong connection to Windsor.

3. North of the expressway did the (industrial?) road you see on google earth just to the east of Corrie street run right through the expanse where they were found or was it gated? I read "the gate had been open lately" I assume they mean at the north end south of Wilson?

The track east of Connie St. is actually railroad tracks.

 

[Chorley8]

"Take a look at the third police aerial photo from their web site. http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/homicide/case/3

The one that I was interested in was the third one from the left under the word “Media”. At the bottom right had corner of this photo you will see what are trucks back up to a dock. This was the original terminal of “Apex Motor Express” They were located at 955 Wilson avenue at the time and I believe they owned or purchased the land adjacent to this original location, the lot to the east of this location which is were they ended up building their new terminal at 1011 Wilson Avenue, which I think was part of the KVN construction company lot. I think the truckers would have known about the “Sit & Eat” as a place to grab a quick burger and fries especially given the later hours it seemed to be open.

Anyway, a gun that travels from Windsor, to North York, back to Windsor, a trucker naturally comes to mind, a trucking company basically on the door step of where the bodies were found who by the way, had back in 1973 and still have today, a terminal in Windsor."

Thanks Crimesolver and yes the trucker angle is a good one - although this is not a long thread I am bumping this very intriguing post from SamIam I wonder if they or anyone else has followed this up?

Are there scenarios where the one girl could have been sexually assulted with the other present say in a vehicle or building that someone had keys to then they somehow ended up at the fence. He could easily have said "put your pants back on" after the assault (?). The perp could (e.g.) then have said "run" knowing they would soon hit the fence. Could the clawing motion of one victim be from attempting to climb the fence?

Were they shot from a distance of a few feet or with the guns close to their head and necks surely LE knows that?

(Not irrelevant to this case for context re trucking there is a good article in a recent GQ magazine, a first hand account by a woman who began hitching all around the U.S. decades ago at the age of 14 - it focuses on her possible run-in with a famous serial killer (he inexpicably says "run" after at first ordering into the back of his truck) but there is much interesting detail about other cases. Not to impugn truck drivers as a species but there were obviously some VERY bad eggs among them back then and there were lots of misogynism cf. the famous sordid bumper sticker "*advertiser censored* grass or gas nobody rides for free").

Remains inexplicable in every scenario why they were killed however IMO. In the GQ article most of the trucker killing hundreds of them were unsolved because the truckers left their victims en route far from their homes - not metres from houses very dangerous for the perp could have been caught if the people who heard the shots had called LE (not blaming them).

Connie Street - I wonder if she had keys yet to the apt. or was it still being lived in - in my experience it was common in Toronto for a landlord to give you keys in advance even if you could not move in till the end of the month (if there was nobody living there).

I mentioned before why Keele and Lawrence but thinking about the route to SitnEat - actually going south to Lawrence then across to Keele (where they were apparently seen) then north to Keelegate and the restaurant probably IS a likely route.

Note: interesting that the witness who heard the shots and told their parents the next day was also 17.

 

[Chorley8]

"Yes, gun stolen in Windsor, used in the murders, recovered by police in Windsor. This is one of the reasons I believe in the trucker/travelling-salesman theory. Even if not true, the killer clearly has a strong connection to Windsor".

This from Crimesolver. And Windsor of course brings up the possibility of a cross-border connection with the gun ditched in Windsor before crossing for obvious reasons. Wonder if this kind of violence here is more typical of say Detroit in 70s (we in Can.have caught up since). Of course could be salesman or trucker yes I will try to look into Detroit and beyond for similar cases.

 

[CrimeSolver]

Thanks Crimesolver and yes the trucker angle is a good one - although this is not a long thread I am bumping this very intriguing post from SamIam I wonder if they or anyone else has followed this up?

Way back when, I did actually email the Toronto Police with SamIam's fascinating discovery, but never heard back, which, I have learned, is the department's typical m.o. :banghead:

 

[Chorley8]

Was in the area and thought I'd take some pictures of the places so many have talk about on this topic.

Thought I would document these as they look today before there gone to new development.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86511892@N02/sets/72157631393923712/

The photos are great. But I am confused: the picture you show of the restaurant with the yellow sign (now closed but sign still there) differs from the September 1st 2009 story and video which clearly shows the restaurant in the middle of the mall - an old 50s diner looking place. I will check a City Directory hopefully tomorrow and get down all the businesses in the mall that year. Anyone know if the Star is just incorrect or....? I attach the link here:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/689105--a-relentless-hunt-for-elusive-clues-in-1973-slaying

Also I am VERY intrigued with your excellent photo showing the approximate location of the bodies. There is a gate (!) leading to Winston Park Boulevard (where H.K. heard the shots around 12:00) is this the gate referred to elsewhere? Was the gate there in 1973 (?) it looks old and shabby in your photo. I shouldn't really speculate much until I know the answer to that but it gets the mind racing. Many of the difficulties of the crime scene fall away if it becomes possible they walked through the gate, were led through the gate or (is it possible?) were dumped soon after the murder at the site accessed through the little gate (again assuming the gate was there back then). The "ritual" placement of the bodies could then be.......because they were placed there! Otherwise of course one of the difficulties of the crime scene is that they were in the middle of this lonely field yet hard up against dense housing which the perp could hardly have missed if he he/she/they did not know the area.

Tilbury ON - it is interesting that the name of the street one street south of Keelegate towards Wilson and the crime scene is...Tilbury. I realize this is probably meaningless but just to document.

 

[Chorley8]

"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".

Again from the (relatively) recent Star article 2009. On WS Wendy's sister (assuming it is her which I pretty well trust it is though I don't believe it is a verified WS ID) said that the police told her flatly the Tilbury double shooting was not connected. But in the quote above it appears they were taking this more seriously. Of course I am not in the thick of it so possibly the update to the families was that the two cases were not connected. I don't know. Know nothing about that other case will check.

Adding: anyone have a link to that Tilbury case - searching and info seems sparse - thanks.

 

[Chorley8]

http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/homicide/case/3
They were last seen at the restaurant at 10:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 26, 1973.
According to witness accounts in newspapers, they were murdered right around midnight of 4/26 ---> 4/27, and the bodies were found early Friday morning by Tony Iscero, who took a shortcut through what was then an empty industrial lot on his way to Downsview Secondary.
Yes, gun stolen in Windsor, used in the murders, recovered by police in Windsor. This is one of the reasons I believe in the trucker/travelling-salesman theory. Even if not true, the killer clearly has a strong connection to Windsor.
The track east of Connie St. is actually railroad tracks.

So is the following site now quite old seems from around 2001 but has lots of links incorrect with the dates?

"A steady drizzle obscured the crime scene to passersby as detectives went about the gruesome task of securing the sight for later forensic tests. April was usually rainy but that April seemed just that much wetter than most. The stadium sized vacant field bordered on the west side by factories and to the east by working class homes had ironically been the perfect choice for shielding the two schoolgirls bodies from curious onlookers, as no doubt the killer(s) had considered the night before with sinister reasoning. Not until Friday morning at about 8:20a.m. on the 27th were the girls bodies discovered by a schoolboy short cutting his way to school. Their bodies were found laying fully clothed side by side and head to foot. Both had been shot to death at close range with a handgun. No sign of a struggle was apparent.

Wendy Tedford and Donna Stearne had been reportedly last seen alive at the Sit n' Eat Burger on Keele St. North near Wilson Ave. by a boy who knew them casually and had seen them enter the restaurant at around 11p.m. the evening of the 25th.The two had been to Yorkdale Shopping centre earlier in the evening to do a bit of shopping. No one saw them leave the burger place which was roughly 3/4 of a mile (1.5km.) from the crime scene.

No motive has ever been established and no suspect(s) have ever been apprehended in these murders. If you know anything regarding the murder of Wendy Tedford and Donna Stearne we want to hear from you. Anything you know, no matter how insignificant you might consider it to be, might trigger a memory or a word spoken at that time which might in turn lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of this horrific crime. Enough time has passed already. Contact us by e-mail or phone Metro Toronto Homicide, and ask for Det. Bob Wilkinson at: (416) 808-7400"

this from http://members.tripod.com/~unsolved_murder/

(And reading through the thread again I see that yes it is the restaurant in the middle of mall not the place with the yellow sign that was where they were ostensibly seen having cokes).

 

[CrimeSolver]

^The writer of the article just made a typo, I assume. 25th instead of 26th.

 

[Chorley8]

^The writer of the article just made a typo, I assume. 25th instead of 26th.

Thanks CS also for a long time I have been impressed by all the work you did on the Toronto crimes thread.

Checked city directories for 72 73 74 and SamIAm is correct SitnEat was the building today with the yellow sign end of the mall the Star in their 2009 video incorrectly film the diner in the middle of the mall both inside and outside not sure why. 2861 Keele was a cleaners, in 73 2863 a sports and cycle shop 2865 the other "wrong" diner, 2871 the Beckers 2873 a Kosher meats, 2875 the Sit and Eat and 2881 across Keelegate a Texaco. 67 and 69 nothing is listed so not sure.

This makes T.A's evidence make more sense since the end of mall location is both bigger also it would be easier for two people to walk out and north towards the Texaco or around the side towards the back parking lot without being seen.

Just guessing but lots of restaurants had payphones in those days so they could have phoned to meet someone in a car for a lift say at the gas station just an idea.

The mesmerizing thing for me is the gate along Winston Park Boulevard according to SamIAm's photos at least basically the location of the crime scene. This is probably where Tony I. walked through for his shortcut to school and discovered Wendy and Donna (from his home on Deverell Crescent).

If the gate was there then it is a different crime scene than I see described on the Toronto police site and elsewhere which transfixes us with the lonely fields, the tracks, the industrial wasteland the fence and barbed wire which I imagined to be MUCH higher and the apparent perplexing location of the crime scene- instead it is a few metres from Winston Park Blvd. AND THERE IS ACCESS.

Now if we can find the source of that info about the car driving out at 12:05 that would be different. Red herring?

 

[Chorley8]

Not a lot of activity on this thread so I will just keep going for now.

1. The new (?) (a bill for a garment) evidence that they shopped downtown at College Yonge throws off the entire timeline IMO. If Donna arrives at Wendy's sister's apartment after 7:30 and they leave a bit later, there is not time for them to get downtown, shop, go to Yorkdale "for a few hours "2009 Star article) get to Lawrence and Keele and get to the SitnEat at 10:45. What is the evidence they were ever at Yorkdale.

2. In Hoshowky's book on unsolved crimes in Canada on p. 68 Wendy's sister Linda says the girls were NOT going to search for grass. She attributes this rumour to a close family friend who erroneously told media this for some unknown reason. But note that here on WS Linda if it is here claims they WERE interested in grass. This is a blunt contradiction what is the truth? L

3. Very little commentary on why Wendy was shot in the neck. Also front or back?

4. " A neighbour, Ann Curley, said she heard what sounded like dull thuds at about 11:00 p.m. – “like something hitting the ground,” she said. She didn’t pay any attention because they are used to hearing noises from the nearby MacDonald-Cartier Highway. “I know school kids use the field for a shortcut and that cars are always going up and down there. My son Jimmie said the gate has been open for quite a while.” The field can also be reached by walking along an old CNR railway spur below Wilson Avenue which abuts a few other lovers’ lanes. Fred Faion, 50, who lives where Floral Parkway ends at the spur, says young people used to park there about a year ago, but police now keep them on the move." One hour contradiction between Curley and Korenblum's aural evidence. The "spur" I think is just south of the 401 so near Connie Street. Cars "went up and down" where?

5. Were therer "shells" from the gun or not? In some articles I have read yes but I have also read that that gun does not eject casings.

6. Which gate was open - located where?

 

[CrimeSolver]

Here's an article about the 1972 case you referenced earlier, dated 5/30/72. Hard to say if it's related to Tedford/Stearne.

 

[CrimeSolver]

Here's a 1973 aerial I cribbed from the police website. The red circle is the P.D.'s marker of where the bodies were found. The remaining markings I have added. The blue dot is where the Korenblums lived and still live, apparently. The green line is an approximation of Iscero's shortcut to school from his house. He lived on Deverell Cr., but I don't know if he came from that section or from the southernmost part of the street, which is off the picture to the right. The yellow line is where a witness reported seeing a vehicle leaving the scene at about midnight and speeding east on Wilson Ave.
The lovers' lane could just have been that entire empty lot. I don't know. The whole area hasn't changed a great deal in 40 years. The industry in that picture is still there, but the empty lot is now an industrial park, and where the girls were found is a large parking lot for that business(es).

 

[Chorley8]

See your post # 1 on this thread as well.

The article on "Tilbury": interesting, some have broached the possibility of Donna and Wendy having witnessed something. The vicinity of Tilbury street to SitnEat and the "ritual" laying out of the bodies if there was one might then have some reference to this serious earlier case which involves yet more homicides. And of course the Windsor connection. The shooting in the neck "could" (?) have meaning around "speaking up" but that is conjecture on my part I do not know of a real parallel - I have heard of shootings in the mouth certainly in that respect.

Map: 1. Do we have a source for the 12:05 car witness beyond someone citing it here on WS? 2. Could Tony I. have accessed the field where you have drawn the entry point? (since there was a fence).

 

[Chorley8]

I wonder why Tony I. ran to someone in the trucking firm at Wilson rather than back home or to someone he knew at a nearby house? Just freaking out or maybe he could see them out and about?

 

[CrimeSolver]

Map: 1. Do we have a source for the 12:05 car witness beyond someone citing it here on WS? 2.

There is one contemporary (meaning 1973) newspaper citation of the witness to the car, but it has, to my knowledge, never been mentioned again. Maybe the sighting was deemed unreliable.

Could Tony I. have accessed the field where you have drawn the entry point? (since there was a fence).

The green line is just a guess. He reached the girls' bodies from his house on Deverell Cr. There must have been a commonly used shortcut somewhere along the fence-line, either around there or farther south. I imagine the shortcut path cut through someone's yard, if there was any sort of worn path at all.

 

[Chorley8]

Thanks I had not realized there were so many possible gates/ breaches in this fence. Watch missing, money left on them what does that mean? Both fathers in RCAF at least till recently. Relevance?

DNA I am assuming was in the body of the one victim if not that changes everything. And assuming the former....I had sort of discounted that...I mean it was the 70s.....but certainly nobody came forward to say they were also in a relationship.....so I beginning to think it more relevant. It doesn't fit well with the assassination theories.

As (yet another) thought experiment if we were to privilege the DNA, make it crucial, (yet remembering the girls are fully clothed) then we might look at men who were in positions of authority to the girls - teachers, bosses, older friends of the family etc. According to Wendy's sisters in Hoshowsky, the story about the girls looking for dope was planted by a family friend. She doesn't know why. That would be a good place to start. What motive did they have for playing up a non-existent dope angle? (Same person as in next paragraph?)

I have already said that in Hoshowsky (that page, 68, is available online on Google books) Linda mentions the false story about the dope - yet here Linda says they were looking for someone to come to a party specifically for dope - HUGE discrepancy.

I am not sure we have more than one witness at the SitnEat. The "new" owner M.G. who supposedly taken over in January said it was busy and they would not have noticed them. Just M.A. let me know if that is incorrect. And also the unnamed girl who saw them at Keele and Lawrence presumably going there. Yet M.A. says he saw them in the restaurant at that exact moment so somebody is wrong.

 

[Chorley8]

On U.C. on page four of one thread there is an interesting list of cases where two girls were murdered not sure if we are allowed to link it (?).