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

[Virtuoso]

I couldn't recall which Munro it was, thanks for pointing out that it was Craig. Also interesting to note that this happened in 1980, 7 years after the girls were killed.

 

[dxman]

Virtuoso: Since you grew up in the area at the time of the murder and evidently know about the the general crime situation there, I have some questions....

The victims were found lying side-to-side, head-to-foot, one facing up and the other down. This shows that the victims were placed in that position upon being killed. It was a kind of signature left by the murderer(s). My question: Was such a signature known to be associated with gang-type murders in the 1970s? If so, any gang names come to mind?

Where specifically was "The Jungle" relative to Yorkdale? North, south...distance away?

 

[CrimeSolver]

"The Jungle" is a public housing development almost directly to the south and southeast of Yorkdale, a couple of km from where the girls' bodies were found.

 

[dxman]

Thanks CrimeSolver.

Is it still public housing today? Do you know if the degree of crime in the area still exists?

It still seems that there has been no response from the woman apparently writing a book about the case (the one to which I referred you and in which you left a message). That blog seems to be dead. As I said earlier, I found an entry by her at gradfinder.com wherein she stated:

Entry 1: "Hello, I am currently doing research on the Wendy Tedford and Donna Stearne case. I am interested in any memories that anyone would be willing to share with me. Please send me an email if you would like to share anything, which will be kept in the strictest of confidence."

Entry 2: "I am currently looking for anyone at Downsview Secondary who remembers either Donna Stearne or Wendy Tedford. I am researching their unsolved murder for a book and would like to speak to anyone who would be willing to share their memories with me ... Please send me an email if you have anything to share. Even the smallest detail would be helpful to me, as I am trying to get a well rounded picture of what kind of personalities these young ladies had. Many thanks!!!"

She gives her e-mail at the end (I have omitted it). If you want to try to contact her again, I can supply you the e-mail address. Let me know.

 

[CrimeSolver]

Hi dxman, thanks for your continued interest. Yes, the Jungle is still composed of subsidised housing, and it's one of the more crime-ridden areas in the city, though it's certainly no slum in the American sense. Just this week there was talk in the news about initiatives to revive the neighborhood.

Apparently, the woman you found has not seen the reply I posted at the true crime blog. I don't really want to e-mail her, but if you wish to do so, point her in the direction of this discussion. The more people we can involve here who have intimate knowledge of the particular school, the area, the times, maybe even the girls, the better chance of solving their murders, although I think the odds are slim. I merely came across the case while web-searching cold cases a few years ago. I wasn't even alive in '73.

 

[dxman]

Thanks again CrimeSolver for more info on "The Jungle".

Perhaps your'e correct, it probably would be too much to e-mail her directly... and maybe she did read your message on her blog. I'll keep my eyes open in the future if she does indeed produce the book.

You said: "odds are slim" that the case will be solved. I hope your wrong, but I certainly see the basis of your view. Still, hope must override all. After recollecting all that I know about the matter, my instinct is to say that there is much more mystery in this case, a lot of unsolved contradictions, as compared to "normal" cold cases.

 

[CrimeSolver]

I say the "odds are slim" because my uninformed guess is that, given the murders' proximity to the highway, and the location where the gun was later found, the girls were probably murdered by a drifter. The best chances to solve this existed in '73. The killer may have been a truck driver, as there are some factories in the area, and the stretch of 401 between Toronto and the Windsor border (the world's busiest border crossing) is an extremely busy commercial trucking corridor. I doubt it had anything to do with drugs, their peers, the school, or "The Jungle" (which is more than 2 kms from the crime scene anyway), but all that is just rank empirical speculation on my part. The drifter theory makes the most sense to me, but I'm no professional investigator (in fact, in hindsight I regret assuming the hubristic moniker "CrimeSolver" here at this forum, when there are so many actual professionals).

 

[dxman]

You said: "I regret assuming the hubristic moniker "CrimeSolver" " - don't put yourself down, your'e just trying to help, in whatever way, those who have suffered great loss... which is a good thing.

Your "drifter" theory is something to be pondered. But the question I ask is motive: Why a random murder(s)? No sexual assault apparent (victim's clothed), unless the shooting was a result of the girl's resistance and the killer(s) frustration with getting the girls to capitulate. How, then, were the girls lured to the vacant lot, if not promised to obtain some pot? According to newspaper articles, the victims were known to smoke it occasionally and, in the 1982 article by Max Haines, police (at that time) believed that drug angle to be most likely. Also, the bodies were left in a configuration - side-by-side linear fashion, head-to-foot, face-up-face-down - hinting at, not only at audacity and bravado, but also a signature to mock the police... that is why I asked earlier (to the person who went to school w/Donna) if this was a gang related thing. Would a murderous drifter, whose psychological mindset likely was animalistic in instinct and proclivity, have the intellectual flamboyance to put the victims in those positions. Moreover, the shots were fired adjacent to a residential housing area. Hence the "loud bangs" heard at around midnight. That's a "lets get the hell outta here" situation. As such, it would have taken some time, and some steely patience or resolve, to place the victims in their positions. Thus, I would say the resolve to configure the bodies after the evil deed was committed was (a) the result of "safety in numbers", peer pressure, proof of worthiness - thus a gang or (b) or by a very sly, charming and smart SOB who gave the appearance of harmlessness and trustworthiness - thus a single person... but again, the motive issue comes again into the picture... and how did the girls eventually meet up with him? Or her!!!??? Big mystery here. Finally, I would be disinclined to believe the murderer to be a trucker. I base this on a TO Star article I cam across (not indicated on the website of the victim's sibling). It shows a map similar to the one on the TPS website. It has one denotation saying that a dark coloured vehicle was seen exiting the lot at around 12:05 am, heading in an easterly direction along Wilson Avenue....

 

[CrimeSolver]

Good points you make dxman, and I had forgotten about the police's drug theory. They must have had some reason to believe that. Do you have a link to the Star article of which you wrote at the end? I haven't heard about the dark car that was seen leaving the scene.

My hypothesis is as follows: Girls leave diner and walk southbound on Keele St. They are in a bit of a hurry since it is late on a school night. They accept a ride from a stranger - probably on Keele, not Wilson - but he drives in the wrong direction by turning left onto Wilson, and pulls into the industry parking lot a couple of blocks to the east. Maybe he is already holding a gun on them at this point, or they realize their predicament and are struggling to get away. His intentions frustrated by their uncooperativeness, he shoots them, panics, and races from the scene. They accidentally fall in what looks like a planned configuration (head to toe).

I think if it were related to drugs the case would have been solved by word-of-mouth early on, or at least more rumours or clues - such as composite drawings - would have surfaced: "Well officer, I know Billy Smith, who's in Grade 12, sold weed around school", or, "There was this weird, straggly older guy who used to hang around the school and sell dope to the kids. Ask Jeff; he should know where he lives".

Since the case has been ice-cold for so long, it just smacks to me more of a "random stranger" case, someone who can commit the crime and then, having not been seen, comfortably disappear into his regular life. Someone not necessarily calculating, but without a conscience, who probably hasn't talked about what he did to anyone else, and may not have even thought about it much afterward.

 

[dxman]

The TO star article, if I recall correctly, was from a week or so after the date of the murder. You can go and get it online from "Pages of the Past", but they will charge you. Try your local public library, for microfiche, or they may already subscribe to the Star's archive service.

 

[CrimeSolver]

Ah, Pages of the Past. Such a shame the Star doesn't make it available for free. It would be an incomparable resource. I wrote to the Star with that very request when P.O.T.P. was first released, to no avail.

 

[Richard]

Bumping case up. It will be 35 years old next month.

 

[dxman]

Richard... What do you mean by bumping case up?

Have you heard anything?

 

[CrimeSolver]

I'm sure he just meant to bring it to the top of the page in commemoration of the 35th anniversary.

Speaking of "The Jungle", which was referenced earlier in this thread, there was a highly publicized murder there a couple of weeks ago. Some worthless punk shot at a group of friends standing in a doorway, killing one and injuring several others. He hasn't been identified or caught yet. Surveillance video here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ufvTsLA-0gc&feature=related

 

[dxman]

Hello again, Crime Solver. Thanks for the info.

Read your discussion on the Potter/Kirk murders in 1971. Your theory is interesting. There was a TV news item, about 6-8 mos ago, that police managed to get DNA for this case. Haven't heard anything since...

Tedford-Stearne case is still up on TPS site, but I wonder why no others. I read somewhere, about 1 year ago, that the TPS was supposed to update their site with speacial pages/section devoted specifically to their cold cases, which was supposed to be completed by last July. But nothing as of yet.

 

[CrimeSolver]

Hi, dxman. I do remember the Potter/Kirk murders getting a moment in the spotlight a few months ago (unless I'm thinking of "GTA's Most Wanted"), but I don't recall anything about DNA. Are you sure? That would be a huge breakthrough.

As to the TPS cold case website, yes, it is disappointingly rinky-dink or incomplete. Not even Dennis Howe, the single most wanted criminal in this city's history, is posted on that section of the site. It also wouldn't do any harm to put the Potter/Kirk bulletin on there, even though the case is under the OPP's jurisdiction.

 

[dxman]

There must be a big resource problem at the TPS for it not too have a detailed cold case section. Very perplexing... Most other police agencies have at least something relatively utilisable. From what I have read, crime writer Max Haines, now retired from writing, currently volunteers as a consultant for TO's Cold Case Squad.

To find out about a fair number of unsolved murders in this country, goto
www.unsolvedcanada.com, which breaks things down by province, region, city. They have a list many unsolved homicides in TO dating back to the 1950s. Probably not "all" are listed, but an newspaper article I read indicated that there are some 300-400 unsolved cases in TO. Estimate might be lower.

Tedford-Stearne case is still of most concern to me and I hope more information will come out in the future to assist investigators, but most of all, to give justice to the victim's families.

 

[dxman]

Pardon me... that should be www.unsolvedcanada.ca, not .COM.

 

[CrimeSolver]

Thanks for that website. Looks pretty good, if still a tad lacking in activity.

I think the best hope for a breakthrough in this case rests with the media. As we saw with the Beverley Smith case, which was just now solved after 33 years, sometimes it just takes a little nudging resuscitation. I think a mass local airing of the case would bring a healthy amount of interest and new leads, especially if a reward is attached. Unfortunately, news media are generally not interested in something as unglamorous and distant as a 35-year-old cold case. They just want to tell you about "your" weather and other nonsense.

Feel free to email that crime blog writer if you want. I'm sure she has a lot to relate. In view of the upcoming anniversary, it might also be worthwhile writing the police to request a media blitz on this case. I'll consider doing that.

 

[dxman]

There is one show in the Canadian media that focuses on Canadian cold cases, and that is Crime Files: Cold Case Edition, hosted by Sue Sgambati. The show is in its third season and is on Court TV Canada. Lot of repeats shown lately, but I would say about 30+ cold cases have been profiled. Ms. Sgambati has a certain gravitas about her, and is respectful of those whom she interviews. Quite the professional I would say. The programs are done quite well. Beverly Smith case was profiled about a year or so ago. Also, last year Tedford-Stearne case was profiled on her weekly program "Week In Review", in a 10 minute segment. Wendy's sister was interviewed. Perhaps full treatment will be given in a future episode. Goto courttvcanada.ca and click on "Original Shows" and look for her program. You can even view video segments of some past shows online.

The solving of the Beverly Smith case must be both a sign of hope and sadness for the Tedford and Stearne families. On the one hand, the fact that police can solve a 34 year unsolved murder means that it can certainly be done in their matter. On the other hand, they may be asking why their case hasn't been solved yet, while all these others have been.

POTP again.... My local library lets me log onto Pages of the Past from my own computer (for free, with only membership to library), including old G&M articles, and other magazines, etc. Check if you can at your local library, perhaps they offer it.