CANADA Canada - Kelly Cook, 15, Standard, AB, 22 April 1981

[iulia]

Crime Beat podcast: The story of Kelly Cook, the backup babysitter

 

[dotr]

Crime Beat podcast: The story of Kelly Cook, the backup babysitter

Thanks for bumping with this new article which includes sketch of the suspect!
from link..

 

[rae100]

Great podcast on Kelly - some really interesting information from the interviews:
Kelly Cook: The Back-up Babysitter - Part 1 - Crime Beat - Omny.fm

 

[dotr]

Original target of killer speaks out for first time in hopes of helping solve Alberta cold case | Watch News Videos Online
VIDEO
"Original target of killer speaks out for first time in hopes of helping solve Alberta cold case
In 1981, a teenage girl from a small town east of Calgary was abducted and murdered. Kelly Cook’s case has never been solved. What most people don’t know is Kelly was not the killer’s first choice. The original target of this crime has never spoken to a journalist about what happened — until now. Nancy Hixt reports."

 

[Clouddown]

"Original target of killer speaks out for first time in hopes of helping solve Alberta cold case
In 1981, a teenage girl from a small town east of Calgary was abducted and murdered. Kelly Cook’s case has never been solved. What most people don’t know is Kelly was not the killer’s first choice. The original target of this crime has never spoken to a journalist about what happened — until now. Nancy Hixt reports."

So, 6 months prior to the attempted pick up of the original target the perpetrator inquired as to her identity with the Principal of the school. Am I getting this right in that the timing of his inquiry was linked to her figure skating picture on the front page of a newspaper? Imo, I can picture this guy travelling around the country on "business" and stopping at local diners to eat while perusing the paper to see if there was anything of interest in the area. Imo also the psychic's connection would be accurate as him being unkempt and that he would only clean up for an occasion.

Let's think of the location, small town, out of the way and a very odd occurrence and also one that would be sure to make the front page of every newspaper in Alberta. We're talking about a decent community and a decent family... with a small town mentality or in other words perhaps a bit on the more trusting side and he knew this because he was imo, from the big City and he could make the comparison by way of opportunity and trust. Now, I'm not giving him any kudos for a high IQ, but he is a skilled deviant thinker because if he had tried to snatch an identity to move in on 6 months prior then he was looking for an opportunity and he knew he would find it in small town Alberta and he also knew the m.o. that he would use when push came to shove. It was in the works for 6 months and he took the replacement because he was not going to waste a trip and come up empty handed. Moo, but he was looking for his work on the front page of the newspaper... again. Six months is a long time to catch a glance and stay fixated on it and that speaks of skill. Maybe I ran a little far on that, but you know what? It was all too well planned.

 

[Clouddown]

Oh, btw, push coming to shove is seeing your work on the front page of the newspaper and on the silver screen... Almost Famous, I would say and something to gloat over with the law enforcement that he despises. His past should be catching up to him and it should be evident through both criminal and business background searches. The stages of infancy to a serial killer are a party and the stages of a lifetime of expertise become a constant look over his shoulder.

 

[dotr]

So, 6 months prior to the attempted pick up of the original target the perpetrator inquired as to her identity with the Principal of the school. Am I getting this right in that the timing of his inquiry was linked to her figure skating picture on the front page of a newspaper? Imo, I can picture this guy travelling around the country on "business" and stopping at local diners to eat while perusing the paper to see if there was anything of interest in the area. Imo also the psychic's connection would be accurate as him being unkempt and that he would only clean up for an occasion.

Let's think of the location, small town, out of the way and a very odd occurrence and also one that would be sure to make the front page of every newspaper in Alberta. We're talking about a decent community and a decent family... with a small town mentality or in other words perhaps a bit on the more trusting side and he knew this because he was imo, from the big City and he could make the comparison by way of opportunity and trust. Now, I'm not giving him any kudos for a high IQ, but he is a skilled deviant thinker because if he had tried to snatch an identity to move in on 6 months prior then he was looking for an opportunity and he knew he would find it in small town Alberta and he also knew the m.o. that he would use when push came to shove. It was in the works for 6 months and he took the replacement because he was not going to waste a trip and come up empty handed. Moo, but he was looking for his work on the front page of the newspaper... again. Six months is a long time to catch a glance and stay fixated on it and that speaks of skill. Maybe I ran a little far on that, but you know what? It was all too well planned.

Not saying it is related, but cannot help but think of some similarities to Alison P's murder, 1986 in Toronto..

The Tragic Story Behind Canada's Iconic "Stay Alert... Stay Safe" PSAs
"Shortly before summer vacation, at an assembly at École Gabrielle-Roy in Toronto, Alison was called upon to accept the track banner on behalf of her peers. The young athlete stood on the stage while her classmates chanted her name from the audience.

That July, Toronto area families listed under “Parrott” in the phone book started getting phone calls from a man who said he wanted to speak with Alison. Among the calls made was one to the Parrott family of Summerhill Avenue, a quiet, leafy enclave in Toronto’s tony Rosedale district. On July 25, Alison was home to answer the call: The caller identified himself as a photographer looking to take publicity photos for her upcoming track meet."

Murder of Alison Parrott - Wikipedia

 

[Clouddown]

It's the luring of the m. o. and the comfort zone that is found in that m.o. In Kelly's case her killer picked her up right in front of her own house. This doesn't only speak of unimaginable audacity, it also speaks of a comfort zone for him in his sureness of what he was doing and how he was accomplishing it. But even the best make mistakes and imo he's made more than one. Oh the many faults of narcissism and to the narcissist himself he is blind.

 

[Clouddown]

Can someone find a near close pin on google earth where Kelly was found? I heard it was in an irrigation canal and I also heard it was in Chin Lake but that general area is too large to look at for any resonance from both Kelly and her perpetrator. I need a pin that would be within about a mile on this one.

 

[dotr]

Written by
Cat Leigh
rbbm.
Babysitter Lured To Her Death With Fake Job Offer
"At 8:30 PM, a full-sized cream colored North American car pulled up to Kelly’s house and honked. Her mother watched as she got into the front passenger seat and the car drove away."

"The phone call between Kelly and “Bill” that morning was traced to a local gas station.

"Interestingly, one of Kelly’s friends came forward to tell police she had also received a call from a “Bill Christensen” on April 18. He asked her to babysit but she was busy and gave him Kelly’s number. This phone call was traced to the Standard Hotel Bar. The staff remembered overhearing a man talking to a babysitter over the phone because he had been rude to them when he asked to use the phone."

"According to rumors, a man called the local school just a month before Kelly’s disappearance. He wanted information on a female student that belonged to the figure skating club and had appeared in the local newspaper. "

Authorities also discovered that at 10 PM on the night of Kelly’s disappearance, an operator received a call from a payphone in Hussar — about a twenty-minute drive from Standard. The operator briefly heard a woman screaming and the call was cut off. Authorities believe it may have been Kelly screaming."

"On June 28, 1981, Kelly’s body was found in the Chin Lake Reservoir near Taber, Alberta, by a couple of teenagers riding motorcycles. This lake is located about two hours and a half from Standard."

"Nevertheless, Kelly was fully clothed and had not been sexually abused. She had been bound with rope and weighed down with cinder blocks"

"While Kelly’s body was at a funeral home in Calgary, a man demanded to see her body. Even though he claimed to be a family friend, he was denied and eventually left. This man has never been identified but authorities believe it may have been the killer."

 

[dotr]

Hope this link with map is fine..

Teenage Babysitter Lured to her Death: 36 Years Cold

 

[Clouddown]

The TransCanada Highway Murders, 1973 - 1981, Alberta and B.C. I believe that Kelly Cook is on that list. Imo, the description that we have of her killer is the description of the man who is responsible for most if not all of those murders. As far as I know in what I have read it is also the only description that LE has in connection to the TransCanada Highway Murders. And that is another very good reason why he must be hunted down like a dog. Now, what business was taking him through Calgary and into B.C. from 1973 to 1981 on the TransCanada and took him to the Taber area in 1981?

This is based on the ideal that he was a man of business and travel and he combined that with murdering younger women along the way or at least in areas of convenience by way of populace and recognition factors. I think I'm beginning to see him in his stealth and the way in which he really never goes that far out of his way to either pick up or drop off. So who was doing business in Taber on June 28th of 1981? Were there any jobs being done there that had been contracted out to a business owner from out of town?

Can we get a link that connects Kelly Cook as being on that list? I mean a really good one.

 

[Clouddown]

I was thinking of something more like this. On the canal or on the lake?

 

[eyesonly]

Watching the retired RCMP officer from the case on I.D yesterday.
He has all his police memo books and all his personal notes on the case but he won't share anything because it might cause a screw up the court case if someone is arrested.

It's been basically 40 freaking years. At what point do we as a society say, okay enough is enough. The police force is obviously too inept to solve the case, so isn't it better to do whatever is necessary to at least find and name the killer
1) for the family's sake of peace
2) to find out if this person had any more victim's, which is obviously most likely the case.

If that was my child and it's been 40yrs, I wouldn't give a crap about justice over the fact that I'd rather just want to know who did it and hopefully why before I died.

Usually in a cold case this long, they either
1) already know who the killer was and just don't have enough to arrest him
2) know who the killer was and he was protected by the higher ups because of the suspects influence or his family's influence
3) or the whole investigation was carried out by a complete inept group of investigators whose bosses were as inept as they were.

There are way too many cold cases like this all over Canada let alone the world.
At what point should the legality of the preservation for the court case be set aside in order to simply find the truth.
What justice is it for this girl's parents and family if they are all dead before the killer is named.
But hey, the case for the court will still be preserved.

 

[Mind your biscuits]

DBM already posted up thread.

 

[dotr]

Oct 10 2020

 

[Alison]

It’s been a long while, must be awful to not have answers. Thinking of Kelly

 

[DSCrime]

Oct 10 2020

Watched this and I'm taken aback by the brazenness of this killer. He picked up his victim in front of the family home. He made phone calls to both Cook and the other girl who couldn't babysit from public places in front of potential witnesses. Another thing is that he is described as rude both by the Standard Hotel Bar staff and also by the gas station owner (in the episode.) He seemed to draw attention to himself.

"The phone call between Kelly and “Bill” that morning was traced to a local gas station.

"Interestingly, one of Kelly’s friends came forward to tell police she had also received a call from a “Bill Christensen” on April 18. He asked her to babysit but she was busy and gave him Kelly’s number. This phone call was traced to the Standard Hotel Bar. The staff remembered overhearing a man talking to a babysitter over the phone because he had been rude to them when he asked to use the phone."

 

[AutumnFalls]

Crime Beat podcast: The story of Kelly Cook, the backup babysitter

I just watched that and find it a very sad and interesting case. I've lived around Alberta, and in small towns here. I think it's impossible that he was from Standard. I lived in a small town of a couple thousand for years and you knew most people in town - or knew their brother/sister/parents etc. That's even more likely in a town of 300 and some. So, he was likely travelling. I don't think even a reclusive farmer would be unknown by the people at the Standard Hotel Bar.

Usually in a cold case this long, they either
1) already know who the killer was and just don't have enough to arrest him
2) know who the killer was and he was protected by the higher ups because of the suspects influence or his family's influence
3) or the whole investigation was carried out by a complete inept group of investigators whose bosses were as inept as they were

I don't know if I agree with this assessment. Small towns now often don't have local cops so it's up to the RCMP which often cover large areas and can't devote much time to cases. From what I can tell, the Calgary RCMP were involved and I can see them not being trusted by the town - and busy with other matters. I doubt they would be protecting the killer. I also think that there is little evidence for them to go on aside from the body. There isn't really a crime scene. I would hope that DNA, especially familial DNA might help find the killer.

 

[DSCrime]

@AutumnFalls Thanks for your insight into small town living in Alberta. Given your points that he likely was a traveler, I wonder what his connection to the area was. Of all the small towns, why focus there? Seasonal farm labor? Could he have had a history of having worked in the area as a ranch/farm hand there in the past?

Also you mentioned that from what you could tell the Calgary RCMP were likely involved in investigating and that you could see them not being trusted by the town. Could you elaborate on that lack of trust for someone not familiar at all w/ the area? Thanks