GUILTY Canada - Melissa Richmond, 28, stabbed to death, Winchester, Ont, 24 July 2013

[Hazel]

More chance of a random attack in the city, presumably. And it's the last place you'd expect someone with lots of available open area to go. Yet she happened to end up in the city in a spot that just happened to have really good cover. Indicates premeditation IMO. Ideally that sort of circumstantial evidence will at least take the wind out of the sails of any insanity defense.

IMHO, he wanted her to be found; otherwise, why leave her body in next proximity to where her car was parked, and in such a public area.

 

[Lise-Anne]

"Police said that Richmond was last seen July 24 when she left her home on Summers Road around 11:30 p.m. to go for a drive, but she never returned.

Investigators later determined that Richmond and his wife were in separate vehicles when they stopped for gas the night Melissa went missing. What happened after the couple left the gas station is not known. "

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Melissa+Richmond+husband+arrested+death/8742127/story.html

 

[Lise-Anne]

Was he already setting up a defense strategy by mentioning in his interview to CBC that he had PTSD?

 

[matou]

So likely he followed her in his truck and he was captured on video at the gas station. They were probably arguing. Was she trying to get away from him if he flipped on her? He would have had a knife in his truck to have stabbed her near the Denny's location. JMO

 

[Wondergirl]

Was he already setting up a defense strategy by mentioning in his interview to CBC that he had PTSD?

Hi, Lise-Anne, welcome to WS! :blowkiss:

I believe he was indeed.

 

[Wondergirl]

The first red flag for me was his interview with the CBC and how he felt when she didn't come back home that night : "I was very confused, very frightened." "I started panicking. I tried to rationalize it." -- Not worried. Confused, frightened and panicking. About what...?? And I read somewhere in the Sun, but can't find the article, that he reported her missing only Thursday night. Was he still trying to "rationalize it"?

Then wanting to make sure that CBC knew he had PTSD: "I don't know if CBC knows but I'm going through treatment for PTSD." ???

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...nsify-search-for-richmond-murder-suspect.html


Then, as someone else pointed out, his weird message on Facebook: "My Melissa has left this world ... But at the same time one close friend is getting married, another celebrates 25 years of marriage and yet another is about to give birth." WTH.....??

http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/07/30...-melissa-richmond-as-cops-search-nearby-field

Something I don't understand is how come her car was only spotted Friday night in the parking lot by someone at Denny's when the last time she was seen – well, that’s what the husband said -- was when she left home at 11:30 Wednesday night??

All great points.

The only time I have seen a grieving spouse on Facebook so much, in the immediate aftermath of losing their soul mate etc., is, well, when they weren't really grieving (too many cases to get into here).He took a wild interest in the publicity, and, he probably tried to keep a VERY close eye on things.

Not to mention the fact that LE did NOT interview him.

HUH? He was the LAST person to see her. That told me he was a suspect right from the get go. VERY weird.

I am glad that nobody else was attacked by him, between the time of Melissa's murder and his arrest. The reality is, there could very well have been another victim.

JMO

 

[Wondergirl]

Bet his friends were shocked.

Terrible.

What did he do to Melissa? :furious:

The Citizen has learned that Richmond voluntarily came into the police station on Friday. He was driven to 474 Elgin St. with friends who were on their way to his wife’s wake. His friends were told not to wait. Richmond was subsequently arrested at the police station before he was interrogated by homicide detectives.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Melissa+Richmond+husband+arrested+death/8742127/story.html

 

[matou]

I found this post so weird and nonsensical:

Before Howard Richmond’s arrest, he invited his Facebook friends to a vigil he planned in front of the Winchester arena.

“If the press chooses to come, please do not interview,” he wrote. “Only observe the love of my LadyWife Melissa from the participants.”

WTH???

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Melissa+Richmond+husband+arrested+death/8742127/story.html

 

[Joe Friday]

So likely he followed her in his truck and he was captured on video at the gas station. They were probably arguing. Was she trying to get away from him if he flipped on her? He would have had a knife in his truck to have stabbed her near the Denny's location. JMO

I'm thinking something happened at that gas station, Howard left his truck there and drove Melissa (dead or alive) in her 2004 Sebring to where her body and car was later found. Then he walked back to his vehicle (truck) at the gas station and drove home. He likely left blood evidence in the truck, the reason why the truck was towed from the house for forensic examination. All this could have been captured on surveillance video at the gas station. Credit card information might have led investigators to the gas station.

Any gas stations between where the couple lived and where her body was found?

JMO

 

[Hazel]

Canadian soldier facing murder charge in wife's death

VIDEO shows his red truck being towed

reporter says: "H.R. was being driven to his wife's wake in Pembroke by a friend, when he got a call to stop by the Ottawa Police Headquarters on Elgin Street...."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2013/08/02/ottawa-howard-richmond-arrested-in-relation-to-death-of-wife.html

 

[Wondergirl]

LE knew since yesterday they were going to arrest Richmond.

Thankfully, they did it PRIOR to him attending Melissa's wake and funeral.

Police said the plan was put in place Thursday -- to take Richmond into custody, raid the couple's home and seize the suspect's truck.

It's not known if she was killed where her body was located but police say it is significant that Richmond's truck was towed and is being analyzed by police techs.

Richmond is a warrant officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, believed to be stationed with Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders -- a reserve infantry unit in Cornwall, Ont.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2013/08/02/21019951.html

 

[matou]

The Citizen has learned that Richmond voluntarily came into the police station on Friday. He was driven to 474 Elgin St. with friends who were on their way to his wife’s wake. His friends were told not to wait. Richmond was subsequently arrested at the police station before he was interrogated by homicide detectives.

Ok so he was arrested BEFORE he was interrogated. Did the police request that he come in on that day? I think so. Why would he go voluntarily right before the wake? Did he walk in and confess right away, hence the arrest before the interrogation?

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Melissa+Richmond+husband+arrested+death/8742127/story.html

ETA: I didn't see Hazel's updated post about him receiving a photo call to go to the police station.

 

[Wondergirl]

2 Videos here, 1 is a RAW interview with LE regarding the arrest

Notes:

-Melissa was found less than 100 metres from her car

-Howard's license plate is personalized as well, with "GEO TECH"

-Arrangements were made for HR to come into station (when asked if he confessed, I think)

-There are several search warrants in this case

-Information was obtained regarding the murder of Melissa Richmond, and as a result more search warrants were issued

-There are no official papers until tomorrow regarding his arrest, so that is why LE can't name the man

-The OPP is where the original missing person report was filed, and 2 days later when her car was called in, is when it was determined it should be a joint investigation, and the investigation is ongoing.

-There are search warrants issued to search other locations (not disclosing)

-Family of Melissa was informed, but, she was not sure what time, and if it was prior to the wake

-When asked if there may be others, LE said they believe the person responsible is in custody (nobody else)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...nd-arrested-in-relation-to-death-of-wife.html

 

[otto]

The only piece that really didn't fit for me as far as the random attack story went was the purse being found in the car. Didn't really make sense to me that someone would attack before she got out of the car.

That's very interesting! That didn't even occur to me. It's the small details that lead to the conviction.

There are cases where a woman did get out of the car wthout her purse ... one that comes to mind is Dilleen Hemple. In that case, she was flagged over and got out of the car to help ... then she was murdered. That scenario makes no sense in a parking lot.

 

[Lise-Anne]

Hi, Lise-Anne, welcome to WS! :blowkiss:

I believe he was indeed.

Wondergirl, thank you for the welcome. :seeya:

The way he behaved was weird in too many ways and it reminded me of other similar cases I read about through the years.

P.S. You will all have to excuse the way my sentences are structured sometimes, as my mother tongue is not English. But I'm sure you have noticed.

 

[otto]

Probably something along those lines.

They obviously had a large active social group so she would know plenty of other men and may have had her eye on someone else.

Maybe she had second thoughts about spending the rest of her life with a man as old as Howard and wanted to be with someone closer to her own age.

Or maybe she just wanted to out to experience being single again because she has spent her whole adult life with this guy.

They would have hooked up before she was 19 unless they practically got engaged on their first date with him being 40-41. She may have began to regret committing to him as a teenager, when most people that age don't always make the best decisions.

Or just maybe she had a gut feeling this guy was becoming a real nut job...

I think I read that her parents are also military people ... and they could be close to his age. Maybe she met him through her parents and the rest is history. Maybe, at 28, she was rethinking those youthful decisions.

 

[Lise-Anne]

Melissa RICHMOND's obituary and guest book. There are a few messages in there that I think people wish they could now remove... One of them...

"Dear Howie,
My deepest condolences. I never had the opportunity to meet Melissa however, I know that the woman who held your heart in hers must have been beyond wonderful. Please promise me that, some day, you will sit with me and tell me all about her." ....Ouch....

http://www.legacy.com/guestbooks/ot...66159566&page=2#sthash.uqOHEEGa.z0681rR9.dpbs

 

[matou]

I wonder how the people at the party feel? Did they notice any tension between them?

 

[otto]

I'm thinking something happened at that gas station, Howard left his truck there and drove Melissa (dead or alive) in her 2004 Sebring to where her body and car was later found. Then he walked back to his vehicle (truck) at the gas station and drove home. He likely left blood evidence in the truck, the reason why the truck was towed from the house for forensic examination. All this could have been captured on surveillance video at the gas station. Credit card information might have led investigators to the gas station.

Any gas stations between where the couple lived and where her body was found?

JMO

Maybe they got gas close to Chesterville ... maybe that's why police searched that area?

 

[matou]

Here we go. Money problems as many of us suspected:

Melissa Richmond and husband faced loan default days before her stabbing death

In the days before Melissa Richmond went missing, she and her husband Howard were facing serious financial pressures and he had posted numerous messages on an online forum created to help mentally injured soldiers, the Citizen has learned.

The couple were briefly being sued by their bank over the non-payment of a loan. The Bank of Nova Scotia filed a statement of claim against the Richmonds after they allegedly defaulted on a $139,700 line of credit, according to court documents obtained by the Citizen.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/o...d+loan+default+days+before/8743839/story.html