●On Friday, December 2nd, 1977, William Hughes, 15, was stabbed in the heart by a stranger who had offered Hughes and his friend Alan Barker a ride. Hughes died in hospital on December 7th.
On the night of the murder, Hughes, of Pamcrest Dr., and Barker were at a billiard hall on Yonge St. near Steeles Ave. in north Toronto. A man offered the boys a ride, but when the vehicle reached Dufferin St. and Langstaff Rd. in Concord, just north of the city, the man turned around with a gun in one hand and a knife in the other, and demanded money. When the youths refused, the man stabbed Hughes and forced both teens out of the car. Barker ran to a nearby farm for help.
The murderer was described as slim but muscular, 5 10, 190 lbs, with black wavy collar-length hair. He had a companion, a blond female between the ages of 16 and 19. The vehicle was a red 1974 or 75 Monte Carlo with a white vinyl roof and red interior. In the ensuing months, police checked more than 300 cars of similar description but came up empty.
Billy's murder had a profound effect on my life, but this is about him not me. To begin with the statements made by Allan Barker that you quote and the events that took place are not the same.
The Billiard Hall was at the corner of Yonge St. and Moore Park and referred by all simply as the BRIO (it was an Italian Men's club sort of and it was the pinball machines that were the attraction to teens, I mention this as there was a pool hall called Family Billiards right on the S.E. corner of Yonge and Steeles, where you went to play billiards.
The man did not offer them a ride, but to sell them some drugs and they got into the car and were supposed to be going to get them, hence the long drive to a remote location, billy lived on Pamcrest (walk 200m 2 streets south turn east walk for another 800m or so. This account also mentions the killer pulled a gun and a knife, first I had heard of a gun.
Why Allan Barker chose to use this version of events, I do not know, but I can't begin to imagine the horror he went through that night, and knowing he was the only witness and to fear for his own safety would have been reasonable, how much it may have impacted the case I don't know.
The thing is he was not the only witness, there was the female passenger, and she approximately a decade later, haunted by the images of what took place and unable to live with it, called the police and turned herself in and identified the man who committed the murder. It was supposed to be a simple rip-off as they had no drugs but knew that Billy and Allan had the money, her I believe it was boyfriend at the time pulled the knife and demanded the money, but they refused and she referred to one as the Mouthy one or kid, and that would be Billy (he was not the back down sort) and I imagine things got out of control and the male ended up stabbing him in the heart leading to his subsequent death. There was never any plan to use violence but when a weapon is drawn and threats made it can always go bad.
While I know the killer was tried and convicted,I don't remember what the sentence was or if the female severed any time, but later this week I will be going out for lunch with a friend who was present the night at the pool hall the night they left with the man and and was questioned, but he could not provide a description, but he was also required to attend both the trial, and the appeal in case they wanted to call him as a witness. All he could have said is he does not recognize the defendant, etc. luckily he never had too.
Given the time since he would have been sentenced over 20 years he is likely a free man.
I found this a few weeks ago when I used google to try and remember the date it happened, and was surprised out of the dozens of attempts this was the only hit that I was able to get. I was born in 07/60 and skipped a grade, so was several years ahead of billy except my High School did not go well and I played a lot of pinball and hung out at the pool hall most of the time and that was Billy became part of my life, in fact several months after his death I dropped out and his death was a definite factor, but I returned the next year, he was so full of life. I still live less than a 10 min. walk from his home and have known the Hughes House for as long as I can remember, as I had 2 friends that lived on Pamcrest, one at the time of his murder.
Billy I am Sorry for not attending your funeral it was just too much, but I did mourn for you and still do, you are gone but never forgotten.
a Friend of Billy
