Notes on Debbie Silverman case (with files from Toronto Star (September 17, 1978)
• The morning she disappeared she told her mother: “I wanted to come to talk to you at work last night, but I didn’t want to bother you.” What did she want to talk about?
• The day of her disappearance she went out for lunch with three other employees, two men and a woman. They made plans to go dancing on a double date. Both men were under suspicion of murder. Both said they were brought in for questioning countless times, and that they’ve been followed by police.
• Gina Jorgenson, was Debbie’s closest friend.
• Debbie’s date that night was a red-headed car mechanic. He admitted to Jorgenson that he had a crush on Debbie even though it was their first date.
• They tried to get into Friday’s on Eglinton but then walked around the corner to Camelot Steak House and Tavern and went to the disco in the back.
• “We stayed at the place till it closed. Then we drove to Mississauga,” Debbie’s date says. “I drove her car.”
• They dropped off Pam, the other girl, and then the two men and Debbie went to Pam’s date’s house on Arbor Road, Mississauga. His parents were not home. Note: That’s a long way to go (about 45 minutes), depending on where Pam lived.
• “While the other guy played pool downstairs, I sat and talked to Debbie from about 2:30 to 4:30,” her friend said. “She was so tired that I asked her about 10 times to stay the night.” Instead, it appears that Debbie insisted on leaving.
• Mrs. Silverman says she could always hear when Debbie came home, because no matter what time it was, she would pull into the parking lot past her mother’s bedroom window with her car windows open and the stereo radios blaring. But her mother did not hear her arrive. Note: Was her mother just too tired and missed it? Did Debbie just have the radio turned down? Or did someone else drive her car? See next point.
• Debbie always parked her car off by itself on an angle in the corner of the outdoor parking lot beside her apartment building. It was the furthest spot from the door, but it was the only way she could be sure her beloved car would be out of scratching range.
• It seems she locked her car in it’s usual spot at about 5 a.m. Saturday morning and walked 80 paces to the side door. A row of bright spotlights illuminate the entire length of the building. But just next to the chipped yellow entrance, there is a deep, wide indentation. Note: Was it parked at the angle as usual? The article doesn’t say exactly, but it sounds like it was.
• But those lights would probably have lit up a car following her in as would the headlights, unless Debbie just wasn’t paying attention or the car had shut off their headlights. Very possible. More likely the person was already there parked near the entrance with their lights off and the car shut off.
• Still the likelihood is that it was two people. It would be easier to control a person especially to drive the distance they seemed to have done if you think they were straight to Sunderland and she was killed that day. One person to drive and one to control Debbie.
• Possible one person was already inside and when the person who was outside grabbed Debbie when she opened the door, the other person grabbed her and they carried her immediately to the car?
• The article states - Debbie probably put her key in the side door, and then back into her white vinyl purse when she opened the door. Probably, someone grabbed her from behind. Pieces of her gold chain necklace with a star of David on it and pieces of her hair clinging to it were found later, lying outside on the pavement.
• Inside the long narrow side hallway, her purse, containing credit cards, wallet, make-up, keys, were found lying on the worn orange and brown print carpet. So were her lace-trimmed panties.
• Unbelievably, tragically though, the police knew none of this until 15 hours after it occurred. Within an hour after Debbie was probably attacked and abducted, a tenant saw her things lying on the floor.
• Instead of reporting it, he took everything into his apartment, looked through it, stole the gold jewelry, and then left the purse, with the underwear neatly folded inside it, outside the Silverman’s apartment door. Police didn’t track him down until a door-to-door search led them to his apartment at 9 p.m.
• At the time of this article, police were looking for a “strange” man named John, in his mid-20’s, who used to hang around Debbie, telling her lies about what a wonderful job he had, what a wonderful life he would give her if she would marry him.
