Nicely done, thank you!
Rbbm, a woman may be involved?!
#12 – Blood Runs Cold – Thelma Clapham
226 Rebecca Street, Hamilton, ON
Door to Thelma’s Apartment
Hallway – Thelma’s apartment is second to last down this hallway (on left). The door on the right is a stairwell
"The lack of security at the city housing buildings have led to increased violence and drug dealings. Just last year in, on December 1st, the police were called to investigate the death of a woman found in the lobby. The deceased woman did not reside there
Now that described the layout and location of the crime scene, gone over the amount of people who were not residents who would have legitimate access to the building, as well as assessed the lack of security, we have somewhat of an understanding of the community in which Thelma was living as well as contributing reasons to the fact the case remains open and unsolved. So, lets go over the facts and information that we do know.
This Thursday was mostly like any other Thursday in the building. Thelma was to have the cleaning lady come and clean her apartment and she was to go on her scheduled bus outing to the grocery store, which was always chided for, for being the last one on the bus.
Thelma didn’t show up to the bus outing for a regular grocery shopping trip, some of the other regular shoppers grew worried and went to her apartment. There they noticed 2 days worth of newspapers piling up at her door, never a good sign. Leaving the newspaper to pile up at her door was something that Thelma never did. They went to the superintendent who had the two building security tenants go do a wellness check while she called 911.
Meanwhile, the cleaning lady that usually cleaned her apartment, among other units, was asking her neighbour, for whom she also provided cleaning services, if Thelma was sick as she knocked on her door and there was no answer.
Doug and his partner, the two building security tenants, got the keys and made their way to Thelma’s unit. They knocked and waited, no answer. They called her name, and still no answer. By this time is was 11:30 in the morning, and finally they took their key and unlocked her door. When Doug and his partner entered the apartment, they were taken aback by what they saw. They noticed her foot first. There she was laying face down on her bedroom floor. At first, they thought maybe she had fallen and couldn’t get up. 911 was called by the superintendent.
When the police arrived, the residents had already caught wind that Thelma was deceased and were trying to understand what the circumstances were. They were shocked to find out she was dead. She was well liked in the building and was just starting to feel better after her pacemaker implant. So much so that she told some of the other tenants that they would soon see her back at their regular bingo night. The last time someone was confirmed to have seen Thelma alive was on Tuesday, November 30th. Two days before her body was discovered.
Law enforcement immediately considered her death suspicious and the scene and case was handed over to the major crime unit.
What gave them this indication? Initially they specified it was because of the location of her body and items found in her apartment. An autopsy was performed the following day. The pathologist confirmed that her cause of death was blunt force trauma and method of death was homicide. Her death was not caused by a fall; it was intentional.
Police spent the next 5-7 days in the building with a forensics team combing through Thelma’s apartment and investigators speaking to as many people as possible. Overall, they spoke to over 200 people between December 2nd, 2004 to present.
While the police were on scene, Thelma’s son Greg was calling his mom and leaving a message for her on her answering machine saying he was coming over, warning her that if she was there to stay there. He had been calling her and leaving messages and wasn’t getting any call back. Thelma had one of those answering machines where you can hear the person leaving a message so the police heard Greg’s message and were waiting for him by the door when he arrived.
Back in Thelma’s apartment, the Hamilton police called in specialists from the Waterloo police to assist with blood spatter analysis.
A lot can be learned from blood patterns at a crime scene. It can tell you the type of weapon used, the direction in which the item struck the victim, the force that was likely used, where the attack took place and the relative positions of those involved. This can speak volumes as to what occurred and provide vital clues of the attacker. For example, If the item or weapon was heavy and hard to maneuver then this would indicate that the attacker would be fairly strong. And, based on the directionality of the blood stains, the specialist can determine a point of origin, which may give an indication of the perpetrator’s height. Each drop of blood is going to strike a surface at it’s on unique angle from a unique direction. Picture hitting a sponge soaked in food colouring, how would that hit the wall? What angle and direction. A point of origin can tell you if the person was standing or near the floor when struck and how many blows they received.
A weapon was not found on scene; however, law enforcement believe they know what was used to kill Thelma. Obviously, the killer left the scene with it. And remember how the door was locked for the two building security tenants? They needed to unlock the door to enter Thelma’s apartment. There was no forced entry into her apartment. I’m not certain what kind of locking mechanism would be on the door and if you would need a key to lock it. Some doors you can push and turn the door handle from the inside and then close the door and the bottom lock will be locked. Early news articles did not indicate if the deadbolt was locked. When I went to the scene the door handles did not look like these types of knobs or handles, though this could have been updated in the 15 years since this brutal slaying took place.
The apartment wasn’t turned over as though it was a robbery, however the police did say that some cash had been stolen. That being said they couldn’t establish a motive, although I am sure there are some floating theories. From all the interviews they have conducted, they do have a small pool of persons of interests, however at this point there is not enough physical or circumstantial evidence to eliminate or charge any of them.
Out of this small pool of persons of interest there is one that stands out. It is believed that a woman is involved, either on her own or in conjunction with another individual. A description of this person is not available at this time.
December 2nd will mark the 15-year anniversary of Thelma’s death and her children and family still don’t have answers. What would drive someone to viciously beat and kill at 79-year-old woman? There were many people who were in & out of that building for legitimate reasons, as we covered, and the security is almost non-existent. Basically, anyone could walk in off the street and gain access. And as we saw, some tenants even left their doors open. Thelma’s apartment was the second to last one at the end of a long hallway, almost in front of a stairwell where no key or pass is needed to access. No one reported hearing any commotion or sounds coming from the victim’s apartment.
Whoever killed Thelma was likely known to her, as there was no forced entry and no early indications that she would routinely leave her door open. The murder weapon was not left on scene, it was carried from the scene by the killer. Some cash was stolen from Thelma’s apartment. Could she have caught a personal assistant worker in the act of theft and then paid the harsh price? Police believe she was murdered on or about November 30th. She was likely attacked that same day.
Law enforcement has good reason to believe that there are people in the community who have knowledge as to who is responsible for Thelma’s death. They state that unfortunately for various reasons these people are reluctant to come forward.
This brings is to the end of Thelma’s story.
The Hamilton Police Services Board has authorized a reward of $5000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for this horrendous crime. If you have any information please get in touch with Detective Sergeant Steve Bereziuk @ 905-546-3865
Or, if you wish to remain anonymous you can call Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222 8477 (TIPS) or submit a tip on line at Submit a Tip and to be eligible for a reward of up to $2000.
I will report on further updates on this case as it becomes available."
