CANADA CANADA - Beverly Smith, 22, Oshawa, 9 December 1974

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Beverly Smith was 22-years-old and was the mother of a young baby. On December 9, 1974 she was found murdered in her own home, shot once in the back of the head. The murder has led police on a near 40-year chase including the arrest, release, and re-arrest of a Cobourg man. Alan Smith, no relation, was Beverly's next-door neighbour at the time of her death. Smith made headlines when he was arrested more than 30 years later for the deed. In a shocking twist, charges were dropped, only to be relaid months later. The case is still unsolved.
Here are some articles about the case:
Al Smith acquitted of Oshawa woman’s 1974 murder
Court sides with Crown in legal fight with police over Oshawa cold case
PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines.

 

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Feb 24 2020
When a murder investigation goes horribly wrong: Part One

Beverly Smith. DURHAM REGIONAL POLICE/Handout

In today’s Big Story podcast, it’s called a ‘Mr. Big’, and it’s an investigative ploy so unique to us that it’s also known to police around the world as the ‘Canadian Technique’. It involves the creation of an alternative reality to induce a suspect to confess. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, it can fail horribly.

When police in Ontario decided to use a Mr. Big setup to try to solve a decades-old cold case, they had no idea just how far they’d end up taking it, or just how badly they’d end up botching it. This is the inside story of a reality bending investigation.

GUEST: Michael Lista, contributing editor, Toronto Life

 

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A murder case, a warped reality and a wild conclusion: Part Two
In today’s Big Story podcast, Alan is sleeping. Outside, police are determining that they’re all in. ''Nobody goes home until Alan confesses to a decades-old murder. This is as far as a Mr. Big investigation can possibly go, and the cops are determined to bring it home, no matter what comes next.

Today, the story of what happens when you blur the lines of reality a little bit too far.''