Canada - Christine Jessop, 9, Queensville, Ont, 3 Oct 1984 *killer identified* #3

[Bill King]

While there is no "proof" of her abduction from home, there is very strong indications of such. For example, her coat that she was known to be wearing when she left school and had on at the store was found in the house ---hung on a hook that was too high for her to have reached herself. Her bicycle was haphazardly tossed on it's side Christine apparently used to kick-stand it up). Here's a source from last year's article on the 35th anniversary of her murder ...

MANDEL: After 35 years, family demands ... Who killed Christine Jessop? | Toronto Sun


And a more recent one:
'It all fits': Christine Jessop’s brother, Kenney, shares theory on how his sister was abducted by Calvin Hoover


Her family has insisted for years that it had to be someone who knew she'd be home by herself that afternoon after school. IMO, I think he was waiting inside for her ... with a ready story about taking her to see her dad.

The evidence is very clear that Christine road her bike to the store and returned home, where the bike was found.
During the prosecution of Guy Paul Morin, his lawyers (Ruby, Pinkofsky and Lockyer) floated many alternative scenarios because they pointed away from Guy Paul Morin. This is quite proper; it was their their job as defence lawyers who "test the evidence". However, if all these scenarios are deemed equally probable, the perverse result could be to make it impossible to confirm that Calvin Hoover committed the murder.
It is important to distinguish "defence scenarios" from the plain meaning of the evidence, which is that Christine was abducted from her home or its immediate vicinity after returning from the store, and that she was taken directly to the place where her body was found and murdered there. This should be (and I am very confident, IS) the premise for the efforts of the Toronto Police in to confirm that Hoover murdered Christine.

 

[MsBetsy]

I once asked an embalmer friend if dead bodies smell like goats and he laughed. I think was Mr. Cull smelled were - goats.
The

I stopped by the site myself many years ago. The body was found in a wooded, brushy area some distance off a tractor path. It is quite conceivable that it lay unnoticed for several months. The scene was also highly suggestive of a struggle there, with Christine's record and torn buttons found some distance from the actual body. While Guy Paul Morin's lawyers explored the possibility of a "dumped body", it just didn't have the ring of truth. (IMO, of course.)
(I have never actually smelled a goat, but I think feta cheese gives some notion of the aroma. I had an emblamer friend when I studied this case and I asked him if a decomposing body smelled like goats. He laughed out loud and said "I hope not." I think what Mr. Cull smelled was actually goats. )

Well, he described it as a terrible or "awful" smell and he only noticed it when he was walking around the trailer at the end of October. It had been at least three weeks by then and the temperature was pretty mild so I think there's a good chance it could have been a decomposing body.

 

[Vern]

The evidence is very clear that Christine road her bike to the store and returned home, where the bike was found.
During the prosecution of Guy Paul Morin, his lawyers (Ruby, Pinkofsky and Lockyer) floated many alternative scenarios because they pointed away from Guy Paul Morin. This is quite proper; it was their their job as defence lawyers who "test the evidence". However, if all these scenarios are deemed equally probable, the perverse result could be to make it impossible to confirm that Calvin Hoover committed the murder.
It is important to distinguish "defence scenarios" from the plain meaning of the evidence, which is that Christine was abducted from her home or its immediate vicinity after returning from the store, and that she was taken directly to the place where her body was found and murdered there. This should be (and I am very confident, IS) the premise for the efforts of the Toronto Police in to confirm that Hoover murdered Christine.

I agree. Evidence shows she made it to the store and home again. Her coat hanging on the hook too high for her to reach, the bike etc. That her recorder was missing (it wasn't at the store with her IIRC) etc etc.

As for hard evidence of Hoover's guilt, there is an article linked in here already where the new detective uses words such as "DNA found on and in Christine's body." "IN" being pretty conclusive evidence of Hoover's guilt guilt in my books.

GPM was railroaded - plain and simple; a true and verified miscarriage of justice.

 

[Bill King]

Yes, but if it was consistent to Morin's it may be similar to Hoover's. His hair is brown and may have been a similar length at the time. If they found similar hairs on other victims it might help connect him to their murders.

Exactly, and that is why the necklace hair should not be dismissed as meaningful just because it COINCIDENTALLY resembled that of Guy Paul Morin.

 

[Bill King]

Well, the problem was that detectives used the word "match" when they should have used "consistent with." This was one of the details the commissioner later pointed out. Hair strands can have similar characteristics but there is no way to determine that they are an exact match, except through DNA. Imo

I recall that suggestion from the Judge Kaufman, but on the other hand, such evidence is routinely presented in court and the meaning of "match" in the forensic sense clarified for the jury, as it was in this case. The figure traditionally given is 1/4,500 for an accidental or coinicdental match (although this cannot be given in court). It is also possible that the "necklace hair" was not that of Christine's killer.

 

[dotr]

Correction!
Toronto Police Service :: News Release #48374
October 24, 2020
''Toronto Police Release Tip Line for Investigation into the Murder of Christine Jessop,
Correction,
New telephone number released,
416-808-7491''
''Homicide
416-808-7400
On December 31, 1984, Christine Jessop, who had been missing from her home in Queensville, Ontario since October 3, 1984, was found in Sunderland, Ontario. She had been sexually assaulted and murdered.

On Thursday, October 15, 2020, the Toronto Police Service announced the positive identification of the person responsible for the DNA sample found on Christine's underwear at the time of her death.

Calvin Hoover, 28-years-old at that time, lived in Toronto, Durham Region, and Port Hope until his death in 2015.

Since that announcement, police have received more than 60 tips from the public.

As investigators continue to trace the steps of Calvin Hoover from 1984 to 2015, they are asking for any and all information that could assist them with their efforts.

A dedicated phone number and email have been set up for this purpose.

416-808-7491
[email protected]

"The officers with the Cold Case section of Homicide have been grateful for the information they have received so far," said Inspector Hank Idsinga, Unit Commander of Homicide. "Every detail that comes in can help us determine the last moments of Christine's life and establish any connection to other possible incidents."

 

[jobo]

Yeah, it’s weird how we can’t find his obituary. You’d expect it to be public for years now, but that’s apparently not the case. Even genealogy websites aren’t pulling anything up. The only other person I still have this issue with is Robert Lynn Bradley.

It’s baffling, really.

 

[jobo]

Yeah, it’s weird how we can’t find his obituary. You’d expect it to be public for years now, but that’s apparently not the case. Even genealogy websites aren’t pulling anything up. The only other person I still have this issue with is Robert Lynn Bradley.

It’s baffling, really.

 

[Tadpole12]

I believe she worked at Sears at the Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket.

Thanks SP, wondered how observable JJ was on a daily basis, in her normal routine. Her comings and goings.


خرائط ‪Google

(Queenville to Upper Canada Mall)‬‏‏

 

[Skibunny]

View attachment 269098

I wonder if the family of CH were able to delete his obituary the morning before the news broke, if they were given a couple hours advanced notice of the announcement by TPS.

 

[Forest_Wood]

DBM. Duplicate.

 

[Forest_Wood]

Well, he described it as a terrible or "awful" smell and he only noticed it when he was walking around the trailer at the end of October. It had been at least three weeks by then and the temperature was pretty mild so I think there's a good chance it could have been a decomposing body.

From my experience, it’s rare to go investigate a smell like that because you think it’s wildlife. I think he was trying to make sense of the putrid smell in his mind, and because there were goats around the property, his thought went to the idea that a goat must have died. It’s common when living and walking in the country to smell dead wildlife from the ditches or fields and you assume it’s a dead racoon or a bird or if near water, a dead fish. Your mind would not be thinking it’s a human being.

 

[Forest_Wood]

Unless there was no obituary? He may have been estranged from all his family members at that time and it’s feasible that there was never one submitted.

 

[Forest_Wood]

"I've been reading your posts and I think in fairness, it should be pointed out that some evidence pointed to Guy Paul Morin. The hair on Christine's body was considered a match for his, and some of the fibres on Christine's body resembled those in the vehicle. Guy Paul also made some commments that suggested he knew something about the murder. I am just pointing this out because this case has become a very important one and it would not accomplish anything to blame everything on two inept detectives."

"Well, the problem was that detectives used the word "match" when they should have used "consistent with." This was one of the details the commissioner later pointed out. Hair strands can have similar characteristics but there is no way to determine that they are an exact match, except through DNA. Imo”

The hair was described as “similar”. That is not the same as a match. See below:

The Hair Findings
When Christine Jessop’s body was discovered, a single dark hair was found embedded in skin tissue adhering to her necklace. This came to be known as the ‘necklace hair.’ This hair was not Christine’s and it was presumed to have come from her killer. This hair was said to be microscopically similar to Guy Paul Morin’s hair and could have originated from him. After Guy Paul Morin’s first trial and before his second, an analysis of hairs belonging to Christine Jessop’s classmates revealed that two classmates had hairs which were also microscopically similar.

Three hairs found in Mr. Morin’s car were said to be dissimilar to Mr. Morin’s hairs. It was said that these were similar to Christine Jessop’s hairs and could have come from her.

• Properly understood, the hair comparison evidence had little or no probative value in proving Mr. Morin’s guilt. Generally, hair comparison evidence (absent DNA analysis) is unlikely to have sufficient probative value to justify its reception as circumstantial evidence of guilt at a criminal trial.
• Ms. Nyznyk did not adequately or accurately communicate the limitations upon her hair comparison findings to police and prosecutors prior to the second trial.
• Prior to Guy Paul Morin’s arrest, Ms. Nyznyk conducted a hasty, preliminary comparison of the necklace hair and Guy Paul Morin’s irs in the investigators’ presence. She communicated a preliminary opinion to the officers. That opinion was overstated and, to her knowledge, left the officers with the understanding that the comparison yielded important evidence implicating Mr. Morin.
• Had the limitations on Ms. Nyznyk’s early findings been adequately communicated by her, Mr. Morin may not have been arrested when he was — if, indeed, ever.
• Detective Bernie Fitzpatrick testified about Ms. Nyznyk’s early hair and fibre findings at Guy Paul Morin’s bail hearing. His evidence was inaccurate. This was not deliberate, but can explained, in large measure, by the inadequate way Ms. Nyznyk’s findings (and their limitations) were communicated by her.
• The hair comparison evidence was misused by the prosecution in its closing address at the second trial (though the Commissioner did not find that this was done malevolently). Particulars of this misuse are contained in the Report.

 

[deugirtni]

I wondered this too. Can anyone tell us whether this is customary for autopsies performed in Ontario?

Just catching up.. but.. wondering how far police would've taken the identification of CJ'S killer.. ie what if instead of suicide, CH had died of cancer after a longterm illness where presumably no autopsy would have to have been done, or something? Would the hospital/hospice have stored his blood samples for 5 years? If not, would LE have gone so far as to exhume his body?

Also wondering what happens in cases where they try to ID someone using this familial genealogy thing, but a person had been put up for adoption, or what if the mother had had an affair with the postman, etc, etc, etc?

 

[Forest_Wood]

The evidence is very clear that Christine road her bike to the store and returned home, where the bike was found.
During the prosecution of Guy Paul Morin, his lawyers (Ruby, Pinkofsky and Lockyer) floated many alternative scenarios because they pointed away from Guy Paul Morin. This is quite proper; it was their their job as defence lawyers who "test the evidence". However, if all these scenarios are deemed equally probable, the perverse result could be to make it impossible to confirm that Calvin Hoover committed the murder.
It is important to distinguish "defence scenarios" from the plain meaning of the evidence, which is that Christine was abducted from her home or its immediate vicinity after returning from the store, and that she was taken directly to the place where her body was found and murdered there. This should be (and I am very confident, IS) the premise for the efforts of the Toronto Police in to confirm that Hoover murdered Christine.

Where was the evidence that she rode her bike to the store? I don’t think anyone saw her with her bike that day. On the contrary:

(xv) Robert Atkinson - Atkinson’s Evidence
On October 3, 1984, Robert Atkinson and his friend Doug Thompson were commuting to their work at a manufacturing plant in Holland Landing, a village approximately six miles away from Queensville. Their shift was to commence at 4:30 p.m. They were proceeded east on the Queensville Sideroad. They stopped at the stop sign at the corner of Leslie Street and Queensville Sideroad for approximately two to three minutes to allow the heavy traffic on Leslie Street to pass. The general store where Christine Jessop had purchased candy after school is located at that corner. Atkinson testified that while stopped at the sign, he looked at his wrist watch and noted the time was approximately 4:00 p.m. While stopped, he noticed a little girl wearing a blue top standing across from the store, holding a bag of candy in one hand and a recorder in the other. She appeared to be waiting for someone or something. He testified at Morin’s second trial that, after noticing the recorder in the child’s hand, he remarked to Thompson “How about we can get this little girl to play us a tune while we’re waiting.” They then proceeded on to Holland Landing for their shift.

 

[Tadpole12]

Free full episodes of Crime Beat on GlobalTV.com | Cast photos, gossip and news from Crime Beat

Saturday night's S2E3 'The Final Chapter of the Christine Jessop and Guy Paul Morin Tragedy', episode of Crime Beat is up, on Global site, with Global app.

 

[Tadpole12]

Where was the evidence that she rode her bike to the store? I don’t think anyone saw her with her bike that day. On the contrary:

(xv) Robert Atkinson - Atkinson’s Evidence
On October 3, 1984, Robert Atkinson and his friend Doug Thompson were commuting to their work at a manufacturing plant in Holland Landing, a village approximately six miles away from Queensville. Their shift was to commence at 4:30 p.m. They were proceeded east on the Queensville Sideroad. They stopped at the stop sign at the corner of Leslie Street and Queensville Sideroad for approximately two to three minutes to allow the heavy traffic on Leslie Street to pass. The general store where Christine Jessop had purchased candy after school is located at that corner. Atkinson testified that while stopped at the sign, he looked at his wrist watch and noted the time was approximately 4:00 p.m. While stopped, he noticed a little girl wearing a blue top standing across from the store, holding a bag of candy in one hand and a recorder in the other. She appeared to be waiting for someone or something. He testified at Morin’s second trial that, after noticing the recorder in the child’s hand, he remarked to Thompson “How about we can get this little girl to play us a tune while we’re waiting.” They then proceeded on to Holland Landing for their shift.

Good point.

 

[Andreee]

Yes, both murders occurred within Hoovers "comfort zone" and occurred at the same time of year. Delia went missing on September 26th, 1982 and was last seen walking to her home in Oakville, Ontario. Her body was found on Nov 6 in a wooded area about 32 km away.

Lizzie Tomlinson was abducted in May 1980 and her body was hidden less than a mile away in some bushes.

Jami Fernandez, 18, went missing from Port Perry on October 15th, 1997. That was about a year after Hoover's DUI. She has never been found.

Then there is Kelly Mombourquette, 14, who ran away from a group home on October 3rd, 1987. Her body was found on Oct 19 near Yorkland Boulevard in the northeast corner of Toronto. She had been bludgeoned and her throat was slit.

Horrible, all of it! I believe I read the other day that LE is seriously looking into all the region's past cases to see if there are any other connections between Christine's murderer and others who were killed. As they of course should do.

 

[Andreee]

I wonder if the family of CH were able to delete his obituary the morning before the news broke, if they were given a couple hours advanced notice of the announcement by TPS.

I don't believe there is any requirement to publish an obituary at all in the media. I certainly wouldn't if my family member committed such a horrendous crime as murder. Of course, his family didn't know at the time. But I wouldn't be surprised if they removed it, and I think that is what happened.