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

[MistyWaters]

For a couple reasons I’m curious what was the date Christine’s mother told police CH was allowed to enter their home when nobody was home.

The police document obtained by the Star appears to be a search warrant recently unsealed by the Court. Was this a search warrant prior to IDing CH, or after he’d been ID’d and this comment came at the time the J’s were informed of a DNA match, anybody know? If it was stated more recently as an explanation of why CH might’ve been at the house, that would make more sense, keeping in mind the accuracy of memories from almost 40 years ago is not always perfect.

Because further to that I’m perplexed why CH would’ve been “allowed”? Why would anyone need to enter a home when the occupants weren’t home, I don’t get it. Someone who is “allowed” would seem like it was a formal arrangement, as opposed to someone else who was forbidden.

“But in a police document obtained by the Toronto Star, it does not appear he was ever interviewed, despite Christine’s mother telling police Hoover was among several friends who would be allowed to enter her home without someone being in the house.”
Toronto police never interviewed Christine Jessop's killer, report says - 680 NEWS

Then something else I noticed. According to Ken, CH wasn’t really that close of a family friend. Reportedly Mrs J didn’t remember his name at first either.

“Kenney Jessop, Christine’s brother, previously told Global News, “I always knew Auntie Heather, you know, nicknames and that, but we were never really around him … but it all fits together .. I remembered his face when they showed the mugshot.”
Calvin Hoover: Tips flood in from public about Christine Jessop's cold-case killer

 

[deugirtni]

For a couple reasons I’m curious what was the date Christine’s mother told police CH was allowed to enter their home when nobody was home.

The police document obtained by the Star appears to be a search warrant recently unsealed by the Court. Was this a search warrant prior to IDing CH, or after he’d been ID’d and this comment came at the time the J’s were informed of a DNA match, anybody know? If it was stated more recently as an explanation of why CH might’ve been at the house, that would make more sense, keeping in mind the accuracy of memories from almost 40 years ago is not always perfect.

Because further to that I’m perplexed why CH would’ve been “allowed”? Why would anyone need to enter a home when the occupants weren’t home, I don’t get it. Someone who is “allowed” would seem like it was a formal arrangement, as opposed to someone else who was forbidden.

“But in a police document obtained by the Toronto Star, it does not appear he was ever interviewed, despite Christine’s mother telling police Hoover was among several friends who would be allowed to enter her home without someone being in the house.”
Toronto police never interviewed Christine Jessop's killer, report says - 680 NEWS

Then something else I noticed. According to Ken, CH wasn’t really that close of a family friend. Reportedly Mrs J didn’t remember his name at first either.

“Kenney Jessop, Christine’s brother, previously told Global News, “I always knew Auntie Heather, you know, nicknames and that, but we were never really around him … but it all fits together .. I remembered his face when they showed the mugshot.”
Calvin Hoover: Tips flood in from public about Christine Jessop's cold-case killer

It would sure be nice to have some kind of a followup article with verified facts about the nature of the relationship between CH and the Jessop family. The article quoted above says police failed to interview CH 'despite knowing' he had access to the Jessop house. Yet it seems immediate family members of CJ didn't even remember him right away. At the time of CJ's disappearance, they didn't live in the same town. His ex-wife was said to have worked with CJ's father, and apparently CH also worked on some kind of job that CJ's father also worked on, but BJ barely remembers him, apparently. That seems a far cry from being neighbours, CH babysitting the Jessop kids, enjoying family-to-family social get-togethers where the men had beers together, and being allowed to enter the Jessop home when nobody was present. From reports it seems that after the funeral, the families drifted apart. I'm sure it might be tough to remember details from so many years ago, but at the same time, it seems there could be a lot of misinformation going around.

OTOH, is there any correlation between GPM's exoneration in 1995, the announcement in June 1996 that a public inquiry was to be held, and CH's criminal conviction of impaired driving in 1996?

It is also my understanding that CJ's mother and brother went to visit the father in jail earlier in the day, and afterward, they attended a dental appointment for Ken, and also a shopping trip to purchase a watch for Ken. As it was, after all of those activities, it was said the two arrived home shortly after 4pm, a very short window from the time CJ arrived home from school. So I'm wondering how it is even relevant who knew the family would be visiting the jail, considering the visit seems to have been completed long before CJ's arrival home. How long were jail visits allowed to be, back in 1984? Conceivably, without the dental appointment and/or the shopping, they would have been home when CJ arrived home from school. Everything seems so confusing, which I suppose is understandable at this late date.
---
from Wikipedia:
The Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul Morin, commonly known as the Kaufman Report, was created to address the wrongful conviction in 1992 of Guy Paul Morin for the murder of Christine Jessop on October 3, 1984 for which he was exonerated by DNA evidence on January 23, 1995.

On June 26, 1996, the Lieutenant Governor in Council directed that a public inquiry be held, and a commission was issued appointing the Honourable Fred Kaufman, Q.C., a former judge of the Quebec Court of Appeal, as commissioner.
Kaufman Report - Wikipedia
----
Police said Thursday that Hoover had “outdated charges” when they announced they had identified him as Jessop’s killer. Court documents obtained by Global News found that in December 1996, Hoover was convicted of impaired driving and was fined $800 and lost his licence for a year.
Who was Calvin Hoover? The man Toronto police say killed 9-year-old Christine Jessop in 1984

 

[MistyWaters]

It would sure be nice to have some kind of a followup article with verified facts about the nature of the relationship between CH and the Jessop family. The article quoted above says police failed to interview CH 'despite knowing' he had access to the Jessop house. Yet it seems immediate family members of CJ didn't even remember him right away. At the time of CJ's disappearance, they didn't live in the same town. His ex-wife was said to have worked with CJ's father, and apparently CH also worked on some kind of job that CJ's father also worked on, but BJ barely remembers him, apparently. That seems a far cry from being neighbours, CH babysitting the Jessop kids, enjoying family-to-family social get-togethers where the men had beers together, and being allowed to enter the Jessop home when nobody was present. From reports it seems that after the funeral, the families drifted apart. I'm sure it might be tough to remember details from so many years ago, but at the same time, it seems there could be a lot of misinformation going around.

OTOH, is there any correlation between GPM's exoneration in 1995, the announcement in June 1996 that a public inquiry was to be held, and CH's criminal conviction of impaired driving in 1996?

It is also my understanding that CJ's mother and brother went to visit the father in jail earlier in the day, and afterward, they attended a dental appointment for Ken, and also a shopping trip to purchase a watch for Ken. As it was, after all of those activities, it was said the two arrived home shortly after 4pm, a very short window from the time CJ arrived home from school. So I'm wondering how it is even relevant who knew the family would be visiting the jail, considering the visit seems to have been completed long before CJ's arrival home. How long were jail visits allowed to be, back in 1984? Conceivably, without the dental appointment and/or the shopping, they would have been home when CJ arrived home from school. Everything seems so confusing, which I suppose is understandable at this late date.
---
from Wikipedia:
The Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul Morin, commonly known as the Kaufman Report, was created to address the wrongful conviction in 1992 of Guy Paul Morin for the murder of Christine Jessop on October 3, 1984 for which he was exonerated by DNA evidence on January 23, 1995.

On June 26, 1996, the Lieutenant Governor in Council directed that a public inquiry be held, and a commission was issued appointing the Honourable Fred Kaufman, Q.C., a former judge of the Quebec Court of Appeal, as commissioner.
Kaufman Report - Wikipedia
----
Police said Thursday that Hoover had “outdated charges” when they announced they had identified him as Jessop’s killer. Court documents obtained by Global News found that in December 1996, Hoover was convicted of impaired driving and was fined $800 and lost his licence for a year.
Who was Calvin Hoover? The man Toronto police say killed 9-year-old Christine Jessop in 1984

The quoted article containing the reports words ‘despite knowing’ refers to a paylocked Star report.

Does anyone know the specifics of “a search warrant document recently unsealed”? As CH was never investigated, it’d have to be something recent, after his DNA proved a match. I’m curious when police were informed CH had free access to the Jessop home, and for what reason.

From Google -
Police were told Christine Jessop's likely killer had access to ...
www.thestar.com › news › gta › 2020/11/11 › police-w...
Nov 11, 2020 — A search warrant document recently unsealed by the Ontario Court ... say they identified Calvin Hoover, left, as Christine Jessop's killer through a.

 

[deugirtni]

The quoted article containing the reports words ‘despite knowing’ refers to a paylocked Star report.

Does anyone know the specifics of “a search warrant document recently unsealed”? As CH was never investigated, it’d have to be something recent, after his DNA proved a match. I’m curious when police were informed CH had free access to the Jessop home, and for what reason.

From Google -
Police were told Christine Jessop's likely killer had access to ...
www.thestar.com › news › gta › 2020/11/11 › police-w...
Nov 11, 2020 — A search warrant document recently unsealed by the Ontario Court ... say they identified Calvin Hoover, left, as Christine Jessop's killer through a.

It seems the info regarding when CJ's mom told police CH had access to the house was already discussed in the thread:

A month later, as the search continued for the nine-year-old girl, her mother Janet Jessop told the same officer that Calvin Hoover was among several friends who would be allowed to enter her home without a family member being in the house.

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

Looks like the search warrant was filed in 2020 asking for access to CH's blood sample, and that historical information from the case files was used as part of the reasoning for asking for it:

The document was filed in court on Sept. 30, 2020, with Ontario court judge James Chaffe granting access to two samples of Hoover’s blood that had been kept on file at Toronto’s Centre of Forensic Sciences from an autopsy following his 2015 suicide.

According to the document, Hoover’s now ex-wife Heather told Sgt. Raymond Bunce on Oct. 4, 1984, that Christine had visited the Scarborough home she shared with Calvin Hoover only a few days before, on Oct. 1, alongside her mother Janet and brother Kenney.

“Heather Hoover advised that Christine was in good spirits but was upset about her father being in jail. Christine was looking forward to visiting her father on Thanksgiving weekend,” according to a summary written by Smith. Robert Jessop was in jail on charges of misappropriating funds.

Heather Hoover, then 27, told Bunce both she and Calvin worked at Markham’s Eastern Telecom with Robert.
....
On Nov. 22, 1984 — about six weeks after Jessop’s disappearance, and a month before her body was discovered in a field near Sunderland, in Durham Region — Janet Jessop spoke to Bunce.

She told him about “friends who would be allowed to enter their residence without a family member being in the house,” according to a summary of the interview.

“Several names were mentioned, one of those names being Calvin Hoover,” Smith wrote in the summary.

Hoover was never identified as a suspect by either the Durham Regional Police investigators — who conducted the initial probe into Jessop’s murder that led to Morin’s arrest in April 1985 — or by a Toronto police task force that took over the investigation after Morin’s wrongful conviction.

Police were told Christine Jessop’s likely killer had access to her home — but ‘it does not appear that Calvin Hoover was ever interviewed,’ documents reveal

 

[MistyWaters]

It seems the info regarding when CJ's mom told police CH had access to the house was already discussed in the thread:

A month later, as the search continued for the nine-year-old girl, her mother Janet Jessop told the same officer that Calvin Hoover was among several friends who would be allowed to enter her home without a family member being in the house.

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

Looks like the search warrant was filed in 2020 asking for access to CH's blood sample, and that historical information from the case files was used as part of the reasoning for asking for it:

The document was filed in court on Sept. 30, 2020, with Ontario court judge James Chaffe granting access to two samples of Hoover’s blood that had been kept on file at Toronto’s Centre of Forensic Sciences from an autopsy following his 2015 suicide.

According to the document, Hoover’s now ex-wife Heather told Sgt. Raymond Bunce on Oct. 4, 1984, that Christine had visited the Scarborough home she shared with Calvin Hoover only a few days before, on Oct. 1, alongside her mother Janet and brother Kenney.

“Heather Hoover advised that Christine was in good spirits but was upset about her father being in jail. Christine was looking forward to visiting her father on Thanksgiving weekend,” according to a summary written by Smith. Robert Jessop was in jail on charges of misappropriating funds.

Heather Hoover, then 27, told Bunce both she and Calvin worked at Markham’s Eastern Telecom with Robert.
....
On Nov. 22, 1984 — about six weeks after Jessop’s disappearance, and a month before her body was discovered in a field near Sunderland, in Durham Region — Janet Jessop spoke to Bunce.

She told him about “friends who would be allowed to enter their residence without a family member being in the house,” according to a summary of the interview.

“Several names were mentioned, one of those names being Calvin Hoover,” Smith wrote in the summary.

Hoover was never identified as a suspect by either the Durham Regional Police investigators — who conducted the initial probe into Jessop’s murder that led to Morin’s arrest in April 1985 — or by a Toronto police task force that took over the investigation after Morin’s wrongful conviction.

Police were told Christine Jessop’s likely killer had access to her home — but ‘it does not appear that Calvin Hoover was ever interviewed,’ documents reveal

Thank you very much, so the search warrant was for CH’s blood sample.

 

[deugirtni]

It also kind of makes sense now, that CH was allowed access to the 'house' - it had been reported earlier that his wife, HH, worked with CJ's father, BJ. But it seems in the early days in 1984, HH had reported to TPS that her husband CH had also worked with BJ - the 3 of them. In another article (see below) it also quoted BJ in regard to CH being one of his men, but that he didn't really remember him (which is really odd, if they did all those things together, in addition to working together?). If CH was one of his men, and perhaps especially while BJ was in jail (he'd been in jail for two weeks prior to CJ's disappearance), one of BJ's guys may have needed to gain access to tools and/or supplies for jobs. It would make more sense if BJ kept such items in a garage or outbuilding of some kind, but who knows.
---
Heather Hoover, then 27, told Bunce both she and Calvin worked at Markham’s Eastern Telecom with Robert.

From same article referenced above
-----
Then he heard it was man he knew named Calvin Hoover who died in 2015.

“I can’t see his face,” said Bob. “I know he worked for us and did some wiring at the York Regional Police station with us.”

Other than that, he doesn’t recall much more about Hoover.
“I had 20 guys working for me then,” Bob said.

But even though he says he is suffering from the “early stages” of Alzheimer’s, he does have some recollection of Hoover.

“I know he lived near us and I know he was over to our house a few times,” Bob said. “I am pretty sure he was over for work-related matters.”

It was then he believes Hoover first laid eyes on Christine.

“It breaks my heart,” Bob said.

Never once did he ever suspect Hoover, or think of him as a suspect, until Thursday when he was told of this news. Bob Jessop said he just wishes Hoover was still alive.

“If I could, I would line him up and blow his brains out,” the slain girl’s dad said.

'IT BREAKS MY HEART': Christine Jessop's dad says killer 'destroyed' many lives | Toronto Sun

 

[deugirtni]

Also,.. further to my post above, it might also explain more about the 'friend' connection between the Js and the Hs. I know some have wondered about the friend relationship, considering the Js were more than 10 years older than the Hs. The following articles indicate the Jessops would've been 41 and 42, while the Hoovers were said to have been 27 and 28 at the time. Not that it's so weird to have friends of all different ages.

from October 2020:
“It is true,” asked the 78-year-old father of Christine Jessop, who disappeared in 1984 and was later found stabbed and sexually assaulted. “I never thought I would live long enough to see this.”
'IT BREAKS MY HEART': Christine Jessop's dad says killer 'destroyed' many lives | Toronto Sun

from October 2019:
“You feel like it’s just been pushed under the rug,” adds his mother, Janet Jessop, 76.
MANDEL: After 35 years, family demands ... Who killed Christine Jessop? | Toronto Sun

 

[MistyWaters]

Also,.. further to my post above, it might also explain more about the 'friend' connection between the Js and the Hs. I know some have wondered about the friend relationship, considering the Js were more than 10 years older than the Hs. The following articles indicate the Jessops would've been 41 and 42, while the Hoovers were said to have been 27 and 28 at the time. Not that it's so weird to have friends of all different ages.

from October 2020:
“It is true,” asked the 78-year-old father of Christine Jessop, who disappeared in 1984 and was later found stabbed and sexually assaulted. “I never thought I would live long enough to see this.”
'IT BREAKS MY HEART': Christine Jessop's dad says killer 'destroyed' many lives | Toronto Sun

from October 2019:
“You feel like it’s just been pushed under the rug,” adds his mother, Janet Jessop, 76.
MANDEL: After 35 years, family demands ... Who killed Christine Jessop? | Toronto Sun

Well at least they’re not saying “I knew it was CH all along and police wouldn’t listen!!!” The wrongful conviction of GPM was in part facilitated by the morphed timeline. That very possibly would’ve posed problems in any future trial, including the impeachment of testimony.

Police might’ve left the file forever in a box gathering dust but they didn’t. There was so much wrong with the investigation from the very onset so I think the Cold Case Officer deserves credit for finally solving it.

 

[deugirtni]

Just pondering.. I had understood that the Jessops lived in Richmond Hill, but that the family had moved to Queensville in 1983 (the year prior to CJ's murder). Meanwhile, it was said the Hoovers lived in Scarborough at the time of CJ's murder. I'm wondering if the 'access to the house' comment might've been from her memory of before the move, and JJ was just going from her memory of everyone she could think of who'd ever had access to their house. It would make more sense if CH had been perhaps asked to fetch tools and supplies from BJ's place, if they lived relatively close to one another, but not so much at the time of the murder.

 

[MistyWaters]

Just pondering.. I had understood that the Jessops lived in Richmond Hill, but that the family had moved to Queensville in 1983 (the year prior to CJ's murder). Meanwhile, it was said the Hoovers lived in Scarborough at the time of CJ's murder. I'm wondering if the 'access to the house' comment might've been from her memory of before the move, and JJ was just going from her memory of everyone she could think of who'd ever had access to their house. It would make more sense if CH had been perhaps asked to fetch tools and supplies from BJ's place, if they lived relatively close to one another, but not so much at the time of the murder.

I think it’d be very unusual for an employee of Eastern Telecom to need to store tools or supplies in somebody else’s garage, even in the 80s. If he was self-employed it might be possible but that wasn’t the case.

 

[deugirtni]

I think it’d be very unusual for an employee of Eastern Telecom to need to store tools or supplies in somebody else’s garage, even in the 80s. If he was self-employed it might be possible but that wasn’t the case.

BJ seemed to refer to CH being one of several guys who worked for him. I take it from that that BJ may have been in some type of field supervisory role. I doubt if they would require him to drive to the company each day to pick up supplies. (I'm not sure where it was located, but perhaps especially after the Js moved to Queensville.) I'm thinking that perhaps the supervisor may have been allowed to keep some kind of a stock of supplies and tools at his house to take to the jobsites each day. That was my thinking anyway. And then taking it a step further, if CH was 'one of his guys', then is it possible that is why he could have been allowed access. jmo.

 

[Andreee]

I, too, find this so interesting. I think this visit to the Hoover’s townhome was the foundation for CH to put his plan into action. I believe something went on during that visit before he abducted her two days later.

Yes, certainly this Hoover creep may've overheard something during that get-together re. the two day away upcoming prison visit.

 

[LylienTuc]

You know I really wonder why Christine's mom went to visit Hoover's family when Christine's father was in jail...
Their get togethers were mainly described as women hang out with women, kids hang out with kids, and husbands with husbands with some beers and bbq. I would think that during stressful times they would not be doing playdates. Perhaps the kids were dropped off by the mom so she can run errands?

 

[MistyWaters]

You know I really wonder why Christine's mom went to visit Hoover's family when Christine's father was in jail...
Their get togethers were mainly described as women hang out with women, kids hang out with kids, and husbands with husbands with some beers and bbq. I would think that during stressful times they would not be doing playdates. Perhaps the kids were dropped off by the mom so she can run errands?

I agree, although the briefest of facts have been released it brings more questions.

One thing I don’t understand is why Mrs Jessop would visit her husband at the detention centre on Oct 3rd, if it was known he’d be released the same day after serving his 16 day sentence. And how’d he get home and so then this occurred in the midst of their missing daughter as well? That would seem a much larger coincidence than CH happening to overhear a phone conversation about a visit by the wife a couple of days prior.

From RR, ty to Angleterre

Dad Bob was working as a telephone system installer for Eastern telecom Scarborough in 1984
He was then sent to prison on 17th September 1984

ETA Sept 17 - Oct 3, 1984, 16 days

 

[Andreee]

You know I really wonder why Christine's mom went to visit Hoover's family when Christine's father was in jail...
Their get togethers were mainly described as women hang out with women, kids hang out with kids, and husbands with husbands with some beers and bbq. I would think that during stressful times they would not be doing playdates. Perhaps the kids were dropped off by the mom so she can run errands?

Maybe just to visit! I don't see anything unusual about the women visiting while he was in jail. Maybe just for support or for friendly chatter. With the creepy Hoover listening in, or perhaps he was informed by his wife later about the jail visit.

 

[Andreee]

I agree, although the briefest of facts have been released it brings more questions.

One thing I don’t understand is why Mrs Jessop would visit her husband at the detention centre on Oct 3rd, if it was known he’d be released the same day after serving his 16 day sentence. And how’d he get home and so then this occurred in the midst of their missing daughter as well? That would seem a much larger coincidence than CH happening to overhear a phone conversation about a visit by the wife a couple of days prior.

I don't think these details are really necessary to sort out re. why the victim's family did this or that. They don't need to read this and feel like they are being questioned about anything really, they have been through enough.
What I do think is important is that it be determined why this monster Calvin Hoover was overlooked by police and what LE can learn from this.

 

[LylienTuc]

I don't think these details are really necessary to sort out re. why the victim's family did this or that. They don't need to read this and feel like they are being questioned about anything really, they have been through enough.
What I do think is important is that it be determined why this monster Calvin Hoover was overlooked by police and what LE can learn from this.

There is no point at all to make it seem like anybody is blaming the victim's family.
We are just trying to derive more information from the small amount of details we are given.
Having a better idea of the relationship the families had and the proximity to Jessop's family is absolutely important to find out the reasons why he was overlooked by everybody literally, including the police too.

@MistyWaters does bring a great point as what happened on that day and why the events seem so illogical. For example, I never even knew the dad was supposed to be released on the same day. I wonder what happened? was he supposed to be released in the evening then? Since by 4 pm he was not home and he was not accompanying the family. It is all very interesting observations of the case. It's not our job to blame anybody as well as it is not our job to be politically correct.

 

[MistyWaters]

I don't think these details are really necessary to sort out re. why the victim's family did this or that. They don't need to read this and feel like they are being questioned about anything really, they have been through enough.
What I do think is important is that it be determined why this monster Calvin Hoover was overlooked by police and what LE can learn from this.

Nobody is blaming the victim’s family. But we do tend to blame police for not identifying CH as a possible suspect prior to the recent DNA identification.

However investigations all begin with information provided by the family of the victim leading toward criminal charges being filed. If that information isn’t crystal clear, it certainly can impede the progress of an investigation, in this case including past history involving a wrongful conviction.

At this point in time I don’t believe we’ll ever know exactly what occurred that day.

 

[Satchie]

A possible theory for the failure to investigated CH:

York Regional Police did the initial investigation when CJ went missing. The Kauffman report criticized them harshly for failing to treat the case as a potential homicide, not properly gathering evidence, not properly documenting information. However, it does appear it was that York police initial missing person investigation that captured CH's name and relationship to the family.

However, since they were looking for a missing child and not for a killer, someone like CH, who was either at work or at home with his own children, IMO wouldn't be an immediate focus of investigation.

Then, when CJ's remains were found, Durham police took over the case, and homicide detectives were assigned. IMO, either the files from the York investigation were completely confusing and in disarray, or detectives might have dismissed them because that's the attitude people often take about other people's substandard work. They may have started from scratch, and by then, CH had been forgotten. And anyway, they had no evidence to link someone like CH to the crime. They targeted someone who fit the criminal profile and shaped the evidence to convict him.

The disregard for the useless York police missing person investigation documents may have continued in subsequent case reviews. However, when TPS looked through it for a specific name, that name was in there.

JMO

 

[Forest_Wood]

I agree, although the briefest of facts have been released it brings more questions.

One thing I don’t understand is why Mrs Jessop would visit her husband at the detention centre on Oct 3rd, if it was known he’d be released the same day after serving his 16 day sentence. And how’d he get home and so then this occurred in the midst of their missing daughter as well? That would seem a much larger coincidence than CH happening to overhear a phone conversation about a visit by the wife a couple of days prior.

This is the first I’m hearing about Mr Jessop was supposed to be released that day. Where is that reported? I recall it reported that the police originally thought The Jessops could be making up the story of Christine being missing so that Mr Jessop could be released sooner.