Just my two cents worth of thoughts for the day.
If his death was caused by ''accident''.....perhaps the river was most expedient way of dealing with it.
The letters as pointed out above first arrived 3 weeks after he went missing and perhaps the writer was hopeful that his body was recoverable.
Perhaps the writer was covering for someone else. (Parent ??) just my SWAG and MOO and two cents worth.
Here is where it starts getting very confusing & possibly redunant & my head starts to hurt...
In that phonebook from 2011/2012 is a listing for Pillar Of Fire 27 Gunn St # 519-858-8700. In the restaurant section of that phonebook is a listing for Tenenbaums at 685 Richmond with the same # as POF O _ o ?!
When you search Tenenbaums: listed/mapped at 685 Richmond & *27 Gunn St* & search results show "Tenenbaums Churches In London"(www. londoncommunitynews. com.) As an aside, when you search 685 Richmond it is also listed as a restaurant called HeyDayz.
When you search 519-858-8700: listed as POF Church 27 Gunn St & as Tenenbaums & also Thames Valley Childrens Center connected to a "family group counsel for families & children dealing with a 'difficult beginning' to childs life". Only exception with this listing for 519-858-8700 is a four digit extension.
Question: What was located at 685 Richmond in 1996? Could that be where Samuel worked/knew a friend/church member/parents place of work/stop on the way home???
More weird "church research/ cross referencing":
In the 2014/2015 phonebook I have, FBH Church Of God is listed at 156 Wellington #519-433-4400. When you search "519-433-4400" there is another listing for FBH 27 Gunn as well as religious counselling (canpages .ca)
When you search 27 Gunn you get Pillar Of Fire, FBH Church Of God & Tenenbaums. There are 3 phone numbers associated with 27 Gunn.
#519-858-8700: 27 Gunn "Pillar Of Fire" & "Tenenbaums" & Thames Valley Childrens Center (?)
#519-433-4400:27 Gunn St "Pillar Of Fire" & "FBH Church Of God" & "THE ATONEMENT FBH Church Of God" & 156 Wellington & religious counsel.
#519-645-0746: 27 Gunn St FBH Church & religious counsel & a real estate site for virtual tours with a "community page" (londonsource .com)
Lastly I looked into "fillicide". Apparently the term for when a parent kills their child? I was wondering about "adolescent fillicide" where a parent kills their own teenager? How common is this? One study I found basically summarized that most infants/babies are killed by the mother & that most older children are killed by the father. I couldn't find anything specific to teens or teenage boys or parents killing teenage sons. There must be some examples out there. Other than the girl killed by her parents who were found to be terrorists. Or the so-called mercy killings of other teenage girls.
Apologize for the length of the post & the confusing, repetitive points. Might make for some interesting Sunday reading?!
@dotr I completely forgot about the "crews" in London! I mean it had crossed my mind but I failed to mention it or had sort of dismissed it. In the last 5 years I'd def agree that the EOA & WOC gangs have gotten worse. It's mostly petty stuff between crews, kids getting beat up, ripped off etc. I lived in EOA (East Of Adelaide) for a period & it wasn't really that violent tbh. Dangerous bc of drug activity & prostitution but nothing like Toronto gangs. The danger of these gangs is that it's kids who watched Scarface too many times. They think they're tough with something to prove. The "real" gangs like Hells Angels don't mess around like cowboys in the Wild West. They are much more organized & don't go shooting each other in public. They organize their "hits". It is totally possible that Samuel was being "recruited" or pressured or was associated with ppl from WOC.
Apologies to TMan bc he had raised the idea of gangs earlier but I just didn't see it that way. The letters are not the kind of thing gang members do imho. Unless maybe it is someone who knew but wasn't part of the crew (someones girlfriend??)
@newone I cannot lie, when I found all that info I literally shouted "yes!". Headscratcher is an understatement. I needed a drink after untangling that mess. I don't know if it's even significant but my spidey senses were certainly going off. Is this what they call sleuthing?
685 Richmond is not too far from the church on Gunn St. Most of the scenarios I've imagined involve Samuel being placed in the river from the east side. The river runs behind Gunn St church but is probably very thick with brush. On one hand ideal for hiding something but not ideal in terms of ease of execution (if that makes sense?). However I could see a church member struggling down the embankment, see across the river & decide to pack up & relocate. Can also envision Samuel hanging out at whatever 685 Richmond was & then heading to the river via Ann St (dead end off Richmond) or Blackfriars/Gibbons Park/church etc.
When you search the name of the pastor at Pillar Of Fire, there's a link to FBH Church that has branches all across America and Jamaica . Is this a possible explanation as to why the Lottery family chose to worship there? Free Press stated that Samuel enjoyed travelling to Jamaica with his family. Yet another coincidence?
Ooook... Google search "Tabernacle of God Worship Ministry" & go to the donate2 .ca site & scroll down to view the names on that list!!! Talk about coincidences... I'm kinda creeped out rn bc that address matches the one in the 2011/2012 phonebook. Wth is going on?!
I must be ''all thumbs'' have not found it.........would need a link
Found it.Samuel's father is named Errol?
http://donate2charities.ca/en/Tabernacle.of.God.Worship.Ministry._.0_846739514RR0001
You win creepy bingo! Yeah, I wasn't sure if I should post the parents names etc The mother & fathers names are in a Free Press article. I know it's MSM but wasn't sure regarding respect for the parents & all that. (mothers name is Tathlin)
Sorry for not linking all this stuff! Wasn't sure if some links are allowed. Plus technical difficulties.
I'm so tempted to go to those churches/the river & call those numbers but that is obv not a good idea. What is going on with all that church stuff though? Maybe it's not related but it's def strange.
Churches usually have lay people perform board tasks ((governance rules I had posted up thread)) due to CRA requirements etc. It's also part of stewardship usually so that the pastor can focus on his congregation. I am glad you found it though as it highlights the involvement of the family with the congregation...it must have been very alarming to have a letter delivered to the Church after SL's disappearance.
Thanks for the link
The weird thing is that Pillar Of Fire/FBH/The Atonement FBH & Tabernacle are 2 different churches/charities. At least that's what it looks like to me. (different BN# & registration dates)
The donate2 listing for 27 Gunn Street doesn't list Errol Lottery at all & none of the names cross over. I have yet to google 1015 Jalna Blvd & the phone #.
You win creepy bingo! Yeah, I wasn't sure if I should post the parents names etc The mother & fathers names are in a Free Press article. I know it's MSM but wasn't sure regarding respect for the parents & all that. (mothers name is Tathlin)
Sorry for not linking all this stuff! Wasn't sure if some links are allowed. Plus technical difficulties.
I'm so tempted to go to those churches/the river & call those numbers but that is obv not a good idea. What is going on with all that church stuff though? Maybe it's not related but it's def strange.