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Henderson, Paul David "Poncho" - suspicious death
On November 14, 1981, the body of 17-year-old Paul David Henderson, alias Poncho, was found by two young men playing on the catwalk under the Centennial Bridge in Miramichi, N.B. The investigation revealed that on October 31, 1981, Paul Henderson and a friend went to the Ambassador Hotel in Chatham, N.B. around 7 p.m. Henderson tried to enter on several occasions but was refused access because of his age. His friend was able to enter into the bar and it was the last time Henderson was seen alive.PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions
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N.B. family calls for inquiry into death of youth 19 years ago
FREDERICTON – The family of a 17-year-old Miramichi, N.B., man who died in 1981 is demanding a public inquiry be held into how the investigation was handled.At a news conference in Fredericton on Thursday, relatives of Paul (Poncho) Henderson produced a petition calling for the inquiry, as well as an investigation by the RCMP.
Henderson’s body was discovered on Nov. 14, 1981, by two young men playing on the catwalk under the Centennial Bridge in Miramichi.
An RCMP investigation revealed Henderson and two friends went to the Ambassador Hotel about two weeks before the body was found but Henderson couldn’t get in because of his age. It was the last time he was seen alive. His death was ruled accidental, but the family never accepted that and successfully fought in 1999 to have the case reopened.
“We, the signatories of this petition, in the strongest words possible, call for a far-reaching and transparent public inquiry into the murder of Paul (Poncho) Henderson and the actions of all law enforcement personnel involved in the initial investigation,” family member Linda Thomas said as she read the petition.
The inquiry should have “a mandate to determine how the initial investigation was handled, resulting in an erroneous conclusion being drawn, contrary to the blatant evidence of foul play.”
Thomas said a public inquiry should determine what, if any, preceding events or actions on the part of local police may have played in a contributing role to Henderson’s death.
“Grant the family of Paul (Poncho) Henderson the justice and respect they have been denied for 29 years as victims of a horrendous and largely ignored criminal offence,” Thomas said. “This boy’s family deserves to have hope restored.”
Henderson’s mother, Sally Henderson, said she was hopeful her son’s killer will be found.
“I have been waiting 29 years,” she said. “I feel something has to give.”
Fredericton author Bonnie Douglass, who is writing a book on the family, organized Thursday’s media event. She said something terrible happened to Henderson the night he died.
“From the time the body was discovered, the police appeared determined to shrug this boy’s death off as some sort of accident or the result of misadventure,” she said.
Douglass said the head investigating RCMP officer at the time attributed the cause of death to a fall, despite the fact that the body was positioned in a manner that couldn’t have resulted from one. Henderson’s sneakers were neatly placed about 50 metres from the body, she said.
