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Website on Mindy Tran case
Shannon Murrin
Shannon Murrin: A timeline
1. Mindy Tran
disappears
On August 17,
1994 at approximately 7 PM eight-year old Mindy Tran disappeared.
She had been riding her bike close to her home at 385 Taylor
Road in Rutland, BC.
The time of
Mindy's disappearance was based on the statements of Jessica
and Ryan Campbell. Both saw Mindy riding her bike up and down
Taylor Road around 6.45PM. Kelowna investigators never looked
for two women who had been seen talking to Mindy minutes earlier.
Jessica and Ryan also saw a white van driving slowly through
the neighborhood. When they arrived at their friend Lisa Sterling's
place Jessica went in her house and Ryan Campbell stayed outside.
Ryan testified that he saw Mindy lay down her bike between two
rocks at 350 Taylor Road and walk in the direction of 360 Taylor
Road around 6.50PM. When Ryan, Jessica, and Lisa Sterling emerged
from the house Mindy was no longer there but all three saw the
white van.
The police
interviewed all of Mindy's neighbors including Shannon Murrin,
the Mugfords, and the people who shared their duplex, Dale Breit
and Tammy Desjardins. The Mugfords and Shannon Murrin rented
360A Taylor Road. Brymer and Stephanie Mugford had an eight-year
old daughter, Charmaine. Charmaine and Mindy were best friends
and often played together at both girls' homes.
Police were
especially interested in the duplex because Mindy's bike was
found in front of 360B, Dale and Tammy's place. The Mugfords,
Dale and Tammy, and Shannon were all asked to give an account
of their whereabouts on the 17th and police took also took statements
from all the neighbors.
Patrick Radke
lived right next door to the duplex. He had seen Mindy talking
to the two women and he also said that he saw a van pull out
of the driveway around 6.45PM. Dale and Tammy were asked if they
saw a vehicle in the driveway but were not asked if they went
out at 6.45PM.
Corporal Seversen's
first interview with Shannon Murrin was conducted at 1:40AM on
August 18th, 1994. In his interview Shannon gave Constable Seversen
an account of his whereabouts on the evening of the 17th of August.
He said that he woke up from a nap sometime between 6 and 7PM,
had a beer, walked up to McDonalds because CJ had told him to
look for his stolen bike there, then went to Rob Holmes place.
He told Seversen that he had seen several people there. When
he and Rob became aware that Mindy was missing they went out
searching for Mindy on Rob's motorcycle. Shannon suggested that
Seversen check all of the people with whom he had been in contact
and offered not to talk to these individuals again until the
RCMP had interviewed them. Shannon also volunteered details of
his criminal record to Corporal Seversen at this time.
Seversen confirmed
that when the Mugfords left at 6PM Shannon was sleeping and he
was able to confirm that Shannon had been looking for his stolen
bike for a few weeks. Rob and Ellie Holmes lived in a duplex
at 1172 Elwyn Road just minutes away from Mindy's house and where
Shannon lived. They had two boarders Alfred Nelson and Charles
Olivier. Olivier was known as CJ. All four were home that night
and Ellie had three friends over for a jam session. Richard Billings,
a friend of Rob's was also at the house at 7PM.
In their August
19, 1994 statements to police Rob Holmes, Ellie Holmes, Dorothy
Shea, Charles Olivier, Alfred Nelson, and Richard Billings said
that they saw Shannon around 7PM. One of the witnesses, Alfred
Nelson, said he remembered the event because he was returning
a call to the police station when he looked outside the open
front door and saw Shannon standing in the carport. When police
checked they found that Alfred Nelson had indeed made a call
to police at 6.59PM. Rob said that when he first saw Shannon
he was standing in the carport and CJ was filling his lighter
with fluid. CJ remembered talking to Shannon around 7PM and Ellie
looked outside and saw Shannon talking to CJ. These witnesses
also recalled seeing Shannon throughout the evening. In his first
statement, Richard Billings, who spent the evening searching
for Mindy along with Shannon and Rob, said that Shannon was at
Rob's and with Rob the whole evening. Rob Holmes confirmed that
Shannon had spent the whole evening on the back of his motorcycle.
Later on investigators retraced Shannon's route to McDonalds
and back and were able to confirm that he could have easily walked
the route and arrived at the Holmes residence at 7PM.
As a result
of Seversen's inquiries Seversen believed that Shannon had been
at the Holmes residence at about 7:00 PM on August 17th, 1994.
Seversen testified he believed that Shannon was an unlikely suspect.
Although Tidsbury had made contradictory statements about when
Shannon became a suspect, in at the trial he said he was aware
that Seversen had eliminated Shannon as a suspect.
2. Investigation
Constable Wlodarcazk
was the first officer to arrive on the scene after Mindy had
been reported missing. He was just beginning his inquiries when
he was called to act as the uniform backup for plain-clothes
Constables Seversen, Hoffman and Slade.
Seversen became
aware that Mindy Tran was missing about twenty minutes after
Mimi Tran reported her missing. Constables Seversen, Hoffman,
and Slade had gone to a house on Gaggin or Elwyn Road that they
were interested in and had requested a uniform backup. Constable
Wlodarczak's role was to sit in front of the house in his marked
police car. A few minutes later Hoffman reported to the police
operator "negative on that possible". Wlodarczak said
that the house was in darkness and there was no answer at the
door. The white vehicle was parked there. Corporal Miller suggested
that they keep an eye on the place. When questioned by Peter
Wilson about this event Constables Seversen, Wlodarcazk, and
Johnstone evaded the question. Peter Wilson did not pursue it.
Forty-five
minutes after Mindy disappeared police received an anonymous
call about a man in a vehicle cruising around Mindy's neighborhood
trying to entice children with candy. Unfortunately the license
number was written down wrong and it wasn't until days later
that police realized they had the wrong license number.
Ryan and Jessica
Campbell weren't the only witnesses who saw the white van cruising
the neighborhood. Several residents of the Taylor Road area reported
a man in a white van driving slowly through Mindy's neighborhood
prior to August 17th and on August 17th. But the white van tip
wasn't pursued at the beginning of the investigation. On August
19th police received a tip that a girl matching Mindy's description
was struggling with a man in a brown pickup truck. The brown
pickup truck became the focus of the police investigation for
the first few weeks.
When police
realized there were at least three reports of a white van in
Mindy's neighborhood close to the time she disappeared they changed
their focus to the white van. The three witnesses, Jessica Campbell,
Mrs. Cypes, and Mrs. Barber, were able to provide detailed descriptions
of the van and the driver and police were able to come up with
a composite of both. Even though none of the three witnesses
described a scar in their description of the white van driver
the composite included a scar and the driver became known as
Scarface. Kelowna police received over 1000 white van tips and
police focused on these tips until Mindy's body was found on
October the 11th. The white van was never located. The brown
pickup was never located.
At trial defense
asked about whether the abandoned house at 1305 Gaggin Road had
been searched. Fred Radke who lived at 380 Taylor Road had taken
Seversen to the abandoned house the night of the 17th. Radke
stated that he used to live in that house and was worried about
whether the septic tank had a cover on it. Seversen testified
that he searched the yard of the house that night but did not
search the inside of the house.
While Shannon's
trial was going on James Hubert Holmes, a convicted pedophile
allegedly confessed to murdering Mindy in this abandoned house.
In his alleged confession, which was aired by VTV after the trial,
Holmes also said that when he abducted Mindy her bike was left
in the middle of the road. Holmes allegedly said and that he
moved it onto Shannon's lawn. And in yet another strange twist
this same house was torn down ten days after Mindy disappeared.
After the trial
a statement surfaced that had never reached the Defense's hands.
The Trans and Child Find had hired an investigator to search
for Mindy. Fred Maile, an ex RCMP officer, who was now an investigator
with CanPro located Mrs. Hinners. He and Rhonda Morgan from Child
Find took three statements from Mrs. Hinners.
Mrs. Hinners
was on her way to a gourmet dinner party where each of the guests
brings their culinary masterpieces. She was driving northbound
on Taylor Road on her way to the Birke residence when she noticed
a pink bike in the middle of the southbound lane and an "ugly
brown van" half in the driveway of 360 Taylor Road and partly
sticking out on the road. Mrs. Hinners was anxious to be home
from her dinner party by 9PM so she was annoyed at having to
take the extra time to swerve around Mindy's bike and the "ugly
brown van". She arrived at the Birkes' residence, only to
realize that she had left her contribution to the dinner, her
puff pastry, at home. She drove home via Taylor Road again and
again drove past Mindy's bike. It was still in the middle of
the road. Arriving home she quickly grabbed her puff pastry,
but this time as she drove past 360 Taylor Road she noticed that
the pink bike was no longer on the road but on the lawn of 360
Taylor Road. A woman was shouting at a little girl to get away
from the bike. Voices were calling out for Mindy. It was 7.25PM.
The Kelowna
RCMP's explanation was that they never received these statements
however documentation of the investigation shows TIP files opened
for Mrs. Hinners, Fred Maile, and Child Find, and that Tidsbury
was in regular contact with Fred Maile and Child Find. Fred Maile
is known for his work on the Clifford Olson case when he was
still with the RCMP.
3. Mindy's
body is discovered
On October the 11th, 1994 volunteer searchers, Rex Fitz-Gerald
and Gary Kam discovered the body of eight-year-old Mindy Tran.
Mindy Tran's body was located in a shallow grave at the base
of a large tree in Mission Creek Regional Park about a mile from
where Mindy lived. On October 13th, 1994, an autopsy was conducted.
The pathologist, Dr. Sheila Carlyle, determined that Mindy's
death was a homicide. Her nose had been broken in a couple of
places and she had been strangled. Her killer had used Mindy's
shorts as a ligature. Mindy's body was in an advanced state of
decomposition so there was no evidence of a sexual assault but
because Mindy's body was naked from the waist down Dr. Carlyle
concluded that Mindy had also been sexually assaulted.
In a departure
from procedure and knowing that there was a stain on Mindy's
T-shirt that had not yet been analyzed Corporal Johnson washed
Mindy's T-shirt and shorts. He testified at the trial that he
was sorry for his mistake.
The search
for Mindy was one of the largest in Canadian history. Fitz-Gerald
testified that on August 22nd, the official search was called
off but that he kept searching for Mindy. A friend had sent him
a divining rod and after a few weeks of practice Fitz-Gerald
started using the rod to search for Mindy. Tidsbury notes that
he gave Fitz-Gerald some strands of Mindy's hair to attach to
the rod. Fitz-Gerald said that on October 11, 1994 he asked fellow
searcher, Gary Kam, to accompany him on his search. Using the
divining rod he found Mindy's body in Mission Creek Park, a location
about a mile from where Mindy lived. Tidsbury withheld this detail
from the media. This disclosure did not come about until the
preliminary hearing, but a publication ban prevented publication
of this detail. At Shannon's trial five year later the media
reported how Mindy's body was discovered. No one has ever questioned
this explanation.
There were
some other strange things about the discovery of Mindy's body.
First of all both Kam and Fitz-Gerald testified that there was
a red cloth attached to a tree that attracted their attention.
Secondly they both hiked out of the location to call the police.
Mindy's body was left unattended for two hours while they waited
for Tidsbury to arrive at the park entrance. Thirdly, after they
all hiked into the location, Kam and Fitz-Gerald immediately
left. This was unusual because Fitz-Gerald and Kam were expert
searchers who could even tell the difference between the tracks
left by experts and those left by volunteers.
One last thing
that was unusual was the fact that there were at least a hundred
baggies containing glue, and several tubes of glue found amongst
the leaves and twigs used to bury Mindy. Although everyone who
knew Shannon was asked if he sniffed glue the answer was always
negative.
Sergeant Tidsbury
testified that after Mindy's body was found less than a mile
from home he concluded that Mindy's killer did not use a vehicle.
He also testified that the file had grown enormous. There were
a total of forty-four file boxes full of paper. RCMP headquarters
in Vancouver sent the Review Team in to help.
4. Investigation
Part 2
Within two
days of arriving in Kelowna the Review Team agreed with Tidsbury
that no vehicle was used in Mindy's abduction and as a result
Shannon Murrin became the prime suspect. The Review Team and
Tidsbury also concluded that a suitcase was used to transport
Mindy's body and began reviewing tips of people who had seen
a man with a suitcase on August 17, 1994. They began interviewing
suitcase witnesses and later put out a press release asking the
public for assistance in locating the man with the suitcase.
Coincidentally Tidsbury had notes about another investigation
where police thought a suitcase had been used.
This conclusion
was surprising given the fact that there was no new evidence
since Seversen had eliminated Shannon Murrin as a suspect. At
trial there was no evidence presented to indicate why police
focus shifted to Shannon but both Tidsbury's and Seversen's notes
indicate that the prime focus in October became Shannon Murrin.
While the Review Team was out interviewing suitcase witnesses
Sergeant Tidsbury organized an undercover sting operation against
Shannon Murrin. Seversen argued that Shannon was not a suspect.
During a mini voir dire at trial Tidsbury said that he had to
reprimand the Review Team for ridiculing Seversen for his opinion
that Shannon was not a suspect.
The undercover
operation went ahead in November of 1994. In one part of the
operation Shannon was offered $250,000 cash to kill a woman and
her child. His refusal is documented in Tidsbury's notes. Tidsbury
continued with the undercover operation and arranged for the
undercover man, Rick Demeester, to offer Shannon a trip home
to Newfoundland for Christmas so that he could talk to Shannon's
friend Holmes. The Mugfords, whom Shannon had been living with
in August, had returned to Newfoundland and Shannon now occupied
the other side of Rob Holmes' duplex, 1170 Elwyn Road.
Tidsbury wanted
Shannon out of the way. During Shannon's absence from Kelowna
over the Christmas holidays Tidsbury made arrangements to re-interviewed
Rob and Ellie Holmes.
There was no
evidence at trial, nor is there any evidence in the files that
indicates why Tidsbury chose the route he ended up taking. The
principal undercover operator, Constable Demeester, stated in
his testimony at the preliminary hearing that in his dealings
with Shannon Murrin he received no information that assisted
the investigation. He testified that by January 5th, 1995, his
involvement as an undercover operator was winding down because
no evidence had been obtained through the undercover operation.
At trial Corporal
Seversen was cross-examined about whether the RCMP was happy
with the way the investigation of Shannon Murrin had been going
at the beginning of January 1995. Seversen said they weren't
happy because the investigation hadn't been successful up to
that point. He agreed that the undercover operation had not been
successful either: Tab #9, Testimony of Corp. Seversen in Regina
v. Murrin, Sept. 23, 1999, page 27.
* The Newfoundland
Connection
From December
1994 and throughout the investigation Seversen and Tidsbury were
in regular contact with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.
The officer who became Tidsbury's right hand man was Constable
Jason Shepherd. Unfortunately for Shannon Jason Shepherd input
would add fuel to the fire.
In Book 7 of
Tidsbury's notes Shepherd advised Tidsbury that Shannon was a
bad character and that Shannon had filed a complaint against
the RCMP in Newfoundland.
Book 12 of
the notes contains the following notes concerning a conversation
with Jason Shepherd:
advised he
was phoning to advise me he Murrin was prime suspect in double
murder - Workman and female
Murrin also suspect in 4 or 5 children sexual assaults
The transcript
of the Voir Dire for the trial of Holmes, Dunn, and MacDonald
documents Tidsbury's testimony that what he told these three
men about Shannon was public knowledge in Newfoundland. The three
men used the information from Shepherd and Tidsbury lies described
below as justification for beating Shannon nearly to death.
Up until Mindy
Tran's murder Shannon had never been a suspect in a murder investigation
or in a child sexual assault case. That all changed after Tidsbury
and Shepherd met.
6. Investigation
Part 3
* Tidsbury
takes control of Shannon Murrin's life
There was still
no evidence against Shannon Murrin except the alleged Confession
Letter. Shannon still had alibi from Alfred Nelson, Charles Olivier,
and Richard Billings - but Tidsbury persevered. He contacted
Cpl. Graham Hubbs of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary for
assistance in locating the alleged Confession Letter. He told
Hubbs that he would be willing to pay up to $1000 for the letter
but Donnie Oliver had no knowledge of a letter and even after
a search of his residence and the residence of Wayne Oliver,
another friend of Shannon's, there still was no sign of a letter.
Tidsbury began
visiting Shannon in the hospital on a regular basis. He vetoed
a request by Joan Dunn, a friend of Shannon's, to visit him.
At Tidsbury's urging Rob Holmes visited Shannon in the hospital.
In Shannon's autobiography he talks about how Rob Holmes came
into his hospital room and threatened to harm his parents if
Shannon did not plead guilty to pointing a loaded firearm.
Over the next
few days Tidsbury contacted the Kelowna General Hospital and
arranged a meeting between T. Wayne Tucker, President and Chief
Executive Officer at the Kelowna General, Dr. Phil White, chief
of staff, and Dr. Charlie Lye to arrange for an undercover officer
to be in Shannon's hospital room. Tidsbury took them all into
his confidence. On January 10th Dr. Lye reported to Tidsbury
that the hospital was ready for their undercover agent, Al Mitchell.
After a conversation with a Dr. Kim Levere about Mitchell's medical
card Tidsbury notes "no more problems with medical card".
Mitchell was admitted to hospital the next day and placed in
a bed next to Shannon.
During his
eleven-day hospital stay Shannon's only visitors were Tidsbury,
Rob Holmes, and Constable Demeester. The hospital never contacted
Mr. and Mrs. Murrin. Shannon's medication was withheld, his safety
was not looked after, and he received sub-standard care. Shannon's
family was not told anything until RNC Constable Hubbs stopped
by on January 13, 1995 (Seversen's notes). A few days later Tidsbury
called Mr. Murrin and told him that his son had murdered Mindy
Tran. (Book 8 Tidsbury's notes)
The hospital
undercover operation was not successful and there was still no
evidence against Shannon Murrin. On January 17, 1995, the day
Shannon was released from hospital, he was interrogated for 12
hours and then arrested for pointing a loaded firearm. Tidsbury
had provided Shannon with a lawyer by the name of Michael E Kennedy.
When Shannon
appeared in court on the firearm charge and the next day the
Kelowna Courier printed the whole transcript of Shannon's appearance
in court. Shannon told the very-puzzled judge that he pled guilty
and wanted the maximum sentence of two years so that he could
return to Newfoundland to be closer to his family. The judge
sentenced him to two years and recommended a return to Newfoundland.
Unfortunately for Shannon, he would not see Newfoundland until
the millennium.
The way the
firearm incident was handled differed a great deal from another
Kelowna incident. On January 7, 1995 a Kelowna man, Darwin David
Demers, pumped three bullets into his neighbour, Stephen Lee.
RCMP charged Demers with attempted murder but a few months later
these charges were stayed
There are many
references in Tidsbury notes to requests by Shannon to speak
to his lawyer, but Shannon never heard from Michael E. Kennedy
after his appearance in court. Shannon went through twenty-two
long interrogations over the next few weeks. Tidsbury conducted
most of the interviews but Constable Doody did a few of them.
Constable Doody was the Investigator of the Year on the Terry
Arnold case. Arnold was convicted of murdering a young girl in
Kelowna but he was set free when the appeal was heard. Not one
of the twenty-two interviews was introduced into evidence at
trial. The jury heard only Shannon's taped statement of August
19, 1994.
There was still
no evidence against Shannon so Tidsbury's response was to recruit
the prison Chaplain as an informant. The Chaplain had agreed
to pass on anything incriminating Shannon said but Pastor Randy
didn't come up with anything.
Tidsbury was
able to block Shannon's transfer requests even though there were
many references in his notes of threats to Shannon's safety in
prison.
* Warrants and Private Communications Intercepts - Grounds for
Belief
Beginning on
January 6, 1995 a whole slew of warrants and wire tap orders
were issued. Tidsbury asked for Seversen's help in preparing
the warrants. Appendix B of the warrants - grounds for belief
contains the following information.
* Ryan Campbell saw Mindy lay her bike down in front of 360A
Taylor Road and walk towards the door of Shannon Murrin's residence
* There were several inconsistencies in Shannon Murrin's statement
* Shannon refused to take a polygraph and refused to give DNA
samples
* Several witnesses had seen a man matching Shannon's description
carrying a suitcase that appeared to contain a body to Mission
Creek Park
* RCMP had seized a suitcase from the Mugfords with four hairs
in it
* Bob Holmes now said that Shannon didn't arrive at his house
until 9PM on August 17, 1994
* Holmes' suggested that Tidsbury accompany him to Mission Creek
Park on Dec. 29 to show him where Shannon was acting strange.
* Holmes Dunn & McDonald advised Tidsbury that they believed
Shannon was responsible for Mindy's death
* Holmes, Dunn & McDonald told Tidsbury that Shannon Murrin
confessed to killing Mindy Tran
* The following information was learned during the undercover
operation (Tidsbury's warrant)
* That he is capable of killing a child
* That he has experience in killing people
* That he is willing to kill people for the organization
* That he was willing to kill a police officer for the organization
* Blood spatters were found at Shannon's home when they searched
it on January 6, 1995 (Seversen's warrant)
Seversen's
warrant omitted the fact that the blood was Shannon's blood from
the assault by the Three Amigos.
* The Suitcase
Theory is Developed
The Crown theorized
that Shannon Murrin transported Mindy's body from his home to
Mission Creek Park in a suitcase. It was theorized that Shannon
then carried the empty suitcase back from the park and disposed
of it in an unknown location. In total there were thirteen suitcase
witnesses whose evidence was introduced at trial but the TIP
file shows numerous other suitcase sightings that did not fit
the suitcase theory. For example, one of the other men with a
suitcase was a pilot for Canadian Airlines.
The first person
to come forward with information about a man carrying a suitcase
on August 17, 1994 was Randall Red. In another bizarre twist
to the story Randall Redl committed suicide in 1995.
Nine of the
eleven suitcase witnesses who testified were not able to identify
Shannon Murrin. All the witnesses gave different descriptions
of the suitcase man and the suitcase. There were several problems
with the two witnesses that did identify Mr. Murrin.
Richard Yakiwchuk
and Phyllis Mintram, the two witnesses who identified Shannon
Murrin as the man with the suitcase were empty suitcase witnesses.
According to the Crown's theory the suitcase man had already
buried Mindy and was heading back from the park with the empty
suitcase. They testified that they saw Shannon with a light suitcase.
None of the on-the-way-to-the-park witnesses identified Shannon.
August 17th
was a warm, summer evening and many of the Taylor Road and Woods
Rd witnesses were outdoors enjoying the warm evening yet there
were no sitings of a man leaving through the front or back door
of Shannon's residence, none who saw the suitcase man on Woods
Road at the beginning of the theorized route, and none who saw
the suitcase man at Mission Creek Park.
Both witnesses
who identified Shannon as the suitcase man were shown two different
identification ballots. The only thing in common on the two ballots
was Shannon Murrin's picture. The first lineup was in color,
as is dictated by standard practice. The second ballot was in
black and white, a less used tool. Even more problematic was
the fact that Shannon had been identified on the national news
as the prime suspect in the Mindy Tran murder. Neither Yakiwchuk
nor Mintram were able to positively identify Shannon from the
ballot. They were only able to identify Shannon positively after
he had appeared on TV and after more than one visit from Tidsbury.
The biggest
problem however was that if you believed these two witnesses
you would have to disbelieve several credible Crown witnesses
who testified that Shannon was out searching with Rob Holmes
all evening.
* The Three
Remaining Alibi Witnesses
Tidsbury and
Seversen didn't get around to re-interviewing the remaining alibi
witnesses until October 1996. Like Rob Holmes, Ellie Holmes,
and Dorothy Shea these witnesses now said that they did not see
Shannon at 7PM. Seversen and Tidsbury's efforts to manipulate
the witnesses were obvious. But even the new improved times did
not help the Crown because if you believed these witnesses then
you would have to disbelieve other, more credible Crown witnesses
such as Brymer and Stephanie Mugfords and Beverly Eaton. Beverly
Eaton owned the duplex at 360 Taylor Road and on the day Mindy
went missing was staying in her motorhome parked in the driveway
of 360 Taylor Road.
There were
other reasons that the new evidence wouldn't work for the Crown.
All of the alibi witnesses had given statements that they had
seen Shannon more than once on the 17th of August. Even if you
believed that all six alibi witnesses were mistaken about seeing
Shannon at 7PM on August 17, 1994 the new improved times did
not fit the Crown's suitcase theory. Even the Ambler report noted
that the times presented by the Crown just didn't add up.
* Physical
Evidence
Two undercover
operations and twenty-two interviews with Shannon Murrin had
not produced a shred of evidence. Suitcases seized from the Mugfords
and the Kelowna dump had no evidence linking Shannon to the crime.
The duplex at 360A Taylor was searched half a dozen times using
every conceivable forensic tool available but did not produce
any results. The total contents of Shannon's home were seized
and analyzed. Knives thought to be used in making Mindy's grave
were seized and analyzed. None of the eighty-eight items seized
by warrant produced any evidence.
Mindy's body
was too badly decomposed for examiners to come up with any nuclear
DNA. The only other source of DNA, Mindy's clothes, had been
washed. The only physical evidence that could link Mindy's killer
to Mindy was three hairs found in the soil scooped up with Mindy's
panties. The conclusion of the RCMP forensic lab in Vancouver
was that these hairs were not consistent with Shannon Murrin's
hair.
The description
of the hairs tested in the Vancouver forensic lab analysis were
as follows:
* hair 11 Caucasian
pubic hair with root
* hair 12 Caucasian/Mongolian pubic hair
* hair 13 Caucasian body hair
* Mitochondrial
DNA
Shannon's trial had
already been delayed several times as the Crown continued to
look for evidence. They must have realized that the changed witness
statements and Douglas Martin's unrecorded alleged confessions
didn't make a strong case. Josiah Wood had used the Sophonow
case as a basis for using Douglas Martin. He may have been aware
that Sophonow's case had come under scrutiny.
In 1998 Josiah
Wood argued vehemently that MtDNA evidence be introduced at trial.
When Judge Henderson allowed the evidence Shannon's trial had
to be postponed another year to allow the Defense time to study
MtDNA. On April 8, 1998 the Kelowna Courier headline read MURRIN
DNA ON WAY TO ENGLAND. Tidsbury and all three members of the
prosecution team personally delivered the DNA.
Shannon Murrin's
jury was the first jury in Canada to be presented with Mitochondrial
DNA (MtDNA). MtDNA is not at all like nuclear DNA. Nuclear DNA
is inherited from both parents and is found in the nucleus of
the cell. MtDNA is extracted from the mitochondria in a cell
and it is thought that MtDNA is inherited from the mother. Even
the Crown's scientific experts admitted that MtDNA could not
be used as an identifier; it could only be used to eliminate
a suspect.
Dr. Gillian
Tully, Director of Forensic Sciences Services (FSS) in Britain,
testified as an expert witness for the Crown on MtDNA and explained
it to the jury. She admitted on cross-examination that scientists
only began studying MtDNA in 1994 and that there is some scientific
evidence to suggest that the DNA of the father might make a small
contribution. Defense brought up three major problems with MtDNA:
heteroplasme, databases, and contamination.
Dr. Tully defined
heteroplasme as the existence of more than one MtDNA sequence
in the body of a particular person and agreed that heteroplasme
is now believed to be common place. That means that all contributors
to the databases could have another MtDNA sequence that could
differ from their original profile. If the people in the databases
were re-tested the character of the databases would change.
Peter Wilson's
cross-examination also determined that the FSS handles contamination
by visually examining the amount of contamination present and
then making a value judgment, whereas the FBI has a 10% rule.
If the amount of contaminant in reagent blank is greater than
10% of the amount of DNA in the sample results the FBI discards
the samples as invalid.
Dr. Tully admitted
that the databases do not reflect heteroplasme and do not reflect
the genetic makeup of the people represented in them. Defense
expert, Dr. Peter D'Eustachio, testified that a reagent blank
functions like miner's canary. If contamination is present the
test stops and trouble shooting begins. He also said that the
databases don't reflect genetic makeup of people in them and
that the known databases are incomplete because of heteroplasme.
Mark Wilson, Director of the FBI forensic unit didn't know if
there were any Canadians or Newfoundlanders in his database.
The known databases
consisted of the FSS database of 63 people, another database
of 230 Europeans and 3 north Americans called the Miller Concordance,
and the FBI's SWGDAM database of 1219 army personnel.
Even with all
the problems associated with MtDNA John Bark, manager of specialized
DNA unit at FSS laboratory in Birmingham, testified that hairs
11,12, and 13 matched Shannon Murrin's hair and only 24 out of
10,000 people would have the same MtDNA profile.
On cross-examination
even more problems were revealed. Bark had reversed protocol
by testing the known sample first thereby increasing the likelihood
of contamination by Shannon's nuclear DNA. Bark explained that
Shannon's nuclear DNA was analyzed first because of the urgency
of the request. Contamination was present in all the tests and
contamination greater than 10% was present in 2 of the 3 tests.
There was only enough of hair 11 to produce one test instead
of the usual two tests for confirmation purposes. And the nuclear
DNA extracted from the root of hair 11 in Canada was a different
DNA sequence from that of the shaft. Not only that but a different
sequence was arrived at in each of the two tests on hair 11.
The way Bark's
figures were arrived at was also strange. The jury was led to
believe that Shannon Murrin's MtDNA was rare. The FSS database
of 63 people was examined and produced a match. But then other
databases were added to the original database to reach a conclusion.
The Miller Concordance was examined and it produced another match.
Then the results were sent to the FBI for comparison with the
SWGDAM database. This database didn't produce a match and Bark
concluded that only 24 in 10,000 people would have Shannon Murrin's
MtDNA.
On cross-examination,
Peter Wilson questioned Bark about the confusing conclusions
on hair 11. Bark conceded that it was an impossibility to have
one DNA result for the root of hair 11 and another for the shaft
but he concluded that contamination was the culprit. Bark based
his conclusion on the fact that each hair matched each other
and Shannon's DNA.
How could hairs
that didn't match each other in Vancouver match each other in
England? Given the problems with Tidsbury's investigation why
weren't the hairs photographed? Why was Tidsbury allowed to transport
them himself? Why was the nuclear DNA extracted from the root
of hair 11 in Vancouver different from the shaft? Is it possible
that Shannon Murrin's hairs were sent to England instead of the
original ones from the Vancouver lab?
* Jailhouse
Informants
Tidsbury had
to find an informant quickly because Shannon was continually
requesting transfers back east. From the time of Shannon's firearm
charge in February of 1995 to January, 1997 when Shannon was
finally charged with Mindy Tran's murder Tidsbury was able to
find 9 informants. Seven of these informants testified at Shannon's
preliminary hearing. Douglas Martin was the cream of the crop
and the only one to testify at Shannon's trial.
Tidsbury's
notes document these efforts. The notes, once itemized, will
show the corrupt and insidious relationships that developed between
Tidsbury, the B.C. parole board, prison officials, and Crown
prosecutor Josiah Wood.
The list of
documented favors to these individuals includes Tidsbury's intervention
to have: charges stayed, victim services, transfers to prison
of choice, shorter sentences, help with parole, relocation money,
clothing and rent allowances, bills looked after, cash paid,
and other special privileges. Besides giving Douglas Martin money
Tidsbury had Douglas Martin's car fixed and put him up in a motel.
These relationships
and the ongoing request for favors consume Tidsbury's time from
1995 to 1999 when he retired.
7. Tidsbury
Gains Control Over the Media
The media is
supposed to form one of the checks and balances in our society.
That didn't occur in the BC media coverage of Mindy Trans murder
investigation. There's the court of law and the court of public
opinion. A court of law had acquitted Shannon Murrin of the murder
but the court of public opinion headed up by the media tried
and convicted him before, during, and after his trial.
The media had
a duty to report the facts so that the public could form their
own opinion about Shannon Murrin's guilt or innocence. Instead
they guided that opinion. Repeated incidents of describing Shannon
Murrin as a transient, a drifter, and an alcoholic were only
minor aspects of their biased reporting. How and why was this
bias created?
The discovery
of Mindy's body through the use of a divining rod was a detail
of the investigation that RCMP withheld from the media. This
fact was not reported until Shannon's trial in August 1999. Even
though there were rumors of a persistent psychic the BC media
never looked into it. To this day the media has never investigated
this detail.
On January
6th, 1995, the day after Shannon's near fatal beating, Tidsbury
asked the media not to report the details of the beating. He
said that it would compromise the RCMP's investigation. It wasn't
until February 1, 1995 when RCMP put out a media release confirming
that RCMP had a suspect in the murder of Mindy Tran that the
BC media finally reported. But what they reported was exactly
what the RCMP told them. This long media release stated that
Shannon Murrin became a suspect within the first 24 hours, that
his alibi was initially corroborated but had since fallen apart,
that after being questioned by the three acquaintances he had
pointed a loaded firearm at them and had subsequently been taken
to Mission Creek Park and beaten by the three of them.
When the BC
media finally reported the beating they exonerated themselves
and parroted the RCMP explanation. The Kelowna Courier headline
read: RCMP REQUESTED MEDIA GAG, WHY WE LISTENED IN THE TRAN CASE,
PROSECUTORS HAVE ONE SHOT AT CONVICTION, CONVICTED CRIMINAL WAS
LIVING WITH THE FAMILY OF MINDY'S BEST FRIEND, AND SUSPECT'S
ALIBI FELL APART. The Province headline read COPS SLAMMED: KELOWNA
RCMP BUNGLED PROBE OF MINDY TRAN'S MURDER, NEIGHBORS SAY but
parroted the RCMP's version of the events January 5, 1995.
The next day
the British Columbia newspapers justified their decision to release
Shannon Murrin's name to the public and another series of articles
ensued. The Vancouver Sun wrote: MEDIA FACED DILEMMA OVER NOT
NAMING SUSPECT IN MINDY TRAN CASE, ETHECIST SAY; and IS TRANSIENT,
44, MINDY'S KILLER? After this the BC media, especially the Vancouver
Province, was especially vicious. This is when the Edmonton articles
started.
* The Edmonton
Connection
According to
the Tidsbury and Seversen notes, Constable Terry Alm had become
Tidsbury's RCMP's right hand man in Alberta. There are notes
from many discussions over a long period of time between Tidsbury
and Alm and Seversen and Alm. Alm first became involved in the
case because of the two Edmonton abductions, Tremblay and Gustafsen.
At least a
dozen possible suspects in the Mindy Tran investigation had lived
in Edmonton and Kelowna at the relevant times. The difference
between Shannon and the other suspects was that Edmonton RCMP
already had Shannon's hair and DNA samples on file in Edmonton.
On November
2, 1992 Shannon Murrin signed a consent form authorizing forensic
analysis of the hair and blood samples donated by him. This event
came about as a result of an appeal by RCMP to all federal parolees
to donate their samples to help solve the attempted murder and
murder of the Edmonton children. In both these cases Edmonton
RCMP were able to collect the perpetrator's DNA from the crime
scene. With the exception of a brief interview with Terry Alm
in 1995 instigated by Tidsbury Shannon Murrin has never been
questioned in these two murders. Yet reports of Shannon as a
suspect in these two murders continued to surface in the newspapers
before, during, and after Shannon's trial. Headlines such as
INVESTIGATED IN ALBERTA KILLING (Kelowna Courier) and SUSPECT
IN TRAN CASE INVESTIGATED FOR LINK TO EDMONTON SLAYING (Vancouver
Sun) appeared in February 95. At least the Courier did some checking
and on the next day printed an article entitled PUNKY LINK OVERBLOWN:
ALTA POLICE. But media speculation about the Edmonton connection
didn't end there.
On January
20, 2000, during the trial, and after the jury began deliberations
yet another article concerning the alleged Edmonton connection
appeared in The Province. Reporter Fabian Dawson's headline took
up the whole front page of the newspaper and earned a contempt
of court charge for the Province. It screamed: PLEASE TELL ME
HE DIDN'T KILL MY DAUGHTER.
After the trial
the BC media continued to explore the Edmonton connection but
these new articles now speculated on what the jury would have
done had they known about the Edmonton connection. On January
26, 2000 the day after the verdict, the Kelowna Capital News
wrote about it in JUSTICE IS NOT SERVED BY EVERY COURT RULING.
And fifteen months later, on August 27, 2001, after news of an
alleged confession to the murder, and news of a missing witness
statement that might have prevented a trial, Vancouver Province
reporter Joey Thompson produced yet another full page article
on the Edmonton connection. These headlines read HOW DO YOU BLINDFOLD
A JURY? In this article Joey Thompson congratulates Fabian Dawson
and her employer on beating the contempt of court charge. She
said that "reporters and news editors did what has long
been an established practice in the word-trafficking trade: inform
their readers of relevant facts - most times damming and unknown
to the jury."
The RCMP and
the British Columbia media had convicted Shannon Murrin of the
sexual assault and murder of Mindy Tran on January 5, 1995 -
two years before Shannon was charged with the crime and five
years before his trial. They weren't about to let go. The Province
headline on Shannon's acquittal read: LAUGHING ALL THE WAY HOME:
SHANNON MURRIN NOT GUILTY. But that day there was two other announcements.
The Kelowna Capital News headline read: TIDSBURY WON'T BE CHARGED
(see Tidsbury investigation); and at a press release the RCMP
said they charged the right man.
The BC media
were primed for any news that would cast guilt upon Shannon,
and I unwittingly provided them with the loaded gun and enough
ammunition for the next two years. My visit to Newfoundland to
talk to Shannon about writing this book was the only event that
the BC media investigated. On February 17, 2000 The Province
headline read: MURRIN JUROR SENSATION: WOMAN WHO SAT ON SHANNON
MURRIN'S MURDER TRIAL IS WITH HIM IN NEWFOUNDLAND.
The Vancouver
Sun and The Province who had done no investigative reporting
on Mindy's murder, her murder investigation, or on Shannon himself
now were investigating me. The Vancouver Sun promptly informed
the RCMP.
On February
26, 2000 the RCMP and Canadian Press announced POLICE LOOKING
INTO MURRIN, JUROR LINK. The media went into frenzy. The worst
of the articles was published by The Province and written by
Dene Moore at Canadian Press. The headlines read WHAT IS IT WITH
THESE GUYS? These guys, who are pictured in the full-page article,
were Paul Bernardo, Shannon Murrin, Peter Gill, and Clifford
Olson. It wasn't until December 8, 2000 nine and a half months
later, and in a tiny headline, that RCMP announced that there
would be no charges against Shannon or me for obstruction of
justice.
On March 16,
2000 VTV reporter, Margo Harper, the only BC reporter to investigate
the January 5, 1995 beating, came out with two startling pieces
of information. A convicted pedophile had allegedly confessed
to Mindy's murder. What made the news so important was the other
piece of information. A witness had seen Mindy's bike in the
middle of the road - twice. The bike was not originally left
on the lawn of the duplex. Someone other than Mindy had put it
there. But these new developments did not pique the interest
of Pacific Press reporters and there was no follow up on the
information. Not even news that Josiah Wood's star witness, Douglas
Martin, also testified against the now-cleared Thomas Sophinow
piqued the investigative spirit of BC newspapers.
On April 7,
2000 Chuck Poulson editor of the Kelowna Courier wrote about
the attempted suicide of Corporal Seversen. Seversen had left
a note and later confessed to Staff Sergeant Callens that he
had committed criminal acts for Tidsbury. Staff Sergeant Callens
told Victoria Police, who had been commissioned to investigate
allegations made by defense in their request for a public enquiry.
Seversen was invited back to work when he recovered. The Victoria
report was never made available to the public.
Peter Wilson's
request for a public enquiry did prompt two investigations into
the handling of the Tran investigation. On April 14, 2000 the
RCMP appointed two investigators from the Victoria Police Department's
major crimes section to look into allegations of witness tampering
and withholding of evidence. The RCMP also appointed four officers
from Alberta, one a senior investigator, to conduct an administrative
review of the handling of the case.
Wilson said
that Douglas Martin had been coached and that the Hinners statement
had been deliberately withheld from the defense. There is ample
evidence of both allegations.
On October
31, 2000, after a five-month investigation, Victoria Police concluded
that there was no basis for charges against any of the Kelowna
RCMP officers. They said that Fred Maile, a private investigator
and former RCMP officer, and the man who uncovered the information
- did not submit the statements to RCMP. The allegation that
Tidsbury coached Douglas Martin into fabricating evidence was
also deemed groundless. No one has ever seen the report and all
requests under the Freedom of Information Act have been denied.
The results
of the Ambler investigation was announced after fifteen months
of investigation by four senior Alberta RCMP officers. Keith
Fraser at the Province reports SHAME ON RCMP, SAYS MURRIN MATE:
POLICE SAY THEY GOT THE RIGHT MAN, BUT HE SAYS HE'LL SUE.
The 90-page
Ambler report at least produced some paper. About one third of
the report was made available to the public. What was made available
was so critical of the investigation that the conclusion they
reached was surprising. The report concluded that the RCMP had
basis for charges against Shannon Murrin. All requests made by
the media and the public to get the rest of the report have been
unsuccessful.
In an article
dated February 24, 2002 entitled TRUTH STILL HARD TO FIND, The
Okanagan, formerly the Kelowna Courier, published an article
by reporter Brennan Clarke. Clarke asks some tough questions
but concludes, "Police steadfastly claim that Murrin was
the right man, a conclusion Ambler supports. But Murrin, acquitted
once, can never again be charged with Tran's murder."
8. The Tidsbury
Investigation
Sgt. Lunn began
an internal investigation into the conduct of Tidsbury in the
near fatal beating of Shannon Murrin sometime in 1995. This was
not the first time that Tidsbury had been accused of giving permission
for the killing of the prime suspect in an investigation. In
the trial of Frederick David Butcher, Defense lawyer for Earl
Fisk accused of the 1993 first degree murder of Guy Maxwell Strong
cross examined Tidsbury about allegations that police had authorized
two men, Mark Chaston and Delbert Predy to kill Fisk.
But these allegations did not affect the Tran investigation.
Staff Sergeant Darryl Graves allowed Tidsbury to continue on
as the lead investigator on the Mindy Tran murder investigation
and allowed him to take Shannon's DNA to England. Tidsbury went
on to win Investigator of the Year for his work.
The internal
investigation into Tidsbury's conduct was still going on during
Shannon's trial. In a letter from Josiah Woods to Crown attorney
Richard Peck dated August 2, 1999 Josiah informed Peck that he
would give Tidsbury all the evidence against him, even though
Peck had strongly opposed this move. Josiah Wood explained this
unprecedented move by saying that Tidsbury needed to review the
evidence so that he could properly testify at Shannon's trial.
The results of the investigation into the January 5, 1995 incident
were announced January 26, 2000. The RCMP chose the day of Shannon's
acquittal to announce that there would be no charges against
Tidsbury. There was "insufficient evidence to charge Tidsbury"
and "no likelihood of a conviction if a charge was laid".
Tidsbury had been exonerated.
On February
25, 2000 Canadian Press reported that Shannon Murrin's acquittal
would not be appealed because they found no error in law at this
trial. They went on to say that Murrin had been charged on the
recommendations of prosecutor, Josiah Wood, who had been retained
for a second opinion after Crown counsel recommended Murrin not
be charged. The article said that the Crown spent 2.3 million
on the case. According to Peter Wilson, Josiah Wood, who had
been appointed special prosecutor to the case, was the sixth
opinion. Five Crown prosecutors had turned the case down.
Paul McMurray,
Shannon's other lawyer, estimated that Josiah Wood's law firm
made close to a $1 million in legal fees. Neville McDougall,
lawyer for Holmes, Dunn, and MacDonald said it was closer to
$2 million.
McMurray and
Wilson estimate the cost to taxpayers at around $10 million dollars.
A month earlier the Kelowna Capital News had reported that BC
Supreme Court Justice Alexander Henderson said during the trial
that the case had cost taxpayers several million dollars.
Former Sergeant
Tidsbury won the Investigator of the Year reward and retired
in 1999. Constables Johnson and Seversen were promoted to Corporal
and still work at Kelowna RCMP. Corporal Webb was promoted to
Sergeant and works at the RCMP's North Vancouver office. Next
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