CANADA Canada - Katherine Brown, 42, Vancouver, 1977

matou

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This story is still breaking. A man from East Vancouver has been helping police solve the crime of the murder of his mother in 1977. He states that her body will be found in the basement of his apartment during that time. He was only five years old when he witnessed his father kill his mom. Sadly, his abusive and alcoholic father made the little boy write out a 'confession' in crayon. The grown man, Robert Sturcz, now 39, stated that her body will be found along with her purse, her status card (she is First Nations) and the crayon confession.

"What they may find along with the remains of Katherine Mary Brown, Sturcz said, is a confession note, written in crayon, that he was forced to write after seeing his own mother choked to death.

“[The note] said that it was my fault that my mom was dead,” Sturcz, now 37, told The Province. “I wrote what [my dad] wanted me to write.”


This man has become an addict and had previously told LE over and over again about his ordeal and about his mother. Finally, one man believed him and the forensic investigation is currently underway.

The abusive father died in 1987, ten years later. It makes me wonder if he could have committed other crimes against women, in particular Native women.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...3/10/bc-vancouver-homicide-rupert-street.html

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/say...ncouver+home/4411400/story.html#ixzz1GEj8SrV9
 
How terrifying and tragic for him at five years old!! And he had to stay quiet for so many years about it...I'm not surprised he tried to self-medicate. I'll be watching this case to see what happens!
 
"In an eerie twist, Demish says her aunt lived in unit 4842 for a long time after the Sturczs, now no longer with their mother, moved into a bigger unit in the same complex.

Following Wednesday’s astonishing admission from Sturcz, Demish said her aunt told her there she remembers seeing an uneven spot on the basement floor that looks like it had been redone at one point."

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/Neighbor...g+woman+good/4419226/story.html#ixzz1GFI3rYJU
 
"Her son has come forward with the story: "I witnessed my father bury my mom in the basement when I was five. I helped him mix the cement," said Robert Sturcz, now 37. "We dug the hole three feet down and put cement in the basement."

This poor guy. He became so messed up and in and out of trouble likely because of the trauma of this happening to him. His dad died when he was around 15 years old and his dad had been sexually abusing his sisters but didn't live to face the charges in court.

http://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/news/sfu-people-in-the-news-march-10-2011.shtml
 
He wrote a confession note at 5? That's difficult to fathom. I am around his age, and I can guarantee you, I could not have written a note at 5 years old back in the 70s.
 
I do hope that they are able to resolve this swiftly. While there is no justice in this situation, there is hope for some healing for the now grown children.
 
Police have not located any bones during their excavation of the basement of the apartment where Robert Sturcz lived as a boy. The police still believe his story that he was witness to the murder of his mother as a five year old and made to feel he was the reason she was murdered. Catherine Mary Brown has not been seen since 1977 and was not even listed as a missing person until recently. Hope this doesn't stop the investigation.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...-vancouver-basement-investigation-sturcz.html
 
Thanks for the update Matou - I was so hoping they would find 'something' that would validate this man's suspicions about his mother's death. To have that sort of memory haunting him everyday of his life would be horrifying.
 
I cannot imagine living with that knowledge. The toll it would take on your pysche. :(
 
This man has become an addict and had previously told LE over and over again about his ordeal and about his mother. Finally, one man believed him and the forensic investigation is currently underway.

Respectfully snipped...

I can't help but wonder why it took so long for anyone to believe him. Why didn't anyone check out his story before now?
 
Respectfully snipped...

I can't help but wonder why it took so long for anyone to believe him. Why didn't anyone check out his story before now?

I think it's because he was in and out of jail from age 17 and living on the street hooked on drugs and alcohol. Also, police tend to brush off Native people's concerns and likely thought he was just making up stories or that his mom just ran off. JMO
 

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