CANADA Canada - Elizabeth Bain, 22, Scarborough, Ont, 19 June 1990 #2
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Wasn't the only connection they put forward.
1) the cigarette
2) the radio station
3) he had been introduced to EB in a brief moment
4) he found his girlfriend in possession of EB's brother's phone number
5) his last attack in May was his most violent, possibly increasing to murder
6) composite sketch of him was posted all over the place so he wouldn't want to leave the next victim alive as a witness
7) Scarborough rapes ceased after EB disappeared
8) his best friend phoned in his name as matching the composite sketch, and he should be looked at for EB's disappearance
9) witness reported EB was seen with a blond male in the Chinese food place
10) witness reported EB was seen in a jeep with a blond man
I personally don't believe Bernardo was responsible, but there was quite a bit of circumstancial evidence to use to help get RB released on bail with a new trial pending.
Everybody smoke DuMaurier's and 102.1 was a very popular station. I had been introduced to her and I was blond and I ate Chinese food from that place, and there were others who fit that criteria. Bernardo had already moved to the Niagara area which is why the Scarborough rapes ceased.
If Bernardo had of been involved he would have said something to get a better deal long ago. The Bernardo theory was just a defence scam of plausible deniability but nobody believes it.
If Bernardo had of been involved he would have said something to get a better deal long ago. The Bernardo theory was just a defence scam of plausible deniability but nobody believes it.
""The Bernardo theory was just a defence scam....""
Well I guess that depends on whether you believe RB is guilty or innocent.
I can tell you, (my own opinion), that the whole law enforcement/justice system is a complete scam on all of us.
There is no such thing as innocent until proven guilty and never was. Innocence or guilt aren't really a part of how "their" system works.
I find it difficult to believe that the gov't would allow a man convicted of 2nd degree murder and sentenced to life (or was it 25yrs maybe), to be allowed out on bail pending an appeal for a new trial, if they really believed he was guilty of that murder.
I attended RB's bail hearing in 2000 (omg, 20yrs ago, geesh) and I can tell you that it was just a formality, like putting on a play for the necessity of the game.
In the afternoon after each side had laid out their arguments, and let me tell you that the Crown did not fight one bit, that it came time for the judge.
The judge says to both sides that if he (the judge) decides that bail was appropriate, how will they work out the release and where RB would be going and so on.
One side said (can't remember which side) that they've (both sides) have already worked everything out. And the judge looked to the other side and they firmly agreed that everything had already been worked out.
So they had everything worked out before they even got to court knowing that RB was going to get bail.
Now I'm sure lawyers do this a lot to save court time, I get that, but in the case of a convicted 2nd degree murderer that is supposedly 100% guilty, I honestly just don't see the gov't giving up without some kind of fight to make sure he doesn't get bail if he's considered that much of a danger.
Jmo
Anyone have any ideas on how long they store evidence before they decide to get rid of it?
RB was convicted in 1992 and that's when law enforcement and the gov't (crown) considered the case closed.
Though EB hadn't been located, they still considered it closed on their end as to the perpetrator of the crime.
Do they keep evidence forever or is there a time when they can and do get rid of it for space for other cases?
RB was convicted in 1992 and that's when law enforcement and the gov't (crown) considered the case closed.
Though EB hadn't been located, they still considered it closed on their end as to the perpetrator of the crime.
Do they keep evidence forever or is there a time when they can and do get rid of it for space for other cases?
I understood they are supposed to keep homicide evidence permanently and sexual assault pretty much forever, but I've also found they do lose evidence.
Thanks Snively, much appreciated for the answer.
I agree with Lexiintoronto that there is (was) more forensic evidence that could be tested today if all the evidence hasn't been "lost".
We know of the fingerprints that didn't match anyone. The saliva from the cigarette that they said was puffed on. And the taped seats for fibers and trace evidence that were never put in for testing because the forensic guy was never requested to do so.
Those are the things we know about, but I am absolutely convinced that there is more evidence that was never tested (or was tested and the results were kept from everyone) and more photographs that were never produced for the defense or trial.
Jmo.
The Toronto Police may stick to their guns that they got the right person in RB, but how come they don't have EB's case on their unsolved website to hopefully garner more tips about where she might be located.
Makes me wonder that someone in the inner circle (police and/or family) already knows (knew) where she was.
I emailed them awhile ago and never received a response. A retired Toronto Police officer with a pretty prominent police family also tried contacting the unit about this and has been shocked that he has never received a response either.
Jmo.
Toronto Police Service :: To Serve and Protect
Makes me wonder that someone in the inner circle (police and/or family) already knows (knew) where she was.
I emailed them awhile ago and never received a response. A retired Toronto Police officer with a pretty prominent police family also tried contacting the unit about this and has been shocked that he has never received a response either.
Jmo.
Toronto Police Service :: To Serve and Protect
Generally when they consider a case solved, even if there is no conviction, the case will be removed from their unsolved case list. There are a few like that.
Lexiintoronto
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Elizabeth’s case is not the only one missing from the TPS website. I’ve done a search for a few cold cases and they’re not there.
Marion McDowell’s remains have not been found, and her case isn’t there, for example. (She was injured when abducted, presumed deceased.)
Barry and Honey Sherman were not on the TPS website for over a year after their murders. Some of us inquired, but didn’t receive a response until McLeans magazine mentioned it in a story. Then the TPS put their cases on the website. Their names now cannot be found with their search tool, but we know their case #s and can find them. (Their cases are unsolved, active.)
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Is Elizabeth Bain’s killer still being sought? Is her case an active homicide investigation? If RB is no longer classified as her killer, are the police still searching for her killer?
Lexiintoronto
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My understanding is that this is a ‘cold case’ officially, not an active investigation.
RB has publicly asked that the case be reopened.
I think if they do find any credible leads, they do investigate. They did interview PB a few years ago, investigated his whereabouts when EB went missing, and ran his DNA (no match).
This case is a textbook example of “ tunnel vision” during a criminal investigation. A very attractive college student vanishes and the police read her diary and find out she was thinking about breaking up with her boyfriend. The obvious suspect is the boyfriend. The trouble is that not only is there no evidence linking her boyfriend to her disappearance but his movements were well documented and it would seem pretty near impossible for him to have done it. Through convincing witnesses to “improve” their memory and keeping exonerating evidence from the defense, they got their conviction.
When it all came out, the prosecution bailed but refused to clear the guy. The did a strange ploy where they insisted on retrying him years after his original conviction was overturned, but at the trial, declining to present any evidence (so the judge would be compelled to grant an acquittal). The only purpose that served was to stretch out the ordeal a little longer and the possibility that an acquittal carried a greater stigma than having the charges dropped.
He seemed to be a stand up guy who had just graduated from the University and saw his life pretty much ruined over this case. Unfortunately there is no DNA or other evidence. There is no likely resolution unless something unexpected comes up.
When it all came out, the prosecution bailed but refused to clear the guy. The did a strange ploy where they insisted on retrying him years after his original conviction was overturned, but at the trial, declining to present any evidence (so the judge would be compelled to grant an acquittal). The only purpose that served was to stretch out the ordeal a little longer and the possibility that an acquittal carried a greater stigma than having the charges dropped.
He seemed to be a stand up guy who had just graduated from the University and saw his life pretty much ruined over this case. Unfortunately there is no DNA or other evidence. There is no likely resolution unless something unexpected comes up.
D
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Lexiintoronto, when you say there was no match to PB’s DNA, does that mean that there was DNA found? When GPM was cleared of killing Christine Jessop, it took a long time, but they finally figured out who really did it because they had a sample of the killer’s DNA. I wonder if they will some day soon find out who killed Elizabeth using DNA?
Lexiintoronto
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There was DNA found in EB’s car that they haven’t been able to match to anyone. I’m hoping that forensic genealogy could be used on this case to find possible suspects.
From an older column by Rosie DiManno (includes her opinions) about DNA found in EB’s car:
No proof in Bain's car to pin killing on Bernardo | The Star
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So according to DiManno’s article, no evidence was collected from the driver’s seat. The focus was on the back seat and evidence found there. Like seriously, who runs that show? Why on earth would they not collect evidence from the driver seat? Did they think Elizabeth drove herself, killed herself in the back seat and hid her own body? How could they not scour the front seat for evidence? Where is the vehicle now? Would it still be sitting in evidence storage? Could someone still check it now or was it released back to family?
Lexiintoronto
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The car was released back to the family.
The article I posted didn’t go into much detail, but when the car was first found they did focus on the driver’s side and everywhere a driver would normally touch, looking for prints and forensic evidence.
As for prints, the killer either wore gloves or wiped their prints off where they would hope to find some (eg: the gear shift knob).
The driver’s seat had a seat cover. I don’t know if the police still have that.
Absence of Bernardo DNA in car does not rule him out. Baltovich’s DNA also not found in cabin of car, and he almost certainly would have sat there given he was her boyfriend. The passenger seat was found reclined in EB’s car, & PB admit to reclining the seat while threatening his St Catharines victim. Further, EB’s last words to her Mom were reportedly that she was going to “ check the tennis schedule” at U of T Scarborough campus. Bernardo was intimately familiar with it as he had graduated from same campus. The possibility she was lured there by PB and possibly KH is something to be considered, given that they often used ruses to capture victims. Receipts found in Bernardo’s St Catharine’s home place him in Scarborough on date of EB’s disappearance. Her blood stained car was abandoned at an auto body shop. Psychologists who study serial killers have noted that SK’s often enjoy dark irony and puns, partic
…particularly when it comes to disposal of victims and their belongings. Her body has never been found, which suggests a premeditated crime. There is also a woman who claims she introduced Bernardo to EB. While all of this is circumstantial, there certainly are a lot of links.