GUILTY Canada - Melissa Richmond, 28, stabbed to death, Winchester, Ont, 24 July 2013

[Ada]

I can't find the link at this moment, but I remember someone posting something about the group HR and MR were involved in "not believing in fidelity" or something to that matter. IMO the multiple stab wounds indicate that this crime was very personal and I'm wondering if jealousy due to infidelity could be motive. IMO if the motive was insurance money then there wouldn't have been so much overkill. I'm wondering if this view on fidelity is the norm in SCA and if someone could elaborate on what that actually means....Lurking Spectator or anyone with some knowledge?

I'll take a stab at this and I'm going to try to be as upfront and open about this particular subject as possible, without maligning or impugning anyone's character, even anonymously. The SCA began back in the 1960's, in California, and it did have a reputation, as did most college campuses, festivals, ren faires, etc, of being very free and open and upfront about sex. However, just like any other organization or college, a person's choices and preferences were always up to the individual, and there has never been any rules, regulations or official involvement regarding sex, race, or religion by the SCA for participation.

That being said, as the SCA got older, it began to attract a great many different people, thousands across the world. Over the years, attitudes have changed, just like in Society. There are some people in the SCA who believe in polygamy, as in personal choices to have multi-partner relationships. There are some people in the SCA who believe in 'open marriages', such as the individuals involved are married, but can 'date' whoever they want. And, like every other group we have those of us who believe in and practice monogamy. The SCA does not condone, support, condemn, encourage or foster any personal lifestyles or choices. Like most groups, the SCA does not allow any behaviour at an authorized event that violates modern or local law, plus, it does not allow any public religious displays, references or rituals.

Personally, I do not know who in the SCA has which personal preference as to how they wish to conduct their personal relationships, so I can not identify the 'group' for you. Is it possible this was a personal relationship choice between MR and HR? Could be, I have no way of knowing. I don't ask my fellow SCA'ers, or my friends, or my co-workers what their relationship and sexual preferences are. If there is a 'group' who doesn't believe in 'fidelity' as in sexual partnership, it is not an official 'group' of the SCA, or recognized by the SCA. However, it is more than possible there are people who all have the same philosophy regarding sexual or relationship preference, and they are also part of the SCA.

I hope that helps.

I'm surprised to hear your response LurkingSpectator. While I don't participate in SCA, I have many friends who do, so I hear the lingo and whatnot. Also, I do play role playing games, online. Anyway, I presumed that what was meant by fidelity was more of a 'political alliance' SCA style than actual sexual fidelity. You think I was totally off mark and it was, infact, a reference to sexual fidelity?

 

[otto]

I sincerely hope they do, because all I hear on the radio these days is about PTSD and about Howard having it. They've even had talk shows with experts in the field of that disorder and the way they talked.. it sure sounded like it would be an excellent defense .

I can't see it flying myself, but we do have a lax Justice System here and it really scares me sometimes.

I suppose the idea is that we, as a society, are supposed to recognize that people with PTSD should be forgiven when they mismanage their finances, load up the spouse with life insurance, murder the wife, stage the murder to appear like a random sexual assault/murder and then play the grieving husband. There may well be 12 bleeding hearts that will buy that, or maybe he'll opt for judge alone ... but hopefully this first degree spousal homicide will be recognized for what it is.

I suspect that he'll opt for Judge alone ... I think that it will be easier to sway a judge with the "I'm damaged because I served my country and therefore I had no choice but to plan my wife's murder" story.

 

[Psalms_23]

Think of a time in your life when you were more depression and full of anxiety than any other time, then multiply that by 50 to 100. You might come close to understanding how HR is/was feeling. I base this off of what he has said about himself and what others have reported from various website he posted to.

If he did in fact kill MR, I don't believe it would have taken her cheating on him. It could have been anything that set him off. Even something that was only real to him. If he isn't responsible, then I would have to say, none of us would want to spend one second inside his mental and emotional hell right now.

With that said, I do not believe a mental illness defense should be allowed in this case.There's too much evidence that he was very aware of how sick he was. Also evidence that he knew right from wrong at the time of the crime. Again, if HR is in fact responsible.

 

[LurkingSpectator]

I'm surprised to hear your response LurkingSpectator. While I don't participate in SCA, I have many friends who do, so I hear the lingo and whatnot. Also, I do play role playing games, online. Anyway, I presumed that what was meant by fidelity was more of a 'political alliance' SCA style than actual sexual fidelity. You think I was totally off mark and it was, infact, a reference to sexual fidelity?

LOL, okay, it is possible the term you saw, or heard was 'fealty'? Which is actually VERY funny, because both topics are very similar. Fidelity is being loyal to, fealty is serving or having sworn to serve. If the reference you were referring to is that the 'group' or 'household' (which is probably more than likely) is not in fealty to anyone, that basically means that the household is not led by a person to whom the members have sworn fealty, and the household has not sworn fealty to the Crown of the Kingdom, or the local Baron and Baroness of the Barony. This is something that varies from person to person, household to household, group to group, as to whether or not a person will swear 'fealty' to another person in the SCA, but basically, it means they have not taken an oath to serve, in one fashion or another, anyone or anything else.

As an example, a Knight often swears fealty to the King and Queen, and a Baron and Baroness often swears fealty to the King and Queen. Now a person who becomes a squire to that Knight, may be required to swear fealty to the Knight, or the Knight may just require an agreement of service. A group may swear fealty to the King and Queen, or their local Baron and Baroness if they wish.

When it comes to the SCA, either description applies, as no one is required to swear fealty anymore, other than a person who becomes a Knight must swear it when he is knighted.

I should clarify, that a person or group who did not believe in 'fidelity' in a political sense would be considered dishonourable in the SCA, as that would mean they could not be trusted and would not have a sense of honour, and I can not picture any group openly stating that regarding a political stance in the SCA. Whereas if they are referring to their personal lifestyle and relationships, they are free to believe what they want in their personal lives with regards to relationships, loyalty, etc. without condemnation in the SCA.

However, if we are speaking of 'fealty' which involves the swearing of an oath to serve, then not believing in 'Fealty' in the political sense, and not being in fealty to anyone, is respected and accepted without condemnation in the SCA, and has nothing to do with an individual's personal preferences or lifestyle.

It could mean that whoever wrote the original statement meant to say their group did not believe in fealty, and therefore were not in fealty to anyone.

 

[Lise-Anne]

In the video of this French report from Radio-Canada on July 30th, we see Melissa's car in the mall parking lot at about 1:03 minutes. If you look at the way it was parked, would you say it was done by someone in a hurry?

EDIT: To correct the link.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2013/07/30/001-corps-sud-ottawa-richmond.shtml

 

[LurkingSpectator]

In the video of this French report from Radio-Canada on July 30th, we see Melissa's car in the mall parking lot at about 1:03 minutes. If you look at the way it was parked, would you say it was done by someone in a hurry?

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/...lacmegantic-relocalisation-centre-ville.shtml

I'm sorry Lise-Anne, I can't view the video, as the page only shows me the current day's video's. Did you say the video showed Melissa's car in the lot? I thought the car was found late Friday night, and was towed from the lot early Saturday morning, as in, when it was still dark out, so around 3 or 4 am, that would be in the early morning hours of July 27th.

 

[Lise-Anne]

I'm sorry Lise-Anne, I can't view the video, as the page only shows me the current day's video's. Did you say the video showed Melissa's car in the lot? I thought the car was found late Friday night, and was towed from the lot early Saturday morning, as in, when it was still dark out, so around 3 or 4 am, that would be in the early morning hours of July 27th.

Sorry about the link. I don't know what happened. This one should work.

Yes, we see Melissa's car in the mall parking lot.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2013/07/30/001-corps-sud-ottawa-richmond.shtml

 

[SamKelly1965]

Sorry about the link. I don't know what happened. This one should work.

Yes, we see Melissa's car in the mall parking lot.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2013/07/30/001-corps-sud-ottawa-richmond.shtml

Hi still can't see the car in the parking lot from any of those links

 

[Kbeb]

Hi still can't see the car in the parking lot from any of those links

I seen the car with no problem.

 

[otto]

Think of a time in your life when you were more depression and full of anxiety than any other time, then multiply that by 50 to 100. You might come close to understanding how HR is/was feeling. I base this off of what he has said about himself and what others have reported from various website he posted to.

If he did in fact kill MR, I don't believe it would have taken her cheating on him. It could have been anything that set him off. Even something that was only real to him. If he isn't responsible, then I would have to say, none of us would want to spend one second inside his mental and emotional hell right now.

With that said, I do not believe a mental illness defense should be allowed in this case.There's too much evidence that he was very aware of how sick he was. Also evidence that he knew right from wrong at the time of the crime. Again, if HR is in fact responsible.

Why would this alleged PTSD suffering man decide to make such a mess of his finances if he knew that he had serious problems related to stress? What made him decide to take the home that he had owned since 2000, borrow $140,000 against it, then take out another $300,000 mortgage and buy a house for $370,000? Why did he need $440,000 to buy a $370,000 house? That seems like an insane thing for someone without stress coping problems to do, yet this is what he did ... and he did it a year before he intended to retire. At retirement, his salary would be reduced. His wife seemed to be working somewhere between a bakery and a dental hygenist office ... so clearly not in a stable job.

What exactly was this man's financial plan? Was it to get a hefty life insurance plan on his wife and have her vanish, only to be found as an apparent victim of a random sexual assault and murder?

 

[Lise-Anne]

Hi still can't see the car in the parking lot from any of those links

After the ad, jump to minute 1:03 in the video. I just checked and the link is working.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2013/07/30/001-corps-sud-ottawa-richmond.shtml

 

[Kbeb]

Why would this alleged PTSD suffering man decide to make such a mess of his finances if he knew that he had serious problems related to stress? What made him decide to take the home that he had owned since 2000, borrow $140,000 against it, then take out another $300,000 mortgage and buy a house for $370,000? Why did he need $440,000 to buy a $370,000 house? That seems like an insane thing for someone without stress coping problems to do, yet this is what he did ... and he did it a year before he intended to retire. At retirement, his salary would be reduced. His wife seemed to be working somewhere between a bakery and a dental hygenist office ... so clearly not in a stable job.

What exactly was this man's financial plan? Was it to get a hefty life insurance plan on his wife and have her vanish, only to be found as an apparent victim of a random sexual assault and murder?

A video of the house when it was listed for sale.2598 Summers Rd, Winchester K0C2K0, Ontario - Virtual Tour - YouTube



I'm gathering the $140,000 was borrowed against the other house for a down payment on the new one.

As far as them wanting a huge house like that for the two of them is beyond me, unless he was just ful-filling his wife's dream. I cannot see them buying it just for SCA get togethers, but anything is possible.
I would imagine that the approximate $300,000 mortgage came with an optional life insurance policy for Melissa. I'm doubtful that a soldier would even qualify for life insurance because of the dangers there.

The case has all the makings of motive for money, but I guess we won't know the real story for a while.

 

[Kbeb]

If Howard killed her in the home, and then didn't dispose of the weapon used somewhere else, then yes, they have probably seized everything in the home and are comparing it to the stab wounds. However, if he then disposed of the weapon and LE have not found it, LE may never be able to identify it.

I guess, LE could have someone familiar with the home look at everything they found and try to identify what was missing, but in an SCA home that would probably be very difficult do to the sheer number of items one collects over the years. Add to that the fact HR was in the military and traveled a great deal, it is possible no one really knows everything he had in the house, so unfortunately, if Howard did it, the weapon may never be identified.

The weapon could have been disposed of in any of the many manhole sewers in Ottawa, or in any other town outside of the city.

 

[True Crime Gal]

I'll take a stab at this and I'm going to try to be as upfront and open about this particular subject as possible, without maligning or impugning anyone's character, even anonymously.

{respectfully snipped}

I hope that helps.

I was active for about a decade or so and I can totally cosign on your post. Thanks for it.

(Had a bit of a LOL at the fidelity/fealty thing too. )

This situation is so very sad.

tcg

 

[otto]

A video of the house when it was listed for sale.2598 Summers Rd, Winchester K0C2K0, Ontario - Virtual Tour - YouTube



I'm gathering the $140,000 was borrowed against the other house for a down payment on the new one.

As far as them wanting a huge house like that for the two of them is beyond me, unless he was just ful-filling his wife's dream. I cannot see them buying it just for SCA get togethers, but anything is possible.
I would imagine that the approximate $300,000 mortgage came with an optional life insurance policy for Melissa. I'm doubtful that a soldier would even qualify for life insurance because of the dangers there.

The case has all the makings of motive for money, but I guess we won't know the real story for a while.

Soldiers definitely qualify for life insurance, and they get extra insurance when they are in a war zone. They have insurance through the military, and many families take out extra, private insurance because the military insurance isn't really on par with the rest of the world.

I think there's something very fishy about the purchase of the house. They leveraged $440,000 cash and the house cost was $370,000. That's a lot of pocket money! The house was purchased on Valentine's Day, and it seems that it was immediately defined as available to the people that shared their hobby.

That an interesting point about insurance for Melissa. They probably insured the mortgage and ... as you mention ... quite possibly loaded Melissa with a hefty life insurance policy. I kind of think that this was all about the money and finding a back door to a retirement plan.

 

[matou]

This calendar of events shows that there was an A&S event at their home on Monday the 22nd (and every Monday) but no other events until Thursday and Friday in Cornwall. So not sure what was up that evening to come home late. Did Melissa have to work the next day or was she on vacation?

http://www.harrowgateheath.com/activities.shtml

 

[LurkingSpectator]

Sorry about the link. I don't know what happened. This one should work.

Yes, we see Melissa's car in the mall parking lot.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2013/07/30/001-corps-sud-ottawa-richmond.shtml

Hi Lise-Anne, I don't speak French, unfortunately and shame on me, I know, so I can't tell what the voice over is saying, but do they say that is her car? I'm asking, because I don't think it is. It looks very much like a pic that one of the admins posted on the Help Find FB page as a picture of a car that was very 'similar' to MR's, so that people knew which kind of car they were looking for.

Also, there is no crime scene tape around that car, and if that was supposed to be the car, there would be crime scene tape by the daylight after the evening after they found the car, since they were processing it by midnight on Friday July 26th, 1 am Saturday July 27th, 2013.

Third, there are no decals on the back of that car. Melissa's car had decals, the one closest to this corner of the car would have been her 'Support the Soldiers' decal which is a ribbon looped. You can see the shape of the decals on her actual car as it is parked on Queen Street, when using Google street view. It's hazy zoomed in, but you can see the outline of it.
https://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Plus, that does not look like the parking lot of South Keyes the way the parking lot has appeared in all the videos on the news, though I've never actually been to South Keyes mall, so it's just my opinion.

JMO
And fourth, I recall, in all those posts between all the people involved in the physical search that after it came out the admins actually saw the car being processed in the lot, that it was put on a flatbead and towed away, while it was still dark. But the page is shut down of course, so I can't link it, and that makes this all just my memory, which could be very poor.

 

[otto]

http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/08/02/bank-wanted-one-of-two-richmond-homes-before-homicide

 

[LurkingSpectator]

This calendar of events shows that there was an A&S event at their home on Monday the 22nd (and every Monday) but no other events until Thursday and Friday in Cornwall. So not sure what was up that evening to come home late. Did Melissa have to work the next day or was she on vacation?

http://www.harrowgateheath.com/activities.shtml

No idea if she was on vacation, but this was taking place during the first week of an annual event that is held down in Butler County, PA, called Pennsic. Many local groups cancel their regular activities during the two weeks that Pennsic is occurring. Pennsic was early this year, right now would usually be the end of the first week of Pennsic.

However, I did see a post, either on the Help Find FB page, or on the page of some mutual friends where someone asked if she didn't show up for work the next day, and the reply was 'she was supposed to meet Howard at the old house at 11 am, and never showed up'. This lead me to think that her and Howard were supposed to fixing up the Queen street house to sell it.

Now, if you are the husband, and the wife goes off for a leisurely drive the night before at 11:30 pm, and nothing is wrong, and by the next morning she still isn't back, do you still wait until 11 am to push the panic button when she doesn't meet you for a scheduled 'meeting' somewhere else? I thought that that sentence right there indicated, at the very least, that HR and MR had a fight the night before, she left, and HR figured she was out cooling down, talking to friends, but when she didn't show up for a scheduled thing at the old house he got worried.

 

[LurkingSpectator]

Why would this alleged PTSD suffering man decide to make such a mess of his finances if he knew that he had serious problems related to stress? What made him decide to take the home that he had owned since 2000, borrow $140,000 against it, then take out another $300,000 mortgage and buy a house for $370,000? Why did he need $440,000 to buy a $370,000 house? That seems like an insane thing for someone without stress coping problems to do, yet this is what he did ... and he did it a year before he intended to retire. At retirement, his salary would be reduced. His wife seemed to be working somewhere between a bakery and a dental hygenist office ... so clearly not in a stable job.

What exactly was this man's financial plan? Was it to get a hefty life insurance plan on his wife and have her vanish, only to be found as an apparent victim of a random sexual assault and murder?

Okay Otto, I understand what you are saying, so please don't take this as not agreeing with you, it's just some clarification, if I can. People with PTSD do NOT make good decisions. Especially financially. Trust me, I have personal experience with it, and I've seen it with others. I have no idea why, it makes no sense to me, but it's like they throw common sense away! I've asked therapists why this happens, and they hand me medical jargon about the receptors in the brain being affected by the chemical outlay of the emotional blockage caused by PTSD, etc. affecting decision making capabilities, and so on. I don't understand it, but I do get that YES the ability to make a logical, sound financial decision is non existent in most Combat PTSD sufferers.

I thought he ended up with around $440 K when he borrowed for the new house, so wouldn't that be $370 K for the house, and $70 K for closing costs, land transfer, and new furnishings for the new house and money to fix up the hold house to get it ready for sale? Like I said, not sound financial decisions. I won't go into the details, but I'm still shaking my head on the major decisions my SO has made regarding finances. It's like they live in a fairytale land. Perhaps, HR knew how hard it was for MR to live with someone with PTSD, and he thought buying her this house would make it up to her, and she would be all happy and relaxed and that would make the PTSD better, because they think that way!

Also, about that sexual assault thing, LE hasn't said there was an evidence of a sexual assault, so I want to run one by you. What if, MR was partially clothed because when she was being attacked and stabbed, she fought to get away, and her clothing, aka her shirt, got torn and ripped off her in the process? Possible, no?