It was undoubtedly a time of innocence in rural Ontario when no-one locked their doors or viewed strangers as anything but just that.
That all changed after May 6th, 1970.
The following is an excerpt from my book, ‘The Seventh Shot’.
At what was estimated to be some time after 10 a.m., a stranger pulled up to the tidy little house and emerged confidently from his vehicle. He strode deliberately up the gravel path lined with tulips and daffodils, only now beginning to fade in the shelter of a split rail fence. The stranger couldn’t help but see the ride-on toys and other childish trappings discarded higgledy-piggledy amongst the other unmistakable signs of a home occupied by a busy toddler. This was a house of light and laughter.
The stranger was clean cut, of medium height, with average features save for somewhat large ears, and most probably dressed in his favoured combination of checkered shirt, short jacket and slacks. Many who knew the stranger would later reflect that he could blend into almost any environment, that he was simply unremarkable and often passed as almost invisible: “a ghost”, some would say.
Doreen had no reason to feel any undue concern when the stranger knocked on the door – a door that was rarely locked. It is not known what the stranger said to gain entry. It would later be postulated that he may have asked to use the phone or concocted a more elaborate ploy.
However, gain entry he did, and no doubt gained Doreen’s immediate cooperation by brandishing a 22 calibre handgun. He possibly used Brent, the nineteen month old toddler, and a suggestion of harm to either him, her, or both of them to gain her submission.
What followed would inspire nightmares for both those who loved and barely knew her. Doreen was brutally raped in the bedroom and later – after being allowed to partially dress and pick up Brent, perhaps believing her nightmare may be coming to an end – stopped in her tracks by two bullets to the back, sending her to the floor and partially paralyzing her.
It was later determined that she attempted to crawl away, with Brent still in her arms, the stranger fired five more shots into the back of Doreen’s head. She held her hands up in an instinctive attempt to protect herself, and both index fingers were shot through. Brent was unharmed but pinned beneath her.The stranger could hardly have avoided the confused eyes of the little boy, trapped beneath his mother, as these additional shots were fired.
Locking the front door behind him, the stranger was careful to leave as little evidence of himself as possible, even though the use of DNA was not yet in practice.
As the stranger – the monster – backed down the gravel driveway, mother and child remained, with Doreen’s lifeless body securing her son’s body safely to her, even in death.
Click image to go to OurOntario.ca page with full article
…..Twelve days later and just a few miles east, another rape, another murder and again a child present in the home. Both victims were nurses and both of their husbands were teachers.
