MURDERED
Helen Betty Osborne
Several months later Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers concluded that four young men, Dwayne Archie Johnston, James Robert Paul Houghton, Lee Scott Colgan and Norman Bernard Manger, were involved in the death. Yet it was not until December 1987, more than 16 years later, that one of them, Dwayne Johnston, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Betty Osborne. James Houghton was acquitted. Lee Colgan, having received immunity from prosecution in return for testifying against Houghton and Johnston, went free. Norman Manger was never charged.
While walking along Third Street in The Pas on that cold Saturday morning, Betty Osborne was accosted by four men in a car. Houghton, who was driving, stopped the car and Johnston got out, attempting to convince Osborne to go with them to "party." She told them that she did not wish to accompany them. She then was forced into their car and driven away. In the car Osborne was assaulted by Colgan and Johnston as Houghton drove. Johnston ripped at her blouse and Colgan grabbed at her breasts. In spite of her screams and attempts to escape, Osborne was taken to a cabin belonging to Houghton’s parents at Clearwater Lake.
At the cabin she was pulled from the car and beaten by Johnston while the others stood watching and drinking wine they had stolen earlier. Osborne continued to struggle and scream and, because her assailants were afraid they might be heard, she was forced back into the car and driven further from town to a pump house next to the lake. At least some of her clothing was removed by her assailants in the car. At the pump house she was once more taken from the car by one or more of her assailants and the beating continued. Her clothes, those which had not been removed earlier, were taken from her. Wearing only her winter boots, she was viciously beaten, and stabbed, apparently with a screwdriver, more than 50 times. Her face was smashed beyond recognition. The evidence suggests that two people then dragged her body into the bush. Her clothes were hidden. The four men then left, returned to The Pas and went their separate ways.
By the end of 1972, although rumours were circulating in The Pas as to the identity of those involved in the killing, the investigation had stalled.
Between 1973 and 1983 only intermittent checks were made on the case. In July 1983 an extensive review of the file was begun by Const. Robert Urbanoski, of the Thompson RCMP detachment. Many of the original informants were reinterviewed. The suspects were contacted again. In June 1985 the RCMP placed an article in the local newspaper, requesting the assistance of the public in solving the murder. The result was that several people came forward to recount comments about the murder made over the years by Colgan and Johnston. It was the disclosure of those remarks that finally led to charges of murder being laid against the two in October 1986.
Before the beginning of their preliminary hearing in March 1987, Lee Colgan was granted immunity from prosecution in return for his testimony. On the strength of Colgan’s evidence, Houghton was arrested and charged on July 5, 1987. At the preliminary hearing later that month, both Houghton and Johnston were committed to stand trial. The Attorney General’s department brought the case to trial in December 1987. Sixteen years after the murder, a jury found Johnston guilty of the murder of Betty Osborne. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole in 10 years. He was, in fact, released on full parole on October 10, 1997. Houghton was acquitted.
Johnston’s appeal of his conviction was dismissed by the Manitoba Court of Appeal on September 14, 1988 and his application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was denied on March 13, 1989.
Many Manitobans asked why it took 16 years to bring people to trial for this brutal murder. It was suggested that many people in the town of The Pas learned the identity of those responsible, some within a very short time after the murder, but chose to do nothing about it. It was suggested that because Osborne was an Aboriginal person, the townspeople considered the murder unimportant. Allegations of racism, neglect and indifference, on the part of the citizens of the town, the police and of the Attorney General’s department, were made. (1)
THE INQUIRY
We realize, of course, that much has changed in the years since Betty Osborne’s life was taken in 1971. The segregation in the school lunch-room, the bars and the movie theatre has, we understand, ended. Still, much more must be done.
If the two communities make a real and concerted effort to eradicate the separation, things will inevitably improve. The non-Aboriginal community must learn to respect Aboriginal people and their culture. Instead of looking at the Aboriginal people only as consumers, the business community should be offering them employment in stores and businesses. It is surprising even to see how few Aboriginal people are employed in the shopping mall located on the reserve. If Aboriginal people are to become self-sufficient, those in control of business have to make a greater effort to provide them with an opportunity to work.
Government may have to take the lead by employing greater numbers of Aboriginal people in all government offices. We believe that quotas should be used so that Aboriginal people receive preference in employment until the numbers employed are representative of the numbers living in a community. Not only could the provincial government do this in its own offices, but it could require the same policy be followed by all Crown agencies and by all companies with which it does business.
The pervasive separation and discrimination that existed in The Pas in 1971 shows the need for increasing the involvement of the Aboriginal peoples in the institutions of mainstream Canada. Would the case have come more quickly to a conclusion if more Aboriginal persons were in the police? Or in the Crown Prosecutor’s office? Of course, we have no way of knowing and it is pointless to speculate. But it is a fact that it was the special effort made by Constable Urbanoski which brought those involved to court. This may be due in part to changes in police practice. It is only recently that the police have resorted to the use of newspaper advertisements and television shows such as "Crime Stoppers." But it is also possible that, had there been Aboriginal persons involved in the investigation and prosecution, the necessary extra effort might have been forthcoming earlier. We do not know if that is so. We cannot know. We believe that only if the justice system employs more Aboriginal persons will such questions be avoided in the future. Until it does, such doubts and suspicions will continue to arise. It is an inescapable fact that the Osborne case demonstrates that the justice system must employ many more Aboriginal persons. And it must do so immediately. In the other volume of our report we discuss more specifically how this process might begin.
It is clear that Betty Osborne would not have been killed if she had not been Aboriginal. The four men who took her to her death from the streets of The Pas that night had gone looking for an Aboriginal girl with whom to "party." They found Betty Osborne. When she refused to party she was driven out of town and murdered. Those who abducted her showed a total lack of regard for her person or her rights as an individual. Those who stood by while the physical assault took place, while sexual advances were made and while she was being beaten to death showed their own racism, sexism and indifference. Those who knew the story and remained silent must share their guilt.(2)
(1) (2) The Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission, November 1999 ( full document available online at www.ajic.mb.ca )
In December, 1995, the chief of the Norway House First Nation, Ron Evans, Freda Albert of the Women’s Wellness Circle in Norway House and Eric Robinson discussed the matter of Dwayne Johnsons day parole with the parole board. As a result, Johnson's day parole was revoked April 3,1996. He got full parole on October 10, 1997.
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
Despite the inquiry and subsequent media attention in regards to this brutal murder and the way it was investigated and prosecuted, there is an estimated 500 First Nations women reported missing in Canada, largely from our western Provinces.
Month after month for the past 15 years or so, flyers showing the faces of our women are being posted in native organizations. Yet there seems to be no record of these women vanishing.
There has been little, if any, media attention. When contacted, police detachments claim they have few if any First nations women reported missing or unsolved murders of First nations women in their jurisdiction.
Some of these missing women are those who left their communities, hoping to find work and a better life in larger cities. Others may be runaways. But even runaways eventually contact someone in their families, or are likely to show up at pow wows or friendship centres across the country.
JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD'S VICTIMS
A case study of serial killer John Martin Crawford's attacks on Native women in Western Canada has been compiled into a book that is ominously reminiscent of the notorious paperback, 'Conspiracy of Silence' , published almost three decades ago and subsequently made into a television movie. In that book, the victim was 19-year-old student Helen Betty Osborne in The Pas, Man. Because of racism and indifference, it took 16 years to bring her killers to trial.
Another excellent book, written by Warren Goulding, 'Just Another Indian: A Serial Killer and Canada's Indifference' , there were many victims, mostly young prostitutes.
Despite those differences, the gruesome themes, regrettably, are nearly identical. Both books are about white men who hunt down vulnerable Native women, apprehend and viciously beat or kill them. The subsequent criminal investigations are either late or flawed; media ignore the slaughter or under-report it; public reaction is apathetic or non-existent; some crimes are not punished; accomplices are not prosecuted.
It is estimated that there are approximately 500 First Nations women missing in Canada, mostly from our Western Provinces, over the past 15 years or so.
It's hard to believe that ALL these women were killed by individuals, in isolated cases. It is my belief that a number of scenerios are possible, including a number of serial killers, out to get Native women.
Research on the internet shows just how valued these women are to our police
departments, who are or were, supposed to investigate their deaths, or in some
cases, the fact that they have never been found.
We CANNOT let these women be forgotten!
With this in mind, I have begun this research, and will add to it, as more
information is revealed.
Anyone with information regarding any of these cases or with cases not yet on this website, is invited to contact me at
waabzy1@yahoo.com
Goulding's book reveals that Crawford had already been to prison for
manslaughter for brutally killing 35-year-old Mary Jane Serloin in Lethbridge,
Alta. in 1981 when he was tried for the 1992 murders of Shelley Napope, Eva
Taysup and Calinda Waterhen in Saskatoon.
In the Serloin case, Goulding said the judge found that
"one of the most
troubling aspects of the attack was Crawford's callous disregard"
for his
victim. After killing Mary Jane, Crawford immediately returned to the tavern
for pizza and beer.
In addition,
"the state of the victim's body told the police they were looking
for a special breed of criminal,"
yet Crawford was sentenced to just 10 years
and served five before beginning a string of new assaults and murders.
Crawford may not have been the only one without a heart.
Mary Jane's family in Brocket, Alta. told Goulding they were ignored by
investigating authorities up to and including Crawford's June 16, 1982
sentencing.
Her sister Justine English said,
"They didn't even have the decency
to let me know what was going on. I really would have wanted to see him, to see
what the guy that killed my sister looked like."
Crawford was let out of prison in 1989. His almost nightly habit was to cruise
the dilapidated areas of town in his mother's car looking for prostitutes. He
was frequently in the company of drinking companion and former fellow inmate
Bill Corrigan who witnessed or participated in some of Crawford's crimes.
MURDERED
John Martin Crawford was convicted of her murder. He was sentenced to ten years in prison, and was released in 1989.
"It seems any time a Native is murdered," Mary Jane's sister commented, "it isn’t a major case. It’s just another dead Indian."
In 1990, while living in Saskatoon, he was fined for attempting to engage the services of a prostitute. Two years later he was charged with raping Janet Sylvestre, a thirty-six-year-old aboriginal woman. Before the year was up, he had murdered three more First Nations women.
NOTE: JANET SYLVESTRE was later found murdered. Although Crawford was considered a suspect he was never charged in her murder. Her case remains unsolved.
Shelley Napope
(Disappeard - summer 1992, found murdered - 1994).
Those were troubled times for the free-spirited Shelley, but her parents Merle and Hubert Napope have fond recollections of the real Shelley, the one her grandmother called Owl in honour of her huge, dark eyes.
Shelley was a joy from Day One, recalls Merle. From the day Mom and baby came home from the hospital in Rosthern, Shelley enchanted everyone she came in contact with. She was quick to make friends.
"She wasn't ever shy," says Merle. "She would come up to you and ask, 'Who are you?' People used to love her because she wasn't shy."
Summer was special to Shelley. With her brother Hubert, whom she usually called Huey, the youngster would go to Bible camp or spend entire days at the swimming pool. She loved to pick berries in the countryside around Duck Lake.
Although she performed reasonably well in school—particularly in music, art and phys Ed—the restrictions and discipline of the stuffy classrooms weren't to Shelley's liking. In early teens she began to skip classes and frequently ran from the school in Duck Lake, only to be found a few days later in Saskatoon.
Letters written from jail reveal a side of Shelley that was occasionally more mature and pragmatic than her behaviour on the outside would suggest.
One such letter, penned inside Kilburn Hall and sent to Merle, had this to say: "I hope I can come home soon because I miss Huey and Dad because you are my only true family that care about me. I am going to go straight and make my life much better. I am going off the street life and go back to school and get good grades and do better. I know I can too, but I never tried to do it. I love you always."
Shelley met John Crawford in early 1992. She met up with him and his ex jail mate, Bill Corrigan, one night, and asked them for a ride to Confederation Park, a west-side neighbourhood of modest ’70s-style family homes and duplexes.
“I’ve got to see some people out there," she said.
“No problem," Crawford responded. “Jump in."
John and Bill waited for Shelley then drove her to an abandoned area, often used for Sweat Lodge Ceremonies, where John Crawford raped and beat her. When she begged to be brought back home, promising not to go to police, John dragged her into the bush and stabbed her repeatedly in her stomach, chest and side.
John Crawford then yanked the knife out of Shelley's stomach, and ordered Bill Corrigan to cover her with branches and leaves.
Back in Saskatoon, John Crawford rolled Shelley's clothes into a ball and disposed of them in a dumpster.
He then went home, and showered before driving his friend Bill Corrigan back to his home at the Albany Hotel.
By the time the remains of Shelley Napope were found in the fall of 1994, there was little physical evidence left to aid investigators in determining what had taken place on the night she was killed. Given the degree of decomposition of the body, it was impossible even to establish a probable cause of death.
Both, John Crawford and Bill Corrigan were both arrested.
Corrigan and Crawford both agreed on what led to her being led to the willow grove near Saskatoon.
On audio tapes secretly recorded by the RCMP, Crawford—in calm, clipped tones, as if he were discussing the weather—clearly confirms many of the specifics of Shelley’s murder. His only surprise was her name.
“I thought her name was Angie,” he said.
Eva Taysup
EVA TAYSUP
(Disappeared - Summer 1992, found strangled - 1994)
John Crawford convicted.
There is no doubt that Eva Taysup's parents, Mary Taysup and Oliver
Okemahwasin, wanted the best for Eva and her ten siblings. When conditions on
their home reserve of Yellow Quill deteriorated to the point where Mary and
Oliver determined that a move to a healthier environment was required, off they
went. There were frequent moves; to Kelvington, to Nut Mountain and then
further afield.
Mary and Oliver were strict. Bev Taysup, Eva's younger sister, has praise for
her parents' efforts to provide a safe and nurturing home for the youngsters.
As she grew into her teens, Eva was a robust, popular girl.
Among the happiest times were the warm Saskatchewan summer days when the Taysup
family traveled to powwows. Bev remembers her bigger sister running off to play
with the older girls, her loud laughter carrying throughout the grounds. Eva
was a gregarious girl, always smiling, and usually surrounded by friends.
Eva, not unlike Shelley Napope and Calinda Waterhen, had a restless streak.
While still in her teens, Eva moved to Saskatoon where she met Ian Gardypie, a
young man from the Beardy's and Okemasis First Nation near Duck Lake. Between
1985 and 1989, four children were born to Eva and Ian: Rene in 1985, Sydney in
1986, Rickie in 1988 and Angel Dawn in 1989.
Speaking in Saulteaux, Mary Taysup says Eva
"looked after her kids really well."
Bev Taysup's memories of those years are of her sister raising
"her little
family,"
with a steady stream of friends dropping over for coffee and long
visits. Eva loved to have company, and with four youngsters to care for, she
didn't get out very often.
"Her smile was so big and she had a loud laugh,"
remembers Cheryl Taysup, a first cousin to Eva and Bev.
"She had a real nice personality. When I was there she was taking care of the
kids, and I remember she would include all the kids in everything, and make
sure they shared."
After Ian and Bev separated, Eva fell heavily into the party scene. Her
favourite haunt was the Barry Hotel where there was live music in the evenings
and she could be around her friends. She loved to dance.
"My sister was an outgoing person,"
says Bev.
"She loved to be around people.
She was a trusting person, sometimes too trusting."
Calinda Waterhen
CALINDA WATERHEN , aged 22.
(Disappeared - Summer 1992, found strangled - 1994)
John Crawford convicted.
Calinda's Cree Name is Nemihkeepakow squewe or Dancing Leaves Woman. It was a
name given to her by the grandfather of Steve Morningchild, Calinda's father.
Steve Morningchild, who lives near Loon Lake and is a member of the Makwa
Sahgaiehean First Nation, acknowledges that Calinda arrived in this world at a
time when he and his wife, the late Margaret Waterhen, were fighting the demons
of alcohol and violence. In 1970, the year Calinda was born, Steve was only 18
and Margaret a year younger. Steve realizes now that he was not ready to be a
father and Margaret was ill prepared for the responsibilities of motherhood.
Before long, Social Services stepped in and removed Calinda and her other
siblings from the home. Calinda lived for some time with the Pete and Bernice
Martel family on the Flying Dust Reserve near Meadow Lake.
Evelyn Martel, daughter of Pete and Bernice, remembers Calinda as a welcome
addition to the household.
"She was quite quiet and liked to sit around and read those true story books
and watch TV,"
remembers Evelyn.
"Her favourite show was Happy Days. Calinda
liked the romantic, mellow music that they played in the eighties."
Calinda dreamed of becoming a teacher and it never occurred to Evelyn to doubt
that the skinny girl with the free spirit and quiet determination would realize
her goals.
"I thought she was going to go somewhere and do something better,"
says Evelyn.
The most important thing to Calinda
"was to be part of a family. That's what
she wanted more than anything."
Highway 16 - Highway of Tears
Calgary Sun, July 14, 2002 reporter, Peter Smith reports “Vanished: Somewhere Along the Highway of Tears Nicole Hoar Simply Disappeared Aboriginal women - thirty-two in all - have gone missing along Highway 16 between Prince Rupert and Prince George, now referred to as the Highway of Tears.
Between 1988 and 1995, five young women -- Alberta Williams, Delphine Nikal, Ramona Wilson, Roxanne Thiara, and Lana Derrick - went missing along that stretch of highway.
It was not until the first non native woman disappeared along this same stretch of highway that the media gave some attention to these disappearances/killings.
We know that there is at least one serial killer along ths stretch of highway
These women's stories are found on the BC Pages of this website
To date, Robert (Willie) Pickton has been charged with at least 25 counts of first degree murder involving some of the missing women from Downtown Eastside Vancouver. Many of Pickton's victims were women of native ancestry.
More charges are pending, due to evidence still being gathered against him.
DNA of at other women have been located on the farm he shared with his brother, David. Charges for these women's murders may be added later.
The preliminary hearing just ended in BC, with a media ban of all proceedings until the trial which is expected to begin in early 2004.
Please click on the British Columbia Link to read about the murders of the First Nations women Pickton has been charged with.
EDMONTON SERIAL KILLERS
A number of women ( primarily native, drug addicted prostitues ) have been murdered in/near Edmonton, Alberta, over the past several years.
Edmonton Police working with RCMP have formed "Project Kare", to help solve these cases.
Please visit the Alberta page to read about these women.
Trial testimony was that he would pick out vulnerable native women bring them to his hotel room with offers of free booze and money.
He would then say, "Have a drink, down the hatch baby, 20 bucks if you drink it right down; see if you're a real woman; finish that drink, finish that drink, down the hatch hurry, right down; you need another drink, I'll give you 50 bucks if you can take it;... until they died.
He would then, later, call police to say there was a dead woman in the hotel room.
Even after he was convicted, he continued this behaviour, has been re-arrested a number of times on violation of parole charges (being seen in public drinking places, or in the company of women), and he continues to be released from jail to repeat his behaviour. Today he is out of prison.
Click the following links to view more cases
(Red text indicates the currently viewed page)Main Missing/Murdered Native Women page
MISSING ALERTS
SASKATCHEWAN
ALBERTA
BC
MANITOBA
ONTARIO
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
NOVA SCOTIA
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
NEW BRUNSWICK
SUCCESS STORIES
Other Native Women Killed in Canada
QUEBEC
NEWFOUNDLAND/LABRADOR
AMERICAN CASES
© Amber O'Hara (the site-owner). You may conditionally (see below) link to this site and/or any of its pages but written permission is required before reproducing any text or images, either in whole or in part. Questions concerning the use of this material may be directed to the site-owner at:
The site-owner retains the right to add, remove, update, correct, or otherwise alter any and all of the data and images contained herein, at any time, and without either prior or subsequent notification to visitors or other interested or affected parties.
This site shall not be mirrored or otherwise duplicated, at any time, or in any form, by any individual or organization other than the site-owner.
Individuals or organizations linking to this site ,and/or any of its pages, data, or images shall ensure that the link is clearly identified as being a separate site. All portions of these pages shall appear in the link. Opening this site within a frame, or a portion of a frame, is permitted providing it is identified as being or originating from a separate site, and all portions of these pages appear within the frame window. The full URL to this site shall be provided and shall be clearly visible to the user at all times.
Incorporating this site and/or any of its pages, data, images, or portions thereof into another site in such a manner as to appear to be an integral part of the other site and not wholly separate and distinct from it, is not permitted.
The data and images on this site are provided Free-of-Charge. Subscription and other fee-based sites and services are not permitted to link to or otherwise incorporate this site or its pages, data, images, or portions thereof, in such a manner, either intentional or unintentional, as to force, coerce, oblige, or otherwise require, (or to appear to force, coerce, oblige, or otherwise require), visitors to their site(s) to pay a subscription and/or access fee in order to view these pages or anything contained therein.
It is not permitted for individuals or organizations to incorporate any of the data, images, or portions thereof contained within this site into any publication, in any form, printed or electronic (including internet sites), that is made available to the public or to certain portions of the public for a fee, regardless of the basis for the fee (ie: profit, non-profit, cost-recovery, or subscription).
Notwithstanding the prior statement, exceptions may be made at the site-owner's sole discretion for legitimate groups provided they make their requests in writing and clearly identify themselves, the reasons behind the request, and the type and nature of the intended re-use of the material. Exceptions may also be made for individuals, under the same circumstances as above. In either case, where permission has been granted, any material used shall be properly referenced to this site and, where applicable, to the original source document.
This Copyright Statement shall be retroactive to include any and all data and images posted to or otherwise incorporated into this site or its original site, since its inception in 1995.
This site is intended to serve as a reference and research aid only. It does not replace first-hand research from original sources.
All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the enclosed files, transcriptions, and supporting material. However, mistakes resulting from human error or the subjective interpretation of original documents are possible. The author apologizes for errors that may occur within the site but accepts no responsibility for any assumptions or conclusions derived from them. It is strongly recommended that the originals be consulted and used as the basis for any research conclusions.
© 1995-2005: Amber O'Hara
Copyright Statement
Disclaimer
Site updated daily
The owner/founder of this site is a grandmother living with AIDS, as a result of a brutal rape in 1990, which has left her unable to work. The cost of this website, research costs, printing, etc. has been covered almost entirely at her expense.
Each time someone visits the website, it takes up bandwidth. From time to time this results in the site not being available to the public because of insufficient bandwidth. This also makes it impossible at these times to update daily, or as is often the case, several times daily.
Increasing the bandwidth would mean increasing our monthly cost to continue to update the website daily. To reach that goal, we ask you to consider making a small donation to help cover the costs of this additional bandwidth.
Regardless of your ability to donate, we welcome your visit. If you can donate, we say Thank you!
