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Acknowledgements

WRITING IS A SOLITARY PURSUIT; research is not. A book like Unsolved: True Canadian Cold Cases is not possible without conducting numerous interviews, expanding upon the crimes themselves through additional details, and clarifying or correcting information which originally appeared in stories published in newspapers and magazines at the time of the murder or disappearance in question.

Works of true crime often require material from a variety of sources beyond archival stories, and documents from various police agencies. Unsolved is largely based on original interviews with individuals who were directly affected by the crimes, such as surviving family members and friends of victims. Without exception, all those I spoke to who have lost a family member to homicide, or whose relatives vanished without a trace and have never been found, have a great interest in seeing the cases solved, and the guilty parties brought to justice. I thank them all for their enthusiasm, courage, and willingness to share their feelings about crimes that, in some cases, took place forty years ago.

Attempting to solve cold crimes is a lengthy process involving police officers and professionals from many other areas. For Unsolved I interviewed detectives and other individuals directly involved in the process, past and present, including retired officers and auxiliary police who were part of the original investigation, lawyers, forensic artists, representatives from missing persons agencies, victims rights advocates, private investigators, and television producers. My gratitude goes out to everyone who was willing to participate in this project.

They are: Sonja Bata (founding chairman, Bata Shoe Museum), Brent Bauer, David Boothby, Jim Bunting, Norina D’Agostini (Toronto Police Museum), Jacqueline de Croÿ (Fondation Princesses De Croÿ), Trish Derby (former executive director, Child Find Ontario), Christopher M. Downer (investigator/professional speaker, the C.D. Group), Angela Ellis (media representative, the Doe Network), Tim Gore (detective, Homicide and Missing Persons Bureau — Cold Case Unit, York Regional Police), Edward Greenspan (Greenspan Partners), Ann Greenwalt (technical records specialist, Central Records, Idaho Department of Correction), Gary Grinton (detective sergeant, Toronto Police Service), Linda Harris, David Johnson (president, Innotech Rehabilitation Products Inc.), Teresa Jones (administrative support manager, Idaho Department of Correction), Cherilyn Lafferty, Brian J. Lawrie (founder, POINTTS), Mark Mendelson (Mark Mendelson Consulting Corporation), Irwin Patterson, Alexa Phillips [name changed by request], Reg Pitts (detective sergeant, Toronto Police Service Homicide Squad, Cold Case/Special Projects), Bruce Priestman (Metropolitan Toronto Police Pensioners Association), David Quigley (detective inspector, Ontario Provincial Police), Nikki Randall (sergeant, Caledon Ontario Provincial Police), Brian Raybould (staff inspector, Toronto Police Service Homicide Squad), Peter Thompson (master corporal, Canadian Forces National Investigation Service), Diana P. Trepkov (forensic artist), Todd B. White (Greenspan Partners), Robert Wilkinson (detective, Toronto Police Service), and Ray Zarb (detective sergeant, Toronto Police Service Homicide Squad).

I especially wish to thank everyone I mentioned for their time, understanding, patience, and candor. Some generously provided me with original research materials, photos, and other documents that greatly benefitted my writing and understanding of the crimes themselves.

While researching this book I was especially touched by the honesty and openness of family members who have lost loved ones to murder or abduction. I cannot imagine anything more personal than sharing your feelings about how someone you cared for was brutally stolen, in some cases at a very young age. For the families of many victims, the loss affected their lives in ways many of us can never — and hopefully will never — know. In several chapters of Unsolved, I have incorporated the effects these murders have had on surviving family members, taking care not to victimize the families all over again. Likewise, while researching and writing this book, I have developed an even greater respect for members of many missing children organizations, and those who fight one of the greatest dangers facing children today: online predators. All of these people are dedicated volunteers who work with little or no funding and cannot be acknowledged enough for their hard work.

In addition, I would like to thank all the staff at Dundurn for their support, in particular president and publisher Kirk Howard, editorial director Michael Carroll, Tony Hawke, and assistant editor Cheryl Hawley. This book would not be possible without their assistance, and the generosity of the Ontario Arts Council.

My heartfelt thanks also to all staff working in branches of the Toronto Public Library. This book, and much of my work over the past twenty years, has benefitted from your knowledge, patience, and valuable assistance.

On a personal note, my deepest gratitude goes out to my wife, Elizabeth, for her unwavering support and tolerance of my absenteeism, sometimes for months at a time, while working on Unsolved.

Thanks always to Peter C. Newman for his encouragement and words of wisdom, and to the spirit of my mother, Ann Hoshowsky, for always watching over my shoulder.

It is my sincere wish, for the families and victims of the dead and disappeared in this book, that the guilty parties be brought to justice, and that their unsolved cases can finally be closed.