Barbara Brown - rumored to be an occasional reader here - wants what we all want
(thanks D for the tip)
Cops leave her cold
Twin wants justice for woman slain in '74
By KEVIN CONNOR, TORONTO SUN
Beverly Smith was found murdered in her home north of Oshawa on Dec. 9, 1974, while her infant daughter slept in her crib. Barbara Brown, Smith's twin sister, wants police to reopen the case. (Veronica Henri/SUN)
The twin sister of a Durham woman murdered in 1974 says she wants to "shame" police into reopening the cold case on the eve of the 32nd anniversary of the killing.
"They (police) are more interested in current cases and finding out who killed some bikers. They say they don't need a full-time cold case squad, but if they had a family member murdered you would see a cold case squad pretty quick," said Barbara Brown, whose sister, Beverly Smith, was killed on Dec. 9, 1974.
Smith -- who was the first homicide case for the newly created Durham Regional Police Service -- was alone with her 10-month-old daughter in her home north of Oshawa when she was shot in the back of the head with a .22-calibre weapon.
"Nothing will bring her back, but I want to know what closure feels like. She was a real person, with a real family that was loved. Police need to remember that," Brown said yesterday.
"I've done everything to get them on the case but shame them. I don't want this person to go to their death without paying for my sister's murder."
Smith's body was found by a neighbour after her husband -- Douglas Smith, an evening shift worker at the Oshawa General Motors plant -- called home repeatedly, but did not get an answer.
Paramedics found the couple's baby asleep in her crib.
At the time, police said it was possible Smith knew her killer because there were no signs of forced entry.
In 1987, police reopened the case and said it was drug-related because a small quantity of narcotics was missing from the home.
Last summer, Smith's case was profiled on Court TV, but the show didn't produce any new leads.
"The police are stumped. I need to tug on someone's heart strings to come forward with information, even if it is anonymous," Brown said.
The force will revisit Smith's murder, Det. Leon Lynch, a Durham homicide investigator, said yesterday.
"(Last year) we started getting things ready (to reopen the case), but decisions were made to work on getting the fresh stuff done," Lynch said.
"It has been put aside, but I hope to get working on it soon."
Brown says she will likely spend time with Smith's daughter tomorrow.
"What she knows about her mother I told her. It's still too painful for her dad to talk about it, but I share."
posted by John Allore @ 12/09/2006 06:52:00 AM
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