How did Theresa get back to Compton on November 3, 1978?
In the past 29 years, a lot of theories about the night Theresa disappeared have been discussed. Here's another one...
I feel quite confident in saying that Theresa made it back to Compton on Friday, November 3, 1978. There are two eyewitness accounts that place her in King's Hall from 9:00 pm – 9:30 pm. The autopsy found that Theresa still had food in her stomach at the time of her death which means she would have eaten late in the evening as Tamara Westall indicated.
Based on those two facts, the possibility that she was picked up and murdered by a stranger while hitchhiking from Lennoxville to Compton is remote. (If she got a ride from a stranger/murderer on the way back to Compton, I very much doubt that he would have dropped her off unharmed at King's Hall and somehow managed to cross paths with her again later that same night outside the residence. However, if the driver was also connected to King's Hall, there is a stronger possibility that their paths DID cross again.)
So …if she made it back to Compton that Friday night, how did she get there? (And what was she doing between 6:15 pm when she was last seen walking toward the bus and 9 pm when Sharon Buzzee saw her in King's Hall?)
There are two blog entries written by John Allore that inspired my latest theory:
"(Roch) Gaudreault believed it was a murder, and it happened in residence. I said, "a murder done by someone outside the school, or by someone inside the school". He said, inside, and that Gaudreault had two strong suspects. I asked if Gaudreault had ever mentioned any names. (Gerry) Cutting said, "No, he would never do that, but one of the suspects was a teacher." [March 15, 2006]
"On April 2nd, 2002, I had a telephone conversation with Jeanne Eddisford. She confirmed that Peacock was then the Director of Residence, and that he was absent from campus in the evenings on several occasions." [March 12, 2005]
Now what if Theresa spent a few hours in Lennoxville running some errands and bumped into a member of the Champlain staff or a fellow student? Maybe this teacher/ student/ casual acquaintance was in town shopping or enjoying a drink on Friday evening. (Ms. Eddisford said at least one staff person was known to be off-campus in the evenings on several occasions. No doubt there were others.) Maybe this person offered Theresa a lift back to Compton-- which she probably would have readily accepted because she "knew" the driver.
Here's where it gets confusing for me. Sharon Buzzee said Theresa looked as if "she had just come in from outside" which leads me to believe she walked into King's Hall unaccompanied. So if she got a drive from someone who also lived/worked at King's Hall, why wouldn't they have entered together?
Maybe the driver dropped her off at the front door of the residence and left to park the car.
Theresa was seen walking up towards the second floor. Why? Did she want to see her brother Andre…maybe to borrow money? (Her wallet was found with no money in it...did she spend it in Lennoxville and remember she needed to buy smokes or some liquor?) When Andre didn't answer the door, it seems she went back down to the dining room to get a bite to eat. Could she have then met up with that same person who gave her a lift back to Compton and was offered another ride to the store in the village?
I don't think she went back to her room after her late-night snack. If she did, she probably would have changed clothes, stopped by her friends' room, etc. Somebody would have noticed her. Was Theresa on her way there through the annex that connected King's Hall to Gillard House when she was encountered someone who convinced her to go back outside again?
OK...so if she disappears shortly after being seen in the dining room hall...how was she convinced/taken outside? Did a student or teacher in the dining room ask her if she wanted to accompany him to get something at the store?
There are just so many questions about the night of November 3rd that we'll probably never get the answers to unless someone confesses or comes forward with new information. But ultimately, someone brought Theresa back to Compton that night. Who was it and why didn't they share that information with police at the time?
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Maritime Missy
posted by John Allore @ 11/21/2007 08:58:00 AM
12 comments
12 Comments:
MM - I've studied this post - a couple of things...
1. Teacher: the word is there twice, once quoted by John as something that Gerry Cutting said that Roch Gaudreault allegedly said; and another time by yourself, most probably using the word because it was already mentioned. I really don't recall any teachers being at King's Hall; residence staff, yes, student monitors, yes, but teachers, no. Interesting that Gaudreault might have used that word, but he might also have been mis-quoted by Cutting, and then again, interesting that he then chose that word. Having said that, it does not rule out the possibility that a teacher did give Theresa a lift from Campus to King's Hall, but we know that she did make it there safely.
2. We do know that Theresa did not have a drink with anyone in Lennoxville because there was no alcohol in her system. She was quite probably in the library because of the assignment she was working on and it is probable that she met someone there who gave her a lift... it was a Friday night, the library was probably quite empty, not too many people, if any, there to remember Theresa.
3. Back in Compton, if indeed someone was waiting to give her a lift back into the village for smokes, once she retrieved some cash from her brother, one would think that she would have appeared to be a little more in a hurry, or said something to one of the girls like, "Sorry, I've got someone waiting for me, I have to go." It looks more likely that the lift to King's Hall is a separate incident from what occurred to her later that night.
4. It is interesting also what Ms. Eddisford said about Stewart Peacock, that he was absent from 'campus' (probably meant residence) several evenings per week. He had only been there for 2 months... were they watching him? What was the reason that she knew this about him? Had someone at King's Hall reported his absence in the evenings? Was there a pattern to his absences? When she said he was "absent," does that mean that he was supposed to be working/on duty and was absent, or that he was off-duty and just not there and nobody knew where he was?
5. When was the last time anyway at King's Hall or Champlain College saw Peacock? Was Friday, November 3, 1978, one of the nights that he was absent? Was this the "teacher" that Roch Gaudreault was referring to or someone else? Was Peacock fired or did he leave of his own accord? If he was being 'watched' in regards to his absences, it would have been a little tricky to commit this crime and not be noticed.
6. With all the other reported assaults, attacks, rapes, and 2 other murders in and around the area, it is quite likely that it is a stranger and one who committed or attempted to commit other crimes. Somebody somewhere knows something.
anon
Okay, combining this and the previous post, "Time of Death," this is what I think happened after the encounter with the Tamara Westhall in the dining hall. After eating her sandwich (small quatity of food present in her stomach at autopsy) she did what most smokers did, she wanted a cigarette, and that is when she decided to go into the village to get some, otherwise she could have stopped there on her way from school instead. Because I don't smoke, I really don't recall if there was any cigarette vending machine anywhere on the residence property. Anybody remember?
ANON...interesting points you've raised. I used "teacher" but perhaps I should have been more generic and used "staff" which could mean anybody who was employed at King's Hall.
RE: Peacock
I REALLY would like to know more about this fellow. He might be totally innocent or he may have information that could be useful. I cannot understand why he was never interviewed. What would be a legitimate reason for a director of residence not to be interviewed? Is there one? If the school thought Peacock might speak about the lack of discipline/ supervision of students and portray Champalin in a bad light, that in itself is not a legit reason. I think they have word for that. Obstruction.
I wouldn't be surprised if Peacock was being 'watched'. He would have been on probation so the school would probably have been checking him out a little more closely than if he had been a longer term employee.
RE: Smoking
Theresa leaving the residence on her own accord to get smokes after eating is a very likely possibility. My only question: Would she have made that trek with nothing but a pair of chinese slippers on? Or would she have gone back to her room to put on some warmer clothes/sturdier footwear?
I don't think she returned to her room to change footwear...her chinese slippers would then have been found in her room, and she would most probably have been seen or heard returning to her room. On the second floor (girls' floor), there was a lounge with a television, Friday night...usually someone there. I think she just intended to go quickly into the village for smokes and back. If she jogged it, it would take 3 minutes, she was young, you know, impervious to little things like November chill.
MM - your choice of the word 'probation' made me stop and think. It could mean (and probably is your meaning) that he was new to the job and the area and was on a normal probationary period and just being observed in general, OR it could mean that he had a problem in a previous job, that the school was aware of but was giving him a chance but were watching him. Either way, it was known that he was 'absent' on certain evenings, someone was reporting this to someone. He could very well have been the person that gave Theresa her lift from Lennoxville to Compton, but because of a problem in his past, and now this girl goes missing, he fled the scene, eventhough all he did was give her a lift. This would answer your previous question as to why nobody came forward regarding this ride, then or now.
Okay, so we don't really know, at the moment, where the crime began. The abduction, was it at the residence, or the King's Hall driveway, or Cochrane Road, the intersection of Route 208, in the village...? We don't know where the crime took place either, but we do know where it ended. It has been surmised, at some point, on this blog that the location where Theresa was left, was not a random decision on the part of her killer. Having visited the area last year, I would say that it was probably not a random decision, this particular spot was not that easy to reach. One had to negotiate a fairly deep ditch if parked at the edge of the bridge and then either drag or carry her 100 feet back, then through a small thicket of bushes and trees, to put her where she was found at the water's edge, OR to drive a little further down the road, turn onto the tractor trail, and then drag or carry her through the corn stubble, in full view of any passing motorist (there was nowhere to hide, only corn stubble), then have to negotiate the thicket... We know that she was not thrown off the bridge because there is no current to have brought her 34 metres away. It seems like a chosen spot. Why this spot?
anon
Was there ever an conclusion if the farmer had any dogs? that owned the corn field?
also this peacock..i have always wondered where id went to also..and why he was just able to vanish without being questioned? someone is hiding something...for sure!
what do we know? mayeb he had in the past some kind of skeletons in his closet...maybe he was charged at one point of doing something ..lets say with a criminal recond...(sexual) was he scared to be questioned? was his his choice to vanish?
Doreen prior
ANON...By "probation", I meant that he was new to his job and had to serve the usual probationary period BUT...like Doreen...I also believe he may have had difficulties in his previous job.
RE: Why Theresa was found in the bog
I believe this place had a certain significance. I have my own theory but I'm not sure I want to state it publicly yet.
MM, I think we might have the same theory.
Re: Probation...either way, he was being watched for Ms Edisford to have the knowledge that Mr Peacock was absent in the evenings on several occasions...I still would like to know if this meant while he was supposed to be 'on duty' or not. And, why protect him? Even if they took a chance and hired him, what do they gain by protecting him, if indeed this is the case?
Bonjour,
je demeure a Compton, et quand j'ai vu Kings Hall , j'ai commencé à poser des questions et j'ai eu l'étonnement de constater que les gens me répondaient de facon tres vague , comme s'ils n'avaient pas l'envie de s'éterniser sur le sujet. Donc, mon intéret a grandit et j'ai commencé à faire une recherche. Je ne suis pas native de Compton et ma curiosité de comprendre le silence des gens de Compton m'a amené a débuter une recherche sur Kings Hall. Quelle a été ma surprise d'apprendre le mystère de la mort de Thérésa. Avez-vous pensé de venir renouer les souvenirs des gens de Compton, j'ai une forte intuition qu'ils en savent plus qu'ils veulent bien démontrer. Vous savez la loi du silence par peur de ressasser de mauvais souvenirs!
Je pense qu'il y a quelqu'un à Compton qui sait quelque chose mais se tait et en venant faire une immense interrogatoire des gens de Compton sous un prétexte de comprendre ce qui s'est réellement passé, ca pourrait faire craquer des personnes qui sont au courant ou bien vous amenez à une piste sérieuse. Voila ce n'est qu'une opinion et une intuition féminine!!! J'aimerais beaucoup être au courant des développements de toutes cette histoire si vous me le permettez, par simple curiosité. Merci et bien a vous.
Espiegle
Madame,
Es ce que vous pouvez me contacter a ma couriel, johnallore@gmail.com?
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