Wednesday, September 30, 2009

La Règle du jeu - Olympics 2016

A word to Chicago concerning your Olympic bid:

Don't do it.

Take it from a city that has been there. Montreal suffered the one-two punch of the World's Fair (1967) and Summer Games (1976) AND NEVER RECOVERED. The Olympic Stadium (dubbed "The Big Owe") was a multi-million boondoggle. Initial estimates put the cost at $134 million. In 2006 the final term installment on the debt was paid off. Total cost? $1.61 billion. (Ahh but the chance to see your crappy Canadian athletes "go for the bronze"? Priceless.

A city should only showcase itself if it has solved the majority of its problems and is ready to be a model to the world. Lest we forget, for the World's Fair Montreal massive billboards and partitions were erected to block out the urban blight, thus disenfranchising the poor working class Quebecois from all that world class (tabarnouche!).

Chicago? Have you solved your problems?

"Hey Gina... un castor, ben ouais"

Besides, the Olympics are for cities that have sort-off arrived and are waiting for an invite to the dance (think Atlanta, Utah... and Calgary). Chicago? I think you've arrived. How much more tourism do you really need? Your infrastructure can barely hold up under the weight of your bloating current populous.

And your citizens will be paying for the upgrades for the rest of their lives through tax increases. President Obama I'm all for giving an economy a shot in the arm but not on the backs of the struggling working class.

Mr. President please give your state a break and sit this one out. Let Brazil be the world showcase. Lord knows they've solved all their problems.

Labels: 2016 olympics, Chicago, Expo 67, Montreal, Obama

Monday, September 28, 2009

Et j''te dis, Rene "a la prochaine fois!"

When I was a kid we had two posters hanging in our rec-room: one was JFK, the other Pierre Trudeau. It should have been Trudeau and Levesque.

Growing up as a kid Levesque terrified me. I was certain he was aiming for the destruction of me and my family. He was small. He was ugly. He chain-smoked. He spoke the worst Quebecois joual.

I was wrong.

I feel a strange fraternity with Rene. It started on a visit to Quebec City two years ago where I was compelled to visit the Assemble Nationale. By accident I stubbled upon his statue at the front of the building. Then I discovered we had a kinship (Rene est une Acadie comme moi; il est ne a Cambelton et mes famillies sont de Bathurst au Nouveau Brunswick).

But there are other things. I remember I was quite upset when they changed the name of rue Dorchester in Montreal to Blvd. Rene Levesque. This was the street where my sister and I would arrive on visits to Montreal by the train station (who were these Patriotes to change that name?). Later I thought, but who-the-hell was Dorchester?

If you don't know Rene Levesque, you need to Google him: A founder of Cite Libre with Trudeau, Gérard Pelletier, and Pierre Vallières... great Quebec thinkers. A man of passion and precision; a Separatists, but of non-violent means.

It is strange. I have felt lately a reckoning with Quebec coming on. Some sort of understanding. Because I grew up English there, without any understanding of the culture. And now I must pay that price. I have expressed this sometimes as a "Stockholm Syndrome": a great guilt for my lack of understanding.

Perhaps.

I have a great dream. In the dream I return to Quebec after many years. And all my sins are forgiven.

Cedrika Provencher - Le Pire

Alors, maintenant nous comprenons tous... La famille de Cedrika lance une demande depuis le 16 septembre, mais les media Anglais "play-catchup". Bravo Gazette!:

mercredi 16 septembre 2009

Le grand-père de Cédrika Provencher lance un cri du coeur

Le grand père de Cédrika Provencher, cette fillette disparue depuis plus de deux ans, a lancé un cri du coeur à la population ce mercredi.

Lors d'une entrevue accordée au réseau TVA, Henri Provencher a en effet demandé à toute personne ayant de l'information sur ce dossier de rejoindre la ligne téléphonique dédiée à la disparition de sa petite-fille. Cette ligne sera encore active pour deux semaines seulement.

En juin dernier, l'avocat Guy Bertrand a confirmé qu'il agit comme procureur indépendant afin de recueillir des informations qui permettront de retrouver la petite Cédrika, disparue le 31 juillet 2007 à l'âge de neuf ans. L'avocat bien connu offre 170 000 dollars à la personne qui pourra lui donner des informations menant à la fillette.

La mission de l'avocat se termine le 30 septembre à 19h. L'homme de loi a cependant spécifié qu'une personne ayant participé à l'enlèvement, ou qui a été complice après le fait, n'est pas à l'abri de poursuites si les autorités policières découvrent par elles-mêmes des informations. Cela implique qu'il ne pourra pas les représenter en justice.

Les personnes ayant des informations doivent appeler au numéro 418-687-2862.

Cedrika Provencher parents issue plea for info

What does this tell me? $170,000 doesn't buy much, that's what it tells me. Someone probably tried to collect last week by giving some information (so, the search in the woods). That led nowhere. And now this. Very disappointing:

QUEBEC — The family of a Quebec girl who vanished more than two years ago issued a desperate plea for anyone with information on her fate to come forward before a deadline expires Wednesday.

Cedrika Provencher was nine years old when she disappeared in July 2007. Her family has offered $170,000 to anyone who would help locate her.

But the reward — and an agreement by the family's lawyer, Guy Bertrand, to provide confidentiality to anyone with information — expires at the end of the day Wednesday.

"This (strategy) didn't yield the results we expected and we don't have any other choice but to hope things will turn around in the last few days," said the girl's grandfather, Henri Provencher, from the family home in Trois-Rivieres, a town midway between Montreal and Quebec City.

"It's quite a package we're offering to people who are holding on to crucial information," he said.

Bertrand, a prominent Quebec lawyer, is looking to speak with witnesses, people who know the presumed kidnappers or even the alleged kidnappers themselves.

Police launched a massive search for Cedrika in the months after her disappearance, but there have been no leads on her whereabouts. Nor have there been any arrests in the case.

The family has searched for her relentlessly and took the unusual step in June of enlisting Betrand to act as special investigator in the case.

He has promised anyone who confides in him will not be handed over to authorities, citing client-lawyer confidentiality.

As the Sept. 30 deadline looms, the family fears it might be headed back to square one if no relevant information is unearthed. Provencher said the lawyer has received a high number of calls, but that only "a few" were of interest.

"We hope the pressure is mounting on those who have information," the grandfather said.

"They'll never have another opportunity like that," he stressed.

Provencher said the family is not giving up hope and will continue to look for Cedrika until they know what happened to her.

The family will meet with Bertrand this week to review the situation, but Provencher said they will probably not extend his mandate.

Bertrand declined to comment on the case when reached at his Quebec City office Monday.

She's So Heavy

C'est curieux. L'automne toujours a me pensant au past. Je pense beaucoup de Theresa aujourd'hui. Que faisait-elle il y a 31 ans ? Qui pensait-elle à ? Qui pensait à elle ? Le past est lourd.

Le meurtrier de Stefanie Rengel écope de la prison à vie

La Presse Canadienne

Un jeune homme de 19 ans qui avait reconnu avoir tué une adolescente de 14 ans en raison de la jalousie maladive de sa petite amie a écopé lundi d'une peine de prison à vie, sans possibilité de libération conditionnelle avant 10 ans.

L'homme peut simplement être identifié comme D.B. parce qu'il avait moins de 18 ans quand il a tué Stefanie Rengel à Toronto, au jour de l'An 2008.Il avait plaidé coupable cette année à des accusations de meurtre prémédité. Sa petite amie de l'époque, Melissa Todorovic, qui a maintenant 17 ans, a écopé en juillet d'une peine pour adulte de prison à vie sans possibilité de libération conditionnelle avant sept ans.

Le juge Ian Nordheimer, de la Cour supérieure de l'Ontario, l'a décrite comme étant celle qui a «tiré les ficelles» de ce crime et lui a infligé la peine la plus lourde possible pour un meurtre prémédité commis par quelqu'un de moins de 16 ans.

Lors des représentations sur sentence plus tôt ce mois-ci, un D.B. larmoyant avait déclaré au tribunal qu'il ne pouvait se pardonner ce crime «dégoûtant» qui a coûté la vie «à une jeune fille innocente qui méritait de vivre».

La Couronne avait demandé une peine pour adulte au lieu d'une peine pour jeune, ce qui aurait pu lui valoir six ans de prison, suivis de quatre ans de probation dans la communauté.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

... votre rage dans la bière du chien à Molson

J'ai fini de lire le Manifesto d'FLQ (c'est nécessaire de le lire avec la voix d'Andrei Codrescu)

Grande Roue

Well, well, well... Tout le monde dans un tumulte d'y compris le Manifesto de FLQ dans « Le Moulin une Paroles ». Et les références de Programme« du Parti Libéral en ce sens n'est en fait que la Simard-Cotroni de faiseurs de ds de victoire «, liant ainsi les Libéraux à le Mob. Et maintenant le gouvernement de Québec examine l'union de construction sur les allégations de corruption et les attaches au crime organisé.

The fox is in the hen-house.

Translation:

Everyone's in an uproar about including the FLQ Manifesto in "Le Moulin a Paroles". And the Manifesto references "du Parti Libéral en ce sens n' est en fait que la victoire des faiseurs d'élections Simard-Cotroni", thus tying the Liberals to the mob. (in the 70s the Liberal party bought their power through ties to the mafia - well, not just the Liberals... EVERY political party owed an allegiance) And now the Quebec government is investigating the construction union on allegations of corruption and ties to organized crime.

Now you know why it's taken 40 years to get to the bottom of this (wheels of justice move slow when those with the power want the status quo)

The fox is in the hen-house.

www.theresaallore.com

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Sq Search for Missing Plane

It's right next to the yellow helicopter.

Disparition de Cédrika Provencher

Interesting that it's been 24 hours and the Quebec English media has yet to cover this: do we still have a language problem in Quebec? (don't answer that):

De nouvelles recherches ont été menées mercredi, à Trois-Rivières, dans l'espoir de trouver des indices permettant d'élucider la disparition de Cédrika Provencher.

Des bénévoles ont fouillé un boisé du secteur Trois-Rivières Ouest à la demande de l'avocat Guy Bertrand, qui agit à titre de procureur indépendant depuis juin dernier pour tenter de retrouver la fillette.

Selon un ex-enquêteur, qui supervisait l'équipe de bénévoles, des objets retrouvés sur les lieux ont été remis à des enquêteurs de la Sûreté du Québec.

Cédrika Provencher est portée disparue depuis le 31 juillet 2007.

SQ receives ESRI award for Crime Mapping

This is a joke right? The Surete du Quebec needed to be instructed by Kim Rossmo, Patricia Pearson and me on the relevance of geographic profiling. Can we at least get an "attaboy"?:

Sûreté du Québec Receives ESRI Canada's Award of Excellence for Enhancing Public Safety Using GIS

24 September 2009

MONTRÉAL - September 23, 2009 - ESRI Canada today presented an Award of Excellence to the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) for its success in developing and enhancing Web mapping services to support police and public safety operations in Québec using ESRI's geographic information systems (GIS) technology.

The award was presented at the 2009 ESRI Regional User Conference in Montréal.

"The Sûreté du Québec's geomatic division has significantly improved its services using GIS to help police and civil servants enhance public safety," said James Wickson, Vice President of Sales and Professional Services, ESRI Canada. "We look forward to working with them to drive continuous improvement in their operations."

As the provincial police force, the Sûreté du Québec's mission is to maintain peace and public order; preserve life, safety and human rights; and protect property. SQ's operations are supported by its geomatics division, responsible for providing mapping services to 7,180 police and civil servants in the organization. Prior to 2005, the geomatics team had five members who relied on paper maps to produce an average of 15 maps per week for various police units. The maps are used for activities including criminal investigations, search and rescue missions, intelligence services and logistics planning for major events such as G8 conferences and Quebec City's 400th anniversary.

To increase the geomatics division's capacity to respond to mapping requests, it worked with ESRI Canada to develop GeoSûreté, a Web-based mapping application powered by ArcIMS - a solution for delivering dynamic maps and GIS data and services over the Web. The solution enables organizations to publish, explore and share geospatial information to accomplish tasks and improve decision making.

The application has enabled the team to produce maps quickly and easily by leveraging one map to serve the requirements of several units. Previously, they needed to produce several maps to address each unit's request. Using the software, the division has also extended GIS data and capabilities throughout the organization. In a day, about 80 to 100 users create their own maps using the application. With the success of GeoSûreté, the geomatics division has experienced a significant increase in demand for its services and the team now has 11 members.

"GIS technology has become the backbone of our team's operations," said Frédérick Pons, Geomatics Divison Head, Sûreté du Québec. "With ESRI Canada's solution, we have increased the speed, quality and efficiency of our mapping services. This has raised our profile within the organization as an important support service, enabling our police and civil servants to act timely and effectively on public safety concerns."

To further enhance GeoSûreté, SQ is upgrading to ArcGIS Server, a complete server-based GIS that provides role-based access and integrated functionality for disseminating geographic data and capabilities to large numbers of users within and beyond an organization. Scalable and interoperable, ArcGIS Server enables centralized management of geographic data and integration with other applications. With the upgrade, the geomatics team expects to provide a more intuitive interface, faster-loading graphics and integrate more data such as road camera data into GeoSûreté.

For more information about ArcGIS Server, visit: http://www.esricanada.com/products/arcgisserver

Saturday, September 19, 2009

A message from Terry R

Since you mention Theresa's friend Terry R, here is a message from the man himself:

"John

you put things in a interesting light

first of all ...I think the Clouseau came from a bungling cop.yes Theresa did a GREAT impression ...and I don;t know if you know the story of "Minky's eyes"...and how she would ask her friends in her best Clouseau "do yoooooooou know who stooollllle Minky's eyesssssss ???"
and Clouseau was likable (maybe not by the chief)

Roch is a rogue cop.....akin to those deadbeats that are easily paid off in the streets of New York or Chicago

It is apparent that he was not a good detective at all ....case in point ...at the search party we find an old purse...probably dating to BEFORE Louise Camirand was found ...so it was there when the body was there ...plus all the other stuff we found ...funny how WE as civilians find that stuff and he did not ....in all the pictures I saw at Allo Police...none had him trudging around looking for clues..he was either too lazy or just did not want to go out into the snow

and how many discrepancies did we find between what he reported and what photos showed ..or other evidence?
Sharon Buzzee's email ...she was probably the LAST person to see Theresa alive ...in any case she would be the #1 key witness ....and yet you see what she wrote...she was treated like crap ..and her testimony largely ignored

John...when Roch came to see me when Theresa was MISSING ...he already had the drug theory ...my friend Jeremy was there in the apt and he remembers it very well ...before ANY evidence or any clues or anything...Roch already had her dead and buried with a drug story! and when she was found ...well his excuse was that students were in exams...etc etc and basically just too damn lazy to care

but it doesn't matter ...I think he deliberately bungled all 3 cases ..because he had an idea who did it and just diverted attention away ...I am convinced of it

also keep in mind 2 things

here was a detective in a small town where girls are being slaughtered...people are afraid ..scared.. imagine what a local hero he would be if he caught the guy that has been attacking and killing girls! small towns don't let things like that go lightly...he'd be the guest of honor at weddings, local events, written about in the press etc etc ...c'mon John this guy had an ego like a hot air balloon ...but yet he chose to NOT diligently investigate the case..for whatever reason

and not only small town stuff...in the police force...that's what you become a detective for...to be recognized among your peers...exhalted...patted on the back ...maybe even teaching WITHIN the force ...speaking circuit...nice promotions...retirement ,..etc

but he DID NOT retire with the force...and he was not with the force for many years...despite a cushy career with a civil service...he either chose to leave OR was booted out ...and now he's a lowly private eye (that's one step from a security guard) waiting in cars at night catching jilting husbands and workers comp cheats .....what a career!

you have to step back and look at the big picture ....many cases never find a body so there are no clues...here are THREE bodies...all left near the road for everyone to see ...none were buried or hidden or kidnapped for long periods of time ...the killer demonstrated his power by exhibiting his work ....cause he KNEW that his buddy Roch ...would never catch him

I still believe the key may be with him ... maybe today with the right coaxing or whatever..he may come clean ...I don't know

if anything ...even if the killer is long dead...I think he owes it to Theresa's family to tell the real truth

i leave you with that"

From Holly Desimone

No Trial For Sex Offender

Calgary Sun / 09/19/09

The convicted sex offender Mounties tracked down in the U.S. to bring to court 30 years after a B.C. child was raped saw criminal charges against him stayed by the B.C. Supreme Court.

The ruling was made after court heard Wilbur James Ventling's Charter Rights were violated by a protracted extradition process to bring him before the Canadian justice system.

Ventling, 63, was set to stand trial this week before a jury for the rape of a nine-year-old Vernon girl in the late 1970s.

"The defence raised Charter issues from a delay of process application and earlier today, the presiding judge in the case has stayed charges against Mr. Ventling," Vernon/North Okanagan RCMP spokesman Gordon Molendyk said yesterday.

"The RCMP is very disappointed with the outcome of this case as it has taken many years and many hours of investigation to get to this point."

The American, a registered sex offender who has a prior sex assault conviction in the U.S., was arrested October 2007 at his Nevada home, where he was living with his wife.

He was charged with one count of rape and one of causing bodily harm with intent to wound stemming from a 1979 attack on the pre-teen in Vernon.

The girl was lured by a man saying he needed help to find his cat before she was raped.

At the time, he was said to be a possible suspect in early several Calgary-area sex attacks dating back to the '70s.

Earlier court documents outline how a bloody fingerprint on a fast-food napkin found at the Vernon crime scene helped cops finally break the case.

DNA evidence analyzed years later matched a sample taken six months after the Vernon attack from a man arrested near Taber regarding a Calgary investigation -- providing a compelling argument to extradite Ventling to Canada to face charges in that attack in December 2007.

Neil MacKenzie, communications counsel with the B.C. Criminal Justice Branch, said it is premature to say if an appeal will be made.

But he was willing to summarize arguments made by Crown prosecutor, Dave Ruse, before Justice Lance Bernard.

"The defence applied for a judicial stay of proceedings on the basis of excessive delay of the matter coming to trial and the court found there had been a delay of over 10 years from the time of Mr. Ventling's release in the States (after an earlier sex crime conviction), and his extradition to Canada and trial proceeding here," he said.

"The court found he should have been brought to trial without such a lengthy delay and found it brought prejudice to the accused."

The Crown has 30 days to appeal the ruling, and is studying the judge's decision.

SQ Can't Find Yellow Helicopter

First clue, Waldo's piloting it... It's parked right along side La Ronde's stealth ferris wheel, you dumasses:

SQ on the lookout for stolen helicopter

Thief takes off with bright-yellow chopper in broad daylight

THE GAZETTESEPTEMBER 19, 2009 4:01 PMBE THE FIRST TO POST A COMMENT

MONTREAL – Provincial police are still looking for a bright-yellow helicopter that was stolen in broad daylight Friday in Sorel-Tracy, about an hour’s drive northeast of Montreal.

Witnesses told provincial police they saw the helicopter taking off at about 3:15 p.m. Friday, said Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Sgt. Gregory Gomez.

The helicopter is privately owned and was sitting outside on private property on Route Marie Victorin, Gomez said. He could not say how the thief managed to start the engine.

Remembering to remember to remember...

Bill likes the background stuff...

Well sure, it is kinda interesting. I think I've mentioned I wrote a book (never published, but I put a lot of work into it). I put the first part up here on WKT. When I move to the new site I'll post the whole thing. It doesn't really matter now. And if I wrote about all this now, it would be quite different (I was in a VERY different frame of mind).

Anyway... I was thinking about back then when I was looking into the case. I was thinking just how easily everything fell into place. It's odd, when you think of it things could have gone quite differently.

It all sort of came together over a weekend in Quebec in March 2002. The SQ gave me a little room with a file box full of papers to go over. I sat in there all day with my little Larousse dictionary (because my French was not very good back then). I pored over witness statements given to the police (basically 110 testimonials by students), and a picture emerged quite quickly: Theresa was a good student, she didn't do drugs, and she hitchhiked; that's it.

The big "reveal" came later that afternoon when I had the luck to run into Gerry Cutting from Champlain College (who was STILL teaching there) and he said quite bluntly that he always thought Theresa was murdered. Understand that at this point the school didn't know what I was up to and was initially very open and candid. It was only later in the Summer when the story broke that they lawyered-up.

Then you just had the geography of the place. The first bit of luck was that nothing had changed in 25 years. I was expecting development, stuffed that was referenced to be gone, etc... None of that. The police station was the same one my parents went to. The cafeteria where Theresa was last seen? There. The Lion Pub? There. The student residence abandoned for 25 years in the country? There, perfectly preserved. The place where she was found - I was expecting a sprawling suburb? Nope. Apart from trees growing and paved roads rather than gravel? There.

So once you had the geography perfectly preserved it took you about a good night's sleep to realize that everything added up to foul play and murder - nothing else fit.

And the final piece was going to the Champlain library and being handed - practically on a silver platter - newspapers from the 70s that documented a continued history of sexual assaults and rapes over a period of five years in Lennoxville. AND students crying out for help to whatever editorial would allow their voices to be heard.

The feeling was one of pride of course, because you had discovered something BIG, but also doubt (this couldn't be ME that was putting all this together)... and complete disbelief (how could everyone have missed this?). And then menace (maybe they deliberately wanted to "miss this").

This last point is why I can't fully appreciate Roch Gaudreault as an Inspector Clouseau type (as my good friend Bill commented). Clouseau is a bumbling and endearing fool who somehow manages to get things right. Roch was none of that. He deliberately obfuscated the truth (for what intention, I still haven't figured that out). So it disgusts me that he was passing on to young police candidates his methods. It disgusts me that he was the lead detective on Theresa's case, Manon Dube's and Louise Camirand's and he was too lazy (or a motive much worse possibly) to lift a finger to grasp the true nature of these crimes. And he disgusts me because all three cases remain unsolved.

And finally.... Clouseau was one of Theresa's favorite characters, she used to do an impression of him. So Rocky as Clouseau? I don't think so.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Guy Croteau: unlikely anti-hero

Continuing from some comments from the prior post...

You know Guy Croteau was the catalyst for all of this. I had the idea to look again at Theresa's case but I waffled for many years. In in mid 90s my brother looked at it - went to Sherbrooke, met with people - met with Roch Gaudreault! Everyone's favorite SQ inspector!

At that time Roch was working at the University of Sherbrooke as an investigative instructor to young police cadets (go figure). Andre talked to my Dad, Robert Buellac, students, etc... but they were all working on a drug theory so it went nowhere.

So in the Summer of 2001 I called up the SQ from my office in North Carolina. They told me they'd try to find Theresa's file, but I would have to come to Quebec to see it (I asked them to mail me a copy!).

Then 9/11 hit and everyone was grounded.

Finally I got a phone call from Patricia Pearson in February of 2002 (I had spoken to her about the case, but at this point she was not on-board to do a story - I was actually pursuing Malcolm Gladwell to do it (who wrote Tipping Point and Blink; we went to school together).

So Patricia leaves this message, "I heard that the Quebec police have a murder suspect in custody and they want to talk to your family about a possible connection to your sister's case.". I hit the roof. THIS is how cold-cases get solved! I call the police. Patricia's message is sort of true: yes, the SQ have a guy in custody, a guy named Guy Croteau - who murdered Sophie Landry - and they are going back and looking at any unsolved case from the last 30 years to see if they can pin anything else to him.

At this point the SQ don't even know Theresa Allore existed. And it gets better, they have a "special hot line" phone number posted online where you can call to leave possible information linking Croteau. Man, I phoned that number a half dozen times, I left messages with the main offices in Montreal and Sherbrooke, I begged them to contact me... BECAUSE I HAD INFORMATION THEY WERE REQUESTING. They would never get back with me.

REALITY: This is how cold cases don't get solved.

At least it's better now. Back then there was very little information online anywhere about crimes. There was NOTHING about Quebec crimes. No one was blogging. Now look: you Google Guy Croteau and even A&E's Cold Case Files has an entry about Croteau.

Helene Monast - September 10th, 1977

From Doreen Prior over at Chris's Crime Forum:

"Helene Monast :

Coldcase from Chambly (Quebec) September 10th 1977

Allo Police news paper (September 25th 1977)

Helene Monast 18 years oldFor Helene Saturday, September 10th 1977 was a very special day as it was her 18th Birthday. Helene spent the day at home celebrating.At 9pm the same night Helene met her girlfriend at a restaurant .10:30pm her brother was at the restaurant, she asked her brother to drive her home as she wanted to pick up a jacket and a book as she was going to sleep at her grandmothers home. He drove her to pick up her things and then drove her back to the restaurant.Helene walked with her girlfriend across a (small bridge) then walked back towards Maurice street byherself. Helene was last seen by her brother who saw her walking on the sidwalk with her girlfriend, he waved to her...11:10pm Saturday September 1977.

The next day (Sunday) September 11th 1977 Helene was found murdered on the grounds of a small park on Federal government land situated near the Chambly canal at the intersection of Bourgogne + Maurice street in Chambly (Quebec). A resident on maurice Street looked out her window and saw the body of a half naked female lying on her back.The position of her body and her clothing indicated to the police that she had been dragged into that small area. Helene was raped, beaten and strangled.In the write-up in the Allo Police news paper (September 25th 1977) they quote," Just like the recent sexual crimes that took the lives of louise Camirand last March, in Sherbrook east Canton, and Johanne Dorion in July, in Laval."

lets not forget in addition Crimes/murders in the 70's
Manon Dube-January 1978
Sharron prior-March 1975
Theresa Allore- 1979"

A Few things: Louise Camirand disappeared March 1977, found dead 2 days later. Theresa disappeared November 3, 1978 (she was found Friday the 13th, April, 1979).
Allore, Dube, Camirand were all found face down. Camirand was covered with winter coat. Chambly is closer to where Sharron was murdered than Sherbrooke-Lennoxville.

Thanks for posting Doreen. Because you will find absolutely nothing about this case on the internet.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

The Lab Tech did it

Lab Technician Raymond Clark III has been arrested in the murder of Yale Student Annie M Le.

Someone emailed me to say that this case reminded them of Theresa's case (the town-and-gown angle I guess). Then I remembered that it reminded me of something from Theresa's case too.

In the early days of our investigation, Patricia Pearson and I got it in our heads that a Lab Technician from Champlain College might have murdered Theresa. Even better: we believed that the Lab Tech could have been an alias-wielding Guy Croteau, the Quebec serial offender convicted in 2002 for the murder of Sophie Landry. Three "compelling" pieces of evidence convinced us of this:

1. Croteau was from Quebec.
2. Croteau's mug shot looked like a photo from 1978 of the Lab Tech (we'll call him Bruce).
3. We needed a suspect.

Several problems quickly arose that made the theory implausible, beginning with Croteau's mug shot. Take one look here and you can see that Croteau was a chameleon (he looked like everyone). The big spoiler came when I actually tracked down the phone number of Bruce. By this time Croteau was on trial for the Landry murder. If I phoned and "Bruce" picked up, then the gig was up. But if I phoned and was told that "Bruce" was indefinitely indisposed? Bingo!

I phone. I'm so hoping to be told Bruce doesn't live there anymore. Phone picks up:

"Hello this is Bruce."

This was about when Kim Rossmo gave me my first piece of advice about amateur gumshoeing:

Don't chase suspects.

Labels: Annie Le, Raymond Clark

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Google Restores Who Killed Theresa? Blog

You know, it might have been the call I made to the publishers of Criminal Investigative Failures, Taylor & Francis who emailed me today with this response after contacting Google:

"I just heard back from Google, they said there was an issue on their side and your blog is back online. I just checked and it is working. Let me know if I can be of further assistance."

I prefer to be left with the impression it was you. 110 signatures on a petition isn't much in a grand scheme, but it means a lot to me:

12:31 pm PDT, Sep 14, Joyce Preslar, North Carolina
We support John Allore as: Friends of Debbie Key Friends of John Allore Resident of Chapel Hill, NC

# 109:

5:47 pm PDT, Sep 12, Mary Ann Arsenault, Canada

# 108:

12:31 pm PDT, Sep 11, Doreen Sedlacek, Iowa
Please give John his 6 years of hard work back so that he may continue looking for the person(s) responsible for his sisters murder.

# 107:

5:16 pm PDT, Sep 9, Carl Rosenstock, Wisconsin

# 106:

6:39 am PDT, Sep 7, Robert Allore, Canada

# 105:

4:34 pm PDT, Sep 5, Name not displayed, Canada
Wow, to not even be given a chance to explain actions or comments. We are in a democracy and should be allowed to deal with the death of a loved one. Obviously we shouldn't be malicious or libelous. Let's get this issue dealt with. I have read the blog and have never noticed anything malicious about the posts.

# 104:

1:41 pm PDT, Sep 5, Wayne Leng, California

# 103:

12:39 pm PDT, Sep 5, Rachel Sipp, Oregon

# 102:

6:59 pm PDT, Sep 4, Shelley MacDonald, Canada
Please allow this family to have access to this information they requested. They have worked for years trying to find closure.

# 101:

3:19 pm PDT, Sep 3, Lisa Guimond, Canada

# 100:

11:41 am PDT, Sep 3, Name not displayed, Greece

# 99:

9:06 pm PDT, Sep 2, Name not displayed, Canada
If you won't restore the blog, at least send him the information in electronic form.

# 98:

8:47 pm PDT, Sep 2, Paige Stoecker, New York

# 97:

8:36 pm PDT, Sep 2, David Desmarais, Canada

# 96:

6:24 pm PDT, Sep 2, Robert Laplante, Canada
Please restor the BLOG Who Killed Theresa? John is absolutely correct when he mentions that siz years of work has gone down the drain. It really would be a shame if all of his dedicated hard work is wasted.

# 95:

5:37 pm PDT, Sep 2, Colin Mitchell, Canada

# 94:

4:46 pm PDT, Sep 2, Beth Hart, Canada
please give John back his content so he can continue to work towards solving his sister's murder, Beth Hart

# 93:

3:39 pm PDT, Sep 2, Jean Mcbride, Canada

# 92:

3:20 pm PDT, Sep 2, Kathleen Mallette, Canada

# 91:

8:23 am PDT, Sep 2, Name not displayed, Massachusetts

# 90:

6:30 pm PDT, Sep 1, Heidi Muller, Canada

# 89:

6:14 pm PDT, Sep 1, Margaret Totten, Canada

# 88:

3:31 pm PDT, Sep 1, Name not displayed, Illinois

# 87:

3:20 pm PDT, Sep 1, K Cross, Maryland
"If we own the murdered nothing because they can not demand it from us, then we are worthless and the past is meaningless"

# 86:

3:20 pm PDT, Sep 1, Brooks Stone, North Carolina

# 85:

2:04 pm PDT, Sep 1, Name not displayed, Canada

# 84:

9:20 am PDT, Sep 1, Cheryl McCarthy, Massachusetts

# 83:

8:52 am PDT, Sep 1, Maia Discoe, California
Please give Mr. Allore has content back.

# 82:

6:32 am PDT, Sep 1, Stephannie Roy, Canada

# 81:

5:18 am PDT, Sep 1, Doreen Prior, Canada
I have signed this petition...John needs Theresa's Blog back up. Not only has Theresa been snatched and killed but her blog has been too. Doreen prior www.sharronprior.com

# 80:

5:16 am PDT, Sep 1, Grant Repar, Canada

# 79:

5:05 am PDT, Sep 1, Julie Sprague, Massachusetts

# 78:

4:51 am PDT, Sep 1, Ange Virtuelle, Canada

# 77:

4:32 am PDT, Sep 1, Peter Gantous, Canada
Please do the right thing.

# 76:

4:27 am PDT, Sep 1, Bill Riley, Canada
Google, you need to show your public a human face if you want them to continue trusting you. Answering this man would be a start.

# 75:

3:15 am PDT, Sep 1, Anne Dawson, Canada
Please restore Mr Allore's Blog or at least give him back the content he has worked so hard to put together.

# 74:

1:58 am PDT, Sep 1, Steve Klein, Virginia
Please sign so I can get my content back, and thank you for your help. John Allore

# 73:

11:15 pm PDT, Aug 31, Name not displayed, Canada

# 72:

9:07 pm PDT, Aug 31, Name not displayed, Oregon
Please allow John Allore to address the reasons why you took down his site. At the very least, allow him access to the historical content on the sight prior to the problem so he can preserve the work he has done towards finding his sister's killer. Thank you

# 71:

8:34 pm PDT, Aug 31, Cassandra Campbell, Massachusetts
Please restore the petition!! Theresa deserves justice and the family needs answers

# 70:

8:09 pm PDT, Aug 31, Jennifer Bannock, Connecticut
Please restore this blog's content to its owner!

# 69:

6:35 pm PDT, Aug 31, Rachel Wender, North Carolina

# 68:

5:51 pm PDT, Aug 31, J Evarts, North Carolina

# 67:

5:44 pm PDT, Aug 31, Kevin Rougeau, Canada

# 66:

5:39 pm PDT, Aug 31, David Henderson, North Carolina

# 65:

5:38 pm PDT, Aug 31, Andre Allore, Canada

# 64:

5:31 pm PDT, Aug 31, Jane Tolentino, California
To Google/Blogger: Please restore Mr. Allore's blog. I am sure if one of your family members or perhaps a Google staff member was in the same situation (Heaven forbid), wouldn't you want to spread the word by using this service to gather any information that may solve the crime, especially the murder of a loved one? I have a very close dear friend who's son was murdered years ago, and it is still unsolved! Google/Blogger, you would be providing an invaluable tool to the victim's family and friends. Please, restore Mr. Allore's blog. Thank you.

# 63:

5:17 pm PDT, Aug 31, Marjean Fichtenberg, Canada
Please restore John Allore's blog. To take it off is a disservice to crime victims and those who support victims of crime.

# 62:

12:23 pm PDT, Aug 31, Yvette Black, Arizona
As a victim representative and advocate for murder victims and their families, I know the devastation of having so many years of work and information obliterated. Please, restore the site/ blog or at the very minimum allow Him to recoup the information that was on the blog... Dont let this be another victimization of this horrible crime unto this family. Thank you

# 61:

11:59 am PDT, Aug 31, Chris P, Canada
Please bring this blog back,it holds to much important info to lose. Chris

# 60:

11:26 am PDT, Aug 31, Name not displayed, North Carolina
Please help John Allore in his important work of investigating--and potentially solving--his sister's murder by reinstating his blog or returning to him the entire contents of his blog. Your assistance could be instrumental in solving Theresa Allore's murder or other similar crimes. Thank you.

# 59:

9:29 am PDT, Aug 31, Teresa Munn, Arizona

# 58:

8:41 am PDT, Aug 31, Name not displayed, Arizona
Please contact John so he can retrieve his content from his blog. He's trying to find out who killed his sister and to recreate all that was posted will be traumatizing. Please help him!

# 57:

7:25 am PDT, Aug 31, Name not displayed, Canada

# 56:

6:46 am PDT, Aug 31, Name not displayed, Michigan

# 55:

6:00 am PDT, Aug 31, S Rose, Florida

# 54:

5:51 am PDT, Aug 31, Name not displayed, Canada

# 53:

5:44 am PDT, Aug 31, Daniel Chu, Australia

# 52:

5:41 am PDT, Aug 31, Blair Anderson, New Zealand
I (and my blog mildgreens.blogspot.com) are in the same cyberbucket in the googleverse. GOOGLE's response has been woeful. It has removed 6 years of research and 1000 postings. It appears that an external tool "bloglinker.com" that I have used for important reference sites for at least 4 years (and policed/managed to avoid hacking attacks) has been used as the excuse to 'wipe' the entire blog. Google's reputation has been sullied and the cyber fraternity should be gravely concerned. I am surprised media havent been on top of and all over this one. Google have a duty of care to content providers without whom they would not have a business model.

Aug 31, 2009, MARIA PAPADOPOULOU, Greece
Help John Allore

# 49:

Aug 31, 2009, Maria Soto, Arizona
It is awful that Google would take down this mans blog and not give him back his information. Having a loved one murdered is traumatic enough without having to deal with insensitive organizations that would do something like this. I pray that this blog information is restored and that this crime will be solved soon. As a homicide survivor I sympathize with the pain this family has already suffered and they do not need additional pain.

# 48:

Aug 31, 2009, Sandra Reynolds, Missouri

# 47:

Aug 31, 2009, Marilyn Robinson, Canada
I am shocked that Google would do such a thing, you would think they would want to help get killers off the streets via their blogs... I do hope Google will at least return all your content to you...Sometimes it seems no matter what one does, things seem to work out in favor of the muderers and not the victims..that is sad.. :(

# 46:

Aug 31, 2009, Candy Arnold, California
This is very important,if you were in this persons place you would want a way to make contact with people who could help solve this crime,and perhaps others. Please restore the Blog. As a parent of a murdered child I feel that it is very important for victims to have a voice.

# 45:

Aug 31, 2009, Pam Boland, Georgia

# 44:

Aug 30, 2009, Phyllis Ebeling, Arizona
Having a loved one murdered is traumatic enough--the last thing needed in your life is to lose 6 years of hard work and content. Restore this man's content so he can move it elsewhere! I will discontinue using Google & ask my all my friends to do the same until this matter is corrected. Google---SHAME ON YOU!

# 43:

Aug 30, 2009, Jeanette steffi Gahid, Philippines

# 42:

Aug 30, 2009, Lorie Artery, Arizona
As a survivor, I know the importance of this blog. PLEASE RESTORE JOHN'S BLOG, SO HE CAN CONTINUE TO TRY TO GET JUSTICE FOR HIS SISTER!!!!

# 41:

Aug 30, 2009, Anonymous, North Carolina

# 40:

Aug 30, 2009, George R Joseph Jr, Mississippi
George R Joseph Jr.

# 39:

Aug 30, 2009, Kenneth Boots, New York

# 38:

Aug 30, 2009, Lisa Witt, Arizona

# 37:

Aug 30, 2009, Eric Swenson, Florida

# 36:

Aug 30, 2009, Sebastian Brousseau, Thailand
At least google should give you back the content...

# 35:

Aug 30, 2009, Beverly Joy Weber, Texas
I am an Independent Crime Victim Advocate, Started in July, 2000, Training also with Family Council at that time. Have my diploma in psychology/social work.

# 34:

Aug 30, 2009, Gail Leland, Arizona
Families of murder victims, espically in unsolved/cold cases, need ways to reach out to others for support & to seek justice for teir loved ones. Blogger / Google is an importamt service that helps so many victims do this. Please restore the blog, Who Killed Theresa?

# 33:

Aug 30, 2009, Karen Burke, Oregon

# 32:

Aug 30, 2009, Monika Penner, Canada
Recreating six years of work on the traumatic subject of his sister's murder is further traumatizing. Please return John's content to him at the very least.

# 31:

Aug 30, 2009, Anonymous, North Carolina
Doesn't Google have better things to "police" online? For Victim's Advocay everywhere... give it back!

# 30:

Aug 30, 2009, Elisabeth Kelly, Maryland

# 29:

Aug 30, 2009, Forrest Covington, North Carolina
Please let John get his posts back at least

# 28:

Aug 30, 2009, Julia Farwell-Clay, Massachusetts

# 27:

Aug 30, 2009, Bill Widman, North Carolina
If you're getting my signing twice, it's because I didn't see the first one show up. I see no reason why WKT? should be suspended. Anyone who has a problem with its content is one who just has problems. Solving cold cases is not easy. It is done only by cooperative effort.

# 26:

Aug 30, 2009, Cheryl Bullock, Canada
Please give John back his content!

# 25:

Aug 30, 2009, Nicole Mitchell-Jantz, New Mexico

# 24:

Aug 30, 2009, John Hall, Indiana

# 23:

Aug 30, 2009, Terry Roth, Canada

# 22:

Aug 30, 2009, Cherie Garratt, Ohio

# 21:

Aug 30, 2009, Ann Davidson, Canada
what happened to freedom of speech and expression? My first message seems to not be registered!! So here goes again. John Allore has a right to the content of that blog whether it ever goes on-line again.. At the very least the authorities should have access to it. No question that there were off colour and thoughts occasionally posted.. BUT the truth is that there were important exchanges with viable leads to solving a real (not cyber) murder case.

# 20:

Aug 30, 2009, Michael McKinlay, Canada
Michael McKinlay

# 19:

Aug 30, 2009, Stefan DiMauro, North Carolina
Sad times we live in. Please restore John's blog.

# 18:

Aug 30, 2009, Allyn Sharp, North Carolina
Please support crime victims across North America by restoring John Allore's blog.

# 17:

Aug 30, 2009, Nelson Nauss, North Carolina
Extremely disapointed in Google. Do the right thing for Victim advocacy by restoring John's blog.

# 16:

Aug 30, 2009, Pierre Boisvenu, Canada

# 15:

Aug 30, 2009, Pierre Boisvenu, Canada

# 14:

Aug 30, 2009, Chaz Gaily Berlusconi, South Africa

# 13:

Aug 30, 2009, Emily Ranii, North Carolina
Please restore the blog!!! Please!

# 12:

Aug 30, 2009, Kateryn Rochon, Canada
Please restore this blog. Victim advocacy is not inappropriate.

# 11:

Aug 30, 2009, Edward Hannon, Pennsylvania

# 10:

Aug 30, 2009, Shannon O'Neill, Georgia

# 9:

Aug 30, 2009, Anonymous, Canada
I want this site returned. There has been alot of effort put into it by John. Thank you

# 8:

Aug 30, 2009, Barbara Pratt, Canada

# 7:

Aug 30, 2009, Susan Leggett, Canada

# 6:

Aug 30, 2009, Anonymous, United Kingdom

# 5:

Aug 30, 2009, Hugh McCulloch, Texas
I use Google for my personal email and we use it for our corporate email. I am upset not at the fact that the blog was taken down, but that the blogger was not contacted and that Google makes it virtually impossible to be contacted for information!

# 4:

Aug 30, 2009, Jeroen London, Netherlands
Dear Google/ Blogger, please put John Allore's blog back online. Jeroen London

# 3:

Aug 30, 2009, Anonymous, Canada

# 2:

Aug 30, 2009, Stephen Aubuchon, North Carolina

# 1:

Aug 30, 2009, Paul Gantous, Canada

Who Killed Theresa?