1 00:00:04,713 --> 00:00:06,297 (ominous music) - A young woman 2 00:00:06,297 --> 00:00:08,717 in a northern Manitoba small town 3 00:00:08,717 --> 00:00:11,510 decides to walk home alone at night. 4 00:00:12,721 --> 00:00:16,850 And in the morning, a young man makes a terrible discovery. 5 00:00:16,850 --> 00:00:18,059 - The viciousness of it, 6 00:00:18,059 --> 00:00:21,646 I don't think you ever really prepare for that kinda stuff. 7 00:00:21,646 --> 00:00:24,274 - [Narrator] Despite evidence and lots of rumors, 8 00:00:24,274 --> 00:00:26,985 there's a town that's unwilling to talk. 9 00:00:26,985 --> 00:00:28,111 - Because at the end of the day, 10 00:00:28,111 --> 00:00:29,654 it's not just a family who wants justice, 11 00:00:29,654 --> 00:00:31,156 it's the entire community. 12 00:00:32,156 --> 00:00:34,159 - I think it's really important to remember her story 13 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:36,745 because of the symbol of what she ultimately became. 14 00:00:36,745 --> 00:00:38,455 She could have been any one of us. 15 00:00:38,455 --> 00:00:42,167 (soft suspenseful music) 16 00:00:43,334 --> 00:00:46,796 - The unsolved ones, we have to stand up. 17 00:00:46,796 --> 00:00:50,884 - And approach these cases in a way outside the box. 18 00:00:50,884 --> 00:00:53,053 - Let the world know there's those out there 19 00:00:53,053 --> 00:00:54,262 that did commit a murder 20 00:00:54,262 --> 00:00:56,347 and there are people that are coming after you. 21 00:00:56,347 --> 00:00:57,724 - There's just a lotta good people 22 00:00:57,724 --> 00:00:59,684 trying to do the right thing. (faint police radio chatter) 23 00:00:59,684 --> 00:01:00,935 - Because it's something 24 00:01:00,935 --> 00:01:02,437 that you have to be passionate about. 25 00:01:02,437 --> 00:01:05,857 - Solve this, bring some peace to the family at least. 26 00:01:05,857 --> 00:01:07,066 Just doing my job. 27 00:01:08,651 --> 00:01:09,652 (gavel pounding) 28 00:01:09,652 --> 00:01:12,947 (marker scribbling) 29 00:01:16,493 --> 00:01:19,078 (gentle music) 30 00:01:20,663 --> 00:01:23,875 - [Narrator] The Pas, a large town in northern Manitoba 31 00:01:23,875 --> 00:01:26,544 known as the Gateway to the North, 32 00:01:26,544 --> 00:01:28,546 built initially on a fur trade. 33 00:01:28,546 --> 00:01:30,048 The Cree First Nations people 34 00:01:30,048 --> 00:01:33,802 call it Opasquia or Highwood Narrows. 35 00:01:33,802 --> 00:01:36,471 English settlers would then shorten that name 36 00:01:36,471 --> 00:01:38,098 to simply The Pas. 37 00:01:39,015 --> 00:01:42,560 - By the late-'60s, driven by the pulp and paper industry, 38 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,395 The Pas was quite a boom town. 39 00:01:44,395 --> 00:01:45,813 A good place to get a job, 40 00:01:45,813 --> 00:01:47,607 it's great if you like the outdoors, 41 00:01:47,607 --> 00:01:49,526 it's a good tourist destination. 42 00:01:50,860 --> 00:01:52,487 - [Narrator] But like any other boom town, 43 00:01:52,487 --> 00:01:55,615 there are negatives that come with economic prosperity 44 00:01:55,615 --> 00:01:57,992 and a transient workforce. 45 00:01:57,992 --> 00:02:00,453 - Had a kind of a Wild West feel to it as well. 46 00:02:00,453 --> 00:02:02,580 Substance abuse, violence, 47 00:02:02,580 --> 00:02:05,125 and even prostitution was not uncommon. 48 00:02:05,959 --> 00:02:07,585 - [Narrator] The Pas is also unique 49 00:02:07,585 --> 00:02:11,297 in that bordering the town are two Indigenous reserves 50 00:02:11,297 --> 00:02:12,882 and one Metis settlement. 51 00:02:12,882 --> 00:02:14,592 Tensions and racist attitudes 52 00:02:14,592 --> 00:02:16,761 between the predominantly white town 53 00:02:16,761 --> 00:02:19,097 and its neighbors were not uncommon. 54 00:02:20,723 --> 00:02:21,933 - When I got to The Pas, 55 00:02:21,933 --> 00:02:24,936 I got off the train and went to barracks, 56 00:02:24,936 --> 00:02:26,938 I lived in barracks at the detachment, 57 00:02:26,938 --> 00:02:31,067 one of the chaps at coffee said, "Well, get ready to fight." 58 00:02:31,067 --> 00:02:32,901 And I said, "What do you mean? 59 00:02:32,901 --> 00:02:34,779 He said, "Well, you're the new kid in town. 60 00:02:34,779 --> 00:02:35,989 "They'll wanna see how tough you are." 61 00:02:35,989 --> 00:02:38,449 Saturday at noon, I had my first fight. 62 00:02:38,449 --> 00:02:40,160 That's the kind of town it was, and he was right. 63 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,496 They wanted to see how tough you are, and so they try you. 64 00:02:45,915 --> 00:02:47,876 - [Narrator] While The Pas had its rough edges, 65 00:02:47,876 --> 00:02:50,879 no one would be prepared for what was about to happen 66 00:02:50,879 --> 00:02:54,340 when on a chilly November morning in 1971, 67 00:02:54,340 --> 00:02:57,093 a young man would make a discovery in the woods 68 00:02:57,093 --> 00:02:59,512 20 miles northeast of The Pas. 69 00:02:59,512 --> 00:03:02,181 (uneasy music) 70 00:03:03,433 --> 00:03:06,394 A father and son are off on a fishing expedition 71 00:03:06,394 --> 00:03:10,481 on a cold miserable morning at Clearwater Lake. 72 00:03:10,481 --> 00:03:12,400 The boy is just 14. 73 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:16,154 The wind coming off the water is damp and biting, 74 00:03:16,154 --> 00:03:19,574 so he goes for a wander, looking for rabbit tracks. 75 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:23,369 - The young man followed the trail 76 00:03:23,369 --> 00:03:25,580 and found something clearly wrong. 77 00:03:25,580 --> 00:03:28,208 (eerie music) 78 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,721 - [Narrator] The father and son drive to the nearest phone 79 00:03:41,721 --> 00:03:44,265 and call the Royal Canadian Mounted Police 80 00:03:44,265 --> 00:03:47,143 as constables Tom Boyle and Don Knight, 81 00:03:47,143 --> 00:03:50,021 both in their early-20s, are dispatched. 82 00:03:51,022 --> 00:03:55,443 - Had just sat down to watch the TV and got a call. 83 00:03:55,443 --> 00:03:57,070 "There's been a body found." 84 00:03:59,781 --> 00:04:03,243 - And all she was wearing were thick rubber boots. 85 00:04:05,578 --> 00:04:08,373 At the time, they didn't have the availability 86 00:04:08,373 --> 00:04:09,791 of ready-made evidence kits, 87 00:04:09,791 --> 00:04:11,751 so they actually had to stop at the store 88 00:04:11,751 --> 00:04:13,836 and buy paper bags and tape 89 00:04:13,836 --> 00:04:16,839 in order to be able to collect the evidence. 90 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:18,591 - I don't think you ever really prepare 91 00:04:18,591 --> 00:04:20,051 for that kinda stuff. 92 00:04:20,051 --> 00:04:22,845 I mean, through your training and of course your experience, 93 00:04:22,845 --> 00:04:24,597 you learn there's a routine to go through. 94 00:04:24,597 --> 00:04:26,307 You have to do certain things. 95 00:04:27,183 --> 00:04:28,601 - And I was the exhibit guy; 96 00:04:28,601 --> 00:04:30,270 in other words, gathering all the exhibits 97 00:04:30,270 --> 00:04:32,981 and making notes of the scene and that kind of thing, 98 00:04:32,981 --> 00:04:35,525 - [Don] And things were totally different then. 99 00:04:37,235 --> 00:04:42,323 - This is prior to the use of using DNA for identification. 100 00:04:43,992 --> 00:04:47,537 So, they relied heavily at that time on fingerprints, 101 00:04:47,537 --> 00:04:52,291 shoe prints, blood, and anything else at the crime scene. 102 00:04:56,963 --> 00:04:58,047 - [Narrator] There are many tracks, 103 00:04:58,047 --> 00:05:01,342 suggesting that there was more than one person involved, 104 00:05:01,342 --> 00:05:04,220 at least in bringing the body to this location. 105 00:05:06,014 --> 00:05:09,100 - You can see that she was dragged into the bush, 106 00:05:09,100 --> 00:05:10,767 person on each side of her 107 00:05:10,767 --> 00:05:12,895 where she was dragged to and dropped, 108 00:05:12,895 --> 00:05:15,273 and then there's two sets of tracks going out. 109 00:05:15,273 --> 00:05:18,443 So, that meant two of them were involved, at least. 110 00:05:19,610 --> 00:05:21,612 - They can't do plaster casts even. 111 00:05:21,612 --> 00:05:24,574 The shoe prints or footprints that have been left 112 00:05:24,574 --> 00:05:26,826 are already filling up with snow. 113 00:05:26,826 --> 00:05:29,746 - So, they take photographs instead. 114 00:05:29,746 --> 00:05:31,205 And again, it's the '70s. 115 00:05:31,205 --> 00:05:34,625 Even photographs aren't the same as they are today. 116 00:05:36,127 --> 00:05:37,628 - I was involved in other murder cases, 117 00:05:37,628 --> 00:05:41,549 but this one here is, it was like they were in a frenzy. 118 00:05:41,549 --> 00:05:43,968 I mean, the number of stab wounds on her, 119 00:05:43,968 --> 00:05:45,762 the viciousness of it... 120 00:05:45,762 --> 00:05:47,638 They put the boots to her. 121 00:05:47,638 --> 00:05:50,475 (somber music) 122 00:05:51,476 --> 00:05:53,770 - [Narrator] The autopsy would later be in Winnipeg. 123 00:05:53,770 --> 00:05:55,521 But for now, the victim's body 124 00:05:55,521 --> 00:05:58,733 is taken to a local hospital for identification, 125 00:05:59,692 --> 00:06:02,278 the task made problematic by the fact 126 00:06:02,278 --> 00:06:05,823 that the face had been crushed or stomped in 127 00:06:05,823 --> 00:06:07,408 and had many puncture wounds. 128 00:06:08,993 --> 00:06:12,789 - It was going to be very hard to identify her 129 00:06:12,789 --> 00:06:14,999 and identify what killed her. 130 00:06:16,918 --> 00:06:18,211 - It's kinda hard to talk about, really, 131 00:06:18,211 --> 00:06:20,588 because those kinds of things you don't really forget. 132 00:06:20,588 --> 00:06:23,341 That somebody could actually do that to a human being 133 00:06:23,341 --> 00:06:24,801 is just unbelievable. 134 00:06:26,219 --> 00:06:29,013 - [Narrator] The first clue to the victim's identity 135 00:06:29,013 --> 00:06:30,973 are when the boots are removed, 136 00:06:30,973 --> 00:06:33,059 revealing a tattoo on her leg. 137 00:06:34,142 --> 00:06:38,606 "Cornelius Bighetty, I truly love you, no matter what." 138 00:06:39,732 --> 00:06:41,359 This would combine with a very recent 139 00:06:41,359 --> 00:06:44,821 missing person's report and give the victim a name: 140 00:06:45,613 --> 00:06:48,241 Helen Betty Osborne. 141 00:06:48,241 --> 00:06:49,575 - Where she had been staying, 142 00:06:49,575 --> 00:06:51,494 the lady said she hadn't come home 143 00:06:51,494 --> 00:06:55,331 and put in kind of a missing person's complaint. 144 00:06:55,331 --> 00:06:56,541 And so, all of a sudden 145 00:06:56,541 --> 00:06:58,793 you put two and two together real quick. 146 00:06:58,793 --> 00:07:00,128 The lady said she couldn't do it, 147 00:07:00,128 --> 00:07:02,713 but the husband came down and basically said, 148 00:07:02,713 --> 00:07:03,964 yeah, that was her. 149 00:07:03,964 --> 00:07:05,883 And of course, they identified her clothes too. 150 00:07:07,093 --> 00:07:08,511 - [Narrator] Not far from the body, 151 00:07:08,511 --> 00:07:11,806 the police would also discover the victim's clothes 152 00:07:11,806 --> 00:07:13,558 bundled up and discarded. 153 00:07:16,978 --> 00:07:18,563 - On any murder investigation, 154 00:07:18,563 --> 00:07:21,482 from the moment the crime scene is discovered, 155 00:07:21,482 --> 00:07:23,151 from the moment the officers get there 156 00:07:23,151 --> 00:07:26,070 and have to enter that scene for the first time, 157 00:07:26,070 --> 00:07:27,947 the clock starts ticking for them. 158 00:07:27,947 --> 00:07:30,408 They know that the longer it takes, 159 00:07:30,408 --> 00:07:32,785 the more the evidence becomes degraded. 160 00:07:33,744 --> 00:07:34,871 - Who was she with at the time 161 00:07:34,871 --> 00:07:37,415 and who was the last person that saw her? 162 00:07:37,415 --> 00:07:39,292 That's where you start, you know? 163 00:07:39,292 --> 00:07:41,043 - Statistically, homicides are committed 164 00:07:41,043 --> 00:07:45,047 by people who are known to the victim; 165 00:07:45,047 --> 00:07:48,759 not always, but in the vast majority of cases. 166 00:07:50,136 --> 00:07:53,347 - [Narrator] Now, the police have their first suspect. 167 00:07:53,347 --> 00:07:57,351 They pick up Cornelius Bighetty from the Pukatawagan reserve 168 00:07:57,351 --> 00:08:00,480 and learn that he had been dating Helen Betty Osborne. 169 00:08:01,439 --> 00:08:04,650 Bighetty also had been with her the night of her murder. 170 00:08:06,527 --> 00:08:08,196 - On the night she disappeared, 171 00:08:08,196 --> 00:08:10,615 there'd been some drinking, some alcohol involved. 172 00:08:10,615 --> 00:08:12,867 There was an argument over a girl. 173 00:08:13,743 --> 00:08:15,786 So, essentially, the last time he saw her, 174 00:08:15,786 --> 00:08:17,497 she was walking home alone. 175 00:08:19,749 --> 00:08:22,210 - [Narrator] Bighetty is interrogated for hours, 176 00:08:22,210 --> 00:08:23,669 but remains aloof, 177 00:08:23,669 --> 00:08:27,089 which leads the RCMP to believe he's hiding something, 178 00:08:27,089 --> 00:08:29,425 (eerie music) 179 00:08:29,425 --> 00:08:33,304 so they show him some photos from the murder scene. 180 00:08:33,304 --> 00:08:35,890 - When he sees the photos, Cornelius passes out 181 00:08:35,890 --> 00:08:38,851 and then the police decide to put him in a jail cell 182 00:08:38,851 --> 00:08:40,352 for a few hours. 183 00:08:40,352 --> 00:08:43,397 - [Narrator] The RCMP then turn to a polygraph, 184 00:08:43,397 --> 00:08:47,151 or lie detector test, to get the truth. 185 00:08:47,151 --> 00:08:49,529 - In the 1970s, the polygraph is an instrument 186 00:08:49,529 --> 00:08:53,074 that's used all over the world by police agencies 187 00:08:53,074 --> 00:08:55,993 to try to determine the truthfulness 188 00:08:55,993 --> 00:08:57,703 of somebody's statement. 189 00:08:58,663 --> 00:09:01,666 That measures their body's reaction 190 00:09:01,666 --> 00:09:03,918 while they're put under stress. 191 00:09:03,918 --> 00:09:06,546 Cornelius agrees to take a polygraph test 192 00:09:06,546 --> 00:09:10,091 and the results of that test make it clear to the detectives 193 00:09:10,091 --> 00:09:12,552 that he's not a suspect in this matter. 194 00:09:13,803 --> 00:09:15,054 - [Narrator] But the interrogation 195 00:09:15,054 --> 00:09:17,306 would render a crucial clue. 196 00:09:17,306 --> 00:09:19,100 The night before Betty's body was found 197 00:09:19,100 --> 00:09:22,979 near Clearwater Lake, the investigators now could place her 198 00:09:22,979 --> 00:09:26,607 walking to the home where she was staying in The Pas. 199 00:09:26,607 --> 00:09:29,860 (uneasy music) 200 00:09:29,860 --> 00:09:31,070 - She was a high school student 201 00:09:31,070 --> 00:09:32,530 and she was billeting at a home 202 00:09:32,530 --> 00:09:34,782 that was near the school she was attending. 203 00:09:34,782 --> 00:09:37,702 The RCMP at the time went to her room 204 00:09:37,702 --> 00:09:39,370 and they found one of her school notebooks 205 00:09:39,370 --> 00:09:42,081 and they were able to obtain a fingerprint from it. 206 00:09:42,081 --> 00:09:43,124 And from that fingerprint, 207 00:09:43,124 --> 00:09:45,042 they were able to positively identify 208 00:09:45,042 --> 00:09:47,628 the body of Helen Betty Osborne. 209 00:09:47,628 --> 00:09:49,088 (somber music) 210 00:09:49,088 --> 00:09:50,631 - [Narrator] Helen Betty Osborne 211 00:09:50,631 --> 00:09:54,093 is born a First Nation Cree in 1952 212 00:09:54,093 --> 00:09:57,804 in Norway House, a reserve in northern Manitoba. 213 00:10:01,267 --> 00:10:05,021 - She was the first born of Justine and Joe Osborne, 214 00:10:05,021 --> 00:10:06,439 a fur trapper, 215 00:10:06,439 --> 00:10:09,609 one of eight siblings who all lived in a log cabin. 216 00:10:11,235 --> 00:10:13,404 - [Narrator] By the summer of 1969, 217 00:10:13,404 --> 00:10:15,698 she outgrows the education program 218 00:10:15,698 --> 00:10:18,659 and must either settle for grade-eight education 219 00:10:18,659 --> 00:10:20,660 or leave home to study further. 220 00:10:21,871 --> 00:10:25,124 Betty is known by her friends as bright and funny. 221 00:10:26,292 --> 00:10:28,169 - She had an interest in mathematics 222 00:10:28,169 --> 00:10:29,545 and participated in a program 223 00:10:29,545 --> 00:10:32,298 that helped integrate Indigenous students 224 00:10:32,298 --> 00:10:34,091 with white students in The Pas 225 00:10:34,091 --> 00:10:36,636 at Margaret Barbour Collegiate. 226 00:10:37,470 --> 00:10:41,474 - She went away to The Pas out of the safety and comfort 227 00:10:41,474 --> 00:10:43,100 of her community and her family 228 00:10:43,100 --> 00:10:45,102 so that she can get an education 229 00:10:45,102 --> 00:10:46,604 so she can go back to her community 230 00:10:46,604 --> 00:10:48,147 and better her community. 231 00:10:49,732 --> 00:10:51,067 - In The Pas on the weekends, 232 00:10:51,067 --> 00:10:54,528 she sometimes goes to movies with Cornelius and her friends. 233 00:10:56,447 --> 00:11:00,868 - And in 1971, where the movie theater was segregated 234 00:11:00,868 --> 00:11:04,664 in the community of The Pas at that time, they get spat on, 235 00:11:04,664 --> 00:11:08,167 they get called racial slurs anywhere they go. 236 00:11:08,167 --> 00:11:09,960 I'm sure if they went into a store, 237 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,588 they were followed around and viewed with suspicion. 238 00:11:12,588 --> 00:11:15,256 Those were the attitudes and the prevailing attitudes 239 00:11:15,256 --> 00:11:18,761 of people who lived in the community. 240 00:11:18,761 --> 00:11:21,429 (uneasy music) 241 00:11:28,729 --> 00:11:31,190 - To start with, we were knocking on doors. 242 00:11:31,190 --> 00:11:32,650 And once we found out who she was, 243 00:11:32,650 --> 00:11:35,778 where was she doing that night, and you go from there 244 00:11:35,778 --> 00:11:38,572 and you start talking to everybody that was at the bar 245 00:11:38,572 --> 00:11:41,158 that you knew at least or could find out who was there. 246 00:11:41,158 --> 00:11:45,246 You start talking to people in town, if they heard anything. 247 00:11:46,831 --> 00:11:49,708 All it takes is one person if you get the right one. 248 00:11:51,627 --> 00:11:55,256 - Within Days of Helen Betty Osborne's body being found, 249 00:11:55,256 --> 00:11:56,256 the community starts to realize 250 00:11:56,256 --> 00:11:58,426 that something horrible has happened. 251 00:11:58,426 --> 00:12:02,304 And pretty soon they get an idea who may have been involved. 252 00:12:02,304 --> 00:12:04,223 - One of the very first leads in this case 253 00:12:04,223 --> 00:12:06,517 came from someone from the community, 254 00:12:06,517 --> 00:12:10,020 a cab driver who was driving out near the airport. 255 00:12:10,020 --> 00:12:11,564 He saw something that would be crucial 256 00:12:11,564 --> 00:12:14,357 in identifying who killed Helen Betty Osborne. 257 00:12:15,901 --> 00:12:19,113 (apprehensive music) 258 00:12:20,948 --> 00:12:23,576 (tense music) 259 00:12:28,581 --> 00:12:30,583 - [Narrator] When the mutilated body of a young woman 260 00:12:30,583 --> 00:12:33,919 is found in a secluded wooded area near Clearwater Lake, 261 00:12:33,919 --> 00:12:37,840 northeast of The Pas, Manitoba, an investigation is launched 262 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,385 by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP. 263 00:12:41,385 --> 00:12:44,472 - You could see that she was dragged into the bush, 264 00:12:44,472 --> 00:12:45,890 person on each side of her. 265 00:12:45,890 --> 00:12:48,309 They just brutalized her is what they did. 266 00:12:48,309 --> 00:12:50,186 It was like they were in a frenzy. 267 00:12:51,145 --> 00:12:53,647 - [Narrator] She's an Indigenous student from Norway House 268 00:12:53,647 --> 00:12:56,776 and soon identified as Helen Betty Osborne. 269 00:12:57,777 --> 00:13:01,030 The crime scene indicates multiple people were involved 270 00:13:01,030 --> 00:13:04,408 and her tattoo leads investigators to a boyfriend. 271 00:13:04,408 --> 00:13:06,744 But after an initial interrogation, 272 00:13:06,744 --> 00:13:08,788 they realize it's not him. 273 00:13:09,580 --> 00:13:12,917 - Police are desperately going to streets, homes, and bars 274 00:13:12,917 --> 00:13:15,169 when a cab driver contacts them 275 00:13:15,169 --> 00:13:17,505 to say he's seen something suspicious. 276 00:13:17,505 --> 00:13:21,133 - He sees a white or a light blue car out on the road 277 00:13:21,133 --> 00:13:23,719 and he sees something thrown from the window. 278 00:13:26,472 --> 00:13:29,767 - Incredibly, he remembers two numbers from the plate: 279 00:13:29,767 --> 00:13:31,101 four, two. 280 00:13:33,102 --> 00:13:34,772 (grim music) 281 00:13:34,772 --> 00:13:36,357 - A dog search of the highway 282 00:13:36,357 --> 00:13:38,067 where the cab driver saw the car 283 00:13:38,067 --> 00:13:42,738 would turn up a screwdriver and part of a woman's brassier. 284 00:13:43,489 --> 00:13:45,491 - Screwdriver stabbed her the face, 285 00:13:45,491 --> 00:13:48,494 which punctured the skull and went into the brain. 286 00:13:48,494 --> 00:13:49,620 I mean, it was just- 287 00:13:49,620 --> 00:13:50,913 It's kinda hard to talk about, really, 288 00:13:50,913 --> 00:13:53,916 because those kinds of things you don't really forget. 289 00:13:53,916 --> 00:13:56,627 That somebody could actually do that to a human being 290 00:13:56,627 --> 00:13:58,420 is just unbelievable. 291 00:13:58,420 --> 00:14:02,091 - It was inhuman what they did to her, 292 00:14:02,091 --> 00:14:04,176 how they violated her body 293 00:14:04,176 --> 00:14:08,429 and the indignity of leaving her the way that they did. 294 00:14:10,224 --> 00:14:13,519 - [Narrator] On November 17th, Helen Betty Osborne 295 00:14:13,519 --> 00:14:16,313 makes front-page news in the local paper. 296 00:14:16,313 --> 00:14:17,857 Parents from northern reserves 297 00:14:17,857 --> 00:14:19,400 take their kids out of school. 298 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:21,527 Indigenous girls who stay in school 299 00:14:21,527 --> 00:14:23,696 are warned by their parents and landlords 300 00:14:23,696 --> 00:14:26,657 to walk in pairs or not go out at night at all. 301 00:14:26,657 --> 00:14:29,577 - Helen Betty's peers, other First Nation kids, 302 00:14:29,577 --> 00:14:32,371 other Indigenous kids that she was going to school with, 303 00:14:32,371 --> 00:14:33,330 police just went in 304 00:14:33,330 --> 00:14:35,791 and hauled them down to the police station, 305 00:14:35,791 --> 00:14:37,001 put them in cells. 306 00:14:37,001 --> 00:14:40,754 Even at that point in time, the law was fairly clear. 307 00:14:40,754 --> 00:14:43,465 The police did not have power to detain anyone 308 00:14:43,465 --> 00:14:46,093 unless they were charging them with a specific crime 309 00:14:46,093 --> 00:14:47,803 and arresting them accordingly. 310 00:14:47,803 --> 00:14:52,349 "Clearly, what happened here is that someone was murdered 311 00:14:52,349 --> 00:14:54,018 "and we need to clear it up 312 00:14:54,018 --> 00:14:58,439 "and it's probably likely one of these violent Indigenous 313 00:14:58,439 --> 00:15:01,609 "or Aboriginal kids that have come from the reserve." 314 00:15:02,776 --> 00:15:04,320 - This is a very small rural town 315 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:05,821 and people are starting to talk. 316 00:15:05,821 --> 00:15:08,157 Rumors are starting to spread. 317 00:15:08,157 --> 00:15:10,910 (pensive music) 318 00:15:11,911 --> 00:15:13,412 - Now that there was a better idea 319 00:15:13,412 --> 00:15:14,705 of what the murder weapon was, 320 00:15:14,705 --> 00:15:18,125 there's some clarity or focus coming to the investigation, 321 00:15:18,125 --> 00:15:21,462 but there was still a question of whose vehicle it was. 322 00:15:21,462 --> 00:15:25,007 (pensive music continuing) 323 00:15:26,508 --> 00:15:28,302 - It's not unusual for investigators 324 00:15:28,302 --> 00:15:32,806 to try new techniques to try to get a break in a case. 325 00:15:32,806 --> 00:15:34,600 And on this particular occasion, 326 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:38,395 they turned to hypnosis, a first for the RCMP, 327 00:15:38,395 --> 00:15:40,397 to try to find some information. 328 00:15:41,857 --> 00:15:43,150 - [Narrator] Under hypnosis, 329 00:15:43,150 --> 00:15:46,946 the cab driver now remembers four of the six characters. 330 00:15:48,197 --> 00:15:51,075 - The license plate and the description of the car 331 00:15:51,075 --> 00:15:54,787 point to a vehicle owned by the Colgan family in The Pas, 332 00:15:55,788 --> 00:15:59,208 but all the information they have at this point is hearsay 333 00:15:59,208 --> 00:16:01,669 and from unsubstantiated sources. 334 00:16:01,669 --> 00:16:03,170 (ominous music) 335 00:16:03,170 --> 00:16:05,714 - [Narrator] Meanwhile, Helen Betty Osborne 336 00:16:05,714 --> 00:16:08,092 is buried on a bitterly cold day. 337 00:16:09,051 --> 00:16:11,095 The family can't afford a tombstone, 338 00:16:11,095 --> 00:16:12,846 so they ask a man on the reserve 339 00:16:12,846 --> 00:16:15,724 to build her a wooden cross instead. 340 00:16:15,724 --> 00:16:18,644 - You really feel for the victim, of course, 341 00:16:18,644 --> 00:16:21,397 and you also feel for the victim's family, 342 00:16:21,397 --> 00:16:23,983 and that's one of the hard parts of the job. 343 00:16:24,900 --> 00:16:28,028 - They're dealing with these attitudes in the community 344 00:16:28,028 --> 00:16:31,657 where there's this hearsay and there's rumors and innuendo 345 00:16:31,657 --> 00:16:33,826 and they're hearing snippets of information, 346 00:16:33,826 --> 00:16:36,996 but you can't make a case out of snippets of information. 347 00:16:36,996 --> 00:16:39,498 You have to go down and do the hard work. 348 00:16:43,085 --> 00:16:44,503 - [Narrator] It's a Friday in May 349 00:16:44,503 --> 00:16:48,632 when Constable Don Knight receives a letter in the mail 350 00:16:48,632 --> 00:16:50,050 that reveals details 351 00:16:50,050 --> 00:16:52,511 about the murder of Helen Betty Osborne. 352 00:16:54,722 --> 00:16:55,848 - This is an anonymous letter, 353 00:16:55,848 --> 00:16:58,100 but the author clearly appears to have 354 00:16:58,100 --> 00:16:59,977 intimate knowledge of the murder. 355 00:17:01,895 --> 00:17:04,064 - [Narrator] The letter indicates a young woman 356 00:17:04,064 --> 00:17:06,150 was in a car outside of a party 357 00:17:06,150 --> 00:17:08,861 with a young man who was intoxicated. 358 00:17:09,653 --> 00:17:11,946 The young man would share all kinds of things 359 00:17:11,946 --> 00:17:14,450 related to Helen Betty Osborne's murder. 360 00:17:17,494 --> 00:17:20,330 The anonymous letter mentions a confession 361 00:17:20,330 --> 00:17:23,042 from local boy Lee Colgan. 362 00:17:24,417 --> 00:17:25,753 - There are all kinds of rumors, 363 00:17:25,753 --> 00:17:28,380 some based on talk from Lee Colgan himself, 364 00:17:28,380 --> 00:17:30,799 who's been chatting a lot around town, 365 00:17:30,799 --> 00:17:33,469 and this brings into focus more suspects. 366 00:17:34,470 --> 00:17:37,598 This includes Colgan's neighbor and friend Jim Houghton 367 00:17:37,598 --> 00:17:38,766 and a young man who's known 368 00:17:38,766 --> 00:17:42,686 as a homeless drug addict, Norm Manger. 369 00:17:44,188 --> 00:17:47,733 - The author of the letter would later be revealed, in fact, 370 00:17:47,733 --> 00:17:49,526 to be a relative of the girl 371 00:17:49,526 --> 00:17:51,445 that sat in the car with Colgan. 372 00:17:51,445 --> 00:17:52,905 She didn't even live in The Pas, 373 00:17:52,905 --> 00:17:55,991 but she was still too afraid to come forward. 374 00:17:55,991 --> 00:17:58,160 - And then I ended up having an informant 375 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:00,621 who told us that there was a fourth guy 376 00:18:00,621 --> 00:18:04,083 by the name of Johnston who left town shortly thereafter. 377 00:18:04,083 --> 00:18:04,792 I knew his mother. 378 00:18:04,792 --> 00:18:06,502 She was a waitress at the hotel 379 00:18:06,502 --> 00:18:08,796 and we used to see her all the time. 380 00:18:08,796 --> 00:18:09,922 "Do you know where he is?" 381 00:18:09,922 --> 00:18:12,883 She said, "Well, he left town," and she basically put him 382 00:18:12,883 --> 00:18:15,552 right shortly after that incident, right? 383 00:18:15,552 --> 00:18:16,678 So, we knew then, 384 00:18:16,678 --> 00:18:19,098 probably Johnston's definitely involved as well. 385 00:18:21,225 --> 00:18:22,810 - The anonymous letter is huge. 386 00:18:22,810 --> 00:18:26,105 It confirms what investigators already suspected. 387 00:18:26,105 --> 00:18:28,565 Now they have something they can move on. 388 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:33,112 - [Narrator] Seven months after the murder 389 00:18:33,112 --> 00:18:34,613 of Helen Betty Osborne, 390 00:18:34,613 --> 00:18:38,826 RCMP obtain a warrant to search the Colgan family Chrysler. 391 00:18:44,039 --> 00:18:47,084 - Apparently, Lee Colgan had washed the exterior 392 00:18:47,084 --> 00:18:48,252 of the Colgan family car, 393 00:18:48,252 --> 00:18:50,629 but hadn't bothered to clean the interior. 394 00:18:52,464 --> 00:18:57,594 - There's 114 hairs found in the vehicle, 395 00:18:57,594 --> 00:18:59,221 namely the seat area. 396 00:19:00,222 --> 00:19:02,099 - Literally took the inside apart 397 00:19:02,099 --> 00:19:05,352 and we found some material with a little clip. 398 00:19:05,352 --> 00:19:09,398 And it was obvious it was from a brassier, right? 399 00:19:09,398 --> 00:19:11,817 And we had found the brassier on the highway 400 00:19:11,817 --> 00:19:14,736 not that far from the pump house when they'd thrown it out. 401 00:19:14,736 --> 00:19:17,739 The forensic lab in Regina actually said, 402 00:19:17,739 --> 00:19:20,701 "This clip fits that brassier." 403 00:19:20,701 --> 00:19:23,203 They could match it up, so we knew. 404 00:19:23,203 --> 00:19:26,498 - And also, blood was located and there was a blood match. 405 00:19:26,498 --> 00:19:31,962 - Not a DNA match, more a blood type, like the O-A-B types. 406 00:19:32,921 --> 00:19:36,758 The blood is similar to that of Helen Betty Osborne. 407 00:19:40,137 --> 00:19:41,930 - Four suspects and then a car 408 00:19:41,930 --> 00:19:45,559 clearly connected to Helen Betty Osborne's murder. 409 00:19:46,810 --> 00:19:48,686 - We knew obviously she must have been in there, 410 00:19:48,686 --> 00:19:50,189 but who was there? 411 00:19:51,607 --> 00:19:52,858 - Things have changed so much. 412 00:19:52,858 --> 00:19:55,234 And so, if they were able to collect DNA, 413 00:19:55,234 --> 00:19:57,696 if they were able to use some of the tools 414 00:19:57,696 --> 00:19:59,865 that we have at our disposal now, 415 00:19:59,865 --> 00:20:03,577 this is a case that was solvable at the time. 416 00:20:03,577 --> 00:20:05,621 - With the advancements that we've seen 417 00:20:05,621 --> 00:20:08,165 in forensic evidence analysis, 418 00:20:08,165 --> 00:20:10,792 this case likely would've been solved much quicker. 419 00:20:10,792 --> 00:20:14,713 Now, what police really need is someone to talk. 420 00:20:14,713 --> 00:20:16,673 - [Narrator] Police confront Lee Colgan 421 00:20:16,673 --> 00:20:18,175 about what they found 422 00:20:19,134 --> 00:20:23,013 and he tells them to talk to local lawyer D'Arcy Bancroft. 423 00:20:24,723 --> 00:20:27,142 - All four tell a police the same thing: 424 00:20:27,142 --> 00:20:28,977 "Talk to D'Arcy." 425 00:20:28,977 --> 00:20:30,896 (light music) 426 00:20:30,896 --> 00:20:32,814 - [Narrator] Shortly after the vehicle search, 427 00:20:32,814 --> 00:20:35,234 police pay a visit to the home 428 00:20:35,234 --> 00:20:37,611 of local lawyer D'Arcy Bancroft. 429 00:20:38,779 --> 00:20:41,490 - He was eccentric, had a virtual zoo in his house: 430 00:20:41,490 --> 00:20:45,202 big cats, couple of ocelots, a chameleon. 431 00:20:46,203 --> 00:20:47,246 Very strange. 432 00:20:48,997 --> 00:20:51,541 - At the time, an individual could in fact be charged 433 00:20:51,541 --> 00:20:53,252 with non-capital murder 434 00:20:53,252 --> 00:20:56,171 merely by being at the scene of a homicide. 435 00:20:56,171 --> 00:21:00,050 These four are all in the same boat if someone talks. 436 00:21:00,968 --> 00:21:03,470 - [Narrator] D'Arcy Bancroft was not a typical lawyer 437 00:21:03,470 --> 00:21:06,807 and he was most definitely behind the coordinated silence 438 00:21:06,807 --> 00:21:09,685 in the death of Helen Betty Osborne. 439 00:21:10,519 --> 00:21:13,272 (tense music) 440 00:21:15,648 --> 00:21:18,777 (apprehensive music) 441 00:21:20,529 --> 00:21:23,282 (tense music) 442 00:21:26,034 --> 00:21:28,869 On November 13th, 1971, 443 00:21:28,869 --> 00:21:31,415 the mutilated body of Helen Betty Osborne 444 00:21:31,415 --> 00:21:34,251 is discovered in the woods near Clearwater Lake, 445 00:21:34,251 --> 00:21:36,211 north of The Pas, Manitoba. 446 00:21:38,755 --> 00:21:42,050 - You got the car, you got the body, 447 00:21:42,050 --> 00:21:45,220 found the screwdriver that was used to stab her. 448 00:21:46,054 --> 00:21:47,388 You've got all this stuff. 449 00:21:47,388 --> 00:21:49,766 What evidence do you have that puts them in the car? 450 00:21:49,766 --> 00:21:53,811 Anything that we did have was basically hearsay, right? 451 00:21:53,811 --> 00:21:55,314 And without witnesses to say, 452 00:21:55,314 --> 00:21:57,316 how are we gonna get a conviction? 453 00:21:58,650 --> 00:22:00,068 - Osborne was in the car, 454 00:22:00,068 --> 00:22:01,903 but there's still lots to be known 455 00:22:01,903 --> 00:22:03,696 about what actually happened. 456 00:22:04,865 --> 00:22:06,950 - [Narrator] With the four suspects not talking, 457 00:22:06,950 --> 00:22:09,994 police approach their lawyer, D'Arcy Bancroft, 458 00:22:09,994 --> 00:22:12,830 neither of whom is willing to cooperate. 459 00:22:16,542 --> 00:22:19,212 - The Crown says, "Lay the charges now, 460 00:22:19,212 --> 00:22:22,132 "it's gonna get tossed at preliminary, 461 00:22:22,132 --> 00:22:23,884 "and then you'll never be able to charge them." 462 00:22:23,884 --> 00:22:25,135 He did, he actually said. 463 00:22:25,135 --> 00:22:28,388 He says, "At some point, one of them may talk 464 00:22:28,388 --> 00:22:30,015 "and then you're gonna have your evidence 465 00:22:30,015 --> 00:22:33,477 "to lay the charges and make it stick." 466 00:22:33,477 --> 00:22:35,186 - The RCMP start putting pressure on 467 00:22:35,186 --> 00:22:39,107 and they start following the suspects who are still in town 468 00:22:39,107 --> 00:22:41,902 and they get permission to wiretap their phones. 469 00:22:42,778 --> 00:22:45,781 In the bars, police take an unorthodox approach 470 00:22:45,781 --> 00:22:47,157 to putting that pressure on 471 00:22:47,157 --> 00:22:51,078 and send the suspects screwdrivers as a message. 472 00:22:52,287 --> 00:22:54,623 - Letting the suspects know that they're watching 473 00:22:54,623 --> 00:22:56,458 and that they probably know a lot more 474 00:22:56,458 --> 00:22:58,377 than they actually realize they do. 475 00:23:00,462 --> 00:23:03,090 - [Narrator] Putting pressure on his clients, 476 00:23:03,090 --> 00:23:05,550 D'Arcy Bancroft writes a letter of warning 477 00:23:05,550 --> 00:23:08,095 to the RCMP to back off 478 00:23:08,095 --> 00:23:12,057 and a second vouching for their good character. 479 00:23:12,933 --> 00:23:16,061 - The idea of counsel now sending a letter 480 00:23:16,061 --> 00:23:18,397 to the Crown Attorney's Office and saying, 481 00:23:18,397 --> 00:23:21,483 "You better back off," that simply would not happen now. 482 00:23:21,483 --> 00:23:24,111 And it may have been certainly a different era 483 00:23:24,111 --> 00:23:26,196 and a smaller community. 484 00:23:27,239 --> 00:23:29,282 - The high pressure tactics employed by the RCMP 485 00:23:29,282 --> 00:23:31,368 are getting some attention from above, 486 00:23:31,368 --> 00:23:34,287 which puts a chill on the investigation. 487 00:23:35,163 --> 00:23:37,124 - [Narrator] Time begins to pass. 488 00:23:37,124 --> 00:23:39,709 One of the key investigators, Don Knight, 489 00:23:39,709 --> 00:23:41,420 is transferred outta the region 490 00:23:42,587 --> 00:23:44,840 with the case still lacking enough evidence 491 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:46,383 to press charges. 492 00:23:46,383 --> 00:23:48,343 - It's very frustrating as an investigator 493 00:23:48,343 --> 00:23:52,763 to see a viable suspect basically walk away 494 00:23:52,763 --> 00:23:55,434 just because you don't have enough evidence, 495 00:23:55,434 --> 00:23:57,436 even though you know you know. 496 00:24:00,063 --> 00:24:01,481 - But if people know anything, 497 00:24:01,481 --> 00:24:04,192 they're not telling police or they're simply afraid. 498 00:24:06,528 --> 00:24:09,698 - [Narrator] The anonymous letter that RCMP received 499 00:24:09,698 --> 00:24:12,701 speaks to the fear that some may have. 500 00:24:13,577 --> 00:24:16,246 Part of that fear may be of the local lawyer, 501 00:24:16,246 --> 00:24:19,708 D'Arcy Bancroft, an intimidating figure 502 00:24:19,708 --> 00:24:22,794 who's connected to the privileged class of The Pas. 503 00:24:24,463 --> 00:24:25,964 - Well, they didn't wanna get involved 504 00:24:25,964 --> 00:24:27,090 because it had something to do 505 00:24:27,090 --> 00:24:31,094 with a person that they didn't value 506 00:24:31,094 --> 00:24:33,054 and really felt was beneath them, 507 00:24:33,054 --> 00:24:35,515 and so it wasn't any of their business. 508 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:40,270 By getting involved and doing the right thing 509 00:24:40,270 --> 00:24:42,105 perhaps meant for them 510 00:24:42,105 --> 00:24:45,984 that they also would be looked down upon by their neighbors 511 00:24:45,984 --> 00:24:50,155 of getting involved and helping these Indians at the time. 512 00:24:50,155 --> 00:24:51,406 Up to this point, 513 00:24:51,406 --> 00:24:53,700 so many officers had been involved in this case, 514 00:24:53,700 --> 00:24:55,202 but it had just stagnated. 515 00:24:55,202 --> 00:24:56,369 They really had to just focus 516 00:24:56,369 --> 00:24:58,371 on the long-term strategy at this point. 517 00:24:58,371 --> 00:25:00,874 (pensive music) 518 00:25:00,874 --> 00:25:05,212 - [Narrator] The main suspects continue to live their lives. 519 00:25:05,212 --> 00:25:06,379 Lee Colgan marries 520 00:25:06,379 --> 00:25:08,882 and eventually ends up in British Columbia. 521 00:25:08,882 --> 00:25:12,260 The marriage is troubled, as he abuses his spouse 522 00:25:12,260 --> 00:25:14,513 and struggles with alcohol addiction. 523 00:25:15,388 --> 00:25:16,723 After getting divorced, 524 00:25:16,723 --> 00:25:19,559 Colgan loses shared custody of their children 525 00:25:19,559 --> 00:25:22,521 because he threatens to kill his ex-wife. 526 00:25:23,563 --> 00:25:27,025 James Houghton also marries, moves to Alberta, 527 00:25:27,025 --> 00:25:28,944 and becomes a successful salesman 528 00:25:28,944 --> 00:25:30,737 who's known to friends and family 529 00:25:30,737 --> 00:25:33,490 as decent, caring, and generous. 530 00:25:35,242 --> 00:25:37,994 Dwayne Johnston is a stable family man 531 00:25:37,994 --> 00:25:39,996 living in British Columbia 532 00:25:39,996 --> 00:25:42,791 who socializes with a local biker gang 533 00:25:42,791 --> 00:25:45,710 and is rumored to have killed an Indigenous man 534 00:25:45,710 --> 00:25:47,128 back in Manitoba. 535 00:25:48,463 --> 00:25:52,759 Norm Manger is an alcoholic and living in British Columbia. 536 00:25:58,557 --> 00:26:00,642 As pressure builds on the RCMP 537 00:26:00,642 --> 00:26:04,563 well over a decade after the death of Helen Betty Osborne, 538 00:26:05,814 --> 00:26:10,193 Officer Bob Urbanoski is officially assigned to the case. 539 00:26:11,736 --> 00:26:13,989 - A new investigator can be a very good thing. 540 00:26:13,989 --> 00:26:17,993 They bring new perspectives, they bring new insights. 541 00:26:17,993 --> 00:26:19,494 - [Narrator] Over the last 13 years, 542 00:26:19,494 --> 00:26:22,289 about 200 officers had looked over the case, 543 00:26:22,289 --> 00:26:25,250 but Urbanoski is the first one to be full-time. 544 00:26:25,250 --> 00:26:27,919 - Urbanoski spends the first six months in The Pas 545 00:26:27,919 --> 00:26:29,671 asking a lotta questions. 546 00:26:30,964 --> 00:26:33,133 - [Narrator] Urbanoski tries something new 547 00:26:33,133 --> 00:26:36,011 and places an ad in the Opasquian Times 548 00:26:36,011 --> 00:26:38,054 requesting the public's assistance 549 00:26:38,054 --> 00:26:40,557 in Betty's murder investigation. 550 00:26:40,557 --> 00:26:44,352 Amazingly, police get over 150 responses 551 00:26:44,352 --> 00:26:47,814 and Urbanoski makes almost 200 inquiries, 552 00:26:47,814 --> 00:26:50,108 traveling to countless cities and towns 553 00:26:50,108 --> 00:26:52,068 from Vancouver to Toronto. 554 00:26:53,028 --> 00:26:54,446 - He was like a dog with a bone, right? 555 00:26:54,446 --> 00:26:57,574 (laughing) He just kept on it and kept on it and kept on it 556 00:26:57,574 --> 00:26:59,909 and tried all kindsa different things. 557 00:26:59,909 --> 00:27:01,744 And finally, one of them worked. 558 00:27:02,704 --> 00:27:03,663 - 13 years later, 559 00:27:03,663 --> 00:27:06,750 the simple act of taking out an ad in the paper 560 00:27:06,750 --> 00:27:09,961 is the break that Urbanoski needed. 561 00:27:09,961 --> 00:27:12,964 (eerie music) 562 00:27:12,964 --> 00:27:15,592 (tense music) 563 00:27:17,969 --> 00:27:21,013 (apprehensive music) 564 00:27:22,974 --> 00:27:24,142 (tense music) 565 00:27:24,142 --> 00:27:27,270 - [Narrator] When Helen Betty Osborne is brutally murdered, 566 00:27:27,270 --> 00:27:31,523 RCMP hunt for clues and anyone who might know what happened, 567 00:27:31,523 --> 00:27:35,987 but residents of The Pas, Manitoba, are reluctant to talk. 568 00:27:35,987 --> 00:27:38,073 - Evidence points to four young men. 569 00:27:38,073 --> 00:27:41,576 Their involvement seems to be the worst kept secret in town. 570 00:27:43,494 --> 00:27:45,246 - A lotta people don't want to get involved. 571 00:27:45,246 --> 00:27:47,207 Doesn't matter what their profession is, 572 00:27:47,207 --> 00:27:49,250 they don't wanna get involved. 573 00:27:49,250 --> 00:27:50,794 "I don't know, I don't wanna go to court. 574 00:27:50,794 --> 00:27:53,963 "I don't wanna get involved," and that happens, 575 00:27:54,839 --> 00:27:56,675 which makes it hard to investigate sometimes 576 00:27:56,675 --> 00:27:58,593 because you got people that know stuff 577 00:27:58,593 --> 00:28:01,388 that just don't wanna get involved. 578 00:28:02,847 --> 00:28:06,101 - [Narrator] After 13 years, the case gains momentum 579 00:28:06,101 --> 00:28:10,480 as RCMP Officer Bob Urbanoski finds a new way 580 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:14,109 to engage a town that, for the most part, has been silent. 581 00:28:15,068 --> 00:28:17,904 (pensive music) 582 00:28:19,071 --> 00:28:22,492 - Urbanoski needs one of these four suspects to break. 583 00:28:22,492 --> 00:28:26,496 - Lee Colgan is suffering with alcoholism and violence. 584 00:28:26,496 --> 00:28:28,540 He's definitely the weak link. 585 00:28:30,041 --> 00:28:33,086 - Sometimes people don't know that they have information, 586 00:28:33,086 --> 00:28:36,339 and so that ad, I think, was so important 587 00:28:36,339 --> 00:28:39,175 and it obviously became very important. 588 00:28:42,971 --> 00:28:45,140 - For years, people have been talking about this. 589 00:28:45,140 --> 00:28:46,182 There's been rumors. 590 00:28:46,182 --> 00:28:48,351 The suspects themselves have talked about it. 591 00:28:50,019 --> 00:28:51,855 - Bob Urbanoski really brought 592 00:28:51,855 --> 00:28:56,359 that fresh perspective as well to say, "This isn't right 593 00:28:56,359 --> 00:28:59,571 "and there are pieces here that if we put together 594 00:28:59,571 --> 00:29:03,032 "we can make a case, and there are people who know. 595 00:29:03,032 --> 00:29:04,576 "And now enough time has passed 596 00:29:04,576 --> 00:29:08,329 "that maybe they're thinking about what that means to them 597 00:29:08,329 --> 00:29:11,207 "in terms of keeping this a secret." 598 00:29:11,207 --> 00:29:14,043 - And finally, someone sees the notice in the paper 599 00:29:14,043 --> 00:29:15,462 and decides to talk. 600 00:29:16,921 --> 00:29:21,384 - [Narrator] Andrea Wiwcharuk responds to the Urbanoski ad. 601 00:29:21,384 --> 00:29:25,764 She's 14 when she hears Dwayne Johnston brag at a party. 602 00:29:27,223 --> 00:29:28,433 "I stabbed her. 603 00:29:28,433 --> 00:29:29,768 "I stabbed her." 604 00:29:31,728 --> 00:29:33,146 According to Wiwcharuk, 605 00:29:33,146 --> 00:29:36,483 Johnston added that the murder felt great. 606 00:29:37,525 --> 00:29:41,237 - "And they tore the car apart and we'll never get caught." 607 00:29:45,408 --> 00:29:49,078 - Most importantly, Wiwcharuk is willing to take the stand, 608 00:29:49,078 --> 00:29:51,080 but then something else comes out. 609 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:52,874 There's a whole other revelation. 610 00:29:55,585 --> 00:29:57,128 - Suddenly, someone else in The Pas 611 00:29:57,128 --> 00:29:59,047 realizes they should speak up. 612 00:30:01,508 --> 00:30:04,511 - This new revelation is that Sheriff Gerald Wilson 613 00:30:04,511 --> 00:30:08,640 of The Pas runs into Colgan at the local Legion. 614 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:12,060 He buys him alcohol and takes him back to his trailer 615 00:30:12,060 --> 00:30:15,522 in the hopes of eliciting a confession of some sort. 616 00:30:15,522 --> 00:30:16,648 - [Narrator] The sheriff would recall 617 00:30:16,648 --> 00:30:21,903 that Colgan's confession took place in maybe 1977 or '78, 618 00:30:22,904 --> 00:30:26,115 but doesn't come forward until 1986. 619 00:30:27,075 --> 00:30:29,828 - Sheriff, while a peace officer but not a police officer, 620 00:30:29,828 --> 00:30:35,291 whatever rationale he may have had to keep that a secret 621 00:30:36,376 --> 00:30:39,629 I think is complete baloney. 622 00:30:39,629 --> 00:30:42,298 And I would say he had an obligation 623 00:30:42,298 --> 00:30:45,844 to pass that information on to the RCMP. 624 00:30:48,304 --> 00:30:50,223 - All the information that came out, 625 00:30:50,223 --> 00:30:52,559 even though it may be over a decade late, 626 00:30:52,559 --> 00:30:54,519 it couldn't be more significant. 627 00:30:56,521 --> 00:30:59,774 - [Narrator] Officer Urbanoski visits Lee Colgan, 628 00:30:59,774 --> 00:31:02,694 armed with a witness willing to take the stand. 629 00:31:03,611 --> 00:31:06,489 - Urbanoski knows that of all of the four suspects, 630 00:31:06,489 --> 00:31:09,909 Colgan is likely going to be the one who talks. 631 00:31:09,909 --> 00:31:11,369 - And he breaks his silence, 632 00:31:11,369 --> 00:31:14,455 the silence that started the day of the murder 633 00:31:14,455 --> 00:31:16,291 and continued until his father 634 00:31:16,291 --> 00:31:18,376 took him to see D'Arcy Bancroft, 635 00:31:18,376 --> 00:31:20,336 only to find out that Dwayne Johnston 636 00:31:20,336 --> 00:31:22,881 had already been at Bancroft's office. 637 00:31:26,801 --> 00:31:29,178 - At the end of the day, the Crown Attorney was right. 638 00:31:29,178 --> 00:31:32,307 "Wait, someday it might happen," and it did. 639 00:31:34,601 --> 00:31:36,936 - [Narrator] Authorities arrest Lee Colgan 640 00:31:36,936 --> 00:31:38,396 at his parents' house 641 00:31:38,396 --> 00:31:40,690 and charge him with first-degree murder. 642 00:31:42,442 --> 00:31:45,361 - And he breaks the silence, the silence that started 643 00:31:45,361 --> 00:31:47,447 after the murder of Helen Betty Osborne. 644 00:31:47,447 --> 00:31:51,159 What authorities wanna know now is who did what that night? 645 00:31:51,159 --> 00:31:53,077 Who wielded the screwdriver? 646 00:31:53,077 --> 00:31:55,038 Who murdered Helen Betty Osborne? 647 00:31:56,414 --> 00:31:58,541 - [Narrator] Norm Manger, James Houghton, 648 00:31:58,541 --> 00:32:02,545 Lee Colgan, and Dwayne Johnston are out drinking 649 00:32:02,545 --> 00:32:04,756 and cruising the town for sex. 650 00:32:04,756 --> 00:32:07,550 (uneasy music) 651 00:32:10,511 --> 00:32:12,680 - They see Helen Betty Osborne walking, 652 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:14,974 alone and vulnerable. 653 00:32:15,642 --> 00:32:17,393 They pull her into their car. 654 00:32:19,020 --> 00:32:21,689 - [Narrator] The men use fake names with each other 655 00:32:21,689 --> 00:32:24,651 so Helen won't be able to identify them later. 656 00:32:25,485 --> 00:32:27,904 Norm Manger is in front. 657 00:32:27,904 --> 00:32:29,197 James Houghton drives, 658 00:32:29,197 --> 00:32:33,034 with Colgan, Osborne, and Johnston in the backseat. 659 00:32:36,496 --> 00:32:38,915 - First, they go to Houghton's cabin, 660 00:32:38,915 --> 00:32:40,875 but Betty is screaming and yelling 661 00:32:40,875 --> 00:32:42,543 and there's people around. 662 00:32:42,543 --> 00:32:45,171 (eerie music) 663 00:32:49,092 --> 00:32:50,843 - So they forced her back into the car 664 00:32:50,843 --> 00:32:53,805 and they moved on to a more secluded area. 665 00:32:57,392 --> 00:33:00,603 - I think they intentionally were going to rape her 666 00:33:00,603 --> 00:33:03,064 and I think she just fought them off, 667 00:33:03,064 --> 00:33:07,986 so they decided, "Well, let's just do a number on her," 668 00:33:08,820 --> 00:33:10,947 and just there was no stopping them. 669 00:33:12,031 --> 00:33:13,866 - There was a lotta alcohol and drugs, 670 00:33:13,866 --> 00:33:16,577 but the initial version places Houghton and Johnston 671 00:33:16,577 --> 00:33:18,329 outside the car with Betty. 672 00:33:20,540 --> 00:33:22,208 Colgan and Manger are inside the car 673 00:33:22,208 --> 00:33:24,335 when the worst of the beating happens. 674 00:33:25,378 --> 00:33:27,588 Manger is extremely drunk. 675 00:33:27,588 --> 00:33:31,175 (eerie music continuing) 676 00:33:32,885 --> 00:33:36,639 - Stabbed her numerous times, put the boots to her. 677 00:33:36,639 --> 00:33:39,767 It was just a vicious, vicious attack, 678 00:33:39,767 --> 00:33:41,561 and dumped her body out there 679 00:33:42,562 --> 00:33:45,023 and just drove away as if nothing happened. 680 00:33:46,315 --> 00:33:48,693 - Of course, they thought they could get away with it 681 00:33:48,693 --> 00:33:51,237 because in the viewpoint that they had, 682 00:33:51,237 --> 00:33:54,449 "This was just an Indian that we picked up 683 00:33:54,449 --> 00:33:56,367 "and nobody's going to care." 684 00:33:59,454 --> 00:34:00,830 - [Narrator] Dwayne Johnston is arrested 685 00:34:00,830 --> 00:34:03,916 at his home in Revelstoke, British Columbia. 686 00:34:07,253 --> 00:34:09,797 Lee Colgan and Dwayne Johnston 687 00:34:09,797 --> 00:34:12,300 are to attend a preliminary hearing. 688 00:34:12,300 --> 00:34:15,594 But minutes prior, Colgan is offered full immunity 689 00:34:15,594 --> 00:34:18,306 if he testifies against Johnston. 690 00:34:19,766 --> 00:34:22,560 - Better off to get some convicted than none 691 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:24,562 because without Colgan making a deal, 692 00:34:24,562 --> 00:34:26,064 he wasn't gonna testify. 693 00:34:26,814 --> 00:34:29,192 There was two people that dragged her body in 694 00:34:29,192 --> 00:34:30,526 and two people came out. 695 00:34:32,236 --> 00:34:37,658 Manger, if you believe Colgan, is passed out in the car. 696 00:34:38,367 --> 00:34:39,786 - It's essentially a case 697 00:34:39,786 --> 00:34:42,121 of what's the first rat off the ship? 698 00:34:42,121 --> 00:34:44,373 His lawyer was obviously able to have discussions 699 00:34:44,373 --> 00:34:45,416 with the Crown Attorney 700 00:34:45,416 --> 00:34:48,335 in terms of working on a deal for him. 701 00:34:48,335 --> 00:34:50,546 - [Narrator] Colgan gives police enough evidence 702 00:34:50,546 --> 00:34:52,131 to charge Jim Houghton 703 00:34:52,131 --> 00:34:55,093 and he's arrested on a friend's porch in Alberta 704 00:34:56,636 --> 00:34:58,930 and charged with first-degree murder. 705 00:35:02,850 --> 00:35:05,561 16 years after the murder of her daughter, 706 00:35:05,561 --> 00:35:10,358 Justine Osborne finds out about the arrests from the radio. 707 00:35:12,902 --> 00:35:15,321 - You oughta bring some sort of closure to the family, 708 00:35:15,321 --> 00:35:18,658 and that's really hard to do sometimes 'cause families say, 709 00:35:18,658 --> 00:35:20,409 and you can't blame 'em and they get upset, 710 00:35:20,409 --> 00:35:23,121 "What are you guys, you're not doing your job," 711 00:35:23,121 --> 00:35:23,913 that kind of thing. 712 00:35:23,913 --> 00:35:25,248 And you know what? 713 00:35:25,248 --> 00:35:27,625 It's a hard job to do sometimes. 714 00:35:27,625 --> 00:35:29,127 - They've been suffering for years 715 00:35:29,127 --> 00:35:31,129 and there's still a trial to face. 716 00:35:34,422 --> 00:35:37,051 (tense music) 717 00:35:39,387 --> 00:35:42,598 (apprehensive music) 718 00:35:44,392 --> 00:35:46,686 (tense music) 719 00:35:46,686 --> 00:35:47,979 - [Narrator] James Houghton 720 00:35:47,979 --> 00:35:51,232 and Dwayne Johnston's murder trial begins at 10:30 a.m. 721 00:35:53,484 --> 00:35:56,027 From the 104 jury prospects, 722 00:35:56,027 --> 00:35:58,698 20 Indigenous people are eliminated, 723 00:35:58,698 --> 00:36:02,076 leaving an all-white two-woman and 10-man jury. 724 00:36:03,035 --> 00:36:06,539 Because he agrees to turn evidence against the others, 725 00:36:06,539 --> 00:36:08,708 Lee Colgan cannot be held liable 726 00:36:08,708 --> 00:36:11,002 for the murder of Helen Betty Osborne. 727 00:36:11,919 --> 00:36:15,089 - Norman Manger, although he was inside the car, 728 00:36:15,089 --> 00:36:16,174 wasn't charged. 729 00:36:18,092 --> 00:36:20,303 - When the girl testified that Johnston had said, 730 00:36:20,303 --> 00:36:23,681 "I stabbed her and I stabbed her and I stabbed her," 731 00:36:23,681 --> 00:36:24,806 no-brainer for the jury. 732 00:36:24,806 --> 00:36:26,851 "Definitely he's one of the killers, right? 733 00:36:26,851 --> 00:36:28,186 "We don't know who the other one is, 734 00:36:28,186 --> 00:36:30,146 "so we're not gonna convict." 735 00:36:30,771 --> 00:36:32,356 They had a reasonable doubt. 736 00:36:35,318 --> 00:36:39,906 - For those four men, no one was really held accountable, 737 00:36:39,906 --> 00:36:44,368 perhaps the one, and it just doesn't sit right at all. 738 00:36:45,286 --> 00:36:48,998 - Not happy with only getting one convicted. 739 00:36:50,208 --> 00:36:51,626 Unfortunately, that's our system 740 00:36:51,626 --> 00:36:54,212 and that's what the jury felt. 741 00:36:55,421 --> 00:36:56,589 - [Narrator] Two days later, 742 00:36:56,589 --> 00:37:00,218 the Manitoba Attorney General commences an investigation 743 00:37:00,843 --> 00:37:04,138 into why The Pas Sheriff Gerald Wilson 744 00:37:04,138 --> 00:37:05,890 did not reveal the confession 745 00:37:05,890 --> 00:37:09,227 that Lee Colgan had made to him in the late-'70s. 746 00:37:10,228 --> 00:37:12,146 - Another inquiry would be launched 747 00:37:12,146 --> 00:37:14,148 by local leaders in The Pas. 748 00:37:14,148 --> 00:37:18,361 And two months later, Sheriff Gerald Wilson would be demoted 749 00:37:18,361 --> 00:37:20,112 for withholding information. 750 00:37:21,113 --> 00:37:23,532 - The sheriff claims that everyone in town 751 00:37:23,532 --> 00:37:24,742 was aware of the information 752 00:37:24,742 --> 00:37:27,703 and the RCMP should have been as well. 753 00:37:27,703 --> 00:37:29,914 That's why he didn't do anything. 754 00:37:29,914 --> 00:37:32,458 (calm music) 755 00:37:36,087 --> 00:37:39,547 - A short time later, Sheriff Gerald Wilson is reinstated 756 00:37:39,547 --> 00:37:41,300 after a arbitration hearing. 757 00:37:41,300 --> 00:37:43,052 - What little credit I can give him 758 00:37:43,052 --> 00:37:46,264 is that he acknowledged that racism, 759 00:37:46,264 --> 00:37:48,849 that this wasn't his neighbor's daughter. 760 00:37:48,849 --> 00:37:52,853 This was some Indigenous girl he didn't know. 761 00:37:52,853 --> 00:37:55,481 And at the time, who cared about them? 762 00:37:55,481 --> 00:37:56,690 Certainly not him. 763 00:37:57,650 --> 00:37:58,567 - [Narrator] The province launches 764 00:37:58,567 --> 00:38:00,820 the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry. 765 00:38:00,820 --> 00:38:04,073 - Helen Betty Osborne's case and what happened 766 00:38:04,073 --> 00:38:06,325 was one of the ways to highlight 767 00:38:06,325 --> 00:38:09,120 just how much injustice there was 768 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:13,623 for Indigenous people at the time, and it's still ongoing. 769 00:38:14,750 --> 00:38:17,169 - [Narrator] The inquiry finds many problems, 770 00:38:17,169 --> 00:38:20,422 pointing to the failure by authorities in The Pas. 771 00:38:20,422 --> 00:38:25,094 It also finds problematic that all four of the suspects 772 00:38:25,094 --> 00:38:26,344 were early on represented 773 00:38:26,344 --> 00:38:29,556 by a single lawyer, D'Arcy Bancroft. 774 00:38:29,556 --> 00:38:33,060 (calm music continuing) 775 00:38:39,567 --> 00:38:42,862 - She definitely was a symbol for change of this idea 776 00:38:42,862 --> 00:38:46,991 that you cannot just throw away Indigenous women. 777 00:38:46,991 --> 00:38:49,035 You cannot just use them and abuse them, 778 00:38:49,035 --> 00:38:51,786 throw them away and think nothing is going to happen 779 00:38:51,786 --> 00:38:53,622 and that you'll get away with it. 780 00:38:56,417 --> 00:38:57,585 (brooding music) 781 00:38:57,585 --> 00:39:00,546 - [Narrator] Dwayne Johnston becomes eligible for parole 782 00:39:00,546 --> 00:39:03,341 after serving only seven years of his sentence 783 00:39:04,175 --> 00:39:06,552 and begins a day parole program. 784 00:39:06,552 --> 00:39:09,805 - But about 200 protestors walk 800 kilometers 785 00:39:09,805 --> 00:39:14,768 from the north to Winnipeg in April 1996 to protest. 786 00:39:14,768 --> 00:39:17,355 Johnston's parole is revoked. 787 00:39:20,107 --> 00:39:23,402 - [Narrator] Unexpectedly, Dwayne Johnston participates 788 00:39:23,402 --> 00:39:26,072 in a healing circle from jail 789 00:39:26,072 --> 00:39:28,783 with the RCMP and the Osborne family. 790 00:39:31,327 --> 00:39:33,996 - Johnston claims he did not participate in the murder 791 00:39:33,996 --> 00:39:37,375 and identifies James Robert Houghton as the killer. 792 00:39:37,375 --> 00:39:40,169 (uneasy music) 793 00:39:41,545 --> 00:39:44,882 They had made a pact and that they had all taken turns 794 00:39:44,882 --> 00:39:47,134 stabbing Helen's body with the screwdriver 795 00:39:47,134 --> 00:39:49,387 to keep them all bound to silence. 796 00:39:50,763 --> 00:39:54,308 - This conversation between Johnston and the family 797 00:39:54,308 --> 00:39:55,976 is leaked to the media. 798 00:40:00,106 --> 00:40:02,358 Already, lawyers for the other two accused 799 00:40:02,358 --> 00:40:04,527 are arguing they can't get a fair trial 800 00:40:04,527 --> 00:40:06,779 with this taped conversation out there. 801 00:40:08,739 --> 00:40:09,907 - Who knows if Johnston's 802 00:40:09,907 --> 00:40:12,076 extremely belated confession is reliable? 803 00:40:12,076 --> 00:40:15,704 One person certainly knows what happened. 804 00:40:15,704 --> 00:40:16,914 - [Narrator] D'Arcy Bancroft, 805 00:40:16,914 --> 00:40:19,417 initially the lawyer for the four suspects, 806 00:40:20,376 --> 00:40:22,253 was most probably the only person 807 00:40:22,253 --> 00:40:25,422 to hear all firsthand accounts in his office. 808 00:40:31,011 --> 00:40:32,471 - The inquiry has now reached 809 00:40:32,471 --> 00:40:34,056 the end of phase one of its work. 810 00:40:34,056 --> 00:40:35,808 - [Narrator] The Aboriginal Justice Inquiry 811 00:40:35,808 --> 00:40:39,228 also finds problematic and highlights in its conclusions 812 00:40:39,228 --> 00:40:42,815 that all four suspects were early on represented 813 00:40:42,815 --> 00:40:45,693 by a single lawyer, D'Arcy Bancroft. 814 00:40:54,076 --> 00:40:56,911 D'Arcy Bancroft would die only a few years 815 00:40:56,911 --> 00:41:01,167 after the death of Helen Betty Osborne at age 30. 816 00:41:01,167 --> 00:41:05,880 His law partners would then destroy his files. 817 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:09,049 - He shoulda said, "Look, I can't act for all four of you." 818 00:41:09,049 --> 00:41:12,511 For example, Colgan, who probably told him, 819 00:41:12,511 --> 00:41:13,804 "I didn't do anything. 820 00:41:13,804 --> 00:41:15,764 "I know what they did, but I didn't do anything. 821 00:41:15,764 --> 00:41:17,141 Said, "Well, then, you know what? 822 00:41:17,141 --> 00:41:18,893 "You better get your own lawyer. 823 00:41:18,893 --> 00:41:20,186 "I'll act for you 824 00:41:20,186 --> 00:41:21,562 "and those guys will have to get a different lawyer 825 00:41:21,562 --> 00:41:24,732 "because I can maybe make a deal for you right now." 826 00:41:25,649 --> 00:41:27,193 But he didn't do that. 827 00:41:27,193 --> 00:41:29,987 And so, he just told them all to be quiet. 828 00:41:33,073 --> 00:41:35,075 - The Indigenous community came together 829 00:41:35,075 --> 00:41:37,119 and said, "This needs to stop." 830 00:41:37,119 --> 00:41:40,247 This is a person who was going to bring value 831 00:41:40,247 --> 00:41:43,083 to her community by being a schoolteacher 832 00:41:43,083 --> 00:41:44,919 and teaching the next generation, 833 00:41:44,919 --> 00:41:46,879 and it was just cut short. 834 00:41:46,879 --> 00:41:48,005 For what? 835 00:41:48,005 --> 00:41:51,175 Because these four individuals 836 00:41:51,175 --> 00:41:53,511 decided that she wasn't worth anything, 837 00:41:53,511 --> 00:41:55,846 that they can use her and discard her. 838 00:41:57,931 --> 00:42:01,060 - Can't be forgotten that someone did have the courage 839 00:42:01,060 --> 00:42:04,563 to come forward and speak and testify, 840 00:42:04,563 --> 00:42:05,981 and that person wouldn't have come forward 841 00:42:05,981 --> 00:42:08,859 if she hadn't seen that story in the paper. 842 00:42:09,902 --> 00:42:13,072 - Lucky because, well, that young boy found the body 843 00:42:13,072 --> 00:42:14,864 or at least saw the body early on. 844 00:42:14,864 --> 00:42:18,369 Otherwise, it might have never been solved. 845 00:42:21,789 --> 00:42:23,373 - She's been a symbol for change 846 00:42:23,373 --> 00:42:26,252 in the late-1980s and early-'90s 847 00:42:26,252 --> 00:42:31,297 that we have to stop devaluing our women in this way. 848 00:42:31,297 --> 00:42:32,550 It has to stop. 849 00:42:34,301 --> 00:42:36,887 (somber music) 850 00:42:36,887 --> 00:42:39,556 (tense music)