Edmonton / Highway of Tears

This was going to be a small paragraph in a bigger random blog but it grew really fast and the fact is I thought it was rather interesting so it will be post of its own. I decided to add some of these womens names. I once heard a pod about Jack the Rippers victims, that humanized them. I think thats what should be done, why glorify freak shows and forget about the people who suffered because of them. Also I added a bit more as I was just going to, just quickly mention Edmonton but I think it is bigger than that. Also still cannot find a legit decent looking charity to donate to for MMIWG.... Msg me if you know one!

IS there a serial killer in Edmonton? Or was there one active? On another long drive home I came across podcasts on EPS, which led to pods on what they called the Edmonton - Leduc murders. Which if you have been around Edmonton for awhile I know you have heard of. I just was unaware of the amount and length of time this had been going on. First thing though not all these murders ended up in the same area, fields out by Leduc. I should be very clear on that, but SINCE 1983 49 women are considered missing or murdered from Downtown Edmonton (mostly sex workers). Of these only 9 have been solved. 49 is the amount of women it is believed Robert Pickton killed. What I am saying is that is a big fucking number! In the early 2000s Project Kare was set up to help people in high risk lifestyles and hopefully stop these killings. Did it work? Well honestly seems like it a bit at least.... I remember how big this was back then but it does not seem like it has happened nearly as much in the last few years. Or at least bodies have not been dumped to be found. Thomas Svelka was caught and convicted of one murder, Theresa Innes. Also was suspect in another Rachel Quinney as he "found the body" a few years prior. There was no evidence to prove that he killed her though so he was not convicted on that murder. I am going to say it, while he was suspect in 7 more I don't buy it. The man was dumb enough to bring a body in a hockey bag to his sisters house and leave it, claiming it was stinking compost. Really? I am sorry but to me the man doesn't have the capacity to do it. Corrie Ottenbreit & Delores Brower were also found in the same area as Quinney but they had been hidden so well they were not found for a decade. On top of that Svekla was considered in Edna Bernard, Katie Ballantyne, Bernadette Ahenakew, Debbie Lake, Monique Pitre and Melissa Munch's murders as all their bodies were found in the same area. So was it Svekla? Maybe but after he was locked away Danielle Torvalson & Amber Tuccaro were also dumped there. Is that just someone else copying him if he did it? The fact is it appears the killings have slowed dramatically. On the other hand Robert Pickton wasn't thought smart either though and look wat he got away with. I have heard it said he is a suspect here as well. Again I write that off as he was upset he didn't get 50 and admitted it to an under cover cop. If he murdered 49 in Van then it is hard to think he didn't get 50 if he was killing here as well. 

Again another tragic case that may have connections was Nina Courtepatte. For those of you who don't know she was a teenage girl lured from the mall by 2 men and a group of teens in the early 2000s taken to a golf course raped and murdered. The men involved Michael Briscoe & Joseph Laboucan were also responsible for a murdered sex worker Ellie Meyer also left in a field. So they kind of line up with these women ending up in fields. HOWEVER Laboucan was early 20s in 2000s so clearly had not been killing for 20 years. Briscoe in his 40s could have been. However there have been more murders since they were incarcerated. Also Briscoe supposedly did not do the killings. He was there but not an active participant. Not that it really makes him any less guilty but maybe killing isn't in him. Something to keep in mind with all 3 of these guys though, the murders have almost dropped off since they were locked away..... So did we literally have at least 2 groups of sickos? On top of that there is a local horse ranch owner that keeps coming up. Various blogs and podcasts mention him by name. I won't but it is pretty crazy some of the accusations against him. 

Also Amber Tuccaro comes up. Missing in August 2010 there is a recording of her on the phone in someones truck who picked her up hitch hiking. The police released a minute of it and a mans voice can be heard, he claims to be taking her to Edmonton but she doesn't seem to believe him. She of course was later found in Leduc county. One man has come forward claiming that it was his fathers voice on the tape but it was never proven. He also alleged his father had committed other murders BUT that was proven false, so is this just a vendetta against his dad?? I don't have a name for this man but supposedly he is known to police. So clearly we have a suspect pool and murders have dropped off as these men were taken out of society.... Is one of them a serial killer? I don't think so but since the murders have slowed I am going to go with some arm chair sleuth theories. "Most" serial killers start in their 30s so if the person killed for the first time in 83 at even 30 they would have to be 70 years old next year. Even in decent shape I assume serial killing would be hard at 70. Say they started at 25 they could be 65 and there are very healthy strong 65 year olds but again I assume harder to do. Also over 30 years or so they could have moved, been caught on some other crime (Like Briscoe and Laboucan were. It was only after Ninas murder were they even thought of in Meyers slaying) or even just be dead. Rarely does it happen but sometimes serial killers do just quit. Having others convicted of similar murders did the person realize the heat was dissipating and just stop, letting these other clowns become the prime suspects? 

I posted this on social media and another theory came up and it was actually a really good one as well. With bodies being dumped on the way to the airport, was it a fly in fly out worker? Of course they said Oil and Gas worker (Always blame rig guys ffs)  BUT it isn't a terrible idea. The killings really slow down after the crash in late 2000s... Also someone flying in would have a rental car or whatever so it wouldn't appear to be the same person, no pattern. Even if it isn't fly in and out we are also the hub to the north. GP and Fort Mac have a lot of workers in and out. We are the gateway to the NWT and YK as well. Another more far fetched idea popped in my head. From Edmonton it is easier to get to the Prince George area than it is from most of BC. For those of you into true crime, well that's the "main" part of the highway of tears. Another place with a ton of unsolved murders, that it is suspected at least one serial killer is active in and is possibly a long haul trucker or something. Which would likely pass thru Edmonton...... That of course is a stretch but hey just saying. Anyways I think there was a serial killer active here for sure. I am not sure if they still are. Is it any of the clowns that are now hopefully rotting in jail? Maybe, I don't put too much stock in it being them but really if each even did a couple that is a decent sized number. Is / was there someone else, that's what I believe. Will they be caught, honestly not sure. Project Kare is now all but scrapped. Without bodies piling up the push doesn't appear to be on to solve any cold cases & I hate to say it but sex workers and high risk lifestyle people never seem to be the police priority.  Fuck it I was going to make this a random thoughts entry but this got so long I am going to do a couple related rants.....

High risk lifestyle is not a good life. I assume it isn't happy and clearly it sure as fuck isn't safe. Look at what Willy Pickton did. I am about to middle ground defend what appears to be police in-action. First people living high risk often are avoiding the police or do not trust the police. That really makes it hard for the police to do their jobs!! Seriously, use your head. If no one is willing to talk to the police how are the police supposed to solve things. Another thing is reliability. I hate to say it but a couple times when I went on a bender and vanished for a day it makes a person less concerned. First time I didn't come home girlfriend was calling hospitals, friends, everywhere. Second time just friends, third time just waiting for me to get home so she could snap. Honestly if you aren't routine it also makes things very hard. You report someone missing but it is a common occurrence they do go missing for a day or two or are hard to find in general, it won't get top billing from the police. Is that right, no but it is the way the world works. Also I see the wait 24 hour law both ways. First, ya people vanish for 24 hours. I have. Just doing dumb shit and I was fine no reason to worry. The flipside yes that first 24 is probably crucial. I have no answer for that, I mean I understand police can't chase down everyone missing for a few hours but those hours are crucial. Also and this is more for the Highway of Tears section below but hitch hiking is a big no no. Honestly maybe back in the day it was fine, it might still be for 90% of people but if you are randomly hopping in someone's truck you don't know you are putting yourself at risk. There is a lot that could be said here and I know the police get a lot of blame. 100% some of it is justified blame. Some of it I understand, its rock and a hard place. I truly believe there are good cops out there trying to stop this and yes some who deep down don't care until it is a white middle class woman missing. Like I said I don't know how to fix that.....

Finally the Highway of Tears. 725KMs of woods and back country between Prince George and Prince Rupert in Northern BC. Since 1970 more than 40 women have vanished or been murdered along highway 16 or the side highways on it. Now Project E-Pana by the RCMP puts the number at only 18. I won't get deep into the politics but to me if 40 women vanished it is 40 not 18.... Also the weak connection I said to there and Edmonton is Hwy 16 were this is all taking place. People in Edmonton would call HWY16 the Yellowhead as it is a major route thru Edmonton and does head to Prince George, in fact it is one of the better ways to get there. Along 16 before you hit PG there have also been numerous disappearances. So when you actually get to the Highway of Tears it is crazy how many serial killers have "worked" it. Started with Bobby Jack Fowler. An American serial killer that actually worked for a roofing company in PG. His DNA was found on one victim Colleen McMillen and allegedly was a strong suspect in 2 others. Gale Weys and Pamela Darlington. I am not sure why he was a "strong" suspect but he was. Also thought possible in up to 20 more but who or why has never been stated. Kim Rossmo a geographic profiler who gained fame in stating a serial killer was at work in Van City before Pickton was uncovered however doesn't believe it, not sure why if there is DNA evidence. However Fowler died in prison so we will never know. 10 years ago Cody Legebokoff was convicted of 4 murders on the Highway as well. Jill Stuchenko, Natasha Montgomery, Cynthia Maas and Loren Leslie. He met Loren on Nexopia for those who remember that site.... Brian Peter Arp was convicted of killing two other Prince George women Marie Blanchard & Theresa Umphrey. Also Edward Dennis Isaac was convicted of 3 murders Jean Kovacs, Nina Joseph & Roswitha Fuchsbichler. Honestly WTF? What about that area has such a draw of killers? I assume it is the fact it is very densely wooded and probably easy to hide bodies plus it is a major thoroughfare that has a hitch hikers all over it...  Just saying it is crazy how 3 killers have been caught, how many more are out there. I don't want to get to deep into race and things such as that but I do clearly remember Nicole Hoar going missing on the Highway and that was when it first caught my attention back in the early 2000s. Unlike many of the other victims she was white and it seemed the media picked up on it. The same thing with Madison Scott. She was a white female camping in Vanderhoof that went missing. I remember her more on the media and to this day still see stickers Findmaddy on the highway which are for the search for her. While I would argue against "Missing White Women" syndrome for various reasons I am not getting into here, these cases almost prove its a thing. As of all the Highway victims I really have only heard of these 2 until I started digging. SOME people think Israel Keyes could even be involved in these murders. If you haven't heard of him and you like true crime, look him up. It is frickin scary, he would never have been found had he not gotten sloppy. His crimes were planned way in advance and ya he is just a scary guy. He was known to travel for killing and the Highway is 33 hours form his place in Alaska so maybe?  He is thought though to have only killed 11 people and they seem to all be accounted for. I guess what I am getting at with the Highway and Edmonton is it sticks out like a sore thumb something is going on. It took me an hour maybe of reading to find names dates all this stuff that piles up but seems to be being ignored. I shouldn't say that. I often will defend policing and who knows maybe there are working hard on this but to a casual observer it does not feel like it. Below is a snap shot of the Yellowhead

Being on Social Media with this all of a sudden a few more names popped up that again I don't think i have ever heard yet they are all fairly recent Twyla Evans, Nikki Frenchman, Shaeanne McAllister. Why do we not hear these names but posting about this and I get swamped with info. Googling these women there was barely anything..... Also finally I wasn't going to post this part as I think the person is a kook. Possibly.... What if they aren't.... The following is a comment I received after starting this

I am a psychic, I am able to feel people's emotions and examine them in a way that is difficult to describe. I have to consciously turn it on I do not just walk around being psychic I need a reason to turn it on otherwise my mind is preoccupied.

When I talk openly about this people ask me if I've ever encountered a ghost, yes, a demon, yes, but then they ask me what's the scariest thing I've ever saw being a psychic and I tell them neither:

I had a job working at a place, we had people coming through with stuff, we also gave them stuff, was transactional, so you'd see the same faces.

My favorite person that came was J. He was a very old man, but rugged. He had once worked the very same job I had worked then only years and years back, so he was somebody we just kind of gravitated to, always had a story for him and he had a story for us.

The first thing that struck me as odd about J was his total transparency about his situation in life: he had gone through a terrible divorce. Him and my co-worker would talk about their kids and he would say "I can't afford to do that man, my wife cleaned me out, the bitch took everything".

We had a female worker come in at one point and J did not like her at all we also had women in the office and you could just kind of tell he had a problem with women in general, he would passive aggressively talk about women within ear shot and pulled no punches.

I had a miscommunication with our female co-worker about another person who we serviced that day she felt she was being wrongly blamed, I did as well, but when we brought this up with J he basically said "Yeah, it sounds like it was her fault" without having much context of the situation, that was the second thing that struck me as odd.

Then one day J was hanging out with us, he was there for like an hour which was unusual and because of that, we were talking about the news. The Highway of Tears came up. J approached us after exiting the bathroom, "What are you guys talking about?"

I looked at him, he was maybe 6 feet away and I said "The highway of Tears killer, they were never caught and most active years ago" and this man did the strangest thing I've ever saw, his legs gave out, he leaned against a mounted shelf, stuck his tongue out and looked like he had same came in his pants. This was the strangest thing I've ever seen in my whole life, it struck me as strange immediately, sometimes I need to think on things before I can determine if it was strange butnot necessary here was 100% strange.

Then my co-worker, asked him, "J, you were driving truck back then between BC and Alberta, right? You ever see anything strange?"

J replied "Yeah I was driving back then, but I just kept to myself"

After I heard that, I was convinced J was a killer, I turned my mind on and I could see that he was also like me, a psychic, although he was different and he couldn't tell that I could see him. I saw the shadows behind him, a parade of souls, I could see that he ended them very abruptly, I could see his method, he liked to kill women while he was driving, there was a thrill I could feel that he had gotten from it, one wrong move and he would be caught, but he just grabbed her by the neck, through her into the foot rest area and choked her, her head against the ground, him leaning over the console, having 1 hand on the wheel, the other on her neck, I could feel he was powerful, she had absolutely no hope, but he wanted to feel like he at least gave her a chance, otherwise it was too easy.

The other thing I could sense, was that J was smart. He wasn't getting caught, not anytime soon anyways. I do think he will be caught one day, I think he will lose control of his urge and a woman will get the better of him, I know he has trophies and maybe they'll be found, I don't know, but I do rest easier knowing his most active days are behind him.

Ive reported all this to the police, but they likely think I'm a kook... But if you ever hear about one of the Highway of Tears killers being caught because I highly doubt he is the only one, his initials are JM.