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The murder of Gail Miller and Wrongful Conviction of David Milgaard Part 1 — Transcript

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0:00today's story brings us to Saskatoon the
0:03largest city in the province of
0:04Saskatchewan Saskatoon currently has a
0:07census population sitting at about 266
0:11000 people although back in 1969 where
0:14the story takes place the population of
0:17Saskatoon was less than half sitting at
0:20about 130
0:21000. the South Saskatchewan River Flows
0:24to the center of the city and is located
0:26along the trans-canada Yellowhead
0:29Highway and the city has served as the
0:31cultural and economic Hub of central
0:34Saskatchewan since its founding in 1882.
0:37this story is a tale of two tragedies
0:40the murder of Gail Miller who was a 20
0:42year old nurse's aide and the wrongful
0:45conviction of David Milgard for the
0:47crime wrongful convictions were
0:49something that occurred more often than
0:51the justice system would care to admit
0:53especially before the discovery of DNA
0:56and this is one of the first cases that
0:58got me into the genre of True Crime
1:00David his supporters had been pushing
1:02for years for DNA samples to be tested
1:05and although DNA was still relatively
1:07new in the late 80s and early 90s I was
1:11troubled by the reaction of some of the
1:13politicians and police officers who
1:15worked the case back in 1969. they were
1:18dismissive and as a naive teenager I
1:21couldn't understand why they were doing
1:22this if it could possibly clear his name
1:24and it was because they would have to
1:26admit to the country that they were
1:28responsible for an innocent man spending
1:3023 years in prison David Milgard always
1:33maintained his innocence and DNA finally
1:36cleared his name in the year 1997. this
1:39is the story of the murder of Gail
1:41Miller and the wrongful conviction of
1:44David Milgard it was a freezing cold
1:46morning on January 31st 1969. it was
1:50bitterly cold outside around -41 and
1:54there was a thick ice fog forming around
1:56the city people were warned not to go
1:58out if they didn't have to at 8 30 a.m
2:02grade 6 student Mary Marco was on her
2:05way to school she was working safety
2:07patrol that day and was in a rush so she
2:10chose to take a different route she
2:12walked a block away from her home and
2:14cut through an alley that was beside a
2:16funeral home and this is where she found
2:18the body of Gail Miller lying in the
2:20snow the snow surrounding her body had
2:23multiple red spots in the area and the
2:25snow had also been trampled and Gail had
2:28been deceased for about an hour before
2:30her body was found and from Reading old
2:33newspaper articles about the crime it
2:35seems that the Saskatoon police back
2:37then didn't see murders like this very
2:39often according to the star of Phoenix
2:42the last violent death to occur in
2:44Saskatoon before Gail Miller was in
2:47March of 1967 a full two years before
2:51the stabbing took place although the
2:53police were completely aware that
2:55throughout the months before Gail was
2:57murdered a serial rapist was on the
2:59loose in the city of Saskatoon during
3:01the fall and winter of 1968 multiple
3:05sexual assaults and attempted sexual
3:07assaults had been reported around
3:09Saskatoon they usually occurred in the
3:12evening between 8 and 9 pm and the
3:14assailant would threaten his victim with
3:16a knife however none of the previous
3:19victims had been stabbed and these
3:21assaults occurred not too far away from
3:23the boarding house where Gail Miller
3:25lived a warning was finally issued by
3:28police on December 14th informing the
3:31public about these assaults although
3:33they waited almost two months after
3:36these assaults initially began before
3:38making this announcement police believed
3:40that these assaults were all carried out
3:43by the same person but they had yet to
3:45identify a suspect police responded to
3:48the scene within 10 minutes of the body
3:50being reported it took an hour for the
3:53scene to be completely secured by the
3:55police and when they were able to turn
3:57the body over it was obvious that she
3:59had been violently attacked her coat was
4:02unbuttoned and her white uniform
4:04underneath was scrunched down around her
4:06waist her nylons were pulled down and
4:09her right boot was missing and although
4:12her nylons had been pulled down they
4:14were still on her feet and attached to
4:16her uniform was a name badge that read
4:19Miss G Miller the victim was identified
4:21as Gail olena Miller she was 20 years
4:24old and worked as a nursing assistant at
4:27City hospital and she had been killed
4:29only one block away from the rooming
4:31house where she lived Gail Miller was
4:34born and raised in Laura Saskatchewan a
4:37tiny farming community and was one of
4:39nine children in Laura there really
4:42wasn't much else to do other than
4:43farming and most of the girls in her
4:46community got married right out of high
4:47school and started a family but Gail
4:50wanted something else for herself and
4:52her grandmother who she was close with
4:54offered to pay for her education so
4:56after completing high school she
4:58registered and took her nurse's age
5:00training at Kelsey campus in the fall of
5:031967. by January of 1968 Gale's training
5:08took her to Swift Current hospital and
5:10throughout her training she remained
5:12close to her family of five sisters and
5:14three brothers in the fall of 1968 she
5:18applied for a job at Saskatoon City
5:20Hospital working on the children's Ward
5:22and was excited when she was offered the
5:24job she lived in a one-room apartment in
5:27a boarding house but she didn't really
5:29like it and wanted to move as soon as
5:32she could afford to she wanted something
5:34closer to work because she really didn't
5:36like taking the bus to get there Ann was
5:39nervous about waiting for the bus in the
5:41dark Vicki Lynn Fontaine who trained as
5:44a nursing assistant with Gail described
5:46her as a well-liked girl who would never
5:48take rides from strangers her friends
5:51and her boyfriend back home were quickly
5:54eliminated as suspects the last time she
5:56was seen by her roommates on the morning
5:58of January 31st was at 6 45 a.m so I
6:03assume because the police weren't used
6:04to seeing these kinds of murders they
6:07were under immense pressure to solve the
6:09case and to solve it quickly on February
6:113rd just three days after Gail's body
6:14had been discovered a two thousand
6:16dollar reward was approved by the board
6:19police Commissioners for information
6:20leading to the arrest of the person
6:22responsible police chief kettles said
6:25quote only persons who volunteer
6:28information leading to the apprehension
6:30and conviction of the person responsible
6:33for the slang will be considered for the
6:36reward they also said they would like to
6:38talk to a man who had been sitting in an
6:40idling car outside the girl's home late
6:43on Thursday night I really don't like
6:45how they referred to Gail as the girl
6:48but I have to remind myself that the
6:50year was 1969. an autopsy was performed
6:54to determine her cause of death she had
6:5715 wounds on her neck and upper chest
7:00but most of these were just Nicks and
7:02cuts however she did have 12 deeper stab
7:06wounds on her body she had been stabbed
7:08four times in the chest four times in
7:11the back three times in her collarbone
7:13and once in the side and two of the stab
7:17wounds were considered to be fatal at
7:20the crime scene police were collecting
7:21and searching the area for evidence a
7:24knife blade that was covered in blood
7:26stains had been found underneath Gail's
7:28body the knife blade was missing a
7:31handle and Gail's purse was also missing
7:33from the scene a few feet from where the
7:36body was found was her missing boot
7:38buried in a snow Mound as well as her
7:41missing sweater but although police
7:43managed to secure the area before it
7:45could be compromised there really wasn't
7:47much physical evidence to work with
7:49there were no fingerprints because the
7:52assailant most likely wore gloves due to
7:54the extreme cold and there weren't any
7:56footprints that the police could find in
7:58the snow again because of The Frigid
8:01cold weather the snow had a texture that
8:03was similar to sand there were no tire
8:05tracks at the scene and there wasn't
8:08anyone who witnessed the assault but the
8:10police did manage to estimate the time
8:12of the attack Gail usually left for work
8:14around 7 A.M and the autopsy report said
8:18that she had been dead for about an hour
8:20so the police determined that Gail
8:22Miller had been attacked sometime
8:25between 7 and 7 30 a.m everyone in
8:28Saskatoon was talking about the murder
8:30and the whole city was on edge as I
8:33mentioned earlier Saskatoon wasn't used
8:35to Violent homicides back in 1969. the
8:38police department didn't even have a
8:40homicide division Gail's purse was
8:43finally recovered the Friday after the
8:45murder it was found in a nearby garbage
8:47can and there were no fingerprints found
8:49on it although that's to be expected the
8:52purse had been outside for a few days
8:53and the temperatures during this time
8:55had been frigid also found in backyards
8:59close to the crime scene mean where Gail
9:01Miller's Apartment keys surgical
9:03scissors her comb and a maroon colored
9:06knife handle and the knife handle
9:08matched up with the blade found under
9:10Gail's body there were also two frozen
9:13yellow lumps of snow close to where the
9:16knife blade was found tests were run and
9:19it was determined to be semen from a man
9:21with a specific blood type because this
9:23was the middle of winter and the scene
9:25had so much snow cops actually brought
9:28in gas-powered snow melters to help find
9:31missing evidence they ended up finding
9:34another knife randomly close to the body
9:36and it turned out to be a hunting knife
9:38the police though somehow managed to
9:41lose this knife conveniently it was
9:44never presented as evidence at David
9:46milgard's trial Detective Joe penkala
9:49was in charge of collecting all the
9:51physical evidence at the crime scene and
9:53at the beginning of the investigation
9:55when Gail Miller's possessions were
9:57first found things seemed to be moving
9:59in the right direction action but
10:01detective penkala soon became obsessed
10:04that they were missing something days
10:06after the crime he would return to the
10:08scene over and over again convinced that
10:11there was something that they had
10:12overlooked he had been on the forest for
10:1415 years the Gail Miller's case was the
10:17first homicide he had ever worked
10:19however he knew early in the
10:22investigation that an arrest and a
10:24conviction would help him Advance his
10:27career and he was right four years after
10:29the murder Detective Joe penkala was
10:32promoted to inspector then
10:34superintendent then chief of police but
10:37at this point the police really didn't
10:39have much to work with and were starting
10:41to feel the pressure the two thousand
10:43dollar reward they were offering got the
10:45Public's attention but not in a good way
10:48hundreds of people started calling in
10:50with bizarre stories that were obviously
10:52false but money does strange things to
10:55people detective Eddie karst who was one
10:58of the full-time detectives in
11:00investigating Gail Miller's murder is
11:02quoted as saying I think there's
11:04pressure on an investigator to solve any
11:07damn murder I know I felt obligated to
11:10get to the bottom of it that was the
11:12same as several others here it was a
11:14gruesome type where you really felt you
11:16wanted to get who was responsible so it
11:19can't happen again on March 15 1969
11:23Saskatoon police issued a press release
11:25asking the public if any households were
11:28missing a six-inch paring knife as a
11:31blade that was similar was used in the
11:33murder of Gail Miller the knife had a
11:35maroon handle and was made in Japan
11:37months passed by and it seemed like the
11:40case had gone cold David Milgard was
11:44born on July 7 1952 to Joyce Milgard and
11:48Lauren Milgard in Winnipeg Manitoba he
11:52was the oldest of four children with one
11:55brother and two sisters he spent his
11:57early childhood years in Winnipeg and
12:00when he was in grade 8 the family moved
12:02to the Tiny Town of lincolnburg
12:05Saskatchewan that sits close to the
12:07border of Manitoba currently langenberg
12:10only has a population of 1100 people I
12:13imagine it was even smaller back in the
12:1560s the family struggled a bit
12:17financially forcing them to move around
12:20a lot to find work between 5th and 8th
12:23grade David had been enrolled in four
12:26different schools as a kid he wanted to
12:29be liked and hated feeling like an
12:31outsider he discovered that pulling
12:33pranks was a great way to get attention
12:35and acceptance from his peers but pranks
12:39eventually evolved into Petty crimes
12:41Behavior which his parents tried to
12:44correct immediately they even took him
12:46to a psychiatric center in Yorkton where
12:49he stayed for three months but it soon
12:51became clear that David was just fine he
12:54wasn't psychotic he was just rebellious
12:56so he was sent to a boys school instead
12:59but this didn't really help him David
13:01hated the boys school and put no effort
13:03into his classes he ran away a few times
13:06and dropped out of school in the ninth
13:09grade he was a self-described hippie and
13:11had a passion for cars and wanted to
13:14escape the small town life and travel he
13:17enjoyed hitchhiking and traveled this
13:19way all over Canada sometimes he would
13:22get into trouble but police usually put
13:24him on a bus back to Saskatchewan as he
13:27Grew Older he developed a reputation for
13:30um quote hopping in and out of bed with
13:33as many girls as possible the girls all
13:36nicknamed him hoppy in 1968 David
13:40realized he had a gift for talking and
13:43wanted to put this talent to use so he
13:45applied for a job selling magazine
13:47subscriptions but before he could make
13:50this a full-time career he needed a
13:52sales license first he was currently
13:55waiting for this to be approved when he
13:57traveled to Regina Saskatchewan in
14:00January of 1969 while he was in town he
14:04met up with an old friend named Ron
14:06Wilson the two had known each other for
14:08about a year and a half both were
14:10passionate about cars and Ron had just
14:13been given a car for Christmas a light
14:15green 1958 Pontiac which he was excited
14:19about after chatting for a bit the two
14:21spontaneously decided to take Ron's car
14:24for a road trip and asked a mutual
14:26friend named Nicole John to join them
14:29Nicole had known Ron for about two years
14:32and had sort of a friends with benefit
14:35thing going on with David Ron's car was
14:38in rough shape and that's me being
14:40generous the battery was dead and the
14:42tires were flat the tires were
14:44salvageable but the battery not so much
14:47they needed a new one but since none of
14:50them had any money Ron and David decided
14:53that stealing a battery would be a good
14:55idea while they were stealing it they
14:57accidentally broke the battery casing
15:00and ended up with acid all over their
15:02clothing David ended up changing his
15:05pants into a very noticeable loud green
15:08pair of pants with yellow stripes they
15:11finally got the car going and began
15:13their trip from Regina to Saskatoon at
15:1612 30 in the morning
15:18in the middle of the night I'm getting
15:20anxiety just reading about this they're
15:22in a junky car in the middle of the
15:25night during the dead of winter on an
15:27isolated Highway and there are no cell
15:30phones back then if they got into
15:31trouble or God forbid broke down the
15:34group had plans to meet up with David's
15:36friend named shorty once they reached
15:38Saskatoon he hadn't seen his friend in a
15:41while and wanted to invite him along on
15:43the trip they also had little to no
15:45money to finance this trip Nicole had
15:48some money from her last paycheck but
15:50Ron and David were flat broke while they
15:53were on the road they talked about
15:55various ways they could get more money
15:57they talked about break and enters and
15:59purse snatching but neither had enough
16:01courage to go through with it although
16:03they did end up breaking into a grain
16:05elevator but the only item they found
16:07was a flashlight they arrived in
16:09Saskatoon sometime between 5 30 and 6 30
16:13a.m but they really didn't have any idea
16:16where they were going Nicole and Iran
16:18had never been to Saskatoon and David
16:21wasn't much help either he only knew
16:23that his friend lived near a church in a
16:26district Called Peace Hill or Pleasant
16:28Hill at one point they stopped and asked
16:30a woman for directions but she was
16:33unable to help them then they pulled
16:35into a motel where David went inside and
16:38asked for a city map the manager of the
16:40motel would later say that there was
16:42nothing unusual about the encounter he
16:45was normal and polite the only thing
16:47that was weird was that David ran into
16:49the motel wearing only his socks and
16:51this was apparently because his feet
16:53were hot with the help of a map they
16:55ended up back in the area where they
16:57originally asked the woman for
16:59directions they ended up turning down an
17:02alley where they saw a driver stuck in
17:04the snow and the ice they tried to push
17:07the man's car free with their own car
17:09but then both vehicles ended up becoming
17:12stuck at this time it was about 7 30 a.m
17:15and the owner of the car was a man named
17:18Walter danchuk he called for a tow truck
17:20and let the group wait inside his home
17:22Dan chalk remembers making small talk
17:25with David about the group's trip he
17:27remembered that David had a tear in his
17:29pants but everything else about the
17:31encounter was normal after both cars
17:34were towed out of the snow the group
17:36finally found Saint Mary's Church which
17:38wasn't far from where shorty lived David
17:41knew his friend only lived one block
17:43away at 334 Avenue O this area was just
17:48one and a half blocks away from where
17:50Gail Miller's body was discovered at
17:52this point it was nine in the morning
17:54and the area was filled with cops
17:56collecting evidence from the murder
17:58scene Shorty's real name was Albert
18:00Henry cadrain and he was 17. he invited
18:04the group in and the first thing Ron and
18:06David did was change their clothing Ron
18:09was still wearing clothes covered in
18:12battery acid and they both changed in
18:14front of everyone this is important but
18:16we'll cover that later Ron had also
18:19parked on the wrong side of the street
18:21so after David changed his clothing he
18:23would move the car to the opposite side
18:25of the road shorty was all in on the
18:28road trip and at 4 30 PM the group began
18:31the trip towards Alberta it's also
18:34important to note that everyone in the
18:35group was surviving on little to no
18:37sleep at this point in the apartment
18:40below shorty lived 17 year old Linda
18:43Fisher and her husband 19 year old Larry
18:46Fisher Linda had recently had an
18:49argument with Larry that didn't sit well
18:51with her he had been out all night the
18:53night before which in itself wasn't
18:56unusual Larry Fisher liked to party but
18:59he always showed up to work on time the
19:01next day even after a night of heavy
19:04drinking but today Larry was skipping
19:06work and the couple ended up having a
19:09huge fight and randomly Linda blurted
19:11out my paring knife is missing you're
19:14probably the one who was out stabbing
19:16that girl this was true through her
19:19paring knife was missing but she yelled
19:21that out in the heat of a bitter fight
19:23she didn't really believe that Larry had
19:25actually stabbed her that's why she was
19:28shocked by how he reacted quote he
19:31looked at me like a guilty person who
19:33had just been caught the color drained
19:35from his face and he looked shocked and
19:37scared I will never forget his
19:39expression Linda and Larry were in a
19:42toxic marriage they got married very
19:44young because Linda got pregnant and
19:47throughout her pregnancy Larry started
19:49spending less time at home Larry Fisher
19:52worked in construction and enjoyed
19:54drinking and hunting basically anything
19:56that involved getting away from Linda
19:59she hoped things would improve after the
20:01baby was born but they didn't she gave
20:04birth to a baby girl and Larry wanted a
20:07boy she also suspected he was cheating
20:09on her and eventually her suspicions
20:12were confirmed they argued frequently
20:14and bitterly and each time Larry became
20:17more vile lent although strangely enough
20:20Linda said that she never feared for her
20:22life although she had good reason to be
20:25afraid Larry Fisher was a violent sexual
20:28predator remember those brutal sexual
20:30assaults that were happening around
20:32Saskatoon that I mentioned earlier guess
20:35who was responsible although it would
20:37take a while a team of private
20:39detectives and journalists would prove
20:42that Larry Fisher was a serial rapist it
20:45took nearly two years before Larry
20:47Fisher was linked to these assaults and
20:50he only confessed because he was caught
20:52trying to attack another woman it would
20:54be years before Linda Fisher considered
20:56that Larry Fisher was responsible for
20:59Gail Miller's murder Not only was there
21:01his odd response to her accusation but a
21:04day or two after the murder a child came
21:07to Linda's door returning Larry's wallet
21:10the wallet had been found just down the
21:12street between Linda and Larry's house
21:14and the murder site also Linda's Uncle
21:17confessed some years later that while he
21:19was burning some garbage in a barrel
21:21Larry came over and tossed a pair of
21:24work boots that were almost brand new
21:26into the fire her uncle thought that
21:28this was odd but didn't ask any
21:30questions some members of the Saskatoon
21:33police force felt that the same person
21:36who was sexually assaulting women at
21:38knifepoint might be responsible for Gail
21:41Miller's murder police would question
21:43Larry Fisher briefly on the morning of
21:46February 5th 1969. while investigating
21:50and still searching for a potential
21:52suspect he was waiting for a bus at 6 49
21:55a.m at 20th Street this was the same bus
21:59that Gail Miller was to board on the day
22:01she was killed they asked him his name
22:04and address and what he was doing on the
22:07previous Friday he told them that he
22:09took the bus that morning to work at 6
22:1230 a.m which we all know wasn't true
22:15however the police didn't investigate
22:18him any further until more than 20 years
22:21had passed Chief James kettles was in
22:24charge of saskatoon's police department
22:26he began this role in 1954 when
22:30Saskatoon had a population of only 47
22:33000 people and crime in Saskatoon was
22:36virtually non-existent and the police
22:38force at the time was a small team of
22:4147. 15 years later the city had more
22:45than doubled in size and the police
22:47force had grown to 250 and he still knew
22:51every officer by name but his views of
22:54society were very old school to say the
22:57least I don't think this man would have
22:59approved of the Canadian Charter of
23:01Rights and Freedoms which as of 1982
23:04became Canada's Constitution and all
23:07Canadian officers swear an oath to
23:09uphold he is quoted as saying the
23:12greatest explosion we have taking place
23:14in this country is not the economy but
23:17crime rising from inadequate lack of
23:20support and disrespect of police
23:22officers we witness acts of Civil
23:25Disobedience perpetrated by people who
23:28make use of the law for the purpose of
23:31breaking the law on the baseless
23:33pretense of protecting Freedom he also
23:36had zero patience for hippie culture the
23:39police force had also been accused of
23:42police brutality on multiple occasions
23:44in 1969 the same year that Gail Miller
23:47was killed this caused quite the Scandal
23:50but Chief kettles blamed Society for
23:53being irresponsible instead of the
23:55police for assaulting Canadian citizens
23:58this was the man leading the Gale Miller
24:00case and he wanted All Leads thoroughly
24:03investigated soon a tip came in that a
24:07group of teenagers was seen leaving
24:08Albert Henry cadrain's house or Shorty's
24:12house driving West the same day of the
24:14murder the group had all returned to
24:16Regina by Feb February 5th after driving
24:19around Alberta for a few days shortly
24:22afterwards shorty was arrested for
24:24vagrancy and spent a week in jail while
24:27he was in jail he was questioned about
24:29what he was doing on January 31st he was
24:33brought into a room where officers
24:35stripped him naked and did a full body
24:37search and then they interrogated him
24:39about the murder shorty told the police
24:42who he was on the road trip with but he
24:44said he didn't know anything about a
24:46murder there was absolutely no physical
24:48evidence to link shorty to the case but
24:51they didn't tell him that they told him
24:54that he was a suspect the case wasn't
24:56making any Headway but then on March 2nd
24:59everything changed a man walked into the
25:02police station in Saskatoon and said he
25:04had a story to tell he said that he saw
25:07David Milgard in Saskatoon on January
25:1031st 1969 at 9 00 am and that he had
25:14blood on his clothes he said that David
25:16was nervous and wanted to leave town
25:18quickly and that he also saw David get
25:21rid of a woman's makeup bag so who was
25:24this mystery man
25:26it was shorty remember the two thousand
25:28dollar reward that was being offered by
25:30police Shorty would later be the one to
25:33collect on it although he said that the
25:35reward wasn't the reason he came forward
25:37but two thousand dollars back in the 60s
25:39was a butt load of money especially for
25:42someone who didn't have any he told
25:44police that David's behavior on the trip
25:46was odd and that David had said that he
25:49was a member of the mafia and that he
25:51wanted to get a gun and kill Rana Nicole
25:54because they quote Knew Too Much shorty
25:58had given conflicting statements to the
26:00police however police had chose to
26:03believe his second statement and ignore
26:05the first word spread quickly around the
26:08station and now police were on their way
26:10to interview Nicole John and Ron Wilson
26:13they found Wilson pretty quickly he was
26:16in jail after he committed some petty
26:18crimes Wilson cooperated with the police
26:21interview he said that inspector Riddell
26:23who is conducting the interview was
26:25friendly but made it obvious that David
26:27Milgard was a murder suspect this was
26:30the first time that Wilson had ever
26:32heard about the murder of Gail Miller
26:34after the interview was over Ron Wilson
26:37gave inspector Riddell a signed
26:39statement saying he left Regina around
26:421am and arrived in Saskatoon between 5
26:45and 6 am he told the story of the car
26:48getting stuck while trying to free the
26:50danchuk's car and arriving at Shorty's
26:52Place finally and changing their clothes
26:55they waited several hours for the
26:57transmission of Ron's car to be repaired
26:59and then left town between three and
27:02four in the afternoon he also stated
27:04quote at no point during the time when
27:07we were in Saskatoon was David Milgard
27:10out of my sight for more than one or two
27:13minutes I never knew Dave to have a
27:16knife I'm convinced that David Milgard
27:18never left our company the morning we
27:21were in Saskatoon the code he was
27:23wearing a brown one is at my play place
27:26and it also has an acid burn and the
27:29pair of pants he changed is now in my
27:32car in the back seat all during this
27:35trip there was never any mention about
27:37the murder of a girl in Saskatoon in
27:40fact I didn't even know about this
27:42murder until the police told me today
27:44and the cool John story was pretty much
27:47the same and she signed a statement that
27:49didn't incriminate David Milgard but the
27:52cops still wanted to talk to David and
27:54were trying to find him David had
27:56received his sales license that he had
27:58been waiting for and had moved to
28:00Winnipeg selling magazine subscriptions
28:03for McLean Hunter on March 3rd David
28:06found out that police wanted to talk to
28:08him he was brought in for questioning
28:10for six hours and basically told police
28:13the same story that Nicole John and Ron
28:15Wilson did at no time was he told that
28:18he was a suspect in a murder case after
28:21the interview detective karst asked
28:24David if he could search David hotel
28:26room and David agreed cars found nothing
28:29no blood no murder weapon not even drugs
28:33but karst was suspicious because of
28:35Shorty's story I don't know why it never
28:37occurred to them that shorty might be
28:39lying other than Shorty's statement they
28:42had nothing to tie David to the crime
28:43there was no motive or physical evidence
28:46all they had was that David Milgard was
28:49in Saskatoon the morning of the murder
28:51that's it rather than consider the
28:54possibility that someone else was the
28:56real killer police decided to bully
28:59Nicole John and Ron Wilson into changing
29:02their statements police told Wilson he
29:04was lying and that he too was a murder
29:06suspect on April 4th the snow was
29:10beginning to melt in Saskatoon and an
29:13eight-year-old child discovered Gail
29:14Miller's wallet Only Three Doors Down
29:17from Shorty's house or Larry Fisher's
29:19house whichever you prefer as all of
29:22Gail's other possessions were found in
29:24the general area this just reassure
29:27detective karst that Milgard was the
29:29right suspect the next day police
29:31conducted a door-to-door search asking
29:34people if they found anything out of the
29:36ordinary one woman found a blue toque
29:39with blood stains on it although there
29:41was no proof who this took belonged to
29:43and it was never submitted into evidence
29:45police in the meantime continued to
29:48harass Ron Wilson Ron became depressed
29:51and started drinking heavily and was
29:53arrested for possession of drugs
29:55eventually he had a Breaking Point and
29:58told police what they wanted to hear
30:00that David may have been responsible so
30:03police asked Ron to come back to
30:05Saskatoon police took him to the area
30:08where Gail Miller had been discovered
30:10murdered and they asked him over and
30:13over again what he could remember they
30:15then took Ron to a hotel where they
30:18interrogated him for another six hours
30:20and they hooked him up to a polygraph
30:22machine for another two hours they
30:25showed him Gail Miller's coat her white
30:28nurse's uniform the bloodstained nylons
30:31weapons the knife with the broken handle
30:34Gail Miller's purse I'm not familiar
30:37with law back in 1969 but none of this
30:40sounds very legal and then something
30:42weird happened police brought in Nicole
30:45John into the same room and began
30:48questioning them both at the same time
30:50again not familiar with law from back in
30:53the day but this sounds totally sketchy
30:55at this point Wilson snapped quote my
30:59mind was exhausted and I was mentally
31:01scrambled Wilson said 20 years later I
31:05remember now like it was brainwashing
31:07finally I began to implicate melguard in
31:10the murder telling the police the things
31:13they wanted to hear Ron was a frightened
31:1517 year old who just wanted the police
31:18to leave him alone he told police that
31:20he saw David holding a knife on the
31:23drive between Regina and Saskatoon and
31:26it was a paring knife with a reddish
31:28brown handle remember the cops have been
31:31waving the evidence in front of Ron for
31:33the past couple of hours he said the
31:35group were driving around Saskatoon
31:37looking for Shorty's house and Milgard
31:40rolled down a window to ask a woman for
31:43directions she said she was unable to
31:45help them and David apparently called
31:47her a stupid [ __ ] after this Ron
31:50attempted to make a U-turn but the car
31:52got stuck in the snow he said that he
31:54and Milgard tried to push the car free
31:57but were unsuccessful so they walked
32:00away in opposite directions looking for
32:02help and when Wilson returned to the car
32:04Nicole was apparently in a hysterical
32:07State David returned to the car
32:09apparently five minutes later and was
32:11breathing heavily and said quote I fixed
32:14her according to Wilson this all
32:17occurred around 6 30 in the morning the
32:19car was just outside the alley Where
32:22Gail Miller's body had been discovered
32:24Wilson also claimed that two men driving
32:27a cream-colored Chrysler helped them
32:29push their car free but he couldn't
32:31remember what these men looked like and
32:33the police were never able to find these
32:35Witnesses Wilson also changed his story
32:38about not seeing blood on David's
32:41clothing he now claimed that he saw
32:43blood on David's pants at Shorty's house
32:46and while they were driving to Alberta
32:48Nicole found a woman's makeup bag in the
32:51glove compartment and again the cops had
32:53just been waving all of this evidence in
32:56front of Ron so apparently Nicole asked
32:58who it belonged to and David grabbed it
33:01and threw it out the window no one asked
33:03why he did this or brought it up for the
33:06rest of the trip and then Wilson
33:07remembered a conversation he had with
33:10David on the trip apparently when they
33:13arrived in Calgary Milgard apparently
33:15said to Wilson that he hit a girl or got
33:18a girl back in Saskatoon and he put the
33:22purse in the garbage he said no one
33:24witnessed this exchange and he didn't
33:27bring it up again because he didn't
33:28think it was true police basically did
33:31the same thing with Nicole John
33:33interrogating her for hours but Nicole
33:35was really second guessing herself
33:37because basically from January to
33:40October she was continually taking LSD
33:43after endless interrogations by
33:45detective karst she basically agreed
33:48that Shorty's versions of events were
33:50the correct one she was scared and she
33:53didn't want to accuse shorty of being a
33:55liar and she realized the police wanted
33:57her to confirm Shorty's Story the police
34:00now had three statements to back up
34:02their theory of who killed Gail Miller
34:04even though it was based on a complete
34:07lie but they had tunnel vision and they
34:10had made up their mind about Milgard
34:11this was an official Saskatoon police
34:14report that was written on March 22nd
34:171969 about David Milgard and it's
34:20incredibly biased it reads quote it is
34:24my opinion that Mill guard is a
34:26dangerous person and is known that he
34:29has a record as a juvenile for several
34:31serious offenses but this wasn't true
34:34the only offense that David had on his
34:36record was for joyriding there was
34:38nothing in his past to indicate that he
34:40was a violent person on May 23rd Nicole
34:44John was shown the same items that Ron
34:46Wilson was shown Gail Miller's clothes
34:49her purse and the knife and although she
34:52wasn't under arrest when police were
34:55finished questioning her they took her
34:57to a cell block at the Saskatoon police
34:59station where she started to bang on the
35:01wall and scream this is a 16 year old
35:04girl being held against her will no
35:07wonder this department was under
35:09investigation for police brutality the
35:11next day police told her that they
35:13wanted a formal statement from her and
35:15then they would take her home police
35:17were apparently stunned at the statement
35:19she gave but I'm not sure why they were
35:21stunned they held her against her will
35:23overnight the statement was 10 page
35:25inches long and it contradicted
35:27everything she had previously told
35:29police I won't read the whole statement
35:31but here's a small excerpt Dave reached
35:34in his pocket and pulled out the knife I
35:37don't know which pocket he got the knife
35:39from the knife was in his right hand I
35:42don't know if Dave had a hold of the
35:44girl or not this time all I recall is
35:47seeing him stabbing her with a knife
35:49right away there's a problem with this
35:51statement Gail was found with her dress
35:53rolled down to her waist but this detail
35:55was never released to the public there
35:58were also no knife cuts on her dress
36:00according to Nicole John Gale was fully
36:03clothed when she was attacked but police
36:05didn't care they had their eyewitness
36:07and issued a warrant for David milgard's
36:10arrest David by now was selling
36:12magazines in Prince George he had the
36:15gift of the gab and enjoyed the work but
36:18then on May 30th 1969 it was announced
36:21that David Edgar melgaard age 17 was
36:25charged with the murder of Gail Miller
36:27he was arrested in Prince George after
36:30police issued a warrant for his arrest
36:32this would later be corrected on June
36:342nd David's real age wasn't 7 teen it
36:38was 16. and once murder charges were
36:40filed this case moved quickly as far as
36:43murder cases go he faced a preliminary
36:46hearing on August 18 1969 we're between
36:5030 to 45 Witnesses were due to testify
36:53that seems like a lot of witnesses for
36:56just a preliminary hearing but I'm not a
36:58lawyer some examples of witnesses who
37:00were called to testify include the
37:02little girl who found the body multiple
37:05police officers and milgard's former
37:08traveling companions who all lied and
37:10spun a story of him as a raging
37:12psychopath who attacked a random woman
37:14on the street quote I just couldn't
37:17believe it when I started to hear the
37:19testimony it scared me I wanted to jump
37:22up and say something I wanted to tell
37:24the truth from start to finish I wanted
37:27to do that badly but I couldn't David
37:30was very confused and scared as to why
37:32this was happening Bob Caldwell led the
37:35prosecution going through through all
37:37the old newspapers the preliminary
37:39hearing was highly publicized that would
37:42be unheard of now it seemed to be Front
37:44Page News every single day and there
37:47were no legal restrictions back in 1969
37:49when it came to reporting on testimony
37:52given during the preliminary hearing the
37:55result was a media [ __ ] show how much of
37:58the jury pool was poisoned by this we'll
38:00never really know for sure Saskatoon was
38:03a decent size close to 130 000 people
38:06but it still had a fairly small town
38:08feel to it so while David sat there
38:10quietly Caldwell encouraged prosecution
38:13witnesses to reveal as much as they
38:16could remember the problem with lying is
38:18it's hard for most people to remember
38:20the small details of their lie the truth
38:23is much easier so while they were on the
38:26stand some witnesses ran with their lie
38:28and embellished it further while shorty
38:31was on the stand he said David appeared
38:34to be nervous and said I got blood in my
38:37close I need to change shorty had never
38:40admitted before that David had said this
38:42another time David apparently told him
38:45that he was in the mafia this was just a
38:48ridiculous statement shorty oddly enough
38:51never mentioned this in court again
38:53David's lawyer did his best to raise
38:55doubt but the deck was stacked against
38:57him three of David's friends were all
39:00accusing him of the crime in the end
39:02Justice h.j Cummings ordered David
39:06Milgard to stand trial for non-capital
39:09murder the jury trial wasn't scheduled
39:11until January 19th of 1970 presiding
39:15over the case was Justice A.H bentz from
39:19the star of Phoenix quote wearing a
39:23green gray suit with a gold shirt
39:24Milgard appeared at ease and showed
39:27interest in the function of the Court he
39:30pleaded not guilty to the charge in a
39:32clear loud voice that would be the only
39:35time the jury heard David Milgard speak
39:38TDR Caldwell was Prosecuting the case
39:41and defense counsel was Cal Telus the
39:44jury was made up of 11 men and one woman
39:47and at the beginning of the trial Mr
39:50Caldwell told the jury he intended to
39:52call 42 Witnesses that's almost as many
39:55as the preliminary hearing the stained
39:58clothing of Gail Miller was exhibited in
40:00court including red stained underwear
40:03and a blacked crumpled winter coat
40:05photos of the murder scene were quickly
40:07entered into evidence identification
40:10officer Thor cleave was asked to verify
40:13the items that had been recovered from
40:15the murder site and identify Gail
40:18Miller's clothing officer cleave
40:20testified about arriving on the scene at
40:239 10 on January 31st
40:261969. he found Gail Miller lying face
40:29down in the snow she was wearing a black
40:32coat with a fur collar and fur cuffs the
40:35police officer noticed that after the
40:38body had been turned over on its left
40:40side by the coroner Dr Sydney Fogle he
40:44saw that Miss Miller's underwear was
40:46down around her ankles and her white
40:49nurse's uniform was down around her
40:51waist and he said her arms were in the
40:54sleeve of her coat the witness also
40:56testified that the zipper on the back of
40:59her dress was broken and that the center
41:01button was missing from the coat officer
41:04cleave told the court that the body had
41:06three wounds just below the shoulder
41:08blade three wounds on the left shoulder
41:11and extensive bruises and marks to the
41:13face and throat he said there were also
41:16bruise marks inside of her legs by the
41:19knees also submitted into evidence or
41:21exhibits including photographs and
41:24sketches of the area and the clothing
41:26Miss Miller wore at the time of her
41:28death this included a stained nurse's
41:31uniform with the name badge of Miss G
41:33Miller Nicole John would end up
41:36recanting her story about David and the
41:38knife and witnessing the stabbing that
41:40she had told in the preliminary hearing
41:42under cross-examination she admitted to
41:45having a criminal record and serving
41:47prison terms for offenses including
41:50possession of stolen goods theft over
41:53fifty dollars car theft breaking and
41:56entering possession of LSD and
41:58conspiracy to commit fraud she also
42:01admitted to using alcohol and LSD and
42:04heroin to the point of quote it gets so
42:08bad you don't know if you're high or
42:10stoned Ron Wilson was considered to be
42:13the prosecution star witness but
42:16Wilson's testimony was all over the
42:18place and full of holes Wilson testified
42:21to having issues with booze and drugs
42:23too and also admitted under
42:26cross-examination that during a stay in
42:28prison from February 19th to May 9 1969
42:33he had told police that nobody in his
42:36car had anything to do with Gail
42:39Miller's murder he said he first tied
42:41Milgard to the murder on May 22nd in
42:44Saskatoon when he was being questioned
42:47by police Justice bence also asked
42:50Wilson several questions which he said
42:53the jury requested the first was whether
42:55Nicole or Wilson were under the
42:58influence of drugs or alcohol the
43:00morning they drove into Saskatoon and
43:03Wilson replied no and regarding Wilson's
43:06testimony about seeing Milgard in the
43:08car with a knife Justice Spence asked
43:12quote how could you see anything in the
43:14dark the judge had a point that stretch
43:17of highway between Saskatoon and Regina
43:19is Pitch Black there's not much on it
43:22it's extremely isolated it's mainly a
43:25farming area there's no street lights
43:26and no real light pollution not until
43:29you drive into the cities Wilson
43:31admitted to the court that he was a
43:33suspect in the murder of Miss Miller and
43:36that while serving prison term in Regina
43:38he had been visited by members of the
43:41Saskatoon City Police Force the Regina
43:43police force and members of the RCMP
43:47when Wilson had met up with Milgard and
43:49Regina he had known him for about 18
43:51months and this time when he testified
43:53about the events of January 31st he
43:57changed his testimony from the
43:58preliminary hearing he said that when
44:00the car got stuck He Walked In One
44:02Direction but he didn't see which
44:04direction Milgard had gone in
44:07contradicting his earlier testimony he
44:09also said that when David returned to
44:11his car he had blood on the front of his
44:13clothing again contradicting his earlier
44:16testimony when he said David returned to
44:18the car he appeared to be breathing
44:21heavily but there was absolutely no
44:23mention of blood he said that about 15
44:25minutes passed from the time he and
44:27Milgard parted ways to get help and when
44:30they met up back at the car again again
44:32changing his testimony when he only said
44:35months before that David was on only
44:37away from the car for about five minutes
44:39his testimony was all over the place and
44:42defense attorney Talus called him out on
44:44it when he asked why his answers changed
44:47he was quoted as saying because I've
44:49been thinking about it a lot since then
44:51also admitted into evidence was a signed
44:54statement by Nicole John that read quote
44:57all I recall is seeing him stab her with
45:01the knife but when asked about this
45:03statement by Crown prosecutors she
45:05recanted the statement Mr Caldwell then
45:08requested the court to have her declared
45:10a hostile witness allowing him to
45:12cross-examine her it was in that
45:14statement she was quoted as saying she
45:17saw Milgard stabbing the woman with a
45:19knife when asked if she made this
45:21statement Nicole started sobbing and
45:23replied I don't know I can't remember if
45:26I was on a trip or not when Caldwell
45:28started peppering her with questions
45:30about the knife she may or may not have
45:32seen Nicole became hysterical again to
45:36the point where the judge had had enough
45:38of her theatrics justice Spence at this
45:41point made a charge to the jury about
45:43the statement he said in respect to the
45:46statement that this witness admits
45:48giving the only evidence that can be
45:51considered against the accused are the
45:53portions of the statement which the
45:55witness has accepted under oath in the
45:58witness box any statement that she is
46:01not admitted to being the truth is not
46:03evidence against the accused the broken
46:06and blood-stained knife found under the
46:08body of Gail Miller was next examined by
46:11the jury Lieutenant penkala was the
46:14first police officer to arrive at the
46:16scene of the murder he testified that
46:18after the body had been removed he found
46:21a blood-stained knife blade buried in
46:23the snow right underneath where the body
46:26had been laying he said the blade had
46:29been snapped off and had not just pulled
46:32out of the knife handle and that the
46:34blade was three and a half inches long
46:36and sharp on one side he testified that
46:39the woman was wearing a black coat which
46:41was unbuttoned one button was missing
46:43and that her garments beneath the coat
46:46were crumpled the police officer said
46:48there appeared to have been a struggle
46:50in the area and the snow had been
46:52trampled he also reported blood stains
46:55in the snow and the woman's hair was
46:57messed and matted with snow the woman's
47:00hands were bent under her body her fists
47:03were clenched there were also no
47:05noticeable Footprints leading to the
47:07body and no tire marks Justice bench
47:11then asked about the lack of footprints
47:13and tire trucks saying quote can you
47:16tell me how the body got there and
47:19Lieutenant penkala responded that it was
47:21so cold it was impossible to see fresh
47:23marks saying that the temperature was so
47:26extreme the snow had a texture like sand
47:28interest in this trial was starting to
47:31grow all across Saskatoon each day the
47:34courtroom was packed with people many of
47:36whom couldn't get a seat so they were
47:38standing at the back lining the sides of
47:41the courtroom and even sitting on the
47:42floor politicians even got involved
47:44reassuring the public that the police
47:46had caught the right person the mayor of
47:49Saskatoon would occasionally make public
47:51statements praising the police for
47:53keeping the streets safe next up was
47:56Albert cadrain otherwise known as shorty
47:59and he was nervous to take the stand he
48:02told the court that around 9 A.M on
48:04January 31st 1969 Milgard Wilson and
48:09Nicole arrived at his home when asked by
48:12prosecution if he noticed anything about
48:14milgard's clothing shorty said that
48:17David was wearing a brown coat that was
48:19chewed up by acid he also said that
48:22there were blood marks on milgard's
48:24pants and on the stomach area of his
48:27shirt he testified that Milgard changed
48:29his clothing in front of everyone in the
48:31living room and after he changed he took
48:34the keys from Wilson left the house and
48:37got in the car Milgard was gone for
48:39about five to ten minutes it was at this
48:42time he was moving the car that Ron had
48:44parked on the wrong side of the road
48:46after searching for a bit for some
48:48friends that shorty wanted to invite
48:50along for the trip they headed out west
48:53initially heading for Edmonton first but
48:56ended up on the wrong road out of
48:58Saskatoon and wound up on the highway to
49:01Calgary instead he said that when they
49:03were near Rosetown shorty saw the handle
49:06of a makeup compact that Nicole was
49:09asking about and David threw it out the
49:11window under cross-examination by Cal
49:14Telus he was asked if David had any
49:17blood marks on his shorts while he was
49:19changing his pants to which shorty
49:21replied no there were no other stains
49:24that right there should have raised
49:26questionable doubt one fact that was
49:29never told to the jury was that shorty
49:31was in line to collect the two thousand
49:33dollar reward money for his testimony
49:35implicating David Milgard another fact
49:38that wasn't revealed until almost 20
49:40years later was that shorty was seeing
49:43disturbing Visions at the time one of
49:46these Visions led him to believe that
49:47David Milgard was guilty these Visions
49:50would continue until shorty checked
49:52himself into a mental hospital where he
49:54was eventually diagnosed with
49:56schizophrenia at this point in the trial
49:58all the evidence against David was
50:00circumstantial there was no hairs no
50:03blood no fingerprints there was
50:05reddish-colored semen found in Gail
50:07Miller's body but it apparently had been
50:10thrown out without being tested for a
50:12blood type the two yellow lumps of snow
50:15which were initially thought to be semen
50:17but one of these lumps apparently had no
50:19human matter in it and the other sample
50:22contained antigens from a person with a
50:24type A blood type 80 percent of the
50:27population secrete blood group
50:29substances David melgard was type A
50:32blood but he was part of the 20 of the
50:34population that did not secrete antigens
50:37into their body fluid and Gail Miller
50:40was type O blood Gail Miller's purse and
50:43contents of the purse were then examined
50:45by the court detective Gerald mccorsen
50:48of the city police described how he
50:51found a woman's purse after it was
50:53dumped from a trash can into a garbage
50:56truck apparently he was following behind
50:58a garbage truck and saw the purse dumped
51:01out and grabbed it the purse's contents
51:04included a makeup bag that had an
51:06eyeshadow eyeliner and lipsticks the
51:09purse also held paper tissues black
51:12cotton gloves photographs and a Bank of
51:15Montreal folder with the name Gail
51:17Miller on the inside there was no money
51:20bus ticket or wallet inside the purse
51:23and then two very strange Witnesses were
51:26called to testify out of the blue Craig
51:29Alfred Melnick age 17 and George lapchuk
51:33age 18 and I'm not even sure why this
51:36was allowed in the first place because
51:38it was complete hearsay they told the
51:40court that they were in a hotel room in
51:42Regina with melguard and he talked about
51:45the police questioning him and taking a
51:48test for the police and if the test was
51:50positive he would be arrested someone in
51:53the room asked if he did it and Milgard
51:56put a pillow between his knees and
51:59started hitting the pillow and said
52:00quote I stabbed her 14 times and then he
52:04rolled on his side and started laughing
52:06but under cross-examination Melnick
52:10admitted that he hadn't told police the
52:11story until recently when he had been
52:14charged with armed robbery and was
52:16hoping for a lighter sentence and really
52:18recently he only admitted this two weeks
52:21before milgard's trial George lapchuk
52:24was essentially the same he was awaiting
52:26trial on forgery charges and both faced
52:29imprisonment after testifying at the
52:31trial there were others in the motel
52:33that night but none of them were called
52:35to testify for either the prosecution or
52:39the defense one of them was a woman
52:41named Deborah Hall and her story was
52:44very different than the one that Melnick
52:46and lapchuk told but her version of
52:48events wouldn't be heard until almost 20
52:51years had passed on February 8 1970
52:55Craig Melnick was sentenced to six
52:57months in jail according to the Leader
53:00Post newspaper the sentence is believed
53:02to have been the lightest sentence ever
53:05handed out in Regina for armed robbery
53:07the prosecution rested and the defense
53:10declined to call any Witnesses Cal Talus
53:14did not want David to take the stand he
53:17felt that telling the jury another story
53:19would only hurt David and he didn't want
53:22to take the chance of David falling
53:23apart under cross-examination in closing
53:27argument Caldwell suggested that this
53:29was a purse snatching robbery gone wrong
53:32and referred to Shorty's testimony about
53:34the supposed blood on David's pans that
53:37for whatever reason didn't soak through
53:39to David's shorts and insinuated the
53:42David raped Gail after she was already
53:45dead and even though he was unable to
53:47prove those supposed semen samples
53:49belonged to David he was unable to Let
53:52It Go saying that the task didn't
53:54eliminate Melgar but those tests didn't
53:57eliminate a good portion of the
54:00population of Saskatoon as well but of
54:02course Caldwell didn't tell the jury
54:04this the defense pointed out the
54:07inconsistencies regarding Nicole Ron and
54:10Shorty's testimonies especially the
54:13testimony regarding the makeup bag
54:14police found in the trash can about one
54:17block away which wouldn't have been the
54:19case if Milgard had tossed it out the
54:21window on the trans-canada highway he
54:24also pointed out that their testimony
54:26changed multiple times from their
54:28initial statements to the preliminary
54:30hearings to the trial he also questioned
54:33why Milgard was not covered in blood
54:35Gail had been stabbed over a dozen times
54:38and he was apparently on top of her if
54:41he had done what he was being accused of
54:43he would have been soaked in blood but
54:45multiple Witnesses including the motel
54:48owner where David had picked up a map
54:50and the danchuks who helped the group
54:52out with their car said that there was
54:55no blood on him not a drop he also
54:58pointed out the police didn't find any
55:00blood in Ron Wilson's car and that Ron
55:03Wilson's mother had washed David's
55:06clothes when they returned from the trip
55:08and didn't notice any blood on the pants
55:10that he wore at the time in his closing
55:13argument Talus said that the timeline
55:15didn't add up Gail Miller normally
55:18caught the bus at 7am and David was seen
55:22at the traveler motel at 7 10 a.m that
55:26meant David only had a few minutes to
55:29stab Gail sexually assault her get rid
55:32of her purse and other possessions get
55:35the car unstuck from the alley and drive
55:37a dozen blocks to the motel where he
55:40asked for a map without one drop of
55:42blood seen on him or without any cuts
55:45and scratches the case then went to the
55:47jury of 11 men and one woman and Justice
55:51bent told the jury quote the onus is on
55:54the crown to prove guilt the accused
55:57does not have to prove that he is
55:59innocent oh the irony of that statement
56:02the jury deliberated for 14 hours and on
56:06January 31st at 12 15 PM the jury found
56:1017 year old David Milgard guilty of
56:13non-capital murder so Justice is served
56:16right
56:17not even close an innocent man was just
56:21sentenced to life in prison due largely
56:23because of police incompetence and
56:25Corruption and even worse the real
56:27murderer was still loose on the streets
56:30Larry Fisher had yet to go to prison for
56:32his serial rape crimes and was still
56:35free to terrorize the City of Saskatoon
56:37it would take 23 years to correct this
56:40Injustice and freed David from prison
56:43and 27 years to prove who the real
56:45killer was however this is where I will
56:48leave things for now in part two I'll
56:51cover David's journey to clear his name
56:53and gain his freedom back Larry Fisher's
56:56conviction and the public inquiry that
56:59followed the cost taxpayers millions of
57:01dollars thank you so much for watching
57:03please be sure to like this video And
57:05subscribe if you would like to support
57:07my channel you can go to buy me a coffee
57:09to donate all the links to my socials
57:12are in the description box below thank
57:14you again and I will see you next time

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