Thursday, March 20, 2014

Bulletin: Robert Baltovich; Ontario; Malicious prosecution lawsuit uncovers previously undisclosed evidence in Elizabeth Bain murder mystery which centers around Baltovich who was wrongfully convicted of her murder and serial killer Paul Bernardo who is a likely suspect; Baltovich's lawyers have uncovered evidence relating to an interview of two experts at the Ontario Centre of Forensic Sciences that challenges the timeline long held by police and prosecutors that was central to his conviction. Reporter Shannon Kari; The Globe and Mail. (Must Read. HL);.


STORY: "Lawsuit uncovers new evidence in Elizabeth Bain murder mystery," by reporter Shannon Kari, published by the Globe and Mail on March 18, 2014. (Thanks to Win Wahrer of the Association in Defence of the Wronfully Convicted for bringing this story to our attention. HL);

GIST:  "It is one of the greatest unsolved murders in Canada: Who killed Elizabeth Bain? The 22-year-old Toronto woman disappeared in 1990, and her body was never found. For a quarter-century, Toronto police and the Ontario government have said the killer is Ms. Bain’s boyfriend Robert Baltovich – who was convicted of second-degree murder in 1992 and spent eight years in prison, and another eight on bail before he was acquitted in 2008, when the Crown called no evidence at his re-trial. Mr. Baltovich and his supporters say he is the victim of a wrongful conviction, and that serial killer Paul Bernardo is a likely suspect. Now, lawyers acting for Mr. Baltovich in his $13-million malicious-prosecution lawsuit have uncovered evidence that challenges the timeline long held by police and prosecutors that was central to his conviction. The police and prosecution believe Mr. Baltovich killed Ms. Bain on June 19, 1990, in Colonel Danforth Park, a wooded area near the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus. They alleged he hid the body, and in the early morning hours of June 22, drove Ms. Bain’s car about 45 minutes to Lake Scugog, disposed of the body and returned to Toronto. The theory was the only way to fit the timeline for Mr. Baltovich committing the crime and hiding the body. But a Toronto police document has surfaced that casts doubt on Mr. Baltovich’s conviction and raises questions about why it was not previously turned over to his lawyers. Notes from a 1990 interview of two experts at the Centre of Forensic Sciences conducted by Detective Sergeant Brian Raybould indicate that the forensic evidence was not consistent with Ms. Bain being killed, her body hidden and then transported in her car more than two days later.".........Mr. Baltovich’s lawsuit accuses the Crown and police of a “rush to judgment,” of failing to disclose information that would show Mr. Baltovich’s innocence and of ignoring evidence that pointed to the man known as the Scarborough rapist (later revealed to be Mr. (Paul) Bernardo). More than 13,000 documents related to the case have been turned over by the Crown and police in the civil lawsuit. It was in going through the documents, that Joanne McLean, one of Mr. Baltovich’s lawyers in his appeal and who is assisting with the lawsuit, found the note written on foolscap. It referred to a Nov. 22, 1990, meeting between Mr. Raybould and two experts at the Centre of Forensic Sciences. The note was described in the index of Crown documents as undated, having an unknown author and referred to as “notes [handwritten] untitled.”

The entire story can be found at:

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox/144d5ccb2a6f6c04

See Wikipedia entry:  "Robert Baltovich (born July 17, 1965) is a Canadian man who was wrongly convicted in 1992 of the murder of his girlfriend, Elizabeth Bain, in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. He spent eight years in prison and nearly another decade trying to clear his name, before being found not guilty in a retrial on April 22, 2008."

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Baltovich

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
 
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;