The Clue Master SDM

THE MURDER OF LYNNE HARPER

In the early evening of Tuesday June 9, 1959, 12-year-old Lynne Harper disappeared near RCAF Station, an air force base just south of Clinton, Ontario.  At about 11:20 that evening, Lynne's father reported her missing.  She was last seen with Steven Truscott.

Steven Murray Truscott (born January 18, 1945 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian who was sentenced to death in 1959, when he was a 14 ½ year old student, for the murder of classmate Lynne Harper.  They were classmates at the A.V.M. Hugh Campbell School on the air force base in Clinton.

After finishing dinner and wearing only blue shorts and a white sleeveless blouse, Lynne Harper walked over to the school grounds near her home and cheerfully helped Mrs. Nickerson with the younger Clinton Brownies. 

Steven acknowledged being with Lynne the evening she was killed.  He was seen with her on his bicycle after 7 p.m. in close proximity to Lawson’s Bush where her body was found two days later.

Steve Truscott has maintained since 1959 that he took Lynne Harper to the intersection of the county road and Highway 8 where Lynne got off his bike.  Truscott maintains that he left her unharmed and that when he arrived at the bridge he looked back toward the intersection where he had dropped Lynne off and observed that a 1959 gray Chevrolet Bel Air had stopped and that she was in the process of entering the front seat.

The Short Version

As crimes go, dear reader, this is a simple crime.  We have only two choices in this case.  Either Steven Truscott took Lynne Harper 90 feet into Lawson’s bush and strangled her at his favorite spot or a stranger pedophile picked her up after Truscott left her all alone, drove around for several hours, and then returned her in the dark, not at the intersection but 90 feet into Lawson’s bush at Truscott’s favorite spot--the same place where Lynne’s body would be found two days later.

This is not rocket science folks; just searching for truth and justice using critical thinking.

The facts of this case implicating Steven Truscott go well beyond reasonable doubt and preponderance of the evidence, they comprise a moral certainty. 

The Long Version

Steven Truscott’s Story:

Steven says he met Lynne at the Brownies and that she was in a chatty, presumably happy mood.  He says that Lynne asked for a ride to Highway 8 so she could hitch a ride to a pony farm.  He further stated that we pushed the bicycle between us across the school grounds onto the county road.  There I got on the seat and she mounted the crossbar and we took off.

Steven goes on to say that he took Lynne to the intersection of the county road and Highway 8 where she got off his bike.  Truscott has always maintained that he left her unharmed and when he arrived at the bridge he looked back toward the intersection where he had dropped Lynne off and observed that a 1959 gray Chevrolet Bel Air had stopped and that she was in the process of entering.

Steven saw the car speed east down the highway with Lynne in the front seat.   We will hear that the stranger who just happened by a few minutes after Steven left her at the intersection happened to be a pedophile of the worst kind.

After being with the little 12-year old girl for several hours and not feeding her, this pedophile reversed direction and returned to the intersection where he picked up his victim.  He brings poor Lynne back to the very area where people may be looking for the missing girl and are eyeing any strange movement. 

This stranger does not leave Lynne out at the intersection.  This pedophile goes a lot further because now he is in his raping, killing mood.   He either parks along the county road or he turns left at a tractor trail and drives onto a woodlot area known locally as Lawson’s bush.  There he stops the vehicle, opens the door, gets out, and leads his victim 90 feet to the very spot Steven uses when browsing in the bush area. 

There the stranger rapes and strangles Lynne with her own blouse.  He picks up her panties as a souvenir but drops them 33 feet away instead of taking them to his car.

This happens to be in the same bush area where Steven and Lynne were last seen together and where Lynne’s body would be found two days later.

  

 Critical Thoughts

Perhaps it was Steven Truscott’s kind heart that caused him to give his young 12-year old girl friend a ride down the road.  Unfortunately, this character of kindness was unable to wait a few minutes until the little girl hitched a ride.  If Steven Truscott had been with Lynne Harper when she got a ride the driver would have known that there would be a witness if anything happened to her.  

Gordon “Gord” Logan, who was 12 and family friends of the Truscott’s, was fishing in the river about 640 feet away from the bridge.  Gord testified that he saw Steven and Lynne on their way to the highway and saw Steven come back alone, stop at the bridge and look back toward the highway.  Did Steven say anything to his friend about Lynne getting a ride so quickly?  Did he say anything at all to Gord?”   Evidently he said nothing to his friend.  Upon returning to the school grounds did he say anything to his schoolmates about Lynne getting a ride quickly in a brand new car?  Steven made no comment to anyone about Lynne hitch-hiking, getting a ride, or seeing her get into a car.

The Jury and the Supreme Court of Canada

This may be what the original jury and the eight judges of the Supreme Court of Canada were thinking when they found Steven Truscott to be the person guilty of Lynne Harper’s murder:  Steve Truscott did not take Lynne to Highway 8.  Instead they left the county road before reaching the bridge over the Bayfield River. That is what most witnesses, who were out walking and swimming, have maintained all along. 

Steven and Lynne walked over 80 feet into a wooded area beside the county road known as Lawson's Bush.  There they did what many young boys and girls do in the woods and bushes to become better acquainted. Lynne took off her brown loafers, set them side by side, and rolled up her socks neatly.  Perhaps the spot was awkward so they picked up her shoes and socks and walked a few feet to a more comfortable spot.  There she took off her blue shorts and laid it neatly with her shoes and socks in a pile as they later would be found.   She may have teased too much and gone too far; then tried to get Steven to stop.  Now Truscott was too passionate and in no mood to stop.  She may have said she would tell on him for trying to rape her.  This and his frustration about his penetration may have caused him to strangle her, which he did so with her blouse. 

Degree of Responsibility

Either Steven took Lynne to the intersection and left her to her fate of being picked up by a stranger pedophile who would drive off for several hours and then return her in the dark to a spot in the bush known to Steven and there he would strangle her (no chance in a million), or Steven took Lynne innocently into the bush and when things got out of hand he strangled her (very likely).

Even if Truscott’s unbelievable story were true he should still be held partly responsible for Lynne’s death because he took her to a vulnerable spot and left her alone to her fate.  Any friend would have waited until the girl got a ride.  Therefore, at the very least we are not looking for who is responsible for Lynne Harper’s death, but to what degree.