“Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;
the proper study of mankind is man.”
Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
“An Essay on Man, Epistle 2” 1734:
Bill Deadman had just come up from the morgue in the basement of the old Victoria Street building of the Hamilton General Hospital – up the stairs past the Outdoor Department and into the City Laboratories on the second floor. Marion Hutchison, his secretary of many years was sitting at her desk just inside the lab at the top of the stairs. She directed him into his office next door where the Coroner, Dr. Isaac Crack was waiting on the telephone. It was a Saturday, but because Bill was the Regional Pathologist involved in all the forensic work for Hamilton, Niagara and a large surrounding area, he was on call seven days a week. He was in the city morgue and laboratories seven days a week. Crack said “Bill, we’re got a strange one for you. We have a torso with no head, arms or legs. We’re sending it over to the city morgue right now.”
On March16th, 1946 the Hamilton Spectator ran a story with the headline: “Gruesome Discovery Made by Hiking Children Today. It was late winter and there were still some patches of snow in shady spots at Mount Hamilton. There the Niagara Escarpment rises some 300 feet quite steeply from the downtown area. This forested wilderness faces north and runs right through the centre of the city. At that time the city located on the Mountain consisted of a grid of small streets extending south from Concession Street near the Nora Frances Henderson Maternity Hospital, and another cluster of streets to the west near the big provincial mental hospital which sat on the mountain brow.
That fateful Saturday, Jimmy Weaver, thirteen, and a couple of younger friends were hiking on one of the trails just below the mountain brow near Albion Falls. As Jimmy testified later at the murder trial, it was a nice day and as they were walking along, his two friends saw a big lump that turned out to be the torso of a man wearing only the truncated remains of a suit of long underwear. The torso appeared to have been thrown over the embankment near Mountain Drive Park about half a mile from the falls. It was in a wooded area that was quite remote from the built-up part of the city. No effort had been made to conceal the body which had slid down the steep embankment and lodging on a small shelf a short distance below the brow. Controlling their sense of nausea and alarm, the boys climbed back up the embankment and formed a chain across the street above. They stopped a passing motorist who went for the police.
Constable Leonard Mattick was the first police officer to arrive. He was soon joined by Sgt. Carl Farrow, Ontario Provincial Police. They climbed down the hill and found the torso lying on its front with the neck pointed downhill. The limbs and head had been roughly cut off. There were two bullet holes in the chest and a deep cut across the stomach but there was very little blood. The officers speculated that whoever put the torso there had not expected that it would be found so soon. They estimated that it had probably been there for a week, or ten days at most.
The police reviewed the list of missing persons in the region but were unable to come up with a “match”. Hamilton had had some unsavoury connections with the ‘rum runners’ of the 1920s prohibition period. Prohibition had lasted only a few years in Canada but had extended into the 1930s in the United States. There were still connections with the criminal organizations and the local mob leader, Rocco Perri had mysteriously disappeared in April 1944. A police superintendent commented that Rocco Perri wouldn’t be found until Burlington Bay was drained. However, the torso found by Jimmy Weaver and friends did not match the description of any of the missing persons – mob related or not.
News of the gruesome discovery got others thinking, including city workers who remembered an earlier find in the same area. Another article appeared in the Spectator on March 18th. “Police Seek to Link It with Finding of Torso: City Workmen had No Suspicions of Foul Play as They Made Discovery.” Several days before, city maintenance workers had found an old bloodstained shirt on the road near Albion Falls. They tossed it in the ditch and thought no more of it until the discovery of the torso. They then returned to get it and turned it over to police. It had two bullet holes in the right chest area which matched the bullet holes in the torso. By this time attention was beginning to focus on John Dick, a Russian émigré who had worked as a motorman for the Hamilton Street Railway.
New discoveries were announced in the newspapers daily. In addition to the local Spectator, the Toronto Daily Star, Globe and Mail and Evening Telegram were soon on the case. The bloodied shirt found in the ditch was definitely linked to the torso. On March 21st the Spectator reported: “Certain Stains in Vehicle Examined by Dr. Deadman.” By this time John Dick had become the focus of investigation. Police interviewed his wife Evelyn in her home at Carrick Avenue, in east Hamilton. They were accompanied by Dr. Deadman, the city pathologist. They searched the house and property. They found ashes strewn beside the garage which were carefully collected from the site and taken to the laboratory where they would be sifted and all fragments examined and sorted. The furnace had been cleaned out but some ashes remained and they were also collected for analysis. The police and Dr. Deadman then searched the attic of the house where they found a heavy suitcase containing the macerated body of a newborn infant encased in concrete.
On March 23rd, the Spectator reported: “Widow Arraigned on Vagrancy Charge…” Evelyn Dick was remanded without bail. Her friend William Bohozuk was charged with having an unregistered firearm. By the 25th, many other facts were coming to light. It was reported that Dick had told his workmates about fears he would meet with foul play.
Police also searched the home of Donald MacLean, Evelyn’s father, who lived several blocks from Evelyn’s mother. Like John Dick, McLean was an employee of the Hamilton Street Railway. At his house they found a copy of True Detective magazine that described the operations of an abortion ring which had disposed of bodies by sawing off the arms and legs and burning various parts. They also found several guns, one of which had recently been fired and a pair of bloody shoes and other clothing which John Dick had been wearing. And they also found a large quantity of streetcar tickets, cash, fare-box keys and counting equipment, none of which MacLean was authorized to have.
On March 26th, the Spectator reported that Evelyn Dick would be charged with the murder of her husband as well as the newborn infant found in the suitcase. On the 29th both Evelyn and William Bohozuk were charged with the murder of John Dick. Evelyn’s parents, Donald and Alexandra MacLean were also charged with murder, but at the preliminary hearing in April, charges would be dropped against Alexandra when she gave evidence for the Crown.
It came out that John and Evelyn had been married for less than a year and had been separated for several months prior to the murder. Alexandra was living with Evelyn at 32 Carrick Avenue while her father, Donald McLean continued living in the family home on Rosslyn Avenue. At the preliminary hearing, Alexandra testified that Evelyn Dick had driven a large Packard limousine to her home but was unable to get it into the small garage. When challenged by her mother about whose car it was, she drove off in a huff. It came out later that the car had been rented by William Bohozuk who was picked up by police for questioning.
When the torso arrived at the autopsy room, Bill Deadman performed the autopsy and examined and analysed all the other bits of evidence as they were delivered to the lab. He carefully sifted the ashes in the baskets and found many recognizable fragments of bone and nine teeth. Bill was able to confirm that the bone fragments were human in origin and came from extremities of the body. He then consulted with Professor J. C. B. Grant, who was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a prominent human anatomist in Canada. The teeth were sent to Professor Roy Innes, Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at Toronto for identification.
Dr. Deadman also examined the car with the police. There were blood stains on the back seat, a rear door handle, and the handle of an outboard motor found in the trunk. A blood-stained necktie was found on the back seat. It was still tied in the way it would have been when worn. Bill took samples back to the City Laboratories for analysis. He was able to confirm that all the samples including the torso were Blood Type O1 and almost certainly from the same person.
During the autopsy on the torso, Bill noted that the limbs had been cut off below the shoulder and hip joints. The neck had been cut at the level of the larynx and most of the larynx was missing. A deep cut below the umbilicus had only cut into soft tissue. The cuts were very ragged as if made by a saw and the nature of the cuts was consistent with their having been made after death. There were two bullet holes in the front of the thorax about 2” apart but Bill concluded that they were not the cause of death. The blood type was “O”, the most common type. The blood alcohol level was quite low but the level of the urine in the bladder was fairly high.
Bill concluded that the person, John Dick, had been drunk before the time of death. There was very little blood in the torso and the heart was collapsed. From the general condition, he concluded that the body had been dead for a week to 10 days and had exsanguinated and been dismembered fairly soon after death. The torso was measured 30½ inches from the seventh cervical vertebra to the base of the pelvis, giving an overall height of the deceased as about 5’ 6”- 5’ 8”. No other diseases or causes of death could be found in the torso so Bill Deadman assumed that death had been caused by trauma to the missing head.
By 1946, Bill Deadman had long experience in just this sort of forensic work. He had been doing it for 26 years. He also had a level of training that was very unusual in Canada. He had taken a course at the relatively new medical school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, followed by three years of battlefield experience as a medical officer in the First World War. He was demobilized in 1919 and returned to Hamilton in 1920 to his job as City Pathologist and Director of Public Health Laboratories. He had been appointed to this position before joining the army in 1914. The job was very busy because he was the only pathologist Hamilton, Burlington, Niagara, Brantford and surrounding area. Between the wars he had gained another quarter-century of experience.
In the 1920s, Hamilton was a bustling industrial city in post-war Canada and the small lab at the Hamilton General Hospital was overwhelmed with work. Bill supervised the expansion of the lab over the next decade. Because he was the only pathologist in the area willing to take on forensic work, he also had to deal with many murders and questionable deaths. He became the Regional Pathologist for the Hamilton and Niagara area. By 1946 he was doing as many as three or four autopsies a day. As Director of City Laboratories, he supervised a lab that had taken over the second floor of the Victoria Building at the Hamilton General Hospital and had expanded from a staff of three to more than forty.
Having been the medical examiner for almost all inquests in the Hamilton, Bill had considerable experience giving evidence in court. He was a favourite with local crown attorneys because of his careful testimony that was difficult for the defence to challenge.
The Preliminary Hearing
On April 22nd 1946, the trial proceeded to preliminary Hearing. The purpose of a preliminary hearing is to determine if there is enough evidence against the accused to place him or her on trial. The hearing gave the public its first opportunity to learn about the results of the investigation so far, and the basis of the charges against the five co-defendants. Evelyn Dick and her parents were represented by lawyers Walter J. Tuchtie and Montalieu McLean. Bohozuk’s was represented by William Schreiber and his brother Henry.
The Hamilton Spectator, the Toronto Daily Star, the Globe and Mail and the Evening Telegram all reported extensively on the hearing. Bill Deadman’s evidence was reported in detail.
Witness testimony began on April 23rd and continued for several days. John Dick was a motorman with the Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) and his father-in-law, Donald MacLean checked in fare-boxes and counted money and tickets. Witnesses attested to the ill-feeling between Donald McLean and John Dick that had progressed at times to threats. McLean was quoted as saying: “Damn you Dick, you tried to break up my home.” Dick had arguments with MacLean and seemed to be very much afraid of him to the point that his work as a streetcar motorman had been affected. He apparently believed that MacLean was out to kill him. There had been many arguments between John Dick and his wife Evelyn. They were not living together and had formally separated about five weeks before the murder.
Dr. Deadman stated that the murder had been committed on or about March 6th. The cause of death of John Dick was unknown but was assumed to be trauma to the missing head. Charges against Mrs. MacLean were dismissed and she gave testimony about her husband and her daughter Evelyn. Evelyn and William Bohozuk were committed for trial on charges of murdering John Dick. Evelyn was also charged with infanticide for the infant found in the suitcase. Donald MacLean was to be committed on other charges related to his thefts from the Hamilton Street Railway. Bohozuk had a charge of possession of an unregistered firearm that was later withdrawn.2
On April 25th, Mrs. Ann Kammerer testified. Her husband was a cousin of the deceased man, John Dick. She identified various articles of clothing including black Oxford shoes with blood on them. John Wahl, Dick’s brother-in-law, identified the torso. He also reported a telephone conversation with Evelyn Dick on March 18th in which she said that John Dick owed a lot of money and suggested that he was being sued. But Wahl stated that Dick always repaid the money when he could. He was unaware that Dick had borrowed money from Evelyn and a month after they were married, had her arrange a $200 loan.
Aleck Field testified that he was an automobile dealer who had done business with Mrs. Dick. William Landeg, who worked with Mr. Field, testified that Evelyn had borrowed the black Packard sedan on at least six occasions, the last time was on March 7th. The car was dirty and there were blood stains on the seat and other places in the car. When questioned about the blood stains, Evelyn said that her little girl had cut herself and she had to take her to the hospital. But this was challenged because Bill Deadman had already said that the blood in the car was type ‘O’ and was the same as the blood in the torso, whereas the girl’s blood type was ‘B’.
By this time, the bizarre case had attracted considerable attention and the courtroom was increasingly crowded. The judge ordered that spectators without a seat be removed. Then the testimony continued. Detective John Freeborn then testified that he had found Dick’s black oxfords in a wood-box in the cellar of Donald McLean’s house. He also found large numbers of HSR tickets and a ticket punch with blood on it. In a front room he forced open a trunk and found a money counter and large sheaves of tickets as well as five keys used for opening fare boxes. They also found cash in the amount of $4440.00, three shotguns and a rifle.
Raymond Castle, Superintendent for Transportation at the Hamilton Street Railway (HSR), testified that McLean was not authorized to have the keys and tickets that had been found in his home. Also he was unaware of the marriage of John Dick to Evelyn in November 1945 until Donald McLean told him about this. He had received reports of ‘squabbling’ and told McLean that this would have to stop on company property.
James Weaver, the thirteen-year-old hiker testified to finding the torso on the mountainside. George Meeker testified to finding the bloodied shirt on the road nearby.
Robert Morrison, a security guard at the gate of the Dominion Foundries and Steel plant said that in late October, he saw William Bohosuk, John and Evelyn Dick outside the Plant gate. Evelyn wanted to borrow Bohozuk’s car. The next morning John Dick was seen in the parking lot. Bohozuk was going on shift and Dick tried to talk to him but then returned to the security shanty and was weeping. There was other evidence of the feud between McLean and Dick and problems with others as well. John Walker, a HSR employee and a friend of Dick’s, said that he heard MacLean say to Dick: “…damn you Dick, you’re trying to break up my home.” He was also very red-faced, angry and upset and referred to Dick as “…that damn Russian.”
Dr. Deadman gave extensive testimony about the autopsy and a detailed analysis of the evidence he had worked on. He said that death had occurred approximately 10 days before the autopsy on the torso. He said the injuries to the torso were not lethal. The extremities had been roughly sawn off and it looked as if the arm and leg bones had been cut partly through and then broken. The head was cut off at the level of the larynx. The blood was Type O and this matched the bloodstains on the car and the shoes. There was little alcohol in the blood but more in the urine, suggesting that he had been drinking before death but was not intoxicated at the time of death. Gunshot wounds to the chest were inflicted at about the time of death but were not the cause of death. The cause of death was presumed to be trauma to the missing head.
Dr. Deadman testified that all the bone pieces were from the same person and all were from the missing extremities. Professor Grant testified to this and was able to add that they were from a male adult of medium build and height. Dr. Deadman testified that the infant encased in cement in the suitcase was badly decomposed but he was still able to present considerable information about it. Hospital records showed that it had been born to Evelyn Dick about a year before and had died shortly after birth.
Detective Freeborn testified that two days before the finding of the torso, Mrs. Dick had come to him to ask if her husband John Dick had been arrested. Freeborn asked her if it was for non-support but Evelyn said that it would be because she thought he had taken off with the company’s money. Inspector Preston searched Donald MacLean’s home and found the bloodstained shoes. He testified that the pieces of bone found in the ashes in the driveway were examined at the Police station and then released to Dr. Deadman who had taken them back to the City Laboratories for analysis. Sergeant Farrow found several pictures of Evelyn Dick at Bohozuk’s home and a picture of Bohozuk at his home that was similar to one at Evelyn Dick’s house.
Freeborn also testified to the finding of the suitcase in the attic of the Carrick Avenue home. It was filled with a block of cement from which bits of fabric were protruding. When the cement was chiselled off, they found a bag containing the macerated remains of an infant. The bag was taken to the central police station for examination.
Dr. Deadman was at the police station when this was done. He testified: i
“…underneath it all was a skirt in which I observed the name of Evelyn MacLean. I opened the zipper of the bag and found the decomposed body of an infant. I then took the bag and its contents to the hospital for later examination. This extended over a period of weeks. I am still examining it…”
…indicating that he was reading from his preliminary report. He continued:
“The body of the infant was clothed and squeezed into the cloth bag and closed in by a zipper. The bag was about 13 by 5 by 8 inches. In order to remove the body it was necessary to slit open the sides of the bag. On removal the body was seen to be clothed. The skull bones are separated, loose. There were tooth buds in the jaw bones. The chest and arms were desiccated. The internal organs were decomposed beyond recognition. The left foot and ankle were missing. Around the neck there was a knotted piece of coarse hempen string one-half inch in diameter. The string was the type used to tie parcels and of fairly heavy weight…”
… He held up a loop of cord for the court to see. It would be small for an infant’s neck.
“The diameter of (the neck of) a full-term infant is usually from seven to nine inches. The body was 18 inches long, which is normal for a full-term child.”
Summing up, he listed the main findings:
“The body was the desiccated body of a full-term infant. The time of death was over a year from the time the body was found. The cause of death cannot now be accurately determined. The cord on the neck is worthy of consideration.”
‘The attorney for Mr. Bohozuk, Mr. William Schreiber asked if the age could be accurately determined. The pathologist replied that reconstructing a child’s dried-out body from the remains would only indicate its length and that it was the body of a full-term infant. Nothing more could be accurately determined. He stated that the length of time after birth of up to 11 days would have little effect on a child’s length. The attorney for Donald MacLean, Mr. Walter Tuchtie questioned the witness who agreed he could not say…
“…because of the condition of the body whether the child was three weeks old or not. All I could say would be weeks old.”
‘It had been agreed earlier in an exchange between the crown and the magistrate that any evidence involving confessions, or testimony by one accused against the other, should be heard in camera with the press not admitted. Later, through the juvenile court window, Bohozuk could be seen answering questions with the same composed manner he showed in open court.
‘At 1 o’clock Bohozuk and Mrs. Dick were brought back to the main court-room. The in-camera hearing had been going on since 11 o’clock without a break. Mrs. Dick returned to the court-room with her coat thrown over her shoulders, showing a sky blue dress with white collar and cuffs. Bohozuk smiled occasionally at newspapermen and a flicker of a smile occasionally crossed Mrs. Dick’s face. But as far as their outward appearance went these two might have been complete strangers, certainly not accomplices.
‘On resuming his place on the bench Magistrate Burbidge said “in the case of Bohozuk there is direct evidence that a jury is entitled to consider.” He then committed him for trial. Referring to Mrs. Dick, he said, “and the jury is entitled to draw the inference from circumstantial evidence that there is a possibility that she is at least an accomplice.”
‘“It is an admitted fact that the body of the baby was found in the home of what might be called the crown’s star witness against Bohozuk.” said Mr. Schreiber, “but there is not a tittle of evidence incriminating her in this matter on her testimony.” The court interrupted Mr. Schreiber and proceeded to commit both for trial.ii
The Fall Assizes
The fall assizes of the Ontario Supreme Court convened on September 24th, 1946 under Mr. Justice William Schreiber. This would be the same William Schreiber, now a judge, who had represented Mr. Bohozuk at the Preliminary Hearing. The indictments charging Evelyn Dick, her father Donald MacLean and Walter Bohozuk with the murder of John Dick were sent to a Grand Jury who returned a true bill so the indictments continued to trial. Trial was scheduled to open on October 1st. The Special Prosecutor was T. J. Rigney assisted by the Crown Attorney, Harvey McCullough. The Defense attorney was Mr. John J. Sullivan.
Dr. Deadman’s ‘grim evidence’ was given in the first few days. It was basically the same as he had presented at the Preliminary Hearing. There were few other questions. His evidence was clear, concise and difficult to dispute.
Alexandra MacLean quoted her daughter, Evelyn Dick: “Yes, John Dick is dead and you keep your mouth shut.” She stated that this was only 2 days after John Dick’s disappearance. The Hamilton Spectator reporter went on to say: “There was a gasp and a stir in the courtroom…”. She then gave background information that she repeated in more detail at the trial. She commented on her annoyance about Evelyn’s marriage to John Dick and the obvious problems between Dick and Evelyn’s friend Walter Bohozuk.
There was much other evidence from many of the same people who had testified at the preliminary hearing. Dr. Deadman gave evidence that was similar to his earlier testimony. There was considerable cross-examination and many points were discussed but the defense was unable to find flaws in the evidence.
The court room was crowded to the point that there were line-ups outside waiting for seats. When all seats were filled, the Judge ordered that no one else should be admitted, creating many arguments at the door. The judge had to restore order frequently. By this time the trial of a very attractive woman with a somewhat chequered past had attracted so much interest across Canada that the media were providing comments about Evelyn’s dress and her responses to various bits of testimony that sometimes resembled a soap opera. Also tidbits emerged such as the introduction of Evelyn’s address book into evidence. Many well-known Hamiltonians were listed there and the judge ruled that it was not admissible because it was irrelevant. Some people wondered if the judge might be one of the names listed.
The Trial
On September 29th the Grand Jury committed Evelyn for trial on the murder of John Dick and infanticide for the baby in the suitcase. Her mother, Alexandra had charges dropped at the Preliminary Hearing and was a witness for the Crown. Walter Bohozuk and Donald MacLean were charged with the murder of John Dick but were also facing trial on other charges that would be heard separately. The defense attorney was Mr. John J. Sullivan.
The trial commenced on October 7th. Bill Deadman was one of the first witnesses and he gave testimony that was the same as his earlier testimony. Alexandra MacLean gave her testimony again that her daughter had told her that John Dick was dead and ordered her mother to keep her mouth shut. She also gave testimony that she and her husband had come to Canada in 1911 and had lived in Hamilton since then. Evelyn was born on October 13th, 1920. She indicated Evelyn had lived with her family virtually all her life. The MacLeans had lived on Rosslyn Avenue but when the parents separated in June 1945, Alexandra had moved to the Carrick Ave. home with Evelyn and her 6 year-old daughter, Heather. Her husband continued to live in the house on Rosslyn Avenue. Alexandra testified that Evelyn had had a child out of wedlock a few months before this move but the witness did not know what had happened to the child. It was then that Evelyn began using the name Mrs. White.
She learned about Evelyn’s marriage to John Dick when her daughter got a marriage licence two weeks before. She described herself as “…very much annoyed” and said that they had had a great row over her marriage. The newly-weds did not move in together until a few days later; Evelyn came back to the Carrick Avenue home alone that night. And when John Dick did move in, there were constant arguments over money. He began staying out late and he was home less and less. They finally separated in February.
Alexandra gave much additional evidence about a phone call from Bohozuk that left Dick “…shaking like a leaf.” John Dick’s disappearance was early March. She testified that Evelyn became very close-mouthed about this and was angry when questioned. At one point she said to her mother that John Dick would not bother her again. When her mother asked about this, Evelyn replied that John Dick was dead and that mother was to keep her mouth shut. This also caused a stir in the court room. She said that the furnace in the house was running a lot after March 6th. And she testified that Evelyn was taking the ashes out and dumping them in front of the garage – evidence she had given before.
In the afternoon Bill Deadman continued his testimony about bloodstains in the Packard car. He said that they were all type O. He also said that there was a blood-stained necktie in the back seat that was still tied as it would be when worn – again type O. He said that he had also examined the shirt and sweater with similar blood stains. Both garments had the arms roughly cut off just below the shoulder and had bullet holes that corresponded to the holes on the torso. He repeated his testimony about the finding of bits of bone and teeth in the ashes found outside the garage and in the furnace. He made it clear that all the bone pieces were human, were from the extremities and from one individual.
Cross-examination by Mr. Sullivan could not shake that. He said that he had examined a pair of red rubber boots that had been identified as belonging to Evelyn. They had blood stains, again type O. John Dick’s black Oxfords, found at Donald MacLean’s house had bloodstains, also type O. However, a tooth and Hamilton Street Railway tickets found there had blood spots that were type B.
Deadman also testified about his method of calculating the height of the body based on measurements of the torso. He repeated earlier testimony about the torso being drained of blood and no rigor mortis. Cross examination by Mr. Sullivan elicited other information about the condition of the torso, the food in the stomach and the alcohol level in the bladder indicated that he had eaten and consumed alcohol about an hour before death. He also testified that cutting off the arms and the head must have occurred shortly after death because the torso exsanguinated quite quickly before the blood would have had time to clot. Professor J. C. B. Grant also repeated his testimony confirming that the bone fragments were human, from the extremities and almost certainly from the same person. Dr. Roy3 Innis, also gave similar evidence about the teeth as before.
There was evidence from the civic employees who had found the bloody shirt on the side of the road. Jimmy Weaver who found the torso, gave his testimony again. The two police officers who were called to the scene gave their testimony. Defense attorney Mr. Sullivan gave intense cross-examinations to each of them.
There were long lineups to get a seat in the courtroom and arguments by people who could not get a seat. The judge took a firm line on this – no standees. There was also considerable interest in Evelyn’s arrival from the holding cells to the court. At several points she is described as grimacing or making notes on a piece of paper.
In the final verdict, Evelyn Dick was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death by hanging. She was remanded in isolation at the Barton Street Jail with execution set for January 7th, 1947. On October 18th a jury was chosen to try William Bohozuk and Donald MacLean, also charged with murder. The same evidence was given by several witnesses including Bill Deadman. Evelyn was also called. Her testimony was to be the clinching evidence for the Crown. However, when she was called as a witness on October 18th, she refused to be sworn or to testify against her father and friend. The judge asked if she would “think it over” until Saturday (October 19th) she agreed, but gave the same answer the next day.
The trial proceedings collapsed suddenly when Evelyn’s refusal to testify compromised the Crown’s case. The trial was adjourned and a new trial was to be called in a month. However, all these proceedings were put in abeyance when it was learned that Evelyn Dick was appealing her conviction. The appeal was filed on November 15th. It would have to be heard before anything else could proceed.
The Appeal
The notice of appeal filed by defence counsel John Sullivan contained 25 points in which he argued that Evelyn did not get a fair trial. They included an assertion that the judge’s charge to the jury was improper. Another point was that the principle evidence by her mother was bought by enticements of dropping charges which made her biased. There were many other points, many of them technical but some material to the evidence given. On the 9th of December, Chief Justice R. S. Robertson announced a stay of execution until February 7th to allow for the hearing of an appeal.
The appeal was led by John Josiah Robinette 4 who later became known as Canada’s leading litigator. It was the winning of the appeal of Evelyn Dick’s murder conviction in 1947 that put his name on the legal map. He was involved in several high-profile trials including (unsuccessfully) defending members of the Boyd Gang in 1952. He always argued that even the most desperate criminal was entitled to the best defense that could be mounted.
The appeal was launched on January 10th, 1947. The evidence was reviewed and Robinette put in more than 1000 pages of testimony. He considered the crucial piece of testimony was that when she took detectives Wood and Preston on a motor ride over the murder route, she had not been cautioned about giving evidence that could be used against her. He suggested that she had seriously misjudged the consequences of her cooperation with the two detectives.
He further argued that there was no evidence as to who had committed the murder of John Dick although it seems that all three defendants would be considered accessories. But he argued that the others had stronger motives than she did and this was not put forward in the trial. He argued that Evelyn Dick was at most an accessory after the fact 5 so she could not be found guilty on this evidence. The arguments are well described in the Globe & Mail account on January 23rd, 1947.
On January 28th Mr. Justice Keiller Mackay granted a motion of the Crown to adjourn the trials of the three accused because they were also seeking leave to appeal. He recognized the appeal that was proceeding through the Supreme Court but said that in the interests of justice, the whole matter must be reconsidered when the findings of the appeals are known.
On February 24th the Hamilton Spectator reported on the second trial of Evelyn Dick for the murder of her husband. It was convened under Chief Justice J. C. McRuer. Evelyn was tried alone and counsel for the co-accused, Donald MacLean and William Bohozuk made no objection. They were returned to jail and the trial then proceeded without them. The Crown was represented by Mr. Rigney and Mr. McCullough but a third man was added, Clifford R. Magone. He was a solicitor for the Attorney-General’s Department of Ontario. Mrs. Dick’s defence counsel was J. J. Robinette.
The Globe & Mail reported on the proceedings on February 29th. They observed that the same old evidence was hauled out by the same witnesses and it seemed strange that such macabre material was quite boring in the dry setting of the court. However, Robinette was able to show that Mrs. Dick could not be convicted of murdering her husband so on March 26th, 1947 she was convicted on the lesser charge of manslaughter for the death of the fetus in the suitcase. At a subsequent trial her father, Donald MacLean was convicted of accessory to murder and for stealing from the Hamilton Street Railway. Walter Bohozuk was exonerated of the baby slaying and other charges were dropped. But he was bitter about this for years because he was held in close custody for over a year – all for the crime of being Evelyn’s Lothario.
Mrs. Dick was sentenced to life imprisonment for infanticide and was taken to the Women’s Prison in Kingston. She was released from jail in 1958 on parole. Because of the notoriety of her case, she was given a new identity by the National Parole Board and subsequently dropped out of sight. In 1983 she was pardoned and released from parole by application under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy. Her file is officially sealed.
The Aftermath
There was much speculation about Evelyn’s subsequent life, both in Hamilton and across Canada. The femme fatale, the scarlet lady apparently had a black address book with 150 names in it – including many prominent Hamilton citizens. A popular joke at the time went like this:
“Cut off his arms, cut off his legs, cut off his head – how could you Mrs. Dick?”
(If you don’t get the joke, try saying it aloud.)
It became the title of a play by Douglas Rodger that was popular for a time in the Hamilton area and has been revived every few years since.iii Articles about her whereabouts and the mysteries surrounding her name have appeared in local newspapers and journals from time to time.iv It was just too juicy a story to give up. It put Hamilton and the principles in the trials very much on the map. The extensive news coverage even earned an entry in Ripley’s Believe It or Not:
In Hamilton Ontario Canada, the Head of Detectives is Sergeant Pinch. There is a firm of lawyers called Lazier and Lazier, and the Coroner is Dr. Deadman.
They got it a little bit wrong. There was someone on the police force with the name of Pinch but not the head of detectives. The law firm is correct but the name is pronounced “Lazheer” Bill Deadman was never a coroner but he was the Medical Examiner to the Crown. But most people would regard these as mere details.
Yet in a way this is a sad story. The actual perpetrator of the murder of John Dick was never formally determined. Evelyn suffered throughout for events that almost seemed beyond her control. And her naivety cost her dearly when she suddenly realized the very serious situation she was in. She began to cast aspersions and allegations in all directions that further confounded the issues. Her father suffered but he was clearly guilty of the crimes for which he was convicted. He finished his life penniless, alone and suffering from senility. Evelyn’s boyfriend and sometime lover found himself mixed up in matters that suddenly ran out of control and he was left bitter and angry. He spent over a year in custody and then the charges were dropped.
One could argue about the failures of the legal system that were brought out in the appeals. By that time the case was so hopelessly entangled that no good resolution could come out of it. However it resulted in procedural and legal changes that have benefitted those charged with serious crimes ever since.
However, the importance of forensic pathology was reinforced. Bill Deadman’s examination and testimony was thorough and it used the best science available at the time. Attempts to challenge it were met with patient explanations and direct answers to questions but no backing down. At that time forensic pathology was not recognized as a separate specialty of medicine – in fact general pathology had only just been formally recognized by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada after the Second World War. But the work of Bill Deadman and many others like him across Canada was enhanced by this experience in dealing with the criminal justice system. These men and women were the pioneers.
1 In 1946 the typing of blood antigens was relatively new. Karl Landsteiner at the University of Vienna received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1930 for his work in elucidating how blood antibodies and antigens worked. During the Second World War the ABO antibodies were used to match blood transfusions on the battlefield to avoid immune reactions. In 1946 there were two systems known – the ABO system and the Rh (rhesus) system. In 1946, this was a relatively new development that became important in forensic pathology.
2 Much of this is taken from the Toronto Star report from the 25th of April, 1946. There are several minor errors in the account that are probably due to the rapidity and complexity of the evidence that would tax the reporter’s comprehension and writing speed. The ashes were not found in a bushel basket at Donald MacLean’s home but in the driveway of Evelyn Dick’s home. Also Freeborn did not find infant bones in the ashes. All the identified bones were adult male, and from the extremities.
3 In the Hamilton Spectator account the name is given as “Ray Innis”. A misspelling of the names was quite common in these handwritten notes. The first reference to William Bohozuk was misspelled at the time of the Preliminary Hearing.
4 John Josiah Robinette (1906-1996), popularly known as J.J. Robinette, was relatively unknown at the time of this appeal but it cemented his reputation and prominence in the legal community. He was appointed King’s Council (KC) in 1944. He was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1973.
5 An accessory before the fact is complicit in the crime and therefore could be found guilty. An accessory after the fact is not complicit in the crime but only found out about it when it was underway or afterwards. They are at most an accessory to the crime, but not a perpetrator.
i Quoted from the Toronto Daily Star, 25 April, 1946, p. 15.
ii Toronto Daily Star, 25 April, 1946, p. 15 ibid.
iii How Could You, Mrs. Dick? An Enigma in Three Acts. First performed on April 3 1947 in Hamilton but revived several times since. It was in the 1989/90 season of Theatre Terra Nova (Hamilton). It was revived again by the Dundas Playhouse just a few years ago.
iv On October 5th, 1991 The Hamilton Spectator had an article by Paul Wilson entitled “The return of Evelyn Dick”. He had another article May 4th 1993 entitled “Just the fax. Whatever happened to Evelyn?”
Another article in the ‘Spec’ dated March 16th 1996 was entitled “1946 Dick murder ‘unsolved’.”
The Elm Street publication had a large illustrated review of the case in their September 2001 issue. It was entitled “The Enigma of Evelyn Dick”.