TIMELINE

Detectives in an unmarked police car testified later to passing Walsh's Cadillac, weaving erratically to the point that driver Detective Ingraham had to bring the police car to the shoulder of the road.

The scene of the shooting in St. John.

The Cadillac stops momentarily. A mortally wounded Peters gets out of the left-hand passenger door. Peters stumbles to unmarked police vehicle, says “let me in", and falls onto the back seat. The Cadillac starts moving again. The detectives follow the Cadillac, for several more blocks, with their sirens on. The Cadillac comes to a stop. The police order everyone out of the car at gunpoint, and handcuff them.

About 2:30 pm: Walsh, Ferguson, Walton, McMillan are put in their separate holding cells at the police station.

Peters, unconscious, is brought into Saint John Hospital on Waterloo Street by two policemen. Efforts to save him continue until 2:50 when Melvin Chi Chi Peters is pronounced dead.

Detective Douglas Titus overhears a conversation between Walton and McMillan in the cell block area. (see the Titus report)

6:20pm: Six CNR employees go to the police station and give their individual statements to the police. They corroborate Erin Walsh's story: A man fitting his description approached the workers and told them he was an undercover RCMP officer. He needed them to call the police because he was in danger from a group of men at the beach. None of these statements was presented to the jury during Walsh's trial. (see statements to the right)

August 13th, 1975

9:30am: An autopsy is performed on Melvin 'Chi Chi' Peters by Dr. McKay at General Hopsital. He died of a single gunshot wound.

10:45am: Joseph Valardo goes to the police station to make his statement that on Monday, August 11th he sold .410 shells to Donald McMillan. As McMillan is still in police detention, Valardo has the opportunity to identify him to police as the man who bought the shells. (see Valardo statement)

Inspector O'Toole takes the seventh statement of a CNR worker, welder's assistant Maurice McGinnis at the police station. McGinnis says he can identify the man who approached him on the tracks. (see statement)

11:10am: Erin Walsh meets his legal-aid lawyer and appears in court charged with the murder of Melvin 'Chi Chi' Peters.

August 22nd, 1975

Eric Kipping was the foreman of the jury that convicted Walsh of murder. He told the fifth estate that the new evidence would have lent credibility to Walsh's story.

Preliminary hearing starts in Saint John provincial court. The matter is before judge James G. McNamee.

September 29th, 1975

In the evening at the Saint John Provincial Jail, Walsh, desperate to have his story heard, uses a fake gun fashioned from toilet pipes, to take his lawyer, Douglas Howes and six prison guards, hostage. The stand-off lasts three hours and then Walsh gives himself up.

Wednesday, October 8th, 1975

A new lawyer John MacCallum is retained to defend Erin Walsh. The trial is set to start on October 15th. MacCallum is concerned with the limited time he has to prepare. He contacts the trial judge to suggest postponing the trial. His request is denied.

Friday, October 17, 1975

The hostage taking garnered attention from the media.

After four days of trial, the jury retires. One hour later, the jury reaches their verdict. They find Erin Walsh guilty of non-capital murder, under section 218 (2) of the Criminal Code of Canada and he is sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole before ten years.

1982

After a New Brunswick ministerial review of his case, Walsh is finally granted an appeal. His appeal lawyer is Eric Teed of Saint John. Walsh's appeal is denied.

2005

Thirty years after his conviction, Erin Walsh uses New Brunswick's access to information laws. The Provincial Archives gives him a copy of his full case file. It's here that he sees for the first time the Titus report, the CNR statements (see right), the Valardo statement.

2006

Based on this new evidence, Erin Walsh asks the Minister of Justice for a formal review of his conviction.

February 22, 2008

Canada's Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson orders the New Brunswick court of appeal to review his case. Through a statement which appeared on the Ministry's website, he said "I am satisfied there is a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred in Mr. Walsh's 1975 conviction. ... Mr. Walsh has submitted relevant new evidence that might have affected the verdict at his trial. He is therefore entitled to a remedy."

A few hours later, the Attorney General of New Brunswick Thomas J. Burke released a statement agreeing that it is possible that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred in Erin Walsh's trial.

On March 14, 2008, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal will decide to either overturn Erin Walsh's murder conviction and declare him innocent or to have the legal proceeding against him stayed.

PAGE 1 : 2