MAP OF THE SCENE: See
a graphic illustration of the journey Steven Truscott
said he took that day. More
THE POLICE INVESTIGATION:
It took the police only 24 hours after Lynn Harper's
body was found to arrest Steven Truscott. No other
suspects were seriously investigated. The police
records indicate that there was no attempt to check
police records or military records for known sex
offenders. More
TIME OF DEATH:
If there was one thing that convinced the jury of
Steven Truscott's guilt, it was the medical evidence.
The medical doctors who testified
for the prosecution spoke with a certitude that
left no room for doubt in the minds of the jury,
testifying with inspired confidence that Lynn Harper
had died during the half-hour or so that she'd
been with Steven Truscott. But the fifth estate
uncovered evidence that indicated otherwise. More
THE INJURIES: Doctors
testified that Lynn Harper was a victim of a "blind,
violent rape." The jury was undoubtedly influenced
by their graphic description of the extent of her
injuries. They also testified that Steven Truscott
had huge lesions on his penis. But how accurate
was their testimony? More
JOCELYN GAUDET'S STORY:
Jocelyn Gaudet, a classmate, claimed that on the
day before the murder, Truscott had made a secret
date to meet her in the bush ... suggesting that
his teenage hormones were on the boil.The alleged
date would become crucial evidence against him --
painting Truscott as boy on the prowl, desperate
to lure any girl he could. But how credible was
Gaudet? More
GORD LOGAN: If Truscott and Lynn crossed
the bridge taking Lynn north to the highway, he
could not have killed her in the bush which was
south of the bridge. And two witnesses insisted
they saw them crossing the bridge ... riding double
on his bike. One was Gordon Logan who was 12, fishing
in the river. He told police he looked up and saw
Steven and Lynn ride by.
Later, when it became crucial to Steven's
alibi, the police said he made it up to protect
his friend ... that the bridge was too far away
to see anybody on it clearly. But the fifth estate
discovered police records indicating the opposite.
More
PHILIP BURNS STORY:
Of the dozen of children and adults on the county
road that hot June evening, nobody could reliably
place Steven in or near the bush where Lynn's body
was later found.
Then the police introduced some interesting
reverse logic ... to prove that Steven and Lynn
had gone into the bush, they only had to prove that
at some point they WEREN'T on the road. Philip Burns
a ten year-old boy was on the road that night and
testified that he didn't meet them. More
THE FOOTPRINT: The prosecution also made
much of the testimony of an alleged footprint -
spotted, they said, by one of the searchers, Flying
Officer Glen Sage. The crown prosecutor insisted,
- the evidence is clear, these were his shoes. Court
testimony showed that the - marks -- not even footprints
-- were never matched by the police to Truscott's
shoes - or any shoes for that matter. More
THE BICYCLE TRACK MARK: The
prosecution claimed that bicycle tire marks found
near the bush were "similar" to Steve's
bike. But those marks were probably a month old.
The pictures show the ground was parch dry and it
had not rained in a month. More
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