INDEPTH: ROBERT BALTOVICH
Baltovich trial: 'Fresh evidence'
CBC News Online | September 21, 2004
Robert Baltovich
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Lawyers for a man convicted of killing his girlfriend say police should have considered sex killer Paul Bernardo a more likely suspect in the case.
Robert Baltovich served eight years in prison for the second-degree murder of Elizabeth Bain. He was paroled in 2000 amid questions about the investigation that led to his trial and conviction.
In September 2004, Baltovich's lawyers argued before the Ontario Court of Appeal that "fresh evidence" had emerged that would clear Baltovich – and that points to Bernardo.
A legal submission by Baltovich's defence team reveals some of the new evidence in the case. It was unsealed for the first time on Sept. 20, 2004, and describes evidence that Bernardo was acquainted with Bain and was seen at her university campus the day she disappeared.
"The evidence was not available at the time of the trial, nor could its relevance possibly have been known," the submission states. It adds that the Scarborough rapist "is not only a plausible suspect, but the likely perpetrator of Elizabeth Bain's murder."
The defence at Baltovich's original trial in 1992 raised the idea of the Scarborough rapist as a possible suspect in Bain's disappearance, but prosecutors discounted the theory. They argued that the then unidentified sexual predator had neither abducted nor murdered his victims.
Among the new allegations from Baltovich's defence team:
- Bain's disappearance on June 19, 1990, happened shortly after Bernardo's last admitted rape and prior to the first murder he's known to have committed.
- Both Bain and Bernardo attended Scarborough's University of Toronto campus.
- All of Bernardo's rapes occurred within blocks of the campus where Bain was last seen alive.
- A woman saw a man who resembled a composite sketch of the Scarborough rapist at the campus on the afternoon Bain disappeared from the same area.
- Bernardo and Bain had been briefly introduced to each other at a Scarborough church in the mid-1980s.
- Bernardo once erupted in a rage after discovering that one of his girlfriends had a crush on Bain's brother.
- Bernardo had sexual encounters with former girlfriends in the park where Bain went missing.
- A few weeks before she vanished Bain was seen in a restaurant with a man who resembled Bernardo.
- After her disappearance, Bain's car was spotted at a chicken restaurant on Highway 7, near Port Perry – a restaurant Bernardo is said to have frequented.
- Bain's abandoned car was later found in Scarborough with the radio tuned to Bernardo's favorite station – and with his favorite brand of cigarettes inside.
Baltovich's defence team also cites a report that lay buried in police files until 1999. One of his lawyers, James Lockyer, claims it's a key piece of evidence that provides "virtual proof of his innocence."
The report confirms a longstanding claim made by Baltovich – that on the night of Bain's disappearance he headed to her classroom at 9 p.m. to wait for her to come out.
Thinking his girlfriend may have been meeting someone else after her class, Baltovich later told police, he had hidden himself on a second-floor balcony while he waited.
Bain never emerged from her class, but Baltovich described to police another man he had spotted waiting outside the classroom.
At Baltovich's first trial, prosecutors said he'd made up the story. They argued he had no reason to wait for Bain at her class because he had killed her earlier that evening – by 7 p.m. The prosecution dismissed Baltovich's story as a false alibi since there were no witnesses to support it.
But the police report reveals that an officer had verified Baltovich's story. The report says the officer found the man Baltovich had described – and confirmed a match between the clothing he wore that night and Baltovich's description of him.
Baltovich's lawyers say this points to their client's innocence – if Baltovich had shown up at his girlfriend's class to create an alibi, he would have made sure someone saw him there.
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| NEWS ARCHIVE: |
Court orders new trial for Baltovich (December 2, 2004)
Baltovich, Bain argued before she disappeared: Crown (September 28, 2004)
Baltovich properly convicted, Crown argues (September 24, 2004)
Judge offers opinion in Baltovich appeal (September 23, 2004)
Baltovich lawyers link case to Bernardo (September 21, 2004)
Police had 'tunnel vision' on Baltovich, lawyer says (September 20, 2004)
Baltovich released on bail pending appeal (March 31, 2000)
Man appeals murder conviction, says Bernardo did it (March 29, 2000)
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