Tragic Endings: Roy McGregor and George Smith

© 2021, Christian Cassidy

Roy Ewan McGregor and George Robert Smith were thirteen-year-old boys from Winnipeg who likely never set eyes on each other. Their names are forever linked by a pair of senseless murders that took place seventy-five years ago.

The McEwan family of 149 Clark Street was originally from Morris, Manitoba and moved to Winnipeg in 1942. Allister McGregor was an engine man for the CNR.

Their son, Roy, was grade seven student at Earl Grey School. He was also a paper boy, air cadet, school patrol, hockey player and often swam at the YMCA. His mother said, "He was into everything .... He enjoyed every minute of living."

On the night of Friday, January 4, 1946, Roy and a friend went to see a movie at a downtown cinema. After the movie, they stopped at for a milkshake at 103 Osborne Street then left the shop on foot and soon parted ways to go to their respective homes.

Mrs. McGregor looks at photo of Roy.
January 8, 1946, Winnipeg Tribune.

When Roy didn't arrive home by 11:00 p.m. his mother called the friend's house. He told her that he did not know where Roy would have gone other than straight home. At 11:45 p.m. the McGregors called the police.

Patrol cars searched the neighbourhood and officers knocked on the doors of nearby homes. One lady on Stradbrook Avenue said she heard a couple of bangs around 11:45 p.m. but couldn't see anything when she looked out the window. That was the only unusual event reported to police that night.

At around 7:00 a.m. the following morning, 66-year-old Roman Kilback showed up for work at Moore's Fuel Yard located across the street from the McGregor home at 158 Clark Street. He turned on the overhead lights to illuminate the bins of coal and wood for sale and discovered the body of a small boy huddled near one of them.

January 7, 1946, Winnipeg Tribune

Police confirmed that the body was that of Roy McGregor and that he had been shot in the stomach and through the head. A pool of blood was found at the end of the yard nearest Stradbrook Avenue where a spur rail line and empty boxcar were located. There were signs that the body was dragged deeper into the yard to hide it amongst the bins. 

Police used a war surplus mine detector to look under the snow and found the spent casing of a 9 mm bullet that they later confirmed was fired from a Canadian-made John Inglis Browning automatic pistol. That was the only substantial piece of evidence discovered at the scene.

The city's entire police force was called in to work the weekend to find the shooter but there was very little to go on. Chief George Smith said it was a "very unusual and ghastly crime" in that it appeared to be a random attack by a single gunman.

Despite the general opinion that earlier decades were more innocent times, violent murders - even those of children - were not unheard of. Some high profile child killings in the previous couple of decades included Rose Eiler in 1939, Julia Johnson in 1928, and Lola Cowan in 1927.

January 8, 1946, Winnipeg Tribune

On the Tuesday after the murder, police went to five Fort Rouge schools where the boys were assembled in the auditorium and told to be wary of a strange man.

It was thought that there may be a link between the murder and instances of a man who had been approaching boys in the Fort Rouge area. He asked them for a certain address, then insisted that they accompany him to that location. Police said he may be a "pervert" or "sex maniac" but didn't elaborate as to why, (or the media chose not to report the details). 

The warning about the murder and the "pervert" was also sent to communities throughout Manitoba and Northwest Ontario as it was thought the man could have fled town to escape the manhunt.

The city grieved along with the McGregor family at Roy's funeral on Thursday, January 10th. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery.

Despite a $1,000 reward for information, ($500 from the Winnipeg Police Commission and $500 from the Winnipeg Free Press as he was a paperboy for them), no tips of note came in and the story faded from the headlines.

An increased police presence was noticed by some at outdoor skating rinks and other places that boys liked to hang out in the weeks following the murder. The Winnipeg Tribune's James Anderson wrote in his column that: "...parents had the jitters in Winnipeg and youngsters were genuinely nervous."

September 19, 1946, Winnipeg Tribune

The McGregor murder was again thrust into the headlines in September 1946 when 13-year-old George Smith of 585 Home Street was murdered.

George looked young for his age - his mother said people often mistook him for being ten. He played piano and the accordion and was a caring boy who once found a pigeon with an injured wing and brought it home to nurse back to health.

On the night of September 18, 1946, George attended his first boy scout meeting with the 23rd troop just a block away at what was then Home Street United Church, (now Home Street Mennonite Church). At the last minute he decided not to take his bike and set off on foot.

George was last seen by friends walking home from the church around 10:00 p.m. after they parted ways at St. Mattthews Avenue and Home Street. When he did not arrive home by 11:00 p.m. the Smiths called police who sent patrol cars to the area to keep an eye out for him. The family called again at 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. but the boy had not been located.

September 19, 1946, Winnipeg Tribune

At around 7:00 that morning, a neighbour of the Smiths was driving down the back lane of Home Street to go to work and found a boy's body near a garage.

Police confirmed that it was George Smith and discovered that he was killed by a single bullet to the back. He had been stripped of his shirt, which was found a short distance away, and it appeared as if someone tried to bind his ankles with the belt from a raincoat. There was evidence that after being shot the boy dragged himself for a few meters down the lane before collapsing.

Police chief George Smith, (no relation to the victim), told the press: "Everything points to this case being the work of the same man who shot Roy McGregor". Later that day the provincial coroner said: "It looks very much like one of those sexual cases like the McGregor case."

The police force dropped everything to catch the now two-time murderer. Taxi cabs were booked for the day so that every available officer and detective could fan out around the West End to knock on doors and set up roadblocks. Newspapers called it the city's largest manhunt since the Gorilla Strangler back in 1927.

A distraught Mrs. Smith told the Tribune, "Why did it have to happen? He was so well liked ... a good student ... and loved by all in the neighbourhood. His stamps and chemistry set would keep him in the house most of the time. Why did it have to happen?"

George Smith's funeral was September 23rd. He was buried at Brookside Cemetery.

September 24, 1946, Winnipeg Tribune

As with the McGregor murder, few clues were found at the crime scene and the door knocking campaign and roadblocks yielded nothing.

Winnipeg police sent information about the murders far and wide. More than 2,000 posters were put up around the Winnipeg area offering a reward of up to $7,000, ($5,000 from the city, $1,000 from the Police Commission and $1,000 from the Tribune), for information that led to an arrest. Police forces across the country were notified and the particulars were published in the February 1947 edition of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Chief Smith also spoke about the murders at an International Police Chiefs conference in Mexico later that year.

A couple of suspects, sex offenders from Hamilton, Ontario and London, Ontario, were questioned but both had alibis. Then a tip came in from Port Arthur, now Thunder Bay, Ontario.

August 9, 1947, Winnipeg Free Press

Two men held up Palm Dairies in Port Arthur on June 30, 1947, and were arrested at the train station as they waited to return to Winnipeg. One of them, 22-year-old Michael Angelo Vescio, was found to be in possession of a Browning automatic gun and a list of what appeared to be names and addresses of Winnipeg boys.

Port Arthur police chief George Taylor contacted Winnipeg police to see if Vescio might be wanted for anything in the city. At the request of the Winnipeg force, the Port Arthur police fired the gun and sent the casing to the RCMP crime lab in Regina. The spent casing from the Winnipeg murder scene was also forwarded to the lab for comparison. They were a match.

Vescio was returned to Winnipeg where, according to police, he confessed to the murders while being held at the Rupert Street jail. On Saturday, August 19, 1947, he was charged with two counts of murder. (Despite the headline, there were no sex crime charges laid.)

Those who knew Vescio were shocked at the news of his arrest.

Vescio was a motor transport driver with the Royal Canadian Army Services Corps from 1944 until his discharge in April 1947. Former colleagues described him as friendly with a colourful imagination. He would never stay out late drinking with fellow soldiers and told them off for wolf-whistling women.

Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Wright owned the Rose Street rooming house where Vescio lived while he was in the army. Mr. Wright described him as a, "... shy and reserved, a man who seldom drank and never swore. Everyone liked him."

The Wrights said Vescio never went out late, with he exception of catching a movie downtown, and that he preferred to stay home and read when the other soldiers living at the house went for a night on the town. He often ate supper with the elderly couple. They treated him like a son, and he called them Mum and Dad.

October 8, 1947, Winnipeg Free Press

In October 1947, the preliminary hearing into both murders got underway in a packed courtroom at the central police station on Rupert Avenue. By this time, Vescio was already serving a three-year sentence for the dairy robbery.

One item that came to light was the sexual nature of the crimes. It was confirmed that the state of McGregor's clothing indicated that he had been "criminally assaulted" prior to his murder and there was an attempt to criminally assault Smith before he was killed.

Three boys testified at the hearing about being accosted by a man in the Hugo Street and McMillan Avenue area in 1945. They were very brave as, like all witnesses, they were identified by full name, age and address in the press.

The stories were very similar, starting with a man asking them for help them find an address and ending in a back lane. In two of the cases a gun was produced and the boys were pulled into a secluded space where "certain incidents" took place. The man chillingly said to one victim: "you Canadian boys are more appealing than the German boys". The man ran off after each assault.

Only one of the boys, aged 12, enthusiastically identified Vescio in court. The others could only agree that he strongly resembled the man who attacked them.

The testimony of the boys, the ballistics comparison of the bullet casings, and Vescio's statement of guilt made after his arrest, were enough to proceed to a full trial for the murder of George Smith the following month and for Roy McGregor at the next session of court in February 1947.

Vescio entering court in October 1947 (Winnipeg Tribune)

The trail began on Monday, November 17, 1947 in front of E. K. Williams, Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench.

Vescio's counsel did not dispute that he shot Smith but said his client should be charged with manslaughter, not murder. The defendant did not speak for himself, but comments made to officers after his arrest were read into testimony.

Vescio claimed that he went on a long walk on the night of the murder and bought a bottle of alcohol that he drank in Vimy Memorial Park until he felt sick and dizzy. He was going to stop at a store at Home and Arlington to call for someone to pick him up but the store was packed and he instead continued walking down Home Street.

When Vescio saw Smith, he claimed he asked the boy if he could use the phone at his house. The boy said something to the effect that his father would not allow a drunk in the house. This angered Vescio who grabbed the boy and they struggled. When Vescio slipped on some clay, Smith tried to break free and that is when his shirt got ripped off.

Vescio then claimed that he fell to the ground which caused the gun in his coat to fire and it hit Smith in the back. His fear and cowardice led him to flee rather than call for help. There was no explanation as to why the boy's ankles were partially bound.

November 25, 1947, Winnipeg Tribune

The case was given to the jury on the morning of November 24, 1947, and just 35 minutes later it returned with a guilty verdict. Justice Williams sentenced Vescio to hang. When asked if he had anything to say, Vescio rose and said he didn't.

The Vescio family, a brother and two sisters from Port Arthur, tried every avenue of appeal open to them. The final step came on October 8, 1948, when it was heard by the Supreme Court of Canada. On November 2nd, it dismissed his appeal for a new trial and it was certain that Vescio would hang.

Vescio's death sentence meant that the McGregor family would never get their day in court. The murder charge related to Roy McGregor was eventually dropped from the court's schedule.

At 1:02 a.m. on Friday, November 19, 1948, Michael Angleo Vescio, now 24, was hanged at Headingley Jail. He was pronounced dead 15 minutes later. Media reports said that Vescio was calm on the gallows and had no final words to say.

It was rumoured that in his final days Vescio confessed to both murders and gave details of the deaths. This was confirmed in a 1950 annual report of the provincial jail system.

More from the Tragic Endings series.

Tragic Endings: James M Boyd of Young Street

© 2020, Christian Cassidy

Tragic Endings: In this series I try to piece together the lives of Manitobans who died well before their time. Most of the information comes from newspaper stories as things like court or inquest documents no longer exist. As a result, there will be gaps in the life stories and errors in reporting or prejudices of the day may be repeated.

If you have additional information about any of these lives, please feel free to contact me at cassidy-at-mts.net

James Montgomery Boyd of Winnipeg (1905 - 1923)

James Montgomery Boyd was born in South Africa in 1905 to Scottish parents Mary and Alexander Boyd. His brother Alex, two years his junior, was also born in Scotland. (This could mean that Alex Sr. was a military man as the 1916 Canadian census shows him at Camp Hughes and 1905 would have been shortly after the Boer War.)

While Alex was at Camp Hughes the family lived at 344 Magnus Avenue in the North End. By the early 1920s they had relocated to the Davidson Block at 328 Young Street, now demolished, with Alex working as a clerk at customs broker McLandress Wallace in the Curry Building on Portage Avenue.

As for James, he worked as a clerk at the Ogilvie Flour Mill on Higgins Avenue and was described in one paper as "popular in sporting and athletic circles."

The yellow star marks Landowne Avenue at the Red River

On Sunday, April 29, 1923, James and Alex Jr. were walking along the bank of the Red River near the foot of Lansdowne Avenue when they noticed a man pick up a "protesting Airedale Terrier" and toss it into the near freezing water. The current immediately pulled the struggling dog to the centre of the river.

James, who was a dog lover, removed his coat and boots and jumped in to rescue it. Before long, he was also pulled to the centre of the river and cried out for help. Alex tried to go in after him but got caught in some barbed wire in the bed of the river and onlookers had to help extricate him.

April 30, 1923, Winnipeg Tribune

By the time police arrived there was nothing that could be done other than to notify the lock master at the St. Andrews Lock and Dam to keep an eye out for the body.

The man who was seen by numerous witnesses throwing the dog into the water managed to slip away during the excitement. Police made a public plea to identify him, but he never was found. (The dog managed to make it back to shore further down river and survived its ordeal, so there wouldn't be much in the way of charges that could have been brought against him.)

May 21, 1923, Winnipeg Tribune

It turns out that James' body did not make it as far as Lockport.

Nearly a month later, on May 19, 1923, his body was discovered on the shore of Keenora Park, (now Hyland Provincial Park), on the west bank of the Red River just north of Middlechurch in West St. Paul. It was turned over to acting provincial coroner Dr. Cameron who waived the need for an inquest and then forwarded to Thomson's undertaking parlour on Main Street.

May 22, 1923, Winnipeg Tribune

James Boyd's funeral was held at 2:30 pm on May 23, 1923 at Thompson's Funeral Chapel.

An additional wrinkle to this tragedy was that his mother, Mary Boyd, was away in Scotland visiting family when James died. She was on the long journey home when the body was discovered and was expected to arrive back in the city the day of the funeral.

Tragic Endings: Rose Eiler of Winnipeg

© 2019, Christian Cassidy

Tragic Endings: In this series I try to piece together the lives of Manitobans who died well before their time. Most of the information comes from newspaper stories as things like court or inquest documents no longer exist. As a result, there will be gaps in the life stories and errors in reporting or prejudices of the day may be repeated.

If you have additional information about any of these lives, please feel free to contact me at cassidy-at-mts.net

Rose Marie Eiler of Winnipeg (1933-1939)

January 25, 1939, Winnipeg Tribune

From the outset, news about the murder of six-year-old Rose Eiler was as bizarre as it was shocking.

Stephen Eiler, Rose's father, was an unemployed brick layer living at a rooming house at 243 Young Street. On the evening of January 24, 1939, he was playing cards with the resident owners of the house in their suite while Rose and her younger sister, Joan, slept in their beds. Also with them was his live-in housekeeper, Kay Rykunyk, 24.

Eiler returned to his suite around 10:30 p.m. to find Rose dead on her bed with a pair of her panties stuffed in her mouth. Rykunyk was bound, gagged and tied to a table. Youngest daughter Joan was unharmed and asleep in her bed.

Initial news stories were based on what Rykunyk told police happened that night.

She said a tall man in a long, brown coat with a sallow complexion entered the suite around 9:00 p.m. demanding to see "papers to do with the divorce". When Rykunyk told him she didn't know what he was talking about, she was knocked to the ground, tied up, and gagged while the man ransacked the place. She said she was too scared to cry out.

During the commotion, Rose woke up and began crying. The man stuffed a pair of her panties in her mouth to shut her up and bound her hands and feet. He then grabbed some papers and left.

As the the manhunt began, Rykunyk was brought to General Hospital suffering from shock and Mr. Eiler was taken to police headquarters for questioning.

Eiler told detectives that he had received a letter in the mail that day from a man named "Jack Evans". He claimed to have information that would help in the divorce and that Eiler should meet him at 8:00 p.m. any night that week at the Stock Exchange Hotel to find out more. Eiler said he went that night but there was no man there by that name.

Having already arranged for Rykunyk to watch the children, when Eiler returned to the house he visited with the home's owners and socialized.

Police also questioned the resident owners and other tenants who all said they heard nothing. Some expressed surprise at this as they were just meters away and awake at the time.

Mrs. Rose Eiler

Another character in Rose Eiler's story was the mother, Rose Eiler. According to Manitoba Vital Statistics website, she and Mr. Eiler were married on June 4, 1932 in Winnipeg. Rose, their first child, arrived January 8, 1933 and Joan was born the following January.

Mrs. Eiler told a Winnipeg Tribune reporter that they had separated in April 1935 and she initially got custody of the children. She then got sick and spent nine months in hospital. While she was there, a judge granted sole custody to Mr. Eiler in November 1935. Mr. Eiler filed for divorce in November 1938 citing abandonment on her part.

Since her release from hospital Mrs. Eiler had been convalescing at the home of her parents on Trent Avenue in East Kildonan. She said she hadn't seen her children since the summer and did not know  who the mystery man or Jack Evans could be.

What appeared to be the start of a drawn-out investigation and manhunt came to an abrupt end at noon on Thursday, January 26 when police chief George Smith told the press "We've got the man and woman. It's a Greek tragedy". They were Stephen Eiler and Kay Rykunyk.

The couple was held on a coroner's warrant until after the coroner's inquest, at which time they would be formally charged. Police provided little additional information other than to say that it was a statement given to them by Rykunyk from her hospital bed that led to the announcement.

Joan, left, and Rose Eiler

As for Rose Eiler, little was written about her as she had just started her life.

It was said that she and Joan were close as their father moved around a lot for his job and usually to places without other children. She attended Elim Chapel Sunday School off and on. It was four children from the Sunday school that acted as her pallbearers.

One of the teachers at the school said that Rose was shy and very close to her father. She had been off school for two weeks earlier the month with tonsillitis and insisted on walking to the school with her father so that she could tell the teacher in person why she had to be away.

The Saturday following her murder there was to have been a birthday party for Rose. She was born on January 8th but had to postpone festivities due to her tonsillitis. The aprty would be shared with Joan what was also born in January.

Mr. Eiler had not yet been charges, so was free to attend the funeral at Thompson's Funeral Home on Broadway. He did so under police escort for his own safety. He and Mrs. Eiler, who was distraught and sobbed throughout the ceremony, did not acknowledge each other. Kay Rykunyk did not attend.

Both newspapers reported that thousands of people came out to attend the funeral, most had to mill around outside the funeral home.

After the ceremony, Rose was buried in a small white coffin at Brookside Cemetery.

February 4, 1939, Winnipeg Tribune

The coroner's inquest took place in early February and heard from fifteen witnesses, including doctors, neighbours and police officers, but it was the testimony of Kay Rykunyk that everyone wanted to hear.

Rykunyk was still feeling the effects of her ordeal. She broke down on the stand to the point that she could not testify. Instead, the statement she gave to police in hospital was read out.

She said that Stephen Eiler was frustrated that his divorce proceedings were stalled. His lawyer had told him the fact that Eiler and Rykunyk were living together for months at numerous different addresses around the province made it difficult for him to claim abandonment.

Eiler then came up with a hoax that he felt would speed matters up by making it appear that Mrs. Eiler and her new boyfriend were trying to use strong arm tactics against him.

Eiler got Rykunyk to write the Jack Evans note mailed to their address. Before he left to go to the hotel, (hotel staff testified that they had seen him there around 8:00 p.m. asking for a Jack Evans), the two messed up their suite to make it look as if it had been ransacked.

Rykunyk waited for Eiler to return then sneaked him into the house so that the other occupants would not hear him come in. They they returned to the suite, bound and gagged Rose then Rykunyk. Rykunyk said it was Eiler who bound Rose, she just held the little girl's feet up as they were tied. She cried out a little, according to Rykunyk.

Eiler then went to the owner's suite to play cards for a while before returning home.

The last sentence of Rykunyk's statement read: "I had no intention of killing Rose Marie and this thing was only done to speed up Steve's divorce."

It was unclear from the statement whether Rykunyk realized that Rose stopped breathing. A doctor testified that Rose's tonsillectomy of a couple of weeks earlier may made her throat more prone to swelling than usual.

Steve Eiler was not called to testify.

In the end, the coroner's jury concluded, in part: "From the evidence adduced, we the jury find the said suffocation of the girl was caused by having been gagged and said gag having been placed in her mouth by her father, Steve Eiler."   The following morning, both Eiler and Rykunyk were charged with manslaughter.

May 17, 1939, Winnipeg Tribune

The two had separate trials that took place in May 1939.

Eiler pleaded not guilt and did not testify at his own trial, but Kay Rykunyk did and her story had not changed. A jury found Eiler guilty after just 45 minutes of deliberation.

Mr. Justice Donovan said: "This is not a case for a heavy sentence. Eiler's chief fault was his foolhardiness. It really might be termed a neglect case." He was later sentenced to nine months in jail.

Rykunyk pleaded guilty at her trial and was considered only an accomplice in the death. She received a suspended sentence.

June 21, 1939, Winnipeg Tribune 

In a final, sad twist to the story of the death of Rose Eiler is that Stephen Eiler committed suicide in his cell at Headlingley Jail at around 4:00 a.m. on June 21, 1939. The jail's governor said that Eiler appeared to be brooding over the death of his daughter more than usual the previous day. Newspaper stories do not mention a suicide note.

As for the other people in the story, any newspaper mentions of them end at the end of the trial.

Soon after the murder, little Joan initially went to live with an aunt on her mother's side. Both the aunt and a police source in late January said that Joan had woken up during the commotion but was too scared to move. She was still terrified of the "man with the dirty face" who was in the apartment that night and too young to understand that her father and Rose were not coming home.

Before the coroner's inquest began in February Mrs. Eiler applied for custody of Joan. After the inquest found him the cause of Rose's death she filed for divorce citing adultery.

A search of variations of the names of Mrs. Eiler, including using her maiden name and her mother's last name, turn up no news stories. The same can be said for Joan. 

One can only hope that they managed to find some sort of peace and happiness with new names and, perhaps, in a new city.

(Updated: See the comments section below for more information about Joan)

Read coverage of the death at the U of M's Tribune archives:
Jan 25, 1939, Winnipeg Tribune
Jan 26, 1939, Winnipeg Tribune
Feb 4, 1939, Winnipeg Tribune

Tragic Endings: Agla Bjarnason of Langruth

© 2018, Christian Cassidy

Tragic Endings: In this series I try to piece together the lives of Manitobans who died well before their time. Most of the information comes from newspaper stories as things like court or inquest documents no longer exist. As a result, there will be gaps in the life stories and errors in reporting or prejudices of the day may be repeated.

If you have additional information about any of these lives, please feel free to contact me at cassidy-at-mts.net

Agla Bjarnason of Langruth (1900 - 1920)

The story of Agla Bjarnason shows how quickly the justice system worked "back in the day". Even the case of a mysterious death could be wrapped up in a matter of a couple of days, including the coroner's inquest. This seemed especially true when it came to dealing with the deaths of non-British stock immigrants.

Did the speed at which this young woman's case was ruled a suicide provide swift closure for the Bjarnason family or did it allow someone got away with murder?

Top: 184 Balmoral in 2015 (Google Street View)

Bottom: June 1920 ad, Winnipeg Free Press

Agla Bjarnason was born April 7, 1900, near Langruth, Manitoba in the Rural Municipality of Westbourne, (now known as the R. M. of WestLake – Gladstone), to Mr. and Mrs. Helgi Bjarnason. (Note that the Winnipeg papers spelled her first name A-l-g-a, but her death certificate and grave marker read A-g-l-a, so I will use the latter.) She was one of three sisters.

Around 1917, Agla came to Winnipeg to find work. She initially settled at a boarding house at 434 Langside Street and by 1919 was living at another house at 444 Spence Street. In the summer of 1920, she moved once again to 184 Balmoral Street where she was one of around six people who rented out bedrooms in a private family home.

Agla worked as a bookkeeper at Buckler and Son's, a boot and shoe wholesaler located at 84 Princess Street at McDermot, (the building is now now known as 78 - 84 Princess, having been subdivided a number of times over the century.) Buckler shared the building with Redmond Co. Ltd., a men's clothing wholesaler, but had its own entrance from the street.

Victor Buckler managed the wholesale division and a number of other Bucklers operated a retail outlet called the Cut Rate American Shoe Store on Main Street.

Agla was last seen around 9:30 p.m. on the night of Wednesday, September 29, 1920 by the night watchman at Buckler and Sons. The two chatted briefly about the fact that she was working late, which is something she often did.

At around 1:25 a. m. Winnipeg police constable Gibson was patrolling the street and checking locks when he noticed that the light was still on in the Buckler office and the front door was slightly ajar.

Gibson entered the office and saw Agla sitting in the office chair with her back towards the entrance. He commented that she was working very late, but got no response. When he moved further into the room he saw that Agla was dead with a gunshot wound to her right breast. A12-guage shotgun was lying on the floor beside her.

Agla was seated normally in the chair with her feet on the floor and her arms on the armrests. Her head was tilted 'naturally' to the left. There were no signs of a struggle.

September 30, 1920, Winnipeg Tribune

Initially, police suspected that this might be a homicide and numerous officers and provincial coroner Dr. Benjamin James McConnell were called to the scene.

Police fanned out to interview Agla's housemates and coworkers. All said that she was a "good girl" with no bad habits, no debt issues, and no enemies. Many noted that she was shy and had not made a lot of friends in the city.

A "J. Buckler", likely John, one of her bosses at the retail store, told the Tribune: "She was an excellent bookkeeper and a quiet girl of excellent reputation."

October 4, 1920, Winnipeg Tribune

The only piece of evidence that police had to work with was the shotgun.

Some officers were sent around to local pawn shops and sporting goods stores to see if they recognized the gun as one they had sold recently. Initially, none claimed they had.

During the search of Agla's bedsit officers found an image of Agla, (above), in overalls using a 12-guage shot gun that they felt certain was the same gun found at her side.

Also in her bedroom was a letter. One account said that it had been torn up and had to be pieced together by investigators. The contents of the letter, which were never made public, sealed the case for the police.

After an investigation that "extended over several hours", (one newspaper story reported that a whole 60 man-hours of police work had gone into it), Winnipeg Police Chief Chris Newton declared the death a suicide on the morning of Friday, October 1, 1920.

October 1, 1920, Winnipeg Tribune

The Tribune took more of an interest in covering the details of Agla Bjarnason's death than the Free Press and their reporter continuously raised questions in his stories. (There was no byline on the Tribune's four main stories written about her death, but I will assume the reporter was a "he".)

In his story about Newton's announcement, the reporter posed a rhetorical question: how could a young woman hold a shotgun, shoot herself in the breast and be found sitting upright in her chair? He also pointed out that while none of the acquaintances police spoke to gave them any reason to believe someone would want to harm Agla, they also didn't consider her suicidal.

The Free Press' main story about the investigation quoted the police chief and provided comments attributed to coroner McConnell and Dr. Gordon Bell, the province's bacteriologist, all of whom had a chance to examine the body. They agreed that suicide from "despondency" or mental illness was the only possible conclusion.

Dr. B. J. McConnell (source)

On the night of October 1, 1920, Dr. McConnell convened a coroner's jury and the body was viewed at Bardal's funeral home. The inquest was then postponed until October 6 so that Agla's parents could make it in to Winnipeg from The Narrows where they were staying at the time of her death.

The inquest lasted two days and heard from a total of 27 witnesses including Agla's sister and a brother, co-workers, police, and medical experts. The hearing was supposed to lay out all the facts so that the jury could determine the official cause of death. This one raised additional questions.

On the first day of the inquest, Constable Charles Gillis testified that on the morning of September 29, the day before Agla's death, he was patrolling the neighbourhood and checking that doors were secure. He noticed at the Buckler and Sons building that there was a nail in the door frame under the latch, (presumably to keep it from latching shut). Gillis said he reported it to the manager who seemed surprised.

The last man to see Agla alive was D. H. McIntyre, the block's night watchman for the previous twelve years, who saw her in the office that night around 9:30 p.m.. He testified that they said very little to each other when they met and that it wasn't unusual for her to work late and often with the office door unlocked.

McIntyre said a security bar had recently been installed inside the front door at his request so that staff working late could better secure the premises. He testified that he last checked the door at around 11:00 p.m. and it was secure. Though the light inside the office was still on, he did not knock or go inside.

October 7, 1920, Winnipeg Tribune, (headline after day one of inquest)

The Tribune noted that members of the police force called to testify had differing opinions about whether or not Agla committed suicide.

Officer Gibson thought it was possible that she put the butt of the shotgun on the floor and used the toe or heel of her soft shoe to push the trigger. Sargent James Hoskins admitted that he didn't know how she managed it, but felt there was no doubt that she committed suicide. Another constable said he had no opinion on whether it was suicide or not.

A third policeman, Inspector John Street, declared: "In my opinion it was a physical impossibility" for the death to be suicide as the gun barrel was too long for her foot to reach. He tried to demonstrate that the toe of her shoe was too wide to fit into the trigger housing from above - she would have needed a much longer leg to extend it away from the gun so that her foot could enter the housing from the side. 

Street concluded that even if Agla had figured out a way to discharge the weapon herself, she would have had to contort her body to the point that there was no way she would have been found sitting normally in the chair with the gun resting on the floor beside her.

1921 Henderson Directory

As for the gun itself, police finally did track down a sporting goods shopkeeper who said he remembered selling the gun to Agla. John Farquhar said she looked at the gun on the Saturday before her death and on Monday came back to purchase it.

The shopkeeper described Agla as cheerful, but "not exactly a sociable type" and that she didn't say why she wanted the gun. He noted that Agla was familiar with firearms, stating: "She knew more about the gun than I did."

October 1, 1920, Winnipeg Free Press

The all-important note found in Agla's bedroom was discussed in detail on the second day of the inquest.

Mr. R. Frayer, a clerk with the coroner's office, was one of the officials that went to Agla's suite after the body was discovered. He testified that he found the torn up letter that helped to seal the suicide conclusion. (The coroner would not let the letter be read publicly, so the jury was moved to an ante room and had it read to them there.)

The question then turned to who wrote the note.

Agla's brother, sister, coworker and a housemate were all asked to examine the handwriting.  The relatives and housemate said it was similar to Agla's, but wouldn't swear that it was hers. The coworker said it definitely wasn't Agla's.

Dr. McConnell sent a Buckler staff member to the company's office to fetch samples of Agla's handwriting so that he could see for himself. The best he could do was say that the writing "resembled" hers, noting that the mental duress she must have been under likely caused some differences in penmanship.

October 7, 1920, Winnipeg Free Press, (headline after day one of inquest)

For those who thought foul play was involved there was not much in the way of suspects or motives brought up at the inquest.

Agla had been on a two-week vacation back home and just returned to work the week of her death. If something at home had upset her it wasn't mentioned by her family, (or at least not reported in the coverage of their testimony.)

Agla's landlady testified that Agla was out late the night before her death, apparently at the Orpheum Theatre, which was unusual as she was normally a homebody during the week. She also said that she was certain that Agla had no boyfriend and almost never had men call on her.

Feb 2, 1921, Winnipeg Free Press

The only person that came under some suspicion was one of Agla's employers. The Free Press was the only paper that covered this part of the testimony and reported that his name was "W. D." Buckler, which may have been a typo. There were at least six Bucklers involved in the wholesale and retail divisions of the company but no "W. D.". The manager of Buckler and Son was Victor Buckler and William A. Buckler was the shipper.

Both the building's caretaker and a police constable testified that W. D. Buckler and Miss Bjarnason were seen talking behind the building the evening before her death. The Free Press noted that according to the caretaker, "both were evidently excited from the demonstrations but he could not overhear the words uttered."

W. D. Buckler testified that Agla had told him that the workload she faced was too great for one person and that she was going to quit. (An examination of the company's books showed that she was behind in her work.) He said he offered to hire a second bookkeeper to work with her, but she did not want that.

According to Buckler, three weeks prior to her going on holidays he had to drive her home because she was under great mental stress but she had not taken any additional time off. The landlady remembered her being dropped off and crying after Buckler left.

The coroner's council asked Buckler to account for his whereabouts the night of Agla's death. He said he was out with his wife for the evening. They returned home at 10:30 p.m. and both retired shortly after that.

The coroner later said to the jury about W. D. Buckler, "There had been certain evidence to indicate that the employer of the deceased had shown the deceased certain attentions, but these witnesses swore they were from the highest of motives". He noted that during his examination of the body he found Agla was a virgin, thus ruling out a sexual affair.

October 8, 1920, Winnipeg Tribune

After the testimony of witnesses wrapped up on the second day, the jury briefly convened before returning with their verdict: "We find that Alga Bjarnason came to her death between the hours of 9:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. September 30, in the front office of the premises occupied by Buckler and Sons, 84 Princess Street, from a gunshot wound through her breast, by misadventure."

Both newspapers reported on the verdict but only the Tribune picked up on an important point and screamed it in their headline.

In his charge to the jury, McConnell told them that everything in the case pointed to suicide and the fact that they couldn't quite figure out how Agla physically did it as being one those "inexplicable" things when it came to suicide cases.

Given McConnell's charge and the fact that the note, which convinced most of those in authority that the death was a suicide, was part of the jury's evidence, their verdict of "misadventure" rather than "suicide" is intriguing.

It could mean that members of the jury didn't quite buy the suicide theory, but that there was not enough evidence to say that it was foul play. An alternate theory is that the jury wanted to save the Bjarnasons the shame of having an official "death by suicide" in the family.

Despite the jury's finding and the the Tribune picking up on it, there were no follow-up stories about Agla's death or interviews with those involved in the case. Once the verdict was reached there was no more mention of Agla Bjarnason.

Top: Agla's death registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics
Bottom: Headstone, Langruth Cemetery (source)

Agla's body was returned to her community and she was buried in the Big Point Cemetery near Langruth, Manitoba.

For the Bjarnason family this was another tragedy involving one of their children.

Mrs. A. Chapplett of Chicago, Agla's sister, said in her testimony that the family once consisted of four sisters, three brothers, and two step-brothers. Two of the sisters had already died, ages 18 and 30. Now, they were burying 20-year-old Agla.

Tragic Endings: The Tilley Family of Winnipeg

© 2018, Christian Cassidy

Tragic Endings: In this series, I try to piece together the lives of Manitobans who died well before their time. Most of the information comes from newspaper stories as inquest documents likely no longer exist. As a result, there will be gaps in the life stories and any errors in reporting or prejudices of the day may be repeated.

If you have additional information about any of these lives, please feel free to contact me at cassidy-at-mts.net

The Tilley Family of Winnipeg

I took a photo of this headstone at St. James cemetery. It wasn't until I downloaded the images a couple of weeks later that I noticed the Tilleys all died on the same day, which suggests some sort of disaster.

It turns out that they were on an ill-fated train journey from Halifax to Winnipeg in 1920. This is their story.

Google Street View, 2014

Alfred R. Tilley was one of six sons born to Alfred and Elizabeth Tilley of Middleton, England.

The Tilleys moved to Winnipeg circa 1911 with some of their adult sons, including Alfred R., Arthur, George and Harry. Most settled at 558 Clifton Street which was known as "Elm Cottage". (Alfred first appears in the Henderson Directory at this address in 1911, the others appear in 1912 and 1913. Another son, Herbert, also appears in 1913.)

Alfred and Harry began a wholesale garden market and greenhouse operation four blocks west of the home at 547 Minto Street. Arthur and George also worked there.

January 28, 1920, Winnipeg Tribune

Alfred married Grace Lillian Payne in Winnipeg in September 1915 and the couple moved to 501 Craig Street. They moved again in 1917 to 574 Minto Street and had a son, James, in November.

The family went on an extended holiday to Allred's home country of England in July 1919 and boarded the No. 1 Canadian Pacific Vancouver Express train in Halifax in late January 1920 to return home. The train was so long that it had to be split into two sections, each pulled by its own engine.

January 26, 1920, Quebec Chronicle

At around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, January 26, 1920, the trains neared Corbeil, Ontario, eighteen kilometres from North Bay, when the engine of the first train lost steam power and stalled just after passing a bend in the track. The second engine rounded the bend and plowed into it.

Nine passengers on the first train were killed and at least seven died later in hospital. Dozens were injured and had to endure a long wait in near minus 30 degree temperatures before being rescued.

February 4, 1920, Winnipeg Free Press

There was early confusion about the fate of the Tilleys. Initially, they were considered missing and presumed dead, which gave a tiny hope that they may not have been on the train. Later, it was discovered that they were recorded as being from Vancouver.

One of Tilley's brothers travelled to North Bay to identify the bodies and they were returned to Winnipeg by train for burial.

The funeral for Arthur, Elizabeth and James Tilley took place on February 3, 1920 at Gardner's Funeral Home on Kennedy Street and they were buried in a single grave at St. James Cemetery.

The inscription on their headstone reads: "In their death they were not divided."

August 15, 1918, Winnipeg Tribune

As for others in the family, Arthur Tilley, a bother of Alfred's, had a couple of near death experiences during the war.

In October 1916, he received a gun shot wound to the right leg and was returned to England to recover. In July 1918, he was wounded in a poison gas attack and was again sent back to hospital. He returned to his unit a couple of months later and was discharged back to Winnipeg on June 12, 1919.

Arthur and George, the two surviving Tilley brothers, ran the garden business until their retirement around 1948.

Tragic Endings: Willy Dear of Selkirk

© 2018, Christian Cassidy

Tragic Endings: In this series I try to piece together the lives of Manitobans who died well before their time. Most of the information comes from newspaper stories as things like court or inquest documents no longer exist. As a result, there will be gaps in the life stories and errors in reporting or prejudices of the day may be repeated.

If you have additional information about any of these lives, please feel free to contact me at cassidy-at-mts.net

Wilfred "Willy" Dear of Selkirk, Manitoba (1955 - 1973)

Whilst visiting the St. Matthews Anglican cemetery at Cloverdale in the R. M. of St. Andrews last weekend I came across grave of Wilfred "Willy" Dear. Festooned with hanging flowers, patio lights, balloons, and even a soundtrack, (play video above), it looked and felt more like the scene of a back yard party.

It turns out that October 31st would have been Willy's birthday and the family had come to celebrate it with him forty-five years after his death.

Born October 31, 1955 at Selkirk to Lorne and Margaret Dear, Willy attended Earl Grey, Mapleton and Selkirk Central Junior High schools in Selkirk.

Soon after turning seventeen Willy and Richard Jehle (20) rented a house at 307 Main Street, Selkirk, (now demolished). By May 1973, Richard's brother, Randy, also seventeen, was living with them.

May 2, 1973, Selkirk Enterprise

At around 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 28, 1973, a fire broke out at the house.

Willy was in the bedroom and the first to notice the fire. He ran to the living room to wake the Jehle brothers. In the rush to get out of the small house the Jehles made it before a rush of air or suction pulled the door closed behind them. When they opened it to get Willy, they found the room filled with thick smoke and flames and could not re-enter.

According Swampy Bjornson, Selkirk's fire chief at the time, the house was engulfed in flames when his crews arrived at 6:35 a.m. and it took 45 minutes to get the blaze under control.

Willy's body was found later that morning in one of the bedrooms.

A police official at the time said that the cause of the fire was likely smoking in bed.

Willy's father, who also died in a tragic accident, is buried next to him. Lorne Wilfred Dear's tractor was struck by lightning at his farm at Oak Hammock on October 11, 1984. He died later that day in hospital.