GARY STAPLES: Following Gary's acquittal, the Hamilton Police abandoned any further investigation of Gerald Burke's murder. The Hamilton Police publicly took and still take the position that Gary Staples committed the murder, notwithstanding the incontrovertible evidence which establishes beyond any possible doubt that he was 50 kilometers from the scene at the time of the murder, notwithstanding his acquittal, and notwithstanding the contents of the police's own interdepartmental memo which came to light on October 30, 2000, as set out on the New Evidence page.
Upon being released from prison following his acquittal, Gary returned to his home in Dunnville, Ontario, where he still lives today. He has been stigmatized and shunned in his own community as a murderer, and is the subject of a continuing whispering campaign.
To this day, there are stores and businesses that will not serve him or members of his family, and there are members of the community who cross the street to avoid encountering them on the sidewalk. He and his wife, Marie, are stared at, and are the subject of finger-pointing and hushed comments when they are at coffee shops and restaurants.
Gary has been refused employment and has been fired from jobs he held, all because he has been falsely identified as a murderer.
In addition, Gary has always been traumatized by the thought that there were two little boys out there who thought that he killed their father. He has always wished to meet them and to tell them that he did not do it. Gary knows only too well what it is like to effectively lose a son, having "lost" his son after his conviction and imprisonment, and he has been traumatized by the thought that there were two "sons" out there who thought him responsible for losing their father.
GERALD BURKE'S FAMILY:
The murder of Gerald Burke had a devastating impact on Mr. Burke's family, including his children, Robert and Darrin. Aside from the tragedy of never knowing their father, their mother suffered a debilitating emotional breakdown in the wake of her husband's murder, and the extended family was fractured. Robert and Darrin became estranged from their paternal grandparents and their extended family.
The knowledge that their father's killers have never been brought to justice and that members of the Hamilton Police refuse to investigate the unsolved murder because of their obstinately held and incorrect view that Gary Staples committed the murder, has caused and continues to cause great distress, anxiety and emotional harm to Robert and Darrin and their own families.
Gerald's sons were raised without knowing their father, and were told all their lives that Gary Staples had committed the murder. But, they have since concluded that Gary did not commit the murder and are looking for both answers and justice. They want to know who did kill their father, so that they might have some closure and some justice, both of which are long, long overdue.
THE INNOCENCE PROJECT:
Gary Staples has been unsuccessfully attempting to clear his name since 1972, and eventually sought the assistance of the Innocence Project at Osgoode Hall Law School in this regard.
The Innocence Project is an intensive clinical programme headed by Professor Dianne L. Martin, in which students at the law school investigate cases where there is a claim of wrongful conviction.
In November, 1997, a request was made by the Innocence Project on behalf of Gary Staples to the Hamilton Police, pursuant to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (the "FOI"), for the production of "all documents and exhibits relating to the investigation of Gary Staples leading to his conviction of murder ... and ultimate acquittal".
On February 16, 1998, the Hamilton Police replied to the FOI request by indicating that the records "do not exist" and that "[t]his file is closed". There was a further indication that the records had been "purged" and the court exhibits "destroyed" in accordance with the "records retention by-law" of the Hamilton Police.
In 1998 and 1999, the Innocence Project continued in their efforts to clear Gary's name by resort to the Attorney General for Ontario, among other things, to no avail.
In the summer of 2000, Robert and Darrin and their spouses, Cheryl and Julie, sought the assistance of the Innocence Project to obtain information about their father and his unsolved murder. They had already been in contact with the Hamilton police about the matter, and the police had indicated a willingness to provide them with access to police records.
In early October, 2000, Robert and Darrin and their spouses met with Colleen Robertshaw and Dean Ring, law students with the Innocence Project. Shortly thereafter, arrangements were made with the Hamilton police department for the Burke family members and the law students to attend at the police station in Hamilton to inspect the police files in relation to the murder.
On October 30, 2000, the law students, along with Robert, his spouse, Cheryl, and Darrin's spouse, Julie, attended at the Hamilton police station to view the police records. It was clear that the earlier police assertion that the file did not exist (in response to the FOI request by Mr. Staples) was not accurate, and that there are, in fact, ample records in respect of the investigation of Gerald Burke's murder, and were at the very time that the Hamilton Police told Mr. Staples the records had been destroyed.
The full day spent at Hamilton police central station going through the records was, to say the least, a long, arduous, emotional and emotionally draining day. The Burke family members had never seen any photographs of Gerald, and sadly, the first ones they ever saw were crime scene photos and autopsy photos.
However, it was also an illuminating day. The police files contained much evidence and insight into the matter, and while very little can be disclosed here at this point, in light of the pending lawsuit, suffice it to say that all of those in attendance were left with a sense of wonder that Gary Staples had EVER been implicated or charged with the murder at all, let alone convicted!
What can be disclosed here, though, is the shocking discovery of an interdepartmental memo and supporting documents contained in the file, that show a deliberate and pre-meditated suppression of evidence by the police, and the admissions of the police themselves that disclosure of the evidence would have led to the acquittal of Gary Staples.
Simply put, the police knew that the evidence was such that it would acquit Gary Staples, so they did not disclose it. Not when Gary was arrested, not when Gary was detained, not at the time of the Preliminary Hearing, not at the time of the first trial, not while Gary was serving a life sentence, not at the time of the second trial, and not at any time after Gary's acquittal.
The details of these documents are set out on the New Evidence page.
THE BURKES MEET THE STAPLES:
After reading the police files, and seeing the evidence contained within, and after much soul-searching and angst, Robert & Cheryl and Darrin & Julie came to the conclusion that Gary Staples had not, in fact, murdered their father.
This brought with it a whole new set of questions, of course, but also a strengthened resolve to find out more about their father, their family, and the truth about what had happened 30 years ago.
Since that time, the boys have found and met family members with whom they have had no contact all their lives, and they have learned a lot about their father and their family. Sadly, this came too late for Bob and Darrin to meet their paternal grandmother before her recent death, but they have developed lasting friendships and kinship with aunts, uncles, and cousins whom they had no previous memory of or contact with.
They have also met Gary Staples and his wife, Marie.
At a meeting hosted by the Innocence Project in March of 2001, the parties met for the first time at Osgoode Hall Law School. It was a poignant affair, to say the least, and one that will live in the memories of all those present for a long, long time. |
