Quebec provincial police update cold case website as families wait for answers
Quebec’s provincial police force is revamping its cold case website with intentions of making it more user-friendly, and hopefully leading to resolutions to previously dead-end investigations.
Nineteen-year-old Theresa Allore went missing one night near Lennoxville, Que. in 1978, her body was found a year later about 15 kilometres south, in a river near Compton.
Police never arrested or charged anyone, but her brother, John Allore, spent decades trying to solve his sister's murder.
“You just kind of have to catch yourself because your heart is racing a little bit and your expectations getting ahead of yourself,” Allore told CTV news during an independent search in 2006 in the Eastern Townships.
The former Quebecer has been living in the U.S. for 30 years. These days, he runs a website and hosts a popular podcast called “Who Killed Theresa,” where he tries to uncover the truth behind his sister’s death.
He regularly revisits cold cases in Quebec and elsewhere and has found a pattern in the late 70s in the townships, indicating there could have been a sexual predator involved in other disappearances.
Allore's case isn't the only cold case the Surete du Quebec (SQ) wants to revive.
There was the notorious case of Sharron Prior. The 16-year-old Pointe-Saint-Charles teen who was raped and killed. Her body was found in Longueuil, and authorities reopen her case every few years.
There’s also Tiffany Morrison from Kahnawake, who was last seen in Lasalle in 2006. Her remains were later found in the community four years later. Her sister, Melanie Morrison, holds information and awareness events every year under the banner “Justice for Tiffany Morrison.”
“Even though we don't have any information on cold cases, we’re still looking (for it),” said SQ officer Nicolas Scholtus-Champagne.
“We're still gathering information through the family, through the community,” he said.
For his part, John Allore says he wants Quebec’s police to be more proactive when it comes to cold cases.
“The SQ’s current position is ‘call us, email us information,’ so it's a very passive approach,” he said. “They're waiting for the phone to ring.”
The SQ denies being passive and says it has 25 people working cold cases. And while long-silent witnesses do come forward on occasion, science is their biggest tool in uncovering long-hidden clues.
“Due to technologies like DNA coming out,” explained Scholtus-Champagne, “it can lead to a positive outcome of the case.”
But for John Allore, older cases, including his sister's often suffered from what he feels were bad investigations to start with.
“Police would say, ‘she's missing? She must have run away she must be pregnant, she must have gone somewhere to lose the baby’,” he said. “And then, when she was found, ... It got more and more absurd.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.