Guy Paul Morin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Guy Paul Morin
Born1961 (age 59–60)[1]
NationalityCanadian
Known forwrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of a neighbour's child

Guy Paul Morin is a Canadian who was wrongly convicted of the October 1984 rape and murder of his nine-year-old next-door neighbour, Christine Jessop of Queensville, north of Toronto, Ontario. DNA testing led to a subsequent overturning of this verdict.[2] On October 15, 2020, the Toronto Police Service announced a DNA match identifying Calvin Hoover as the one whose semen was recovered from Jessop’s underwear.[3] Hoover killed himself in 2015.

Murder of Christine Jessop[]

On October 3, 1984, Jessop was dropped off at her home from her school bus as her mother was out visiting her father who was in prison.[2] She was last seen by the owner of a nearby convenience store where she had gone to buy bubble gum. Her body was discovered on December 31, nearly three months later. She had been sexually assaulted and murdered.[4]

Trials[]

Morin was arrested for Jessop's murder in April 1985.[4] He was acquitted at his first trial in 1986.[5] The Crown exercised its right to appeal the verdict on the grounds that the trial judge made a fundamental error in the charge to the jury.[6] In 1987 the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial.[7] The retrial was delayed until 1992 by Morin's own appeals based on the Crown's non-disclosure of exculpatory evidence and by other issues, including the double jeopardy rule.[7]

The second trial ran for nine months during 1992 – then the longest murder trial in Canadian history[8] – ending with Morin convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.[9] Unlike others convicted of murdering children after sexually abusing them, he was kept in the general population throughout his time in prison.[10] He was released on bail, pending his appeal, which had been allowed,[7] in February 1993;[11] up until his release, he was held at Kingston Penitentiary.[10]

Acquittal and aftermath[]

Improvements in DNA testing led to a test in January 1995 which excluded Morin as the murderer, just days before his appeal was to be heard.[7][8] The trial for Morin's appeal of his conviction was short, with the judge giving a directed verdict of acquittal on January 23, 1995, in response to the DNA evidence that all parties agreed were accurate.[7]

An inquiry culminating in the Kaufman Report into Morin's case also uncovered evidence of police and prosecutorial misconduct, and of misrepresentation of forensic evidence by the Ontario Centre of Forensic Sciences.[7][12] Morin received $1.25 million in compensation from the Ontario government.[11]

Identification of murderer[]

On October 15, 2020, just days past the 36th anniversary of Jessop's death, police identified Jessop's murderer as Calvin Hoover based on DNA evidence and genetic genealogy.[13] Hoover died by his own hand in 2015. He was 28 in 1984. Police said that he was an associate to the family and had a criminal record that was unrelated to the case.[14]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Joe Warmington (October 16, 2020). "WARMINGTON: Guy Paul Morin knew DNA would reveal Christine Jessop's real killer". Toronto Sun. Retrieved October 16, 2020. Morin, 59, said in a statement.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Rush, Curtis (August 15, 2012). "For Janet Jessop, October is a time to mourn murdered daughter Christine all over again". Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  3. ^ "Christine Jessop murder timeline". Toronto Sun. October 15, 2020. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Cold Cases: Christine Jessop, Queensville, Ont. (1984)". CBC Digital Archives. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  5. ^ "Appeal planned". Montreal Gazette. March 6, 1986. p. B–1. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  6. ^ "Crown to appeal Morin's acquittal". Ottawa Citizen. March 6, 1986. p. A–12. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f King, Jack (August 1998). "The Ordeal of Guy Paul Morin: Canada Copes With Systemic Injustice". Champion Magazine. National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Archived from the original on March 9, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Farnsworth, Clyde H. (April 11, 1995). "Queensville Journal; Jailed in Killing, He's Guilty Only of Being a Misfit". The New York Times. p. 4. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  9. ^ "Canadian Cases Of Wrongful Conviction". CityNews. Rogers Broadcasting. January 31, 2007. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Nolan, Dan (October 28, 1997). "Morin feared for his life: Jailers rejected isolation". The Spectator. Hamilton, Ontario. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b "Guy Paul Morin Case". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  12. ^ "Morin inquiry slams investigation". CBC.ca. November 13, 1998. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  13. ^ "Toronto police identify killer in cold case of 9-year-old Christine Jessop". CBC.ca. October 15, 2020. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  14. ^ "Toronto police identify killer in Christine Jessop murder case from 1984". thestar.com. October 15, 2020. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""