Daughter of 1974 murder victim speaks for the first time
Feb 04, 2008 - 03:01 PM
By Ian caldwell
WHITBY - “This is really hard for me.”
The soft-spoken daughter of Beverly Smith composed herself as she stood to make an appeal for the killer of her mother to come forward.
Rebecca -- who does not want her last name used to protect her own family’s privacy -- spoke directly to the killer: “So now I’m asking you to give my family and my mom and even yourself some peace now because this has hurt everybody long enough.
“I understand that you were young at the time and I’m sure you regret your actions that night,” she said. “You may have your own family now that you’re trying to protect from all this, but it has been on your conscience for a long time and these detectives have made it pretty clear that they’re not going anywhere.”
Monday was the first time Rebecca has spoken publicly about the murder in Raglan on Dec. 9, 1974. She was joined Monday by her aunt, Barbra Brown, Mrs. Smith’s twin sister.
Rebecca was only 10 months old when her mother was murdered -- shot once in the back of the head. Mrs. Smith was 22 years old. Her husband, Douglas, was at work the evening of the murder.
A neighbour found the young mother lying on the floor. The neighbour had gone to check on her after Mr. Smith wasn’t able to reach her. Rebecca was found asleep in a crib.
Rebecca told reporters Monday she’s never spoken publicly about the murder and even among family members it has been difficult to talk about over the years.
As a child, she was never told how her mother died and said she only learned about it when she was six years old when a neighbour showed her a newspaper article.
“The one thing that I do know is she was loved by a lot of people, and maybe even you,” Rebecca said in her appeal to the killer to come forward.
Police say they believe the killer was someone who knew Beverly Smith. Investigators said Monday that Mrs. Smith’s husband has co-operated with each investigation over the years and while the investigation did include him, he was not then, nor is he now, considered a suspect.
Police say they believe the killer is someone who was from either the local community or Durham Region, what they describe as an “inner circle” of people.
“It’s our belief and it’s always been our belief that someone who existed in that coming and going of that street, in that neighbourhood, who didn’t stand out, was not unusual, is that inner circle that we’re referring to,” Inspector David Kimmerly said.
“It is time for you to come forward,” the Inspector said in his own direct appeal to the killer, who he’s hoping is still within reach of his voice.
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