The Killer Handyman: The True Story of Serial Killer William Patrick Fyfe (Crimes Canada: True Crimes That Shocked the Nation Book 7)

by C. L. Swinney

  None of the homes demonstrated signs of forced entry, and police believed the suspect had posed as a handyman or plumber and would get the victims to open their doors not knowing what terrible fate they’d succumb to once doing so. This bit of information was provided to the community in an effort to educate citizens about remaining vigilant. But, and rightfully so, this information, coupled with three terrible murders only furthered the public’s fear. A serial killer was at work in their areas, and the police were no closer to identifying, let alone apprehending him, than they had been after the first murder. Panic spread like wildfire in the communities around Montreal.

  Mary Glen

  In Mid-December of 1999, Baie-d’Urfé in Montreal’s West Island area was loaded with well-to-do folks associated with private clubs, including the Baie-D’Urfé Curling Club. Residents in this community were among the wealthiest in Montreal, and the homes and surrounding businesses are expansive, modern, and clean. The instances of crime remained very low and morale was high. Baie-D’Urfé has one industrial park, which gobbled up a third of the town’s land area, but the location of it was partially hidden from the rest of town. Boutique cafes and local hangout spots were fairly trendy as long as the roads had been cleared of snow. At that time, the ground was covered and residents spent time inside their homes, enjoying cozy fires.

  On December 14, 1999, a man knocked on the door of a modest home in Baie-D’Urfé. A woman answered even though she thought it odd a stranger would come to her home. The man explained that he worked as a gardener and asked if she needed any work done. Someone soliciting gardening jobs during December when snow-covered plants would remain covered for months, was strange, to say the least, but she politely turned and summoned her husband. He came to the door and declined his services. The unknown man left the area. Since the woman’s husband had been at home, it likely saved her life.

  A few minutes later, the same man knocked on the door of a waterfront home in the same community. Mary Glen, a fifty-year-old woman, known for being an outgoing, talented artist, answered the door and turned toward her kitchen after letting the gardener inside. No one knew for sure what ruse the man used to get inside so easily, especially since the pages of local newspapers were covered with the stories of a serial killer being on the loose.

  An aggressive and murderous altercation ensued between the man and Mary. The struggle began in the kitchen, moved to an area she used as an office, continued toward the stairs to the first floor of the home, and ended with Mary being beaten to death with a blunt object, stabbed several times, and sexually violated in her kitchen. Evidence was later found in all these areas, including Mary’s glasses. Furniture, an art easel, and other household items had been thrown around or knocked over, indicating the fierce confrontation between Mary and her attacker.

  After killing Mary, her murderer casually walked to the kitchen sink and washed up. He then went upstairs and into Mary’s bedroom where he took items from her purse. The serial killer then left without anyone seeing or hearing anything unusual.

  It’s common for a true, cold-blooded person to behave in such a manner. To take the time to murder someone, wash blood from your hands in their sink, and then rob them afterward is simply disgusting. I find it puzzling and disturbing that no one heard or saw anything.

  The next day, December 15, 1999, a house worker arrived at Mary’s home. She knocked on the door, but when no one answered, she let herself in, walked into the kitchen area, and screamed. Mary’s completely battered and dead body lay on the floor in a pool of blood. The worker called the police, who arrived quickly. Local authorities also asked noted biologist Jacinthe Prevost to meet them at the scene. When Prevost arrived, she was stunned to see Mary’s murder scene so closely resembled the other two she’d worked. Without a doubt, Prevost and the local law enforcement concluded overwhelmingly that they were looking for a sadistic serial killer. Until he was found and brought to justice, every woman in Montreal was at serious risk.

  Faint bloody footprints were discovered inside the home as investigators pieced together the chain of events. Prevost noticed the footprints were different than the ones found at Monique Guadreau’s home. The fact they were there, and in the victim’s blood, meant they were likely from the killer who’d killed Mary. Very little evidence was collected by police at the scene in the first few hours, but Prevost, the investigators, and forensic photographer, Jean Paul Manier, were adamant there had to be more evidence. The scientist and photographer would not take a break or leave the scene until every piece of vital evidence was collected or documented. Their dedication eventually ended up cracking the case of William Fyfe wide open.

  News of the attack and murder of Mary caused a wave of panic to roll through local communities like no one had ever seen. Women no longer left their doors unlocked. Residents refused to answer the door to strangers. Police again cautioned citizens in the Montreal area to be alert. These murders were weighing on everyone. The sadness and frustration for the families of the victims must have been overwhelming.

  On the second day of processing the crime scene at Mary’s home, forensic photographer Jean Paul made an important discovery. On the door frame just inside her front door, he located a smudged fingerprint and was able to lift it. He returned to his office to work on identifying the person it belonged to. After nonstop dedication, hours and hours of work, he got a match. The fingerprint belonged to forty-four-year-old William Fyfe. A brief but collective sigh of relief traveled throughout the police department as they now had a person of interest in at least three local serial killings.

  A great debate ensued about whether or not William Fyfe’s name and photograph should be given to the press. On one side of the issue, the police department was concerned that alerting him would cause him to run. The opposing view was that the local community believed the police must reveal that William Fyfe was a person of interest in the case. Finally, it was agreed that police would have a few hours to locate Fyfe before the discovery of his fingerprint at a murder scene went public. Investigators used time wisely and, like many homicide cases I’ve investigated, they caught a break.

  Local police received a tip from one of Fyfe’s ex-girlfriends that he might be staying at his mother’s secluded home in Barrie, Ontario. The ex-girlfriend also revealed that William was driving a blue Ford Ranger. According to written reports, it was unclear why the ex-girlfriend called the police because, at the time of the call, it was not widely known that William had been identified as a person of interest. Nevertheless, local police handed this information off to the Ontario Provincial Police. Detective Inspector Jim Miller assembled a team tasked with locating William Fyfe.

  Jim Miller determined that Fyfe’s mother still lived in town (Barrie) and he and his team headed out to the location to find William or the blue Ford Ranger.

  They found the home and noted its concealed location down a long, gravel road making it difficult to see people or cars in the area. However, Miller spotted a small blue pickup truck with Quebec plates parked in front of the home. When he ran a check of the registration, it came back to William Fyfe, but with a different address in Montreal. Excitement built between Miller and his team as they believed, based on the tip and the fact a truck registered to him was at the scene, that William Fyfe was in fact in the area. Miller ordered twenty-four hour surveillance at William’s mother’s home hoping to spot their target. Their intent was to gather more probable cause to arrest him and ensure he could not kill again.

  William was observed exiting his mother’s home, and he was followed extensively. Investigators from Montreal headed up to Ontario to join the investigation. Police and authorities involved in the case finally had eyes on their person of interest.

  It’s difficult to describe the feeling of working one of these cases, identifying a suspect, and then seeing him live and in person in front of you. Resisting the urge to jump out and grab him is difficult, but it must be done. Observing what the suspect does sheds ligh
t on how they act, which may help build the case against them in the end. Then fear strikes as you don’t want to be the one to lose him during the surveillance.

  The following day, newspapers across Canada showed a picture of William Fyfe linking him to the murder of Mary Glen. Some papers also suggested a connection to several other recent murders. He’d been observed leaving his mother’s home in the blue Ford Ranger and driving to Toronto. While there, surveillance picked him up looking at various newspapers…with headlines listing him as a wanted murder suspect. Fyfe drove back to his mother’s home and laid low for about twenty-four hours. It would have been very interesting to be a fly on the wall in that house while a serial killer contemplated his next move.

  On December 21, 1999, Fyfe exited his mother’s home carrying a black trash bag. He drove into Barrie and was observed circling around to the rear of a local church. He placed the black bag next to bins used to collect items for underprivileged citizens.

  After police officers were certain he’d left the area, and while other investigators continued to follow him, someone from the team responded to the location where Fyfe had been seen dropping off the black trash bag. The investigator opened the trash bag and discovered three pairs of running shoes. They each had droplets of blood on them. With this find, the Ontario Provincial Police, specifically Jim Miller, and the Montreal Police believed they had enough physical evidence to convict William Fyfe of at least one murder.

  Authorities watched as the suspect was observed pulling into a local filling station, parking next to a gas pump and going inside the convenience store. William exited the store and strolled to his truck as if he’d never done anything wrong and had nothing to hide. Upon opening the driver’s door to his truck, investigators from OPP and MP jumped out from their hiding places and apprehended him. He didn’t resist and stated, “Why don’t you shoot me now?” After the initial spontaneous statement, William shut down and remained quiet for quite some time. He was transported to the OPP station and placed in an interview room where he’d be questioned regarding the murder of Mary Glen.

  The interview room had been fitted with a camera and voice recorder. William finally broke his silence when he asked for cigarettes, which he was given. Once taking his first drag from a cigarette, William frowned and became angry. At least three or four times during the interrogation, he yanked the power cords from the camera recording device. William’s demeanor was cold. Several times he said, “You guys don’t have anything on me.” His other remark was, “Call my lawyer.” Investigators continued to press him about the fingerprint at Mary Glen’s home. He refused to respond. Investigators called for a break and left the room, taking the ashtray containing the used cigarettes Fyfe had placed in it. They now had his DNA. This was a classic move by these investigators. Criminals believe they are more intelligent than everyone else, but oftentimes, they outsmart themselves. The cigarette butts would be crucial for this case and ultimately sealed William’s fate.

  As he sat in a holding cell, a search warrant was obtained with everything the investigators had collected to date. The judge agreed and signed the search warrant. Local investigators served a search warrant at William’s mother’s home. His blue Ford Ranger had been included and was also searched. The running shoes he’d left in the bin behind the church in Barrie were sent to the lab for Jacinthe Prevost to examine. Many convincing items of evidence were located in William’s truck and at the room he occupied at his mother’s home.

  Prevost determined almost immediately that the blood on the running shoes was human. Male and female indicators were located on the samples, but they weren’t matched to an individual right away. William Fyfe's clothing, seized at his mother’s home, also had human blood on them. In total, Prevost examined approximately fifteen items of evidence located in Fyfe’s bedroom and truck. These pieces of evidence would significantly impact the case.

  Although authorities wanted to interview William further, it was clear he was uncooperative. Therefore, based on what they already knew, and the known evidence at the scene of Mary Glen’s home, Fyfe was booked and charged with first-degree murder. The news of a suspect being identified and booked spread quickly throughout Montreal and the rest of Canada. The public was excited and felt more at ease, but no one was happier than the residents on or near West Island.

  In the weeks that followed, Jacinthe Prevost worked tirelessly on the pieces of evidence collected by investigators. She put in long hours developing significant probable cause for the investigators, not only in the case of Ms. Glen but other murders William Fyfe was suspected of committing.

  The scientist discovered Anna Yarnold’s blood on a pair of William’s ratty blue jeans taken from the bedroom at his mother’s home. That piece alone put him at Anna’s murder scene. Prevost also determined the photo from the bank ATM to be a match to William Fyfe. Her blood on his pants and using the stolen bank card from her home clearly made William the prime suspect for her murder.

  The running shoes William had thrown away matched the bloody footprints left at Monique’s crime scene. Since William had tried to dispose of the shoes, and they were his, it was clear he was connected to Monique’s murder too, proving that he was trying to destroy evidence. Blood droplets located at Monique’s home were analyzed and compared to William’s DNA, gathered from the cigarette butts during his heated interrogation. The blood chemistry was an exact match to William. This irrefutable evidence linked William to another murder.

  William’s bedroom at his mother’s home also held further details. A ring, the same one stolen from Theresa Shanahan’s home after she was murdered, was located in a drawer in William’s room. Further proof connecting William to Ms. Shanahan’s murder would be located later, but he was charged with first-degree murder shortly after the ring had been found during the warrant search. William never said why he had kept the ring…as a trophy or if he’d not located a buyer for it before being apprehended.

  With regard to Mary’s murder, several items placed William at the scene. First, his fingerprint was located on the door frame of her home. Prevost’s lab results also proved another pair of the running shoes matched the bloody footprints located at Mary’s home. Lastly, on a shirt located in William’s bedroom, Prevost found a small blood droplet. She compared the DNA of the blood and determined it matched Mary’s. This evidence sealed the substantial case against William Fyfe.

  These facts and confirmed pieces of evidence were presented to the investigators. They were obviously ecstatic. The airtight case they’d been looking for had developed after months of frustration and zero leads. William Fyfe was subsequently charged with the murders of Anna Yarnold, Monique Gaudreau, and Theresa Shanahan. The fact he was charged with the subsequent three murders solidified the public’s feeling that the police had, in fact, captured the real serial killer in this case. Only then did residents, particularly women, begin to feel safe in their homes again.

  As news spread throughout Montreal and Canada regarding this case, investigators received a call from a young man in Mount Royal who said he’d known William Fyfe twenty years ago. The young man said he played hockey with Fyfe and Fyfe had been hired to paint his mother’s home. The caller said his mother, Hazel Scattalon, had been murdered in her home in 1979. He explained that a suspect was never identified in the case, but he was calling the police to see if William Fyfe may have killed his mother.

  Investigators checked this significant lead and quickly learned that Hazel Scattalon had been murdered twenty years prior. Her murder was unsolved and had been shelved as a “cold” case. However, investigators at Hazel’s crime scene were able to process the DNA. At the time they knew it was for a male, but that was it. Jacinthe Prevost received the evidence sample from Hazel’s murder and immediately began processing it. Within a few weeks, she was able to confirm that DNA taken from Hazel’s crime scene belonged to William Fyfe.

  Jubilation reverberated through the police department because this DNA evidence directl
y connected William to the murder scene and would be damaging for him in court. William was subsequently charged with Hazel Scattalon’s murder based on the tip received from Hazel’s son and the DNA evidence linking him to the crime scene.

  Shortly thereafter, the court proceedings began for the case against William Fyfe. As far as multiple homicide cases go, this one was fairly quick. (4) Much more surprising information was eventually learned about William Fyfe after the court proceedings. Investigators obtained small glimpses into Fyfe’s lifestyle and ended up solving several more “cold case” murders.

  The Trial

  William Fyfe was arrested on December 22, 1999, and charged with the murder of Mary Glen. In the months that followed, DNA evidence and other crucial pieces of physical evidence led investigators to confirm William was the suspect in several murders, for which he would be subsequently charged.

  William had an arraignment hearing in January of 2000. He was formally charged with first-degree murder, and although the physical evidence was staggering, he or his attorney originally pled not guilty.

  It’s not an uncommon ploy used by defense attorneys to stall the case and to make more money for further court appearances. Meanwhile, investigators from three provinces continued searching for more victims. As many as eighty-five “cold” homicide cases which occurred within the twenty years Fyfe was serial killing, are open. Evidence from the crime scenes were compared to William Fyfe’s DNA and his MO.

  On June 19, 2000, William Fyfe, based on evidence obtained from the crime scenes of the murders of Theresa Shanahan and Hazel Scattolon, was arraigned on two more counts of first-degree murder. (5) This development was looked upon highly by the victims' families. It had been a long time coming, but investigators were pleased they could put together a solid case against William.