Original subtitles

Good evening, I'm Antony Robart. this is crime beat the stories behind some of

Canada's most high-profile homicides told by the reporters who walk the beat every

day and the families demanding answers we reveal the shocking evidence as it

was uncovered by investigators in their quest for justice tonight a bright young

girl who was loved by her family and friends a natural leader disappears without a trace

it's so unlike her not to not to be there... Alison parrot is four foot ten weighs 75

pounds has blond hair and green eyes... sheer, sheer panic... it wasn't real... police believe she is

the victim of a very well laid trap... it was a very high-profile case... we're after this guy

and we're gonna get him here's crime beat reporter Karen Lieberman with the story of

Alison Parrott leader of the pack at 11 years old Alison Parrott was already competing at top-level

cross country track meets... she became good at running because she trained hard so she also

had the determination and the self-discipline to keep at it she'd been chosen to represent

in the 1500 meter race at an upcoming Track & Field tournament in New Jersey

it was the summer of 1986 Alison answered a call to the family home in

Midtown Toronto on the morning of July 25th... they wanted to have a photograph

taken with the team that we're going to New Jersey and she called me at work and

asked my permission we talked she had to go down to varsity stadium

she would have had no reason to be concerned

Alison was young but she knew her way around the city... we talked about how she would get there she

was used to going down to varsity to train as well... she attended a called Gabrielle one a

French elementary school downtown and took public transit every day... varsity stadium was just four

subway stops from home ...so it wasn't unfamiliar but we went over it carefully... there weren't the kind

of fears in the 80s that people have today and we all encouraged independence. Alison packed

up her pink purse and blue gym bag and headed out to meet the photographer she was supposed

to be back home that afternoon when her parents returned she wasn't there. that's so unlike her

not to be there just intuitively felt that something serious was up. Alison always

knew to check in this time she didn't call and didn't return home. what are the next hours like?

I think shock panic sheer sheer panic and then the police is there and then a couple of

people start coming round who had heard. all I can remember now is getting there and

being there and being there as the shock of Alison not being home. Lesley Parrott's

longtime friend Pamela McNamara remembers those initial hours. on the whole it was just it was

like it wasn't real that's what it was like. Alison left home at 11:30 that Friday morning

hours had passed the Sun was starting to go down darkness would soon set in

we were all hoping quite honestly that Alison had gone to play at a friend's house and

forgotten something we were still we were still positive on that evening. coming up where is Alison?

welcome back after getting a call to attend a photo shoot with her track team Alison

headed off alone to varsity Stadium nobody had heard from her since now back to Caryn

Lieberman with Alison Parrott leader of the pack it's fall at the Parrott family farm the

leaves are hanging on but winter will come soon... that's the cherries growing yeah so we

think a weeping cherry oh wow the birds will love it ...Leslie Parrott's favorite season to

follow springtime that's when a weeping cherry planted on her daughter's 21st birthday in a

copper birch will begin to bloom... and then we have daffodils on both slopes and daffodils

at the entranceway and yeah it's gorgeous look at all these leaves they've all just come down

at the center of the home is a tiny rocking chair fit for a small child he was gifted to Allison on

her first birthday the first day that Alison was born I held her in my arms I still remember

this vividly and I looked at her and the thought that come to came to mind was she's very much her

own person then she became a big sister a bit of a bossy big sister and you know and that's

exactly who Alison was she was very spunky very determined filled with life all was laughing but

she was so much her own person ... there's a twinkle in Leslie's bright blue eyes as she remembers her

daughter's childhood... she loved her friends and she was very much a natural leader she was leader

of the pack wherever she went she was enthusing with people she had some real natural leadership

abilities... Alison would come in and out of my office a lot she would chat to me on the phone a

lot Alison was very good at not breaking the rules she might try to push the boundaries but she

would never break the rules and part of the things always to check in so we knew exactly where she

was all the time. hours had passed still no sign of Alison police had lots of questions including

for Alison's parents Peter and Leslie. that Friday evening both Peter and I go to the police station

four separate questioning. both were quickly ruled out as suspects... and then that becomes a massive

search her parents and neighbors have gathered round them say Alison is an intelligent cautious

girl who wouldn't take up with a stranger police believe she is the victim of a very well laid trap

somebody who was able to present themselves with such credentials that it was it became legitimate

in her mind and in mine means we've discussed their going down and it seemed that it was right

for her to support the team in this way... and so who is it it sort of flags to you that there was

no photo session... nobody at all I mean other other than that we called some of the friends and we're

you're a photo session so yes I guess some we called the coach and the coach isn't aware of

it but none of the other girls who are going... there was never a photo shoot it was a ruse

to get Alison alone, so who was this supposed sports photographer? police began to scour the

neighbourhood trying to locate the missing girl... you have to keep looking and then go back and check

and look again and until you're perfectly sure in your own mind that one area is clear and then you

move on to the next area and follow whatever be it small whatever lead that you have have you any

leads at this point? nothing concrete no that's the frustrating part about it tell me about the

search the search was scary it was well-planned by friends there was a group of people that

took maps and put people I can remember seeing a line down Yonge Street of all the people that had

come to help and were waiting for their directions as to where to go posters went up across the city

and police urged the public to keep a lookout... the outpouring of people of neighbors of colleagues

and of strangers is just huge... somebody was there all the time yeah and they were there

to either help in any way they could or go out and search or whatever... AlisonParrott 4 foot

10 weighs 75 pounds has blonde hair and green eyes and was wearing a green shirt blue shorts

and white shoes. that seemed particularly clear in this place that perhaps somebody had [unintelligible]

there was something about Allison that they this person wanted... but it can wait and I think we're

both hopeful yet distraught Leslie and Peter decided to release a video pleading for their

daughter's safe return. if you're the person who's taking our daughter please please bring her home

and let her come home sadly I didn't go the right way two days and then you know the police would

been in and out all weekend and then police come and they we go upstairs and they give us the awful

news... coming up Alison's family grapples with this horrific news and the question who did this

welcome back for two days police searched the city for Alison she left home on July 25th after

receiving a phone call about a photoshoot but there was no such photo session here's Caryn

Lieberman with the story of Alison Parott leader of the pack police say two small boys discovered

Alison parrot's body last night along the Humber River... you're grateful that you heal so quickly I

don't know if one could have endured that period of a longer period of not knowing... police combed

the riverbanks for any clue that might lead to Alison's killer .. we have the inner perimeter sealed

off we're doing a very minute conferral search of that area and then we have a greater perimeter

that were that we're doing a grid search on and so I can't comment on what we've come

up with so far we're just really right into the meat of the search right now... tips were flooding

in from the public there had been sightings of Alison on the subway the day she went missing

but no description of a suspect... all it takes is one call from somebody out there and just

the right call in that set and usually these types of cases that's how they they are broken

two hot lines were set up for information that might lead to the killer a person who claimed

to be a sports photographer who lured Allison from her home someone who knew she was a runner

and had been training for an event the following week ... well we've got some information and they are

chasing up various leads and information to get in relation to people that may have been involved

with track lots of things but really nothing that we want to thoroughly discuss at this time

you know what kind of person no not at this time what about these various reports of the cause of

death chief strangulation asphyxiation what are you saying about that? what I'm saying about the

situation police confirmed that Alison's cause of death was asphyxiation reporters pushed for

more around that she was brutally raped? I have no response to make that the hope was

that someone anyone had seen Alison with her abductor. outside varsity stadium pamphlets were

handed out with Alison's picture and description and help came from unusual places I've had many

calls yesterday from ex-cons and and they they are trying to assess they don't tolerate

this sort of thing either... investigators began to uncover evidence police started to reveal

the disturbing details of just what happened to Alison Parott a crime so repulsive even

homicide detectives were rattled and plenty had more and more sickening all the time I really

am as you know after seven years in the homicide you would think well maybe you're you can sort of

you get hardened to it you don't get it's just I find it really revolting you think there are

people out there there that that low that would do something like that Alison had been raped

and strangled her naked body found facedown in King's Mill Park in the city's West End.

I've tried not to spend a lot of time there I call it the black hole because one can never

actually know exactly how all this went down. and so the imagination can be a wicked thing

Alison suffered a wicked fate but who could be so evil? police reached out to the FBI

in an effort to build a psychological profile of the killer and announced a sizeable reward

reward of up to $50,000 for the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for

the murder of Alison Parott but we have to find some way of triggering a response from

the public who may inadvertently not realize that they watched or saw something going down

as police proceeded with their investigation the parrotts prepared to bury their daughter

just two blocks from the stadium family and friends gathered for Alison's funeral

this is a memorial service and we have come to it and gathered here today to give thanks

for the light of Alison Parott. outside the church dozens of police officers in uniform and plain clothes

scan the crowd should the killer be among them. a quality of her spirit he is reflected in her

conduct the night before she was violated a dear friend and neighbor had lost their

family pet dog and Alison took it upon herself to prepare and distribute pamphlets seeking that

wee dog just 24 hours later posters would be distributed seeking and missing out.

family came from everywhere... my company flew in my parents my brother and Peter's nephew from

Australia one of the many in attendance Janet Jessup the mother of a nine year old girl who

was murdered under similar circumstances almost two years before... well it certainly has brought

a lot of memories back for the three of us and it was a beautiful service and we certainly know

where mr. and mrs. Parrott are at I've just had a few words with both of them and I hope you know

we're going to help each other because it has to be thought them home as mourners left the

service and police pressed on hours turned into days days turned into weeks it still no arrests

my husband had gone back to work sitting alone at home by myself all day I couldn't imagine anything more

terrible you know just left with my my own thoughts. Leslie returned to work desperate

for a distraction. I went back to work and walking around the office and saying hello to everybody

it was always important to me that the person be found it was not gonna bring Alison back but it

was critically important so there wouldn't be any more Allison's I was called at home by the

one of the lead homicide investigators then Staff Sergeant Kenson zarur and asked if I would join

a task force so I went for what was to be two weeks we felt we would have a resolution very

quickly two weeks became one year... Steve Irwin now an inspector with the Toronto Police Service then

rookie just four years out of police college he was the most junior on the homicide team. it

was a very high-profile case. police received more public response to the Perrott case than any other

murder investigation before it and they had a new tool to help and a very sophisticated new

computer system to find the person who abducted Alison from her home on July 25th the computer

program was designed to sift through hundreds of tips that police had received while it wouldn't

identify who the abductor was it would save time for investigators narrowing down the suspects the

retrieval of information is much quicker Irwin responded to countless calls from the public he

recalls one in particular from a woman who would become a witness and this woman was with her two

children one of them was a daughter who was about the same age what was very interesting in that

particular call was she was challenged that the poster didn't represent what she recalled Alison

wearing which was actually accurate there was some misinformation on the original poster in

the color of the shirt I was significant which gave that particular witness more credibility

and that helped us with timing for when Alison actually got on the subway because this woman

who I eventually interviewed months later had kept the transfer ticket from when she got on

at York Mills so that really helped us to track the path and steps that Alison had taken. Alison

could have been abducted anywhere on route to varsity stadium so these types of tips

were significant in the investigation one that would prove complicated even in simpler times

we didn't have a lot of surveillance cameras we didn't have DNA it was so unusual for this type

of luring abduction sexual assault and murder there was a belief that we should be able to

solve this much quicker and obviously we were not able to it became more and more challenging

information suggested Allison met her killer on the northwest corner of varsity Stadium across the

street from a Royal Bank which was equipped with three surveillance cameras. one was not working

the other one had been opened when it was reloaded with old film and was overexposed and then there

was a third film that caught what we believe is the image of Alison that was walking by. it

was a breakthrough in the case a single image in black and white no head feet barely visible

but Owen wanted more colorization had just come out within a few years of 1986 where they took

old black-and-white movies and colourized them so I actually reached out that was a company

here in Toronto and reached out to them to say so if I gave you a palette of colors could you

give me a sense of what colors even though it's a black and whites film in an effort

again to try and substantiate that that was in fact was Alison? confirmation Alison had made

it to the stadium so who did she meet up with ? next a suspect and a first-degree murder charge

investigators have confirmed that Alison did arrive at the stadium they must now determine

what happened next we looked in the neighborhood we looked obviously in the area of varsity stadium

we looked at people associated to her school at the running club that she was part of we looked

at track meets that she had been at and looked for other victims young young girls mostly that had

been pursued by what I would say was potential sex offenders and so there were many many many

different angles that we were looking at in this particular case with her there were so

many potential places that this person could have come across for her. Alison's killer had

done more than just come across her. he likely first spotted her at the stadium he tracked her

for weeks we canvassed and found other Parrotts it's felt their name in the same way who had got

calls looking for Alison. and they stretched beyond Toronto proper. it was January 1987 investigators

were honing in on a man who spoke with her weeks before her murder. on June the 7th 1986 at the

Appleton Cup which was held at York University at a track meet where Alison was a participant

a male in the only description we have is he's a male white 30 or 35 years of age dressed in

a tracksuit came up and had some conversation with her and this was around lunchtime. the path

the killer took was becoming clearer it was one of the largest murder investigations in Canada

but with dwindling resources the task force had been reduced to a handful of officers soon Steve

Irwin would become a permanent investigator in the newly formed sexual assault squad put in place to

solve the case of the unknown Scarborough rapist a man who had been preying on dozens of women in

a suburb of Toronto it would be DNA brand-new to Canada that would crack that high-profile

case eventually DNA was what identified Paul Bernardo in the Scarborough rape case as that

was now he was before the courts and charged I actually asked to leave sexual assault to go work

at intelligence and it was so that I could work for one of those original homicide investigators

and get out the exhibits from Alison's [unintelligible] submit them to send our friends at Sciences and

see if we could develop a DNA profile it was the success of DNA in the Bernardo case but center

wing digging into other unsolved murders that had been sexually motivated cases from his time on the

Homicide Squad like Alison Parrott. I say I did hate crimes by day and blood ins by night as we started

to collect samples so that we could have DNA for in Alison's case. with Alison's case it was not a

great sample that we had basically it would take two weeks for each level to process so the first

level we got helped us in that we could start to eliminate people two weeks later we get the

second level and that meant we could eliminate more people two weeks later the third level then

gave us the opportunity to start to actually identify who it would be the fourth level start

to make it mathematically that you were had the right person the fifth is the maximum and in her

case we got actually all five from a very very small sample it meant every two weeks a large

pool of possible suspects would become smaller we could start to say to Leslie and Peter Parrott

hey we can eliminate some of these people which we did and they might not have to have in the back of

their mind wondering if it was someone a neighbour or an old friend or someone from the sports club

of parents of another child and start to answer unanswered questions. Irwin was desperate to find

Alison's killer for him it was personal if Dad had been killed in Jury and he was really determined

and I think he had a lot of empathy for our son as well having been through something very similar in

his life he would continue to pursue the question that had been haunting the Parotts for years by

that point who killed Alison as her family waited for answers at an arrest almost 10 years had

passed. every year it doesn't get any easier the the time leading up to today is very difficult

and then I become totally preoccupied and but that's that's nothing compared to what she went

through. Leslie pleaded just like the day after her daughter disappeared look into your heart look at

how you would feel if the person that that you have the tiniest suspicions about were ever to

hurt another child Alison's family had a reason to hold out hope police were finally getting

closer this individual certainly left us with a fair number of clues about him and what he knew

of Alison and certainly with modern technology the development of DNA is is definitely an asset to us

ten long years of waiting the break everyone had been waiting for. we had a call at 7:30 or

so in the morning saying that the police wanted to come round right away and we of course we're

getting ready to go to work but it seemed like we shouldn't go to work they come around and

they tell us that there is an arrest happening at that time. Frances Roy covered his head with his

suit jacket as he was driven to the downtown courthouse the appearance by the ponytailed

suspect lasted less than a minute outside Frances Karl Roy's West End home well I was

stunned I was just absolutely stunned ... I saw him all the time it's like who's one of our

neighbors who's to walk around walk his dog go for a jog at the courthouse this request from

Roy's lawyer all I'd ask is that the media and the public remember he's charged he's not convicted

keep that distinction in mind remember that he's presumed innocent and asked you to to wait before

you form any judgments Frances Karl Roy charged with the first-degree murder of Alison Parrott

I think there was a sense of relief and I don't know if immediately but it's know what next the

trial the trial and the you know the trial actually didn't happen for another three years.

coming up a disturbing story from the man charged with Alison's murder

ten years after Alison was murdered the trial finally gets underway and Alison's

story inspires a generation of children now back to Caryn Lieberman with the conclusion of Alison

parot leader of the pack so who was this man now charged with Alison's murder? he had come to our

attention he had a history of sex offenses convicted sex offender had gone out west the

RCMP had reached into us as he came up in some investigations there they sort of knocked on

the door and said hey you know he's still out here have you looked at him information from

those cases was added to a new computer system which allows police across the country to share

data about violent crime investigations at that point the case was turned over to homicide they

did get a cast off something he touched for two weeks police had waited for an opportunity to get

that cast off a sample of Roy's DNA and that was what was the beginning of identifying him

the critical piece of evidence would be a discarded cigarette butt as police tested the

DNA and gathered their final bits of evidence Alison's family struggled just to get through

each day there were times that I felt life was not worth living I remember one Sunday

afternoon crawling into my bed and weeping because I never I always was quite careful

not to do it around around our son and he came with like a little honing device and found me

and said I'm so sorry never wanted to you to see me like this and he said it's okay you're a mom

I understand and he more than anyone else was the absolute reason to keep going from whatever

it cost me the midst of all this evil you know love kept shining through and and that's what

that's really what kept me going 13 years since Alison's murder the Parrotts begin to relive the

horror of her death as the trial for Francis Karl Roy begins that was the first time we thought of

the perpetrator the court heard Roy was a shop clerk also a runner some recall him carrying

the camera he pleaded not guilty to Alison's murder making a shocking claim to explain the

DNA evidence found in her body which matched his semen.

he said he came across the young girl's body

in King's Mill Park while out for a jog he stopped to urinate he claimed there had been semen on his

hand having masturbated earlier that day and when he saw the corpse he violated it with his

finger this is what Francis Troy looked like 13 years ago when 11 year old Alison Parrott was lured

from her home raped and murdered Roy's testimony wasn't the only element of doubt presented billow

and a wheeled trans driver with the TTC the defense brought forth three witnesses who told

the court they had all seen a girl who might have been Alison with a man who did not match

Roy's description the jury listened for days but there was something jurors did not hear the judge

decided that what we call similar fact evidence in this case that though he had raped two young

women before and one was there to testify that that evidence should not be allowed into the

court to this day I'm still baffled right somebody should be standing in the prisoners box without a

jury under able to understand the truth about that person not only as Alison's mum but as a

member of our society hey I feel very ashamed and angry . Francis Karl Roy had been on parole at the

time of Alice's murder he had been convicted twice for raping teenage girls he had lured

away from public places with stories that seemed credible. the assaults happened in wooded areas

it was hard to ignore the similarities with Alison's case. sadly the justice system failed

to protect Alison in the first place there were convictions that were reduced there

was parole that was reduced and not well supervised the Parrotts pleaded for change

but the law remained the same if evidence of a prior conviction could do more to prejudice

and accuse persons right to a fair trial the judge can exclude it juries are there

as representatives of common sense and common sense when a similar crime has been committed

before it's only common sense that that makes part of a why that person should be guilty

despite the seeds of doubt the jury did not believe Roy's defense after six excruciating

days of deliberations the jury convicted 41 year-old Frances Carl Roy of first-degree

murder in Allison's death sentenced to life in prison no chance of parole for 25 years

Leslie remembers vividly the day the decision was handed down but she recalls it mattered less to

her nothing would bring her back so yes I was tremendously pleased that justice had been done

I was not elated like everyone else because I still left with the hugest hole in my heart and

so the there was no joy in what would be her last time before the crush of cameras Leslie took the

focus off the now convicted killer and placed it back on her Alison but Alison was one of

these people that had the ability to make a huge difference in this world it is only so sad that

that deference has to be made in her death and not in her life the leaves are falling from the

trees at the parot family farm life is peaceful quiet there are reminders of Alison frozen in

time an 11-year old girl a lover of life a friend a big sister a runner a child who liked to laugh

a daughter whose absence is always present never far away she's marked by the trees in the garden

but four years oh there's one tree a copper birch the on the first

anniversary of Alison's death neighbors and friends got together and planted a

tree and then another tree that is a weeping cherry in the middle of the garden that we

planted on her what would have been her 21st birthday so they're both quite mature trees

once a cottage to visit on holidays and weekends Leslie now spends most of her

time with her husband Peter up at the farm alison is everywhere the tiny rocking chair

the pictures on the walls the trees marking her life for decades Leslie has lived with

grief she has used her own experience of losing a daughter to help others the first thing is to

honor her people are filling themselves Leslie offers support through her longtime role at the

bereaved families of Ontario there is no closure of losing a job because there's no

closure of love you know she could work out the right thing to say to have someone's life get

better Pamela remains a close friend and I can't really think of anything better to say about a

person she helped and helped anyone and everyone I love when I talked to Leslie and I've talked

to her recently I tend to speak to her absolutely communicate every July 25th they've got you know

their lovely grandchildren but then there's this piece that's trapped in time that will never it

never moves and you wonder you know what their lives would have been and what would have come

what is Alison's legacy for me being able to help other people as an incredibly important

part of Alison's legacy it's all about love the whole thing of helping kids be confident and be

aware and be alert out in the world that again it's another bit of how Alison lives on working

for a large ad agency my colleagues they want you to do something you know things aren't always as

they appear they wanted to use the skills to help prevent future you know any future crimes like

this a national street proofing campaign born out of Alison's death what should you do if someone

stops to talk or ask directions we were able to educate kids right across the country working

with police forces so you've always got to be on your toes with a message meant to empower

children not to scare them rather to teach them and provide important tools one of the things

that I'm really sad about is that sometimes people have said well Alison was that mark that moment

that it was no longer to run till the good heard her murder caused kids to be kept at home and not

out in the streets and and taking away some of the independence of childhood and I think frankly

that's wrong yes you need to have kids be kids be safe hey but you need to help kids grow up and

to be independent and what happened with Alison for a stranger abduction it's so incredibly rare

more than anything I want people to remember she was a spunky beautiful determined happy

happy child who was so loved loved by a mom loved by your dad loved by brother loved by

her friends and until that fateful day she'd had the best life a kid could have

in 2021 it will have been 35 years since Alison Parrott was killed Francis Karl Roy will be up

for parole Alison's family is preparing for the process to open up old wounds but they

continue to focus on the good times all the good memories all the while Alison lives on

forever that happy child I'm Antony Robart thank you for joining us tonight on crime beat

to hear more about other high-profile Canadian cases check out the podcast

crime beat with me Global News crime reporter Nancy

Hicks you can listen for free on Apple podcast Spotify or on curious Kass CA

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