MAY GOD GIVE YOU PEACE

I have been going on to the Toronto Star website to stay in touch with the city and areas of interest (the sports section). Today, I was shocked to see the cover story. It is about the two extremely different ways that the random murders of two innocent young women was treated. Both were promising students, examples in the community, and "in the wrong place at the wrong time". One became the centre of a campaign from the federal, provincial, and municipal governments, the police - even the international community - that brought tons of attention, new funding, structural changes, and more. The other, aside from the vigils and actions carried out by her family, friends and immediate connections (e.g. church community), was largely overlooked.

On this subject, I ask the question, if Chantel was shot at the Eaton Centre and Jane at a community centre, would Chantel have been Toronto's angel, and a catalyst for so much action?

The reality behind this all, the fact that the value of two precious lives is clearly differentiated by race is an indictment that WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO TO HEAL OUR SOCIETY/WORLD FROM THE SICKNESS THAT RACISM, WHICH RUNS DEEPER THAN MOST EYES PERCEIVE...I could say much, much more, but I give credit to The Toronto Star for saying what so many have already been saying!

And to the family, especially Pastor Yvonne, may God's peace continue to give you the strength to keep on loving, though you may not be able to understand such a loss.

Tale of two murder probes

Chantel Dunn's mother says probe 'different' from Creba's
Detective insists evidence, not race, affecting investigation

MICHELE HENRY AND TRACY HUFFMAN

STAFF REPORTERS

Days after police arrested nine suspects this summer in the high-profile shooting death of 15-year-old Jane Creba, Sandra Walters called the homicide detective investigating her own daughter's murder. With a sadness that turned her voice to a quiet rasp, she posed one question:

"If my daughter was white, would anything be different?"

That's a question many in Toronto's black community have been asking since June, but for detectives still on the case — stymied by silence from those who know who killed Chantel Dunn — the answer is a resounding "no."

Det. Wayne Fowler has been working on the Dunn case since Feb. 6, when gunfire claimed the life of the cheerful, 19-year-old York University student who dreamed of a career in law.

"No" is the one-word reply the veteran Toronto police officer gave Walters then, and it's still his answer now, despite accusations of a double standard levelled in news outlets such as Share after the June arrests of gangsters involved in the Boxing Day shootout in which Creba was killed and six others injured.

An editorial in the Sept. 28 edition of the black community newspaper, entitled Cops Must Do Better, chides the police for pumping resources into cases involving white victims, when it looks like they're not doing their best in getting to the bottom of crimes against blacks.

"We have questioned before the efforts Toronto police went to in solving the murder of this young White girl while the murders of so many young Blacks go unsolved," it reads. "Twenty core officers were assigned to the Creba case and as we have come to understand a lot of pressure was brought on the police to find those responsible ... no such concern was observed for any of the Black youths killed, not even for Chantel Dunn."

But Fowler says this has nothing to do with "race or colour of skin." "It's based on the investigation — the evidence that's come up."

The trouble is, no one came forward with information. Not one Crime Stoppers tip. No anonymous calls to detectives.

Fowler understands Walters' frustration. Both young women were innocent, random victims, he says, but that's where the parallels end.

The Creba slaying took place before hundreds of people, in broad daylight at one of the country's busiest intersections. Police had many helpful witnesses who gave detailed descriptions, and video surveillance from stores along Yonge St. A weapon was recovered immediately and a first arrest made that same day. A series of events — some captured on video — led up to the shooting.

In contrast, Dunn was killed in a blitz-style attack as she left the darkened Northwood Community Centre near Jane St. and Sheppard Ave. W., on a dead-end street in a quiet residential neighbourhood. The lighting was poor and witnesses few. No one in the area could provide details on the suspects. There was no surveillance video to capture the 11 p.m. shooting. The one person who may hold the key to solving the case — Dunn's boyfriend and the intended target, Shane Morrison — hasn't been overly helpful.

Walters is frustrated by his silence.

"It's quite obvious that man is protecting someone else that means more to him than my daughter did," she said. "I'm upset about it honestly, but there's nothing I can do about it, I don't know where he is. The only thing I can do is pray."

If Dunn had been the victim in the Creba slaying and vice versa, arrests would have been made in Dunn's slaying and police would still be hunting for Creba's killer, Fowler believes.

But that's not an answer that satisfies a grieving mother who still speaks of Chantel in the present tense. Back in June, breaking down over the phone, Walters begged to know why the investigation hadn't yet come to a conclusion like Creba's.

Why did the case not garner the same attention or get the same resources, she wondered. Why did nobody seem to care about her innocent daughter?

Eight months after Dunn was shot while picking up her 21-year-old boyfriend from a basketball game, Walters is still asking.

Fowler said the resources directed to Dunn's case have, in fact, been significant. Because police have yet to make an arrest, by law he can't disclose details of the investigation, not even to Walters.

More than a dozen officers were assigned to the case, including members of the gun and gang task force, the urban organized crime squad, 31 division and the intelligence unit.

Was there a wiretap investigation?

Legally, Fowler can't disclose that information. However, it is a technique used in serious cases when police have an idea who's involved but lack the evidence to make an arrest.

Fowler did say it took several months to determine the groups involved in the slaying.

Dunn's boyfriend "has been interviewed at length, but unfortunately he hasn't told us all that he knows," Fowler said. Morrison was offered witness protection, but declined.

What Fowler does know is that Morrison, though not a member, was associated with a gang that became divided. Rivalries escalated, and one group shot at the former high school basketball star to send a message. He was hit, but the fatal bullet struck Dunn.

After an exhaustive five-month investigation, the Dunn murder task force was dissolved. Fowler continues to call on two communities for help: Lawrence Heights and Jane-Finch, where the gangs involved are well known.

"This case is still very active," Fowler said. "Yes, I know the group responsible for this murder. Am I close to knowing exactly who? Yes. But no one is talking."

Bishop Lennox Walker would be outraged to hear that.

"I firmly believe the problem is our silence," said the leader at Praise Cathedral Worship Centre in Mississauga, where Dunn's funeral was held.

Scot Wortley, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Toronto, wonders whether it was Dunn's association with Morrison — and his cowardice in running as she lay dying — that left the public with a bad taste in their mouths.

"Some might think that she brought this upon herself," said the expert in youth, street gangs and racism in the justice system.

"It could also be the location. A shooting on Yonge St. sparks fear in people's minds because it is so public, whereas the other shooting was in an isolated location. And (the Creba shooting) happened over Christmas."

But the question of race is apt, he says, as it echoes a situation 12 years ago involving two interracial crimes. Vivi Leimonis, a white woman shot in a Just Desserts restaurant by a black man, made headlines for weeks while Christine Ricketts, a black woman killed by a white rapist, was barely mentioned in the news.

"The killing of a white innocent victim by `black criminals' is going to create more concern in the white voting public than the shooting of a young, promising black person," Wortley said.

Fowler said he is committed to solving the case.

"I still have the card sitting here on my desk that the family gave me after I met with them. I see the card every day when I come in to work. The case doesn't go far from my desk or far from my heart," he said. "I wish someone would come forward. We can solve this, but I need some help."

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