Chapters (97)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Eighty-Eight
- Eighty-Nine
- Acknowledgments & A Personal Note
- Excerpt
Kayla had a copy of her dad’s letterhead in her computer. He and her mom had created it using a free online template he never changed. Kayla duplicated it, then replaced his contact information with her cell number and an email account she’d created on Yahoo: BenjaminGrantBooks. She typed the request on her laptop, printed it from the printer in her dad’s office, scanned it and sent it to the address of Darmont Hill College.
Then Kayla let out a long breath.
In about two weeks, I’ll know the truth. But I’m not done yet. There’s more to do.
Thirty-Nine
Winnipeg, Manitoba
2001
Nicola Hope Gorman.
Marie Louise Mitchell.
Jane Elizabeth Klassyn.
Each of them were fourteen at the time of the murders. But because of their ages, their identities disappeared into the justice system. From the moment they had been charged under the federal Young Offenders Act, it was against the law to use their real names in open court, or for the news media to publish them or their photographs.
Ever.
Their true identities were to be kept secret even after the case concluded, even after all sentences were completed, or they were acquitted.
That was the law.
The court ordered that they be identified as “Girl A,” “Girl B” and “Girl C,” and nearly a year after the morning of the grisly discovery on Old Pioneer Road, their trial began in a Winnipeg Court of Queen’s Bench before Justice John Claiborne.
But reaching that day in court encompassed a pretrial legal odyssey of judicial matters that included intense, closed-door legal disputes among the lawyers about the true culpability of each of their clients, measured against the facts and evidence. Ultimately, each girl had pleaded not guilty to the charge of second-degree murder, then their lawyers’ bids to secure pretrial release were denied because of the gravity of the charges. Then the crown prosecutor wanted the girls to be prosecuted as adults because of the severity of the crimes but the court rejected the prosecutor’s request because of the girls’ ages.
As well, each girl underwent a psychiatric assessment; the reports submitted to the court found they were not suffering from any disorder that would exempt them from criminal responsibility of the charges. The girls’ lawyers sought to have the girls tried separately, arguing that there could be a miscarriage of justice if the defendants were tried jointly because “cutthroat” defense tactics could come into play whereby each girl tried to blame the other for the crimes. But the prosecution opposed them, saying that the risk of “cutthroat” defense was limited because the case rested on the same facts for each of the accused. The court agreed. The girls were to be tried jointly.
And now here they were: day one of the trial.