Kelly Cook - Unsolved Murder \ Standard Alberta 1981

[debbiec]

I can't imagine any law enforcement officer is trolling this site looking for clues. That's not to insult anyone on this board

I would not discount the possibility that we have members of law enforcement looking at this site. In fact, it would seem possible to me that we have people from both sides of the law checking in.

[Chris]

I never did hear back from the poster, by change did anyone here get a message from her?

[chet]

I did not, Chris, and I did PM her.

[Chris]

I did not get an e-mali back from her yet. Gee whiz I am so curious. I'm going to be in Warner this spring!!!

[haunted]

In watching the documentary on the cold case for Sharin' Morningstar Keenan from 1983 I noticed a couple of things. Prior to abducting and murdering Sharin' (the police say the case is solved in that his dna was found etc, so I am not using 'alleged' based on this from the documentary) Dennis Melvyn Howe had been in and out of prison for mulitple offenses. Appears a lot had to do with fraud, forgery etc. He had several aliases. He was born in or around 1940. It states he had a charge of unlawful confinement in 1969 or there abouts and also for sexual assault on a female. I am not certain the confinement charge and assault charge related to the same victim or different. They did specify that Howe would approach his victims either with 'needing directions' or 'looking for a babysitter'. The babysitter part made me think of Kelly's case, as it was a babysitter that her perpetrator used as his lure. The physical and age description of Howe in 1983 is not too dissimilar from the description of Kelly's perpetrator in 1981. Kelly's perpetrator was described as having a swarthy complexion, which describes Howe. He grew up on the prairies. He commited crimes against females and female children.

It appears he was known to abduct, confine, assault and murder among other many other crimes. He moved around a lot. He had no issues approaching victims. He was a jack of all trades.

It is unclear to me if Howe was in prison in 1981 when Kelly was murdered or not. It does state he was released from a Sask prison before he fled to Toronto and shortly thereafter Sharin' was murdered but I did not catch if it indicated how long he had been in prison. If he was in prison clearly he was not involved in this case. If he was not, it in my opinion should be looked at.  I will re-watch the documentary in the event that I missed this regarding the length of his incarceration.

[lostlinganer]

....same here haunted; as I watched the documentary, I couldn't get Kelly out of my mind.  It's strange how intense it felt.  I experienced the same feeling about Russell Williams and the missing girl that landed at Halifax airport and disappeared - Rose Coakley, January 1, 1992....same intense weird feeling in my gut!
So much close similarity in many different cases!

[D1]

According to the video, Howe was arrested for kidnapping (news article) and not released again till Feb 1982.

[Chris]

I was giong to be in warner today, but due to blizzard conditions I have to postpone the trip.

I'd really like to chat with some locals about the rumors that a resident was a POI in this case.

I'll try again next month.

[Enigma]

The answer lays somewhere around Standard and surrounding area. This guy is supposed to have set this up over one/two months. He had to have had a contact in the area. He ate with people, had a beer, likely had to sleep somewhere. He was seen face to face by people. Somebody knows something and for whatever reason hasn't come forward. It may be as simple as they were never asked! This guy drove around the area and was obviously in the village a couple of times. Somebody, likely any teen age boy can likely tell you the make, model and colour of the car and it was likely seen by more than one person. A lot of people have some thoughts or suspicions yet they don't want to get involved. Stuff like; "it (composite) looks like Ed but i've known him all my life and he's a good guy"  OR "without the glasses, that looks a bit like Frank but I know he would never do anything like that". People are afraid to call the Police on merely a whim because it could cause embarrassment to a friend. Maybe a hired hand running a farm for someone. The employer is reluctant to call on his man because he might quit and then what. Maybe a family member that nobody wants to call on out of shame or embarrassment. Someone in the area knows something! This guy had a connection to the area.
A transient would move on to Calgary where there is less likelihood of observation and detection. He didn't appear to be an experienced perp as he took some awful chances in driving into a cul-de-sac where a parent or friend could have observed him and his vehicle. He let his victim get away from him and most perps of this type would never let that happen. When she got to the phone he likely panicked and killed her. If he was connected to the area he wanted the body as far away from him as possible, hoping to divert suspicion to another location. Police should have a forensic artist do a bust from the composite, both with and without glasses. They should also have and age enhanced bust done again with and without glasses. There is a fabulous geographical pro filer in Vancouver (world renowned), as well there should have been a criminal profile done by both the RCMP and FBI. New life like 3D busts could trigger a lot of memories. This is one of the most reprehensible unsolved crimes in Alberta and it screams for resolution. There is a lot more information available than in a lot of similar crimes. This guy had some connection with area and I firmly believe that. I also believe that somebody connected with area holds the small piece of information that will blow it open.

[Chris]

This guy had some connection with area and I firmly believe that. I also believe that somebody connected with area holds the small piece of information that will blow it open.

I agree with that too.

It sure owuld be nice if they could try to solve this again, and spend the money to really dig again.

I did not know he was around town a lot. I know I saw he was at the cafe or something and gas station, but that's all.

It is awfully strange isn't, that no one can ID him even though he hung around a few months.

Do you know if anyone in Hussar claimed to have seen him?

Hussar is the key IMO. that town is out of the way, you don't happen to visit there. You go there because you intended too. Why did they go there?

Not sure if the town has changed much since 1981, but when I visted the spot where the payphone was, I was thinking she came from across the train tracks into town as all other directions have homes which I would assume she would have gone to first.

[Enigma]

Couldn't agree more about the Hussar thing!
-If the perp was from the south country would he kill the victim at or near Hussar and then drive two hours with a body in his car, and then dump it in his own back yard??
-The most opportune time for the victim to escape would have been while she was being taken from the car, likely into a house or garage in the town
-In the darkness down by Chin finding cement blocks or bricks wouldn't be the easiest thing to do. If he had them in his yard or garage at Hussar??, wouldn't that be easier for him?
-listings of similar colour and type of cars could have been obtained for a 50 mile radius. Just leg work after that.
-Did he just randomly pick the name "Christensen" or did he have some type of connection? Had he done some type of work for a Christensen family at some point? I think the   selection  of the name was more than random and is a key in this case.
-was this guy a backyard mechanic or body man? Was he using a clients car? Was a a local car repainted shortly thereafter. Was somebody selling bricks or patio blocks in the town?
-was someone sporting a new brush cut within a day or two?
-did someone look like they had been in a hell of a fight i.e scratches or cuts? People will fight hard in those instances.
-did someone leave the area on a trip or otherwise shortly after this event?

Someone has the key locked in their head and I will bet there will be lot of surprised people when he is apprehended. Someone in the area has probably always had the answer for sure. The thing is that more time and money has to be spent to do the legwork. There must be a resolution for the victim's family. There is too much to go to let this case slide into oblivion.

[lostlinganer]

...excellent points Enigma - especially

The most opportune time for the victim to escape would have been while she was being taken from the car, likely into a house or garage in the town

 I wonder what buidings were closest to that phone??? ...wish I lived close to there... No wonder Chris keeps going back!
I think Chris had good instincts on this from day 1.... the answer is out there... probably in Husser.
We must keep bringing the thread back up... and keep going back to the clues.  This girl deserves that.

[haunted]

I have always wondered about the time lapse between when Kelly got into his car and the time the phone call (assuming it was Kelly who placed that call), given the distance from point A to point B isn't that far, less than a half hour. I wonder if he drove around or took her to a location at or near Hussar (a house, garage, farm on the outskirts, abandoned out building, closed business) and she managed to escape and get to the phone.

Enigma, I agree, very likely someone local knows something that is pertinent. People in small towns notice everything. I hope that one day someone comes forward with the piece of the puzzle, as it has been nearly 30 years.

[Enigma]

Justice delayed is justice denied! It is clearly time for another big push on this crime. Like I mentioned in a previous post, a forensic artist should be consulted ASAP to create busts from the composite. 3D pics with and without the glasses as well as age enhanced. Once this is done it should be plastered everywhere both in Calgary region and across Canada. These crimes have to be actively investigated. It is not OK to just look at the few tips that come in from time to time. I read they get about three tips a year on this but I certainly hope more effort than that is expended than that suggests.
In the only picture of Kelly I have ever seen; she is wearing what appears to be a figure skating outfit. Wasn't the initial intended victim a figure skater? It might be pure coincidence but what are the odds the first intended victim and victim may have belonged to the same figure skating group. Was the perp checking them out or had an intersection with them at some arena in the area?
The comb over style of hair for men was a greaser look from the 60's. A few guys carried that over into the 80's so pegging the perp at about 40 yrs is probably pretty accurate. That puts him between 65-75 years of age now. Clearly somebody has to get their butt in gear and do something proactive on this case. I watched a recent program where the El Sigundo California Police solved a 50 yr old double murder (2 of their own police officers killed in 1957) after some 50 years. The suspect was a 77 year old man living in the eastern USA. There is probably more to work with here than they had. It's time to step up and get this done! How come this hasn't been solved is beyond me. The answer lays within the area and it's high time someone goes out and gets it.

[haunted]

Enigma:

I agree 100%, there is more information available on this case than many many others. We know exactly when and how she was abducted. We know that people saw this man, and some talked to him. We know that a composite sketch was done up along with a verbal description. We know the MO is unusual. We know he was targetting someone different but for whatever reason decided to switch his target to Kelly instead. Why? Was time of the essence? Was he leaving the area or only in the area for a short period of time? He only had access to a vehicle for a certain period of time? or because he had geared himself up to do this crime and the crime itself was more important than the victim and he felt it would be too disappointing to call it off or postpone the crime?

People saw his vehicle. He chose a surname that was either random (random in the sense of perhaps choosing one of the more common local names in the phone book), or as you suggested Enigma, perhaps not so random.

We believe Kelly placed a very distressful call from a town very near by. Kelly's remains were found (as many on this site are never found). The location of where her remains were discovered may or may not be significant. We know that someone went into the funeral home in attempts to view her.

We know that her murderer is male. We know that he is bold. We know that he took considerable risks. Why? Because he was so cocky that he would get away with it or because he was so amateur? We know that he put considerable effort into this crime as opposed to a crime of opportunity. He planned it. The planning part of it was probably part of the pay off for him. Is he an intellect? Did he think he carried off the perfect crime?

It is time to solve this crime.