Former Ottawa police chief Vern White reflects on 2007 triple homicide
Senator Vern White was just one month into his tenure as Ottawa police chief when the bodies of three seniors were discovered beaten and bound with plastic bags over their heads in a luxury apartment on June 30, 2007.
The killings of retired tax court judge Alban Garon, his wife Raymonde and their neighbour, Marie-Claire Beniskos remained unsolved for the duration of his time as Ottawa's top cop.
"It did hang over me," White told CBC News on the weekend
"You have eight to 10 homicides a year in Ottawa. This was different than most of those homicides. There didn't seem to be any rationale. People in their home in a safe environment. It's not what you typically see in our homicides in Ottawa," he said.
"Most homicides you have at least some inkling of why a homicide occurred even if you don't know who did it. In this case, there wasn't really anything that stood out."
On Friday police charged Ian Bush, 59, with three counts of first-degree murder in the case.
Bush came to the attention of Ottawa police in December 2014 after the home invasion and robbery of a 101-year-old Second World War veteran.
Ernest Côté was left bound with a plastic bag over his head but he managed to free himself and call police. Bush was charged in the case after police released video surveillance and photos of a suspect in the lobby of Côté's apartment.
Bush faces several charges, including attempted murder.
DNA evidences linked two cases
DNA evidence from the home invasion was linked to the unsolved 2007 triple homicide investigation, according to Acting Ottawa Police Chief Jill Skinner.
On Friday, Bush was officially charged in the 2007 killings after several weeks of investigation. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
“I’m very pleased to see that they’ve brought this to a conclusion," White said.
"It’s been a long time and I know that a lot of officers have worked very hard and a lot of family members, I know, have been unsure. You know, driven by this, as well, trying to figure out what happened.”
White added that some of the officers involved in the 2007 triple homicide investigation have now retired. White stepped down as Ottawa police chief in February 2012, after he was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
"Throughout this whole, almost eight years, there's been many times when we've had what we thought were possible leads, which is not uncommon. It is a bit of a roller coaster ride when you're involved in homicide investigations, so certainly, this was no different. There were lots of ups and downs throughout the full investigation," White said.
