Sordid' but 'Understandable under the Circumstances': Kohnke, Croft, and Wilson, 1967

• Author: Constance Backhouse
• Pages: 227-262



E ChapterF

SORDIDBUT

“UNDERSTANDABLE UNDER

THECIRCUMSTANCES

KohnkeCroftandWilson

Tthe bodyofa nAbori gina lwoman onApri lset 

in motion a train of events that displayed Canadian cr iminal justice at its most

callous core. It was a frosty Sunday morning when the body of Rose Marie

Rope ras even tee nye ar oldm emb erof th eEsk ete mcFi rst Nati onA lka li Lak e

Band, was found. Small in stature, she weighed less than a hundred p ounds.

Herbaeredandnudebodywaslyingfacedownontheiceandmudneara

garbage dump on a lonely logging road between Williams Lake and Lac La

Hache, in Cariboo County, central interior British Columbia. The RCMP indi

catedthatRosehadsueredabrokenneckbruisesandcutsTheyhad

yet to determine whether she was sexually assaulted as well.

Sexual assault culm inating in homicide was not uncommon in Can ada.

Somemenchokedsuocatedstabbedb eatorstrangled womenandg irls

inaneorttofacilitaterapeorindecentassaultOthertimestheykilledtheir

victims in a violent frenzy aer the sexua laack or in an eort to avoid

being c aught. Such acts could lead to charges of murder, which, if proven,

could result in capital punishment or mandatory li fe imprison ment.

A murder conviction required proof that the accused h ad intended to

cause death, or intended to cause bodily harm that he knew was “l ikely

tocausedeathandwasrecklesswhetherdeathensued

 Even if the as

sailant had no desire to cause death or bodily harm, he could be convicted

ifhedidsomethingforanunlawfulobjectthatwaslikelytocausedeath

Thelawalso recognized anoenceof constructivemurderIfanaccused

wasi nt heproc ess ofcomm iing aser iousc riminal oence such as rape

ﾆﾆﾌCarnalCrimes

or indecent assault, and intentionally caused bodily har m to facilitate that

crime, he could be convicted even though he had no wish to kill h is victim,

and had no idea that death was likely to result.

Where the Crown was unable to prove murder, but the court was still

of the view that there had been a cu lpable homicide, the accused could be

convicted for the lesser crime of manslaughter, for which life imprison ment

was the maximum sentence. Where the evidence did not establish culpable

homicide, reduced verdicts could include rape, indecent assault, assault caus

ing bodily harm, common assault or, in extreme case s, accidental homicide

resultinginanacquial

Courtesy of t he Esketem c Land Set tlement O ce, PO Box  , Williams La ke, BC, VG V.

Panoramic view of the Al kali Lake Reserve

SordidbutUnderstandableundertheCircumstancesﾆﾆﾍ

A Tragic Childhood

RRSandraArchiehaswrienInourculturethe

greatest honour to bestow on anyone is to tell stories about them. Should you

decidetotell Rosesstoryshewill behonoured thatmost peoplewill hear

thet rutho fhershortli feRoseMa rieRop erwast heeldes tchi ldofJaco bB

RoperandPatriciaGeorgeRoperHerpaternalgrandmotherwasChristine

HainesandthefamilytraceditsheritagetoShuswapChilcotinandScoish

an c es t r y. The Roper fami ly lived at Alkali Lake, an isolated reserve located

kilome tress outhofWi lliam sLakei nhaunt inglyb eautif ulmou ntainous

ranching land covered with forests and fed by t he Fraser River.

The lands around Alka li Lake and Williams Lake had t raditionally be

longedtotheShuswappeopleAertwothirdsoftheShuswappopulation

werewipedoutin smallpoxepidemicsthe whiteselerswhofollowedt he

CaribooGoldRushinthe midnineteenthcentur yhelpedthemselvestothe

land, despite the absence of treaties and in blatant disregard of Aborigi nal

title. Aboriginal resistance proved futile. Five men from the neighbouring

Chilcotincommunitywereconvictedandhangedwhentheireortstopre

Courtesy of Sandra Archie

The Fraser River landsc ape between the Alkal i Lake and Dog Creek reserves