The Murder of Bruce Lorenz: The Role of Defence Counsel

• Author: Edward L. Greenspan
• Pages: 225-237

The

Murder

of

Bruce Lorenz:

The

Role

of

Defence Counsel

EDWARD

L.

GREENSPAN,

QC

1987

Gordon Allen

was

born

and

raised

in

Orillia, Ontario,

and had a

number

of

jobs

in his

rather uneventful

life

before

he met and

took

up

residence with

Lauralee

Lorenz

in

Toronto.

She was a

nurse who,

after

meeting Allen, even-

tually separated

from

her

husband, Bruce Lorenz,

a

real estate lawyer with

a

large

downtown Toronto

law

firm.

Within days

of

leaving Bruce, Lauralee

took

her two

young boys,

one of

whom

had

been adopted, with

her to set up

home with Gordon Allen. Allen

had

never been married before. From

all

reports

the

relationship between Gordon Allen

and

Lauralee

Lorenz was, ini-

tially

at

least,

a

good one.

She

brought money into that relationship

from

her

separation, they operated

a

business together,

and

Allen came

to

care deeply

for

her

children. Because

of

their ages,

the

children called

him

"Dad,"

and

Allen

came

to

look upon

the

younger

boy as his own

son.

Eventually,

however, their business began

to

decline. Lauralee continued

to

have contact with Bruce Lorenz

and he

with

his

older son.

After

his

sepa-

ration

from

Lauralee, Bruce

had

been considered

for a

partnership

in the

prestigious

law

firm

of

Borden

and

Elliot,

but was

rejected. Lauralee

and

Bruce

often

spoke about this

rebuff,

and

Bruce voiced

the

opinion that

it was

related

to

their marital

difficulties.

For

this reason,

as

well

as the

failure

of

Gordon Allen

and

Lauralee's

business,

Bruce

and

Lauralee

decided

to

resume living

together.

When

Allen

225