Bruce Lorenz [2]

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Canadian True Crime — Bruce Lorenz [2]

Host: Kristi Lee
Date: November 29, 2024
Episode Focus: The murder trial of Gordon Allen for the 1978 killing of Toronto lawyer Bruce Lorenz—examining the investigation, trial, and aftermath (Part 2 of 2).

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Episode Overview

This episode concludes the tragic and perplexing Bruce Lorenz case—a high-profile 1978 Toronto murder that became a test of circumstantial evidence, legal theatrics, and the fallibility of memory. Through meticulous storytelling, host Kristi Lee explores the prosecution of Gordon Allen, the key role of Lorenz’s wife Lauralee, and the controversial tactics used by both police and Crown to secure a conviction. The episode draws on trial transcripts, newspaper reports, and lawyer Edward Greenspan’s own writings to paint a portrait of justice under intense public scrutiny.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Case Background Recap (01:54–04:00)

• Victim: Bruce Lorenz, 36, Toronto lawyer, found shot dead in his Mustang at a subway station.
• Accused: His wife, Lauralee Lorenz, and her ex-boyfriend, Gordon Allen.
• Charges: Lauralee took a plea bargain (accessory after the fact) and testified against Gordon; her murder charge dropped.
• Sensational Context: The case drew crowds and dominated headlines due to its salacious "love triangle" and rumours of greed.

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2. Lauralee Lorenz’s Testimony (04:00–19:00)

• Marriage Issues: Bruce and Lauralee’s troubled relationship, struggles with infertility, adoption of two boys, and marital discord.

• Affair: Lauralee and Gordon’s “on-off” relationship, failed business, Lauralee returning to Bruce, but still in contact with Gordon.

• Day of Murder:

  • Lauralee claims to have received a confession call from Gordon at 6:30pm, which she “blocked from memory” until taking truth serum before her own trial.
  • Memorable quote:

    "I recognised the voice as being Gordon's... He said, 'Guess what? I think I've just killed your husband.' I screamed into the phone, 'What did you say? What did you do?'"
    — Lauralee testifying (08:15)

• Cross-Examination by Defence Lawyer Edward Greenspan (10:27–13:25)

  • Greenspan presses on plausibility of Lauralee forgetting such a shocking confession.
  • Highlights contradictions in Lauralee’s statements to friends, family, police, and priest—challenging the reliability of her “recovered memory.”
  • Notable exchange:

    “You told countless people that Gordon didn't do it... But your subconscious knew better, right?”
    “You could put it that way.”
    (10:52–13:11)

  • Suggests Lauralee’s story conveniently saved her from a first-degree murder charge.

• Other Testimony:

  • Lauralee’s dinner guest, Leanne, contradicts her timeline and reactions, suggesting Lauralee acted as if nothing was amiss after the supposed confession call.

• Police Perspective:

  • Officers found Lauralee "hysterical" when notified of Bruce’s death but oddly uninterested in details, suggesting foreknowledge.
  • Lauralee phoned Bruce's brother and said Bruce had been shot, before police released that information—a point ruled inadmissible since Lauralee was not on trial.

• Wiretaps (19:11–19:43):

  • Overhearing Lauralee and Gordon cautioning each other and expressing affection, interpreted by Crown as signs of collusion but by Lauralee as avoidance of trauma.

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3. Forensic & Circumstantial Evidence (19:43–33:00)

• Key Physical Evidence:
  • Gas receipt places Gordon Allen in northwest Toronto during the murder timeframe, conflicting with his initial alibi that he was in Orillia all day.
  • Chocolate brown corduroy jacket seized from Gordon tested positive for "blood" using the unreliable phenolphthalein test; later discredited in cross.
  • Witnesses describe killer in tan/camel coat, which doesn’t match Gordon’s usual jacket.
• Bomb Plot Theory:
  • Police find Gordon has a remote device; Crown alleges he planned a car bombing, but demonstration fails in court.
• Alternative Motives:
  • Hearsay that Bruce feared for his life due to involvement in real estate fraud—suggesting other possible killers.

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4. Gordon Allen’s Defense (33:00–40:00)

• Alibi Construction:
  • Admits to lying about movements out of fear. Claims he went to Toronto for a date with another woman, Irene, at the relevant time.
  • Irene corroborates timing of a phone call aligning with the gas receipt.
• Romantic Motive Challenged:
  • Other women (Carol Ann, Mary Jane) testify Gordon was not exclusive to Lauralee.
  • Mary Jane recalls seeing a gun at Gordon’s house and discusses an article about Bruce’s murder, but never felt threatened.
• Forensic Discrepancies:
  • Only circumstantial evidence, witness inconsistencies about coat color/hair color.
  • Police are accused of tunnel vision and improper identification techniques—showing only Gordon’s photos to witnesses.

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5. Competing Theories & Closing Arguments (47:25–71:00)

• Crown’s Theory:
  • Gordon, in love with Lauralee, killed Bruce for love and financial gain (insurance, estate).
  • Timeline: Gas, meet Bruce at subway, commit murder, confess in 6:30pm call, return to Orillia for bar alibi.
  • Points to numerous “unfortunate coincidences.”
  • Quote:

    "The accused wanted Lauralee and the children more than anything else... One thing stood in the way. Bruce Lorenz."
    — Crown closing (70:40)

• Defence’s Rebuttal:
  • Timeline too tight for Gordon to have been both in Downsview and at the murder scene.
  • The entire case hinges on Lauralee’s belatedly recovered memory of the 6:30pm call.
  • Suggests Lauralee fabricated the phone call after being shown police documents and facing her own murder trial.
  • Highlights lack of direct evidence and alternate suspects (muggers, possible hitmen, Bruce’s shady business dealings).

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6. Jury Deliberation and Verdict (71:00–73:00)

• Judge’s Instructions:

  • Must be all or nothing: guilty or not guilty.
  • Points out “astounding” nature of Lauralee’s recovered memory.

• Outcome:

  • After 3.5 days, jury acquits Gordon Allen of first-degree murder.
  • Quote:

    "I can live again. I never once doubted that our justice would arrive at the truth, but this will stay with me for the rest of my life."
    — Gordon Allen (73:09)

• Aftermath:

  • Lauralee’s accessory plea is voided; she successfully sues for part of Bruce’s estate.
  • Police officers who forged Lauralee’s signature for an affidavit face criminal charges, but only receive discharges—no jail, but careers ended.

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7. Reflections on the Case and Legacy (73:00–76:00)

• Edward Greenspan’s Views:

  • Believes police targeted Lauralee and Gordon to the exclusion of all other theories.
  • Suggests parallels with noir film "Double Indemnity."
  • Critiques of investigative tunnel vision, and open questions about the real killer.
  • Quote:

    “No man is legally guilty until guilt is imposed by the court.”
    — Edward Greenspan (towards end)

• Case Remains Unsolved:

  • Lauralee, despite promises, never spoke publicly again.
  • No new information has ever emerged; the murder of Bruce Lorenz remains a mystery.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Lauralee’s Shock:
  "I screamed into the phone, what did you say? What did you do?" (08:18)
• Greenspan’s Razor-sharp Cross:
  "Well, no, you're putting it that way." (13:33)
• Crown’s Closing:
  "The accused wanted Laura Lee and the children more than anything else in his entire life." (70:40)
• Jury Acquittal Relief:
  "I can live again." (73:09)
• Greenspan’s Reflection:
  “No man is legally guilty until guilt is imposed by the court.” (approx. 75:00)

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Important Timestamps

• Trial Recap & Key Evidence Review: 01:54–19:00
• Lauralee on Stand & Cross-Examination: 08:15–13:25
• Wiretaps Introduced: 19:11–19:43
• Gordon Allen Testimony & Alibi: 33:00–40:00
• Mary Jane's Gun Testimony: ~44:00
• Crown’s Timeline Recreation: ~47:30 onwards
• Jury Deliberation & Verdict: 71:00–73:00
• Final Reflections & Unanswered Questions: 73:00–76:00

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Tone and Style

• Narrative Style: Immersive, fact-based, respectful of trauma—Kristi Lee’s calm, methodical delivery with flashes of dry legal wit and dramatic flair via courtroom exchanges.
• Language: Mostly formal and measured, punctuated by emotionally charged trial dialogue and poignant firsthand accounts.

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Conclusion

This episode masterfully dissects the labyrinthine story of Bruce Lorenz’s murder, exposing flaws in both the investigation and the Crown’s case, while painting a nuanced portrait of flawed memory, compromised justice, and enduring mystery. With Lauralee’s credibility questioned, the trial pivots on a single phone call that may never have happened—and a largely circumstantial case collapses. In the end, both accused walk free, two police careers end in disgrace, and a family is left with more questions than answers.

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If you know anyone connected to this case, please respect their privacy. For more details and research sources, visit canadiantruecrime.ca.

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Transcript

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[Narrator/Host of Canadian True Crime]

This is the final part of a two part series where we left off. Laura Lee Lorenz and her on off boyfriend Gordon Allen, both in their early to mid-30s, had been charged with the first degree murder of Lauralee's husband Bruce Lorenzo. The 36 year old lawyer's body had been found in his Mustang one evening parked at Warden subway station in the south east corner of Toronto. His legs were protruding out the driver's window. Bruce Lorenz had been shot dead. A single.22 calibre bullet was found behind his ear but the murder weapon was never recovered. And although the police only recovered circumstantial evidence against Laura Lee Lorenz and Gordon Allen, the Crown determined it was enough to charge them both with first degree murder. But just days before their joint trial was about to begin, Laura Lee took some truth serum and suddenly remembered that Gordon phoned her the same night Bruce was murdered and confessed to it. At the time, evidence recovered via truth serum or sodium amytal still had credibility in Ontario courts and Lauralee's lawyer, Clayton Powell, used it to broker a plea deal. Her first degree murder charge was dropped and she was permitted to plead guilty to the much lesser charge of accessory to murder after the fact. In exchange, she agreed to be the Crown's star witness at Gordon Allen's now solo trial for first degree murder. She would testify about receiving this phone call and how she effectively helped Gordon get away with murder by concealing it all that time. Gordon Allen had retained famed Canadian criminal defence lawyer Edward Greenspan, who was able to have a bunch of the Crown's circumstantial evidence thrown out. Like the phone call where Lauralee seemed to know that Bruce had been shot dead before the police even knew it. In a conversation she had with Bruce's secretary the next day, where she asked if he'd signed his new will yet, a will that made her beneficiary of his sizable estate and provided a motive for murder. They were key pieces of circumstantial evidence against Laura Lee Lorenz in if her murder charge hadn't been dropped, of course, but none of it had anything to do with Gordon Allen. By the time his first degree murder trial began in February 1979, the case had already inspired a series of sensational headlines and people lined up around the block for a seat in the courtroom. The Crown's first witness was Laura Lee Lorenz herself, there to testify about helping her ex boyfriend, Gordon Allen get away with the first degree murder of her husband, Bruce Lorenz. The star described her outfit that day, a sleek beige tailored dress. The court heard that Laura Lee and Bruce Lorenz were married in September 1967 and had been married for just over 10 years when he was murdered. For the first several years of their marriage, they tried for a baby, but Lauralee wasn't able to get pregnant. Doctors wanted them both to undergo fertility testing, but Bruce refused. Laura Lee described him as having a violent temper, made worse by the stress of their fertility situation. When they adopted their first son, Lauralee said Bruce had problems adjusting to the fact that they couldn't have children of their own. Five years later, they adopted their second son. In July of 1975, Lauralee testified that Bruce was still struggling to adjust and seemed to have a particular issue accepting this new baby as his own. It caused a lot of friction in the marriage and as a lawyer, Bruce was also working long hours at the time. Lauralee testified that shortly after that she met Gordon Allen at a bar near the airport. Why she was there isn't known, but he asked her to dance, they exchanged numbers and Gordon began to phone her at home. She was very unhappy in her marriage by this point and within months she and Gordon had embarked on what she described as an on off relationship that led to her leaving her husband Bruce for him. The court heard that Lauralee and Gordon were together for almost two years. They started up a new franchise business and the boys called Gordon dad. But when their business failed, their relationship did too. Lauralee testified she returned to her husband but continued to keep in contact with Gordon. Not because they were still seeing each other, though she said they still had loose ends to tie up with the business and the bankruptcy and Bruce was helping them with it all. In addition, Gordon had grown close to the boys and considered the youngest one to be his own. Lauralee described a point where she realised that Gordon was still in love with her. She had unspecified surgery about two months before Bruce was murdered and Gordon visited her in hospital several times as she recovered. She testified that, quote, gordon knew I was very unhappy. He expressed a desire to get back together. I was very confused. I had just undergone a serious operation. Lauralee then told her version of events from the day her husband was murdered. The family had just arrived home from their two week vacation to Florida and Bruce was supposed to get an answer from his law firm about a promotion. He called Lauralee when he got the bad news. The promotion wasn't happening. She testified that she told him to get a drink after work and knowing that he wouldn't be home for dinner, she invited a friend over instead. Now it was time for Laura Lee to testify about the phone call. The call she had blocked from her memory right up until her own trial had been scheduled to start. She told the jury that at 6:30 that night she received a phone call at her home. The Toronto Star described how Lauralee's eyes filled with tears as she pulled tissues from her purse and told the jury, quote, I recognised the voice as being Gordon's. He sounded like he was huffing and puffing. He said, how are you? I said, fine. He said, guess what? I think I've just killed your husband. I screamed into the phone, what did you say? What did you do? And then he repeated, I think I've just Killed your husband. Oh, God, Laura. All the blood. Lauralee continued, to the best of my recollection, he said something about a lady staring at him. I said, I don't want to talk to you, and hung up. I didn't believe it had happened. I didn't want to believe I had received the call. Her testimony implied that the phone call may have been made from a payphone. This may have explained why it didn't appear on their phone records. She said her dinner guest was in the bathroom at the time the phone call came in. Edward Greenspan Cross examined Laura Lee, poking hard at the claim that she buried a murder confession deep in her subconscious. He rarely took his eyes off her, turning every once in a while to the jury, saying, do you expect us to believe that? Here's an excerpt of the cross examination edited for time.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

And Gordon said, guess what? I think I just killed your husband. Right?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

That's correct.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

And you screamed. What did you say? What did you do? Right.

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

That's correct.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

You screamed it, right?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Yes.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

And your friend is the thickness of a door away. She must have come out when you screamed it and said, laura, what's the matter?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

No, sir.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

She didn't come out, did she?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

No, sir.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

She didn't hear it, did she?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

No, sir. I believe she walked into the room as I was hanging up. Yes.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

A coincidence, Correct. What was the first thing you said to her?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

I didn't say anything to her. I believe I told her I was going upstairs to get the boys ready for bed.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

You got a phone call. Guess what? I think I have killed your husband. And you put it out of your mind, right?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

I didn't want to believe I received it.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

You want the jury to believe that?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Yes, sir. Because it's the truth.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

Then later you told a friend of yours that Gordon couldn't have done it, that he had nothing to hide, right?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Yes, sir.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

Where was the 6:30 call now?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

It wasn't there. I don't know where. It was somewhere in my mind.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

Where in your mind? What part?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Subconscious.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

You got a phone call from Gordon. Were you conscious when you heard it?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Yes, sir.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

And was it in your conscious mind when you got off the phone?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

I cannot say to you. When it went from my conscious to.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

My unconscious, I'm having some difficulty, Mrs. Lorenzo, you testified earlier that you consciously lied to the police about that 6:30 call. Were you hiding something in your subconscious or hiding something in your conscious mind?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Knowing what I know today, and looking back on the first time that I saw the police, I lied to them, yes, Because I didn't tell them about the 6:30 call.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

Which you knew about.

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Which I know about now.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

You know about now?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Yes, sir.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

So if we carry this on, you told countless people that Gordon didn't do it, right?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Yes, sir.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

You said to one of your friends that Gordon wouldn't hurt a fly.

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Yes, sir.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

But your subconscious knew better, right?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

You could put it that way.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

Well, no, you're putting it that way.

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Yes, part of my mind knew better.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

Your conscious mind told another friend that there's no conceivable reason for Gordon killing Bruce, right?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Yes, sir.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

Your subconscious mind told your priest that Gordon Allen could never do such a thing, right?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Yes, sir.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

Your subconscious mind told your parents that Gordon Allen wasn't capable of murder, right?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

That's correct.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

You told another friend that you didn't have a clue about the death of your husband.

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

That's correct.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

Right. That was your conscious mind that didn't have a clue. Your subconscious mind knew it all along, right?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

I wouldn't say I knew it all. It knew something that my conscious mind wasn't aware of.

[Edward Greenspan (Defense Lawyer)]

Well, it knew enough to get you out of a first degree murder charge, didn't it?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

It knew the truth.

[Narrator/Host of Canadian True Crime]

Edward Greenspan would write in his book that at the end of the cross examination he could feel the cold thin blade of her fury stabbing me in the back. A woman named Leanne, who identified herself as the friend that Laura Lee Lorenz invited for dinner that night, testified that it was more of a demand than an invitation. Leanne said the phone did ring at around 6:30, but she wasn't in the bathroom like Lauralee said. She was in the kitchen having dinner with Lauralee and her two children. She testified that Lauralee answered the phone and had a very quick conversation, saying she would phone the caller back and then hung up. She told Leanne that it was just a friend called Dawny that she'd been putting off. Leanne testified that Lauralee had mentioned having a friend by that name earlier that evening, although she didn't know her. Leanne told the jury that she did go to the bathroom, but it was a little later in the evening, after 7pm and she didn't remember hearing the phone ring during that time. It was noted that the bathroom was right off the kitchen. Laura Lee had, of course, testified that she screamed into the phone at Gordon, what did you say? What did you do? Leanne said she never heard any screaming that night, and Laura Lee gave no indication that she had received shocking news at that time, Certainly not that her own husband had been Murdered. Laura Lee then testified about the second phone call she received from Gordon three hours later at 9:30. The police knew about this call from the phone records, unlike the 6:30 phone call which Lauralee implied had been made from a pay phone. In this second call, she said Gordon asked her if there was any news. I said, pardon? And he said, what's new? I said nothing. He asked if Bruce was home and I told him not now. And he said, tell Bruce I did all the paperwork he asked me for. He asked me to have him call when he got home. I said he would if it wasn't too late and if it was, he would call in the morning. On cross examination, Lauralee said she didn't bring up the 6:30 phone call or mention anything about it to Gordon because she didn't want to think it had actually happened. I didn't want to believe it or accept it. I was scared for my children and my family. I didn't know what to do. I was on a lot of medication and was very confused, very upset. I didn't know what was going on at that point. Her dinner guest, Leanne testified about this phone call as well. She said she was watching TV with Lauralee and the kids after dinner when the phone rang again sometime after 9pm she assumed it was Gordon Allen on the other end. She. She'd met him several times. Laura's voice was different. She spoke very quietly, very calmly for quite a while. Later that evening, Leanne said she was in the kitchen making a cup of tea when she heard a knock at the door. It was the police with the news that Lauralee's husband, Bruce Lorenz, had died in a tragic accident. She heard Lauralee say, I don't believe it. The police officers who delivered that news testified that Laura Lee had behaved strangely that night. She reportedly became hysterical at their mere arrival. But when they told her that her husband had died in an accident, she strangely didn't seem to want any details about what actually happened. The implication was that she may have already known he'd been shot dead and was more focused on reacting to the police officers in what she thought was an appropriate way. This testimony was likely related to Bruce Lorenz's brother Brian, a police officer himself who had told investigators he received a problematic phone call from Lauralee that night. As you'll remember from part one, although the police initially told Lauralee that her husband had passed away in a tragic accident, she phoned his brother Brian and told him that Bruce had been shot dead. If this were still a joint trial, With Lauralee and Gordon facing first degree murder charges, Bruce's brother likely would have testified about that phone call. But now it was just Gordon Allen on trial and the phone call was inadmissible because it had nothing to do with him. Lauralee testified that Gordon called her the next day to check in. She said that by this point she had well and truly buried his first 6:30 phone call deep in her subconscious and blanked out his confession. The court heard that after the murder, a series of seven telephone conversations between Laura Lee Lorenz and Gordon Allen were intercepted by police where they often spoke about the need to be careful.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Guess what?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

What?

[Narrator/Host of Canadian True Crime]

I love you. Yeah.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Getting a lot of heat?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Pardon?

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Are you getting a lot of heat?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Oh, yeah.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Is anyone concerned why I haven't got in touch?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

I can't say very much. You know, your parents. Yeah. Well, just be careful. Pardon? You know, don't lay anything on too.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Thick, you know, I can't hear what you're saying.

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Well, it's the best I can do right now.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

How about I call you Wednesday morning? Okay?

[Laura Lee Lorenz]

Yeah. Okay.

[Narrator/Host of Canadian True Crime]

In one call, just before they were arrested, Gordon was heard telling Laura Lee that he didn't think she should say anything over the phone. She agreed and mentioned something about receiving weird phone calls and how she felt like she was being followed. She said someone had told her their phones were tapped. While circumstantial, these conversations implied that Lauralee and Gordon had something to hide. An innocent person isn't usually worried about being careful in case the police are listening. But Lauralee was not the one on trial here. In the witness box, Lauralee confirmed that she was trying to stop Gordon from talking, but not because the police were listening. She said she just didn't want to talk about Bruce because, quote, I didn't want to believe he'd called me the night of Bruce's death. If he had started to talk about it, it would mean it was true. During the initial search of Gordon's home, police found a remote control device. He told them he was using it to operate a model boat he was making for Lauralee's kids. The Crown argued that it was actually meant to detonate an explosive that Gordon had intended to build a bomb, put it in Bruce Lorenz's car and kill him that way. The Crown called an expert witness, the head of the Montreal Bomb Squad, who testified that these remotes were commonly used by biker gangs and organised crime. The Crown insisted on a demonstration. So the expert witness lugged an electronic device into the courtroom to show how the remote control could be used to set off a bomb. When he pressed the button, nothing happened. He checked the wiring and tried again. Nothing. This was supposed to be a bombshell moment, but the moment merely bombed. And even if it had worked, it didn't prove that Gordon Allen had anything to do with the murder of Bruce Lorenzo. As part of the testimony of two investigators, the the jury heard that two separate sources told police that Bruce Lorenz had feared for his life since July of 1977 because of, quote, his involvement in real estate frauds. This was eight months before he was actually murdered. It suggested someone else may have had a motive to kill Bruce Lorenz. But there was no emphasis put on it, no further details provided, and no confirmation that it was anything more than hearsay.

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[Narrator/Host of Canadian True Crime]

You need to master skills for AI disruption and rapid change, but you don't have three days for a seminar. Take charge of your career with Scrum Alliance. We deliver official Agile certifications and micro credentials that equip you with high demand professional expertise. Learn the discipline of Scrum and Agile, the adaptability toolkit for any role. Flexible, accessible learning make your goals attainable. Get started [e-mail] Enjoy 20% savings on micro credentials with code YEARN20. It cannot be overstated how much trouble Gordon Allen was in at the beginning of the trial. If he was still in love with Laura Lee Lorenzo, he certainly had a motive to murder the husband she left him to reunite with. Gordon's own sister had testified that he was very upset when he and Lauralee broke up and she moved back in with Bruce. The defence would be presenting witnesses to try and counter this. There was also the money motive. The stress of Gordon and Laura Lee's business failure and bankruptcy led to their breakup, putting them in a dire financial position. And Bruce Lorenz had money a Life insurance policy and a sizable estate. But despite these potential motives, Edward Greenspan believed his client when he said he was innocent. That gas receipt found in Gordon's home in Orillia that put him in the north of Toronto during the time frame of the murder was the most damning evidence against him. And the fact that he originally told police he was in Orillia all day, almost two hours drive north of Toronto, was proof of his dishonesty. Edward Greenspan's defence was designed to counter these points. It hinged almost entirely on proving Gordon Allen's actual whereabouts the day of the murder. Gordon Allen took to the witness box and told the jury that he was in Toronto on business when he first met Laurale Lorenz at the bar near the airport. He knew she was married with two young sons, but thought she and Bruce were already separated when they met. When the separation was official, Bruce Lorenz moved out of the family home. Gordon moved in and he and Laura Lee started their furniture refurbishment franchise. He testified that despite everything that had happened, Bruce agreed to be their company lawyer and would join them for dinner once a week. Gordon said he and Bruce had a good relationship and were even in discussions about a potential business opportunity together. Gordon testified that when the franchise business failed, followed by his relationship with Lauralee, he was heartbroken when she moved in with her mother. He moved back to Orillia, but continued to visit with Lauralee and the boys, who he said called him dad. He insisted that by the time Lauralee and Bruce reconciled just a few months later, he was no longer in love with her. He'd gotten over it. On cross examination, the Crown prosecutor suggested that Gordon was in love with Laura Lee at the time, so much so that he was motivated to murder her husband, Bruce. The court heard that in the months before Bruce Lorenz's murder, when he and Lauralee had supposedly reconciled, she and Gordon had sex. Surely that meant they were still in love. Gordon admitted that he and Lauralee did have sex twice, but those were mistakes, he said, and he was ashamed. The sex just happened. The Crown asked Gordon if he told Laura Lee he loved her when he slept with her. He replied, I don't think so. The Crown's case was that Gordon Allen lied to the police when he told them he was in Orillia all day. And he may have gotten away with that lie had investigators not found that gas receipt that proved he was at a Toronto gas station late that afternoon in a north west Toronto neighbourhood called Downsview. But Toronto is a sprawling city and Bruce Lorenz was Murdered in the south east corner across town in a diagonal direction. So the Crown had to prove that Gordon had the means to travel across town, murder Bruce Lorenz at warden station after 6.30pm and then get back north to Aurelia by 8pm it was a very tight time frame. In the witness box, Gordon Allen owned up to the fact that throughout this whole process he had told a number of lies. But now he was going to set the record straight about that gas receipt. Gordon admitted that he was in Toronto that day because he had a date with a woman named Irene. He drove down from Orillia later that afternoon and stopped for gas just off the 401 highway at Keele Street. Gordon testified that after he filled up his car he went to the payphone at the hotel next to the gas station to call Irene and confirm their date. But unfortunately she wasn't able to make it. He estimated he made this phone call shortly before 6pm from the start Gordon's date, Irene was reluctant to testify. She told his lawyer, Edward Greenspan, that she and her boyfriend had briefly broken up when she met Gordon Allen, but they got back together shortly afterwards and were now married. Irene didn't want to be caught up in all of this, but she also didn't want to send a potentially innocent man to jail. So she agreed to testify. Irene told the jury that she met Gordon at a dance and they got talking about the fact that she lived and worked in Toronto. He told her there was a possibility he'd be coming back in a few days for business and asked if she'd be interested in going for coffee that evening. She said yes and gave him her phone number. The date they were going to be meeting was Monday, March 20, 1978. It just happened to be the same day Bruce Lorenz was killed and around the same time frame. But Irene said she forgot about their tentative date. She testified that she arrived home that day at about 5:45pm and Gordon called her five minutes later at about 5:50. This was consistent with Gordon's own testimony and Irene said she was certain about the time because her parents watched a specific TV show each night that ended right at 6 and the phone rang during the show's last segment. Irene told the jury that she didn't notice anything unusual about Gordon's voice or general demeanour when he called. Gordon Allen testified that the reason he lied to police about his trip to Toronto was was because he was terrified. He said he became aware that he was a suspect only three days after Bruce Lorenz was murdered. And he felt police had already determined his guilt. He worried that they would contact Irene and try to get her to change her story. The elephant in the room was that fake affidavit presented to him by the police with Laura Lee's four forged signature claiming he was obsessed with her and had made death threats against her. It wasn't admissible as evidence in this trial, but it would come up later on. Gordon might have lied to the police about his Toronto date, but the Crown asked what reason he might have for also lying to his family and friends about it. He acknowledged that he didn't tell them where he was was but denied anything sinister. Besides, he said, why would he kill Bruce Lorenz? He wasn't in love with Laura Lee anymore and had given up hope that they'd ever get back together. Gordon testified that after the phone call with Irene he just decided to turn back and drive 120 kilometres north back to Orillia. He said he arrived home at about 7:15 or 7:30 and then went to a local bar after that. Several people at that bar who knew Gordon testified that they saw him there and he seemed totally normal. He didn't appear to be nervous or upset. While they couldn't be certain of the exact time, they indicated they saw him there as early as 8pm One of those witnesses also testified that when he first gave this information to the police, they told him to forget about it, that Bruce Lorenz had been murdered that morning. So knowing where Gordon Allen was that night was not relevant. This obviously wasn't the case. Bruce Lorenz was murdered after 6.30pm and it only served to provide even more evidence that the police had tunnel vision for Gordon as a suspect. These witnesses at the bar in Orillia also noted that Gordon was wearing the same chocolate brown corduroy military style jacket he always wore. That jacket had been seized by police during the searches of Gordon Allen's home. And the court heard testimony that there were some spots on it that looked like blood and the jacket had a small rip in one area where a patch had been torn off. Police administered something called a phenylphaline test on the spots which confirmed the presence of blood. But Gordon Allen's defence lawyer, Edward Greenspan, had done his research. He unearthed an important fact about phenolphthalein from a medical journal. This test only detected the presence of one chemical found in blood, but it's the same chemical that can also be found in milk, tears, saliva, fruit juice and in ketchup and mustard. Greenspan was able to get the Crown's forensic experts to admit this on the stand. He would write, I told the jury that if my jacket had been tested after eating a Big Mac, I'd have ended up in the same prisoner's doc as Gordon Allen. The other issue with this chocolate brown corduroy jacket is that multiple witnesses at Warden Station at around the time of the murder had testified that the man spotted with Bruce Lorenz was wearing a tan or camel colored overcoat or trench coat. It was dark outside that night, but this coat did not resemble the brown military jacket with the stains that may or may not have been blood. And of course those witnesses weren't able to positively identify that man as being Gordon Allen. There was also the matter of Bruce Lorenz's co worker who walked with him to Osgood subway station after work. At trial she testified that Bruce walked off to say hello to a guy wearing a camel coloured coat who was talking on a payphone inside the station and they got on the train together heading north. She said the man had freckles, hair with a red tinge and was shorter and heavier than Bruce Lorenz, although she acknowledged that almost everyone was shorter than Bruce. He was a very tall, slim man of 6 foot 5. When the Crown Prosecutor asked the co worker if the man she saw at Osgood station that day was in the courtroom, she looked at Gordon Allen and said, well, the gentleman has changed his hair colour again. I can just say that he looks like him. Gordon Allen fit the physical profile compared to Bruce Lorenz, but his hair was more brown than red. Gordon testified that in summer when his hair was bleached by the sun, it did take on a slight red tinge. But when the trial was taking place it was winter so it looked brown. The Crown accused him of dyeing his hair after the murder. Laura Lee had also testified that she thought he looks slightly different now. But Gordon said his hair was the same colour this winter as it was the previous winter, which is when Bruce Lorenz was murdered. Brown Gordon's lawyer, Edward Greenspan, offered up a lock of his client's hair for testing for the presence of hair dye. But the Crown declined a fairly baffling decision given their accusation. And there was something else. Greenspan argued that police had subjected Bruce Loren's co worker to an improper identification process. From the start, a proper and fair lineup would have included one photo of Gordon Allen as the suspect, along with photos of other people that fit the description. But the police showed her five black and white photos, all of Gordon Allen, more evidence of the police's tunnel vision. Now, this co worker only saw Bruce and his companion travel north on the train to get home, Bruce had to switch lines at the junction and take another train east to Warden subway station. And another of his co workers had testimony about this. He spotted Bruce at that junction with a companion and saw them switch lines to the eastbound train. He testified that the companion fit the same description as the other coworker's testimony and he couldn't positively identify Gordon Allen as being that companion. But he couldn't eliminate him either. The Crown's theory was that Gordon Allen was in love with Lauralee Lorenz and that motivated him to kill her husband Bruce Edward Greenspan called a number of witnesses for the defence who revealed that Laura Lee wasn't the only woman in Gordon Allen's life at the time. He had girlfriends, a few of them. There was Irene, the woman he met at that dance. Then there was a widow named Carol Ann who knew Gordon was seeing Lauralee. Carol Ann testified that they too had a date planned the night of the murder, but Gordon failed to call her. When Gordon was asked about this and why he didn't call Carol Ann, when Irene said she'd forgotten about the date, he said he hadn't thought about it. Then there was a woman named Mary Jane who also claimed to be dating Gordon around the time of the murder. She testified that he hosted a small party at his home in Orillia, which happened to be the same day of Bruce Lorenz's funeral. As you'll recall, the police wiretaps had picked up a conversation between Lauralee and Gordon where they agreed it would be bad optics for him to attend the funeral. But Mary Jane's testimony may or may not have done Gordon Allen any favours. She told the jury that while they were cleaning up after the party, she spotted a gun on his bookshelf and heard Gordon tell his roommate that he needed to get rid of it because it was similar to the gun that Bruce Lorenz was shot with and they would be coming to surround the place. Mary Jane testified that she believed Gordon was talking about the police. She asked him if the gun was loaded or not and he said it wasn't. She testified that he then got a copy of the Toronto Star newspaper. He, quote, showed me an article about the killing of a lawyer and asked me if I knew him. I said no and he said it was his girlfriend's ex. I asked him if he killed the guy and he said no. I told him he should sit down and and take a look at where he was on March 20 when Lorenz was killed. He said he had a good alibi and that he hoped they couldn't break. During cross examination, defence lawyer Edward Greenspan asked Mary Jane if she had been afraid of Gordon Ellen that night. She said no because he told her the gun wasn't loaded and besides, she thought the gun talk was all bluster, that Gordon was kidding. She said he had a great sense of humour. So why didn't she call the police anyway? Greenspan asked. Mary Jane said she didn't know enough about the Bruce Lorenz case to weigh in at the time. It was only a few months later, when she heard on the radio that Gordon had been arrested for murder, that she realised the potential significance of that conversation. During the Crown prosecution's cross examination of Gordon Allen, several bombshells were dropped to confront him, some previously unreported in the press. One of them was the fact that when Gordon and Laura Lee were living together, Bruce Lorenz had filed for divorce and he specifically named Gordon Allen in the filing. The divorce didn't go through, of course, and within two years Lauralee had broken up with Gordon and reunited with her husband. The Crown asked Gordon if he was aware that Bruce had specified if Lauralee left him again and Gordon was involved, she would get no money from his sizeable estate. Gordon told the jury he was aware of it and that's why he accepted it was over with Lauralee and moved on. The Crown asked Gordon about the phone records that showed he and Lauralee had spoken more than 130 times in the two months leading up to the murder. During the Lorenz family's vacation in Florida, she called Gordon at his home in Orillia 11 times and Bruce was murdered the day after they arrived back to Toronto. In addition, the wiretaps showed that Gordon and Laura Lee continued to talk for weeks afterwards. The Crown suggested to him that it was an awful lot of communication for two people who claimed not to be in a romantic relationship. Gordon said that most of their calls had to do with tying up loose ends from their dissolved business and working out their finances after the bankruptcy. Otherwise he was just being a good friend, checking in on her. This line of questioning suggested that Lauralee and Gordon were hiding the fact that they were having an affair again. If Bruce found out, it would lead to a divorce and Laura Lee would get nothing from his estate. The implication was that murdering Bruce was one way Gordon and Laura Lee could have their cake and eat it too. But again, Gordon Allen was the only one on trial here. There was still the matter of the phone call, the one Gordon allegedly made to Laura Lee at around 6:30 the night of the murder. The one where she claimed he told her he'd shot her husband. Lauralee's so called sweetheart deal hinged entirely on her recovered memory of that particular call. Gordon told the jury that Lauralee lied about that call. He stated he did not call her then and certainly did not confess to killing her husband. He confirmed that he did call her three hours later at 9:30, but said it was about some business paperwork. The Crown pointed out that in one of the wiretaps just a few days after Bruce's murder, Gordon was heard telling Lauralee that he loved her. So was it love or business? Gordon said that was the first time he'd said that to her in months and quote, I didn't love her in that sense. She knew it wasn't the romantic kind of love. The Crown suggested that all these phone calls were just the sign of a desperate man trying to keep tabs on a murder investigation. Gordon said that he was just concerned for Lauralee. The Crown then asked him why he seemed to be making plans to skip town once the police started to close in on him as a suspect. He said that wasn't true. He was just looking at other job opportunities outside Orillia. Foreign.

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[Narrator/Host of Canadian True Crime]

Crown prosecutor Michael lynch laid out the Crown's theory of what happened on Monday, March 20, 1978, the day that Bruce Lorenz was murdered and Gordon Allen's defence lawyer Edward Greenspan, pushed back at every step of the way. The court heard that Bruce Lorenz phoned his wife Laura Lee from his law office office that morning to tell her his firm had decided not to give him a promotion. She encouraged her husband to have a drink after work and then called a friend and invited her to dinner. The Crown suggested that this was perhaps to establish her own alibi. Turns out Bruce decided not to get that drink. He left the office with a co worker and headed for Osgood subway station in downtown Toronto. When they got there he saw a man with reddish hair wearing a camel coloured coat talking on a payphone. He went to say hello and the two men then boarded the train together. The Crown alleged that this man was Gordon Allen. Their theory was that Gordon did not call his date Irene from the hotel payphone next to the gas station in Downsview, as he testified, nor did he turn around and drive back north to Orillia. Instead, the Crown's theory was that Gordon put gas in his car at Downsview, then travelled south to Osgood Station downtown to use the payphone there. Knowing that Bruce Lorenz would soon enter that station after work, he joined Bruce on the train travelling north a few stops to the junction where they were seen by another co worker switching to the eastbound train out to Warden Station. Or that was the Crown's theory anyway. Edward Greenspan would remind the jury that neither of those co workers were able to positively identify Bruce Lorenz's companion as Gordon Allen. And neither were the witnesses who saw the two men walking in the parking lot at Warden's station station towards Bruce's Mustang. They put the time of this at about 6:30pm give or take. Another group of witnesses said that around 6:40pm they saw a man in a tan coloured coat leaning into the passenger side of that Mustang and assumed he was trying to help a drunk friend sleep it off. These witnesses weren't able to positively identify that man as Gordon Allen either. But the Crown's theory was that it was Gordon. He'd just shot Bruce Lorenz in the head and was frantically trying to position his lanky body inside his Mustang reclining in the driver's seat. How Bruce's legs ended up Protruding out the window remained a mystery. Now we get to the infamous 6:30pm phone call that Laura Lee Lorenz claimed she received from Gordon Ellen that night. The call she said she blocked from her memory, only to remember it a few days before she was due to go on trial for first degree murder. The Crown's theory was that Gordon Allen shot Bruce Lorenz, then used a payphone at Warden Station to call Lauralee at home and tell her about the murder. Gordon then jumped back on the subway downtown to retrieve his car from wherever he left it. And then he drove north to Orillia, where he was seen at a bar as early as 8pm The Crown reminded the jury about the testimony of a police officer who recreated that route to prove it was possible. That officer had testified he left Orillia at 3:30pm, drove 120 kilometres south on the 401 highway, exiting in the Downsview neighbourhood in northwest Toronto. After purchasing gas there, the officer was able to travel a further 16 kilometres downtown to be at the Osgood subway station by 5.35pm he then caught the subway north to the junction, then switched to the eastbound line, arriving at Warden station at about 6.15pm the officer allowed about 25 minutes there to kill Bruce Lorenz and left the scene at 6:41. He had testified he was able to make it almost 140 kilometres north to Orillia, arriving by 8:10pm to be seen at the local bar. The Crown told the jury this recreation proved their theory was possible. But Gordon's lawyer, Edward Greenspan, argued that the timing didn't work out at all. He pointed to one thing that blew the Crown's theory out of the water. The gas receipt, the one that placed Gordon Allen at that gas station in Downsview at 5:45pm at the earliest and 7:10pm at the latest. Gordon had testified that after he put gas in his car, he called Irene from the payphone at the hotel next door. She confirmed the time as being about 5:50pm which meant Gordon must have put gas in his car at 5:45pm the earliest possible time in that 90 minute window. But 5:45 was also the time that the Crown alleged Gordon was on the payphone at Osgood Station, 16 kilometres south. Edward Greenspan argued that for the Crown's theory to be true, Gordon would have had to travel between those locations in less than five minutes. It was impossible. But of course that only provided an explanation for the beginning of that 90 minute window of time for the gas purchase. Greenspan told the jury that no matter what time Gordon purchased gas during that window, the timing did not work. If he filled up his car closer to the end of that window, which was 7.10pm, he would have had to speed at 150 kilometres an hour the entire way back to Orillia to be seen at the bar at around 8pm and if Gordon purchased gas at any other time in that window, that meant he couldn't have also been the man who took a 35 minute subway ride with Bruce Lorenz, killed him in the car park, positioned his body in the car, phoned Laura Lee Lorenz from a payphone, then jumped back on the subway for the return journey. And about that police officer's testimony that he left warden station at 6 8:41pm and was able to make it almost 140 kilometres north to Aurelia in just 90 minutes. If the entire journey was by car, this would typically take about two hours. So it clearly relied on the police officer speeding on the highway. An extremely tight timeline already. But because the Crown's theory was that after killing Bruce Lorenzo, Gordon caught the subway back downtown to pick up his car. Then he drove north to Orillia. This made that timeline even tighter. The theory relied on there being no delays on any of the trains, no waiting on platforms, and for him to have sped the entire drive back to Orillia with absolutely no traffic delays. The Crown had also alleged that Gordon called Lauralee from a payphone to confess to the murder before jumping back on the subway for the return journey. But Laura Lee claimed she received that phone call from him at 6:30pm, which is the same time that witnesses saw Bruce and the man in the camel coat walking to his car, perhaps Lauralee was off with her timing. But even if she received the phone call closer to 6.45pm, which better fit with witness testimony about Bruce and and the man in the parking lot, that meant Gordon would not have been able to leave the scene by 6:41 like the officer did. And this made it even less likely that he would have been able to make it back to Orillia in time to be seen at the local bar. In Edward Greenspan's fiery closing arguments, he pointed out to the jury that it was a bloody crime scene with a lot of blood both inside and outside the Mustang. The Crown's timeline was already extremely tight. There was no time for cleaning up. Yet the jury was being asked to believe that Gordon Allen murdered Bruce Lorenz, called Lauralee from the payphone, then jumped straight on the subway, likely dripping with blood as Edward Greenspan put it and no one noticed. The defence lawyer reminded the jury that the so called blood found on Gordon's chocolate brown military jacket hadn't actually been tested and confirmed as blood. And even if it were, multiple witnesses said the man seen with Bruce Lorenz at the payphone at Osgood station was wearing a light or tan coloured coat. So too was the man seen further up at the junction with Bruce. Then walking in the car park at Warden station and leaning into his Mustang. Greenspan claimed the police and the Crown had such tunnel vision for Gordon Allen that they ignored all kinds of evidence. There was a green car seen speeding away from the scene of the crime that was never located. Gordon Allen drove a silver Mazda and of course those fraudulent mortgage deals that Bruce Therens may have been involved in. But the bulk of his closing arguments focused on that critical 6:30pm phone call. Edward Greenspan argued the only way the killer could have called anyone at 6:30pm is if he, quote, carried a phone in his shirt, shoe. And out of all the circumstantial evidence presented at trial, this phone call where Gordon allegedly confessed to murdering Bruce Lorenz was the only thing that even suggested he was implicated in the murder, according to the defence. And it all hinged on Laura Lee's weird recovered memory. Edward Greenspan had a theory on that too. In his opinion, the 6:30 call never happened. He suggested to the jury that just before Lauralee's trial was supposed to begin, the reality of her situation sunk in that at age 33 she stood to lose both her own freedom and years. With her children convicted of first degree murder, she'd be sentenced to life in imprisonment. She'd be 58 when she got out. Her fur coat would sit in cold storage for a long time. What was the one thing she could do to take herself out of a first degree murder charge? She had to point the finger at someone. She had to do what the police were demanding all along. They even gave her a script, prepared a forged affidavit, a lie known by the police to be a lie, to show to Gordon Allen. That affidavit with Lauralee's forged signature stated that Gordon was obsessed with her. And when she asked him to back off, he made death threats against her and the children. It was a ruse the police concocted to make Gordon think that Laura Lee had turned on him, hoping he would do the same. And at the time Lauralee had no knowledge of that affidavit. But Greenspan told the jury that months later at a preliminary hearing she saw a copy of that affidavit. His theory was that it inadvertently formed the foundation of her new story, which was that she was over the relationship with Gordon, but he was still in love with her and that gave him motive to kill her husband. Edward Greenspan speculated that Laura Lee would have realised she had a choice. She could either be an accused at trial or a witness. Faced with a trial two days away and told by a lawyer that she might be convicted despite her innocence, she did the only thing Laura Lee Lorenz is capable of doing in those circumstances. She lied. She tried to sink the man she'd sworn for a year was innocent to save herself. That's why she did it. It's that simple and that terrifying. The jury heard that even if they believed all the Crown witnesses except Laura Lee Lorenz, if they didn't believe that the 6:30 phone call happened the way she said, then they couldn't return a guilty verdict for for Gordon Allen. In Crown Prosecutor Michael Lynch's closing arguments, he described Gordon Allen as a grasping, vicious, vindictive coward, adding, quote, the accused wanted Laura Lee and the children more than anything else in his entire life. His time with Laura Lee Lorenz had been the best in his life. One thing stood in the way. Bruce Lorenz, the Crown Prosecutor, referred to a long list of what he described as unfortunate coincidences. Of course, they were pieces of circumstantial evidence. There were the phone records that showed Gordon Allen and Lauralee Lorenz had spoken more than 130 times in the two months leading up to the murder. And the wiretap showing they continued to talk talk for weeks afterward. How Gordon told Lauralee he loved her and asked her if she was getting any heat. How she told him to be careful. These were all just unfortunate coincidences, the Crown Prosecutor said sarcastically. So too was the fact that Gordon and Laura Lee had financial issues when their relationship broke down. That Laura Lee was beneficiary of a $75,000 insurance policy on her husband's life and believed she was the primary beneficiary of his will. It was just a coincidence that Gordon lied to the police as well as his own friends and family about being in Aurelia all day. When the gas receipt proved otherwise. So too was the fact that the murder weapon had never been recovered. Yet a similar gun to the one that fire fired the.22 caliber bullet into Bruce Lorenz's head was allegedly seen at Gordon's home. The Crown stated there were just too many instances of these unfortunate coincidences. And when Added together, they all pointed to Gordon Allen's guilt and about Laura Lee and that phone call, quote, we are not so naive as to think Lauralee is not more involved than she's prepared to admit. It would be difficult to admit to your friends and relatives that you helped a killer. While she is not a person to be admired by any means, I suggest to you that she is telling the truth about the phone call. Before the jury retired to deliberate the the judge told them that it was an all or nothing verdict. They had to find Gordon Allen guilty of first degree murder or not guilty at all. The judge reminded the jury that although Gordon Allen had told considerable lies, there was no direct evidence linking him to the murder. And just like Edward Greenspan, the judge said he also found Lauralee's recovered memory about the 16 phone call to be, quote, astounding. The judge also pointed out that Lauralee had the benefit of seeing something else before she remembered that phone call. The brief prepared by the Crown about the gas receipt that placed Gordon Allen at the gas station in downsview sometime between 5:45 and 7:10pm the judge told the jury that it was only Allen after Lauralee read the brief that she suddenly remembered that 6:30pm phone call right in the middle of that window of time. As the jury deliberated, Edward Greenspan was extremely confident he would write that based on the evidence, the only way the jury could have found Gordon Allen guilty was on some stubborn speculation that he must have killed Lauraleigh Loren somehow, even if it wasn't the way that the Crown suggested it. But no lawyer, no matter how confident, ever really knows what a jury will do. The jury deliberated for three and a half days and found 37 year old Gordon Allen not guilty of first degree murder. The Toronto Star reported that he grabbed his head with shaky hands and collapsed in his seat with relief. He said, I can live again. I never once doubted that our justice would arrive at the truth, but this will stay with me for the rest of my life. The Crown later announced that it had found no grounds that would merit an appeal. It was over. Well, almost. There was still the matter of Gordon Allen lying about his education. At that bail hearing he pleaded guilty to perjury, but even those charges were eventually thrown out. As for Laurale Lorenz, remember before the trial started, Edward Greenspan successfully argued that no one had been convicted of murder yet. So how could Laura Lee plead guilty to being an accessory after the fact? The judge had agreed that Laura Lee's guilty plea would be set aside until after Gordon Allen's murder trial. And now that he'd been acquitted, it was cancelled. Both she and Gordon were free. Lauralee told the Toronto Star, quote, I know a lot of things have been said about me, but I have no comment. She promised she would speak out at a later date. Later that year, she sued for a share of Bruce Lorenz's death $200,000 estate. He had cut her out of his will after she first left him for Gordon Allen and added her back into it after they reconciled. He never did sign that updated will. But Lauralee won that fight too, settling for $175,000 to be split between her and the children. And remember, Staff Sergeants Stephenson and McLean, the police officers who created the false affidavit, signed with Lauralee's forged signature, hoping it would inspire a confession from Gordon. They were eventually charged with that very crime, and another trial was held. During that trial, the former lovers crossed paths for the first time in months. They did not say a word to each other. Laura Lee had only agreed to testify if nothing she said could be used against her in a court of law. She testified that although she did not sign that affidavit, she would have signed it if the officers had asked her to. Clearly, there was no love lost between the former lovers. Gordon Allen remained defiant on the stand. He called the affidavit absurd, ridiculous and preposterous. As for the two police officers, the court heard that police are permitted to employ, quote, dirty tricks to trap suspects. It's a routine practice they're taught during training and often rewarded in court. One expert testified that if they had simply forged law, Lee's signature on a plain old statement, things might be different. But forging a signature on a legal affidavit is a crime, regardless of the intentions. That said, even the office's own lawyers argued that if the false affidavit had resulted in a confession from Gordon Allen, they wouldn't be on trial. There'd be heroes. So why were they charged and tried for something? Punished police do all the time. In Edward Greenspan's opinion, they were made the scapegoats in a failed conviction. In the end, the officers were found guilty of creating the false affidavit, the only convictions related to the murder of Bruce Lorenz. Instead of jail time or criminal records, the officers were given absolute discharges and could no longer be police officers. The Toronto Star called the Bruce Lorenz murder case Canada's version of double indemnity after the forties noir film about a gorgeous femme fatale who conspires with her lover to kill her husband. This case also solidified Edward Greenspan's reputation as the lawyer you need when you're a kid accused of murder. In later years, he occasionally reflected on his client, Gordon Allen. He told a crowd of 500 lawyers that Gordon looked guilty of cold blooded murder when he first took him on as a client. I'm often asked how can I represent a guilty man? The answer I like to give is that in our system every man is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The question of doubt is not determined in the newspaper or by public broadcast. Nobody is legally guilty until guilt is imposed by the court. Edward Greenspan always maintained that he believed Gordon Allen was innocent. But Bruce Lorenz was obviously killed that night and Lauralee had an alibi. She was at home with her children and a dinner guest. So if Gordon didn't kill Bruce Lorenz, then who did? Greenspan was happy to speculate. As part of his 1987 book the Case for the Defence, he wrote there was no evidence, apart from vague hearsay, that Bruce Lorenz had any business dealings or personal conflicts that might have motivated someone to murder him. It was also a fact that after the first 48 hours, the police made no effort to investigate Bruce's life except in relation to Gordon and Lauralee. The investigators may have started with an open mind, but they closed it very quickly. In my opinion, they closed it as soon as they heard Bruce's co worker say that the man she saw on the subway must be Gordon Allen. From that point on, the investigation concentrated on nothing but gathering evidence against Laura Lee and Gordon by hook or by crook. Other possibilities were simply not explored, but it would be rash to conclude that they did not exist. Greenspan wrote about evidence that there were muggers operating at that parking lot. Maybe it was, quote, some crazy kid, armed and struck, strung out on drugs, who might have decided to take a chance but fled when he was spotted by passersby. Which explained why there was no evidence that Bruce Lorenz had been robbed. Greenspan wrote that such things have happened before. And finally he noted that the murder seemed to be a gangland style assassination, A single bullet behind the earth with no weapon ever found and no fingerprints or any other physical evidence connected with the killer. And there was that green car speeding away from the parking lot. Greenspan wrote that hired assassins have been known to kill the wrong victim by mistake. Hitmen are not very smart and they frequently put bombs in the wrong car or torch the wrong garage. The murder of Bruce Lorenz has never been solved and although his wife Laura Lee promised to speak out at a later date, she never did. A search of the news archives in the decades after the trial show that there was never any new information put on the public record about in either Laura Lee Lorenz or Gordon Allen. The case remains a mystery. Thanks for listening. If you happen to know anyone related to this case, please respect their privacy. Special thanks to Barbara Cooper, who played Laura Lee Lorenz and K Canadians probably recognise the voice of Terry O'Reilly who played Edward Greenspan during the cross examination. Terry hosts the award winning CBC radio show under the Influence. His Apostrophe Podcast network produces other great shows too, like We Regret to Inform the Rejection Podcast, a fascinating look at successful people who overcame debilitating career rejection. Stay tuned to hear a promo for that in just a minute. This series has been pieced together from the extensive news archives of the Toronto Star, excerpts of a lecture delivered by Edward Greenspan that were published in a book called Counsel for the Defence and his own 1987 book A Case for the Defence, co written by George Jonas. For the full list of resources we relied on to put together this series and anything else you want to know about about the podcast, visit canadiantruechrime ca and follow us on our Facebook and Instagram pages to see photos and clippings. Lisa Gabriel researched and wrote this series. Our senior producer is Lindsay Aldridge and Carol Weinberg is our script consultant. Our audio editor is Eric Crosby, who also provided the voice of Gordon Allen in Part one. Additional research and writing, narration and sound design was by me and the theme songs were composed by we talk of dreams. I'll be back soon with another Canadian true crime episode. See you then.

[We Regret To Inform Podcast Host]

Stephen King's manuscript for Carrie was rejected by 30 publishers before selling a million copies in its first year. Lisa Kudrow was told she wasn't gorgeous enough for television before becoming the highest paid actress on tv. And Canadian hockey great Haley Wickenheiser was told hockey was for boys before winning seven world championships and four Olympic gold medals. Chances are every person you admire has been wounded by rejection. On We Regret To Inform inform you the Rejection Podcast. We walk you through the incredible journeys of actors, authors, artists, athletes and even astronauts. We extract the insights and separate shame from rejection one story at a time. We Regret to Inform you. The Rejection Podcast Find us wherever you like to listen.

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