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Transcript
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Narrator/Host (Canadian True Crime Podcast) (1:11)
This is the final part of a two part series pieced together from court documents and the news archives. Please respect the privacy of the people involved in this case.
Casey (Casefile Podcast Host) (1:22)
Foreign.
Narrator/Host (Canadian True Crime Podcast) (1:27)
Where we left off 18 year old Darren Huneman had been charged with the first degree murder of his mother Sharon Heunemann and grandmother Doris Leatherbarrow. Darren was a chameleon. Teachers saw him as a model student with good grades and impeccable manners. Classmates saw him as an immaculately dressed, flamboyant rich kid with a wild imagination and a flair for the dramatic. He was also known to be highly skilled at communication and manipulation. Darren Huneman was the only grandson of Doris Leatherbarrow, who lived on the lower mainland area of Vancouver where she owned a chain of women's fashion stores. Darren was in line to inherit her fortune, but he had a rock solid alibi for the murders. He was on Vancouver island the Entire Day, a 90 minute ferry ride away from the mainland, when the police uncovered evidence that he convinced his two younger classmates to carry out the murders on his behalf. They were charged with first degree murder. In this episode, Darren Heunemann and Derrick Lord testify in their own defence with conflicting versions of events and as you'll remember, the youngest of the three, David Muir, had confessed to police early on, but it wasn't permitted as evidence because it violated his charter rights. David Muir would remain tight lipped for the time being, but the situation would change later on. And then there's the aftermath, how the theatrics and shocking updates continued long after the trial, leading to a prison break, another confession and the destruction resulting from one family's refusal to believe it. And with that, it's on with the. The Crown prosecution's case was that Darren Huneman was already, quote, spoiled to death by his grandmother. But he was greedy and wanted more. He wanted his inheritance early and did not want to split it with his mother, Sharon Huneman. So he arranged for his two younger friends to kill them both and orchestrated the plan in advance. The prosecution's star witness against all three accused was Darren's former girlfriend, Amanda, who was still in protective custody. The Crown had offered her immunity, satisfied that she wasn't actively involved in the actual murders or the planning of it. Amanda was 18 years old by this point, but she reportedly looked much younger than that, plainly dressed, with no makeup and wispy blonde hair touching her shoulders. Amanda said her relationship with Darren Huneman began after he called her out of the blue. She said she was surprised because while they knew of each other from school, they'd never actually had a conversation. This was about four months before the murders. In a later interview with the Times Colonist, Amanda would reveal that although the trial described their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend, it wasn't quite like that at the time. Amanda was 16. Her parents had recently divorced. She'd moved house and had difficulty adjusting to new schools. She was fairly vulnerable at the time, so this sudden expression of interest in her was welcome. For the first two months over the summer, she and Darrin only had phone calls. Amanda recalled him telling her she looked sweet and innocent. He said he wanted a girlfriend and needed someone who was credible and a good representative of him. They started hanging out in person just before the new school year, a little less than two months before the murders. But Amanda said she only ever saw him as a friend. There was never anything romantic or sexual between them. Amanda would tell the Times Colonist that while Darren liked to refer to her as his girlfriend, with hindsight she realised that his intent was strategic more than romantic. She firmly believed he'd decided she would be easy to manipulate and control and wanted to set her up to be his alibi. Amanda said that Darren grew increasingly controlling of her. He was wildly excited about the school play where he was playing the lead role of the cruel Roman emperor Caligula. He announced that he'd found a role for her in the play, too. Backstage, she now believed he just Wanted her close to keep tabs on her. Amanda's mother would say Darren was so much in control at the time it was scary. She described him as, quote, a 48 year old man in an 18 year old's body. He had perfect manners and was a real diplomat. At trial, Amanda testified that Darrin started telling her he wanted to have his mother and grandmother murdered for financial gain. He mentioned killing the two women in at least 50 phone calls and discussed various plans. Amanda was struck by the fact that Darren seemed to be under the tight control of both women and he seemed to hate them more than he loved them. And because of Darren's dramatic streak and tendency towards theatrics, Amanda believed it was just talking, that it would never turn into reality. She testified that he told her he'd decided on a plan that involved his mother Sharon's periodic trips to the mainland to help his grandmother Doris out in her stores. And he had hired two classmates to do it. The court heard that every second Wednesday Sharon Huneman caught the ferry from Vancouver island to to the lower mainland. She would stay with her mother Doris Leatherbarrow in Tawwassen, helping out in the stores and the warehouse. Then on the Friday night she always caught the 7pm Ferry back to Vancouver Island. But on Friday, October 5th of 1990, Sharon was late arriving home after her husband Ralph called police on the mainland. The they discovered two lifeless bodies on the floor. The forensic evidence suggested the two women suffered an extremely violent attack shortly after they arrived home from the warehouse. At about 6pm 47 year old Sharon Heunemann was found with a kitchen knife lying on her chest. Her throat had been cut and she suffered two skull fractures and a split right forehead. Her mother, Doris Leatherbarrow had a kitchen knife still embedded deep in her throat. The 69 year old also suffered a broken right jaw, a torn ear and the right side of her skull was fractured. Neither of the women had any defensive injuries. Their faces were covered up with dishcloths. The court heard that the house had been ransacked as though it was a robbery. But there were valuable items left untouched. And while the evidence suggested Sharon and Doris were ambushed right as they were about to serve dinner, there were four servings of lasagna on the bench. The Crown's case was that their two mystery guests were Darren Heunemann's two classmates. 17 year old Derek Lord, the eldest of the two was known as an oddball who was fascinated with knives and martial arts and often made violent comments. Derek came from a stable and quite close knit family, although he'd moved house quite a bit because of his father's employment and they had a somewhat strained relationship. Then there was the youngest, 16 year old David Muir, a baby faced flute player who was on the honour roll at school with a superior iq. David grew up in a stable upper middle class family and was known to be calm and not easily excited. He also had a fascination with knives. The Crown's case was that Derek and David were motivated by greed. When they agreed to act as hitmen for Darren Huneman in return for his promise of money, gifts and land. They spent months helping plan the murders of his mother and grandmother and then carried them out. Amanda testified that on a Friday night in late September 1990, two days after Darren's 18th birthday, they drove to Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. When the ferry arrived from the mainland, Derek Lord and David Mule walked off and got into Darren's car. Amanda testified they told Darren they couldn't do it because they weren't able to find the mailbox. Darren became extremely angry and ordered them to try again. Two weeks later, after he dropped them both home, Amanda asked what all that was about. Darren told her flippantly that this was the night that Derrick and David were supposed to carry out his plan. But they couldn't find his grandmother's house. So they were going to try again in two weeks time on Friday, October 5, when his mother would be returning to the mainland. It had to be done by then because his grandmother was going on a trip to Europe. Shortly after that, Amanda testified that Darren then went over the details of his plan, the same detail she eventually gave to police. In a nutshell, David Muir and Derek Lord would catch the ferry across to the mainland where they would find his grandmother's house and say they happened to be in the area. Darrin expected his mother would invite them in, at which point they would kill both women, ransack the house and catch the ferry back to Vancouver Island. Darren would be waiting to pick them up and they would all establish an alibi together. That was the plan. Amanda testified that shortly after that they ate dinner with Darren's mother and stepfather. She told him she now felt uncomfortable with Sharon knowing what he had planned for her. He told her, don't worry, it just has to be done. Two weeks later, in the early evening of Friday, October 5th of 1990, Amanda was with Darren at his home drinking tea and reading tarot cards. Earlier, he'd dropped his two classmates off to catch the 3pm Ferry. Amanda testified that around 5:30pm Darren mentioned he was wondering if it had been done yet. At about 8pm they drove to Swartz Bay Terminal. The ferry was due back on Vancouver island at about 8:30pm but it was late that day and arrived closer to 9pm Derek Lord and David Muir exited the ferry and got in Darren's car. They confirmed that this time they found the mailbox. When Darren asked them how it had gone, Derrick said, quote, what do you mean, we just killed two people? Amanda testified that as they drove off from the parking lot, David and Derek recounted how they had followed his plan exactly. They confirmed that when they arrived at Doris Leatherbarrow's home, Sharon recognized them and invited them in for a quick lasagna dinner before she caught the 7pm ferry back to Vancouver Island. Amanda told the jury that both David and Derek laughed as they recalled Sharon offering to give them a ride to the ferry as well. She wouldn't be catching any ferry that night. As the two women were in the kitchen serving dinner, the teenagers pulled out crowbars from their bag and ambushed them with repeated blows to the head. David Muir, the youngest of the two, said that he'd put, quote, a 1 inch hole in Granny's head and she went out. Derek Lord said Sharon kept asking them why they were doing it. They said they placed towels on the women's faces so they wouldn't have to look at their eyes and cut their throats with knives from the kitchen. Derek recalled having a difficult time locating Sharon's jugular vein. Amanda testified that the teenagers confirmed that when both women were dead, they stole money from their wallets and ransacked the house so it looked like a robbery. They then caught the 7pm ferry back to Vancouver island, throwing the crowbars and gloves into the ocean. The judge would point out that Amanda's account was eerily consistent with the details of the crime uncovered by the police investigation from what was happening inside the home at the time the attack began, the location of the bodies and the wounds inflicted upon them to the staging of the crime scene. It also provided an explanation for why the police had never recovered the weapon that caused the blunt force trauma and why there were no fingerprints or any other forensic evidence found that could have tied anyone to the crime scene. Amanda testified that after that, the four of them spent a little time driving around while they discussed the alibi they would provide. If questioned by the police, they would all say they were on Vancouver island the whole evening. For Darren and Amanda, this would be easy because they actually were. David and Derek would say they were shopping together in downtown Victoria until about 8pm When Darren and Amanda arrived there to meet them for dinner. They would say they left at about 9:30pm and then he dropped them home. Darren's stepfather Ralph, would confirm that Darren and Amanda did not leave Vancouver island that night. But when it came to Derek Lord and David Muir, the court heard testimony from several witnesses that directly contradicted their alibi. There was that taxi driver on the mainland who testified about picking up two teenage passengers from the ferry terminal just before 5pm he tentatively identified David Muir, the younger of the two, as one of those passengers. He said he drove them to the Tawwassen Town Centre Mall, which was only about a 10 minute walk from where Doris Leatherborough lived. Then There was the two young neighbours who saw two boys loitering about near Doris home at about 6pm shown the same photo lineup, they tentatively identified both as the two loiterers. Then at 6:45pm Someone who identified themselves as Dave booked a taxi from the mall back to Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. The taxi driver who took the job described picking up two young men who were in a hurry to make the 7pm ferry to Vancouver Island. When Amanda finally confessed to the police and told them that the Ferry arrived almost 30 minutes late, she had no way of knowing they had already heard this specific detail from a passenger who was on that ferry. And perhaps more importantly, that passenger was a university student who positively identified seeing Derek Lord on that ferry. She knew him because she'd previously attended Mount Douglas High School and she confidently remembered the exact date because it was the busy Thanksgiving holiday weekend and of course the ferry was late. Amanda continued her testimony about the night Derek Lord and David Muir arrived back on the ferry. After they drove around for a while, talking and arranging their alibis, Darren dropped them all home. Amanda said she was last and testified that before she got out of the car, Darren told her he'd kill her he if she told anyone about what she knew. She said he spoke of, quote, stuffing me in the crawl space and often joked about how neat it would be if Dave or Derek shot me with a crossbow. He also talked of having Amanda stuffed and mounted. Amanda said she was very upset with herself for not notifying the authorities or doing anything to try and stop them from following through with the plan. But the reason she lied to police is because she was afraid of Darren's threats and of course, the fact that Derek and David said they had killed his mother and grandmother. Next, relatives, police officers and others recall details about Darren Heunemann's odd behaviour after the murders. And Darren takes to the witness box to testify in his own defence with an explanation for everything.