MURDERED: Helen Betty Osborne

Summary

Crime Junkie Episode Summary: "MURDERED: Helen Betty Osborne"

Host: Ashley Flowers
Episode Release Date: March 3, 2025
Podcast: Crime Junkie
Presentation: audiochuck Media Company

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of Crime Junkie, host Ashley Flowers delves into the tragic and harrowing case of Helen Betty Osborne, a young Indigenous woman whose brutal murder in 1971 exposed deep-seated issues within a small Manitoba community. The episode meticulously unravels the events leading up to her death, the subsequent investigation, the challenges faced by law enforcement, and the lingering impact on the community and her family.

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Background of Helen Betty Osborne

Helen Betty Osborne, affectionately known as Betty, was a 19-year-old Indigenous woman living with the Benson family through a government-sponsored program that allowed Indigenous students to board with local families to complete high school. Born on a reserve with limited educational opportunities, Betty was an ambitious young woman aspiring to pursue higher education and a professional career in teaching, nursing, or law.

Notable Quote:

"[Helen Betty Osborne] is the story of how a young woman's senseless and violent murder shone a light in all the darkest parts of one small northern Manitoba community."
— Ashley Flowers [03:16]

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The Night of the Murder

On the evening of November 12, 1971, Betty spent time with friends, including her boyfriend Cornelius Bigoty. Tensions arose when Betty discovered Cornelius with another woman, leading to a heated argument. Despite Mrs. Benson's attempts to curtail the evening, Betty and her friend George continued socializing downtown. Around midnight, after a series of drinks and confrontations, Betty was last seen leaving a Legion dance around 2:15 AM.

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Discovery of the Body

On November 13, 1971, Keith Kenneth, a 14-year-old boy fishing with his father on Clearwater Lake, discovered Betty's body. Found naked except for her boots, she had been brutally beaten and stabbed multiple times. The condition of her body indicated a frenzied and violent attack, with evidence suggesting extended physical abuse even after her death.

Notable Quote:

"The word that came up so many times over and over again was the word 'frenzy'... it looked like whoever did this was angry and frantic, vicious even."
— Ashley Flowers [05:45]

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Initial Investigation

The RCMP’s initial response was hampered by limited experience and resources. Despite processing evidence and collecting over 30 potential identifications, few leads emerged. An anonymous letter in 1972 hinted at the involvement of four local men, including Lee Colgan, Jim Houghton, Norm Manger, and Dwayne Johnston, affiliated with the Paw Bikers—a group known for their unruly behavior and racist attitudes.

Notable Quote:

"Betty is indigenous and she wasn't living with her family at the time. She was living with the Bensons... Betty was super ambitious."
— Ashley Flowers [17:28]

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Cold Case and Reopening Efforts

For over a decade, Betty's murder remained unsolved. Advances in forensic technology and persistent public interest eventually led to renewed investigative efforts in the early 1980s. Investigator Robert Urbanowski spearheaded the case revival, employing modern techniques and soliciting public assistance to gather new witness testimonies.

Notable Quote:

"In May, police get an anonymous letter... It is hoped that investigation by the officers can produce results the informants do not wish to identify."
— Ashley Flowers [23:37]

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Key Evidence and Testimonies

Critical evidence included bloodstained items found near the crime scene and in the suspects' vehicles. Witnesses came forward years later, providing testimonies that implicated Lee Colgan, Dwayne Johnston, and others. Notably, a sheriff named Gerald testified about Lee's voluntary confession during a 1977 encounter, where Lee detailed the horrific events leading to Betty’s murder.

Notable Quote:

"Lee tells them that... they wanted a girl to party with, specifically an Indigenous girl... Betty refused, and her subsequent murder was a result of their obsession."
— Ashley Flowers [37:35]

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Trial and Verdict

In 1987, over 16 years after the crime, Lee Colgan and Dwayne Johnston stood trial for the first-degree murder of Helen Betty Osborne. Despite damning testimonies and physical evidence, only Johnston was convicted of second-degree murder, receiving a life sentence. Jim Houghton was acquitted due to insufficient evidence, and Norm Manger was never charged, leaving many questions unanswered.

Notable Quote:

"The jury deliberates for a grand total of 30 minutes... Jim is acquitted and Dwayne is found guilty of second-degree murder."
— Ashley Flowers [48:36]

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Aftermath and Legacy

Following the trial, criticism arose regarding the investigative process and the justice system's handling of Indigenous victims. In 1988, the Manitoba government initiated a public inquiry into the case, highlighting systemic racism and the failure to uphold justice for Indigenous people.

In recognition of Betty's legacy and the ongoing struggle for Indigenous rights, a memorial fund was established in her name, supporting Indigenous students committed to dismantling societal barriers.

Notable Quote:

"Starting in 2021, a memorial fund was established in Helen Betty Osborne's name... These students are recognized for their dedication and commitment to dismantling the barriers of racism, sexism, violence, and indifference in society."
— Britt [53:16]

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Conclusion

The murder of Helen Betty Osborne remains a poignant reminder of the intersection between systemic racism, justice, and the struggles faced by Indigenous communities. Despite decades of investigation, the case underscores the importance of relentless pursuit of justice and the need for systemic reforms to prevent such tragedies in the future.

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Final Thoughts:
Ashley Flowers poignantly reflects on the case's enduring impact, lamenting the loss of potential justice and the personal toll on those involved. The episode serves not only as a recounting of a tragic event but also as a call to action for continued advocacy and remembrance of Helen Betty Osborne's legacy.

Notable Quote:

"A case that should not have taken over a decade to solve. And I think everyone knows it's their fault that it did."
— Ashley Flowers [52:59]

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Additional Resources:
Listeners can find all source materials related to this episode on crimejunkiepodcast.com.

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Key Takeaways

• Helen Betty Osborne's Murder: A brutal crime rooted in racial and societal tensions within a small Manitoba community.
• Investigation Challenges: Initial police efforts were hindered by limited forensic technology and systemic biases.
• Trial Outcome: Only one of the four implicated individuals was convicted, raising questions about justice and accountability.
• Legacy: Betty’s case has become a symbol for Indigenous advocacy and the fight against systemic racism in the justice system.

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This detailed summary encapsulates the intricate and distressing narrative of Helen Betty Osborne's murder, highlighting the systemic failures and the enduring quest for justice. It serves as an informative piece for both true crime enthusiasts and those unaware of the case, emphasizing the broader social implications and the importance of remembering victims like Betty.

Transcript

[Ashley Flowers]

Hi everyone. Ashley Flowers here. If you're like me, diving into true crime is about more than just the details of a case, it is also about giving a voice to the victims and understanding the lives behind the headlines. And this is what host Kylie Lowe does each week on her podcast Dark Down East. Every Thursday, Kylie dives into New England's most gripping mysteries, uncovering stories in a way you won't hear anywhere else. And she digs through archives, connects with families, and shines a light on the voices that deserve to be heard. From cold cases to moments of long awaited justice, Dark down east is the perfect blend of investigations and honoring the stories behind them. You can find Dark down east now wherever you're listening.

[Britt]

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[Ashley Flowers]

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[Britt]

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[Ashley Flowers]

I'm your host, Ashley Flowers.

[Britt]

And I'm Britt.

[Ashley Flowers]

And the story I have for you today is about how a young woman's senseless and violent murder shone a light in all the darkest parts of one small northern Manitoba community. And it put a whole town on trial. It's a story that is just as important to hear today as it was over 50 years ago when it happened, and it feels all too familiar, even in 2025. This is the story of Helen Betty Osbor. It's a cold, gray morning in November 1971, and a 14 year old named Kenneth is fishing with his father on Clearwater Lake in northern Manitoba. And of course, by fishing when you're a kid, I mean he's like sitting there and sitting there. He's not moving, he's not talking and it's for hours. He's like just hoping they might get a fish. So you can imagine Kenneth gets kind of antsy. So he tells his dad that he's just going to go for a walk, see if he can find any rabbit tracks in the snow or something like that. Now it's about 11:30 in the morning and Kenneth is next to this pump house on his way back down to the lake when, according to coverage in the Winnipeg sun, some strange tracks in the snow catch his eye. And he's a curious kid, so he follows the tracks into the thick bush. The snow is crunching beneath him, and that's when he comes upon the body of a woman. She's naked, with only boots on her feet and she's all bloody and badly beaten. So Kenneth immediately runs back to get his dad and the two of them jump in the car. They drive to the closest place, which is, I think, this airport, to call police. But as luck would have it, there's actually an RCMP officer, which we know, Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He's on site when they get there. According to Lisa Priest's 1989 book, Conspiracy of Silence, this officer doesn't have experience necessarily as a criminal investigator. He's actually the pilot who's in charge of the RCMP's air division or whatever.

[Britt]

Okay, so he's just, like, at the airport because that's where he is, but.

[Ashley Flowers]

He still heads down towards the lake with them. Like, he'll take a first look at all of this. And he's also keeping in mind I need to be careful not to do anything that would disturb a potential crime scene.

[Britt]

Preserve things.

[Ashley Flowers]

Right. And when he gets there, it, like, very clearly is a crime scene, so he has to call in backup. Now, it takes some time to get investigators all the way out to where they are, but by 1:45 in the afternoon, they have a team on site who is processing everything, gathering evidence. The victim looks to be in her late teens. She's small with kind of short, shaggy dark hair that's kind of matted in clumps. Her skin is swollen and purple, and she is covered, I mean, chest, head, neck, face, in dozens of these tiny stab wounds. So it is clear that she suffered a vicious and brutal attack, one that went on long after she stopped fighting. And this might get kind of graphic, so content advisory. But investigators describe kind of this halo of blood that was around her head, almost like someone had stomped on her face and, like, made it so. Like, the blood was, like, going out of the tiny stab wounds that were made. I mean, it was that bad. The word that came up so many times over and over again in Lisa's book was the word frenzy. Like, this was a frenzied attack. It looked like whoever did this was angry and frantic, vicious even. And what's interesting is they did take time to hide her clothing because several items of hers were hidden under some rocks down closer by the lake. And the person who stabbed and stomped her and the person who's hiding her clothing might not be the same person, because there are two sets of footprints, one on each side of the victim's body. And there's even drag marks showing that they pulled her by her arm. So it's not like it was her footprints and someone else's. This is someone else there. A third person. Now, she didn't look like she'd been out there very long, less than a day, which is a lucky break, because unlike in the warmer months, when folks spend time at the cabins surrounding the lake, this area is pretty much deserted in November. Like, if not for Kenneth getting antsy, if not for his dad making them wait it out in silence. If not for the fish that day refusing to bite, she may not have been found until the next spring, if at all.

[Britt]

Which is probably what the killers were counting on.

[Ashley Flowers]

Maybe. And if so, that means that the killers knew the area. But the question is, did they know the victim? Well, in order to find that out, they need to know who she is, which is a difficult task given the injuries to her face and her head. Over the next several hours, police will end up bringing in a total of 31 people to try and identify their Jane Doe. But no one can of these 31 people, like friends and family of potentially missing people. Now, in this time, when they're bringing in person after person, there is a missing persons report that comes in from the PA. The Paw is the nearest town, about 25, 30 minutes away from this lake where they found the Jane Doe. Now, this missing person's report is for a 19 year old named Helen Betty Osborne, who goes by Betty, according to the woman who files the report. And that woman is Patricia Benson. She is who Betty was living with. And I'll touch on that in just a moment. Like the dynamic there. Now, according to what Patricia tells police, Betty hadn't come home after being out the night of November 12th.

[Britt]

And when was the Jane Doe found?

[Ashley Flowers]

She's found on the 13th. So this is like really soon. Patricia's husband, William is one of the 31 people actually who they brought in to potentially identify the Jane Doe. But even when they bring him in, he can't. I mean, that's how, that's how bad this is. But they're so bad, he also can't say that it's not her either. So they end up sending an officer to the Benson's house to lift fingerprints from Betty's school books to compare to the victim. And that is when she's finally identified. Now, when her full autopsy is completed, everyone is truly shocked to learn what this young woman endured. I mean, it was almost unspeakably brutal. She had been stabbed a total of 56 times. Eleven of those were in the heart and the rest were to her face and the back of her head. And According to Bill McDonald, reporting for the Winnipeg Son, he said that these stab wounds, I told you, they were kind of like small, they were like a little strained. But he reported that they were most likely from a screwdriver. Now, one injury to the lower back of her head stands out from the others because it is over 2 inches deep. And the weapon went through her skull and over an inch and a half into her brain. This is how severe this is. Her skull, her cheekbones, the roof of her mouth, all broken. Her lungs were damaged. A kidney was torn. She has bruises all over her body, which may have been caused by someone beating her with their hands or their feet or some kind of blunt weapon. And her injuries are so severe that it's impossible to tell exactly which one of these led to her death and when during the attack, she might have died. But this is without a doubt a homicide. So the next day, the investigators go back out to the area where she was found with a police dog. And about three quarters of a mile from the crime scene, they find gloves. They find a couple pieces of a white cotton bra. They find a paper bag. All of this stuff is covered in blood. And about a half mile from the airport, in a ditch, they find a flathead screwdriver, also covered in blood. So this, they're thinking, has got to be their murder weapon, or at least one of them, because it turns out that another screwdriver had also been found by a civilian. I guess, this airport employee, he'd been, like, driving in the area on the afternoon of the 13th, and he'd found, like, a whole different screwdriver on the road, which he had just, like, tossed in his trunk, thought nothing of it until he heard about the murder. So he brought that one to police. He feels like, you know, this could be really promising lead. There's actually a name engraved on the screwdriver. Hansen or Ranson, something like that.

[Britt]

And I assume that one wasn't covered in blood.

[Ashley Flowers]

I don't think so. Or I would hope that he didn't.

[Britt]

Feel like that would be, like, a red flag situation.

[Ashley Flowers]

I would hope he didn't just, like, throw it in his car and be like, oh, now that I know about a murder, this screwdriver with blood. But I don't know that for sure. But either way, covered in blood, not covered in blood. They obviously, like, see the potential in this, and they collect this as evidence. Is this a second murder weapon? We don't know. Now, another lead that comes to police is in the form of this taxi driver named Philip, who tells police that he was driving along that same highway where the screwdriver was found sometime after 4am the morning of the 13th, after he had just dropped off two customers. And he said as he's driving, he ends up behind a car that was, like, all over the road, just, like, zigzagging around. He said the driver was very obviously drunk. Like, the car almost went into a ditch at one point and he says the vehicle was a white or a light blue car. And oh, by the way, this doesn't happen in most cases. He got a peek at the license plate which included the numbers 4 and 2.

[Britt]

How close does that get them to somebody? Like how much does it narrow it down?

[Ashley Flowers]

It helps. So they go from like you know, every car, every light colored car to a list of 5000 cars. 5000 plus people with a white or light blue car and the numbers 2 and 4 somewhere. Yeah, in the license plate. But while one option is to go down the list one by one and maybe you'll get there in a few years, like, you know, hopefully it's the first one, but you know, you never know. The other option is to do some investigative work and use this list more as like a cross reference. Right. Which, that's the route they decide to go in. And they start by retracing Betty's steps on the night of her murder. When it comes to your complexion, finding the right foundation can be tough. When you find the perfect match, it feels like a big win for your skin. Well, good news. The search ends with NARS Light Reflecting Foundation. This foundation contains a unique makeup skincare formula that works over time to even your skin tone. Choose your perfect shade from a newly expanded range of over 40 radiant shades that span across neutral, warm and cool undertones. No matter which shade you pick, experience medium buildable coverage with a natural skin like finish. Light Reflecting foundation is made for all day wear and blends seamlessly so you don't have to deal with touch ups throughout your day. I have to get ready for work at like 5am and sometimes we don't record our YouTube episodes until like 2pm and still my makeup lasts all day with the NARS foundation and my other makeup like my NARS bronzer layers on top of it so well. So if you want all day wear that looks and feels great, shop NARS Light Reflecting foundation at an Ulta location near you. Pandora jewelry is crafted with meaning and love in addition to exquisite artistry. So find what speaks to your heart. From sparkling lab grown diamonds to vibrant enamels, personalized engravings and iconic charms, Pandora has got it all. Style your favorites with hand finished designs and playful cuts to reflect your individuality. It's always fun to mix, match and stack your way. Pandora is more than jewelry. It's a celebration of you. Shop in store or [e-mail] now. Quick backstory. Betty is indigenous and she wasn't living with her family at the time. She was living with the Bensons. I told you I'd mentioned Patricia Benson. She was living with them while she went to high school because she was born on a reserve where the schooling only went up to eighth grade. So she was taking part in this government sponsored program where indigenous students could like, board with a local family to finish high school, which I can't even imagine. Like, that has to be so hard, like disruptive. You're already in this very, like, awkward time of your life. But Betty was super ambitious. She wanted to eventually go to college to be a teacher or a nurse or a lawyer. Like, she had big dreams and she was working really hard to achieve them. So her last night at the Benson's home, the 12th, she ate dinner with the family at around 6. Then she went out to visit a friend at the hospital. While she was there, she ran into an old friend of hers, this guy named George. And then the two of them decided to just grab a few beers together, head to the Benson's to kind of just catch up. Reminder, we're in 1971 Canada. My US friends like beers at 19 a. Okay, right. But by 10, 10:30, Mrs. Benson said, like, listen, it's time to wrap it up. But Betty and George weren't ready to call it a night. So they head downtown where they meet up with a few more friends. Now, around 11, the crew was walking past a hotel and Betty saw her boyfriend with some other friends of his in the lobby of this hotel. Her boyfriend's name is Cornelius Bigoty, and author Lisa Priest actually interviewed him when she was writing her book. And she described him as kind of like, you wouldn't guess it with this name, but like this Casanova playboy type. As evidenced by the fact that it wasn't just friends he was with that night. Cornelius was actually with another girl that night. And Betty wasn't happy about it. The two of them had gotten into a big fight over this, and it ended in Betty and her friends leaving. After that, they went back to the Bensons. They had a couple more drinks in a shed out back because again, Mrs. Benson's like, too late.

[Britt]

Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

And then around midnight, the other friends left and Betty and George went back downtown again. But by 12:30, George was over it. It's cold, it was dark. It wasn't exactly a great time of night to be walking around in the pa, especially if you're indigenous and both Betty and George are. So George went home, but Betty didn't want to.

[Britt]

So Betty's alone at this point?

[Ashley Flowers]

Yes, she was and police can put her outside the hotel again at around 12:45. She's just like walking by. Then we know she's seen at a Legion dance at around 2 in the morning. And they actually find a witness who saw her walking down the street after she left the dance. This was around like 2:15. Then after 2:15, she's like off the grid.

[Britt]

I have to imagine that playboy boyfriend is one of the first people they look into initially.

[Ashley Flowers]

He's like the main suspect. Yeah, they bring him into the police station, they question him, and they don't go easy. I mean, at one point they even show him a picture of Betty's body. Like that's actually how he finds out that his girlfriend is dead. Like he hadn't known yet when they did that. But ultimately they end up ruling him out after he passes a polygraph, which we see all the time in the 70s. So they quickly move on. And by the end of November, they have talked to everyone in Betty's circle, all the cottage owners around Clearwater Lake where she was found. I. I mean half the town pretty much has been talked to and they still haven't got a clue who she was with after 2:15 or how she ended up all the way out at the lake. Because by the way, someone would have had to have driven her out there. Like she might have been able to walk from the Benson's to downtown and back. Like that was super easy.

[Britt]

But this is so far off the beaten path, it, yeah, you would need a car.

[Ashley Flowers]

It's like a 30 minute drive. So like, it's not like she's making this walk.

[Britt]

It's not even walkable really.

[Ashley Flowers]

Maybe, but certainly not in the dead of winter. Right.

[Britt]

At night.

[Ashley Flowers]

Right. So with the good old gumshoeing not getting them very far, they decide, okay, listen, we tried working it this way. We should maybe go back to our list of over 5,000 cars. Maybe we actually just need to go down that one by one because we don't have anyone to like cross reference or everyone we are cross referencing is getting ruled out. Right, but still they can't start at 5,000. They gotta find a way to narrow it down a little bit. So what, they decide to do another fun 70s thing. They decide to bring Philip the taxi driver back in and this time put him under hypnosis to see if maybe he can remember a few more of the license plate letters.

[Britt]

Okay.

[Ashley Flowers]

And this time he gives them four numbers. This time in sequence. 5, 342. Which narrows that list of 5,000 plus possible cars down to just 28. And even better, only one of them is registered to an owner in the pa. The owner is a guy by the name of Bud Colgan. And seeing his name is completely puzzling to police because they know Bud.

[Britt]

Good know him or bad know him.

[Ashley Flowers]

Bud's a good guy. Bud's got a wife and kids. He's like, definitely not your murder a teenager kind of guy.

[Britt]

Might be time to rethink everything you know about.

[Ashley Flowers]

But they no. They say no. They're like, no. What a weird thing that he just ended up on our list. Like, I actually don't believe that they question Bud at all. Now, part of the reason might be because I know that his car had been stopped sometime around the time of the murder as a, like, part of a routine traffic stop. And at the time, it wasn't Bud driving, it was his son Lee, who was driving. And when I say around the time of Betty's murder, I can't find an exact date. So I don't know if this was, like, a routine traffic stop or, like, I don't think they were setting up roadblocks or anything like that. I don't even know if we're talking days or weeks or how they even, like, made the connection that someone saw his car. But basically they were like, oh, we saw his car around that time too, and there was, like, nothing fishy in the car. So can't be like, I know it doesn't make sense, but, like, it doesn't make sense. Like, they. I think they use that as part of the reason to, like, write him off or write off the car.

[Britt]

Okay, so just to be clear, Bud has a son who is around, like, Betty's age driving the car.

[Ashley Flowers]

I know, I know.

[Britt]

I feel like. I honestly, like, you can't pin down.

[Ashley Flowers]

The time, especially like, like now, like, knowing he has a son again, they're like, oh, Bud's a good guy. Okay, what about the son? Yeah, exactly, Exactly.

[Britt]

Follow up questions.

[Ashley Flowers]

At the very least, podcasters have them. These police did not. Like, still, they are very much like, nothing to see here, folks. And just like that, this lead, their only lead at this point, just fades away.

[Britt]

And by doing that, they're basically just discounting taxi driver Philip's sighting. Like, this whole list, everything that they're counting on, their main lead right now.

[Ashley Flowers]

Well, yeah, yeah. They're like, oh, this one. That actually makes sense. We have one registered in this area where it happened. Like, oh, well, yeah, either they're discounting his sighting or they're like, oh, him seeing the car means nothing. Maybe.

[Britt]

Maybe the car discounting the sighting.

[Ashley Flowers]

Well, I mean, they could think that the sighting happens. Do you know what I'm saying? Am I making sense or am I not understanding yet?

[Britt]

But they're one person that it could be.

[Ashley Flowers]

Dude, stop. We'll get there. So after this Betty's case goes cold, no one comes forward with new information. And since we're in 1971, we are a far cry away from DNA.

[Britt]

Was there anything that they could collect to potentially use later?

[Ashley Flowers]

I mean, I know that they took blood samples, they took photos of the footprints, some nearby tire tracks, like closer to her body. I know they took her clothes. Spoiler alert, though. Like, none of it ends up being useful later on. It's not. There might be forensic evidence on it, but it's not what we're going to end up relying on.

[Britt]

Cool.

[Ashley Flowers]

Now, her cooling case doesn't go entirely cold because the following year, in May, police get an anonymous letter postmarked in Marquette, Michigan, April 28, 1972. Now, I found the letter in the report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba. What a mouthful. Yeah, but it's like one of the most important letters we get in this case. So, Britt, I'm gonna have you read it, okay?

[Britt]

It says, sirs, the following information was related to persons in the fall of 1971 concerning the murdering of a young lady later found on a beach near the P.A. manitoba. The story was related by Lee Colgan being in a state of intoxication and near tears that he had been driving his car accompanied by Jim Houghton and Norman Manger. There were two or three mentioned, but their names are forgotten. They had forced the girl into this car where it was then driven to the murder site. The girl being raped by all. She had threatened police action. She was then murdered using a screwdriver, punch or similar instrument. Gordy Buck had seemingly witnessed the car returning from the beach in the early a.m. and Lee Colgan lives in constant fear of information possible being forwarded to the local authorities. It is hoped that investigation by the officers can produce results the informants do not wish to identify. As reprisals were threatened by Lee Colgan against the friends and families concerned. These men are all of the local area of the Paw, Manitoba.

[Ashley Flowers]

So I feel like all roads are leading back to Lee. Right? Yeah. It might be worth, I don't know, talking to the kids since they have. Not yet, but not so fast. First they. They don't just put it away, but they try and do some digging to validate what is in this letter. They confirm that the three guys named in the letter. So Lee, Jim, and norm, who were 18, 23, and 25 when Betty was murder. All three are known to hang around together. They're also able to place all three of these guys at the Legion dance on November 12th.

[Britt]

Where Betty was.

[Ashley Flowers]

Betty was. That's one of the last places she was seen.

[Britt]

Did she know them?

[Ashley Flowers]

So, no, not like. Well, the only one in the group who might have known her, or at least known of her, was Lee because he'd been in one class with Betty at high school. Sometimes he'd play volleyball and basketball with her boyfriend, Cornelius, and she would be like, you know, watching her boyfriend play or whatever. But, like, they for sure weren't friends. Just in this area. Might have, like, known each other's names. Right.

[Britt]

Cross paths.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yeah. Anyway, police track down Lee and Norm first. They both live in the pa and they both flat out deny having anything to do with Betty's murder. Surprise, surprise. Jim is a little harder to track down. The Justice Inquiry report says RCMP speak with his parents in an attempt to locate him. Cause I guess Jim has since moved away from the pa, but it doesn't say if they actually ever question him. It's really strange. And I mean, like, it's hard to, like, go full speed at somebody, especially after they leave, because the only thing they have right now is circumstantial, like, evidence letter. Yeah. Witness statements. Yeah. So detectives go back to that thread that they never pulled on the Colgan's car, and when they actually do go look at it, like, meaningfully look at it, guess what they find? Freaking right there. Bloodstains and hair that looks like Betty's. Oh, and a bra strap. The same kind, or it looks like it belongs to the same bra as the one that they found in pieces at the crime scene.

[Britt]

And this is what, like, six months later?

[Ashley Flowers]

Seven. I know.

[Britt]

And was this car still being, like, driven around? Like, the family had to have known?

[Ashley Flowers]

I'm assuming it's still being driven. And we're not talking. So here's the thing. We're not talking like, huge blood stains or chunks of hair. It's more like a few strands, I think, maybe a couple small blood stains. When they're really trying to process this car, I think one, if I remember correctly, the blood stain was, like, on a strap underneath the back seat. So it's not something that I think they would have. Like, they're like, oh, look at all this evidence just, like, laying around. I think it kind of went hidden unless you were really looking for it. And even though it's not a lot, it is still not a good look. But when they go back to Lee Colgan with this evidence and they're like, hey, how do you explain this? He's basically like, so what? Like, you found a bra strap and some blood? That doesn't prove anything.

[Britt]

But what does it prove, Lee? Like, where'd the blood come from?

[Ashley Flowers]

He doesn't say. No, he doesn't say. He denies any involvement. And unfortunately, even with what they have and this like, anonymous letter, like, it's not enough to actually do anything with. But I mean, you gotta think if the letter writer is correct, it wasn't just Lee. Norm and Jim are in the car that night too. And apparently there's someone else that they should be looking for. And on June 23, another anonymous tipster comes forward with another name.

[Britt]

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[Ashley Flowers]

This new tipster gives police the name Dwayne Johnston. This is a local from the Paw who was 18 when Betty was killed. Now, this name, Dwayne, was not mentioned in the letter, and he doesn't really chum around with these other guys either. But police do know who he is, mostly because he is associated with this group known as the Paw Bikers, who tend to get themselves in trouble with police, like, fairly often.

[Britt]

And what does he have to say?

[Ashley Flowers]

Dwayne refuses to cooperate. Like, he has a lawyer. And this same lawyer also ends up getting hired by Lee, Jim, and Norm.

[Britt]

Oh, cool.

[Ashley Flowers]

Now, all of them refuse to talk. But, I mean, the town's talking, though. Rumors are flying left and right. Stories of Lee getting drunk and telling whoever he's with that he was there that night. He knows what happened to Betty. But again, like, we just have rumors, and rumors don't get you arrest warrants.

[Britt]

True, but what does blood stains in your car get you?

[Ashley Flowers]

Not a whole lot in 1971. So it stays this way for 10 years. It's not until the summer of 1983 when a new investigator, Robert Urbanowski, cracks open Betty's case again. And in 1983, there's a little, not a lot, but a little more they can do with forensic evidence. So he tracks down all the evidence and resubmits it for testing. He interviews every officer who worked on the file over the last 12 years. He talks to police informants. He locates all four suspects who are by now kind of just scattered around Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba. And it turns out when he's going around talking to these people and people around them, they're still just out there talking about the murder of Betty Osborne. So Urbanowski knows this case is solvable, so he asked to investigate it full time. And RCMP is like, listen, knock yourself out. So there are a few things he does to get the ball rolling again, though this is a little further down the line in 1985. Now, one of the things he does is this Whole wiretapping operation that, to make a long story short, doesn't result in much of anything he can actually use. So in the summer of 1985, he puts an article in the local paper asking for the public's help solving Betty's case. He says he believes she was lured into a car, taken to the lake where she was killed. And he, even, in this, like, post, addresses the fear of retaliation that has kind of permeated a lot of the rumors surrounding these four guys. But he assures the public, listen, any tipster who comes forward, you will remain anonymous. And this works like the floodgates open with tips. And the first person to come forward is a woman named Andrea, who, According to Bill McDonald's reporting for the Winnipeg sun, tells detectives that she heard Dwayne Johnston brag about the murder at a party one night back in 1972, back when she was 14. She says that at one point during this party, Duane stood up. He made stabbing motions with his hand and admitted to stabbing her over and over and. But he was laughing about it and later said that it felt great to kill someone. There's a second woman that comes forward and says that she, too, heard that Duane had killed Betty, but one of his friends threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone. Then the third witness that comes forward is a local sheriff named Gerald. And Gerald tells Urbanowski that he'd been drinking at the Legion one night with his buddy Lee. When the bartender brought over a vodka and orange juice and set it in front of Lee, and he's like, this is courtesy of the rcmp.

[Britt]

That drink is called a screwdriver.

[Ashley Flowers]

That's a screwdriver. Apparently, the local cops used to do this to Lee, like, all the time for years, because, like, they always felt like he was the person. Not only the person, but in the group of people who are the persons, like, he was potentially the weak link or, like, in their chain of silence, he was the one that maybe they could break. Like, if they could wear him down enough, maybe he would talk one day. So Gerald's sitting down with him. He gets this screwdriver. After the drink arrives, Lee gets really upset, and he just starts telling Gerald again, not like, he's not doing this all around. People have been hearing these rumors for so long, right? He starts telling Gerald about how he was there, how police won't leave him alone ever since. And at that point, Gerald, like, hustled Lee out of the bar into his camper where they had another drink. He's like, kind of like, I Don't think. Trying to open the floodgates even more. And he gets him to just start talking. Lee tells him the whole story of Betty's murder.

[Britt]

I'm sorry, when is this happening?

[Ashley Flowers]

This was the drinks and stuff, like, at the Legion. This is happening in, like, 1977 or 78.

[Britt]

And Lee's telling all of this to a sheriff.

[Ashley Flowers]

A sheriff. Not like the sheriff in charge of the investigation, but.

[Britt]

But still a law enforcement officer. Why are we talking about it so many years later then?

[Ashley Flowers]

I don't know. I imagine he feels like he's getting the same. Right. Like, this isn't the first time he's opened up. I imagine he feels like he's getting the same story that all these people around town have been getting. Surely police must know about it. Like, we see that all the time.

[Britt]

Like, surely someone reported this and looked into it. It's not important for me to come forward.

[Ashley Flowers]

Right, Right. But now that they're like, again, this request for information opens up. This guy calls in to be like, just to make sure, you know, that this happened.

[Britt]

And they're like, no.

[Ashley Flowers]

And they're like, no, this is. This is helpful. So after Urbanowski submits everything he's learned to the Attorney General's department, and despite not having much new in the way of physical evidence, charges are approved. I don't know what changed, because, again, they don't have more now. Like, I don't know if the sources seem more credible. I don't know if the number of stories they have or people coming forward is.

[Britt]

But the witness statements are enough.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yeah. So Lee is arrested in October of 1986, followed by Dwayne Johnston's arrest a few weeks later.

[Britt]

And what about the other two guys?

[Ashley Flowers]

So they're not arrested. There are a couple reasons for that. First of all, the people who come forward with information, none of them had anything to say about Norm and Jim. Like, all the stories were about Lee and Dwayne. And I don't know, they might be thinking that Lee. I mean, again, Lee's the one that seems like the weak link to them. They might be thinking that if they can get a confession out of him, then they can. If there was other people involved, other.

[Britt]

Things will fall into place.

[Ashley Flowers]

Exactly. But initially, Lee and Duane hold out. They refuse to tell investigators what happened that night, which is a far cry from how Lee in particular has been acting for the last 15 years. Again, I think they thought they were gonna put pressure on him and fold right away. Yeah, they're gonna get the whole story. But he clammed up, refusing to implicate himself or his friends until right before his preliminary hearing in 1987. That's when he says, I'll give you everything, and I'll give you what you need to arrest Jim Houghton. But in exchange, I want full immunity.

[Britt]

Full immunity.

[Ashley Flowers]

Full immunity. And as painful as it is, without Lee's testimony, frankly, even with his testimony, the Crown Prosecutor knows that the defense is gonna run a freight train through the holes in their case. There is no slam dunk physical evidence. Like, we are just starting to, like, think about maybe someday you. DNA.

[Britt]

Right, Right.

[Ashley Flowers]

It would be another year before DNA shows up in the Canadian courtroom. So it literally is not a thing at this point. So what might be physical evidence today was just circumstantial back in the 80s. You have four possible suspects, each of whom could have been the one to kill Betty. Like, they need Lee's testimony if they're going to secure a conviction, any convictions, even if it means he walks away. So with his immunity secured, Lee spills his guts. He says that On Friday night, November 12, 1971, he borrowed his father's car, and he, Norm Manger and Jim Houghton went into town to drink and just, like, cruise around. They went to the Legion, then just drove around some, and then they met up with Dwayne Johnston. As the Friday night crowd was starting to thin out, they decided that they wanted to find an indigenous girl to party with, as in have sex with. And they were going to do this whether this woman that they found consented or not. Which just shows you what their intentions, I think, were from the beginning. According to Sheri Narene's reporting for the Thompson Citizen, this whole driving around looking for a girl to party with, again, this is like an indigenous girl. Specifically, this was common practice around this time. And the girl they found on that night was Betty. But Betty had no interest in even talking to these guys, let alone sleeping with any of them. But like I said, they're not going to take a simple no for an answer. So they pulled over the car. Duane got out to try at first to convince her to come with them, but when that didn't work, he forced her into the backseat seat and the car took off. At this point in the night, Lee says that Jim was behind the wheel with Norm in the front passenger seat, and Betty was in the backseat between Lee and Duane, they decided to go to Jim's family cottage near Clearwater Lake. The guys are all still drinking at this point, and they were trying to get Betty to Drink more, too. But she was refusing. She was telling them that she didn't want to. She was begging them to let her go. And that's when things turned violent. Dwayne began ripping off Betty's shirt and bra and started to sexually assault her. Now, Lee says he wasn't just, like, sitting back there watching. He was engaged in it, too. He was groping her at this point. But Betty was not going down without a fight. She was clawing at them to the point where Lee says that he thought she was gonna, like, gouge Dwayne's eyes out or something. So instead of stopping, he held her arms down so Dwayne could continue assaulting her. Now, when they got to the cottage, they all got out of the car. And Lee says that he, Jim and Norm all stood around drinking while Dwayne kept going, kept assaulting Betty, and literally.

[Britt]

The others are just standing around watching it happen.

[Ashley Flowers]

Well, at first, that's how he positions it. I mean, again, we know he holds her down in the car, but he basically, like, at first he says, yeah, like, it's all Dwayne. We're just kind of sitting there. We're not stopping it. But in the Aboriginal justice inquiry's final report, he does end up admitting that he took part in the beating at this point of the night as well. Now, he says they weren't at the cottage for very long because Betty wouldn't stop screaming. And they started to worry that someone was gonna hear her. So they put her back in the car and they drive even farther out of town where they knew it would be deserted again. We knew they knew the area out to the lake. Lee says that when they got there, Duane took Betty out of the car, but that the other three stayed inside and just kept drinking. He says every so often, they would hear banging against the side or the back of the car, and he was pretty sure that that was the sound of Betty being beaten even further. But again, none of them did anything to stop it. None of them did anything to help her. And Lee tells them that after five or ten minutes, the banging stopped. And at some point after that, Jim got out of the car. Betty was still alive at that point, like, Lee could see her. When the interior light went on, more time passed. And then Dwayne came back to the car, reached under the seat for a screwdriver, and then he left again. Lee said that he and Norm waited a little bit longer, but, like, it felt endless. So he climbed up into the driver's seat and turned the car around and at that point, he says he yelled out the window for the guys to just hurry up. No one answers at first. So he's like, okay, we're going to leave without you. And then someone said back, just a minute. And not long after, Jim and Dwayne were back in the car. And then one of them, he doesn't remember which one said simply, she's dead. Now, Lee says that he remembers the screwdriver being wiped off and thrown out the window while they were driving back into town. And he says they all parted ways once they got back to the pa. But before he and Jim split for the night, they made this pact to keep whatever happened quiet between them. And it's a pact that they later brought both Duane and Norm into as well. Now, the problem with this is that even with Lee's story, detectives still don't know who actually wielded the weapon that killed Betty Osborne. Now, they think the likeliest candidate was probably Dwayne for a couple of reasons. First, he's already associated with the bikers in the Paw, which, like, they're not technically a motorcycle gang in the organized sense, but they're also not like a polite, upstanding, law abiding citizens either. Second, he is also well known in town for his racist views and his treatment of indigenous people, men and women alike. And more importantly, he had been the guy overheard at a party that time talking about what it felt like to kill someone.

[Britt]

So if Dwayne is the one holding the weapon, Jim just was out there with him watching it happen. He helped Dwayne drag Betty.

[Ashley Flowers]

That's the implication. Either way, it's enough to get an arrest warrant for Jim, which they do in March of 1987. Then later that year, in November, Duane and Jim stand trial for the first degree murder of Helen Betty Osborne. And this is just over 16 years after her murder actually took place.

[Britt]

Whatever happened with Norm, what happened with.

[Ashley Flowers]

Him, he never gets charged. And listen, he said he was there, but he was super drunk. It was awful. He said he didn't have anything to do with it. And part of Lee's whole story was that Norm was so disturbed by what was going on that he, like, curled up into a ball underneath the dash, just, like, crying and whimpering. So, I mean, it still puts him there. Like, it still puts you not helping, not stopping, not talking. But I guess they didn't feel like they had enough to actually take him to trial. So this trial against Dwayne and Jim, the only trial they're gonna have to hold anyone accountable this gets underway in November of 1987, truly in front of a jury of the killer's peers, all white, made up primarily of working class men. I've been trying to cut back on coffee so I've been looking for substitutions that I can work in throughout the day and I give myself one cup of joe in the morning. And then for the afternoon I've been trying Rye's Mushroom Coffee, which sounds wild at least to like my midwest self it did, but it's been a great and for my like I hate mushroom people. It doesn't taste like mushroom soup or anything. They have a bunch of different products, even hot chocolate. The benefits are awesome. Rise Mushroom Coffee is a custom powerhouse blend of six functional mushrooms crafted to fuel your body and mind all day long. It helps with all day energy, sharper focus, healthy digestion and immune support. It's been a nice little boost for me in the afternoon when I get to that like post lunch 2pm crash. And with over 150,000 5 star reviews, you likely won't be disappointed. Try Rise mushroom coffee with 15% off your first order at risesuperfoods.com crimejunkie that's R Y Z E superfoods.com crimejunkIE don't just wake up, awaken with Rise T mobile 5G home Internet keeps getting better. Get our fastest connection loaded with benefits. Get T Mobile's best home Internet starting at 55 bucks bucks a month with auto pay and any voice line plus price lock. We won't raise your rate on Internet check availability@t mobile.com homeinternet exclusions like taxes and fees apply. Guarantees regular monthly rate plan price of fixed wireless 5G Internet data with qualifying service after 15 bill credit with postpaid voiceline plus $5 a month without auto pay with debit or bank account regulatory fees included for qualifying accounts. 35 connection charge applies. Speeds vary due to factors affecting cellular networks. The Crown argues that Duane and Jim, along with Lee and Norm saw Betty walking down the streets in the pa, forced her into their car, drove her out to the lake where she was beaten and sexually assaulted. And at the end of the night they basically realized they'd gone too far and so they killed her to avoid any kind of accountability at trial. Lee Colgan was of course the star witness, along with Norm and several people. People from the Paw who'd been told about the murder over the years.

[Britt]

I don't know, like maybe that freaking sheriff.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yes. So the sheriff is one of the witnesses who testifies at this trial about knowing, at least in broad strokes, the details of the crime and who committed it. And he becomes kind of a lightning rod, actually. So according to Heidi Graham's reporting for the Winnipeg Son, after he testifies, there are calls for a full public inquiry, not just about this sheriff and his role in keeping this secret, but about the whole.

[Britt]

The system.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yeah. Thing and why it took so long for police to charge someone. So this sheriff ends up getting investigated by the Attorney General and within a couple of months he's transferred to another job. Apparently they'd wanted to fire him, but they weren't confident would hold up with the employees union. So anyways, he's one of the witnesses who takes the stand over the course of this seven day trial. Each person telling the same story about the same crime committed by the same men. Information that they had known for well over a decade without telling police.

[Britt]

I mean, they have physical evidence too, right? Like they have the murder weapon or two of them.

[Ashley Flowers]

It is later and I mean, they do, but actually the trial is far more about testimony than it is about physical evidence. Like, I know they definitely bring forward all that stuff, the screwdriver, the blood, the hair, the backseat of Lee's car. But the physical evidence is very much like in the whole of this, like, second to the testimony, which makes sense.

[Britt]

Because they weren't able to test any of that to like definitively, without a doubt, say this was Betty's blood, this was Betty's hair.

[Ashley Flowers]

Which is part of why I think that it played like second fiddle. All in all, the jury deliberates for a grand total of. I think this is the lowest I've ever seen. 30 minutes. Oh, and the verdict, or should I say verdicts? This is a little surprising. Jim is acquitted and Dwayne is found guilty of second degree murder.

[Britt]

Okay, so just to do some math, there were four people known to have been involved in this crime, like fully there while it happened. Four people. There were three arrests. There were then two people on trial, and out of those two people, we got one conviction. One conviction?

[Ashley Flowers]

Yes. It's not great math.

[Britt]

How. How is this what happened?

[Ashley Flowers]

It has a lot to do with who they are. Like when you look at the makeup of this, like Dwayne, the one guy who they get a conviction on, he has always known to be this racist low life, like right up until his arrest. I mean, there were intimate partner violence rumors about Dwayne too. Rumors that were denied by the women he'd been with. But it's not un. I think when you're there looking at the people in front of them. It's not unthinkable that this guy might do something like what was done to Betty. But here's the thing. Like, Jim, by the time that this trial comes around again, this is like 16 years later.

[Britt]

It's the by the time that's frustrating.

[Ashley Flowers]

Exactly. He's. He's got a wife, he's got a good job, the kids, the white picket fence, the whole deal. I mean, Jim is literally, like, coaching his kids hockey team and barbecuing with neighbors on the weekends. I think people just like. They're like, but he's a good guy. He's a nice guy.

[Britt]

But what I can't get past is there were four people there that night. It, to me, doesn't really matter if.

[Ashley Flowers]

You'Re a nice guy now, that you're.

[Britt]

A nice guy now or if you were the one holding the weapon or not.

[Ashley Flowers]

It's also frustrating. That he's a nice guy is the reason it took so long to get here in the first place. Right. When they're like, oh, it's only this one guy's car, but he's a nice guy. Right? He's a nice guy is everything that's wrong with this case.

[Britt]

And again, like, I'm sorry, do nice guys sit by while a woman is being murdered?

[Ashley Flowers]

Right.

[Britt]

Like, that's not a nice guy. That's not a nice guy.

[Ashley Flowers]

And not only, like, the thing you did, but even keeping it secret all those years, like, what you did to Betty's family, too. Like, you. You chose every day to put yourself.

[Britt]

Above them while also, like, bragging about it on the down low, like, almost making a mockery of the lack of justice.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yeah. And speaking of that, a mockery of justice. Dwayne was sentenced to life in prison for Betty's murder, which feels good.

[Britt]

Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

But he only serves 10 years, and he was released in 1997.

[Britt]

So the only conviction we got. You got 10 years, yielded a sentence of 10 years.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yes. Now, what I will say is that I don't think the only cell is a prison. Like, it gives me a little bit of solace that even when the system fails, sometimes there is something in the universe, even if it's a person's own conscious, that tries to set things right. Like with Lee, for example. I don't think it's a coincidence that despite having every opportunity in life and the unwavering support of his family, even though, by all accounts, he didn't deserve it, Lee went fully off the rails after the murder. He kind of just spiraled into drug and alcohol use. He couldn't hold a job. He has all these run ins with police, domestic violence. And I mean it gets so bad that after he was arrested they had to hold him in a secure hospital room so he didn't die detoxing in a cell. So like those 16 years he, I mean, and more he had free. I don't think they were happy years he's since died and the others have kind of just faded into obscurity. I know I had the team try and find out what they were doing now, but like couldn't really. But I like, I understand keeping a low profile because their names will forever be tied to this prolific case. A case that should not have taken over a decade to solve. And I think everyone knows it's their fault that it did.

[Britt]

Right.

[Ashley Flowers]

In April 1988, the government of Manitoba established the public inquiry into the administration of justice and Aboriginal people to look at the circumstances surrounding the investigation into Betty's murder. And the final report says it better than I ever could. So Brett, I'm gonna have you read.

[Britt]

Is clear that Betty Osborne would not have been killed if she had not been Aboriginal. The four men who took her to her death from the streets of the PAS that night had gone looking for an Aboriginal girl with whom to party. They found Betty Osborne. When she refused to party, she was driven out of town and murdered. Those who abducted her showed a total lack of regard for her person or her rights as an individual. Those who stood by while the physical assault took place, while sexual advances were made, and while she was being beaten to death showed their own racism, sexism and indifference. Those who knew the story and remained silent must share their guilt.

[Ashley Flowers]

Amen.

[Britt]

Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

Starting in 2021, a memorial fund was established in Helen Betty Osborne's name through the national center for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba. The goal of the scholarship is to provide financial support to full time post secondary Indigenous students living in Manitoba. But even more than that, these students are recognized for their dedication and commitment to dismantling, quote, the barriers of racism, sexism, violence and indifference in society, including those impacted by the missing and murdered Indigenous people, genocide and or survivors of gender based violence. End quote. Thanks to all of you who listen and who are in the fan club. Audiochuck was able to make a donation to the memorial fund in Betty's name. You can find all the source material for this episode on our website crimejunkiepodcast.com.

[Britt]

And be sure to follow us on Instagram at crimejunkiepodcast we'll be back next.

[Ashley Flowers]

Week with a break. Brand new episode. Crime Junkie is an audio Chuck production. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?