Musician identified as victim in 1967 OPP cold case

OPP NEWS RELEASE

************************* ORILLIA, ON, Dec. 19 - At a news conference today, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) announced the identity of a young male who was murdered in 1967 and whose remains were found near Schomberg, Ontario in 1968. Thanks to valuable information received last month, the Centre of Forensic Sciences was able to confirm (on December 13, 2006) the identity of the remains to be Richard "Dickie" Hovey, of Fredericton, New Brunswick. The OPP received tips from members of the public who had viewed an image [shown] of the victim's facial reconstruction on the OPP "Resolve" website.

The image was displayed as part of a November 14, 2006 OPP news conference that announced the reactivation of two 39-year-old cold cases, one of which involved the Schomberg victim. These tipsters believed that the facial reconstruction of one of the two 1967 murder victims on the website resembled a young man they knew from Fredericton, New Brunswick.

As a result of these tips, the Centre of Forensic Sciences was able to make DNA comparisons of samples provided by members of Richard Hovey's family, which subsequently led to his identification. Hovey had moved to Toronto in 1966 or 1967 and was reportedly a musician in clubs in the Yorkville area.

He disappeared from that area in the late spring or early summer of 1967.

Hovey was approximately 17 years old at the time of his death. Hovey's family asked the OPP to make the following statement on their behalf, at today's news conference:

We are very relieved to be able to bring our brother home after years of anguish. We loved him dearly. We wish to thank the Ontario Provincial Police for their hard work and thoughtfulness. The family does not wish to make further public statement and would appreciate it if their privacy could be respected in this time of grief.

OPP investigators are appealing to the public again, for help in tracing the activities of Richard Hovey during his time in Toronto, as well as information that could help with the identification of the second 1967 murder victim, whose remains were found in Balsam Lake Provincial Park near Coboconk, Ontario. Investigators continue to follow up on tips received regarding the possible identity of the young man found at Balsam Lake Provincial Park.

Numerous witnesses have been interviewed and in some cases DNA samples have been obtained for comparison purposes.

Information about this victim is featured on the Resolve Initiative website at www.opp.ca.

The OPP is offering rewards of $50,000 each for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of each of these young men. Anyone with information or tips that may assist in these criminal investigations are encouraged to contact the Resolve Initiative at 1-877-9FINDME (1-877-934-6363) or via email at [email protected]

A strictly anonymous report of information and/or tips may also be made through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

************************* BACKGROUNDER 1967 COLD CASE MURDER INVESTIGATIONS

Richard Hovey (identified victim) - on May 15, 1968, a human skeleton was found lying against a wire fence in a hedgerow, by a man ploughing a field near Schomberg, Ontario. The remains were located in the east half of Lot 17, Concession 2, Tecumseth Township, 2 kms. (1.3 miles) north of Highway 9, on the west side of Sideroad 17.

- Richard Hovey is described as a white male, 17 years old (at the time of his death), 165 cm. (5 ft. 5 in. - 5 ft. 6 in.) tall, of average build, teeth in generally good condition, blond hair about 10 cm. (6 in.) long.

- Hovey's body appeared to have been lying on its left side with the arms behind the back. A white shoelace was wrapped twice around one wrist and knotted. It appeared that the wrists might have been tied together with this lace.

- no clothes were found on or in the vicinity of Hovey's body.

Unidentified victim - on December 17, 1967, a hunter found human skeletal remains in a wooded area of Balsam Lake Provincial Park near Coboconk, Ontario.

- the victim is described as white male, approximately 15 to 22 years old, 160 cm (5 ft. 3 in.) tall and slight build. His teeth were in good condition with some fillings on the lower left and right front molars. He had a noticeable gap between the two front teeth. His hair was light brown, slightly curly and about 7.6 cm (3 in.) long.

- the victim had several distinguishing features: a unique condition in which he had an extra vertebrae and extra rib on the right side; he also had a condition that might have caused his jaw to frequently become dislocated.

- there was no evidence of clothing at the scene. A pair of low-cut, size 7, white tennis shoes, manufactured in Czechoslovakia was found some distance from the remains. A 3.4 m. (11 ft.) length of twine was found with the skeleton and had a knotted loop immediately adjacent to the hand and wrist bones.

Original investigation - the time of death for both victims is estimated to be late spring or early summer of 1967.

- no cause of death has been determined for either victim but due to the condition in which each victim was found, it is believed that both young men were murdered.

- extensive efforts have been made to identify the victims, by making dental record comparisons to missing persons matching the approximate age and victim descriptions.

- it is believed that each victim may have been picked up by his attacker in downtown Toronto. In the summer of 1967, two other young men were picked up in the Bay and College area of Toronto, and were taken to rural areas where they were attacked. The offences and victims were very similar to the investigations of the unidentified victim found at Balsam Lake and Richard Hovey.

Current investigation - the OPP never closes a file on an unsolved investigation. In late 2005, OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) investigators reviewed the case files and determined that both should be reactivated in order to take advantage of modern investigative techniques.

- on November 14, 2006, the OPP held a News Conference to announce that they were reactivating both of these murder investigations.

- autopsies of both victims were conducted in July 2006 at the Office of the Chief Coroner in Toronto.

- a forensic reconstruction artist from the Canadian Forces National Investigative Service completed facial reconstructions of both victims.

- information regarding the unidentified remains found at Balsam Lake can be viewed on the OPP "Resolve" website at www.opp.ca

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