Canadian True Crime - 72 The Death of Alloura Wells

Episode Date: July 15, 2020

TORONTO, ONTARIO: In 2017, a woman found a body in a ravine. The journey to figure out who the body belonged to would take many twists and turns.Mental Health ResourcesCanadaUnited StatesAustraliaUnited Kingdom+ Find a therapist:Online @BetterHelp (10% off your first month)In person @ Psychology Today+ 10 minute Yoga videos on youtubeLinks to resources and initiatives from this episode:Trans Pride Toronto facebook pageIndependent review into how police handle missing persons cases - submissions until August 31, 2020Maggie’s Sex Worker Action Project The 519Thanks for supporting my sponsors!See the special offer codes hereAD FREE Exclusive feed - Canadian True Crime InsidersAccess ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and more Learn morePodcast recommendation:Where is Lisa - Island Crime Season 1Credits:Research, co-producer and 2SLGBTQIA+ content advisor: Eliot Newton www.genderbandit.com Audio editing and production: We Talk of Dreams  Disclaimer voiced by the host of Beyond Bizarre True Crime Theme Song: We Talk of Dreams  All credits and information sources can be found on the page for this episode at www.canadiantruecrime.ca/episodes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi everyone and welcome to the final episode of this season before I take a summer break. Over the summer I will be doing my usual case updates and Q&A episodes and then I'll be back officially with a new long episode on October the 1st. I have been working at a frenetic pace for months now and I need to slow down and get my house in order so to speak and one of my highest priorities is to take care of my declining mental health. I suspect many of you are in the same boat. This year has been a dumpster fire but our next big challenge is on the horizon and that's managing the effect that this has had on the mental health of the population. Now long-time listeners would know I have a history marked with episodes of anxiety and depression and this has been a real

rollercoaster for me and now I'm left with the constant pressure of a dark cloud of overwhelming sadness guilt and hopelessness hanging over my head. I feel like I've lost control over my own life. I fear for the future of humanity. It's basically one existential dilemma after another over at my house and it has zapped all my energy and I know I'm not the only one. If you're worried about finances, the education and well-being of your kids, the spread of COVID-19 and health implications or if you're feeling socially excluded or judged, please know that you are not alone. We are in a legitimate crisis right now and fear, stress and worry is very normal despite the highlight reels you might see on social media. But there are things we can do to start taking care

of ourselves just a little better. Don't let the thought overwhelm you just start with one small change. I call my family doctor and then I booked myself into therapy, something I should have done a long time ago. I started doing 10 minutes of yoga in the morning, eating a bit healthier and going to bed a bit earlier. I picked one thing to do and once I felt I was okay with that I picked another. One small step at a time stops that feeling of overwhelm from creeping up again. If you're feeling the same, check the show notes for some resources and ideas to help with mental health issues during COVID-19. It is so so important right now to take care of ourselves because we can't be any good to anyone else unless we do. So please know that you are not alone.

Speaking of which, today, July 15th 2020 would have been the 20th birthday of Tori Stafford who as we know was abducted and murdered when she was 8. To celebrate, her father Rodney has started a campaign to gift a random act of kindness to someone else, whether it's someone you know or a stranger. So let's try to build one another up instead of tearing each other apart. Happy birthday, Tori. May you rest in peace. And finally, I wanted to say thank you to you, the people who listened to this podcast. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you for your generous reviews and ratings and thank you for all of your support. I appreciate it more than I can tell you. Please take care of yourselves and each other and with that, it's on with the show.

This podcast contains course language, adult themes and content of a violent and disturbing nature. Listener discretion is advised. It was a bright summer day in 2017 in the Midtown Toronto neighbourhood of Rosedale. Rebecca Price and a friend were taking a leisurely walk through a ravine near Rosedale Valley Road when something caught their attention. Lying near an unoccupied tent was what looked to be a body lying face down. The remains had badly decomposed in the summer heat but there were women's clothing and a wig present. At the scene was also drug paraphernalia and a purse but no personal belongings that could identify the body. A coroner conducted an autopsy and estimated that the remains appeared to have been there for three

to four weeks and were in such bad condition that neither the cause of death nor the race of the person could be identified. The coroner identified male genitalia and determined the body belonged to a person in their early 20s. The location of the body was in an area right on the border of two Toronto Police divisions 53 and 51. The case was given to investigators at Toronto Police's 53 division who began to search local and national databases of missing persons looking out for reports of males in their early 20s. Toronto Police have said it's not procedure to notify the public immediately every time a body is found so instead they opted for an internal bulletin that was distributed through the police service. There were a few referrals

of missing people that seemed promising for a match but each one was ruled out. Two weeks went by with no further information on who the remains belonged to. Rebecca, the woman who had found them, wanted to see the case through and see the person's remains returned to their loved ones. Rebecca had followed up with police a few times since her initial report and had spoken to the detective assigned to the case. She would tell DailyExtra.com that it seemed like he couldn't wait to get her off the phone but Rebecca did learn an additional piece of information. The body belonged to a transgender woman. She continued to wait each day hoping that the investigation would progress and an identification would be made. Once she had a name

she planned to look out for a memorial service that she could attend to pay her respects to the woman she'd found. Rebecca was crushed when the police told her that if the body was never claimed the coroner would simply destroy it and there would be no memorial service. So she decided to make her own statement, a memorial of sorts, by returning to the ravine and leaving some flowers to mark the spot where the mystery woman had been found. Growing dissatisfied with what she was hearing from police, Rebecca decided to see if there was something else she could do to help the situation. She would tell CBC, quote, that's somebody's child that I found. I couldn't stop trying to help.

She searched online for local organizations who supported the LGBTQ2S community in Toronto and found the 519, a city agency and charitable organization situated in the church and Wellesley area, also called the Gay Village. On August 17th, two weeks after the body was found, Rebecca sent the 519 an email with a subject line that said, transgender dead body found. She hoped that the centre would have the resources to be able to connect the body to local knowledge about missing people. Rebecca was surprised when she didn't receive a response to her email. She followed up a week later. This time the centre replied and promised her that they would follow up with police. But this didn't happen. It would later

come out that the information was poorly handled. The staff scanned over police news releases and couldn't verify the information Rebecca gave them with records of missing people. And they stopped there. They didn't contact any other local agencies that might be able to lend a hand to solve the mystery, like Maggies or Sherbourne Health Centre. They also failed to reach out to the community. A spokesperson for the centre would tell DailyExtra.com that they didn't want to cause panic or spread rumours. So at this point nobody had any idea that just weeks earlier an unidentified body had been found on a ravine in Rosdale. And it was still lying in the morgue. This is Christy and you're listening to Canadian True Crime Episode 72.

Maggies, the Toronto Sex Workers Action Project, is a not-for-profit and registered charity run for and by sex workers in Toronto. Maggies is one of those agencies that the 519 might have contacted. Now it wasn't known whether the woman whose remains were found was a sex worker. But many studies have shown that trans people experience significant barriers and discrimination in many facets of life, most notably when seeking employment and medical care. Many live below the poverty line and come to view the sex work industry as their only viable career option. So the probability that this transgender woman was a sex worker was higher than you might expect. And as it turns out, it wouldn't be long before Maggies would be contacted by the family of a

missing transgender woman. Her name was Ellora Wells. She was 27 years old and she was a trans person of colour. Her profile picture on Facebook shows a glamorous and confident looking woman with bright pink hair, determined eyes and killer eyebrows. Ellora's family had noticed that her Facebook account had gone dark and her sister Michelle had been going through her Facebook friends messaging contacts to see if anyone knew anything. And by chance, she found someone Ellora knew at Maggies who offered to help. Ellora Wells was born in Vancouver on August the 28th, 1990. She was the third of four children in a blended family and would move to Toronto when she was 10, along with her younger brother and parents. Her older sibling stayed in Vancouver,

but would eventually move to Toronto as well. Ellora's sister Michelle described the family as always poor. According to the Globe and Mail, the family matriarch, Mary, was a manager at Tim Hortons and her husband Mike, Ellora's father, worked as a labourer. His work was inconsistent and they were often so short on money that they sometimes went without food. At one point, they lived in a hotel. Despite the family's hardships, Ellora was always laughing as a kid and was sweet and funny, according to her father Mike. She was also known to be a very good singer. Mike would tell CTV News that she could hit any note and he recalled her singing Amazing Grace at her grandmother's funeral and everyone thinking it was a professional singer. Quote,

it was Ellora. She really had talent. That was the thing. She could have gone somewhere with that. A childhood friend would describe Ellora as always having a certain kind of flair, even as a kid. Her sister Michelle recalled that Ellora was always trying to make off with her Barbie dolls. Being part of a sexual minority makes life a little more difficult, according to a 2017 LGBTQ2S study by Jasmine Roy Foundation. And most survey respondents reported having some negative or depressive feelings in connection with their gender identity. Further to this, when compared with cisgender people or people who identify as their assigned gender, a larger proportion of transgender people engage in high-risk behaviors like substance abuse and

unsafe sex. So, like many transgender teenagers, Ellora's teen years could be described as a rollercoaster as she came to terms with her gender identity and the documented challenges that came with it, like discrimination, bullying, and violence. Friends would describe how she would often disappear for long periods and each time she would reappear looking completely different. Different hair, different clothes, and use of makeup. Ellora was described as never being afraid to use makeup. Behind the scenes, a friendship with a local drag queen Stephanie would fan the flames of Ellora's growing appreciation of all things glamorous. Stephanie ended up becoming a sort of mentor, helping Ellora with decisions like which wig to go with. Several media outlets

would quote Stephanie as saying, when you see all the different hair colors that she wears, it's because I always told her, change into different wigs until you figure out who you are. When Ellora was 17, she started trying to sneak into bars in the village. There, she met Monica Forrester, a trans activist and founder of Trans Pride Toronto, an agency that works directly with trans and two-spirit people that are racialized, marginalized, homeless, and street active in the sex industry. Monica also worked with Maggies and previously pioneered a drop-in and outreach program for trans people at the 519 Centre, so she was very well connected. Monica and Ellora became friends, with Monica providing sage advice and guidance to a new and vulnerable

member of the community. At age 18, Ellora decided to update her family on an important aspect of her life. Her father, Mike, recalled the conversation. He had sensed that something was wrong and asked about it. Ellora said, Dad, I don't want you not to love me. Mike would say his first thought was, what did you do? Ellora replied, I want to be a woman. Mike replied, that's all, really? Do what you need to do, just be a good person. And just like that, Ellora Wells came out to her family as transgender. Mike would tell the Globe and Mail that he made a real effort to assist his daughter as she officially transitioned into her new life. Quote, I'm not politically correct, not even close, but I tried for Ellora. In reality, Mike Wells did a lot more than just

try. When Ellora's transgender friends were having trouble in their own homes, he would invite them to stay overnight at their family house. He would tell dailyextra.com that after that, they felt like the kids were part of the family. Quote, they could come to our house, eat, sleep, and do whatever. In 2012, when Ellora was in her early 20s, she was able to settle down for a bit. She was approved for financial assistance as she looked for a job and ended up renting an apartment in Scarborough, an area east of downtown Toronto. Things seemed to be on the up and up. But it wouldn't be long before her family would have to suffer through one of the worst events imaginable. Mary, their much-loved mother and wife, was diagnosed

with lung cancer and passed away in February of 2013. This was a significant blow to the family and sent lasting ripples into their lives. After Mary's death, Ellora would visit her sister Michelle every day to help care for her young niece and nephew, and in return, Michelle gave Ellora food, comfort, and someone to talk to. Michelle described Ellora as the best auntie with the kindest heart. Quote, if she was a millionaire, no one would go starving. Ellora would arrive with little gifts for the kids just because. Michelle said it was beautiful to watch her sister bonding with the kids. Michelle told me she and Ellora actually hadn't been overly close when they were younger, but this changed after their mother's death.

She thinks Ellora started visiting because it's what their mother Mary would have wanted, them to be there for each other. About six months after Mary's death, Ellora studied hard to get her security guard licence. When she passed the exam, it was a very proud moment for her and her family. But, little by little, things started to crumble with the family. They were all broken. Mike suffered from increasing chronic pain and could no longer work. Sadly, he ended up homeless. Ellora's struggles were different, but the result was the same. Like many transgender people, she experienced challenges in finding employment. She had no choice but to stop paying rent to

her apartment. Enough time passed and she was evicted. Ellora was proud and she took up residence in a series of tents on the steep Rosedale ravine, known to be a last resort hub for those living so far below the poverty line that they ran out of choices. Sadly, it was also a suitable place for those who wanted to avoid the judgement of society. Around this time, Ellora started dating a man called Augustinus Balesdon. He also led a transient life. Ellora's father, Mike, would say that he was the only man Ellora ever introduced to him, but he also described the relationship as tumultuous and one that included the use of hard drugs, as evidenced by the needles that Mike saw. Ellora's sister, Michelle,

described it as a toxic relationship marked by domestic violence. But Ellora would always go back to Augustinus. Michelle figured it was because they were both living the lifestyle, lonely, homeless, troubled. Eventually, their father, Mike, was able to secure housing and he invited Ellora to come and live with him, but she declined. She wanted to stay with Augustinus. One morning, Michelle opened her front door and saw what she described as a really dirty person, sleeping in a crumpled heap on her doorstep. She looked closer and saw that it was Ellora. Michelle brought her sister in straight away. Ellora slept for the entire day. When she woke, she had a shower and something to eat and then she and Michelle talked. Ellora

said she'd been treated badly and had walked a long time to get to Michelle's house. She poured her heart out, telling Michelle about other terrifying incidents that had happened to her as a homeless person. She said that one night, she woke up to find that someone was trying to light her on fire. This would leave an image in Michelle's head that she would never be able to forget. Michelle really wanted Ellora to stay with her and her family, but she and her husband were not on the same page. So Ellora left to go back to the lifestyle. As she left, she gave Michelle a special gift, a little decorative marble ornament with a tree on it. Michelle has held it close ever since. This ornament would come to symbolize the last time that she ever saw her sister.

Michelle and her husband would separate soon after and circumstances pushed her to move with her kids 200 kilometers away to southwestern Ontario. She didn't drive at the time and with the two kids, there were no opportunities to get back to Toronto to see Ellora. Facebook would have to do. Sadly, Michelle told me she's now wracked with guilt and blames herself for what happened. Even though this particular series of events happened around a year before Ellora would go missing, Michelle feels that if things had gone a different way, Ellora might still be alive. In that year, Ellora continued to live a transient life, finding works sporadically. She also served multiple short jail terms, which her father believed were for theft and breaking and entering.

During this time, she was also a regular at Maggies, the centre for sex workers, particularly at the weekly drop-in on Wednesdays, where she was known to be very approachable. But Ellora wasn't actually considered to be a sex worker herself. Mandy Nanticoke, the Indigenous coordinator at Maggies, would tell the Globe and Mail that Ellora may have done survival sex work when she needed to, but that was not her main focus. Quote, her friends were sex workers, but she was not out there selling herself. Survival sex work, also known as street or outdoor sex work, is usually the last resort for people in extreme need and often involves trading sex for food, drugs, a place to sleep,

or some other need. Mandy affectionately referred to Ellora as being a spoiled brat who complained when it was time to clean up, but was also sensitive and fun. When Ellora walked into a room, all eyes were on her. Her father, Mike, said the last time he ever spoke to her was in March of 2017, four months before she went dark on Facebook. Her phone was often broken or stolen, so her family couldn't contact her proactively. They had to wait for her to access social media. And the problems in Ellora's relationship with Augustinus continued. According to her sister Michelle, she was often seen at Maggies with black eyes. But she stuck with him. Mandy from Maggies offered her a place to stay, but Ellora refused to go without Augustinus. Together,

they remained homeless. In the months leading up to Ellora's disappearance, Michelle had noticed that her sister's Facebook posts were becoming troubling. They were cryptic, but alluded to disharmony in her life and her relationship. The last day that Ellora Wells used Facebook was July 26th of 2017. She posted that day several times. In the morning at 10.53, she posted a picture of her younger brother receiving an official military award, with the post saying that she was proud of him. Then, 15 minutes later, she posted a meme that said, quote, That's my problem. I think too much and I feel too deeply. What a dangerous combination. Four minutes after that, she posted, quote, Is wondering WTF happened to me? Life,

love, loss. It's too much to handle right now. A few hours later in the afternoon, she posted two video clips. One was of the song Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna, and the other was a song called Somebody Else by Rico Love. The chorus goes, And I know we can't turn back time. I know we can't right those wrongs. But at least inside my mind, it doesn't seem like you're gone, even though I know you're too busy loving somebody else. Michelle said these lyrics were reflective of Ellora being in a sad and lonely place at the time. And then her Facebook account went permanently dark. Do you have a passion project that you're ready to take to the next level?

Square Space makes it easy for anyone to create an engaging web presence, grow a brand and sell anything from your products to the content you create and even your time. When I launched this passion project six years ago, I needed some kind of online hub to manage all the non-podcasting tasks that come with podcasting. I chose Square Space because it's an all-in-one platform that seamlessly helps me achieve multiple goals. It's important to have a website that looks good. And I was inspired by Square Space's wide selection of clean and modern templates. They can be easily customized with pre-built layouts and flexible design tools to fit your needs. And you can even browse the category of your business to see examples of what others have done. I used the

built-in blogging tools to create a new page for each episode and there are so many intuitive options from embedding an audio player so listeners can stream episodes to scheduling posts to be published on a certain date, an easily moderated comment section and automatically displaying recent episodes on the home page. Every Square Space website and online store includes SEO tools to help you maximize your visibility in search engines. And I love the powerful insights I can get from the analytics tools, helping me better understand who's visiting the site, where they came from and how they're interacting with it. Do you have a passion project or business idea or something to sell? Go to squarespace.com slash ctc for a free trial and when you're ready to launch

use offer code CTC to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. That's squarespace.com slash ctc with offer code CTC and get your passion project off the ground today. It didn't take long before Allora's absence was noticed by family and friends, both in person at the places she was known to frequent and via social media. She was well liked and had a lot of friends in the community. They noticed she was missing. Michelle started to track down Allora's boyfriend Augustinus Ballesdor to see what he knew. He wasn't easy to find. As more time passed and there was no sign of Allora, Michelle sent Augustinus Facebook messages asking him what he knew about where she was. Each time he would eventually reply, but his story never changed.

He said he didn't know anything because he was serving a short stint in jail at the time Allora disappeared. Michelle would later get verification that he was in jail around that time. Monica Forrester, trans activist and Allora's friend who was instrumental in bringing her into the community, feared she may have overdosed. She'd heard rumours going around saying the same. Sadly, it didn't seem that far-fetched. Monica knew three other trans women in Toronto who had died of opiate overdoses that year alone, and Allora was known to use drugs. Her sister Michelle had heard rumours too from people in the area, but no one wanted to talk to her about it. She told me that someone wrote

Rest in Peace on Allora's Facebook page and when Michelle contacted the person to find out what they meant, they refused to say anything more. Somebody knew something. Michelle assumed that because the area was well known for drug use, perhaps people were scared there would be repercussions if they said anything. As we know, Michelle went through Allora's Facebook contacts messaging them to find out if they knew anything. And finally, she came in contact with Monica Forrester from Maggie's, and they began brainstorming places to look for Allora. Monica said she would contact a provincial prison, the Varnier Centre for Women. Since Allora had served previous stints in jail there, they all thought it was likely that she might be in for something

small like a misdemeanor. The problem was that Allora went by several different last names. Her real surname was Wells, but the name she used on Facebook was Allora Hennessey, and Monica had been dealing with Allora's sister, Michelle Wheeler, and was under the impression that Allora's surname was the same. So, Monica called the prison to ask if anyone named Allora Wheeler was there, and by some strange coincidence there actually was. Monica told Allora's family who were relieved that she'd finally been located. Eventually, they figured out the mistake. Michelle called the centre this time asking for the right name. Michelle learned that there Allora had not, in fact, been in the prison that

summer, and it was now about three months since her last Facebook posts. Allora's father, Mike, contacted Toronto Police to report her missing. After he explained the situation to an officer, he was dismayed to be told that it wasn't uncommon for homeless people and sex workers to disappear in the city, and for this reason, Allora's disappearance wasn't considered high priority. The officer gave him the non-emergency number and told him to put his report through there. Mike hung up from the call feeling like he'd been blown off. It was clear to him that the police weren't taking Allora's disappearance seriously. He later told the Globe and Mail that the lack of urgency given to Allora's case was the culmination of several different factors.

Quote, It all plays a part, being transgender, addicted, homeless. It's like she's a nobody. Allora was also biracial. According to a 2018 study by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, black people have a significant disadvantage when it comes to dealing with Toronto Police. After Mike's disappointing experience, Maggie's decided to take things into their own hands, issuing several public statements and meeting with the media to see how they could work together to help find Allora. They arranged a community planning meeting followed by several community searches. After Maggie's took this initiative, the 51 Division of Toronto Police must have

decided that Allora's case was higher priority than they first thought. Three days after Mike reported Allora missing to the non-emergency number, the police issued a news release, a public appeal for help in finding Allora Wells. The release was accompanied by two photos of Allora. Media outlets had since picked up the story and had started digging a little further. CBC News reached out to the Toronto Police Service to get a comment about why they didn't assign any priority to Allora's case when Mike first reported it. Director of Corporate Communications Mark Pugash said, quote, If the first response by people connected to the family indicated lack of urgency,

that is not the response of this organization. Similar to the 519, this response indicated that the fault lay with the officer who took the call with Mike Wells, not with the policies of the Toronto Police Service. Pugash went on to say that they were trying to reach Allora's family to apologise and mentioned that they had been actively investigating her disappearance, including searching places that she was known to frequent. Despite the police's renewed interest in the case, Maggie's still wanted to go ahead with organising their own community meetings and searches independently. The Toronto Star spoke with the chairperson for Maggie's, Andrea Sterling, who said they were fed up about the police's

apathy towards trans sex workers and described it as absurd that they had to schedule their own searches and pressure Toronto Police to take action by going to the media themselves. Quote, When media reports came out about Allora, it was then that Toronto Police put out their report about her. So, let's recap. The body of a transgender woman was found in early August of 2017. Rebecca reported it to Police Division 53. Three months later, Allora Wells, a transgender woman, was reported missing to Police Division 51. Unfortunately, these two neighbouring police divisions did not compare notes on these cases in a timely fashion. And because it's not procedure

to send out a news release every time a body is found, the public still had absolutely no idea that a body had been found months before. Luckily, the connection between the two cases was quickly made by a citizen. And not just any citizen, Rebecca Price, who found the body, was alerted to the news release about Allora Wells being missing. She wasted no time and reached straight out to Maggie's to let them know about the body she'd found months ago. And with that, the first dotted line was drawn between an unidentified body and the missing woman that a community was desperate to find. It didn't take long for the media to start reporting on this unsettling development

and the reasons for the delay in making the connection. The reality was that if the police had announced the discovery of the body in the ravine to the public earlier than it did, Allora's community likely would have put two and two together much earlier as well. And the frustrating result was that an investigation started three months late would be at a disadvantage. Monica Forrester from Trans Pride Toronto told CP24 that although she knew there was a lot of police work that went into an investigation, quote, there was no consultation within the community. We had to do our own work. And thanks to the woman who came forward when she saw Allora's picture on the news to tell us there was a body

found. Police had initiated the process of getting a DNA sample from Allora's father to compare against the remains that had been found. But for Allora's friends and family, they couldn't rest until the results were in and it would take a few weeks. So volunteers continued to search in and around areas that Allora was known to frequent. On Saturday, November the 11th, 2017, six days after Allora was reported missing, the search party gathered with a plan to check the neighborhood, give out flyers and get people talking. The media was there too. In a briefing to the group before the search started, one of the organizers told the crowd that they had never done a search

like this before, quote, this is something the police are supposed to do. So we're just going to try it. The police did not show up for the search. They said they were unable to attend. But they confirmed with Vice News that they had spent the previous two days searching the ravine and they would speak with those who attended this search separately to get a debrief. A week later, Maggie's posted about Allora to their Facebook page, quote, Allora Wells has been missing for four months now. Toronto police have been reluctant to take up the case, initially refusing to file a missing persons report altogether because she was homeless and engaged in sex work when she disappeared. Police told family and friends that it's not uncommon

for homeless people and sex workers to disappear in the city. The post went on to detail their plans for the next community search. On November 19th, Maggie's organized a vigil for the woman found in the ravine. Monica Forester told DailyExtra.com, we're not 100% sure this is Allora, but this is a body though. We've got to recognize that it's a person in our community. She has family. She has friends. CBC reported that there were around 100 people in attendance, including Rebecca Price, who found the body. After the vigil, the crowd marched over to Toronto Police Service headquarters to demand accountability and to pressure the police to take the lives of trans people more seriously. Monica explained her perspective to DailyExtra.com,

quote, I've been in the community 30 years. I can tell you how it feels when they take you down to Cherry Beach and leave you there in the winter. See, Cherry Beach is a lakeside beach park in Toronto that has a sordid reputation. According to rumours dating back to the 1950s, it's a place that Toronto Police took who they considered to be undesirables, including people in the LGBTQ2S community. They were given a beating and left there to die. Although many call this story a Toronto urban legend, the story is so well known that there was a song written about it in 1984 called The Cherry Beach Express. According to a 2012 article by TorontoS.com, when the song was first released, Toronto Police took immediate steps to block it from being played on the radio.

Monica Forrester acknowledged that the police had since done a lot of reconciliation with the gay and lesbian community, but they, quote, did nothing for the trans community. They never sat down with us and listened to what we went through and we endured. They never said sorry for all the stuff they did to our community and still are doing. The day after the vigil was November the 20th, the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, which memorializes those murdered in acts of anti-trans violence. Allura was highlighted many times that day in front of City Hall. Ironically, one of the speakers at that event was Julie Berman, a trans woman and activist who would

be murdered two years later in December of 2019. A week later on November 28th, 2017, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered what was described as a historic apology to LGBTQ2S Canadians. He apologized for systemic oppression and rejection, for suppressing two spirit indigenous values and beliefs, for government censorship and attempts to undermine the building of community, for denying equality, for forcing them to live closeted lives and making them feel ashamed. It ends, quote, to all the LGBTQ2 people across this country who we have harmed in countless ways we are sorry, to those who were left broken by a prejudiced system, and to those who took their own lives we failed you, for stripping you of your dignity, for robbing you of your potential,

for treating you like you were dangerous, indecent and flawed. We are sorry. Two days later it was announced that the DNA test results were in. The remains found at the ravine did belong to Allura Wells. But as you'll recall, the body was so badly decomposed that a cause of death wasn't able to be determined. It was also difficult to estimate how long it had been there. There are significant variables that affect decomposition of individual bodies, without even taking into consideration the effect of hot summer temperatures. That said, several things were known. Allura's last Facebook posts were on July 26th and she was found on August 5th, that's just 10 days later. And the things she posted on Facebook included

specific personal anecdotes, so it's highly unlikely that it was someone else posting on her behalf. Several agencies had failed Allura and there would be fallout. The next day, the Executive Director of the 519 Centre, Maura Lawless, posted a message of apology to their website, describing the confirmation of Allura's identity as having left the community and neighbourhood terribly shaken. The statement detailed the steps they had taken as a result of their error in mishandling the information they received about a body having been found. They said there would be an internal investigation and they acknowledged they could have done more to follow up with police to get verification of Rebecca's tip when she found the body. Quote,

We understand the profound vulnerabilities of trans communities and recognise the systemic barriers they continue to face. We will continue to work at various levels to impact the kind of change that is much needed and long overdue. A week after that, on December the 8th 2017, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders held an hour-long press conference to update the public on four current cases, including Allura Wells. Chief Saunders said investigators had not made a connection between any of the cases but decided to hold a joint briefing because of fears in the community. See, Allura's case was by no means isolated. There was something going on in and around Toronto's Church and Wellesley area, the Gay Village. The relationship between the police

and the LGBTQ2S community had been fractured for some time. Earlier that year the organisers of the Toronto Pride Parade had voted to ban uniformed officers and police floats from the parade after a complicated situation involving Black Lives Matter Toronto. Things would soon come to a head. The same year that Allura went missing, police were investigating three other unsolved cases in the same area. 44-year-old Saleem Essin would last be seen in April. Two months later, 49-year-old Andrew Kinsman went missing. Allura Wells was last seen in July and then there was 22-year-old Tess Richie who went missing in November. When it came to the update on Allura's case, Chief Saunders told the media that the police

wanted to speak with a person of interest, her boyfriend Augustinus Ballester, aged in his late 20s or early 30s. They believed he may have been the last person to see her alive and might be able to provide more detail about what she was doing in her last days. Chief Saunders referred to Allura's father's experience when he reported her as missing to police, saying it was an opportunity for them to improve and learn some lessons in sensitivity. Mike Wells later told the media that he had met with Chief Saunders privately. Quote, We had a decent meeting, he apologized again. He listened to what I had to say, especially about the gay community. Chief Saunders also addressed the case of 22-year-old Tess Richie, which was fresh on

everyone's minds. Tess was reported missing just over a week before this police press conference, but her case was a bit different. Tess wasn't known to be a member of the community, but she had dropped into the neighborhood for a night out with a friend at a drag bar. Her last known location after she left the bar was captured on video, and after she was reported missing, police reportedly searched that area and turned up nothing. Her mother Christine was growing increasingly dissatisfied with the police's response, so after several days and no news, she drove more than three hours to Toronto with a friend to search the area themselves. No mother should ever have to find the dead body of their daughter, but tragically,

this is exactly what happened. Christine found Tess's body lying at the bottom of a stairwell, just 40 metres from the spot that was established as being her last known location. Tess had been strangled to death. The fact that Tess was found by her mother in an area that the police said they had searched deepened concerns in the community that investigations into missing people in the neighborhood were not being taken seriously by police. At the joint press conference, police chief Mark Saunders presented the description of a man they believed might have been responsible for Tess's murder, as seen on CCTV footage. The suspect would later be identified and charged. Check out the Nighttime Podcast's deep dive on Tess Richie for the full story.

But after that, chief Saunders went on to address the community concerns. He announced the launch of an investigation into the search for Tess Richie to find out what happened and what could be improved in how Toronto Police investigate the approximately 4,000 missing persons reports they receive each year. He added that the professional standards unit had also been brought in to review the case. Six months later, two officers would be charged for failing to properly investigate Tess's disappearance. But back to the press conference. So in the course of a year, there were four missing and murdered cases in a marginalised Toronto neighborhood and all with a community who felt the police had not taken their loved one's case seriously. People in the village had been

talking for months and some for years about their growing concerns about the safety of the neighborhood and surrounding areas. They were now having to take their own precautions. An anonymous source told the National Post that some people had taken to wearing large rings on their fingers that could double for brass knuckles and others carried hairspray in their purses as a substitute for pepper spray, which is illegal in Canada. And with all this that had happened, there were now growing rumours that there was an active serial killer in the village. Chief Saunders would address that too as part of his press conference update on the two missing men, Salim Essen and Andrew Kinsman. It was announced that the police had set up a task force to look into their disappearance.

Chief Saunders then referred to community questions about whether the disappearance of these two men could be linked to three other men who also went missing from the village but five to seven years beforehand. All cases were still unsolved. Chief Saunders said he understood that the community was concerned because of the close proximity, but there was no evidence that the five missing men were connected in any way to each other. He then addressed the serial killer rumours. Quote, we follow the evidence and the evidence is telling us that that's not the case right now. The evidence today tells us that there is not a serial killer. Just a month later, Toronto Police would announce the arrest of 67-year-old Bruce MacArthur in the first degree

murders of all five of those missing men plus three more, eight murder victims. Chief Saunders would be asked about his previous denial that there was a serial killer in the village and he would say that it was true at the time. But Nikki Ward, the director of the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association, would tell CBC News that Toronto Police had also publicly denied other suggestions related to investigations that turned out to be true. Quote, so it begs the so it begs the question if there was evidence why didn't they share it with the public so the public could take some steps to ensure their own safety. Days after the police press conference, a memorial service was held for 27-year-old

Allura Wells, an Indigenous drum group who she regularly watched at local events played in her honour. Reverend Evan Smith, a two-spirit Indigenous leader, was asked to speak and mentioned that many were angry, quote, angry that she was taken away too soon, angry that we don't know what happened to her, angry that a community wasn't taken seriously. Allura's father, Mike, talked about her love of music and told stories about her singing and dancing. He said she could be precocious and told a story about how Allura was once caught stealing chocolate bars for friends. He said he hoped she'd be remembered for her good heart and beautiful smile, quote, she was born perfect. He also praised the local church and Wellesley community,

who he said had embraced him since Allura's death, quote, this community is a loving, compassionate community. There's a lot to be learned from them. Some people get stupid ideas in their head about the community, but they're just people and somebody loves them. They shouldn't be ostracised because of orientation. With tears in her eyes, Monica Forrester told DailyExtra.com that Allura was the sixth trans woman she knew who had died that year, quote, it just saddens me that this is happening so much. But even with the memorial service, Allura's remains were still in the morgue. She died in poverty and her family had no way to pay for her funeral or burial costs. So, Monica Forrester took the initiative to get her the proper burial she deserved

and reached out to the community to start a fundraising campaign to cover the costs. On December the 12th, 2017, just days after all of this, the 519 Center website posted a public apology to the community, specifically the trans community, for mishandling the information given to them by Rebecca Price when she found Allura's remains. The memo announced that their board was convening a special task force to undertake a needs assessment to identify ways that they can better service the community. We reached out to the 519 Center to see if there was an update on the task force now that more than two years have passed and we received a written response outlining the milestones they had achieved so far for the initiative, which has been renamed

the trans engagement strategy. These milestones include implementation of trans inclusive HR processes, supporting and elevating advocacy work impacting trans communities and creation of a memorial fund to assist community programs and initiatives that focus on bettering the lives of trans communities across Canada. The Center says they are also engaging with police in their efforts to change policies and procedures to be more trans inclusive. We also reached out to Monica Forrester from Trans Pride Toronto for her perspective as an outreach coordinator in the trans community on whether she has noticed any positive changes in the relationship with the Toronto police. She told us that in her experience nothing has

changed since Allura's death. Quote, the police staged a few big PR stunts for the first few months to do damage control and then it went back to the way it was. Monica went on to say that a year after Allura's death she was threatened with a knife when she was on outreach. She knew the assailant and where they lived and reported it to police but she never saw evidence that anything was done. Quote, I demanded an investigation and they found the police officer negligent of not following up. She says the assailant is still at large. Monica said that even though the issues between the LGBTQ2S community and the Toronto police have been well documented, in her experience trans women are particularly vulnerable when it comes to police priorities. Quote, until they

validate trans women and their identities and stop looking at us as not deserving of police protection, the systemic issues will continue. As for Allura, the community did rally to fundraise for a proper burial. The goal of $10,000 was reached and covered items like flowers, the reception, the earn and financial assistance for Allura's out of town loved ones to travel to attend the service. The City of Toronto stepped up to cover the cost of the funeral home and cremation. Allura Wells was properly put to rest at a service in Toronto on March the 20th 2018. Friends spoke to CBC News describing her as a vibrant member of the community who appealed to people not to hurt others because they're different. After the service, Monica Forester told CBC that she remembered

Allura's sense of style, her laugh and her great singing voice. Quote, she was just a great soul that died too young. She had a lot of ambition, things that she wanted to do in the future and it's sad that she left so early. Although the service brought a level of closure for Allura's family and the community, no one could ignore the lingering unanswered questions about what actually happened to her. Police maintain they have no reason to believe her death was suspicious. Remember the autopsy report stated that her cause of death wasn't able to be determined. But according to her sister Michelle, there was more information in the report that for unknown reasons didn't make it to media reports. Firstly Allura had fentanyl in her system when she died

and secondly she had quote, a break in the back that could have caused her death. Michelle had since heard rumours that Allura had fallen off the bridge but as you'll recall she was found in a different location next to a tent surrounded by drug paraphernalia. Another rumour Michelle heard was that Allura was with some people at the time she fell and they didn't want to get into trouble so they just dragged her body to the tent she was found next to and left. As you'll recall the police said they were looking to speak with Allura's boyfriend Augustinus Balasdon but they emphasised that he wasn't considered a suspect. Michelle has no idea if they ever managed to find him and question him and she wasn't able to get

any more information out of him other than the fact that he was in jail at the time. Division 53 of the Toronto Police Service has been reached out to for comment but as yet they haven't replied. Next week will be the third anniversary of the disappearance of Allura Wells but it seems that we will never know exactly what happened to her. Michelle will always remember her sister as an amazing person. Quote she had so much talent and could have achieved whatever she wanted in life but she just lacked the confidence. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her. Thanks for listening. In November of 2019 it was announced that an independent review had been

launched into how Toronto Police handle missing persons cases particularly in relation to the LGBTQ2S and other vulnerable and marginalised communities. They're still taking submissions from the community until August the 31st 2020 on the website missingpersonsreview.ca. You'll find this link and links to all of the other organisations and initiatives I mentioned in the show notes and on the website. Special thanks to a few people who made this episode possible. To Allura's sister Michelle I can't thank you enough for your contributions to this episode. Thank you also to Monica Forrester from Trans Pride Toronto for your contribution and also for your tireless advocacy. There were no court documents for this episode

so thank you to the journalists for their work on reporting on this case. Particularly Denise Bulkassoon and Tutan Ha who wrote a long form piece for the Globe and Mail and Arshi Mann who covered the case for DailyExtra.com. And last but definitely not least thanks also to Elliot Newton who researched the case and is my content advisor. Elliot is a 2S LGBTQIA plus safe space and diversity consultant based in Ottawa and an all-round pretty amazing person who has taught me a lot. You can find them at genderbandit.com. I'll also be having a cool conversation with them in the next few days on the after show chats with Christy. This as well as an ad-free version of

every episode I release is on the exclusive bonus feed on Patreon and now Supercast for those who want to pay in Canadian dollars. See the show notes for a link or visit CanadianTrueCrime.ca to learn more. Today's podcast recommendation is a new Canadian investigative podcast called Where Is Lisa? Island Crime Season 1 meaning Vancouver Island. It's about Lisa Marie Young, the 21-year-old Indigenous Canadian who disappeared in 2002. Where is Lisa? That's the name of my new True Crime podcast. My name is Laura Palmer. I'm trying to heat up a cold case in the small island community I call home. Season 1 is a story about a beautiful young woman who vanished one night after getting into a red

jag. Lisa Marie Young has become an urban legend here but her story is real and you could help solve it. Subscribe now to Where Is Lisa? Island Crime Season 1 available wherever you listen to podcasts. Together we can bring Lisa home. This episode of Canadian True Crime was researched and co-produced by Elliott Newton. Audio production was by We Talk of Dreams who also composed the theme song. The host of the Beyond Bazaar True Crime podcast voiced the disclaimer. I'll be back in a few months with another Canadian True Crime story. See you then. you