Canadian True Crime - Beverley Rowbotham's Family Speaks Out: 25 Years Later

Episode Date: October 25, 2025

In this special update episode we’re joined by Beverley’s sister Barb Kilpatrick and niece Melanie to mark a milestone in one of the most high-profile cases the province has seen, reflect on the impact, and share new details - including some sad family news and a public plea for information.25 years ago today, the body of 42 year old mother of two Beverley Rowbotham was found in the family car at an abandoned gas station in Selkirk, Manitoba. Beverley’s political advisor husband, Mark Stobbe, was acquitted of her murder 12 years later. The case has remained unsolved. Beverley’s remaining family members hope to finally get answers and justice for Beverley.--------------------Public plea to help locate a potential credible lead - “Paul and Ann from Calgary”They are from Calgary, Alberta and drove to Rocky Mountain House in March of 2018 to deliver a handwritten note.See an image of the Paul and Ann note,Paul was very well spoken, Anne had a cane and walked with a bit of a limp. They indicated that they were scared, but needed to share their information in person.If you have information to locate this this couple, please contact Canadian True Crime podcast or find us on Facebook or Instagram and we will connect you.--------------------More information:Obituary for Beverley’s sister Betty Rowbotham who passed away October 18, 2025.Clinging to hope: Twenty-five years after Beverley Rowbotham was slain, her family believes a mysterious letter could shed light on the case that gripped Manitoba by Chris Kitching for Winnipeg Free Press, October 24, 2025Canadian True Crime donates monthly to help those facing injustice.This month we have donated in Beverley Rowbotham's name to: The Alpha House Project - WinnipegFull list of resources, information sources, credits and music credits:See the page for this episode at www.canadiantruecrime.ca/episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canadian True Crime is a completely independent production, funded mainly through advertising. You can listen to Canadian True Crime ad-free and early on Amazon music included with Prime, Apple Podcasts, Patreon, and Supercast. The podcast often has disturbing content and coarse language. It's not for everyone. Please take care when listening. Hi, everyone. I hope you're well, and thanks for all your patience and understanding recently. There's been a lot going on behind the scenes, and today's episode is about one of those things. It's been a long time coming. Two years ago, to the day, we released an episode on the brutal murder of Beverly Robotham in Manitoba in October 2000. The case has been described as one of the most high-profile Manitoba murder cases in recent memory,

in part because Beverly's husband, Mark Stobie, was a political advisor to the Premier of Manitoba. You don't have to have listened to our original episode to listen to this story. one, but regular listeners might remember some of the other themes of the case, a large man riding a bike on the highway at night, and a theory about a mosquito that bit two people and then got swatted. But at the centre of it all is one woman, 42-year-old Beverly, the beloved mother of two young sons, and perhaps most notably the youngest of three tight-knit sisters. This is from a press conference

12 years after Beverly's murder. We're hearing for the first time today from the sisters of Beverly Robotham following a shocking verdict yesterday. Mark Stobie was acquitted in the murder of his wife back in 2000. The sisters today expressed shock and disbelief at what they heard in court yesterday.

It's like releving the murder. We did not know that it was that person. We didn't know there was 16 chops to her head. We didn't know the details before this. It's like we living it again. That was Barb Kilpatrick. You'll be hearing more from Barb in this episode. Here's Beverly's other sister, Betty Robotham.

I've got sad news about Betty in a moment. You know, I guess at the center of this, here's our little sister. Beautiful, strong woman with so much to offer them. so much more to give. And not only is she chopped up and murdered, but she's callously thrown in the back seat of a car like a broken old doll, tossed away. By that point, 12 years had passed since Beverly's murder,

and the RCMP announced that because they had no other suspects, the investigation would not be ongoing. Barb and Betty expressed their disappointment and also reflected on where the case stood and the bitter blow that it seemed destined to remain frustratingly open-ended. This is Barb. She was fun.

She was witty. She was worldly. She detested violence against women. It would have been appalling to her to see how her life ended, fighting against a monster, fighting for her life. Here's Betty.

Bev was a really good mum. She was very much a hands-on mom, building Lego with her boys, going for walks, exploring. She would have taught them to do a wild polka. I think she would have had a very good career. She would have had lots of fun with her boys. If Bev were still alive and it was one of us, she would be moving heaven and earth to get justice. we're not quitters. I'm sure someday in some way there will be justice. Saturday, October 25th of 2025, marks the 25th anniversary of the day Beverly Robotham's body was discovered. The person responsible for it has never been brought to justice. Time may have dulled the pain a little, but for her family, it has never gone away. It's with a heavy heart that I share the news that last weekend, the family suffered another devastating loss, just one week before this milestone anniversary.

Beverly's sister, Elizabeth Betty Robotham, passed away on October 18th following an extended illness. Betty was 79. What makes this even more heartbreaking is that Betty's daughter Julie passed away last year, aged 44. Our sincere condolences to Betty's husband and son Raymond and to all her loved ones. A private funeral is being held for Betty Robotham today on the 25th anniversary of her sister Beverly's murder. Of the two sisters who once stood together seeking justice for the third,

only one now remains. I'm Barb Calpatrick. I'm Beverly's sister. Today, Barb is here with her daughter to represent the family. I'm Melanie and I'm Beverly's niece. Melanie was an adult when Beverly was murdered. She was very close with her auntie but has never spoken publicly about it until now. We recorded this joint interview before Betty's death. and Barb and Melanie have chosen to go ahead to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Beverly's murder.

But just as important is that it's also a public plea for information about a potential credible lead they've quietly chased as much as they could behind the scenes. We thought this is our second chance. Something is going to come of this. There's going to be justice for Beverly. The family waited and hoped it would bring answers that never came. So now, Beverly's family members are hoping to find those answers by going public. We'll get to more information about the circumstances later,

but for now, they're looking to locate an older couple from Calgary, Alberta, named Paul and Anne, who went to great lengths to try and deliver a mysterious message about Beverly a few years ago. Bad luck and timing resulted in a misconnection. Paul was very well spoken, and Anne walked with a limp and used a cane. So if you think you might know a couple of retirement age from Calgary named Paul and Anne, please contact us. There's also information on our Facebook and Instagram pages. With that said, I'll be back with Barb and Melanie in a moment to reflect on key aspects of their journey behind the scenes, both before and after Beverly's murder.

As an indie podcast, we rely on advertising to help pay the bills and allow us to give back. We've donated in Beverly Robotham's name to the Alpha House Project in Winnipeg. We'll be back in a moment. Beverly Robotham was the youngest of three sisters, born in Swift-Current Saskatchewan in 1957. Her family has May-Tee ancestry on the maternal side. Beverly was a kind of later surprise, and because sisters Barb and Betty were quite a bit older, they doted on their new baby sister. That continued as she grew up.

Bev was just a very good honest person. She was fun, she was adventurousome, she was adored by her nieces and nephews. I remember my auntie as fun. She had a great sense of humor. She was always dancing and laughing. She believed in rights for women and equality. She loved cats. She loved cats.

She just loved life. And she wanted to have children. That was her dream, was to have children. was to have children and to be married. And when she found her husband, she thought she had found that happiness or that missing link to her life. Beverly was smart and witty.

She completed two university degrees, lived and taught in Japan, traveled the world, and was into skydiving. She went into a successful career in the Saskatchewan Public Service, but she always wanted a family. Beverly met Mark Stobie in 1991, when they were both approaching their mid-30s. The couple were known to be affectionate and got on well.

Everyone could see it. They were married within two years. By this point, older sisters Betty and Barb were married with children of their own, so Mark Stoby was the third son-in-law, and there were some aspects of their pairing that some family members scratched their heads about. He is Beverly's niece Melanie, who was a teenager when Beverly met Mark. I remember him being introduced as the pie man because he made really good pies, and that was something that Auntie Bev would rave about was a pie, and he was the pie man.

To be honest, I was quite taken back that that's who she chose to be her life partner, just based on her own lifestyle, like he was a very inactive man, and that just seemed very unusual for her because she was very aware of health and wellness. It just felt like a very odd match. But at the same time, we were excited for her because her dream of being a mother was probably going to be fulfilled with this marriage.

So what do you think initially drew Beverly to Mark? His mind, he's brilliant. He was very well read. He was educated and he had a career in politics. and I think she thought all of that was really important. Oh, I think he was a brilliant man. And Bev was well educated and she loved politics. And this was a political man.

There's some audio distortion at this point, but Barb adds that in their family growing up, they spoke about politics and their father was quite aware of what was going on in the world. A search of the news archive shows that Mark Stobie had developed an early interest in political issues. A 1977 Saskatoon Star Phoenix article quotes him as the only male in a group of protesters for abortion rights for women. He would have been about 20 years old at the time and told the paper, I believe freedom concerns everybody. When one group is under attack, it's up to others to come to the assistance whenever they can. In the 1980s, he was affiliated with the Saskatchewan New

Democrats Party and was quoted in the media as a constituency officer. That's how he met Beverly. She joined the NDP's Youth Wing. Mark Stoby was on a fast track to a high-profile role. His knack for strategic communications would result in him moving into a senior communications role in the party, an important role responsible for shaping how government ministries communicate with the public and the press. We know that Beverley's murder caused a family divide that only got wider as time passed, but some of Beverly's family members never really jelled with Mark. They all lived in different provinces.

Barb and her family lived in Alberta. Betty and her family lived in Manitoba. Their mother lived there too. And of course, Beverly and Mark lived in Saskatchewan. So they didn't see each other as frequently as they might have if they all lived in same city. Our experience with him was he was odd. Like his humor was kind of dark and very awkward. My mom was always... She thought it was a strange match. But then she was happy for Bev because Bev had so much joy. And I remember that wedding night. It was it was so fun. It was just a fun kind of

informal wedding. We had pie. That was their wedding cake was another pie. But grandma was always It didn't seem like she had the same relationship as she did with, say, my dad or my uncle Ed that she had with Mark. It seems Mark Stoby had a different kind of personality and a different way of thinking. That's likely why he was in a top government communications position. Beverly Robotham gave birth to two sons. Her dream to be a mother was fulfilled. The family continued living in Regina, Saskatchewan, as Mark Stobey built up his high-profile career as a political advisor.

Melanie and Barb recalled a visit to see the family there and inadvertently learning that Mark was fascinated with true crime cases. And I remember one evening we were there for Christmas in Regina, and I believe it was probably Christmas Eve or maybe even Christmas Day night. We went out for a nice walk, to see the lights. And we happened to walk past Colin Thatcher's house. And Mark...

Quick explanation. A couple of years ago, this podcast produced a mini-series about Colin Thatcher. A controversial Saskatchewan politician convicted of the murder of his ex-wife, Joanne Wilson, during a complex divorce and custody battle. Whether he committed the murder himself or got someone else to do it wasn't ever determined conclusively. But a jury decided Colin Thacker's. was behind it. And that murder happened in Regina, which is where Beverly Robotham and Mark

Stobie lived before they eventually moved provinces. Back to Melanie. He happened to walk past Colin Thatcher's house. And Mark, he was jumping for joy. He couldn't wait to give us information about the murder. He could not wait to share his thoughts on it. And he was very pumped and excited and animated about this, he had this weird, warped sense of humor. And again, I remember he made a pie. He was a very good cook. Yeah, very hospitable. He did have a good sense of humor in some ways, but a lot of it was very bizarre. It was over the top. Colin Thatcher was known to be verbally and physically abusive, both towards his ex-wife, Joanne, and the partner he was with when he was arrested. It should be noted that at Mark Stobie's trial, there was no evidence presented of any prior abuse or domestic violence.

By all accounts, he was just another person interested in crime cases. And as we'll get to later, this interest eventually became his career. In the spring of 2000, Mark accepted a prestigious new position as senior communications advice, to the Premier of Manitoba at the time, Gary Dua. The job was in Winnipeg, so the family would have to move provinces. By this point, Mark and Beverly had been married for seven years, and their two sons were five and three years old. Beverly's sister Betty and her family already lived a little north of Winnipeg,

so Beverly and Mark decided to move to that area as well. They purchased a home on a large lot in St. Andrews, an agricultural community with sprawling residential areas and seasonal cottages around the creeks and waterways. Moving house is always stressful. Packing up and moving to a new province with young children is even more so. And at the later trial, it was established that a number of additional issues arose after they moved

that inadvertently strained the marriage. As Mark Stobie hit the ground running working long hours, in his new job in Winnipeg, Beverly took care of everything at home, including settling into the log cabin-style home they purchased. She soon discovered it needed a lot of repairs. It was around this time that Barb and Melanie last saw Beverly in person. The last time I saw Bev was in April of 2000, and we were in Swift Current. We had met her and Auntie Betty there and me and my mom. My grandma wasn't doing well at that time,

so we all kind of came together to discuss next plans. And Bev was extremely agitated. She did not present like her normal self. I remember just thinking, this isn't the same auntie that I knew, and me and my aunt were extremely close. And you used to phone her, and then she didn't phone you back, right?

Or she said she just really, the relationship just changed and her demeanor changed. Everything kind of changed. She just wasn't the same happy-go kind of loving person. And I guess we just thought, you know, maybe she's an older mom, she's tired, she's got little kids, she's, you know, had some health issues, kind of just chalked it up to that. That was a difficult summer for Beverly. The constant rain and swarms of mosquitoes kept her indoors with her two young sons in a house that needed a lot of repairs that she had to organise. Betty later testified that late into the summer, Beverly confided in her that she

wasn't coping and she wanted to sell the house, but Mark did not want to. She ended up taking the boys and visited a close friend in Calgary. That friend testified that Beverly told her the marriage was strained, and that things weren't going well. By early fall, that friend testified that the pressure seemed to ease. The mosquitoes were gone, repairs were done, one son started kindergarten, and Beverly was preparing for a job interview with Manitoba Justice. She didn't make it to that interview. On October 25, 2000, about six months after the family moved provinces,

Mark Stobie contacted the RCMP in the early morning hours to report his wife missing. He told them Beverly had taken the family car at about 8.30 or 9 p.m. to the nearby town of Salkirk to purchase some additional grocery she didn't get when she went shopping earlier that day. At trial, Mark Stobie testified he had fallen asleep with one of their sons in his bed. That's why he didn't realize Beverly hadn't returned until about 2.30 a.m. The court also heard testimony that he told others he'd fallen asleep in front of the TV while watching a ballgame. Whatever the version of events, when he woke up at about 2.30 a.m., he realized Beverly hadn't returned home.

Within hours, the family sedan was found at an abandoned gas station in Selkirk, close to where the grocery store was. Beverly's body was lying on the back seat. The 42-year-old mother of two had been the victim of a brutal, violent attack. The evidence suggested she met some terrible fate during an ordinary trip from their town to the grocery store at the next town over. When the terrible news was delivered to Beverly's closest loved ones, it was difficult for many to comprehend what had actually happened and the details they were being given. Barb Kilpatrick was in the U.S. at the time,

so her daughter Melanie got the first phone call from Manitoba. So I woke up to a phone call at about 5.30 in the morning, Alberta time, from my cousin Raymond, who was in Manitoba at the time. And he, first words, it came out of his mouth when I said, hello, he said, Bev's dead. They found her car, they believe she was robbed, and her car was stolen. And I just thought, and I remember asking him, like, why, like, when did this happen? Like, I don't know, but she went to go get groceries. And I thought, this is so bizarre.

Yeah. It's bizarre. And when I first knew about Bev being killed, I was in New Orleans at a convention, and I phoned him. And I was crying. And I said, it's so odd that Bev gets murdered in a little rural Manitoba. And I'm in this big bad city, you know, should have been me. And he chuckled and said, yeah, it's pretty strange. Beverly's wallet was missing, so was her gold watch and her $7,000 diamond engagement ring.

Mark told the police that she would have been wearing the ring. In the early hours and days of the investigation, the RCMP asked Mark Stobee for consent to search the family property, but he was hesitant and wanted to speak with his lawyer first. He told investigators he was concerned about his sons seeing the police and that a search would mess up their house. The evidence so far suggested Beverly was attacked and murdered after she left the house to go shopping. Why would they need to search the house?

He asked, could they wait until after her funeral? The police described Mark Stobie's reaction to the search warrant request as, quote, Not in keeping with an individual who was being honest and helpful in the investigation of the disappearance and murder of his wife, end quote. But at trial, the judge did not allow this evidence to be admitted for two reasons. Demeanor evidence assumes that there is a normal range of reaction to highly stressful situations that is applicable to all individuals. And second, demeanor evidence assumes that outward appearance, accurately reflects an individual state of mind or emotional state.

The judge cited the wrongful conviction of Guy Paul Moran in relation to the murder of a little girl called Christine Jessop. A high-profile case we'll be covering next on this podcast. Moran was described as the weirdo next door, yet was later completely cleared by DNA. Being a weirdo alone does not make someone a murderer. The autopsy found that Beverly had been struck 16 times with a hatchet or axe. Her skull bore the brunt of the blows.

Her severed fingers indicated she put up a fierce fight. From this, forensic investigators were looking for a lot of blood, or evidence of a clean-up. By the time the RCMP returned with their search warrant, several days had passed since Beverly's murder. crucial days for collecting evidence, and there had been some rain in that time. Despite the time and the weather, what they found on the property changed the trajectory of the investigation. In the family's backyard, investigators found clumps of Beverley's hair,

drops of blood, a piece of her skull, and bone chips and fragments. Their property was now a crime scene. In the garage where the car was kept, investigators found a towel and tissues that had DNA from Mark's blood on it. At trial, he testified he cut himself shaving. Beverly's blood was also found on the undercarriage of the family car, which indicated she had continued to bleed out while the car was in motion. There was also a tiny blood stain on the fridge in the garage, which had DNA from both Beverly and. Mark. At trial, a DNA expert was asked if this could have come from one mosquito that bit both Mark and Beverly before it was swatted. The expert said, theoretically, it was a

possibility. There was trace DNA found on a strap and zipper of Beverly's handbag or purse from an unknown male that wasn't Mark Stobie or either of their sons. There was no way to know if it had any relevance to the murder. Given the evident brutality of the attack on Beverley, investigators expected to find a lot more blood in the backyard. There had been a small amount of rain after Beverly was first reported missing and before the search of the property a few days later. But investigators determined there was not enough rain

to explain the lack of blood in the yard, given the skull fragments and other evidence they found. At trial, the jury would hear evidence that a section of the backyard might have been hosed in an apparent attempt to wash away forensic evidence. I think it was about in January or February that I finally learned this had happened in the backyard. When I knew about the backyard, it just was like, boom.

Yeah. They were shocked and devastated to learn that Beverly was killed in her own backyard, while her husband Mark Stobie and their young sons were inside the house. At trial, Stoby testified he was devastated as well. He said, quote, It was confirmation of my worst fears. What it meant was I'd been 50 or 60 feet away when she was killed. What it meant was I should have been able to stop it.

What it meant was I was completely useless, end quote. reporters described him putting his head in his hands and sobbing in the witness box. In the early days after Beverley's murder, investigators wiretapped Mark Stobie's phones and conducted undercover surveillance. Over the next few months, they listened to over a thousand of his phone calls and monitored his movements, but they didn't uncover any evidence that implicated Mark Stoby in his voice. wife's murder. The only odd behavior observed was by undercover officers who followed Stobie to Saskatchewan for Beverly's funeral and saw him dancing around with their two young sons in the parking lot. Beverly's family members were really hurt by his behavior. Here's Melanie.

I saw him at the funeral. There was no emotion. He made no eye contact. He was pumped when he walked through the doors and it was so weird because, I mean, we're all, we're a morning. We're a morning. We're in shock. We're still in disbelief that this is even happening. And he walked around to every table like he was working in the room at a political rally. It was so disrespectful. It just struck me as so odd

that his behavior could be so cold and so disengaged from something that had happened to him so recently. The evidence of Mark Stobey's diminution, Nina at his wife's funeral was also inadmissible at trial because there is no one way for a human to grieve and express that grief and he had two young sons to think of. The court ruled it wasn't evidence that pertained to the murder.

Beverly's family perceived it as disrespectful. It only served to widen the divide in the family. Mark Stobey was the RCMP's primary and only. suspect in the murder of his wife Beverly Robotham. His defense would later claim the police had tunnel vision, but despite several police public pleas for those with information to come forward, the case seemed to be growing cold. Nothing seemed to be happening. Later, it would come out that one of the five key investigators working the case had died by suicide, which caused a significant blow to the investigation. In 2008, almost eight years after Beverly Robotham was murdered,

Mark Stobie was charged with her second-degree murder, but it would take almost four more years before the case made its way to trial. We'll be back. in a moment. The trial took place in 2012, 12 years after Beverly Robotham's murder in almost four years since Mark Stobie's arrest. The Crown Prosecution described the crime as a near-perfect murder,

acknowledging there were no eyewitnesses to the crime, no evidence that directly implicated Mark Stobie and that much of the evidence presented was circumstantial. The Crown Prosecution's theory of what happened was that Beverly never actually went shopping a second time that night. It was suggested that she and Mark had a heated argument in the backyard of their house that escalated into violence, that he allegedly grabbed a hatchet and slashed her in the head 16 times,

as she desperately tried to defend herself, the attack so forceful that several of her fingers were severed. The Crown alleged that while their children were asleep inside, Mark Stobie carried or dragged Beverly's body into the garage and put her in the car, allegedly removing her wedding ring in an attempt to suggest that she had been robbed. The ring was never recovered. Then, he allegedly put one of the family's bikes into the

trunk of the car and drove to the abandoned gas station in Selkirk as Beverly's blood continued to flow onto the undercarriage. The Crown's theory was that Stobie abandoned the car and peddled the bike back to their home, which the RCMP estimated would have taken about 40 minutes. On the way home, Mark allegedly threw Beverly's wallet and watch into the river, where they would later be found. A key piece of circumstantial evidence was the multiple sightings of a large man-matching Stobie's description that night, furiously riding a bike down the highway between Selkirk and their home, wearing a long coat and no reflective gear. It was a spectacle that stood out to multiple witnesses, but some of the details they reported were contradictory, and it was never

confirmed who the person on the bike actually was. The Crown alleged, that once Stobie got home, he attempted to clean up the garage and the backyard. The murder weapon, the hatchet or axe, was never recovered. He then called the RCMP and his sister-in-law Betty in the early morning hours, claiming Beverly had gone out shopping at 9pm, he went to sleep and she never returned. That was the Crown's theory. Mark Stoby testified in his own defence, when asked if he killed, killed his wife, he stated, no, I did not. He told the jury they argued like any other couple,

but there were no serious problems in their marriage. And as for whether he cleaned up the backyard, or if he drove his wife's body to Selkirk and left the car there, he again stated, no, I did not. Stobie testified that he was inside the house the whole time and never heard any noises or screaming, nor did he hear the garage door opening. In closing arguments, the defense reiterated that the evidence was all circumstantial, the police had tunnel vision, and pointed out that there were no witnesses in the area who said they heard or saw anything suspicious around the time of the killing. Remember, it was a rural area with larger lots. The defense provided their own theory for the jury to consider.

which was, someone else, maybe an intruder or a drugged-up stranger, came across Beverly in the backyard that night. They covered her mouth to stop her screaming, and then bludgeoned her 16 times with the hatchet, moved her into the garage and into the car, made an attempt to clean up the garage and the backyard, and then drove the car to the abandoned gas station. The defense's closing statement was this.

The world, unfortunately, is full of bizarre people. We really have no idea what occurred here. It was a lengthy, emotional and difficult trial that went for eight weeks and the jury heard testimony from about 80 witnesses. After deliberating for two days, the jury found Mark Stobee not guilty of second-degree murder. It was shocking when the verdict came in. I remember sitting downstairs in my basement and turning the TV on and the reporter read guilty.

And then in a flash of the moment, he said, I mean, and he stumbled across his words and he said not guilty. And I remember my mom saying that when that verdict was read in the courtroom, it was just like everybody was in shock. At the time, Barb Kilpatrick and Beverly's other sister Betty Robotham held that press conference, holding up a picture of Beverly so the public would know they were still seeking justice. The Crown Prosecution announced that it would not appeal the verdict. And given that at the time, 12 years had passed since Beverly's murder, the RCMP announced they had no alternative suspects and therefore the investigation would not continue.

We felt our hands were tied. It felt like a slap in the face. it felt like there was no justice for Bev. In an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press, Mark Stobey said, quote, Right after the verdict, I was asked, will you be trying to solve it or pursue it? And my answer was no.

And for that same reason, I haven't been critical of the police for not solving it after my acquittal. A lot of time has passed, end quote. He told him. reporters that he would like to know who the real killer was, but the judge had told him it's not his job to investigate. He said he has no plans to. He just wanted to get on with his life and raise his two sons. In November of 2012, just seven months after the not guilty verdict,

Mark Stobie hit the headlines again, this time for a different reason. According to multiple news outlets, Stobie announced he was writing two true crime books. He said his experiences had inspired him to research the criminal justice system and the investigation and prosecution of homicides, and he believed potential readers could learn something from it. A few months after that in March of 2013, Mark Stoby launched his first book, Lessons from Remand, about his two months in prison after his arrest before he was released on bail. In an interview with journalist Lindor Reynolds for the Winnipeg Free Press, Stobie explained that since the trial, he was essentially unemployable and he had to sell the family home and drain his pension to pay his

legal bills. By that point in late 2012, he had decided to pursue a master's degree and said his student loans for that were also being used to support his sons. He added that he planned to use any proceeds from the sale of his book to continue paying off his legal fees. As someone found not guilty at trial, Mark Stobie was and is entitled to write about his experiences and use the proceeds to cover his legal fees. But Beverly's family members were distressed and upset by these news reports, especially in the context of his earlier comment that he had no plans to investigate it himself. They couldn't understand why. I thought that if you wanted justice for Bev and you are innocent, then why wouldn't you be trying to chase down the person who murdered your wife?

And given that he had so much insight to murder and homicide and criminology and all these other aspects of the crime world. Why was he not even going alone on his own to try and figure it out? He didn't. And he'd done so much research into all this stuff. Why wasn't he making things happen with her and researching? Beverly's family members haven't been in contact with Mark Stobee for many, many years, although they have stayed in touch with his and Beverly's two sons. But according to the News archives, Stoby went on to earn a PhD in sociology and criminology. He remarried and found gainful employment as a college sociology instructor. He continued to write more books focusing on various areas of the criminal justice system, including Mr. Big Investigations

and No Body Homicides. And as each book releases publicized and he hits the headlines again, it upsets Beverly's family members. It's difficult for them to grapple with the fact that a man who has always shown an intense interest in true crime and criminology never showed any interest in the unsolved murder of his own wife. So for somebody who is so well informed about homicides, investigations, crime, if he's an expert at this, you would think he would take his expertise to find out who killed his wife. but instead he writes books about his expertise and he teaches at a college criminology.

It's so bizarre that a man whose wife has been bludgeoned in the backyard, brutally murdered, and now he's writing about these exact same topics. Beverly's family members perceive Mark Stobie's actions as brazen and disrespectful, especially given he's never taken any opportunity to push for judgment. justice for Beverly or for the investigation into her murder to be reopened. Mark Stobie has repeatedly declined requests for interviews over the years, including just this week when reporter Chris Kitching reached out to him with the Winnipeg Free Press. Stobie responded,

Anything I say gets interpreted by some people from the worst possible outlook, so I've decided to say nothing, end quote. We'd be happy to provide an update if he, decides to contact us, but it should also be noted that he spoke to this in 2012 after the verdict in an interview with CBC's Angela Johnson, edited slightly for brevity. Well, I mean, I would very much like it to be solved. I would very much like whoever killed her to explain why, basically, is the question on my mind, why did you do this? And then to get the appropriate punishment,

and the appropriate punishment in my mind depends a lot on what that Y answer is. The reality is that I don't think that the chances are that it will be solved. I think that after 12 years it would be very difficult for the police or anybody else to pick up the trail unless a couple of accidents happen. One is if whoever did it either confesses or shoots off their mouth to somebody who passes along to the police

or if there's a fortuitous match with the DNA that was found on a person and I don't really see a lot of other options for, you know, like if the question becomes why am I not jumping up and down and demanding that the police now do something for the life of me, I can't figure out

after 12 years what it is that they should be doing. If I had a bright idea, I would pass it on to them. But other than that, about all I think they can do is what I can do is that sort of wait and hope. That's exactly what Beverly's family members have been doing, sitting and waiting and hoping. So now on the 25th anniversary, there is something the family have been keeping to themselves up until now. And this is where you, the listener, can possibly help. Here's Melanie again. So, yeah, in 2018, March 22nd,

a couple came to the hospital in Rocky Mountain House looking for my mom, who they heard was a nurse at the time. And these people, they left a letter with one of my associates. Barb was a nurse, but at the time she and her husband, Dave, Melanie's father, were in Arizona and it wasn't until they returned home a few weeks later that they learned a man and woman of retirement age named Paul and Anne had been trying to contact them. And they left a letter with one of the hospital employees to give to my mom and dad because she had a personal connection to my mom,

and they felt confident in this message would get to my mom and dad. And so this letter was dated March 22nd, 2018, and it says, Dear Barb and Dave, you don't know us, but we have just realized that you live in Alberta. We live in Calgary, Alberta, and we need to speak to you and your husband about your sister Bev. Something very horrible happened to our family in 1999 and 2000. The circumstances pertaining to our family came into contact with your sister, Bev's family in 2000,

especially just before Bev's passing in October 2000. I don't want to say much and cannot explain over the phone, but we need to speak to you in person and we will explain all that we know at that time. When we realized you lived in Rocky Mountain House, we jumped in our car and drove to your city. because we believe to know what we know. Regards, hope to see you soon, Paul and Anne. This letter is, it was, you know,

and we honestly thought when we received this letter, we thought this is our second chance. Something is going to come of this. There's going to be justice for Beverly. The problem was, Paul and Anne did not leave their surname, phone number or any other information so that Beverly's family could contact them.

And when Barb and Dave returned from Arizona, they found two messages on their landline answering machine from Paul and Anne, but again, they left no return number. There was no way to contact them. When the family realized it could be a missed connection, Melanie decided to do some investigative work of her own, which included speaking with the hospital employee who provided some extra details from her conversation with the couple when they brought in the note. Something had happened to them in California, meaning Paul and Anne, and that they were scared, but they needed to share what they had. Paul was very well spoken, and she said that what she remembered of Anne was that she had a cane and walked with a bit of a limp. They never returned to the hospital. They never returned to speak with Gladys, and that is when I started to reach out to some family and friends who may know who these people were and I actually went on social media

as well and tried to track them down that way but it was a dead end. We'd went to the cops about it as well and reported it back to the Winnipeg police and it kind of just stopped dead in those tracks and we never heard anything else after that. Obviously the goal of releasing this information is a last-ditch effort to try and locate Paul and Anne from Calgary, Alberta, and connect them with Beverly's family members so they can finally have that conversation. I would want them to know that we need to know their information. We need to speak to them. We want them to make contact with us. I have been trying to figure out who these people are for the past five years,

through social media, through going on, you know, friends of friends, on Facebook to see if I can make a match. I've reached out to people who have had similar names to see if they know anything. I just really hope that whoever this Paul and Ann are, that they come forward and reconnect with us just so we can hear what they have to say and maybe it'll bring some insight to what really happened and why it happened. A spokesperson for the Manitoba RCMP told the Winnipeg Free Press this week that while the investigation, is no longer active, it could potentially be reopened if information relating to a new suspect is brought forward.

If that was any one of us that had been murdered in that way, if we were in Bev's shoes, Bev would still be to this day trying to find justice for one of us. She would have never have lost hope. She would have never have given up. She would have been out for justice. I remember her being so upset about the massacre at Eco Polytech, she'd be so horrified to think that she became a victim of violence against women. I can just see her trying to evade an enraged madman in her backyard, fingers chopped off, trying to protect herself. And it was a losing battle, but she was a good person. She would have never stopped, looking for answers. Over the last two years, we've worked together to have a new legacy memorial bench installed in Regina.

The bench is located at Riverside Memorial Park Cemetery in a sentimental location overlooking the graves of Beverly's grandparents. There's a bronze plaque that says, In loving memory of Beverly Justine Robotham, 1957 to 2000, passionate advocate for women's rights. Peace begins at home. And at the bottom, are three symbols of a woman to represent the three sisters. May Beverly and Betty rest in peace. And may their family members one day have answers. Thanks for listening and thank you so much to Barrow,

Kildpatrick and her daughter Melanie for sharing their story and these details. To find links to our original episode on this case and the other articles and details mentioned, see the show notes and on the website. Canadian True Crime Donates Monthly to those facing injustice. This month we have donated in Beverly Robotham's name to the Alpha House Project in Winnipeg, a residential program for women and families fleeing domestic violence. who need a safe space to live. See alpha houseproject.ca.

If you found this episode compelling, we'd love for you to tell a friend, post on social media, or leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This episode was produced and edited by me. The theme songs were composed by We Talk of Dreams. I'll be back soon with another Canadian true crime episode, covering the case of Christine Jessup.

See you then. You know,