Uncover - S5 "Sharmini" E2: Saturday Morning

Episode Date: September 15, 2019

Sharmini, Episode 2 - Michelle visits Woodbine Junior High in North York to learn about Sharmini’s life as a Grade 9 student. Her friends, teachers, and community recall the days after the teen's disappearance, and the false stories born out of prejudice. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-5-sharmini-transcripts-listen-1.5277530

All right, get in here. We have a lot to talk about. My name is Elamin Abdelmahmoud. I am the host of Commotion. You know that feeling when the group chat is lighting up, maybe talking about a new movie that just came out or a new Netflix show or like a big TikTok trend of some sort? That's what Commotion does every day.

We get the smartest, funniest people together and we talk about the big stories in pop culture, arts, and entertainment. I think you should join the Commotion group chat. Find us wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. The walls are different. We were watching the kids come out and it was, I love their noise, right?

Their shouting and laughter Oh okay straight ahead yeah you recognize it right away Yep. Sorry, I'm going to cry. I know. That's okay. Yeah. Yep. I guess everybody puts their desk in the same spot. So it's kind of emotional coming back here, eh? Yeah. 20 years is a long time, huh? It's a long time. 20 years is a long time, huh? Yes. It's a long time.

Please, please, we will give you whatever we will give you. Please release my daughter. Please, I beg you. Sharmini left home that morning to go to a brand new job. We have not been able to find that job. On the weekend, police found skeletal remains in a North York park. They matched Charmini. The narrative that was developing was that she left home in the morning to go to a job at North York Rec.

But her friends were saying, no, no. She was going to work as an undercover drug operative for Stanley Tippett. I'm Michelle Shepard, and this is Uncover, Sharmini. Chapter 2, Saturday morning. Hi! Hi! How are you? Good. How are you, Michelle? Good. It's so nice to meet you. Good to see you.

Thank you for coming here. Hi. Colin Braddock sat beside Sharmini in their grade 9 homeroom class at Woodbine Junior High. I'll just put it out there. She was my first crush. You can really still see 15-year-old Colin in his 35-year-old face today. The smile, the huge smile that takes over the lower half of his face is exactly the same. Oh man, I remember the first, I literally remember the first time she came here, like she sat beside me, I just totally like wiped my nose with my sleeve,

and she's just like, oh, Colin. So that's like a classic memory. Their homeroom teacher had placed Colin beside Sharmini she knew Sharmini would be a good influence on him yeah she was just she was so kind she just had this smile that could light up the room she really did and um also her personality she was you know, mean to anyone or anything like that. The whole grade 9 class was excited about their upcoming graduation, and Colin remembers Sharmini being anxious to find work. She had told other friends that she needed money to buy shoes

to match her mauve dress. That's the dress her mother had been holding during my first visit to their apartment. I remember on the Friday, she said to me, I've got a job. And I was like, wow, we were so young. Nobody really had any jobs back then. So we were surprised. Woodbine Junior High is in Don Mills, a neighborhood just north of downtown Toronto.

When Colin and Sharmini lived there in the late 1990s, the area was a mix of cultures and incomes. Well, back then it was just, it was almost like, you know that movie Coming to America? You know what I mean? And it was just every single different type of person from every different walk of life that you could imagine. I mean, Sharminaine was from Sri Lanka.

You know what I mean? I was born in Sri Lanka. Developed after World War II, Don Mills was originally white and middle class. Clusters of post-war bungalows, manicured lawns, sensible cars. Over time, it became one of Toronto's most diverse neighbourhoods, striking in a city famous for its diversity. The neighbourhood is bordered by ravines that meander through Toronto.

At the centre of the neighbourhood is the Peanut Plaza. And yes, it's called that because it sits on a parcel of land that looks like a peanut. I really don't come up here very often, so. And then we just passed Fairview. Fairview is a huge shopping mall. And these malls were big touchstones for teenagers in the area. Sharmini and her friends often grabbed lunch at the Peanut Plaza. Fairview was where she got her grad dress.

I think I remember someone telling me it was from Le Chateau. I think that's it. The white one up there. I think that was your building. On the west side of Don Mills Road, standing sentry over the Peanut Plaza, there are high-rises with affordable units. It was here that Sharmini's family settled. Woodbine Junior High was right across the street. It actually hasn't changed that much.

Okay. Does it look this way? Yeah. Well, why don't we make ourselves comfortable. Jodi White, Ms. White to her students, was Sharmini and Colin's grade 9 homeroom teacher. Today I'm meeting her in the same room where she greeted her class every morning. You know, grade nine is an important time in your life and there are big changes and it's, they're teenagers. Very hormonal time. Ms. White is one of those teachers you always remember. She's the kind of teacher who talks

to students, not down to them. And she thinks about their lives outside the walls of the classroom, especially at Woodbine, where a lot of the kids struggled with poverty or their identity or relationships with their parents, not to mention everything else that plagues teenagers. She's fit, big blue eyes, curly hair that she wears cut short. She's wearing sensible running shoes and a fuchsia fleece. And you get the sense this is how she's always dressed. It's easy to imagine her being strict, but fair. A little quirky, maybe. Not a big fan of authority.

Charmini stuck out because she was such a vivacious, intelligent, loving person. She wasn't perfect, right? She's a teenager and she could be very sassy, but in a good way. She wasn't someone that would let people run her over. She had opinions and she wanted to be heard and she she cared for everyone in the classroom. She was the one you often get in a room of you know 30 kids that there are a couple who caretake, who notice you know if someone's not well or something's not right and she was the one who would notice and move in and help them.

And a good student too it sounded like. She was a good student. Yes, she's smart. She was smart. I find that hard to say. She was. Hello, how are you? Good, I'm Atusa. Atusa, nice to meet you. I'm Michelle. Nice to meet you. Oh, it smells nice in here. Dina Malik and Atusa Baboulian went to school with Sharmini. They all became good friends.

Dina and Atusa are in their mid-30s now. Atusa has two young kids. Dina just got married. They've actually stayed really close. They were each other's bridesmaids. When I met Sharmini, she was just like the sweetest girl. This is Etusa. We had gym together, and that's where we bonded. And then there was cross country. And if you look through the yearbook, Dina's on every single team.

It's been 20 years, but their memories of Woodbine Junior High, Sharmini, and their last year together are still fresh. Yeah. Let me put some stickies in here. Is this the yearbook? Yes, this is the Woodbine yearbook. Let me see. There she is. Charmini thinks she'll either be a lawyer or need a lawyer.

Her nickname was Skiermini. Skiermini's brothers are her pet peeves. And then this one is her class picture. I think it was this one, yeah. Oh my god, everyone looks so... Oh yeah, there's Miss White. She actually looks exactly the same. Yeah, Charmini's right there.

You guys look like babies. Yeah, we were babies. You forget how young grade nine is, you know? I didn't think I was that young. What was she like? You know, were there any stories about her that you like to remember there's only one like vivid memory I have of her we all just got together me her a whole bunch of us like the class was just together in the morning before we got started and

the Backstreet Boys had just come out with I want It That Way. Every time I hear that song, it kind of triggers that memory, but it was a happy memory, and it was good. I remember us singing along to it and dancing to it. We were just in class, goofing around in the morning and just listening to the Backstreet Boys. Tell me why it ain't nothing but a mistake. Tell me why I never want to hear you say. What was Woodbine like? Woodbine was amazing.

Honestly, it was the best three years of my life, grade seven, eight, and nine there. I met her in grade seven like right away like first day of school it was just one of those things where you wake up and you're so excited to go to school like every day was so fun uh it was a very multicultural school where were your parents from iraq and your parents iran iran yeah wow and did you were you guys both born in Canada? No, neither one of us. Almost everybody I know at Woodbine were immigrants. Yeah.

Yeah. Like Atusa and Dina, many of Don Mills' residents escaped war and conflict to come to Canada. It was no different for Sharmini's family, who came from Sri Lanka, leaving behind a relentless civil war. Sri Lanka, leaving behind a relentless civil war. It's like a parent's nightmare. Sorry. Because as immigrants, all our parents ever told us is like, we left everything behind for you to have a good education here and for someone to leave their country to come here to have a better life.

And then for that to happen, like, it's probably, like, a parent's nightmare. It's just horrible. Me and Charmini walked home that Friday night when she went missing, and we were talking about prom, we were so excited. I walked her home, said have a good weekend, and I took the bus home. Two days later, Atusa got a call from a friend. She told me, Sharmini's missing.

And right away I'm like, okay, who's on the phone with you? You're doing a prank. Like, I didn't believe her at all. And she's like, I'm like okay who's on the phone with you you're doing a prank like I didn't believe her at all and she's like I'm not making it up she's missing the police came they interviewed her like she was going for a job interview she never showed up and again I never believed her I'm like okay whatever I'm like see you tomorrow like I gotta go like we're going in the car now and I hung up this was years before Instagram and Facebook. News spread by phone. Parents called other parents. One friend called the next and the next. What was it like when you guys got to school on the Monday? You realizing that your friend wasn't lying that this actually happened like what was the mood like there? Everyone was just scared, and we all thought, okay, she'll be back. But I don't think everyone did.

We had a staff meeting in the morning, and we were told that the police would be there. On Monday morning, June 14, 1999, Sharmini's seat in Ms. White's homeroom class was empty. And they interviewed the kids and the teachers. I think for us, we were in disbelief because we all knew that Charmini wouldn't run away. She had plans. She was going places. So it was, to all of us, it was that disbelief that anyone could ever harm her. And would she come back to us? In 2017, it felt like drugs were everywhere in the news.

So I started a podcast called On Drugs. We covered a lot of ground over two seasons, but there are still so many more stories to tell. I'm Jeff Turner, and I'm back with season three of On Drugs. And this time, it's going to get personal. I don't know who Sober Jeff is. I don't even know if I like that guy. On Drugs is available now wherever you get your podcasts.

Ms. White had to go back to her students and help them cope with the news. You can imagine how everyone was reacting and the kids and the staff. It was very hard to keep teaching math. It seemed absolutely irrelevant. It was hard to keep going. And there were all sorts of rumors floating around, and it was very hard to stay clear of that and just hope. How do you deal with that the first time that homeroom gets together

and there's an empty desk? There was a lot of hugging and talking, and we listened to music, we talked, we, of course, could speculate, and we didn't really get any work done. It was, I mean, I was the teacher, but we were friends. I think Sharmini's disappearance changed the nature of our relationship. It broke down that last barrier between teacher and student.

It was personal. And when do you think of her today? I remember Sharmini every June and in the fall. I'm sure that everyone in our class and everyone who knew Charmini is changed. But I think it goes for any of us who have lost someone. You carry them in you and you are, I am a different person because of Sharmini. Good afternoon, Abbey Singham Law Professional Corporation. How can I help?

When I met Abbey Singham in the mid-1990s, we were both in our early 20s. He was active with the Tamil youth community and he was an outreach worker with the Toronto School Board. Today, he's a lawyer and father of three. I have a staff of about 10 people. You know, things have been really good. I've been definitely blessed. When Sharmini was reported missing, the school board called Abby to help. I don't remember the emotions that I went through. It was just getting things done, right? So it was mostly like just, you know, getting out there, putting in posters and connecting with as many people, going on the media, just talking about the, you know, the fact that she's missing and,

you know, trying to find a way to get her back. Abby had an instant bond with Charmini's family. They both had fled Sri Lanka's civil war and Abby knew almost everyone in Toronto's tight-knit Tamil community, especially the kids. There was considerable youth violence involved in the community at that time. So I remember at that time because I remember I can't remember if it was that year or maybe the next year but it was it was a VVT in the AK Cannon. I know that you did extensive news reporting on that. The violence started in 1997.

In those days, the VVT and AK Cannon were some of Toronto's most active street gangs. Their membership was young and mainly Tamil. One group was based in the east, the other in the west. Sometimes their rivalry erupted in shootouts on busy city streets. At the end of 1998 was when we were trying to get the communities together to not continue the violence. So that all happened around that time. So there was a lot of... The cops, I can't remember if it was that year,

but they had... The task force, yes. The Tamil task force was one of the... The Tamil task force, a controversial police unit set up to track the Tamil gangs. At first, the community was thankful for the help. In the community, there was a need for policing

and the social community. But it didn't take long for the relationship to sour. Many felt police targeted the entire Tamil community, not just the social community. But it didn't take long for the relationship to sour. Many felt police targeted the entire Tamil community, not just the gang members. Resentment built. There was some confusion within the community whether the police were actually trying to help or hurt. Since Sharmini was Tamil,

the task force was immediately called in when she went missing. In some media and police circles, the assumption was her case had to be related to the gangs. If not that, then it must be cultural. The parents of missing teenager Sharmini Anandaville say reports their daughter was in Montreal for an arranged Tamil wedding were a hoax. The rumours were rampant.

Detectives working on the case say that is just one of a number of tips they've received. She had been sent away for an arranged marriage. She had been killed by a relative. This is the second time in a week the family has had to endure false reports. Each false story brought new pain for the family. pain for the family. I remember the person that was responsible for the Tamil task was the commanding officer attending to the home and having a conversation with the family. And I was sitting in the living room and I was listening to the conversation that was happening in the kitchen.

I was sitting in the living room and I was listening to the conversation that was happening in the kitchen. And he specifically mentioned that she has been spotted in Montreal. He was implying that she had somehow ran away. And I think it was very hurtful to the family. The family was very clear from the get-go that she did not have any relationship. There was no sort of guise involvement. I think in one way, in this kind of stuff, distracted the whole investigation.

I spent some time chasing those other stories too. So did Sharmini's family. Her father even went to a Toronto jail to talk with an imprisoned gang leader in the hopes of hearing something, anything, that could help. It all went nowhere. Matt Crone, one of the lead

homicide detectives, remembers all those rumors. Police had to track them too. In the end, those investigations turned up nothing. Yeah, it was because she was Sri Lankan. She was locked into a Sri Lankan gang or her boyfriend was a Sri Lankan gang member. And the other one was she was escaping an arranged marriage. I went and asked the parents directly and it was just nothing like that, never. And the more you learned about this young gal,

And it was just nothing like that, never. And the more you learned about this young gal, some of it's just ridiculous on its face. This is just a nice, nice kid, you know. So where was Sharmini going that Saturday morning? So far, the only solid lead is the phony job offer. What did she tell you about the job? Very little. Because I was surprised.

Because, I mean, like, the closest thing I had to a job was a paper route. And I was happy for her. Colin, the boy who sat beside Charmini in their homeroom class, last saw her the day before she disappeared. I remember that Friday, like, yesterday. I'm telling you.

And she, yeah, she was really excited about it. Describe it to us, the Friday. It was a normal Friday. It was, and we were, this was after school, after class. My class was just about to get out. And yeah, I was just like, you know, because we sat beside each other. I was like, you know, what are you doing this weekend? And then she told me, yeah, I'm getting, I got a job, part-time job. And I was like, wow, that's are you doing this weekend? And then she told me, yeah, I'm getting a job, part-time job.

And I was like, wow, that's great. You know, that's awesome. You're going to be getting money, girl. You know, and then, yeah, Saturday happened. There were conflicting stories about where Sharmini was going to work. Her parents had told me she would be answering phones, and it was their neighbour, Stanley Tippett, who had arranged it. Tippett denied that.

Now the police, their theory was that Sharmini thought she was going to work undercover for a police operation. And this is why. They did find a phony job application form in her bedroom. An application for working with the Metro Search Unit. As far as we're concerned, this is a fictional outfit. We haven't been able to find anything even close to a quote-unquote Metro Search Unit. Metro Search Unit. It was obvious the application wasn't real.

It had a typo and was strangely worded. Police had held back on publicizing this piece of evidence. The press conference to announce it was six months after Charmaine's remains were found. Police told us the application was undergoing forensic testing, although the tools they had back then weren't as advanced as they are today. Police want anyone who's heard of the Metro Search Unit to call them. They believe a ruse may have been used to lure Sharmini to the East Donlon Park. They feel she may have been told she would learn how the fictional search unit operated.

But who lured her? Who lured her? This is why police were so suspicious of Tippett. They knew he had impersonated cops and that he had a relationship with kids in the building. We got all the different stories that he had told people in the building about who he was and what he was and what his background was. And he used to actually have, he had a jacket with police written on it. He had a nightstick he used to carry around as well.

And he would patrol the building he was in from time to time. This is former homicide detective Matt Krohn again. The building itself had a lot of people in it that were new to the country. When he told parents that he was a police officer, an ex-police officer, they accepted it. They obviously felt safe enough to allow their children to go swimming with Stan and teach them some karate, which I think he tried to turn into a regular thing, but I don't know how often that happened.

Through some digging in court records, I learned there's a history of Tippett pretending to be a cop. In 1998, Tippett told a group of young boys he was a police officer and took one of their bikes as part of a supposed investigation. This happened when he was still living in Charmini's apartment building.

Just a little over a month later, Tippett was in trouble again. This time it was the building's superintendent who called police after Tippett made a fake arrest. And his run-ins with police go back further. In 1992, when Tibbett was 16, he followed a teenage girl off a city bus and attacked her. The court record says he approached her from behind, put his arm around her waist and a pellet gun to her head. He then pulled her into a laneway and told her to lie down. Luckily, she got away before he could do any more harm.

20 years ago, when I was writing about Sharmini's murder, I didn't know all of this. But the Toronto Police, they did. It's brutal, right? And like I said, it wasn't until I was a little older. And I was like, I want to know what really happened. What really, really happened. You know, it's like, I didn't get a lot of answers when we were young.

It was just like, I wanted to know, I needed to know. And that's when I found out about everything. All the crimes from that man. And all the lives ruined. I don't even know how he was able to run around the city causing that havoc. Coming up on Uncover Sharmini. Hi, Michelle. It's me, Stanley Tippett, calling.

I just wanted to call and I'll try again later or possibly tomorrow. Take care. Thanks. Bye. Uncover Sharmini is written and produced by myself, Michelle Shepard, and Kathleen Goldhar. Our associate producer is Alina Ghosh. Our audio producer is Mitchell Stewart. Our digital producer is Judy Ziyi Gu. Our audio producer is Mitchell Stewart. Our digital producer is Judy Ziyi Gu. Chris Oak is our story editor.

Our video producer is Evan Agard. Transcripts by Rasha Shahada, Varad Mehta, and Carol Park. Our senior producer of CBC Podcasts is Tanya Springer. And the executive producer is Arif Noorani. If you're liking this season of Uncover, check out our first season, Uncover Escaping NXIVM, taking you inside the bizarre self-help group that attracted actors,

politicians, and the super wealthy. Escaping NXIVM is one woman's journey to take down the secretive personal growth organization. Find it wherever you get Uncover.