The Wrongful Conviction of Guy Paul Morin
On October 3, 1984, 9 year old Christine Jessop disappeared after being dropped off at her home after school. Nearly 3 months later, after weeks of searching, her body was found partially unclothed with seamen on her underwear and stabbed, 50 kilometres away from her home in Queensville, Ontario. At the time of the disappearance, Guy Paul Morin, Jessop's 25 year old neighbour, was working as finishing sander for a furniture manufacturing company. On the night of the disappearance, Morin had a alibi. His parents told police that he had come home after work bringing groceries, taken a nap and then worked on renovations for the house. The police first became interested in Morin because Jessop's mother told them that he was a "weird type of guy". Even with his alibi, police immediately suspected him of raping and murdering the little girl. On April 22nd, 1985, Morin was arrested and the police investigated his home, collecting hair, blood and saliva. During the trial, the prosecutors had experts that said that pieces of Morin's hair were found of the victim's body and the victim's hair were found in Morin's car. Morin's prison cellmates also testified and told the court that Morin had admitted to murdering the little girl. After a few days, the jury found Morin not guilty and he was acquitted. The Crown appealed this decision and during the second trial they brought new witnesses. Some of the witnesses included a police officer who interviewed Morin on the night of the disappearance and said he was unconcerned. Jessie's best friend also testified and said that Morin had spoken to them many times before and always appeared very interested in them. The jury of the second trial found Morin guilty of first degree murder. After almost 10 years fighting for his innocence, Morin appealed again and sought out help from the newly forming AIDWYC. With DNA advancements over the years, the Association tested the seaman that was found on the underwear of Jessop, which couldn't be tested during the trial because they were unreliable. The tests revealed that Morin was not the one who murdered Jessop and he was fully exonerated from the crime in 1995.