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timfan
05-20-2009, 02:08 PM
A little girl named Tori Stafford went missing not too far from where I live on April 8th. Today the police announced they have laid murder charges in the case. I am soo sad (though i must say not suprised at this point). You always hope against hope that this one will be different and that she'll be found alive; unfortunately Tori wasn't.



Hopes that Tori Stafford would be found safe dashed with murder charge

By Allison Jones, The Canadian Press



WOODSTOCK, Ont. - Hopes that Victoria Stafford would be found safe and returned to her family were dashed Wednesday with a man charged with the Grade 3 student's murder and a woman charged with being an accessory.

Michael Thomas Rafferty, 28, and Terri-Lynne McClintic, 18, were arraigned on the charges and abduction charges in a Woodstock, Ont., court. Documents suggest the murder took place on or around April 8, the day the eight-year-old girl known as Tori went missing from outside her school.

The developments were clearly devastating to Tori's father Rodney Stafford, who said he was awaiting more details from police.

"I don't know where to go from here," said Stafford, who was wearing a T-shirt with a picture of Tori that read "Daddy's Little Girl."

McClintic, a stocky brunette whose hair was tied in cornrows, also faces charges of helping Rafferty elude authorities.

Rafferty pulled his shirt over his head to cover his face as he was led into the courthouse. He cried during the proceeding, while McClintic was more stoic.

As Rafferty was led by police from the courthouse after his appearance, Tori's uncle Rob Stafford approached him and spat out an expletive.

The relationship between the two accused was unclear, but there are reports the pair is known to one or both of Tori's parents.

A search for the girl's remains was reportedly underway in a rural area of Guelph, about an hour east of Woodstock. A police helicopter was on standby in the region marked with farmers' fields, ponds and wooded areas.

Police were to hold a media briefing at 3 p.m. with more details.

Reached at a home in Woodstock, a woman who identified herself as McClintic's grandmother sobbed as she said she was estranged from the woman's mother Carol and her grandchildren.

"(Carol) was a stripper and she knew the wrong people and she wasn't treating Terri-Lynne right."

She said she felt "just horrible" about the arrests.

"It's breaking my heart."

From Day 1, volunteers lined up to join the search, plastering storefronts, street lamps and car windshields with flyers describing the petite blond girl with large blue eyes.

Early in the investigation, police released a video capturing the young girl in the company of a mystery woman around the time she disappeared.

That footage, of Tori walking away with a woman in a white puffy coat - seemingly without struggle - was followed by a police composite sketch of a female suspect.
On Easter Sunday, more than 1,000 people attended a candlelight vigil. One week after Tori went missing, others filled scores of purple balloons - her favourite colour - with helium and inserted information scrolls inside, releasing them into the sky at a popular park.
Tori's mother Tara McDonald began holding daily news conferences outside her home to keep the story in the media spotlight.



http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090520/national/missing_girl

EagleLady
05-20-2009, 02:10 PM
How Sad! My thoughts and prayers are with her family

Jojo
05-20-2009, 03:10 PM
Very sad indeed. It's so unfair. My sympathies to the family.

sodascouts
05-20-2009, 04:02 PM
Oh, how terrible. So much evil in this world. :(

GlennLover
05-20-2009, 05:16 PM
I was so saddened when I turned on the computer & saw this in the news highlights. I had been following this story on the news, from the beginning, & I really thought that they would find her alive. Indeed, there are some very, very sick people in this world.

Glennsallnighter
05-21-2009, 05:07 AM
I take it her body has not yet been found. This is indeed a terrible time for her parents. I will pray for all the family. Some people in this world are very evil indeed.

TimothyBFan
05-21-2009, 08:19 AM
How very sad this is!! I can't even fathom what that family has been going thru and now to hear it come to this conclusion! How awful. What is wrong with someone who can inflict this much evil?

melrose
05-23-2009, 04:30 PM
That is truly horrible. Her family is in my prayers...

timfan
07-20-2009, 02:18 PM
Today it was announced that they found human remains that they believe are those of Tori's.



Leads point to remains of 'young child' being Tori Stafford, says Fantino

By The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Ontario provincial police are trying to determine if remains found in a rural area northeast of Woodstock, Ont., are those of Tori Stafford.

There has been no sign of the eight-year-old girl since she was last seen leaving her school in the southwestern Ontario community with a woman on April 8.

Police have not yet said if the remains are Tori's, but provincial police Commissioner Julian Fantino strongly hinted that leads are pointing in that direction.

"We have some very strong leads that cause us to believe that we have in fact located the human remains of Tori Stafford," Fantino said.

"As sad as this is," added Fantino, "we're hopeful this will bring some closure to a very tragic and dastardly crime."

The lead investigator in the case, Det. Insp. Bill Renton, said earlier in a statement that the remains were believed to be that of a "young child."

Police said the remains were found at about noon on Sunday by a member of the police team searching for the girl's body.

"One of the investigators tied in with the Stafford case checked an area southeast of Mount Forest and located whey they found to be possible human remains," said Const. Mark Cloes.

About 10 investigators are combing the area where the remains were found and once a search is completed, said Cloes, "the remains will be taken to Toronto for a forensic investigation."

Two Woodstock residents, Michael Rafferty and Terri-Lynne McClintic, are charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder in Tori's disappearance.

McClintic was assisting police in the search for Tori's remains in the days following her arrest in Woodstock.

The remains were reportedly discovered about 15 minutes north of where the initial searches were conducted. Police had focused their searches primarily in the Guelph and Fergus areas, south of where the remains were discovered.

Ontario provincial police Sgt. David Rektor said the remains were in a "relatively new area of the search" for the little girl.

Woodstock Mayor Michael Harding said the possible discovery of Tori's remains will "reopen some wounds here (and) re-open a whole body of feelings that everyone will go through."

Harding said he had no plans to contact Tori's family.

"What they don't need is a politician sort of hanging off them and I've chosen to keep my distance since it's their issue more than it's my issue," he said.

sodascouts
07-20-2009, 03:02 PM
At least the family is able to have something to bury.

So very sad.

TimothyBFan
07-20-2009, 08:32 PM
How very tragic. Hopefully everyone with get closure now and may this little girl finally rest in peace.

GlennLover
07-21-2009, 12:18 AM
I saw this on the news at suppertime & I remarked to my husband that the two accused must be very "sick" people to have taken the life of an innocent child.

timfan
05-15-2012, 09:38 AM
Reviving this old thread because Micheal Rafferty the man accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing Tori Stafford has been found GUILTY on all three counts! He will be sentenced this morning but in Canada, a first degree murder conviction automaticially means life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

BTW McClinitic the co accused pleaded guilty to first degree murder in Dec 2010 and is serving a sentence of life with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Glennsallnighter
05-15-2012, 09:46 AM
Do life sentences run consecutively or concurrently in Canada TF?

It's good to know that he is safely locked away and no longer a danger.

timfan
05-15-2012, 10:05 AM
I believe in Canada they run concurrent, but the likelihood of parole in this case is quite slim given the crime commited.

Victim of Love
05-15-2012, 12:54 PM
I sincerely hope this will give the family the final closure they need. While there will always be a hole in their hearts for their tremendous loss, hopefully will be find some peace and comfort it knowing the guilty parties will never be able to hurt another human being. It is beyond my comprehension how anyone can be so cold and calculating and heartless. My prayers go to Tori's family.