Post by sandy on Oct 24, 2005 6:06:53 GMT -5
www.winnipegsun.com/News/Manitoba/2005/10/24/1275938-sun.html
By PAUL TURENNE, STAFF REPORTER
Five years ago to the day, somebody killed Bev Rowbotham by clubbing her in the head in the backyard of her St. Andrews home, then left her body in her car in a lane more than a dozen kilometres away in Selkirk.
Her killer has never been captured.
Rowbotham's sisters say Mounties have always had a suspect in mind, but have never arrested that person.
They're now trying to hold on to the hope someone will eventually get charged, but that hope is getting slimmer as the years pass.
"I have lost faith," said Rowbotham's sister Barb Kilpatrick. "I had a conversation with one of the cops last year (about the investigation) and I told him 'I hope we're not having this conversation again next year,' but nothing's changed."
Case still active
Sgt. Steve Colwell, a spokesman for Manitoba RCMP, said the case is still active and investigators are still working on it. He couldn't comment on any specifics of the case because the investigation was still open, he said.
Here's what is known. Rowbotham's body was found shoeless and bloody in the back of her car in a lane in Selkirk about 4 a.m. on Oct. 25, 2000. She had died of trauma to the head, apparently about 9 or 10 p.m. on Oct. 24.
Nearly three years later, The Sun learned that Rowbotham, a wife and mother of two boys, had been killed in her own backyard, then driven to Selkirk.
The only eyewitness account that is known of involves a man who saw a sinister-looking "behemoth on a bike" pedalling furiously south from Selkirk that night.
Kilpatrick said she believes she knows who killed her sister and that RCMP have always had that same person in mind.
"There's always been a suspect," she said. "I think the cops are doing what they can but I think they're held back because of politics.
"I just want the investigation to focus on the fact that somebody's mom was murdered."
Betty Rowbotham, also Bev's sister, said she's still hopeful someone will be caught, but doesn't understand why the RCMP can't move on their prime suspect.
"If it's a really strong case I wish they would move on it," she said.
Betty Rowbotham said "never in her wildest dreams" did she think the investigation would take this long. She renewed an old call for new information.
"If anyone knows anything, no matter how insignificant they may think it is, let the cops know," she said.
Kilpatrick said she has written to Attorney General Gord Mackintosh and various justice officials.
She has even considered hiring a private investigator, but doesn't know what else to do.
"What we've decided as a family is to keep talking to the media to keep it so it's not a forgotten issue. It's certainly fresh in our minds," Betty Rowbotham said.
"Even though it's been five long years, it doesn't get any easier. As a matter of fact I think it gets worse, but we will not let this rest," said Kilpatrick
By PAUL TURENNE, STAFF REPORTER
Five years ago to the day, somebody killed Bev Rowbotham by clubbing her in the head in the backyard of her St. Andrews home, then left her body in her car in a lane more than a dozen kilometres away in Selkirk.
Her killer has never been captured.
Rowbotham's sisters say Mounties have always had a suspect in mind, but have never arrested that person.
They're now trying to hold on to the hope someone will eventually get charged, but that hope is getting slimmer as the years pass.
"I have lost faith," said Rowbotham's sister Barb Kilpatrick. "I had a conversation with one of the cops last year (about the investigation) and I told him 'I hope we're not having this conversation again next year,' but nothing's changed."
Case still active
Sgt. Steve Colwell, a spokesman for Manitoba RCMP, said the case is still active and investigators are still working on it. He couldn't comment on any specifics of the case because the investigation was still open, he said.
Here's what is known. Rowbotham's body was found shoeless and bloody in the back of her car in a lane in Selkirk about 4 a.m. on Oct. 25, 2000. She had died of trauma to the head, apparently about 9 or 10 p.m. on Oct. 24.
Nearly three years later, The Sun learned that Rowbotham, a wife and mother of two boys, had been killed in her own backyard, then driven to Selkirk.
The only eyewitness account that is known of involves a man who saw a sinister-looking "behemoth on a bike" pedalling furiously south from Selkirk that night.
Kilpatrick said she believes she knows who killed her sister and that RCMP have always had that same person in mind.
"There's always been a suspect," she said. "I think the cops are doing what they can but I think they're held back because of politics.
"I just want the investigation to focus on the fact that somebody's mom was murdered."
Betty Rowbotham, also Bev's sister, said she's still hopeful someone will be caught, but doesn't understand why the RCMP can't move on their prime suspect.
"If it's a really strong case I wish they would move on it," she said.
Betty Rowbotham said "never in her wildest dreams" did she think the investigation would take this long. She renewed an old call for new information.
"If anyone knows anything, no matter how insignificant they may think it is, let the cops know," she said.
Kilpatrick said she has written to Attorney General Gord Mackintosh and various justice officials.
She has even considered hiring a private investigator, but doesn't know what else to do.
"What we've decided as a family is to keep talking to the media to keep it so it's not a forgotten issue. It's certainly fresh in our minds," Betty Rowbotham said.
"Even though it's been five long years, it doesn't get any easier. As a matter of fact I think it gets worse, but we will not let this rest," said Kilpatrick