A man at the centre of a high-profile Montreal apparent gay love triangle murder claims that the official story is untrue.
A police officer shot an unarmed James Drummond Ross dead on Pine Ave. in Oct. 1967, not 29-year-old cameraman Mike Jenkins, who was convicted of the crime, an eyewitness tells Coolopolis.
Jim Drummond Ross 36, was shot dead in front of Henry Berube, 20, on October 12, 1967 on the sidewalk in front of 1569 Pine Ave, next to the Montreal General Hospital.
Mike Jenkins was charged and convicted.
See: How a splashy, hushed-up gay lovers triangle murder changed history
Jenkins, according to the testimony, was jealous that Ross had stolen his young lover Berube.
But Berube, reached at his home in rural Ontario, a father of two, says that he has never been homosexual, that he had never met Drummond prior to the shooting and that Jenkins was not even at the scene of the crime.
In an unusual twist, authorities detained Berube for five and a half months at Bordeaux Prison with the intention of charging him with accessory to murder.
"How can I be an accessory to murder if I was just a bystander on the street? They twisted everything around," said Berube.
Authorities later reported that Berube was detained because they feared he would not testify as a witness in the case.
Berube, however, says that he was jailed because he told investigators that he saw a police officer shoot Drummond.
Berube, now 70, says that he was a student at Dawson and had finished his shift at La Popina restaurant at Place Ville Marie when he attempted to hitchhike back home during a bus strike.
He was living with his father on Paul Pau Street deep in the east end. Getting back would be a major challenge, so he walked up the hill to see if it might help him get a ride.
He said he knew Jenkins casually, once having visited him as him as he worked as a cameraman on a soap opera. He says he as no idea what become of Jenkins, who'd be about 80 if still alive now. Berube said that Jenkins did not appear to be gay.
Berube had no idea why police would shoot Drummond, who had taught at McGill and had no apparent criminal dealings. Berube said that an acquaintance later approached him lounging in front of the church at University and St. Catherine and suggested that Drummond had been using university facilities to whip up drugs, possibly LSD, and this activity might have offended cops, who Berube says that he has no idea if that story is true.
The Montreal police night squad, which handled the affair, gained a reputation for their unconventional policing methods and were disbanded in early 1976.
Berube's claims fly in the face of much of the testimony at the time, as a man named Raymond Bucnanan, also 29 and living at 1180 Drummond, said that Jenkins confessed the murder to him. Police report that Berube was entering Ross's home when shot. A neighbour also described the shooting in a way inconsistent with Berube's version.A man named James Elkin was cited in an article and might also have some knowledge of the incident.
If anybody still alive has any insight into the affair please feel free to contact coolopolis at megaforce@gmail.com.
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| Berube seen in about 2010 |
Jim Drummond Ross 36, was shot dead in front of Henry Berube, 20, on October 12, 1967 on the sidewalk in front of 1569 Pine Ave, next to the Montreal General Hospital.
Mike Jenkins was charged and convicted.
See: How a splashy, hushed-up gay lovers triangle murder changed history
Jenkins, according to the testimony, was jealous that Ross had stolen his young lover Berube.
But Berube, reached at his home in rural Ontario, a father of two, says that he has never been homosexual, that he had never met Drummond prior to the shooting and that Jenkins was not even at the scene of the crime.
In an unusual twist, authorities detained Berube for five and a half months at Bordeaux Prison with the intention of charging him with accessory to murder.
"How can I be an accessory to murder if I was just a bystander on the street? They twisted everything around," said Berube.
Authorities later reported that Berube was detained because they feared he would not testify as a witness in the case.
Berube, however, says that he was jailed because he told investigators that he saw a police officer shoot Drummond.
Berube, now 70, says that he was a student at Dawson and had finished his shift at La Popina restaurant at Place Ville Marie when he attempted to hitchhike back home during a bus strike.
He was living with his father on Paul Pau Street deep in the east end. Getting back would be a major challenge, so he walked up the hill to see if it might help him get a ride.
I was walking and hitching at the same time, suddenly this vehicle pulls up and Ross was coming out of this archway in a convertible. And he just passed me and he stopped and I thought, 'well here's a chance to get a ride.'Berbube said that while he was getting ready to hop in the convertible shots rang out. Berube says he thought the sound of gunfire was a noise made by the car motor.
When I was approaching that's when he got shot. When I turned around I saw the cop with the rifle. The officer was about 10 feet away. He shot him twice in the chest. Drummond got out of his car and started staggering then he blew his head off. I was terrified.Berube says prison was no party.
He aimed it at me so I ducked behind a car and he shot the tire on the car and the bumper came down and split the top of my knee and left it wide open. I couldn't move anywhere and these other cop cars came and they weren't plainsclothesmen, they were narcotics division and homicide showed up and they took me down to the station and questioned me. I must have bee there for 12 hours of questioning before they took me up to the hospital.There was a pool of blood on the floor.
I didn't have a trial and I was confined in deadlock, so couldn't go out for exercise. The guy in the cell helped me get letters out. I sent one to The Gazette and another newspaper but they fabricated my story just to sell newspapers. They didn't tell the whole truth. So I decided to write to John Diefenbaker because he was the best criminal lawyer in Canada. I got him to come to see me in Bordeaux. He ordered me released right away. The warden and five guards lost their jobs. I never received an apology or compensation. In fact the cops were still trying to kill me in Montreal.Berube lost his job, his schooling and his any hope he had of settling in Montreal with his father.
Diefenbaker said that I could go to Ottawa with him. I was escorted by RCMP officers to Ottawa. I told Diefenbaker that I just wanted to get away from the public and hide. I couldn't trust anybody. So I headed to Victoria island and lived off the land for two years before going back to Toronto. I didn't want to go back to Montreal.
He said he knew Jenkins casually, once having visited him as him as he worked as a cameraman on a soap opera. He says he as no idea what become of Jenkins, who'd be about 80 if still alive now. Berube said that Jenkins did not appear to be gay.
Berube had no idea why police would shoot Drummond, who had taught at McGill and had no apparent criminal dealings. Berube said that an acquaintance later approached him lounging in front of the church at University and St. Catherine and suggested that Drummond had been using university facilities to whip up drugs, possibly LSD, and this activity might have offended cops, who Berube says that he has no idea if that story is true.
The Montreal police night squad, which handled the affair, gained a reputation for their unconventional policing methods and were disbanded in early 1976.
Berube's claims fly in the face of much of the testimony at the time, as a man named Raymond Bucnanan, also 29 and living at 1180 Drummond, said that Jenkins confessed the murder to him. Police report that Berube was entering Ross's home when shot. A neighbour also described the shooting in a way inconsistent with Berube's version.A man named James Elkin was cited in an article and might also have some knowledge of the incident.
If anybody still alive has any insight into the affair please feel free to contact coolopolis at megaforce@gmail.com.