The Trail Went Cold - Episode 367 - Lynne Harper, Part 1

The Trail Went Cold

Robin Warder

True Crime, Tv & Film

4.5 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 21 February 2024

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

June 9, 1959. Clinton, Ontario. After failing to return home, 12-year old Lynne Harper is reported missing and her body is discovered in a woodlot two days later. She has been sexually assaulted and strangled to death with her own blouse and suspicion turns towards her 14-year old classmate, Steven Truscott, who claims that he gave Lynne a ride to the highway on his bicycle and saw her climb into a passing car. Steven is soon charged, convicted and sentenced to death for Lynne’s murder, but his sentence is commuted to life imprisonment and he is paroled in 1969. Decades later, Steven files a successful appeal to have his conviction overturned, but there is still a lot of debate about who was actually responsible for Lynne Harper’s murder. To commemorate the eight-year anniversary of “The Trail Went Cold”, we will be releasing the first part of a special two-part episode about one of the most controversial murder cases in the history of Canada. Special thanks to listener Sarah Browning for narrating the opening of this episode. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Truscott “Until You Are Dead: The Wrongful Conviction of Steven Truscott” “Steven Truscott: Decades of Injustice” by Nate Hendley https://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/truscott/index.html https://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/truscott/timeline.html https://www.thestar.com/news/2007/01/29/can_science_clear_truscott.html http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/court-acquits-truscott-calling-conviction-miscarriage-of-justice-1.668524 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/victim-s-family-stunned-by-truscott-compensation-1.747261 https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/who-killed-lynne-harper-retired-opp-sergeant-says-travelling-salesman-a-suspect-in-string-of-murders https://web.archive.org/web/20070401115048/http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/ccr/kaufman/exec.html If you would like to make a donation to “Season of Justice”, please visit our donation page at https://givebutter.com/SOJ_thetrail or text “TRAIL24” to # 53555. “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. “The Trail Went Cold” is going to be appearing on podcast row at “Crimecon UK” in London on September 21-22, 2024. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to the event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD24”, by visiting their website. “The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the True Crime Podcast Festival, taking place at the Denver Marriott Westminster in Colorado on July 12-14, 2024. To get a 15 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAIL”, by visiting https://truecrimepodcastfestival.com. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello everyone, before we begin this episode, I just wanted to once again remind you that during the month of February,
0:05.7	the Trail When Cold has been partnering with Season of Justice,
0:08.9	a non-profit organization dedicated to helping families shed new light on their unsolved coal cases.
0:15.5	We thank you so much for your support thus far, but as a refresher,
0:19.2	season of justice provides grants to investigative agencies that fund DNA testing and forensic genetic... This resources as billboards which spread awareness about these unsolved cold cases
0:34.1	and urge people to come forward if they have information.
0:37.0	Since 2020, season of justice has raised over $1 million in grants for more than 140 cold cases in North America,
0:45.6	and at the time of this recording, six of these cases have been solved.
0:49.7	But they still need the support of listeners like you, which is why we're asking if you would consider donating and helping bring victims families ever so closer to a resolution.
1:00.0	We still have one week left in our campaign, so to donate to season of justice, please visit the
1:04.9	website give butter.com slash SOJ underscore the trail, or text, trail 24 to 53555.
1:15.0	You'll also find links and information about this in our show notes and on our social media pages
1:20.0	and we have a donate button on our website at trail went coal.com.
1:25.0	Like I just mentioned, our campaign with season of justice is lasting the entire month of February
1:31.0	and there will be one more reminder on our final episode this month.
1:35.4	So thank you very much for your support and enjoy part one of our special two-part anniversary
1:40.4	episode.
1:41.4	June 9, 1959, Clinton, Ontario.
1:51.2	After failing to return home, 12-year-old Lynn Harper is reported missing, and her body is discovered in a wood lot two days later.
2:01.0	She has been sexually assaulted and strangled to death with her own blouse and suspicion turns toward her 14 year old classmate Stephen Truscott, who claims he gave Lynn a ride to the highway on his bicycle and saw her climb into a car.
2:19.0	Stephen is soon charged, convicted, and sentenced to death for Lynn's murder.
2:25.0	But his sentence is commuted to life in prison and he is paroled in 1969.
	...

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