8 Year Old Victoria “Tori” Stafford Missing Since 4/8/09 in Ontario, Canada

[Northern Rose]

Tori Stafford's celebrates as Michael Rafferty found guilty on all charges

After a marathon session of deliberations that lasted well into the evening, a jury has convicted Michael Rafferty of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and murdering eight-year-old Victoria (Tori) Stafford.

Although the jury's deliberations will forever remain secret, jurors sought clarification during the day on the question of the precise definition of a sexual assault.

While jurors deliberated for more than 12 hours on the 14th floor of London's downtown courthouse, Tori's family members, supporters and curious spectators waited downstairs. Many fretted that the exclusion of some evidence – notably child pornography on Mr. Rafferty's computer – would sway the verdict.

But in the end, it made no difference. Mr. Rafferty stood in the prisoner's box as the jury foreman read each guilty verdict in succession. He stood stoically at first, but afterwards leaned back against the wall and seemed close to tears.

Many others in the packed courtroom were also crying, including some of the police, jurors and numerous members of the public.

 ::snipping2::

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/tori-staffords-celebrates-as-michael-rafferty-found-guilty-on-all-charges/article2430612/

[can]

Thank you God, Allah, Buddah, the Great Spirit, the Higher Power. Or the Aliens.
25 years, plus the sentencing is May 15th. Hopefully, they won't be served concurrently. CBC just said " dangersous offender " never see the light of day.
.........
Relieved, was afraid that hey would have a bunch of dummies like in Pinellas. 
...DD had been crying.
I have go go, way too emotional about this. Shaking like crazy.
These damn laws have to be changed re " evidence " and "evidence".
Love you Northern Rose.

Bless that jury for their verdict!  May they find some comfort in the knowledge they brought justice for Tori and her loved ones.  It is a life changing experience.

Kat Gram.  You mentioned CBC said dangerous offender.  Do you know if Rafferty has been given that designation officially? 

 ::justice2NJ:: ::justice2NJ:: ::justice2NJ::

[Kat_Gram]

We were all so worried. So much didn't come out in the trial that was known about Rafferty.
But a sad victory as Tori will not be coming home.
At least Rafferty will not be out there, or TLM.
He had other victims, women who complained about him to the OPP, nothing happened.
I think that I have to write to Christine Blatchford from the National Post. The B blamed Tori's Mama Tara for this abduction and murder. Good call B !.
How many more Rafferties right this moment on Plenty of Fish trolling for their next victim ?
I hope Rafferty's lawyer rots for trying to portray Rafferty as an innocent bystander when he knew different, he fought and used the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to have that evidence excluded and it was. Why is that even legal, moral, honest or have anything to do with getting justice for a little 8 year old girl.
I am happy with the verdict but so pizzed at this system we live under.
And thank you again to Northern Rose. I got a phone call about the verdict, but it was a short one, that it was going to be announced. Turn on the CBC and stinking Anne Murray is singing.  Duh, shut up Anne do the news. 
 
 

[can]

northern - watched some coverage and am now following here. 
What a multi tasker you are.  I can hardly keep up. 
Don't know how you do it! 

My thoughts are also with those jurors tonight.  They have their lives to put back together.  The horrors they came to know in that courtroom and the burden of their responsibilty is over.  Though they must feel relief it is over, they now must detach.
Bless them in this transition.

[Kat_Gram]

Thank you God, Allah, Buddah, the Great Spirit, the Higher Power. Or the Aliens.
25 years, plus the sentencing is May 15th. Hopefully, they won't be served concurrently. CBC just said " dangersous offender " never see the light of day.
.........
Relieved, was afraid that hey would have a bunch of dummies like in Pinellas. 
...DD had been crying.
I have go go, way too emotional about this. Shaking like crazy.
These damn laws have to be changed re " evidence " and "evidence".
Love you Northern Rose.

Bless that jury for their verdict!  May they find some comfort in the knowledge they brought justice for Tori and her loved ones.  It is a life changing experience.

Kat Gram.  You mentioned CBC said dangerous offender.  Do you know if Rafferty has been given that designation officially? 

 ::justice2NJ:: ::justice2NJ:: ::justice2NJ::

No, it was a prediction by a former Crown Attorney on the CBC. That will all play out later.
ps I am getting behind Theo Fleury and his misson for tougher sentences for child molesters. 

[Kat_Gram]

Goodnite all. I have to try to de stress myself, such a mixture of emotions.
My prayers are with the family, they have many years to go with this nightmare. 

[can]

Thank you God, Allah, Buddah, the Great Spirit, the Higher Power. Or the Aliens.
25 years, plus the sentencing is May 15th. Hopefully, they won't be served concurrently. CBC just said " dangersous offender " never see the light of day.
.........
Relieved, was afraid that hey would have a bunch of dummies like in Pinellas. 
...DD had been crying.
I have go go, way too emotional about this. Shaking like crazy.
These damn laws have to be changed re " evidence " and "evidence".
Love you Northern Rose.

Bless that jury for their verdict!  May they find some comfort in the knowledge they brought justice for Tori and her loved ones.  It is a life changing experience.

Kat Gram.  You mentioned CBC said dangerous offender.  Do you know if Rafferty has been given that designation officially? 

 ::justice2NJ:: ::justice2NJ:: ::justice2NJ::

No, it was a prediction by a former Crown Attorney on the CBC. That will all play out later.
ps I am getting behind Theo Fleury and his misson for tougher sentences for child molesters. 

hope he is declared.  I believe that it a decision made by Corrections Canada.

I have always felt that child molesters should never walk among us again and that children's safety is paramount. 

[can]

Goodnite all. I have to try to de stress myself, such a mixture of emotions.
My prayers are with the family, they have many years to go with this nightmare. 

 

Good night Kat Gram.   

[Northern Rose]

Michael Rafferty: Conman. Womanizer. Murderer

LONDON, ONT.—The then and now paradox has rarely been so compelling.

In May 2009, no one knew Michael Rafferty. He was the 28-year-old from Woodstock charged with Tori Stafford’s abduction, rape and murder. He had no criminal record, not even a parking ticket to his name. He was the guy with boyish good looks and easy charm who went from anonymity to instant notoriety.

Three years and a 10-week trial later, we know intimate details of his life. That he was a sexual deviant, trawled online for child pornography, had a penchant for sexual choking, liked torture sex.

We know he was addicted to prescription pills OxyContin, that he was a womanizer, even pimped out a girlfriend, lived off her earnings.

We know he is a child rapist, a murderer, and is going to be incarcerated in a prison cell for many, many years.

If it weren’t for Terri-Lynne McClintic, his former lover, he may have gotten away with it all.

 ::snipping2::


http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/1177612--michael-rafferty-conman-womanizer-murderer

[cookie]

Northern...thank you for letting me know on another thread that the verdict had been reached so that I would know..not just me, but all of us. I had to leave this thread when all the horror that this child had suffered came out.
Now we have justice for this little angel. I don't think that any of us will ever forget about Tori..RIP little one...

[Sister]

Thanks to everyone for the updates, etc.
You are appreciated.
 ::justice2NJ::

[cookie]

Thanks to everyone for the updates, etc.
You are appreciated.
 ::justice2NJ::

 

[can]

Northern...thank you for letting me know on another thread that the verdict had been reached so that I would know..not just me, but all of us. I had to leave this thread when all the horror that this child had suffered came out.
Now we have justice for this little angel. I don't think that any of us will ever forget about Tori..RIP little one...

 

[Kat_Gram]

I tried not to read too much when the trial was on going. BUT, even limiting myself, I did read too much.
I was following the #Rafferty tweets.
My feeling today is the reality of how many of these guys are still out there, under the radar. How many have been caught once and then did some sort of time and are now out there. Just waiting for the opportunity. And they look and act like the rest of us outwardly.
It's a sobering thought.
I still feel unbalanced brain wise. My entire body is sore from the adrenaline from last night.   
Happy Mothers Day to everyone. I am sad that so many Mamas do not have their children and grandchildren with them in this life we live on this planet for whatever reason.

[Northern Rose]

Lawyers weigh impact of publication ban that kept Terri-Lynne McClintic’s guilty plea a secret

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/05/14/lawyers-weigh-impact-of-publication-ban-that-kept-terri-lynne-mcclintics-guilty-plea-a-secret/

[Northern Rose]

Staff-Sgt. Jim Smyth: Master interrogator, humble cop

The running joke in justice circles is if you are in a police interview room and Staff-Sgt. Jim Smyth walks in, don't make any appointments for the next 25 years.

And certainly don't even bother trying to talk your way out of there.

Ask Michael Briere, Barry Manion or Russell Williams.

They, in essence, went from that interrogation room to serving life sentences. Briere for the gruesome sexual assault and Junction-area murder of 10-year-old Holly Jones.

Manion for the almost 40-year-old cold case of the sex-slaying of 12-year-old Katherine May Wilson in Kirkland Lake, Ont.

And the killer-colonel Williams for the vicious stalking, rapes and murders of Jessica Lloyd and Marie-France Comeau, as well as several other sexual assaults.

Their confessions came as a result of the skilled of questioning by the master, Smyth. Ask killer Terri-Lynne McClintic, who cried through two boxes of Kleenex as she spilled the beans about the disturbing tale of how eight-year-old Tori Stafford was abducted, sexually assaulted and brutally murdered

http://www.parisstaronline.com/2012/05/14/staff-sgt-jim-smyth-master-interrogator-humble-cop

[Northern Rose]

 Tori Stafford's get their chance to address the court

TORONTO - Through police videos the public has already heard from killers Michael Rafferty and Terri-Lynne McClintic.

Now it will be the suffering family of slain Victoria “Tori” Stafford’s turn to express their living nightmare since their daughter was abducted and murdered in April 2009.

It won’t be on tape. It will be live in the courtroom.

The eight-year-old’s convicted killer Rafferty’s sentencing hearing commences in London Tuesday and family members are expected to give victim impact statements.

“We finally have peace. We can finally rest. Until the verdict, Tori wasn’t able to rest in peace. She deserved this verdict,” Tara McDonald said Saturday. “It was the most relief I have ever felt in my life. It felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted off us.”

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/14/tori-staffords-get-their-chance-to-address-the-court

[Northern Rose]

Michael Rafferty Trial: Tori Stafford Family To Address Killer Before He Is Sent To Prison For Life

LONDON, Ont. - Family members of Victoria Stafford will try to put into words Tuesday the void that the eight-year-old's brutal murder has left in their lives before her killer is formally sent away to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

 ::snipping2::

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/05/14/michael-rafferty-stafford-family_n_1516336.html

[Northern Rose]

Rafferty to be sentenced Tuesday

The family of Victoria "Tori" Stafford will finally get to have their say in court as the little girl's killer, Michael Rafferty, will be sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 25 years on Tuesday.

Tara McDonald spent a fourth Mother's Day Sunday without her daughter, but she said the agony has finally lessened somewhat after a London, Ont., jury on Friday found Rafferty guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual assault causing bodily harm.

 ::snipping2::

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/national/2012/05/14/19757821.html

[Northern Rose]

Tori Stafford family to face Rafferty in court tomorrow

 ::snipping2::

Her family will also give victim impact statements during what is expected to be an emotional sentencing hearing. Rafferty, who did not testify at his trial, will also be given a chance to speak.

The 31-year-old was convicted of first-degree murder, sexual assault causing bodily harm and kidnapping Friday night, following the jury’s first full day of deliberations. Jurors were unaware that Rafferty had searched for child pornography in the weeks before Tori was abducted.

 ::snipping2::

http://updatednews.ca/2012/05/14/tori-stafford-family-to-face-rafferty-in-court-tomorrow/