This area is located off interstate 45, just between Galveston and Houston and is the scene for one of the most unnerving unsolved murder cases. Over 30 deceased young women have been discovered from the 1970′s and authorities believe that the is the work of one single serial killer as opposed to multiple due to the fact that there are similarities between the girls - they fall into the age range of 10-25 and many of them share physical features and have similar hairstyles. One theory is that the serial killer is a truck driver who regularly drives through the area.

Meeting the Needs of Older LGBTQ People

The 519 has a long history of working to build inclusive care environments for older LGBTQ people, including delivering training to care providers. Given the aging population in Canada, we want to continue to build upon those efforts.

The current generation of older LGBTQ people have experienced a lifetime of discrimination due to their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression and they face very specific challenges as they age:

- They are less likely to seek health care when they need it;

- They often do not disclose their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression to their care providers for fear of discrimination;

- They report more feelings of isolation from their communities;

- They are at a higher risk for negative health outcomes later in life, including depression, suicide, substance abuse, smoking, etc.  

(Brotman & Ryan, 2008)

The 519 Education and Training Team offer workshops and resources that support safe, welcoming and inclusive care environments for LGBTQ older people. The training supports organizations and individuals to understand the needs of older LGBTQ people. Workshops will help participants to:

- Identify and discuss reasons an older LGBTQ person may be distrustful of the health or social care systems and/or reluctant to seek the care they need;

- Demonstrate and share an empathetic understanding of the barriers faced by older LGBTQ people;

- Make appropriate use of pronouns;

- Propose ways to foster a safe and LGBTQ-inclusive care environment for older people, their friends and chosen families.

For more information about training and resources, please contact:

Steven Little

Manager, Education and Training

416-355-6772

[email protected]

The Disappearance of Kayla Berg

The night of August 11th, 2009, Kayla Berg (15) went to a McDonald’s in Antigo, Wisconsin, to visit a friend of hers that was working there. She stayed there briefly before saying she was going to “ride in the car for a while”. The car wasn’t hers; her ride was Kevin Kielcheski, a 24 year old who was a friend of her brother’s.

According to Kevin’s testimony, the two drove around for a while and smoked pot, and then he dropped her off at her boyfriend’s house in Wasau, a 40 minute drive from Antigo. He said the time was between 9:00 and 11:00 pm, couldn’t be sure, and that the lights were off in the house. He didn’t saw her get inside and just left.

However, there was no boyfriend in that house. The place had actually been condemned a few weeks earlier so it was impossible anyone would be living there. It’s uncertain if Kayla would have known that, but she likely did. The boyfriend, who was 19 years old at the time, said he never saw her that day nor planned to meet her.

Kayla hasn’t been seen or heard of since that night.

To make things worse, she wasn’t reported missing until six days later. Her parents were separated, so apparently they each thought their daughter was at the other’s house. Her brother, on the other hand, thought she was with a friend. (I’m trying very hard not to judge here, but how do you let six days pass without talking to your 15 year old daughter?)

The descriptions of what Kayla was wearing the night she disappeared had been contradictory, and police said her friends were very uncooperative so they at first believed she was a runaway and they were helping to hide her. Kielcheski was charged in October 2009 with endangering Kayla but the charges were later dropped. He lawyered up, however, and refused to talk to police again about the case.

Before calling the police, Elisa had dropped her two sons at Christopher’s mothers house. When police were out to arrest him, he abducted his two sons and fled, leading to the Amber Alert being issued. His mother called the police to report that he had abducted Ethan and Owan. She relayed that he had been acting very bizarrely before he grabbed his sons and fled. He kept making references to suicide by cop in addition to threatening violence against the boys. A description of his car was released and by 8PM that evening, the Ford Focus was tracked down. It was parked at the Cliff Cave County Park.

I’m quite often asked if there are any serial killers I believe to be innocent. There are very, very few, but one of those is Douglas Clark, the alleged “Sunset Strip Slayer,” who was convicted along with Carol Bundy. In this post I shall attempt to explain why I have come to this conclusion.

First of all, Douglas Clark did not have a fair trial. He had solid alibis for each murder except two. Statements from witnesses were obtained and altered to incriminate Clark. Sabra Comer was forced to change her evidence because police threatened to “put her out of business” if she did not cooperate. Carol Bundy had an “S&M lover” called Jack Murray, who she went on to eventually kill and decapitate in a jealous rage while in their van (she claimed it was her that shot him but it was another man - “a psycho” whom decapitated him). Clark had an alibi for this murder. All of the weapons and vehicles associated with the murders either belonged to Carol Bundy or Jack Murray - his van had also been washed out after the first three murders associated with these string of killings and a bloody piece of scalp with blonde hair was found in the vent hatch, probably detached from a gunshot blast. This was not allowed to be brought to trial and authorities even refused to do a DNA test on the scalp and blood found in Murray’s van. Somebody called “Claudia” (Carol Bundy) called the police following one of these murders claiming that they think their boyfriend was the killer. The reason, they explained was that that had found a duffel bag filled with bloody clothes and blankets in his car. This “anonymous” woman went on to perfectly describe the physical appearance of Jack Murray, not Douglas Clark. They even reported that the boyfriend was called “Jack” (this was before she killed Jack, obviously) and even gave Jack’s age. She then described what he told her he did - “He tells me he fired four shots. Two in one girl’s head and virtually blew her head away.”

Another inconsistency is that Bundy claimed Clark ejaculated into the mouths of two victims yet when swabs were taken inside their mouth, no traces of semen was found, but traces of sperm and blood were found on their body. When tested, it came back as blood type A - the same blood type as Murray, not Clark. Bundy also claimed that Clark had sex with two bloodied bodies on his garage floor yet no traces of blood were found when searched. She claimed they scrubbed the garage clean, yet it was clear to investigators that the garage hadn’t been cleaned in years. During the trial, the (evidently corrupt) judge even refused to play the recording of Carol Bundy confessing. Vital trace and ballistic evidence was “lost” by the police. A bloodstained jacket was found in Bundy’s car after she was arrested and authorities never thought it necessary to test it, even though Murray’s wife identified it as his. Why would his jacket with blood on it be in her car unless he was there during one of the murders?

Clark helped Bundy dispose of Murray’s head and when questioned by the police he told them everything he knew. He said he didn’t come to the police straight away because he knew Bundy would incriminate him. She was a manipulative, pathological liar, while he was cooperative and gave them everything they wanted. She kept lying and contradicting herself and her testimony was filled with inconsistencies. She claimed that Clark had murdered a “Jane Doe 18” on a particular date, but when told that Clark had a solid alibi for that date, she was allowed to change it. She went on to give a detailed description of the murder, even though claiming she knew nothing about it, other than Clark had done it. The State’s Attorney General even admitted that Bundy was given a deal to testify against Clark in return for her life. They felt as though they needed to convict Clark, after all Murray was dead and it wouldn’t go down too well with the police departments involved after all the trouble they had went through to implicate Clark. On tape Gary Broda begs Bundy to help build a case against Clark and she demands a “deal” to avoid the sex crime charges she was facing (around 20 or so) against an 11-year-old girl and they granted it immediately. That’s when Bundy began building the case against Clark from thin air… Clark fully cooperated - offering his saliva, permission to search his place of work, house, and car. None of which was asked for from Bundy.. The judge dismissed multiple witnesses that corroborated where he was when the crimes were being committed and even banking statements that corroborated he was in a different area when the murders were taking place.

In 1992, Gustavo applied to have the visitation rights ceased; tragically, the courts denied this application and the visitations were allowed to continue. By 1993, Gustavo had purchased airplane tickets and had planned to move back to Cuba, taking Elisa with him. However, Gustavo and Elisa never made the flight - Gustavo was rushed to hospital with respiratory complications and died from lung cancer. The death of Gustavo was the nail in the coffin of Elisa escaping her abusive mother. Upon his death, Awilda filed for full custody of Elisa. She was initially granted temporary custody and upon hearing this terrifying news, Elsa Canizares, Gustavo’s cousin, also filed for custody. The head teacher of Elisa’s school and even Prince Michael of Greece, who had met Elisa in her school, wrote letters to the Judge, informing him of the torment Elisa had experienced at the hands of her own mother. Regardless of the mounting evidence as to why Awilda was not a suitable mother, in 1994, Awilda was granted full and permanent custody of Elisa: a decision that would prove to be fatal. Almost immediately, the abuse began. Elisa was taken out of her preschool and sent to a different one. Here she was reported as being withdrawn and uncommunicative. She was also reported to be riddled with bruises each week and appeared to have difficulty walking. Again, this clear evidence of abuse was reported but these reports were discarded due to apparently being “not reportable.” Enraged, Awilda withdrew Elisa from the school. Upon this withdrawal, Elisa was locked in her bedroom 24/7. She wasn’t even allowed out to use the bathroom. Neighbours often heard Elisa screaming and begging Awilda to stop. This was reported to the authorities but again, no action was taken. On 15 November, Awilda called her sister and told her that Elisa was “like retarded on the bed,” and that she had some sort of fluid leaking from her nose and mouth. The fluid was brain fluid. Elisa was left on the bed until the following day when Awilda invited a neighbour inside to view the body. The neighbour immediately called an ambulance but it was far too late - Elisa was dead.