Blood, Sweat, and Fear: The Story of Inspector Vance

I’m a reporter and author based in Vancouver, British Columbia. For the past several years I’ve been investigating cold cases – murders and missing persons that have been mostly forgotten except by family and friends.I’m convinced that many of these cases can still be solved.    

In January 1943, Victoria, British Columbia was experiencing the coldest weather in more than 30 years. Fifteen-year-old Molly Justice took the bus from her job on Government Street and got off near her Saanich home. Her body was found a few hours later lying face down in the snow. She had been stabbed more than 20 times and hit on the head with a rock. What followed was one of the most seriously botched police investigations of the century. This is the last episode of this series. I’ll be taking a few months off and then I’ll be back early next year with a second true crime/history series based on my book Cold Case Vancouver. Please subscribe and be notified when it’s published. For show credits, sources, and information about my books, blog or podcast, please see evelazarus.com

On August 25, 1947 Walter Pavlukoff stepped out of his hotel room with a luger automatic pistol in his pocket. He joined over 100,000 people who were watching the PNE parade—the first one in six years because of the war. After the parade, Walter held up the CIBC bank and murdered the manager. It was the largest manhunt in Vancouver's history. So, why did it take five years to catch him? Cover Logo: Vancouver Sun July 9, 1953 For more photos, show credits, sources, and information about my true crime books, blog or podcast, please visit evelazarus.com   

On March 9, 1947, Inspector Vance of the Vancouver Police Department was called to an apartment in Kitsilano, Vancouver to check out a suspicious death. Seventeen-year-old Ruth Cooperman was found naked and lying dead across her husband’s unconscious body. Cover Image: Ruth Cooperman. Vancouver Sun photo. For show credits, sources, and information about my true crime books, blog or podcast, please visit evelazarus.com   

On February 26, 1947, Vancouver police officers Charles Boyes and Oliver Ledingham were murdered in a shootout at False Creek Flats. Inspector Vance was called in to handle the ballistics and ultimately determine whether a 17- year-old would live or die. Between 1912 and 1987, 16 Vancouver police officers have been killed in the line of duty. Cover Image: False Creek Flats, 1954. Vancouver Sun photo For show credits, sources, and information about my true crime books, blog or podcast, please visit evelazarus.com   

In the early hours of May 2, 1945, 23-year-old Olga Hawryluk was found beaten to death and dumped in the waters of English Bay. A soldier was charged with her murder and defended by scrappy East End lawyer Angelo Branca. Inspector Vance handled the forensics. Cover Image: Jack Shadbolt's 1940s painting of Granville Street, Vancouver  For show credits, sources, and information about my true crime books, blog or podcast, please visit evelazarus.com   

Inspector Vance is called to a crime scene at Merritt, B.C. in 1934. Two police officers are missing, believed murdered and the investigation focuses in on an abandoned Model B Ford and members of the Canford Indian Band. Image: Crime scene photo of the wrecked Model B Ford just below the Merritt-Spence’s Bridge Road. From the personal files of the Vancouver Police Department's Inspector John Vance. For show credits, sources, and information about my true crime books, blog or podcast, please visit evelazarus.com   

Sidney Colbourne lived in Oak Bay, Victoria and frequently beat up his wife Vera and their five-year-old daughter. One night, the gun that Sid bought to keep Vera in line, went off and shot him in the head. It was 1938. Vera was arrested for murder, and Inspector Vance was asked to investigate. Image: Daily Colonist, April 1, 1938  For show credits, sources, and information about my true crime books, blog or podcast, please visit evelazarus.com   

In 1936, Doris Gravlin's strangled corpse was found on the 7th fairway of the Victoria Golf Course. People soon started reporting sightings of her ghost. According to local legend, if a couple saw her, they would immediately break up, and her ghost wouldn’t leave until her son was told the truth about her murder. Episode includes an interview with a history professor who had an eerie encounter with Doris.  For show credits, sources and information about my true crime books, blog or podcast, please see evelazarus.com   

By the 1930s, Inspector Vance had become a familiar face at crime scenes and was often called to testify in court because of his knowledge of forensics. In fact, his skills and analytic abilities were so effective that in 1934 there were seven attempts on his life—including a car bomb—and for a time he and his family were under constant police guard from criminals afraid to go up against him in court. Photo logo: Threatening letter from the personal files of John FCB Vance For show credits, sources, and information about my books, blog or podcast, please see evelazarus.com  

On April 13, 1933, 19-year-old Stewart Ashley went to work out at the YMCA in downtown Vancouver. He didn’t come home. A short time later, a ransom note arrived. It said: “Get $5,000 by April 20 or your son will die.”  For show credits, sources, and information about my books, blog or podcast, please see evelazarus.com  

The murder of Naokichi Watanabe in 1931 exposed an insurance scam, the murder of up to 20 people, a Japanese hitman, and was eventually linked to an assassination ring operating out of a house on East Cordova Street, Vancouver. For show credits, sources, and information about my books, blog or podcast, please see evelazarus.com     

In 1914, Jack Kong was a 16-year-old Chinese house boy working for Charles and Clara Millard in Vancouver’s West End. One morning, Jack got up, made porridge for Clara Millard then he killed her, hacked up her body, and burned it in the furnace. So, why wasn't he charged with murder? For show credits, sources, and information about my books, blog or podcast, please see evelazarus.com