In the first few years of my journalism career I worked in a southern Alberta town called Fort Macleod (this is the proper spelling; interestingly, when I lived there in the late 90’s the Government of Alberta spelled that town’s name three different ways on nearby highway signs).

Crime coverage was a big part of my work at that time, and I therefore developed a good relationship with the local RCMP detachment commander, Sgt. Peter Sopow, who was 52 at the time of his death in 1997. I didn’t realize how lucky I was early in my career to be working with an RCMP non-commissioned officer who understood so well the value of a local reporter.

Not only did I interview Pete many times regarding various issues such as theft, assault and drug trafficking, I was able to pick his brain about how and why crime was occurring in the community. Pete had been in the RCMP over 30 years and taught me much about factors that contribute to crime and the fact that a lot of crime is perpetrated by a very small group of repeat offenders. I remember one instance where we had a bit of a break and enter crime wave in Fort Macleod, and Pete informed me a prolific offender who specialized in break and enter was recently released from prison near Lethbridge, only about 20 minutes away from Fort Macleod. Coincidentally, within a few days of that fellow’s release, the crime wave started.

In Dec. of 1997 police announced Pete and his girlfriend Lorraine McNabb, 47, a schoolteacher from nearby Pincher Creek, had been found murdered on Lorraine’s property, an acreage just outside Pincher Creek. After Pete didn’t show up for work Monday morning, police began searching for him and eventually an officer went to Lorraine’s acreage where the bodies were found. Investigation later revealed the pair had last been seen by family Sat., Dec. 13, as they left a get-together. Two days later, Monday, Dec. 15 Pete and Lorraine’s bodies were found shot to death and dumped in a horse trailer in Lorraine’s yard.

They had been executed. Investigation stated the murder weapon was a .22 calibre weapon. Investigation in fact, revealed many things about the murder: that Pete and Lorraine planned to marry, that the pair had no enemies who would wish them dead, that an out-of-place antique muscle car was seen around Lorraine’s property that weekend, that no robbery or any other crime occurred at the McNabb property (ruling out the theory they stumbled into a crime in progress), that Lorraine allegedly had a jealous stalker (another resident of the Pincher Creek area who she allegedly worked with at school) and that only one .22 weapon in the region was unaccounted for. According to police it belonged to Lorraine’s alleged jealous stalker who, in turned out, also owned an antique muscle car like the one spotted near her property the weekend of the murders.

Nobody to this day has ever been charged with Pete or Lorraine’s murder. Only one person was ever detained in any way, and that was a fellow from Pincher Creek area who was arrested Dec. 17 and sent for a psychological exam. While police confirmed the exam occurred, they never explained why it was necessary.

Lorraine’s jealous stalker was one of the worst kept secrets of the area; I’m not going to repeat the person’s name in this space, but I can tell you within a few weeks of the murders I knew just about everything noteworthy about this jealous stalker. While I didn’t work in Pincher Creek, I knew journalists who did and they logged rumours about who the community felt knew something about the murders.

As noted, no one was ever charged for the murders. I can only assume that the police (who collect evidence) and crown prosecutors (who decide if that evidence supports criminal charges) felt they had no grounds, or perhaps not enough grounds, to lay charges. Hence, 29 years later the murderer walks free today. Who knows? You or I may have walked past that murderer on a public street somewhere.

I am now older than Pete was when he was murdered. Everyone affected by these crimes waits for justice.

Stu Salkeld is a multimedia journalist who can be reached through email: stewartsalkeld7@gmail.com.