Mother describes day Tori Stafford disappeared

Victoria (Tori) Stafford's mother told a London, Ont., court Wednesday about the day her daughter disappeared and said she had met the woman who later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the eight-year-old's death.
Tara McDonald said she had seen Terri-Lynne McClintic on two separate occasions — when she accompanied her partner James Goris to buy drugs from McClintic's mother and to discuss dog breeding.
McDonald was testifying on the third day of the trial of Michael Rafferty, who is accused of first-degree murder, sexual assault causing bodily harm and abduction. He has pleaded not guilty.
McDonald said she had been dealing with a drug addiction and admitted to taking OxyContin on the afternoon of April 8, 2009, the day Tori Stafford disappeared after leaving her school in Woodstock, Ont.
Her remains were found more than three months later in a rural area near Mount Forest, north of Woodstock.
McClintic pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in April 2010 and was sentenced to life in prison.
Much of McDonald's testimony focused on events the day her daughter disappeared.
The Grade 3 pupil had been planning to have some friends over to watch a movie musical after school, but she did not come home, McDonald said. She was usually let out of school at 3:25 p.m.
Under cross-examination, McDonald said she did not start looking for Tori until 4:30 p.m. She set out on foot and her son, Daryn, searched on his bicycle.
They searched the neighbourhood before contacting police later that evening
Tori and Daryn were then both students at Oliver Stephens Public School. McDonald said the siblings were "extremely close" and often walked to school together.
Tara McDonald testified she immediately started to look for her daughter, Victoria (Tori) Stafford, when it was apparent the girl was missing. (Dave Chidley/Canadian Press)
McDonald said she told Daryn to walk home with his sister that day, but he took another child home. When Daryn went back to the school, Tori was gone.
McDonald described her daughter as both a "girly" girl and a "tomboy," who would jump in puddles and touch worms while wearing a dress.
She told defence lawyer Dirk Derstine that she had spoken to Tori about not talking to strangers and that her daughter had done an art project on the subject.
After the defence finished questioning McDonald, the Crown called Staff Sgt. Paul Hess to testify.
Hess told the court that police became aware of Tori’s disappearance at 6:04 p.m. Police searched her school but found no trace of her. They had made no progress in the case by midnight, Hess said.
The following day, local police asked other police forces in southwestern Ontario for assistance and within a week, they'd called in the Ontario Provincial Police.
“It just exponentially ramped up,” Hess said of the investigation.
Testimony on Wednesday began with OPP Const. Gary Scoyne, who said police catalogued 1,100 physical items collected during their investigation and took 4,500 photos.
Victoria (Tori) Stafford was a Grade 3 student at Oliver Stephens Public School in Woodstock, Ont., when she disappeared in April 2009.
He said the scale of the case was “enormous” and involved more than 900 officers.
"I have worked on major cases before, but this is, the volume of this, was enormous and the amount of personnel was too," Scoyne said.
Scoyne was responsible for exhibit management during the Stafford investigation and also attended the autopsy after the girl's remains were found.
Jurors were shown 52 ground-view photos of the Woodstock area where Tori was last seen. They also saw photographs of the area around College Avenue Secondary School, the local high school where security cameras captured video of Tori and a woman walking on the day she disappeared. McClintic has admitted to being the woman in the video.
Scoyne said Tori’s mother lived in a house just a block and a half from the high school.
Under cross-examination, Scoyne was asked if he had personally walked around Woodstock. The OPP officer responded that he had not, though he had driven through as part of the investigation.
The Crown told the court that Scoyne will be called to testify on several occasions during the trial, which is likely to last several months.
The Crown alleges McClintic lured Tori towards Rafferty's car before they drove to Guelph and then to a rural area 100 kilometres north of the city.

VIDEO: Oakville girl describes her coyote attack

Some parents may have laughed last week when they received a letter from St. Joan of Arc Catholic Elementary School in Oakville describing the coyote lockdown on Jan. 11, when students were kept inside the classroom during the lunch hour after one was spotted prowling the schoolyard earlier in the day.

But after a brazen coyote leapt over a backyard fence to attack an 8-year-old girl on Thursday afternoon, the entire town is on heightened alert for the howling carnivores, which have been known to prey on small pets, but are usually considered harmless to humans.

“I think it’s becoming a little scarier for sure,” said Kevin Corcoran, who lives on Canonbridge Circle, a few doors down from where 8-year-old Julia Couto was bit on the thigh as she played with a friend.

Corcoran helped police locate what was believed to be the culprit coyote, which was shot and killed. The natural resources ministry gave police permission to shoot the animal after the attack.

“My kids are scared,” Corcoran said. “They won’t go out in the front yard anymore.”

Oakville residents, particularly those living between Bronte and Sixteen Mile creeks, are accustomed to sharing their neighbourhood with coyotes and other wildlife. The area is dotted not only with popular golf courses, but also small creeks and ravines, trails and parks.

“Urban coyotes are a fact of life here,” said Cindy Toth, the town’s director of environmental policy.

But residents used to hearing the animal’s howl have been put on edge this month by an apparently aggressive coyote or coyotes.

In addition to the schoolyard scare, two small dogs were attacked by coyotes this week, one fatally. Neighbours have also been gossiping about a male jogger who was apparently attacked by a coyote on one of the region’s trails. Halton police could not confirm the report.

Town officials are confident the animal shot Thursday was the “problem coyote,” but they still encourage residents to remain alert, reminding them never to feed the animals and asking them to be aware of any unintentional food sources left outside.

Corcoran said he and his neighbours have taken to wearing cowbells while walking dogs, or shaking cans filled with screws to ward off any potential coyotes.

Julia’s mother, Jenny Couto, said she is thankful her daughter was wearing snow pants at the time of the attack or her wound — three small bite marks and bruising — could have been much worse. “It was a scary ordeal for her, but it’s not usual coyote behaviour.”

Derek Quinlan, whose daughter Sydney was playing with Julia when the attack occurred, said after he heard the children scream and he ran into the living room, the coyote stood steadfast on his backyard deck, staring straight at the children through the sliding glass door.

It’s unclear what may have caused the aggressive behaviour. Town officials are awaiting results of an autopsy of the killed animal to see if it was rabid, or if there is evidence it had been fed by humans.

Meanwhile, Julia appeared unfazed a day later as she fielded interview requests and spoke to TV cameras before she was to take a quick trip to hospital. “I’m going to get a rabies shot!” she said, smiling.

The town is holding a coyote information session at 9 p.m. Jan. 31 at the St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre, 1280 Dundas St. W.

Julia Couto, 8, photographed at her Oakville home, was attacked by a coyote while playing at the yard of neighbour. Police say they shot and killed the coyote that attacked the girl Thursday afternoon.