Runaway Devil Almost Free

"J.R." aka Runaway Devil

The girl known only as "J.R." who was convicted of killing her own parents and little brother when she was only 12 years old is almost free.

J.R. is currently in the fourth and final stage of her "sentence," known as Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS). She appeared in court via closed-circuit television on March 30, 2012 for a bi-annual assessment of her progress. 

She began her 10-year sentence at a psychiatric hospital, and was officially released to a group home in 2011 so that she could begin her "reintegration into the community." Since then, she has enrolled as a University student in Calgary, and has even accepted a part-time job.

Justice Scott Brooker, who headed up the review panel, seemed overly sympathetic of the teen's plight:

"She's been in custody since she was 12-years-old, I'm sure it's a terrifying experience."

As terrifying as it must have been for little Jacob Richardson to look into his big sister's cold, dead eyes as she fatally stabbed him in the chest? Only the Big Buddha in the sky can know for certain, but personally, I have my doubts.

More Information...

Medicine Hat teen killer has curfew extended

CBC News (March 30, 2012)

Terri-Lynne McClintic Climbed Deadly Ladder

McClintic strikes a "gangsta" pose (Facebook)

Confessed and convicted child-killer Terri-Lynne McClintic violent history was entered as evidence in the ongoing murder trial against her former lover, Michael Rafferty.

"I’m not denying that I have a history of violence, but I'm not violent towards children and I've never hurt a child in my life. To try to fathom and comprehend the fact that a child lost their life by my hands is something I could not comprehend." 

Terri-Lynne's troubles with the law began with two assault charges stemming from altercations with her adoptive mother, Carol McClintic. Terri-Lynne choked her mother with her left hand as she punched her in the face with her right hand after the two got into an argument over the fact that Terri-Lynne had been dismissed from work. Carol McClintic suffered partial vision loss as a result.

The second charge resulted from Terri-Lynne punching her mother in the back of the head after the two got into a "mutual confrontation." Terri-Lynne alledged that she punched her mother after Carol burned her with a cigarette.

Carol McClintic (Police File Photo)

Once inside the Youth Criminal Justice System, Terri-Lynne McClintic racked up a number of additional assault charges, mostly with regard to altercations with other incarcerated young offenders. A journal that Terri-Lynne kept while serving time was given centre-stage at Rafferty's trial:

• "Respect"  an entry detailing the (fictional) killing of another person.

• "Locked Up"  an entry detailing an (actual) incident where McClintic stabbed someone during a robbery. According to police records, McClintic brandished a knife as she approached two men and demanded money or drugs. McClintic stabbed one of the men, and the police arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. Although the officers had their guns drawn, Terri-Lynne resisted arrest and punched one of the officers in the face.

Michael Rafferty's lawyer, Dirk Derstine, suggested to Terri-Lynne McClintic that she had no remorse. McClintic replied that she "didn't feel certain emotions" at the time.

When McClintic was questioned by police regarding the disappearance of Woodstock, Ontario Grade 3 student Tori Stafford, she admitted that she had been present during the kidnap, sexual assault, and murder of the little girl, but told her interrogator that it had been Rafferty who killed Tori with a claw hammer that had been purchased earlier that day. On the witness stand at Rafferty's trial, however, McClintic told a different story: she told the packed courtroom that it had been her who fatally bludgeoned the child.

"Yes, it did take me time to come to terms with that. But now I have come to terms with that and I'm sitting here today telling the truth. And it doesn't get any more real than that. My testimony wouldn't be any different a year from today than it is today."

More from Mascara & Murder...

Terri-Lynne McClintic Confesses Gory Details
Heart-wrenching account of the abduction and murder of Tori Stafford, compiled from a numerous media reports on her testimony.

"I told her I was sorry."
Impressions on Christie Blatchford's article covering McClintic's testimony at the trial of ex-lover Michael Rafferty.

The Many Faces of Terri-Lynne McClintic
Examining McClintic's fractured upbringing in contrast with that of another notorious female killer, Karla Homolka.

Terri-Lynne was "Trigger Happy"
Read the actual note that troubled teenager McClintic sent to one of her friends while she was being held in a youth detention centre.

"I basically taught myself not to feel certain things."
Read a portion of the actual letter that Terri-Lynne McClintic sent to her (then) lover Michael Rafferty.

McClintic Covers Up: Scenario 1
Read Terri-Lynne McClintic's handwritten notes composed shortly after Tori was killed.

Terri-Lynne McClintic: Facebook Diagnosis
View screen captures from McClintic's Facebook account, before it was suspended.

"I don't know Tori Stafford."
View more of Terri-Lynne McClintic's handwritten scripted denials regarding her knowledge of Tori's disappearance.

Rafferty Trial Evidence Released
View photos of evidence released at the trial of McClintic's ex-lover, Michael Rafferty.

McClintic Fails Again
Details about new assault charges Terri-Lynne McClintic is facing after engaging in a fight with a fellow inmate at the Grand Valley Institution for Women.

Deviance, Perversion Inadmissible
Details concerning the child-porn evidence the jury in the Michael Rafferty case didn't get to hear.

From Homolka to McClintic: Explaining the Inexplicable
Discussion of popular science surrounding sexually violent female offenders

Judge to Rafferty: "You, sir, are a monster."
Read Justice Thomas A. Heeney's comments to Michael Rafferty during sentencing hearing

"I basically taught myself not to feel certain things"

Convicted child-killer Terri-Lynne McClintic wrote the following (undated) letter to ex-boyfriend Michael Rafferty, who is currently on trial for his part in the abduction, rape, and murder of 8 year old Ontario girl Tori Stafford:

Terri-Lynne was "Trigger Happy"

Terri-Lynne McClintic wrote the following note to one of her "homies" while incarcerated as a juvenile offender:

Fireside Chat (Transcript)

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Karla Homolka's Plea Agreement

Karla Homolka in "prison"

Joliette, Quebec

For your reading (dis)pleasure, Mascara and Murder presents the Plea Agreement signed by "Karla Leanne Bernardo" in 1993, as well as her authorization for her legal counsel to enter into a Plea Agreement with the Crown.

The first of these two documents (written by Homolka herself) is especially telling; for a battered woman who was apparently suffering levels of post-traumatic stress comparable to a holocaust survivor, she did a commendable job articulating precisely what she expected of the justice system in exchange for testimony against estranged husband Paul Bernardo.


Karla Homolka: Plea Agreement Authorization (PDF)

Karla Homolka: Plea Agreement (PDF)

Lawyer Tim Danson: "I feel incredibly protective of these children"

Although not representing the family of slain Ontario schoolgirl Tori Stafford, lawyer Tim Danson has had much to say about the trial of accused child killer Michael Rafferty, as ongoing testimony from his ex-girlfriend, Terri-Lynne McClintic, paints a vile picture of depravity not unlike the Bernardo/Homolka affair which made him famous.

Danson represented the families of murdered teenagers Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, and spent the next twenty years working alongside those families in their numerous legal battles.

Tori Stafford's parents show solidarity with slain girl

[Excerpt]

The parents experience a “unique dichotomy,” Danson said. On one hand, they do not want to hear about the terror and anguish of their child’s final moments. On the other hand, they feel they must.

“They were not able to be with their child when it was important to protect them, so not being in the courtroom in solidarity with them is unthinkable. If they're not there, they feel like they've abandoned their child.”

Sitting through the trial also helps bring a degree of closure, he added.

“They need to know the truth because without having answers to their questions, they cannot move forward.”

But there is some evidence that families do not need to see or hear, and Danson has acted as a buffer, protecting them against the worst of it, such as gruesome autopsy and crime scene photos or videotapes of the deaths.

In the Bernardo case, for example, Danson watched the videotapes of the sexual attacks and deaths, the crime scene photos and certain other hard evidence, not just for the French and Mahaffy families but for Jane Doe who survived.

He persuaded the families not to be in court when the tapes were played and successfully fought to have the images on the tapes shown only to the judge, jury and court stenographers. The news media and others in the public gallery were limited to hearing the soundtrack.

“I feel incredibly protective of these children and when I see the extent of their violation on videotape, why should anyone else want to see this degradation and humiliation?” Danson asked.

After the appeals process ran its course, he successfully fought on behalf of the families to have the tapes destroyed.

Danson also pushed to have Homolka’s plea bargain nullified on the grounds that she lied to the Crown about her involvement in the deaths. This effort failed, but he was successful in blocking Homolka’s parole to ensure she served her full 12-year sentence for manslaughter. She was released in 2005, while Bernardo is serving a life sentence.