Post by LadyBlue on Jul 19, 2005 14:21:28 GMT -5
Edmonton — Less than 24 hours after helping lead police to a body believed to be that of his missing pregnant wife, Michael White was charged with second-degree murder in connection with her death.
The 28-year-old heavy-duty mechanic was also charged yesterday with committing an indignity to a dead body. It was a dramatic development in a case that had baffled Edmonton police since Liana White disappeared a week ago while, according to Mr. White, on her way to work.
After the 29-year-old woman vanished, Mr. White gave several interviews to the news media, including one in which he pledged between sobs he would find her. He also repeatedly told reporters he had nothing to do with her disappearance and was frustrated that Edmonton police were taking so long to locate his wife, who was four months pregnant.
In the last interview Mr. White gave before being charged, he told The Edmonton Sun on Sunday that he was no Scott Peterson – referring to the California man convicted last year of killing his pregnant wife, Laci – and that he was thrilled the couple were having another child.
"If they're thinking it was the husband, forget the husband. Let's find my wife," he said. The Whites also have a three-year-old daughter, Ashley.
A few hours after he gave that interview, a volunteer search team led by Mr. White notified police around 5 p.m. it had found a body on the side of a rural road less than 10 minutes drive from the couple's northwest Edmonton bungalow. Later that night, police took Mr. White in for questioning.
An autopsy is being conducted on the body today and police have remained tightlipped about the identity, not even disclosing its sex. Yesterday, forensic investigators scoured the area where it was discovered with metal detectors. Officers, who had been holed up at the Whites' home since Saturday, continued to search it.
Until yesterday, Edmonton police had publicly maintained Mr. White was not a suspect and that they weren't even sure a crime had been committed. They are expected to update the investigation today.
Around 7:30 a.m. last Tuesday, a passerby found Ms. White's tan 1991 Ford Explorer abandoned less than two kilometres from the couple's home and called police.
It was in a gravel parking lot near a recreational centre. The driver's door was wide open, and the keys were on the floor of the vehicle. Personal possessions belonging to Ms. White, including a cellphone, a pair of shoes, credit cards and other identification, were later recovered close to the SUV.
Police received several tips from people who said they saw Ms. White's SUV in the lot before 6 a.m. and even as early as Monday night. That conflicted with Mr. White's statement to police that he last saw his wife at 6:15 a.m. as she left for her job as a medical clerk at a downtown hospital, dressed in green medical scrubs.
Mr. White, a large, former military man who has a shaved head and a goatee, later told a reporter he could have been mistaken about the exact time because he was sleeping when she left the house. He said he assumed she left at 6:15 a.m. because that was her routine.
Ms. White, a 5-foot-4, 150-pound brown-eyed brunette, has no history of mental illness and has never been known to go missing.
Police and search-and-rescue volunteers conducted a massive search; some people even feared she was the victim of a serial killer being hunted by police in Edmonton.
However, Edmonton police quickly pointed out that person was mainly targeting prostitutes and that the special task force investigating those unsolved killings had not been called in to help with the White investigation.
Last Thursday, Mr. White, who is originally from Mar, Ont., a village north of Owen Sound, said he was so frustrated with the speed of the investigation he launched an independent search with friends and family, including Ms. White's mother, Maureen Kelly, and his mother, Carol Forbes.
The couple, who married in 2000, met in an Edmonton nightclub in 1998. Ms. White had recently arrived in the Alberta capital after moving from Kelowna, B.C.
According to financial documents, the young couple are heavily in debt. There are outstanding liens on their two vehicles, a 1991 Chevrolet GMT-400 and the 1991 Ford Explorer.
In May of 2004, when they bought a 21-year-old bungalow, the pair took out a $166,748 mortgage. The house, which is in a working-class neighbourhood, cost $170,000. The current assessment for the house is $184,000.
Mr. White also has significant debts. There are several liens against equipment, including a drill and air hammer, he bought using financing from a company in Newmarket, Ont.
In 2000, Mr. White was ordered to pay the Alberta government about $34,000 in connection with a car accident on the Edmonton military base in 1998.
Mr. White was stationed in Edmonton for about 6½ years. He worked as a mechanic and was released from service in November of 2002. Military officials would not disclose the condition of his release yesterday.
The 28-year-old heavy-duty mechanic was also charged yesterday with committing an indignity to a dead body. It was a dramatic development in a case that had baffled Edmonton police since Liana White disappeared a week ago while, according to Mr. White, on her way to work.
After the 29-year-old woman vanished, Mr. White gave several interviews to the news media, including one in which he pledged between sobs he would find her. He also repeatedly told reporters he had nothing to do with her disappearance and was frustrated that Edmonton police were taking so long to locate his wife, who was four months pregnant.
In the last interview Mr. White gave before being charged, he told The Edmonton Sun on Sunday that he was no Scott Peterson – referring to the California man convicted last year of killing his pregnant wife, Laci – and that he was thrilled the couple were having another child.
"If they're thinking it was the husband, forget the husband. Let's find my wife," he said. The Whites also have a three-year-old daughter, Ashley.
A few hours after he gave that interview, a volunteer search team led by Mr. White notified police around 5 p.m. it had found a body on the side of a rural road less than 10 minutes drive from the couple's northwest Edmonton bungalow. Later that night, police took Mr. White in for questioning.
An autopsy is being conducted on the body today and police have remained tightlipped about the identity, not even disclosing its sex. Yesterday, forensic investigators scoured the area where it was discovered with metal detectors. Officers, who had been holed up at the Whites' home since Saturday, continued to search it.
Until yesterday, Edmonton police had publicly maintained Mr. White was not a suspect and that they weren't even sure a crime had been committed. They are expected to update the investigation today.
Around 7:30 a.m. last Tuesday, a passerby found Ms. White's tan 1991 Ford Explorer abandoned less than two kilometres from the couple's home and called police.
It was in a gravel parking lot near a recreational centre. The driver's door was wide open, and the keys were on the floor of the vehicle. Personal possessions belonging to Ms. White, including a cellphone, a pair of shoes, credit cards and other identification, were later recovered close to the SUV.
Police received several tips from people who said they saw Ms. White's SUV in the lot before 6 a.m. and even as early as Monday night. That conflicted with Mr. White's statement to police that he last saw his wife at 6:15 a.m. as she left for her job as a medical clerk at a downtown hospital, dressed in green medical scrubs.
Mr. White, a large, former military man who has a shaved head and a goatee, later told a reporter he could have been mistaken about the exact time because he was sleeping when she left the house. He said he assumed she left at 6:15 a.m. because that was her routine.
Ms. White, a 5-foot-4, 150-pound brown-eyed brunette, has no history of mental illness and has never been known to go missing.
Police and search-and-rescue volunteers conducted a massive search; some people even feared she was the victim of a serial killer being hunted by police in Edmonton.
However, Edmonton police quickly pointed out that person was mainly targeting prostitutes and that the special task force investigating those unsolved killings had not been called in to help with the White investigation.
Last Thursday, Mr. White, who is originally from Mar, Ont., a village north of Owen Sound, said he was so frustrated with the speed of the investigation he launched an independent search with friends and family, including Ms. White's mother, Maureen Kelly, and his mother, Carol Forbes.
The couple, who married in 2000, met in an Edmonton nightclub in 1998. Ms. White had recently arrived in the Alberta capital after moving from Kelowna, B.C.
According to financial documents, the young couple are heavily in debt. There are outstanding liens on their two vehicles, a 1991 Chevrolet GMT-400 and the 1991 Ford Explorer.
In May of 2004, when they bought a 21-year-old bungalow, the pair took out a $166,748 mortgage. The house, which is in a working-class neighbourhood, cost $170,000. The current assessment for the house is $184,000.
Mr. White also has significant debts. There are several liens against equipment, including a drill and air hammer, he bought using financing from a company in Newmarket, Ont.
In 2000, Mr. White was ordered to pay the Alberta government about $34,000 in connection with a car accident on the Edmonton military base in 1998.
Mr. White was stationed in Edmonton for about 6½ years. He worked as a mechanic and was released from service in November of 2002. Military officials would not disclose the condition of his release yesterday.