1 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:06,200 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. On June thirteenth, nineteen oh one, or one 2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:09,840 Speaker 1: hundred twenty five years ago today, two members of the 3 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: Redpath family of Montreal, Canada were killed in their home. 4 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,959 Speaker 1: Our episode on this incident is Today's Saturday Classic. It 5 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,640 Speaker 1: will quickly become obvious that this was one of our 6 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: Halloween episodes when it originally aired. It came out on 7 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: October thirty first, twenty twenty two. Welcome to Stuff You 8 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, and 9 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:44,400 Speaker 1: welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Hey, 10 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: we're doing some Canadian history, but it's also Halloween US, 11 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,199 Speaker 1: so that means this one is a little bit on 12 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: the darker side. This one is a murder mystery sort of. 13 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: We know what happened and who was involved, but the 14 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: details of what led to everything happening the way it 15 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: did are a little fuzzy, and there are a lot 16 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: of things that have been it seems like, systematically erased 17 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:15,399 Speaker 1: from the historic record, so this one remains a mystery. 18 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: Heads up, we do want to let you know. This 19 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: episode involves a lot of discussion of a domestic violence 20 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: incident that involves guns. It also involves speculation in the 21 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,959 Speaker 1: press about the mental health of those involved. But this 22 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 1: is about what's often called the Redpath murders. On June thirteenth, 23 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: nineteen oh one, Ada Maria Redpath, who is fifty nine, 24 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:40,559 Speaker 1: and her son Jocelyn Clifford, aged twenty six, were found 25 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:42,680 Speaker 1: shot to death in their home, which was known as 26 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,240 Speaker 1: the Redpath Mansion. We're going to talk about that in 27 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: the behind the scenes, but more than one hundred and 28 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: twenty years later, what exactly happened to lead to those 29 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: deaths remains unknown. We know how they died, but why 30 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: is probably something we're never going to understand. So we 31 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: want to tell their story. But first we're going to 32 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: start by talking about Ada's life and the lives of 33 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: two of her children, who are closest to this strange tragedy. 34 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:12,360 Speaker 1: Ada Maria Mills was born in April twenty sixth, eighteen 35 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:16,640 Speaker 1: forty two into a well off family. Her father, John 36 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: Easton Mills, was a well known and successful businessman. He 37 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:24,640 Speaker 1: died when Ada was still a small child. He was, 38 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: I believe, the mayor of Montreal when he died. He'd 39 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:29,120 Speaker 1: only held that post for I think less than a 40 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: year at the time, but that's kind of illustrative of 41 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:35,720 Speaker 1: how how well known and how prominent he was. Aida 42 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: married John James Redpath in Putney, England when she was 43 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:42,799 Speaker 1: twenty five. Because she was from a well off family, 44 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: Aida and John had a marriage contract that reads kind 45 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: of like a modern prenup. It stated that she would 46 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:52,679 Speaker 1: retain total control of her own wealth and assets. It's 47 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: often referred to as wording, being as though she had 48 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:00,080 Speaker 1: never married, so like literally completely siloed off a way 49 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: from her husband's money. She would later insist that her 50 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: daughter would have the same financial autonomy should she ever 51 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: choose to marry John James Redpath was himself from a 52 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: wealthy family. His father, John Redpath's senior, had moved to 53 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: Canada from Scotland in the early nineteenth century and made 54 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: a fortune in construction, and he used that fortune to 55 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:25,239 Speaker 1: purchase more than two hundred acres of land on Mount Royal, 56 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: just northwest of Montreal. He subdivided this land and resold 57 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: a lot of it, and his other wealthy families purchased 58 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: the land and built on it. This established a really 59 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: wealthy neighborhood that came to be known as the Square Mile. 60 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: Over the next hundred years, the community of the Square 61 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: Mile neighborhood became more and more intertwined. A lot of 62 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: families became linked through various marriages amongst themselves. Uh yeah, 63 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:56,600 Speaker 1: and all of those families also kind of made a 64 00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: lot of business deals with each other, so their wealth 65 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,839 Speaker 1: kind of kept folding in on itself, and they, like said, 66 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: it became this little enclave. When John and Ada married, 67 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: John was working in the Redpath Family sugar refinery. He 68 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 1: had been a partner in the firm at that point 69 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: for several years. But he didn't stay in that industry 70 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: for a very long time after the marriage though, and 71 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: he actually left it to join the Victoria Rifles. That's 72 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: a volunteer military regiment based in Montreal that had formed 73 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty two. And that seems like sort of 74 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: a good indication that John really did not have to 75 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: worry about income. Ada and John had five children over 76 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: the course of eight years, starting in eighteen sixty eight. 77 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 1: They were Amy, Peter, John, Reginald, Harold, and Jocelyn Clifford, 78 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: who went by Clifford. Ada had been the one to 79 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,840 Speaker 1: purchase the family home at ten sixty five Sherbrook Street 80 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:51,400 Speaker 1: West in the square mile. She did that with her 81 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,919 Speaker 1: family money in eighteen seventy. We'll talk about a house 82 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 1: a bit more on Friday. Yeah, there's a little bit 83 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,919 Speaker 1: of confusion about which house was the house that I 84 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 1: ran into doing research looking for a picture to put 85 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: on our social media for this, I started to look 86 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: at a lot of incredibly similar looking houses from right 87 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: on that same street. Yeah, this is also a problem 88 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:17,600 Speaker 1: where there's more than one house called the Red Path 89 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: Mansion in this area. So at some point in her life, though, 90 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:26,520 Speaker 1: Ada began having a variety of health problems. This is 91 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: a little bit tricky because the specific nature of those 92 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: issues is hard to pin down. She was treated for 93 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: a lot of different things, both physical and psychological, including 94 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: trigeminal neuralgia, melancholy, and joint pain. Any readings that the 95 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 1: family wrote about her generally describe her in ways that 96 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,800 Speaker 1: kind of characterize her as just being frail or fragile 97 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:53,279 Speaker 1: by the time she was in her forties. It also 98 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:55,440 Speaker 1: seems like she was away from her home and her 99 00:05:55,520 --> 00:06:00,120 Speaker 1: children a lot for treatments for these various problems. An 100 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,920 Speaker 1: undated letter that she sent the family from New York 101 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: while she was being fitted for braces for her joint problems. 102 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:09,839 Speaker 1: She wrote, quote, my dear children. The doctors say that 103 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 1: it would be much better if I could remain until Monday. 104 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 1: They want me to get quite accustomed to my new 105 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: brace before I leave, and find out all its faults, 106 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: so that they can send me home in good order 107 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: and comfortable, for they do not want me to have 108 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: to come back here very very soon. You see, there 109 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: is no one in Montreal who can alter the brace 110 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:32,720 Speaker 1: and change it if it should hurt me, And it 111 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,279 Speaker 1: is better that I should stay here until they have 112 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 1: made it fit well. It has hurt me dreadfully, but 113 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:40,920 Speaker 1: every day they make some little change, and tonight it 114 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,280 Speaker 1: is more comfortable, although not quite right yet. And I 115 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: cannot walk it all yet without my crutches. It stretches 116 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,119 Speaker 1: my legs so much that it makes it an inch 117 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,800 Speaker 1: longer than the well leg. And doctors say that I 118 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,280 Speaker 1: must let them put a thick three quarter inch sole 119 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: on the boot of my well foot. If they do this, 120 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 1: poor Harold will think me more of a giant than ever. 121 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 1: But never mind. If only they will let me go home, 122 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:08,479 Speaker 1: I will be willing to wear anything they please, And 123 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: bless you, my darlings, will be so glad to see 124 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: your mother that you won't stop to find fault with 125 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: her looks. God, bless you, my precious children, your loving mother. 126 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: After AIDA's husband, John James Redpath died on June fourth, 127 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty four, Ada relied increasingly on her children, particularly 128 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 1: her only daughter, who was also her oldest child. That 129 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 1: was Amy and her youngest son, Clifford. Amy was born 130 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: on May sixteenth, eighteen sixty eight, the year after Ada 131 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 1: and John were married. The red Paths lived abroad during 132 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,840 Speaker 1: their early marriage, so Amy was born in Europe and 133 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:48,520 Speaker 1: then arrived in Canada when she was still a small child. 134 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: From an early age, Amy was deeply devoted to her family, 135 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: although we don't really know if this was just her 136 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: natural tendency or if it was because she knew the 137 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 1: ex expectation was that she would need to help with 138 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:06,560 Speaker 1: running the house and caring for her younger siblings. Was 139 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 1: really routinely expected of unmarried daughters at the time that 140 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:13,600 Speaker 1: they would fill a role of that nature within their family, 141 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: and Amy had never expressed any obvious interest in marriage 142 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: or even mentioned any suitors in her writing. Growing up. 143 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 1: This of course led to various speculations. Yeah, we'll talk 144 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:30,800 Speaker 1: about some of those on Friday as well. Jocelyn Clifford 145 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 1: Redpath was born on November seventeenth, eighteen seventy six, and 146 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,319 Speaker 1: although his sister, Amy was only eight, she was one 147 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 1: of his sponsor slash godparents at his baptism. Clifford, who 148 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: also went by cliff, studied at McGill University and he 149 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,560 Speaker 1: joined the law program there in eighteen ninety seven. Once 150 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,719 Speaker 1: he started studying law, he also started apprenticing at the 151 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: law firm of Campbell, Meredith, Alan and Haig, and he 152 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,719 Speaker 1: was on track for a law career when he graduated 153 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: in nineteen hundred and started to study for the bar exam. 154 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 1: By the end of the eighteen hundreds, only Amy and 155 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:10,040 Speaker 1: Clifford were still at home with Ada, and they took 156 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:13,360 Speaker 1: care of her. Amy ran the house and Clifford managed 157 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:16,720 Speaker 1: the finances with advice from his older brothers and uncles. 158 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,360 Speaker 1: To be clear, while they were their mother's primary companions, 159 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,440 Speaker 1: they weren't managing her care alone. There was also a 160 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 1: full house staff who Amy hired and managed, including a nurse, 161 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:30,960 Speaker 1: but they were put in the position of being the 162 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 1: heads of the household. Ada would travel to upstate New 163 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,280 Speaker 1: York in the summers to spend time in specialty clinics 164 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: or health resorts, and Clifford usually traveled with her. On 165 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,200 Speaker 1: one occasion in eighteen ninety eight, when Ada was traveling 166 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:47,960 Speaker 1: with her older son Peter instead of Clifford, she was 167 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 1: so clingy with Amy at the train station she was 168 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: set to leave that Amy decided she had to go 169 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: with their mother as well, even though she did not 170 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:01,160 Speaker 1: have any luggage or travel gear with her her. Yeah, 171 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:03,319 Speaker 1: she wrote in a letter to I believe it was 172 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:06,760 Speaker 1: a cousin about like, I'm going to Saratoga Springs and 173 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: I don't even have gloves. She just was like, I 174 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: have nothing. Amy and Clifford were also very close, and 175 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:15,880 Speaker 1: they spent a lot of time together even when it 176 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:19,520 Speaker 1: was not necessitated by their household duties or responsibilities. So 177 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 1: they would attend social gatherings and church together. They often 178 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: took long walks together, and Amy helped cliff with his 179 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:29,200 Speaker 1: law study. She would even rewrite the notes that he 180 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,200 Speaker 1: had taken during lectures so that they would be easier 181 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:34,720 Speaker 1: for him to study when he was studying for the bar. Basically, 182 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 1: like she was writing study guides for him. Clifford was 183 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: also very very close with their mother. In a letter 184 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:45,160 Speaker 1: to Clifford in eighteen ninety eight, Ada's attachment to her 185 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:48,760 Speaker 1: youngest son is a parent. She wrote, quote, dearest, Oh, 186 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 1: how I miss you. I have come so to depend 187 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,640 Speaker 1: on you that I am lost without you. Nothing seems 188 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:59,200 Speaker 1: worthwhile without you, your most loving old mother. Though she 189 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,320 Speaker 1: was still only in her late fifties by nineteen oh 190 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 1: one when the shooting took place, Ada's health had declined 191 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:08,280 Speaker 1: to the point that she spent her time almost exclusively 192 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:12,280 Speaker 1: in her bedroom, and she had stopped attending even family events. 193 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,360 Speaker 1: Cliff on the other hand, seemed to have a life 194 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:19,160 Speaker 1: that was just on the precipice of real success. In 195 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:22,280 Speaker 1: early June of nineteen oh one, there were discussions at 196 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: the law firm where he'd apprenticed about making him a 197 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 1: partner once he passed the bar. That never happened. We 198 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 1: are going to talk about how the tragedy in the 199 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,560 Speaker 1: Red Path Home unfolded, but first we will pause for 200 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 1: a sponsor break. So we mentioned at the top of 201 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:50,839 Speaker 1: the episode that Ada and Clifford were quote found dead, 202 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:54,320 Speaker 1: and that is often how it's reported, But to me, 203 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,080 Speaker 1: that wording tends to convey this sense of distance, like 204 00:11:57,120 --> 00:11:59,320 Speaker 1: the house had been empty except for them, or that 205 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:01,480 Speaker 1: they had been dead for some period of time before 206 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 1: being found, or that there could be questions about if 207 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:06,920 Speaker 1: someone else had been in the house. None of that 208 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 1: was the case. It was absolutely not. They had been 209 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:13,160 Speaker 1: discovered immediately because there were plenty of other people in 210 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,640 Speaker 1: the house when the shots were fired. Those people heard 211 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:19,920 Speaker 1: the shots and they went to investigate right away. That 212 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: sort of hazy and confusing sense of them being discovered 213 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:28,079 Speaker 1: later started immediately in the press. The Calgary Harold ran 214 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 1: a brief notice about the deaths that read, in part quote, 215 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:34,440 Speaker 1: Missus John Jay Redpath of Sherbrooke Street, a widow lady 216 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:38,439 Speaker 1: and her son twenty five were found dying in their 217 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:41,880 Speaker 1: house and Missus Redpath's room late in the night from 218 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 1: bullet wounds in the heads. The son is in the 219 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: hospital unable to make a statement. The mother died within 220 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:51,720 Speaker 1: an hour without making a statement. All of this actually 221 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 1: happened around six pm, So the late in the night 222 00:12:55,080 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 1: statement it's not really correct. No, there's a lot of incorruption, 223 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 1: as we'll discuss. As we said, there were other people home. 224 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 1: The oldest of the Red path sons, Peter, was there. 225 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:12,200 Speaker 1: He heard the gunfire and he ran right to the sound, 226 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 1: which was, as we've said, in his mother's room. There 227 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:17,679 Speaker 1: were also members of the house staff in the home 228 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:20,880 Speaker 1: who also went to the room. Ada did die on 229 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 1: the scene. Some reports say she died instantly, others make 230 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: it sound like she may have died a few minutes 231 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:31,960 Speaker 1: after being found. Clifford was still alive, although unconscious, and 232 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 1: he was reportedly taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital. He 233 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:39,120 Speaker 1: died that night at eleven or eleven fifteen, or maybe 234 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:43,559 Speaker 1: eleven fifty, maybe shortly after midnight, depending on what account 235 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:48,160 Speaker 1: you read. Incidentally, he was never registered in hospital records 236 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 1: as having been admitted to the Royal Victoria or to 237 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 1: any other hospital. This is one of just a lot 238 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 1: of small inconsistencies and gaps and the information about the 239 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,400 Speaker 1: shooting that have kept people scratching their heads for more 240 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 1: than a century. As soon as this tragedy hit the news, 241 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 1: there were rumors about what had really happened in the 242 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,360 Speaker 1: Red Path home, and there were a lot of factors 243 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:12,320 Speaker 1: that fueled the spread of those rumors. For one, the 244 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 1: red Paths were very, very wealthy. They were from a 245 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 1: largely insular community of similarly wealthy families, so people naturally 246 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:24,520 Speaker 1: had a tendency to want to speculate. But for another 247 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:27,240 Speaker 1: the sheer shock of a tragedy like this just led 248 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 1: people to speculate about it. But there were really three 249 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:37,080 Speaker 1: very significant contributing factors. One, there was little investigation into 250 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:41,960 Speaker 1: the shootings. Two, the family was largely unwilling to discuss 251 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,240 Speaker 1: the matter publicly. Now, on the one hand, this is 252 00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:48,760 Speaker 1: totally understandable, who would want to talk about the sudden 253 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 1: murder suicide of two family members while grieving and likely 254 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 1: in shock. But because no one from the house was 255 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:00,640 Speaker 1: saying very much, their quiet started to be framed possibly 256 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 1: covering something up. In Three, the details kept changing from 257 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: report to report. One idea was that Ada had a 258 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: mental break that was brought on by ongoing insomnia and 259 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: that somehow led to the shooting. This is the narrative 260 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:21,560 Speaker 1: that came up in news reports immediately after the tragedy. 261 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:25,400 Speaker 1: The Sherbrooke Daily Record of Montreal printed the following on 262 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:29,960 Speaker 1: June fourteenth, quote, A very sad affair occurred last evening. 263 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:34,760 Speaker 1: For some months Missus JJ Redpath had been a confirmed invalid, 264 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:39,120 Speaker 1: one of the characteristics of her malady being prolonged insomnia. 265 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: About six o'clock, the household heard an explosion, and, hurrying 266 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:45,680 Speaker 1: to her room, found both Missus Redpath and her son, 267 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:51,440 Speaker 1: mister Clifford Redpath, seriously wounded by revolver shot. Missus Redpath 268 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 1: died in a short time. Her son was removed in 269 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:57,640 Speaker 1: an unconscious condition to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where he 270 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 1: expired about midnight. Neither could give any account of what 271 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:05,560 Speaker 1: had happened. A write up in the Weekly News Advertiser 272 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 1: of Vancouver, British Columbia offered similar speculation, offering quote no 273 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,560 Speaker 1: details of the tragedy are known. Missus Redpath had been 274 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: ill for some time, suffering from insomnia. The surmise is 275 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:22,160 Speaker 1: that while temporarily mentally deranged, Missus Redpath attempted to end 276 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 1: her life, and in attempting to prevent her, her son 277 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 1: was shot. The unfortunate lady then completed her undertaking. But 278 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:33,960 Speaker 1: the Ottawa Citizen had a different take. Yes, Ada was 279 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 1: having issues with mental health because of insomnia, but she 280 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 1: wasn't dangerous because of it. Their ride up states quote 281 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:44,960 Speaker 1: who was responsible for the tragedy is yet a mystery. 282 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 1: For some years. Missus Redpath has suffered greatly from insomnia, 283 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 1: to such an extent that her mind was affected. Doctor 284 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:55,840 Speaker 1: Roddick had been in constant attendance upon her, but it 285 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:59,040 Speaker 1: was not imagined that her condition was at all likely 286 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,200 Speaker 1: to result in violence to herself or the members of 287 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:06,479 Speaker 1: her family. Another account from the Quebec Daily Mercury seems 288 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 1: to state as fact the idea that Clifford murdered his 289 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:14,359 Speaker 1: mother and then himself in a drunken rage. Quote it 290 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:17,960 Speaker 1: has transpired in connection with the Redpath tragedy that Clifford 291 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,159 Speaker 1: Redpaths shot his mother and then put two bullets in 292 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: his own head. They had been quarreling for some time, 293 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:26,879 Speaker 1: and young Redpath is said to have been under the 294 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:29,960 Speaker 1: influence of liquor at the time of the tragedy. The 295 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 1: young man was a law student. The actual findings of 296 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:37,200 Speaker 1: the coroner's inquest were different from all of these theories, 297 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,919 Speaker 1: and it happened very quickly, as in the day after 298 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:44,000 Speaker 1: the shooting is when the inquest was held, and the 299 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: coroner's jury was made up of members of wealthy families 300 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: from the small square mile community. There were John Dunns, Junior, H. Browning, Lansing, 301 00:17:54,000 --> 00:18:00,439 Speaker 1: Lewis ECB. Fanshawe, George Hyde, Bartlett, McLennan, Francis mc lennon, 302 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:05,920 Speaker 1: John Walker, W. Maurice, John Savage, W. W. Watson, Charles 303 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 1: Esdley and Herbert Wallace. The Halifax Morning Harold reported quote 304 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:14,640 Speaker 1: investigation by the coroner's jury today put a new light 305 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 1: on the Redpath tragedy of yesterday. The evidence showed that 306 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,920 Speaker 1: Missus Redpath had been shot twice, once in the back 307 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:23,879 Speaker 1: of the head and then a second time in the 308 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:27,440 Speaker 1: right shoulder while the bullet had entered Young Redpass head 309 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: to the right of the left temple. The jury brought 310 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:32,680 Speaker 1: in a verdict that the young man had killed his 311 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:35,760 Speaker 1: mother in a fit of temporary insanity brought on by 312 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:40,120 Speaker 1: an epileptic fit, and then taken his own life. The 313 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:42,960 Speaker 1: first story given out by the family that the shooting 314 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 1: had probably been done by the mother was due to 315 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:49,280 Speaker 1: the fact that the young man was still alive. I 316 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:51,199 Speaker 1: feel like we should just note that a lot of 317 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,639 Speaker 1: the language being used to discuss things like epilepsy and 318 00:18:54,720 --> 00:19:00,000 Speaker 1: mental illness completely outdated, very outdated and offensive by today's day, 319 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:05,679 Speaker 1: so like, just don't go repeating it in casual conversation. Uh. 320 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:09,480 Speaker 1: This also brings into focus one detail that changed repeatedly 321 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:13,920 Speaker 1: about all this. Although initial accounts for multiple sources stated 322 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:17,119 Speaker 1: that there were two shots, there was one account in 323 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:21,480 Speaker 1: a paper that Clifford had shot himself twice, and then 324 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,560 Speaker 1: this account which said that he had shot his mother twice. 325 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:27,919 Speaker 1: That would be three shots total. So that's just another 326 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:32,720 Speaker 1: aspect of all this that was inconsistent. Now, subsequent testimonies 327 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:34,280 Speaker 1: and we're going to get to those in a moment, 328 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:38,560 Speaker 1: do support that three shots number. It seems like some 329 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:40,879 Speaker 1: papers may have run on the assumption that it was 330 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,200 Speaker 1: just two in their haste to get the news to print. 331 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:45,680 Speaker 1: As we said, we're reading these news reports that are 332 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:49,360 Speaker 1: happening like day of But that is also the kind 333 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,159 Speaker 1: of detail that you might think would surely show up 334 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:54,840 Speaker 1: in a police report. Of course it would, Hey, there 335 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:59,720 Speaker 1: isn't one because there was no police investigation. A coroner's 336 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:02,679 Speaker 1: jury was assembled there at the home, but there was 337 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:07,400 Speaker 1: never a police presence. They were never called. Now how 338 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:10,040 Speaker 1: the coroner ended up there but the police didn't is 339 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,879 Speaker 1: a little unclear, Although it is most likely that someone 340 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 1: from the house staff or the family called the coroner 341 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: Ed McMahon through some sort of personal connection. The Weekly 342 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:23,639 Speaker 1: News Advertiser of Montreal even noted in an article about 343 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:27,560 Speaker 1: the shooting quote, the family refuse any information and the 344 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:31,720 Speaker 1: police only heard of the matter by accident. The family 345 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:34,440 Speaker 1: have issued a statement, but from it nothing can be 346 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:37,240 Speaker 1: learned of the details of the tragedy beyond the fact 347 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 1: that two people are dead. We'll get into the details 348 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,920 Speaker 1: of those witness testimonies to try to unravel this thing 349 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,679 Speaker 1: a bit after we first pause to hear from the 350 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:59,440 Speaker 1: sponsors that keep the show going. There were several witness 351 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,320 Speaker 1: statements that were given and heard by the coroner's jury. 352 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 1: Those statements were given by Peter Redpath eight, his son 353 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:09,560 Speaker 1: and Clifford's older brother, Thomas George Roddick, the family doctor 354 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 1: Hugh Patton, and Rollo Campbell, both of whom were doctors, 355 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: Rose Shallow, who worked for the Red Path Sometimes her 356 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:19,840 Speaker 1: name is written as Rosa, but it appears to have 357 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:23,920 Speaker 1: actually been Rose, and Charles James Fleet, who also worked 358 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,160 Speaker 1: in the home. According to the coroner's jury report, Peter 359 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,879 Speaker 1: testified to the details that we've already mentioned. According to 360 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:34,480 Speaker 1: peter Redpath. Here's what happened. Quote yesterday evening, I saw 361 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:37,920 Speaker 1: my brother, the deceased, arriving home at around six o'clock. 362 00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:41,399 Speaker 1: He seemed ill and was tired, working hard to prepare 363 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,280 Speaker 1: for his bar exams. He went up to the room 364 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:47,119 Speaker 1: of my mother, Ada Maria Mills, aged sixty two, and 365 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 1: a few seconds later I heard a shot from a firearm, 366 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,960 Speaker 1: followed by two others. I ran up and broke down 367 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,719 Speaker 1: the door. I saw my mother lying on the floor, 368 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,560 Speaker 1: and several feet from her, my brother also lying in 369 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:03,000 Speaker 1: a pool of blood, a revolver a foot away from 370 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:07,240 Speaker 1: him near his hand. My brother had been very nervous 371 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:11,159 Speaker 1: for some time. Incidentally, he got his mother's adron. She 372 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:15,360 Speaker 1: was fifty nine. So doctor Roddick also testified that he 373 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:19,399 Speaker 1: was called to confirm the death. Rodick's testimony really is 374 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,920 Speaker 1: the one that sets up the idea that, based on 375 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,760 Speaker 1: the position of the bodies, he believed that Cliff shot 376 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,280 Speaker 1: his mother and then himself. Roddick is also the one 377 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:31,720 Speaker 1: that introduced the information that Cliff was epileptic, and this 378 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:35,840 Speaker 1: really establishes the way things shook out in the jury investigation. 379 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,880 Speaker 1: But there is a little snag here. Rodick had been 380 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: in Montreal on the day of the shooting, which is, 381 00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 1: you know, not where square Mile is. It's a little 382 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:49,040 Speaker 1: outside the city, and by some accounts, he didn't actually 383 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 1: get to the Square Mile neighborhood until the following day. 384 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:56,359 Speaker 1: When doctor Patten gave his statement. He said that Ada 385 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:58,600 Speaker 1: had been shot in the back of the head and 386 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:02,880 Speaker 1: that Clifford was shot through the left temple. Doctor Campbell 387 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 1: backed up Patton's account and added that he thought he 388 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:10,239 Speaker 1: saw foam in Clifford's mouth, suggesting that as evidence that 389 00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:14,879 Speaker 1: some kind of epileptic seizure was the cause of Clifford's behavior. 390 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 1: Rose Shallow stated that she had hurched the shots and 391 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: followed Peter Redpath up the stairs to Ada's room, and 392 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:24,040 Speaker 1: that she had seen the two bodies on the floor 393 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:27,879 Speaker 1: a few feet apart, as well as two revolvers near Clifford. 394 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,960 Speaker 1: Charles James Fleet stated that doctor Campbell had given him 395 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,040 Speaker 1: the two revolvers from the scene to secure, which he 396 00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 1: produced for the jury to show that one had been 397 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:41,959 Speaker 1: discharged twice and the other had been discharged once in 398 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,040 Speaker 1: the matter of the death of Ada Redpath. The jury's 399 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,960 Speaker 1: statement read quote we the undersigned jurors, having heard the evidence, 400 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:52,600 Speaker 1: declare that Aida Maria Mills died at Montreal on the 401 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 1: thirteenth day of June nineteen hundred and one from a 402 00:23:56,280 --> 00:24:01,800 Speaker 1: gunshot wound apparently inflicted by Clifford Joscelyt Path, while unconscious 403 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 1: of what he was doing and temporarily insane owing to 404 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:09,119 Speaker 1: an epileptic attack from which he was suffering at the time. 405 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:13,720 Speaker 1: There is actually a very long quote from Ada redpast 406 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:16,680 Speaker 1: son Harold, which was released in a lot of papers 407 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:20,719 Speaker 1: along with the news of the coroner's jury's findings. In it, 408 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:24,000 Speaker 1: Harold stated that, quote, I left Clifford about two o'clock 409 00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:28,680 Speaker 1: yesterday in good spirits, though somewhat unwell. In fact, Clifford 410 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:31,720 Speaker 1: had been indisposed for some time owing to hard work 411 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:35,680 Speaker 1: preparing for his day examinations. No one knows just how 412 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:39,680 Speaker 1: the affair occurred. Clifford was particularly fond of his mother. 413 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:43,159 Speaker 1: The statement from Harold Redpath goes on to say that 414 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:46,880 Speaker 1: the older brother believed that the only explanation that made 415 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,200 Speaker 1: any sense was that Clifford had some sort of quote, 416 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:54,360 Speaker 1: moment of temporary aberration and that led to the shooting. 417 00:24:55,119 --> 00:24:58,080 Speaker 1: The brothers had, according to Harold been planning a trip 418 00:24:58,119 --> 00:25:00,760 Speaker 1: to Quebec so that Clifford could get in some quiet 419 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:04,440 Speaker 1: time and continue his studying. As we said, this statement 420 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 1: is long. It's paragraphs long, and even though it's framed 421 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:09,639 Speaker 1: in the write up as though it was part of 422 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,800 Speaker 1: a conversation that Harold had with a reporter, it really 423 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:16,760 Speaker 1: reads like a press release. Harold may have been exactly 424 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 1: as well spoken as the lengthy quote makes him seem, 425 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:23,679 Speaker 1: but his answer may also have been edited by the 426 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:27,680 Speaker 1: paper to take out things like repetition or to improve clarity. 427 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:30,720 Speaker 1: This also makes it seem kind of like this was 428 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:33,679 Speaker 1: the family's one public statement that they were going to 429 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:37,320 Speaker 1: make on the matter. Yeah, if you've ever read somebody's 430 00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:41,400 Speaker 1: interview and read a press statement, they're not the same 431 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,359 Speaker 1: in tone, and this one definitely, like I said, it 432 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:48,080 Speaker 1: reads like a press statement. There are some pieces of 433 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 1: information that are held up as evidence that Clifford Redpath 434 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:55,240 Speaker 1: was not in any way suicidal. One of these is 435 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:57,600 Speaker 1: a check which he wrote to the Bar of Montreal 436 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:00,399 Speaker 1: just two days before the shooting to pay for his 437 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:04,320 Speaker 1: examination fee. As we mentioned earlier, he was also in 438 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:07,919 Speaker 1: discussion with his bosses at the law firm where he 439 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 1: was apprenticing about becoming a partner just days before this 440 00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:15,520 Speaker 1: all happened. People that hold this theory that Clifford was 441 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 1: not suicidal point out that conversely, his sister Amy's descriptions 442 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,879 Speaker 1: of their mother Ada in the months leading up to 443 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:25,440 Speaker 1: the deaths describe her as being in a very depressed 444 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:30,280 Speaker 1: state where she considered life quote a burden. The funeral 445 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:32,639 Speaker 1: for Ada and Clifford was held at Saint John the 446 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:36,199 Speaker 1: Evangelist Church the day after the coroner's jury came to 447 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:40,120 Speaker 1: their conclusion regarding the shooting, was less than forty eight 448 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:44,200 Speaker 1: hours after it happened. This was unusual because they were 449 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:48,000 Speaker 1: both given a high Anglican funeral, even though suicide and 450 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:52,280 Speaker 1: homicide would have both been disqualifiers for such a service 451 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:56,960 Speaker 1: for Clifford. A paper written by researchers from McGill University 452 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:00,000 Speaker 1: about the family and the deaths for the Material Culture 453 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:04,360 Speaker 1: Review makes the case that Amy Redpath was influential enough 454 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:07,480 Speaker 1: in the Square Mile community she was able to get 455 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:11,119 Speaker 1: Clifford the formal funeral, despite it really being contrary to 456 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:15,120 Speaker 1: church policy. Both Ada and Clifford were interred at Mount 457 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:20,320 Speaker 1: Royal Cemetery, Yeah It's also pointed out often that in 458 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:23,960 Speaker 1: municipal records there are no suicides listed as having occurred 459 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:27,520 Speaker 1: that year, So whether or not Amy was influential enough 460 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:29,760 Speaker 1: to have made sure those were not on the record, 461 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:33,040 Speaker 1: we don't know. But Amy really controlled the flow of 462 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:37,600 Speaker 1: information or black thereof about the shooting and prevented anything 463 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:40,679 Speaker 1: else from spreading to the public. She seems to have 464 00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:43,840 Speaker 1: destroyed any discussion of the matter that may have passed 465 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:47,679 Speaker 1: among family members in letters, and wrote to her sister 466 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 1: in law on August twenty fourth, so just a little 467 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:54,560 Speaker 1: over two months after this tragedy quote I spent yesterday 468 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:59,200 Speaker 1: sorting and tearing up old letters, rather a mournful business 469 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 1: of things. That really stands out as odd in the 470 00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:05,680 Speaker 1: weeks and years following the murder suicide was the way 471 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:09,080 Speaker 1: in which Cliff was discussed within the red Path family. 472 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:13,440 Speaker 1: In the few surviving letters, Every note about this tragedy 473 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:16,080 Speaker 1: speaks of what an amazing young man he was, and 474 00:28:16,119 --> 00:28:19,359 Speaker 1: how adored he was, What a loss it is that 475 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,520 Speaker 1: he's gone. But the same really cannot be said for Ada. 476 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 1: They don't say much of her. We don't know, of course, 477 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 1: if this is a case where Clifford's youth played a 478 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:31,800 Speaker 1: role in shaping the way that people in the family 479 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,639 Speaker 1: grieved for him, or if there were any kind of 480 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,920 Speaker 1: missives that expressed anger about his actions or spoke more 481 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,240 Speaker 1: mournfully about the family matriarch that we just don't have. 482 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:47,400 Speaker 1: AIDA's a state valued at one hundred and seventy nine 483 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:51,560 Speaker 1: thousand and eighty six dollars and six cents, was distributed 484 00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 1: among her heirs. Amy chose to stay in the house 485 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:57,760 Speaker 1: where her brother and her mother died, although the rest 486 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:00,240 Speaker 1: of the family mostly left the Montreal area in the 487 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:04,959 Speaker 1: decade that followed the tragedy. She also married doctor Thomas Roddick, 488 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:07,920 Speaker 1: who had been the attending physician in Missus Redpath and 489 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:11,680 Speaker 1: a key witness in the Corner's inquest. Three years after 490 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: the shooting, one of the Redpath cousins, Lily Dougal, wrote 491 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:19,000 Speaker 1: a novel titled The Summit House Mystery, which borrowed details 492 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 1: from this murder suicide at the Redpath home in nineteen 493 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:25,880 Speaker 1: oh one. Yeah, it also kind of combined some details 494 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:28,160 Speaker 1: that seem like they came from the Lizzie Bordon story, 495 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:29,800 Speaker 1: so like it's not something you can point to you 496 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:32,320 Speaker 1: and go haha, this is there clues it was definitely 497 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:37,840 Speaker 1: fictionalized stuff. McGill University still has the Redpath Library and 498 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:40,600 Speaker 1: the Red Path Museum. Their family donated a lot of 499 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,800 Speaker 1: money to the university over the years. The library's function 500 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 1: has changed. It's now used as a hall for large 501 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:49,880 Speaker 1: events like school ceremonies. But the Red Path Museum, which 502 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:53,280 Speaker 1: was designed by architects Hutchinson and Steel in eighteen eighty 503 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:56,520 Speaker 1: two and has been called the first purpose built museum 504 00:29:56,520 --> 00:30:01,440 Speaker 1: in Canada, is still a natural sciences museum. The Redpath 505 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:03,960 Speaker 1: Mansion is not a place you can visit, though it 506 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:08,000 Speaker 1: no longer exists. The home was demolished in nineteen fifty six. 507 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:11,760 Speaker 1: Amy had died two years prior, and the property was 508 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,840 Speaker 1: purchased by a development company. We will, of course, never 509 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:19,560 Speaker 1: know what exactly happened in Ada's bedroom on June thirteenth, 510 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:22,280 Speaker 1: nineteen oh one. We know that both of those people 511 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,200 Speaker 1: died by gunshot, but because of how the whole incident 512 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:27,800 Speaker 1: was handled, it can be difficult to trust even the 513 00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:31,440 Speaker 1: official record on the matter of who shot who, and 514 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:34,760 Speaker 1: we have no idea what may have transpired between Ada 515 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:38,479 Speaker 1: and Cliff to catalyze their tragic deaths. If there was 516 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,320 Speaker 1: any insight into that, it seems that Amy Redpath probably 517 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:45,800 Speaker 1: destroyed it. One thing we haven't talked about regarding the 518 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:49,560 Speaker 1: Redpath family and Amy in particular, is that she was 519 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:53,000 Speaker 1: a writer. She wrote a number of closet dramas. Those 520 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,800 Speaker 1: are plays that were written to be performed either privately 521 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,800 Speaker 1: or not at all, and she also wrote poetry. She 522 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:01,640 Speaker 1: wrote two poems about her brother cliff after he died. 523 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:04,400 Speaker 1: We don't know of any that she wrote for her mother. 524 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:08,000 Speaker 1: One of her poems to Clifford, which is titled perfect 525 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:11,680 Speaker 1: in Thy Promise, clearly shows her working through her grief 526 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 1: in an effort to find peace in the loss of 527 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,840 Speaker 1: her brother. So that seemed like a good place to 528 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:21,200 Speaker 1: end this one. Perfect in Thy Promise as the bud unfolding, 529 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:25,800 Speaker 1: perfect in thyself as rose, fresh blown, ever gracious, all 530 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:30,200 Speaker 1: that's pure and good, upholding perfect spirit. Hast thou really flown? 531 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,480 Speaker 1: Must I dwell alone? The many dismal morrows, far from 532 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:38,840 Speaker 1: blissful hope together spanned hope of service through assuaging dearth 533 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:43,680 Speaker 1: and sorrows, hope of golden deeds together planned no the 534 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:47,080 Speaker 1: heavy morning weeds I tear as under, struggle from the 535 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:50,960 Speaker 1: clouds that blacken round, close my ears to their unholy 536 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:57,040 Speaker 1: Woesome thunder rise anew to life from grief, unbound, perfect spirit. 537 00:31:57,240 --> 00:31:59,320 Speaker 1: Now I know that thou art near me in thy 538 00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:03,760 Speaker 1: prescient I rest content, trusting in my love to guard 539 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:07,160 Speaker 1: and help and steer me till I too have reached 540 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:13,080 Speaker 1: life's high ascent. Not the most halloween ee of Halloween episodes, 541 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:16,360 Speaker 1: but you know, a mystery murderer seemed like the right 542 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:24,320 Speaker 1: fit for today. Thanks so much for joining us on 543 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:26,800 Speaker 1: this Saturday. If you'd like to send us a note, 544 00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:31,600 Speaker 1: our email addresses History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com, and 545 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:34,360 Speaker 1: you can subscribe to the show on the iHeartRadio app, 546 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,760 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.