Frank Harry Gold
Vancouver, BC / Aug. 15, 1984
Gold, a 54-year-old father of two adult children, was found dead at a popular "lovers lane" spot in Queen Elizabeth Park shortly before midnight. Police were called to the scene at 12:02 am.
Gold, like John McKechnie, was described by fellow drivers as a "gentle giant". He had been shot five times in the head and back with a .45 calibre handgun. His watch and wallet were untouched. His cab, Yellow Taxi no. 131, was found in an underground parking lot in Richmond about 8 am.
Two cars and a van were parked near the murder scene at the time of the shooting. Two witnesses came forward and under hypnosis one of them gave police a description that was used to create a composite drawing of the suspect. The murder was re-enacted on a Crimestoppers television segment.
The police board and the Vancouver Taxi Owners Association combined to offer a $20,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of Gold's killer. Vancouver drivers flew strips of black cloth from their radio antennas. A Kelowna taxi company collected donations for Gold's family. His funeral was attended by 300 people and an estimated 200 cabs joined his funeral procession.
No new leads resulted from the publicity, but a break came in January, 1985 when police arrested a man who turned out to have the murder weapon in his possession. The Colt pistol had been borrowed from local gun collector who told police that he had loaned the same pistol to a second man from March to September, 1984.
The second man admitted to firing the gun five times, but denied shooting Gold. He was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
The trial opened in June, 1985, but after seven days the judge declared a mistrial, telling the jury only that "an unforeseen matter" had arisen.
The second trial took place in October, 1985. In this trial it turned out that the gun collector had lied to police about when and how he originally acquired the Colt. The gun had been smuggled into Canada from the U.S. and the collector was afraid that the smuggler would seek revenge if this came to light. The defence used the lie to cast doubt on the collector's testimony about loaning the gun to the suspect.
| 