Everett Hugh MacLean
Sydney, NS / Sept. 9, 1971
After spending the day drinking in local taverns, two brothers hired MacLean about midnight on September 8/9, 1971 to go to a party in North Sydney. One brother had no money, but the other had enough to cover the fare for the 12-mile trip.
Along the way one brother, who had an IQ of 65, asked the driver to stop because he was sick. This request seems to have been genuine but while he was outside the cab the other brother struck MacLean over the head with a wine bottle, knocking him unconscious.
The killer then ordered his brother to drive the car and they eventually arrived at Green Cove. When MacLean got out of the car the killer struck him with a rock, causing him to fall over a guard rail to his death.
The brothers then drove the taxi to the end of a wharf and after failing in their attempt to push it into the water, set the car on fire.
When MacLean was reported missing the RCMP instituted a search and found his body. Meanwhile police investigating suspicious activity at a cottage found the two brothers and arrested them for trespassing. The killer's brother subsequently led police to a local church and showed them a loose floorboard under which MacLean's wallet and other effects were hidden.
Both brothers were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. The killer's brother appealed on the grounds that certain psychiatric evidence, showing him to have acted under compulsion, was not admitted in court. The appeal was dismissed on the grounds that compulsion is not a defence where murder is concerned, and in any case sufficient evidence had been presented to show his limited mental capacity.
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