The Beast of British Columbia

 

Clifford Robert Olsen Jr. 

 

Clifford Robert Olsen started his life of crime at a young age. In his early days at school, he would get into fights, often getting beaten up. He later decided to take up boxing so he could "get even", and he did, by seeking out the other boys to even the score. Constantly with a chip on his shoulder, Clifford was a petty thief. He would even steal produce from backyards and sell them.

Clifford later dropped out of school after grade 8 and was arrested by the age of 17 for a break and enter. By the time he was 42, he had over 90 convictions and had escaped from police custody 7 times. His crimes included obstructing justice, possession of stolen property, possession of firearms, forgery, false pretenses, fraud, parole violation, impaired driving, theft, break and enter and theft, armed robbery, escape from lawful custody, rape, buggery, gross indecency, and first-degree murder.

When he had married his wife, Joan Hale, Clifford had already killed 3 children. Christine Weller, and Colleen Marian Daignault, both 13 and from Surrey, and Daryn Todd Johnsrude, 16, from Coquitlam. Just days after his wedding he abducted and killed Sandra Wolfsteiner, 16, of Langley. Within a month of killing Sandra, he killed 13-year-old Ada Anita Court of Burnaby.

In July 1981, he killed had killed six children. Simon Partington aged 9, and Terri Lyn Carson aged 15, both from Surrey. Judy Kozma aged 14 and Raymond King aged 15, from New Westminster. Sigrun Arnd aged 18, a German tourist and Marie Louise Chartrand aged 17, from Maple Ridge.

Clifford was arrested Aug. 12, 1981, after trying to abduct two female hitchhikers. He was taken in for questioning and after a few days was arrested for the murder of Judy Kozma, aged 14.

During Clifford Robert Olsen's murderious rampage he had killed 11 people in seven months. Dennis Rader, the BTK (Bind Torture Kill) serial killer killed 10 people in the span of nearly 30 years! Because of his murder spree, Clifford Robert Olsen earned the moniker "The Beast of British Columbia".

The judge in Clifford Robert Olsen's case is recorded as saying, "no punishment that a civilized country can impose that would be adequate.". Clifford was sentenced to 11 concurrent life sentences, one for each child, with the recommendation that he never be released back into society. Ever the manipulator, he was able to strike a deal with prosecutors.

This "deal with the devil" was a payment to Clifford for each of the remains that he lead law enforcement too. Clifford was paid $10,000 for each body he lead police to with the 11th being a "freebie" as he described it. Before law enforcement stopped the deal, Clifford had offered a last deal of $100,000 for another 20 bodies but Law Enforcement refused. Who knows if Clifford was telling the truth or if it was another one of his sadistic games.

The money was put into a trust for his wife Joan, and she refused to return the ill-gotten gains. This deal with the devil effectively ended attorney general Allan Williams political career. Victims families were in shock that the government had paid their child's murderer $100,000.

Throughout Clifford Robert Olsen's incarceration, he continued to torment victims families and Law Enforcement. He would submit explicit stories and poems to literary contests, and also wrote threatening letters to victims families. He toyed with Law Enforcement by promising information on unsolved crimes in exchange for benefits and extra privilages in prison.

Clifford Robert Olsen had a rudimentary knowledge of Law and used that to exploit any loophole he could, wasting the time and money of the Canadian Legal system. He applied for early parole under Canadas "Faint Hope Clause" which allowed convicts a parole hearing after serving 15 years in prison. He also mounted a lawsuit claiming cruel and unusual punishment when denied a sex doll in prison.

Controversy surrounded Clifford Robert Olsen; it was found that he was collecting Old Age Security pension and a Guaranteed Income Supplement due to being classified as low income. He was collecting two federal government payments to the tune of $1,169.47 per month after the age of 65. The money was held in a trust for Clifford.

The government of Canada was presented with a petition of 46,000 signatures asking to deny Clifford's payments. This pressure on the government led to the passing Bill C-31 which denied pension benefits to prisoners. On June 1, 2010, the government terminated his benefits and said that him receiving them in the first place was "outrageous and offensive". In classic Clifford Robert Olsen style, he sent one of his old age security cheques to a Sun Media reporter with a note attached saying to forward the cheque to then Prime Minister Steven Harper's campaign for re-election.

Clifford Robert Olsen's manipulation of the Canadian Legal System led to an amendment of the Criminal Code, barring multiple murderers from applying for early parole under the Faint Hope Clause.

Clifford Robert Olsen died of cancer on September 30, 2011, at the age of 71.

I'm not sure that I would have done much different if I was in Attorney General's Allan Williams shoes. At the time of the deal, they did not have any concrete evidence to convict. With this deal, they were able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Clifford Robert Olsen was guilty while at the same time providing closure to families by returning their children's remains.

Clifford Robert Olsen's case is a dark spot in Canada's legal system. His manipulation of legal loopholes was a slap in the face to the victim's families and Law Enforcement. Who knows how many people he could have killed if this incredibly prolific serial killer was not arrested in the summer on 1981. Thanksfully this is a question we never will have an answer too.

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