British Columbia Murders by Susan McNicoll

Author:Susan McNicoll
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-926936-14-7
Publisher: Heritage House
Published: 2010-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

5

DNA: Dog Nails Assailant

He was a poor elderly man with few possessions, but Vernon resident Daniel Schraeder had friends who cared about him. And his dog would not only give up his life to try and protect him from death but would ultimately help to nail his master’s killer—albeit six years down the road and miles away in California.

The Schraeder murder would also become one of the first cases for British Columbia’s provincial Unsolved Homicide Unit, formed in 1996.

* * *

The call came in shortly after 7 p.m. on January 18, 1991. “There’s been a fire in Dan Schraeder’s house,” the male voice said. By the time the fire truck reached Schraeder’s white bungalow at 4106 26th Street, the fire had long since extinguished itself. The firemen found the origin of the fire in the basement. They immediately suspected it was arson and that the fire had been started to cover up something else. They were right. What they found on the main floor was far more than lingering smoke and soot.

Lying across the bed was the bludgeoned body of 81-year-old Daniel Schraeder, his empty wheelchair close by. While the fire had considerably damaged the basement and caused smoke damage in other parts of the house, there had also been an unexpected piece of luck. What the killer had not counted on was the heat from the flames causing a copper water line overhead to separate. The water sprayed out and doused the fire. The death scene was nicely preserved for the members of the RCMP.

Dan Schraeder’s body was covered with a sleeping bag, and there were obvious injuries to his head. The autopsy concluded that the blow that killed him was likely the one to the left temple area of his skull. Nearby was what appeared to be the murder weapon—a blood-splattered hammer.

Police also found soot under the sleeping bag, which made them think initially that Schraeder might have been moved after he was killed. They would later determine, however, that the smoke from the fire had caused the sleeping bag to rise up slightly, allowing soot to drift beneath it.

And one more grisly discovery was made on the property. In a shed at the back, police found a green garbage bag containing Schraeder’s mutt, Chico, also with a crushed skull. There was a great deal of blood on both bodies.

Except for Chico, Dan Schraeder had lived alone in the house for 20 years. A pensioner without much money, he spent most of the time in his wheelchair. Friends checked in on him regularly, and it was one of those friends who called in the fire. Overall, however, Dan’s was a lonely existence and one that would make him easy prey for Billy Faulconer.

The Vernon RCMP quickly had William (Billy) Faulconer in their sights as a suspect. When they had surveyed the murder scene, they’d found a distinctive red and white baseball cap. One of the officers recognized it as belonging to Billy.

A heavy drinker, Billy was known to have a vicious temper.

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