CANADA • Whitney (Dohlie) VAN DER WOUDEN, 15 (2009) ~ Sudbury ON

Whitney Van Der Wouden ~ 1993 - 2009


Whitney Van Der Wouden is pictured blowing out the candles
on her 15th birthday cake in July 2008. Police believe Whitney
was the victim of a homicide. Two young men have been charged
with first-degree murder.

Van Der Wouden, known to many as "Dolly," went missing on April 27, 2009. Police, acting on a tip, found her remains at a makeshift campsite in the bush south of Bancroft Drive and east of Moonlight Avenue on June 2, 2009.

The next day, a Canada-wide warrant was issued for the youth and Kristopher Lavallee, who was 28 at the time of Van Der Wouden's death.

The two men turned themselves in to police on June 4 in Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Que., which is about 500 kilometres north of Gatineau.

They were both charged with first-degree murder.

Lavallee's case is still making its way through the court system.

The youth's trial is expected to last about two weeks, with a possibility of about 29 witnesses being called. The youth is being represented by defence lawyers William Beach and John Saftic. The Crown is represented by assistant Crown attorney Philip Zylberberg.

During a memorial service for Van Der Wouden in June 2009, she was remembered as a rebellious teen with a big heart. In her short life, she lived in Aurora, Brantford, Kapuskasing and Sudbury. She also spent a lot of time in Sault Ste. Marie. She had two older sisters, Hillary and Tiphany, and a younger brother Quincy.

The last time her family spoke to Van Der Wouden was the day she disappeared. She called her mother from downtown Sudbury at about 8 p.m. on April 27, 2009, to ask if she could go to a friend's house.

Her mother told her to come home, but she never did. Her family reported her missing to police the following day.

The family searched Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Kapuskasing for her, posting fliers and speaking to the media. They received the devastating news that police thought they had found her remains on June 2, 2009. It took a few weeks for police to announce the Northern Regional Forensic Laboratory in Sault Ste. Marie had confirmed the remains were those of Van Der Wouden.

Both of the accused have been in custody since their arrests in 2009.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3009493#

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Grisly tale recounted

March 17, 2011

Whitney "Dohlie" Van Der Wouden, 15, was choked and stabbed before her body was burned in the woods south of Bancroft Drive because she resisted sexual advances by one of her alleged murderers, a jury in a Superior Court in Sudbury heard on Wednesday.

"They weren't worried about getting caught because she was a runaway and no one would look for her," Neil McLaren said during his testimony on Wednesday.

McLaren told the jury one of Dohlie's accused killers told him the details of the murder while the other accused killer listened.

A male youth and Kristopher Lavallee have been charged with Dohlie's murder. The youth, who was 17 at the time of Dohlie's death, is on trial at the Sudbury court house this week. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and causing an indignity to a human body.

Lavallee, who was 28 when Dohlie died, will have a trial later this year.

Lavallee and the youth showed up at McLaren's house in Arnprior in the days following Dohlie's disappearance on April 27, 2009.

McLaren, who had met Lavallee while serving jail time in a drug and alcohol treatment program, had been asking him to come to Arnprior to help him with some hip-hop music he was writing.

"I had asked him on a couple of occasions to come down and put his voice on my music," McLaren said, adding Lavallee had blown him off a number of times. Then one day in late April or early May of 2009, Lavallee called and said he was coming to Arnprior, McLaren said.

The court heard the three men were drinking and doing drugs while they worked on the rap songs throughout the month of May 2009. Lavallee and McLaren were drinking more heavily than the youth, the court heard.

During one session, Lavallee and the youth started "wanting to rap about murder and burning bodies," McLaren said.

"I wasn't into recording that," he said.

McLaren said he wanted to "keep it real" and write songs about real life.

McLaren said that's when Lavallee said, "Oh, but I am a murderer."

The youth listened quietly and appeared angry as Lavallee related the details of the murder, McLaren said.

Lavallee told him they were out at their campsite in the woods in Sudbury with the youth's girlfriend at the time, McLaren said. That girl was Dohlie. The youth and Dohlie were being intimate in the tent when Lavallee tried to participate, McLaren said. McLaren said Lavallee then told him the girl yelled, "rape."

"That's when Kris panicked," McLaren testified.

Lavallee started choking the girl and then the youth stabbed her, McLaren said he was told by Lavallee.

"I believe that she begged for them to finish her off, was his words," McLaren said. "He was mentioning her face melting on the fire."

McLaren said he didn't believe the story at first.

About a week after he was told the story, he said he overheard the youth on the telephone with someone in Fort McMurray. The youth, who once lived in Fort McMurray, was telling the person on the phone that his tent had burned, McLaren said. That's when McLaren said he started to believe the story.

"I was wondering why he wasn't more paranoid," McLaren said.

After he got off the phone, McLaren asked the youth why he wasn't worried about someone finding the burned body.

The youth first told him to "shhhh." Then "he said, 'No, it was buried.' "

"I just played it calm and cool. I was a mess inside," McLaren said.

Then police showed up at McLaren's house looking for Lavallee and the youth as part of an investigation to find Dohlie.

"Then, I 100% believed it," McLaren said.

McLaren then made a drunken early morning 911 call to report what he was told, the court heard.

During cross-examination by defence lawyer William Beach, McLaren was asked a lot about his drug and alcohol problems and his own criminal past.

"I did a lot of stupid things," he said. "I've broken the law several times."

The jury also heard on Wednesday from witness Wilfred Goulet, who led police to the makeshift campsite Lavallee and the youth were staying at in Sudbury. Goulet was the father of Lavallee's acquaintance. He had been asked to drop the two men off at the railroad tracks on Moonlight Beach Road in late April. When he dropped them off, he asked them where they were camping, Goulet said.

Lavallee gave him detailed instructions of how to get to the campsite. Goulet, who spends a lot of his spare time taking photographs, said he decided to go find the campsite a few days later and bring the men some fuel to keep them warm.

The jury saw some of the photos he took in the woods that day.

On June 1, 2009, Goulet led police to the same site.

The jury saw photos police took of the site and the remains of a fire pit.

Greater Sudbury Police Const. Robert Weston described one of the photos of a fragment he discovered near a mound of fresh dirt that was beside the fire. He thought the flat, smooth, charred piece on the ground wasn't just wood or a rock. He thought it was bone. The following day, forensic anthropologist Scott Fairgrieve confirmed his suspicion. Weston said in "less then 15 seconds" Fairgrieve was able to say it was a piece of bone, and appeared to be from the lower end of a human femur.

After the bone was found, a Canada-wide search warrant was issued for the two men on June 3, 2009. A photo Goulet took of them at their campsite was used for the press release. They turned themselves in to police in Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Que., on June 4, 2009.

Fairgrieve is scheduled to testify during the trial this morning to tell the jury what police found when they excavated the campsite after the bone fragment was found.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3031395

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Bones of murdered victim scattered around campsite

A remote campsite in the woods east of Minnow Lake was strewn with burned and fractured pieces of bone, the grim skeletal remains of a Sudbury teen brutally murdered in the woods, court heard Thursday.

The remains of Whitney "Dohlie" Van Der Wouden, 15, were found by police on June 2, 2009, at the campsite, where the two men - aged 17 and 28 at the time - accused in her grisly murder were known to be staying months earlier.

The youth has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and causing an indignity to a human body.

A jury of four women and eight men began hearing evidence this week in the trial of the youth, whose name cannot be released under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The co-accused, Kristopher Lavallee, will have his trial later this year.

On the day assistant Crown attorney Philip Zylberberg concluded his evidence, forensic anthropologist Scott Fairgrieve said he found "scattered, charred bone fragments scattered around the fire pit."

The largest concentration of remains was found under the fire pit, which, over the course of four days, Fairgrieve excavated to a depth of 50 centimetres searching for bone fragments.

Most of the fragments were crushed and badly burned, Fairgrieve said. In many cases, it was difficult to determine which came first, the burning or the crushing, while in other cases the fractures appeared to have been heat induced.

Some bone fragments, however, stood out.

Read more

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Teen didn't help murder girl, court told
March 21, 2011

The youth on trial for killing a teen girl says he has nothing to do with her death or the burning and dismemberment of her remains in the woods.

Testifying Monday, the teen said he watched in shock as co-accused Kristopher Lavallee stabbed 15-year-old Whitney "Dohlie" Van Der Wouden twice, once in the chest and throat, then burned her remains for hours while "poking at" the fire with a shovel.

The grisly crime happened at a makeshift campsite Lavallee and the youth were staying at in April of 2009.

The youth, who has pleaded not guilty, was 17 at the time of Dohlie's murder. His name cannot be released under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Lavallee, who was 28 at the time of Dohlie's death, will have a trial later this year.

The jury heard evidence last week that Lavallee told another man the youth stabbed Dohlie that night in the woods.

The youth took the stand and said he had "absolutely" nothing to do with her death and dismemberment.

The youth testified the three of them went to the campsite to drink on April 27, 2009. It was dark by the time they got there, so the three sat around the campfire and drank for a little while. The youth said Lavallee became really intoxicated.

The youth and Dohlie then decided to go in the tent and leave Lavallee by the fire.

The young couple was in the tent kissing, the court heard.

"After about 10 minutes, Kris barged into the tent," the youth testified. "Dohlie got really pissed."

Dohlie began calling Lavallee a pervert and a scumbag, the youth said. The youth said he decided to put his sweater back on and get out of the tent.

"It seemed sensible to give her some space," the youth testified. "I think I just wanted to remove myself from the situation. I did not perceive danger at that point."

The youth said he was outside the tent smoking a cigarette and Dohlie was sitting at the entrance of the tent, with her feet hanging out the entranceway facing him. He said "in a matter of seconds" Lavallee grabbed her from behind, pulled her in the tent and stabbed her once in the chest.

"I think I just kind of froze for a moment," the youth said. "I don't think it was registering, what was happening.

"There was no chance for me to do anything."

The youth said he thought Dohlie was dead at that point. Lavallee then "snapped" at him and told him to help drag her body out of the tent, the youth said.

He did help Lavallee, he said.

"All of a sudden, she made a noise," the youth said.

Lavallee then stabbed her once in the throat, the youth testified.

"After that, Kris didn't know what to do ... He decided to burn the body, and he did," the youth said.

Lavallee poured a fire starting fluid on her remains, the youth said. He said Lavallee put her body on the fire. The body burned for hours, and Lavallee kept "poking at" the fire with the shovel, the youth said.

The jury heard earlier in the trial police found the campsite strewn with fractured and charred bone fragments.

The youth testified that while the body was burning, Lavallee ordered him to tear down the tent and he did.

"We pretty much burned everything we had" except two bags with clothing in them, the youth said.

At daybreak, they left the campsite and caught a city bus in to downtown Sudbury.

The youth said shortly after they left the woods, Lavallee told him “snitches get stitches and end up in ditches.” He said he was afraid Lavallee would kill him if he left or told anyone what happened.

The youth and Lavallee stayed in Sudbury for a couple of days, and then went to Arnprior.

Lavallee started writing rap music about murder and burning bodies and then told the man they were staying with about killing Dohlie.

When police turned up in Arnprior looking for them on May 28, 2009, they left town again, camping out in northern Quebec.

Assistant Crown attorney Philip Zylberberg asked the youth why he didn’t leave Lavallee.

His father had offered several times to pay for him to go back to Fort McMurray, Alta., where he lived before coming to Sudbury with Lavallee in late 2008.

"I was too scared to leave," the youth said. "I know it defies logic. Kris just had a hold on me."

Police found Dohlie's remains in the woods on June 2, 2009. A Canada-wide warrant for the two men was issued on June 3, 2009. On June 4, 2009, they turned themselves in to police in Lebel-sur-Quevillon, about 500 kilometres north of Gatineau.

The youth said they turned themselves in after he spoke to his father on the phone and was told about the warrant.

He testified Lavallee tried to kill himself in the bush before they turned themselves in.

"He wanted me to slit his wrists" and Lavallee would slit his, the youth testified. "I didn't want my wrists slit."

Lavallee then crushed up a poisonous fire starter, put it in a drink and drank it, the youth said. He then threw the poison up, the youth said.

"It wouldn't stay in his stomach," the youth said. "He looked very pathetic at that point."

That's when the youth suggested they turn themselves in, he testified.

The youth was the last witness to be called in the trial. The defense and Crown are scheduled to argue their cases on Tuesday afternoon.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2011/03/21/17705416.html

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He's guilty
Also guilty of causing indignity to a human body
March 26, 2011

The father of 15-year-old Whitney "Dohlie" Van Der Wouden was on the verge of tears on Thursday as a jury found a male youth guilty of second-degree murder and causing an indignity to a human body.

Dohlie was murdered in the woods south of Bancroft Drive on April 27,2009, and her remains were burned, crushed and buried in a shallow grave.

"I just about cried, but I decided no, I'm not going to cry anymore. I've cried enough," said Dohlie's father Paul Van Der Wouden about his reaction to the verdict.

"I'm happy. I wish it would have been (first-degree murder), but I guess we'll just take what we can get, as long as he is guilty and not innocent," said Dohlie's sister, Hillary Van Der Wouden.

The male youth, who was 17 at the time of Dohlie's murder, had his back to the courtroom as the jury delivered the verdict about 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. The jury deliberated for about 13 hours over two days before coming to a decision.


The family of Whitney "Dohlie" Van Der Wouden, her sister, Hillary (left), and her mom and dad, Paul and Rose,
comment on the second degree murder verdict outside the Sudbury Courthouse on Thursday.
The youth accused of killing and dismembering Whitney Van Der Wouden has been found guilty of both crimes by a Sudbury jury.


snipped...

".....This case is a real tragedy. It's a huge tragedy for the family of the 15-year-old that was killed. It's a tragedy for the boy, who was then 17, who participated in it and has now been found guilty," said assistant Crown attorney Philip Zylberberg outside the courthouse on Thursday. "It's a day in which I am going to go down to my office and try and keep the tears back. There is no joy in this. None at all."

The evidence of what was done to Dohlie's remains was shocking.

.....Zylberberg will be applying to have the youth sentenced as an adult. This process could take about three months.

Usually an application to sentence a youth as an adult is accompanied by a psychological and psychiatric assessment of the youth.

If Justice Robbie Gordon decides the youth should be sentenced as an adult, his name will be released to the public.

A youth sentenced as an adult for seconddegree murder would face a sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum of seven years before being eligible for parole. The youth would be on parole for the rest of his life.

There is no minimum sentence if he is sentenced as a youth. As a youth, there is a maximum sentence of seven years, four of which would be in jail and three of which would be served under community supervision.

" The judge has a huge amount of flexibility when it comes to youth sentencing, even on homicide crimes," Zylberberg said.

The youth's next court appearance to begin the sentencing process will be on March 31.

The youth and his co-accused could not be tried together because Lavallee is an adult. Lavallee's trial will likely not take place until some time in 2012.

READ MORE

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Lawyers negotiate on psychological assessor
April 01, 2011

The Crown and defence lawyer for the youth found guilty of murdering 15-year-old Whitney "Dohlie" Van Der Wouden and burning her remains in the woods have not yet agreed on who will do a psychological assessment of the teen before he is sentenced.

The youth made a brief appearance in the Superior Court of Justice on Thursday. A jury found the now 18-year-old guilty last week of second-degree murder and causing an indignity to a human body. Van Der Wouden was murdered on April 27, 2009, days after the male teen turned 17.

"When a youth is convicted of a serious crime like a homicide, a number of things generally follow before a youth can be sentenced," explained assistant Crown attorney Philip Zylberberg outside the courtroom.

First, the judge must designate the crime as a serious violent offense, which Superior Court Justice Robbie Gordon did on Thursday.

Then, a psychological and psychiatric assessment of the youth can be ordered.

Zylberberg and defence lawyer William Beach are in discussions over who will do the assessment.

If they can't agree, Gordon will rule on who the assessor should be.

A pre-disposition report, conducted by a probation officer, was ordered Thursday. The probation officer's report outlines the background and circumstances of the individual.

The lawyers will be back in court on April 8.

"We're back next week to see whether we can agree on a sentencing date and who the assessor should be, or whether we need to remand further before those steps are completed," Zylberberg said.

The reports will assist the court in deciding if the youth should be sentenced as an adult or as a youth.

"We don't honestly know at this stage whether it's a case where a youth sentence would be adequate or whether we need to ask a judge to go beyond that and order that he be sentenced as an adult," Zylberberg said.

"All of that will make more sense to everybody, including us, when we have a predisposition report, an assessment report and then can decide whether in our view it's necessary to ask that he be sentenced as an adult."

The final decision will be up to Gordon.

A youth sentenced as an adult for second-degree murder would face a sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum of seven years before being eligible for parole. The youth would be on parole for the rest of his life.

There is no minimum sentence if he is sentenced as a youth.

As a youth, there is a maximum sentence of seven years, four of which would be in custody and three of which would be served under community supervision.

The youth has been in custody since his arrest almost two years ago.

His co-accused, 30-year-old Kristopher Lavallee, will likely have a trial next year. He is facing charges of first-degree murder and causing an indignity to a human body.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3055380

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Accused murderer faces more charges
Accused murderer Kristopher Lavallee was charged after an alleged jailhouse assault on Jan. 26, Greater Sudbury Police confirmed on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old is in custody at the Sudbury District Jail awaiting a trial for first-degree murder and causing an indignity to a human body in the death of Whitney "Dohlie" Van Der Wouden.

The 15-year-old girl was murdered in the woods south of Bancroft Drive in April 2009.

Lavallee was charged with assault causing bodily harm on Jan. 27.

Greater Sudbury Police Const. Albert Lapalme said the alleged assault took place at the jail on Jan. 26. Police did not release any further details about the alleged assault.

"That's all going to be part of the actual investigation," Lapalme said.

Lavallee has been in custody since he and a male youth turned themselves in to police in northern Quebec on June 4, 2009.

A jury in a Superior Court in Sudbury found the youth guilty last week of second-degree murder and causing an indignity to a human body. He has not yet been sentenced. He is to appear in court again on Thursday.

Lavallee likely won't have a trial until next year for the murder.

He was scheduled to appear via video link to the Sudbury court on his assault causing bodily harm charge on Tuesday.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3051159

Dismembered teen’s death ‘horrifying’
'They cut her up. They tried to burn the body'
July 21, 2011

SUDBURY, ONT. - Rose Thrones hopes the young man convicted of murdering and dismembering her 15-year-old daughter will have to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

“What I’d like to see is for him to have the same privileges as Dohlie has — none,” Thrones said outside the courthouse on Thursday.

Whitney “Dohlie” Van Der Wouden was murdered and her body was dismembered and burned in the woods on April 27, 2009, in Sudbury, about 400 km northwest of Toronto.

A jury found the youth, who had just turned 17 at the time of Dohlie’s death, guilty of second-degree murder and causing an indignity to a human body. His co-accused, 30-year-old Kristopher Lavallee, is in custody awaiting a hearing on his charges.

Judge Robbie Gordon has heard a day and a half of argument and evidence at the sentencing hearing of the now 19-year-old man. Gordon must decide if the man should be sentenced as a youth or as an adult. If sentenced as a youth, the maximum penalty is four years in custody and three years of supervision in the community. An adult sentence would be a life sentence, with no chance of parole for seven years.

“These are very, very difficult decisions for you to make,” assistant Crown attorney Philip Zylberberg told the judge on Thursday.

In asking the judge to consider an adult sentence, he went over the facts of the brutal murder.

“They cut her up. They tried to burn the body,” Zylberberg said.

Then they buried what remained, he said.

“We can categorize this murder and the subsequent dealing with Whitney’s remains as brutal… and perhaps go so far as to say it is horrifying,” Zylberberg said.

Defense lawyer William Beach asked the judge to sentence the young man to the maximum youth sentence, saying he has made great gains over the last two years in custody, even earning his high school diploma. Those gains could be lost if he is exposed to anti-social prisoners in the adult system, Beach said.

“I think in this case, we have more than sufficient evidence of remorse,” Beach said.

Dohlie’s family is hoping the judge sides with the Crown.

“As mean as it might sound, I would like to see (a) life (sentence), because I’m always afraid it might happen again,” said Paul Van Der Wouden, Dohlie’s father. “It doesn’t take long to go back to where you were before. Just a bottle of beer can start you back on the same track again. It depends on who he makes friends with later on if he gets out in the public.”

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/21/dismembered-teens-death-horrifying

Teen gets life for murder and dismemberment of girlfriend
July 22, 2011

SUDBURY, ONT. - A 19-year-old man has been handed a life sentence with no chance of parole for seven years for the murder and dismemberment his girlfriend two years ago.

"When (he) had the chance, free of the influence of alcohol and drugs, free of the influence of mental illness, he could have done nothing," Superior Court Justice Robbie Gordon said.

"He could have fled. He could have intervened to assist her. Yet, he carried on as if nothing had happened, apparently indifferent to the death of a 15-year-old girl. He had contact with several responsible adults after the incident such as in Arnprior. (But) His actions speak of a person who did not want to (disclose the murder)."

A jury found the youth, who had just turned 17 at the time of Dohlie’s death, guilty of second-degree murder and causing an indignity to a human body.

Despite receiving an adult sentence, the 19-year-old cannot be named until after the 30-day appeal period has expired and no appeal has been filed by Bill Beach, the teen's lawyer.

Whitney (Dohlie) Van Der Wouden was 15 when she was murdered and dismembered in the woods, then her body was set on fire, in the Minnow Lake area of Greater Sudbury on April 27, 2009.

A co-accused, Khristopher Lavallee, 30, is in custody awaiting trial on his charges.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/22/teen-gets-life-for-murder-and-dismemberment-of-girlfriend