THURSDAY
K A M L O O P S
THIS WEEK
Thursday, March 15, 2012 X Volume 25 No. 22 www.kamloopsthisweek.com X 30 cents at Newsstands
That was the headline above a story in The Inland Sentinel newspaper more than 125 years ago, days before Albert Mallott became the first man to be hanged in the city’s history. Now it’s 2012 — exactly 200 years since the founding of Fort Kamloops, 50 years since the death penalty was last used in Canada and three decades since workers building the Kamloops Law Courts on Columbia Street uncovered the skeletons of three hanged murderers in unmarked graves. Kamloops was, for a time, the busiest gallows in Canada. Over a 29-year span, 19 condemned men were hanged here. In a five-part series beginning today, Kamloops This Week will examine the history of capital punishment in the present-day Tournament Capital — everything from the aforementioned grave discovery on the old site of the Kamloops Provincial Gaol, to the colourfully dark hangmen who plied their trade on local gallows, to a River Street murder described at the time as the ‘most cold-blooded’ in B.C.’s history. We’ve also dug through local, provincial and federal archival material and countless old newspapers to provide brief summaries of each of the 19 capital case files which saw death sentences carried out in Kamloops — from crime to gallows.
turn to page a7 PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
PART 5
skeletons
executioners
casimir
hanging
gaol
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David Trawin is the City of Kamloops’ new chief administrative officer and will succeed Randy Diehl, who will retire on May 1. Trawin (right), the city’s development director, was introduced at a press conference on Wednesday, March 14, by Mayor Peter Milobar (left) and members of city council. Dave Eagles/KTW
NEW KAMLOOPS CAO
Trawin gets nod to lead city By Tim Petruk STAFF REPORTER
tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
It was standingroom only inside the City of Kamloops’ council chambers on Wednesday, March 14, as the city’s new chief administrative officer was unveiled. Dave Trawin, currently the city’s director of development and engineering services, was announced as the new CAO. “I didn’t sleep much last night,” Trawin said while being questioned by reporters following the announcement. The 49-year-old was one of three in-house applicants who made the short list for the CAO job, which will be vacated by a retiring
Randy Diehl on May 1. It was originally believed an announcement wouldn’t come until Friday, but a notice sent out by the City of Kamloops yesterday morning calling an 11 a.m. press conference made it clear a decision had been made. Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar said it was tough wading through the 49 applications that flowed in after Diehl announced his retirement earlier this year. “They were all highly qualified individuals from across Canada,” Milobar said. “It was, frankly, an embarrassment of riches and strengths that we had to deal with.” X See MAYOR A20