A retired OPP Sergeant has written a book about a suspect he feels should have been investigated in the murder of Lynne Harper in Clinton in 1959.
Southampton resident Barry Ruhl has written the book about a man, who he calls Larry Talbot, which is not the suspect's real name.
Steven Truscott was charged in Harper's murder, but cleared 50 years later. The 14-year old Truscott was convicted in the 1959 murder of the 12-year-old girl.
Ruhl uncovered strong circumstantial evidence linking his suspect to that case, and a number of other murders. He says he approached his superiors in the 1980's about an alternative suspect to Steven Truscott.
"I said, 'you know, we may have got the wrong guy for the Harper homicide.' Well, that was not well received," says Ruhl. "We had arrested this Truscott guy, and that's the way it is. And he told me, don't put that in the report you're sending in."
Ruhl says he first met the suspect when he broke into Ruhl's cottage in Sauble Beach and assaulted his fiancee. The man was arrested and given a two year suspended sentence.
Just as the OPP were finally about to interview Ruhl's suspect, the man died in a nursing home.
Ruhl's book "A Viable Suspect" is available at Friesen Publishing. Ruhl presents his premise about his suspect with meticulous detail.
Ruhl tells his story here:
[audio mp3="http://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Barry-Ruhl-Tells-His-Story.mp3"][/audio]