Boyd Gang
The Boyd Gang was a notorious criminal gang based in
Formation
Edwin Boyd had committed a variety of crimes in his youth and served time in
Death of a policeman
On March 6, 1952, Detective Sergeant Edmund Tong and his partner, Sergeant Roy Perry stopped a vehicle containing two men; these two men turned out to be Lennie Jackson and Steve Suchan. As Tong approached the vehicle, Suchan drew a .455 pistol and shot him and Sergeant Perry in the police car, wounding the latter in the arm. Tong died of his wounds on March 23, 1952.
Both Jacksons and Suchan were arrested in Montreal after a shootout with police that left Lennie and Steve wounded. Both men were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of the policeman. Boyd was arrested separately, in Toronto.[1]
Second escape
All four men were placed in side-by-side cells in the Don Jail. On Sept. 8, 1952,[2][3] they managed to escape for a second time with the help of another saw blade, and a blank key smuggled in by a lawyer. They used a tactic where William Jackson, dehydrated himself enough to reduce his skin elasticity. Willy pressed the key on the palm of his hand, making a mark in the shape of the key. Using the new saw, they cut the blank key in the shape of the mark. [1] That night, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's first television newscast, anchored by Lorne Greene and produced by Harry Rasky, detailed the escape.[1]
The jail's warden was suspended, and a $26,000 reward was offered for information leading to their arrest.[1]
Recapture
Ten days later, they were discovered hiding in a barn about a mile north of
Edwin Boyd, who had not been present at the murder, was defended by Frederick Joseph McMahon, and sentenced to eight life terms plus 27 years concurrently. Willie Jackson was sentenced to 31 years. Both served their terms in Kingston Penitentiary. Jackson was released on parole in 1966. Boyd was released earlier, in 1962, but returned to prison for four more years after parole violations. He then moved to the west coast of Canada where he changed his name and remarried. He died in 2002.
Unsolved murder
Journalist Brian Vallée, who interviewed an ageing Edwin Boyd for Edwin Alonzo Boyd, has alleged that Boyd was also responsible for the unsolved 1947 murder of George Vigus and Iris Scott in Toronto's High Park.[1]
Popular culture
The 2011 film Citizen Gangster depicts the life of Edwin and the gang. It premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and its theatrical release was in May 2012. The movie changes the identity of the detective whose death is described above and materially changes the circumstances of the shooting.
There is also a play written by John Roby and Ray Storey based on the events called "Girls in the Gang".
References
- ^ CBC Archives
- ISBN 978-0-385-25827-2.
- ^ "8 daring Canadian prisoner escapes". Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ Goldenberg, Susan (20 September 2018). "Opinion | Where was Boyd Gang in September 1952? Hiding in North York, as it turns out". Toronto.com. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
Bibliography
- The Boyd Gang by Marjorie Lamb and Barry Pearson. Toronto, Peter Martin Associates, 1976.