Archive - 1984
Homicide #1984-xx
Date - 1984-05-17
Victim - DYKE, Beverley Anne (48)
Accused - KOCIUK, Robert Joseph (64 at time of arrest)
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McIntyre, Mike. (March 6, 2010). Murder verdict returned quickly.Winnipeg Free Press.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/murder-verdict-returned-quickly-86706457.html
Murder verdict returned quickly
Man gets life for brutal '84 killing
By: Mike McIntyre
Beverley Ann Dyke was brutally raped and stabbed to death 26 years ago, her half-naked body discarded in a wooded area near the Winnipeg airport. Now a Winnipeg man has been convicted of a "cold case" killing which grieving family members feared would never be solved.
Robert Kociuk, 68, was found guilty Friday night of first-degree murder and given a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. Jurors reached their verdict after just a few hours of deliberations. Kociuk showed no visible reaction upon learning he will remain in prison until he's at least 93, while members of the victim's family broke down in tears and embraced each other.
"Our family has been waiting 26 years for a conclusion to this nightmare," an emotional Chris Dyke said outside the courthouse.
His mother, Beverley, was randomly targeted and attacked by Kociuk in a case which puzzled and frustrated investigators for years. Kociuk was finally linked to the crime after advancements in technology meant a sample of his DNA collected following a robbery conviction was matched to semen found on Dyke's body.
"The DNA registry is a remarkable thing. It gives you new hope," said Dyke. "We hope that with this conviction we will finally be able to get some closure and put our mother to rest."
The case against Kociuk was complicated by the bizarre fact someone else previously admitted to Dyke's slaying. Leonard White -- who was himself killed in 1999 -- made the admission during a 1988 interview at a penitentiary in Prince Albert, Sask.
Kociuk's lawyers urged jurors this week to find Kociuk not guilty, saying White had a lengthy history of violence against women and even attempted suicide on the day Dyke's body was found.
"Leonard White killed her," said lawyer Roberta Campbell in her closing statement this week. "He was a violent, dangerous, explosive psychopath."
Jurors clearly disagreed in reaching the quick verdict.
Police and justice officials have always discounted White's claim, saying they believe he falsely confessed in an attempt to stay in prison with his gay lover. Police testified last week White had a history of making bogus confessions and only knew facts about Dyke's case that had already been revealed publicly through the media. White claimed another man named "Ricky Morris" raped Dyke, but police said exhaustive police efforts could find no evidence such a person even existed.
Kociuk was initially interviewed as a potential suspect because he was seen by police in the area where the killing occurred on the day before Dyke's body was found by a jogger. Kociuk, a career criminal, had been under police surveillance for armed robbery and claimed he was meeting someone to buy a gun for his next heist.
"Wrong guy. I do hold-ups. You guys know. I don't do murder," he told investigators at the time. Kociuk continued to deny ever meeting Dyke even after he was arrested in 2005 and confronted with the new forensic evidence. Police told him the chances of a mistake were one in 680 billion.
"That's impossible. It's not mine. It can't be mine," a Kociuk told homicide detectives in a videotaped interview played for the jury. "I think you guys got your wires crossed here. I don't know this lady," he said.
Kociuk's lawyers conceded at trial the DNA found on Dyke was a match to their client through consensual sex but offered up no further explanation. Kociuk never took the witness stand.
"The brutal slaying of our mother...has left a gaping hole in our family," Dyke's daughter, Barb Botelho, said in her victim impact statement read aloud in court Friday night. She said Dyke never got to watch her three children get married or meet any of her eight grandchildren.
"She was an extremely kind and sweet person. How could such a heinous crime occur?" she said.
www.mikeoncrime.com
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(November 18, 2005). Media Release. Winnipeg Police Service.
http://www.winnipeg.ca/police/press/2005/11nov/2005_11_18.stm
Cold Case Homicide Unit Makes Arrest in the 1984 Homicide of Beverley Anne Dyke
Members of the Winnipeg Police Service's Cold Case Homicide unit have arrested Robert Joseph KOCIUK, 64 yrs, of Joyceville, Ontario, who has been charged with 1st Degree Murder in the Beverly DYKE homicide.
On Thursday, May 17, 1984, the body of 48-year old Beverley Ann Dyke was found in a wooded area of the Murray Industrial Park, near Moray Street and Saskatchewan Avenue.
She had been stabbed numerous times.
In 1998, using the latest in forensic technology, a DNA profile was developed of the killer from DNA left at the scene.
In late March of 2005, Members of the Winnipeg Police Service Cold Case Homicide Unit received information that there had been a DNA match to this investigation. The case was reactivated and became the focus of the unit. The Cold Case Unit, working in 
conjunction with the Hamilton Police Service, Correctional Services Canada, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police has since completed the investigation.
An Arrest Warrant was obtained for KOCIUK and he has subsequently been returned to Manitoba from Joyceville, Ontario, and charged with 1st Degree Murder.
KOCIUK will be detained in custody pending court proceedings.
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(May 18, 1984). Body of woman found stabbed, strangled in field. Winnipeg Free Press.
Body of woman found stabbed, strangled in field
City police this morning resumed their investigation into the slaying of an unidentified woman whose body was found last night in a field at Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg.
The victim was reportedly stabbed three times and had a rope or scarf knotted around her neck.
Police maintained an all-night vigil at the scene, located near Moray Street and Saulteaux Crescent, where the woman's body was discovered about 8:35 p.m.
Military police joined the investigation because the body was discovered on armed forces property, Maj. Don Marsh said today.
"Our people are there, but it's really a city police investigation," Marsh said.
The body was the third discovered in the city yesterday. Two males were pulled from the city rivers about six hours apart.
REFERENCES
McIntyre, Mike. (March 6, 2010). Murder verdict returned quickly.Winnipeg Free Press.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/murder-verdict-returned-quickly-86706457.html
(November 18, 2005). Media Release. Winnipeg Police Service.
http://www.winnipeg.ca/police/press/2005/11nov/2005_11_18.stm
(May 18, 1984). Body of woman found stabbed, strangled in field. Winnipeg Free Press.