Reasonable Doubt Revisited
OSCEOLA — Was the murderer really guilty? Was the murder victim as innocent as believed? The trial that resulted in the last hanging in Renfrew County will be depicted by Bryan Hendry, former journalist and current senior policy advisor to the Chiefs of Ontario, at the next Bromley Historical Society meeting. It will take place on Sunday, October 15 at 2pm in the Old Town Hall, 498 Micksburg Road, Osceola.
Mr. Hendry’s talk will draw on his book, Reasonable Doubt, published in 1995. Mr. Hendry came across the story of the murder while looking through the archives of The Eganville Leader, where he was working at the time. It grabbed his attention and he read all the Renfrew County papers that covered the crime. Eventually, with assistance from then Renfrew County MPP Sean Conway, he obtained permission to access the trial records in the Ontario Archives.
“The murder case gripped the Valley in 1951,” Mr. Hendry said in a recent interview. “It was front page news across the province. It was the third murder of a taxi driver in the County in six years. And the lawyer for Lloyd Wise, the accused, was the well-known Renfrew lawyer James Maloney.”
The post-war years, he went on to explain, were difficult times. Men had returned from the war and many had difficulty finding employment. It was the post-prohibition period when there was a lot of heavy drinking, yet liquour was not easily accessible. The murder victim, Lloyd Barber, was a taxi driver who frequently made runs for clients to the nearest liquor store, which at that time was in Eganville. He also had a reputation as being a womanizer.
Mr. Barber was found in his bathroom in Killaloe on April 13th, with lipstick on his shirt, evidence of recent sexual activity, and shallow cuts on his face and body. He had bled to death. Lloyd Wise, a resident of Golden Lake, was arrested in Hamilton. He was wearing one of Mr. Barber’s suits and had traded in Mr. Barber’s car to a used car lot in Hamilton.
Mr. Maloney presented the argument that as Mr. Wise was a strapping man, he would have inflicted deeper cuts. He asserted that the wounds could have been inflicted by a woman. The jury found Mr. Wise guilty. Mr. Maloney appealed the decision but it was dismissed.
Come and learn more about this fascinating story of Renfrew County history. Copies of Mr. Hendry’s book will be on sale. Everyone is welcome. Refreshments will be served following the presentation.
