SECRETS: The Jon Rallo Story

SECRETS
JON RALLO REVEALED: Susan Clairmont has new details from his murder trial and prison letters in todays Weekend Reader
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S AT U R DAY, N OV E M B E R 22 , 2 0 0 8 T H E S P EC .C O M T H E VO I C E O F O U R C O M M U N I T I E S S I N C E 1 8 4 6
Hero pulls
driver from
burning car
on parkway
Fired up for
GREY CUP
BY EMMA REILLY
Kevin Gooding set out yesterday to

buy his wife snow tires so she would
be safe on the roads this winter. He
had no idea his good intentions
would save another mans life.
Gooding pulled onto the Red Hill
Valley Parkway around 9:30 a.m.
with his four-year-old son Carter
in the back seat. Just as he passed
the Stone Church Road exit, a white
sedan in front of him started spinning across the highway. It clipped
another car and, by the time it collided with a guardrail, flames were
leaping out of the back window.
Gooding pulled over and ran to
the burning car. He frantically tried
to open the doors and struck the
drivers side window, hoping to
break the glass and reach inside.
The impact unlocked the door and
allowed him to grab the driver.
RESCUE continued: A3
Piracy has
its risks and Jake makes his final call
rewards
ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Montreal receiver Larry Taylor kicks it up a notch for tomorrows East-West clash.
BY STEVE MILTON
The radical Islamic group alShabab plans to go after Somali

pirates holding a Saudi supertanker, saying the pirates should
not seize ships belonging to Muslim countries.
Meanwhile, the wages of piracy
are turning Somalias brazen buccaneers into the wealthy heroes of a
lawless, impoverished region.
Hamilton Spectator wire services
See more in todays Weekend Reader
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MONTREAL When he answered that

Sunday morning phone call back in 1966,
Jake Ireland had no idea it would lead to 30
years of weekly television exposure.
It was a friend of mine desperate to find
officials for flag football in Burlington,
Ireland recalls on the eve of his 15th and
final assignment to the Grey Cup game.
He said, If youve got a whistle, Ill get
you a shirt and a piece of red cloth. That

afternoon I was on the field at M.M. Robinson High School with a bunch of tykes.
Late tomorrow afternoon, hell be on the
field with a bunch of titans, refereeing the
biggest Canadian football game of the year
for the 15th time. And hell lead a squad of
six other striped-shirted men who want to
grow up to be just like him.
REF continued: A6
HAMILTON SPECTATOR
FILE PHOTO
Jake Ireland, a
Burlington Central
grad, will referee
his 15th and final
CFL championship.
Top two teams, top two passers, 65,000 fans. Sundays Grey Cup is shaping up to be a classic.
See Sports for complete coverage, including the Vanier Cup in Hamilton.
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WEEKEND READER
THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR NOVEMBER 22, 2008 EDITOR AGNES BONGERS 905-526-3234 OR ABONGERS@THESPEC.COM
Jon Rallos three

victims: his wife
Sandra, left, his
daughter Stephanie
and his son Jason.
SECRETS
Jon Rallo revealed: Never-before-heard details from his murder trial and letters from prison
FIRST OF THREE PARTS BY SUSAN CLAIRMONT THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR
hey placed their first

child in her cradle.
Sandra. Five days old.
The mother whispered
to the father:
One day a young man is going to
take her away from us.
That man would come. And he
would have a secret life. A life of
women. And pornography. Bondage.
And perhaps sexual assault.
Anger. And violence.
Jon Rallo killed his wife and children 32 years ago.

Now, as he begins life after prison,
some of his secrets are still being uncovered. Facts and allegations the jury
never heard. His letters from prison.
Some secrets remain. He still does
not admit his guilt. He still will not
reveal where he put his sons body.
The Spectator tracked him down in
Sudbury, where he is on parole.
It seems he plans to take some
secrets to his grave.
Continued on WR2
PHOTO FROM THE COLLECTION OF MARG LYNCH
Jon Rallos mug shot, taken after he was arrested in his daughters murder in 1976. Rallo was later convicted of murdering his family in their Hamilton home. He has never admitted his guilt.
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WR2
THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2008
TRUE CRIME
A trail of lies and blood

Continued from WR1
Monday, Aug. 16, 1976

Sandra Rallo, 29, is out talking
with a music teacher. Arranging
piano lessons for herself and her
husband Jon. It will be nice to do
something new together.
At home, the children are up
past bedtime. But rules can bend
on a carefree summer night.
Jason and Stephanie sneak
outside in their pyjamas. A green
short-sleeved nightie with ties
in the back for five-year-old
Steph, a fair-haired waif with
hazel eyes and an olive complexion. Her six-year-old brother, a
husky, blue-eyed boy, wears
beige shortie jammies. They run
around Lantana Court, giggling
in the twilight.
They knock on Mrs. Swinns
door to tell her Mommy is home
now. She can come for a visit.
They race back to their tidy bungalow to get ready for bed with
Daddys help.
Sandra and Barb Swinn sit in
the living room having coffee.
They talk about furniture Sandra
wants and their childrens blood
types.
Because Sandra was tied up
with Mrs. Swinn, Jon would
testify, I put the children to
bed.
I made sure they had cleaned
their teeth and gone to the bathroom and tucked them in and
they had said their prayers and
Stephanie had her doll. And I
went into the living room and
said to Sandra, Kiss the children
good night.
And Sandra did.
By morning, Jon Rallo had
killed his entire family.
Jack and Dorothea Rallo had one

child.
Jon George Rallo. Born Nov.
30, 1942, in Hamilton. His early
years were spent in the citys
modest north end before the
family moved to the east Mountain.
Jack was an OPP forensic identification officer who photographed crime scenes. He left
the force when his son was a
teen. Became a Liquor Control
Board manager.
Jon adored his mother.
By the time Jon entered Cathedral High School, he was setting
himself apart from the crowd.
While his peers slouched to
class in denim and plaid, Jon
dressed as if he had a job interview. Or a date.
He wasnt a handsome teen.
His unruly hair and lanky limbs
were not the stuff of conventional good looks. Yet there was
something about him. He had
style. Confidence. Charm.
School was a distraction from
what Jon was really interested in.
Girls.
He spent his free time standing
on a downtown corner, watching
all the girls pass by.
He dropped out of Grade 12,
finishing by correspondence. He
took management and communication courses at Mohawk
College.
And he dated.
I used to go out with a girl
whose idea of a great night out
was to sit in Paddy Greens
drinking 15 cent draft beer, he
would reminisce later in a letter
written from prison. Now
thats a cheap score ... I meant
inexpensive. No, now that I
think about it, I mean cheap.
Though Jon fancied himself a
THE FAMILY
a wall. Trickles into the drain in

the concrete floor.
It is Type B blood. Sandra has
Type B blood.
He takes two green garbage
bags from the package on his
workbench, puts one over his
wifes head, the other over her
red-polished toenails. He slides
her into a sleeping bag. He puts
two anchors from Canadian Tire
on Upper James Street into the
bag. He binds the whole package
with knots he may have learned
from a dirty magazine.
Stephanie requires just one
garbage bag and one anchor.
He folds her into a fetal position and stuffs her inside a blue
duffel bag sold at Canadian Tire
on Upper James. He zips it shut.
Jason is likely put inside a
garbage bag. Likely put into a
sleeping bag.
Jon hauls furniture out of their
bedroom, rips up shag and underpadding.
He washes his bloody hands in
the bathroom there is a bite
mark near his wedding ring
leaving smears on the faucet,
cold-water tap, counter. There is
blood in the bathtub.
In the basement, he crudely
taps out a Dear Jon note on Sandras Underwood typewriter.
After dark, he brings the bodies into the garage where more
blood drips places them in the
trunk of his car, then drives to
dump them in waterways around
St. Catharines.
HAMILTON SPECTATOR FILE PHOTOS
Jon Rallo stands outside court during a break in his trial in 1977. Hundreds filled the courthouse as he stood
trial for the murders of his family: wife Sandra, top, daughter Stephanie and son Jason.
ladies man, there was one girl in
particular who caught his eye. A
lively brunette with green eyes
and a quick smile.
Sandra Pollington.
Jon says it happened like this:

He takes a pillow to his basement cot. He and Sandra have
not shared a bed the past few
nights.
Theyve had a falling-out over
his relationship with a neighbour. The previous summer, Kay
Scordino came to borrow liquor.
As I handed it to her, I
touched her ... On the breast.
Kay told all of Lantana Court
and Sandra was humiliated.
Sandras marriage was already
unsteady. A year earlier, Jon
sought divorce advice from
lawyer Dennis Roy. Sandra
briefly stopped wearing her
wedding ring and confided in
girlfriends that Jon was not satisfying her sexually. For a day or
two, they listed the house for
sale.
But divorce is messy. Expensive. Embarrassing.
Soon, the Rallos and Scordinos
were friends again.
Just on Friday, the two couples
went overnight to Cambridge,
staying at Sandras parents
place while they were away.
They skinny-dipped in the pool
until 3 a.m. But Jon and Kay lingered a little too long. Alone in
the water.
Jon would dismiss it as horseplay. Sandra was furious.
So Jon is sleeping alone.
I woke up Tuesday morning

... I proceeded to go upstairs ... I
thought it was kind of unusual
that neither one or both of the
children were up yet. Stephie especially was an early riser. She
was up at the crack of dawn usually. Jason, when he got up, usually he would be downstairs
watching television. I ... looked
in Jasons room and saw he wasnt in his bed and nor was
Stephanie, or Sandra in our bed.
Jon says he finds a typed note
from Sandra on his bureau. It
says she has left him for a rich
lawyer.
She has taken the children and
her wallet. Nothing else. Not her
purse or wedding ring. Not the
childrens favourite toys, toothbrushes, shoes.
I was absolutely beside myself, Jon testifies. I thought
things had gotten better. We
seemed very happy. The children
seemed happy.
One day and night pass before
Jon tells anyone his family is
gone.
Jon claims he was getting

anonymous phone calls.
They started in the summer of
1975 and only came when Sandra
was out of the house.
It was a male caller. He never
identified himself but once, Jon
says, he let it slip he was a
lawyer.
He knew an awful lot about
our personal lives.
Jon says he confronted his wife,
who denied knowing anything.
Strangely, Jon did not change

their phone number. Nor did he
seek the help of police.
Instead, he would say, he
arranged a rendezvous: Lets be
grown-up and lets meet.
Jon says he waited outside the
courthouse. The same courthouse where he would later
stand trial.
The man never showed.
The Crown says it was like this:

Jon planned it.
He had, for months, been fabricating a story about a mysterious lawyer. Sullying his wifes
reputation. Creating a scapegoat.
Then he and Sandra argue in
their room. Maybe she confronts
him about an affair. Or he accuses her.
He punches her in the face.
Her nose is damaged, her teeth
loosened. Her blood soaks into
the shag carpet below the window. It spatters the red drapes
and the legs of a bench. It is on
the sheets. The mattress.
A blind cord is handy. Jon
strangles Sandra.
During this, the children come
in. Witnesses to Daddys fury.
He kills them, too. Suffocating
each one with a pillow in a pretty
flowered case. It takes four minutes for Stephanie to die.
Jon begins cleaning up.
He takes the bodies to the
basement. Strips them and puts
the clothes, along with bloody
linen, in the washing machine.
Blood drips onto his leather slippers, smears on a door jamb and
Sandra was 15. Jon was 20.

They were in love.
Sandras parents were not
pleased. Jon was too old. And he
was Catholic.
Doug Pollington, a Hamilton
firefighter who became fire chief
in Cambridge, did not approve.
Margaret Pollington did not
care for her daughters suitor,
either, but when she saw Sandra
was head over heels, she conceded.
Jon called them Mom and Dad.
The courtship lasted four years.
During that time, Sandra got a
job as a title searcher at a law
firm. Jon landed a job as a rodman on a city survey crew.
They married Oct. 8, 1966. Jon
wore a tux and white bow tie. His
curls were coaxed into submission. Sandra wore a veil over her
dark bob. Her smile was radiant.
The young Rallos started in a
Concession Street apartment.
One of their first purchases was
a double bed. A jury would come
to know a lot about that bed.
Jon moved up in the engineering department at City Hall or
The Hall, as he always called it
eventually becoming office
manager.
Sandra learned to macrame
and took yoga classes. Jon played
hockey and was a Ticats fan.
Then Sandra got pregnant.
So they bought a house on
Dundurn Street South and on
Oct. 30, 1969, John Jason was
born. His sister came along on
June 30, 1971.
Jon says the night Stephanie
was born, Sandra hemorrhaged,
her blood soaking their bed. Later, he says, Sandra cut the stains
from the mattress cover.
In 1972, the Rallos moved to
16 Lantana Ct. Seven houses on a
quiet street.
They parked their dark green
Ford Maverick in the garage.
Continued on next page
THE CRIME
PHOTOS FROM THE COLLECTION OF MARG LYNCH
Jason Rallos bedroom in the house on Lantana Court

after the murders.
Blood spots are marked on the basement floor in the Rallo home.
The Crown said this is where Rallo stuffed his victims bodies in
sleeping bags or duffel bags.
Sandra and Jons mattress leans in the upstairs hallway after

the murders. Jon said he took apart the bed to relieve frustration after his family went missing.

WR3
TRUE CRIME
THE LAW
Continued from previous page
Planted a vegetable garden.

Adopted a black and white cat.
Jon had a secret cache of dirty

magazines. Hidden in a drawer.
Bondage pornography so
hard-core it was illegal in Canada. Photos of intricate knots. Remarkably similar to the ones
used to bind Sandras body.
Other women interrupted the

Rallos life.
If Jon wasnt having lunch
with a woman, he was girlwatching. In a letter written
from prison he would recall: I
used to stand in front of Laura
Secords at King and James every
day over lunch hour and the
crowd was a better show than
any youd ever see at Diamond
Jims and some of the people
were old enough to know better
too, it used to be the best show in
town.
Julia Glen worked with Jon.
She was young. Pretty.
Sometimes she gave Jon a ride
home, dropping him at the corner.
She invited Jon and Sandra to
her wedding.
When she was a stenographer
at The Hall and Jon was her boss,
they lunched together at The
Overdraft, Als Delicatessen,
The Pioneer.
When she split from her husband in early 1976, Jon consoled
her. He met her for a drink at The
Golden Garter. He called on her
at her parents home and waited
for hours outside when he was
told she was out with girlfriends.
When Julia got her own apartment, he arrived with a plant and
a bottle of wine. They ordered
pizza. When he left at midnight,
he kissed her on the lips.
It was platonic, each would
testify.
On any occasion I was with
Julia Glen, sir, my wife knew
about it.
Jons relationship with Marjory Jane Smith was not platonic.
She was an attractive, married
woman in the Halls legal department. She dropped by Jons
office to ask about a cruise he
had taken with Sandra and soon,
they were regularly going for
lunch.
She confided she was having
marital problems. He told her he
was, too.
In May 1975 they began having
sex.
There were times when I
would go home after being with
the young lady, kiss my children
good night and tuck them in bed
and say to myself: What the
heck are you doing? If you ever
get found out, you are going to
lose everything.
Marjory would testify Jon
gave her friendship and
love.
The same month the affair began, Sandra went to the Bahamas
with a group of women. At first
Jon didnt want her to go.
Suddenly, he was encouraging
her to take time away.
I thought the change might
do us both some good.
Jon and Marjory had sex in his
marital bed.
In August 1975, Marjory ended

her affair with Jon.
The lady and I discussed it at
length, Jon would testify. We
both established our priorities.
We both knew that she needed
her husband and she knew I
needed my wife and my children.
RON ALBERTSON, THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR
Justice Anton Zuraw, in his Sopinka courthouse chambers this month,

was the Crown attorney for the Rallo trial.
Norm Thompson, at home with his wife Joyce, headed the Rallo murder
investigation for the Hamilton-Wentworth police.
derpadding below the window.
The children had been sick on
it, the cat had soiled it and Sandra complained about the odour
coming from this rug, he would
testify.
To pass time, Jon does laundry.
In the afternoon, wearing
shorts, a T-shirt and a yellow
fishing hat, he goes to Canadian
Tire on Upper James and returns
a light switch.
At dusk, he ventures out for a
long drive. He says he goes to the
beach strip, Toronto, Brantford,
Caledonia. When he arrives
home at midnight, he takes a
spin on his bike. In the schoolyard he hits a rut or stone or
brick or something and falls,
cutting his hands.
Retired detective Bob Slack

worked on the Rallo investigation.
Tuesday, Aug. 17, 1976

Jon calls in sick.
The phone rings at the house:
daycare, neighbours, Sandras
mother Marg ... Jon says Sandra
is out.
To relieve frustration over his
missing family, Jon says, he listens to the radio and dismantles
his bed.
He rips up the beige shag.
Tears out a chunk of green un-
Wednesday, Aug. 18, 1976

Jon is up by 5:15 a.m. and vacuums and dusts simply for
something to do.
He takes three pieces of carpet
and one piece of underpadding
to the Glanford Dump off Highway 6, he says. A garbage picker asks for the carpet. Jon says
he hands it over.
Barb Swinn is the first person
he tells that Sandra and the children are gone. They have been
missing more than 24 hours.
At 11:30 a.m., he shows up at
his father-in-laws office in
Cambridge with the Dear Jon
note.
They go to the Pollington
home and sit at the kitchen
table, where Jon, Sandra and the

children had dinner hours before
their disappearance. Jon sobs into his hands.
I didnt see tears, Marg says
later.
Jon meets with lawyer Dennis
Roy, who recommends a private
investigator.
Jon and Marg drive to his parents home to break the news to
them. The two mothers try to
convince him to go to Henderson
hospital to have his injured hand
treated. He refuses.
Dorothea goes with her son to
Lantana Court. She is the only
person he allows in. He has decided to spend the night at his
parents and while he gathers his
things, she makes him a sandwich.
Private investigator Ron
Arnold comes to Jack and
Dorotheas home. The former
Scotland Yard detective asks Jon
if he has been faithful to Sandra.
Jon says he has.
Later, Sandras sister Janice
comes by.
All summer, Janice has been
avoiding Jon. He was becoming
increasingly flirtatious. When
she was at Lantana Court
babysitting her niece and
nephew, Jon often arrived home
unexpectedly. She had taken to
shutting herself in the bathroom
and running the shower, just to
duck him.
But she puts all that aside.
Janice was there for some
time, but as far as conversation
goes, it wasnt very lengthy because I dozed off twice ... We
were sitting outside in my father
and mothers yard in the gazebo.
Jon walks Janice to her car.
She says he wraps his arms
around her and puts his hand
down her pants.
Wednesday, Aug. 18, 1976

A mom and her sons fish at
Twelve Mile Creek in St.
Catharines.
Two boys wander off to explore. Shawn Labonte, 13, and
Paul, 11, spot a royal blue vinyl
bag in the muddy water. They
haul it ashore and open it.
There was a green garbage
bag in it, Shawn would tell a jury. I ripped open the hole and I
could see the back of a little kid.
The boys run screaming.
By nightfall, the body is on a
steel table in the morgue at St.
Catharines General Hospital.
A girl. Forty-three pounds.
Three feet seven inches tall.
Nude. Bruises on her temples.
Tan lines from a two-piece
bathing suit. A small bandage
stuck to her right knee.
Thursday, Aug. 19, 1976

Morning
Jon is at work by 9 a.m.
He tells Marjory his family has
disappeared.
She reminds him her birthday
is the next day. He promises he
hasnt forgotten.
At 10 a.m., Jon gets a visitor at
his fourth-floor office. Sergeant
Larry Dawson of the HamiltonWentworth Regional Police is
here to do a missing person
report.
I was just going to call you,
Jon says.
But Doug Pollington beat him
to it. He phoned Chief Gord Torrance, who made the case a priority.
Dawson starts his notes in a
small black book: Jon Rallo, 33,
missing wife and two children.
Meanwhile, his boss, Inspector Norm Thompson, hears a
radio report.
A girls body has been pulled
from Twelve Mile Creek.
The final summer.

The children played T-ball.
Stephanie was crazy about
Snakes and Ladders.
Steph was enrolled at Peter
Pan Nursery School and Jason
was about to enter Grade 2 at
R.A. Riddell elementary school.
The family went to Crystal
Beach, Storybook Gardens.
Jon was moving forward in a
million-dollar business venture
with Doug and neighbour Phil
Scordino. They planned to build
a racquet club on land they
owned at Limeridge Road and
Upper Wellington.
Hours before the murders, Jon,

Sandra and the children were at
the Pollingtons.
All summer, Sandras brother
David had been trying to coax Jason off the diving board.
Now, he got Jason to the edge.
The boy summoned his courage.
This time, he jumped.
Jon did not seem to care.

Afternoon
Inspector Thompson is on his
way to the morgue with a photo
of Stephanie.
At 2 p.m., Detective Dawson
phones Jon and asks him to come
to the station. There are more
questions.
Jon first goes to the bank. He
changes the joint chequing account he shares with Sandra to
his name only. Then he is chauffeured to the police station by a
City Hall driver who waits while
Jon does a 90-minute interview.
Jon talks about the mystery
phone calls.
If she came home tomorrow, I
dont know whether I could forgive her or not because, you
know, for a year she made me feel
like a heel ... that I didnt believe
her and I didnt trust her ... For
her to be proven wrong and me to
be right ... you made me feel like
a damn fool for a whole year.
At 4 p.m., Jon is allowed to go
and lock up his office at The
Hall, then drive his car back to
the station. He returns by 5 p.m.
Meanwhile, Thompson makes
his second trip to the morgue. He
escorts Doug, Marg, Janice and
David.
Doug goes in.
That is her, he says.
He emerges into the sunshine,
sits on a curb. He asks to go in
again. To make sure. He is gently
refused.

Evening
Jon is at the police station.
He wears a green leisure suit, a
white shirt, owlish glasses.
At 7 p.m., Thompson tells him
Stephanies body has been
found.
Jon puts his head on Thompsons shoulder.
There were no tears in his
eyes, the inspector recalls.
Jon hands over his house and
car keys. Thompson calls the
Centre of Forensic Sciences in
Toronto and asks for a biological examiner to come to Hamilton.
He summons Detectives Ed
Kodis and Bob Slack to go with
him to Lantana Court. They remove their shoes and have their
first look inside.
THE CRIME
Cuts and scrapes marked Jon Rallos hands the night of his arrest. Rallo claimed he got them on a midnight bike ride after his family disappeared, when his bike hit a rut or stone or brick
or something and he fell.
WR4

TRUE CRIME
THE VICTIMS
his parents.
Every day he puts flowers on
the grave shared by his wife and
daughter. The one with the space
left for Jason.
He goes to Lantana Court,
mows the grass around his childrens swing set and walks
through the house.
He waves at neighbours but
they do not speak to him.
The house is in shambles. Furniture is moved. Carpet is torn up.

Back at the station, Slack asks
Jon why the house is in disarray.
Jon tells him about the smelly
carpet and the Glanford dump.
Jons father shows up with
lawyer William Hubar. After
that, Jon wont answer any more
questions.
At 11:30 p.m., Jon Rallo is
charged with murdering his
daughter.
William Towstiak of the Centre of Forensic Sciences arrives
at the Lantana Court house. His
trained eye spots remnants of
spatters and drops and smears.
This bloody house, he says.
Detective Kodis spends two days

digging through garbage at the
dump. He finds a large piece of
bloodied shag that matches the
rug from the Rallo home. However, this is not at the Glanford
dump, where Jon insists he went,
but rather the Ottawa Street
dump. A security guard remembers Jon with three garbage bags
and two boxes.
Police divers scour the waterways for Sandra and Jason.

Bizarrely, they find other bodies, but not the ones they are
looking for. A Hamilton man
whod disappeared on a fishing
trip in the spring is found behind
the wheel of his car submerged
in Twelve Mile Creek. He had a
heart attack.
A middle-aged woman who
committed suicide is also recovered.
January 1977
Jons lawyer sends a letter to
Mayor Jack MacDonald asking if
Jon could return to work at City
Hall.
The request is refused.
POLLINGTON FAMILY PHOTO
Sandra Rallo on her wedding day in October 1966. She and Jon met and
fell in love four years earlier, when she was 15 and Jon was 20.

Stephanie is buried.
The service begins with an
open casket, but the lid is closed
midway through. Her body is
turning black.

OPP searching from a helicopter
spot a bundle floating in the
Welland Canal.
Feet are sticking out.
At 12:27 p.m. an officer notes
the discovery: A green cloth
zippered sleeping bag and the
bag was tied with what appeared
to be rope and sash cord, and the
bag was open at one end with
part of a green plastic garbage
bag sticking out the open end. I
observed a pair of feet with the
toenails painted red.
The rope and sash cord are
elaborately tied, each knot related to the next knot.
There are two sleeping bags, a
blue inner one, a green outer one
with a label sewn into its lining.
It says Jason Rallo.
Sandras body is decomposed.
Her green eyes are discoloured.
There is a round hole above her
right ear, bruising to her thighs,
forearms and face. The tip of her
nose is crushed. There is a red
mark on her chest.
Her tongue protrudes from
between her teeth. Typical of
strangulation.
Doug goes back to the morgue.
Yes, I would say that is her.
Slack and Dawson bring Jon
from the jail to the station at
8:50 p.m.
Jon, says Slack, it is my
duty to inform you of the death
of your wife, Sandra. It is also
my duty to advise you that you
are charged with two counts of
murder concerning the death of
Stephanie Rallo was five years old when she died. She was enrolled in
Peter Pan Nursery School and loved playing Snakes and Ladders.
Six-year-old Jason Rallo played T-ball and swam in his grandparents

pool. He would have started Grade 2 a few weeks after he was killed.
Sandra Rallo and John Jason Rallo.
Once again, Jon appears upset.
But he does not cry.

Sandra is buried beside her
daughter.
Men who were ushers at her
wedding are her pall bearers.
Late October 1976

Police call off the search for
Jason.
Christmas Eve 1976

A back door at Central police
station opens. A man and his
lawyer slip into the chill.
Jon Rallo has been released on
$100,000 bail.
He has undergone 58 days of
psychiatric tests including
sessions with truth serum at
the Clarke Institute in Toronto.
Doctors have deemed him mentally fit.
A judge has deemed him fit for
bail.
For the next year, Jon lives with
November 1977
It is the biggest Hamilton trial
since Evelyn Dick took the stand.
Jon Rallo faces three counts of
first-degree murder.
The courtroom is packed, people sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, holding overcoats and
brown lunch bags in their laps.
Others line up down the hall,
hoping to nab a seat should anyone leave.
A team of Hamilton Spectator
reporters is here, along with the
national press.
The Crown will call 48 witnesses. Nearly 150 exhibits will
be introduced.
A jury of nine men and three
women is chosen for the Rallo
trial: a union official, a typist,
two truck drivers, a secretary,
three factory workers, a housewife, a foreman, a college student and a supervisor.
Nov. 23, 1977

Crown attorney Anton Zuraw
opens his case in front of Justice
John ODriscoll.
Decades later, in his own
judges chambers at the John
Sopinka Courthouse, Zuraw will
recall the oddness of prosecuting
such a big case in such a small
city.
He was the same age as Rallo.
Had a son the same age as
Stephanie. He had a passing acquaintance with Sandra, from
her law office jobs. He worked
several coroners inquests with
Detective Joe Rallo, Jons cousin.
Ladies and gentlemen of the
jury, you are here, and have been
chosen, a panel of 12, to determine the guilt or innocence of
Jon Rallo. He is charged with the
murder of his wife, his son and
his daughter ... You will hear all
about the finding of the bodies,
how they were packaged and anchors placed in those packages
and how they were ultimately
found in their watery graves.
The trial lasts 16 days.
Hamilton lawyers had a unique

reputation in 1977 for complete
disclosure. There were no secrets
kept by defence and Crown.
But there were things the jury
never heard.
The Rallo jury never heard
about Jons bondage pornography. Never knew of the link between it and the knots binding
Sandras corpse.
And it never heard that Jon
groped his sister-in-law when
she tried to comfort him.
Janice says she signed a written statement about the alleged
sexual assault at the time it happened. And she was told back
then that police had discovered
her brother-in-laws stash of
pornography when they
searched his home.
Zuraw who still will not talk
of those two issues decided
before the trial that they might
muddy the legal waters and
could be grounds for an appeal.
He needed to make all the
pieces fit: Dont leave anything
tangled.
And he needed to be fair: This
was not trial by ambush. Rallo
had the opportunity to clearly
get his story out.
Lawyer Dennis Roy and PI Ron

Arnold are called to testify.
Neighbours give their accounts.
Cops refer to their notebooks.
The boy who found Steph is nervous. Doug Pollington is angry.
Marg is sad. Lover Marjory
Smith weeps. Julia Glen smiles
and laughs.
Nov. 30, 1977

Jons bail is revoked.
In the wake of testimony from
Marjory Smith, public outrage
reaches a new high: Jon is not only
an accused murderer, he is an admitted adulterer. Zuraw fears Jon
may skip town or be in danger.
He is jailed and brought into
court each morning before the
jury arrives so they will not know
he is in custody.
Dec. 8, 1977
Jon is called to the stand. He testifies for five hours over two
days.
Two hundred people brave a
snowstorm to fill the court.
He is cool. Polite. Articulate.
He gulps for control when
he talks of the murders.
Jon testifies that on the night
after his family vanished after
his extremely long car ride and
mishap on the bike he wandered his house sadly before settling for the night on the living
room couch.
I stayed there all night looking out the window and dozing
off and waking up and hoping
again if a car came on the court,
or a cab or something, and it was
Sandra, I could see her out the
window.
Justice ODriscoll gives his

charge to the jury.
If the accused is the man,
then you have before you a very
cold, calculating, cold-blooded
killer ... who wiped out his family ... and then tried to destroy
the evidence. If the accused is
not the person, then he has undoubtedly gone through hell on
earth since he was arrested.
MONDAY:
Jon Rallos life in prison
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Columnist Susan Clairmont
has won five Ontario Newspaper
Awards and been nominated for
a National Newspaper Award.
Contact her at 905-526-3539
or sclairmont@thespec.com.
GO TO THESPEC.COM FOR AN INTERACTIVE TIMELINE AND ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS
THE CRIME
The basement room where Jon Rallo said he slept the

night his family disappeared. When he woke up, he
said, they were gone.
The trunk of Jon Rallos Ford Maverick. The Crown said he put his
familys bodies in the trunk before driving to the St. Catharines
area and dumping them in waterways.
The floor of Jon and Sandras bedroom after the bloodied

shag carpet was ripped out and taken to the dump.
WR4

TRUE CRIME
THE VICTIMS
his parents.
left for Jason.
through the house.

questions.
daughter.

and two boxes.

heart attack.
January 1977
Hall.

turning black.

Welland Canal.
mark on her chest.
strangulation.
8:50 p.m.


daughter.
Late October 1976

Jason.
Christmas Eve 1976

$100,000 bail.
bail.
November 1977
national press.
be introduced.
Nov. 23, 1977

John ODriscoll.
city.

never heard.
Sandras corpse.
searched his home.
tangled.
get his story out.

and laughs.
Nov. 30, 1977

he is in custody.
Dec. 8, 1977
days.
room couch.
window.

charge to the jury.
MONDAY:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

THE CRIME


WR4

TRUE CRIME
THE VICTIMS
his parents.
left for Jason.
through the house.

questions.
daughter.

and two boxes.

heart attack.
January 1977
Hall.

turning black.

Welland Canal.
mark on her chest.
strangulation.
8:50 p.m.


daughter.
Late October 1976

Jason.
Christmas Eve 1976

$100,000 bail.
bail.
November 1977
national press.
be introduced.
Nov. 23, 1977

John ODriscoll.
city.

never heard.
Sandras corpse.
searched his home.
tangled.
get his story out.

and laughs.
Nov. 30, 1977

he is in custody.
Dec. 8, 1977
days.
room couch.
window.

charge to the jury.
MONDAY:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

THE CRIME


A12

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2008
TRUE CRIME
SECRETS
SECOND OF THREE PARTS BY SUSAN CLAIRMONT THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR
No tears, no admission of guilt

Dec. 14, 1977, 9:32 p.m.
t is Jon Rallos moment of
reckoning.
His wife is dead. And his
small daughter. His young
son, too, though his body
has not been found.
Did this man kill his entire family? Strangle and suffocate them
in their nightclothes in their own
home? Wrap their naked bodies in
garbage bags and keep them in the
basement for a day before dumping them in deep water?
Or, as he claims, was it someone else? A mysterious lawyer
who lured Sandra and the children away with promises of
wealth?
The jury enters the courtroom.
It has been deliberating six hours.
Jon sits silently. Legs crossed,
hands clasped in his lap. He
wears a dark blue suit.
Jury foreman Thomas Prince
reads the verdicts.
On the count of first-degree
murder for the death of
Stephanie Rallo: Guilty.
murder for the death of Sandra
Rallo: Guilty.
murder for the death of Jason
Rallo: Guilty.
Margaret Pollington, Sandras
mother, collapses in tears. Her
husband, Doug, comforts her.
Their remaining daughter, Janice, weeps.
Mr. Rallo? Do you have anything to say?
Jon stands, clenches the rail of
the prisoners box. Pauses. Licks
his lips. Bows his head. Then
looks directly at the judge.
Well, my Lord, in your charge
to the jury you said the past 16
months has been hell for me.
What has kept my head above
the water is that I know I did not
do it. But more importantly, I
know Sandra knows I did not do
it. Stephanie knows I did not do
it and Jason, wherever he may
be, knows I did not do it.
That is all, my Lord.
HAMILTON SPECTATOR FILE PHOTO
Sandra Rallos parents, Margaret and Doug Pollington, stand outside the old Hamilton courthouse after the faint hope parole hearing for Jon Rallo in
November 1992. Rallo was convicted 15 years earlier of killing Sandra, his 29-year-old wife, and their children, Jason, 6, and Stephanie, 5.
Thompson was the lead investigator on the murders. He and
his wife, Joyce, have become
close with the Pollingtons, even
going with them to a seance in
the hope of learning where Jason
is. (About that seance, which the
Spec reported on, Jon writes:
What a farce, with a capital F. I
guess it was a slow news day. Im
always good for a line or two on
those days.)
That same question brings
Thompson to Jon now.
Jon says he doesnt know
where his son is.
A dozen years later, Thompson
will try again, waiting for Jon in a
room at the Beaver Creek Institution in Gravenhurst.
He comes in, with a cookie in
each hand, doesnt even sit
down. Just shrugs and walks
away.
Each conviction carries a sentence of life imprisonment without eligibility for parole for 25
years. To be served concurrently.
Just one month before Jon
killed his family, Canada abolished the death penalty.
Jon stays at the Barton Street jail

over the holidays.
He is in isolation because he is
so hated by other inmates.
They send him a Christmas
card signed with the names of
his slain wife and children.
Christmas Day, 1977

Jon begins a surprising correspondence that will last a
decade.
He hates The Hamilton Spectator. Loathes the coverage it has
given his case from the moment
he was arrested.
And yet, he reads it every day.
So when he gets his first letter,
days after his conviction, from
columnist Marguerite Lynch, he
recognizes her name. She covered his trial. Now she wants to
write a book.
Marg introduces herself by
telling Jon they both grew up on
Barton Street West.
Dear Mrs. Lynch, Jon replies
in precise handwriting. While I
dont remember you personally,
I do have fond memories of your
brother, sister ... Now, including
you, I know of four people who
are proposing just that (to write a
book) ... Needless to say, Im also
planning a book, except that
mine will include additional periods of my life rather than just
the trial.
I apologize for writing to you
in pencil but that is all that regulations allow at present.
Thirty days after he is found

guilty, Jon files an appeal. He
claims the trial judge made errors in law and a blood analyst
who testified did not qualify as
an expert.
PHOTO FROM THE COLLECTION OF MARG LYNCH
A police photo of Jon Rallo taken the night he was arrested for his
daughters murder in August 1976.
Feb. 13, 1978

A van arrives at Kingston Penitentiary. There are 13 prisoners
inside.
One of them is Jon.
He is put in protective custody.
The new arrival from Hamilton

has strong clerical skills from his
days as a City Hall manager. He
is put to work in the prison office
for five hours a day.
Jon starts a correspondence
course from Queens University
to earn a BA in political science.
He teaches himself to type
ironic, because the poorly typed
Dear Jon note he tried to pass off
as his wifes work was key evidence at his trial.
He whips through bestsellers
and subscribes to several business magazines and newspapers.
He learns to play bridge, which
he finds most fascinating.
Im keeping well, he writes,
doing lots of running trying to
keep my waistline relatively slim
considering all the bread Im

eating. The meals arent to my
liking and so Im filling up on
bread and peanut butter, which
Im allowed to buy through the
canteen. As a result Im getting a
flotation collar around my waist
like you wouldnt believe.
He starts to pen his autobiography. Ninety pages in, he gives up.
Nov. 23, 1978

The Ontario Court of Appeal upholds Jons conviction.
I was absolutely astounded
that the appeal was dismissed so
quickly since everyone was optimistic about the points scored,
on the first day of the hearing ... I
intend to exhaust every avenue
available to me.
In 1980, the Supreme Court of
Canada also turns down his appeal.
Three days after the Ontario appeal court decision, Inspector

Norm Thompson pays Jon a visit.
It is nearing Jons second Christmas in prison.

He is still putting off meeting
with Marg, who writes a humour
column focusing on her young
family.
I would suggest that we wait
until after the holidays are over
with, he writes, as I recall this
next month and a half or so are
busy times for parents with
young children.
He asks her not to contact his
parents until the new year because contrary to what you
might read in the paper, there are
two sets of grandparents who
loved the children and Sandra
very much and have suffered a
tragic loss, and had a couple of
dismal Christmas seasons, and
for some of us, all is not over yet.
I enjoy your weekly columns,
but sometimes you strike a raw
nerve when you start talking
about ... your babies early days
and all those other memories ...
Sometimes Marg, I think thats
all I have left.
Jon becomes more enthusiastic

about Margs book.
I have come to the conclusion
that I must do something soon
insofar as telling my side of the
story. Im tired of being the
heavy while others are smelling
like roses.
Ill have lots to say about lots
of things to lots of people ... I
want a book written Marg and Id
love you to do it but I want and
need some assurances ... While I
realize its your book, I honestly
think I can contribute an awful
lot in certain areas ...
As far as putting you on to a
close relative, I didnt realize you
were going to include my early
life. Im kind of young for a life
story, arent I?
May 1979
Marg writes of a new racquet
club at Limeridge and Upper
Wellington.
Just before the murders, Jon,
his father-in-law and a neighbour owned that corner and
planned to build their own racquet club. The business deal
came up at the trial, leaving open
the possibility Jon didnt divorce
his wife for fear his father-inlaw would back out of the deal.
Im pleased that the racquet
club is the success I thought it
would be, he writes back. If I
was speaking to my two former
business partners Id let them
know what we missed out on.
July 1980
Jon sees a wire photo in The
Spectator of a boy from Massachusetts riding a bike. He is certain it is Jason. The Spectator
tracks down the boys mother
and debunks the theory.
Jon agrees to an interview.

But it is not with Marg. Instead
it is with her colleague, court reporter Dulce Waller.
She meets Jon in late 1980 in the
Kingston Pens office building.
He brings a thick file of documents and newspaper clippings.
He is not convinced his wife is
dead, because the body identified as Sandras was decomposed
when it came out of the Welland
Canal. He is sure Jason is alive
because his body has never been
found.
He talks of rumours regarding
Jason. Stories about Jon being a
secret Crown witness at a Mafia
murder trial. His wife and
daughter being killed and Jason
kidnapped and taken to Italy to
prevent him from testifying.
Some of Jons friends and family tell The Spectator those rumours were started by Jon while
he was in jail.
I didnt do it, he tells Waller.
I just keep hoping and praying
something will come up to prove
me right.
I guess until Jason turns up
alive or dead I wont be convinced hes not alive somewhere
and I wont ever be convinced
thats Sandra in the ground in
view of what happened in the
identification of Jason.
What happened in the identification of Jason was unthinkable.

In April 1977 while Jon was
out on bail a boys skeleton
was found in Springwater Park
near Barrie.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2008
A13
TRUE CRIME
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A pathologist used dental records

and confirmed the child was Jason.
The minister who baptized Jason performed the funeral as the
boy was laid to rest with his
mother and sister.
It was three months before anyone realized the mistake.
An RCMP investigation in Alberta into the disappearance of
another little boy led detectives to
Springwater.
The body was exhumed. The
skull sent to a forensic dentist in
Connecticut. The error was confirmed.
The boy was Jaime Shearer, 5. He
had disappeared a year earlier after
he and his mom went to Toronto
with a man who escaped from a
Florida prison. Jaimes mom had
since committed suicide.
Doug and Marg Pollington,
Sandras parents, had visited the
grave every week.
Jons bail conditions prevented
him from attending the funeral.
But he sent word to the funeral
home that there shouldnt be a
procession for the boy.
Perhaps he knew it wasnt his
son.
Jon meets a woman.

They are introduced in 1979.
She is from the Toronto area.
They begin dating while Jon is
on family visits. She is identified
to prison officials as a family
friend.
By 1992, the couple has had four
private visits, spending 72 hours
at a time in a trailer on prison
grounds.
In 1997, Jon proposes.
Neither Jon nor parole officers
inform the National Parole Board
he is in a relationship. It isnt until
there is a passing reference to
Jons girlfriend in a psychological
report that the board learns the
truth.
In 2000, the board rebukes Jon
and the Correctional Service of
Canada for being deceptive.
In May 2005, the 26-year
romance ends.
In November 1983, Jon transfers

to medium-security Warkworth
Penitentiary near Campbellford.
He works in the institutes engineering department earning
$6.30 a day. He is on the executive
of the Life Servers Group, is president of the Italian Heritage Club,
works on a BA from the University
of Waterloo (paid for by the government) and tends a vegetable
garden.
He co-authors a manual on
managing anger and violence.
Jon attends meetings for lifers
involved in domestic violence. He
does not actively participate. He
later tells a parole board he could
not relate to the issue.
By 1986, Jon is going out into the

community on escorted temporary absences.
Some of those are used to return
to Hamilton to celebrate holidays
with his parents and cousins. An
unarmed male guard stays in
sight and sound of him.
The Pollingtons are not told of
these visits. It isnt until five years
later, when people begin telling
them they have seen Jon in
Hamilton, that they become
aware.
In February 1990, Jon transfers
to Beaver Creek Institution, a
minimum-security facility in
Gravenhurst. He is, like all wellbehaved inmates, cascading
down the security levels.
Nov. 16, 1987

Jon writes his last letter to Marg.
He thinks it best to end communication while he tries for early
parole.
I have purposely kept a low
profile all these years ... I dont
want anything to jeopardize my
appearance before the Parole
Board ... the system is very sensitive to public opinion.
Secondly I feel it serves no
purpose in requiring my parents
and family to have to go through
all they did 11 long years ago,

bringing up all the old wounds
and heartbreak ... and in the end it
will change nothing except ... to
perhaps set me back for a period
of time ... Many books have been
written several years after the
fact, two that come to mind are
projects on both Steven Truscott
and Evelyn Dick, both done some
20 years later ... Dont you think
the book should include how all
this turns out?
His last letter is signed: Yours
very truly, Jon Rallo.
When Parliament did away with

capital punishment, it quietly introduced the faint hope clause.
Jon is one of the first inmates in
Canada to apply.
It allows lifers to ask a jury to review their automatic 25-year sentence after 15 years. Jon reaches
that mark in July 1992. The review
considers an inmates character,
conduct in jail and crime.
Jons crime was heinous. Yet he
is a virtually perfect institutional
citizen, as one parole officer says.
The review takes place in
Hamilton that November. Jon is in
isolation during the hearing because Hamiltons general dislike
of Jon Rallo extends into the Barton Street jail, his lawyer says.
Psychiatric reports introduced
at the hearing show Jon is no danger to himself or others.
In the end, the jury unanimously rejects Jons chance of early parole.
Jon shows no emotion.
In March 1993, the Pollingtons

see Jon for the first time in 16
years.
In keeping with policy, hed
been transferred back to the
medium-security Warkworth before his faint hope hearing. Now
he has a parole hearing to determine if his escorted temporary
absences, or ETAs, will continue.
Thanks to the new Corrections
and Conditional Release Act, observers are now allowed.
The Pollingtons sit within arms
reach of Jon in a prison chapel
while case managers tell the panel
he is not a security risk.
A psychiatrist reports Jon continues to present in an emotionally flat and deliberate manner.
This panel has a concern that
will be echoed by others for the
next 15 years: It is difficult to deal
with, because of the horror of the
offence and your maintaining of
innocence.
Jon makes a speech he will go on
to repeat at other hearings: Not a
day goes by when I dont think
about my children and wonder
what they would have accomplished by now. Birthdays, wedding anniversaries, Christmases
are hard ... I dont know what
happened. I have tried to figure
out how it happened, who did it,
but I just dont know.
It is the only time Jons parents
speak publicly. Jack Rallo addresses the panel:
We lost a beautiful daughterin-law and two grandchildren and
we can never bring them back. I
can understand how Sandras
parents feel. We feel the same way
but we can never change it. Were
in our mid-70s and its a terrible
thing to see our only son in prison.
The only thing we can look forward to is to spend a few hours
away with our son.
Jon is allowed to continue his
ETAs.
Doug and Marg Pollington become two of the countrys most

powerful advocates for victims
rights. They work with Priscilla
de Villiers and her CAVEAT advocacy group to try to repeal the
faint hope clause. They support
the French and Mahaffy families
during the Paul Bernardo and
Karla Homolka trials.
We wont stop agitating, writing, working to change the laws so
people like him (Jon) have to
spend the rest of their lives in
prison, Doug says.
Jon returns to Beaver Creek.
He cooks his own meals, takes

long walks, joins Toastmasters
and is on a work crew doing manual labour in the community. He
attends church in Gravenhurst.
He visits Hamilton regularly.
Parole hearings take place every
two years, beginning in 2000. For
the first one, Jon applies for both
unescorted temporary absences,
known as UTAs, and day parole.
He wants to move to a halfway
house in Peterborough, but a citizens advisory group rejects him
because of his lack of remorse. His
backup plan is to return to Hamilton.
The panel denies his UTAs.
Despite almost 24 years of
incarceration, the board
can distinguish no
measurable, positive change in
your risk of reoffending.
Jon is eligible for
full parole July 26,
2002, and asks again
for UTAs and day parole.
Again he is turned down.
The board continues to
be struck by your continued
denial ... despite the overwhelming circumstantial and
forensic evidence that supports a
finding of guilt.
By his June 2004 hearing, he is
one of Canadas longest-serving
inmates.
He is denied UTAs.
The board says he is emotionally detached and a certain element of emotional detachment
would almost certainly
have to exist during the
murders of your
family and the
disposal of
their
bodies ...
Nothing has
really
changed in
your personality.
The next hearing is
September 2006.
Jon applies to the Association in Defence of the
Wrongly Convicted, asking
the group that fought to exonerate Guy Paul Morin, David
Milgaard, Donald Marshall Jr.
and Steven Truscott to adopt his
case. He never supplies his legal
documents, so his application is
dismissed.
Again he is denied full and day
parole. Two of the panels three
members reject his UTA
application, citing his
denials and lack of
emotion.
Jon files an appeal and gets a new
hearing. That year,
450 federal prisoners
appeal parole board decisions. Just 15 appeals
including Jons result in
new hearings or the removal
of a condition.
FROM THE COLLECTION

OF MARG LYNCH
Jon Rallo and late Spectator

columnist Marguerite Lynch
exchanged letters for a
decade, starting shortly
after he was convicted in
1977. Lynch was writing a
book about Rallo. He broke
off contact in 1987.
June 27, 2007

Jon does something at this hearing he has never done publicly in
three decades. He weeps.
Tears come when Jon speaks of
the year after the murders, when
he was on bail and visiting the
home where his family died.
Id go there and cut the grass ...
Id go in to that house and walk
from room to room. I missed
everybody and I missed everything ... Beautiful kids ...
Beautiful wife. Its
been difficult ... I
know theres been
psychological reports
about a lack of emotion
... Id just sit in that house
and really break down. Id
walk from room to room. All
the childrens stuff was there.
I thought: Be strong ... I guess
being strong means showing no
emotion.
He is granted UTAs. He will use
them to scout out Sudbury, where
he wants to live.
This hearing is monumental in
another way, too. It is the first
time Doug and Marg Pollington
aged and unwell are unable to
attend.
Aug. 26, 2008

Jon gets out after nearly 32 years
in prison. The triple murderer is
granted day parole.
He has not confessed. He has
not revealed what he did with
Jason.
And now, he is free.
TOMORROW:
Jon Rallo on parole in Sudbury
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In the U.S., president-elect Barack Obama named his crisis team and promises
to push for a $700-billion stimulus package. Britain is spending
$37 billion to jump-start its economy. Will our PM take action sooner rather
than later if Canada continues to lose ground?
BY EMMA REILLY
A proposal to ban smoking in

Hamiltons public housing is stirring debate about the right to
smoke in the privacy of your home
versus the right to clean air.
The city is preparing a report on
banning smoking in all public
housing buildings, as well as
beaches and parks.
The report is expected in June
2009.
The proposed ban has raised
questions about whether prohibiting smoking in private homes
could be a violation of human
rights.
John Fraser, a program director
at the Centre for Equality Rights in
Accommodation in Toronto, said
because people with lower incomes are overrepresented in the
smoking population, imposing
the ban could be construed as discrimination against low-income
families.
Social tenants dont have a
choice to be there, he said.
Theyre living there because
they dont have a lot of other options.
But several tenants in public
housing say they would support a
city-sanctioned ban on smoking
in their homes.
Tracy Woods, a longtime smoker who has lived in public housing
with her two children for 13 years,
said she agrees with the move. She
says she currently smokes in her
home, but only away from her
kids.
Yes, its my right, but at the
same time, its not your right when
youre polluting your kids and the
people around you.
Woods also has a personal stake
in the issue.
Her husband, John, who also
smoked, died from lung cancer in
February. He was 37.
Maria Rose, who has lived in a
city-owned house on the Mountain for the past three years, said
she also supports the ban. Rose is
also a smoker, though she already
abides by a strict no smoking in
the house policy.
United States
unveils team of economic advisers
urges Congress to pass a costly,
job-creating stimulus bill as quickly as possible
orders advisers to craft package to create
or protect 2.5 million jobs
vows to support bailout commitments
of current administration
We need a recovery plan for both

Wall Street and Main Street. A plan
that stabilizes our financial system
and gets credit flowing again, while
at the same time addressing our growing
foreclosure crisis, helping our struggling
auto industry and creating and saving
2.5 million jobs.
U.S. president-elect
Barack Obama
Britain
$37-billion stimulus plan
cuts sales tax by 2.5 percentage points
increases taxes for the rich
speeds up $5.6 billion
in public works spending
We have seen in previous recessions
how a failure to take action at the start
of the downturn has increased both
the length and depth of the recession.
To fail to act now would be not only
a failure of economic policy, but a
failure of leadership.
British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
Canada
no new stimulus package in Thursdays
economic statement
considers moving up billions in infrastructure
spending before February budget
expected to ease pension requirements
for cash-strapped firms
plans more room for seniors to draw
from their registered retirement plans
The most recent private-sector forecasts suggest
the strong possibility of a technical recession
Yes, I am surprised at this.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
(in Peru Sunday)
WHAT THE LEADERS ARE SAYING

Obamas new team Economic advisers
tapped to start recovery efforts now A12
British shock treatment Tax hikes
for rich, more government borrowing A12
Canadas plan? Flaherty says no to new
measures, but package still possible A13
MORE ON THE ECONOMIC FRONT
The Spectators view Act now
A10
Deflation Is it coming to Canada? A13
Consumers Confidence plummets A14
No buying Happy without the mall Go 6
Continued on A3
City buys strip club
SECRETS
Plans to turn Maxims into public housing
JON RALLO REVEALED:

A killer tastes freedom
but a devastated
family never gets
closure.
A6-7
The city says it is the proud new

owner of a downtown strip joint.
CityHousing penned a deal last
week to buy Maxims with a longterm plan of converting the Gore
Park club into public housing.
This is a strategic move, said
Councillor Brian McHattie, president of CityHousing Hamilton.
He said the purchase serves a dual
purpose of adding housing to the
core, while also helping to clean up
the downtowns image. The property is beside the Gore Building, a
new subsidized apartment built by
the city. In a release, the city said
the deal will close next month.
Thats news to Dan Charnicovsky, Maxims registered owner,
who says he also owns the King
Street building. Though the property is for sale, the Windsor man
says theres no deal on the table.
Inside
today
JOHN PACKMAN, SPECIAL TO THE SPECTATOR
Maxims owner denies a sale,

saying theres no deal on the table.
I havent sold it to anyone. I
dont know whats going on, he
said last night.
Chris Murray, the citys director
of housing, said he cant discuss
confidential details of the deal, but
said the city plans to shut down the
strip club. That business is done.
The city hopes to find a new ten-
Bridge/Chess
Business
Comics
Crossword
Go 6
A14
Go 11
Go 11
ant to cover operating expenses.

Eventually, Murray said, theres
plans for housing, including an option for subsidized units for artists.
Murray declined to reveal the
purchase price, saying it was reasonable. Earlier this year, council
approved $1 million for CityHousing to buy a property in the core.
The strip club, formerly known
as Chez M and Bannisters, is a sad
remnant of the downtowns past
era of decline, said Councillor Bob
Bratina.
Maxims owner has not applied
to transfer the strip clubs licence
to another location. A new strip
club could not open downtown or
within 500 metres of a residential
neighbourhood.
The closure will leave only one
operating strip joint in Hamilton.
nmacintyre@thespec.com
905-526-3299
Dear Abby
Horoscopes
Local
Lotteries
Go 2
Go 2
A3
A2
Red Green
gets real
Soul-baring book
only sold at select
hardware stores.
In Go today
Opinion
Stocks
Sudoku
Weather
A10/11
Go 10
Go 11
Go 2
Dial
www.bankruptcy.on.ca
www
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R001256769
BY NICOLE MacINTYRE
A6

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2008
TRUE CRIME
SECRETS
THIRD OF THREE PARTS BY SUSAN CLAIRMONT THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR
Jon Rallo leaves the parole office in Sudbury last month. The Hamilton man who killed his wife and children in 1976 moved to Sudbury after he was granted day parole in August.
A killer finally tastes freedom

SUDBURY
Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008
he back door of the
halfway house
opens and Jon Rallo
steps into the cold.
Hunching his shoulders against the wind, he shoves
his hands deep into his jacket
pockets and sets off at a brisk
pace.
In an instant, he merges with
the flow of early morning pedestrians rushing to get to their
downtown jobs. He walks with
them past a funeral home, a
blood bank, a coffee shop.
In just two blocks he reaches
his destination. A large, nondescript government building on
Lisgar Street. He heads inside
and up to the third floor where
he sits, alone, in the waiting
room of the Correctional Service
of Canada office.
He has a meeting with his parole officer.
They will talk about how he is
adjusting to life on the outside.
He even went to a retirement

home to inquire about getting on
the waiting list.
Jon has more money than most
lifers getting out of prison. His
pension brings in about $1,200 a
month, plus he has some savings.
The halfway house is a pleasant, three-storey home with an
ornate wrought iron railing up
the front steps. It sits in the
shadow of the citys water tower
and between the downtown core
and a quiet residential neighbourhood.
On a sunny autumn afternoon,
a woman walks past pushing two
young children in a stroller.
Jon was granted day parole on

Aug. 26, 2008, 32 years after
murdering his wife and two
small children in a tidy Hamilton
bungalow.
Though considered a model
prisoner, he was incarcerated
longer than most killers in Canada. He was kept in because he
wouldnt admit his guilt. He
wouldnt show remorse. He
wouldnt acknowledge his marriage was anything less than
perfect.
And he wouldnt tell anybody
where he put his sons body.
But even Jon Rallo cant stay
locked up forever.
His wife Sandra would be 61

years old now. Their son Jason
would be 39. Stephanie, their
daughter, would be 37.
In just a few days, Nov. 30, Jon

will celebrate his 66th birthday.
Perhaps he will come home to
Hamilton, where his parents still
live. Jack and Dorothea Rallo are
now in their 90s.
His parole conditions say he
must live at the Sudbury halfway
house on weekdays. During the
day he can go out into the community as he pleases, so long as
Jon Rallos new home: a halfway house on Larch Street in Sudbury operated by the St. Leonards Society.
he is back in the house overnight.

On weekends, though, he can
leave Sudbury.
He can come to Hamilton. He
was here in June for his parents
67th wedding anniversary.
Now he can come without an
escort.
Jon is an only child, but he has
a large extended family and they
often get together to see him
when he is in town.
The parole board is supposed
to call Sandras family to warn
them when Jon is coming here.
Her parents, Margaret and Doug
Pollington, her sister Janice and
brother David all live in the area.
Jon is not to have any contact
with them.
A few times over the years, Jon
has told parole panels he planned
to return to Hamilton once he
was out.
The board was quite surprised to see such a request,
which shows your apparent
lack of consideration and understanding with respect to how
others view your crime and your
risk.
It wasnt until his August
hearing, when he was granted

permission to move to Sudbury,
that Jon assured the panel he had
abandoned any hope of permanently returning to Hamilton.
I have a lot of mixed feelings
about Hamilton, he said. I was
born and raised there. I worked
for the city. A lot of good memories. A lot of bad memories.
The meeting with the parole officer lasts 20 minutes.

Jon emerges onto the sidewalk
and hesitates a moment as he
looks over some documents in
his hand.
If he was to turn to his right
and walk a block, he would come
to Sudbury Police headquarters.
They know who Jon Rallo is.
Am I happy hes in our community? Not particularly, says
Chief Ian Davidson. Hes convicted of some absolutely horrendous acts. People are not easily going to forgive or forget.
The Sudbury police service told
the National Parole Board it opposed Jons release into its community because of his denial
stance. But the board went ahead
and did it anyway. The Larch Half

Way House of Sudbury, a private
facility on Larch Street operated
by the St. Leonards Society, said
it would take Jon and that was
good enough.
Jon has stayed at the house before.
In 2002, he did a two-month
work placement in Sudbury. He
liked it there. He went to church,
the grocery store, the mall. He
thought he might move there
and earn a living as a real estate
developer. Do some volunteer
work. Go fishing, tend a garden,
get a YMCA membership. Learn
French.
I would see the sights of the
city, he told a parole board
member. Id keep myself busy. I
hope you can appreciate, sir, I
have a lot of catching up to do.
He went back again several
times this year on unescorted
temporary absences. He used his
visits to prepare for starting a life
there. He checked out the library, had dinner at a restaurant
with another parolee, and scouted out the arena where the Sudbury Wolves play their hockey
games.
Jon turns left and heads to the

shopping mall.
He strides through the food
court, where clusters of men his
age sit and talk and sip coffee.
He passes stores that are just
opening for the day.
He stops at a kiosk. Smiles and
chats to the woman who works
there.
Buys a lottery ticket.
Jons parole conditions require

him to have psychological counselling to help him transition into the community.
And he must report any relationship with a woman to his
parole officer.
In August, Jon told the parole
board he is not currently seeing
anyone.
Jason has never been found.

Over the years, there have been
moments of hope, always followed by disappointment.
There was a mysterious phone
call made to then Hamilton police superintendent George
Frids home telling divers to
search a certain area of Jordan
Harbour.
Then there were inconclusive
DNA tests done on bones and
hair found in the Niagara River.
A psychic from Niagara-onthe-Lake directed police divers
to search a section of the
Welland Canal.
Bones found in a green garbage
bag were eventually identified as
animal remains.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2008
A7
TRUE CRIME
Stephanie and Jason Rallo stand on the front lawn of their home on
Lantana Court, Hamilton.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

And most devastating, another

young murder victim was buried
by the Pollingtons before they
realized he was not their grandson.
The detectives who investigated the case have their theories.
Norm Thompson believes
Jasons remains are mired in mud
at the bottom of Twelve Mile
Creek, where his sister was
found.
Bob Slack thinks the boys
body was swept out to Lake Ontario and will never be found.
There is still an empty spot in
the grave shared by Stephanie
and Sandra.
Jon leaves the mall and starts to

walk. He heads up a hilly street,
past an apartment building, a
Catholic high school.
The sidewalk is deep with
newly fallen leaves and Jon takes
a playful kick at them as he passes through.
His stride is long and fast. He
is, after years of leading a prison
work crew, in excellent health.
He dashes across a street busy
with traffic and construction.
Bounds up the steps of a store.
The Salvation Army thrift
shop.
There have been only 90 murder

convictions in Canada where a
body was never found.
One of those convicted is Jon
Rallo.
Australian author Steve Banic
is working on a book about nobody murder trials. He has collected data from all over the
world, from the fifth century BC

to now. A total of 2,100 cases
with another 150 still before the
courts.
Canada ranks fourth in the
world for no-body cases, behind
the U.S. (1,254), the U.K. (154)
and Australia (124). By province,
the greatest number is in British
Columbia, with 25. Ontario is
next with 20. At the bottom of
the list is Newfoundland, which
has one.
Worldwide, there is a spike in
no-body cases during the month
of July. Banic says thats because
lakes and rivers have thawed and
become dumping grounds for
bodies.
In the U.S., California and
Florida were the states with the
most no-body cases.
Though California and Florida are surrounded by ocean ...
my research will be interesting to
see how many of the ... cases actually result in an offender disposing of a body at sea.
Seldom, according to Banic,
does a murderer ever reveal the
location of a body after being
convicted in a no-body trial. He
knows of fewer than 30 cases.
Depending on a number of
factors, such as guilt, sentencing, etc., the offender will usually reveal the location if it would
potentially result in a lesser sentence or punishment.
The most common ground of
appeal on a case like this is to argue the corpus delicti principle, Banic says. The problem is, a
lot of criminals and their lawyers
dont understand it. It does not,
as many believe, mean that not
having a body is grounds for appeal. Rather, the Latin term
Jason and Stephanie Rallo on a family outing with their mother, Sandra. Jon Rallo was convicted of killing all
three of them a few years after this photo was taken.
refers to the body of evidence

that shows an alleged crime has
occurred.
There must be a crime in order
to have a conviction.
Jon has always been known as a

sharp dresser.
Classmates at Cathedral High
School say his fancy clothes
made him stick out from the
rest. His Grade 10 class photo
shows a sea of boys mostly
dressed in cardigans and plaid
shirts. And then theres Jon in a
suit jacket, complete with a puff
in his pocket.
In the days immediately following the murders, Jons
friends and family were shocked
at his dishevelled appearance, so
different from his usual wellgroomed look.
During his trial, Spectator reporters devoted a paragraph or
two every day to describing Jons
attire:
A grey knit suit. A salt-andpepper suit. A sand-coloured
three-piece suit, a dark brown
tie and a white shirt splashed
with brown polka dots. A tweed
suit, five-button vest, white
flecked shirt and striped tie.
Even now, Jon dresses as well
as his limited resources will allow.
He goes toward the back of the
Salvation Army thrift shop. Begins to carefully peruse the
racks.
He is shopping for clothes.
Marguerite Lynchs book was

never published.
The Spectator columnist covered Jons trial and maintained a
10-year correspondence with
him.
It became very bothersome to
me to think, This is my pen pal,
Marg once said.
Her 250-page manuscript led
readers to the conclusion that
Jon Rallo was guilty.
But publishers told her they
needed a new hook. A reason for
people to read it. Maybe, they
said, she should try again when
Jason is found. Or when Jon gets

out of prison.
Marg died of cancer in May
2006.
Justice Anton Zuraw says it was

one of the most fascinating cases
he has been involved with.
He was the acting Crown attorney who won three first-degree
murder convictions against Jon
Rallo.
This was a case that had no
smoking gun, no eyewitnesses,
no confession, he recalls. The
fact that there were two young
children added empathy. And
the mystery of the missing
body.
For 32 years, Jon has stuck to
his story that someone else did
it. That a rich lawyer lured Sandra and the children away and
killed them.
Could Jon Rallo be innocent?
I am unaware of any corroboration of any of Mr. Rallos tale,
Zuraw says.
Mr. Rallo?
He turns and flashes a broad
smile.
Yes? he says.
Im Susan Clairmont from
The Hamilton Spectator. Im
writing a story about you and
wanted to give you a chance to
talk.
The smile vanishes. He turns
away. Rifles through the rack of
thrift shop clothes so fast items
fall to the floor.
I have nothing to say, he responds, his voice measured.
Its a story about your life.
About what youve done ... Its a
large story.
It always is with you people.
He begins to walk away.
How are things going for you
in Sudbury?
He stops. Turns.
I have nothing to say to you,
Susan.
He immediately rushes back to
the halfway house.
In February, Jon will be eligible
for full parole.

About a month before that, the
National Parole Board will get a
report on how he is doing on day
parole. And then Jon can have a
hearing and ask to leave the
halfway house and live on his
own in the community.
But chances are, that wont
happen. Not yet.
Lifers usually stay on day parole for a year or more, says Carol
Sparling of the National Parole
Board. They have a big adjustment to make.
Jon will have a full parole hearing once every two years. He can
stay on day parole for an indefinite period of time. Its not uncommon for lifers to live in a
halfway house for seven or eight
years. Sometimes that is because
the offender hasnt got the
means to live on their own. And
sometimes its because they
have had minor violations of
their conditions.
Marg and Doug Pollington have

always said that, before they die,
they want to be able to lay Jason
to rest with his mother and sister.
They are on in years now. Unwell.
They have lived to see the man
who murdered their daughter
and grandchildren gain his freedom.
But they still have not buried
their grandson.
To this day, the constant,
ever-growing fear exists in our
minds that the body of that
beautiful young boy will never be
found, Marg once said. When I
cannot sleep, I come downstairs
and look out my window and
wonder where Jason is.
(Jon) had a car and a suitcase.
If he wasnt happy, all he had to
do was leave.
Doug, the tough-as-nails fire
chief who went to the morgue to
identify Stephanie and then
went back again a few days later
to identify Sandra, has forever
been haunted by what he saw.
You see that and then you
imagine her the day she was
born.
Jon Rallo crosses a street in Sudbury. The Sudbury police service opposed his move to the community because he continued to deny that he murdered his family.

SECRETS: The Jon Rallo Story

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SECRETS

Inexpensive wines fit the bill

Windows and Doors

Kevin Gooding set out yesterday to

ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS

The radical Islamic group alShabab plans to go after Somali

MONTREAL When he answered that

you a shirt and a piece of red cloth. That

Daily Comics/Crossword/Sudoku C17

bbq pork ribs

Old Dutch Restaurante

Prices effective from Friday, November 21 to Thursday, November 27, 2008

Jon Rallos three

hey placed their first

Jon Rallo killed his wife and children 32 years ago.

PHOTO FROM THE COLLECTION OF MARG LYNCH

creating the best since 1976

THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

A trail of lies and blood

Monday, Aug. 16, 1976

Jack and Dorothea Rallo had one

a wall. Trickles into the drain in

HAMILTON SPECTATOR FILE PHOTOS

Jon says it happened like this:

I woke up Tuesday morning

Jon claims he was getting

Strangely, Jon did not change

The Crown says it was like this:

Sandra was 15. Jon was 20.

PHOTOS FROM THE COLLECTION OF MARG LYNCH

Jason Rallos bedroom in the house on Lantana Court

Sandra and Jons mattress leans in the upstairs hallway after

THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

Planted a vegetable garden.

Jon had a secret cache of dirty

Other women interrupted the

In August 1975, Marjory ended

RON ALBERTSON, THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

Justice Anton Zuraw, in his Sopinka courthouse chambers this month,

RON ALBERTSON, THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

RON ALBERTSON, THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

Retired detective Bob Slack

Tuesday, Aug. 17, 1976

Wednesday, Aug. 18, 1976

table, where Jon, Sandra and the

Wednesday, Aug. 18, 1976

Thursday, Aug. 19, 1976

The final summer.

Hours before the murders, Jon,

Thursday, Aug. 19, 1976

Thursday, Aug. 19, 1976

PHOTOS FROM THE COLLECTION OF MARG LYNCH

THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

Continued from previous page

The house is in shambles. Furniture is moved. Carpet is torn up.

Detective Kodis spends two days

Police divers scour the waterways for Sandra and Jason.

POLLINGTON FAMILY PHOTO

Tuesday, Aug. 24, 1976

Thursday, Aug. 26, 1976

POLLINGTON FAMILY PHOTO

Six-year-old Jason Rallo played T-ball and swam in his grandparents

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 1976