The trial of Evelyn Dick began on October 17,1946. The second witness to the stand was Ann Kammerer of 215 Gertrude Street, wife of Alexandra Kammerer. They were John’s cousins.
Ann explained that John came to live with them for a year in 1930 and then again after separating from his wife in February 1946, staying five weeks until March and the time of his disappearance.
Ann last remembered John Dick at the house on the morning of March 6th. They had taken the streetcar together downtown at around 10 AM and John had got off the streetcar at Sanford and King. He was wearing a blue-striped shirt, one of three shirts he had purchased while he was living at the Kammerer’s. The other shirts were a fawn-striped shirt, and a green shirt, which John had bought as a gift for Ann’s husband.
Ann says that during the five weeks he was staying there he was absent for one weekend, that being the 14th and 15th of February, 1946.
On the morning of Wednesday, March 6th, Ann says he was wearing his new blue-striped shirt as he got the streetcar and was in full uniform complete with his pullover and the transfer bag.
The shirts and pullover are revealed to her in the courtroom and she identifies them as John Dick’s, noting that both the blue-striped shirt and the pullover are now soiled. The pullover now also had a hole in the back.
Ann also identifies a pair of black shoes as belonging to the deceased and is shown a pair of brown Oxfords which she also identifies as John’s, specifying that this pair had been taken by police from her home.
A necktie is brought out, which she identifies as John’s but not as being specifically worn by him on March 6th.
Next, two brand new sets of underwear are discussed and revealed, one taken from the dresser drawer at 215 Gertrude, the other soiled and cut up. The back of the garment is cut out along with the arms and legs.
Ann explains that she did not know Evelyn on a personal level, but had had some interaction with her in January or thereabouts of 1946 when she met her at the house at 148 Emerald Street North where John was boarding alone. This was in January 1946 – after the wedding, around the time that their marriage had disintegrated.
After John went missing Ann phoned Evelyn on Saturday, March 9th to ask if Evelyn had heard from John – she had not. Ann called again the following week.
Roughly two weeks prior to John’s disappearance Ann had called Evelyn at John’s insistence – he had not been able to reach her. Ann reached her by phone, and describes that she sounded kind of strange ‘and she excused herself over the phone by saying that she had been ill and she had had a tooth extracted, and that was why she sounded strange over the phone.
Timothy Rigney: Prosecutor
Ann describes John’s behaviour while living with them prior to his disappearance as ‘worried’.
Well, he was always sitting and thinking, and he couldn’t sit still a minute; he was always, you know, on the move, and he seemed as if he had something on his mind all the time.
Q: When did you notice that?
A: Well, as soon as he come down to stay with us.
Q: Oh I see. You noticed that change when he came to live with you?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: In the end of January was it?
A: February.
Q: February, yes. And was that unusual?
A: Yes, it was.
Q: It attracted your attention?
A: Yes, it certainly did.
Q: Thank you, Mrs. Kammerer.
Cross-examination by John Sullivan.
John Dick was related to Ann Kammerer’s husband and not Ann herself – John was her husband’s first cousin.
Ann had known John from the time of her marriage, a period of 13 years. Like Ann’s husband, John Dick was german.
John lived on Emerald Street prior to his marriage to Evelyn, a boarding house at the corner of Emerald and Cannon.
Q: And you have told us in your evidence that you saw him at Emerald Street in January of this year?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: And then I presume that he went to Emerald Street to live after his separation from his wife?
A: No, he come right down to our place after he left his wife.
Q: He came right down to your place?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: What was he doing at Emerald Street in January 1946?
A: Well, they had bought a house on Carrick Avenue and they couldn’t get possession of it, so they were — he was staying in his apartment and she was living up in hers until they could get into this house on Carrick Avenue.
Q: And when did they get into the house on Carrick Avenue?
A: Well, it was before Christmas.
Q: Before Christmas?
A: Yes.
Q: That is Christmas 1946?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: And yet you tell us that he was living on Emerald Street in January 1946; how do you explain that?
A: I guess I am confused in my dates.
Q: Confused in your dates. Then you have also told in examination in chief that John Dick came to live at your house the end of February?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: That is, this year, 1946?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: And did he live there until he disappeared in March?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Lived there continuously?
A: Yes.
Q: With the exception of the weekend you have mentioned?
A: M’hm.
Q: How many days in that weekend was he missing?
A: Oh, about two evenings I think he was away from home.
Q: And before he went away from home that weekend did he inform you that he would be away?
A: Yes, he did.
Q: He informed you that he would be away; for how long?
A: Well, he just said he was going away for the weekend and that was all.
Q: Was he a secretive man?
A: I don’t know.
Q: Did he keep things to himself?
A: No, I don’t think so.
Q: You don’t think so. That was not your impression?
A: No.
Q: You have identified several articles here today as exhibits before this Court. Exhibit No. 35, the two shirts you identified, one of them is a new shirt?
A: Yes.
Q: That is the fawn striped one?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: And what make is it?
A: I don’t know; I didn’t look at it.
Q: You don’t know. Is that the shirt that was recovered from the dresser drawer in your house?
A: Yes.
Q: In your presence?
A: Yes, they did. I handed it to the police.
Q: You handed it to the police?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: But you don’t know what make it was?
A: I did know but I have forgotten it.
Q: What make is the soiled shirt?
A: It is the same make as the brown one.
Q: Do you know what make it is?
A: No, I don’t. I knew the two were the same make, and the one he got for my husband was an Arrow shirt.
Q: The one he got for your husband was an Arrow shirt?
A: Yes.
Q: What colour was it? A: It was a green striped shirt.
Q: Do you remember when they were bought?
A: I believe they were bought the week before he went missing.
Q: The week before?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: But the two shirts you have identified today are not Arrow shirts, are they?
A: No, they are not.
Q: And you are sure that they were bought at the same time as your husband’s shirt?
A: Yes, I am.
Q: Where did he buy them?
A: At Oscar Danby’s.
Q: At Oscar Danby’s?
A: Yes.
Q: If I recollect correctly, that is a store on James Street North in the City of Hamilton?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: What make of underwear have you identified as an exhibit here today? A: I don’t know.
Q: You don’t know? A. No.
Q: You have told on examination in chief that you washed the underwear?
A: I did, yes.
Q: And you don’t know what make it is?
A: No.
Q: You have identified the shoes?
A: Yes sir.
Q: How many pair?
A: Two pair.
Q: What size? A: Oh, roughly I would say about ten or ten and a half.
Q: Roughly. How do you know that they are John Dick’s shoes? A: Well, I know by the size of them and by the shape of them.
Q: And what is peculiar about the shape?
A: Well, he had a large and very wide foot.
Q: A large and very wide foot? A: Yes.
Q: Well, how wide are these shoes? A: I imagine they are a wide width.
Q: Well, do you know? A: No.
Q: You are just guessing? A: Yes.
Q: How many pairs of shoes did he have?
A: Two pair.
Q: Did he have any other shoes? A: Not at my place.
Q: Did he ever wear tan shoes to work? A: Yes, occasionally I have seen him wear brown shoes.
Q: Brown shoes? A: Yes, sir.
Q: Did he have a complete uniform on the day you saw him last, March 6th? A: Yes, I thought he had.
Q: You have said a blue suit; what do you mean by a blue suit? A: Well, a conductor’s uniform.
Q: A conductor’s uniform? A: Yes.
Q: And a short coat; what do you mean by a short coat? A: Well, they wore a heavy Oxford gray coat.
Q: A heavy Oxford gray coat? A: Yes, or jacket; I don’t know what you call it.
Q: And how long had John Dick been working for the Hamilton Street Railway Company? A: I guess about four years.
Q: Do you know? A: Well, I think about four years he worked for the Street Railway.
Q: You think about four years? A: M’hm.
Q: Was it customary in your observation for him to go to work in a plain suit and not in a uniform?
A: No.
Q: And with that blue uniform he sometimes wore brown shoes, you said? A: Yes, I have seen him with brown shoes on.
Q: Now, you mentioned a pullover sweater, a blue pullover sweater; how did he wear that? What was his method of wearing it? A: He used to wear it inside his trousers.
Q: Inside his trousers? A: Yes.
Q: And that would be under his suit jacket, I suppose? A: Yes.
Q: Did he have a vest or waistcoat? A: Well, he had a waistcoat, but I didn’t notice if he had it on that day; I just noticed the sweater.
Q: You didn’t notice whether he had the vest on that day? A: No.
Q: Isn’t it customary for employees of the Hamilton Street Railway to have special vests with special pockets for tickets? A: Well, he probably put it on over the sweater later, when he went —
Q: He probably put it on later. Then you are not quite sure whether he had it on that day or not?
A: You mean the sweater?
Q: No, the vest? A: Well, no, I am not.
Q: And on that day at ten o’clock in the morning he got off the street car, you say, at King and Sanford? A: Yes.
Q: And did you get off too? A: No, I continued on downtown.
Q: You continued on downtown. I presume from your description of the events of that morning that you left the house together, did you? A: Yes.
Q: And boarded the same street car together? A: M’hm.
Q: And where did you get it? A: At the — across the road from the Trade School on Kenilworth.
Q: On Kenilworth Avenue? A: Yes.
Q: how far is that from your home? A: A block.
Q: And you proceeded up to King and Sanford?
A: Yes.
Q: And he got off? A: M’hm.
Q: Was his customary starting time for work at four o’clock. A: Yes.
Q: Four o’clock. And where was he going at ten o’clock in the morning? A: Well, he told me he had an appointment with his wife.
Q: Yes? A: And he was also going up to the ticket office to get his change or something in order.
Q: His change or something in order? A: Yes.
Q: And where is the ticket office? A: At Sanford at the car barns.
Q: At the car barns? A: Yes.
Q: Well, am I correct in saying that the ticket office is on King Street East between Sanford and the next street? A: Yes.
Q: It is in the middle of the block? A: M’hm.
Q: Does the street car stop in front of the ticket office? A: No, it stops on the corner of Sanford.
Q: It stops at the corner of Sanford? A: Yes.
Q: And then that street car would proceed west?
A: Yes.
Q: With you on it? A: Yes.
Q: And he would proceed west on foot? A: Yes.
Q: So that you would be past the ticket office before he arrived there? A: M’hm.
Q: Is that true? A: Yes.
Q: And do you know whether he went to the ticket office or not? A: No, I don’t.
Q: You did not have an opportunity to observe?
A: No.
Q: Is that right? A: That is right.
Q: Do you know what direction he went in?
A: No, I don’t.
Q: How often to your recollection would John Dick go to work at ten o’clock in the morning? A: Well, he went out every day.
Q: At what time? A: About the same time.
Q: About the same time? A: Yes.
Q: That would be ten o’clock in the morning or earlier? A: yes.
Q: And he would not start his trip until the —
A: Late in the afternoon.
Q: Late in the afternoon, four o’clock? A: M’hm.
Q: Do you know what he did with his time between ten and four? A: No, I don’t.
Q: Did he ever tell you what he did? A: Well, he — I think he used to watch his house on Carrick Avenue.
Q: He used to watch his house on Carrick Avenue?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you mean the house of his wife? A: Yes.
Q: How do you mean, you think he used to watch his house?
A: Well, this is what he would tell us, he had been up around, walking around the streets there.
Q: What do you mean by “us”? A: My husband and I.
Q: He told you, then? A: Yes.
Q: And he would spend from ten o’clock in the morning till four in the afternoon walking around the streets in the vicinity of Carrick Avenue? A: M’hm.
Q: Did you say Yes? A: Well, I suppose so.
Q: You suppose so? A: Yes.
Q: Well, you are suppose this, aren’t you?
A: No, I am not. That is what he told us.
Q: Oh, that is what he told you? A: Yes.
Q: On this occasion you say that he said that he was going to meet his wife? A: Yes.
Q: How do you account for the date? What fixes that in your mind? A: Well, that is the day I had to report at Selective Service, every Wednesday morning.
Q: That was the day you would report at Selective Service? A: Yes.
Q: Was that a regular event with you? A: Yes.
Q: Each week? A: Yes, it was.
Q: Did you report the following week? A: Yes, I did.
Q: That would be the 13th of March. A: Yes.
Q: And did you report the preceding week, in February? A: Yes.
Q: And did you report at ten o’clock in the morning? A: No. One week I reported at two-thirty in the afternoon, and the following week at ten in the morning.
Q: So on two occasions you reported at ten in the morning? A: Yes.
Q: What other relatives did John Dick have?
A: Well, he has two sisters.
Q: Where do they live? A: In Vineland.
Q: In Vineland, Ontario? A: Yes.
Q: Has he any other relatives? A: Yes, he has another cousin in Hamilton.
Q: Another cousin in Hamilton; relatives any place else? A: Not that I know of.
Q: None in the United States? A: No.
Q: Was it customary for him to visit his relatives in Vineland? A: Yes.
Q: How often? A: Well, he usually went home every week-end to visit them.
Q: Went home every week-end? A: Yes.
Q: So if he went home every week-end he would be gone two days? A: No; he just went home when he had time off, like a Saturday afternoon, and maybe come back Sunday.
Q: He would go to Vineland on these occasions?
A: Yes.
Q: You have told Mr. Rigney that you did not know the accused; do you remember saying that? A: That is right, yes.
Q: Although you say that you had a conversation with her at Emerald Street? A: Yes.
Q: You knew that she was married to John Dick, didn’t you? A: Yes.
Q: But even meeting her on that occasion, you still say that you don’t know her? A: No.
Q: Now, from the examination of these shoes would you say that one pair is older than the other? A: Yes.
Q: Which is the older of the two? A: The black pair.
Q: The black pair. Do you know when the brown pair was purchased? A: No, I don’t.
Q: He had them, I suppose, when he came to live at your house? A: Yes.
Q: And you say that on the day in question, as you remember it, he wore the black pair of shoes?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Getting back to the shirts that you have identified, Mrs. Kammerer, are they common? Could you buy them at any store? A: Yes, I would say you could.
Q: You would say you could? A: Yes.
Q: Do you buy your husband’s shirts? A: Yes.
Q: What type of shirts do you buy for him?
A: Well, usually an Arrow if I can get them.
Q: Do you buy this other type of shirt that you say belonged to John Dick. A: Yes, I think I have bought it; I think the name on it is Granby.
Q: You think the name is Granby? A: Yes.
Q: Can they be purchased at many stores?
A: I think so.
Q: how do you remember the purchase of these shirts by John Dick? A: Pardon?
Q: How do you remember the purchase of these shirts? A: Well, he told me that he had ordered a couple of shirts at Oscar Danby’s, and evidently he had ordered them a while ago, and he said, “I guess I had better go and pick them up or they won’t hold them for me,” so I asked him if he could get me one, and he said he thought he could, and when he come home that night he had the three shirts, and he showed them to me, and his two he told me were cheaper than the one that he had bought my husband.
Q: And why did he buy a more expensive shirt for your husband? A: Well, he knew that my husband liked the Arrow shirts, so he got him an Arrow shirt.
Q: But you are still not quite sure about what make they are, eh? (No answer).
Q: No. All right, thank you, that is all.
HIS LORDSHIP: Any questions?
MR. RIGNEY: No questions, my lord
The Evelyn Dick Files 