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00:03This program is rated 14 plus and contains scenes of violence and mature subject matter.
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00:12So I left a message. I said, Rita, honey, I said, you gotta call somebody. You gotta tell somebody where
00:17you're at.
00:18Her friend had called me and said we think she's missing.
00:21Footprints of life have stopped. Things aren't looking great for Rita Jordan being found alive.
00:27With no answers, her family says they're desperate.
00:31We're here because we love our sister and nobody else is looking for her so we feel that we have
00:36to.
00:36We have some theories, some ideas, but we want to eliminate people.
00:42He takes her cell phone and sends a text message to her friend saying, gone in town.
00:49When it was first all going down, you went and you checked his house, you had warrants for his house.
00:54And I remember saying, check the work truck.
00:57There are like two hours left or so.
00:59They decide, let's bring Rita's mother, Donna Jordan, into the interview.
01:04I forgive you.
01:05And she went in and she kept her composure and confronted him.
01:10Do we believe everything that he told us about how things went down?
01:13No, we don't.
01:17Welcome to Crime Beat. I'm Anthony Robart.
01:19In the spring of 2013, 34-year-old Rita Jordan vanished without a trace.
01:25When she first disappeared from her home just outside Halifax, Nova Scotia, investigators found themselves facing a troubling mystery.
01:33No crime scene, no witnesses, and no indication of what had happened to her.
01:39But as investigators dig deeper into Rita's disappearance, they uncover a trail of lies and deception and the terrifying lengths
01:48someone went to to hide their brutal crimes.
01:53Here now is Gone in Town.
02:00Back in 2013, this was the residence of Paul Cowan.
02:05It was his family home where he lived with Rita Jordan at the time.
02:09Normal type house.
02:10Two-car garage that's detached probably about 20 minutes from Halifax downtown.
02:15It's a nice, quiet neighborhood.
02:16You never know that something tragic happened here.
02:23Rita Jordan has been missing for 30 days.
02:25As a result of their investigation, there's still a lot of questions that are not answered, with the big one
02:31being, where is she?
02:33They've checked possible locations, bank records, private residence, numerous things, but still no answer to where she is.
02:41If you have any information surrounding any activity, whereabouts of Ms. Jordan, the investigators are more than open to speaking
02:49with you.
02:50Rita's family declined an on-camera interview, but I did speak with her sister, who says that Rita is very
02:56much loved and missed, that she's never gone missing like this before.
03:00Concern is growing.
03:02I was texting her, no answer.
03:04Calling her phone, messenger, no answer.
03:08This is Rita just looking like a baddie.
03:10She was just beautiful.
03:11Never had to do much.
03:13It's just natural.
03:14Bold, beautiful, strong, crazy, some would say.
03:19Center of attention.
03:24Did she get in trouble?
03:26Did she go away somewhere?
03:27Maybe she just didn't want to be found.
03:29We're talking to her family members to find out, like, when did people actually last talk to her, see her?
03:34I talked to her all the time on messenger.
03:37So, March 10th?
03:40It was the usual.
03:41We used to play games on Facebook, and she would be like, send me this.
03:45And I would just send her to play her games, just normal stuff.
03:50Generally, missing person cases, they don't usually take very long.
03:54Most of them are solved fairly quickly, within a day or so.
03:56They usually get found.
03:57Rita Jordan's case was a little different.
03:59Yeah, she did it often.
04:00She would go for a week, come back.
04:02Most of the time, she would message me, so whether it was for a game or going to mums later,
04:08there was always activity on there, from her to me.
04:13We want to build a timeline.
04:14We want to look at social media.
04:16We want to look at her phone records.
04:18We want to talk to people that know Rita Jordan.
04:21This is just a general statement.
04:22We're going to talk about a girlfriend of his by the name of Rita Jordan.
04:26We learned that she's living with a guy named Paul Cowden.
04:29And how old are you, Paul?
04:30I'm 50.
04:31He's an older male, a little bit older than Rita, maybe 15 years or so.
04:35And she's living with him in Hammond's Plains.
04:38She was with him for a while and would talk very highly of him, how she's addicted to Paul, and
04:43she was so happy.
04:44Can you tell me, Paul, how long you've known Rita?
04:49It's about seven years, I would say.
04:51She would say, I had her at hello, and I said, you got me at hello, too.
04:56She wasn't living with him right away, actually.
04:58She just hung out with him a lot.
05:00He came to pick her up a lot.
05:01He's a professional guy.
05:03He's a plumber.
05:03Nothing really out of the ordinary with him.
05:05He's divorced.
05:06What's the last day you saw her?
05:08It would have been Monday morning.
05:10Calling her three times a day and twice in the evenings.
05:13Like I told you earlier, it was Thursday when her phone was open for voicemail.
05:21So I left a message.
05:22I said, Rita, honey, you got to call somebody.
05:25You got to tell somebody where you're at.
05:28Her friend had called me and said we think she's missing.
05:31Her best friend, Krista Andrews, she had not heard from Rita Jordan in approximately 10 days or so.
05:37She had already filed a missing persons, and they said they're not going to do anything because we haven't really
05:42called.
05:43They needed somebody that, like family, I guess.
05:46So I was like, okay, well, yeah, I'll call.
05:48If you haven't seen her, we haven't seen her.
05:50So I put in a report.
05:53It was March 28, 2013.
05:56Unfortunately, police were 10 days behind the last time somebody's talked to Rita.
06:01I was so happy when Krista called me up.
06:03She says, I'm going to call missing persons.
06:07I said, yeah, please do.
06:08She asked me, well, why didn't you go?
06:10I said, well, okay, if she left and her clothes were all there, I said, well, okay, someone abducted her.
06:17When she left with all her clothes and stuff, well, she found somebody that is going to take care of
06:23her better than I did.
06:24I don't know.
06:24I mean, Rita's a part of my life too, but what she was into and stuff like that.
06:32And, you know, like, I don't know, I was just trying to keep my good appearance, I guess.
06:37You know what I mean?
06:38There were some flags with her type of lifestyle, unfortunately.
06:41I actually met her on patrol in my early patrol days in downtown Halifax.
06:46Just an all-around wonderful person that battled addiction.
06:50Usually happens to the best of us.
06:52I'm not sure how things started for her in that world, but then she got involved with, like, harder drugs.
06:57She had worked prostitution, walking the streets.
07:01All those things are risk factors for us in the police world.
07:05I had picked her up one evening.
07:07November 010 is when my wife left me.
07:11And then it was February 011.
07:14Rita first spent a night with me.
07:17Previous to that, it was just, I would call her up and...
07:21Make a meeting.
07:22Make a meeting, whatever.
07:23So she would be classified as a vulnerable person.
07:25She wasn't out there hurting people.
07:28I thought, oh, she's out doing her thing, which was maybe a dark night binging, or who knew?
07:35But right away, I really didn't feel like she was met with foul play, or I didn't think that.
07:42Police investigated it for the first while as a missing person.
07:45And that's important, because if all you have to do to get away with murder is get rid of the
07:50body,
07:52then that's going to be the end of it, isn't it?
08:06Welcome back to Crime News.
08:08It's been several weeks since Rita Jordan was last heard from.
08:12And investigators are now working to reconstruct her final known whereabouts and determine who she was with.
08:19Aware that Rita had been intermittently involved in the sex trade,
08:22Halifax police are worried for her safety.
08:27We now return to Gone in Town.
08:32This is your Aunt Rita and Papa and Sebastian in the in-cube, in the hospital.
08:39This is when she was 16.
08:41When she had her first kid, I was only 12.
08:43She was 16.
08:45He was always with his father.
08:46One of the things Rita taught me was to not trust anybody and know my surroundings at all times.
08:52She taught me how to fight, taught me how to be rough around the edges.
08:56So you left for work that Monday morning at 6, and Paul was still there with her?
09:00Mm-hmm.
09:01So she has clients, and we start to learn some of those names.
09:04She got up and seen me to the door.
09:07She said, that's Paul's car out in the driveway.
09:09We learned that Paul Moulton, who is a close friend of hers,
09:12he stayed overnight smoking crack with Rita Jordan at the house where she lived with Paul Cowan.
09:17And Paul Cowan was home that night as well.
09:19So that's the 17th of March leading into the 18th.
09:23So, okay, you're out, you're working all day.
09:25What did you find when you go home?
09:27He told investigators that he worked until about 6 o'clock at night.
09:31Well, I got in the door and I said, hey, Rita.
09:33And I didn't get no answer.
09:34The kitchen was cleaned up, and I went downstairs.
09:38Rita was not there, and her belongings were gone.
09:40Jesus Christ, where'd she go?
09:42So I go back upstairs, and there's no sign of her boots anywhere.
09:46Jackets are gone.
09:47So then I called Paula.
09:49And I said, Paula, I said, you don't know where Rita went to.
09:53There's also a drug dealer that came by in the afternoon that Paul Moulton told us about.
09:59He said, no.
10:00He goes, I left around 3 o'clock.
10:01He did confirm that he went out to the Hammond's Plains residence,
10:04and Paul Moulton was there, and Rita Jordan was there.
10:07But she was fine when he left.
10:09And she was outside in your garage cleaning the bench off.
10:14So there's a little window in there of, like, 3 o'clock, mid-afternoon, Paul Moulton sees her.
10:21And then 6 o'clock, Paul Cowan comes home, and she's gone.
10:25So from the 19th forward, you haven't had any?
10:28No.
10:29No contact with her?
10:30No contact with her whatsoever.
10:31Phone?
10:31So one thing we do in missing person investigations is we send out media releases
10:35that we're looking for somebody that they're missing.
10:38If the public has information to contact us.
10:40So we were getting some information, like she went to Newfoundland with somebody,
10:44she was seen at the liquor store, she was seen on a bus.
10:47We track down these people.
10:48We cross those off the list as not valid.
10:52The vice unit starts checking with CBSA.
10:55Did she leave the country?
10:56Did she take flights?
10:57Crossing all those things off the list.
10:59There's no record of her leaving the country.
11:01She's not in hospital.
11:01She's not in jail.
11:03She just disappeared.
11:09The vice unit, they were able to get some preliminary phone records back.
11:12And as far as you know, she didn't take the phone with her.
11:14But you don't have it?
11:15No.
11:16No, I didn't see anything.
11:17I like to call it Footprints of Life have stopped March 18th.
11:21Her cell phone towers were in the neighborhood where she lived with Paul Cowan.
11:25That's where she was on the 18th, the 17th.
11:28It didn't move all over the place.
11:30Everything's coming back to March 18th.
11:33Things aren't looking great for Rita Jordan being found alive.
11:37With no answers, her family says they're desperate.
11:40So today, they took it upon themselves to keep looking.
11:44We're here because we love our sister and nobody else is looking for her.
11:48So we feel that we have to.
11:50We would anyways.
11:52This was her last whereabouts.
11:55And so we decided this area would be the first we would check.
11:59The sisters say they're frustrated with police who they feel have simply given up.
12:04Because we're all anxious.
12:06We're all wanting to know.
12:07We all had questions.
12:09At the time, yes.
12:10It feels like it goes like molasses.
12:13Like nobody's doing anything for you.
12:15Nobody's there.
12:16The public's perception was like, oh my goodness, this took like a long time for this to get to homicide
12:21investigation.
12:22They should have done that right off the start, right?
12:23And this was an integrated investigation with Halifax Regional Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
12:28But this isn't a normal homicide investigation.
12:31We don't have a body.
12:32No body at this time, but it's still very much an active investigation.
12:36I know that they're diligently working on this case.
12:39Meanwhile, her family is holding out hope.
12:41They say what they really want is closure and to find out what happened to the young mother.
12:46If anybody anywhere knows anything, they need to speak.
12:51She's a human being.
12:52It doesn't matter of her past.
12:54She's loved by a lot of different people.
12:57We have some theories, some ideas, but we want to eliminate people, cross them off the list.
13:04And one of those ways we can do that is through polygraph.
13:06We still had Paul Moulton, Wade Weeks, and Paul Counten all in the mix.
13:12Wade Weeks was a close friend of Rita Jordan.
13:15They were probably in some kind of relationship also at some points in time, but they were friends.
13:23So we offered a polygraph to Wade Weeks.
13:26He came in and his results were truthful in what he told the police.
13:33We did polygraph with Paul Moulton.
13:36He came in, did a polygraph.
13:38Again, he was truthful.
13:42Then it came to Paul Counten next.
13:43We offered Paul a polygraph.
13:48And the results of his polygraph were deceptive.
13:52Back on the 18th Monday there, when you come home from work, everything, her stuff was gone,
13:56except what we saw in the laundry there today, and then she forgot to take the stuff in the laundry,
13:59I guess.
14:00Her mother thought it was a little odd that she took everything.
14:02I think Emily was talking to you, and you told her that.
14:04Yeah.
14:05Yeah.
14:06And they said, you know, like, she's been in a lot of places, and when she finds another guy,
14:10she's ups and goes.
14:11She doesn't take anything with her.
14:12So they thought there was something wrong, right?
14:15It's time to search Paul Counten's house where Rita Jordan lived.
14:19Is there a crime scene there?
14:20We knew that Rita Jordan was last at the residence in Hammers Plains Road.
14:24Did something bad happen in that house?
14:28So it was May 2013.
14:30The RCP Forensic Identification Unit, they do the search for us.
14:33One of the investigators reached out to Paul Counten.
14:35He brought the key to the investigator and turned over the key.
14:38They did not find anything of a crime scene,
14:40so nothing that showed, like, some kind of incident that happened in the house.
14:43And they looked outside and outside around the property and everything like that.
14:47And Rita was not at the house.
14:50When it was first all going down, you went and you checked his house.
14:54You had warrants for his house, his property.
14:56But he didn't warrant his work vehicle when he was driving it.
14:59He came to give you keys.
15:01And I remember saying, check the work truck.
15:03Can you please check the work truck?
15:05Check the work truck.
15:07We had nothing to really say that something might have happened in the truck kind of thing.
15:11Like, there's nothing that really gave us grounds to go look into vehicles.
15:16Like, he was always in his work truck.
15:18Like, why wouldn't you check what he lives in?
15:21Goes to work in it every day.
15:36So the first time I came to Paul Callen's residence, it was during the investigation.
15:44Started watching the residence a little bit.
15:46We did a canvas of the neighborhood.
15:48Didn't tell us anything.
15:50Nowadays, there's a lot more doorbell cameras out there.
15:52But in 2013, it wasn't as popular as it is now.
15:57And there was one witness, a friend of Paul Callen.
15:59Paul Callen told them that he lied to the police.
16:04It was actually 3 o'clock when I got home, not 6 o'clock.
16:07Why would Paul lie about that?
16:09You want me to fight much?
16:11Well, I mean, you have your arguments here and there, but nothing.
16:14Actually, Donna told me about a fight you guys had in the third place.
16:17But we're starting to get some pieces of evidence, the phone records.
16:21Everything's not so nice with Paul Callen and Rita Jordan.
16:25So there were these text messages between Rita Jordan and her friend, Wade Weeks.
16:44And we also have an indication that he was saying he would kill himself if she left him.
16:51And those are things you do see in cases involving intimate partner violence.
16:58I'm sure you and Rita get a little violent at times.
17:01No, not violent.
17:02No.
17:02No, I never hit a woman or, you know, never.
17:07I think I'm going back to my mom's.
17:10What's going on?
17:11What happened?
17:11You were around.
17:12Just let me know everything all right.
17:15Can't wait to see you.
17:16Did he hurt you?
17:17He tried.
17:17I'm tough, though.
17:19She called mom and said I wanted to come home.
17:22And mom feels horrible because she had my other sister staying there for the moment.
17:30And she said you could sleep on the coach.
17:32Come sleep on the coach.
17:33And Rita was like, hell no.
17:36And then we haven't seen her after that, so there's a lot of guilt there.
17:42She was the oldest sibling.
17:44She most definitely was the band leader.
17:47Yep.
17:48This is our sister group.
17:50Four girls.
17:52Rita being the oldest, me being the youngest.
17:54This is me.
17:55This is us going to school.
17:58First day of school, probably.
17:59The mullets.
18:01We were always teasing, yeah, like always playing,
18:04always putting on concerts.
18:06She would tell us how to dance and what we were doing, what parts.
18:10This was your Aunt Rita, the Christmas party in 2013, a couple months before.
18:16My last one with her probably was the most I remember, probably because we were older,
18:23and it was shoot by Salt-N-Peper, and it was Christmas morning.
18:28Some, my little girl got a karaoke machine.
18:31And, uh, yeah, that was the last one.
18:34It was a, it was a blast.
18:37So sometimes people lie by admission.
18:39He didn't mention anything about their relationship not going well.
18:42He knew that Rita Jordan was planning to leave him, that she didn't want to be with him anymore,
18:47that he was a trick, and that she was planning to take some of Paul Counten's property.
18:52I'm talking to somebody now that will, interested in buying the four-wheelers,
18:56they're talking about the Corvette.
18:58Is there anything else of value in the garage?
19:00And Rita's like, no, there's no value there.
19:02I already have his gold.
19:04We don't really believe in coincidences, right?
19:06Like, she's going to leave on the 18th, and she disappears on the 18th.
19:10Global News has learned Rita worked at this sporting goods outlet in Burnside.
19:14She left early this winter.
19:15We would, uh, work night shifts 3 to 11 at Hallie Hanson together,
19:19and it would just be a great night.
19:21Just, like, using all the things that you're not supposed to use just to be funny,
19:25and, like, we were just so, having so much fun,
19:27and singing songs from across the room just when we're doing the whole line work,
19:32and it was always fun.
19:34Never a dull moment.
19:35We grew up together, and we had a duplex on Duffus Street,
19:38and she rented the other side.
19:40We were always together.
19:42She had everything that she wanted at that moment, you know?
19:46And he didn't like that.
19:48He was no longer the one, so.
19:53She was working.
19:54She straightened her hair, got all her teeth fixed.
19:56She was beautiful.
19:57She was ready.
19:59She was ready.
20:00And he wasn't.
20:01Well, I mean, I was hoping she was giving a call, right?
20:03Like, she took out on the board.
20:05So investigators know they're going down the right path.
20:07We're looking at the right person.
20:09It's just figuring out, how are we going to prove that Paul Counton's the person, right?
20:13So they do come up with an investigative plan to arrest Paul Counton.
20:16I was part of the arrest team, so we arrested him as he finished work.
20:22He was calm.
20:24We only have a 24-hour clock once we arrest somebody.
20:27He was going to walk out the door in 24 hours.
20:30There's going to be two things going on at the same time.
20:32We're going to interview him and try to get him to tell us what happened,
20:36and we're going to have undercover operators with him when he's not being interviewed down in cells.
20:42Because sometimes people will talk and disclose details of the crime that they've been arrested for.
20:47Neither one of those things is getting us to admissions or a confession.
20:52I think we would have did anything at the time.
20:54I think Mom was pretty desperate.
20:55I think we were all pretty desperate for any type of answer.
20:59And then the interviewers have another idea.
21:02Bring in a family member of Rita Jordan.
21:05There are like two hours left or so.
21:08They decide, let's bring Rita's mother, Donna Jordan, into the interview.
21:12I'm just torn now.
21:14And she went in and she kept her composure and confronted him.
21:20And I know it was a mistake.
21:22Did you have to help us get closer?
21:25I forgive you.
21:32Knowing what she knows now, it makes her feel horrible
21:35because she said some things to him that weren't necessarily true,
21:38but she needed her daughter.
21:39I know you must be so scared.
21:46You're a good man to probably know what's right.
21:51You know right from wrong.
21:53It's killing us, not knowing where she is.
21:57Donna Jordan went into the interview room,
21:59sat down and began interviewing Paul Cowan
22:02and asked him and begged him to tell her what happened.
22:06What? Help her to understand.
22:08Help me understand.
22:13She's sitting in front of you begging for her daughter, Paul.
22:16I know.
22:16You know she is.
22:17Give her back.
22:18I know she is.
22:19Give her back.
22:20Today is the day.
22:21Are you protecting somebody else?
22:22And you have to understand,
22:23a family member that's lost another,
22:27and then they go even farther,
22:29and they go into a room only inches away from the person
22:33who was essentially a member of the family,
22:36went to birthdays and so forth,
22:37and talk to them about the details.
22:40She has to be probably one of the strongest people I've ever met.
22:42Let the words come out.
22:44She's right here supporting you,
22:46sitting there holding your hand,
22:48begging, begging for you,
22:51telling you she's not going to leave your side.
22:53She's not going to abandon you.
22:57We have to start together today.
22:59Her ashes are in the lake down in Sherbrooke,
23:05next to the movie.
23:10Thank you, Paul.
23:16It's okay.
23:18It's all right, Paul.
23:22It's all right.
23:25She couldn't even speak,
23:27and she said he burnt her,
23:32and then just cried.
23:35He put her ashes at the lake in Sherbrooke,
23:39where Rita Jordan's family have a cottage,
23:42went out to the buoy where the family would dive and swim,
23:46and he put her ashes in the water.
24:03Welcome back.
24:04After a tearful confession to Rita Jordan's mother,
24:08Rita's boyfriend, Paul Kalanen,
24:10has admitted to disposing some of Rita's remains
24:13in a lake by their family cottage.
24:15Investigators must now determine
24:17if it was murder or an accident.
24:22Here now is Gone in Town.
24:29The first time that I actually was inside the house
24:33was the day after Paul Kalanen was arrested in June.
24:36He agreed to come out with us
24:38and agreed to do a reenactment.
24:41He had been charged already
24:42with the murder of Rita Jordan
24:43and indignity of human remains.
24:45He took us through his version of events,
24:47walked us through the house.
24:48It's sad to think that something terrible happened here
24:51to Rita Jordan.
24:53It's almost peaceful.
24:57Rita!
24:58I'm there too.
25:00Remember, he's in custody,
25:01but he's not handcuffed and that,
25:03and he's walking through, so...
25:04There was at least three bags that couldn't...
25:07I'm there to make sure he doesn't try to escape
25:09or anything like that and to take part.
25:11She's usually down in the bedroom, so...
25:14I go, Rita!
25:17So, what we know is March 18th,
25:20Paul Kalanen came home that afternoon.
25:23When he came home, her stuff was packed.
25:25And I'm walking down.
25:28I don't know, probably hear I say Rita.
25:31And her room is down here.
25:33Goes downstairs, talks with Rita.
25:35She was sitting over there on the computer.
25:37I don't know why you say hi to her.
25:40So just for me to clarify,
25:41Paul had to take care of China.
25:42Are you guys arguing at this point in time?
25:44Yes and no.
25:46Not...
25:47Not fully arguing yet.
25:49But you guys just shared some...
25:51You shared some...
25:51Some crack?
25:52Yeah.
25:53They come upstairs.
25:54They're arguing.
25:55So I'm just going up the steps.
25:57He found his laptop in her bags by the door.
26:00He found his gold ring
26:01that she was going to plan to take with him.
26:03Now she's standing,
26:04tossing her up to her...
26:06Right here?
26:07With her back to the steps.
26:08So as I'm going like this,
26:10she takes a swing at me.
26:11And I went like that.
26:13He said it was a total accident.
26:15He said she was at the top of the stairs.
26:17She took a swing at him and fell down.
26:19Oh yeah, definitely her right hand.
26:20So she takes a swing?
26:21Yeah, and I go like that.
26:22Yeah.
26:22And she fell backwards down the steps.
26:25This way.
26:26I'm not sure if it was backwards.
26:27His version is that
26:28she swung at him and fell down the stairs.
26:31On some very padded stairs
26:33and at the bottom of the stairs
26:34she died what appears to be instantly.
26:37So then she's going down the steps
26:39so geez, I run down.
26:40Let's just go slow right here now.
26:42This is very important
26:43so that we can get clear.
26:45You notice that she's gone down over the stairs.
26:47Yeah.
26:48How far down does she go?
26:50Before we go down there,
26:51take me three weeks down there.
26:52She's to the bottom.
26:53Like her feet are pointing up.
26:55All the way around the turn.
26:57Yeah.
26:57Down here and then down again.
26:59Yeah.
26:59Right to the hardwood or the lavender floor.
27:01Yeah.
27:01Down four stairs,
27:03turn down two more stairs,
27:04turn fell down more stairs.
27:05Like that was his version.
27:06She was dead at the bottom of the stairs.
27:08Okay.
27:08So her head is down.
27:09Well, I'm not sure how she was falling here
27:11because I was ducking to get out of her way.
27:14Yeah.
27:16But she, when I got down here,
27:18her head was here.
27:20Okay.
27:20Her head was here
27:21and her rest of her body was like,
27:24up the steps.
27:25Up the steps.
27:25When it gets to the details
27:27of what actually happened to Rita
27:29and how she died,
27:29it's more like he's pausing,
27:31thinking,
27:32because it doesn't flow smooth, right?
27:35And I listened for an air out of her mouth,
27:40and there was none.
27:42So I tried resuscitating her,
27:46mouth to mouth.
27:48I'm going like this.
27:49And you're pulling her up?
27:50I'm going to pull her up.
27:52I did get her up here
27:53and I checked to see if she was still dead or not.
27:56They kept going back and saying,
27:58I wanted to check to see if she was really dead.
28:01You would think the normal response would be,
28:05I kept hoping that she was still alive.
28:07And you really want to know
28:10that you run up the stairs
28:12and you call 911.
28:13Oh yeah, I'm talking to her.
28:15I'm slapping her in the hole.
28:16And I'm listening for her.
28:17I didn't actually check her pulse.
28:19Okay.
28:21Actually, yes, I did.
28:22I checked her neck.
28:23So then from there,
28:24I took her and put her in the truck.
28:26And then he outlined the details
28:28of what he did to dispose of her body.
28:31The person that he said he loved
28:33apparently died right before his eyes.
28:36And his reaction was
28:37to take her to the woods and dump her.
28:42The day that Paul Callan killed Rita,
28:44he put her in his blue truck
28:45in the front seat of the wheel well,
28:47wrapped up in a blanket.
28:49He drove around for a little while.
28:51That would match up
28:51with the cell phone last tower of Rita Jordan.
28:54And ultimately, Paul Callan decided
28:56to take her body to Ingramport
28:5810, 15 minute drive at most.
29:02This would have been all gravel road.
29:05This is roughly the spot
29:07where we believe Rita Jordan was put.
29:10But we never did actually find
29:13her remains here.
29:15And this would have been where
29:17he put her the day he killed her.
29:19Until he came back the next day,
29:22he could see her body, her elbow.
29:24So he moved her deeper in the woods.
29:27We never did find the exact spot.
29:29And unfortunately, Paul Callan changed his mind
29:33because we were going to come out this way
29:35and get us to show us exactly where
29:37he had put her.
29:39Somewhere along here.
29:41We'll never know exactly where
29:43he had taken her belongings
29:45that she had packed up
29:46and had taken them out there
29:47and burned them.
29:49It was around this area over here
29:50by the power lines
29:52is where we found
29:53a couple of little burn sites.
29:56The only thing that was left
29:57that we could find
29:58was pieces of metal,
30:00some pieces of the bags.
30:02A month later,
30:03the police came to his door
30:04and said,
30:05this is now a homicide investigation.
30:08Paul Callan leaves that night,
30:11late at night,
30:12goes back to the spot
30:14where he disposed of
30:15Rita Jordan in the woods.
30:17He wraps her up in a tarp.
30:19He puts her in the back of his truck
30:20and drives out to Muscadabat,
30:23which is completely another direction.
30:24He gets stuck
30:25and while he has her body in the back,
30:28calls a tow truck.
30:29He continues on.
30:30He takes the body out
30:31and he burns the body in the woods.
30:34But the police call.
30:36He then puts the body out,
30:38wraps it up in a tarp
30:39and drives back to his house
30:42where the police are.
30:44So they search the house.
30:45Paul Callan says
30:46he waits till they leave.
30:48He takes the body into his backyard.
30:50And then he burns
30:51the rest of the remains.
30:53He's taking chances
30:55of getting caught.
30:57Somebody could come over
30:58and see him in the backyard
30:59doing this, right?
31:00It shows me that
31:01he was motivated.
31:02Looking back,
31:03like, huh,
31:04if he had the crystal ball,
31:05if you could have put
31:06surveillance on Paul Callan,
31:07you would have got him going
31:08and getting the body later on.
31:10You would have got him
31:10going to Pleasant Valley
31:11and you might have caught him
31:13with the body maybe, right?
31:17And I just remember
31:18being so upset.
31:19Why wouldn't you have just said,
31:20listen,
31:20I need to check the vehicle.
31:22Now I'm without my sister.
31:24The lead investigator and I,
31:26we did go to
31:27the family cottage
31:28in Sherbrooke
31:29with the RCMP underwater
31:31recovery team.
31:32And they were describing,
31:33like,
31:33pieces of the ashes and bone
31:35was in the water
31:36sitting up among the weeds.
31:38And they would go to try
31:39to get these ashes
31:40and they would just
31:41start to disintegrate
31:42in the water.
31:43But they were able
31:44to come up
31:45with a few pieces.
31:46They couldn't say
31:47100% that it was human.
31:49There was no DNA
31:50that could have been extracted.
31:51But with Paul Callan
31:52telling us
31:53where he put her ashes
31:54and remains,
31:55there was no doubt
31:56that what we did find eventually,
31:58that was what was left
32:00to Rita Jordan,
32:03unfortunately.
32:05How does a human do it?
32:07I don't even know
32:07how it was possible
32:08that we don't have
32:09a single stitch of her
32:10to bury.
32:12That's why we have graveyards, right?
32:14So people can go more
32:15and talk to their loved ones.
32:16We don't have anything.
32:19So,
32:20something would be nice.
32:24Yeah,
32:25we haven't been able
32:25to do anything.
32:27He went far beyond
32:29what anybody could even imagine
32:31somebody would do
32:32to hide a body.
32:33And we asked ourselves,
32:34why?
32:36Who would go
32:36into these extreme lengths
32:39to get rid of a body
32:40if it was an accident, right?
32:42There was something
32:43about that body
32:43that he needed to destroy
32:46down to bone and ash.
32:51There was something
32:52about that body
32:53that said
32:54she didn't fall accidentally
32:55down the stairs
32:56that would convict him
32:57of second-degree murder.
32:59Obviously,
32:59we had a lot more questions,
33:01but we had to get him
33:02to court.
33:03Investigators weren't done
33:04with Paul Callinan.
33:05He had more information
33:06to tell us.
33:16Welcome back.
33:17Paul Callinan admits
33:19to burning Rita Jordan's body,
33:21but maintains her death
33:23was accidental,
33:24claiming she fell down
33:25the stairs
33:26and died instantly.
33:27But police feel
33:28the lengths he went to
33:29to get rid of her body
33:30to tell a much more
33:32sinister story.
33:35We now return
33:36to the conclusion
33:37of Gone in Town.
33:40Today was the first day
33:42of testimony
33:42in the second-degree murder trial
33:44for Paul Trevor Callinan.
33:46The Crown had the chance
33:47to give its opening arguments
33:48this morning.
33:49Callinan has pleaded guilty
33:50to indecently interfering
33:51with human remains,
33:52but not guilty
33:53to causing Jordan's death.
33:56And I'll never believe
33:57a story that's told
33:58to me, ever,
33:59because my sister
34:00isn't here to tell me that.
34:02It's not enough for me
34:02because I didn't really
34:06like him.
34:07The way he looked at you
34:08through his glasses,
34:09never liked him.
34:11Nearly a dozen members
34:12of Jordan's family
34:13were on hand
34:13for the opening day
34:14of the trial.
34:15The Crown plans
34:16to call dozens
34:16of witnesses
34:17and introduce a variety
34:18of evidence
34:19as part of their case.
34:20There was his defense
34:22that he took cocaine,
34:23his brain was fueled
34:25by coke
34:26and he wasn't thinking clearly.
34:27But what he did
34:28was very calculated.
34:31Each time I looked
34:33at the fact
34:34that he said
34:35he was high on drugs,
34:36it was almost laughable
34:37that somebody
34:38could say that.
34:39The next day,
34:40you go to work,
34:41I'm working with tools,
34:42I don't think I'm so high
34:44that I'm still panicking.
34:45And certainly,
34:46he was thinking well enough
34:47when the police came
34:48asking the first time
34:49about a missing persons.
34:51He seemed relatively
34:52calm and cool there
34:53and was able
34:55to lie to them.
34:56He was calm and cool
34:57certainly just after
34:58the homicide
34:59when he called
35:00a friend to say,
35:01I haven't seen Rita,
35:03do you know where she is?
35:04You're probably the last
35:04person that was with her.
35:06I wasn't the last person
35:07with her.
35:08And we're not talking
35:09over a couple minutes,
35:10a couple hours,
35:11or a couple days.
35:13This is a long period
35:14of time for somebody
35:15to reflect about
35:16the person they love.
35:18Very shortly,
35:19after the incident,
35:20he takes her cell phone
35:22and sends a text message
35:24to her friend,
35:25Wade Weeks,
35:26saying,
35:26gone in town.
35:28You can see after the fact
35:30that he is putting in place
35:33what he's going to try
35:35to make his defense
35:37so quickly
35:38after he kills her.
35:40He was taking rational steps
35:41to hide what he had done.
35:43Paul Cowanlin,
35:45I think definitely used crack cocaine
35:50after Rita Jordan was dead.
35:52That's probably his coping mechanism
35:54for the things he was doing.
35:57We don't believe that he was high
35:59on cocaine, crack cocaine,
36:00when he killed her.
36:02This was the scene
36:03outside of Paul Trevor Cowanlin's home,
36:05forensic units sifting
36:06through the wooded area
36:07just behind Cowanlin's house.
36:09The police did an excellent job
36:10of going over the crime scene.
36:12If she indeed died inside that house,
36:15we don't know for sure.
36:18We did involve the medical examiner
36:19on a couple fronts.
36:20Nothing's ever 100%,
36:22but the type of fall
36:24that Paul Cowanlin described
36:25Rita Jordan taking,
36:27it's very, very, very unlikely
36:29that that would end
36:31in instant death
36:32because there's no evidence
36:33that there's damage to walls
36:35and it's not a straight staircase,
36:3710 steps straight down
36:38kind of thing.
36:40May have been different.
36:41If you're talking about somebody
36:42on a straight shot,
36:4314 stairs down,
36:45you know,
36:45at the bottom is concrete.
36:47The police went over those stairs.
36:48There wasn't any evidence at all
36:50that somebody had fallen down
36:51on those stairs
36:52and no blood,
36:53no marks on the wall.
36:54When you go down
36:54the first set of stairs,
36:56somebody going down those stairs
36:58would have hit that wall
36:59with some force.
37:00There was nothing to indicate
37:02that that wall had been fixed.
37:04Then the next wall,
37:05only a couple of stairs down.
37:06Once again,
37:07no blood on the stairs
37:08and they went over every inch.
37:10I don't think it was
37:11any kind of blood-related trauma
37:14because if there's any amount
37:16of bloodletting,
37:17like, it's very, very difficult.
37:18If it's like blunt force trauma
37:20or serious amounts of bleeding,
37:23like a stab wound
37:23or you were shot
37:24or hitting with objects,
37:26like, it's very, very difficult
37:28to clean up all that blood.
37:31Or we would know, like,
37:32well, something's missing here
37:33or the cart was torn up
37:35or there's evidence of cleanup.
37:37There was none of that.
37:39It's more likely
37:41close contact,
37:43strangulation.
37:44At the end of the day,
37:45we did not have a body.
37:47Making headlines today
37:48after three weeks
37:49of graphic testimony
37:51and four days
37:52of intense deliberations.
37:53The verdict
37:53in a high-profile murder case
37:55is finally in.
37:56Natasha Pace has the latest
37:58in the trial
37:59for Paul Trevor Kellnan.
38:06Emotion filled Nova Scotia
38:08Supreme Court this morning
38:09as the family of Rita Jordan
38:11heard the news
38:11they've been waiting
38:12three years for.
38:13Jury found him guilty
38:14of second-degree murder
38:15and indignity of human remains.
38:17And he got sentenced
38:18to life in prison.
38:20Yeah, second-degree,
38:21I believe,
38:21was the appropriate charge.
38:22There was nothing
38:24really substantial
38:24to say that he was planning
38:26on killing her.
38:28In addition to the
38:29mandatory life sentence,
38:31he imposed a concurrent
38:32five-year sentence
38:33for indecently interfering
38:34with human remains.
38:36All the waiting's worth it.
38:37Justice has been served.
38:39These are tears of relief.
38:41The only thing is,
38:42I wish that would bring
38:43my daughter back,
38:44but it never will.
38:46But at least for her,
38:48she...
38:49She'll rest now.
38:50She'll rest now.
38:51The Jordan family
38:52was present every day
38:53of the three-week trial,
38:54desperate for closure
38:55in Rita's death.
38:57Yesterday,
38:57it was terrible.
39:00But today is great.
39:02I'm so happy.
39:04I think the thing
39:05that stood out the most
39:06about the case
39:06was Donna Jordan.
39:08I can't imagine
39:08what she went through
39:09during this trial.
39:13Rita was my firstborn.
39:15She was a caring,
39:17loving, beautiful,
39:19curly-haired girl
39:21that we miss very much.
39:23She was a beautiful
39:24human being,
39:25and we remember
39:26everything about her,
39:27and she's still with us.
39:29She'll always be with us.
39:31The family wore purple ribbons
39:33to court in memory of Rita.
39:34Purple is against domestic violence,
39:38and so that's why we wear them.
39:40What you see more recently
39:41is all of society
39:44getting more involved
39:45in realizing
39:46just what a plague this is
39:48and the incredible seriousness
39:51and the incredible seriousness
39:52that can come,
39:52the outcome that Rita Jordan faced.
39:55Whatever they may or may not have said
39:57about Rita Jordan,
39:59an intimate partner of violence,
40:01it never justifies
40:04the level of violence
40:05at any point in time.
40:07She packed her bags,
40:09she was leaving,
40:10which she had a right to do,
40:11and he didn't like that,
40:12and she was killed because of it.
40:15We never, ever thought
40:16he was capable
40:16of doing such monstrous things.
40:19Like, we didn't believe it until.
40:25The Kalman family
40:26did not wish to speak
40:27following the sentencing,
40:28but the defense confirms
40:30they will be appealing
40:31the murder conviction.
40:32There's 30 days from today,
40:33basically,
40:33to file the appeal,
40:34so it'll definitely be followed
40:36before the 30 days is up.
40:37I would say about 20 seconds
40:39after the verdict,
40:40I knew that they were going to appeal
40:42based on our use of
40:44the after-the-fact conduct
40:47and how the jury used it
40:49to convict him.
40:50Rita Jordan's family
40:51had been hoping
40:52that a guilty verdict
40:54would mark the end
40:55of their ordeal,
40:56but with the appeal,
40:58Rita's family worried
40:59her accused killer
41:00could go free.
41:02The primary ground of appeal
41:04for Mr. Kalman
41:05was the use of what's called
41:06after-the-fact evidence.
41:08And after-the-fact evidence
41:10is anything that the accused
41:11says or does
41:12after the commission
41:14of the offense.
41:15But Paul Kalman's lawyers
41:17argued it should not be allowed
41:18as a way to prove intent.
41:21The majority of judges
41:22sided with them
41:23and decided to overturn
41:25the conviction,
41:26ordering a new trial
41:27on the lesser charge
41:28of manslaughter.
41:30However,
41:31one of the three judges
41:32disagreed.
41:34In this case
41:35at the Nova Scotia
41:35Court of Appeal,
41:36it was a split decision
41:37and that's why this case
41:39and the decision
41:40out of the Supreme Court
41:41of Canada
41:41is influential,
41:43why it's precedent setting
41:44is because it really clarified
41:46how courts could use
41:48after-the-fact conduct
41:49to help make their decision
41:51about innocence or guilt.
41:54Prior to this case,
41:56the Supreme Court of Canada
41:57had always been consistent
41:58that we could use
42:00evidence of
42:00after-the-fact conduct.
42:02However,
42:02some of the lower courts
42:04were getting away from that
42:05in which they were limiting it,
42:07that they were trying to say
42:08it would be neutral
42:09as to intent.
42:10It is the extraordinary nature
42:12of that
42:13and the risks
42:14that Mr. Kalman took in that
42:15that lead to
42:17an inference of intent here.
42:19And the position that we took
42:22was that this was highly relevant.
42:24The danger would be
42:25that if this evidence
42:26wasn't indicative
42:27of intent
42:28that if it was somehow neutral
42:31and we'd never be able
42:32to get it in,
42:32that you would be able
42:33to commit the perfect murder
42:35if you were just able
42:36to completely destroy the body.
42:38And that simply can't be the case.
42:43Many, many, many nights at Mums,
42:46talking about it,
42:47crying about it,
42:49watching the news together.
42:53Yeah, many, many, many, many nights.
42:55I just remember
42:56every single trial
42:58was horrible.
42:59I had to listen to it
43:00over and over.
43:04There was a very real possibility
43:06that they would be faced
43:08with another trial.
43:10Thank both counsel
43:11for your very helpful
43:12and able submissions.
43:13We'll take this matter
43:14under reserve.
43:16With the decision
43:17of the Supreme Court of Canada,
43:18the conviction was reinstated
43:20and the matter was finally closed.
43:23The jury didn't believe him
43:25and the Supreme Court of Canada
43:26didn't believe him.
43:27I mean, we were more happy
43:29that he got what he deserved.
43:31He deserves much more,
43:32but yeah, it was a good day.
43:35It continues to be an important case.
43:38Here's a woman who's working.
43:40She's trying to make a life
43:41for herself.
43:41She's trying to change
43:42her circumstances
43:43that she was in
43:44with Mr. Callan
43:45and he killed her.
43:50And then this is our family picture.
43:53But yeah, there was no worry then.
43:55We didn't know that cruel things
43:56were in the world.
43:59And if it was,
44:00it only happened in the movies.
44:02So right there,
44:03we were pretty content
44:03and we were pretty damn happy.
44:07As you can see on both
44:08my parents' proud faces.
44:11I want her to be remembered
44:13how everybody remembers Rita.
44:14She was beautiful, kind.
44:17She had anybody's back.
44:19She was rough around the edges.
44:22She was smart and wise.
44:25Rita Jordan was Rita Jordan.
44:27She was just a beautiful person.
44:32We reached out to Paul Callan
44:34and in prison
44:35to ask if he had anything more
44:36he wished to reveal
44:37about what happened to Rita.
44:39Specifically,
44:40where her family may find
44:42any more of her remains.
44:43He declined to speak with us.
44:46And so,
44:47Rita's family
44:47remains without answers.
44:50Finding solace
44:51only in the memories
44:52of Rita
44:53from happier times.
44:57Thank you for joining us
44:59tonight on Crime Beat.
45:00I'm Anthony Robart.
45:03Want more episodes
45:04of Crime Beat?
45:05Listen to the Crime Beat podcast
45:07now for free
45:08on Apple Podcasts,
45:10Spotify,
45:10or wherever you find
45:12your favourite podcast.
45:13And for past episodes
45:15of Crime Beat,
45:16go to the Global TV app,
45:18visit globaltv.com,
45:20or check out
45:21our Crime Beat YouTube page.
45:25the Global TV app
45:29to персонality
45:30Bye.
45:31You
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