The Keith Crane Case
Michael Jones

PART ONE: Crimes and Consequences

1.1 The Arrest

This is Keith Crane's version of what happened. "Keith Crane" is not his real name. In fact all the names in this story have been changed.

At 5:00 PM on Wednesday, July 7, 1993, Crane, a mechanic at a St. John's trucking company, finished a double shift. His partner Vernon Haynes picked him up from work. They drove to the home of George Grant and Nadia Markham on Gower Street. Crane and Haynes lived in Manuels but they were spending the night with their friends in St. John's.

It was Nadia's birthday. Keith had a flask of gin and they all had a drink. At 7:30 they bought a dozen beer and ordered Chinese food. They had a small party. Keith had a present for Nadia.

At about 10:30 Keith and Vernon walked to the Ship Inn on Solomon's Lane, five minutes from George and Nadia's house. They had a couple of beers. Their friend Geoff McAllister joined them. After an hour the three of them moved on to another nightclub, Solomon's, a gay bar on the corner of Water Street and Solomon's Lane.

At about 1:30 there was a disturbance at the bar, a dispute between two men. The bartender called the police, giving the names of the men involved. Neither Keith, Vernon, or Geoff noticed any of this. The two troublemakers left the bar. Soon after this Crane got up to go. After the double shift that day he was tired, and he had to work again the following afternoon. He intended to walk up the hill to George and Nadia's house and go to bed. He went to the bathroom first, then, waving goodbye to his friends, walked out the door.