Evelyn Dick

Evelyn Dick ( MacLean, born October 13, 1920) was a Canadian socialite suspected of killing her husband and son although she never confessed to either crime. She served time for manslaughter from 1947 to 1958 and subsequently disappeared. She was issued a pardon under the royal prerogative of mercy in 1985. Her trials remain among the most sensationalized events in Canadian criminal history.

Background and case Evelyn MacLean was born in Beamsville, Ontario to Scottish immigrants Donald and Alexandra MacLean. A year after her birth, her family moved to 214 Rosslyn Avenue South, Hamilton, Ontario. Her father was an abusive alcoholic who collected firearms. He worked as a streetcar conductor for the Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) and was later found to have stolen $200,000 from them. A cyst on the torso’s posterior and an undescended testicle allowed the victim to be identified as John. Bohozuk was cleared of wrongdoing despite attempts by Dick to place blame on him.

In 2001 Canadian author Brian Vallée authored The Torso Murder: The Untold Story of Evelyn Dick a book focusing on Dick's murder trial and subsequent disappearance. A 2002 television film, Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story, suggests Dick protected her parents, who were also viable suspects in the murder of her baby and husband, and that she was sexually abused by her father and exploited by both parents (especially by her mother) to provide them a higher standing and income. The movie was originally scheduled to be aired on September 11, 2001, but was delayed until March 18, 2002 due to the terrorist attacks on the original air date.

Hamilton author James King listed the Evelyn Dick story as partial inspiration for his 2000 novel Blue Moon. The case was also the subject of the 2005 film noir musical, Black Widow.