The Lucknow Sentinel, 1967-05-24, Page 1517
MAY 24th 1167 THE LUCKNOW SENTINEL, LUCKNOW, ONTARIO
WEDNESDAY, ._ .
Be Mut ip le'
Believed To #p ;.,..;MurSuicide
Six members of a, Dungannon dis-
trict farsoily'were found shot to,
• death intheir farm home Friday
night by the family's only survivor
a 20-year,old daughter.
• Dead are Charles l*N.ee,,5O, •:
and his wife, Lillian,, age 44,
their .three 4sons , Grant, 19 ,' James
17, Wilfred 7 and • a: daughter. Jean.
11.. The 'survivor'is Helen 20, who
works in a Stratford bank.
All victims were shot the,
head. a.•.. 22=calibre rifle' found.' n
:the home :is believesLto be the
murder, weapon.; The father's body
d•in theod shed,;• the w
• wasp fours R
others Were shot in'their beds ; : Pols
.. ice believe,it to be .a 'multiple
slayingand suicide..
,OPP Sit .. Robert: White of Coder
. .
ich said there are. indications.that
the father shot .the others early, , .
Friday morning At 7 p.m. Fri
da Mr: McNee phoned a:.
•Goderich undertaker, Edward
Stiles and asked him oto pick u
his daughter coming by bus' from
• rd where she is employed.
.
'Stratford P Y
' The grisly discovery WAS, Made
about 9 p, m . ` by Helen, , who had:
arrived home from: Stratford to
• spend' the .weekend ; .and two of her
• friends;, Mrss Melba Sti'ies;••20, of
•. Goderich:and • Larry • Park , •21, • of
Dungannon who had driven her to •
the farm•home;
Mr McNee is believed'to have
shot himself before his daughter
arrived. The,McNee home is:on.the
2nd concession of'West,-Wawanosh
Township,' a mile south ,of . Dungann
on and just east of the' Lucknow-
' . Nile. road....
Notes believed written, by McNee,
were found in the'neat 11/2 storey.
brick house. Their contents were'
not disclosed:.
A,neighbor•said Mr, McNee mow-
ed th'e:lawn, Fjriday.afternoon'after:;'
the five are thought to, have been:*
murdered.:.
•
Mr, McNee had been a carpenter
for'several•years.' His son, Grant
operated the farm and the'other
Children attended school.
•
Miss IvIeNee went to the farm
Koine .with Miss Stiles and Mr Park
after, they' picked her up from the
busdepot two; hour's , earlier .;
Miss Stiles' father Edward' a •
funeral•director.in Goderich•'and' a
personal friend of the :McNee `
family'., said he had been contact--
0
ontact-ed by Mr: McNeeat 6 p.m. 'Fri- •
day and'asked to 'pick up.Helen.;r:
from the -depot and bring her to the
farm
"He sounded ver Upset"., YPset,
', Mr..
Stiles recalled, "And 'as1 ed if I.was
too•.busy to 'help him out. I .told
g
hint me would manage and, not to . .
.
worry; that we would look after •
Helen."
Stiles said Mr..•McNee told '.
"•Ed.; I'rri invery .bad shape," and
beganrepeating after he told. him, •
that.• he.would '',i a unable to pick
up -the girl "That's the best we
can -AO."'
'idea
a. ,
"I had.no. 'idea .what had
happen, n
edor what Would have happened
-
if :we .had take Helen out. there;,"„
earlier, said .k!ir . Shies. ,
"l. dont think: he would have•
harmed Helen or rny'self =':I think
he: just wanted •me to be with her
when we found them ." •
Provincial police said, the letter
•to Helen seemed to bear out this
.theory. •.
Mr, Stiles said Melba and 'Helen,
her best' friendfoi more than six,`,
years; had returned :to his home
and had spent about two 'hours '
talking, until Melba's boyfriend,
, Larry arrived after work, .
\He -said Larry offer•ed•to drive
Helen. to her home and the three.
of them left, shortly before 9. p.m.
, He said they went insid'e the dark
ened farm home and Helen. went•
irito "Grant's bedroom Mr. Stiles.
said Helen apparently felt. some- :.
thing .was''w rong• and that Grant
was dead
She returned and took Larry into ..
'the bedroom, and then:left g
to g o:
in:to.'waken her rnothe''.'
.Mr. 'Stiles said' Helen• apparently
did not;want to disturb her. `mother,
whom .she.thought•was sleeping
alone there, •and ..returned 'again to
Larry and: Melba
"Larry apparently,thought some
thin was drasticall wrongWand.'
th:ey;det:ded to,call me
Mr. Stiles said °Mrs,. McNee and
the four: children 'were all found`
in their.' beds, and all appeared to
be sleeping. He said there was no
noticeable ,sign of violence.
The bodies of Mr. IvicN'ee and
his'. daughter., :Jeanwere taken. to
Stratford General Hospital;, where
an autopsywas performed.`:
Mr . ' McNee isvsurvived; besides
his daughter Helen • by two broth-
ers, Graham., of ti. R, 3 ,' Auburn,
whose' farm is two houses away
from, the murder'scene; and. Earl of
Belmore; and•.his parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Ross McNee, of Nile:
Mrs. McNee, the former Lillian
Sproul, who Was born in alarm
horne ,directly across from her. .
married home, is survived., besides
her daughter.,' py two sisters, Mrs.
Mary Garness.of ,Willowdale, and
:Mrs: Ben. Mugford ,`of Lucan, six
brothers, Clifford, of Listowel;
Elmer, Auburn; William, •Cook's-
;Ville; David of West Wawanosh
.Township, Harvey' and Joseph,
Dungannon.. ;
The bodies were at, 'the `Sti'!es
Funeral :Home, Goderich. Service
was held at 2'p.m-; Tuesdayat the.
P
Bethel Pentecostal.Tabernacle,
Goderich Burial was in Colborne
Cemetery.
• L"ARRY... PARK,
,• found bodies
ot' farmhouse
MELBA STILES
'churn of. surviving
.McNee ,girl
EDWARD' 'STILES.
- probably last to talk
with slain ;father.
PAGE FIFTEEN
HELEN 'McN.EE
sole' survivor
Bride'sMoiher'Ai
5Oth AnniveiSary
Mr .` : and'« Mrs. •Jini .Lowry, ,..Mrs.
Wilfred Hackett • Mrs.. ` Burton •
Griffith ' Mrs. Lawrence Harrison
Mrs .0 John'. MacDonald, Miss.
Florence -MacDonald, 'Mrs. Kenn
•eth;MacKa.Y ' and Miss MMachan
attended' the 50.th weddin anniver
g.
sar. of their 'aunt and. uncle ' • Mr. .
and 'Mrs ..Harman Carne Bay,
City, 'Michigan on Sunday.
The, highlight of• the eveningwas
the presence', of their Grandmother
'the bride's, mother of 90,• Mrs.'
John'McKinnon.
he.one thin
more. verse' ile'
han •propane.,:;
�n l
•
r.n.G:: ■rra..:�rr�.. yrnr::z.
•
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cook your food, heat your home,• you are.. `
.
supply hot water, dry yotar clothes,
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grain pp y power of your home, farm buildings, and
.
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LUCKNOW;
fltario
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.
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• DIESEL FUEL' a GREASE
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Phone 528-2125
•
ROPERTI
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30•--acr-es,--good • small
•on Highway 86 •
ASKING PRICE $3,750
use,
*, .*, •*
2�'b.ig nicely . landscaped lots, " new
houses around, high land, water
available. A housebuilt on these
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ASKING PRICE PER LOT
$750
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Country home 2 miles from Luck-
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ASKING PRICE $3,500
Good home ' in Holy. rood; modern
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•
ASKING jPRICE,;$3,375
.-, 7�° 1 !� ,*
Two apartment house .n Holy ood,
ASKING PRICE $7;S00'.
* **
50 acre grass farm west of Ripley,
44 acres under cultivation.
,
ASKING PRICE $3,600
Purchaser has to pay for putting
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New 7 room home in small village,
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Some" p lovely (lake -front lots for
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ASKING PRICE $700 to k1,400
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CONTACT
van: EYL
1
•BOX 193, LUCKNOW
PHONE 528.3618
.AGENT .FOR JOHN BOSVELD,
REALTOR,, LONDON.