Clifford Sleigh

Timeline

• September 6, 1992 — Corinne Gustavson (“Punky”) was kidnapped from her north Edmonton yard.
• September 8, 1992 — Corinne Gustavson’s body was found in an Edmonton truckyard; she was found two days after she disappeared.
• Sunday, Sept. 6, 1992 — Clifford Sleigh took his host’s car without asking for several hours on the day Corinne was taken.
• 2000 — Police were able to get a complete DNA profile after earlier attempts during the initial investigation could not get usable evidence.
• September 1992 — Sleigh admitted taking the girl from her front yard while she played with a five-year-old friend; he grabbed the child closest to the fence.
• March 2003 — Police obtained a DNA sample from Clifford Sleigh and charged him with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and aggravated sexual assault.
• Monday, May 9, 2005 — The trial of Clifford Sleigh began in Edmonton; Sleigh pleaded guilty in front of the jury to kidnapping and manslaughter, but the Crown accepted only the kidnapping plea and proceeded with first-degree murder.
• May 12, 2005 — Medical examiner Dr. Graeme Dowling testified about the injuries and cause of death.
• May 2005 — Jurors deliberated for about 11 hours and found Sleigh guilty on all three charges.
• May 26, 2005 — Sleigh was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
• Friday, May 27, 2005 — The sentencing was covered, including victim impact statements and Sleigh breaking down and sobbing when apologizing.
• Thursday, May 12, 2005 — Dr. Graeme Dowling testified: “This is the worst example of this that I have seen.”
• Mon, 09 May 2005 — Court heard that Sleigh admitted to sexually assaulting the girl.

Background

Clifford Sleigh (b. 1963) was a Canadian. Corinne Gustavson, nicknamed “Punky” (described as a six-year-old), was kidnapped on the morning of September 6, 1992.

The case involved a 1992 sex slaying that occurred in Edmonton. Corinne Gustavson was found dead two days later in an Edmonton truckyard, about nine kilometres from her home.

It was said that police had considered Clifford Sleigh a suspect early in the investigation. His baseball cleats matched prints where Punky’s body had been found. Sleigh’s then-common-law wife and friends said he had been with them the entire Labour Day weekend when the girl disappeared.

The crime received intense media coverage, including a feature report on the American TV series Unsolved Mysteries.

The offence

Clifford Sleigh abducted Corinne Gustavson as she played in a backyard with another young friend. He said he “chose Gustavson only because she was the closest to the fence the two girls were playing in front of.”

Sleigh admitted in an agreed statement of facts that he sexually assaulted Corinne Gustavson. Crown attorneys said they could prove that the case involved first-degree murder, which can apply if the victim was killed in the commission of a sexual assault or kidnapping.

At trial, Sleigh offered to plead guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in front of the jury. The Crown attorneys rejected the plea but accepted a guilty plea to kidnapping.

Sleigh pleaded not guilty to aggravated sexual assault, while also acknowledging that he sexually assaulted her.

Track told the jury the cause of the girl’s death was “blunt force genital trauma.” The medical examiner later testified the cause of death was smothering.

It was said Sleigh was angry at his common-law wife and headed out to find a girl he knew “to rape,” and that he grabbed Punky because she was the child closest to the fence.

Investigation

Police said no arrests were made until March 2003, when Clifford Sleigh was charged.

During the initial investigation, DNA profiling had been attempted, but technicians could not get usable evidence. By 2000, the technology had improved and police were able to get a complete profile.

It was said that police obtained a DNA sample from Sleigh, and that this led to the March 2003 charge.

An agreed statement of facts was presented in which the Crown said Sleigh’s semen was found on Corinne Gustavson’s underwear. The Crown said that the semen matched Sleigh’s DNA profile and that there was only a one in 25 trillion chance that it was a random match.

Arrest

Police charged Clifford Sleigh in March 2003. At the time of charging, he was described as 42 years old.

Trial

The trial began in Edmonton. The trial proceeded before Legal Judge Terrence Clackson.

Pleas and charges

At the start of the trial, Sleigh admitted to abducting and sexually assaulting Punky. Sleigh tried to plead guilty to manslaughter at the beginning of the trial, but the Crown chose to proceed with a charge of first-degree murder.

Sleigh was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault in 2003.

On Monday, May 9, 2005, it was said Sleigh pleaded guilty in front of the jury to kidnapping and manslaughter as the charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping were read. The Crown accepted only the kidnapping plea.

Prosecutor Jason Track said:

“The Crown does not accept the guilty plea (of manslaughter)” and: “We intend to proceed on the charge of first-degree murder.”

Later, Track referred to an agreed statement of facts in which Sleigh described kidnapping and admitted to sexually assaulting the little girl.

Opening statements and agreed statement of facts

In his opening statement, Crown attorney Jason Track told the jury he could prove first-degree murder, which can apply if the victim was killed in the commission of a sexual assault or kidnapping.

Track said in the agreed statement of facts that Sleigh admitted that he sexually assaulted the girl and that his semen was found on her underwear, that the semen matches his DNA profile, and that there was only a one in 25 trillion chance that it is a random match.

Track described the case as involving Sleigh coming to Edmonton from Lodgepole, Alta., as part of a family meeting other relatives at a softball tournament. It was said Sleigh was staying near the Gustavson home.

It was said the jury was told that Sleigh took a friend’s car for a few hours the day the girl disappeared, and it was said that he took his host’s car without asking for several hours on Sunday, Sept. 6, 1992.

Track described the mother of Corinne’s five-year-old playmate coming into the Gustavson house with news that her daughter had seen someone take Corinne, and said:

“(The father, Ray Gustavson,) ran out in his stocking feet,” and: “He was unable to find her.”

It was said it was expected the playmate would testify at the trial, and Track said:

“She’ll tell you one native man took Punky,” and: “Mr. Sleigh is aboriginal.”

Medical examiner testimony

Medical examiner Dr. Graeme Dowling testified at the first-degree murder trial.

Dowling testified about severe genital injuries and the cause of death. He said:

“This is the worst example of this that I have seen,”

Dowling testified that the genital injuries were severe enough that they could have killed the child, had she not been smothered.

Defence questions

Defence lawyer Peter Royal asked Dowling whether Punky could have died because of a condition where a little pressure on a nerve in the neck for a short period of time can cause death, and Dowling said it would be unusual.

Royal asked whether bruising to the girl’s genitals could have been caused after she died. Dowling said what he saw didn’t indicate that, but that it was possible.

Sentencing

Before sentencing, the judge heard victim impact statements.

Sleigh broke down and sobbed when he stood up to apologize to the Edmonton child’s family.

Five members of Corinne’s family — including her sister, father and cousin — read victim impact statements, detailing the effect of the girl’s 1992 death.

It was said Corinne’s father told court he had a nervous breakdown and split from his wife after the murder. It was said Corinne’s mother said she was robbed of the chance to watch her daughter grow up, graduate and marry.

Clifford Sleigh received a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

The sentencing was reported on Friday, May 27, 2005.

Outcome

Sleigh was found guilty on all three charges. Jurors deliberated for about 11 hours.

It was said jurors were never told that Sleigh had two previous convictions for sexually assaulting young girls.

Aftermath

It was said Sleigh admitted to abducting and sexually assaulting Punky. He maintained that Punky was alive when he left her.