Eve Lazarus - Blood, Sweat and Fear: The Story of Inspector Vance, A Pioneer Forensics Investigator

Table of Contents

A ton of thanks goes to my friend Michael Kluckner who took on the first read of my unedited manuscript, sat me down in his kitchen, brewed coffee, made suggestions, corrected mistakes, and helped shape this into a much better book. A depth of gratitude also goes to Douglas M. Lucas, the former director of the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Ontario, and a man who probably knows more about the history of forensics than anyone on this planet. Doug kindly looked over my science, corrected, suggested, and tweaked. Credit for any mistakes that slipped through the cracks belongs solely to me.

I cant imagine Blood, Sweat, and Fear without the input of the Vance family. I was fortunate to meet with Marion Pocock, Vances daughter, and her daughter Janey Johnson early in the process. Janey managed to unearth several boxes that belonged to J.F.C.B. Vance that contained documents, photos, notes, and memories. The information became integral to the story, and a lot of this material is featured in the book. Thank you also to David Vance, the genealogist in the family, who was able to supply much of the early history of the Vance family in Canada.

It would be impossible to write a book on true crime, forensics, or history without the help and resources of a number of people and institutions. Special thanks to Kristin Hardie and Rosslyn Shipp at the Vancouver Police Museum, to the staff at BC Archives who went out of their way to find long-lost records of inquests and preliminary hearings, to the staff at Vancouver Archives, the Vancouver Public Librarys Special Collections, New Westminster Library, Linda Kawamoto Reid at the Nikkei National Museum, and Caroline Duncan at Oak Bay Archives.

Id also like to thank the Belshaw Gang, especially Tom Carter and Jason Vanderhill; Dr. Neil Boyd, professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University; Dr. Elizabeth Sheehy, professor of law at the University of Ottawa; Dr. David Klonsky, associate professor of psychology at the University of BC; and former Vancouver Police Department forensics specialist, Eric Grummisch for their time and expert assistance.

And, a huge thanks to the British Columbia Arts Council for awarding a grant for the writing of Blood, Sweat, and Fear.

Im especially grateful to the amazing team at Arsenal Pulp Press. Thank you, Brian Lam, Robert Ballantyne, Cynara Geissler, Oliver McPartlin, and my exceptional editor, Susan Safyan.

Credit: Kerp Photography

Eve Lazarus is a writer with a passion for non-traditional history and a fascination with murder. Her previous books include the BC bestsellers Cold Case Vancouver: The Citys Most Baffling Unsolved Murders (Bill Duthie Booksellers Choice Award finalist) and Sensational Vancouver. Eve lives in North Vancouver and blogs at Every Place Has a Story.

evelazarus.com

Books

Andersen, Earl. Hard Place to Do Time: The Story of Oakalla Prison, 1912-1991. New Westminster, BC: Hillpointe Publishing, 1993.

Bell, Suzanne. Crime and Circumstance: Investigating the History of Forensic Science. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2008.

Belshaw, John, ed. Vancouver Confidential. Vancouver: Anvil Press, 2014.

, and Diane Purvey. Vancouver Noir: 19301960. Vancouver: Anvil Press, 2011.

Choy, Wayson. All that Matters. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2004.

Francis, Daniel. Mayor Louis Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2004.

Ito, Roy. Stories of My People: A Japanese Canadian Journal. Hamilton, ON: S-20 and Nisei Veterans Association, 1994.

Kluckner, Michael. Vanishing British Columbia. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2005.

Lazarus, Eve. At Home with History: The Untold Secrets of Greater Vancouvers Heritage Homes. Vancouver: Anvil Press, 2007.

. Sensational Vancouver. Vancouver: Anvil Press, 2014.

. Cold Case Vancouver: The Citys Most Baffling Unsolved Murders. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2015.

Lillard, Charles, and Robin Skelton. The April Ghost of the Victoria Golf Links. Victoria, BC: Hawthorne Society, 1994.

McDermid, Val. Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime. London, UK: Profile Books, 2014.

McDonald, Robert A.J., and Jean Barman, eds. Vancouver Past: Essays in Social History. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1986.

Macdonald, Ian, and Betty OKeefe. Dr. Fred and the Spanish Lady: Fighting the Killer Flu. Surrey, BC: Heritage House Publishing, 2004.

Moore, Vincent. Angelo Branca: Gladiator of the Courts. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 1981.

Roy, Patricia. E. A White Mans Province: British Columbia Politicians and Chinese and Japanese Immigrants, 1858-1914. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1989.

. The Oriental Question: Consolidating a White Mans Province, 1914-1941. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2003. Sheehy, Elizabeth A. Defending Battered Women on Trial: Lessons from the Transcripts. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2014.

Yee, Paul. Saltwater City: An Illustrated History of the Chinese in Vancouver. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 2006.

Newspapers

The British Columbian

Daily Colonist

Daily Province

District News

Globe and Mail

Merritt Herald

Milwaukee Journal

Montreal Gazette

Nanaimo Free Press

North Vancouver Review

Ottawa Evening Journal

Spartanburg Herald

Spokesman Drummondville

Sydney Morning Herald

Toronto Star Weekly

Vancouver News Herald

Vancouver Star

Vancouver Sun

Victoria Daily Times

Victoria Times Colonist

The World

Journal Articles

Cameron, James D. Canadas Struggle with Illegal Entry on Its West Coast: The Case of Fred Yoshy and Japanese Migrants before the Second World War. BC Studies 146 (Summer 2005): 3762.

Commemorating 75 years of Forensic Science in the RCMP. The Quartet (Spring 2013).

Huzel, James P. Vancouver Past: The Incidence of Crime in Vancouver during the Great Depression. BC Studies 6970 (SpringSummer 1986): 21148.

Lett, Stephen H. Crime Detection Laboratory. Scarlett & Gold 68 (1987): 2532.

.The Regina Forensic Laboratory 50th Anniversary. Scarlett & Gold 69 (1988): 5057.

Lucas, D.M. CAC Founders Lecture: The Development of Forensic Science in Canada. Science & Justice 37 no. 1 (1997): 4754.

Prkachin, Yvan. Chinks pay Heavily for Hitting Pipe: The Perception and Enforcement of Canadas New Drug Laws in Rural and Northern British Columbia, 1908-30. BC Studies 153 (Spring 2007): 73105.

Sutherland, Neil. The Triumph of Formalism, Elementary Schooling in Vancouver from the 1920s to the 1960s. BC Studies 69-70 (Spring-Summer 1986): 175N210.

Tryhorn, F.G. Scientific Aids in Criminal Investigation, Police Journal IX no. 1 (JanuaryMarch 1936).

Canadian Police Gazette, November 1933.

National Home Monthly, September 1935.

Macleans, November 1, 1934.

Standard Magazine, Montreal, August 20, 1949.

Other

City of Vancouver Archives, Map 191, 1907.

City Reflections, 1907, 2007. DVD. Vancouver Historical Society, 2008.

Vancouver Police Department Annual Reports (190749), Vancouver Police Museum.