Life was already tough for the Barron family. Their two-room wooden house near Isbister Street and Saskatchewan Avenue was little more than a ramshackle 19x23-foot shelter. It had no phone, no running water, no electricity, and no room for the family of 14 who called it home. A neighbour referred to them as “very, very poor – just making ends meet.”
Mr. Albert Barron and his wife Elizabeth had 12 children: Roland (21), Leo (19), Allan (18), Edward (15), Loretta (14), Cecille (12), Evelyn (11), Jeanette (9), Beverley (7), Oliver (5), Olive (5), and Warren (3).
The father was a cemetery laborer. Leo had worked briefly at a garage but had been unemployed for several months.
Tuesday, December 13, 1955 was a bad day for Leo. It was an even worse day for his mother, Elizabeth.
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| Some reports claimed there were 11 children; 12 is correct. [1] |
Eighteen-year-old son Allan had been outside shovelling snow when his mother came to the door saying, “Leo shot me.” The two boys carried her to the couch. She was in pain and conscious, telling neighbour Mrs. McMillan, “Florence, Leo shot me, but I don’t think he meant it.”
Not having a phone, Leo and Allan ran to Mrs. Hamel’s home on Isbister Street for help. Her first call was to Father Clement Lepine of the St. Charles Roman Catholic parish. Then she called St. James police, who offered no assistance, saying “the case was out of their jurisdiction.” So Mrs. Hamel then called the Mounties, who directed her to go over to the Barrons’ house “to see what’s what.” When she reported back to them, they finally came with an ambulance. Dr. James O’Toole arrived at the Barron home about 2:15 pm and found neighbours, a priest, and some of the children.
Elizabeth died on the operating table at the Grace Hospital about 3:10–3:15 pm on December 13, about 75 minutes after being shot in the back. Doctors reported that she had suffered “extensive internal haemorrhage and shock” caused by the bullet that severely lacerated her liver.
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| Winnipeg’s original Grace Hospital, built in 1906 at Arlington Street and Preston Avenue (since demolished) was in the Wolseley area. The current Grace Hospital at 300 Booth Drive, opened in 1967, is only eight minutes away from Saskatchewan Avenue and Isbister Street. [2] |
Leo never denied shooting his mother, but claimed he did not know the gun was loaded and that it fired accidentally. Known to be a tease, it was not the first time Leo had pretended to shoot his mother. On this fateful day, however, he admitted he was “kind of mad” at her. Planning to go shoot rabbits, Leo had lost a mitt and she would not help him look for it. He told her to find it or he would shoot her. Those words would come to haunt him.
The sorry 19-year-old Leo was detained by the RCMP and held on a coroner’s warrant ahead of a preliminary inquest held on December 22 in provincial police court. After a three-hour inquest, he was taken to the Headingley jail.
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| Winnipeg Tribune, December 23, 1955, pp. 1, 3 [3] |
On January 18, 1956 Leo Barron was committed for jury trial on a charge of murder. The decision followed testimony from his 14-year-old sister Loretta, a key witness. But her testimony was problematic. The young girl often broke down and refused to talk, and there were discrepancies when she did speak. Crown attorney S. R. Lyon deemed her unreliable, and almost had her declared a hostile witness.
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| Leo’s younger sister Loretta testified that Leo had threatened his mother, saying, “Find my mitt or I'll shoot you.” The story says an older sister comforted Leo, but he didn't have an older sister, so this may have been a cousin or friend. [4] |
While Leo awaited his jury trial, his family carried on as well as they could. Their aunt, Mrs. Cecile Foidart, brought her own three children to the home to help look after her brother’s large brood. “Mr. Barron told them I was to be their Mum now, and they don’t fret about their dead mother any more,” she said.
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| “WASH TIME: Allan Barron dries his little brother Warren. The twins Olive and Oliver line up at the wash bowl. Mrs. Foidart and her son Reginald wait by the cooker.” |
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| The motherless family was grateful to have help from their aunt. [5] |
Leo’s murder trial was scheduled to begin Monday, February 13 at 10 am in courtroom No. 1. Fifteen crown witnesses were expected to testify. It took crown counsel S. R. Lyons and defence counsel S. Breen 50 minutes to select an all-male jury. Thirty were rejected. Three of the 15 witnesses would be Barron family members. Mr. Justice Ralph Maybank would preside over the trial. [6]
In testimony from Const. H. G. Van Deusen, an RCMP firearms expert, the rifle’s condition was questioned. The .22 calibre rifle was supposedly emptied by an older brother well before December 13, but when tested by the RCMP the gun would not always eject the last round. This defect may have played a role in its firing when Elizabeth was killed.
Testimony from sobbing 14-year-old Loretta Barron was next to hopeless, claimed Mr. Justice Maybank. She refused to talk and did not seem to understand the importance of telling the truth. The judge said he was dubious about her intelligence and the value of anything she would say.
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| Leo’s 14-year-old sister Loretta was a key witness, but clammed up on the stand. [7] |
Leo Barron’s fate was in the hands of the jury by February 15. Crown counsel S. R, Lyon acknowledged that the shooting was accidental, but noted it was negligent to not check whether the gun was empty. Defence counsel S. Breen reminded the jury that there was no intent, so the question of murder should be dismissed. (The judge seemed to agree.) Breen also told the jury “that statements made by Barron to police were not clear about the actual shooting because due to poor education and poor environment Leo was not able to express himself with clarity.”
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| Mr. Justice Ralph Maybank “told the jury they could return one of three verdicts: Not guilty as charged, guilty of murder or guilty of manslaughter.” [8] |
The jury retired to deliberate after a 45-minute charge by Mr. Justice Ralph Maybank. They took less time to return their verdict: guilty of manslaughter and one year in Headingley jail.
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| Guilty of manslaughter. Go to jail, go directly to jail. [9] |
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| Isbister Street at Saskatchewan Avenue: a dead end in more ways than one. [Google maps] |
Sources
- “Rifle Shot Kills Mother of 11,” Winnipeg Free Press. 14 Dec. 1955, pp. 1, 8.
- “Grace Hospital, Winnipeg, Man., Canada,” Past Forward: Winnipeg’s Digital Public History. http://pastforward.winnipeg.ca/digital/collection/berman/id/7775/
- “Son, 19, Charged With Gun Death,” Winnipeg Tribune. 23 Dec. 1955, pp. 1, 3.
- “Youth Weeps Bitterly as Preliminary Trial Into Murder of Mother Ends,” Lethbridge Herald. 21 Jan. 1956, p. 2.
- “ ‘Rather Than Sit and Cry We Help One Another,’ ” Winnipeg Tribune. 2 Feb. 1956, p.19.
- “Murder Hearings For Spring Assize,” Winnipeg Tribune. 4 Feb. 1956, p. 5.
- “Tearful Witness Wordless,” Winnipeg Free Press. 14 Feb. 1956, pp. 1, 14.
- “Barron’s Fate Goes To Jury,” Winnipeg Tribune. 15 Feb. 1956, p. 4.
- “Youth Sentenced to One Year for Fatal Shooting of Mother,” Winnipeg Tribune. 16 Feb. 1956, p. 19.
