Janet Smith case
Encyclopedia
The Janet Smith case concerns the murder of 22-year-old nursemaid Janet Kennedy Smith in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada
on 26 July 1924, and the ensuing suspicions of a coverup.
, Scotland
on 25 June 1902 to railway fireman Arthur Mitchell Tooner Smith and Joanna Benzies. The family moved to London when she was eleven.
In January 1923, she obtained a position taking care of the newborn daughter of Frederick and Doreen Baker. Frederick Baker ran an import-export business. When the family moved, first to Paris in April, then in October back to Vancouver, she accompanied them.
The Bakers were among the social elite of the city. They lived on the fashionable West Side, then moved in May 1924 into the house of Frederick Baker's brother, Richard Plunkett Baker, at 3851 Osler in the exclusive Shaughnessy Heights neighborhood.
The Chinese houseboy, married 25- or 27-year-old Wong Foon Sing, became infatuated with Smith, giving her presents such as a silk nightdress. Although her friends would later testify that she feared him, her diary would reveal that she enjoyed attracting men.
Green picked up the weapon, making it impossible to obtain fingerprints from it. Despite there being no bullet, blood or brain tissue on the walls, no powder burns on her face (suggesting she had been shot from a distance), and the fact that the back of her head had been smashed in, Green concluded that she had committed suicide. After an inquest, the Vancouver coroner called it a "self-inflicted but accidental death."
Undertakers were summoned, and instructed by both the coroner and the police to embalm
the body, likely eradicating any clues that it might have yielded, for instance whether Smith had been sexually assaulted. It was the first time the undertaker had embalmed the victim of a violent death without a postmortem. He found unexplained burns on Smith's right side. Smith was buried at Mountain View Cemetery
.
Alexander Malcolm Manson
to reopen the case. The Vancouver Star, a scandal sheet published by Victor Odlum
, was quick to pounce on the affair. An additional inducement for Odlum was that an enemy of his, General A. D. McRae, was the father of Frederick Baker's sister-in-law.
The body was exhumed on 28 August and a second inquest held. This time the jury concluded that Smith had been murdered. Manson appointed a special prosecutor, Malcolm Bruce Jackson
.
Suspicion immediately fell on Wong, the only other person in the house (other than the Bakers' baby, Rosemary) when the crime was supposedly committed. The Star published several articles in late July and early August in which it had portrayed Wong as the likely killer.
Popular Member of the Legislative Assembly
Mary Ellen Smith introduced the "Janet Smith Bill" in November. It would have prohibited the employing of Orientals and white women in the same household. The Vancouver Province pointed out that it violated the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of 1911 (which prohibited discriminatory legislation against Japanese) and that the British Columbia legislature did not have the authority to pass it. It failed after a second reading.
robes. They proceeded to torture their captive for six weeks, trying to elicit a confession, but Wong refused to cooperate. On 1 May, he was released.
A scandal later developed when it was discovered that the kidnappers included "two Point Grey police commissioners, the chief of police, a detective sergeant and three prominent officials of the city’s Scottish societies." One man pleaded guilty to kidnapping. A detective and his son were also convicted, but the jury gave a "strong recommendation of mercy". The Point Grey policemen were acquitted, and the government controversially barred prosecution of the others.
As it turned out, Manson knew where Wong was being held, but did nothing about it, hoping that the torture would solve the case. Instead, Manson's career was severely damaged by the revelation of his inaction.
.
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on 26 July 1924, and the ensuing suspicions of a coverup.
Background
Janet Smith was born in PerthPerth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
on 25 June 1902 to railway fireman Arthur Mitchell Tooner Smith and Joanna Benzies. The family moved to London when she was eleven.
In January 1923, she obtained a position taking care of the newborn daughter of Frederick and Doreen Baker. Frederick Baker ran an import-export business. When the family moved, first to Paris in April, then in October back to Vancouver, she accompanied them.
The Bakers were among the social elite of the city. They lived on the fashionable West Side, then moved in May 1924 into the house of Frederick Baker's brother, Richard Plunkett Baker, at 3851 Osler in the exclusive Shaughnessy Heights neighborhood.
The Chinese houseboy, married 25- or 27-year-old Wong Foon Sing, became infatuated with Smith, giving her presents such as a silk nightdress. Although her friends would later testify that she feared him, her diary would reveal that she enjoyed attracting men.
Death and lack of an investigation
On 26 July 1924, Point Grey Police Constable James Green was called to the house. Wong claimed he heard what sounded like a car backfire; in the basement he found Smith's body. There was a bullet wound through her temple and a .45 caliber revolver near her right hand.Green picked up the weapon, making it impossible to obtain fingerprints from it. Despite there being no bullet, blood or brain tissue on the walls, no powder burns on her face (suggesting she had been shot from a distance), and the fact that the back of her head had been smashed in, Green concluded that she had committed suicide. After an inquest, the Vancouver coroner called it a "self-inflicted but accidental death."
Undertakers were summoned, and instructed by both the coroner and the police to embalm
Embalming
Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and to make them suitable for public display at a funeral. The three goals of embalming are thus sanitization, presentation and preservation of a corpse to achieve this...
the body, likely eradicating any clues that it might have yielded, for instance whether Smith had been sexually assaulted. It was the first time the undertaker had embalmed the victim of a violent death without a postmortem. He found unexplained burns on Smith's right side. Smith was buried at Mountain View Cemetery
Mountain View Cemetery (Vancouver)
Mountain View Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in the City of Vancouver, British Columbia. Opened in 1887, it is located west of Fraser Street between 31st and 43rd Avenues...
.
Reopening of the case
Smith's friends contacted the recently formed United Council of Scottish Societies, which pressured the provincial government and Attorney GeneralAttorney General of British Columbia
The Ministry of the Attorney General of British Columbia is a provincial government department responsible for the oversight of the justice system within the province of British Columbia, Canada...
Alexander Malcolm Manson
Alexander Malcolm Manson
Alexander Malcolm Manson was a British Columbia judge and politician in the Liberal Party. Positions he held included Speaker, Minister of Labour and Attorney General. He was later appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia....
to reopen the case. The Vancouver Star, a scandal sheet published by Victor Odlum
Victor Odlum
Victor Wentworth Odlum, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O. was a Canadian journalist, soldier, and diplomat. He was a prominent member of the business and political elite of Vancouver, British Columbia from the 1920s until his death in 1971...
, was quick to pounce on the affair. An additional inducement for Odlum was that an enemy of his, General A. D. McRae, was the father of Frederick Baker's sister-in-law.
The body was exhumed on 28 August and a second inquest held. This time the jury concluded that Smith had been murdered. Manson appointed a special prosecutor, Malcolm Bruce Jackson
Malcolm Bruce Jackson
Malcolm Bruce Jackson was a lawyer and political figure in British Columbia. He represented The Islands from 1916 to 1924 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a Liberal....
.
Suspicion immediately fell on Wong, the only other person in the house (other than the Bakers' baby, Rosemary) when the crime was supposedly committed. The Star published several articles in late July and early August in which it had portrayed Wong as the likely killer.
Proposed legislation
Odlum was an "exclusionist"; he believed that Asians could not assimilate with whites and had run on an anti-Asian platform in the 1921 federal election. On 8 August, he published an editorial called "Should Chinese Work with White Girls? He called for legislation to "preserve white girls of impressionable youth from the unnecessary wiles and villainies of low caste yellow men."Popular Member of the Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....
Mary Ellen Smith introduced the "Janet Smith Bill" in November. It would have prohibited the employing of Orientals and white women in the same household. The Vancouver Province pointed out that it violated the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of 1911 (which prohibited discriminatory legislation against Japanese) and that the British Columbia legislature did not have the authority to pass it. It failed after a second reading.
Kidnapping
Interest gradually died down, until on 20 March 1925, Wong was kidnapped by a group of men dressed in Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
robes. They proceeded to torture their captive for six weeks, trying to elicit a confession, but Wong refused to cooperate. On 1 May, he was released.
A scandal later developed when it was discovered that the kidnappers included "two Point Grey police commissioners, the chief of police, a detective sergeant and three prominent officials of the city’s Scottish societies." One man pleaded guilty to kidnapping. A detective and his son were also convicted, but the jury gave a "strong recommendation of mercy". The Point Grey policemen were acquitted, and the government controversially barred prosecution of the others.
As it turned out, Manson knew where Wong was being held, but did nothing about it, hoping that the torture would solve the case. Instead, Manson's career was severely damaged by the revelation of his inaction.
Trial
Meanwhile, Wong was put on trial for murder. In October, the case was thrown out of court due to lack of evidence. Wong went back to work for the Bakers. In 1926, he left the country for Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.