From: jcs
On April 8th, 2009, eight-year-old Tori Stafford left Oliver Stevens School in Woodstock, Ontario, but never returned home [00:00:03]. Surveillance footage discovered seven hours later captured Tori walking side-by-side with an unidentified woman [00:00:36]. This woman was later identified as Terry Lynn McClintock [00:01:54].
Initial Identification and Interrogation
A public appeal was made by local police for the woman in the video to come forward [00:00:55]. On May 19th, police identified the woman as 18-year-old Terry Lynn McClintock, who was already in custody for breaching a probation order related to a previous drug violation [00:01:54]. She was described as white, between 19 to 25 years of age, 5’2”, and about 125 pounds, with a black ponytail [00:00:47].
Terry Lynn was transferred to the Ontario Police Headquarters and interviewed by Detective Sergeant Jim Smith at approximately 5:30 p.m. [00:02:03]. Initially, she denied being the woman in the video and claimed to know nothing about the missing girl [00:02:09]. However, about 45 minutes into the interrogation, she confessed [00:02:13].
Confession and Details of the Crime
Terry Lynn McClintock provided a disturbing, detailed account of the abduction and killing of Tori Stafford [00:02:55]. She stated that she lured the eight-year-old girl into a secluded parking space with the promise of showing her a puppy [00:02:57]. Tori was then forced into the back seat of a vehicle that immediately drove away [00:03:03]. The driver was 28-year-old Michael Rafferty [00:03:06].
According to McClintock, Rafferty drove to a secluded area about 100 miles north of Woodstock [00:03:08]. He then proceeded to sexually assault and murder Tori, inflicting fatal injuries through four strikes to the head with a claw hammer [00:03:13].
Terry Lynn drew a rough sketch of the area where Tori was killed, which eventually led police to discover the girl’s remains [00:03:20]. The autopsy revealed lacerations to Tori’s liver and sixteen broken ribs, but her cause of death correlated with Terry’s testimony, confirming repeated blows to the head with a blunt object [00:03:25].
Terry Lynn’s Cooperation and Sentencing
During Michael Rafferty’s interrogation, Terry Lynn McClintock’s detailed statements were used by investigators. She declined to call a lawyer four times and expressed feeling “so bad” about what happened, wanting to tell the police everything [00:33:52]. Her account included details of driving to Guelph, stopping at Home Depot to buy garbage bags (which Rafferty didn’t want to use his debit card for to avoid tracking), and then driving to a farmer’s field where the murder occurred [00:34:51]. She claimed she walked away during the assault and was made to hold a garbage bag while Rafferty placed clothes, a jacket, and the hammer inside [00:35:33].
Terry Lynn’s statements, which were verified by video and other evidence, were used to confront Rafferty [00:36:41]. Both Michael Rafferty and Terry Lynn McClintock were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years [00:57:16].