From: jcs
On April 8, 2009, eight-year-old Tori Stafford disappeared from Oliver Stevens School in Woodstock, Ontario, after the dismissal bell rang at 3:25 p.m. [00:00:03] She was last seen on surveillance footage leaving the premises two minutes later than other students, having gone back inside to retrieve her mother’s butterfly earrings from her desk [00:00:15]. Tori never returned home that Wednesday afternoon [00:00:25].
Initial Investigation and Public Appeal
Tori was reported missing by her grandmother at 6:04 p.m., immediately initiating a missing-persons investigation [00:00:28]. Approximately seven hours later, surveillance footage from a local high school emerged, showing Tori walking alongside an unidentified woman [00:00:35]. Tori did not appear to be struggling in the video [00:00:44], and the woman was described as white, between 19 and 25 years old, 5 foot 2, about 125 pounds, with a black ponytail [00:00:47].
Local police publicly appealed for the woman to come forward, and Tori’s grandparents offered a $10,000 reward for her return [00:00:55]. A Facebook group dedicated to finding her amassed over 20,000 followers in under 24 hours [00:01:03]. On April 12, four days after her disappearance, hundreds gathered in Woodstock for a vigil, where Tori’s mother made a tearful televised appeal [00:01:07]. Tori’s parents were interviewed by investigators and passed polygraph tests the following week [00:01:19].
Ground searches were called off six days after her disappearance due to a lack of clues or leads [00:01:24]. The day after, “America’s Most Wanted” featured Tori’s case as its top story [00:01:30]. On April 17, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) took over the investigation, and ground searches resumed [00:01:35]. The case was officially reclassified as an abduction [00:01:41]. Police intensified their media campaign by releasing a composite sketch of the woman in the video, circulating it on social media and news outlets [00:01:45].
Apprehension of Suspects
On May 19, police identified the woman as 18-year-old Terry Lynn McClintock, who was already in custody for breaching a probation order due to a prior drug violation [00:01:54]. She was transferred to OPP Headquarters for an interview with Detective Sergeant Jim Smith [00:02:03].
Initially, McClintock denied being the woman in the video and claimed no knowledge of the missing girl [00:02:09]. However, about 45 minutes into the interrogation, she broke down [00:02:13]. She provided a detailed account of Tori’s abduction and killing, stating she lured Tori into a secluded parking space by promising to show her a puppy [00:02:55]. Tori was then forced into the backseat of a vehicle driven by 28-year-old Michael Rafferty [00:03:03]. Rafferty drove to a secluded area about 100 miles north of Woodstock, where he sexually assaulted and murdered the eight-year-old, inflicting four fatal strikes to her head with a claw hammer [00:03:08].
McClintock drew a rough sketch of the crime scene, which helped police locate Tori’s remains [00:03:20]. Tori was found with lacerations to her liver and sixteen broken ribs, and the cause of death matched Terry Lynn’s testimony: repeated blows to the head with a blunt object [00:03:25].
At 7:55 p.m. that evening, Michael Rafferty was arrested and charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder [00:03:37].
Michael Rafferty’s Interrogation
Michael Rafferty was brought to police headquarters for immediate interrogation [00:03:45]. Staff Sergeant Chris Lome, head of the OPP’s Behavioral Sciences unit (specializing in criminal profiling, threat assessment, and forensic psychiatry), led the interrogation [00:07:02].
Interrogation Techniques
- Rapport Development: Lome maintained a friendly, nonchalant disposition, aiming to appear empathetic and understanding to encourage cooperation and downplay the crime’s severity [00:05:05]. He stated his primary purpose was to assess Rafferty’s threat level, though in serious cases like rape and murder, this assessment is typically made beforehand [00:07:19]. The true goal was to understand Rafferty’s character and influence his reasoning [00:07:34].
- Mental Exhaustion: The detective used a rambling style to keep Rafferty’s mind racing, preventing him from formulating lies or disassociating [00:18:07]. This aimed to break him down through psychological stamina [00:18:24].
- Undermining Confidence: Lome constantly watched for denials and immediately stopped them, aiming to prevent Rafferty’s morale, psychological endurance, and self-preservation from increasing [00:14:18]. He emphasized that Rafferty’s credibility was all he had left [00:14:47].
- “Good Cop, Bad Cop” (Mutt and Jeff) Technique: After 95 minutes without a confession, a second investigator, Detective Smith (“Bad Cop”), entered the room, adopting an aggressive and accusatory tone [00:33:35]. This technique is based on the “fear-then-relief” response, where extreme emotional shifts can disorient a suspect, making them more compliant [00:39:16]. Smith presented Terry Lynn McClintock’s detailed confession, highlighting her emotional distress and cooperation, and the overwhelming forensic evidence linking Rafferty to the crime [00:34:02]. He explicitly stated that Tori’s DNA was “all over” Rafferty’s car [00:37:48].
- Rafferty’s demeanor throughout the interrogation was described as a “quivering mess,” acting like a helpless victim seeking sympathy, a stark contrast to his actions during the crime [00:13:06]. He initially denied involvement but eventually requested food, seemingly caught between hunger and maintaining a guilt-ridden appearance [00:44:50]. Despite the psychological pressure, the “Mutt and Jeff” technique was ultimately unsuccessful, as Rafferty did not confess [00:46:15].
Verdict and Sentencing
Michael Rafferty was found guilty of murdering, kidnapping, and sexually assaulting eight-year-old Tori Stafford [00:55:27]. The verdict came quickly, after just over a day of jury deliberations, prompting a collective sigh of relief from friends and family in the courtroom [00:56:53]. Both Michael Rafferty and Terry Lynn McClintock were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years [00:57:16].