From: jcs
On April 8, 2009, eight-year-old Tori Stafford was last seen leaving Oliver Stevens School in Woodstock, Ontario, at 3:25 p.m. She had briefly returned inside to retrieve her mother’s butterfly earrings from her desk, leaving two minutes after the other students [00:00:03]. Tori never returned home and was reported missing by her grandmother at 6:04 p.m., prompting an immediate missing-persons investigation [00:00:28].
The Investigation and Discovery
Roughly seven hours after her disappearance, surveillance footage from a local high school emerged, showing Tori walking alongside an unidentified woman [00:00:36]. Tori did not appear to be struggling, and the woman was described as 19 to 25 years old, white, 5 foot 2 inches, and approximately 125 pounds, with a black ponytail [00:00:44].
A public appeal was made for the woman to come forward, and Tori’s grandparents offered a $10,000 reward [00:00:55]. A Facebook group dedicated to finding Tori gained over 20,000 followers within 24 hours [00:01:03]. On April 12, a vigil was held in Woodstock, where Tori’s mother made a tearful televised appeal [00:01:07]. Both of Tori’s parents were interviewed by investigators and passed polygraph tests [00:01:19]. Ground searches were initially called off after six days with no clues found [00:01:24].
The case gained national attention when America’s Most Wanted featured it as its top story [00:01:30]. On April 17, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) took over the investigation, resuming ground searches and officially reclassifying the case as an abduction [00:01:35]. They intensified a media campaign, releasing and circulating a composite sketch of the woman seen in the video [00:01:45].
Terry Lynn McClintock’s Confession
On May 19, 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 [00:01:51]. She was transferred to the Ontario Police Headquarters and interrogated by 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, approximately 45 minutes into the interrogation, she broke down and confessed [00:02:16].
McClintock described in disturbing detail the abduction and killing of Tori Stafford [00:02:55]. She stated that she lured Tori into a secluded parking space with the promise of showing her a puppy [00:02:57]. 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 then murdered the eight-year-old [00:03:08]. The fatal injuries were four strikes to the head with a claw hammer [00:03:16].
McClintock drew a rough sketch of the area where Tori was killed, which led police to discover Tori’s remains [00:03:20]. Her body showed lacerations to the liver and sixteen broken ribs, but the cause of death was confirmed to be repeated blows to the head with a blunt object, consistent with McClintock’s testimony [00:03:27].
Interrogation of Michael Rafferty
At 7:55 p.m. that evening, Michael Rafferty was arrested and charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder [00:03:37]. He was read his rights and taken to police headquarters for immediate interrogation by Staff Sergeant Chris Loam [00:03:44]. Loam, a member and head of the analysis section of the OPP’s highly trained Behavioral Sciences unit, employed strategies like rapport development and downplaying the crime’s severity to encourage cooperation [00:05:05]. He presented his purpose as assessing Rafferty’s threat level, though the true aim was to understand his character and influence his decision-making [00:07:19].
Loam repeatedly highlighted the overwhelming evidence against Rafferty, including Terry Lynn McClintock’s confession [00:12:21]. He emphasized that Rafferty’s credibility was all he had left [00:10:09]. Rafferty remained largely silent, displaying distress and appearing as a “quivering mess” [00:13:06]. The detective maintained a persistent, rambling approach to keep Rafferty’s mind racing and prevent him from forming lies or disassociating [00:18:07].
After 95 minutes, the interrogation shifted to the “Mutt and Jeff” (good cop/bad cop) technique [00:33:19]. Another detective, Blake, took a more aggressive stance, detailing McClintock’s explicit confession about Rafferty’s involvement in the abduction, sexual assault, and murder [00:34:02]. He highlighted physical evidence like Tori’s blood and DNA in Rafferty’s car [00:37:16]. Despite the intense pressure, Rafferty largely maintained his silence [00:39:07]. The bad cop’s demeanor was noted as purely emotional, without tactical purpose, aiming to psychologically grill Rafferty [00:47:40]. Rafferty’s silence was interpreted by the detective as a sign of his guilt and lack of remorse [00:54:20]. The “Mutt and Jeff” technique was ultimately unsuccessful in eliciting a confession from Rafferty [00:46:15].
Trial and Sentencing
Michael Rafferty was found guilty of murdering, kidnapping, and sexually assaulting eight-year-old Tori Stafford [00:55:27]. The trial lasted nearly 10 weeks in London, Ontario [00:55:34]. When the guilty verdicts for first-degree murder, abduction, and sexual assault were read aloud, there was a collective sigh of relief from friends and family in the courtroom [00:55:43]. Lawyers on both sides expressed appreciation for the jury’s difficult work [00:56:06]. The quick verdict, deliberated in just over a day, had created a sense of anticipation for a guilty outcome among the family [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].