0:17

Hello everyone and welcome to your October

0:20

TNTC Plus bonus episode and

0:22

thanks so much for being here. As

0:24

always, if you have a request for a case you'd like us

0:26

to cover on an episode of TNTC

0:28

Plus or a regular feed episode, you can

0:30

reach out to us at truenorthtruecrime at

0:33

gmail.com. We do prioritize

0:35

cases that come to us directly from family members

0:37

or loved ones close to a case, but are

0:39

more than happy to receive suggestions from

0:42

everyone. Alright, let's go ahead and

0:44

get right into tonight's case.

1:02

So, tonight's episode is a bit unique

1:04

for us as there isn't a ton of background

1:06

information available to us online for

1:09

either the victim or the perpetrator of the

1:11

crime. In fact, this case

1:13

is still ongoing and

1:15

has been bogged down with delays. There

1:18

was a verdict in this trial and

1:20

while we were researching this case, the sentencing

1:23

hearing was also delayed and as

1:25

such, the conclusion is open-ended. We

1:27

will add the sentencing at the end of

1:29

this episode if a decision is made

1:31

before we upload. We

1:34

feel it's important to cover this case regardless

1:36

as a family and community has lost someone

1:38

who by all accounts made countless

1:41

lives that he touched a little bit brighter. We

1:43

also wanted to use this episode as a way to highlight

1:46

crimes of elder abuse in Canada. Getting

1:49

solid data and numbers of elder

1:51

abuse is quite challenging as it's not

1:53

really a well-researched area. However,

1:55

there is some recent information on the StatsCan website.

1:59

According to the General Social Survey on

2:01

Canadian Safety, there were about 128,000

2:03

senior victims of violence

2:07

in Canada in 2019.

2:10

According to the Uniform Crime Reporting

2:12

Survey, the rate of police-reported

2:15

violence against seniors increased 22% between 2010

2:17

and 2020, with the largest increase

2:23

observed in the past five years among

2:25

senior men. In 2020, nearly

2:28

two-thirds, or 64%,

2:31

of senior victims of police-reported violence

2:34

were victimized by someone other than

2:37

a family member. Among senior

2:39

men who were homicide victims, two-thirds

2:42

were killed by a non-family member, most

2:45

commonly a friend at 30%, followed by a stranger

2:47

at 20%, or an

2:50

acquaintance at 17%. So

2:54

with that data tonight, we are going

2:56

to be talking about the first-degree murder case

2:58

of 75-year-old Ronald Worsfold

3:01

in St. Albert, Alberta. We put

3:04

this episode together using publicly available news

3:06

articles and some court documents. As

3:08

an additional content warning, this episode contains

3:11

details of a brutal homicide.

3:13

So where is St. Albert? Well, located

3:16

just 26 minutes outside of Edmonton

3:18

to the northwest, you will find the city of St.

3:20

Albert. St. Albert was

3:22

originally settled as a Métis community

3:24

and has since become the second largest city in

3:27

the metropolitan region of Edmonton.

3:29

The area that is now St. Albert has a

3:32

rich indigenous history, with the Cree

3:34

and Métis people being the traditional inhabitants.

3:37

The Sturgeon River Valley provided an abundant

3:40

source of food and resources for

3:42

these indigenous communities. But

3:44

in 1861, the European settlers arrived.

3:48

Roman Catholic missionaries, particularly Father

3:50

Albert Lacombe, established a mission in

3:53

the area in 1861. This

3:55

mission, initially called St. Albert, later

3:57

gave the city its name.

3:59

Hitler's came smallpox,

4:01

which would go on to kill 320 of the 900 residents.

4:06

St. Albert did have two residential

4:08

schools in the past. One called

4:10

St. Albert Indian Residential School, which

4:12

operated from 1873 to 1948 on Mission Hill

4:16

within the city. The other, Edmonton

4:19

Indian Residential School, was around 6 km

4:21

east of downtown St. Albert and

4:23

operated from 1924 to 1968. Sadly, 53

4:28

students died while attending these schools.

4:31

To promote healing and reconciliation, a

4:33

healing garden was opened on September 15, 2017 as part

4:37

of the truth and reconciliation process between

4:40

the city of St. Albert and survivors

4:42

of the residential school system. Today

4:44

St. Albert has a population of roughly 70,000 people,

4:48

and its website says the following. St.

4:50

Albert, Alberta's botanical art city,

4:52

is known for its small community feel and friendly

4:55

character, which have been preserved while the city

4:57

has grown to be Alberta's sixth largest.

4:59

Calling St. Albert home is one of the best decisions

5:02

you will ever make. St.

5:04

Albert takes pride in its low unemployment

5:06

rates, low crime rates, top-notch schools,

5:09

high quality health care services, beautiful parks

5:11

and trails, and well-equipped recreational

5:13

facilities. Looking at the crime rates

5:16

in St. Albert on areavibes.com,

5:18

we can see that the overall crime rate in St.

5:21

Albert is 11% lower than the

5:23

national average, with violent crime

5:25

being an impressive 30% lower

5:27

than the national average. However,

5:30

on the night of July 7, 2017, the

5:33

city of St. Albert would be

5:35

rocked by a brutal murder.

5:37

75-year-old Ronald Worsfold

5:39

was a building manager of an apartment building

5:41

at 75 Mission Avenue in St.

5:44

Albert called Meadowview Manor.

5:46

And by all accounts, Ronald was a kind man

5:48

who often gave people breaks on rent

5:51

if he knew that they were going through a rough financial

5:53

patch. Ronald had been managing

5:55

the apartment building for about 30 years. He

5:58

also worked as an usher at Roger's Bar. place

6:00

in Edmonton and at a gas station

6:02

in St. Albert for many, many years. According

6:05

to Ronald's daughter Sandy, in the national

6:08

post she stated that people would go out

6:10

of their way to go to the gas station

6:12

Ronald worked at just to see him. She

6:14

went on to say, people went there to see

6:17

him because he brightened their days. He

6:19

was a man who touched so many people with his

6:21

smile and his enthusiasm. Ronald

6:24

had previously worked as an engineer at CN

6:26

Rail and right across the street from the apartment

6:28

building that he managed was a grain elevator

6:31

and train tracks. His son Darren

6:33

said to the Edmonton Journal in 2017 that the

6:36

trains going by made his father feel at home.

6:39

Ronald was truly as nice as they come according

6:41

to those that knew him. His daughter Sandy

6:43

said the following in an article in the St. Albert

6:46

Gazette,

6:47

quote,

6:48

He's just very kind. He's a helping person.

6:51

He would help anybody for anything. You

6:53

call, he would be there. He was such

6:55

a strong member of the St. Albert community, volunteering

6:58

for various things. He was just that

7:00

type of guy. Also living

7:02

in the apartment building at 75 Mission

7:04

Avenue was 28 year old Beryl Missoula.

7:07

Now there's not a whole lot of information available

7:10

online about Beryl Missoula in the time

7:12

leading up to the events that unfolded on

7:14

July 7th, 2017. But

7:17

we do know that Beryl was a single mother who

7:19

is alleged to have struggled with substance misuse

7:22

disorder as well as some mental health

7:24

issues. According to an article

7:26

from Press Reader in 2017, Beryl had a feature

7:28

done on her back

7:32

in 2015 in the Calgary Herald after

7:34

completing a 12 week program at

7:36

Alcove Addiction Recovery for Women.

7:39

Court records also show that Beryl had previous

7:41

assault convictions, one from 2011 and another from 2016.

7:47

Now Beryl and Ronald got to know each other

7:49

over time after Ronald made repairs

7:52

in her ground floor apartment and

7:54

according to her, with time

7:56

a friendship developed. This was around

7:58

September of 2016.

8:01

Making things more complicated in this case

8:03

is the fact that Beryl has changed the details

8:05

in her testimony many times.

8:08

But let's go over her version of events

8:11

that occurred on July 7, 2017. Now

8:14

due to the amount of lies that have tainted

8:16

this trial, telling the story has

8:19

proved difficult, so we've decided to present

8:21

the case in two parts if you will. First

8:24

we will tell Beryl's account of what

8:26

happened. As stated, she has changed

8:28

this story many times, and after

8:30

we will tell her version, we

8:34

will present the crown's version of events.

8:37

July 7 was a Friday in 2017,

8:40

and in the evening hours, Beryl and

8:42

Ronald were talking about a planned trip to Calgary

8:45

for the following day, and the two also

8:47

planned to go for a drive together that evening.

8:50

While on that drive, the two stopped

8:53

at a local sex shop. When

8:55

asked about this trip to the sex store, Beryl

8:57

states that she was going through a difficult time

8:59

when it came to her self-esteem, and Ronald

9:02

suggested that she go get something nice for herself.

9:05

According to Beryl, this was her first time

9:07

ever in a sex store, and she was feeling a bit

9:09

nervous and awkward. She ended up leaving

9:12

with a pair of underwear. Now

9:14

as we have stated, Beryl has flip-flopped

9:16

on numerous things throughout this true crime case,

9:19

and one of those things happens to be the exact

9:21

nature of her relationship

9:22

with Ronald Worsfold.

9:24

Initially, she told law enforcement

9:26

that the two had a sexual relationship,

9:29

but then she walked that back when the case

9:31

ended up in court, and said that the relationship

9:34

had been purely platonic. As

9:36

per Beryl's account, the two went back to Ronald's

9:39

apartment, where they spent the remainder of the evening

9:41

drinking wine, taking at a van, and

9:43

watching television. Later, her

9:46

boyfriend, Robert Rafters, called

9:48

Ronald's landline, and subsequently Ronald

9:50

went to bed, while Beryl stayed up drinking

9:53

wine and watching TV. At

9:55

some point later that night, Beryl claims

9:57

to have heard a commotion in the apartment. Beryl

10:00

and Ronald had apparently been worried as there

10:02

had been a few break-ins recently, so Beryl

10:05

left the apartment to search for any potential

10:07

intruder, but found no one. He

10:10

also mentioned that someone had been shining a light

10:12

into Ronald's apartment, and this led the

10:14

two of them to take some of Ronald's valuables,

10:17

including sports memorabilia and a coin

10:19

collection, to a storage locker earlier

10:21

that night while on their drive. After

10:24

leaving Ronald's apartment to search for the alleged

10:26

intruder, Beryl found herself locked

10:28

out of the apartment building. She

10:30

noticed a man smoking on his balcony and asked

10:32

him to help her get back in. She

10:35

also asked this man if he had anything to

10:37

help level her out. At

10:40

this point, she was likely feeling the effects of both

10:42

the wine and the ativan, both

10:44

of which have sedative qualities.

10:47

The man she was speaking with had been drinking beer,

10:49

using cocaine, and playing video games all night,

10:52

so he offered her a line

10:53

of coke.

10:54

Now according to Beryl, this man

10:57

attempted to make sexual advances,

10:59

which she says she rejected. She

11:02

went back to Ronald's apartment at this point,

11:05

where she said she went to sleep and was awoken the

11:07

next morning by knocking and yelling at Ronald's

11:09

front door. Beryl looked out the window and

11:11

noticed Ronald's daughter, Stacy, in the

11:13

parking lot. According to Beryl, she went

11:15

to wake Ronald up, but found him unresponsive

11:18

in his bed and noticed a stab wound

11:20

on his neck, as well as blood in

11:22

his hairline. It's at this time

11:25

Beryl says she panicked and told Stacy

11:27

that Ronald wasn't there and he had gone

11:29

for a walk after they had gotten into a fight

11:32

that morning. Stacy told Beryl

11:34

to get her things and leave her father's apartment,

11:36

so Beryl rushed around the apartment

11:38

gathering her things, preparing to leave Ronald's

11:41

suite. During this time, Stacy

11:43

was waiting outside in the parking lot, waiting

11:45

for Beryl to leave her father's unit. This

11:48

is when Beryl's boyfriend, Robert

11:50

Rafters, arrived. Beryl

11:52

let Robert in and alleges that he told

11:54

her if she left things the way they were, she

11:57

would end up in prison. She

11:59

claims that Robert's help, the two loaded

12:01

Ronald's body inside a Rubbermaid tote

12:04

bin. Reportedly, Robert

12:06

instructed her to drive around before heading

12:08

to a rural property near Devon, where

12:10

a celebration was underway to mark the end

12:12

of a friend's time on parole. During

12:15

this drive, Beryl made several stops,

12:18

including a hotel in Morinville, where

12:20

she states that her luggage was tampered

12:23

with. Her assertion is that

12:25

while she was making a call within a nearby

12:27

restaurant, an unidentified individual

12:30

deposited extra suitcases alongside

12:33

her belongings. These additional

12:35

cases allegedly contained knives,

12:37

a hammer, and various bloody items

12:40

from Ronald's apartment.

12:43

Later on that evening, Beryl said she arrived

12:45

at the party, and during the party, she claimed that her

12:47

boyfriend Robert, and the man who was celebrating

12:50

not being on parole anymore, took

12:52

the bin with Ronald's body and

12:54

disposed of it. When the police

12:56

spoke to Beryl on July 9th, which is

12:58

the day after the party, she claimed

13:01

to have no knowledge of where Ronald was

13:03

or what could have happened to him. Later,

13:07

also on July 9th, 2017,

13:09

police discovered Ronald's body in

13:11

a Rubbermaid container on a rural property

13:14

in Parkland County near Stoney Plain.

13:17

Subsequently, police arrested Beryl

13:19

Musula and

13:20

charged her with first-degree murder

13:22

and indignity to a body. She pleaded

13:24

guilty to the indignity to a body charge,

13:26

but not guilty

13:27

to first-degree murder,

13:29

sending this case to trial.

13:31

So to summarize here, Beryl claims

13:34

that after a night of hanging out with Ronald,

13:36

she went to sleep. Then she woke up after

13:39

hearing a noise, possibly an

13:41

intruder. She then leaves the

13:43

apartment in the middle of the night and

13:45

does not find the intruder. She

13:47

then comes back in and goes to bed, and

13:50

she wakes up when Ronald's daughter came to

13:52

the door concerned about her dad. Beryl

13:54

then finds Ronald dead in his bedroom,

13:57

then lies to Ronald's daughter, and then and

14:00

asked some friends to dispose of Ronald's body.

14:03

And, according to her, they did.

14:05

This is her story. Essentially,

14:08

Ronald was randomly killed by

14:10

a stranger, but rather than call the police,

14:13

she hid his body. This is

14:16

a pretty unbelievable story. So

14:19

we're now going to go through the Crown's version

14:21

of events. The trial in this case

14:23

would be repeatedly postponed, and

14:26

when we say repeatedly, we mean

14:28

it. In fact, this case didn't go to

14:30

court until five years and

14:33

nine months after Ronald was murdered. And

14:35

this, of course, includes the, you

14:37

know, the big COVID delay in 2020 that

14:40

stacked cases back. But

14:42

the main reason for these constant

14:45

delays was the accused herself. She

14:47

was unable to hold on to legal representation

14:50

as she consistently fired the lawyers that

14:52

she hired or the lawyers that were appointed

14:55

to her. Beryl would end up

14:57

representing herself in court. She's not a

14:59

lawyer after firing seven

15:01

different lawyers. There was

15:03

a lawyer appointed to act as a friend

15:06

of the court to ensure that the trial was fair.

15:08

The Crown prosecutors in

15:11

Alberta were Patricia Hankinson

15:13

and John Schmidt, and they were in charge of prosecuting

15:16

this case. The trial would finally

15:18

start on April 25, 2023. Now,

15:22

just to repeat, Ronald was murdered

15:24

in 2017. The

15:27

prosecution's version of events and the police

15:29

investigation were much different than Beryl's

15:31

story. When detailing the first

15:34

few days of this case at the trial,

15:36

the police stated the following. Ronald's

15:38

daughter reported her father missing on

15:40

July 8, 2017. She

15:43

mentioned that Beryl had been in the apartment

15:46

with her father, so the constable attempted to

15:48

reach Beryl via the phone, but he

15:50

failed to make contact. The

15:52

next day, on July 9, at 22 minutes after midnight,

15:56

the constable phoned Beryl's boyfriend,

15:59

Robert Rafter, is in an attempt to find

16:01

and talk to Beryl. Robert

16:03

answered this call, and when the police identified

16:06

themselves, he passed the phone to Beryl,

16:08

who spoke with the officer for about five minutes.

16:12

During the call, she admitted that she had been in

16:14

Ronald's apartment in the evening prior,

16:17

that the two had been intimate and

16:19

had been drinking. She said

16:21

that an argument had occurred and that she left

16:23

in Ronald's car and when she returned the next morning,

16:26

Ronald was not in the apartment. It

16:29

was at this point that the officers asked Beryl

16:31

for her current location, at

16:33

which point she abruptly ended the phone call. When

16:36

the police attempted to call the number back numerous

16:38

times, calls were ignored and went straight

16:41

to voicemail. Later

16:43

that same day, police asked Robert Rafter's

16:45

mother to bring Beryl and Robert into

16:47

the RCMP detachment for questioning, and

16:50

she agreed. Robert and Beryl

16:52

were interviewed separately, and in Beryl's

16:54

interview, which lasted just under three hours,

16:57

she said she was, quote, dealing with my emotions

16:59

and I just feel like I need to talk. She

17:02

mentioned that she had felt both physically and mentally

17:04

exhausted, lost, and had been

17:07

drinking. When the officers asked her to

17:09

expand on this, Beryl said that she experiences

17:12

depression, anxiety, and a sleeping

17:14

disorder which causes psychosis. She

17:16

had not used her prescribed medication for roughly

17:19

two weeks. She admitted using

17:21

cocaine and methamphetamine for

17:23

about four days before the interview and

17:26

had consumed about a glass and a

17:28

half of alcohol on the interview

17:30

date, but agreed that she was

17:32

not currently drunk. Just

17:35

hours after the interview wrapped at 3.01pm,

17:38

the police received a tip from a witness. The

17:41

tip was that Beryl had brought

17:43

a body to the witness's rural

17:46

property on the previous day and that

17:48

the body was in a rubbermaid tote. The

17:51

witness also said that Beryl had been the

17:53

one who killed the person inside the rubbermaid.

17:56

Finally, at 5.50pm on July 9th, police arrested

18:00

Beryl.

18:01

In her first post-arrest interview,

18:04

Beryl began to introduce her boyfriend, Robert

18:06

Rafters, as someone she was afraid

18:08

of. She explained that she and Robert

18:11

were in a relationship and characterized

18:13

his behavior as controlling, manipulative,

18:15

and violent. Allegedly,

18:17

he had recently threatened to kill her. Beryl

18:20

had periodically sought refuge from him

18:23

in a woman shelter. She agreed with

18:25

the interviewing officer's comment that he has

18:27

a quote, fairly strong hold

18:29

on you. It's at this point

18:31

that police reveal that Robert is simultaneously

18:33

being interviewed in another

18:36

room.

18:37

The officer asks Beryl what she thinks

18:39

Robert might be telling the police, to

18:41

which she responds, I don't care. All

18:44

that comes out of his mouth is always a damn

18:46

lie. In her conversation

18:48

with the officer, Beryl conveyed that

18:50

her life took a turn for the worse in March 2017,

18:54

coinciding with her relationship with Robert

18:56

Rafters. During the trial, Robert

18:59

Rafters stated that he and Beryl

19:01

had been in a

19:02

relationship for approximately four

19:04

months at the time of Ronald's death.

19:06

However, Beryl informed police that although

19:09

Robert had believed that they were dating, her

19:11

intention had always been to maintain a

19:14

platonic friendship. She

19:16

claimed that Robert Rafters displayed

19:18

possessive tendencies, frequently raising

19:21

his voice and employing manipulative

19:23

behavior.

19:24

Additionally, Beryl informed

19:26

the officer that during that period, she

19:29

had experienced times of staying in and

19:31

leaving women's

19:31

shelters.

19:33

She had also disclosed that she had sought mental

19:35

health treatment and support following a

19:37

separate incident of sexual assault by

19:39

another individual. When the

19:41

officer posed a question about her past, Beryl

19:44

also acknowledged that she had engaged in

19:46

sex work.

19:48

When speaking to the police, Beryl began to change

19:50

the details of her story. This

19:52

time, she said that she and Ronald had been

19:54

having a sexual relationship since

19:56

roughly a month after she moved into the

19:59

building. She alleges that she was afraid

20:01

of both her boyfriend Robert, as

20:03

well as Ronald Wartvold. She

20:05

also alleges that Ronald forced her

20:08

into sexual acts that she wasn't comfortable

20:10

with, including handcuffing

20:12

her and leaving her restrained for extended

20:14

periods of time, which left her feeling

20:16

humiliated and terrified. Beryl

20:19

said that Robert found out about her sexual relationship

20:21

with Ronald, and out of jealousy he directed

20:24

her to kill Ronald. She

20:26

states that Robert gave her ativan to

20:28

drug him with, and if she didn't follow through

20:31

with his orders, that he would kill

20:33

her instead. Her

20:35

direct quote to Belize was, he tells

20:37

me that he's going to kill me too, and

20:39

he's going to get rid of my body too. She

20:42

then recounted that she placed pills in Ronald's

20:44

drink, causing him to fall asleep. And

20:47

according to her statement, rafters

20:49

then made his way from his residence

20:51

to the apartment and put a pillow over

20:54

Ronald's head. However, he

20:56

subsequently demanded that Beryl be the one

20:58

to actually murder Ronald. Eventually

21:01

during the post-arrest police interview,

21:03

Beryl confessed to killing Ronald Wartvold,

21:06

and when asked about the weapons that

21:08

had been mentioned, which included a hammer

21:10

and a knife, she admitted to using both

21:12

of them.

21:13

When it was Robert Rafter's turn to testify

21:16

in court, he was adamant that he had never

21:18

set foot inside Ronald's apartment, and

21:20

that he had a number of chronic health issues that

21:22

would prevent him from being able to walk from his

21:25

place of residence over to the apartment

21:27

as Beryl had stated. His

21:29

mother and a friend of his also provided the

21:31

jury with an alibi for Robert for

21:33

that evening. They stated that he had been

21:36

home the entire time except for a trip to the

21:38

corner store with his friend that night.

21:41

If you remember, Robert Rafter's was

21:43

present at the apartment on the day after

21:45

Ronald was killed and was seen helping Beryl

21:47

carry the Rubbermaid container from the apartment,

21:50

down some stairs, and into a taxi. The

21:53

taxi driver actually had to help Robert

21:55

get the container into the cab. In

21:58

court, Robert said that the container was heavier

22:00

than shoes and heavier than bricks, but

22:03

it didn't seem like it was what

22:05

it was.

22:06

Robert even mentioned that he had joked

22:08

about it on the day, asking Beryl if there were bricks

22:11

in the container or something. It turned

22:13

out that Robert and the witness who initially

22:15

called police to inform them he had found a body

22:17

on his property had been in contact

22:20

with each other as well. When

22:22

testifying in court, the witness told

22:24

the story of what happened on July 9, 2017. He

22:28

was moving the Rubbermaid container when it

22:30

slipped from his grasp. When

22:33

it hit the ground, the lid popped open

22:35

and an arm came out. He remembered

22:37

freaking out and calling Robert rafters.

22:40

He told Robert, she did it. She

22:43

actually did it. There's a body in

22:45

that Rubbermaid. You need to turn around

22:47

and turn her in. It was

22:49

after this phone called a Robert that the witness

22:52

called the police to inform them there was

22:54

a body on his property.

22:56

The version of events that the Crown prosecution

22:58

presented at trial were in contrast with what

23:00

Beryl said happened. They alleged

23:03

that it was Beryl who drugged Ronald with

23:05

Ativan, and when he appeared to be overdosing,

23:08

she then proceeded to stab him and bludgeon

23:10

him with a hammer until he died. She

23:13

then put his nude body inside the

23:15

blue Rubbermaid container. The

23:17

Crown alleges that after killing Ronald and

23:19

disposing of his body inside the Rubbermaid

23:22

bin, she attempted to clean up the

23:24

crime scene. He flipped his mattress

23:26

in an effort to hide the blood stain, cut

23:29

out a section of carpet, and gathered

23:32

other incriminating items to bring with

23:34

her when she left the apartment.

23:36

Found inside the Rubbermaid container with

23:38

the body were a pair of magenta colored

23:41

metal handcuffs without a key. There

23:44

was also duct tape attached to a plastic

23:46

strip that was wrapped around Ronald's

23:49

ankles. Forensic evidence was

23:51

also presented at trial, including two

23:53

small containers holding fingernail clippings

23:55

collected from both the left and right hands

23:58

of Ronald Worsfold at the audience. Additionally,

24:01

one exhibit retrieved from the side pocket

24:04

of Beryl's black suitcase consisted

24:07

of a pair of sizable shears

24:09

roughly 10 inches in length, featuring

24:12

black handles and bearing traces of

24:14

carpet fibers. When it came to

24:16

Beryl's story about hearing

24:18

an intruder in the apartment in the middle of the night,

24:20

the Crown urged the jury to dismiss this

24:22

claim. Crown prosecutor

24:24

Schmidt contended that Beryl's account

24:27

of witnessing a stranger in Ronald's

24:29

apartment lacked coherence, and

24:31

so did her subsequent actions afterwards.

24:34

He questioned why after supposedly chasing

24:36

an unknown person out of her apartment,

24:38

she would choose to use cocaine with a

24:41

neighbor instead of checking in on

24:43

her friend who was sleeping. Speaking

24:45

of this neighbor, this story varied from the

24:48

version of events that Beryl told. The

24:50

neighbor, who lived on the third floor of the

24:52

apartment building, had spent most of that

24:54

evening playing video games, drinking beer, and using

24:57

cocaine. He recalls that

24:59

around midnight he heard a woman crying in

25:01

the parking lot, so he got her attention.

25:04

She told him that she had locked her keys

25:06

inside of her apartment and she couldn't get back inside

25:08

the building. As the two continued

25:10

their conversation, Beryl mentioned

25:12

that she was unhappy with the direction her

25:15

life was going. The neighbor then

25:17

gave Beryl a beer and offered

25:19

her some cocaine. They then

25:21

got into a car and drove to the parking

25:23

lot of another nearby apartment

25:26

building where they continued to talk,

25:28

drink, and do lines of blow. He

25:30

testified that he thought she seemed pretty

25:33

sober and just upset about her life.

25:36

When they got back to the building at Meadowview Manor,

25:38

Beryl invited the neighbor up to Ronald's

25:41

apartment. The neighbor initially expressed

25:43

discomfort about being there without his

25:46

knowledge, but she assured him that Ronald

25:48

was away on vacation in Jasper.

25:51

When he got inside the apartment, he noticed that

25:53

a dresser had been knocked over and that clothing

25:56

was strewn around the hallway. He

25:58

also observed that all of the bedroom doors

26:00

were closed and he didn't see

26:02

anyone else inside the apartment. Beryl

26:05

then asked him if she could go change,

26:07

at which point she came back out wearing

26:10

lingerie. The two then engaged

26:12

in an intimate encounter where she

26:14

gave him oral sex. When Ronald's

26:16

daughter Stacy testified in court, her

26:19

story

26:19

also differed from the version of events

26:21

that Beryl had given. Stacy

26:23

recalled driving by Meadowview Manor on the

26:26

morning of July 8, 2017. She

26:29

had been on her way to the beach with her sister-in-law,

26:31

her son, and two of her son's friends, and

26:34

as she was driving by, she observed her

26:36

father's truck in the parking lot.

26:39

This was odd as her father had

26:41

reported his truck stolen the week

26:43

before, and this was unrelated to

26:45

what happened.

26:46

And she knew that her father would have called

26:48

her to tell her that he had found the

26:51

truck. Stacy tried calling

26:53

his landline, as well as honking her

26:55

car horn from the parking lot in order to get

26:57

her father's attention, but there

26:59

was no response. Eventually, this

27:02

led her to bang on the front door of his unit,

27:04

and it was at this time that Beryl's face

27:06

appeared in the window. Stacy

27:08

told her to vacate the unit, but Beryl

27:11

refused and said she was cleaning. Beryl

27:14

also refused to let Ronald's own daughter

27:16

into his suite, which obviously raised red

27:18

flags for Stacy, who then decided

27:20

she wasn't going to leave the premises until

27:23

Beryl left the apartment. Stacy

27:25

waited for hours in the parking lot, and Beryl

27:27

even threatened to call the police on her at one

27:30

point, stating that she was harassing her. As

27:33

the hours went by, people began to arrive in the

27:35

parking lot alongside Stacy. This

27:37

was when she observed Beryl taking items from her

27:40

father's apartment, including the heavy blue

27:42

Rubbermaid container. When asked

27:44

in court what Stacy observed in regards to

27:46

the Rubbermaid, she said the following.

27:59

clean.

28:01

She just felt that things were off. When

28:04

police entered the unit, they too noticed

28:06

that things seemed amiss. In fact,

28:09

one of the officers while on the stand stated,

28:11

I observed signs of foul play. According

28:14

to an article from Town and Country Today,

28:17

the officers testified to the following evidence

28:19

inside the apartment. The safe

28:21

door was open, void of contents,

28:23

and on the bottom was a very bright cherry

28:26

red stain. The blue linen

28:28

sheets on the bed were so crisp and new,

28:30

the creases from the cardboard package liner were

28:33

still evident. They lifted up

28:35

the mattress and on the underside there was a smear

28:37

of dried blood that was about seven inches

28:39

square. It

28:40

appeared someone was trying to cover up a crime

28:42

scene. I told the other constable that

28:44

we were locking the crime scene down as a potential

28:47

homicide scene. The

28:49

medical examiner, Bernard Bannock, testified

28:52

three weeks into the trial and his findings

28:54

according to an article from the St. Albert Gazette

28:56

were as follows. The body

28:59

was not in a body bag as they normally come

29:01

to the office, but the body was contained

29:03

in a Rubbermaid tote container with silver tape.

29:06

He opened the tote and removed a multi-colored

29:09

comforter and afghan as well as a white

29:11

towel. Beneath those,

29:13

Ronald's nude body was bent at the waist in

29:15

the 2x4 foot container. The

29:18

victim weighed 128 pounds and was 5 foot 7

29:22

inches tall. There was no clothing

29:24

on his body, his wrists were handcuffed

29:26

together, and his ankles were bound by silver

29:28

tape. The deceased was wearing

29:31

a wristwatch and a yellow metal

29:33

chain.

29:34

The jury had to view the autopsy photos

29:36

and the medical examiner was careful to warn

29:38

them that the body was not fresh and

29:41

was in a state of decomposition. The

29:43

photo showed reddening on the victim's back

29:45

that was due to post-mortem lividity where

29:48

blood had pooled after blood stopped

29:50

circulating. The part of Ronald's

29:52

naked back that was closest to the edge of the tub

29:55

showed this lividity, which is caused

29:57

by gravity from being on his

29:59

back. for between 6 to 12 hours

30:02

following his death. Dr.

30:04

Banach said he was on his back

30:06

for a period of time that would allow

30:08

lividity before he was put in

30:10

that tote. So that means that he was on

30:13

his back for a period of time then placed

30:15

inside of the tote and that period of time could

30:17

be 6 to 12 hours. The

30:19

outer and middle layers of his skin had

30:21

begun to separate and there were signs of

30:24

blistering and skin slippage related

30:26

to decomposition and bacterial action.

30:29

He said that it appeared that post-mortem

30:32

rigidity was minimally present

30:34

to absent and that it had occurred

30:37

and was going away as decomposition

30:39

advanced. Most people know

30:41

this as rigor mortis or rigor. When

30:44

it came to the injuries on the body, Banach

30:46

highlighted that Ronald had three lacerations

30:49

from blunt force trauma on his scalp

30:51

which were forceful enough to cause the scalp

30:54

to split open. One of these

30:56

blows to the head caused his skull to

30:58

fracture. However, in Banach's opinion,

31:00

Ronald was alive at the time the blunt

31:02

force trauma was sustained. He

31:05

went on to say, the bleeding suggests

31:07

blood pressure and a beating heart. There

31:09

was bleeding all around the wound tracks so

31:12

Ronald's heart was still beating at

31:14

the time they were inflicted. There

31:16

were also three distinct stab wounds on Ronald's

31:19

body. The first, located on

31:21

the right side of his neck, measured

31:24

approximately 1.6 centimeters in length. Fortunately,

31:27

it missed any major arteries coming

31:30

to a halt behind the right

31:32

side of the thyroid cartilage, commonly

31:34

known as the Adam's apple. Another

31:37

stab wound, positioned on the upper right's

31:39

chest, just below the collar bone, reached

31:42

a depth of 6 centimeters. It

31:44

did not breach the chest cavity or involve

31:47

any significant blood vessels. The

31:50

fatal stab wound was a deep

31:52

thrust that penetrated over 9 centimeters

31:55

into Ronald's lower abdomen, slightly

31:58

to the left of the belly button. It

32:00

pierced two loops of his lower

32:02

bowel before slicing through tissue

32:05

and severing approximately 60% of

32:08

his left aioleic artery, which

32:10

extends from the aorta into the

32:12

left leg. This particular

32:15

injury was highly fatal due

32:17

to its propensity to cause severe

32:19

bleeding and its location made it challenging

32:21

to apply effective first aid even

32:24

if it was administered properly. Dr.

32:27

Bannock noted that in all three stab wounds,

32:30

one end appeared sharp while the

32:32

other was blunt. He

32:35

emphasized the significance of this detail

32:37

indicating that wounds like these are typically

32:39

caused by single-edged knives. The

32:43

photographic evidence also revealed

32:45

that the deceased had sustained two

32:47

noticeable black eyes.

32:50

Beryl, who was not a lawyer, was representing

32:52

herself after firing multiple sets of

32:54

lawyers, and she cross-examined the medical

32:57

examiner and asked, My question

32:59

is, could the black eyes we saw in the pictures

33:01

be as a result of a fight between two individuals

33:04

before the death? The medical examiner

33:06

responded by saying that yes, they could have.

33:09

However, a black eye doesn't always

33:11

mean that a person sustained a blow directly

33:13

to their eye socket. The Crown

33:15

Prosecutor asked the medical examiner for another

33:18

medical reason that could explain the black

33:20

eyes, to which he said that a strike

33:22

to the head or scalp would have also

33:25

resulted in blood tracking down to the eye sockets.

33:28

Another element of evidence that was revealed at trial

33:30

were odd Google searches that Beryl had made

33:33

on Ronald's home computer on the night that he was

33:35

killed. They included, How

33:37

am I sure I won't walk away empty-handed? I

33:40

can't leave. I have to do this tonight. I

33:42

don't have a gun, and he is heavy. I

33:45

have to do it now. And, where are

33:47

the hidden keys? A witness

33:49

who was at the party that Beryl and her boyfriend went

33:51

to on the night after the homicide with the Rubbermaid

33:54

container stated that even though

33:56

he had never met Beryl prior to the

33:58

party, her behavior was not as bad. stood

34:00

out as odd to him. He observed

34:02

her engaging in what he referred to as irrational

34:06

behavior, things like changing her outfit

34:08

numerous times and showering multiple

34:10

times at the residence. The

34:13

following morning as the party was coming to an end,

34:15

Beryl and two men, one of whom was

34:18

the friend for whom the party had been arranged to celebrate

34:20

the end of their parole, departed the

34:22

residence. The witness would later observe

34:24

them returning from a wooded area located

34:27

at the rear of the rural Parkland County

34:29

property. The prosecution argued

34:31

that it was at this time that Beryl, with

34:33

the help of others, disposed of the Rubbermaid

34:35

container on the rural property.

34:38

While the crown isn't required to prove motive,

34:41

prosecutors suggest she drugged Ronald

34:43

for a financial gain, noting Beryl

34:46

visited a storage unit where Ronald stored

34:48

a collection of sports memorabilia shortly

34:50

before her arrest. They also said

34:53

she may have drugged him to avoid having sex

34:55

with Ronald. The trial lasted

34:57

for nearly nine weeks, two weeks

34:59

longer than was originally anticipated. It took

35:02

the jury just two hours of deliberation

35:05

before they finally reached their decision.

35:07

They found Beryl Massula

35:10

guilty of first-degree

35:11

murder.

35:12

But this story isn't

35:13

over yet.

35:15

Beryl hired yet another lawyer to represent

35:17

her for the sentencing portion of the trial.

35:20

Now this lawyer's name is Caitlin Dick and she

35:22

argued that she needs more time to properly

35:25

represent Beryl for sentencing. The judge,

35:28

who was no doubt frustrated at this point

35:30

after dealing with nothing but delays from

35:32

Beryl, reluctantly granted the

35:34

delay in sentencing. Caitlin

35:37

Dick contended that Beryl, who had

35:39

acted as her own legal counsel throughout

35:41

the entire trial, required legal representation

35:44

during the sentencing phase. She

35:46

asserted that several complex issues

35:49

needed to be addressed, including a charter

35:51

issue related to Beryl not having

35:53

received a bail hearing within the prescribed

35:55

24-hour time frame. Additionally,

35:59

Caitlin Dick argued that the facts

36:01

presented during the sentencing could

36:03

potentially impact any forthcoming parole

36:05

decisions. Thankfully, the judge

36:07

has warned Barrell that regardless of whether she has

36:10

legal representation or not, that

36:12

the sentencing hearing will be held

36:14

in September. He also

36:16

said, quote, I do so with considerable

36:19

disappointment and reluctance, and I

36:21

expect those emotions are felt

36:23

even more keenly by some of those

36:26

persons present today, referring

36:28

to members of Ronald's family who

36:30

have been put through years of agony

36:33

with this case and its constant delays and

36:35

theatrics. Stacy,

36:37

Ronald's daughter, said the following outside the

36:39

courtroom. The delays just continue

36:42

the grief process for the family. We've

36:44

been in prison for six years along with

36:47

her because you are not allowed to complete

36:49

your grieving. Doing the trial

36:51

six years later just puts

36:53

you back into the grieving.

36:55

At some point,

36:57

we have to be allowed to complete our grieving, and

36:59

this charade of continual delays is

37:01

just bullshit. Ronald's family

37:03

doesn't feel that Barrell showed any signs of remorse

37:06

or guilt throughout the entire process. Barrell

37:09

is facing a life sentence without the possibility

37:11

of parole for 25 years for this first

37:13

degree murder. And while the sentencing

37:15

hearing has been set for September, an exact

37:18

date hasn't been made public yet, but

37:20

we will keep our audience updated via

37:22

our social media accounts. Or if the

37:25

final sentencing comes in before we

37:28

upload this episode, we will add it right

37:30

here. Hello,

37:31

everyone. So just jumping in here post

37:33

recording this episode, it is currently October

37:35

3rd, 2023. And there has been an update in this

37:38

case since we initially sat down to

37:40

record this episode. So on September

37:42

28th, 2023, Barrell Musilla

37:46

was sentenced to life in prison. Now

37:48

there is a mandatory 25 year

37:50

parole ineligibility period. So

37:53

it will be the 2040s before she

37:55

is able to begin applying for parole.

37:58

This is obviously a huge deal for the family.

37:59

family of Ronald Worsfold who had the

38:02

following to say to the Edmonton Journal, it's

38:04

like a ton of weight off your shoulders. And

38:07

that's what Stacey Worsfeld said outside

38:09

of the courtroom and that's Ronald's daughter. We're

38:12

over six years now since his death and that

38:14

was a long long journey but to have

38:16

this stage of this done I am

38:18

so grateful. Stacey Worsfold

38:21

believes that Beryl murdered her father

38:23

because she found out that Ronald was planning

38:25

on no longer having her as part of his life.

38:28

Quote, he was cutting her out of his life and

38:31

that's the real reason I believe this happened.

38:33

I think she panicked because no one else wanted

38:36

her. Stacey also said that she remains

38:38

open in regards to forgiveness for Beryl

38:41

but said that there is no remorse and

38:44

there is still no accountability on Beryl's

38:46

end. Stacey continued and said

38:48

that she is proud of her father and believes

38:51

that she will be able to find peace

38:53

in the future. She also had

38:55

this to say, I remember him every

38:57

morning when the Blue Jays come to get their peanuts.

39:00

I remember him every time we have a thunderstorm because

39:03

we used to sit on his balcony and watch the lightning

39:05

and listen to the thunder rolling through next

39:07

to the grain elevators. Every

39:10

time I see a Petro can, every

39:12

time I go to a hockey game, his memory

39:14

is in so many places. The

39:16

family of Ronald Worsfold is steadfast

39:19

in their desire for the public to remember him

39:21

as the kind and generous man that he was

39:23

in his life. His daughter

39:26

Stacey has been very vocal in the media

39:28

and in an article from Mountain

39:30

View Today she said, he helped

39:33

so many people through the 30 years of managing

39:35

that apartment building and was always

39:37

giving people a hand up. I

39:39

never thought helping someone would

39:42

kill him.

39:43

Stacey visits her

39:44

father's grave more often than she

39:46

wants to admit. She says she

39:49

misses him terribly and that he was her best

39:51

friend. Quote, my

39:53

dad was the least judgmental person

39:56

you'd ever meet. He'd never looked

39:58

down on anyone. He said everyone

40:00

had a story, and everyone had a path.

40:03

He was just an amazing man, and I am so

40:05

proud to be his daughter. My

40:08

dad would want us all to go on and be in

40:10

joy and peace and have great lives, and

40:12

his death is not going to define him.

40:15

So we'd ask our audience in Ronald's memory

40:18

to do something nice for a stranger, or better

40:20

yet a senior. In 2020,

40:23

many of us had our eyes open to

40:25

the challenges facing seniors in Canada, whether

40:28

it was inadequate care, internet scams,

40:30

bullying, or violent attacks. It's

40:32

clear we can do more for our seniors and elders.

40:35

Whether it be something as simple as a passing smile

40:38

or hello, or buying someone a coffee in

40:40

your morning drive-through, we think it would be a great

40:42

way to honor something that Ronald evidently

40:45

valued in his life—kindness.

40:48

That's all we have for this episode of TNTC+. Again,

40:52

we will update everyone on the sentencing in

40:54

September, and we'll see you on the next episode.

40:57

Take care of yourselves and each other.