This is an analytical essay on the murder of William Robinson, which occured in 1868 on the Salt Spring Islands in British Columbia.

The Unsolved Murder of William Robinson

Throughout history there have been many unsolved murder cases, from Jack the Ripper to Lizzie Borden. These cases have plagued criminal investigators and historians alike for centuries. One of the greatest unsolved Canadian murder cases is undoubtedly the murder of William Robinson, which took place in March of 1868. In the small village of Saltspring Island, just north of Victoria B.C., three murders occurred within a one-year span and inevitably ended with the conviction and death of an Aboriginal man by the name of Tshuanahusset (hereafter known as 'Tom'). Sentenced to death by jury members of Caucasian background engendered a controversy towards the matter. The circumstantial evidence created broken stories and fallacious hearsay which did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that this man was in fact guilty of said crime. There are many different opinions on the matter, but with logical evidence and conflicting accounts, this essay will prove that the judicial system of the 19th century was culpable for the death of an innocent man.

Circumstantial Evidence (1945 film)

The Borden house, where the murders took place.

View of Fulford Harbour from Mount Maxwell on Salt...

The first historical occurrence that rendered a false notion of Tom's conviction in my opinion is the atrocious racism committed by the esoteric-like group of the jury. Thus the Bittancourt brothers are introduced into the picture: two gluttonous fiends who won't stop until they own everything and everyone around them even if it means killing a Sunday school teacher. And like many murders in history, the murderer is not necessarily the one who commenced the idea of the act. Suggested in this essay is the connection of the Bittancourt brothers to an accomplice; one, Mr. John Norton, the man who happened to be involved with every 'Indian disruption.' Through powerful evidence, this essay will definitively prove history wrong and state, in my opinion, who are the...