The Timeline: 1925

Thomas Collison

He was born to a family of farmers on March 4, 1896 and would later serve and desert in the Canadian army during world war one. He was known to hold extreme affections for a girl named Beatrice Thorpe, who constantly refused his advances.[1] In 1922, he was arrested when Beatrice complained to the police about the threats Collison had been making on her life and her family. Rather than being imprisoned, he promised to stay away from the town of Hulbert for two years and avoid contact with the Thorpe family.[2] He would later come back on November 22, 1924, at a time when she was thought to be alone and shot her twice from one of the kitchen windows.[3] Hearing the commotion her brother, Charles “Charlie” Thorpe appeared and saw his sister lying on the floor. She was 17 years old and only lived for about 30 minutes after being shot.

Her brother Charlie, testified at Collision’s trial saying that he recognized his face through the window as he was tending to his sister. They also used evidence of footprints that lead to the outside of the Thorpe’s farm from the Collison’s residents.

He then went on to be tried for murder with the result being that he was guilty and sentenced to death. He was then placed in the Cornwall gaol until his execution. His parents where very distraught and made the statement “God made Beatrice Thorpe for him, and he had divine right to marry her”.[4] He was seen to be “rather shaky” in the moments before his death and needed to be supported by guards to get up the scaffold where Arthur Ellis was waiting to take his life by hanging.[5] The last person he saw other than those in the prison was his mother who did not attend his execution.

[1] The Ottawa Citizen. November 24, 1924.

[2] The Weekly British Whig. November 27, 1924.

[3] The Weekly Advance. December 4, 1924.

[4] The Weekly Advance. December 4, 1924.

[5] The Weekly British Whig. June 1, 1925