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This article provides a day by day timeline of Robert Baltovich's wrongful conviction. It discusses the day he we arrested, his trial, his appeal, his involvement with AIDWYC etc. It is the perfect article to follow Baltovich's story and the long years he spent fighting for his freedom.

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One of the longest mysteries in recent Ontario history finally reaches an ending in a provincial courtroom. Here's a timeline of the Robert Baltovich case.

June 19-20, 1990

Twenty-two-year-old Elizabeth Bain leaves home to check a schedule at the U. of T.'s Scarborough campus. When she doesn't return, her worried mother calls police.

June 22-24, 1990

Fears grow after the missing woman's car is discovered at an auto body shop not far from her home. A large bloodstain is ominously found in the backseat, but there's no sign of Bain. Cops immediately turn to her boyfriend, 24-year-old Robert Baltovich. He's questioned by detectives for hours, but some of his responses arouse their suspicions. There are massive searches for the absent woman during most of that summer, but her body is never found. Police conclude she's been murdered.

July 11, 1990

A heartbreaking public appeal is issued by the Bain family, asking for any clues to Elizabeth's whereabouts. Included in the plaintive plea: a message to her suspected killer to at least let them know where her body can be found. The request goes unanswered.

July 25, 1990

Police zero in on Baltovich as the main suspect in the crime. They search his home and his car, and are seen leaving the area with numerous pieces of potential evidence.

November 19, 1990

Robert Baltovich is arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Bain's disappearance, despite the fact police don't have the body. It's been exactly five months since she walked out the door of her house, never to return.

February, 4, 1992

The accused boyfriend's first trial starts, with more than 100 witnesses taking the stand. The Crown drops the charge to second-degree murder, painting Baltovich as a spurned lover who became murderously angry when Bain tried to end their relationship. Baltovich continues to insist he's innocent, offering a not guilty plea. His lawyers claim there's significant evidence someone else may have committed the crime, introducing witness testimony about a blond man seen near her before she vanished. It comes at the same time the so-called "Scarborough Rapist" is on the prowl, and will later lead to speculation that Paul Bernardo could be a viable suspect.

March 31, 1992

Baltovich is found guilty of second-degree murder and receives a life sentence.

May 1992

Baltovich hires a new attorney and files an appeal. Legal documents cite a number of suspect issues with the trial, including the judge's address to the jury and the fact that some witnesses were hypnotized to aid their memory recall.

February 17, 1993

Paul Bernardo is arrested and accused of being the Scarborough Rapist, among other crimes. When Baltovich's lawyer hears about the arrest, he hires a private investigator to probe the suspect's background. The P.I. claims to have found evidence that may tie Bernardo to Bain.

May 16, 1996

Baltovich's appeal is filed with the Ontario Court of Appeal. Although it doesn't name Bernardo, it does contain references to the Scarborough Rapist as one of the main reasons the verdict may be in doubt. The court is supposed to hear the case in February of the following year, but it gets put off with no timetable for resumption. Baltovich remains in jail, still swearing his innocence.

March 2000

The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted takes up the case, filing its own documents with the Court of Appeal. For the first time, Paul Bernardo is directly named in a legal brief as a possible main suspect. The group demands Baltovich be released while the appeal is considered. He's been behind bars for eight years.

March 31, 2000

The court agrees to review the case and frees Baltovich pending the appeal. A judge appears to agree with at least one major contention from the appeal - calling the conviction wholly 'circumstantial' and admitting it needs a second look.

September 20, 2004

After endless delays and more than a decade after his guilty verdict, The Ontario Court of Appeal finally reviews the Baltovich case.

December 2, 2004

The Ontario Court of Appeal sets aside the Baltovich conviction and orders a new trial. The court agrees there were significant errors made in the first case, but refuses to acquit the accused outright, opting to let another jury decide.

July 15, 2005

The Attorney General's office confirms it intends to retry Baltovich on the murder of Bain. Once again, they're pinning second-degree murder charges on him.

June 7, 2007

Toronto Police secretly travel to Kingston to interview Bernardo on the Bain murder. He denies any involvement.

October 15, 2007

In a case already fraught with so many delays came yet another one. On the day jury selection was set to start in a new trial, the judge who was going to hear it was appointed to a new court - and the proceedings have been stopped.

March 31, 2008

The long awaited resumption is set to begin with jury selection underway. The actual trial may not start until mid-April.

April 22, 2008

Jury finds Robert Baltovich not guilty of second-degree murder in Bain's death minutes into the retrial.

May 16, 2008

Attorney General Chris Bentley confirms he won't call an inquiry into the case because it won't help the administration of justice.

Bain's mother: I don't think Bernardo did it

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Robert Baltovich And The Elizabeth Bain Murder Trial: The Timeline - CityNews Toronto

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One of the longest mysteries in recent Ontario history finally reaches an ending in a provincial courtroom. Here's a timeline of the Robert Baltovich case. June 19-20, 1990 Twenty-two-year-old Elizabeth Bain leaves home to check a schedule at the U. of T.'s Scarborough campus. When she doesn't return, her worried mother calls police.

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This article discusses the crucial evidence found by Baltovich that would have had a big influence on his case back in 1992. Baltovich had found a letter written by a police officer during an interview with a forensic's expert. This information was never disclosed to the defence, although the Crown was made aware of the evidence. Baltovich's claim states that the police officer concealed the meeting with the forensics experts before during and after Baltovich’s original trial.

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Robert Baltovich, who was convicted, imprisoned, released and acquitted for the murder of his girlfriend Elizabeth Bain more than 20 years ago, claims to have proof that police and prosecutors withheld key evidence that would have helped exonerate him sooner.

In documents filed at Ontario Superior Court in November last year, Baltovich's lawyers outline how a key record of a police interview with forensics experts "was never disclosed to Baltovich or his trial counsel or his appellate counsel."

Baltovich's lawyers also contend that a copy of the police investigator's notebook provided to them was altered to erase evidence of the meeting.

The new evidence was submitted as part of Baltovich's $13 million lawsuit against the Attorney General, the two homicide detectives assigned to his case, the Toronto Police Services Board and his original defence lawyers.

Baltovich, who spent almost nine years behind bars and nearly nine more on probation preparing his appeal, was found not guilty at his second trial in 2008 because the Crown decided to present no evidence.

After his acquittal, the province refused to compensate Baltovich for the wrongful conviction.

Twenty-two-year-old Bain disappeared on her way to an evening class at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus in June 1990. Her body was never found and the investigation and prosecution of her boyfriend, Baltovich, occupied the front pages for years.

Police contended that Baltovich killed Bain and hid her body for several days in Colonel Danforth Park before putting it into her car and driving up to the Lake Scugog area, where he disposed of it.

When Bain's car was discovered three days after she went missing, it contained a significant amount of blood. Homicide investigators were called in and quickly turned their attention to Baltovich.

Last spring, one of Baltovich's lawyers discovered a one-page handwritten note in the 13,000 pages of evidence gathered by police.

The note was written by Det.-Sgt. Brian Raybould and recorded a discussion he had with two forensics experts two days after Baltovich was arrested.

The forensics experts told Raybould that there was too much blood in the car for a body that had been left outside for days, the note allegedly states. If a body had been put into the car two to three days after death, it would have left a strong odour and blood stains would have been darker in colour, not bright red as the police found them.

"As a result of the advice he received (from the forensics experts), Raybould knew or ought to have known that the Police Theory was flawed and untenable," the claim states.

Defence lawyers weren't given access to the document and the Crown continued to deny its existence, even after repeated requests, the claim states.

In a responding motion, the Attorney General claims the defence could have found that note at any time. During the original 1992 trial, the Crown had an "open box" policy of allowing the defence to access all evidence, the government response says.

Crown council John Corelli wrote a letter in 2004 that says Baltovich "(for the past 12 years) has had an open invitation to look at the police investigative file. It was not until last week that the defence chose to look at the investigative file."

"A diligent review in 2004 of the police investigative file ... would have found the same 'Raybould note,'" the government claim states.

Baltovich's claim also says handwritten notes from Raybould's notebooks were missing several pages. In September last year, lawyers for the police produced the missing pages that detailed the meeting with the forensics experts.

In the original copy of the notebook provided to Baltovich's lawyers in 1999, Raybould wrote a date on the first page after the omitted pages "to make it appear that it was in sequence," the claim states. The new copy has no date on that page.

The claim states that Raybould concealed the meeting with the forensics experts before during and after Baltovich's original trial.

Baltovich's claim also points to several other pieces of evidence that weren't disclosed to his defence team including an entry in Bain's dairy that refutes Crown claims that she had broken up with Baltovich in the days before she was murdered.

Attorney General spokesperson Brendan Crawley and Baltovich's lawyer David Robins declined to comment because of the ongoing litigation.

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Elizabeth Bain murder: Robert Baltovich says police hid key evidence | The Star

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Robert Baltovich, who was convicted, imprisoned, released and acquitted for the murder of his girlfriend Elizabeth Bain more than 20 years ago, claims to have proof that police and prosecutors withheld key evidence that would have helped exonerate him sooner.

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This website provides an in depth look into Robert Baltovich's case, starting with the reason for his arrest, all the way to the day he was acquitted. The website analyzes the circumstantial evidence that resulted in Baltovich's guilty verdict, including mistaken eye witness testimonies. It also discusses the link between the Bain case and Paul Bernardo who is believed to have been the real murderer. This website is perfect to get every detail pertaining to the Robert Baltovich case.

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James Lockyer is the AIDWYC (Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted) lawyer who took over Baltovich's case after he was contacted by Baltovich to consult on his appeal.

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This photo was found in an undated Bain family photo album. It shows the couple before Bain's dissaperacne. From the looks of the photo the two were very happy together and it does not demonstrate any feelings of malice or disdain from Baltovich towards Bain.

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This video talks about Robert Baltovich suing the Attorney General, two Toronto police officers, as well as his former lawyers for $13 million. It also briefly discusses the situation regarding his wrongful conviction. This video relates to Robert not receiving any compensation for his years of suffering.

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Baltovich Suing - Video | GuelphMercury.com

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Watch the Baltovich Suing video from GuelphMercury.com

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Robert Baltovich 18 years after being accused of the murder of Elizabeth Bain

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This video involves a brief interview with criminal lawyer Joseph Neuberger discussing the re-trial of Robert Baltovich. He discusses what he believes will be the defences strategy, including re-visiting all of the circumstantial evidence originally argued in Baltovich's initial trial, as well as repeatedly trying to convince a jury that the real culprit in the murder was more than likely infamous serial killer Paul Bernardo. Neuberger also discusses the large debate to finally put Baltovich on the stand, risking cross-examination by the Crown.

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Joseph Neuberger appears on Global Evening News, December 2, 2004 to discuss the pending re-trial of Robert Baltovich for the murder of Elizabeth Bain and the expected focus on Paul Bernardo as the likely suspect.

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This video has Robert Baltovich discussing his relief after being acquitted for the murder of his girlfriend Elizabeth Bain after 18 years. The video also features Robert's attorney, James Lockyer, who discusses what he believes to be Paul Bernardo's involvement in the crime, as well as the police's incompetence while investigating the crime

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Serial Killer Gerard John Schaefer Interview

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Robert Baltovich was acquitted today of second-degree murder after Crown prosecutors declined to offer evidence at his second trial. So the mystery of who killed Elizabeth Bain 18 years ago still remains. Her body was never discovered. Visit thestar.com for the latest News headlines, Sports, Entertainment and more from the voice of the GTA.