John Martin Crawford (March 29, 1962 – December 16, 2020) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

. Crawford was convicted of killing four women in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

and

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, between 1981 and 1992.

Crimes

Crawford was sentenced in 1981 to ten years' imprisonment for

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

in the killing of Mary Jane Serloin, in

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

. He was released from prison in 1989. While under police surveillance, Crawford sexually assaulted Theresa Kematch, who was herself arrested, while Crawford was not. In October 1994, a hunter came across the remains of the women in heavy brush outside of

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. In 1996, Crawford was convicted of one count of first degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder in the 1992 deaths of three

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

women identified as Eva Taysup, Shelley Napope, and Calinda Waterhen. Crawford was sentenced to three concurrent life sentences.

Popular culture

Literature

Crawford is discussed in Warren Goulding's book ''Just Another Indian, A Serial Killer and Canada's Indifference'' with the message that crimes against marginalized minorities go unheeded by an uncaring society at large. The theory is posited that Crawford's case was played down by the media because his victims were Aboriginal women.

Death

Crawford died on December 16, 2020, while serving his sentence at the Regional Psychiatric Centre in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. No cause of death was released.

References

External links