Some stories are hard to forget. The Elizabeth Bain case is one of them. On June 19, 1990, the 22-year-old University of Toronto student vanished from Scarborough. Three days later, her car was found, its seats stained with blood. Her body has never been found. And thirty-six years later, nobody has been held accountable for what happened to her.
On November 26, Citytv airs the first ever Dateline Canada special, a long-form investigative piece that reexamines the case, including unreported evidence, the wrongful conviction of Robert Baltovich, and previously unreported information that has emerged since. It is the first Canadian original in a global expansion of NBC’s signature newsmagazine format, and it is long overdue.
What Happened to Elizabeth Bain
Bain went missing more than 34 years ago. Her boyfriend at the time, Robert Baltovich, was wrongfully convicted of her killing, partly on the questionable testimony of witnesses who said they saw him with her around the time she disappeared.
The Crown’s case was entirely circumstantial. There was no forensic evidence directly linking Baltovich to her murder. Investigators could not establish with precision where, when or how Elizabeth Bain was murdered.
Baltovich was arrested on November 19, 1990, and charged with Elizabeth’s murder. Despite the questionable features of the Crown’s case, the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder. He spent eight years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
The Wrongful Conviction
When Innocence Canada began looking into Baltovich’s case, it found innumerable problems with the court proceedings. The Ontario Court of Appeal set aside his conviction and ordered a new trial. The Crown did not call any evidence and withdrew its case. Baltovich was acquitted.
Baltovich spent nine years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. His second trial on a second-degree murder charge collapsed entirely. The Ontario government refused to call a public inquiry. Elizabeth Bain’s killer has never been identified.
Why This Case Still Matters
The Dateline Canada special promises to examine unreported evidence and previously unknown information. For anyone who remembers the summer of 1990, when this case dominated the news across the GTA, that is a significant promise.
Students at the University of Guelph-Humber have also been examining police files on the disappearance as part of a cold case class, producing leads that Baltovich himself described as well thought out and documented. The case has never stopped generating questions.
Elizabeth Bain was 22 years old. She has never been found. Someone knows what happened.
Dateline Canada premieres Thursday November 26 on Citytv.
