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At approximately 11:45pm on Monday April 24 1995, Constable Robert Cross was manning the public information desk at the Ottawa Carlton Regional Police Headquarters when he saw a man approaching. The man was in his mid-forties with balding grey hair and a bushy moustache. When the man reached Constable Cross' desk, he informed the officer that he wished to report a missing person. The man's name was Brett Morgan,
He was worried about his partner, 46-year-old Louise Ellis. Brett had last seen Louise more than 48 hours earlier when she'd left to visit an old friend at around 2pm on Saturday April 22. The friend lived in a cottage near Wakefield in the Gatineau Hills, a forested area in the neighbouring province of Quebec. It was only a 30 minute or so drive from Ottawa and Louise planned to stay there one or two nights.
Brett Morgan said she had been cheerful and excited about her weekend retreat. But the following day, Brett received a phone call from Louise's friend saying that she'd never arrived. Brett wasn't overly concerned, as Louise had mentioned she might visit another friend in the area as well and spend a night with her. Perhaps she had decided to go there first. But when there was no sign of Louise by Monday evening, Brett began to raise the alarm.
He called a number of Louise's friends asking if anyone had seen her. Nobody had. One person Brett called was Brenda Misson, the second friend Louise had planned to visit while away. Brenda hadn't seen Louise, but Brett's call jogged a memory. Earlier that day, Brenda had been driving along a rural stretch near her home in Wakefield, Quebec, when she saw a yellow and white Suzuki Sidekick Jeep parked on the shoulder of the road.
It was the same make and model as Louise's car. Brenda made a mental note to check whether it belonged to her friend later on. She had forgotten to do so until Brett's call reminded her. Brett rushed to meet Brenda and they inspected the car together. The license plates confirmed it was Louise's car. Its doors were locked.
Inside, in the back of the vehicle, was a wrapped gift Louise had been taking for her friend's daughter, as well as Louise's overnight bag. Her handbag lay on the front passenger seat. Her wallet was inside, along with some cash and all her bank cards. There was no sign of Louise. Brett appeared calm as he relayed his story to Constable Robert Cross, but the officer could hear the worry and concern in his voice.
The pair spoke for roughly 30 minutes while Constable Cross filled out the missing persons report with all the details Brett provided. During their conversation, Brett suddenly said something unexpected. He informed the constable that he had previously been convicted of killing a woman.
Constable Robert Cross was surprised and disturbed by this revelation. Brett Morgan came across as a loving and caring spouse who was genuinely concerned about his missing partner's welfare, so his admission that he had previously served time for killing another woman was shocking. Brett explained that his previous conviction was a long time ago.
Seventeen years earlier, when he was in his late twenties, he had gotten mixed up in criminal activity, including break and enters and theft. One night during this period, Brett had been consuming drugs and alcohol with his then-girlfriend. At around 2:30 in the morning, he got into an argument with a woman named Gwen Telford, who'd lived in shared accommodation with them. Gwen was 21 and an accomplice to Brett's crimes.
Brett had strangled Gwen and was subsequently convicted of manslaughter. He served 10 years, but following his release he was convicted of new charges relating to fraud, theft, forgery, and escaping custody. Constable Cross found Brett to be remarkably upfront about his criminal past, especially given the nature of his visit.
His frank admission and willingness to honestly cooperate was totally at odds with what the officer would have expected for an individual with his history and a newly missing partner. Constable Cross informed Brett that if Louise had been harmed in some way, Brett's record meant that he would naturally be a suspect. Brett replied that he "understood that" and "expected that", but he was adamant that he hadn't hurt Louise.
She was someone he described as his soulmate and the person who had helped turn his life around. They had met three years earlier in March 1992 while Brett was serving his second sentence. Louise was attending a Supreme Court hearing into the wrongful conviction of a man for murder. She was a freelance writer and hoped to write a book about the case.
As Louise sat in the public gallery, Brett Morgan was brought in shackled to testify as a witness. A former cellmate of his had admitted to being the true perpetrator of the crime and Brett had come forward to testify. Louise, who was a fierce justice advocate, was struck by Brett's courage. His actions wouldn't make him popular with his fellow inmates. After Brett finished testifying, he was escorted back out of the courtroom.
Louise followed him to the elevator where he was flanked by two guards. She tapped one of the guards on his elbow and said, "I'd like to have a word with Brett." She then made eye contact with Brett and told him, "I think what you did was really brave." Brett smiled and thanked her. Louise subsequently wrote a letter to Brett and they struck up a friendship, then a romantic relationship while he served out his sentence.
They communicated via letters, phone calls, and eventually had in-person visits. In 1994, Louise helped Brett with his parole application, hiring lawyers for him and staying in constant contact via the telephone. Her efforts paid off and in May 1994, Brett Morgan left prison on parole. Louise was there to pick him up in her yellow Suzuki Sidekick and she bought him an ice cream cake to celebrate on the way home.
Brett moved in with her and she had helped him establish a home renovation business. They had been a happy couple who were often observed by a neighbour sitting on the front porch together holding hands. Although Constable Cross saw nothing in Brett Morgan's demeanour that made him suspicious, Brett's background meant he couldn't be treated like an ordinary citizen. Constable Cross asked Brett if he would accompany him to the Criminal Investigation Department to speak with detectives.
Brett agreed. He repeated his story to two detectives, who listened attentively and took notes. They asked Brett to come back to the station the following day with photographs of Louise for a missing persons poster. Brett Morgan returned to the police station the following morning, accompanied by a friend of his and Louise. Detectives wanted to interview Brett again. Although he seemed anxious to get on with searching for his partner, Brett obliged.
After the 90-minute interview concluded, Brett told his friends that the detectives had put quite a bit of heat on him during the interrogation, wanting to know all the details of his recent movements. Brett didn't seem happy about this development, but told his friend he would do whatever he had to if it helped them find Louise. As it stood, there was no evidence that a crime had been committed.
All of the detectives who spoke to Brett Morgan found him to be a calm, polite and cooperative witness, as well as a clearly worried spouse. Brett's parole officer reported to detectives that Brett was doing well on parole and there seemed to be no problems between him and Louise. Detectives asked Brett if they could see Louise's will and he obligingly showed it to them.
It turned out that he was Louise's sole beneficiary, but by law he would receive nothing for seven years unless she was confirmed to be deceased. Brad also handed over Louise's financial records and her private diaries. The following day of Wednesday April 26, a search party assembled outside a restaurant in the town of Wakefield, Quebec, close to where Louise's car had been found.
As well as Ottawa detectives and local police officers from Quebec, Brett Morgan and members of Louise's family were present. The group spanned out from the area of River Road where Louise's car was parked. There was nothing wrong with the vehicle that might have prompted Louise to abandon it there and its tank was full of petrol.
A couple who lived nearby told police they'd noticed the Jeep parked there since Saturday April 22, the day Louise had left for her trip. It was towed to a nearby garage where an officer would later dust it for prints. The area surrounding River Road was densely wooded and spring rain had made it muddy. Police officers and Louise's loved ones tramped through the cold, scouring the bushes and trees for any trace of Louise.
They looked through piles of lumber and felled trees, as well as a nearby ridge that was dotted with boulders and a derelict car. They found nothing. Over the following days, divers would search the nearby Gadano River, but also came up empty-handed. While the police searchers were dialed down, Brett Morgan kept looking.
He followed up leads and printed his own posters featuring a photo of Louise and requests for any witnesses to come forward. Brett also gave interviews with the press. He was frank about his past, telling the Ottawa Citizen, quote, "'I was convicted of manslaughter and it involved a woman. I understand the implications of that. I have to be a suspect. It's obvious.'
But he was adamant that he would never harm the woman who had given him a life free from crime. He felt lost now he was alone without her. On Saturday April 29, one week after Louise had gone missing, Brett spent the day standing at the site where Louise's Suzuki Sidekick was found, with a stack of his homemade posters.
He flagged down passing cars and told their occupants about his missing spouse in an effort to raise awareness and find potential leads. "I can't rely on the police," he said. "It's hard living at home, not knowing where she is." Police told the media that there was no evidence of any foul play, with one Ottawa detective stating: "People go missing every day. She may have just gotten tired of this world and walked away."
During conversations with Brett Morgan, one detective mentioned another case he'd worked on in which a woman had vanished without a trace. His colleagues had immediately decided her husband had murdered her. But then the woman was found alive and well, living in another city. It turned out she'd just wanted to get away. The detective said he didn't want to jump to the same conclusion again.
Investigators in Quebec were equally reluctant, telling journalists it wasn't their investigation as there was nothing to indicate Louise was on their side of the border, despite her car being left there. Despite police agencies downplaying the situation, the rumour mill went into overdrive. It was revealed that Louise Ellis had paid for a small ad to run in the Wanted section of a Wakefield newspaper, which read:
Responsible nature lover seeks comfortable, quiet cottage. Friends confirmed that Louise had spoken about wanting to lease a vacation cottage for the upcoming summer. It was speculated that perhaps she had been intending to visit rental properties while in the area. Others wondered if perhaps Louise had disappeared into the wilderness with the intention of taking her own life.
Rumours also spread that a stranger might have ambushed and abducted her, leaving her car behind on the side of the road. Brett Morgan dismissed the suicide theories and kept searching, telling the media: "She's my sweetheart. She wouldn't give up on me. And I'm not going to give up on her." Brett rejected the idea that Louise had decided to abandon their life together without a word. He suspected foul play.
But he wasn't pointing the finger at a stranger. Casefile will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support Casefile to continue to deliver quality content. When Louise Ellis first met Brett Morgan, she was already in a relationship.
She had met her former partner, John Maison-Webb, four years earlier at a jazz festival. The pair moved in together several months after meeting, but it was a volatile on and off again relationship. When Louise saw Brett Morgan in the courtroom and was immediately transfixed by him, it marked the end of her relationship with John Maison-Webb. He left Louise after she started speaking with Brett regularly. John took the breakup badly.
He refused to speak to Louise and the pair lost contact for over a year. Then they started talking again in the summer of 1994, not long after Brett Morgan was released from prison and moved in with Louise. There was no longer a romantic element to Louise and John's relationship, but they were able to become friends. John had a daughter from a previous relationship and Louise was very fond of her.
On the weekend that Louise went missing, John was the friend who she'd been planning to stay with in the Gatineau Hills. It was his daughter's 12th birthday and Louise had packed a gift-wrapped book about horses for the young girl. Her car was found with this present inside, not far from John's cottage. Brett Morgan told police he didn't have a problem with Louise visiting her ex for the weekend as he knew they were just friends.
When he'd received a call from John May Zornweff the day after Louise left saying she'd never arrived, Brett assumed she'd just decided to visit Brenda Misson instead. After Louise failed to return home and her car was found near John's cottage, Brett's attitude changed. Detectives knew they needed to speak to John May Zornweff and they visited him at his workplace, the University of Ottawa.
He said that he'd last spoken to Louise on the evening of Friday April 21, the day before she left. John had invited Louise to his family's cottage for dinner that night, but she had declined the invitation. John said that he hadn't been expecting Louise to visit the following day, even though Brett Morgan and one of Louise's friends were aware of this plan.
Moreover, John had called his ex-wife on Sunday April 23 to express his concern that Louise hadn't arrived. He'd also alerted Brett Morgan. John claimed that on the day Louise disappeared, he'd picked up his daughter from horse riding and then spent the day with her. Investigators didn't verify this alibi at the time as they felt certain it was true.
They didn't believe that anyone would implicate their young daughter if they had committed a crime. However, they did take sniffer dogs to a secluded lot owned by John May Zornwev to see if they could uncover any trace of the missing woman. They found nothing. With no sign of Louise and no evidence as to her whereabouts, the case stalled.
Investigators wondered if she might have been targeted by an enemy of Brett Morgan's, namely the former cellmate he'd implicated in the murder of a woman. The cellmate was named Larry Fisher, and at the time of Louise's disappearance he was a free man, not yet charged with the murder he was accused of. What if Larry Fisher had targeted Louise Ellis as an act of revenge against Brett Morgan for ratting him out?
Detectives looked into Fisher's whereabouts on the day in question and found that on the morning of Saturday April 22, Fisher was the subject of a police road stop in Saskatchewan. This was roughly 3,000 kilometres away from where Louise's car was found, ruling Fisher out of the investigation. Meanwhile, by early May, Brett Morgan had hired two private investigators to follow up on the various leads that were trickling in.
He told the Ottawa Citizen that he had done so because the local police force was understaffed and unable to keep up with the investigation. When a television news reporter asked Brett how he was feeling, Brett replied: "Increasingly terror-filled." Marie Perrant was a businesswoman based in Saint-Pierre-de-Wakefield, Quebec.
Originally from Scotland, she had relocated to Canada in 1990 in an effort to build a relationship with her estranged father, who was French-Canadian. Once settled, she took ownership of a restaurant and a video store, but neither of these businesses were her true passion. Marie was more interested in detective work.
In February of 1995, she enrolled in a three-month course at the Academy of Private Investigators with a view to maybe becoming an investigator herself one day. As the course was nearing completion, Marie heard about the disappearance of freelance writer Louise Ellis. Louise's car was found just 25 minutes away from Marie's home and the news coverage of the event caught Marie's attention.
Marie had a particular interest in helping women who were victims of violence, and while there was no clear evidence that Louise had been attacked, it was obvious that something about the situation was wrong. Marie's attention was also drawn to Louise's partner, Brett Morgan. She watched him appear on news updates about the case where he was visibly upset and helpless. Marie's heart went out to him.
She wondered if Louisa's disappearance could be a chance for her to practically apply the skills she learnt in her private investigator course. On Wednesday May 17 1995, Marie Perrant called Brett Morgan's home number and left a message on his answering machine, offering to help him. He called her back two hours later but explained he already had two private investigators working the case and he couldn't afford to pay a third.
Marie reassured him that she didn't want any money, she just wanted to help and gain some professional experience. The pair agreed to meet and two days later, Marie drove over to the double-story red brick home in Old Ottawa South where Louise and Brett lived. Marie had brought along a tape recorder and asked Brett if he minded her taping their conversation. He didn't, and Marie hit record as they began to speak at the couple's kitchen table.
They discussed the events of the weekend that Louise went missing and speculated as to what might have happened. A few different scenarios were considered, including that Louise might have been abducted by a stranger. Perhaps someone had parked their vehicle on the shoulder and feigned car trouble, and when Louise pulled over to help, they grabbed her. Brett Morgan eventually told Marie that he had a specific suspect in mind.
He believed that Louise's ex, John Maisonweb, was behind her disappearance. John's cottage wasn't far from the area of River Road where Louise's car was found. Brett thought the police should be looking at John, but they didn't seem interested. Over the next few weeks, Marie began conducting her own investigation. She met with Brett Morgan again and spoke with him over the phone a number of times.
But Marie had more difficulty making contact with Louise's other loved ones. Most of Louise's family and friends wouldn't talk to her. After visiting the area where Louise's jeep had been abandoned, Marie began to agree with Brett Morgan that a random attack by a stranger wasn't likely. The jeep had been locked up with all of Louise's things inside.
If Louise had only gotten out for a moment to help someone in need or had been dragged out against her will, then why would she have locked the doors? Marie kept digging and one month after taking on the case, she had a breakthrough. She asked Brett Morgan to speak with her so she could update him. On Tuesday June 20, almost two months after Louise went missing, the pair met up again.
Marie explained that she had convinced John Maison-Webb to be interviewed and had noticed a few discrepancies in his version of events. She had also spoken to a friend of John's who had told her something John had confided in them. According to this friend, John and Louise had gotten into an argument because John wanted Louise to leave Brett, but she refused. Marie was coming around to Brett's theory that John Maison-Webb had killed Louise.
She asked Brett what he thought John would have done with Louise's body. Brett didn't think John would have taken it far. Carrying a dead body would be like carrying a sack of potatoes, he said. Most likely, John would have dragged Louise into some nearby bush, maybe just 50 or 60 feet in from the road. Marie suggested that the two of them go searching for Louise together.
If they could recover her remains, then John Maison-Webb would be charged with murder. Four days later, Marie Perrant and Brett Morgan met up near Wakefield at around noon, then headed together towards John Maison-Webb's cottage. They spent five hours searching the nearby woods, driving along dusty country roads, and occasionally pulling over to cast their eyes over the brush. But they found nothing.
Undeterred, Marie kept working the case. Soon she had another update. A few days later, she met up with Brett again at a local restaurant to tell him that John Maisonweve had taken a polygraph test and failed. Brett remained adamant that Louise's body must be somewhere near John's cottage. The pair made plans to go out searching again the following day.
But their plans fell through at the last minute when Brett left a message saying he couldn't make it. He was too distraught at the prospect of finding Louise's body. The thought of it had kept him up all night and he hadn't had much sleep. The pair arranged to go searching another day, but Brett cancelled those plans as well. Frustrated, Marie told Brett that she was fed up with his lack of cooperation and by the way he was leaving all the work to her.
Brett apologized and the pair finally met up again at a local restaurant. They sat outside and drank beers while discussing the case. Marie told Brett that it was imperative they find Louise. The police wouldn't be able to lay charges without a body and any inheritance that Brett was entitled to would be tied up as long as she was only a missing person. Brett finally acquiesced and said he would go looking with her the following day.
On Thursday July 6 1995, Marie Perrant and Brett Morgan met up in Wakefield once again. They began to search a particular wooded section, with Brett driving Marie along various roads throughout the area. Sometimes he would backtrack over a road he'd just headed down as though he was lost. At one point he told Marie, "I don't have a clue where I am."
Finally, they arrived at Irwin Road, an obscure, dead-end dirt road about 10 kilometres west of Wakefield. A dense thicket of trees separated the road from the forest within. Brett led Marie through the wooded area, pushing back branches as they walked. They exited the tree line and came across a clearing with a pine tree. Pine needles and dead branches that had fallen from the tree were scattered all over the ground.
Marie noticed something else lying nearby and said, "Look, there's something over there, Brad." Clothing was strewn about, including a blue coat, a sweater, and two running shoes. What appeared to be a bone was protruding from the sweater. Lying a couple of feet away from the clothing was dark brown human hair, and on a mossy patch right by the coat was a human skull.
It's Louise, said Brett Morgan, before bursting into tears.
Detective Bob Pulfer had been one of the first Ottawa investigators to review Louise Ellis' missing persons report after Brett Morgan filed it. He'd also conducted one of Brett's early interviews and was struck by his polite and cooperative demeanour. Although Ottawa detectives were intrigued by Brett's criminal history, they held no suspicions at this stage and viewed him only as a witness.
On the evening of Friday April 28, five days after Louise was reported missing, Detective Pulfer was following up on some of Brett's statements. Brett had told investigators that on the last day Louise was seen, he had gone to the bank at around noon to deposit a cheque for Louise in the amount of $3,700. On his way home, he stopped at a 7-Eleven store and used Louise's bank card to withdraw $250 for himself.
Brett arrived home at around 1pm, gave Louise her bank card back, and she departed between 1 and 2. However, when Detective Pulver checked Louise's bank records, he found the deposit had been made at 1:32pm, and Brett withdrew the $250 at 2:53pm. This significant discrepancy was enough to make the detective suspicious.
He requested Brett be placed under 24-hour surveillance. A wiretap issue was ordered and a bug was placed on Brett Morgan's phone. The discrepancy in Brett's statement wasn't the only cause for suspicion. Although he presented as a soft-spoken man with a rough past who'd redeemed his ways, the truth was more alarming.
Decades earlier, when Brett Morgan was 15 years old, he had gotten into a romantic relationship with a girl one year his senior named Sandra, who became pregnant. Brett had lied to Sandra about his age, telling her he was actually 18. And when she found out the truth, she was deeply disturbed. The relationship soon turned abusive, with Brett hitting, slapping and pushing Sandra. The young couple broke up, but Brett begged for a second chance.
They got married and Sandra gave birth to a boy named Christopher. The abuse continued and escalated, with Brett now choking Sandra, dragging her around by her hair, and throwing his boots at her. Once again she left him, this time moving back to her hometown. She and Brett later reconciled and the cycle of violence continued.
Sandra became pregnant with the couple's second child, but during a fight, Brett repeatedly punched her in the stomach, which led to her losing the baby. In another argument, Brett smeared his own blood on the walls and told Sandra the only way they would part would be through death. Eventually, Sandra succeeded in escaping Brett and obtaining a divorce. In 1975, Brett Morgan entered into another relationship with a woman named Christine.
He borrowed huge amounts of money from her with promises to repay it. He said he was expecting a huge insurance payout from the death of his daughter. He also claimed he was about to inherit a $30,000 property from his recently deceased aunt. But Christine never got her money back. She would later find out Brett had no daughter or aunt. Christine wanted out of the relationship. One night when they were out for dinner, she told Brett she was leaving him.
He seemed to accept this, but then when they were driving home, he suddenly stopped the car and said, "If I can't have you, no one will." Then he grabbed her throat, hit her head against the car window, and began strangling her. Christine fought back desperately. Brett told her, "You fucking bitch, I'm going to kill you. Nobody leaves Brett Morgan." Christine thought she was going to die.
She was aware there was a police cruiser with its lights on up ahead and traffic had formed in a line behind it. Christine managed to open the passenger door and throw herself out of the vehicle. There was a taxi nearby, and she got in. Brett Morgan would later track her down and beg for her forgiveness through tears. But Christine left Canada for Florida and never saw him again.
Then there was the case of Gwen Telford, the 21-year-old woman who Brett Morgan had killed in 1978. Gwen had a three-year-old daughter and did sex work to support her child. She was good friends with Brett Morgan's latest girlfriend, though Brett himself disliked Gwen and often made derogatory remarks about her. The three had lived together in shared accommodation until Gwen moved out in late October of that year.
She began staying in a hotel while looking for something more permanent. At around 2:30am on Friday November 3, Brett and a 17-year-old girl went back to Gwen's hotel room with her. The three sat around for about an hour, drinking a bottle of wine. Then Brett suddenly stole money from Gwen's purse and ordered her to undress. She did. Brett told the 17-year-old to go into the bathroom or he would kill her also.
He bound Gwen's hands behind her back with a pair of pantyhose, then shoved her down on the bed. Brett then jumped on Gwen's chest and began choking her with his hands, stating, "Die, you bitch. Die." The 17-year-old heard the killing from the bathroom. After Gwen was dead, Brett left the hotel with the 17-year-old and dropped her off at home. Gwen's body was found later that day by hotel cleaning staff.
When the police began investigating her murder, Brett helped them with the investigation. Eventually, he was charged with and convicted of first-degree murder. But after it was found that the presiding judge had mischarged the jury, a second trial was held. This time, Brett was instead found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years.
When Louise Ellis met Brett Morgan more than a decade later, she didn't know the full extent of his violent history. Instead, she was left struck by his courage in coming forward to testify for a wrongly incarcerated man. Louise later described their first encounter in her diary, writing, That morning he insinuated himself into my life irrevocably. His words were carefully chosen, his voice resonant.
I couldn't help but wonder what a nice guy like that was doing in a place like prison." Louise was a passionate and highly intelligent woman with strongly held convictions about right and wrong. She'd struggled with romantic relationships in the past, finding them hard to sustain when the early honeymoon phase gave way to the ordinary nature of everyday life. In "Brat Morgan" she saw someone with whom she could have the all-consuming love she so desired.
She was attracted to what she saw as his honesty and simplicity. His working class background was very different to her middle class one, but it was a case of opposites attracting. Above all, Louise appreciated how safe and loved Brett made her feel. Initially, from the outside, they appeared to be a happy couple. Yet, cracks started to appear even before Brett was released from prison.
The couple swung between euphoric highs and painful lows. They had screaming arguments over the phone which left Louise drained and despondent. She never told her family members that her new partner had been convicted of manslaughter, instead telling them only that he'd committed fraud. After Brett was released from prison, the things that had initially attracted Louise to him began to repel her.
She found his tastes crude and realised how different their values and opinions were. While Louise was an intellectual who loved to read and debate ideas, Brett didn't have an inquisitive mind at all. Within two months of moving in with Louise, Brett was already physically assaulting her. She wrote in her diary that he had shoved her, gripped her arm, poured beer over her head, pushed her down on the bed and refused to let her up, and punched a hole in the wall.
He also made verbal threats. A tenant who resided on the upper level of Louise's home sometimes heard screaming coming from downstairs. Louise became overwhelmed by despair and self-loathing and wrote notes to herself on how she could be a better partner. These low points were punctuated by brief windows of joy, honeymoon phases where Brett would be affectionate and loving. One day, Louise wrote in her diary: "I love going places with Brett.
He's keen, he's beautiful to be seen with, he's friendly." The next day, she described an argument they had where Brett pinned her down and was "frothing at the mouth." "This relationship is either going to kill me or cure me," Louise wrote. The month before Louise went missing, she went to the hospital for x-rays after suffering a blow to her sternum. She told a number of friends and acquaintances that Brett was responsible.
As well as learning about Brett Morgan's physical abuse of Louise, detectives discovered that he'd also taken advantage of her financially. Louise had always been very responsible with money and was a good saver. She supported Brett by buying him clothes, food, and letting him move in with her. She also purchased a truck and tools for him as part of a home renovation business they started together named Morales, a portmanteau of their two surnames.
But the business never took off and the brand new truck disappeared. Brett would say it had been taken by a biker gang that was shaking him down. The gang was supposedly extorting Brett as revenge for his testimony against his former cellmate, Larry Fisher. Louise complained to friends that Brett would take her bank cards without asking and withdraw cash. He rapidly drained her bank account and ran up her credit card debt.
Four months before Louise vanished, Brett forged a cheque on her personal line of credit for $7,000. The next month he forged another for $5,400. When Louise discovered Brett was stealing from her, he claimed he needed the money to pay off the biker gang. Brett didn't just steal from Louise, he targeted her loved ones too. On one occasion, Brett helped out Louise's father by performing some repairs on his bathroom,
After Brett left, Louise's father discovered that one of his credit cards was missing. It would later be traced back to friends of Brett's who used it in a shopping spree. Brett's abuse and stealing took a toll on the relationship and in December 1994, Louise asked him to move out. The following month, he moved into his own basement apartment, but he was told to leave in February after someone broke into the landlord's home upstairs.
Louise took him back. They agreed it would be a temporary fix, with Brett moving out again on May 1. He had told investigators that their decision to live separately didn't mean their relationship was in trouble. By April 1995, Brett owed Louise more than $23,000. He said he would pay her back as soon as a friend from Toronto named Bob lent him the money.
Bob was apparently going to wire Brett the money by mid-April and Brett would then transfer it to her. Louise was extremely anxious to receive the funds, telling friends she was down to her last $200. She also told them that her relationship with Brett was over, whether he paid her back or not. She was sick of him controlling and using her.
On Friday April 21, the day before Louise went missing, she called her bank at least twice to check whether a bank transfer had come through. It hadn't. After police began bugging Brett Morgan's phone, they soon intercepted regular calls he was having with a Scottish woman named Marie Perrant. On Tuesday June 15, about a month into Marie's contact with Brett, an Ottawa detective contacted her to ask how she knew Brett Morgan.
Marie explained that she was an aspiring private investigator who had been working with Brad. Although she'd initially reached out to him due to sympathy, the truth was she'd been experiencing certain doubts ever since their second meeting. While listening over her tape recording of that conversation, Marie had noticed something strange. They had been discussing Louise's car and the way it was found.
Marie asked Brett whether the driver's seat was still in the same position it would have been if Louise was the last to drive it. If it had been pushed back, that might indicate a taller man had left the car there. Brett replied, "Exactly the way I left." Then he abruptly stopped, as though catching himself, and changed his answer to, "Exactly the way Louise left it." On reflection, this struck Marie as suspicious.
She'd also noticed other things. Most of Louisa's clothing and jewellery had gone, as though she wasn't expected to return. Nor were there any women's toiletries in the home's bathroom. When Louisa's loved ones found out that Marie was working with Brad Morgan, none of them would speak to her. They were all convinced that he was behind her disappearance.
Detectives Bob Pulfer and John Savage asked Marie if she would visit the police station and bring her taped interviews with her. She agreed. During their meeting, Detective Bob Pulfer asked Marie what she thought had happened to Louise. She told him that she thought Brett Morgan had murdered her. This was the detectives' belief as well. They asked Marie whether she would be willing to go undercover for them.
When Marie asked what they would need her to do, Detective Pulfer replied: "Perhaps you could find out what Brett Morgan knows about the disappearance of Louise Ellis." Marie agreed to help and Detective Savage looked at her, then jokingly said: "Well, maybe you could find the body too." From that point on, Marie Perrant was a double agent,
At the police's request, she lied to Brett Morgan, telling him that she'd interviewed Louise's ex, John Maisormweff, and there were discrepancies in his story. She also claimed that a friend of John's told her about an argument between him and Louise. Brett had appeared stunned when she shared this information. Marie said that if they wanted John convicted of Louise's murder, then they needed to find Louise's remains.
She encouraged Brett to think of where Louise might be, telling him with her perseverance and his criminal mind, they should find the body. Brett was quick to speculate where Louise might be, but he also seemed to harbour some suspicions about Marie.
He began making references to undercover cops and told Marie that when a friend came to visit him, Brett had insisted on patting him down to check for hidden listening devices. Marie asked him if he thought she was an undercover cop. He laughed and said no. During their first search for Louise's remains, Brett pulled out a bandana and, without saying a word, wrapped it around Marie's neck.
This scared her, as he had already told her how he had previously strangled a woman, so she pushed his hands away. Brett told her it was just a gift to keep her cool during the search. As they looked, a police helicopter hovered nearby. This clearly made Brett anxious and his search was lackluster. He looked like someone taking a casual walk through the woods instead of searching for a body.
Marie told detectives how the helicopter had spooked Brett, and they didn't dispatch it again. Nevertheless, Brett appeared reluctant to search again after that, cancelling plans a couple of times. Marie became more insistent, and the two eventually met up at a restaurant. Brett admitted he sometimes wondered if Marie was an undercover officer, telling her she was "either that or a great actress."
"Well, I'm not," Marie replied. Brett began to hit on Marie, making suggestive remarks about her appearance and kissing her. She felt like throwing up, but instead kissed him back, terrified that if she didn't, her cover would be blown. This seemed to convince him, and the pair made plans to search again the following day of Thursday July 6.
After leading Marie straight to Louisa's remains, Brett Morgan began to sob and wail. To Marie, it looked like a performance. Then his eyes glazed over and he stared at her in a way that felt menacing. Worried that he might be regretting having led her to the body, Marie tried to play along by touching his face comfortingly and whispering soothing words. Brett then seemed to snap out of his sudden aggressive mood.
They took photographs of the scene with a camera they'd brought along. Then Brett said he wanted to know how far they were from John Maison-Webb's cottage. They drove to City Hall to examine a map. Brett estimated the spot where Louise lay was roughly two miles from John's cottage and said happily, "That's pretty close, you know."
Brett wanted to report the discovery to police, but Marie suggested they phone in an anonymous tip-off instead. After they parted ways, she phoned Detective Bob Pulfa and took him to the remains. Dental records confirmed they belonged to Louise. Because they were so badly decomposed, there was no way of knowing how Louise had been killed. But detectives had a theory.
They knew that Louise was on the verge of leaving Brett, which would cut him off from her money. If she reported him for his fraudulent activity, his parole may be revoked. The bathroom was the only room in the house with no windows and nowhere to run. During a search of the home, police had noticed the shower curtain was missing. Brett had told them it ripped when he tried to clean it in the washing machine, so he'd thrown it out.
But detectives suspected that Brett had attacked Louise while she was in the shower. He had probably strangled her, as he had Gwen Telford almost two decades earlier, and Louise had instinctively grabbed at the curtain, tearing it down. Brett had later wrapped Louise's body in the curtain and placed it in the trunk of her Suzuki Sidekick Jeep. He had dumped her in a location close to John Maison-Webb's property in an attempt to frame the other man.
Because of Brett's criminal background, he knew he needed to deflect attention to another suspect. Then he had abandoned Louise's vehicle in a secondary location that was also near John's property before cycling home on a bike he'd stashed in the vehicle. Brett's seemingly cooperative demeanour and public pleas to the press were further attempts to appear innocent.
It was a role he'd taken on previously after killing Gwen Telford when he initially aided police in their investigation. Although he appeared to be conducting his own searches for Louise in the first weeks after she went missing, police surveillance revealed he'd only spent a total of 4 hours and 45 minutes doing so. These brief searches took place over four different days in the area where Louise's car was found.
In addition to searching with Marie Perrant twice, he'd also gone out once with a friend and another time with a reporter. There didn't appear to be any systematic searching. Police surveillance also revealed that Brett had started a new relationship with a woman just six weeks after Louise went missing, despite presenting himself as a grieving and heartbroken spouse, lost without his soulmate.
The Gadano Hills were a sprawling area and there were so many secluded spots around the Wakefield area that police believed locating a body there would be like finding a needle in a haystack. They were certain that only Louise's killer was capable of finding her. Brett discovering Louise after very little searching finally gave them the evidence they needed to charge him.
On the same day that Louise was found, detectives arrested Brett Morgan and charged him with first-degree murder. His trial began more than two years later in September 1997. It lasted six months, with more than 90 witnesses testifying, including private investigator Marie Perrant.
Brett Morgan pleaded not guilty, with the defense arguing that the police had ignored all other possible suspects, such as Louise's ex, John Mazormwev. After learning that Louise's partner had a criminal record, detectives had gotten tunnel vision and focused exclusively on him. They also claimed that investigators didn't search for Louise's remains in an attempt to goad Brett into doing so, and argued that Brett had no motive to kill Louise.
She had helped him out financially and assisted in obtaining his parole. But the prosecution pointed to Louise's growing insistence on being paid back and her intentions to end the relationship. They called numerous witnesses who testified as to Louise's anxiety around her financial situation. In the days before her death, she was chasing up the funds Brett owed her and openly discussing how violent he was.
The jury deliberated for three days before returning with a verdict. Guilty. Louise's family and friends wept, shouted, applauded, and hugged each other with relief upon hearing the news. Brett Morgan was expressionless as he stated, I didn't do this, Your Honor. The judge addressed him, stating,
"You planned and deliberated upon the killing of Louise Ellis, a young woman in the prime of her life, who gave everything she had in an attempt to assist you in your reintegration into society. She was an intelligent, vibrant, highly creative, fiercely loyal, and loving human being, who shall be sadly missed by her family and those who loved her.
Implicit in the jury's verdict is that you wrongfully accused an innocent man, John Maisonweff, of being responsible. That treacherous act speaks very poorly about your moral fibre." He sentenced Brett Morgan to 25 years without the possibility of parole. Afterwards, Brett's lawyer insisted that he believed his client was innocent and they would appeal the verdict.
But two months into Brett Morgan's sentence, he died in prison due to hepatitis C. It was April 24, 1998, three years to the day since he had reported Louise missing. For Marie Perrant's role in convicting Brett Morgan, police awarded her $4,600. She later told the National Post that she was offended by this reward, saying:
"It felt like a slap in the face after all I had done." Over the years, Marie has appeared in multiple documentaries to discuss her role in the Louise Ellis case and has been working on a memoir about her time as a private investigator. After Brett Morgan's trial, Louise's father, brother and sister said that the result had restored their faith in the justice system.
Although they were still overwhelmed by pain, knowing that Louise had been found and her killer punished helped somewhat. Louise's father, Alan, said he would forgive Brett Morgan for his actions, stating, "...never return evil for evil. Never." After Louise's remains were recovered, a funeral was held at Glebe St James United Church in Ottawa.
200 mourners packed into the space to memorialise Louise, who was remembered as a passionate, artistic and intellectual woman who was deeply spiritual and had great integrity. She was an excellent cook and a very talented writer. In 1976, she wrote and illustrated a children's book titled The Alpha Vegdebet, which taught children about the alphabet and vegetables.
The minister presiding over the service encouraged all those present to remember Louise's story, stating,
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