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You are here: Home / Forensics / Conviction in 1984 Beverly Dyke case

Conviction in 1984 Beverly Dyke case

March 17, 2010 By Alice

leaning angelThe  jury found Robert Kociuk guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Beverly Dyke (48). She was killed in May 1984 in a wooded area near the airport. Police say she was sexually assaulted and then stabbed a number of times. The case would have remained unsolved if it weren’t for the advancement of DNA technology.

“I think it was 1998 when I got a call from a police officer to tell me they actually had a DNA fingerprint of the accused ….it gives you new hope,” says Chris, Beverly’s son. Shortly afterwards, police put that DNA on the national crime scene index. Five years later, it was matched to Robert Kociuk. He was a suspect in the original case.

He had been convicted of committing bank robberies in Ontario and was ordered to give a sample of his DNA. It matched the semen found inside the victim in 1984 and ultimately led to his first degree murder conviction.

After the trial, the Dyke family thanked the crown as well as all the detectives who worked on the case over the years. Kociuk has spent much of his life behind bars. He’s now 68-years-old and may not get out of prison until he is 93. Kociuk is considering an appeal. The entire article is here.

Note 1: the victim’s name is spelled Beverley in newspapers but in court documents it is Beverly.

Note 2: I cannot find a photograph of Beverly so I have placed a generic angel here. Should you have more details about Beverly or a photograph, please contact me.

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Filed Under: Forensics, Solved Tagged With: Beverly Dyke, Canada, DNA, DNA Database, Rape kits, Robert Kociuk

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Author Notes

On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book.

My database has over 300 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

All writing suggestions that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

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Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

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If you use my work, please add a link back. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. Thank you!

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

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