Chief Castney the Subject of Criticism for Comments re Accused Killer of Nine Year Old Cecilia Zhang
In October of last year, a little nine-year-old girl named Cecilia went missing from her North York home. The home belongs to Cecilia’s parents, Raymond Zhang and Sherry Xu. It is every parent’s nightmare to open your child’s bedroom door in the morning and discover the child gone. Sherry Xu searched the house room by room for her daughter Cecilia. Sherry then rushed hurriedly to her daughter’s school hoping Cecilia, in the custom of nine-year-old girls, had forgotten to say goodbye.
Cecilia was not at the school. 
Cecilia’s disappearance became news. Search parties were organized. Cecilia’s picture was on billboards, newspapers, and on the television. Cecilia is a beautiful oriental girl with a sweet, endearing, and innocent smile that is characteristic to nine year olds. Parents nationwide were horrified to hear the police report it was possible an unknown assailant took Cecilia from her bedroom. America’s Most Wanted aired two segments about Cecilia’s disappearance. American parents joined Canadian parents in the maelstrom of speculation and fear.
On March 27 2004, there was the discovery of Cecilia’s remains in a wooded area of the neighboring city of Mississauga. Toronto reeled from the senselessness of the crime. Raymond and Sherry’s realized their greatest fear and horror.
I was listening to CBC radio this week. I stopped what I was doing when police announced they made two arrests in connection with the murder of Cecilia Zhang. I instantly imagined two greasy and disgusting perverts. Police reported the suspects were a male and female. I imagined a murderous husband and wife combo like Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.
On July 22 Peel Region police chief Noel Catney slammed a photo on the table provided for the news conference. The photo was of 21-year-old Chinese national Min Chen. The Toronto Star refers to Chen’s photo as, “A man with a flat stare behind steel-rimmed spectacles, his hair a toilet-brush bristle, his sallow face marked with spots on the forehead, the chin, the nose.” Chen is in Canada on a student visa. Chen met Cecilia and Cecilia’s family through a girlfriend who boarded with Cecilia’s family. 
Chief Catney did literally slam the photo on the table. He refers to Chen as, “…the most despicable of criminals.” The criminal bar and various members of the legal community immediately criticized Chief Catney for his comments. People accused the Chief of convicting the person charged before the trial even started. Some labeled the Chief’s comments as irresponsible.
Chief Catney is a forthright and empathetic human being. Chief Catney was wrong to bring that empathy to the news conference. Chen’s future defense team will use this news conference to their advantage. The question of a juror’s ability to be impartial will hang like a dark cloud over Chen’s trial. The defense team may even slow the process further by asking for a change of venue.
More importantly, as stated by Ralph Steinberg, “Such partisan comments by people in positions of authority do a lot of damage by undermining the presumption of innocence which is a fundamental principle of our justice system and democracy…” The very essence of our judicial system is the presumption of innocence before due process.
Police need to give only the facts at a news conference of this magnitude. The courtroom process is so vital and the understandable passion of a well-meaning police chief can taint that vital process. Tell the press of the arrest, the particulars of the arrest, and the name of the person arrested. A Chief of Police needs to then answer a few questions, and then politely bugger off while the press continues to hammer him with questions.
Meanwhile, The Toronto Star reported that Jesse Greener, president of the Canadian Federation of students in Ontario, said he hopes Chen’s arrest will not spark resentment of foreign students.
Ontario’s foreign students will be fine. Ontario needs to address why the Toronto Star reported this as “the season of lost children.” Personally, I can remember disappearing children throughout my life in Toronto—the most prominent disappearance being that of Sharon Morningstar Keenan.
Chen has bigger worries. Chen, if convicted, needs to worry about the general population awaiting him in Oz.
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