Edward Dennis Isaac (born 1958–1959) is a Canadian

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who killed one woman and two teenage girls in the Canadian city of

Prince George, British Columbia Prince George is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, with a population of 74,004 in the metropolitan area. It is often called the province's "northern capital" or sometimes the "spruce capital" because it is the hub city for ...

, between 1981 and 1982. In 1986, he was arrested after his girlfriend, who had knowledge of his involvement in one of the murders, told the police. He pleaded guilty to every killing, and was sentenced to three life terms with the possibility of parole after 15 years. Isaac was active along the

Highway of Tears The Highway of Tears is a corridor of Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert in British Columbia, Canada, which has been the location of many disappearances and murders beginning in 1970. The phrase was coined during a vigil held ...

, a corridor of

Highway 16 Route 16, or Highway 16, can refer to: International * Asian Highway 16 * European route E16 * European route E016 Australia - Thompsons Road (Victoria) - South Australia Canada ;Parts of the Trans-Canada Highway: *Yellowhead Hi ...

infamous for being the location of many

missing and murdered indigenous women Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is an epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada, the United States, and Latin America; notably those in the FNIM (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) and Native American communities. Acros ...

. He is one of three convicted serial killers to have been active in the area, the others being Brian Peter Arp and

Cody Legebokoff Cody Alan Legebokoff (born 21 January 1990) is a Canadian serial killer convicted in 2014 by the British Columbia Supreme Court of murdering three women and one teenage girl, between 2009 and 2010, in or near the city of Prince George, British Col ...

Murders

On October 10, 1981, Isaac murdered 36-year-old Jean Mary Kovacs. At about

midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

, Kovacs had been evicted from a bar in Prince George after drinking for several hours. After consuming more alcohol at home, she took a taxi to a highway intersection outside the city, and told the driver she planned to hitch a ride to

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

. She was armed with a knife, and her

blood alcohol level Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For example ...

was .165. Later that day, Isaac shot her four times with a .22-caliber firearm and mutilated her body with a knife. He then dumped her corpse in a water ditch near a logging road in Pruden Lake, approximately 40 kilometers from Prince George. The following day, her body was discovered by a man gathering firewood. Over the next month, 12,000 people were questioned about her murder, and 1,000 people were interviewed, 300 of whom were suspects. Thousands more were interviewed in the months following, but no arrests were made. In the early morning hours of November 14, 1981, Rosithwa Fuchsbichler, 13, left a

house party A house party is a type of party where people gather at the residence of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, ...

in the foothills area of Prince George to meet an older man. She called the man earlier that night and they arranged to meet at a gas station. When he did not show up, she got a ride from two men to his apartment. At some point, she left the man's residence and planned to

hitchhike Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads have ...

. She was picked up by Isaac, who strangled her, and fatally stabbed her once in the heart to "see what it felt like." He proceeded to disrobe her body and sexually-mutilate it before dumping it in a wooded area behind the Hart Highway, about 20 kilometers from where the party was held. She was reported missing on the same morning at 6:45 p.m., and two joggers stumbled upon her body a week later. Due to the similar modus operandi, investigators immediately suspected her murder was connected to Kovacs', but they had no physical evidence to prove it. On August 16, 1982, Isaac murdered Nina Marie Joseph, a 15-year-old prostitute. Evidence suggested that the two engaged in sexual activity, and he strangled her with the cord of her jacket after she refused to perform a certain sex act. Afterwards, he removed her clothing before stabbing and slashing her body with a knife. To get rid of the corpse, he enlisted the help of his then girlfriend. The two moved Joseph's body to Freeman Park, where Isaac posed her spreadeagle and tied her legs to two trees. Isaac then threatened his girlfriend with a similar fate if she reported him to the police.

Arrest and prosecution

In late 1985, Isaac's former girlfriend moved away from Prince George. Since she no longer felt threatened, she confessed to what happened to the police, and Isaac was arrested on February 7, 1986. Initially, he was only charged with Joseph's killing, which he pleaded guilty to the same year. In August 1986, he was charged with Fuchscbichler's killing. The following year, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter after a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

found him fit to stand trial. He was subsequently charged with Kovacs' murder. At a preliminary hearing, witnesses testified that Isaac told them that he and his brother, Jim, took Kovacs to a secluded road, where they raped her, shot her, and mutilated her. Jim could not be charged in Kovacs' murder because he had been murdered a few years prior. Isaac pleaded guilty to second degree murder in relation to Kovacs' death. Ultimately, he was sentenced to three life terms with the possibility of parole after 15 years. As of 1989, he is imprisoned at the Kent Maximum Security Prison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaac, Edward Dennis Living people 1950s births Year of birth uncertain Canadian serial killers Male serial killers Highway of Tears Canadian people convicted of manslaughter Canadian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Canada Murder in British Columbia 20th-century Canadian criminals Canadian male criminals Canadian murderers of children Canadian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Canada Incidents of domestic violence Crimes against sex workers Violence against women in Canada

Murders

Arrest and prosecution

See also

References