Often in life, it’s the little things that matter. A compassionate smile, a kind gesture, a helping hand.
It’s no different in detective work. In a case close to home, consider a mere pepperoni stick wrapper, discarded by a career criminal at the scene of a crime.
It was this piece of evidence that first connected Jason Lusted to the death of 74-year-old Pelham resident and business owner Earl Clapp. Lusted’s DNA was on the wrapper, discovered when the Niagara Regional Police’s homicide unit ran it through their lab database. The lot number on the wrapper allowed them to trace the snack to the Circle K Gas Bar and Convenience Store at Welland Road and Pelham Street in Fonthill, and thereafter to review the store’s security video recording —which revealed Lusted and his accomplice, Matthew MacInnes, on the premises on that fateful night three years ago today, October 2 2020.
It has been three years since Earl Clapp was taken from his family, and the Pelham community, run down by an SUV and dragged to his death by a pair of felons attempting to steal a utility trailer from his rural Centre Street property in Fenwick.
Tillie, Earl’s widow, continues to recover from the trauma of losing her life partner. Writing about the event, and the emotional feelings that flow from it, has provided a therapeutic effect for her, a cathartic process of trying to make sense of the tragedy. She met with PelhamToday recently to share her thoughts on her healing road to recovery.
Autumn is a difficult time for the Clapp family.
“I see the farmers bringing in their produce, I hear the crickets, I see the leaves starting to turn. My daughters and I struggle at this time of the year, given that it coincides with Earl’s death,” said Tillie.
“I don't want to presume to speak for my daughters. Their feelings as children are different from mine as his partner of 58 years. And I feel a responsibility to the citizens of Pelham, to let them know what's going on in the world out there. I've learned things in the past three years that have shocked me about the criminal justice process. But I’ve also seen the goodness in people, who support their neighbours and friends.”
Some people complain about the police, but I’ve learned that the NRP homicide department is second to none
Each day is about putting one foot ahead of the other.
“I’m thankful for family—my daughters Elisha and Jody, my son-in-law, my grandchildren, and especially my brother John in Fenwick, who has been so helpful. And of course my girlfriends have been very supportive, along with a group I refer to as the ‘men in my life,’ a combination of Earl's colleagues and friends of mine, who will pop in and offer to do work around the house, perform a repair, or clear away the snow in winter. My neighbor Dave came over one day and taught me how to use our riding lawn mower. All the jobs Earl used to do, I have had to learn.”
Tillie heaped praise on the Niagara Regional Police Service’s homicide unit for its solid investigative work, and their empathy for her family, victimized by the tragedy. She also appreciates the sensitivity shown by the Crown prosecutor in the case.
“Some people complain about the police, but I’ve learned that the NRP homicide department is second to none,” said Tillie.
“Think of it. A dark night, a rural road, no witnesses. And in eight days, they had both suspects in jail. I saw those detectives working around the clock, exhausted. But they kept going, following up on leads, leaving no stone unturned. One still visits me at Christmas with flowers. It's not just about the paycheque for that team of detectives. They are working on the worst of all crimes, but they somehow retain their humanity. I was so impressed when they were on the witness stand in court, as the defense tried to poke holes in their evidence. They were just unflappable.”
Tillie has less regard for the news media.
“Some in the media — not the Voice of Pelham or PelhamToday — sensationalized what happened, and misrepresented what the evidence showed, hurting our family in the process,” said Tillie. “I actually called one reporter who had [falsely] written that Earl had tried to stop the theft, that he had ‘confronted’ the criminals. A week after Earl died, a man showed up on my doorstep and said, ‘Wow, what happened to Earl, you’d never catch me doing that.’ In other words, [he was implying that] maybe Earl wasn’t wise to investigate the noise he heard. And I told him that there is no evidence that Earl challenged those attempting to steal his trailer. The truth matters to me.”
The legal process is a traumatic one for victims, said Tillie.
There is no evidence that Earl challenged those attempting to steal his trailer. The truth matters to me.
“Some of the language used by the defense minimizes the severity of the crime, in an attempt to de-emphasize the culpability of the criminal,” she said. “They will state that the SUV ‘collided’ with Earl, rather than say that Lusted ran him over with intention. And when we were headed back to court to hear about a plea bargain agreement for [co-defendant] MacInnes, one of the detectives told me, ‘Be prepared, because the bandage is going to get ripped off, and you're going to have to start healing all over again.’ And he was right.”
There appeared to be careful orchestration between MacInnes and his lawyer with regard to rolling over on Lusted, said Tillie.
“His lawyer had calculated how long he had been incarcerated awaiting trial, and given the charges and possible sentencing, if he spilled the beans on his partner, MacInnes could walk away a free man. And that's what happened. He didn't go back to jail. It was like an algebraic equation, X plus Y equals the number of days. The process removed the subjective element of the person at the centre of this tragedy. Earl’s life has been reduced to numbers punched into a calculator.”
Ultimately, a plea deal was made between the Crown and Lusted as well, with the charge reduced to manslaughter, a lesser crime than murder.
“If it goes to court, and there's even one juror who disagrees with the Crown’s case, Lusted could walk. It just takes one. So we felt that the Crown was correct in recommending the downgraded charge of manslaughter. We reluctantly agreed that it made the most sense,” said Tillie.
The aftermath has been hard to endure for the widowed spouse.
“The loss of a relationship that has been at the core of your family for almost six decades, is really the destruction of the foundation of your life. I feel like I’m living in an alternate universe. It's like standing behind a curtain. The world goes by before your eyes, but you cannot participate the way you did before,” said Tillie.
Earl Clapp’s clothes still hang in the bedroom closet, exactly as he left them that fateful morning.
“I haven't washed the shirt Earl wore before he went to bed that night,” said Tillie. “But I’ve been thinking that, with winter not far off, there will be people who need warm clothes, and perhaps it’s time to donate some of his things. I’ve parted with a lot of Earl’s possessions, machines like his motorcycle and work trailers, but his clothes…that's more personal, it’s another matter, you know?”
Tillie didn't have surveillance cameras on their property before Earl’s death, but she does now. She’s not ready to sell the property yet.
“We built that house together, and Earl created the garden to give me comfort,” she said. “I sit out there every now and again. I feel better for it. Having said that, walking down the street does not feel the same. I have all kinds of images that keep flooding back in my mind.”
Tillie offered advice to those attempting to console the grief-stricken.
“Some people are afraid to say the name of the deceased, or bring them up in conversation because it might make you sad,” said Tillie. “But the reality is that you're already sad. And when someone comes to me and says, ‘Remember when Earl did’ such and such, it makes me feel good, because I'm reliving the memory. We can still remember him even though he's physically gone. And I've learned that friendship extends beyond death. I feel that some of his close friends and colleagues are doing their last acts of friendship with Earl by helping me. It makes a huge difference.”
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Career criminal Jason Lusted pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Earl Clapp. On September 22 2022, Justice Joseph DeFilippis sentenced him to 14 more years of incarceration. The total sentence was 18 years, with credit given for time already served behind bars, and additional consideration for adverse conditions Lusted experienced during pandemic lockdown. Lusted had a history of learning disabilities, depression, and drug addiction, and never achieved stable employment. Over a 30-year period beginning in 1986, he accumulated 65 convictions for a wide variety of offenses, and had been sentenced to penitentiary seven times, including a six-and-a-half year term for being an accessory after the fact to murder. On five occasions, Lusted was found guilty of dangerous driving, with three of those offenses involved flight from police pursuit. He had six convictions for driving while under suspension.
“Mr. Clapp died in horrific circumstances,” commented Justice DeFilippis. “Mr. Lusted has lived a life of persistent criminality that began when he was a youth and continued with few gaps until age 50, when he was arrested for causing the death of Mr. Clapp. His life is defined by a complete disregard for the law, court orders, and public safety. His unnecessary, selfish, and deadly action of driving dangerously and fleeing the scene of a crime comes with a history of such misconduct. His moral blameworthiness is high. [His] apology comes too late to materially affect my decision on sentence. My focus must be on denunciation and deterrence.”
Lusted will be eligible for parole consideration in less than six years, after having served a third of his penitentiary sentence.
