Another man declared innocent in 1973 slaying

Clarence Woodhouse, one of four men convicted of a slaying in Winnipeg in 1973, has been acquitted and declared innocent of the killing.

Woodhouse, one of four men convicted of the murder of restaurant worker Ting Fong Chan, appeared in a Winnipeg courtroom Thursday, where a judge apologized to him.

He was released on parole in 1987.

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Clarence Woodhouse, one of four men convicted of a slaying in Winnipeg in 1973, has been acquitted and declared innocent of the killing.

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES

Clarence Woodhouse, one of four men convicted of a slaying in Winnipeg in 1973, has been acquitted and declared innocent of the killing.

Federal Justice Minister Arif Virani quashed Woodhouse’s conviction in July.

Then-federal justice minister David Lametti quashed the convictions of Allan (A.J.) Woodhouse and Brian Anderson — two of the other men convicted in Chan’s slaying — in June 2023 and returned their cases to Manitoba. Both men were acquitted of the charges in a hearing before Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal in July.

A fourth man, Clarence’s brother Russell Woodhouse, died in 2011. Innocence Canada has asked Ottawa to posthumously quash Russell’s conviction so that he, too, can be declared innocent.

Anderson and Allan Woodhouse filed a lawsuit against the City of Winnipeg, the province and the federal government this year, claiming unspecified compensation. Anderson served 10 years in prison, while Allan Woodhouse served 23.

Ting Fong Chan, a 40-year-old father of two, was beaten and stabbed while walking home from his job as a chef on July 17, 1973.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca

Source