Joven Family Never Updated in Murder Case

Robert Thomas

On November 11, 1976, a pediatrician in Moose Jaw named Dr Isabelita “Beth” B Joven was victim of one of the most brutal and sensational murders in the history of the city and the province. It was a murder that shook the city. People to this day still remember it vividly.

The family of Dr. Jovan was never updated as to the status of the case.

Reached at her home in the Philippines Dr. Joven's cousin Dorisa said the family has never been provided updates about Isabelita.

MJ Independent asked “Can you tell me. To the best of your knowledge, did anyone here in Canada ever update your family about Beth? And if they did update you can you tell me when?”
Dorisa responded “nobody did.

Asked for comment on the Joven case and whether or not the family had ever been updated, Inspector Rick McKenna of Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) declined, citing the Freedom of Information of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

“Under LAFOIP (The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act, 2017) public bodies (in this case MJPS) are responsible to protect the integrity and confidentiality of the personal information in the possession of, or under the control of the Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) or it’s employees,” McKenna wrote.

“So to clarify, if you are enquiring about a specific person, or their case, I would not be in a position to comment,” McKenna wrote.

An email for comment into not updating the Joven family about their family member was also sent to Saskatchewan Justice – who run Victim Services - and was referred back to the MJPS. It needs to be noted that Victim Services was not in existence in 1976.

Dr. Joven was one of three children. She is still survived by one brother.

A source highly familiar with the case, who spoke under condition of anonymity said that no evidence was ever presented from the Philippines.

At the present time MJ Independent has a formal written request in to the Court of Queen's Bench to review the transcripts and the file. That request is now be reviewed by a judge to ensure anything sealed from the case is not inappropriately released. It needs to be noted that, for his book Moose Jaw Murders and Other Deaths author Bruce Fairman reviewed the trial transcripts.

The original file and exhibits in the Dr. Joven murder case were reported to “no longer exist”. This information was stored in a file obtained by MJ Independent through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. The July 11th FOI asked for information on anything lost, misplaced, stolen or missing from MJPS including anything which may be construed as evidence.

File and Evidence Missing From 1976 Murder Case

It needs to be noted that there is NO EVIDENCE suggesting anything inappropriate or nefarious was done regarding these files.

It also needs to be noted that files and exhibits may have gone out of existence years before any present member MJPS was employed there.

Under The Municipal Police Report Forms and Filing System Regulations, 1991 Part VI (4) police forces are to retain all files regarding murders until the case is solved and 10 years from the conclusion of the case. The regulations also dictate such things as cross referencing system for all files retained.

To this date nobody has ever been convicted in the 1976 murder. If you have any information relating to this crime please contact MJPS or Crime Stoppers.

If you are getting older and if the victim's screams and the brutality of the crime is eating away at your conscience and you would like to confess for committing this crime the MJPS would like to hear from you as well.