On May 20, just a few days into the honeymoon, Ronald left Christina and Jack at the cottage and went sunbathing by the Severn River. When he returned at 6:30PM he was greeted by a horrifying scene – his cottage was ablaze. Ronald raced into the burning cottage and frantically searched for Jack and Christina, calling their names and running from room to room. He finally found Jack in the living room. He was barely conscious and was bleeding profusely from a gash on his forehead. Worried for Christina, Ronald shook Jack and asked him where she was. But Jack was in a “disoriented stupor” and could not reply. After Ronald got Jack to safety he ran back into the cottage to find Christina, but he eventually left the building empty-handed. Ronald asked his neighbours to put out the fire while he took Jack to the hospital. But not even an hour passed before the cottage had burned to the ground. A short while later, Christina was found by a neighbour face down on the riverbank in only nine inches of water, roughly 150 feet from the cottage. The new bride was barefoot and still in her pajamas. Jack was treated at the hospital for a head injury, burns, and shock. Blood test results showed a large amount of codeine in his system. Upon his release, Jack was questioned by police for over three hours, but he was not able to remember anything past 11:00AM the morning of the fire. An autopsy later determined Christina had not been physically assaulted, and there was no sign of burns on her body or smoke damage to her lungs. Blood tests revealed trace amounts of codeine in her system, the same drug found during Jack’s tests. The autopsy concluded Christina’s death was caused by drowning.

A male body was found 150 meters off the high way, in a grove. The body was lying flat on its back and had a single shot through the chest. The wound was dried and a few flies were on his body. There was also a rope and a comb.