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Murder or Suicide? Mystery of the 8-day Bride.

Christina’s body was found floating in a river nearby the cabin, where she and her husband were spending their honeymoon.

The Mystique
7 min readSep 12, 2021
The newlyweds, Christina and Jack Kettlewell | Photo Credits: Toronto Star

A body was found in Severn Falls, Ontario. It was identified to be of the 22-year-old Christina Kettlewell. The eeriest detail was the fact that her corpse was found immersed in 9 inches of water, just 150 feet away from her honeymoon cottage. On autopsy, it was found that she’d also been drugged with codeine.

May 20, 1947

On May 20, 1947, Christina’s body was discovered by a local boathouse owner who stood watching the burnt and smoldered remains of a remote cottage. He noticed how the rock chimney was the only structure that remained unaffected by the blaze. As he began walking along the shore, he noticed a woman, unconscious and faced down, dressed only in a nightgown. It was the newlywed Christina Kettlewell. The cottage was where Christina, her husband, Jack Kettlewell, and his best friend Ronald had been staying for the last eight days since the Kettlewell wedding.

It was strange since the first responders to the fire, mere hours ago, didn’t remember finding the corpse of a woman by the riverside, as they had rushed to get water. How did it appear there now?

The Third Wheel: Ronald Barrie

Christina Cecilia Mocon was born in 1925 in Toronto, Canada. Her parents were Polish immigrants and devout Roman Catholics. At 22, Cristina was working in a bank in Ontario. On May 12, 1947, she disappeared for a week and was found by her sister. She had been living with her boyfriend of 3 years, John Ray Kettlewell, whom everyone called Jack. After an argument, Christina’s sister left, and the couple decided to simply elope. The witness to their union was their best friend, 28-year-old Ronald Barrie.

Jack was born in 1921 in Ontario. He was a WW2 veteran and was part of the dental division. His best friend Ronald had come to Canada from Italy and was a professional ballroom dancer who’d been unemployed for some time and was usually seen spending a great amount of time with the pair.

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The Mystique
The Mystique

Written by The Mystique

A passionate writer of true crime and unsolved mysteries. I am all about learning and making a positive impact on world.

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