Dwight Creelman

1954 - 2024  (70 years)

• Name	Dwight Creelman
  Born	1954
  Gender	Male
  Crime	murdered and tortured women
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-234049
  Died	31 May 2024	Bath, Frontenac Co., Ontario, Canada
  Person ID	I234049	Generations
  Last Modified	7 Nov 2024

  
  

• Notes

  Man who tortured and killed Kitchener woman 40 years ago dies in prison Dwight Creelman murdered Dawn Riley and tortured and raped two other women A man who tortured and murdered a Kitchener woman 40 years ago has died in prison. Dwight Creelman was sentenced in 1986 to life with no chance of parole for 12 years for killing 30-year-old Dawn Riley in 1984. He had previously been sentenced to seven years in prison for torturing and raping two other women. Creelman, 69, died last Friday at Bath Institution, a medium-security prison near Kingston. "At this time, further information regarding the cause of death is not available," Correctional Service Canada said in a news release. It will review the circumstances of his death. The police and coroner were notified. The judge who sentenced Creelman for second-degree murder called the crime "revolting and sadistic." "This is the type of terrorism which is usually associated with the lowest form of people in an uncivilized society," said Justice Gregory Evans. On Oct. 24, 1984, Riley went to Creelman's apartment on Fergus Avenue near Idlewood Park in Kitchener after spending the evening with him. The next day she was found dead in her downtown Church Street apartment by a friend. Riley had marks on her mouth and face from being gagged and blisters on her body from being burned with cigarettes. Cause of death was asphyxiation. "There is no doubt that the deceased suffered for some time before her death," the judge said. Riley had two children. She was a former waitress at the Breslau Hotel and a singer. It wasn't until June 1985, when Creelman pleaded guilty to torturing and raping two other women in separate incidents in his apartment, that police connected him with Riley's murder. He handcuffed those women, both 20, wrapped masking tape around their mouths and tortured them with lit cigarettes. He later apologized, gave them money and drove them home. Creelman tortured the first woman in May 1984, five months before he killed Riley. The woman reported the crime to police "but did not press charges because of fears of reprisal from Creelman and because she did not want her use of drugs to become known," The Record reported in 1985. Before she was attacked, the woman used cocaine supplied by Creelman. Eight months after murdering Riley, Creelman tortured another woman. He put a noose around her neck, tied the rope to a beam in the basement and placed her on a chair. He removed the chair and watched her choke. The woman called police. Creelman was arrested at his apartment. On the murder conviction, the judge could have ordered Creelman to serve as many as 25 years (instead of 12) before any chance at parole. "I have to resist the temptation to keep you in custody the rest of your life," he said. "I don't want to deprive you of any hope of becoming a useful citizen." Riley's mother, Marie Grice, weighed in after Creelman was sentenced. "Parole in 12 years! I mean, cripes, I don't think that is enough for something like that," she said. "I have done some terrible things," Creelman told the judge. "I don't expect any forgiveness because I don't forgive myself." Creelman didn't get forgiveness or parole, dying behind bars after serving almost 40 years. With files from Frances Barrick and Charles Howitt Gordon Paul is a Waterloo Region-based court reporter for TheRecord. Email: gpaul@therecord.com. Paul, G. (2024) Man who tortured and killed Kitchener woman 40 years ago dies in prison, The Record. Available at: https://www.therecord.com/news/crime/man-who-tortured-and-killed-kitchener-woman-40-years-ago-dies-in-prison/article_ddb818ba-59c6-59fd-a5ae-c9fb3040614c.html (Accessed: 6 June 2024).