Archives: Double Murder on Elbow Drive

By Tracey J. Johnson
November 30, 2020

Tucked away on the northwest corner of Elbow Drive and the Elbow River sits an unassuming two story home that belies it's sad history. 

Sometime during the night of June 4th, 1945, Francis Byrne, successful oilman and prominent business leader, murdered his wife, Winnifred age 42, and their 15 year old daughter, Brenda, in their home on Elbow Drive. Byrne then took his own life. 

Their two other children, Ann, age 12, and John, age 8, were sleeping outside in a summerhouse and were left unharmed. The Byrnes had lived in that home since 1940. 

Francis Philip Byrne (born January 24, 1900), originally from Montreal, came to Alberta in 1919 to join the Alberta Provincial Police Force, serving with them until 1922. Byrne went back to Montreal, returning to Alberta again in 1925, working in a brokerage firm, and then at his own investment banking business, Gray, Byrne and Company, in 1931. 

Prior to the tragedy, Byrne had suffered a nervous breakdown and had been under professional medical care.