Bond of Silence True Story: Lifetime Movie About Bob McIntosh and Katy Hutchison

What's the 'Bond of Silence' true story? And what really happened to Bob McIntosh and Katy Hutchison? 'Bond of Silence' is one of the Lifetime movies based on a true story that I can already tell is going to be incredibly moving when it airs on August 23. And if the movie follows the true story of the tragedy that befalls a happily married couple, it's not just going to bring the tears, but will also portray a powerful message about forgiveness.

Bond of Silence: The Lifetime Movie

So far all I know about the Lifetime Movie 'Bond of Silence' is that actress Kim Raver, who has starred on 'Lipstick Jungle', '24', and 'Grey's Anatomy', will be playing the role of Katy McIntosh (in this case, many of the characters' real names are used in the movie; McIntosh was Hutchison's name at the time the events transpired). It's described as a mystery about the murder of her husband, Bob McIntosh, after he leaves one New Year's Eve night to quiet down a wild teen party taking place nearby. What Katy McIntosh faces afterward is a shroud of secrecy from the teens involved (hence the title 'Bond of Silence'), as well as their protective parents. Greg Grunberg of 'Heroes' fame will be playing the detective trying to help her solve the crime.

Bond of Silence: The True Story

It's going to be hard to compare the 'Bond of Silence' movie to the true story since I haven't seen it yet, although this article from the Squamish Chief does indicate that the movie's setting has been moved from Squamish, British Columbia to a coastal town in Washington State. But you can check out the true story here and compare it to 'Bond of Silence' when it airs to see how much of the movie focuses on the truth.

As this article relates, Katy and Bob McIntosh were a happy couple that had been married since 1988. In 1993, Katy McIntosh gave birth to twins: a boy and girl. Both Katy and Bob had successful careers: she was working for the local economic development office and he was a personal injury attorney specializing in head injuries, as well as a competitive triathlete. In short, they were a picture-perfect couple.

All of that changed on New Year's Eve, 1997, as this article, which focuses in part on Katy's book, 'Walking After Midnight: One Woman's Journey Through Murder, Justice and Forgiveness' relates. Bob and Katy McIntosh had a few friends over for New Year's Eve, and one couple informed them that a there was a party going on down the street at the home of a friend of theirs who was out of the country. Bob McIntosh tried to call and speak to his friend's 19-year-old son Jamie Cudmore, now a professional rugby player, but every time he called someone different picked up the phone (host Jamie Cudmore had abandoned the very out-of-hand party for another one). And so he and two other men decided to walk over to the party to investigate. It would prove to be a fatal mistake.

The men were separated at the party, and, within minutes of their arrival, Bob McIntosh lay on the floor lifeless. There was a bruise on his head and a cut on his hand. Another family friend, a doctor, was trying to revive him in the hospital when Katy McIntosh arrived there, but to no avail. An autopsy would later show that he'd been punched and kicked to death.

It would be five years before Katy McIntosh would meet the teen who delivered her husband's fatal blow, a kick to the head that severed an artery in the back of his neck. She'd already married one of her attorneys in late 1998 by that time and changed her name to Katy Hutchison, an occurrence that got quite a bit of publicity (after all, her husband had been murdered in a high-profile case just the year before). But Katy Hutchison stood by her decision to change her life, just as she did with her decision to meet Ryan Aldridge, the teen who had confessed to an undercover officer that he'd killed her husband, face to face.

But she wasn't there to ask him "how could you?!"; Katy Hutchison was looking for understanding and forgiveness. And it was Ryan Aldridge who actually asked to meet her after watching a video where she begged him to admit to himself what he had done. She wanted Aldridge to plea guilty to save her children from the pain of a trial (he would plea guilty to manslaughter and be handed a five year sentence), but their meeting would blossom into so much more.

The Story of Bob

Now Katy Hutchison relives a time in her life most would want to forget over and over again through a power point presentation entitled the Story of Bob. She uses her terrible tale as a tool to help teach teens and parents alike of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, and it seems as though the Story of Bob that he was involved in has also inspired Ryan Aldridge to change.

He would later write a letter from jail to be published in The Chief, the local Squamish newspaper, addressed to the youth of the town. Ryan Aldridge admitted that he, like many small-town teens, used partying, drugs, and alcohol as a way to battle boredom, but wished he'd spent his time pursuing sports or other outdoor pursuits instead. He also warned the town's teens that one tragic incident could forever alter their lives.

Hutchison now considers Ryan Aldridge a friend and part of the family, despite the fact that he took one of her own away. It's something that many of us may not accept or understand, but the true story of Katy Hutchison's journey to prove that there is a place in our society for forgiveness and restorative justice is a tale far more moving than any movie fiction. Will the 'Bond of Silence' capture that feeling, or will it focus more on the teens involved at the party and their efforts to protect their friends? Check it out on Lifetime on August 23 at 9 p.m. ET yourself to see if it does justice to this tale of a different kind of justice.

SOURCES:
http://www.mylifetime.com/movies/bond-of-silence/about
http://www.squamishchief.com/article/20100521/SQUAMISH0501/305219957/-1/squamish/local-tragedy-made-into-tv-movie
http://www.sfu.ca/crj/hutchison.html
http://www.straight.com/choosing-to-heal-through-restorative-justice