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OUTRAGED: The Murder of Shoeshine Boy, Emanuel Jaques that Shocked the City of Toronto
The Murder That Changed a City - The tragic story of Shoeshine Boy Emanuel Jaques has been the basis of novels, short stories, a documentary, a play, songs, a children’s book on the dangers of abduction, and dozens of essays, but never a True Crime book…until now.
The torture and killing of Emanuel over a 12-hour period above a seedy Toronto body rub parlour outraged citizens who demanded change to Toronto’s Yonge Street strip, which by 1977 resembled New York’s grimy 42nd Street with its many X-rated movie theatres, massage parlours, pornographic bookstores, and prostitutes.
Through a series of original interviews, archival research, and previously unpublished documents, author Robert J. Hoshowsky recreates in detail Emanuel’s brutal death, the hunt for the boy’s killers, the shocking trial and press coverage, the controversial Yonge Street clean-up, and what remains one of the most sensational True Crime cases in Canadian history.
The torture and killing of Emanuel over a 12-hour period above a seedy Toronto body rub parlour outraged citizens who demanded change to Toronto’s Yonge Street strip, which by 1977 resembled New York’s grimy 42nd Street with its many X-rated movie theatres, massage parlours, pornographic bookstores, and prostitutes.
Through a series of original interviews, archival research, and previously unpublished documents, author Robert J. Hoshowsky recreates in detail Emanuel’s brutal death, the hunt for the boy’s killers, the shocking trial and press coverage, the controversial Yonge Street clean-up, and what remains one of the most sensational True Crime cases in Canadian history.
- GenresNonfictionTrue Crime
352 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 9, 2017
28 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 27, 2017
I read this book via an Amazon-US KINDLE Unlimited download.
If you check my Amazon profile you’ll find I’m listed as being a TOP CONTRIBUTOR for True Crime books, signifying a true devotee of this genre of books. But, none of the murders or series of murders have been so sickening gruesome as the one written about in this book. This book covers the murder of Emanuel Jacques, a 12-year old shoeshine boy working the streets of Toronto, Canada, along with his older brother and a friend.
The infamy of this particular murder wound up changing the City of Toronto in 1977 with its sheer viciousness of the torture, and ultimate murder this innocent child had to endure. This murder had taken place in the Yonge Street strip in this city, an area much like the Times Square area had been during this same period, an area fraught with movie houses showing XXX-rated films, massage parlors, multiple bookstores selling the same merchandise; and of course, the high number of prostitutes cruising the streets vying for their next customer.
Egregiousness of this murder had its citizens not asking for, but demanding that something be done immediately to this otherwise beautiful city of Toronto.
While there has been a myriad of other endeavors to bring this story to light, like: fictional novels, songs, essays and even a book for children regarding the dangers of how young Emanuel got taken by his abductors, it has taken four decades to bring this true crime story into print.
Being, as I’ve already said, a devotee of this genre of books, I love the excruciating detail and research the author, Robert J. Hoshowsky, has done to bring this particular story to the public to read about. Mr. Hoshowky’s book diligently takes its readers from the recreation of the ruthless murder, through the astonishing press coverage and trial, and since there’s was no death penalty available for this crime, the author brings the story up to the present. Also covered in the book is the scandalous nature of the rehabilitation of area of Toronto.
For giving everyone who reads this book, the complete story of what is one of the most extraordinary cases in Canadian history of a sensational actual murder, I’ve given Mr. Hoshowsky and this book 5 STARS.
If you check my Amazon profile you’ll find I’m listed as being a TOP CONTRIBUTOR for True Crime books, signifying a true devotee of this genre of books. But, none of the murders or series of murders have been so sickening gruesome as the one written about in this book. This book covers the murder of Emanuel Jacques, a 12-year old shoeshine boy working the streets of Toronto, Canada, along with his older brother and a friend.
The infamy of this particular murder wound up changing the City of Toronto in 1977 with its sheer viciousness of the torture, and ultimate murder this innocent child had to endure. This murder had taken place in the Yonge Street strip in this city, an area much like the Times Square area had been during this same period, an area fraught with movie houses showing XXX-rated films, massage parlors, multiple bookstores selling the same merchandise; and of course, the high number of prostitutes cruising the streets vying for their next customer.
Egregiousness of this murder had its citizens not asking for, but demanding that something be done immediately to this otherwise beautiful city of Toronto.
While there has been a myriad of other endeavors to bring this story to light, like: fictional novels, songs, essays and even a book for children regarding the dangers of how young Emanuel got taken by his abductors, it has taken four decades to bring this true crime story into print.
Being, as I’ve already said, a devotee of this genre of books, I love the excruciating detail and research the author, Robert J. Hoshowsky, has done to bring this particular story to the public to read about. Mr. Hoshowky’s book diligently takes its readers from the recreation of the ruthless murder, through the astonishing press coverage and trial, and since there’s was no death penalty available for this crime, the author brings the story up to the present. Also covered in the book is the scandalous nature of the rehabilitation of area of Toronto.
For giving everyone who reads this book, the complete story of what is one of the most extraordinary cases in Canadian history of a sensational actual murder, I’ve given Mr. Hoshowsky and this book 5 STARS.
November 24, 2017
The murder that changed a city
Never before have I had so many interruptions while trying to read a book. For this reason, it took me several days to finish it. It didn't help that the book was heavy, overly wordy and repetitious, and filled with unnecessarily hyphenated words for which I could find no basis.
The story was fascinating. At a time (1977) when such violent crimes against children were practically unheard of, Emanuel Jaques, a 12-year-old shoeshine boy, was working on Yonge Street in Toronto alongside his brother, 14, and a friend, 12. A man approached the boys with an offer to pay them $35 an hour to help move some photography equipment.
The older boy ran to phone his mother for permission, which she denied, and by the time he returned, Emanuel had already left with the man.
The details of Emanuel's ordeal are sickening and horrifying. The men who committed the crime were unrepentant as if the death of a mere shoeshine boy was no great loss and, therefore, of little consequence.
The author tracks the progress of the murderers up to present day. Since the death penalty had been abolished, the only option for the men was imprisonment with the future possibility of parole. This instilled fear and disgust in the minds of many citizens of Toronto.
108
Never before have I had so many interruptions while trying to read a book. For this reason, it took me several days to finish it. It didn't help that the book was heavy, overly wordy and repetitious, and filled with unnecessarily hyphenated words for which I could find no basis.
The story was fascinating. At a time (1977) when such violent crimes against children were practically unheard of, Emanuel Jaques, a 12-year-old shoeshine boy, was working on Yonge Street in Toronto alongside his brother, 14, and a friend, 12. A man approached the boys with an offer to pay them $35 an hour to help move some photography equipment.
The older boy ran to phone his mother for permission, which she denied, and by the time he returned, Emanuel had already left with the man.
The details of Emanuel's ordeal are sickening and horrifying. The men who committed the crime were unrepentant as if the death of a mere shoeshine boy was no great loss and, therefore, of little consequence.
The author tracks the progress of the murderers up to present day. Since the death penalty had been abolished, the only option for the men was imprisonment with the future possibility of parole. This instilled fear and disgust in the minds of many citizens of Toronto.
108
August 15, 2019
Couldn't finish it
The book was well written and the topic researched well, as far as I could tell, anyway. Maybe a little too much research for me. I found myself scanning through pages to avoid reading anymore about the Yonge St area. This is because it seemed as if it became redundant information and I was drowning in it. I read up to the murder and arrests but I decided to stop after that. I can get a shorter version of the story on the internet. As I said previously, this was well written except for the redundant information but I do understand that the author was trying to show us the area and the time. For some people this may be your cup of tea. Therefore, I wouldn't say it's an awful book and turn you elsewhere. Go ahead and read it. You may enjoy it.
The book was well written and the topic researched well, as far as I could tell, anyway. Maybe a little too much research for me. I found myself scanning through pages to avoid reading anymore about the Yonge St area. This is because it seemed as if it became redundant information and I was drowning in it. I read up to the murder and arrests but I decided to stop after that. I can get a shorter version of the story on the internet. As I said previously, this was well written except for the redundant information but I do understand that the author was trying to show us the area and the time. For some people this may be your cup of tea. Therefore, I wouldn't say it's an awful book and turn you elsewhere. Go ahead and read it. You may enjoy it.
September 10, 2021
I don't usually write comments, but had to say something about the quality of the text. I read the book because after rereading Kicking the Sky by Anthony De Sa, I wanted to learn more about Emanuel Jaques, and I was interested in reading about Toronto in the 1970s. The content was OK. However, there were many typos, grammar and spelling mistakes, problems with word order, awkward sentences, and some pages had blurry text. I got the impression that it was a combination of sloppy editing and sloppy writing. My copy was a paperback that I got from the library. I hope they didn't pay too much for it.
February 23, 2018
The tragic torture and murder of 12 year shoeshine boy Emanuel Jaques above a seedy body rub parlour on Toronto's Yonge Street strip in the summer of 1977 changed the city forever, taking away its innocence. Through interviews and archival research Hoshowsky looks at the details of the kidnapping and murder and how it lead to the clean-up of the strip. Interesting analysis of a difficult topic, but the book repetitive in places and has a number of typos.
November 4, 2019
An exhaustively researched account of the notorious 1976 murder of shoeshine boy Emanuel Jaques on the Yonge Street Strip in Toronto, Ontario & the lasting impact the murder had on the city. I found the book somewhat poorly edited & formatted (it almost reads like a self-published book) but it kept my attention throughout & although I remember the case & that time in Toronto fairly well, I learned a lot from it.
January 1, 2018
Being a reader of only true crime I found the parts of the book about the murder was really worth reading but.....too much useless information about Politics, rules & such made the rest of the book really boring & repeating same thing over & over again didn't help....so just skipped most of book except for the murder parts....
August 23, 2018
As many have already stated, the book repeats information and statements ad nauseum. The editing and formatting are pretty abysmal as well, making this a frustrating read overall.
May 13, 2019
Outraged is a very disturbing but very important + well-researched book about an awful crime that inspired a massive civic crackdown and 'clean-up' in what had become "Toronto the Bad" in the late 1970s. Some of the content makes for tough reading but I highly recommend this book.
-Nate Hendley, author of "The Boy on the Bicycle: A Forgotten Case of Wrongful Conviction in Toronto"
-Nate Hendley, author of "The Boy on the Bicycle: A Forgotten Case of Wrongful Conviction in Toronto"
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews