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I was a Johnny-come-lately to the Michael White case.

At 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 17th, 2005 – just as Liana White's nude body was spotted in a ditch off a gravel road between Edmonton and St. Albert – I was up on my roof in Lewis Estates, replacing the wood-framing on a chimney.

I was the courthouse reporter for 630 CHED Radio and my summer holidays were about to end.

During my first day back at work – Monday, July 18th, at around quarter to one – 630 CHED's Assistant News Director Warren Henderson phoned me with a tip: Liana White's husband was in custody.

I told Henderson I'd check on it pronto.

I called the cell phone of a homicide detective I knew. He told me he was in a meeting at the main Edmonton police station downtown. I asked if he could respond with just yes or no answers.

"Yes," he said in a firm tone. The officer didn't want to let on that a reporter was on the line.

I was able to get confirmation that Michael White had been arrested and was being charged with second-degree murder.

I wrote up the story and filed it immediately.

Within minutes, Henderson broke into network programming with a news bulletin.

It was a huge scoop. Local media tried matching the story, but couldn't – not for a while anyway.

Reporters called the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) media communications people who told them they weren't even aware Michael White was in custody.

That prompted at least one reporter to later complain in writing to the EPS.

Because of that whining, I thought about spending several hours in a confession booth at the main Catholic church downtown, begging for forgiveness for ticking off the competition. NOT!

The media business can sometimes be competitive.

In the days and months that followed, I would have nearly exclusive access to Michael White. This would cause friction with fellow reporters.

The scoops on the White case continued to roll in.

One exclusive was when Michael White confirmed detectives had recovered bloody rags from garbage bags he had put out in front of his house – after his wife disappeared but before her body was found.

630 CHED Radio would continue to break nearly every major development in the White case.

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deadmonton - michael white - the untold story - 1