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Michael White regularly phoned me to report on how his job hunt was coming along. He told me where he'd dropped off his resume and about some of his interviews.

White initially looked for employment in a light-industrial part of Winterburn, just west of Edmonton.

He mentioned one company – the name escapes me now, in fact it escaped me two minutes after I heard it – where he'd been offered a job. White had his hopes up that he'd be earning money again.

The next day, he said, the company called to renege on the offer. It was because of criminal charges against him.

Murder allegations will do that, I said.

White's response was that he understood and expected that reaction.

Michael White eventually landed a job at Loadstar, a truck-repair company on a dusty, remote part of 34th Street in the city's south-east.

The odd time I dropped around to see White at his shop he was under a transport truck, or poking around around the hood of a vehicle.

He seemed to enjoy that.

Several workers at Loadstar spoke highly of White's work ethic ... and his ethics in general.

They were also seemed protective of Michael White, while being leary of me.

White's murder charge had been the focus of a staff meeting, after some female employees expressed concerns for their safety. White had addressed the gathering.

When I asked a worker about what was said at the meeting, he said it was none of my concern.

White said Edmonton police once visited his workplace to confirm he had been working on a day someone claimed he'd been at a casino instead.

He said the erroneous complaint came from the same person who helped herself to items from Liana and his house right after he was arrested.

One worker at Loadstar – Tara, a quiet, shy woman in her mid-20s – confirmed that Michael White picked her up every morning at her house in north-central Edmonton and they drove to work together. White also brought her home.

Tara was married and had two young boys.

I said, "Aren't you concerned?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled. I guess that meant no.

While out on bail, Michael White was given permission to fly to Ontario to attend the funeral of his grandfather, Albert Barfoot. In his early 70s, Barfoot had died on New Year's Day, 2006 as a result of complications from a car accident.

White was very fond of his grandfather, describing him as "loving, honest and wise."

Once the funeral was over, Michael White arrived back in Edmonton the day he told police he would.

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deadmonton - michael white - the untold story - 17