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On Thursday, July 21st – three days after Michael White was charged with murder – I called the Edmonton Remand Centre to book an appointment to speak with him. The guard recognized my name and he said he'd get me in as soon as possible.

ASAP turned out to be three days later – Sunday, July 24th at 6:00 p.m.

I arrived at the Remand Centre ahead of time but a cranky guard wouldn't allow me in with a pen and notepad, saying I had to "rely on my memory." That was fine with me.

I was told that if Michael White chose to show up for the visit he would ride the elevator alone with guards, not with other prisoners. That indicated White was being afforded some sort of protection – as if he was in protective custody.

Prisoners normally show up for visits in groups, scampering to meet their visitors waiting in individual booths.

I sat down and was alone in my thoughts when I looked up to see, on the other side of the glass, a tall, slightly obese man staring down at me.

It was Michael White.

He looked bewildered, as if he was trying to place me from somewhere.

I placed my right hand up flat against the glass to indicate a handshake. White reciprocated.

Individual booths in the visitor's area have two phones, one on either side of the glass. I motioned to White to lift up his receiver. He did so, but reluctantly.

"I'm a news reporter," I told him. "And I don't want you to run away."

White sat down.

I then gave Michael White my name. He said he was not a CHED listener and he didn't know who I was.

White explained that the radio station he and Liana listened to was "K-Lite" (now Capital FM).

However, there was a connection of sorts with Michael White and CHED Radio, and it prompted White to talk. He said he just met a young prisoner at the Remand Centre who told him his mother was "second in command" at CHED.

I told White I was not his friend, not his enemy ... and I had some questions.

He nodded okay.

I skipped the small talk and asked him if he killed his wife. White's eyes never left mine. "No," he said.

White went on to say he was innocent of the murder charge and would plead not guilty.

I also asked White if he had anything to say to the people who helped in the search for his wife. White said he was very grateful and he appreciated their help.

He also thanked those who set up a trust fund for his young daughter, Ashley. White revealed he had regular telephone contact with the three-year-old.

The child was staying with White's mother-in-law, Maureen Kelly.

White went on to say he was worried about Ashley's future. He said he also feared his daughter might grow up thinking her dad killed her mom.

As Michael White and I chatted, the body of 29-year-old Liana White was in a backroom at the medical examiner's office, at Belgravia Road and 116th Street, just south of the University area. Her remains would soon be transferred to a funeral home downtown.

I queried White as to how people addressed him: did they call him 'Michael' or 'Mike.'

"Mike," he said.

I asked him if he wanted to be at his wife's funeral, set for Wednesday.

"Yes," he said – but not if he had to wear chains, shackles and be escorted by guards. He said that would be an insult to Liana – see National Post coverage (which also provides a brief summation of what was known about the case so far).

Michael White maintained he did not kill his wife and that he loved her dearly. He also said he wasn't a violent man.

The former soldier teared up when he recalled the time Liana "stood behind him" during his military court-martial.

Trooper White had been accused of stealing tools from the military. His story was that he borrowed tools to work on his vehicles and simply hadn't returned them.

White maintained he had not been "kicked out" of the military – contrary to what one television station reported. He said he had been given an honourable discharge.

(Note: this was confirmed in an off-the-record chat with a colonel at the Edmonton International Airport during the departure of Canadian troops to Afghanistan. After White's bail was revoked, I also came across documents in White's house that showed White had received an honourable discharge).

A lawyer for White would later say it makes for a better story if a man accused of murdering his wife has been "kicked out" of the military, despite whether it's right or wrong.

White described his Remand Centre cellmate as a decent sort ("a great guy") who went out of his way to show him pictures of his (cellmate's) family. The "great guy" was in fact a great "plant" – a paid police informant trying to weasel information from White.

The plant was not unlike reporters, I suppose ... except we use business cards.

The cat-and-mouse game with police informants and plants is common in high-profile murder cases. While inmates at the Remand Centre often complain how bleak their cells are, they never complain about a lack of plants.

I tried to get Michael White to focus on his relationship with his wife. He conceded that he and Liana lived "paycheque to paycheque" but denied they were in financial difficulty.

From our short talk, I wasn't able to get any real sense of how close Michael and Liana were.

The murder of Liana White had gripped the city.

I mentioned to White there was quite an interest in his wife's killing, in part because it seemed to mirror the Scott Peterson murder case in California.

"Who's Scott Peterson?" White asked.

I got the feeling Michael White hadn't been behind bars before because he spoke no "jail-house" lingo. His vocabulary didn't include words like 'pigs,' 'skinners,' 'shanks,' or 'rats.'

He also used two words I hadn't heard at the Remand before: 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.'

White didn't swear, unusual for prisoners. I did, though.

The heavy-duty mechanic said he was "shocked" that police would think he killed his wife. "Look where I am," he said.

As if to make the point, White suddenly stood up and extended his arms towards me.

I didn't notice any tattoos on White.

The former soldier wanted me to check out the uniform he was wearing – the not-so-fashionable blue jumper issued by the Remand Centre.

"I understand Larry Anderson's your lawyer," I offered. "Why'd you pick him?"

White explained that after he was charged, police gave him an alphabetical listing of lawyers and he started at the top.

That explained why Michael White hadn't chosen David Willson or someone like LeRoy Zymidski.

White asked if I had heard of Larry Anderson – and, if he was any good. I said Anderson was once head of the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association ... and word is he's good with juries.

I also revealed that Larry Anderson was addicted to cigarettes. White seemed to like Anderson. He said the man was quiet, calming and re-assuring.

White said he told Anderson he was concerned about how he was going to pay his legal bill but Anderson told him not worry about it.

White would later recall that Larry Anderson introduced something new to his vocabulary when the two talked about the merits of his case: 'circumstantial,' as in circumstantial evidence.

When White told this story, he glanced up to concentrate. He made sure he pronounced the four words correctly: "Cir-cum-stan-tial."

I asked White how he was being treated at the jail. "Overall, good," he said.

But he told me the day he was put in the Remand Centre a guard identified him to a group of prisoners, prompting one con to yell out, "baby killer!"

Within months, a local news reporter who would later cover Michael White's murder trial made a similar remark, except he called the accused a "fucking baby killer."

Two lives were snuffed out when Liana White died. The hospital unit clerk was pregnant with the couple's second child.

The exact cause of Liana's death, never conclusively determined, went down as "homicidal violence."

White also confirmed media reports that he was raised in the Ontario farming community of Mar, near Wiarton and northwest of Owen Sound. Wiarton of course is home to the most famous of Canadian groundhogs, Wiarton Willie. White brought this up when trying to explain what part of the country he was from.

Without warning, the phone lines suddenly went dead in most of the visitor's booths. Nothing at the Remand is subtle. A dead phone line is code for: visits are over.

The other cons were led away by guards. Michael White and I continued to talk.

The other visitors, after passing through a heavy metal door, were now back in the main lobby. They were opening small lockers to retrieve their car keys, wallets, cell phones, lighters and smokes.

After 10 minutes or so, two guards appeared and stood behind White, their arms folded. One guard pointed to his watch. I signaled I'd like another 5 minutes.

He nodded 'okay.'

I promised Michael White I'd get my business card to him, and I asked him to get in touch if he was attacked.

Attacks on high-profile prisoners always make good follow-up stories.

The interview ended with White and I placing our right hands against the glass.

I nodded 'thank you' to the guards and watched as they escorted the accused man to an elevator. Inmate White was not shackled.

After getting my stuff out of a locker, I tipped my hat to the guard, thanked him for his precious time and walked to my car in a parking lot just off 103rd Avenue.

As I drove back to the 630 CHED Radio building on the south side I phoned my good friend Randy Marshall, a veteran broadcaster.

I told Marshall I had just interviewed Michael White but wasn't permitted to make notes.

Marshall said, "Start telling me the whole interview NOW – from start to finish, while it's still fresh in your mind."

I drove and talked and Marshall made notes.

I finished telling Marshall about the White interview just as I pulled into the CHED parking lot.

I walked upstairs, flicked on the lights in the small CISN news booth and began typing out notes of the White interview – but not before calling Warren Henderson at home, telling him about the meeting with Michael White at the Remand Centre.

Henderson was excited, saying something like "Holy Shit" (well, it was a Sunday).

He instructed me to "embargo" the story until morning (embargo is reporter lingo for "hold back").

Henderson predicted the Michael White interview would be our lead news story, and so it was. That was an easy call because Monday mornings are often light for news.

I liked Warren Henderson. He was a solid reporter with a steady on-air delivery. He was also neutral: not once did he ask if I thought White "did it" ... nor did he give me his opinion.

Henderson just wanted to know what White said.

The exclusive interview with Michael White was a bombshell story, hitting the newswires and rippling across Canada and the U.S.

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deadmonton - michael white - the untold story - 2