Muntener/Phinney-Green

Paul Phinney

Paul Phinney
Oct 22, 1968 - Mar 28, 2016
Legacy.com

Muntener had multiple connections to a 2016 case involving a body which he discovered in the water near Gabriola. The deceased was identified as Paul Phinney, a plumber from Vancouver who had for several years lived on Gabriola. Paul was a skilled scuba diver, having made several dives through dangerous underwater caves in Mexico. He was also an avid birdwatcher and photographer of birds.

While the media doesn't identify the "passing boater" who on June 30^th reported the body to the "Joint Rescue Coordination Centre", Paul's family in his obituary specifically thanked Muntener, the "first responder".

BC Ferries security camera recordings from the day before his body was discovered show Paul boarding a ferry between Duke Point and Tsawwassen, but he was not seen disembarking. The coroner's report stated there's no conclusive evidence of the circumstances under which Paul entered the water, however, Muntener insisted that the death was a suicide.

Paul often returned to Gabriola to visit his close friend Douglas Green.

Douglas Green

Gabriola Bird Blog, Jan 31, 2015 (Photo by Douglas Green)

In 2016 Douglas Green was a 70-year-old resident of Gabriola Island, and an avid birdwatcher, with many of his photos appearing on birdwatching-related websites.

After the March 2016 death of Douglas' friend Paul Phinney was declared (by Muntener) to be a suicide, Douglas wrote a post in a birdwatching forum expressing disbelief in the finding, stating that Paul could not have killed himself because he was happy and was looking forward to taking part in his sister's wedding. Douglas expressed concern about the accuracy of the RCMP's conclusion in Paul's death.

Court record for Douglas Green

Muntener reportedly received information from European authorities which led to a "raid" of Douglas' home, and seizure of his extensive collection of photography-related equipment. Muntener's team is alleged to have discovered an illegal image on the equipment, which led to Douglas being charged in May 2016 with one count of "possession of child pornography".

In November 2016, Douglas was convicted of the crime, and sentenced to 90 days in jail — an extremely lenient sentence for this type of charge, perhaps due to consideration of Douglas' age and his lifetime of charity work.

There is, however, no record of Douglas ever leaving the jail, which could be indicative of his death occurring during the prison term. Under the Privacy Act, when a death occurs in a prison, records are automatically "sealed" for a period of 20 years (thereby preventing public access to the details).

In May 2016, Muntener told the Nanaimo News Bulletin that child pornography cases on Gabriola Island are rare, although he also stated that there had been "two of these in the last two years."

Given Gabriola's 2016 population of 4,033, and conviction rates provided by Statistics Canada, "2 in 2 years" is actually far above average, which for a population that size should be 0.42 convictions in that timeframe.