After Mindy Tran's murder, Shannon Murrin was being looked at due to his presence in Edmonton at the time of Corrine Gustavson's murder and the similarities of the crimes. Murrin had been named as a suspect in Punky's murder at one time but the press had been gagged from reporting on this.
see- news report
see- Murrin named as a suspect- As reported   

The suspect was originally described as looking some what like a punk rocker with a tuft of blonde hair and zig zags cut in the sides, from a child's description. Murrin wore his hair longer around this time and it had the appearance of being naturally spikey. ( see photo) The reported suspect had earrings in his left ear. Murrin wears earrings in his left ear. (see photo)   The child abductions and murders quit after Murrin left Edmonton for Kelowna. Mindy Tran's murder ensued and her death appears to have been caused by a similar method as Punky. The main police member involved in Punky's case was Terry Alm, who became an associate of Gary Tidsbury's during the Tran case. The DNA evidence from Edmonton's 1992 sexual assault cases was turned over to the Kelowna RCMP and never heard of again. The Kelowna RCMP tampered with and destroyed the confirming DNA evidence in the Tran case, raising suspicions about the handling of Punky's case and Murrin's possible involvement. Murrin has very small feet matching the evidence reported about the suspect in Punky's case. Given the findings in Mindy Tran's case, it is not a question of whether the police would obstruct justice when it comes to a murdered child, it is whether they were doing so again in this case. 
 see- original news story
The press was gagged in 2000
The press was again gagged in 2003 following the arrest of a suspect in Corrine's murder. For a time, the press could no longer even publicly mention this little girls name. A law prohibiting the publication of the name of a minor who has been sexually assaulted is the reason given for the gag order. This excuse has never been used at any other time in relation to any other murder victim. Punky's name and details of this crime have been in the public record for 10 years.

Trial Updates- The murder of  Corrine Punky Gustavson:
 In a bizarre opening to the first day of the trial, Sleigh's defense team had him confess to everything in full view of the jury in an "apparent" attempt to plea bargain the charge. The prosecution then rejected the bid with the jury present and the trial was then delayed under a publication ban while a voir dire ensued for undisclosed reasons. The shoe type was mentioned but the size was not. Given Sleigh's confession, there should have been no problem with confirming whether his foot size matched the evidence. The media is well aware of this important little detail but have made no mention of it either. Mathew Sleigh would not generate much sympathy even if innocent and that is why an open trial with complete disclosure is necessary in order to close this case with confidence once and for all. Questions will continue as long as the foot size evidence is with-held. If the shoe size matches, why was this not confirmed by the prosecution? If the size does not match, why has this not been brought up by Sleigh's defense? Questions about Sleigh's entire defense arise as a result. Sleigh will no doubt be convicted now whether the shoe fit or not. 

Details of the trial unfolded; on top of a confession, additional disclosure on day one included a description of the type of shoes worn by the killer and that Sleigh liked to wear the same. If the shoe size matched Sleigh's, that should have been presented by the prosecution at this time. It was not. 
see- news report- day 1 
quote: Monday's court proceedings began with Sleigh pleading guilty in front of the jury to kidnapping and manslaughter as the charges of first-degree murder, aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping were read. He said Sleigh came to Edmonton from Lodgepole, Alta., as part of a family who were meeting other relatives at a softball tournament. 
The type of footware involved was mentioned right on the first day but not the size. 
see- news report 
quote: 
EDMONTON -- A habit of always wearing baseball cleats, mud from rainy weather, advances in DNA technology and loose lips all helped close the net on killer Clifford Sleigh.

At the time of the grisly discovery of Punky Gustavson's smothered and sexually-assaulted body in a Sherwood Park trucking yard, police found two vital clues, according to evidence heard yesterday at Sleigh's murder trial.

The first involved tire tracks in the mud and gravel parking lot, while the second related to two cleated footprints.

On day two, the trial was stopped, a juror was removed, the rest of the jury sent home indefinitely. Publication bans were flying once again. A voir dire trial continued on without the jury present.
quote- He also told the remaining 11 jurors that "the issues we're working our way through are going to take us longer than any of us had anticipated," and adjourned the trial until Wednesday. There is a publication ban on reporting what those issues are.

Friday/13/05 - The jury returned to hear the horrible details of Punky's murder. People had left the court room during testimony regarding the details of how Punky was killed. Testimony regarding the type of shoes worn, was slipped in again at this time but no mention of the size. This jury will likely be traumatized for some time as a result of what they were exposed to on this day and will be eager to get this over with. 
see- news report
see - worse details

Sleigh's confession does not exactly match the evidence found. Sleigh had a visit from the police for a fresh round of DNA tests and then confessed to five people before the results were in? 
quote: 
Mr. Sleigh kept the secret of who attacked the little girl to himself for 11 years. But within days of being confronted by Edmonton police for a fresh round of DNA tests, he had confessed to at least five people.
see- news report

The confession was obtained following a police visit, with  Sleigh then becoming highly stressed afterwards and exhibiting a great deal of duress. Whatever took place to generate the confession took place during this visit. Strange case where Sleigh's defense attorney could be confused for the prosecution. 
Quote: 
Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Peter Royal, Kiziak said Sleigh would sometimes lie. When she checked into his stories, she sometimes found they weren't true.

Royal attempted to boost Sleigh's credibility by pointing out the match between his confession and results of the police investigation.

While cross-examining retired Edmonton police detective Ralph Godfrey, Royal highlighted about a dozen areas where the confession matched police findings.

However, Sleigh's version conflicts with previous medical testimony. 
see details- news report
The size six shoe prints were found where Punky was found. Sleigh confessed to everything right up to the point where he would have to fit a size six to match the evidence, then his story deviates and he claims he left Punky elsewhere and not where her body was found. It would be hard to confess to wearing a size six if you wore a size nine! If the shoe size did not match Sleigh's, it should have been presented here by the defense in support of Sleigh's version of events. It was not. If Sleigh matched the size, it should have been presented here by the prosecution, debunking Sleigh's version of events. The questions arising from this one troubling little detail could all be put to rest once and for all by simply disclosing Sleigh's foot size. Why is this being with-held? If there is evidence of another person being involved, the conviction of one does not absolve the other. Both Murrin and Sleigh had been previously incarcerated in Alberta. It is entirely possible that they met in prison or a halfway house or that they had mutual jailhouse acquaintances. Birds of a feather?

This trial never questioned Sleighs guilt. There has been no explanation for the size six shoes or for why this evidence was never presented to the jury. Instead, Sleigh's own lawyer speaks of the revulsion he himself feels towards Sleigh.
quote: "Your revulsion of what Mr. Sleigh did is both normal and perfectly understandable," said Royal, adding the feeling is shared by everyone, including himself.
see - Closing Comments

Details of the publication ban have been disclosed. Still no mention of the shoe size.
see- news report

Sleigh has been convicted. Closure is the operative word in the media reports. After 12 years the public and the family is understandably happy that some-one has finally been convicted. 
see- conviction report

In the final news report, the police claim that Sleigh's base ball cleats match the evidence, but again the size is not mentioned. This is inconsistent with a recently released report on the investigation.
see- case updates

A Strange Co-incidence- this same scenario where a person confessed to murdering a child has been seen before in at least two other cases in which Shannon Murrin is also a suspect. 
See the Dana Bradley story - This person, also confessed following a police visit to where he was incarcerated at the time. He later recanted. 
In Mindy Tran's case, someone else also confessed to her murder while he was incarcerated. 
RCMP get new tip about Tran murder (CBS News )
quote: An inmate at a prison in Victoria has allegedly confessed to the 1994 killing, police told a news conference Thursday
see- cyber sleuths report

In Mindy Tran's case, The original DNA results indicated that there could  have been more than one person involved, and that one of the others was of Mongolian ancestry which includes Canada's native population. These results were altered by the time the DNA evidence was presented at Murrin's trial.
DNA Results submitted