According to Regina Leader-Post reporter Robert Tyre, "the murder itself was overshadowed by the antics of the villagers who deserted home, business, and family en masse to prowl and poke about the scene of the crime like an army of Scotland Yard detectives gravely and earnestly searching for clues." Woltucky was convicted and found guilty twice, both times sentenced to the death penalty. During his detainment, he underwent psychological testing at Weyburn's Souris Valley Mental Health Hospital, from which he escaped on July 2, 1951 and was later re-apprehended.