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The case that inspired the documentary

SEBASTIAN BURNS & ATIF RAFAY: WRONGFULLY CONVICTED

In 1994, Tariq, Sultana and Basma Rafay were brutally murdered in their Bellevue, WA home. Atif Rafay and his friend Sebastian Burns were visiting from Vancouver, but their lives were most likely saved because they were at the movies that night.

Local cops didn't see it that way. Even though tips came pouring in, pointing to other suspects, the investigation went forward with blinders on. Detective Bob Thompson, investigating his first murder case, focused only on clues that would lend proof to his gut feeling: that Sebastian and Atif did it.

The Bellevue Police had no evidence— but they did have the RCMP for allies. In Canada, it is legal for law enforcement to pretend to be something they are not: make—believe mafiosos.

Traumatised after finding the butchered family, hounded by media after their mug shots made the front page of every newspaper in the Pacific Northwest, the boys were easy targets for undercover RCMP and their unsavory methods.

Canadian cops acted out an elaborate scenario (rehearsed often enough to have a name: Mr.Big) to lure the boys into a pretend gang of mobsters. They let the boys know that anyone they couldn't trust was a risk to their organization.

Over and over again, the “mobsters” told Sebastian and Atif they had better admit to killing the Rafays— or else they couldn't trust them. We have all watched enough Godfather movies and Soprano shows to know what happens when mobsters don't…

Inspiration