Dark Poutine – True Crime & Dark History – A podcast about notorious Canadian crimes, dark history and other creepy topics as told by real-live Canadians

082 – Domestic Horror – The Murder of Donna Jones (ON)

July 15, 2019July 15, 2019 by Mike Browne

Episode 082 – On the morning of December 6, 2009, Ottawa paramedics and police responded to what sounded like a frantic 911 call placed by a man at a residence in the Bayshore area. The man was screaming that his wife was not breathing. Upon arriving they found the owner of the home, 33-year-old Donna Jones, deceased on a makeshift mattress on the basement floor. Donna’s injuries and her time of death did not match the story that her husband Mark Peter Hutt was telling. Investigators would uncover a brutal history of abuse and torture ultimately leading to a heinous murder.

WARNING: This podcast includes graphic descriptions of violent domestic abuse and murder.

081 – The Cult of Brother XII and his Treasure (BC)

July 12, 2019July 8, 2019 by Mike Browne

Episode 081 – in the late 1920 and early 1930’s a group called the Aquarian Foundation, led by a self-professed spiritual guru who called himself Brother XII set up just south of Nanaimo B.C. Brother XII drew wealthy followers to his cult with his promises of salvation through a coming apocalypse. As we’ve seen many times since the lust for power, sex and money corrupted the group, who, after scandals and cruel treatment turned on Brother XII.

He and a female follower, he claimed to be his wife, absconded with some of the treasure that the group had amassed. However, many believe there are still millions of dollars worth of Brother XII’s gold hidden somewhere in the area.

Photo from the collection of Melody Wilson-Claridge

080 – The Weird World of William Lyon Mackenzie King

July 1, 2019July 1, 2019 by Mike Browne

Episode 080 – The tenth Prime Minister of Canada, William Lyon MacKenzie King, was instrumental in Canada’s growth from a mere British colony to an independent nation within the Commonwealth. He saw the country through World War 2 and helped to create some of the social policies that continue to make Canada one of the greatest countries in the world to live.

MacKenzie King had his dark side too as is evidenced in his extensive diaries. His government oversaw the internment of 22,000+ who were either Canadians with Japanese heritage or Japanese nationals. His thoughts and decisions based on racial ideals will be shocking to some.

King’s beliefs in the after life and spiritualist practices are probably the most bizarre. Driven by loneliness, Canada’s longest serving Prime Minister believed he was able to communicate with the spirits of dead relatives, in particular his mother. He also claimed to have interacted with the spirits of other dead politicians, Leonardo da Vinci and even his own deceased dog.

079 – What Happened to Jodi Henrickson? (BC)

July 1, 2019June 24, 2019 by Mike Browne

Episode 079 – Jodi Henrickson, 17, was last seen in the company of her ex-boyfriend on the roadside near Miller’s Landing on Bowen Island, BC on the morning of June 20, 2009. Her ex-boyfriend said that he walked away from Jodi after an argument. She has not been seen since.

At the time of her disappearance, Jodi Henrickson was 17-year-old Caucasian female with long dark brown hair, a small build and stood approximately 5’3″. She was last seen wearing a black leather jacket, black long sleeve shirt, and blue jeans.

Jodi’s friends and family want to know what happened to her.

If you have any information the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) tip line number is 1-877-551-IHIT(4448). The team’s email is ihittipline@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

Anonymous tips can be left with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or tips can be shared through SolveCrime.ca. A cash reward of up to $2000.00 will be paid for any information which leads to an arrest and charge.

078 – Joseph Galfy Jr. & Kai the Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker (AB)

June 23, 2019June 17, 2019 by Mike Browne

Episode 078 – In May of 2013 police in New Jersey found respected, 73-year-old Lawyer, Joseph Galfy Jr. dead in the bedroom his home wearing only socks and underwear. Investigators were quickly onto a suspect who turned out to be a well known drifter.

Three months before, the suspect, 24-year-old, Canadian born Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, had become a internet celebrity, known as Kai the Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker. He was interviewed by Jessob Reisbeck for Fox News in Fresno California. In the interview Caleb, using another name, described coming to the aid of people who were being attacked by a large man who he’d been riding with only moments before. Using a hatchet from his backpack, Caleb had cleaved the man’s skull allowing bystanders and later police to subdue him.

McGillvary was apprehended days later, but only tried for the murder in May of 2019, 6 years later. Although convicted, he maintains his innocence claiming he killed Galfy in self-defence.

Photo Credit: Jessob Reisbeck/YouTube/GlobalNews.ca screen grab

077 – The Ballarat Bandit (PE)

June 15, 2019June 10, 2019 by Mike Browne

Episode 077 – In 2004, after a year long chase across multiple U.S. States an unknown burglar, who’d proven quite a match fro even the best trackers, was cornered in Death Valley, near the ghost town of Ballarat, California. The chase first started there giving the perpetrator, and thorn in law enforcement’s side, his name: The Ballarat Bandit. Rather than face prison, when capture was imminent, the man took his own life. After nearly another two years the man was finally identified as 50-year-old George Robert Johnston, a Canadian, from Prince Edward Island. He was a beloved husband and father of four beautiful daughters. His true motives for the chase through the desert died with him. (Photo is Public Domain)

Read more077 – The Ballarat Bandit (PE)

076 – The Vancouver Stanley Cup Riots – 1994 and 2011 (BC)

June 23, 2019June 3, 2019 by Mike Browne

Episode 076 – The beautiful city of Vancouver has a surprisingly dark history of rioting over the years. Some have been politically and racially motivated, others have been music or sport related. The two we tackle in this episode are a couple of the most recent and most memorable. The NHL’s Vancouver Canucks made the Stanley Cup finals twice in a span of 17 years. After both series, coming on the heels of game 7 losses, bad apples tore up our fair city.

NOTE: Photo used for cover art is from 2011’s game 4 in a fan zone in downtown Vancouver. It shows disappointed Canucks fans and does not show people involved in the riots after game 7.

075 – Away Game – The Tunguska Event

July 1, 2019May 27, 2019 by Mike Browne

Episode 075 – In the summer of 1908 a huge explosion levelled over 2000 square kilometres in Siberia. The event happened near the remote Tunguska river. It created the loudest sound ever heard by human ears and was visible through Europe and Asia. Locals reported seeing a large fireball rumbling across the sky before the blast. To this day, almost 111 years later, the exact cause of Tunguska Event remains a mystery.

NOTE: Scott is back as co-host!

074 – The Julie Stanton Story (ON)

May 19, 2019May 20, 2019 by Mike Browne

Episode 074 – In April of 1990, 14-year-old Julie Ann Stanton disappeared near her Pickering, Ontario home. Right away investigators suspected, Peter John Stark, a neighbour and father of Julie’s best, in Julie’s disappearance. After 4 years, the police and Crown finally had enough to go arrest Stark, who turned out to be a serial predator with a very dark past.

NOTE: This week’s guest host, Johanna Hemenway, went to the same high school and was in the same grade as Julie Stanton. She and some of her friends provided more insight around their experience with the crime and memories of the victim for the episode.

073 – The Murder of Shirley Duguay (PE)

May 19, 2019May 13, 2019 by Mike Browne

Episode 073 – In rural Prince Edward Island, on October 7, 1994 a car was found abandoned, away from the main road and in a field. The licence plates were missing and there appeared to be blood spatter on the windshield and throughout the vehicle’s interior. The car was found to belong to a 32-year-old mother of five named Shirley Anne Duguay. RCMP investigated and were told by Shirley’s family that she had not been seen in days. She’d disappeared, but thanks to evidence found by searchers, police believed that Shirley had been murdered.

Shirley’s body was found months later in a shallow grave. Douglas Leo Beamish, Shirley’s ex common-law spouse and father of three of her children, was arrested and charged with Shirley’s murder. Some of the evidence used against Beamish had never been utilized at trial before. This case from Canada’s tiny province would be precedent setting.