73: The Murder of Shirley Duguay (PE)

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.

Sources:
R. v. Beamish, 1999 CanLII 4537 (PE SCAD)
Douglas Leo Beamish at Murderpedia
Forensic Files – Season 7, Ep 7: Purr-fect Match
The New Detectives – Season 8, Ep 3: Material Witness
Wikpedia – The Murder of Shirley Duguay
The Guardian – Parole Denied
Tears of the Cheetah by Dr. Stephen J. O’Brien

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/darkpoutine

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices