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Peter Vasilievich Verigin, also known as “Lordly,” was a highly respected and influential leader among the Doukhobors. These Doukhobors had migrated to Canada in 1899, seeking a new life and religious freedom. Verigin was pivotal in guiding and inspiring them to create a strong and united community based on their religious beliefs. However, tragedy struck in 1924, casting a dark shadow over Verigin’s legacy. An explosion occurred on Car 1586 of the Kettle Valley Line, resulting in the loss of Verigin’s life, the life of his companion, and seven others. The devastating incident left people shocked and searching for answers. Some suspected that fanatics or government agents might have been responsible, while others believed that fellow Doukhobors or accidental causes played a role. The truth behind this tragic event remains a mystery, and the case remains unsolved.

In this episode, we’re providing updates on two historical shows that are now recently solved by way of updates to DNA technology and genetic genealogy. In the first half of this episode, we have recent updates to show 130, where we learned of the brutal rape and murder of a Montreal teen, Sharron Prior. We can finally answer the question posed in that episode’s title, “Who Killed Sharron Prior?” In the second half, we go all the way back to episode 13, “Babes in the Woods - Stanley Park.” In that show, we learned that in 1953 in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, the skeletal remains of two young boys who were murdered around 1947 with a hatchet that was found near their bones. The boys’ identities remained a mystery until 2022, when their names were finally restored.

Having just set out from Quebec City the previous day, in the early hours of May 29, 1914, the passenger ship Empress of Ireland sank in the Saint Lawrence River near Rimouski, Quebec. She was on a return trip to Liverpool, England and due to heavy fog, the ship collided with the Norwegian collier SS Storstad. Just two years after the Titanic calamity in international waters off the coast of Nova Scotia came the deadliest shipwreck in Canadian history. The event was so significant it is number 11 on the list of deadliest all-time Canadian disasters, just behind number 10, the Halifax Explosion. The collision occurred when most of the 1,057 passengers and 420 crew members were fast asleep. The aftermath was devastating; the liner plummeted beneath the waters in less than a quarter of an hour, resulting in the tragic loss of more than 1,000 lives.

On April 12, 1991, a group of teens attended a woodland party near Oromocto, New Brunswick, involving alcohol and drugs, including LSD. Pamela Gail Bischoff, 14, and William Wayne Dale (Billy) Stillman, 17, left the gathering together, marking the last sighting of Pamela Bischoff alive. Stillman returned home later, wet from the thighs down, cold, shaking, and sporting a cut above his eye with mud and grass on his pants. Six days later, Pamela’s body was discovered in the Oromocto River, a short distance from the party site. The time of death correlated to the evening she had left with Billy Stillman. Eyewitnesses confirmed seeing a male accompanying Pamela near the discovery site, and Stillman was seen departing the area, his pants muddied. An autopsy showed that Pamela’s death resulted from head wounds, and there was evidence of sexual assault, which included semen inside her body. Billy Stillman was arrested, released, arrested again and eventually charged and convicted in Pamela’s murder. Stillman’s appeals were based on alleged inappropriate conduct by the RCMP officers collecting important DNA evidence. This resulted in the case being heard and decided in Canada’s highest court in 1997, and a new trial was ordered.

On November 18, 1987, Jay Cook, 20, and Tanya Van Cuylenborg, 18, a young couple from Vancouver Island, went on a road trip to Seattle, Washington. Unfortunately, they were never seen alive again. Their bodies were discovered weeks later in separate locations. Tanya had been raped, shot, and left in a ditch in Skagit County. Jay was found strangled in the woods near Monroe, about 60 miles away. The case went unsolved for over three decades until 2018, when authorities were able to use genetic genealogy to identify a suspect. He was arrested and charged with the murders. The man pleaded not guilty. In 2021, after his trial, the man was the first to be convicted using genetic genealogy. The couple’s killer was subsequently sentenced to life behind bars.

On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants attacked the US embassy in Tehran, Iran, taking 66 diplomats and staff members hostage. Remarkably, six diplomats managed to slip away unnoticed. These individuals were Robert Anders, Cora Lijek, Mark Lijek, Joseph Stafford, Kathleen Stafford, and Lee Schatz. Schatz sought refuge at the Swedish embassy, while the others went to the British embassy. However, upon nearing the embassy, they encountered a large crowd of protestors obstructing their path. Consequently, they decided to take shelter at Anders’ residence and devise their next steps. After six harrowing days, the six American diplomats sought refuge at the Canadian embassy.

In October 2008, the friends and family of 38-year-old Johnny Altinger were worried. Although emails and social media messages had indicated Johnny had run away on the spur of the moment with an unknown woman he’d just met, things didn’t add up. The messages did not have the same feel as Johnny’s typical fare, and he wasn’t known for his spontaneity. Police had already spoken with the tenant at the Edmonton garage that Johnny was directed to on the night he disappeared. They’d seen some things that concerned them, but there was no sign of Johnny. Something seemed off with the 29-year-old filmmaker Mark Andrew Twitchell, the man they’d spoken to. Little did the police know that only a week before Johnny vanished, another man, Gilles Tetreault, had suffered a bizarre attack at Twitchell’s hands after being lured to the same garage.

In October 2008, 38-year-old Johnny Altinger was looking for love online and, thinking he’d found it, was lured to his death in a dingy south Edmonton, Alberta garage. Johnny believed he would meet the girl of his dreams, but a Star Wars and Dexter-Morgan-obsessed serial killer wannabe and 29-year-old amateur filmmaker named Mark Andrew Twitchell awaited him in the garage’s darkness.

In Montreal, Quebec on the evening of April 10, 1734, a fire broke out in the home of Madame de Francheville on Rue Saint-Paul and quickly spread throughout the city. Raging for hours, it destroyed over 46 buildings, primarily residential homes, and the Hôtel-Dieu, a hospital that provided medical care to soldiers and people who were too poor to care for at home. There were rumours that Madame de Francheville’s Portuguese-born black enslaved woman, Marie-Josèphe dite Angélique, started the fire as an act of rebellion on learning she was to be sold and sent away from her lover, a white man and salt trafficker named Claude Thibault. Angélique was arrested and subsequently tortured until she confessed to setting the fire. She was then convicted of arson and hanged on June 21, 1734. The fire significantly impacted Montreal’s development and created new building codes and fire prevention measures. The event remains integral to Montreal’s cultural and historical heritage and yet another dark spot in Canada’s history. Some have called Angélique a heroine, others a scapegoat. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is lost to time.

Episode 263: Approaching the week of 4/20, cannabis enthusiasts worldwide are preparing for a unique celebration. However, it’s essential to acknowledge the dark history of cannabis prohibition in Canada and the USA. The criminalization of cannabis wasn’t based on scientific evidence of its harmful effects or widespread health concerns but was fuelled by moral panic, racism, and xenophobia. It served as a tool to maintain a rigid social hierarchy, where those in power and privilege oppressed and marginalized those considered inferior. The ‘war on drugs’ transformed into a ‘war on cannabis,’ ultimately becoming a war on minorities in both countries.