Mike Browne

Episode 390: When most Canadians think of occult-related witch trials, their minds drift south to Salem, Massachusetts, or across the ocean to medieval Europe. The popular narrative suggests that Canada, with its reputation for tolerance and peace, remained untouched by the supernatural hysteria that gripped other nations. This perception, deeply embedded in the Canadian consciousness, paints our country as somehow above the dark chapters of witch-hunting that stained other societies. Even Dark Poutine listeners, well-versed in the country’s hidden crimes and forgotten tragedies, might be surprised to learn the truth.

The reality is far different from this comfortable myth. Canada has a complex and largely forgotten history of witchcraft accusations, trials, and legal persecution spanning over 350 years—from the earliest days of New France to as recently as 2018. From demonic possessions in Quebec City to fraudulent psychics in modern Ontario, the Canadian witch trial story is one of fear, prejudice, and the persistent human tendency to blame the margins of society for inexplicable troubles.

Sources:
CBC Radio: “Quebec Demon Possession & Witchcraft in 1660”
JSTOR / McGill-Queen’s University Press: The Possession of Barbe Hallay
Canada’s History: “Sorcery in New France”
Kenton de Jong Travel: The Possession of Barbe Hallay
Dictionary of Canadian Biography: Daniel Vuil
Academia.edu “Sixteen and Possessed” PDF
Canada’s History: Book feature, The Possession of Barbe Hallay
The Medium: On Demonic Infestations in 17th century Québec
Mysteries of Canada: Poltergeists in Canada, Part III
Jean Campagna, The Sorcerer
74 – JEAN CAMPAGNA, THE SORCERER
Procès de Jean Campagna, prisonnier, 45 ans
Jean Campagna (abt.1640-aft.1685) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree
Quebec 1685: Part 8- The Charge is Sorcery
The Kimble Witch Trial
View of Backward Seasons and Remarkable Cold: the Weather over Long Reach, New Brunswick, 1812-1821 | Acadiensis
“Native Witchcraft Beliefs in Acadian, Maritime and Newfoundland Folklore” – Erudit
Concerns move Indigenous ceremony meant to contact ‘spirit realm’ outside Quebec community | CBC News
Folklore of Nova Scotia
Mi’kmaw Shamans and Acadian Sorcerers: A Study in Cultural Transmissions, Transferences and Transformations
Witchcraft Act 1735
Bill C-365 (Historical)
Woman Charged With Fake Witchcraft, Days Before Canada Scraps Old Law
‘Psychic’ charged with being a fake fights case after Canada decriminalises witchcraft

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Episode 389: On a rain-soaked evening on June 13th, 1833, two young law students faced each other across a muddy field near Perth, Ontario, pistols in hand. John Wilson, a 20-year-old from humble farming stock, gripped his weapon with trembling fingers as rain dripped from his dark hair. Sixty feet away, 22-year-old Robert Lyon, handsome, aristocratic, and the son of a British officer, stood with the practiced composure of a gentleman born to privilege. Between them lay more than just distance: a bitter rivalry over the affections of Elizabeth Hughes, an English governess whose reputation had sparked this deadly confrontation. What had begun as whispered gossip in a lawyer’s office in Bytown would end with one man dead, another’s life forever changed, and a woman left to marry her lover’s killer. This was Ontario’s last fatal duel, a collision between Old World codes of honour and New World ambitions that would echo through Perth’s streets for generations.

Sources:

A History of Perth | Perth Remembered
Perth Military Settlement
Robert Lyon 1812 – 1833 | Clark and Hogg Family History
WILSON, JOHN – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Wlison and Lyon Duel | Richmond Heritage
Duel in Early Upper Canada by William Renwick Riddell
ARCHIVED – Criminal Code
Dueling for Honour or (Il)legal Murder?: Two Case Studies | The Loyalist Collection
Sword or Pistol: A Brief History of Duels | Believe it or Not | Éducaloi
En Guard! A History of Canadian Duels – Academie Duello – Learn Swordplay
Dueling: the Violence of Gentlemen
Le matin du 22 mai 1838, le dernier duel du Canada
pistol-provenance.pdf
Last Fatal Duel Historical Plaque
How a pair of men in St. John’s survived the last duel fought on Canadian soil | CBC News
Updates to Canada’s criminal law will legalize duels and permit pretending to practise witchcraft

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Episode 388: On the morning of August 5, 2013, Campbellton, New Brunswick, faced an unthinkable tragedy. Police and first responders were called to an apartment above Reptile Ocean, the town’s reptile and fish shop, where they found Connor and Noah Barthe, brothers aged six and four, dead after a sleepover with their friend Jayce Savoie. Sometime in the night, a 12-foot, 53-pound African rock python owned by shopkeeper Jean-Claude Savoie escaped its enclosure, slithered through a vent, and fatally attacked the sleeping boys. The official cause of death was “traumatic asphyxia by constriction,” a finding that shocked the small community and quickly attracted national and international attention. As investigators began their work, residents struggled to comprehend how a night of friendship ended in such horror. Savoie was charged with criminal negligence causing death, setting the stage for a legal and ethical debate that would raise tough questions and stir deep emotions far beyond Campbellton.

Episode Sources:
Connor & Noah Barthe Obituary – Campbellton, NB
2016 NBQB 205 (CanLII) | R. v. Savoie | CanLII
2016 NBQB 135 (CanLII) | R. v. Jean-Claude Savoie | CanLII
Snake kills two boys during sleepover, Canadian police say
Boys in python case lived life ‘to a maximum’ | CBC News
Mother of boys killed by python: ‘I thought they would be safe’
Mother of N.B. boys killed by python: ‘I thought they would be safe’
Reptile Ocean | Facts, Fiction, & the Media
Why Are People Afraid of Snakes? | Phobia, Evolution, & Facts | Britannica
Python deaths: ‘This could have been prevented by a simple action’ | CBC News
Python made ‘growling noises’ after killing young brothers, trial of pet store owner hears
Juror dismissed in python deaths trial as Crown prepares to call final witness | Globalnews.ca
‘Smell of food would really excite’ python, reptile expert tells N.B. trial | Globalnews.ca
Juror dismissed in python deaths trial as Crown prepares to call final witness | Globalnews.ca
Jean-Claude Savoie | News, Videos & Articles
CBC Player | Dramatic 911 calls over python
Enfants tués par un python: Jean-Claude Savoie non coupable
2013 New Brunswick python attack
Tragic photos emerge of brothers cleaning snake pen months before python killed them in their sleep

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Episode 387: On December 26, 2005, around 5:15 p.m., there was a gunfight outside the Foot Locker store on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto. Unfortunately, a fifteen-year-old girl named Jane Creba was shot and killed. She was an innocent bystander among hundreds of Boxing Day shoppers who were in the area at the time of the shooting. Sadly, she was caught in the middle of the gunfire and died from a single bullet that hit her in the back and pierced her aorta. In addition to Jane, six other people were injured in the shooting.

Sources:

Candlelight vigil set for tonight to remember Jane Creba | CBC News
Robbery, fight led to Boxing Day shooting: affidavit | CBC News
2008 CanLII 54975 (ON SC) | R. v. Smith | CanLII
2008 ONCJ 123 (CanLII) | R. v. Woodcock et al. | CanLII
Jeremiah Valentine interrogation – Police provided video | National Post
Jeremiah Valentine interrogation – Police provided video | YouTube
Guilty plea in Creba shooting
Creba’s parents describe ‘tsunami of grief’ after 2005 shooting | CBC News
2012 ONCA 568 (CanLII) | R. v. J.S.R. | CanLII
2015 ONCA 535 (CanLII) | R. v. Woodcock | CanLII
Canadian Legal Information Institute | CanLII
Boxing Day shooting
Man convicted in 2005 Toronto murder of Jane Creba faces first-degree murder charge in Montreal
Toronto Boxing Day killer granted full parole 7 months before fatal Montreal shooting
Gunman involved in Jane Creba Boxing Day killing arrested again, faces murder charge in Montreal

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Episode 386: In the last episode, we explored the origins of Herbert Baumeister and the early days at Fox Hollow, tracing the stories of early disappearances of gay men around Indiana. The disappearances beginning in the late 1980s and into the 1990s signalled the start of a wave of heartbreak that swept through Indianapolis’s gay community, leaving families and friends desperate for answers.

 In this episode, we turn our focus to the other lives forever altered by Herb Baumeister’s crimes. We’ll share what’s known about the final days of Baumeister’s other victims. Among them were Jeffrey Allan Jones, Roger Alan Goodlet, Michael Frederick Keirn, Steven Spurlin Hale, Richard Douglas Hamilton Jr., Johnny Bayer, Allen Wayne Broussard, and Daniel Thomas Halloran. As their stories unfold, we’ll follow the determined police investigation, the pressure that began to close in on Baumeister, and his frantic flight from justice. This case, originating in quiet Indiana neighbourhoods, fades out across the border—coming to a haunting end here in Canada.

Episode Sources:

Who Was Herb Baumeister? Revisiting the Serial Killer’s Crimes and Horrifying Post-Murder Rituals 29 Years After His Death
CrimeLibrary.com/Serial Killers/Sexual Predators/Herb Baumeister: Skeletons Beyond the Closet
Baumeister, Herb – fall, 2005
Herbert R. Baumeister  – Encyclopedia of Indianapolis
Herb Baumeister
QUEER CRIME: The Double Life of Herb Baumeister
I-70 Strangler
The Mystery of the I-70 Serial Killer – Unsolved Mysteries
The True Story Of The Fox Hollow Murders
30-year mystery solved: Missing man’s remains among those found on suspected serial killer’s estate
Investigators Uncover “Unimaginable” 10,000 Bone Fragments in Businessman’s Backyard
This private investigator cracked the case of notorious serial killer Herbert Baumeister
Jeffrey Allen “Jeff” Jones (1962-1993) – Find a…
Roger Allen Goodlet (1960-1994)
Michael Frederick “Mike” Keirn (1949-1995) – Find…
Steven Spurlin Hale (1967-1996)
Richard Douglas Hamilton Jr. (1973-1993) – Find a…
John Lee “Johnny” Bayer (1972-1993) – Find a…
Allen Wayne Broussard (1966-1994)
Daniel Thomas Halloran (1972-1993)
After 29 years, another victim of suspected serial killer Herb Baumeister identified
Coroner: New DNA profiles completed for 2 of serial killer Herb Baumeister’s victims
10th victim identified in Fox Hollow Farm serial killer case in Indiana
‘I-70 Strangler’ remains mysterious Midwest boogeyman, but private investigator has theory
Herb Baumeister’s killing field and the new effort to identify his victims: Forgotten at Fox Hollow
‘The Fox Hollow Murders: Playground of a Serial Killer’ premieres Feb. 18 on Hulu

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Episode 385: The killings at Fox Hollow Farm are one of Indiana’s darkest chapters. In the early 1990s, Herb Baumeister, a husband, father, and thrift store owner, lived a double life in the upscale suburb of Westfield. Behind the facade of Fox Hollow Farm, he is believed to have lured young men, mostly from local gay bars, to his home, where police later uncovered the remains of at least 25 victims scattered across the estate. Hundreds of burned and crushed bones were found by investigators, revealing years of concealed brutality. As the net closed in, Baumeister fled to Canada and took his own life at Pinery Provincial Park, leaving unanswered questions and devastated families in his wake.

Sources:

Who Was Herb Baumeister? Revisiting the Serial Killer’s Crimes and Horrifying Post-Murder Rituals 29 Years After His Death
CrimeLibrary.com/Serial Killers/Sexual Predators/Herb Baumeister: Skeletons Beyond the Closet
Baumeister, Herb – fall, 2005
Herbert R. Baumeister  – Encyclopedia of Indianapolis
Herb Baumeister
QUEER CRIME: The Double Life of Herb Baumeister
I-70 Strangler
The Mystery of the I-70 Serial Killer – Unsolved Mysteries
The True Story Of The Fox Hollow Murders
30-year mystery solved: Missing man’s remains among those found on suspected serial killer’s estate
Allen Lee Livingston (1965-1993)
Investigators Uncover “Unimaginable” 10,000 Bone Fragments in Businessman’s Backyard
This private investigator cracked the case of notorious serial killer Herbert Baumeister
‘I-70 Strangler’ remains mysterious Midwest boogeyman, but private investigator has theory

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Episode 384: Driving the prairie roads south of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, your eyes adjust to an endless sea of grass and sky, where grain elevators rise like sentinels and ragged lines of poplar windbreaks whisper in the steady wind. It’s a landscape that makes you feel both small and free—until, in the middle of the wheat-coloured plains, you come upon a steel-hulled ship sitting high and dry on the grass. This is the Sontiainen, built by Finnish immigrant Tom Sukanen, who spent years constructing it here, hundreds of kilometres from salt water, in hopes of sailing it home to Finland. What sounds like the beginning of a folk tale is entirely true: the man, the ship, and his dream were real—and so was the heartbreak that followed.

Sources:

The Sad Story Behind the Prairie Ship of Tom Sukanen
The Tragedy of Tom Sukanen
View of Little Steamship on the Prairie: Grass-Roots Preservation and Artistic Interpretation in the Construction of Ethnic, Local, and National Identities | Scandinavian-Canadian Studies
Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village & Museum – A real location with a fictitious community.
Dustship Glory – Athabasca University Press
Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum
Dreams in the Dust: The Story of Tom Sukanen
The tragic tale of Tom Sukanen

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Episode 383: On June 18, 2023, five people boarded the experimental Titan submersible for what was meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime voyage to the wreck of the Titanic, resting nearly four kilometres beneath the North Atlantic. Less than two hours into the descent, all contact with the surface vessel was lost. Over the following days, searchers scoured the area, but hopes for a rescue faded quickly. When remotely operated vehicles finally reached the seabed, they found the Titan reduced to scattered fragments, the result of a catastrophic implosion. Aboard were Oceangate CEO and pilot Stockton Rush, 61; British businessman Hamish Harding, 58; French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77; and Pakistani father and son Shahzada Dawood, 48, and Suleman Dawood, 19; all were killed instantly.

Titan Submersible – Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation
Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation releases report on Titan submersible
SUBMERSIBLE TITAN MBI REPORT (04AUG2025)
OceanGate CEO ‘completely ignored’ flawed Titan sub before deadly trip, report finds
Titan sub firm used ‘intimidation tactics’ and ‘critically flawed’ safety practices, US Coast Guard report finds
Meet the man taking submarine trips to the Titanic
Stockton Rush | Wikipedia
US Coast Guard Report on Titan Submersible Implosion Singles Out OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush | Wired
OceanGate’s ‘toxic workplace culture’ was bad enough to contribute to the Titan submersible disaster, Coast Guard says | Business Insider
Who is Stockton Rush? The OceanGate CEO killed in Titanic tourist submarine | The Independent
A Deep Dive Into the Plans to Take Tourists to the ‘Titanic’
Titan submersible implosion final report critical of CEO’s inadequate oversight
Coast Guard releases final Titan sub disaster report: Live
Oceangate’s Titan whistleblower: ‘People were sold a lie’

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Episode 382: On April 2, 1885, the tranquil settlement of Frog Lake in what is now Alberta became the scene of a devastating tragedy. Known as the Frog Lake Massacre, this violent episode unfolded during the North-West Rebellion. Nine settlers, among them government officials, two Roman Catholic priests, traders, and a clerk, lost their lives at the hands of a group of Cree warriors led by Wandering Spirit. The attack stemmed from mounting desperation within the Plains Cree community, who faced starvation triggered by the near extinction of buffalo and the inflexible, often cruel administration of Indian Agent Thomas Quinn. While Cree Chief Big Bear advocated for peace and negotiation, tensions within his band and widespread hardship created a perfect storm. The violence not only shocked the young Dominion of Canada but also shaped the outcome of the North-West Resistance and left a legacy of sorrow and contested memory that resonates to this day.

Sources:

Parks Canada – Frog Lake National Historic Site of Canada
Canada A Country by Consent: Native Treaties 1871-1897: Big Bear
Chief Big Bear Mistahamaskwa
MISTAHIMASKWA (Big Bear, Gros Ours) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Browse by Subject: Mistahimaskwa (Big Bear) Plains Cree Chief
Big Bear — North-West Mounted Police
The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan | Details
Big Bear | Wikipedia
Frog Lake Massacre 1885 | Elk Point Historical Society
A World We Have Lost: Saskatchewan Before 1905
Two Months in the Camp of Big Bear., by Theresa Gowanlock and Theresa Delaney
Blood Red the Sun [The War Trail of Big Bear]
KAPAPAMAHCHAKWEW (Papamahchakwayo) (Wandering Spirit, Esprit Errant) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Battleford Hangings, 1885 Riel Rebellion
Kā-pēpāmahchakwēw = Wandering Spirit : Plains Cree war chief by Garry Radison.
Narratives and Drama in 1885 | Our Legacy
North-West Resistance – Indigenous Saskatchewan Encyclopedia
Northwest Rebellion – Frog Lake – Military History
Canada’s Subjugation of the Plains Cree, 1879-1885 by John L. Tobias
John McDougall publications
A Redman’s Viewpoint | Heinsburg History
Edgar Dewdney National Historic Person (1835–1916)
Lac La Biche – History – Aboriginal Descendants – Big Bear
Lost Harvests: Prairie Indian Reserve Farmers and Government Policy, 2nd Ed.
PDF — Rethinking Treaty 6
Big Bear | Creator – Land – People
A Tale of Two Massacres | Literary Review of Canada
Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Hosts Wandering Spirit Commemoration
The Life Of Big Bear | Canadian History Ehx
An infamous anniversary: 130 years since Canada’s Largest Mass Hanging 27 November 1885
Battleford Hangings | SASKATCHEWAN INDIAN | JULY 1972

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Episode 381: In December 1987, 12-year-old Trina Campbell, a Métis girl from Brampton, Ontario, was abducted and murdered by Douglas Robert Worth, a violent ex-convict known as the “Pictou Sadist.” Despite psychiatric warnings, Worth had been released months earlier. His relatives’ testimony helped lead police to her remains, and he was convicted of second-degree murder, receiving a life sentence with 23 years before parole eligibility.

Now, in 2025, Worth has been released at age 73 and is living in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, under strict monitoring. Halifax police issued a public safety alert, warning that he remains a high-risk offender with a long record of extreme violence, including rape, kidnapping, and dismemberment.

Sources:

Pictou, NS | The Canadian Encyclopedia
History of Pictou
Robert Hare – UBC Department of Psychology
May 10, 1988, page 1 – The Expositor at Newspapers.com
R. v. Worth (R.D.) vLex
R. v. Worth, 1995 CanLII 366 (ON CA)
R. v. Worth, 1989 CanLII 7153 (ON SC)
Trina Campbell, Brampton, 1987 — 1990 | Search – Newspapers.com™
Douglas Worth has been imprisoned for life; with no chance of parole…
Douglas Robert Worth: The Pictou Sadist
YouTube — Pictou Sadist
Police say high-risk offender now living in Dartmouth area
HUNTER: GTA dismemberment pedophile killer Douglas Worth out of prison
High-risk offender now living in Halifax area | CBC News
Killer who raped, decapitated 12-year-old Ontario girl has been paroled: police
Home Page – Final Report | MMIWG
1977 Report to Parilament by the SUB-COMMITTEE ON THE PENITENTIARY SYSTEM IN CANADA

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