Latest Episodes

Episode 429:InJanuary 1995, DNA testing excludedGuy Paul Morin, the man convicted of the 1984murder of Christine Jessop, from the crime. The Ontario Court of Appeal set aside his conviction, and…

Episode 428:OnOctober 3, 1984, nine-year-oldChristine Jessopstepped off a school bus inQueensville, Ontario, and walked toward home. She was never seen alive again. Her body was found on New Year’s Eve,…

Episode 416: Matthew Baillie Begbie (1819–1894) served as the first judge of mainland British Columbia during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, arriving in 1858 as the colony struggled to impose order across a fast-growing…

In the early 1980s, a wave of fear with its origins in Canada, swept across North America, igniting what would become known as the Satanic Panic. This moral hysteria, fueled by sensationalized media reports and dubious claims of widespread satanic ritual abuse, had its roots in a controversial book published in 1980 titled “Michelle Remembers.” As the panic spread, it manifested in several high-profile cases across Canada. One of the most notorious incidents occurred in Martensville, Saskatchewan, where unfounded allegations of ritual abuse at a local daycare center led to multiple arrests and a community torn apart by suspicion and fear. Other cases emerged in various provinces, each feeding into the growing narrative of a vast, underground network of satanic cults preying on innocent children.

Barbara Gayle Stoppel, a 16-year-old waitress, was tragically murdered on December 23, 1981, in the women's washroom of Ideal Donut Shop in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was strangled with a twine, and despite being found alive, she succumbed to her injuries after six days on life support. The murder case quickly became notorious not only due to its brutal nature but also because of the wrongful conviction of Thomas Sophonow, who was initially accused of the crime. Sophonow underwent three separate trials: the first ended with a hung jury, and the second and third led to convictions ultimately overturned by the Manitoba Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear a Crown appeal, leading to Sophonow's final acquittal. This case is frequently cited as a significant example of a miscarriage of justice involving flawed eyewitness identifications and police misconduct during the interrogation process. Despite Sophonow's exoneration, the actual perpetrator remained at large until a re-investigation of the case pointed to another suspect, Terry Arnold, who was already known to police for similar offences, having left a trail of depravity, sexual assaults and suspected murder in his wake. This revelation came too late to be pursued thoroughly, as Arnold died by suicide in 2005. The impact of this case has been profound, leading to public scrutiny over police procedures and the reliability of eyewitness testimony. It has also been the subject of several books and a public inquiry which sought to prevent such injustices in the future.

On the morning of February 20, 1989, stay-at-home mother of two Janice Faye Johnson was found unconscious, gravely injured and barely clinging to life at the foot of a flight of basement stairs in the Shelburne, Nova Scotia home she shared with her family, Clayton Norman Johnson and daughters Darla and Dawn. Even though she was still alive when she was found by a neighbour, who called for an ambulance immediately, Janice died in the hospital just after noon that day.

Episode 225: In our last episode we learned that in Saskatoon, on the morning of January 31, 1969, a 12-year-old girl on the way to school stumbled upon the body of Gail Miller, a 20-year-old nurse’s aide, lying in the snow in an alley. Gail had been raped, murdered and discarded in the snow by her killer. As there had been a number of sexual assaults in the city, police were under enormous pressure to solve the murder and soon their attention turned to 16-year-old David Edgar Milgaard. He’d been in the neighbourhood and at a home nearby the alley where Gail’s body lay on the morning of the murder. Witnesses later claimed he’d seen blood on David’s clothing and gave other incriminating information to police. Milgaard was subsequently arrested and charged with Gail’s murder.Exactly a year after the murder, Milgaard was convicted of the murder and sentenced to a term of life in prison — justice, it appeared, had been served. We’ll find out, that was not the case at all. After serving 23 hellish years in prison, David Milgaard, who’d always maintained his innocence, was finally exonerated by DNA evidence that pointed to another man as Gail Miller’s killer, a man named Larry Earl Fisher.Sources:Saskatoon.ca |INQUIRY CALLED INTO WRONGFUL CONVICTION OF DAVID MILGAARD | News and Media | Government of SaskatchewanCommission of the Inquiry Into the Wrongful Conviction of David MilgaardDavid Milgaard - Innocence CanadaReference re Milgaard (Can.) - SCC CasesR. v. Milgaard, 1971 CanLII 792 (SK CA), R. v. Fisher (L.E.), 1999 SKQB 88 (CanLII), Justice Miscarried by Helena Katz - Ebook | ScribdShrunk by J. Thomas Dalby, PhD, Editor, Lorene Shyba, PhD, Editor - Audiobook | ScribdWrongful Convictions in Canada | PDF | Miscarriage Of Justice | LawDavid Milgaard - WikipediaDavid Milgaard was innocent of Gail Miller murder and rape - SaskToday.caMilgaard inquiry: Don’t judge us: CopsMan convicted of notorious murder dies at Abbotsford prison – Abbotsford NewsA Mother’s Story - Joyce MilgaardDonald Marshall Jr. – Dark Poutine – True Crime & Dark HistorySupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/darkpoutine

Episode 224: In Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on the morning of January 31, 1969, a 12-year-old girl on the way to school stumbled upon the body of Gail Miller, a 20-year-old nurse’s aide, lying in the snow in an alley. Gail had been raped, murdered and discarded in the snow by her killer. As there had been a number of sexual assaults in the city, police were under enormous pressure to solve the murder and soon their attention turned to 16-year-old David Edgar Milgaard. He’d been in the neighbourhood and at a home nearby the alley where Gail’s body lay on the morning of the murder. Witnesses later claimed he’d seen blood on David’s clothing and gave other incriminating information to police. Milgaard was subsequently arrested and charged with Gail’s murder.Exactly a year after the murder, Milgaard was convicted of the murder and sentenced to a term of life in prison — justice, it appeared, had been served. We’ll find out, that was not the case at all. After serving 23 hellish years in prison, David Milgaard, who’d always maintained his innocence, was finally exonerated by DNA evidence that pointed to another man as Gail Miller’s killer.Sources:Saskatoon.caINQUIRY CALLED INTO WRONGFUL CONVICTION OF DAVID MILGAARD | News and Media | Government of SaskatchewanCommission of the Inquiry Into the Wrongful Conviction of David MilgaardDavid Milgaard - Innocence CanadaReference re Milgaard (Can.) - SCC CasesR. v. Milgaard, 1971 CanLII 792 (SK CA), R. v. Fisher (L.E.), 1999 SKQB 88 (CanLII), Justice Miscarried by Helena Katz - Ebook | ScribdShrunk by J. Thomas Dalby, PhD, Editor, Lorene Shyba, PhD, Editor - Audiobook | ScribdWrongful Convictions in Canada | PDF | Miscarriage Of Justice | LawDavid Milgaard - WikipediaDavid Milgaard was innocent of Gail Miller murder and rape - SaskToday.caMilgaard inquiry: Don’t judge us: CopsSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/darkpoutine

Episode 223: On Friday, February 20, 1976, while on vacation in Florida OPP Corporal Donald R. Irwin, 39, a father of three from Kitchener, Ontario, went on a ride along with his good friend Florida State Trooper, Philip Black, also 39-years-old. Irwin was in civilian clothing and unarmed. At around 7:15 a.m. they checked an old Camaro parked in a rest area on I-95, north of Pompano Beach, Florida. Moments later, both officers were dead, and the five people who’d been in the Camaro had fled in Black’s cruiser. Walter Norman Rhodes Jr., 26, 29-year-old, Jesse Joseph Tafero, Sonia “Sunny” Jacobs, 28, Tafero’s wife and two children, Jacobs’ 9-year-old son, Eric, and the couple’s 10-month-old daughter, Christina, were apprehended at a road block after having kidnapped another man, and stolen his Cadillac from a retirement home after abandoning Black’s cruiser. Rhodes’ life was spared as he pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the other two. Jacobs and Tafero were both sentenced to die in Florida’s electric chair, but was justice really served. The case eventually unravelled but not before Tafero had his date with Old Sparky in 1990.Promo:Podcast by ProxySources:21 Feb 1976, Page 1 - Fort Lauderdale News at Newspapers.comKiller of 2 Police Officers Executed in Florida - The New York TimesOntario Police Memorial Foundation — Donald R. IrwinFHP MEMORIAL — Phillip A. Black (1936-1976)In the Blink of an Eye - Essayhttps://deathpenaltyinfo.org/stories/i-had-nothing-the-world-i-left-no-longer-existedJesse Tafero - Case Chart - Grassroots Investigation Project by Claudia Whitman Sponsored by Equal Justice USAJesse Tafero - Case Summary - Innocence Project by Claudia Whitman sponsored by Equal Justice USAJesse Tafero - WikipediaExoneree, Center on Wrongful Convictions: Northwestern Pritzker School of LawTafero v. State, 223 So. 2d 564 | Casetext Search + CitatorJesse Tafero | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderersJesse Tafero - WikipediaJessie Joseph Tafero, Petitioner-appellant, v. Louie L. Wainwright, Respondent-appellee, 796 F.2d 1314 (11th Cir. 1986) :: JustiaHome - The Sunny CenterThe Joys of Forgiveness on Death Row | Sunny Jacobs | TEDxGalway — YouTube‘Exonerated’ blurs facts about death penalty caseFormer death row couple: ‘Life turned out beautifully’ | Family | The GuardianTIPS LEAD TO CAPTURE OF PAROLED MURDERER – Sun SentinelFugitive’s prosthetic leg gives him away | The Seattle TimesWALTER RHODES JR v. HARDEE CI WARDEN FLORIDA PAROLE COMMISSION SECRETARY FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS | FindLawRhodes v. Fla. Parole Comm’n, CASE NO. 8:13-cv-1424-T-36AEP | Casetext Search + CitatorPhillip Black and Donald Irwin murders 2/20/1976 Broward County, FL *Shot to death by Walter Rhodes, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison; It is, actually, a complicated case* | Bonnie’s Blog of CrimeSunny Jacobs: Life BeyondStretch of I-95 honors 2 fallen troopers TRANSLATE with x English ArabicHebrewPolishBulgarianHindiPortugueseCatalanHmong DawRomanianChinese SimplifiedHungarianRussianChinese TraditionalIndonesianSlovakCzechItalianSlovenianDanishJapaneseSpanishDutchKlingonSwedishEnglishKoreanThaiEstonianLatvianTurkishFinnishLithuanianUkrainianFrenchMalayUrduGermanMalteseVietnameseGreekNorwegianWelshHaitian CreolePersian TRANSLATE with COPY THE URL BELOW Back EMBED THE SNIPPET BELOW IN YOUR SITE Enable collaborative features and customize widget: Bing Webmaster PortalBackSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/darkpoutine

Episode 167: On July 13, 1994, just after 2:00 am, police responded to a 911 call from Sebastian Burns, 18. Sebastian and his friend, Atif Rafay, also 18, claimed they had discovered ‘some kind of break in’ and multiple deaths at  Atif’s family home in Bellevue, Washington. A bloody crime scene awaited the first responders. All three of the victims, Tariq and Sultana, Atif’s parents and his sister, Basma, had been bludgeoned to death. Right away, something felt off to the Bellevue Police, who focused their attention on the pair of young men who’d reported the crime. But did they get it right? Sources: United States of America v. Burns, 1997 CanLII 3271 (BC CA), United States v. Burns, 2001 SCC 7 (CanLII), [2001] 1 SCR 283, [168 Wn. App. 734, STATE V. RAFAY] [Rafay Burns Appeal Site] [Sebastian Burns 911 Call - YouTube] [On the Margins of Freedom | The Walrus] [Written In Blood - CBS News] [Confessions of Murder ; Exposing the False Confessions Created from the Mr. Big Stings by Alan R. Warren | eBooks - Scribd] [The wrongful convictions of Sebastian Burns and … - En Vero] [Give Them Enough Rope - Shawn Blore] [YouTube - Sebastian Burns Pre-Sentence Statement Part 1 of 6] https://fuqrafiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/WMFuqraWash.pdf Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/darkpoutine