Latest Episodes

On June 30, 2009, the serene waters of the Rideau Canal in Kingston, Ontario, revealed a dark and tragic secret. A submerged car discovered that day contained the bodies of three teenage sisters—Zainab (19), Sahar (17), and Geeti (13) Shafia—along with their father's first wife, Rona Muhammad Amir (52). What initially appeared to be a tragic accident soon unravelled into a chilling tale of premeditated murder. The perpetrators, Mohammad Shafia, his second wife, Tooba Mohammad Yahya, and their son, Hamed, were arrested on July 23, 2009, and later convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Shockingly, the victims were Mohammad Shafia's daughters and his first wife. This heinous act, driven by twisted notions of family honour, shocked the nation and highlighted the grim reality of honour-based violence. Join us as we delve into the harrowing details of the Shafia family murders, a case that not only captivated Canada but also sparked crucial conversations about domestic violence and the challenges faced by immigrant families in preserving their cultural values while integrating into a new society.

Douglas Donald Moore, known in Meadowvale, Ontario, as a drug supplier for young teens, gained notoriety in Mississauga for killing three young men before taking his own life in his jail cell while awaiting trial on 11 charges for sexual assaults on three boys. Peel Regional Police assert that Robert Grewal, 22, of Meadowvale, and Giuseppe (Joseph) Manchisi, 20, of Milton, who were close friends, were killed in 2003 by Moore. After Moore’s death, he was named the prime suspect in the murders of Grewal and Manchisi. Additionally, police believe Moore was responsible for killing Rene Charlebois, 15, also of Meadowvale. All three victims disappeared in late 2003, and their bodies were discovered in spring 2004. Charlebois’ remains were found in an Orangeville landfill, while Grewal and Manchisi’s remains were located in wooded areas near Montreal. In 2005, Moore’s former common-law wife and an unidentified 16-year-old were convicted of accessory to murder after the fact. The teen assisted in disposing of evidence, including driving with Moore to Quebec to bury the bodies of Grewal and Manchisi. Moore believed the two men had stolen drugs and cash from him, but it was later revealed that the 16-year-old was responsible for the robbery. The police have never disclosed the motive behind the killing of Rene Charlebois.

On August 15, 2009, the mutilated body of Jasmine Fiore, a 28-year-old Playboy model and aspiring actress, was found stuffed into a suitcase and discarded in a dumpster in Buena Park, California. The investigation quickly led to her husband, Ryan Jenkins, a Canadian real estate investor and former contestant on the reality TV show “Megan Wants a Millionaire.” As the investigation progressed, a disturbing picture of domestic violence and jealousy emerged. It was revealed that Jenkins had a history of abusive behaviour towards Jasmine, and the couple had a tumultuous relationship. The motive for the murder appeared to be jealousy and control. Ryan Jenkins fled to Canada, and an international manhunt was launched to apprehend him. However, on August 23, 2009, Jenkins was found dead in a Hope, British Columbia motel room. He had completed suicide by hanging himself. This case generated widespread media coverage and sparked discussions about domestic violence, the dark side of reality TV, and the importance of raising awareness about toxic relationships. The tragic death of Jasmine Fiore served as a grim reminder of the dangers of domestic violence and the need for intervention and support for victims.

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.

John Ruffolo, 36, an employee of Brinks Canada at Butler Crescent location in Saanichton, British Columbia, was due to start a night shift at 10:30 PM on October 19, 2003. He was an ATM technician and an armoured car driver. When John didn’t show up, the rest of the armoured car crew waited 30 minutes before calling John’s home. A woman answered the phone, telling John’s co-worker, Jason Amos, that John had left for work some time ago. The crew waited a few more minutes before calling in a replacement. John’s wife, Ruby Ann Ruffolo, reported her husband missing on October 20th. His car turned up outside a local pub in Victoria two days after that. On October 25, 2003, a hiker walking near Humpback Road in Langford, 15 kilometres from his Victoria home, found John Ruffolo’s body in a culvert and called the police. John’s body was uninjured except for puncture wounds, believed to be needle marks, on both arms. Six months after John Ruffolo died, police arrested Ruby Ann Ruffolo and charged her with first-degree murder in her husband’s death. John’s surviving family had to wait seven long years for justice in a case beset by numerous delays, some initiated by the defendant and her lawyers, but also included a judge’s death and a mistrial.

On March 3, 2005, a contingent of RCMP constables, attended the property of James Michael Roszko, 46 in Rochfort Bridge, near Mayerthorpe, Alberta. The members were there to serve a search warrant for stolen property and a marijuana-growing operation on the farm, discovered the day before. Roszko, knowing the police would be arriving soon, armed himself with the help of a couple friends, Shawn Hennessey and Dennis Cheeseman, and then he laid in wait for the RCMP. When four of the officers, *Anthony Gordon, Lionide “Leo” Johnston, Brock Myrol and Peter Schiemann*, walked into a quonset hut on the farm. Roszko, hidden inside the building, opened fire on the four members, killing them and then himself before the other RCMP members on site could come to their aid. In the last episode we learned of the life of the murderer leading up to the day of the slaying of the four RCMP members. In this episode you’ll hear about the crime and its aftermath.

On March 3, 2005, a contingent of RCMP constables attended the property of James Michael Roszko, 46, in Rochfort Bridge, near Mayerthorpe, Alberta. The members were there to serve a search warrant for stolen property and a marijuana-growing operation on the farm, discovered the day before. Roszko, knowing the police would be arriving soon, armed himself with the help of a couple of friends, Shawn Hennessey and Dennis Cheeseman, and then he lay in wait for the RCMP. When four of the officers, Anthony Gordon, Lionide “Leo” Johnston, Brock Myrol and Peter Schiemann, walked into a quonset hut on the farm. Roszko, hidden inside the building, opened fire on the four members, killing them and then himself before the other RCMP members on-site could come to their aid. This episode covers the life of the murderer and leads us up to the slaying of the four RCMP members. Next week in part 2, you’ll hear about the crime and its aftermath.

In our last episode, we heard about the murder of 61-year-old retiree, and beloved mother, grandmother and recent great-grandmother, Diana Russell. On February 22, 2002, after her car was found abandoned, in out-of-the way Boston Bar, her family became concerned. Diana was not answering her phone and no one knew where she was. She was later found by police in the basement of Kelowna ,B.C. townhome. Diana had been beaten, hogtied, raped and then strangled. The number one suspect was no stranger to the family. He was Ronald Leal Fowler, an ex-boyfriend of Diana’s eldest daughter, Michele, and father to that daughter’s two-year-old son, Brandon. After killing Diana, Fowler had fled in her car, but after it became hopelessly stuck after a freak winter mud and snow slide he’d hitchhiked to Vancouver. Fowler was arrested there after the truck driver who’d dropped him off in the Lower Mainland called police about the sketchy guy who’d ridden with him. Fowler, who’d illegally walked away from half-way house in which he’d been living, claimed amnesia due to drug and alcohol binge at the time. He denied responsibility for Diana’s murder and maintains that position to this day. Diana’s remaining family was left to pick of the pieces of their broken lives. This crime is still a painful wound for them, ripped open by Fowler’s every appeal and applications for parole.

Episode 235: On February 22, 2002, a vehicle was found in the ditch off the Trans-Canada highway near Boston Bar, B.C. The car was registered to 61-year-old mother, grandmother and recent great-grandmother, Diana Russell, who was nowhere around the car. RCMP obtained a key to Diana’s Kelowna townhouse and went inside finding the woman partially clothed body underneath some mattresses and furniture. She’d been hogtied, raped, beaten and strangled. Police quickly determined that Ronald Leal Fowler, 31, was a person of interest in the murder. Fowler, father of one of Diana’s grandchildren after a brief relationship with Diana’s eldest daughter, Fowler was later dramatically captured in Vancouver. He was then charged and in 2006 was convicted of first degree murder. Diana Russell's daughter Valerie MacPherson kindly shared her writings about her family's pain around the time of the murder and the twenty years since. In part 2 we will hear from Diana's grandson, Collin Lucksinger, as he shares first hand his thoughts and feelings around Diana's murder.