I’m a reporter and author based in Vancouver, British Columbia. For the past several years I’ve been investigating cold cases – murders and missing persons that have been mostly forgotten except by family and friends.I’m convinced that many of

Episode 12: No Justice for Molly Justice

Aug 12th, 2019 26m 6s

In January 1943, Victoria, British Columbia was experiencing the coldest weather in more than 30 years. Fifteen-year-old Molly Justice took the bus from her job on Government Street and got off near her Saanich home. Her body was found a few ho

Episode 11: Manhunt

Aug 2nd, 2019 24m 51s

On August 25, 1947 Walter Pavlukoff stepped out of his hotel room with a luger automatic pistol in his pocket. He joined over 100,000 people who were watching the PNE parade—the first one in six years because of the war. After the parade, Walte

Episode 10: The Love Drug

Jul 19th, 2019 23m 15s

On March 9, 1947 Inspector Vance of the Vancouver Police Department was called to an apartment in Kitsilano, Vancouver to check out a suspicious death. Seventeen-year-old Ruth Cooperman was found naked and lying dead across her husband’s uncons

Episode 09: Shootout at False Creek Flats

Jul 5th, 2019 31m 47s

On February 26, 1947, Vancouver police officers Charles Boyes and Oliver Ledingham were murdered in a shootout at False Creek Flats. Inspector Vance was called in to handle the ballistics and ultimately determine whether a 17- year-old would li

Episode 08: The English Bay Murder

Jun 21st, 2019 28m 13s

In the early hours of May 2, 1945 Olga Hawryluk, 23 was found beaten to death and dumped in the waters of English Bay. A soldier was charged with her murder and defended by scrappy East End lawyer Angelo Branca. Inspector Vance handled the fore

Episode 07: Murder at the Canford Indian Reserve

Jun 7th, 2019 22m 59s

Inspector Vance is called to a crime scene at Merritt, B.C. in 1934. Two police officers are missing, believed murdered and the investigation focuses in on an abandoned Model B Ford and members of the Canford Indian Band.This podcast is based

Episode 06: The Widow

May 24th, 2019 26m 50s

Sidney Colbourne lived in Oak Bay, Victoria and frequently beat up his wife Vera and their five-year-old daughter. One night, the gun that Sid bought to keep Vera in line, went off and shot him in the head. It was 1938. Vera was arrested for mu

Episode 05: Victoria's Ghost

May 10th, 2019 21m 43s

In 1936, Doris Gravlin's strangled corpse was found on the 7th fairway of the Victoria Golf Course. People soon started reporting sightings of her ghost. According to local legend, if a couple saw her, they would immediately break up, and her g

Episode 4: Lay off or We'll Bump You Off

Apr 26th, 2019 27m 25s

By the 1930s, Inspector Vance had become a familiar face at crime scenes and was often called to testify in court because of his knowledge of forensics. In fact, his skills and analytic abilities were so effective that in 1934 there were seven

Episode 3: The Suspicious Death of Stewart Ashley

Apr 12th, 2019 21m 56s

On April 13, 1933 19-year-old Stewart Ashley went to work out at the YMCA in downtown Vancouver. He didn’t come home. A short time later, a ransom note arrived. It said: “Get $5,000 by April 20 or your son will die.” This podcast is based on o

Episode 02: The Murder Factory

Mar 28th, 2019 24m 53s

The murder of Naokichi Watanabe in 1931 exposed an insurance scam, the murder of up to 20 people, a Japanese hitman, and was eventually linked to an assassination ring operating out of a house on East Cordova Street, Vancouver.This podcast is

Episode 01: The Mysterious disappearance of Clara Millard

Mar 18th, 2019 24m 41s

In 1914 Clara Millard went missing from her West End house where she lived with her husband Charles and Jack their 16-year-old Chinese house boy. Did Jack kill Clara?This podcast is based on original research from a story in my book Blood, Swe