The body of 15-year-old Myfanwy Sanders was found on November 9, 1945 in a field near her home on Vancouver Island. She had been missing for 23 days. Apart from a couple of newspaper articles and a coroner's inquest, this Saanich teen’s case was never really looked into at all. And, while Saanich police have four unsolved murders on their books, My…

In January 1943, fifteen-year-old Molly Justice took the 5:50 pm bus from her job in Victoria, BC and got off at Swan Lake near her Saanich home. Her body was found a few hours later lying face down in the snow. She had been stabbed more than 20 times and hit on the head with a rock. What followed was one of the most seriously botched police invest…

On April 1 1992, 19-year-old Aimee Beaulieu was killed in her home just outside of Nelson, British Columbia. Her twin babies David and Samantha, died in the fire that was lit to cover up her murder. For more information, please visit my website: evelazarus.com or join us on the Facebook group page Cold Case Canada.…

On Saturday July 12, 1997, four 20-year-olds were gun downed at a campsite in Kitimat, British Columbia. The shooter was 42-year-old Kevin Vermette. After killing three of the four young men, Vermette returned to his motel room, grabbed his dog and his shotgun - and disappeared into the bush. Vermette is still at large, and as I quickly learned, no…

Seven-year-old Terri Lynn Scalf disappeared from Aldergrove, BC on July 24, 1983. She was last seen in the company of a 55-year-old convicted child molester and another 10-year-old girl from her townhouse complex. Police initially linked her disappearance with that of Joanne Pedersen, 10, from Chilliwack who had vanished six months earlier. Both gi…

Ten-year-old Joanne Pedersen was last seen in a Chilliwack, BC phone booth at 8:20 pm on Saturday February 19, 1983. She had been calling her mother to tell her that she had been locked out of her house and asked if she could pick her up from the Penny Pincher general store. Just as her mother went to talk to Joanne, a young man got on the phone an…

Homilies from St. Anne's.

Homilies from St. Anne's.

Homilies from St. Anne's.

Homilies from St. Anne's.

Homilies from St. Anne's.

Homilies from St. Anne's.

Homilies from St. Anne's.

Homilies from St. Anne's.

Homilies from St. Anne's. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Homilies from St. Anne's. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

In this last episode of Season 4, I'm delighted to be joined by four local storytellers. We'll hear about the murder of iconic architect Francis Rattenbury, visit a haunted firehall, a spooky house in New Westminster from the 1860s, and a character house in East Vancouver that's home to three ghosts: a man, a little girl and a charcoal grey cat. Fo…

Michael Smith, 17 is RCMP case #2014003272 and one of 233 missing kids on the Canada’s Missing website. Mike was last seen on December 30, 1967 when he left his North Vancouver home after a fight with his family when he was caught with some weed. If Mike is alive, he’d be 73 years old, and may have no idea that his family has searched for him for o…

On November 6, 1967, sometime before 6:00 pm, seven-year-old Nancy Johnsen went missing from her Cloverdale BC farmhouse. Nancy, one of ten children ranging in age from six months to 16 years, was found on the property the next morning. She had been strangled. No one reported seeing a stranger around the house that night and Nancy was not known to …

Between April 1988 and August 1990, a serial killer murdered six sex trade workers and dumped their bodies in the laneways of Vancouver. Officially, the murders are unsolved and two were added to the Vancouver Police Department’s cold case website just last year. But two retired detectives who worked on a joint RCMP/VPD task force called E-Alley, s…

Casey Rose Bohun, 3 disappeared from her North Delta, BC home on August 5, 1989. Dozens of volunteers searched for Casey but no trace of her was ever found. Police believe that she either wandered off and got lost, was killed by someone close to her, abducted by a stranger, or sold and living somewhere else with no memory of her real family. This e…

At the end of 1974, 22-year-old Barbara Larocque’s body was found in Langley, BC. She had been strangled with her own scarf. Two months later, Gail "Sam" Rogers, 26 went missing from her Kitsilano basement suite. Her body was found in a creek near Squamish, her head bashed in with a claw hammer. Both women were go-go dancers at Vancouver nightclubs…

On May 7, 1961, 12-year-old Brenda Byman went for her first sleepover at her friend’s house in Wilmer, a tiny community outside of Invermere, BC. The next day she and four teens went for a hike to Lake Enid. Brenda never returned. Over six decades later, Brenda's tragic disappearance continues to divide the town. This episode is based on a story fr…

On June 24, 1992 Jean Ann James, a 53-year-old former Canadian Pacific Airlines flight attendant, went to the Shaughnessy home of her husband’s wealthy younger lover, and slit her throat with a box cutter. It would take police another 19 years to catch her. This episode is based on a story from Cold Case BC: the stories behind the province's most s…

On the day that 14-year-old Lindsey Nicholls disappeared, she was last seen walking down Royston Road, outside of Comox on Vancouver Island. It was August 2, 1993 - the Monday of the BC Day long weekend, and Lindsey was meeting friends at the annual Comox Nautical Days Festival. This episode is based on a story from Cold Case BC: the stories behind…

Gloria Levina Moody, who everybody knew as Lee, had been stripped, beaten, sexually assaulted, and left to bleed to death on a cattle trail about a kilometre off the Chilcotin Highway near Williams Lake, BC. She was the 26-year-old mother of two from Bella Coola on a weekend away with her family. Lee’s 1969 murder is the oldest of 18 cases of missi…

I’m Eve Lazarus, and I’m the host and producer of Cold Case Canada. This is from a Facebook live event that I did on March 10 to talk about the process behind writing my bestselling book Cold Case BC, some of the challenges that I met along the way, and what you can expect from Season Four of my podcast which launches Friday March 17. For more info…

In the Halloween Special of 2022 we visit a Victoria golf course, two mansions in Burnaby, and travel to a haunted highway in BC’s interior. Keep the lights on while you listen! Based on stories from Blood, Sweat and Fear: The Story of Inspector Vance, At Home with History: The secrets of Greater Vancouver’s Heritage Homes, Ghosts: More Eerie Encou…

On June 26, 1969, 16-year-old Philip Porter left his home in Townsite, Kimberley to run some errands for his mother. The son of the Cominco boss never came home. A ransom note demanding $100,000 for his safe return arrived instead. This episode is based on a story from Cold Case BC: the stories behind the province's most sensational murders and mis…

Ronnie Jack, 26, Doreen Jack, 26, Russell 9, and Ryan 4 were last seen on August 2, 1989 at their home in Prince George. Earlier that night, Ronnie met a guy in the pub who offered him a job bucking logs and Doreen work in the camp kitchen. They told their family that there was a daycare for the boys and they'd be gone about 10 days. And then they …

In 1978, 12-year-old Monica Jack was riding her bike near her home on the Upper Nicola reserve at Quilchena when she was abducted, raped and murdered. And, even though Garry Handlen was a suspect early on in this investigation and questioned in the 1975 murder of 11-year-old Kathryn-Mary Herbert, it would take another 36 years and a Mr. Big sting t…

Saanich residents Tanya Van Cuylenborg, 18 and Jay Cook, 20 were murdered while on an overnight trip to Washington State in 1987. Episode includes interviews with Detective Jim Scharf of the Snohomish Country Sheriff's Office and CeCe Moore, Chief Genetic Genealogist at Parabon Nanolabs, who cracked this case three decades later. This episode is ba…

Len Hogue was one of three dirty VPD cops who supplemented their salaries initially through B&Es, escalated to bank robberies, and in 1965 pulled off the biggest heist in Vancouver’s history - $1.2 million worth of bank notes that were being sent back to Ottawa to be destroyed. When police officials caught on, 33-year-old Hogue went home, shot his …

In 1956, Len Hogue, David Harrison and Joe Percival joined the Vancouver Police Department and within a few years, became known as the “terrible three.” The cops were supplementing their salaries initially through B&Es, escalated to bank robberies, and in 1965, pulled off the biggest heist in Vancouver’s history - $1.2 million worth of stolen bank …

Tanya Busch disappeared on the way to her Vancouver school on June 2, 1972. She was the second 7-year-old abducted in just over two years. Was there a connection? This episode is based on original research and interviews from a chapter in my book Cold Case Vancouver: the city's most baffling unsolved murders For photos, show credits, sources and in…

On November 20, 1969, seven-year-old Evangeline Azarcon disappeared on her way home from Edith Cavell Elementary in Vancouver. Her abduction sparked the biggest search in BC’s history. Two years later another seven-year-old was abducted on her way to her Vancouver school. Was there a connection? This episode is based on original research and interv…

It's almost 70 years since they were found buried in Vancouver's Stanley Park, but now the Babes in the Woods have their names back. They were Derek and David D'Alton aged 7 and 6 when they were beaten to death with a hatchet. This episode is based on a chapter in my upcoming book Cold Case BC: the stories behind the province's most sensational mur…

The Halloween Special is the last episode of Season 2. Join me and five storytellers as they tell you their favourite ghost stories: a haunted nightclub, a shooting, a former insane asylum, the Chinatown ghost, a cemetery and a haunted grand piano. Preorder my new book Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck through Arse…

In 1965, Rene Castellani, a 40-year-old radio personality murdered his wife Esther with arsenic-laced milkshakes so he could marry Lolly, CKNW’s 25-year-old receptionist. The Castellani's had an 11-year-old daughter called Jeannine, who became the collateral damage in one of the most sensational murder cases of the 20th century. This episode is bas…

In 1965, Rene Castellani, a 40-year-old radio personality murdered his wife Esther with arsenic-laced milkshakes so he could marry Lolly, CKNW’s 25-year-old receptionist. The Castellani's had an 11-year-old daughter called Jeannine, who became the collateral damage in one of the most sensational murder cases of the 20th century. This episode is bas…

Three weeks after Pat Lowther was reported missing, her body was discovered by a family out for a hike at Furry Creek, about 50 kilometres from her Vancouver home. She had been beaten to death with a hammer by a man who was jealous of her strong, often violent feminist poetry and her growing place in the Canadian literary scene. Photo: Pat Lowther …

In the months leading up to her murder, Muriel Lindsay had been targeted and harassed. Her cat was stolen, she’d received bizarre anonymous letters, and someone had used her credit card to take out subscriptions and make a donation to the United Way in her name. Who was stalking Muriel and why was this 40-year-old postal worker found beaten to deat…

On February 22, 1975 country and western singer Debbie Roe, 22 finished her shift at the OK Corral, stopped to get gas and something to eat. Her body was found the next day on an isolated stretch of highway in Langley, BC. Just two months earlier, the body of Barbara LaRocque, 22 had been found nearby. Barbara worked at the Syndicate, a club with t…

At the start of 1985, things looked good for Jimmy and Lily Ming. The couple had two small children, owned their own home and worked in the family’s thriving Robson Street restaurant. But by the end of January, Jimmy and Lily had been kidnapped from their Vancouver house, the restaurant was closed and the rest of the Ming family feared for their li…

Sixteen-year-old Rhona Duncan was murdered in the early hours of July 15, 1976 after walking home from a high school birthday party. She was in sight of her North Vancouver house, when she was intercepted, raped and strangled. Although 45 years has gone by, Rhona’s friends still get together to remember her and to try and solve her murder. Some bel…

On January 7, 1976, Brenda Young, a 38-year-old mother of four, was found murdered in her store the Good Earth on Lower Lonsdale in North Vancouver. After I wrote about Brenda in my book Cold Case Vancouver, a retired detective contacted me and said Brenda’s murder was a case of mistaken identity. He believed that a corrupt RCMP officer, then in ja…

In 1954, Bob Hopkins worked at the Vancouver News Herald. He was a friendly man who kept to himself and was liked by his colleagues. None of them knew that Bob was gay and lived a secret life. He had to. In the 1950s homosexuality was illegal and coming out would have meant losing his job, his place in the community, and possibly his family. This p…

On September 15, 1954, Danny Brent’s body was found on the tenth green at UBC’s golf course. Stuffed inside his shirt was an early edition of the newspaper, soaked with his blood. There was a half-smoked cigarette inside his shirt where it had dropped from his mouth when he was shot—once in the back and twice in the head with .45-calibre bullets. T…

I'm Eve Lazarus, a reporter and author based in Vancouver, BC. This is a 12-episode podcast based on original research from my book Blood, Sweat, and Fear: the story of Inspector Vance. Inspector Vance was Canada’s first forensic investigator. He worked for the Vancouver Police Department and helped solved some of the most sensational murder cases …

The Babes in the Woods is the story of two tiny skeletons found in Stanley Park in 1953. The case is still unsolved, but the investigation continues. In part two I visit the site where the boys were found and talk with the VPD Inspector who ordered an exhumation in 2015 in an effort to identify the boys. We also hear about the latest development fr…