Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Podcast

Welcome back Caffeine Casefilers! Grab a mug, fill it with something dark and unforgiving, and let’s get started.In the summer of 1981, a shadow fell over British Columbia. Eleven children vanished. The man responsible was Clifford Olson—a compulsive liar, chronic criminal, and psychopath who would become one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers.But when police finally caught him, they didn’t just handcuff him. They made a deal with the devil: $100,000 for the location of his victims’ bodies. The “cash for bodies” deal sparked national outrage and forever stained the justice system.In this extended deep dive, we explore Olson’s troubled childhood in Richmond, his 24-year criminal career, and each of the 11 victims whose lives were stolen. We examine the infamous deal, his decades behind bars tormenting families from his cell, the “Olson Clause” that stripped him of pension benefits, and the unintended legacy—a victims’ rights movement that changed Canadian law forever.From his death from cancer in 2011 to the secret jailhouse recordings that still raise questions, this is the complete story of the Beast of British Columbia.Content Warning: This episode contains detailed discussions of violence, sexual assault, and murder. Discretion is advised.Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodesInstagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesSubstack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesFacebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles PodcastEmail: [email protected]: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | SubstackRate and Review:If you enjoyed this episode, please rate us 5 stars and leave a review on Spotify. It helps other true crime and coffee lovers find the show Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back Caffeine Casefilers Grab a mug, fill it with something dark and unforgiving, and let’s travel to British Columbia Robert Pickton was a quiet, unassuming pig farmer who hid in plain sight. While throwing raucous parties at his “Piggy Palace” and cruising the streets of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, he was committing the worst serial killings in Canadian history.In this episode, we explore Pickton’s disturbing childhood, his systematic targeting of vulnerable women, and the shocking police failures that allowed him to kill for decades. We honor the lives of the women—Sarah, Marnie, Georgina, and so many more—whose names were nearly forgotten. A haunting look at evil, indifference, and the fight for justice.Follow Dark Roast for new episodes every week:Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesSubstack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesFacebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles PodcastEmail: [email protected]: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | SubstackRate and Review:If you enjoyed this episode, please rate us 5 stars and leave a review on Spotify. It helps other true crime and coffee lovers find the show. Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back Caffeine Casefilers. Grab a mug, fill it with something dark and unforgiving, and let’s get started.Between 2007 and 2016, residents of long-term care homes in Ontario, Canada, were dying. Nothing unusual there—elderly people with complex medical conditions pass away every day. But eight of those deaths were something else entirely. They were murders, committed by the one person everyone trusted: their nurse.Elizabeth Wettlaufer was a registered nurse, a quiet woman from rural Ontario who went to church on Sundays and worked the night shift. She was also a serial killer. For nearly a decade, she moved through the corridors of care homes injecting vulnerable seniors with lethal overdoses of insulin—and no one noticed. Not her employers, who fired her multiple times but gave her glowing references. Not the nursing regulator, who ignored red flags going back to 1995. Not the coroner, who refused to investigate because “no death in a nursing home is unexpected.”In this deep dive, we tell the full story of Wettlaufer’s crimes, with extended biographies of each victim: a WWII veteran who lied about his age to fight for Canada, a Hungarian refugee who escaped Soviet tanks with nothing but the clothes on his back, a seamstress who cried out for help for over an hour as she fought for her life. We examine the psychology of a killer who described “the red surge” and “euphoria” after murder, the systemic failures that allowed her to operate undetected for a decade, and the 2019 public inquiry that concluded she would never have been caught if she hadn’t confessed.Follow Dark Roast for new episodes every week :Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesSubstack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesFacebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles PodcastYoutube: Dark Roast Caffeine CasefilesEmail: [email protected]: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | SubstackRate and Review:If you enjoyed this episode, please rate us 5 stars and leave a review on Spotify. It helps other true crime and coffee lovers find the show. Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome Back Caffeine Casefilers! In this weeks episode I talk about the strange case of Ken Parks and how his sleeping disorder led him to killing and the attempted killing of his Mother and Father in-law In the early morning hours of May 24, 1987, 23-year-old Ken Parks drove 20 kilometers from Pickering to Scarborough, let himself into his in-laws’ home with a spare key, and brutally attacked them with a tire iron, killing his mother-in-law . Covered in blood, he then drove to a police station and confessed, uttering the chilling words, “I think I have just killed two people” .This seems like an open-and-shut murder case, but what if the killer has absolutely no memory of the crime? Parks’ defense was one of the most bizarre in Canadian legal history: he claimed he was asleep. This episode explores the landmark Supreme Court case R v Parks, diving into the science of sleepwalking, the distinction between “insane” and “non-insane” automatism, and the public’s skepticism over whether a man could commit such violent acts without consciousness or intent. Was this the perfect crime or a genuine neurological tragedy? Tune in to hear how a jury ultimately answered that question and set a precedent that still echoes todayFollow Dark Roast for weekly episodesInstagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesSubstack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesFacebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles PodcastSpotify: Dark Roast Caffeine CasefilesYoutube: Dark Roast: Caffeine CasefilesEmail: [email protected]: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | SubstackRate and Review:If you enjoyed this episode, please rate us 5 stars and leave a review on Spotify. It helps other true crime and coffee lovers find the show. Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back Caffeine Casefilers!This week, we head to Las Vegas, where a devoted father is found suspiciously mutilated, stuffed in a sleeping bag, and set on fire in his own garage. The one thing that is truly baffling? His 16-year-old daughter, Sierra, is nowhere to be found and isn’t responding to calls or texts. That is, until she and her boyfriend, Aaron Guerrero, are located in Salt Lake City by the Utah Transit Authority Police after skipping a train fare. Come with us on this wild ride as we explore how a forbidden romance, parental disapproval, and a chilling lack of remorse led to a father’s brutal murder—and how the teenage killers’ own video confession became the evidence that convicted them.Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodesInstagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesSubstack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesFacebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles PodcastSpotify: Dark Roast Caffeine CasefilesYoutube: Dark Roast: Caffeine CasefilesEmail: [email protected]: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | SubstackRate and Review:If you enjoyed this episode, please rate us 5 stars and leave a review on Spotify. It helps other true crime and coffee lovers find the show. Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome Back, grab something strong and sip slowly because this case stays with youOn October 26, 2015, Lee Antoni returned home to his Calgary house after a weekend away and made a horrifying discovery: his wife, 31-year-old Amanda, lying dead at the bottom of the basement stairs in a pool of blood. The scene was so violent that responding officers called it “the bloodiest” they had ever seen.But here’s where the case takes a strange turn. There was no sign of forced entry. No DNA from any other person. No suspect. Just an overturned chair, a shattered cell phone, a broken piggy bank embedded in Amanda’s skull—and a family left with nothing but questions.In this deep dive, we explore the life of Amanda Antoni—the adopted daughter from Carstairs who “lit up every room she walked into”—and examine the forensic paradox that has baffled police for nearly a decade. Was it a tragic accident? A random intruder? Or does someone out there know exactly what happened on Castledale Way?With new attention from Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries, Amanda’s family is still fighting for answers.If you have any information about the death of Amanda Antoni, please contact Calgary Police Service at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.Follow Dark Roast for new episodes every week:Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesSubstack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesFacebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles PodcastEmail: [email protected]: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | SubstackRate and Review:If you enjoyed this episode, please rate us 5 stars and leave a review on Spotify. It helps other true crime and coffee lovers find the show Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back. Grab a mug, fill it with something dark and unforgiving, and let’s get started.A loving grandmother. A brilliant inventor. A five-year-old superhero fan. On June 30, 2014, Alvin Liknes, Kathy Liknes, and Nathan O’Brien walked into their Calgary home and never walked out.In this episode, we explore the lives behind the headlines. We follow Alvin’s journey from the prairies to the oil fields, Kathy’s legacy of unconditional love, and the slow-burning fuse of Douglas Garland—the quiet, bitter farmhand who went from stealing identities to building a kill kit. Discover how a dispute over a pump turned into the longest Amber Alert in Canadian history.Follow Dark Roast for new episodes every week:Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesSubstack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesFacebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles PodcastEmail: [email protected]: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | SubstackRate and Review:If you enjoyed this episode, please rate us 5 stars and leave a review on Spotify. It helps other true crime and coffee lovers find the show. Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome Back, Grab a mug with something strong, sip slowly , this one stays with youThey were musicians, artists, and scholars with their whole lives ahead of them. On April 15, 2014, Lawrence Hong, Joshua Hunter, Kaitlin Perras, Zackariah Rathwell, and Jordan Segura were killed at a house party in the quiet Calgary community of Brentwood. This episode examines the night of the tragedy, the subsequent trial of Matthew de Grood, and his shocking verdict of “not criminally responsible.” More than a true-crime story, this is a tribute to the five young victims and a look at the ongoing conversation about mental health and justice in Canada.Follow Dark Roast for new episodes every week Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesSubstack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesFacebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles PodcastEmail: [email protected]: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | SubstackRate and Review:If you enjoyed this episode, please rate us 5 stars and leave a review on Spotify. It helps other true crime and coffee lovers find the show. Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back. Grab a mug, fill it with something dark and unforgiving, and let’s get started.In 1984, the murder of nine-year-old Christine Jessop shook the small town of Queensville, Ontario. Police, with no physical evidence, zeroed in on her eccentric but innocent neighbor, Guy Paul Morin, simply because they thought he was “weird” . This episode explores how a flawed investigation and tunnel vision led to one of Canada’s most notorious wrongful convictions. Discover how Morin spent nearly a decade in prison before emerging DNA technology finally proved his innocence, exposing a massive miscarriage of justiceFollow Dark Roast for new episodes every week :Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesSubstack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesFacebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles PodcastEmail: [email protected]: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | SubstackRate and Review:If you enjoyed this episode, please rate us 5 stars and leave a review on Spotify. It helps other true crime and coffee lovers find the show. Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back Caffeine Casefilers, grab something strong and sip slowly. In today’s episode I will be talking about the tragic loss of Vienna Rose Irwin who passed away on May 25, 2023, two-year-old Vienna Rose Irwin’s story is one of immense love and heartbreaking loss. The beloved daughter of Claire and Clayton, Vienna was the cherished center of a large, extended family in Port Hope, including grandparents Debbie, Bill, and Shari, and her adoring aunts, uncles, and cousins . This episode reflects on her memory, the services held to celebrate her life at St. John’s Anglican Church, and how a community continues to hold her family close .Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodesInstagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesSubstack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesFacebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles PodcastEmail: [email protected]: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | SubstackRate and Review:If you enjoyed this episode, please rate us 5 stars and leave a review on Spotify. It helps other true crime and coffee lovers find the show. Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back. Grab a mug, fill it with something dark and unforgiving, and let’s get startedIn 1959, a fourteen-year-old boy gave his friend a ride on his bicycle. Days later, she was found murdered—and he was arrested, tried as an adult, and sentenced to hang.This is the definitive story of Steven Truscott: the infamous wrongful conviction that shook Canada to its core, the relentless fight for truth, and the fifty-year journey from death row to exoneration.We dive deep into:* Steven’s initial police statement and the mysterious grey car with yellow plates* The flawed science that put a child on death row* The haunting moments inside Collins Bay Penitentiary* The hidden evidence and the “agonizing reappraisal” that changed everything* The 2007 acquittal and the life finally reclaimedA story of justice, tragedy, and the resilience of the human spirit.Content Warning: This episode deals with the sexual assault and murder of a child. Listener discretion is advisedFollow Dark Roast for new episodes every week:Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesSubstack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesFacebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles PodcastEmail: [email protected]: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | SubstackRate and Review:If you enjoyed this episode, please rate us 5 stars and leave a review on Spotify. It helps other true crime and coffee lovers find the show. Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back. Grab a mug, fill it with something dark and unforgiving, and let’s get started.They looked like the perfect couple. They were anything but.Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka—dubbed the “Ken and Barbie Killers”—terrorized southern Ontario throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. But this isn’t just a story about two monsters. It’s about a system that failed. Repeatedly. Catastrophically.In this comprehensive deep dive, we walk through everything:• The Scarborough Rapist attacks that put a city under siege• How police interviewed Bernardo twice—and let him go• The DNA sample that sat in a freezer for two years• Tammy Homolka’s “accidental” death that was anything but• The murders of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French• The plea deal that let Karla walk after 12 years• The videotapes hidden for 16 months• Where they are now—including Bernardo’s 2023 transfer to medium security and his latest parole denial in November 2024This is the complete story. The warnings. The failures. The victims. And the families still fighting for justice more than three decades later.Content warning: This episode contains detailed descriptions of sexual violence, murder, and harm to minors. Please take care while listening.Follow Dark Roast:Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesSubstack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesFacebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles PodcastEmail: [email protected]: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | SubstackIf you enjoyed this episode, please rate us 5 stars and leave a review on Spotify. It helps other true crime and coffee lovers find the show. Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back. Grab a mug, fill it with something dark and unforgiving, and let’s get started.For years, Toronto’s LGBTQ+ Village felt a predator in their midst as men vanished without a trace—immigrants, refugees, those living on the margins. Police said there was no evidence of a serial killer. But in a quiet apartment, a landscaper who played Santa Claus at the mall was hiding a nightmare in backyard planters. This is the story of Bruce McArthur, the eight men he murdered, and the system that looked the other way until one disappearance finally forced the truth to surface. A story about who we remember, who we forget, and the fear that remains when justice comes too late.Content warning: This episode contains discussions of violence and murder.Take care of yourselves.Follow Dark Roast:Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesSubstack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefilesFacebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles PodcastEmail: [email protected]: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | SubstackIf you enjoyed this episode, please rate us 5 stars and leave a review on Spotify. It helps other true crime and coffee lovers find the show. Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

They were Canadian pharma royalty—beloved philanthropists with a billion-dollar fortune. But on December 15, 2017, Barry and Honey Sherman were found murdered in their Toronto home, staged in a chilling pose by their basement pool . Eight years later, the question still haunts Canada: who killed the Shermans?In this episode, we unravel the twisted investigation that has been plagued by missteps, from an initial police theory of murder-suicide (quickly debunked) to a current probe that the lead detective admits is “playing blind,” unsure if he’s even on the right path .In this episode, we cover:* The Crime Scene: The forensic timeline of their final hours—Honey’s last shopping trip, Barry’s arrival home, and the evidence suggesting they were attacked immediately upon entering .* The Botched Investigation: How police initially treated it as a murder-suicide, failed to secure key video evidence, and allowed Apotex lawyers to control access to Barry’s work devices .* The Suspects & Theories: From a disgruntled cousin who lost a billion-dollar lawsuit against Barry, to a mysterious business associate, and the “one main theory” police still hold but cannot prove .* The Cry for Justice: Why the Sherman children and investigative journalist Kevin Donovan are fighting in court to unseal thousands of pages of police documents, hoping that “shaking the tree” might finally bring someone forward with the truth .From the leather belts used to stage the scene to the five countries where police are still seeking evidence, we break down the latest developments in a case that has become a symbol of wealth, power, and the limits of justice Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

In 2017, Canadian billionaire Barry Sherman and his wife Honey Sherman were found strangled in their Toronto home.At first, police suggested murder - suicide. Then the narrative changed.In this episode of Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles, Cait explores one of Canada’s most unsettling unsolved cases - digging into wealth, power, investigative missteps, and the questions that still refuse to go away.Because sometimes the truth isn’t obvious. Sometimes it’s buried beneath money, influence… and silence. Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe