The Village

Fingers are pointed at who could have betrayed Darren. Did it come from the inside?

While peace transforms the country, the twists continue in the story.

A Friday night in The Parliament bar ends in tragedy. Lives will never be the same again.

Welcome to The Parliament bar - the beating heart of gay life in nineties Belfast.

Claims about Darren's sexuality bring him trouble with the RUC.

The untold story of the murder of a gay police officer in Northern Ireland in 1997.

The untold story of the murder of a gay police officer in Northern Ireland in 1997.Belfast 1997. But not just any part of Belfast, gay Belfast. A place you've probably never heard of before. Cigarette smoke, aftershave and expectation fill the air in the only gay bar in the country. Sat having a drink on a night out is Darren Bradshaw. He was just 24 years old when he was shot dead in front of hundreds of people. His brutal murder by terrorists sparked fears of a return to all out violence as the new Labour government under Tony Blair sought to bring peace to Northern Ireland - on the road to the Good Friday Agreement.This is the untold story of his life and murder. A story of both love and eventually betrayal.Presenter Jordan Dunbar grew up in the city, he was a comedian and drag performer on the Belfast scene and yet this murder and Darren's life was never talked about.Following Darren's story brings to life the struggle of being gay in The Troubles, how Belfast got its first Pride parade only in 1991 and its very first openly gay club in 1994 -The Parliament bar where Darren was tragically shot dead.It's a community surviving as well as thriving against a backdrop of violence and discrimination. He meets the original drag queens, DJs and club pioneers determined to claim back the city centre from the terrorists and create a safe place of their own.Determined to piece together for the first time how Darren was killed that night and why, Jordan uncovers stories of bigotry, bravery and betrayal.

Years of sustained pressure finally pay off as the policing culture shifts to include activists’ input into their investigations. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-village-the-montreal-murders-transcripts-listen-1.6479960

When one of its priests is found murdered in Montreal, the Anglican Church has to publicly reckon with its sins. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-village-the-montreal-murders-transcripts-listen-1.6479960

Faced with a deadly disease, surrounded by death, AIDS activist Roger Leclerc resorts to controversial tactics to confront discrimination and violence against gays and lesbians. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-village-the-montreal-murders-transcripts-listen-1.6479960

A married man is murdered while on a business trip in Montreal. The case highlights the challenges of investigating the murders. Delayed investigations and unsolved cases are a dear price to pay when a serial killer may be on the loose. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-village-the-montreal-murders-transcripts-listen-1.6479960

Montreal, 1991 – Fearing a serial killer, activists decide to take matters into their own hands. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-village-the-montreal-murders-transcripts-listen-1.6479960

Scores of police remove their badges and slip on rubber gloves before beating and arresting queer partygoers in downtown Montreal. The violence escalates in the coming days, and many more are beaten and jailed. A stronger front emerges. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-village-the-montreal-murders-transcripts-listen-1.6479960

Joe Rose, a queer activist living with AIDS, is murdered in cold blood on a city bus. So public, so brutal – the city is shocked. The killing becomes a catalyst for ACT UP’s takeover of the 1989 Montreal AIDS conference. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-village-the-montreal-murders-transcripts-listen-1.6479960

A sneak peek into season three. Montreal in the 90s was a great time, but it had a dark side. For many men, being in – or out – of the closet during the AIDS epidemic was the difference between life and death. Unsolved murders stack up. And in the absence of police protection, a community of activists are forced to take matters into their own hands.

Justin hands over the season to Francis at Parc de L’Espoir, the memorial to people who died from HIV/AIDS in Montreal’s gay village. We’re going back 30 years. The world was a different place. What we learned about how to live through a pandemic and how to solve a murder.

Justin discovers a shocking failure in the investigation into Alloura's death and poses tough questions to Toronto’s police chief. Trans activists honour Alloura and others who have inspired change, and who deserved better. Note: If you're in crisis or just looking for someone to talk to, try the Trans Lifeline’s Hotline — a peer support phone service run by trans people for trans and questioning folks: CAN (877) 330-6366 or US (877) 565-8860 For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-villiage-season-2-transcripts-listen-1.6076988

Police believe someone knows who killed Cassandra; all he has to do is talk. Meanwhile, trans activists and their allies embark on a long fight for inclusion in human rights laws — in Canada and around the world. Note: If you're in crisis or just looking for someone to talk to, try the Trans Lifeline’s Hotline — a peer support phone service run by trans people for trans and questioning folks: CAN (877) 330-6366 or US (877) 565-8860 For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-villiage-season-2-transcripts-listen-1.6076988

Cassandra Do comes to the Village, trying to escape discrimination back home. When Cassandra pursues sex work to finance her transition, she finds herself part of a community targeted by the Toronto police. Note: If you're in crisis or just looking for someone to talk to, try the Trans Lifeline’s Hotline — a peer support phone service run by trans people for trans and questioning folks: CAN (877) 330-6366 or US (877) 565-8860 For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-villiage-season-2-transcripts-listen-1.6076988

When Alloura disappears her friends and family organize to find her, only to be brushed off by police. A stranger reaches out and provides some unsettling answers, but many questions remain. Note: If you're in crisis or just looking for someone to talk to, try the Trans Lifeline’s Hotline — a peer support phone service run by trans people for trans and questioning folks: CAN (877) 330-6366 or US (877) 565-8860 For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-villiage-season-2-transcripts-listen-1.6076988

Alloura Wells finds a vibrant and supportive community, growing up and coming out on the streets of Toronto. But she also finds herself entangled in the criminal justice system. Note: If you're in crisis or just looking for someone to talk to, try the Trans Lifeline’s Hotline — a peer support phone service run by trans people for trans and questioning folks: CAN (877) 330-6366 or US (877) 565-8860 For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-villiage-season-2-transcripts-listen-1.6076988

Season two explores the unexplained deaths of Alloura Wells and Cassandra Do, the communities that loved them, the systems that failed them, and a police investigation gone wrong.

Trans women of colour in Detroit are confronting an epidemic of violence with the support of The Justice Project, a task force that investigates and prosecutes serious crimes against LGBTQ people. After aspiring designer and dancer Kelly Stough is murdered in Detroit, they take on her case. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-3-the-villiage-transcripts-listen-1.5128216

Toronto's queer community comes to grips with the truth about Bruce McArthur's crimes and pushes for changes in how violence against marginalized people is handled by police. The Toronto police cold case team has some answers in the 23 re-opened cases. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-3-the-villiage-transcripts-listen-1.5128216

When close to 300 men are arrested in one night in Operation Soap, Toronto's largest bathhouse raid, the queer community rises up against what they see as decades of police repression. An internal struggle in the force keeps murders unsolved. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-3-the-villiage-transcripts-listen-1.5128216

The American police who investigated Mark's murder open their files to Justin, who learns Mark's and Sandy's deaths were connected, in an unexpected way. A retired beat cop who worked the Village in the 70s shares his suspicion about who murdered Sandy. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-3-the-villiage-transcripts-listen-1.5128216

Justin traces Sandy Leblanc's steps from beloved brother with humble beginnings to well-known discoteque owner in the Village's burgeoning club scene. When he's killed, rumours are rampant about who was responsible. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-3-the-villiage-transcripts-listen-1.5128216

The head of the Toronto Police cold case team insists the historic, unsolved murders were fully investigated at the time. But Justin discovers otherwise, and learns these men lived and died in a time of no rights, and no protection, including from police. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-3-the-villiage-transcripts-listen-1.5128216

A string of unsolved murders in the 1970s share a disturbing pattern. A retired homicide detective has regrets about not solving one case: he had evidence and a sketch. But a victim's sister says police had blind spots when the victims were gay. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-3-the-villiage-transcripts-listen-1.5128216

The community rallies as more men go missing and frustration and anger build. An anonymous source reveals how close police come to catching a serial killer, then let him go. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-3-the-villiage-transcripts-listen-1.5128216

In 2010, men with similar characteristics start mysteriously disappearing from Toronto's gay village. They are all linked to one man. Investigative journalist Justin Ling follows the case as friends search for loved ones and police provide few answers. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-3-the-villiage-transcripts-listen-1.5128216

For years, Toronto’s Gay Village worried a serial killer was in their midst. Men were disappearing from the neighbourhood but police insisted there was no evidence of foul play. Then, in January 2018, police arrested Bruce McArthur for the murders of eight men and police reopened dozens of unsolved murders from the Village, dating back to 1975. Journalist Justin Ling covered this story for over five years and now he’s going back to shed light on these long-forgotten murders.