Canadian True Crime

There's a referendum in Alberta this fall, and independence is on the ballot — sort of.
Who are the separatists? What do they actually want?
And what happens to the rest of Canada if they get it?

Canadian True Crime is proud to support the local independent journalism behind Separation Anxiety, a new five-part investigative podcast series about Alberta’s modern separatist movement in the lead up to the October 19 referendum question.

Join award-winning Alberta journalists Danielle Paradis and Tim Querengesser as they travel around Alberta, following separatist organizers into church boardrooms and hot‑dog picnics to examine the influences, ideas and grievances fuelling Alberta’s modern separatist movement.

From its century-old roots to the anti-lockdown protests, trucker convoy and political upheaval that brought Danielle Smith to power, Separation Anxiety also traces the separatist movement’s evolution — and why it is now tied to accusations of criminal treason and treaty‑rights violations.

Separation Anxiety is a five-part podcast series releasing weekly starting September 2026. Episode 1 available now.

SUBSCRIBE NOW
Find Separation Anxiety: The Alberta Referendum on your favourite podcast player
https://pod.link/6811266682

Follow Separation Anxiety's substack for the latest.

Produced with the support of Canadian True Crime.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One cold March Saturday night in Montreal, 16-year-old Sharron Prior sets off for a five minute walk to the local pizzeria to meet friends. She never arrives.

Three days later, a local beekeeper makes a devastating discovery in an isolated field: Sharron Prior has been brutally murdered. Who was responsible? And could it be the same man who attacked another local woman that same night?

This is the story of a case that haunted Québec for decades, the family who refused to give up, and the breakthrough that finally brought the answers they were looking for.

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The intention of this episode is to take a look back at a high-profile crime sensationalized through headlines, explain how it was solved, and how it impacted the local community. Please respect the privacy of the people involved in this case.

Additional content warning: this crime is murder and sexual assault of a teenage girl. Minimal graphic details will be given. Please take care when listening.

More information:

Resources for victims/survivors: Ending violence Canada
Sharron Prior website - http://sharronprior.com
Watch “Finding Sharron’s Killer", CTV’s W5 series on YouTube:
Part 1: Montreal Teen Murdered in 1975
Part 2: DNA Evidence Unlocks the Mystery

Canadian true crime donates monthly to those facing injustice.
This month we have donated to the Association for Families of Persons Assassinated or Disappeared (AFPAD)

Look for early, ad-free release on CTC premium feeds: available on Amazon Music (included with Prime), Apple Podcasts and Patreon.

Full list of resources, information sources, credits and music credits:
See the page for this episode at www.canadiantruecrime.ca/episodes/221
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[Part 2 of 2] We continue revisiting significant recent developments and updates from some of the biggest stories we’ve covered, with some of Kristi's behind-the-scenes reflections.

Cases covered in this episode with approximate timestamps:
Please give or take a few minutes to allow for ads.

2:00 Hockey Canada Trial - high level recap of the case and our conclusions

20:00 Newly-reported text exchange involving McLeod

24:00 Where the players are now

29:00 Personal update from Kristi (Mental toll of the Hockey Canada trial)

38:00 Murder of Ronald Platt (Albert Johnson Walker update)

45:00 Jacob Hoggard update

47:00 Murders of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French (Paul Bernardo update)

58:00 Murder of Kimberly Proctor (Kruse Wellwood and Cameron Moffatt update)

1:01:00 Murders of Lyle and Marie McCann (Travis Vader update)

1:03:00 Murder of Yvonne Rouleau / Nozzles Gas Bar (Terry Kennedy parole update)

1:06:00 Kevin O’Leary update

Further reading:

Read our Hockey Canada Case Study [PDF download]
Read My Life As a True Crime Spectacle by Heather Jane, Toronto Life

Listen ad-free and early on CTC premium feeds available on Amazon Music (included with Prime), Apple Podcasts, and Patreon.

Full list of resources, information sources, credits and music credits: www.canadiantruecrime.ca/episodes/219
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A two-part series—The verdict is rarely the end of the story. In the two years since our last Major Case Updates episodes, some of the cases we’ve covered have reached a resolution, others have had significant developments or taken unexpected turns... and some are still far from over.

You don't need to remember the original episodes. Each update starts with a quick but immersive recap of the case, then picks up the story from where we left off.

Cases covered in this episode with approximate timestamps:

Please give or take a few minutes to allow for ads.

3:00 Lush and Whiteway Fatal Car Crash (final conviction)

10:00 Harrison Family Murders (final conviction)

25:00 The Murder of Reena Virk (Kelly Ellard update)

39:00 The Rallo Family Murders (Jon Rallo update)

43:00 The Murder of Laura Letts (Peter Beckett update)

48:00 Legacy Christian Academy (new convictions and charges)

1:09:00 The Mushroom Murders (update and feedback)

Part 2 will be available soon.

Listen ad-free and early on CTC premium feeds available on Amazon Music (included with Prime), Apple Podcasts, and Patreon.

Full list of resources, information sources, credits and music credits: www.canadiantruecrime.ca/episodes/219
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special episode, Kristi Lee sits down with survivor and advocate Jessica Baker to chat about their appearance on CTV’s The Social earlier this week.

Jessica was violently sexually assaulted by former Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard in 2016. He was found guilty in relation to her charge in 2022, and not guilty in relation to two other victim-complainants. In June, he was granted day parole after serving less than two years of his five-year prison sentence.

In November 2025, Jessica publicly revealed her identity in the CBC documentary Breaking Idol, but she has has turned down all media appearance invitations since then.
In this special episode, she reflects on why she chose to break that streak on The Social, and how it actually went on the day.

Kristi also explains how The Social’s thoughtful, trauma-informed approach helped both women feel prepared and supported, and reflects on another TV experience that caused her to avoid media appearances for six years.

Thanks to Jessica Baker, Tiffany Hsiung, and everyone at The Social!

More info:

Watch our segment on The Social: Jacob Hoggard’s Accuser and Survivor Speaks Out [YouTube]
Watch Kristi’s segment on The Social from Jan 2026 [YouTube]
Watch Breaking Idol, directed by Tiffany Hsiung [YouTube - only available in Canada)
Listen to our original podcast series The Trial of Hedley’s Jacob Hoggard
Visit Beyond The Verdict advocacy group
Learn more about Kindness Circle
Trauma-informed journalism: Tips for telling important stories, better and The Trauma Beat: A Case for Re-Thinking the Business of Bad News by Tamara Cherry

www.canadiantruecrime.ca
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.