Episode 21 - The Girl Who Never Made it to the Dance

Episode 21 - The Girl Who Never Made it to the Dance

Welcome back, Caffeine Casefilers. I’m your host, Cait. You pour the coffee. I pour the truth. She was sixteen years old. A high school baseball player. A peer counsellor. She had just landed her first job at a restaurant. On June 11, 1994, Ramona Wilson kissed her mother goodbye, walked out the door to go to a dance a few towns over — and vanished. Ten months later, her body melted out of the spring snows near the Smithers Airport. She had been murdered. Her killer has never been found. Ramona Wilson is not an anomaly. She is one of at least 18 women and girls — mostly Indigenous — officially linked to British Columbia’s Highway of Tears, a 720‑kilometer stretch of asphalt where young women have been going missing or turning up dead since 1969. The real number is likely 40 or 50. And almost none of the cases have been solved. This is the story of a road that eats young women and never gives them back. This is the story of a police force that told Ramona’s mother, “She probably just ran away.” This is the story of a country that looked away for decades — and still hasn’t fully turned its head. In this episode, we cover: * Ramona Wilson’s last known hours — and the 303 days her family waited for answers * The Highway of Tears: how poverty, colonialism, and no public transit forced Indigenous women to hitchhike into danger * The official E-PANA task force victims list — from 14‑year‑old Aielah Saric Auger to 16‑year‑old Colleen MacMillen * Why the RCMP dismissed Indigenous disappearances as “runaways” for decades * The MMIWG National Inquiry’s genocide finding — and why 231 Calls for Justice have barely been acted on * Brenda Wilson’s 30‑year fight to keep her sister’s memory alive ⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of violence against Indigenous women and girls, sexual assault, homicide, and systemic racism. Listener discretion is strongly advised. If you have information about Ramona Wilson’s murder or any Highway of Tears case:📞 E-PANA Tip Line (RCMP): 1-877-543-4822 (anonymous) Resources & Support: * Hope for Wellness Helpline (24/7 for Indigenous peoples): 1-855-242-3310 * Native Women’s Association of Canada: nwac.ca [https://nwac.ca/] * MMIWG National Inquiry Final Report: mmiwg-ffada.ca [https://mmiwg-ffada.ca/] * Documentary: Highway of Tears (2014), narrated by Nathan Fillion. Pour one out for Ramona. Walk the highway with her family. And never stop demanding answers ☕ Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodesGet your true crime and caffeine fix every week. 📱 Find us everywhere: * TikTok: @DarkRoastCaffeineCasefiles * Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles * Substack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles * Facebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Podcast * Spotify: Dark Roast Caffeine Casefiles * YouTube: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles * Email: substack@caffeinecasefiles.com * Web: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case Files by Caitlin Francois on Substack ⭐ Rate & ReviewIf 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. ☕ Help fill the coffee potLove the show? Support us at buymeacoffee.com/darkroasttruecrime [https://buymeacoffee.com/darkroasttruecrime] – every cup keeps the cases brewing. Stay caffeinated, stay curious. ☕🔎 Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe [https://darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 20 - The Death of Rosalie New Grass

Welcome back, Caffeine Casefilers. As Canadians Know - June is Indigenous History Month. A time to honor the original stewards of this land and their rich heritage. But as true crime storytellers, we have a responsibility to acknowledge that this history includes a painful legacy of systemic failure. So this June, we’re dedicating our episodes to the truth: that every Indigenous life is a story worth fighting for. ⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains detailed descriptions of extreme violence, sexual exploitation, and historical racism. Listener discretion is strongly advised. You pour the coffee. I pour the truth. In 1889, a Cree teenager named Rosalie New Grass walked into a Calgary saloon and never walked out. She was beaten. She was mutilated. And her killer — a blacksmith named William “Jumbo” Fisk — walked straight to the Mounted Police and confessed. Open and shut, right? Not when the victim is “only a squaw.” The first all-white, all-male jury said not guilty. A second trial finally convicted him, but the damage was done. The message had been sent: some lives are cheap. Some deaths don’t matter. That message echoed down the Highway of Tears, into the Winnipeg landfills where serial killer Jeremy Skibicki dumped four Indigenous women, and into every courtroom where a white man walked free for killing an Indigenous person. This is the murder that started it all. And you have never heard it like this before. In this episode, we cover: * The brutal murder of Rosalie New Grass inside Calgary’s Turf Club saloon * How the 1876 Indian Act erased Indigenous women’s legal personhood * The shocking first trial verdict — and the judge who declared a mistrial * Why this 1889 case is the origin story of Canada’s MMIWG genocide crisis * What the National Inquiry got right — and what they missed Resources & Support: * Hope for Wellness Helpline (24/7 for Indigenous peoples): 1-855-242-3310 * Native Women’s Association of Canada: nwac.ca [https://nwac.ca/] * MMIWG National Inquiry Final Report: mmiwg-ffada.ca [https://mmiwg-ffada.ca/] Follow & Support: Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles Substack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles Facebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Podcast Spotify: Dark Roast Caffeine Casefiles Youtube: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Email: substack@caffeinecasefiles.com Web: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | Substack [https://darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/] Rate 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 [https://darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 19 - The Sweetest Little Girl Part 2

Welcome Back Caffeine Casefilers! This is Part 2 of this series takes a deeper look into the tragic death of two-year-old Vienna Rose Irwin. In this episode, we cover the findings from the coroner’s report, and the details from the civil lawsuit filed by her family. If you missed the previous Episode, go back and listen Episode 6: The Sweetest Little Girl Key Details: * A two-year-old girl who was found dead in a septic tank on the property of her daycare. * The coroner’s inquest into the circumstances surrounding her death. * The family’s civil lawsuit seeking justice for their daughter. Content:On May 25, 2023, the life of two-year-old Vienna Rose Irwin was tragically cut short when she was found dead in a septic tank on the property of her daycare, Watch Me Grow Day Care, near Cobourg, Ontario. The circumstances surrounding her death have left the community searching for answers. In this episode, we examine the official coroner’s report and the findings from the investigation. We also detail the civil lawsuit filed by the Irwin family against the daycare, as they continue to fight for accountability and justice for their daughter. Tune in to hear the full story and learn about the ongoing legal battle. Listen now and subscribe for more updates Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodes Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles Substack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles Facebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Podcast Spotify: Dark Roast Caffeine Casefiles Youtube: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Email: substack@caffeinecasefiles.com Web: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | Substack [https://darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/] Rate 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 [https://darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 18 - The Fall of Murdaugh Country

Welcome Back Caffeine Casefilers! Grab your favourite choice of Caffeine, and buckle in… This week I’m talking about a family Dynasty that was the law in their county for 87 years - Until a murder investigation reveals the cracks and the truth crumbles the whole empire. The Rise and Fall of Murdaugh Country. June 7, 2021. A dirt road in rural South Carolina. A father calls 911 with a frantic, sobbing voice: “My wife and son… they’ve been shot.” For generations, the Murdaugh name was untouchable—a dynasty of power, legal supremacy, and Southern gothic secrets. But on that humid summer night, the illusion shattered. Pull up a chair. This isn’t just a true crime story. It’s a slow-burn tragedy of privilege, addiction, and the lies that built a empire of dirt. From the mysterious boat crash that claimed a young woman’s life, to the roadside assassination attempt that seemed too bizarre to believe, follow the twisted timeline that forced a grieving father to take the stand… and confess. How did the man who held all the power lose everything? And what was really hidden behind those iron gates? Listen to the unraveling. The boat. The guns. The billions missing. The verdict that stunned the world Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodes Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles Substack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles Facebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Podcast Spotify: Dark Roast Caffeine Casefiles Youtube: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Email: substack@caffeinecasefiles.com Web: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | Substack [https://darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/] Rate 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 [https://darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 17 - The Longest July

Welcome Back Caffeine Casefilers! In this weeks episode, I’m talking about the Unsolved Murder of Karen Woodcock - A Mother of 7 - who went missing, found dead by the roadside only 2 kilometers away from her home, whose murder is still unsolved to this day. It was Canada Day, 1973. Families across Peterborough, Ontario, were lighting barbecues and watching fireworks. But somewhere out on the quiet gravel of Villiers Line, the holiday ended in silence. Karen Woodcock—a 33-year-old mother of seven—never made it home. The next morning, her body was discovered along a rural stretch of Otonabee Township. No witness. No confession. No arrest. Just a family left with a void that five decades of searching hasn’t filled. This episode walks the dark shoulder of that lonely road. We’ll sift through the fragments of a cold case that still haunts the OPP—a $50,000 reward still on the table, a killer still unnamed, and seven children who grew up asking one question: Who took our mother? If you know the answer, police are waiting. But for everyone else… listen closely. Someone out there still remembers that night If you have any information about the murder of Karen Anne Woodcock, please contact the Peterborough County OPP at 705-742-0401, the Provincial Communication Centre at 1-888-310-1122, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodes Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles Substack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles Facebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Podcast Spotify: Dark Roast Caffeine Casefiles Youtube: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Email: substack@caffeinecasefiles.com Web: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | Substack [https://darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/] Rate 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 [https://darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]