Dark Poutine - True Crime and Dark History

Demon of the Belfry: The Murders of Blanch Lamont and Minnie Williams

Episode 397: In April 1895, two young women, both twenty-one, from San Francisco’s Emmanuel Baptist Church vanished days apart. Blanche Lamont, a dedicated teacher-in-training, and Minnie Williams, a hardworking domestic with dreams of her own classroom, both entered the same church and never left. Their bodies were later discovered inside the building, setting off one of the most sensational murder trials in California history. This episode explores the lives of Blanche and Minnie, the discovery of their deaths, the investigation that followed, and the arrest and trial of Canadian-born medical student William Henry Theodore Durrant, accused of killing them. Sources: Clara at the Door with a Revolver — Carolyn Whitzman (UBC Press, 2023) [https://www.ubcpress.ca/clara-at-the-door-with-a-revolver] Toronto Public Library – Digitized Toronto newspapers [https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/search.jsp?Ntt=newspaper+archives] Newspapers.com [Newspapers.com] – Historical Toronto press coverage City of Toronto Archives [https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/history-art-culture/archives/] Archives of Ontario – Mercer Reformatory & judicial records [https://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/index.aspx] Race on Trial: Black Defendants in Ontario’s Criminal Courts, 1858–1958 — Barrington Walker [https://utorontopress.com/9780802096101/race-on-trial/] Afua Cooper – Black Canadian history resources [https://afuacooper.com/] 1897 film of convicted killer Durrant shapes prison policy - [https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/insidecdcr/2018/07/14/1897-film-of-convicted-killer-durrant-shapes-prison-policy/] Theodore Durrant [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Durrant] Sympathy for the Devil: The Emmanuel Baptist Murders of Old San Francisco By Virginia A. McConnell [https://books.google.ca/books?id=dKra0SYhzc0C&q=%27Sympathy+for+the+devil:+The+Emmanuel+Baptist+murders+in+old+San+Francisco&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=] Theo Durrant — The Origin of Monsters — Crime Library on truTV.com [https://web.archive.org/web/20121210083240/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/history/theo_durrant/index.html] True Detective Mysteries, February 1929: Internet Archive [https://archive.org/details/true-detective-feb-1929/page/60/mode/2up] The tale of the 'Demon of the Belfry,' San Francisco's forgotten Jack the Ripper [https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Theodore-Durrant-Demon-of-the-Belfry-SF-murders-10418597.php] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Road Trip: Deadly Prophecy — The Children of Thunder

Episode 396: In this episode, we learn about an enigmatic narcissistic psychopath who led the Californian cult called The Children of Thunder. Glenn Taylor Helzer, and the other leadership was comprised of his brother Justin Helzer and their follower Dawn Godman. Raised in a strict Mormon home, Taylor’s life spiralled after years of mental health trouble. By 2000, the trio had formed a cult under Taylor’s delusional leadership. That summer, they murdered Ivan and Annette Stineman, Selina Bishop (daughter of guitarist Elvin Bishop), Jennifer Villarin, and James Gamble. The crime spree and investigation shocked authorities and families, exposing how Taylor twisted faith and loyalty into violence. Episode Sources: Shackles, Ski Masks and a Power Saw — Murderous Glenn Helzer and Justin Helzer called their cult The Children of Thunder — Crime Library [https://www.crimelibrary.org/notorious_murders/classics/helzer_brothers/11.html] How Not To Get Away With Murder: Glenn Helzer And The Children Of Thunder [https://www.cracked.com/article_35628_how-not-to-get-away-with-murder-glenn-helzer-and-the-children-of-thunder.html] Glen Helzer | Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Helzer] Body Parts Identified / Disparate Tragedies' Common Ground Is Death, Suspects [https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/body-parts-identified-disparate-tragedies-3303352.php] Grisly clues unfolding in Delta case [https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2000/08/12/grisly-clues-unfolding-in-delta/50800084007/] Blues Guitarist's Daughter Killed [https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=96209&page=1] Murder, Madness and Mayhem by MIke Browne [https://www.harpercollins.ca/9781443461597/murder-madness-and-mayhem/] 20240418175434277_Cert Pet GlenTaylorHelzer [https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-7295/307628/20240418175434277_Cert%20Pet%20GlenTaylorHelzer.pdf] People v. Helzer [https://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/2024/s132256.html] People v. Helzer, 317 Cal. Rptr. 3d 246 | Cal., Judgment, Law, casemine.com [https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/65b092a63c6c896913106c61] Justin Helzer hangs himself in prison [https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/justin-helzer-hangs-himself-in-prison-4436354.php] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Bound by Silence: The Murder of Dr. Edith Wightman

Episode 395: On a cold December day in 1983, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, was shaken by a deeply unsettling crime. Dr. Edith Wightman, a respected scholar, was discovered dead in her office: bound with tape, handcuffed, and suffocated with a cloth. The investigation took an even stranger turn when police arrested Michael Allen Crowley, a chemist from Welland, who had been seen on campus in disguise, dressed in women’s clothing and a wig. With no personal connection to the victim, and the bizarre methods used, the murder left students and faculty reeling, and raised questions still unanswered to this day. Sources: A Brief History Of McMaster University [https://campusguides.ca/2021/09/07/a-brief-history-of-mcmaster-university/] History of McMaster [https://www.mcmaster.ca/ua/alumni/about_history_shields.html] WIGHTMAN, Edith Mary | Rutgers [https://dbcs.rutgers.edu/all-scholars/9232-wightman-edith-mary] Dec 19, 1983, page 1 - The Hamilton Spectator at Newspapers.com [https://www.newspapers.com/image/1010476031/?match=1&terms=edith%20wightman] Dec 24, 1983, page 16 - The Hamilton Spectator at Newspapers.com [https://www.newspapers.com/image/1010487330/?match=1&terms=edith%20wightman] Edith Wightman - Search - Newspapers.com™ [https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?country=ca&date=1983&keyword=Edith+Wightman] Michael Alan Crowley - Search - Newspapers.com™ [https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?country=ca&date=1984&keyword=Michael+Alan+Crowley] "72 Hours: True Crime" Murder on Campus (TV Episode 2005) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1107984/] Canadian News Briefs - UPI Archives [https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/01/12/Canadian-News-Briefs/1455442731600/] Edith Wightman | Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Wightman] 1984_3Winter [https://associationofancienthistorians.org/newsletters/1984_3Winter.pdf] https://www.reddit.com/r/McMaster/comments/jl1ew5/trying_to_find_details_of_on_campus_death/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/McMaster/comments/jl1ew5/trying_to_find_details_of_on_campus_death/] Review: [Untitled] on JSTOR [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1087479] Wightman: Gallia Belgica (Book Review) [https://www.proquest.com/openview/27b145b32aae5918c6c4388175c562f6/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1818741] Detectives say Robert Garrow now 'best suspect' in 1973 Komorowski murder | CBC News [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/detectives-say-robert-garrow-now-best-suspect-in-1973-komorowski-murder-1.1348450] Adele Komorowski Homicide [https://hamiltonpolice.on.ca/adele-komorowski-homicide] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Guardian UFO: The Carp, Ontario Mystery

Episode 394: On an August night in 1991, the quiet fields near Carp, Ontario, were interrupted by strange lights arcing across the sky—a sight so odd it left locals searching for answers. Soon, anonymous packages began to arrive, sent to UFO researchers all over Canada and the United States, packed with photos, documents, and a tape showing what appeared to be a UFO blazing above the marsh. The sender called himself “Guardian” and claimed this was not the first time such events occurred near Carp. Suddenly, what started as small-town talk exploded into one of Canada’s most perplexing UFO stories, a bizarre mystery that remains debated to this day. Sources: The Carp-Guardian Case - The Most Controversial UFO Case in Canadian History [https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/ciencia_flyingobjects34.htm] Guardian UFO Tape [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFvZ22Ley8I] Guardian UFO | Unsolved Mysteries Wiki - Fandom [https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Guardian_UFO] The Mysterious Canadian UFO Sighting - Unsolved Mysteries [https://unsolved.com/gallery/canadian-ufo/] “Guardian”: The 30th Anniversary Of A Bizarre UFO Incident near Carp, Ontario [https://ottawarewind.com/2019/11/04/guardian-the-30th-anniversary-of-a-bizarre-ufo-incident-near-carp-ontario/] A mysterious VHS tape, a military bunker, and UFO sightings near Ottawa | UFO Town [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCqEYOP_UgI] We investigated an alleged UFO sighting near Ottawa | CBC Documentaries [https://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/cbc-docs-pov/we-investigated-an-alleged-ufo-sighting-near-ottawa-1.5954765] Searching for Guardian: Filmmaker re-examines mystery of Carp UFO sighting [https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/searching-for-guardian-filmmaker-re-examines-mystery-of-carp-ufo-sighting] Living in Carp Ottawa Canada [https://living-inottawa.ca/living-in-carp-ottawa-canada/] Village of Carp [https://www.villageofcarp.ca/] I was a teenage UFO investigator who explored an infamous alien sighting near Ottawa | CBC Documentaries [https://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/cbc-docs-pov/i-was-a-teenage-ufo-investigator-who-explored-an-infamous-alien-sighting-near-ottawa-1.5954801] abduction – lindaseccaspina [https://lindaseccaspina.wordpress.com/tag/abduction/] U.S. Lawmaker: Underwater UFO Bases Hide Aliens [https://www.chosun.com/english/world-en/2025/09/30/SXX7QGFR2VBG5MRM3GLOPGY45U/] Aliens may have underwater bases on Earth: Burchett | NewsNation Prime [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCEbJwRgBPQ] House committee holds UFO hearing | full video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wBNL2ob2JE] Why Do UFO Sightings Keep Happening Near Nuclear Sites? [https://www.vice.com/en/article/why-do-ufo-sightings-keep-happening-near-nuclear-sites/] The Diefenbunker and the Legends of Carp [https://vacay.ca/2021/02/the-diefenbunker-and-the-legends-of-carp/] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Really, I Did It: The Murders of Julia Howe & David Creamer

Episode 393: On a cold February day in 2022, tragedy struck the small communities of Creston and Kimberley, British Columbia. Julia Howe, a familiar face to her neighbours, was found lifeless in the bathroom of her partner's home. Just hours later and nearly a hundred kilometres away, David Creamer, a father and trusted friend, was discovered dead in his own house. Both initially believed accidental or natural, no one suspected that these two deaths would soon be linked. The true story was finally revealed, albeit in a peculiar manner. The connection between the deaths was finally revealed when Mitchell Earl McIntyre, a man known to both victims, confessed to hospital staff that he was responsible for both deaths. The problem was that, at first, no one believed him. It was the killer’s insistence and admissions of guilt that finally cracked the case. Sources: 2024 BCSC 774 (CanLII) | R. v McIntyre | CanLII [https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2024/2024bcsc774/2024bcsc774.html] 2024 BCSC 2026 (CanLII) | R. v McIntyre | CanLII [https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2024/2024bcsc2026/2024bcsc2026.html] Obituary information for Julia Ann Howe [https://www.crestonvalleyfuneralservices.ca/obituaries/Julia-Ann-Howe?obId=28590181] Online Tribute for David Creamer [https://www.markmemorial.com/obituary/david-creamer/] 'You need to detain me' | Kamloops News [https://www.castanetkamloops.net/news/Kamloops/516289/-You-need-to-detain-me-B-C-man-claimed-responsibility-for-suspicious-deaths-initially-deemed-accidental] B.C. man who confessed to 2 killings not arrested until a month later [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mitchell-mcintyre-kimberley-creston-1.7380796] McInytre murder trial underway | My East Kootenay Now [https://www.myeastkootenaynow.com/36665/featured/mcinytre-murder-trial-underway/] BC man allegedly confessed to two killings originally ruled as accidents [https://infotel.ca/newsitem/bc-man-allegedly-confesses-to-two-killings-coroners-ruled-them-accidents/it107199] B.C. man charged with woman’s death reportedly also admitted killing someone else [https://globalnews.ca/news/10871966/bc-man-charged-womans-death-reportedly-admitted-killing-someone-else/] BC homicide suspect confessed to 2 killings weeks before arrest, court documents show [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK5__Ab39dc] Second-degree murder trial moved | Kamloops News [https://www.castanet.net/news/Kamloops/486814/Second-degree-murder-trial-moved-from-Cranbrook-to-Kamloops-due-to-courthouse-suitability-concerns] Accidental Deaths That Were Really Homicides | Tyee [https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2024/12/11/Accidental-Deaths-Really-Homicides/] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]