Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Podcast

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]

Episode 16 - Pura Vida

Episode 16 Welcome Back Caffeine Casefilers! In this weeks episode I talk about the mysterious disappearance of Jaclyn “ Jackie” Ferland Smith - Who walked out of her house in August 2021, never to return and yet to be found. Grab your favourite choice of Caffeine and sip slowly Pura Vida. It’s a phrase that promises a pure life, a slower pace, and a slice of paradise. For Canadian expats Jaclyn “Jackie” Ferland-Smith and her husband Sebastien, the sweeping Pacific coast of Playa del Coco, Costa Rica, was supposed to be that dream . But in 2021, the dream turned into a nightmare. Jackie vanished without a trace . In Season 10 of Someone Knows Something, award-winning documentarian David Ridgen travels to a paradise veiled in rumour and fear to investigate a case that has more questions than answers . What happened to Jackie? In this premiere episode, “Jackie,” David introduces us to the woman at the center of the mystery. We learn about her hopes for a fresh start and the family she left behind in Canada. But as David begins to dig beneath the surface of the idyllic beach town, the first cracks in the story begin to show. Why does Jackie’s family believe someone knows more than they are letting on? And how does a person simply disappear from a “perfect life”? This is a story about paradise lost, hidden secrets, and a family’s desperate fight for the truth. Listen to the trailer and subscribe now to follow the investigation. #TrueCrime #SomeoneKnowsSomething #CBCPodcasts #JaclynFerlandSmith #Disappearance #CostaRica 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 15 - The Beast of British Columbia

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 episodes Instagram: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles Substack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles Facebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Podcast Email: darkroast@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 - 14 - The Piggy Palace

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: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles Substack: @darkroastcaffeinecasefiles Facebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Podcast Email: darkroast@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]