Dark Poutine - True Crime and Dark History Curiouscast

Episode 269: On April 12, 1991, a group of teens attended a woodland party near Oromocto, New Brunswick, involving alcohol and drugs, including LSD. Pamela Gail Bischoff, 14, and William Wayne Dale (Billy) Stillman, 17, left the gathering together, marking the last sighting of Pamela Bischoff alive. Stillman returned home later, wet from the thighs down, cold, shaking, and sporting a cut above his eye with mud and grass on his pants.
Six days later, Pamela’s body was discovered in the Oromocto River, a short distance from the party site. The time of death correlated to the evening she had left with Billy Stillman. Eyewitnesses confirmed seeing a male accompanying Pamela near the discovery site, and Stillman was seen departing the area, his pants muddied. An autopsy showed that Pamela’s death resulted from head wounds, and there was evidence of sexual assault, which included semen inside her body.
Billy Stillman was arrested, released, arrested again and eventually charged and convicted in Pamela’s murder. Stillman’s appeals were based on alleged inappropriate conduct by the RCMP officers collecting important DNA evidence. This resulted in the case being heard and decided in Canada’s highest court in 1997, and a new trial was ordered.
Sources:
1995 CanLII 5579 (NB CA) | R. v. Stillman | CanLII
R. v. Stillman (W.W.D.) (1997), 192 N.B.R.(2d) 298 (TD | vLex Justis
1997 CanLII 384 (SCC) | R. v. Stillman | CanLII
Pamela Gail Bischoff – Life Through My Eyes
Pamela Gail Bischoff 1976-1991 - Ancestry®
The Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11 | Federal Statutes
Oromocto — Deer Park
The Vancouver Sun 21 Mar 1997, page 7 - Newspapers.com
The New Brunswick Telegraph Journal 22 Sep 1992, page 3 - Newspapers.com
YouTube — What Happened To 14-Year-Old Pamela Bischoff? | Dark Waters Of Crime | Real Crime
ARCHIVED - Kingsclear Investigation Report | Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP
ROBERT FREDERICK BISCHOFF: obituary and death notice on InMemoriam
Criminal AND Civil LAW Assignment - Regina vs. Stillman Criminal and Civil Law - Case Law Assignment - StuDocu
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 268: On November 18, 1987, Jay Cook, 20, and Tanya Van Cuylenborg, 18, a young couple from Vancouver Island, went on a road trip to Seattle, Washington. Unfortunately, they were never seen alive again.
Their bodies were discovered weeks later in separate locations. Tanya had been raped, shot, and left in a ditch in Skagit County. Jay was found strangled in the woods near Monroe, about 60 miles away.
The case went unsolved for over three decades until 2018, when authorities were able to use genetic genealogy to identify a suspect. He was arrested and charged with the murders. The man pleaded not guilty. In 2021, after his trial, the man was the first to be convicted using genetic genealogy. The couple’s killer was subsequently sentenced to life behind bars.
Sources:
The Murder of Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg - Unsolved Mysteries
The disappearance of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and Jay Cook: Following a decades-old cold case - CBS News
Sheriff’s Office Seeks Information for Unsolved 1987 Murders | Snohomish County, WA
Sheriff’s Office Detectives Seek the Public’s Help to Identify Suspect in 1987 Double Homicide Cold Case | Snohomish County, WA
Arrest Made in 1987 Double Homicide Cold Case | Snohomish County, WA
2018 Annual Report | Skagit County Sheriff’s Office
Suspect arrested in 1987 deaths of a young couple from BC | HeraldNet.com
My cousin, the killer: Her DNA cracked a 1987 double murder - Victoria News
Parabon NanoLabs: Engineering DNA for Next-Generation Nanotech, Analytics, and Forensics
GENSCO | Home
Chelsea Rustad | AMA : IAmA
How DNA Expert CeCe Moore Solved 109 Cold Cases
Is murder in your DNA? - The Fifth Estate season premiere - YouTube
Killer of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and Jay Cook Sentenced | CBC News
Life in prison for 1987 killer of young Canadian couple | Seattle Weekly
Man convicted in the murder of Saanich couple left DNA on zip tie in 1987 – Victoria News
Man appealing genetic genealogy murder conviction was a violent child, his family told police | CBC News
State Of Washington, Respondent V. William Earl Talbott II
Conviction for 1987 murders of Tanya van Cuylenborg and Jay Cook overturned | CBC News)
Guilty verdict in 1987 killings of Saanich couple restored | CTV News
The Forever Witness by Edward Humes
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 267: On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants attacked the US embassy in Tehran, Iran, taking 66 diplomats and staff members hostage. Remarkably, six diplomats managed to slip away unnoticed. These individuals were Robert Anders, Cora Lijek, Mark Lijek, Joseph Stafford, Kathleen Stafford, and Lee Schatz. Schatz sought refuge at the Swedish embassy, while the others went to the British embassy. However, upon nearing the embassy, they encountered a large crowd of protestors obstructing their path. Consequently, they decided to take shelter at Anders’ residence and devise their next steps. After six harrowing days, the six American diplomats sought refuge at the Canadian embassy. 
The Canadian Ambassador to Iran, Ken Taylor, and his team provided shelter to the American diplomats and false Canadian passports. The Canadian government played a critical role in the mission to rescue them. The then-Canadian Prime Minister, Joe Clark, approved the operation and fully supported Ambassador Taylor and his team. 
The rescue mission, known as the “Canadian Caper,” involved the creation of a fake movie production company called “Studio Six” and the production of a fake science fiction film called “Argo.” The Canadian embassy staff, along with the American diplomats, managed to escape from Iran using a combination of air travel and ground transportation. They were safely evacuated from Iran on January 28, 1980. The role played by Canada in the hostage crisis was highly appreciated by the US government and earned Canada international recognition for helping resolve the crisis.
Sources:
How the Shah’s Cancer May Have Changed History
The Iranian Revolution — A timeline of events
Ken Taylor and the Canadian Caper
Our Man In Tehran by Robert Wright — Ebook | Scribd
The Canadian Caper — Pelletier, Jean | Internet Archive
Ken Taylor and the “Canadian Caper” | The Canadian Encyclopedia
Canada history: Jan 27, 1980 — The famous “Canadian Caper” rescue – RCI | English
What you won’t see in Argo — Macleans.ca
Argo, F**k Yourself: Iran and the Oscars – The Diplomat
‘We lost a true hero’: Ken Taylor, 1934-2015 - Macleans.ca
Tony Mendez, former CIA officer and inspiration for ‘Argo,’ dies at 78 - National | Globalnews.ca
Ken Taylor satisfied with Affleck’s shoutout to Canada during Oscar speech | Globalnews.ca
Canada and Iran
U.S. Relations With Iran - United States Department of State
Iran - The CIA World Factbook
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In October 2008, the friends and family of 38-year-old Johnny Altinger were worried. Although emails and social media messages had indicated Johnny had run away on the spur of the moment with an unknown woman he’d just met, things didn’t add up. The messages did not have the same feel as Johnny’s typical fare, and he wasn’t known for his spontaneity. Police had already spoken with the tenant at the Edmonton garage that Johnny was directed to on the night he disappeared. They’d seen some things that concerned them, but there was no sign of Johnny. Something seemed off with the 29-year-old filmmaker Mark Andrew Twitchell, the man they’d spoken to. Little did the police know that only a week before Johnny vanished, another man, Gilles Tetreault, had suffered a bizarre attack at Twitchell’s hands after being lured to the same garage.
NOTE: This is part two of an updated, two-part expanded REDO of an earlier episode with which we thought we could have done better. We plan to update several more historical episodes to provide a better listener experience, more in line with the tone of our show.
Sources:
2010 ABQB 693 (CanLII) | R. v. Twitchell | CanLII
Edmonton Journal | Mark Twitchell’s First Statement To Police | Scribd
Edmonton Sun | Twitchell Agreed Statement 1 | Scribd
Edmonton Sun | Second Agreed Statement of Facts in Twitchell Case | Scribd
Edmonton Sun | Garage and Evidence Photos
Edmonton Sun | Video Evidence of Garage | YouTube
A Transcript of Police Interview with Mark Twitchell From Oct. 20, 2008 | Scribd
Alleged Diary from Mark Twitchell’s Computer | Scribd
Twitchell DNA Report | Scribd
Live Blog of Twitchell Trial | Scribd 
Edmonton Journal | E-Mail Exchange Between Mark Twitchell & a Facebook Friend | Scribd
Edmonton Journal | Mark Twitchell’s Notice of Appeal | Scribd
Mark Twitchell case: Inside the mind of “The Dexter Killer” - CBS News
Gilles Tetreault | Author | The One Who Got Away
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 265: In October 2008, 38-year-old Johnny Altinger was looking for love online and, thinking he’d found it, was lured to his death in a dingy south Edmonton, Alberta garage. Johnny believed he would meet the girl of his dreams, but a Star Wars and Dexter-Morgan-obsessed serial killer wannabe and 29-year-old amateur filmmaker named Mark Andrew Twitchell awaited him in the garage’s darkness.
NOTE: This is part one of an updated, two-part expanded REDO of an earlier episode with which we thought we could have done better. We plan to update several more historical episodes to provide a better listener experience, more in line with the tone of our show.
Sources:
2010 ABQB 693 (CanLII) | R. v. Twitchell | CanLII
Edmonton Journal | Mark Twitchell’s First Statement To Police | Scribd
Edmonton Sun | Twitchell Agreed Statement 1 | Scribd
Edmonton Sun | Second Agreed Statement of Facts in Twitchell Case | Scribd
Edmonton Sun | Garage and Evidence Photos
Edmonton Sun | Video Evidence of Garage | YouTube
A Transcript of Police Interview with Mark Twitchell From Oct. 20, 2008 | Scribd
Alleged Diary from Mark Twitchell’s Computer | Scribd
Twitchell DNA Report | Scribd
Live Blog of Twitchell Trial | Scribd 
Edmonton Journal | E-Mail Exchange Between Mark Twitchell & a Facebook Friend | Scribd
Edmonton Journal | Mark Twitchell’s Notice of Appeal | Scribd
Mark Twitchell case: Inside the mind of “The Dexter Killer” - CBS News
Gilles Tetreault | Author | The One Who Got Away
That Taxi Podcast | a podcast by Thomas & Taxi David
Edmonton Journal | Johnny Altinger BIO
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 264: In Montreal, Quebec on the evening of April 10, 1734, a fire broke out in the home of Madame de Francheville on Rue Saint-Paul and quickly spread throughout the city. Raging for hours, it destroyed over 46 buildings, primarily residential homes, and the Hôtel-Dieu, a hospital that provided medical care to soldiers and people who were too poor to care for at home. There were rumours that Madame de Francheville’s Portuguese-born black enslaved woman, Marie-Josèphe dite Angélique, started the fire as an act of rebellion on learning she was to be sold and sent away from her lover, a white man and salt trafficker named Claude Thibault. Angélique was arrested and subsequently tortured until she confessed to setting the fire. She was then convicted of arson and hanged on June 21, 1734. The fire significantly impacted Montreal’s development and created new building codes and fire prevention measures. The event remains integral to Montreal’s cultural and historical heritage and yet another dark spot in Canada’s history. Some have called Angélique a heroine, others a scapegoat. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is lost to time.
Sources:
Torture and Truth: Angélique and the Burning of Montreal
The Hanging Of Angelique by Afua Cooper - Ebook | Scribd
Marie-Josèphe-Angélique | Mémoires des Montréalais
Le procès de Marie-Josèphe-Angélique | Mémoires des Montréalais
A Canadian Slavery Story — CANADIANA web series
Biography – MARIE-JOSEPH-ANGÉLIQUE — Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Biography – POULIN DE FRANCHEVILLE, FRANÇOIS — Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Marie-Joseph Angélique | The Canadian Encyclopedia
The role of seigneur in New France — The French-Canadian Genealogist
Old Montreal fire: Questions raised about safety of building | CP24.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices