Dark Poutine - True Crime and Dark History

Curiouscast

True crime, legends, folklore, dark history and other creepy topics from the perspective of real Canadians. Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/darkpoutine

  1. 6D AGO

    Murder Behind Vinyl: The Tragic Death of Lukas Strasser-Hird

    Episode 417: In the early hours of November 23, 2013, 18-year-old Lukas Strasser-Hird was violently beaten behind the Vinyl nightclub in Calgary, in an alley off 10th Avenue Southwest. He was rushed to the hospital, but the injuries were too severe, and he died later that morning from multiple stab wounds and massive blood loss. Walk with us through the events that led from a night out at the club to one of Calgary’s most closely watched murder cases, and examine how the chaos in that alley would ripple through the city, the courtroom, and the lives left behind. Sources: Lukas Strasser-Hird | Global News, Videos & ArticlesR.I.P Austin Lukas Strasser-Hird | FacebookR v Cabrera, 2019 ABCA 184 (CanLII)R v Cabrera, 2021 ABCA 291 (CanLII)R v Gervais, 2019 ABQB 344 (CanLII)R. v. Shlah, 2019 SCC 56 (CanLII), [2019] 4 SCR 136FM010_Appellant_Franz-Emir-Cabrera SCC File No.: 38677Lukas Strasser-Hird - Obituary | Calgary HeraldThe final homecoming of Lukas Strasser-Hird - National | Global News1st-degree murder conviction upheld for Calgary man in swarming death - CalgaryNathan Gervais sentenced to life with no parole for 25 years in Lukas Strasser-Hird swarming death - Calgary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    53 min

  2. APR 27

    Matthew Baillie Begbie — The Hanging Judge

    Episode 416: Matthew Baillie Begbie (1819–1894) served as the first judge of mainland British Columbia during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, arriving in 1858 as the colony struggled to impose order across a fast-growing and often violent region. Known to many as the “Hanging Judge,” Begbie presided over cases from Yale to Barkerville, travelling long distances to hold court in mining towns and settlements. His legacy remains contested: some describe him as a firm and capable judge working within the limits of colonial law, while others point to cases like the 1864 trials and executions of six Tsilhqot’in men following the Chilcotin War as evidence of a system that failed Indigenous people. Here, we examine Begbie’s life, his rulings, and the lasting impact of his role in shaping justice in British Columbia. Sources: Heritage - Tŝilhqot’in National GovernmentPrime Minister delivers a statement of exoneration for six Tsilhqot’in ChiefsChilcotin Hangings of 1864: Canada’s Colonial InjusticeB.C. redresses wrongful hangings of Tsilhqot'in war chiefsEssays in the History of Canadian Law, Volume VI: British Columbia and the Yukon - Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal HistoryBEGBIE, Sir MATTHEW BAILLIE – Dictionary of Canadian BiographyParks Canada - Begbie, Sir Matthew Baillie National Historic PersonJudge Begbie Hangs Chiefs - British Columbia - An Untold HistorySir Matthew Baillie Begbie | GraveMemoirs and Documents Relating to Judge Begbiehttps://www.lillooet.ca/sir-matthew-baillie-begbieJustin Trudeau exonerates Tsilhqot’in chiefs hanged in 1864 ‘Chilcotin War’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 8m

  3. APR 20

    The Legend of the Thunderbird

    Episode 415: For generations, people across North America have reported seeing enormous birds, describing wingspans that seem impossible and encounters they struggle to explain. Long before those reports were written, the Thunderbird was already known in many Indigenous cultures, where it is understood as a powerful and sacred being associated with thunder, lightning, and the forces that shape the natural world. For some, it is symbolic. For others, it is real. These are living traditions that deserve care and respect. Sources: The Thunderbird Indigenous SymbolThunderbird (mythology) | WikipediaJun 13, 1927, page 24 - The Boston Globe at Newspapers.com™Aug 06, 1933, page 45 - The Sunday Oregonian at Newspapers.com™Aug 20, 1933, page 3 - The Ogden Standard-Examiner at Newspapers.com™Tombstone epitaph (Tombstone, Ariz.), April 26, 1890 | Library of CongressLegend or Lie? The Tombstone Thunderbird | kgun9.comr/Cryptozoology | What about Thunderbird?r/Cryptozoology | Thunderbird sighting?Thunderbird — A Canadian Legend | Mysteries of CanadaThunderbird Stories from the Canadian Shield | Mysteries of CanadaLarge-bodied birds are over-represented in unstructured citizen science data - Scientific ReportsThunderbird | CryptidWikiWhy Giant Bird Sightings Still Appear TodayPROOF of the Tombstone Thunderbird - Forgotten History Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1 hr

  4. APR 13

    Redo and Update: The Monster of Miramichi

    Episode 414: In the fall of 1989, the Miramichi region of New Brunswick became a place of unimaginable terror as escaped killer Allan Legere, the Monster of the Miramichi, unleashed a seven-month rampage of sexual assault, arson, and murder. He beat to death beloved store owner Annie Flam, strangled and burned sisters Donna and Linda Daughney in their home, and tortured and killed Father James Smith in his rectory, crimes on top of his earlier conviction for murdering shopkeeper John Glendenning during a savage home invasion. We covered Legere in episodes 18 and 19 in the pre-Mathew days. But now, with his death in a maximum-security prison at age 78 on March 9, 2026, it’s time to remember the horrific crimes, the victims and the community that endured him. Sources: Serial Killer, Allan Joseph LEGERE - AKA The Monster of the MiramichiLaw Library | Our Unique Digital Collections | Allan Legere | UNBDeath of an inmate from Edmonton Institution | Corrections CanadaLEGERE, Allan Joseph | Serial Dispatches18: Allan Legere – Monster of Miramichi – Part 1 (NB) – Dark Poutine19: Allan Legere – Monster of Miramichi – Part 2 (NB) – Dark PoutineAllan Legere Voir Dire July 1991R. v. Legere (A.J.) (1994), 156 N.B.R.(2d) 321 (CA);Rick MacLean & André Veniot — Terror: Murder and Panic in New Brunswick (McClelland & Stewart, 1990) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 1m

  5. APR 6

    Indefensible: The Murder of Dr. Mohd Abdullah

    Episode 413: On the afternoon of March 11, 2022, Dr. Mohd Abdullah left work at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, that afternoon for a meeting with his lawyer. It was supposed to be a discussion about money, hundreds of thousands of dollars that Abdullah believed his lawyer had mishandled... He never returned. Sources: R. v Bagabuyo, 2026 BCSC 327 (CanLII)Mohd Abdullah Obituary - Kamloops, BCMohd Abdullah | News, Videos & ArticlesMohd Abdullah at Thompson Rivers UniversityNearly 60 pieces of evidence entered at trial of B.C. lawyer accused of murdering his client | RCIKamloops lawyer accused of murder granted bailMurdered TRU faculty member remembered as quiet, kind manMeticulous timeline built from receipts, GPS data and security footage sealed fate of killer Kamloops lawyerVideo surveillance clips show Kamloops lawyer's movements before, after alleged murderFormer B.C. lawyer found guilty of 1st-degree murder after killing his client in 2022 | CBC News Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    56 min

  6. MAR 30

    Road Trip: Los Satanicos — The Murder of Mark Kilroy

    Episode 412: In March 1989, 21-year-old University of Texas pre-med student Mark Kilroy travelled to South Padre Island with friends for spring break. One night, they crossed the international bridge from Brownsville, Texas, into Matamoros, Mexico, for drinks and a night out. In the early hours of March 13, as the group headed back toward the United States, Mark was briefly left standing alone near the roadside. When his friends turned back moments later, he had vanished. At first, they assumed they had simply become separated in the crowds, but Mark never returned. His disappearance triggered an urgent search on both sides of the border that would soon uncover something far more disturbing than anyone imagined, a discovery that exposed a hidden world of violence and horror behind one young man’s spring break trip. The Work of the Devil | Texas MonthlyCult commits murder at Rancho Santa Elena | March 14, 1989 | HISTORY"Spring Break Murders" Mark Kilroy (TV Episode 2025) | IMDbMark Kilroy Murder - Arrests (1989) - KPRC-TV CollectionThe Believers: Cult Murders in MexicoMurder, Madness & Mayhem by Mike BrowneKidnap, murder, ritual sacrifice | University PressMurder of Mark Kilroy | WikipediaMark Kilroy Foundation, Santa Fe, TexasMark James Kilroy (1968 - 1989) - Find A Grave MemorialMemory Mark Kilroy | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    58 min

  7. MAR 23

    The Niagara Murder: The Tragic Death of Frederick C. Benwell

    Episode 411: In February 1890, the body of 24-year-old Englishman Frederick Cornwallis Benwell was found in a shallow grave near Lundy’s Lane, just outside Niagara Falls, Ontario. Benwell had travelled to Canada after corresponding with John Reginald Birchall, aka Lord Frederick A. Somerset, a fellow Englishman who advertised opportunities for young men seeking work and advancement overseas. Within days of Benwell’s disappearance, suspicion fell on Birchall, who was arrested in Buffalo, New York, and returned to Canada to stand trial. What followed was one of the most closely watched murder cases in late 19th-century Ontario. Sources: The Swamp of death, or, The Benwell murder by Oliver Wendell Holmes | Canadiana.caCatalog Record: The Swamp of death, or, The Benwell murder | HathiTrust Digital LibraryNewspapers.com | Search: John Reginald Birchallhttps://www.themeister.co.uk/birchall/birchall_reginald.pdfBIRCHALL, REGINALD (Lord Frederick A. Somerset) – Dictionary of Canadian BiographyFrederick Cornwallis Benwell (1865-1890) - Find a...John Reginald Birchall (1866-1890)Murder as a Fine Art by Alan BlythewayThe Trial of Reginald BirchallJohn Reginald Birchall | The Canadian Encyclopedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    55 min

  8. MAR 16

    The Legend of Agnus McVee: Murder at 108 Mile

    Episode 410: In the final years of the Cariboo Gold Rush, between roughly 1875 and 1885, travellers moving along the Cariboo Wagon Road through British Columbia’s interior passed through a remote roadhouse known as the 108 Mile Hotel, about 108 miles from Lillooet on the route toward Barkerville. According to a long-told regional legend, the hotel was run by Agnus McVee, alongside her husband Jim McVee and her son-in-law Al Riley, who were accused of drugging, robbing, and murdering miners carrying gold through the region. The story claims that dozens of travellers disappeared after stopping at the inn, with some accounts later alleging that bodies were recovered from nearby lakes and that young women were held captive at the hotel. Sources: CARIBOO CALLING: The Legend of Agnus MacVeeThe Cariboo Gold Rush TimelineHistory - Gold Rush Trail - British Columbia Shaped by NatureHistory and Timeline | Cariboo Gold ProjectAgnus McVee – Habitual Runaway ToursSarah Leavitt's comic imagines the life of Agnes McVee | CBC BooksAgnus McVee | WikipediaAgnes, Murderess | Goodreads108 Mile Heritage Site – Preserving the rich history of the Cariboo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    58 min
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True crime, legends, folklore, dark history and other creepy topics from the perspective of real Canadians. Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/darkpoutine

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