Valley of Secrets

Nicci

A gripping NEW true crime podcast that focuses on the victims of murder, mysterious disappearances, and haunting unsolved cases in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley. Each episode sheds light on the stories behind the headlines, ensuring they are never forgotten.

  1. JAN 19

    The Milkshake Murder: The Rene and Esther Castellani Story

    Send us a text In 1965, Esther Castellani dies from a mysterious illness that leaves even Vancouver’s top doctors confused — until a shocking revelation changes everything. Her husband, Rene Castellani, a local radio personality, quickly becomes the prime suspect in a case that is truly stranger than fiction. https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/february-18-2000-page-75-166/docview/3212742464/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/december-4-1965-page-1-128/docview/2379803336/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/july-14-1966-page-21-56/docview/2379816873/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/october-7-1967-page-1-90/docview/2379809609/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/november-12-1966-page-1-121/docview/2379823441/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/december-2-1965-page-9-44/docview/2257959014/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-7-1982-page-3-72/docview/2241126213/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/july-14-1966-page-68/docview/2240437595/se-2 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/177550615/rene-emile-castellani https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/216018706/esther-castellani https://montecristomagazine.com/community/heartwrenching-clue-cracked-one-vancouvers-infamous-homicides#gsc.tab=0 https://evelazarus.com/cold-case-canada-podcast/s2-e22-murder-by-milkshake-part-1/ https://evelazarus.com/cold-case-canada-podcast/s2-e23-murder-by-milkshake-part-2/ Support the show Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts – This is the most impactful way to support the show. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/valley-of-secrets/id1835568930 Contact the show: valleyofsecretspod@gmail.com Follow me on social media Instagram: instagram.com/valleyofsecretspodcast_ Facebook: Facebook.com/valleyofsecretspodcast_ LinkedIn: https://linktr.ee/Valleyofsecretspod?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=dcc25e02-4ea9-44c0-a0b4-7195ff67ab4c Join the conversation: Comment on Instagram or send me a message at valleyofsecretspod@gmail.com Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favorite takeaway.

    29 min
  2. JAN 5

    Tragedy in Cloverdale: The Heather Thomas Story

    Send us a text In this episode, Nicci Ruth explores the disappearance and murder of Heather Lynn Thomas, a 10-year-old girl who vanished from Cloverdale, B.C. The search for Heather would eventually lead investigators to Golden Ears Park and uncover a disturbing chain of events that shook the Lower Mainland. Sources https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/october-3-2000-page-7-87/docview/3212505212/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/november-5-2000-page-12-175/docview/3212822617/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/november-2-2000-page-3-127/docview/3212515856/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/may-9-2002-page-7-152/docview/3212452800/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/october-23-2000-page-3-48/docview/3203538180/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/october-5-2000-page-20-108/docview/3203533802/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/october-8-2000-page-13-181/docview/3212644385/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/november-7-2000-page-3-95/docview/3212641785/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/october-4-2000-page-3-92/docview/3204266992/se-2 https://behindtheyellowtape.ca/2017/11/12/personal-story-heather-part-i/ https://behindtheyellowtape.ca/2017/12/03/personal-story-heather-part-ii/ https://behindtheyellowtape.ca/2017/12/13/personal-story-heather-part-iii/ https://behindtheyellowtape.ca/2017/12/29/personal-story-heather-part-iv/ https://behindtheyellowtape.ca/2018/01/12/personal-story-heather-part-v/ https://behindtheyellowtape.ca/2018/01/24/personal-story-heather-part-vi/ https://behindtheyellowtape.ca/2018/01/31/personal-story-heather-part-vii/ https://behindtheyellowtape.ca/2018/02/18/personal-story-heather-part-viii-the-ending/ 2002 BCSC 806 (CanLII) | R. v. Ertmoed | CanLII Support the show Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts – This is the most impactful way to support the show. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/valley-of-secrets/id1835568930 Contact the show: valleyofsecretspod@gmail.com Follow me on social media Instagram: instagram.com/valleyofsecretspodcast_ Facebook: Facebook.com/valleyofsecretspodcast_ LinkedIn: https://linktr.ee/Valleyofsecretspod?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=dcc25e02-4ea9-44c0-a0b4-7195ff67ab4c Join the conversation: Comment on Instagram or send me a message at valleyofsecretspod@gmail.com Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favorite takeaway.

    37 min
  3. 12/15/2025

    The Beast of British Columbia: Clifford Olson Jr 1

    Send us a text Part One of this two-part series examines the early life of Clifford Olson Jr. and the beginning of one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers. Through the stories of his first victims, we explore how warning signs were missed, assumptions were made, and how Olson continued killing while under supposed supervision. Sources https://globalnews.ca/news/3347601/timeline-the-life-and-crimes-of-clifford-olson/ https://www.crimelibrary.org/serial_killers/notorious/olson/first.html https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/july-11-2010-page-3-136/docview/3212963650/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/june-10-1994-page-5-184/docview/3212089415/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-16-1982-page-10-158/docview/2241181442/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/august-17-1981-page-2-98/docview/2240971999/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/august-15-1981-page-10-154/docview/2241129408/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/july-30-1981-page-12-80/docview/2241029784/se-2 https://cliffordolsen.wordpress.com https://archive.macleans.ca/search?query=Clifford%20Olson%20Malcolm%20Gray True Crime All The Time. (2023, January 28). Clifford Olson Jr. [Audio podcast episode]. Support the show Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts – This is the most impactful way to support the show. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/valley-of-secrets/id1835568930 Contact the show: valleyofsecretspod@gmail.com Follow me on social media Instagram: instagram.com/valleyofsecretspodcast_ Facebook: Facebook.com/valleyofsecretspodcast_ LinkedIn: https://linktr.ee/Valleyofsecretspod?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=dcc25e02-4ea9-44c0-a0b4-7195ff67ab4c Join the conversation: Comment on Instagram or send me a message at valleyofsecretspod@gmail.com Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favorite takeaway.

    30 min
  4. 12/08/2025

    Murder in Pacific Spirit Park

    Send us a text On a bright spring afternoon in 2009, 53-year-old Wendy Ladner-Beaudry went for a run in Pacific Spirit Park — a route she’d taken for decades — and never came home. What happened in those silent minutes beneath the trees remains one of Vancouver’s most haunting unsolved murders. 🔗 Source List  Vancouver Magazine – “A Pacific Spirit Murder” (long-form profile) https://www.vanmag.com/city/general/a-pacific-spirit-murder/ Frances Bula – “The Life and Death of Wendy Ladner-Beaudry” https://francesbula.com/uncategorized/the-life-and-death-of-wendy-ladner-beaudry/ CityNews Vancouver – Anniversary Coverage & Case Summaries https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/04/03/vancouver-murder-wendy-ladner-beaudry-unsolved/ CityNews Vancouver – Reward Renewed in Unsolved Murder https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2019/04/03/reward-renewed-wendy-ladner-beaudry/ Global News – 10-Year Anniversary Appeal https://globalnews.ca/news/5125477/wendy-ladner-beaudry-murder-anniversary/ Global News – 4-Year Anniversary Article (2013) https://globalnews.ca/news/454079/who-killed-wendy-ladner-beaudry/ RCMP E-Division – 12-Year Anniversary Release (Google Groups archive) https://groups.google.com/g/bc.rcmp.news/c/G6D8iH9lXHE BC Local News – Unsolved B.C. Homicides Overview https://www.bclocalnews.com/news/unsolved-b-c-homicides-continue-to-haunt-families/ Vancouver Sun – Early Reporting & Family Statements https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/reward-renewed-in-death-of-wendy-ladner-beaudry Wikipedia – Community of Ladner (background context) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladner,_British_Columbia Wikipedia – Shaughnessy, Vancouver (background context) Support the show Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts – This is the most impactful way to support the show. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/valley-of-secrets/id1835568930 Contact the show: valleyofsecretspod@gmail.com Follow me on social media Instagram: instagram.com/valleyofsecretspodcast_ Facebook: Facebook.com/valleyofsecretspodcast_ LinkedIn: https://linktr.ee/Valleyofsecretspod?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=dcc25e02-4ea9-44c0-a0b4-7195ff67ab4c Join the conversation: Comment on Instagram or send me a message at valleyofsecretspod@gmail.com Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favorite takeaway.

    33 min
  5. 12/01/2025

    The Kowbel Family Tragedy

    Send us a text A quiet Chilliwack neighborhood. A forged cheque. A fire meant to erase everything. In this episode, we dive deep into the 1987 Kowbel family attack—one of the Fraser Valley’s most disturbing cases. You’ll hear how three young men executed a carefully planned ambush, how two victims survived against impossible odds, and how one daughter turned unimaginable trauma into faith and forgiveness. Sources January 27, 1987 (page 5 of 72). The Province March 16, 1988 (page 10 of 124). The Province March 17, 1988 (page 3 of 112). The Province March 27, 1988 (page 23 of 182). The Province September 7, 1990 (page 20 of 176). The Province March 25, 1988 (page 3 of 144). The Vancouver Sun March 18, 1988 (page 3 of 176). The Vancouver Sun March 15, 1988 (page 11 of 88). The Vancouver Sun The Chilliwack Progress from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada - Newspapers.com™ The Chilliwack Progress from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada - Newspapers.com™ The Chilliwack Progress from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada - Newspapers.com™ May 25, 2003 (page 14 of 168). The Province One of the 13 inmates who escaped from an... - UPI Archives Support the show Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts – This is the most impactful way to support the show. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/valley-of-secrets/id1835568930 Contact the show: valleyofsecretspod@gmail.com Follow me on social media Instagram: instagram.com/valleyofsecretspodcast_ Facebook: Facebook.com/valleyofsecretspodcast_ LinkedIn: https://linktr.ee/Valleyofsecretspod?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=dcc25e02-4ea9-44c0-a0b4-7195ff67ab4c Join the conversation: Comment on Instagram or send me a message at valleyofsecretspod@gmail.com Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favorite takeaway.

    35 min

About

A gripping NEW true crime podcast that focuses on the victims of murder, mysterious disappearances, and haunting unsolved cases in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley. Each episode sheds light on the stories behind the headlines, ensuring they are never forgotten.

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