Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Podcast

Caitlin Francois

True Crime podcast darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com

  1. Aug 3

    Episode 25 - The Price of Freedom

    In this special deep-dive episode, we journey into one of the darkest chapters of American history—the era of emancipation—and uncover the true crime stories that history books often forget. We begin with John Reed, a free Black man in 1820s Pennsylvania who fought for his life when kidnappers broke into his home in the dead of night. The handcuffs and rope found on his attackers told the story—but would the courts believe him? Then, the harrowing tale of Solomon Northup, a free Black musician and landowner who was drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery—losing twelve years of his life before finally regaining his freedom. His memoir, Twelve Years a Slave, would expose the horrors of kidnapping into slavery to the world. Next, the heartbreaking tragedy of Margaret Garner, a mother who made the impossible choice to kill her own daughter rather than see her returned to slavery. Her case inspired Toni Morrison’s Beloved and remains one of the most gut-wrenching stories of resistance in American history. We follow the relentless fight of Rose Herera, a mother whose children were kidnapped to Cuba by her former enslavers. She took her case all the way to the U.S. Senate, turning a domestic kidnapping into an international scandal. Finally, we expose The Plot to Perpetuate Slavery—a spy thriller involving Union officers, Confederate operatives, and a confidence man known as the “King of the Confidence Men.” Their mission? To scam President Lincoln into withdrawing the Emancipation Proclamation. They nearly succeeded. These are the crimes of emancipation. These are the prices that were paid for freedom. ⚠️ LISTENER DISCRETION ADVISORYThis episode contains graphic descriptions of violence, child death, kidnapping, and the brutal realities of American slavery. Please take care of yourself while listening. If you or someone you know needs support: * National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 (or 1-800-273-8255) * Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 * SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357 For further reading: * Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup * Beloved by Toni Morrison * Beyond Freedom’s Reach: A Kidnapping in the Twilight of Slavery by Adam Rothman * The Plot to Perpetuate Slavery by Phil Roycraft * Equal Justice Initiative – The Legacy of Slavery and Racial Injustice ☕ Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodesGet your true crime and caffeine fix every week. 📱 Find us everywhere: * TikTok: @DarkRoastCaffeineCasefiles * 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 on Substack ⭐ Rate & ReviewIf 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. ☕ Help fill the coffee potLove the show? Support us at buymeacoffee.com/darkroasttruecrime – every cup keeps the cases brewing. Stay caffeinated, stay curious. ☕ Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

  2. Jul 20

    Episode 24 - The House On Lake Simcoe

    For more than a century, it stood on the shores of Lake Simcoe—a place families were told would provide care, compassion, and protection for society’s most vulnerable. Instead, the Huronia Regional Centre became a place of silence, suffering, and systemic abuse that remained hidden for generations. In this episode of Dark Roast Caffeine Casefiles, we travel to Orillia, Ontario, to uncover the devastating history of one of Canada’s largest and longest-running institutions for people labeled “intellectually disabled.” Opened in 1876 as the “Orillia Asylum for Idiots,” this facility would operate for 133 years—housing more than ten thousand human beings while abuse, neglect, and death became the daily routine. Through survivor affidavits, court documents, and historical records, we’ll walk through the reality of life inside Huronia’s walls: * The overcrowded wards where 1 attendant cared for 60 residents * The “caged cribs” used to confine children and adults for hours—or days * The routine chemical sedation of children with adult doses of antipsychotics * The sexual abuse that went unreported and unpunished * The numbered graves of hundreds of residents—many with no names We’ll follow the decades-long fight for justice, the 2013 class-action lawsuit settlement, and the provincial apology that came too late for so many. Content Warning: This episode contains detailed descriptions of neglect, physical and sexual abuse, restraint, and institutional mistreatment of children and adults with disabilities. Listener discretion is strongly advised. Huronia Survivor Support: The most direct link appears to be the Remember Ever Name Survivors Group, a group led by survivors of the Huronia Regional Centre. Website: www.remembereveryname.ca Archdiocese of Toronto Restorative Justice Program: While there isn’t a dedicated program page, restorative justice is a key part of the Archdiocese’s social outreach. The Office of Social Care & Community Outreach lists “Prison ministry (restorative justice)” as one of its main areas of care. Website: www.archtoronto.org (See the “Social Care & Community Outreach” section) Community Living Ontario: Website: www.communitylivingontario.ca #TrueCrime #Podcast #DarkRoastCaffeineCasefiles #CanadianTrueCrime #HuroniaRegionalCentre #TrueCrimePodcast #History #DarkHistory #DisabilityRights #InstitutionalAbuse #SurvivorStories #JusticeForSurvivors #Ontario #Orillia #ColdCase #Casefiles #CrimePodcast #CoffeeAndCrime #UnsolvedHistory #Advocacy #NeverForge ☕ Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodes Get your true crime and caffeine fix every week. 📱 Find us everywhere: * TikTok: @DarkRoastCaffeineCasefiles * 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 on Substack ⭐ Rate & 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. ☕ Help fill the coffee pot Love the show? Support us at buymeacoffee.com/darkroasttruecrime – every cup keeps the cases brewing. Stay caffeinated, stay curious. ☕🔎 Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

    Episode 24 - The House On Lake Simcoe
  3. Jul 11

    A New Brew

    An 84-year-old mother vanishes. Her daughter is a TV icon. And online sleuths may be making it worse. 🎥🔍 This is the short version. Tap the links for the full story. 🎥 Watch The Search for Nancy Guthrie (Netflix): https://www.netflix.com/title/81954321 * 🎙️ Listen to Serialously with Annie Elise – search “Nancy Guthrie” or “Savannah Guthrie mother” in your podcast app * 📰 Online sleuths complicate investigation (NY Times): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/us/nancy-guthrie-theories-true-crime.html * 📰 Inside the media frenzy (LA Times): https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-02-18/guthrie-missing-case-internet-sleuths * 📰 Savannah’s first interview (BBC): https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx24jg8yrxeo * 📰 Bitcoin ransom & masked suspect (BBC): https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y48j0exlgo * 📰 Key developments (CNN): https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/10/us/nancy-guthrie-search-developments/index.html * 📰 FBI releases doorbell video (CBC): https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.7083349 #TrueCrime #NancyGuthrie #SavannahGuthrie #Netflix #Serialously #AnnieElise #TrueCrimeTok #ShortStory #DeepDive #TrueCrimeCommunity #OnlineSleuth ☕ Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodesGet your true crime and caffeine fix every week. 📱 Find us everywhere: * TikTok: @DarkRoastCaffeineCasefiles * 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 on Substack ⭐ Rate & ReviewIf 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. ☕ Help fill the coffee potLove the show? Support us at buymeacoffee.com/darkroasttruecrime – every cup keeps the cases brewing. Stay caffeinated, stay curious. ☕🔎 Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

    A New Brew
  4. Jul 7

    The Girl in the Red Jaguar

    Welcome back, Caffeine Casefilers. June 30, 2002. A 21‑year‑old Tla‑o‑qui‑aht woman named Lisa Marie Young left a house party in Nanaimo, British Columbia, with a man she’d just met—a man driving a distinctive burgundy red Jaguar. She sent her friend a text: “My phone is not working.” Then she vanished. The man in the Jaguar was identified as Christopher William Adair. He was questioned by police, never charged, and eventually left Canada. He now lives overseas, running an immigration consulting firm—while Lisa’s family has spent 23 years demanding answers. The RCMP believes Lisa met with foul play. They have classified her disappearance as a homicide. But without a body, without physical evidence, and without a suspect who will return to Canada, the case remains stalled. This is the story of a woman who vanished into the night—and a family that refuses to let her be forgotten. ⚠️ Content Warning: This episode discusses the disappearance and suspected murder of an Indigenous woman, police negligence, and systemic racism. Resources: * Nanaimo RCMP (non‑emergency): 250-754-2345 * Crime Stoppers (anonymous): 1-800-222-8477 * Hope for Wellness Helpline: 1-855-242-3310 * Native Women’s Association of Canada: nwac.ca MMIWG National Inquiry Final Report: mmiwg-ffada.ca ☕ Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodesGet your true crime and caffeine fix every week. 📱 Find us everywhere: * TikTok: @DarkRoastCaffeineCasefiles * 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 on Substack ⭐ Rate & ReviewIf 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. ☕ Help fill the coffee potLove the show? Support us at buymeacoffee.com/darkroasttruecrime – every cup keeps the cases brewing. Stay caffeinated, stay curious. ☕🔎 Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

    The Girl in the Red Jaguar
  5. Jul 1

    New Brew - A Canada Day Murder

    A father of four. Murdered on Canada Day. His daughter found him. 💔🇨🇦 This is the short version. Tap the links for the full story. * 📰 Trial begins (CTV News): https://www.ctvnews.ca/saskatoon/prince-albert/article/trial-of-man-accused-of-killing-prince-albert-father-begins/ * 📰 Victim identified as ‘always funny’ father of four (CTV News): https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/prince-albert-homicide-victim-identified-as-norman-wenzel-always-funny-father-of-four-1.6951158 * 📰 First-degree murder charge laid (CTV News): https://www.ctvnews.ca/prince-albert-police-lay-first-degree-murder-charge-in-death-of-always-funny-father-of-four-1.7000613 * 📰 Daughter testifies (paNOW): https://panow.com/news/2026/06/16/i-couldnt-breathe-victims-daughter-testifies-at-prince-albert-murder-trial/ * 📰 Forensic pathologist testimony (paNOW): https://panow.com/news/2026/06/17/excessive-blood-loss-cause-of-victims-death-says-forensic-pathologist-at-murder-trial/ * 📰 Case proceeds to trial (paNOW): https://panow.com/news/2026/06/14/kemp-crescent-murder-case-proceeds-to-trial/ * 🎙️ Serialously with Annie Elise – search “Norman Wenzel” or “Prince Albert Canada Day murder” in your podcast app #TrueCrime #CanadaDay #PrinceAlbert #Saskatchewan #Serialously #AnnieElise #TrueCrimeTok #ShortStory #DeepDive #CanadianTrueCrime ☕ Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodesGet your weekly true crime and caffeine fix * TikTok: @DarkRoastCaffeineCasefiles * 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 on Substack ⭐ Rate & ReviewIf 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. ☕ Help fill the coffee potLove the show? Support us at buymeacoffee.com/darkroasttruecrime – every cup keeps the cases brewing. Stay caffeinated, stay curious. ☕🔎 Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

    New Brew - A Canada Day Murder
  6. Jun 30

    A New Brew - #4

    A 28-year-old tow truck driver. Three teenage hitmen. A $7,500 contract killing. The towing industry’s dark underworld exposed. 🚛🔫💔 This is the short version. Tap the links for the full story. Links to the story: * 📰 Teen pleads guilty (CBC News): https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/teen-recruited-to-shoot-gta-tow-truck-driver-pleads-guilty-to-murder-9.7238849 * 📰 Hired gun confession (Toronto Star): https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/toronto-area-teen-admits-to-murdering-this-tow-truck-driver-on-behalf-of-influential-adults-inside-warring-towing-industry/article_c04bf304-0df8-4d25-b43c-b71903ac6792.html * 📰 Teen recruited by industry (Global News): https://globalnews.ca/news/11908185/16-year-old-boy-recruited-by-tow-truck-industry-pleads-guilty-to-murder/ * 📰 Two teens charged (CBC News): https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.7300507 * 📰 “The Union” criminal network (CTV News): https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/violent-crime-group-known-as-the-union-is-behind-gta-tow-truck-violence-police-say-1.6978687 * 🎙️ Serialously with Annie Elise – search “Sulakshan Selvasingam” or “Toronto tow truck murder” in your podcast app #TrueCrime #Toronto #TowingIndustry #ContractKilling #Serialously #AnnieElise #TrueCrimeTok #ShortStory #DeepDive #CanadaCrime * ☕ Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodesGet your true crime and caffeine fix every week. 📱 Find us everywhere: * TikTok: @DarkRoastCaffeineCasefiles * 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 on Substack ⭐ Rate & ReviewIf 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. ☕ Help fill the coffee potLove the show? Support us at buymeacoffee.com/darkroasttruecrime – every cup keeps the cases brewing. Stay caffeinated, stay curious. ☕🔎 Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

    A New Brew - #4
  7. Jun 19

    Episode 22 - No More Stolen Sisters

    Welcome back, Caffeine Casefilers. Between March and May 2022, four Indigenous women disappeared from the streets of Winnipeg. Their bodies were found—some of them, anyway—in garbage bins, dumped at landfills, treated like refuse by a killer who believed their lives didn’t matter. Jeremy Skibicki was a white supremacist who targeted Indigenous women at homeless shelters. He drugged them, assaulted them, murdered them, and dismembered them with power tools. Then he went back to the shelters to find his next victim. Rebecca Contois, 24, was a mother. Her partial remains were found in a bin behind a Winnipeg apartment building. Morgan Harris, 39, was a mother of five and a grandmother. Her daughter, Cambria, fought for three years to have a landfill searched for her remains. Marcedes Myran, 26, was a mother of two, a practical joker who hid people’s shoes to make them stay longer. Ashlee Shingoose, 30, was known for three years only as Buffalo Woman—until DNA finally gave her back her name. This is the story of a serial killer who embodied everything wrong with Canada’s treatment of Indigenous women. And a daughter who refused to let her mother be forgotten in the trash. ⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains detailed descriptions of extreme violence, sexual assault, dismemberment, racial hatred, and systemic neglect. Resources: * Hope for Wellness Helpline: 1-855-242-3310 * Native Women’s Association of Canada: nwac.ca * Morgan’s Warriors outreach (Winnipeg): @morganswarriors on social media * MMIWG National Inquiry Final Report: mmiwg-ffada.ca ☕ Follow Dark Roast for weekly episodesGet your true crime and caffeine fix every week. 📱 Find us everywhere: * TikTok: @DarkRoastCaffeineCasefiles * 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 on Substack ⭐ Rate & ReviewIf 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. ☕ Help fill the coffee potLove the show? Support me at buymeacoffee.com/darkroasttruecrime – every cup keeps the cases brewing Stay caffeinated, stay curious. ☕🔎 Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

    Episode 22 - No More Stolen Sisters

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