The Murder of Albina Lequiea
December 15, 2018
On Sunday December 16, 1973, 96-year-old Albina Christiana Lequiea was found murdered in her bed. She lived on the second floor of the Sisters of Saint Paul School in North Vancouver. This story is from Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History The Convent: At first, it was thought that Albina had died from… Continue reading The Murder of Albina Lequiea
Lolly, CFUN, and the Brill Trolley Bus
December 8, 2018
Angus McIntyre was reading Murder by Milkshake when he stopped and took a closer look at a photo snapped by the Vancouver Sun’s Dan Scott in December 1966. Where I saw a rare photo of Lolly Miller leaving court during the murder trial of her lover, Rene Castellani—Angus was looking at the background. “I just noticed something… Continue reading Lolly, CFUN, and the Brill Trolley Bus
The Babes in the Woods Murder Investigation Turns 65
January 13, 2018
Sunday January 14 marks the 65th anniversary of the discovery of the Babes in the Woods. The murder of the two small children in Stanley Park is one of Vancouver’s most enduring murder mysteries and is part of Cold Case Vancouver: the city’s most baffling unsolved murders. I caught up for dinner with my friend… Continue reading The Babes in the Woods Murder Investigation Turns 65
The East Cordova Street Murder Factory
July 8, 2017
When I was going through John Vance’s personal files for Blood, Sweat, and Fear, a small article torn from the pages of the long defunct Vancouver Star caught my eye. Vance’s handwriting dated it October 23, 1931 and it mentioned the murder of Naokichi Watanabe. Vance had clearly kept the clipping because he had testified… Continue reading The East Cordova Street Murder Factory
The 100-year-old Unsolved Murder of Special Constable Charles Painter
October 22, 2016
Last year, Constable Graham Walker of the Metro Vancouver Transit Police was asked to research the history for their 10-year anniversary. Graham promptly fell down the rabbit hole and his journey has taken him to UBC Special Collections, City of Vancouver Archives, BC Hydro Archives, and the Vancouver Police Museum. Graham’s first surprise was that… Continue reading The 100-year-old Unsolved Murder of Special Constable Charles Painter
Who Killed Janet Smith?
July 23, 2016
On July 26, 1924, Janet Smith was found shot in the head by a .45 calibre automatic in the basement of a Shaughnessy house. The murder of the Scottish nanny rocked Vancouver. The murder touched on high-level police corruption, kidnapping, drugs, society orgies and rampant racism. This is a short excerpt from my book At… Continue reading Who Killed Janet Smith?
Murder in James Bay
October 30, 2015
The following story is an excerpt from Sensational Victoria: “Murders in the Capital.” A few years after the Bests’ bought their James Bay home, a young woman knocked on the door and asked if she could come and take a look inside. She told them that her grandparents had lived in the cottage in the… Continue reading Murder in James Bay
Cold Case Vancouver: The City’s Most Baffling Unsolved Murders
October 9, 2015
Cold Case Vancouver: The City’s Most Baffling Unsolved Murders Jennie Eldon Conroy: A few days after Cold Case Vancouver was finished and sent off for editing; I received an email from Daien Ide at the North Vancouver Museum and Archives. Daien had come into the possession of a family album with the owner’s name, Miss… Continue reading Cold Case Vancouver: The City’s Most Baffling Unsolved Murders
The unsolved murder of North Vancouver’s Jennie Eldon Conroy
July 25, 2015
Look for the full story of Jennie Eldon Conroy in Cold Case Vancouver: the city’s most baffling unsolved murders A couple of weeks ago, Daien Ide, reference historian at the North Vancouver Museum and Archives came into the possession of a photo album. At first she thought it was just a nice family photo album… Continue reading The unsolved murder of North Vancouver’s Jennie Eldon Conroy
The murder of Chief Malcolm MacLennan and nine year old George Robb
March 20, 2015
On March 20, 1917 Police Chief Malcolm MacLennan, 44, was killed in a shootout with a drug addict. This is an excerpt from Sensational Vancouver: Robert Tait, 32, a drug addict, police informant and pimp from Detroit lived in a rundown apartment over a grocery store at 522 East Georgia with his girlfriend Frankie Russell.… Continue reading The murder of Chief Malcolm MacLennan and nine year old George Robb
Would you buy a murder house?
June 16, 2013
I’ve been writing about murder houses for a few years now and I’ve turned up everything from a North Vancouver shop keeper butchered by the Black Hand, to a poet beaten to death in her East Vancouver home, to the quiet Colwood home where a Victoria man murdered his wife and then found her head… Continue reading Would you buy a murder house?
The Sensational Murder of Esther Castellani
October 27, 2011
Murder by Milkshake: An Astonishing True Story of Adultery, Arsenic, and A Charismatic Killer Set in middle-class Kerrisdale, the green duplex at 2092 West 42nd Avenue is such an ordinary place it’s hard to imagine it was the stage for one of the most sensational murders in Vancouver’s history. Esther Castellani, 40, died in 1965… Continue reading The Sensational Murder of Esther Castellani