Eve Lazarus
Thursday November 25 is International Day. Remembering Olga Hawryluk, 23, murdered May 3, 1945.
From Blood, Sweat, and Fear: The Story of Inspector Vance and the Blood, Sweat and Fear podcast.
Granville Street:
On May 2, 1945, Olga finished her shift at the Empire Café on West Hastings at 2:30 am and was walking to her home in the West End.
Halloween is my favourite unofficial holiday of the year, so it was especially rewarding to end Season 2 of Cold Case Canada with a Halloween Special. I reached out to five fabulous story tellers to tell me their favourite ghost stories—stories that take place in some of Metro Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods.
In 1965, Rene Castellani, a 40-year-old radio personality decided to murder his wife Esther with arsenic-laced milkshakes so could marry Lolly, CKNW’s 25-year-old receptionist. The couple had an 11-year-old daughter called Jeannine, who became the collateral damage in one of the most sensational murder cases of the 20th century.
This podcast episode is based on my book Murder by Milkshake: an astonishing true story of adultery, arsenic and a charismatic killer
Rene Castellani:
Rene Castellani was known for his outrageous stunts.
In 1965, Rene Castellani, a 40-year-old radio personality decided to murder his wife Esther with arsenic-laced milkshakes so could marry Lolly, CKNW’s 25-year-old receptionist. The couple had an 11-year-old daughter called Jeannine, who became the collateral damage in one of the most sensational murder cases of the 20th century.
This podcast episode is based on my book Murder by Milkshake: an astonishing true story of adultery, arsenic and a charismatic killer
Audio clips from CKNW’s Owl Prowl, 1961.
When Pat Lowther was murdered in her East Vancouver home, she had just signed a contract with a major publisher. The 40-year-old mother of four was carving out a new voice in the Canadian literary scene and being recognized for her strong, often violent, feminist poetry.
the lowthers:
The mustard-coloured house where Pat and Roy Lowther lived on East 46th Avenue near Mountain View Cemetery, is a three-storey, classic kit home with a welcoming front porch and stained glass on the front door.
In the months leading up to her murder, Muriel Lindsay had been targeted and harassed. Her cat was stolen, she’d received bizarre anonymous letters, and someone had used her credit card to take out subscriptions and make a donation to the United Way in her name. Who was stalking Muriel and why was this 40-year-old postal worker found beaten to death in her West End apartment?
At the start of 1985, things looked good for Jimmy and Lily Ming. They had two small children, owned their own home and worked in the family’s thriving Robson Street restaurant. But by the end of January, Jimmy and Lily had been kidnapped from their Vancouver house, the restaurant was closed and the rest of the Ming family lived in fear of their lives.
Robert Hopkins was a 48-year-old printer who worked at the Vancouver News Herald, one of three daily newspapers. He was a quiet, friendly man who kept to himself and was liked by his colleagues. None of them knew that Bob was gay and lived a secret life. He had to.
