Welcome back. Grab a mug, fill it with something dark and unforgiving, and let’s get started

In 1959, a fourteen-year-old boy gave his friend a ride on his bicycle. Days later, she was found murdered—and he was arrested, tried as an adult, and sentenced to hang.

This is the definitive story of Steven Truscott: the infamous wrongful conviction that shook Canada to its core, the relentless fight for truth, and the fifty-year journey from death row to exoneration.

We dive deep into:

* Steven’s initial police statement and the mysterious grey car with yellow plates

* The flawed science that put a child on death row

* The haunting moments inside Collins Bay Penitentiary

* The hidden evidence and the “agonizing reappraisal” that changed everything

* The 2007 acquittal and the life finally reclaimed

A story of justice, tragedy, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Content Warning: This episode deals with the sexual assault and murder of a child. Listener discretion is advised

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Welcome back. Grab a mug, fill it with something dark and unforgiving, and let’s get started.

They looked like the perfect couple. They were anything but.

Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka—dubbed the “Ken and Barbie Killers”—terrorized southern Ontario throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. But this isn’t just a story about two monsters. It’s about a system that failed. Repeatedly. Catastrophically.

In this comprehensive deep dive, we walk through everything:

• The Scarborough Rapist attacks that put a city under siege• How police interviewed Bernardo twice—and let him go• The DNA sample that sat in a freezer for two years• Tammy Homolka’s “accidental” death that was anything but• The murders of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French• The plea deal that let Karla walk after 12 years• The videotapes hidden for 16 months• Where they are now—including Bernardo’s 2023 transfer to medium security and his latest parole denial in November 2024

This is the complete story. The warnings. The failures. The victims. And the families still fighting for justice more than three decades later.

Content warning: This episode contains detailed descriptions of sexual violence, murder, and harm to minors. Please take care while listening.

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Email: [email protected]

Web: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | Substack

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.

Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back. Grab a mug, fill it with something dark and unforgiving, and let’s get started.

For years, Toronto’s LGBTQ+ Village felt a predator in their midst as men vanished without a trace—immigrants, refugees, those living on the margins. Police said there was no evidence of a serial killer. But in a quiet apartment, a landscaper who played Santa Claus at the mall was hiding a nightmare in backyard planters. This is the story of Bruce McArthur, the eight men he murdered, and the system that looked the other way until one disappearance finally forced the truth to surface. A story about who we remember, who we forget, and the fear that remains when justice comes too late.

Content warning: This episode contains discussions of violence and murder.

Take care of yourselves.

Follow Dark Roast:

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Facebook: Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles Podcast

Email: [email protected]

Web: Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois | Substack

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.

Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

They were Canadian pharma royalty—beloved philanthropists with a billion-dollar fortune. But on December 15, 2017, Barry and Honey Sherman were found murdered in their Toronto home, staged in a chilling pose by their basement pool . Eight years later, the question still haunts Canada: who killed the Shermans?

In this episode, we unravel the twisted investigation that has been plagued by missteps, from an initial police theory of murder-suicide (quickly debunked) to a current probe that the lead detective admits is “playing blind,” unsure if he’s even on the right path .

In this episode, we cover:

* The Crime Scene: The forensic timeline of their final hours—Honey’s last shopping trip, Barry’s arrival home, and the evidence suggesting they were attacked immediately upon entering .

* The Botched Investigation: How police initially treated it as a murder-suicide, failed to secure key video evidence, and allowed Apotex lawyers to control access to Barry’s work devices .

* The Suspects & Theories: From a disgruntled cousin who lost a billion-dollar lawsuit against Barry, to a mysterious business associate, and the “one main theory” police still hold but cannot prove .

* The Cry for Justice: Why the Sherman children and investigative journalist Kevin Donovan are fighting in court to unseal thousands of pages of police documents, hoping that “shaking the tree” might finally bring someone forward with the truth .

From the leather belts used to stage the scene to the five countries where police are still seeking evidence, we break down the latest developments in a case that has become a symbol of wealth, power, and the limits of justice

Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe

In 2017, Canadian billionaire Barry Sherman and his wife Honey Sherman were found strangled in their Toronto home.

At first, police suggested murder - suicide. Then the narrative changed.

In this episode of Dark Roast: Caffeine Casefiles, Cait explores one of Canada’s most unsettling unsolved cases - digging into wealth, power, investigative missteps, and the questions that still refuse to go away.

Because sometimes the truth isn’t obvious. Sometimes it’s buried beneath money, influence… and silence.

Get full access to Dark Roast: Caffeine Case files by Caitlin Francois at darkroastcaffeinecasefiles.substack.com/subscribe