Pod Insights Canadian True Crime The Murder of Minnie Callan About this episode On a freezing night in Norman’s Cove, a brutal attack leaves the small coastal town shaken to its core. As police investigate, a twisted plot starts to unravel…
The intention of this episode is to honour the victim of a harrowing crime that was largely ignored by the media at the time, and resulted in harmful rumours.
Some names have been changed to respect the privacy of those involved.
*Additional content warning: this case contains some details of graphic violence. Please take care when listening.
Recommended reading:
The Murder of Minnie Callan: A True Newfoundland Crime Story https://www.amazon.ca/Murder-Minnie-Callan-Newfoundland-Crime/dp/177117711X by Tom Gruchy, 2018.
Court document: 1987 CanLII 5192 (NL SC) | R. v. Butt | CanLII https://www.canlii.org/en/nl/nlsctd/doc/1987/1987canlii5192/1987canlii5192.html?resultId=3ef17607e03b49c18bdfe019e9fa4204&searchId=2025-06-04T16:22:35:439/e045b70aab5f40d49030612dc42d99c4&searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAPIm1pbm5pZSBjYWxsYW4iAAAAAAE
Canadian True Crime donates monthly to those facing injustice.
This month we have donated to the organizations that stage the In Her Name Vigil:
First Light St John's Friendship Centre https://firstlightnl.ca/
NL Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre https://endsexualviolence.com/
St John's Status of Women Council https://sjswc.ca/
Look out for early, ad-free release on CTC premium feeds: available onAmazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/fbe63977-5737-4910-a067-1745b99fae36/canadian-true-crime (included with
Prime),Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/3LZBCxa,Patreon https://www.patreon.com/canadiantruecrime andSupercast https://canadiantruecrime.supercast.com/.
Full list of resources, information sources, credits and music credits:
See the page for this episode at www.canadiantruecrime.ca/episodes https://www.canadiantruecrime.ca/episodes
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript 11,269 words · 8 speakers
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1:31 Speaker 02 Canadian True Crime is a completely independent production, funded mainly through advertising. You can listen to Canadian True Crime ad-free and early on Amazon Music, included with Prime, Apple Podcasts, Patreon, and Supercast. The podcast often has disturbing content and coarse language. It's not for everyone. Please take care when listening.
1:50 Speaker 03 Hi there, I hope you're well and thank you so much for joining us. Today's episode is about a harrowing crime from 1986 that shocked a tiny coastal community in Newfoundland and made residents fear for their safety. It's also a story that you probably haven't heard before, at least not on a podcast, because despite the profound and lasting impact this crime had on everyone involved, it barely attracted any media attention. The only information on the public record is one court document, two very short news articles, and a deeply personal memoir written by the officer who first responded to the scene that's currently out of print.
2:35 Speaker 03 So I contacted that officer to ask about the case. He is retired former RCMP Constable Tom Gruchy. He took the time to answer my questions and give me an update that wasn't included in his book. I'll be narrating the story per usual, but you will hear a couple of short clips of Tom Gruchy describing pertinent moments in the investigation. I do love the Newfoundland accent. An additional content warning: This case contains some details of graphic violence. Some names have been altered to protect privacy. And with that, it's on with the show.
3:24 Speaker 03 It was March 13th, 1986, and Constable Tom Gruchy had just finished the evening shift at the RCMP's Whitburn detachment. Whitburn is located on the Avalon Peninsula in the southeast corner of Newfoundland. It's an area known for rugged coastlines, small fishing communities, and an abundance of natural beauty and wildlife. In March, the temperature is often well below freezing and bitterly cold, with ice covering the roads and walking paths, and snowbanks piled along the shoulders. The wind coming off the Atlantic Ocean adds extra chill, often making short trips outdoors a challenge.
4:11 Speaker 03 And that night in 1986 was no different.
4:17 Speaker 04 It was on the 13th of August, 1986, and I was working the evening shift. So I got home somewhere, oh, maybe about 10 after 10. It was, it was the coldest night I think that I've ever experienced in my whole life. It was still, or it was freezing cold, even my mustache, probably just getting some carrot to the house.
4:38 Speaker 03 Constable Tom Gruchy went inside, had a drink and went to bed shortly after that. He was tired for one thing, but he was also the officer on call until 7am the next morning. Whitburn was a tiny RCMP detachment of only about six or seven members at the time, and there was a good amount of small crimes to keep them busy. Thefts, assaults, break and enters, usually committed by the same group of repeat offenders. During the night, things were quieter and any calls that came into the Whitburn detachment would be routed to the telecommunications centre in St John's, the capital of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
5:23 Speaker 03 Telecoms would then phone the detachment's on-call officer and let them decide whether it needed an immediate local response. And that night, Constable Tom Gruchy was the officer on call, and he'd been snoozing on and off for about half an hour. Then, his phone started ringing. It was about 11:35pm.
5:48 Speaker 03 Dispatch told him that they'd received an anonymous call that an assault on a female was in progress at Norman's Cove at the Bend. It sounded serious. Norman's Cove is part of a coastal area shaped by the sea with winding roads, rocky inlets and dramatic cliffs looking down on the open ocean. It was a close-knit community where everyone knew everyone, or knew of everyone.
6:17 Speaker 03 Norman's Cove was typically a 20-minute drive away from where Tom lived, but he knew that this night he had to be extra careful on the roads because they were packed with snow and dangerous black ice. It ended up taking him almost 50 minutes to get there, and his car was fishtailing on the ice as he neared the area where he'd been told the assault had been witnessed. He parked his car near the end of a guardrail lining the ocean side of the road. There was no one there, not a soul. He phoned telecoms to let them know he'd arrived and he was getting out of the car. Tom knew the area fairly well.
7:02 Speaker 03 Just beyond that guardrail was a sloping embankment leading to an unprotected cliff edge with a sharp drop of about 40 or 50 feet straight down to the ocean below. And there was snow everywhere. It was about knee-high, tightly packed, and even higher next to the guardrail where it had been pushed by the snowplow. But this white snow also made it very easy for Tom to see what lay beyond the guardrail. He pointed his flashlight and was immediately taken aback by the sight of a huge amount of blood, everywhere. His heart sank. He described it as if someone had just killed a cow.
7:48 Speaker 03 As he later wrote in his book, quote, "At that moment, I had no idea what to do next. God, all that blood. I was trained to know how to react in the most difficult times, and there had been many, but this was entirely different."
8:07 Speaker 03 Constable Tom Gruchy was in his late 30s, married with kids, and he'd been with the RCMP for 17 years. He was a seasoned police officer, but like many of his colleagues at the Whitburn Detachment, he'd never worked on a case like this. It just wasn't that kind of area. The last homicide case the Whitburn Detachment handled was well before his time with the RCMP, when Constable Robert Weston Amy lost his life trying to capture three escaped convicts from Her Majesty's Pen in St. John's. But that was twenty-four years earlier, in nineteen sixty-four. It was now nineteen eighty-six.
8:53 Speaker 03 And Tom didn't know if this case was a homicide. He only saw blood, there was no victim. Was it too late to save her? Was she even nearby? Was the perpetrator? Tom had never felt more alone or afraid, but he knew it was all up to him. If by some miracle the poor victim was still alive, she would certainly not survive the wait for an ambulance on those icy roads. He had to go and look for her. He climbed over the guardrail, shining his flashlight on the red-stained snow as he took care with each step. He followed a trail of blood leading to an imprint in the snow
9:37 Speaker 03 that looked like a body had been dragged, with hands outstretched as though they were trying to grab hold of the snow. And next to this imprint was a series of boot imprints. Tom continued following the trail carefully. He roughly knew where the cliff edge was. He'd seen it many times from the road. But this was the first time he'd been in the area past the guardrail.
10:08 Speaker 04 No, I knew, I left that area, went right on up to the other side of the guardrail, maybe about a hundred feet away. Got over there where everything was clean and pristine. Was out of snow, like the snow was up to my, just over my knees. So I worked my way to the, down towards the oceans, like you couldn't hear because it was so quiet. But when I shone the light out, you could see the swell with the flashlight. You could see the ocean with like the crisp voice on it, like up and down. It was so eerie, it was unreal. I was scared, my heart beating out of my, out of my chest. I got my ring on my hand, I had that in my left hand, and I had my flashlight in my right hand, and I'm more or less shuffling my way
10:51 Speaker 04 at an angle towards where the assault took place. Being careful about the edge, of course. So anyway, I'm walking along and I'm, my heart's beating, I'm not knowing what to expect. I was expecting to see a body at eighty minutes, and the next thing, down I fell. And my flashlight went up in the air one way, my revolver went the other way, and my hat went back in the snow, and I, for just a misty second, I'm done.
11:22 Speaker 03 Tom Gruchy thought he was done, that it was all over for him. But fortunately, he was wrong. He hadn't fallen over the cliff. He'd just tripped over a concealed edge where the embankment drops down about five feet. The snow softened his landing, and apart from a sore knee, he was okay. But this told Tom that whoever it was that was wearing those boots next to the imprint of the dragged body knew the area very well. Tom retrieved his flashlight, picked himself up, and scrambled back up to the top, extra cautious this time.
12:02 Speaker 03 He continued to edge closer towards the cliff, slowly following the drag marks, praying that he wouldn't get hurt. He set himself a visual marker where he vowed to stop, a few feet away from the edge. And that happened to be where the trail ended. But not for the boot prints. They turned and left a separate trail back out to the road. Tom yelled out over the cliff and into the night. Hello.
12:39 Speaker 03 No one replied. There were no noises whatsoever. It was dead quiet. He leaned over as far as he could and shone the flashlight over the edge of the bank, and there he saw a woman looking right up at him, her eyes wide open. She was on her back, half naked, on a snow-covered rocky ledge just above the ocean. Tom would later write in his book, quote, "Her hair was short, and the two-piece snowsuit she wore was purple and light grey. The bottoms were pulled down, and the top was around her shoulders. She didn't feel the cold. She couldn't feel anything.
13:24 Speaker 03 Her eyes were fixed on mine in a death stare. A stare I would never forget. A stare that has stayed with me for thirty years."
13:35 Speaker 03 She wasn't moving. It was too late. Constable Tom Gruchy immediately called for backup, the General Investigation Service, the K-9 Unit, and forensic professionals from the larger detachment at St. John's. He warned them about the condition of the roads, that slippery black ice, and to be very careful. It takes about an hour to drive to Norman's Cove from St. John's, and that's when the conditions are good. Constable Gruchy knew they wouldn't be arriving anytime soon and prepared himself for a long wait. It was by this point in the early morning hours.
14:19 Speaker 03 Tom felt so badly for the victim. He wanted to at least cover her body up, but he knew he had to leave her untouched for the investigation. But he couldn't just do nothing, so he decided to follow the direction of those boot prints and walk the area with his flashlight to see if there was anything else to be found. Constable Gruchy was sure that whoever was responsible for this crime was not a stranger to the area. Besides, no one would be out on foot in this extreme cold if they didn't live close by. Tom thought about the anonymous person who called in the assault. He would have had to have lived close by too,
15:03 Speaker 03 and he must have been walking near the guardrail to have seen whatever it was that motivated him to call the police. Tom had a feeling that the person who called knew the victim and probably could identify the killer. They had to find him as well. But for now, he kept walking along the main road, following the boot prints, being very careful not to step on any. He came across a red spot in the ice, about the size of a small pea. He covered it to protect it and continued down the road. He came across another spot. It seemed that the trail was leading somewhere.
15:47 Speaker 03 He continued along and found a third spot, right where there's a side street. He covered that spot and walked down the street, finding himself at a small slipway, an area where people put their boats in the water. Tom could see that the snow and ice was all torn up with footprints around a small boat, about fourteen feet long. There were cracks in the ice all around it, like someone had tried to take it out but couldn't move it. Very strange. Tom made a note and started walking back to the car. As he walked past the houses again,
16:28 Speaker 03 he noticed another spot of blood at the entrance to a steep driveway. He followed the driveway up to the back of a house, and there, on the back doorstep, was another drop of blood, a bigger one. That was the moment that Constable Tom Gruchy knew that whoever was responsible for this crime either lived in that house or had been in that house that night. He radioed it in. The investigation team was still on their way, but the roads were so bad that it had taken them hours to get there safely. They finally arrived at about 4am, and Tom showed them where the victim's body was.
17:12 Speaker 03 It would take a rescue operation to get her down from there. There was only one main road from the Trans-Canada Highway around the shoreline, and the police were quick to set up a perimeter for the investigation. It all needed to be searched. All the houses needed to be canvassed. They had to identify the victim, the perpetrator, and that anonymous witness. Constable Tom Gruchy would later write in his book, "Back then, we didn't use police security tapes, and DNA evidence gathering was in its infancy. Crimes were solved by simple, honest-to-goodness police work."
17:56 Speaker 03 Tom went with the canine unit. The dog ran with the scent of blood and pulled at the leash up the same driveway to the same house. They saw another boot print, and on that boot print was a large red spot, the size of a small coin. That confirmed it. But as Tom wrote in his book, Who was the killer? We needed a name. I knew I could knock on any door and find out in a heartbeat who lived at that house at the end of the road, but that wouldn't put him at the scene. They had to find the anonymous witness who phoned the police.
18:37 Speaker 03 Tom had no doubt that he lived nearby and was probably watching what was going on at this very second. He was right. As he walked up to one nearby house to knock on the door, he was startled when it suddenly opened in his face and he found himself face to face with a teenage boy who was clearly upset. He said he'd been waiting and asked how she is, if she's okay. He said he was so sorry, he was scared to death and wished he had his time back. She's okay, isn't she? Tom reassured him that he didn't do anything wrong and then asked him some gentle follow-up questions.
19:22 Speaker 03 The boy said his name was Paul and he was seventeen years old. His dad was away for work and his mum was at home, but she'd been asleep the whole time. Paul told Constable Tom Gruchy that he'd been out that night, and as he walked home, he came across a scene at the side of the road, past the guardrail. The teenager's voice quivered as he spoke. I never got a look at the lady. Her face was covered with either a hat or a hood. She was on her back in the snow and she was crying or moaning, I can't remember. He was straddling her waist.
20:03 Speaker 03 Tom asked the teenager if he knew them and Paul said no. This was surprising because everyone knew everyone in small communities like Norman's Cove. But then Paul clarified he couldn't see the woman, but the man straddling her looked right at him as he walked by. I knew him right away. I really don't even think he noticed me. He lives with his parents down the cove. I don't have to see him, do I? Tom asked for the name of the man. Guy Butt. It was Guy Butt. Paul said he was a hundred percent positive. He believed Guy was married and lived with his parents.
20:47 Speaker 03 He was also a strange person who might be capable of anything at any time, always on the booze. I never did trust him. I just walked by. I was afraid. I didn't know what to do except call the police. When he got to his home and phoned the police, he watched as the man he identified as Guy Butt climbed back over the guardrail and walked down the road towards his home.
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23:08 Speaker 03 That anonymous call came in at 11:30. The investigative team showed up about 4 a.m. and by 7:15 a.m., they had a warrant and they were ready to execute it. Constable Tom Gruchy showed up to the door of the house in question with two other members in uniform. An older man answered the door and asked what they wanted. Tom assumed it was probably Guy Butt's father. The officers asked if Guy was at home.
23:38 Speaker 04 Yes, what did he do now?
23:41 Speaker 03 It appeared that Guy Butt had been in trouble before. The officers informed the man that they had a warrant for his son's arrest and handed over the piece of paper. He read it and pointed to a door.
23:57 Speaker 04 I opened the door, and he was in bed with his wife sitting there smiling in the room, some size of a prison cell. He was in bed with his snowsuit on. He still had the same snowsuit that he had all night.
24:11 Speaker 03 Guy's wife screamed as she jumped out of bed and continued screaming as she ran towards the open bedroom door. But she wasn't the reason they were there. Guy Butt shouted in protest as he jumped out of the bed and ran towards the officers. He stank of old stale booze, like he'd been drinking for days. And he was wearing a one-piece snowsuit, a very strange thing to wear to bed. It turned into a scuffle with the officers wrestling Guy to the ground, knocking over furniture as he fought back, swore, and yelled at them. They told him he was under arrest for murder
24:54 Speaker 03 and they had a warrant to search his home. He yelled... Fuck off, what murder? You're fucking crazy, I was home all night, I asked the wife.
25:06 Speaker 03 Guy Butt insisted he didn't do anything and threatened the police that they were going to pay for breaking into his house. He didn't seem to realise that his own father had readily let them in and directed them to his bedroom. The 27-year-old was put in the back of the police car, handcuffed. His clothes and boots were collected and sent to the RCMP lab in Sackville, New Brunswick, along with samples of the blood from the victim. It was the lab that had the latest equipment for forensic testing at the time, and they asked for speedy processing. The police didn't know who the victim was,
25:50 Speaker 03 but she was very likely someone local and they knew it was only a matter of time before they learned who she was. And the autopsy would tell them what had happened to her. Guy Butt was taken to the Whitburn RCMP detachment for questioning by the investigators with the General Investigation Service. Constable Tom Gruchy was assigned a very specific role. As he described it, he became Guy Butt's best friend for three days. He would sit in any time Guy was questioned or interviewed and make sure he felt comfortable.
26:31 Speaker 04 I did everything for him. I was there, backing the car, whatever you want, a cigarette, drink, whatever. Yes, my son, look, don't worry about it, I understand, right? I became his best friend for three days.
26:45 Speaker 03 Three days was a very specific number. By law at the time, a suspect under arrest needed to be brought before a judge or magistrate within three days of a search warrant being executed. After that, continuing to detain them would be a violation of their charter rights.
27:06 Speaker 03 The investigators were confident that the forensic evidence would point to Guy Butt as the perpetrator, but there were so many unanswered questions. What was his connection to the victim? What was his motivation for attacking her? And did that boat have anything to do with it? Best-case scenario would be to get a confession, and they were careful about following the book to caution him about his charter rights, including, of course, his right to a lawyer. But Guy insisted he didn't want one. He started talking about what he'd been doing the last 24 hours without being prompted.
27:48 Speaker 03 He told the police he'd spent the previous day at his buddy's house drinking since about 7 or 8 in the morning. He estimated he must have had about two dozen beers there and was also loaded on drugs. He was there until late that evening, when he decided he better head home to his wife. He hoped that he would clear his head and sober up on the walk home. Guy Butt confirmed that he did walk alongside the main road around the bend where the guardrail is. He lived nearby. It was a route he'd taken hundreds of times before, and he said he didn't see or hear
28:30 Speaker 03 anything out of the ordinary that night. He did confirm the boat on the slipway was his, and so were the footprints. He said that he decided to head down there quickly to check that his boat was secure. He sat and smoked a cigarette or two, and when he felt his head had cleared enough, he headed the short distance home to his wife. Guy Butt insisted that if he'd noticed anything out of place on his walk home, he would have been the first to call the police. But nothing happened, while he was there anyway. When the police asked him why he felt the need to secure his boat so late on a freezing
29:14 Speaker 03 cold night, Guy said that locals were always on the beach shooting birds, even in winter. He didn't trust them, especially since someone had taken his boat in the past and the police were no help. So that's why he took it upon himself to check the boat, and then he went home to his wife. The police weren't satisfied, but they had to keep playing the game. Or Constable Tom Gruchy did. He wasn't there to ask Guy any questions of his own. That was up to the investigators. Nor was Tom to answer any questions Guy asked. His only mission was to tend to Guy Bud,
29:56 Speaker 03 make sure he was comfortable and had everything he needed, and gradually gain his trust. They had less than three days to get as much as they could out of him. So Constable Gruchy told Guy to call him Tom, and offered the 27-year-old food, cigarettes, coffee and a shower. Guy continued rambling and dismissed another offer to get him a lawyer. Now, he'd started telling Tom he was anxious to talk to his wife. The police were under no obligation to allow a detainee in custody any visitors. But this was a very small RCMP detachment.
30:38 Speaker 03 They had extra wiggle room that a larger detachment might not have. And this request presented them with an opportunity. Constable Tom Gruchy phoned Guy's wife and invited her to the station for a visit. He wanted to score some points that might inspire Guy to get talking about what really happened that night.
31:03 Speaker 03 Guy's wife's name was Debbie P, according to a later court document. Tom observed that when she showed up to the station, she cried a lot. Guy asked how his parents were, but neither of them said very much apart from that. At the end of the visit, Debbie asked Constable Gruchy if she could return the next day and bring her husband his evening meal: fried fish and mashed potatoes.
31:33 Speaker 03 It was quite the ask, but she insisted. She said she'd heard rumours going around the community about what had happened, and insisted that whatever it was, it just was not possible that Guy was involved. Debbie was convinced her husband was innocent. She really wanted to cook a comforting meal for him. She told Constable Gruchy, quote, "There's no way he did this, not him. I know he's far from perfect, but I do know the man I married."
32:08 Speaker 03 Tom decided to allow it.
32:12 Speaker 03 Debbie showed up to the detachment with a special home-cooked meal for her detained husband: fish and potatoes. Of course, Tom monitored their conversation. He could hear her pleading with Guy to tell her the truth. "You didn't do that to that woman, did you?" Evidently, Debbie wasn't as confident about her husband's innocence as she claimed to be. Guy insisted he had nothing to do with it, and begged Debbie to believe him. He told her, "No way, I didn't, I swear, and I don't know why they have me locked up."
32:51 Speaker 03 At the end of the visit, Debbie told Guy she loved him, and left with tears in her eyes.
33:00 Speaker 03 Guy Butt had no idea that while he was eating his home-cooked dinner, the detachment received the lab results. The blood samples on Guy's clothing and snowsuit were a match to the victim's blood. So too was a drop of blood on one of his boots. Investigators had already matched that boot to the prints found next to the drag marks in the snow, around the slipway where the boat was, and at the doorstep of the house where Guy Butt lived with his parents and wife. It was pretty solid evidence that definitively placed him at the scene.
33:39 Speaker 03 But the answers about what happened and why was something that clearly only Guy could provide. And their time was almost up. He needed to be arraigned before a magistrate by 3pm the following day.
33:56 Speaker 03 Constable Tom Gruchy was finished for the night. He said goodbye to his so-called best friend. As he turned and walked out, Guy called out, "Tom." "Yeah? Never mind."
34:13 Speaker 03 The following morning, when Constable Gruchy showed up at the Whitburn detachment for work, he was immediately pulled into a meeting with investigators and told they were trying one last tactic to try and get a confession. It was time to stop being nice. One of the lead investigators, Corporal Taylor, was going to be the bad cop now and told Tom to just keep doing what he'd been doing, playing the role of good cop. Tom would write that he really loathed Guy Butt by this point, and he was starting to get very sick of having to pander to the man's every whim, knowing what he'd done.
34:55 Speaker 03 He was glad to see it would all be over soon, one way or another. Corporal Taylor stormed into the interview room and told Guy to sit and shut up. They went over the evidence they had so far. Guy's head was down, but he didn't say a word, except to ask Tom for another cigarette. It was something he'd been accustomed to getting the last few days. But not today. Corporal Taylor interjected, "Give him nothing. You look and talk to me, not him. Think about your family, your wife, your father. You're going down and you know it."
35:36 Speaker 03 Then the bad cop stormed out, leaving Guy Butt with Tom. He knew his request for a cigarette would be rewarded, and it was. Then Guy asked if he could see his wife Debbie again. Tom did not know what to say. They had mere hours until their time was up. Guy Butt likely knew he was done for, and he probably also knew this would be the last opportunity to see his wife before he goes to a proper prison. Constable Tom Gruchy knew that arranging another visit with Debbie was unlikely at this late stage,
36:18 Speaker 03 but he didn't want to tell Guy that because they could lose their leverage. And perhaps if Guy thought there was still a chance to get something he wanted, he might give the police something they wanted: a confession, the last piece of the puzzle. Tom told Guy he wasn't sure if he could arrange a visit with his wife at that time, but he left it as an open possibility. After that, the silence was deafening as the minutes ticked by. Guy said nothing as they sat across from each other.
36:55 Speaker 03 Now they were down to less than an hour before their court appointment. Guy had his head down as he smoked another cigarette. Suddenly, he said, "Tom, I did it. I killed her. I don't know what the fuck came over me, but I did it. I gotta tell someone." Tom would later write that his heart sank. Quote, "I felt weak. I couldn't believe what I'd just heard." He reminded Guy that he was under caution. He didn't have to say anything and he could request a lawyer. "I know. I did it."
37:34 Speaker 03 He began his story again. It started the same way, drinking at his buddy's house from early in the morning. But they weren't the only people there. Guy told Tom that his buddy had a teenage daughter who was there along with a friend. He already knew who the friend was and where she lived. But that day, she caught his eye. He noticed she was very good-looking and he became fixated on her.
38:04 Speaker 04 She had a friend, a girl, eh, and they were there, they were there all day. And he was, and he was drinking Jackie Club. That's fine, you can mention that, that's all he drank, it's very popular. That's the name of the beer, but he was drinking Jackie Club, he was drunk, which he was a lot. And he had made the plan all day, knowing who she was, you know, and you know where, you know where she lives, because everybody knows everybody, and he was waiting for her lead.
38:31 Speaker 03 Guy described her as young, about sixteen, with long red hair. He said she was there the whole day and into the evening. Quote, "I wasn't thinking clearly, all that booze. All I knew was that I was going to have her. As the day went on, the more I drank, the more I was going to have her. I knew when and where."
38:56 Speaker 03 He knew the exact route she would take to get home, and he knew it would lead her up the road and around the bend where the guardrail was. The more he continued to drink, the more he planned an attack on the way home. As soon as the young girl left, Guy did too. But he didn't follow her as she continued walking around the bend. He took a shortcut across a hill, scrambling to get ahead of her. Then he lay in wait over the other side of the road, knowing she would be walking around that bend soon. At that point, he wasn't thinking about anything else. Quote, "None of the consequences, nothing, just her.
39:41 Speaker 03 I hid, waiting for her to come by." When Guy heard footsteps approaching, he pulled in the hood of his snowsuit so that only his eyes were visible. And at that point, he said, quote, "I wanted her and I was going to have her, and that was it. I didn't think of anything else. Sex, just sex, that was all, nothing else."
40:08 Speaker 03 When she came into view, he ran across the road and tackled her over the guardrail and into the thick snow. She never saw him coming. He said she didn't even look around. She landed face down in the snow with Guy on top of her. He told Constable Gruchy, quote, "I turned her over. Jesus, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It wasn't her. It was an older woman and I didn't even know her." It was shortly after that that he saw another figure in a snowsuit walking past. Guy said he put his hand over the woman's mouth so she couldn't scream.
40:51 Speaker 03 He cursed when he saw it was the red-haired girl walking past, the one he wanted, not this older woman he'd just tackled into the snow. He stayed still until the red-haired girl was past them. Guy told Constable Gruchy, quote, "I was totally fucked up. I never had a clue what had happened. It was like I was having a dream or something. I panicked. I had no fucking idea who this woman was." Of course, the police had already identified her by this point.
41:29 Speaker 03 Sixty-year-old Minnie Callan had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was born in 1925 in Norman's Cove and had lived there all her life. As an adult, she fell in love, got married, and raised six children, three girls and three boys. Minnie and her husband were well-known and greatly respected in the town. Their children grew up and had children of their own, and Minnie was a devoted grandmother. But then her husband was diagnosed with cancer, and she added caregiver to the list of hats she wore.
42:12 Speaker 03 Minnie lovingly tended to her husband as his cancer became terminal. He passed away in August of 1985, just two months after her 60th birthday. Gone too soon. Minnie was now a widow, but as she grieved the loss of her beloved husband, she had to continue on with her own life and responsibilities. One night, about a year after his death, she was helping out one of her children with some babysitting. Minnie was a doting grandmother, known to be young at heart. That evening, it was freezing cold, but Minnie didn't live far away.
42:57 Speaker 03 She was happy to bundle up and walk home.
43:01 Speaker 03 She never made it. Minnie Callan had no idea that Guy Butt was hiding on the side of the road, loaded with alcohol and drugs, as he waited for someone else to come around the bend. He tackled the petite woman into the snow, thinking Minnie was the red-haired teenage girl he'd been obsessing over all day. He told Constable Tom Gruchy that he became furious. Then he saw his real target pass by. It was estimated that they were probably only 100 metres apart, but because of that bend in the road, the 16-year-old wouldn't have been able to see what had happened up ahead.
43:47 Speaker 03 And at the time, none of them knew that a third person was coming along behind her, the 17-year-old named Paul, who would recognise Guy Butt actively committing an assault on a female before running home to call the police immediately.
44:08 Speaker 03 Back at the Whitburn RCMP detachment, Guy Butt said he was sorry, over and over. Constable Tom Gruchy would later write that it was as if the 27-year-old was in a hypnotic trance as he spoke. But their tactics had paid off, and the confession was happening right in the nick of time. Guy still did not want a lawyer, and he continued talking. He said that after he tackled the woman into the snow and realised she wasn't who he thought she was, he was so angry that he started hitting her hard, really hard, over and over with his fists.
44:51 Speaker 03 His hours of planning had gone down the drain, and he took out every bit of his anger and frustration on this innocent bystander, 60-year-old Minnie Callan. He told the police he couldn't stop, and she cried and cried. "I put my hand over her mouth and told her to shut the fuck up. I had my mind made up. She wore a two-piece snowsuit, and it didn't take much to pull down the pants. I told her to shut the fuck up, don't make a fucking sound." Guy Butt told the police that he tried to rape Minnie Callan, but he couldn't. "Probably all the beer and whatever."
45:34 Speaker 03 He said that everything was happening too fast, and then the woman startled him by calling him by his name. She knew him. He said she told him her own husband died of cancer, and she was alone. And in what was clearly a desperate attempt to stay alive, "She said that there was no one at home at her house, and that we could go there and I could do what I want. She knew me, she said she did. Now what? I was all fucked up." Guy said he had no idea who she was, but he remembered standing up and she was still on her back in the snow, naked.
46:16 Speaker 03 He kicked her in the head and remembered seeing her false teeth flying in the air and across the road. He said he felt nothing. She was more or less whimpering all the time. I was really scared and didn't know what to do, just like in a dream. I'm not like that. I never hurt anyone like this. Constable Tom Gruchy had been giving Guy cigarettes to keep him talking. And it worked. It's over for me. What the fuck was she going to do there anyway, an old woman? I was waiting for someone else, not her. I beat her up, kicked her, tried to rape her. I knew I was in deep shit.
46:58 Speaker 03 Everything was happening so fast, no one saw me. He said there was no one else around, not a soul, and he knew what he had to do. He claimed he didn't have any choice. She was moaning and crying on and off, and he just wanted her to shut up. He hit her again, but she kept moaning. He hit her again and again and again. He couldn't stop. Then he noticed all the blood. It was everywhere. He said he cleaned his face and hands in the snow and then, without thinking, I turned her over, face down, and dragged her toward the edge of the cliff.
47:41 Speaker 03 I had my mind made up. I knew what I had to do. I didn't think about anything else. I thought that no one would ever know. Guy Bart told the police he grabbed the woman, Minnie Callan, by her ankles and her arms were outstretched. He said he knew exactly where the edge of the cliff was. And when he got close, he picked her up and threw her over into the ocean. He said she didn't weigh very much and he anticipated her body would float off somewhere and someone else would find her later. It would be a mystery that no one would ever solve. He clearly didn't think about the trail of blood and footprints he left at the scene.
48:27 Speaker 03 Guy Butt said he wanted to make sure she'd hit the water, so he peered over the edge of the cliff. And that was when he realised he hadn't heaved her far enough. Quote, "I saw her on the rocks. She landed on the cliff about twenty, thirty feet down and not in the water like I wanted. I knew that cliff was there, but I didn't think about it. I was sure someone would find her. I had to move her."
48:57 Speaker 03 Guy decided to use his boat. He would row it the short distance around to where the woman's body was, a few feet above the water. He'd be able to reach up from the boat, pull the body off the rocky ledge and throw it into the water. He scrambled down to the slipway, glancing around to make sure no one was in sight. But as soon as he tried to move the boat, he knew his plan was thwarted. Quote, "I couldn't get the boat off the slipway, it was frozen. So I went home and went to bed." Guy told Constable Gruchy that he wore his snowsuit to bed because he planned to make a swift getaway at sunrise to try the boat again.
49:43 Speaker 03 He was trying to save himself a step, but then the police busted into his bedroom. He told Tom, quote, "I'm really fucked, aren't I?"
49:57 Speaker 03 With that, they were on their way to the magistrate. In the car, Guy Butt was saying "sorry, sorry" over and over again, and putting on a show of crying. Constable Tom Gruchy believed they were crocodile tears. He would later write in his book, "What bullshit! There were two sides to Guy Butt. I saw both the man and the killer and didn't much like either one. On and off as we drove along, I thought I understood where one side was coming from. The other side I despised. I wondered if he felt the same way about himself." Tom was of course relieved that he'd built up enough trust with Guy Butt to finally
50:42 Speaker 03 get that confession, and so too were all the other investigators on the case. But he was greatly troubled by what had happened to Minnie Callan. It was the first homicide case he'd ever worked on, and it was entirely senseless. Tom knew the details he heard from Guy Butt would stay with him for years to come, decades in fact. He'd already broken the news to Minnie's daughter Phyllis, and would later write that he'd never been able to forget the look of helplessness on her face, instant despair. Phyllis immediately broke down, unable to comprehend what had happened to her mother. She cried, "Why her? Why my mother?
51:26 Speaker 03 She never hurt anyone in her whole life." Tom Gruchy had no answers to her questions then, and even after the confession, there was still one thing playing on his mind, one final detail that he had to get from Guy Butt. Was Minnie Callan still alive when he threw her off the cliff? He would later write that he hoped to hear Minnie was already dead before she hit the cliff, that her pain and suffering was over, and he thought he had just enough leverage left to get it before Guy appeared before the magistrate. When they arrived at the courthouse, Tom handed Guy another cigarette and promised
52:10 Speaker 03 him he could see his wife. Then he called in his favour.
52:15 Speaker 04 And I said, "Hold on, I got one question for you, but..." And I was racing right out of my chest, you know? And he said, "What? What is it?" I said, "What's she like when you throw her off?" "Say no, say no, say no." And he looked me right in the eyes, he said, "Yes." So I said, "How do you know?" He said, "Because she was crying when I threw her off it." She was crying. I could have killed him. I could have killed him. Honest to God.
52:43 Speaker 03 It was heartbreaking to learn she was still alive. Guy Butt was allowed a very short visit with his wife Debbie, for her sake, not his, as Tom would later write. Guy told his wife that he'd confessed to everything, that he was drunk at the time and didn't know what he was doing. Debbie started to cry hysterically. Guy attempted to comfort his wife, but she said nothing. Eventually, she cried out, “Why? Why?” As Guy was led away for his magistrate appearance, he told Debbie that he loved her.
53:26 Speaker 03 The autopsy and forensic evidence were consistent with Guy Butt’s version of events. Minnie Callan had suffered multiple serious injuries. Brutal injuries to her head, bruises and scratches on her face, bruising to her neck, back, and her private areas. Her skull was fractured in multiple places, so was her left shoulder, spine, and pelvis. Her ribs were broken, her chest was caved in, and there was bruising to her lungs and internal organs. The injuries to Minnie’s face, neck, and abdomen were determined to have occurred before she was thrown off the cliff, while the remaining injuries could have occurred
54:11 Speaker 03 when she landed on the ledge below. The autopsy concluded that Minnie’s state of undress couldn’t have resulted exclusively from her being dragged to the edge of a cliff and thrown off. In other words, she was purposely undressed, and more than 20 of her pubic hairs were found at the top of the cliff.
54:35 Speaker 03 Constable Tom Gruchy was haunted by thoughts of how long Minnie Callan had been lying there, on that ledge above the ocean, before she succumbed to her injuries. Just the thought of what she’d been through made him feel sick.
54:55 Speaker 03 Guy Butt's appearance before the magistrate was a short one. The Crown Prosecution requested he be remanded to Waterford Hospital, a psychiatric facility, for a 30-day mental assessment to determine if he was fit to stand trial. That assessment would include a comprehensive look at his background to see if there was anything there that might give some insight about why he planned to attack that 16-year-old girl and why he did what he did to Minnie Callan.
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57:18 Speaker 03 According to a court document, Guy Butt was assessed by expert forensic psychiatrists in consultation with the police. He was interviewed multiple times, and his mother, his wife Debbie, and one of his sisters also provided information about his background. His full name, according to the court document, was Albert Guy Butt, and he was born in 1958 in the small nearby town of Markland. He was one of 14 children. When Guy was about nine or 10, his family relocated to central Newfoundland, to the town of Badger, for unknown reasons.
58:01 Speaker 03 According to the court document, it was during their time in Badger that an incident occurred, one that would later be referenced repeatedly in Guy's psychological assessments and court documents. Guy himself said very little about the incident, and was reluctant to discuss it as part of his assessment. But the professionals had his full medical history, along with the details given by his mother. Mrs Butt said that when Guy was an adolescent, around 12 or 13 years of age, she received a phone call from the RCMP who reported he'd skipped afternoon classes and had done something terrible.
58:44 Speaker 03 It was winter, freezing cold at the time, and he'd assaulted a young girl he came across. He removed all her clothing and proceeded to beat her with a tree branch. She was only about seven or eight years old. He presumably ran off and she was taken to hospital, where the attending physician noted she had been beaten somewhat severely. But Guy's mother, Mrs Butt, tried to play this incident down by claiming the little girl was not seriously injured. Her son wasn't that bad. This detail sheds a little light on the family dynamic, similar to the comment made
59:26 Speaker 03 by Mr Butt when he opened the door to the police, asking for Guy. What has he done now?
59:35 Speaker 03 After the incident with a little girl, Guy Butt was hospitalized at a psychiatric facility for the next three months. It was 1972 at the time. When he was released, his family moved from Badger in central Newfoundland, back out to the Avalon Peninsula, to Norman's Cove, where Minnie Callan had been living all her life.
1:00:02 Speaker 03 According to the court document, Guy Butt did not do very well at school and dropped out in his early teens. He was described as functionally illiterate. He had some basic reading and writing skills, but not enough to effectively participate in daily life and society. This, combined with his chronic use of alcohol and drugs, contributed to his long-term inability to find stable employment. Yet when he was 20 years old, he managed to find a woman who thought he was good enough of a catch to marry. He'd been married to Debbie P for seven years, according to the court document.
1:00:45 Speaker 03 In Debbie's interviews for her husband's psychiatric report, she described a typical marriage, what she perceived to be a normal life with the usual ups and downs. She said Guy worked mostly seasonal jobs, and when he wasn't working, he supported them both with his employment insurance benefits. The reason why they lived in a tiny bedroom at his parents' place was becoming obvious. Debbie also acknowledged that Guy had serious problems with hazardous use of alcohol and drugs, and when intoxicated, he would often lash out physically by damaging property, kicking down doors, punching holes in walls.
1:01:28 Speaker 03 He'd caused significant damage to one of the interior walls of his parents' home during one angry outburst. But Debbie insisted he never hurt her.
1:01:41 Speaker 03 Guy Butt had a history with police, but he'd never been convicted of a serious violent crime. He had about a dozen different incidents listed on his criminal record. According to the court document for this case, most of them were too minor to specify, but the final two were for physical assault, involving confrontations with the owners of a local club. After the second confrontation, he was placed on a probation order. The next time would likely be prison. Albert Guy Butt was still on that probation order when he murdered Minnie Callan.
1:02:24 Speaker 03 The psychiatric assessment determined that Guy did not present with any significant mental illness, and there was no indication of organic brain damage or antisocial traits. In fact, Guy was found to be capable of forming meaningful emotional connections, as evidenced by his seemingly close relationships with his wife, mother and sister. They were all adamant he had their full, unwavering support. But a feature of Guy's personality was what was referred to as explosive traits—sudden, intense outbursts of anger, moments when he could act in ways he might otherwise see as unacceptable.
1:03:06 Speaker 03 They were reportedly followed by feelings of remorse, but the behaviour was clearly part of a concerning pattern. Alcohol was a key factor. While Guy claimed that all of the troubling incidents in his adult life occurred under the influence of alcohol, the psychiatric report found that the explosive traits in his personality could still emerge without it. Guy himself admitted he had a serious problem. He wanted professional, intensive treatment to deal with his issues and try and understand the motivation behind his actions. He also repeatedly expressed concerns about his wife and her future.
1:03:49 Speaker 03 He expressed remorse for the impact his actions had on her life and that of their families. Overall, the psychiatric report found that Albert Guy Butt was fit to stand trial. His application for bail was eventually denied. He'd been charged with first-degree murder, which means a planned and deliberate killing. He would plead not guilty to that charge. The court would hear that Guy had confessed to planning and plotting to attack the red-haired teenage girl all day as he was drinking at his buddy's place. But by his own admission, he was planning to rape her.
1:04:33 Speaker 03 He didn't mention anything about a plan to kill her, which is consistent with pulling his hood so tight she could only see his eyes. The fact that he didn't want her to recognise him indicated that he wasn't planning to kill her. Guy Butt's confession indicated he snapped when he discovered he'd tackled the wrong target. He went into a rage, and an argument could have been made that the physical assault and attempted sexual assault of Minnie Callan was one criminal event, and his actions in throwing her over the cliff to cause her death was intent to kill. But to prove a first-degree murder charge, you need planning and intent.
1:05:19 Speaker 03 So the Crown amended the charge to second-degree murder. Constable Tom Gruchy was deeply concerned. This meant that if convicted, Guy Butt would likely receive life in prison, but he would be able to apply for parole many years earlier than the 25 he'd have to wait if convicted of first-degree murder. In fact, he could be out in as little as seven years.
1:05:47 Speaker 03 The trial went for five days and the court heard testimony from Constable Tom Gruchy, Corporal Taylor and the other members of the investigation team. They heard from witnesses and various forensic specialists. Every day, the courtroom was filled to capacity. The tight-knit local community had been in an immediate state of shock, followed by great anger. And by the time of the trial, the overwhelming emotion they were left with was a fear of the unknown, according to the court document. If this man, who was one of them, could do such a thing, how would they ever feel safe in their own community again?
1:06:32 Speaker 03 Constable Gruchy was surprised when Guy Butt’s parents showed up along with his wife Debbie. He thought for sure she would have left him, considering what he’d confessed to doing. Tom would later write about the couple, quote, “Which one of them was really the prisoner?” Albert Guy Butt was found guilty of the second-degree murder of Minnie Callan. The judge described it as “among the most dastardly crimes recorded in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador”. He stated that “every person has the fundamental right to walk freely and without fear in
1:07:15 Speaker 03 their own community, and it’s the court’s responsibility to vigorously defend that right. Any sentence had to reflect society’s deep revulsion for the crime.” The judge noted that while Albert Guy Butt had expressed some remorse for the loss of life, it seemed to be more about himself, the situation he found himself in, and the effects it would have on his mother, wife, sister and other family members.
1:07:47 Speaker 03 With that, he sentenced Albert Guy Butt to life in prison with no chance of parole for 14 years. Constable Tom Gruchy expected this to happen. He felt the criminal justice system had let Minnie Callan down. Guy Butt was sent to Dorchester Penitentiary in the nearby province of New Brunswick, and his wife Debbie moved over there to be close to the prison. After a period of time, Guy was allowed to start having family visits with Debbie, and they made frequent use of the facilities, according to Tom Gruchy's book.
1:08:28 Speaker 03 "They say the housing units inside prison walls for conjugal visits have everything. Obviously, they do. Everything, that is, except birth control." Shortly after one of those family visits, Debbie learned she was pregnant. The outcome of that pregnancy is not publicly available information, and Tom Gruchy's memoir is more about his personal experiences. But the story ends with a mention that Albert Guy Butt was given his freedoms early, and
1:09:03 Speaker 03 when he was released on full parole, he settled with his wife in a different province to Newfoundland. Given the nature of the crime he committed and the impact it had on the community, I was curious about the circumstances of Guy Butt's release. So I contacted the Parole Board of Canada citing public interest, and I received his final parole documents. According to those documents, Albert Guy Butt had cascaded down to full parole by the year 2000, when he became eligible. It was exactly 14 years after the murder of Minnie Callan.
1:09:46 Speaker 03 The document starts, quote, "At 42 years of age, you are serving a life sentence for the brutal sexual assault and murder of an elderly lady." The board noted a number of factors had been identified as key contributors to Guy's offending, including substance abuse, personal emotional orientation, and employment, which likely meant lack of. Another factor mentioned was exposure to inappropriate sexual behaviour. There's no further information about that. In any event, the parole board noted that Guy Butt's correctional plan addressed all
1:10:27 Speaker 03 these risk areas, and his case management team and psychologist reported he'd made significant progress as he headed for full parole. Guy had demonstrated consistent effort, continuous change, and greater insight and maturity, and the board found his risk was able to be effectively managed. He had stable employment with a pro-social work environment and strong community support. And in addition, the board noted that Guy had committed to a lifetime of abstinence from drugs and alcohol, which was necessary for his successful integration and the protection of the public.
1:11:09 Speaker 03 His sobriety had long been tested successfully, but as a special condition, he was required to continue to abstain. Five years later, in 2005, the board noted ample evidence of Guy Butt's continued abstinence, and that he demonstrated he was able to resolve stressful issues by making use of personal and community support instead of resorting to drugs and alcohol. The board removed that special condition, but noted that Guy was still expected to remain abstinent. It's been 20 years since then, and there haven't been any further updates, no other offences or additions to his criminal record.
1:11:56 Speaker 03 As for Constable Tom Gruchy, he started suffering the symptoms of PTSD, although he didn't know it at the time. Several years after Minnie Callan's murder, he left the RCMP, but he remained deeply affected by the case. Quote, "I never met Minnie Callan in life, but I have seen her every single day of my life since." He vowed that she would never be forgotten. Eventually, with the blessing of her family, he wrote his memoir about his time working on the case, called "The Murder of Minnie Callan", and it was a much-needed account
1:12:38 Speaker 03 because there was a serious lack of press coverage on the case for unknown reasons. There was nothing reported in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and only two very brief articles in a New Brunswick paper. And as we all know, the absence of information creates a perfect situation for rumours and alternative narratives to take hold. Tom Gruchy's book was the first time that the true story about Guy Butt's horrific crimes against Minnie Callan came to light. And he tells me that when it was released, some people were extremely angry about it, calling him a liar and that he made it all up.
1:13:22 Speaker 03 That's when he heard about one particular rumour. It's a new piece of information that wasn't in his memoir.
1:13:30 Speaker 04 They started a rumour out in that area, which is a small area, everybody knows everybody. Which I knew nothing about until I wrote the book. Two days before, Minnie was at the post office, and Butt was there at the same time, and they had an argument, and she slapped him in the face. And that's why he did it, which was totally, totally no assault. It was just made-up stories.
1:13:57 Speaker 03 So according to the rumour, the reason 27-year-old Guy Butt attacked 60-year-old Minnie Callan and tried to rape her, why he viciously beat her as she cried out in pain, and then threw her over the cliff when she was still alive, was because she had hit him in the face at the post office two days earlier. It's obviously manufactured as a very poor attempt at justification for Guy Butt's crimes. The facts of the case are outlined in a court document released by the Canadian Legal Information Institute, or CANLY, and those facts are consistent with Tom Gruchy's account. And besides, if there was any truth to this rumour,
1:14:41 Speaker 03 surely Guy Butt would have mentioned it himself, instead of what he actually did confess to, a day spent planning to attack and rape a 16-year-old girl.
1:14:55 Speaker 03 Another thing that happened after the book was published was that it attracted the attention of the organisers of the In Her Name Vigil, a collaboration of the St John's Status of Women Council, the St John's Native Friendship Centre, and the Newfoundland Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre. The In Her Name Vigil is a public ceremony staged each year to honour missing and murdered women and girls of Newfoundland and Labrador, both Indigenous and not. And the organisers had never heard of the murder of Minnie Callan until Tom Gruchy's book was published. Minnie's name was immediately added to the list to make sure she's never forgotten.
1:15:41 Speaker 03 In the preface of his memoir, Tom Gruchy writes, “Sometimes terrible, unspeakable things happen to good people. Their story still has to be told.”
1:16:04 Speaker 03 Thanks for listening, and special thanks
1:16:09 Speaker 03 Thanks also to the listeners who have reached out to us to cover this case, which would never have happened had it not been for Tom Gruchy's memoir. The murder of Minnie Callan is currently out of print, but still available as an ebook. I read it in an afternoon and found it deeply moving. The way Tom writes puts you right at the scene. For the full list of resources we used to write this episode, and anything else you want to know about the podcast, visit canadiantruecrime.ca. We donate monthly to those facing injustice. This month, we've donated to all three groups that organise the In Her Name vigil. That's the First Light St John's Friendship Centre,
1:16:53 Speaker 03 the Newfoundland Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre, and the St John's Status of Women Council. Links to all in the show notes. Audio editing was by Crosby Audio, and Eric Crosby voiced the disclaimer. Our senior producer is Lindsay Eldridge, and Carol Weinberg is our script consultant. Research, writing, narration and sound design was by me, and the theme song was composed by We Talk of Dreams. I'll be back soon with another Canadian True Crime episode. See you then.
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