Crime Beat

In the summer of 1981, a group of teenagers was out exploring the countryside in southeastern Alberta.They had stopped to scout a path around a lake when they came across something that would haunt them even four decades later.There was a body on the shoreline, and immediately they knew it wasn’t an accidental drowning. A female was face down, bound by ropes to cinder blocks. The teens flagged down a boater and asked him to call police.Several days later, they learned the young woman they found had been missing for more than two months.It was the body of Kelly Cook, the backup babysitter.Her murder has remained unsolved for nearly 40 years.In the latest episode of the Global News podcast, Crime Beat investigators share the latest leads in their hunt for a killer.Follow along as crime reporter Nancy Hixt shares an emotional meeting of two victims in this case — one that’s brought some healing all these years later.--If you enjoy Crime Beat, please take a minute to rate it on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, tell us what you think and share the show with your friends.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February 2018, an Alberta woman went to police to file a complaint against a Calgary neurologist.The woman alleged she was sexually assaulted during a neurological exam in 2007.She told Global News she was suffering from migraines at the time, and that’s why she was referred to Dr. Keith Hoyte.She was shown into the examination room by a nurse, who told her to take off her shirt and bra and put on a gown.The woman said she felt uncomfortable, but the nurse said it was policy.When the neurologist entered the examination room, he didn’t say anything to the patient and never made eye contact.The woman said he pushed her gown down below and fondled her breasts with both of his hands, never explaining what he was doing.She described leaving the appointment with the feeling she had been violated.Calgary Police said it was only after this victim came forward in 2018 that investigators looked back and found two other historical complaints with similar allegations — one from 2008 and one from 1991.About four months later, Global News broke the story that police charged Hoyte with three counts of sexual assault.That news story and a subsequent media release by police spurred more than two dozen other women to come forward.This case has raised a lot of questions. Who potentially knew about this abuse? Who should have taken action? Could any of these cases have been prevented?And why weren’t the historical complaints investigated when those two women had gone to police decades earlier?One woman’s courageous decision to go to police about sexual abuse at the hands of a neurologist spurred dozens of women to come forward and raised questions about accountability. Could this abuse have been stopped sooner?In this episode of the Global News podcast, Crime Beat, crime reporter Nancy Hix shines a light on who may have known what was happening and when.—If you enjoy Crime Beat, please take a minute to rate it on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, tell us what you think and share the show with your friends.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the spring of 2004, "Carly" was a bright-eyed, smart and bubbly young girl.The 17-year-old was just months away from finishing high school — but for the moment, she was focused on her friends and making good memories.Carly is not her real name. Her identity is protected by a court-imposed publication ban.On March 26, 2004, she got off school early, which was typical for a Friday.That day she had an uneasy feeling that she couldn’t shake. But she also couldn’t explain it.She hung around her school as long as possible, not wanting to walk home.Carly lived in a townhouse in downtown Calgary with her younger sister and mother, just a few blocks from her high school.When she arrived home, she went into the foyer and then went to unlock the door to her suite.That’s when a strange man suddenly appeared.She questioned who he was. He replied that he was there to see her neighbour.Then, everything went black.She was knocked unconscious.Follow along as crime reporter Nancy Hixt shares Carly’s story of survival — one she’s never shared with a journalist before. Find out the dramatic twists this case has taken in the latest episode of the Global News podcast, Crime Beat.—If you enjoy Crime Beat, please take a minute to rate it on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, tell us what you think and share the show with your friends.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the fall of 2013, a little boy was taken to a Calgary hospital by his parents.The 14-month-old child was in “severe medical distress.”Soon after, he was transferred by ambulance to the nearby Children’s Hospital where he suffered a cardiac arrest.Multiple trauma doctors and specialists saw and treated John. He was put on an IV and placed on a ventilator, but hours later he went into a second cardiac arrest.On Nov. 29, 2013, at 12:47 p.m. — less than 24 hours after his parents first brought him to the hospital — John was declared dead.His case has left seasoned medical experts too traumatized to talk about it.Police were called to investigate.What led to this little boy's death?Follow along on this episode of the Global News podcast, Crime Beat, as crime reporter Nancy Hixt looks at the rights parents have, and when a choice crosses the line.—If you enjoy Crime Beat, please take a minute to rate it on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, tell us what you think and share the show with your friends.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you watch CSI or crime shows on TV, this special edition of the Crime Beat podcast is a must-listen.Global News crime reporter Nancy Hixt takes you on a behind-the-scenes look at forensic investigations.She’s joined by Sgt. Jodi Arns, an expert in bloodstain pattern analysis with the Calgary Police Service.Follow along as she explains the critical role the forensic crime scenes unit plays in solving cases, including the ones we share on this podcast.If you enjoy Crime Beat, please take a minute to rate it on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, tell us what you think and share the show with your friends.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In early November 2011, Cherry Ledesma was looking forward to a fresh start.She was living in temporary housing, run by a social agency while waiting to get into a substance abuse treatment program. Ledesma battled addictions most of her life and had been in treatment before but this time she was determined to make it work.The mother of five was very close with her kids. They regularly called and often stopped by to see her.But for a couple days that month, no one could reach her. She wasn’t answering her phone.Her common-law husband told her son she went downtown.That wasn’t uncommon, but it didn’t make sense for her to stay out for more than a few hours at a time.Later that night, police were called.When investigators arrived, they went into the basement where they found an ominous message on the wall.And just a few feet away from that message — a grisly discovery.On the latest episode of the Global News podcast Crime Beat, crime reporter Nancy Hixt shares what happened to Cherry Ledesma, and how it changed the course of her daughter’s life “The girl who became a warrior."Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nancy.hixt/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You’ve heard the stories. You’ve felt for the people involved. But what happens after the cameras shut off and the reporters walk away? Just because a story disappears from the news doesn’t mean it’s gone. So whatever happened to the nuclear disaster at Fukushima? or the trapped Chilean Miners? And did anything actually come out of the Ice Bucket Challenge?Join Global News reporter, Erica Vella on this unique history podcast as she takes you inside these stories and talks to the people at the heart of each one to find out exactly what’s happened since.Listen now at https://link.chtbl.com/wht Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Global News podcast Crime Beat, crime reporter Nancy Hixt shares the story of Brooke Clapson and the violence that followed her.As a child, Brooke was a ray of sunshine in her mother’s life.But there was a dark shadow of domestic abuse that loomed over their home that left scars on the young girl that she could never erase.As a teen, the expression “you live what you learn” played out in her life after she started dating Jerime Mallette.Mallette was two years older than Brooke.She fell victim to the same abuse she witnessed as a child.Every time she was close to leaving the relationship, her boyfriend promised he would change. If only she would give him another chance, things would be different.Three years into the on-again-off-again relationship, Brooke finally decided that it was time for a change.She made a plan with one of her girlfriends to go to Europe. It was to be an adventure of a lifetime.Brooke moved away, got a new job and saved up for the trip overseas.That’s when the violence she escaped tragically caught up to her.Hear details of the story that continue to haunt her family, police and the prosecutor on this episode of the Global News podcast.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nancy.hixt/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Global News podcast Crime Beat, crime reporter Nancy Hixt shares the story of the evil and senseless plot against Ray Johnson.Johnson was a kind and generous soul, the kind of man who would give the shirt off of his back to someone in need.He was an antiques and collectibles dealer and had a table at a Calgary flea market.In January of 2009 he celebrated his 77th birthday, and enjoyed daily routines that included coffee every morning to start his day with his youngest daughter.That’s exactly how Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 began.Ray and his daughter Bonnie went out for breakfast and sat and read the paper together. They ended their meeting with a hug and goodbyes and promised to see each other at dinner later that night.In the meantime, he went to a garage sale with one of his close friends -- then planned to meet up with an online seller who had reached out to him about some items he might be interested in. When Ray didn’t show up for dinner that night, his daughter thought he must have gotten delayed at a garage sale. He loved to visit, even with complete strangers.But the next day, when she still couldn’t reach her father, Bonnie started to worry.She called family and friends and even tried local hospitals to see if Ray had been in an accident.No one had heard from her father. Bonnie called police and reported him missing.The next afternoon, investigators met with the Johnson family to update them on his case.Their father was found dead -- murdered.Follow along as family and friends helped investigators retrace Ray Johnson’s last steps.And, learn the shocking and senseless reason he was targeted.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nancy.hixt/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The deadliest shooting spree in Canada’s modern history left us with far more questions than answers. Join Sarah Ritchie, a reporter for Global News in Halifax, as she tries to unravel how something like this could happen there.Sarah will take you through every hour, as it unfolded and together you’ll try and piece together what happened, what could or should’ve been done to prevent it and what we can learn to make sure a tragedy of this magnitude never happens again. 13 Hours: Inside the Nova Scotia Massacre: Listen NOW! https://link.chtbl.com/13hours Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices