Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast

Who Is She? | Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast Who Is She? A Mick & Mack Mystery
 Inspired by a True Story Toronto, 1949.
 When a young wife and mother vanishes after her shift at a Danforth Avenue diner, detectives Mick McCathie and Mack MacNeely are called in to investigate. What begins as a routine missing persons case quickly turns into something darker: whispers of a man in a brown delivery truck, a suitcase found in the Don Valley, and a local mechanic who flees town without a trace. The deeper they dig, the colder the trail becomes—until all that's left is a map of unanswered questions and a feeling in Mick’s gut that something terrible was buried… somewhere close. With no body, no suspect, and no way to prove what they suspect, the case is shelved. Forgotten by most. But not by Mick. Toronto, 1995.
 Demolition crews tear up the concrete floor of an old car dealership—poured in 1949—and discover what was hidden beneath it for nearly half a century: a woman’s bones, red-b...

The Gardener's Grim Harvest: The Bruce McArthur Story | Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast The Gardener's Grim Harvest: The Bruce McArthur Story Episode 1: McArthur and the Victims In the heart of Toronto’s Gay Village, a sanctuary turned sinister. Men began to vanish—fathers, dreamers, friends—leaving behind only whispers and weathered posters fluttering on lampposts. Unseen, a predator thrived among them: Bruce McArthur, the jovial landscaper whose hands shaped gardens and hid horrors. By day, he trimmed lawns with precision. By night, he stole lives with chilling intent. Eight men—Skanda, Abdulbasir, Majeed, Soroush, Kirushna, Dean, Selim, and Andrew—fell to his shadow, their remains buried in the soil of the very community that embraced him. For years, the Village trembled with unease, its trust eroding as the disappearances mounted. But the truth couldn’t stay buried forever. When one loss struck too close, a community’s cries pierced the silence, forcing a reluctant investi...

38 Years of Silence: The Hunt for Margaret McWilliam’s Killer | Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast 38 Years of Silence: The Hunt for Margaret McWilliam’s Killer A Routine Jog. A Brutal Attack. A Mystery That Refuses to Die. On a warm August evening in 1987, 21-year-old Margaret McWilliam laced up her running shoes and stepped out for a jog in Toronto’s Warden Woods Park. It was a routine she knew well—a moment of peace in her busy life as a student and part-time worker. But that night, she wouldn’t return. Somewhere along the familiar path, a predator was waiting. Ambushed, dragged into the shadows, and subjected to a vicious assault, Margaret fought for her life. Her body was discovered the next morning, leaving behind a crime scene that would haunt investigators for decades. A distinctive shoe print from a rare Korean-made runner—sold only at Bata Shoe Stores—earned the case its chilling nickname: the “Cinderella Murder.” Yet, despite this clue and a DNA profile extracted years later, ...

  38 Years of Silence: The Hunt for Margaret McWilliam’s Killer A Routine Jog. A Brutal Attack. A Mystery That Refuses to Die.   August 27, 1987. A warm Toronto evening. Margaret McWilliam, a 21-year-old student with a bright future, laces up her running shoes for a jog in Warden Woods Park. It’s a routine she knows well—until it becomes her last. Ambushed. Dragged into the shadows. Brutally murdered. Nearly four decades later, her killer remains a phantom. I’m Jay Nicoll of Nicoll Investigations, and join us this Sunday July 20th on Ontario Cold Cases - Canada’s True Crime Podcast. Step into the haunting mystery of the “Cinderella Murder”—a case defined by a single shoe print, a DNA clue with no name, and a family’s unrelenting search for answers. A distinctive Korean-made runner. Skin cells on her sweater holding the killer’s identity. A witness spotting a man fleeing the scene—red hat, muscular build, gone into the night. Suspects like Paul Bernardo and Russell Williams cam...

Episode 3 - The Gardner Museum Heist - The Mafia Connection | Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast The Gardner Museum Heist Episode 3: The Mafia Connection  Uncover the Mob’s Secrets in the Gardner Museum Heist! Dive into the shadowy underworld of 1990s Boston with Ontario Cold Cases - Canada’s True Crime Podcast as we continue our World True Crime Thursday series. In Episode 3: The Mafia Connection, host Jay Nicoll of Nicoll Investigations pulls you into the heart of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist—the $500 million theft that left the art world reeling.  The trail of 13 stolen masterpieces—Rembrandt’s stormy seascapes, Vermeer’s priceless The Concert, Degas’ delicate sketches—has gone cold. Early suspects like guard Rick Abath and crime lord Whitey Bulger led nowhere, but a new theory emerges: the Boston mafia, with its iron grip on the city, might hold the key. From Robert Donati’s rumored plan to trade the art for a mobster’s freedom to Carmello Merlino’s failed 1999 ...

The Restorer’s Redemption | Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast The Restorer’s Redemption
 A Mick & Mack Mystery “A forged past. A burning truth. And a ghost who never died…” When a priceless medieval manuscript is revealed to be a forgery during a glittering Toronto gallery gala, famed art restorer Nicholas Hawthorne becomes the prime suspect in a scandal that could destroy his career—and his freedom. But Nick insists the manuscript was real when it left his hands. Someone switched it. Someone who knows his secrets. Enter Detectives Mick McCathie and Mack MacNeely, two sharp-witted investigators with a knack for uncovering the rot beneath the varnish. As they dig into the origins of the piece, a sinister signature reemerges: a symbol used during World War II by a master forger known only as Ordo—a ghost from Nick’s past, presumed dead in Prague. Teaming up with the brilliant and enigmatic Eve Whitmore, and rare book dealer Edward Thornton, Mick and Mack follow a trail of elegant forg...

The Unsolved Mystery of Superman's Fall: The Death of George Reeves | Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast The Unsolved Mystery of Superman's Fall: The Death of George Reeves The Man of Steel. The Hollywood Dream. The Unsolved Murder. On a quiet summer morning in June 1959, Hollywood reeled from an impossible headline: Superman was dead. Not the invincible hero, but George Reeves, the beloved actor who brought him to life for millions. His death, officially ruled a suicide, quickly became Tinseltown's most enduring and unsettling mystery—a cold case that continues to baffle and divide.  But how could the Man of Steel fall? Beneath the official verdict lies a web of shocking inconsistencies: a gun wiped clean of fingerprints, no gunpowder residue, conflicting reports of one shot heard versus three bullets fired, and a shell casing found in an impossible location.  Unexplained bruises on Reeves' body hint at a struggle, while the 45-minute delay in calling police screams of a...

The Bloody Palm Print: Unmasking the Killer of Lawrence Cowan | Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast The Bloody Palm Print: Unmasking the Killer of Lawrence Cowan In 1976, the quiet, close-knit community of Smiths Falls, Ontario, was shattered by a brutal act of violence. Lawrence Cowan, the beloved owner of Cowan's Dairy Bar—a cherished local landmark—was senselessly murdered during a masked armed robbery. The perpetrator vanished into the night, leaving behind a scene of horror and a single, chilling clue: a bloody palm print on a door frame. For nearly five decades, this print has held the key to a profound mystery, a silent testament to a killer who walked free. The town grieved, a young witness was forever scarred, and a family was forced to leave their home, all while justice remained elusive. Now, with the astonishing advancements in forensic technology, that solitary clue offers a glimmer of hope. Can modern science finally unmask the killer? Will the enduring silence surroundi...

The Bloody Palm Print: Unmasking the Killer of Lawrence Cowan (Trailer) | Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast The Bloody Palm Print: Unmasking the Killer of Lawrence Cowan (Trailer) In the quiet heart of Smiths Falls, Ontario, a chilling secret has festered for nearly five decades. September 3rd, 1976. A beloved local figure, Lawrence Cowan, owner of the iconic Cowan's Dairy Bar, is brutally gunned down during a masked robbery. The killer vanishes, leaving behind a scene of unspeakable horror... and one crucial, blood-soaked clue. A single, bloody palm print. The sole tangible link to a phantom assailant. For years, it was a dead end, a silent testament to a killer who walked free, while a family grieved and a town remained gripped by fear. But time changes everything. Decades later, the relentless march of forensic science offers a glimmer of hope. Can cutting-edge technology finally crack a case thought long cold? Will this single print, buried in history, finally reveal the face of...

Episode 2 - Early Leads and Suspects - The Gardner Museum Heist | Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast The Gardner Museum Heist Episode 2: Early Leads and Suspects The Hunt for Stolen Masterpieces Begins! In the dead of night, they struck—a daring heist that stripped the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum of $500 million in art. Now, the chase is on. Ontario Cold Cases - Canada’s True Crime Podcast takes you back to 1990 Boston in Episode 2: Early Leads and Suspects of our World True Crime Thursday series, hosted by Jay Nicoll of Nicoll Investigations. The FBI scrambles to unravel a crime with no fingerprints, no footage, and a trail gone cold. Was it Rick Abath, the guard with a suspicious door-opening stunt? Whitey Bulger, Boston’s untouchable crime lord? Or Robert Donati, a mobster whose murder hints at deadly secrets? A mysterious 1994 letter teases hope, but every clue crumbles. Join us as we navigate a web of suspects, dead ends, and tantalizing what-ifs in this gripping four-part serie...

The Private Investigators Convention | Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast The Private Investigators Convention A Mick & Mack Mystery
 As heard on Ontario Cold Cases – Canada’s True Crime Podcast They came to toast the best in the business. One of them came to kill. Toronto, 1950. The chandeliers of the Royal York Hotel gleam, the band plays smooth jazz, and the world’s greatest private eyes gather for a convention of crime-solvers, cloak-and-dagger panels, and one very prestigious award. But when a famous publisher is found murdered in a locked suite—shot through the heart with no weapon in sight—suspicion turns inward. Every guest is a suspect. Every alibi is questionable. And the one thing harder than solving a perfect murder… is solving it in a ballroom full of detectives. Enter Mick McCathie and Mack MacNeely—Toronto’s finest (and most reluctant) gumshoes—dragged into the fray as egos clash, secrets surface, and silk scarves start turning up in all the wrong places. When Vicky La...

Tom Thomson: Life, Art, and Canada's Enduring Mystery | Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast Tom Thomson: Life, Art, and Canada's Enduring Mystery The wilderness held his genius. It also claimed his life. Tom Thomson, the visionary artist who captured the untamed soul of Canada, vanished into the depths of Algonquin Park in July 1917, just weeks shy of his 40th birthday. The official verdict: accidental drowning. But over a century later, the chilling questions persist, echoing through the very landscapes he immortalized. His upturned canoe was found, but his body surfaced eight days later—an unusually long time—bearing a violent bruise on his temple and fishing line eerily wrapped around his ankle. Conflicting witness accounts, whispers of a drunken brawl, and a rumored secret pregnancy with a local woman only deepened the shadows. Was it a tragic accident, a desperate suicide, or something far more sinister? From the last sighting with a man who owed him money, to threats from a ...

Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast - The Lost Boys of Pickering - A Canadian Tragedy | Free Listening on Podbean App The Lost Boys of Pickering - A Canadian Tragedy 
A True Crime Mystery from Ontario Cold Cases – Canada’s True Crime Podcast Six teenage friends. One late-night adventure. Zero answers. In the early hours of St. Patrick’s Day 1995, six high school boys vanished from the icy shores of Lake Ontario. What began as a night of celebration in Pickering, Ontario quickly turned into one of Canada’s most baffling mysteries. They were seen on grainy surveillance footage, heard revving a stolen motorboat—and then, nothing. No bodies. No wreckage. Not a single trace. For nearly thirty years, the families of Jay Boyle, Chad Smith, Robbie Rumboldt, Jamie Lefebvre, Michael Cummins, and Danny Higgins have waited. Hoped. Mourned. And asked the same chilling question: What really happened that night on the water? Was it a reckless joyride gone wrong? Or something far darker? In this gripping...

  The Lost Boys of Pickering - A Canadian Tragedy (Trailer) 
Six teenage boys.
A stolen boat.
A freezing lake in the middle of the night.
And then… nothing. On St. Patrick’s Day, 1995, six friends from Pickering vanished without a trace. No bodies. No wreckage. Not a single answer. Was it a tragic accident?
 Or something far more sinister? Join myself, Jay Nicoll of Nicoll Investigations, this Sunday, July 6th as we unravel one of Canada’s most baffling disappearances—from marina surveillance footage… to botched investigations… to the theories that won’t let this case rest. This is The Lost Boys of Pickering.
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The Gardner Museum Heist, Episode 1: The Heist | Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast The Gardner Museum Heist, Episode 1: The Heist The Heist That Shook the World In the early hours of March 18, 1990, as Boston reeled from St. Patrick’s Day revelry, two men in police uniforms slipped into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. In a brazen 81-minute spree, they outsmarted lax security, duped the night guards, and made off with 13 irreplaceable masterpieces—works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Degas—valued at an astonishing half a billion dollars. Then, they vanished, leaving behind empty frames and a mystery that’s haunted the art world for 35 years.   Ontario Cold Cases - Canada’s True Crime Podcast dives into this audacious crime with a gripping four-part World True Crime Thursday series. Hosted by Jay Nicoll of Nicoll Investigations, we’ll take you inside the Venetian palace-turned-crime scene, reveal the guards’ fateful decisions, and trace the trail of clues into Boston’s shadowy u...

Murder at Maple Leaf Stadium - Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast | Podcast on Spotify Murder at Maple Leaf Stadium
 A Mick & Mack Mystery 
Toronto, 1949. The crowd roars. The bat cracks. And a body hits the dirt. Slugger Johnny “Jolt” Jensen rounds third under the glow of the Maple Leaf Stadium lights—only to collapse dead at home plate. What looked like a thrilling game turns into a deadly scandal as whispers of poison, gambling, and game-fixing ripple through the stands. Detectives Mick McCathie and Mack MacNeely are called in to keep a lid on the investigation before the press catches wind. But the deeper they dig, the stranger the box score becomes: a coded notebook disguised as stats, a batboy taking secret signals, and a charming ex-ballplayer turned flashy bookie with his fingers in every dugout from Buffalo to Baltimore. At the heart of the mystery is Patches O’Sullivan—too smooth to be innocent, too cocky to be clean—and the unstoppable Rosie “Reds” DeLuca, tavern queen and...

Hidden Horror: The Adam Strong Investigation | Ontario Cold Cases - The Podcast Hidden Horror: The Adam Strong Investigation In the quiet city of Oshawa, Ontario, a seemingly ordinary man hid a monstrous secret. Adam Strong, a reclusive basement dweller, was a predator who preyed on the vulnerable. His victims, Rori Hache and Kandis Fitzpatrick, were young women with bright futures, their lives tragically cut short. When a plumber’s gruesome discovery led to Strong’s arrest, it marked the beginning of a harrowing investigation that would uncover years of hidden horror. In this episode of Ontario Cold Cases, host Jay Nicoll delves into the meticulous police work, the emotional trial, and the community’s quest for justice. Through detailed storytelling and expert insights, we honor Rori and Kandis’s memories while exploring the dark underbelly of a city that'll never be the same. Join us as we unravel one of Ontario’s most chilling cases and reflect on the enduring impact of these se...