If you were in the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto on December 17, 2022, you might have come across a very normal scene: a group of teenage girls hanging out. They were rowdy and obnoxious, like most teens having fun. Some of them would eventually head to a house party, but for eight of the girls, their night would end much differently. Those eight girls ended up arrested for the murder of Kenneth Lee in what would later be deemed a "swarming attack."

The news shocked the city. What happened? How could this have happened? 

Journalist Inori Roy wrote about this case for The Walrus. She's here to make sense of that night.

If you’re a true ‘true crime’ fan then you probably know who Kristi Lee is. She’s the creator and host of Canadian True Crime. For nine years and across hundreds of episodes, Kristi has dug deep into some of Canada’s most infamous, unsolved or current cases, uncovering lesser known facts and working with victims and their families to tell their story the right way. 

This week on Crime Story, Kristi Lee on what it takes to make her hit show. 

Quincy Cross is in prison for the murder of Jessica Currin. In August of 2000, Jessica’s body was discovered behind a middle school in Mayfield, Kentucky. Her clothes were ripped. She was bruised, beaten and her body burned. 

For years, it looked like the case would go unsolved. Until a woman named Susan Galbreath started digging around. Susan had an unlikely connection to the case: she said God had instructed her to solve Jessica’s murder. And while she followed God’s plan, the police began following her lead. From the beginning, all Susan could focus on was Quincy Cross. Eventually police set their sights on four other people as well. 

But after listening to the new podcast, Bone Valley: Graves County, you really start to doubt almost everything anyone says about this case. Because, despite a mission from God, this case may actually be built on a testimony of lies. 

This week on Crime Story, Kathleen sits down with the host and producers of Graves County, Maggie Freleng and Rebeca Ibarra.

Robert Roberson has been scheduled to die three times. In 2003, Roberson was convicted of capital murder for the death of his two year old daughter, Nikki. Prosecutors argued that the blunt force trauma to her head was caused by someone shaking her. Roberson has been in prison ever since. 

If the Texas Attorney General gets his way, Roberson will be the first person in US history put to death for a case of shaken baby syndrome. But a growing number of advocates, including the detective who arrested him, say the state would be killing an innocent man. They say Roberson’s case is based on junk science.

This week on Crime Story, Maurice Chammah from The Marshall Project discusses the ongoing legal battle to save Roberson's life. 

This week on Crime Story, we’re live at PodSummit with journalist Jana Pruden. Known for sharp reporting and thoughtfulness, Jana talks about how she approaches difficult stories, what draws her to certain cases, and the moments that stay with her after the work is finished.

Kathleen and Jana get into the pressures and blind spots of the true crime world, how audiences are changing, and the choices reporters make when dealing with real people in real pain. 

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience in Calgary, AB. 

Natalie Robehmed is the first journalist Allison Mack agreed to speak to, on the record, since her release from prison. Allison spent over a decade in NXIVM, the now infamous sex cult where some members were branded with leader Keith Raniere’s initials. She joined the group as a Hollywood actress known for her role on the hit TV show Smallville and eventually climbed the ranks, using her starlet status to recruit other women into the cult.

This week on Crime Story, Natalie Robehmed discusses the new season of Uncover: Allison after NXIVM, including what it was like to finally hear from Allison, the lies she told to protect Keith, and how she became both victim and perpetrator of his sinister ploys.

Kayla had just graduated from high school when her dad found images of her on a violent porn site. Except, they weren’t images of her - not really. Someone was posting pornographic deepfakes of her face and likeness without her consent. But when she and other young women went to the police, they were told there wasn’t much they could do. The justice system had yet to catch up to the realities of artificial intelligence. 

But who was behind the deepfakes? It had to be someone they knew. And if the police weren't getting involved, what could the women do about it? It turns out, a lot.

This week on Crime Story, Kathleen speaks with reporters Olivia Carville and Margi Murphy about their podcast, Levittown.

A family lunch turned deadly. Three people died after eating a homemade beef Wellington laced with one of the world’s most toxic mushrooms. ABC’s Rachael Brown joins Crime Story to unpack a case that shocked Australia.

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A homeless man insisted his identity had been stolen. Another man, miles away, claimed he was the real William Woods — and had the documents to back it up. What followed is a story about more than fraud. It’s about how we decide who to believe, and what happens when society refuses to see the vulnerable as victims. Writer Charlie McCann joins Crime Story to tell the twisted case of William Woods.

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In the early summer of 2017, police in Squamish, British Columbia discovered the body of a man in a burned out vehicle. It took little time for the police to declare his death a homicide. What took more time was identifying who the man was. Originally, authorities thought his name was Jesse James, but they discovered he had other identities: Andrew Britt Greenbaum, Davis Wolfgang Hawke, Commander Bo Decker. Each identity revealed a mysterious past - and a potential motive for his murder.

In the new podcast, Dirtbag Climber, host Steven Chua takes us along on the adventure to uncover who the real Jesse James was.

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Kevin Smith seemed like your typical pastor. He was a respected member of his community in Montego Bay, preaching the Bible to hundreds of congregants each week. But he also preached conspiracy theories from his social media account. On October 17, 2021, Smith sent a message on Facebook instructing his followers to get to the church. He told them “the Flood is coming”. Members of his congregation packed their suitcases and rushed over. But when they arrived, that’s when the real danger began. Three people were killed, two of them, witnesses allege, as part of a human sacrifice. 

Reporter Rachel Browne wrote about this story for The Walrus. Today she joins us to explain how a pastor’s pandemic conspiracy theories turned a church into a cult and a crime scene.

Read “Is Your Blood Clean?”: The Paranoid Pastor Who Turned His Church into a Violent Cult from The Walrus here.

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