Crime Beat

On November 17, 2004, a young Calgary family settled in for the evening. At about 9 pm, the husband left for work as a security guard, while his wife stayed home with their two children. In the middle of the night, she woke to the sound of shattered glass. Within minutes the entire home was engulfed in flames. After desperate attempts to reach her children failed, the mother managed to escape. The children didn't survive. Senior crime reporter Nancy Hixt shares the unexpected twists the investigation took into who was responsible for the devastating double-fatal fire.

In 1983, Susan Tice, a 45-year-old mother of four was found raped and stabbed to death in her Toronto home. Four months later, across town, 22-year-old Erin Gilmour returns home from work and is attacked the same way. The women didn't know each other, and both cases remained unsolved for decades. In 2000, DNA profiles from each crime proved their attacker was the same man but didn't reveal his identity. It would take another 20 years, but thanks to genetic genealogy research, the killer was arrested, charged and convicted, bringing a measure of closure for the victims' families.

On a warm summer night in 1973, as Peter Demeter pulls his Mercedes into his driveway, the bludgeoned body of his wife and model, 33-year-old Christine Demeter is revealed; investigators launch an epic investigation, and discover a story and cast of characters that is stranger than fiction; model mistresses, million-dollar insurance policies, and Hungarian hitmen are revealed.

Millionaire Builder Peter Demeter is charged with non-capital murder in connection with his wife's death. His trial in London Ontario's brand-new courthouse is explosive, with investigators uncovering new evidence daily. Who killed Christine Demeter? The suspect list is a long one, from Hungarian enforcers to a serial murderer stalking young women in Mississauga, and a self-processed cop killer who escaped Collins Bay Penitentiary.