The Murder of Sarah Mulvihill

On the morning of August 22, 1918, Sarah Mulvihill (also known as Sadie Mae) decided she would walk from her family home in Prince Albert out to the homestead where her father and brother were working near Sturgeon Lake. After making a few purchases in town, she started her walk, crossing the bridge over theContinue reading “The Murder of Sarah Mulvihill”

A Fire Near Tisdale: The Suspicious Deaths of William Robson and Mary Swanson

It was a quiet Thursday evening on May 24, 1928 near Tisdale, when Joe Morrell decided to visit a nearby neighbour. He left the home of his employer, William Robson, between 7:30 and 8:00PM. When he started the walk home at about 11:30PM, he noticed flames issuing from the top story of the house. Alarmed,Continue reading “A Fire Near Tisdale: The Suspicious Deaths of William Robson and Mary Swanson”

A Brief History of the Cecil Hotel in Moose Jaw

Last week you may remember that I told the story of the murder of Ralph Warwick. (If you haven’t read it, you can find it here.) And in that story, there is a suicide at the Cecil Hotel in Moose Jaw, which of course, made me raise an eyebrow. For those of you who don’tContinue reading “A Brief History of the Cecil Hotel in Moose Jaw”

Beneath the Horses’ Hooves: The Murder of Ralph Warwick

It was on the evening of November 18, 1912, that Amy Warwick showed up at her neighbour’s house, distraught. She’d gone out to the stable and found her husband, Ralph Warwick, trampled beneath the horses’ hooves in one of the stalls. The horses were still agitated and upset and she’d been too frightened to goContinue reading “Beneath the Horses’ Hooves: The Murder of Ralph Warwick”

The Murder of Henry Kinakin

On February 11, 1923, Pete Bagatoff* had gone to a wedding celebration, and since that night he’d been ill in bed. By Friday, February 16th, he told his employers George and Perana Kinakin, whom he worked for as a farmhand, that he wanted to go to Saskatoon and see a doctor. Perana talked him outContinue reading “The Murder of Henry Kinakin”

The Murder of Kosto Surkin

Good Friday, April 14, 1922 – North Regina It was late in the evening when Kosto Surkin and several of his friends were walking down the street in North Regina on their way to one of the men’s houses. They’d had a few drinks and were singing and shouting. when John Amaniuk, whose house theyContinue reading “The Murder of Kosto Surkin”

A Double Murder Near Kennedy

On Monday, April 29, 1918, Pierre Guilloux was very upset. As he later told police, he believed Pierre Bourhis and his sons had played a dirty trick on him. They’d done him out of a quarter section of land in the Hawthorne district that he thought he’d rented by verbal agreement for the year. ButContinue reading “A Double Murder Near Kennedy”

The Murder at Forget

On the evening of November 24, 1937, there was a dance at the home of John Btkaik*, a farmer ten miles south of Forget, Saskatchewan. The night proved to be a raucous affair, as tempers flared more than once among the partygoers, but it wasn’t until shortly after midnight that things turned really ugly, whenContinue reading “The Murder at Forget”

Bad Blood: Murder at Melfort

Thomas Halcro was a well liked and respected farmer in the Royal district a few miles south of Prince Albert. He’d been farming there for forty years with his wife, had seven grown children and had even served for some time on the Royal school board. Before moving to Royal, he’d farmed in the HalcroContinue reading “Bad Blood: Murder at Melfort”

The Mysterious Dr. Joseph Gervais

On November 15, 1918, James McKay, a bailiff for Sheriff David R. Seath, went out to Steep Creek with a warrant to seize a team of horses. Dr. Joseph Gervais had apparently purchased the horses from a neighbour, but then refused to pay for them. So, McKay hopped in his Ford and drove out toContinue reading “The Mysterious Dr. Joseph Gervais”