Inside Crime Beat
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Hey, it's Nancy. Before we begin today, I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to Crime Beat early and ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. He's the most terrifying serial killer you've never heard of. Haddon Clark has confessed to several murders, but investigators say he could have over 100 victims. At the center of the mayhem, a cellmate of Haddon's that was able to get key evidence into Haddon's murder spree across America.

because hadn't thought he was Jesus Christ. Born Evil, the Serial Killer and the Savior, an ID true crime event. Premieres Monday, September 2nd at 9. Watch on ID or stream on Max. Set your DVR.

Hey, this is Nancy. First of all, I just want to say thanks so much for all of your support. We started this podcast for a bunch of reasons, having no idea what people would think of it. But the response has been overwhelming. And for that, I want to say thanks. Thank you for listening and thank you for sharing Crime Beat with your friends.

Every time the Crime Beat team and I create a new episode, we get a ton of questions sent to us through social media and by email. So today, I'm going to try to answer as many of those questions as I can.

In order to do that, I want to introduce you to my friend, Dunner, who also happens to be the executive producer of the podcast and the head of the Curious Cast podcast network. Hey. Hey. So this is interesting because when we just started talking about Crime Beat, when it was just an idea, I think one of the most interesting things for me has been how many questions that you have been getting about the show that

that we really never had a chance to answer before. Obviously, when you're taking on case after case after case and going through the breadth of evidence and telling that story, we never really get to take a chance and sort of understand how you got there. So I'm hoping on this episode, we can answer some of those questions that you've been getting from listeners over the last several weeks and months. And I have a whole bunch of questions I want to ask you too that I don't know about the show.

Well, this is completely new for me because since I've started the podcast, I've been doing a lot more talk radio, doing a lot more Q&A type stuff just on the radio network. And I am the most comfortable when I'm asking questions. You know, I can be aggressive and I can, you know, pull the answers out of people and just make people relax. And that's kind of my strong point. So answering questions is kind of a new thing for me. So you'll just have to

Bear with me here. You got it. But before we sort of dig into the podcast and where the idea came from and ask you a whole host of questions about some of the episodes that you have presented, let's go back to the beginning. So you start out as a reporter and you're where? So my career goes like most journalists. You kind of get a job wherever you can. So I basically got my internship at RDTV in Red Deer.

um that station doesn't exist anymore but it was a sister global station um and i was actually doing the agriculture beat a little known fact that i'm a farm girl and so i did my internship with this show that was a completely ag show um all agriculture all the time and uh so for people who don't know what the agriculture beat is what is that is that what i think it is weather and well it's

So you're talking about, you know, grain farmers, cattle producers, all of those things. And it came pretty naturally to me because I grew up on a farm. So, you know, it was a great experience. It got me, you know, into that station. I got a look at the way the whole TV network worked.

and I got to you know make a lot of friends at the station and build relationships and I definitely knew that I needed to be a journalist working for a TV station at the time and they kind of gave me my foot in the door. So somebody somewhere along the way took a gamble on you reporting on crime. Do you remember the first day you got asked to go out and report on crime of some kind?

So, I'm just going to take you back slightly. Absolutely. So, basically, I did my internship at RDTV. And after that was done, they kept me on part-time. So, and I was basically doing a little bit of everything. And I really wanted to be full-time. So, I left for a little while and I worked in several small towns in Alberta for radio stations. I worked at a small TV station. So, it kind of took about a year and worked all over the place and got some experience. And kept me on part-time.

kept applying back at RDTV wanting to get that job. And eventually they hired me full time several months later and I was doing a noon show and actually tell this story. If anybody wants to hear the short, quicker version of the story in episode two of the podcast. So I give a very short version of this, but, um, I was doing this lifestyle lifestyle type program and, um,

you know, we did music, we did cooking, we had a little bit of everything. And then after that show was done, I would get to go reporting. And my boss at the time was like, man, she really likes to kind of push the envelope. I had this great boss, really, really great guy. And, uh, he's a fan of the podcast, I have to say. So he listens all the time. So he recognizes certain times when I'm referring to him. So I'm sure he'll be hearing this. And, uh,

He was great. And he basically called me into his office and he's like, you know, like maybe you should be putting your energies into something a little bit harder rather than this noon show. And the egg show always wanted me because I had that farm background. So he said, do you want to take on the crime beat? And yeah.

I was like, yes, yes, I do. And I haven't ever looked back. Like, I'm so passionate about this. And it's just the best thing that could have happened to me, that single decision. So for a lot of us, the thought that you go to work every day to report on crime and all of the things that come along with that is mind blowing. It's not a world a lot of us get a view into.

Jamie Mitchell wrote this. I started listening to the show a little while ago and now my daughter is hooked too. She's really shown an interest in what you do and I'd love to hear more about your education. More importantly, what's it like to report on crime every day and how do you even start when a case comes down? So you hear about a case or you're handed a case. How does it all start for you?

In a perfect situation, I think, you know, we're competing journalists. You know, you're always trying to get a story that's really compelling and that the public would find interesting. Of course, you know, our global news network, we're trying to, you know, tell stories

good stories. And so in a perfect world, you would come up with your own content. So sometimes that means going to court and pulling court documents or, you know, tracking down a family of somebody that's maybe been impacted by a crime.

If it's a homicide, that's kind of a different story. Or if it's a breaking news situation. So you handle each one of those a little bit differently. So it's hard to give a recipe for how I handle a specific case. I believe it's in episode three, I actually explain what typically happens.

when a homicide happens. I'll be sitting there and I have two phones always and both of them will light up. People will be sending me a message saying, "Hey, something's going on here." Maybe a member of the public is sending me a message on social media saying, "Hey, this is happening here." So it just kind of depends on the situation, but you always really need to be on the pulse of what's happening.

And if I can stress one single thing about reporting on the crime beat for this many years is there's really no off time. Like, I'm always somewhat working. Like, to give you an example, I was on my honeymoon. I was in Aruba on the beach and my phone lit up, like literally lit up. And I

I'm like, well, I'm kind of like on vacation. And you know what? It was such a big story that I stopped what I was doing. I had a source who needed to talk to me but wouldn't text. So, you know, I got onto Wi-Fi. We had a FaceTime conversation and I broke...

the story from there. And that's happened on a number of beach vacations. I can't tell you how many stories I've broken while on vacation, but you really need to be plugged in. And I think there's a certain commitment to the job. So if, you know, if somebody is looking for that nine to five, it's not, you know, I'll get my phone will ring at two in the morning, three in the morning. So,

Definitely your family kind of has to get used to that. For me, my husband is very understanding. He works in the industry as well. So he really understands that. And he's very patient when I'm, you know, we'll be in the middle of doing something. I will stop what I'm doing. I will start working both phones. I will actually have both phones going and maybe a laptop too. Contacting different people, trying to confirm information and really just trying to get the best information possible out to the public.

How much of what you deal with is about sorting fact from fiction, misinformation from real information when you start to investigate a case from your side?

There's so much wrong and bad information out there. So, you know, if people are just going by what they see online, if they're not looking at a legitimate news source, you shouldn't be trusting what you're reading. So I know one person had asked me, like, how do you report on cases that, you know, predate the Internet? Well, it's because I don't rely on the Internet. Like, my job is to dig up the facts on my own. I'm not...

looking for something that's been previously posted. I don't just get in and Google something and whatever answer is, that's what I'm reporting. It's the opposite of what I do. My whole job is to make sure that I'm going to the source of the information and verifying facts so that what I'm presenting to the public, they can trust that it's reliable and

We very much always would trade in being first for being accurate. Like there is nothing worse than putting out information that's not accurate. And so that's something that I definitely take pride in. When I take a look at a lot of the questions that you get on a daily and weekly basis about Crime Beat,

Probably the overwhelming question is, given what you deal with from violent sex crimes to child abductions to homicides, how do you actually deal with what you see? I know you said that you're sort of always on and you're always working. And I want to thank Linda Hennessy for this question. But how do you cope with the very sad things you see? And how do you go home at night and sort of deal with those sorts of things?

Yeah, and I think there's no really easy answer to that question. Like there's kind of a few parts of that. First, I'm probably really good at compartmentalizing and not dealing with some stuff, which is probably not the best answer to that.

But for certain situations, I think you are so busy, you're dealing with things day in and day out, and you just kind of got to move on. You have to separate yourself sometimes from what you're dealing with, or you wouldn't be coping. If you really absorbed everything, every single minute of what you're covering, I don't think you would be covering those things. There's some really, really bad subject matter. But

But then there's other things that are really bad. And, you know, my mom, I call my mom a lot. And she'll be like, Nancy, I don't think I want to hear this. And I'm like, no, but mom, I have to share it with somebody. And she's really, really good about listening to different things and just letting me talk it through. And my husband, also, he, you know, will go for a walk and will just kind of be like, I got to get some of this off my chest. Like, you have to hear this. And, you know, he doesn't necessarily want to hear it either. Yeah.

But there's a few cases especially that really stand out and of course it's going to impact you. And I think you've actually witnessed some of this when I'm going back and telling some of these stories. I'm kind of forcing myself to go back and pick that little spot in the back of my brain and I actually have to deal with some of that. So there is a little bit of that and of course you are going to be impacted for sure.

There's no way that you can get to know these families the way I do and what's happened to their loved ones and not take some of that on. But I...

I think you also, it gives you that sense of, you know that you need to treat these people with extra compassion because you can relate to what they're going through because you've seen all of those details and you're seeing the information come out in court. You're seeing, you know, how they're reacting in court or any of those things. So those relationships with the families are really important and I think just having

having those conversations with the families helps me as well. So I don't know if I answered that very well. Absolutely. And I want to thank Candy and Jessalyn and Kristen all for sending in questions about that specifically, trying to understand better the,

Given what you're exposed to, how do you actually process it? How do you deal with it and still go on and live a happy life? Because you're a fairly happy person to be able to wake up and deal with that kind of stuff. And I can imagine it's what a lot of investigators go through. I can imagine it's a lot of what attorneys who deal with criminal cases go through as well.

and anyone who's a first responder as well. So very similar probably in that way. And I would imagine your circle has probably expanded out to people in law enforcement, people who are first responders, people in the criminal court system. All of those have probably helped along the way a little bit. The Calgary Police Service has some amazing investigators, and you do get to know them, and you get to see –

the impact on these, of these cases on them. You know, crown prosecutors, we have amazing prosecutors in our city and, you know, across the country. You know, our CMP officers I deal with, all of these people, first responders, I've heard from a lot of people, a lot of extra people that I'd never met before have reached out since the podcast has launched and

They say, you know, I can really relate to this from this episode because they've experienced that as well. So, you know, it is really easy to talk to those people who have seen similar things. What I go through, what I experience, what I see is

is really a fraction of what, you know, the victim's family would go through or the homicide detective would go through. Because, you know, I'm seeing it pretty close up, but they're one step or two steps closer even. And, you know, it's a lot. So I have a lot of respect for what they go through and what they deal with. And, you know, I really don't think, you know, what...

What goes through my mind or my issues sleeping is really, really insignificant compared to what they have to handle all the time. So I have a lot of respect for them. We should say this too, that if you're just discovering Crime Beat right now, this is a Q&A session with Nancy Hixt.

the creator and writer and host of Crime Beat. And if you are just discovering the show today, go back to the very beginning and there will be a lot more Crime Beat on the way as well. I want to pivot to this if I can. This question comes from Carly Morrison.

Nancy, I love your podcast. It's my new favorite. You're an incredible storyteller and your compassion for the victims, their families, and the desire for truth comes through with your passion. I'd love to hear what, if anything, about your career has impacted you most in your day-to-day life. And what's your biggest accomplishment that you're most proud of? I think...

What's impacted me most is just I have a special awareness of really, you know, what people are capable of. Definitely. I really do see the worst in people. I can imagine you do. You know, yeah.

And somebody sent me a message just the other day and they said, you know, I was out for a run, but I found myself like I'm looking at people differently. Like, oh, I wonder if that person is. And I'm like, well, welcome to my world. Like that is I do. I look at people a little bit differently for sure. I think what I'm most proud of would be just.

I've been able to give a voice to victims. And I think that's always been a huge priority for me. And I know we've talked about that a lot, is making sure that victims have that voice. And I just feel really, really blessed, honestly, to have these families trust me with that. And people say, how do you get these families to trust you? Well, I don't know. I just treat them the way I would want to be treated.

So I want to read this one from Chelsea Rosemary. And her question is, in your career as a crime reporter, what case or detail has haunted you the most?

So it's hard for me to narrow down just, you know, one case because all of the cases that I cover have an impact on my own life in some way. The most difficult cases to cover are the cases that involve children, for sure. You know, I don't have children, but I just find it really, really difficult to wrap my head around why somebody or how somebody could harm a child. So, you know, you see the case of Mika Jordan. That's episode one of the podcast.

And, you know, there's a several. So Mika Jordan, Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents. That's a big one. Sarah Bailey and Talia Marsman.

So those cases all have really, really disturbing graphic details. And so those cases have really stood out in my mind. And, you know, there's a reason why I'm not doing back to back episodes with those cases. A lot of people are sending me messages daily asking for those cases to be covered.

And, you know, I'm familiar with them. I covered them all from start to finish and they're difficult subject matter. And I feel like they're difficult subject matter for, you know, the families. And so the families, you know, every time we do an episode like this on a case, you know, the family kind of goes through it again as well. So I just want to always be really respectful and just make sure that it's the right time. When we first started talking about the podcast...

You had mentioned that you really wanted to do this for the reason that you wanted to give a voice to the victims and a voice to the victims' families as a way for them to, for you to contribute in some way to the healing along the way. You've had families of the victims reach out since the podcast launched. And I think that that's such an incredible dynamic. Tell me a little bit more about that side of it.

The families of the victims of the cases that I've covered have been so supportive. Like, I can't even begin to tell you how supportive they've been. And you know what? They've been just so willing to be a part of this. You know, it's difficult. You know, we go back and I ask them a lot of questions and, you know,

depending on how I've done the interviews or the process, sometimes we're doing really, really long interviews and, you know, they're emotional. They're breaking down while I'm talking to them and they're opening up again, reopening wounds that, you know, that maybe they don't, it's not that they ever go away, but, you know, they're able to kind of go on day to day and I'm suddenly ripping open these wounds. So, you know, it's really, really difficult for them, but

They're so supportive. And these families are like this community. I started my Facebook crime page, Nancy Hicks Crime Beat, for these people so that they could kind of talk. So a lot of, you know, say there's, you know, one murder victim's family and another. I wanted a way where they could kind of meet. And so this became that platform. So, you know, I have this one mom from out east that she –

is now such good friends with a couple of the families in Calgary or, you know, a BC family. And, you know, they're not all necessarily here. And maybe they're not even all cases that I have covered from start to finish, but maybe I've had some, you know, hand in. And they support each other. And it's interesting because people will post questions and some of the family members will jump in and answer. And so it's really, really quite incredible. This is an interesting one that we got. So Brian Woodhouse.

A family that you have been in contact with throughout. Mika's stepdad. Absolutely. And he said this, honestly, in the very early stages, it was hard to trust anybody, especially reporters. But you know that feeling you get when you can tell someone something who truly cares? Not because they have to, not because they're being paid for it, because what is happening in that moment is truly and honestly moving them as a person.

Nancy truly embodies that very feeling. From the moment I first met her, and it was not on good terms at all, given the situation, but the fact I was angered into reaching out, I knew we were just not another sound clip to her.

She wanted to know what happened, of course, but displayed such honest and genuine care for our daughter in establishing who she was as a person and not just focusing on the news story. What really blew me away with Nancy personally is that unlike with anyone else, she still cared after the story aired. She took the time and effort to continue to reach out to us to see how we were doing, if she could help us in any way, and if we appreciated the way she handled broadcasting our darkest moments to the nation.

She made us feel like people at a time when we were most vulnerable and often treated as not much more than a case file or a headline. I could ramble on for years about the amazing way Nancy carries herself as a person and a professional, but honestly, it's just the person she is. The care behind the work, the fact that it is so much more than just a job or another story to her.

My family owes Nancy a debt which we can never repay for the kindness and care that she showed us all those years ago and continues to carry on what is likely my most cherished friendship.

How does that feel to hear that? It's, you know, you asked me earlier, you know, how I deal with a lot of the dark subject matter. Like this, this is exactly what keeps me going. You know, these families are so incredible. Brian and Kyla Woodhouse, Mika's mom and stepdad, like everything.

They have been just so supportive. Right from the moment that I met them, they really opened themselves up and trusted me. And, you know, it's relationships like this that allow me to do what I do, to allow me to tell their stories because they do trust me. You know, it's really difficult. People will say, well, you need to tell this person's story. Well, okay, but if a family isn't willing to speak, it's really hard for me to get across the impact that

So when a family trusts me, it means the world to me. And I don't take that lightly. You know, it really it's something I take so seriously. And I want to make sure that I'm telling the story accurately, that I'm honoring this person in the way that's appropriate.

meant to be, because these people are such an inspiration to me, they have gone through the worst possible trauma. They've dealt with such horrible, horrible crimes. It would be easy for them to just never move on. You know, you basically hold yourself up in a house and just live in sorrow. Like that's what would

happen probably to most people. But the resilience and they're just survivors and they're so focused on honoring their loved ones memories. These are the people that inspire me to push forward and to make sure that I'm doing the best that I can do when I'm telling these stories. And it really, really means a lot to me. So dealing with victims families is one side of the job.

The quite opposite end of the spectrum and much darker is what you have to go through to find out what actually happened. And sometimes that involves approaching suspects, people of interest, convicted offenders. Where do you get up the gumption and fearlessness to knock on doors for someone who could cause you harm, could threaten you in some way? Where does that come from?

When I became a journalist, that was one of the things I just always wanted to do was make sure that I can do whatever possible to get answers, to get the best information and to get both sides of a story. If there's another side to tell, I would like to have that opportunity. And I think I was 20 years old working at RDTV when my boss was like, well, do you want to, you know, knock on some doors? And I'm like, yeah, I do. And and

I've never looked back. There is not a door knock that I've ever turned down. And, you know, sometimes, you know, my boss and I now will have, you know, a safety discussion or something like that ahead of time. He'll be like, are you sure? Or she'll be like, you know, are you sure you want to do this? I'm like, yes. Like,

There's times where I've definitely felt threatened early on. One of the first ones I did, I remember it was a criminal organization that I dealt with. And before I could even ask questions, they said, well, I know your name. I know you're from here. I know your mom lives here. So you better treat us with respect. And I was like, you can't be bullied into not covering a story. Of course, you always take that in the back of your mind. Yeah.

But as long as you're presenting the facts and you're presenting a story in a balanced way, and I think that you should have nothing to worry about. Have I had a few people take a swing at me? Yes. I've had more doors slam in my face. At one point, we created a montage, a video montage of just slam, slam, slam. So a lot of people don't talk. Of course, they just slam the door in my face. But I think it's always important to try to get that side.

I am really careful and I'm almost always with a photographer. And, you know, I want to mention another question that came up just recently. Somebody sent me a message and they said, you know, like, how do you choose between reporting facts and, you know, covering these stories and telling the victim's stories?

And to me, there's not a choice. Like, I'm a journalist. First and foremost, I'm a journalist. So I report the facts. I don't pick and choose facts. I report the facts. If those facts influence a case and they're relevant to the case, I will report those facts.

And the families of these victims know that, that I can't, you know, give special treatment to a family and not report something. You know, maybe there was a bit of a dark secret that led something, led to something that maybe they don't want out there. Well, I

Well, I can't pick and choose. I report facts. So it's not something that's a choice with me. And I don't pick either or. It's always both. And I want to make that very clear because I think there is there can be that perception that if you know you can be respectful to a family, well, you must be leaving something out. And that is definitely not the case.

I think there is always a way to share information with compassion. And I think you always need to put yourself in that position and think, okay, what if I was on the other side of this? So that's something that's very important to me. It's something I wanted to make very clear. That makes a lot of sense. Your job requires that you be completely objective. Your job requires that you deal with police as much as you deal with offenders and prosecutors and judges, right?

Help me understand that relationship you have with those who work in the court system or with the police to be able to uncover information. Are you a nuisance to them? Are you someone they rely on? Are you a colleague? How does that work?

I think depending on who you ask, you would get a different answer. But I like to think that I have a good relationship with the Crown prosecutors, defense lawyers, Calgary Police Service, RCMP, law enforcement in general. I do think that I've built a respect for the work that I've done and in covering cases, I always try to be mindful that I'm not stepping on toes.

You know, they have really, really difficult jobs to do, and I have a really huge respect for what they do. What you'll notice in most of the cases that Crime Beat covers for the podcast platform is that most of them have been through the courts. And it is easier for us to kind of tell that story from start to finish once there have been findings of fact.

because, you know, you really have to be careful not to release too much information close to the trial. Like, so we're very cautious of that. So, you know, you're reporting on stuff when it's happening, you know, you're revealing stuff, and then suddenly this jury trial happens. Well, you have to be really mindful of the fact that maybe the jury won't end up hearing some of the information that was released early on. So there is definitely...

respect to be had. With the age of the internet and with bloggers, we've seen a number of high-profile trials where a blogger who's not a journalist will slip into a trial and they'll start posting stuff on their blogs that

maybe happened when the jury wasn't present. And so that's one of the things that the courts have really had to try to adapt to. And, you know, a lot of times justices now will have to give a quick talk to the gallery and say, okay, you know, a pub ban means it's not just the journalists working in the room, but if you're thinking about posting on Facebook or Twitter or any of these mediums, like you fall under this ban just as much as the journalists. So

you know, it's a complicated system and it's important to know the law. You can get into a lot of trouble really quickly by not fully understanding the rules and the law. And, you know, you could be the reason why a case gets thrown out. If you're doing the wrong thing, you have to be really, really careful. So a lot of moving parts there with covering the justice system. And so for those who don't know a pub ban, it's a publication ban and it's part of the, the court system. Um,

meant to contain information and making sure that the jury hears what they need to hear that the judge has ruled on. Yeah, and different cases have different pub bans. Like, you know, in a case of a sexual assault, there would be an automatic publication ban on anything that could identify the victim of a sexual assault. In a jury trial, anything that's

not said in front of the jury, you can't report on until after the jury is out deliberating at the end of the case. So, you know, there's been a number of cases where there's some information that was released early on in the case, but maybe, you know, a defense lawyer fought to have that excluded from the trial, or maybe something came up in the course of the trial that needed to be debated without the jury there. We can talk about those things after the jury is sequestered and deliberating.

And it's interesting because, you know, me sitting in the courtroom, I know all of this information and it's always really interesting to me to think, man, I wonder how it would influence the jury if they knew this information. But you really have to be respectful of that. Of all the cases that you've covered in your career, I know the case of Kelly Cook stands out as one of the most significant, not just because it remains unsolved, unlike a lot of the cases that we report on on Crime Beat, but

because of the story behind the case. You know, I would encourage anybody who hasn't listened to that episode to go and listen to that. Kelly Cook part one is episode five. Part two is episode six.

And, you know, I tried to explain in episode six just how difficult it was for the original target to speak about this. Like, in all these years, she had never spoken to anyone. Her story had never been told. And, you know, I did receive a little bit of criticism from some law enforcement who said, well, why would you drag her into this after all these years? Like, what did that accomplish? Well, you know what it accomplished? It allowed her...

to share her story. And there is some healing in that. She had never been able to let people know how she felt. So first and foremost, she had a story to tell. And I'm a journalist and I wanted to hear her story. So that's why I did it. Second, is there that chance that somebody out there

would hear her story and come forward after hearing the impact on her. I think for sure there's that chance. And I think Kelly's family feels the same way.

And I know this woman, like it took her so much courage. Like it was so difficult for her to go through that. And I mean, you can hear it in her voice. She broke down several times. This is something she lives with every single day, just as Kelly's family lives with this. And they have the same common goal. And that would be to see this case solved, to have somebody held to account, to have somebody brought to justice and to know who did this.

I want to ask you about one of the other episodes and one of the other cases that we covered specifically that probably drew the most questions. And this was the case of the Beltline Rapist, Wafid Dalla. The questions largely surround how deportation works after an offender has been convicted. In his case, he came to this country illegally in 1997. But how does that work?

Does an offender serve their entire sentence out in Canada and then are deported and serve another sentence in their country of origin? Or how does that whole process work? The short answer would be it depends on what kind of a crime you commit and what kind of a sentence you're given. So in his case...

He was not only convicted of serious, serious offenses and sentenced to prison time, but he was also declared a dangerous offender. So that's, you know, a relatively rare designation, and it's reserved for kind of the worst of the worst offenders who have to have that history to be able to keep them in jail for an indeterminate sentence. So basically...

They needed him to receive parole to be able to

be the catalyst to deport him. Because if he was just in jail forever here, he would just stay in jail forever here. And really they wanted to have him deported. So he was granted day parole and, you know, that kind of freaked everybody out a little bit. Like, how are you going to grant this guy parole? But it was this necessary step and that did start the deportation process. And once that process happens, it can be very, very quick and,

So, again, depending on the sentence, depending on the crime, in some cases, if it's a relatively minor crime, you know, they can appeal that decision and try to stay in the country. I've seen that happen. But again, they're really minor cases. And then in the more serious offenses, it happens really quick.

And people have asked me to, you know, does he have to, you know, stay in touch with law enforcement in his home country of Algeria? And no, really, he's just a free man. So, you know, the victims have worried that he can just, he snuck into Canada once, what's to stop him from doing it again? And, you know, does anyone really know where he is right now? I doubt it. Like nobody's keeping tabs on him.

Not every piece of feedback you get about the podcast, just like your reporting, is positive. What do you say to people who say you are glorifying crime and violent behavior on this podcast and in the reporting that you do?

I think first and foremost, people need to remember that at the end of the day, I'm a journalist. This is it's important information. These are important stories. It's important to get across, you know, the impact of these crimes and help people to understand the impact of these crimes.

I'm presenting facts. So it's not to glorify. It's to make sure that people understand what's happening in our world. I think a lot of people can kind of just blindly go through their days thinking the world is just amazing and perfect.

But realistically, there's some bad people out there and some bad things. And I think there's lessons to be taken from every single story that I cover. And I think that it's important for everybody to learn more about these victims and what they went through and just to honor their memory. But there's also something, you know, you can, there's so much survival. Like you think about episode two, the story of Randy Safronovich, you know, I dodged a bullet twice. Twice. Twice.

Like, look at that man. Like, he is such an inspiration to not only have somebody try to take his life just recently, but years ago he survived, you know, a much more sinister plot on his life. There's so much...

inspiration from that. You know, that man, so many people have messaged me and said, wow, like I thought I was having a bad day. And then I listened to his story. So it's not about sensationalizing crime. It's about, you know, presenting facts as we do, you know, on the news, on global news every single day. It's presenting that information. And, you know, I really try not to sensationalize, you know, I know we have these conversations behind the scenes all the time. Absolutely.

you know, because you don't want to sensationalize it. One of the last questions. If there's anything you hope that this show does as we move forward, what is it and what makes you still want to do it and keep creating new episodes?

I always like to be able to push the envelope and see, okay, like in the case of Kelly Cook, could what we're doing in pushing the envelope and telling the story in a new way, could this open up that avenue to have that tip or that information come forward that would lead to an arrest? Like, absolutely.

I think that there's some value in exposing things that aren't necessarily always easy to expose and telling stories that are really difficult to tell. Those are the stories that I really want to make sure people hear. Like, you know, there's so many times I received a message, somebody and somebody posted a review as well about the predator episode. Like we shouldn't be talking about stuff like this. No, like we should be talking about this stuff. Like this is,

The more we talk about victims of crime and allowing people to just kind of talk about the impact on them,

the better it's going to be. We shouldn't be hiding things. You know, I'm the biggest advocate of being open and transparent and making sure the public gets the most information. You know, push the envelope wherever we can and expose things and allow victims to have a voice like we always do.

This has been really great, and it's given us an opportunity to sort of learn a whole bunch more about what goes on behind the scenes of not only Crime Beat, but the crime reporting that you do from the very outset of a case being discovered and uncovered to the investigation process to the process of arrest and trial and appeal and in some cases deportation and more. There's a lot more to come on Crime Beat. We're headed into season two.

And that's coming this September. If you have never gone back and listened to all the cases, I know we say this, but go back to the beginning.

There are 12 incredible stories involving very real people and families, and their stories deserve to be told. And I think you have done an exemplary job of doing so. And it's clear by how many people love this show and send you messages all the time. So I want to thank you for sitting down and giving us sort of an inside look into Crime Beat. And we're so excited about moving forward in September to a brand new season and a whole series of new cases. So congratulations and thank you. Thank you. And I would really welcome people to look at

on our story that we always post a story along with each episode on globalnews.ca. But also on the different social media platforms, you know, Instagram or Twitter or my Facebook crime page. I think I just did a post a little while ago that showed kind of a graphic with all the faces of the crime beat episodes so far.

Because these aren't just stories. These are real people. And I think at the end of the day, people, that's what resonates with people. I think if you realize that these are the things that are going on around you and it could happen in any single city, you know, Canada, in the U.S., all of these things are happening around us. So I think if you can learn anything from these episodes, flippant.

learn how to have compassion and maybe just treat people with extra respect because I think it really, really makes such a big difference. And I'm so grateful for the trust and respect that people have treated me with. And so I just would invite everybody to kind of do that. And if you can, just choose to be kind. You know, people can get up in arms over these cases. Just, you

Remember, these victims show compassion as well and they're just amazing people and I hope you can take something positive away from each episode despite the horrible subject matter because these people are survivors.

We want to hear from you. We love hearing from you. Before we wrap up today, where can people find you on email and on Twitter and on Instagram? So you can find me at Nancy Hickst on Twitter, Nancy Hickst Crime Beat on Facebook, Nancy.Hickst at Instagram,

on Instagram. Um, and that's H I X T. If you're trying to send it to a different spelling, you're not going to get to me. Um, and you can also send me an email at nancy.hicks.globalnews.ca. And I always try to get back to you, whether it's adding the questions on a Q and a episode like this one, or I'll send you a message back directly, but you can always reach out to me on any platform for sure. Excellent. Brand new season of crime beat is on the way coming this September season two. Uh,

You can download Crime Beat everywhere you find your favorite podcasts, including Spotify, CastBox, Apple Podcasts, and so many other platforms. We will do this again very soon and keep the questions coming. Thanks for joining us on Inside Crime Beat.