Crime Beat

In the summer of 1999, the RCMP in central Alberta investigated a horrific case involving two children.A father murdered his little girl and tried to kill his son.The case haunted investigators for decades.But it was particularly traumatic for one officer because it launched a completely unrelated series of events that ultimately led to him being wrongfully accused of sexual assault.It would leave his life torn in pieces.In part two of this special Crime Beat series, Global News crime reporter Nancy Hixt explains the mind-blowing twists and turns of this case.Learn what it’s been like for this veteran officer to live with the stigma of being wrongfully accused of a serious criminal offence in the conclusion of ‘Scarred but not broken.’ Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a cool rainy day in the summer of 1999, an old Chevy van was seen speeding on a highway from the backcountry eastbound towards Rocky Mountain House, Alta.There was a large piece of canvas attached to the bumper and it dragged behind the van.A short time later, the vehicle pulled into the ambulance bay at the Rocky Mountain House hospital.A man went in and identified himself as Brian Hogg.He was covered in blood and had lacerations to both of his wrists.Hogg asked the doctor to check on his son, who was still in the van.A little boy was found seated in the front passenger seat. He had blood on his neck, face, chest, arms and legs. His throat was cut, but he was responsive.The seven-year-old was rushed into the emergency room.But he wasn’t the only child inside the van.There was a little girl, unresponsive, on top of some sleeping bags.The doctor who made the horrific discovery noted the two-year-old was cold to the touch.She had no vital signs when was rushed into the emergency room and was later pronounced deceased by the local medical examiner.The case was now considered a homicide.In part one of this two-part series of Crime Beat, Global News crime reporter Nancy Hixt shares how this senseless crime continues to impact the officers who investigated the case.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In early 2007, a young widowed mother of two was just settling into a bigger home after living for several years in a cramped apartment with her extended family.Aset Magomadova was looking forward to spring because she finally had a backyard and was going to plant a garden.The family came to Calgary as refugees from war-torn Chechnya where they experienced imprisonment, homelessness, severe injuries and loss.Arriving in Canada brought new hope. This was the place her dreams were supposed to come true.But on a cold snowy day in February 2007, all those plans came to an abrupt end. In the latest episode of the Global News podcast, Crime Beat, crime reporter Nancy Hixt highlights the importance of knowing the full story before rushing to judgment because we never know what people have gone through.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the fall of 1996, the Canadian sports world was rocked by a major sex abuse scandal.NHL player Sheldon Kennedy courageously went forward to police to reveal he suffered years of abuse at the hands of his childhood coach, Graham James.When Kennedy broke his silence, it started an important conversation around sexual assault and opened the door for others to do the same.In 1997, James pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting two former players -- including Kennedy. He admitted to sexually assaulting the boys hundreds of times.Since then, according to the Parole Board of Canada, there are six victims named on his record but the board notes he’s “admitted to have had sexual intercourse with around 20 hockey players he was coaching ... using manipulation, control and his position of trust and authority to facilitate the assaults.”One of the other hockey players James has admitted to sexually assaulting, is former NHL star Theo Fleury.In this episode of the Global News podcast, Crime Beat, crime reporter Nancy Hixt shares the stories of four men who James abused as boys. Learn the shocking details of how signs were ignored -- so were outright requests for help from hockey officials.These men now work every day to empower victims and take control back from their abusers. Hear their inspiring stories in “the scars that last a lifetime.”Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Global News podcast Crime Beat, crime reporter Nancy Hixt shares a story of one young man’s grit and determination despite a massive loss. On Jan. 25, 2012, police were called to a residential community in downtown Calgary.They found a man lying outside of a home. Gatleak Thor Metkurjock, 20, was breathing but unconscious. His face was swollen, he had blood by his nose and mouth, and he had hypothermia.Metkurjock was rushed to hospital by ambulance but died the next day.An autopsy showed he died from blunt force trauma.Meanwhile, across town, the events of that night would change the life of another young man forever.Learn the shocking tragedies and obstacles that led up to this fateful night — and how those events have shaped the boy with the heart of a lion.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a police tactic that uses both science and art.From Jack the Ripper to outlaws of the wild west-- or even more recently in the case of the Golden state killer-- for hundreds of years, investigators have used sketches to try and identify offenders. Many early drawings were fairly crude and often they were more like artist renditions of what evil looked like versus accurate depictions of what witnesses saw. Over years experts have fine-tuned their techniques and even now police agencies all over the world use sketches when they don’t know who committed the crime -- when there’s no surveillance video, only witness or victim accounts.If you enjoy Crime Beat, please take a minute to rate it on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, tell us what you think and share the show with your friends.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 1981, a group of teenagers was out exploring the countryside in southeastern Alberta.They had stopped to scout a path around a lake when they came across something that would haunt them even four decades later.There was a body on the shoreline, and immediately they knew it wasn’t an accidental drowning. A female was face down, bound by ropes to cinder blocks. The teens flagged down a boater and asked him to call police.Several days later, they learned the young woman they found had been missing for more than two months.It was the body of Kelly Cook, the backup babysitter.Her murder has remained unsolved for nearly 40 years.In the latest episode of the Global News podcast, Crime Beat investigators share the latest leads in their hunt for a killer.Follow along as crime reporter Nancy Hixt shares an emotional meeting of two victims in this case — one that’s brought some healing all these years later.--If you enjoy Crime Beat, please take a minute to rate it on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, tell us what you think and share the show with your friends.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February 2018, an Alberta woman went to police to file a complaint against a Calgary neurologist.The woman alleged she was sexually assaulted during a neurological exam in 2007.She told Global News she was suffering from migraines at the time, and that’s why she was referred to Dr. Keith Hoyte.She was shown into the examination room by a nurse, who told her to take off her shirt and bra and put on a gown.The woman said she felt uncomfortable, but the nurse said it was policy.When the neurologist entered the examination room, he didn’t say anything to the patient and never made eye contact.The woman said he pushed her gown down below and fondled her breasts with both of his hands, never explaining what he was doing.She described leaving the appointment with the feeling she had been violated.Calgary Police said it was only after this victim came forward in 2018 that investigators looked back and found two other historical complaints with similar allegations — one from 2008 and one from 1991.About four months later, Global News broke the story that police charged Hoyte with three counts of sexual assault.That news story and a subsequent media release by police spurred more than two dozen other women to come forward.This case has raised a lot of questions. Who potentially knew about this abuse? Who should have taken action? Could any of these cases have been prevented?And why weren’t the historical complaints investigated when those two women had gone to police decades earlier?One woman’s courageous decision to go to police about sexual abuse at the hands of a neurologist spurred dozens of women to come forward and raised questions about accountability. Could this abuse have been stopped sooner?In this episode of the Global News podcast, Crime Beat, crime reporter Nancy Hix shines a light on who may have known what was happening and when.—If you enjoy Crime Beat, please take a minute to rate it on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, tell us what you think and share the show with your friends.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the spring of 2004, "Carly" was a bright-eyed, smart and bubbly young girl.The 17-year-old was just months away from finishing high school — but for the moment, she was focused on her friends and making good memories.Carly is not her real name. Her identity is protected by a court-imposed publication ban.On March 26, 2004, she got off school early, which was typical for a Friday.That day she had an uneasy feeling that she couldn’t shake. But she also couldn’t explain it.She hung around her school as long as possible, not wanting to walk home.Carly lived in a townhouse in downtown Calgary with her younger sister and mother, just a few blocks from her high school.When she arrived home, she went into the foyer and then went to unlock the door to her suite.That’s when a strange man suddenly appeared.She questioned who he was. He replied that he was there to see her neighbour.Then, everything went black.She was knocked unconscious.Follow along as crime reporter Nancy Hixt shares Carly’s story of survival — one she’s never shared with a journalist before. Find out the dramatic twists this case has taken in the latest episode of the Global News podcast, Crime Beat.—If you enjoy Crime Beat, please take a minute to rate it on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, tell us what you think and share the show with your friends.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the fall of 2013, a little boy was taken to a Calgary hospital by his parents.The 14-month-old child was in “severe medical distress.”Soon after, he was transferred by ambulance to the nearby Children’s Hospital where he suffered a cardiac arrest.Multiple trauma doctors and specialists saw and treated John. He was put on an IV and placed on a ventilator, but hours later he went into a second cardiac arrest.On Nov. 29, 2013, at 12:47 p.m. — less than 24 hours after his parents first brought him to the hospital — John was declared dead.His case has left seasoned medical experts too traumatized to talk about it.Police were called to investigate.What led to this little boy's death?Follow along on this episode of the Global News podcast, Crime Beat, as crime reporter Nancy Hixt looks at the rights parents have, and when a choice crosses the line.—If you enjoy Crime Beat, please take a minute to rate it on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, tell us what you think and share the show with your friends.Contact:Twitter: @nancyhixtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices