The 519 Podcast

In the summer of 1945, Windsor’s post-war optimism was shattered by a series of brutal murders and stabbings. It quickly became clear that a killer was stalking the city, causing widespread panic and fear. As the attacks continued, investigators uncovered a chilling pattern: the killer was targeting homosexual men.

On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we look into the story of the Windsor Slasher and explore this dark chapter of extreme violence and homophobia in the city’s history. 

This episode was written and produced by Patrick Magermans and is hosted by Scott Kitching.

We’ve all seen the onslaught of advertisements for betting platforms in virtually every part of our life. On our social media feeds, on streaming platforms, during every single sporting event we watch, gambling is everywhere. 

To no one’s surprise, this has led to a serious increase in the amount of people who do gamble. That has led to a growth in gambling addiction. And while gambling addiction isn’t a new phenomenon in our society, the extreme circumstances of beating the addiction in the digital landscape is. 

On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we take a look at the explosion of online sports betting and gambling, and how it’s impacting us locally.

This episode was written and produced by Patrick Magermans and is hosted by Scott Kitching. 

We all love our pets, and we would do just about anything to protect them. 

But sadly, sometimes our furry friends fall victim to contagious diseases. That's what happened in Windsor, where an outbreak of Parvovirus has claimed the lives of at least 18 dogs (as of the end of December) in the city.

In this episode of the 519 Podcast, we examine the outbreak with Windsor Essex County Humane Society Executive Director Lynnette Bain and Michelle Macnab, Director of Community Vet Services at the Hamilton Burlington SPCA. 

This episode was written and produced by Patrick Magermans and is hosted by Scott Kitching. 

On July 16th, 1988, 22-year-old Lisa Maas went to a house party in the Owen Sound area. She was separated from her husband of two years and had recently broken up with a boyfriend. 

The next morning, she and a male companion went to retrieve her car. It was the last time she was ever seen. 

Despite extensive searches, her remains have never been found. 

On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we look at her case through the eyes of Matthew Nopper, co-founder of the group Please Bring Me Home, which works to find missing people. 

In this episode of the 519 Podcast, we tell the story of Joseph Spracklin, an anti-alcohol crusader in Windsor during the time of Prohibition, who got away with killing a bar owner. This episode is written and produced by Patrick Magermans and hosted by Scott Kitching. 

Sonya Cywink was last seen alive on August 26, 1994, in Old East London. Four days later, her body was found at Southwold Earthworks National Historic Site of Canada in Elgin County.

In the 30 years since her murder, no one has been arrested. 

On this episode of The 519 Podcast, we look into Sonya’s murder and follow the work of her sister, Meggie Cywink, and original investigator Chris Gheysen in their pursuit of solving the case. 

Hosted by Scott Kitching

Written and Produced by Patrick Magermans

Neil McDougall had been married for less than six months when he went missing in October of 1985.

38 years later, his wife Mary Ellen is still looking for answers - even as police have offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

This episode of the 519 Podcast examines his disappearance from Ayton and who may know something about what happened to Neil.

Where were you that day? Were you driving when the lights went out? Trapped inside an elevator? Camping and completely unaware?

At 4:11 pm on August 14, 2003, approximately 55 million North Americans found themselves without power.

The widespread outage stretched across parts of Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.

On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we look back at “The Great Northeast Blackout - 20 years later” 

The town of Amherstburg has been around for over 200 years. And as we’ve learned in previous episodes, many places with a long and deep history are also entrenched in paranormal activities. Amherstburg is not immune. 

We’ve explored the ghost stories of Texas Road and the Park House Museum located on Dalhousie Street. But just a few houses down from the Park House Museum is another haunted house. 

On this episode of The3 519 Podcast, we learn more about the spooky happenings within the Gordon House - home to tourism Amherstburg and potentially a few residential ghosts. 

This episode is hosted by Hayley Cheng. 

It’s always fascinating learning about your family’s history. Did your Grandpa fight in a war? Or did your great-aunt Jess invent the shoe umbrella? The good part is you can easily just ask them, or ask your parents who have heard the stories at every family dinner growing up. 

But that’s not the case for many people. Around 1,700 children are adopted each year in Canada. Although many still grow up in a loving home with their adoptive parents, they may still question who their birth parents are, why were they given up for adoption, and what their lives would’ve looked like if they had not been adopted. 

In this episode of the 519 Podcast, we speak with Colleen O’Grady Johnson, an adoption search angel originally from Woodstock who reconnected 825 families over the last 18 years.