For more than four decades, one of Canada's most haunting mysteries had no answers and no identity.

In 1977, the body of a young man was discovered in a rural Alberta septic tank. He had been brutally tortured and murdered. Investigators searched for his name, his family, and his killer, but every lead ended the same way: nowhere.

Over time, the victim became known only by a nickname: Septic Tank Sam.

But behind that nickname was a real person with a family, a history, and a life that had been shaped by one of Canada's darkest chapters, the Sixties Scoop.

🎧 This is the case that proved genetic genealogy doesn't just uncover the truth... it can change the rules of justice itself.

For nearly four decades, the murder of eight-year-old Ljubica Topic remained one of Ontario's most heartbreaking unsolved cases. Her family waited years for answers, while investigators held onto a single hope: that one day, science would catch up.

In 2022, it finally did. What followed wasn't just a forensic breakthrough. It became a legal and ethical question that Canadian police had never faced before.

Should a deceased suspect be publicly named based solely on DNA evidence?

Welcome to Episode One of this special series "Science Solves: Cracking Canada's Cold Cases".

For decades, many of Canada’s most haunting unsolved cases remained frozen in time, not because investigators didn’t care, but because science simply wasn’t ready.

In this premiere, we break down DNA in a clear, accessible way and explain why early testing couldn’t identify suspects who weren’t already in the system. We look at how investigative genetic genealogy — IGG — opened the door to solving cases once considered impossible, from long‑buried homicides to unidentified remains.

You’ll learn how modern DNA technology works, why it matters, and how it’s giving families the truth they’ve waited decades to hear. This episode sets the foundation for the stories ahead — stories where science doesn’t just solve crimes, but rewrites history.

If you like Canadian true crime, be sure to Join the Squad. Subscribe to Crime Squad podcast wherever you listen.

Canadian + True Crime + Immersive Storytelling

Cold cases don’t fade.They linger — in evidence boxes, in family memories, and in the unanswered questions that echo for decades.

Across Canada, thousands of unsolved murders and unidentified remains sat untouched, waiting for something that didn’t exist yet:science powerful enough to reveal the truth.

Today, that science is here.

Investigative genetic genealogy — IGG — is rewriting the past.

This is Science Solves: Cracking Canada’s Cold Cases.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts, and come on a journey where we explore the breakthroughs, the heartbreak, and the humanity behind the cases that refused to be forgotten.

In February 2008, 24‑year‑old Marilyn Bergeron walked out of her parents’ home in Quebec City and vanished. Hours earlier, she’d been captured on surveillance looking over her shoulder, nervous, unsettled — and far from anywhere she should have been.

But the real mystery doesn’t start in Quebec City. It starts in Montreal.

What happened in Montreal?And how did it lead to her disappearance?

Join the Squad and listen to Crime Squad podcast as we explore one of Quebec’s most chilling unsolved mysteries.

Sixteen‑year‑old Mekayla Bali vanished in broad daylight from Yorkton, Saskatchewan on April 12th, 2016 — leaving behind one of Canada’s most haunting and perplexing missing‑person cases. Surveillance footage, phone records, and witness accounts capture her final known movements: a morning filled with strange detours, cryptic messages, and interactions that raised more questions than answers.

Nearly a decade later, the mystery remains unsolved. Was Mekayla trying to meet someone? Was she lured by an online connection? Or did she encounter something far more sinister?

This episode traces her timeline, explores key theories, and highlights the tireless efforts of her mother, Paula Bali, who continues to fight for answers and keep Mekayla’s story alive.

A case filled with contradictions, heartbreak, and hope — and one that still needs a voice.

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Music by: oneworldview productions

In the spring of 1911, a murder in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, would ignite one of the most important legal debates in Canadian history. It involved a young immigrant woman, a lifetime of violence, and a legal system that had no language - and no precedent - for what she had encountered.

This is the story of Angelina Napolitano.