Typecast   Just what this killer is looking for

Many call it a ghost. Some a goul. Those who live on the streets know it only as the Shadow Killer. Three bodies in two years. The victims, all outcasts; women whose lives seemed undone at the time. Their choices leading them into dark alleys and the needs of strangers. Unfortunately It's a tale told in every city, but not here.

Not until now.

This site:

Will explore the crimes, the stories behind the victims and those involved in the investigation itself. Our hope is to shed some light on the darker aspects of our nature and by doing so perhaps bring a Killer to justice and some redemption to the victim in us all.

Please be patient as the website progresses and we become more proficient at telling this chilling story. We will be compiling information as it is released to the public and that is why sections may be under construction or sit empty for weeks at a time.

Thank you for your interest.

The Shadow Killer awaits.

Our Camera Assistant, Kora Vanderlip, put together a short clip from a recent production meeting. You can check it out here:

Case File 1143762  

Opened June 21st, 2008 when the body of 26 year old Alison Kindersley was found stabbed to death in the rear doorway of a small electronics shop. Known to police, she had been picked up for solicitation twice, but sent away with only warnings. There were no witnesses and the body wasn't discovered until the following morning when store owner, Michael Poirier, took out the trash.

"She was just there, in a heap. I thought she was drunk or hypor-thermic, then I saw the blood. No one deserves to die like that."

It would take 3 weeks for detectives to track down her family four provinces away. What few friends she had locally never showed at her funeral. The only belongings Alison left behind were a beautiful Phalaenopsis (a tree orchid requiring much care) a journal filled with random poetry and gravestone rubbings.

On March 12th, 2009 Trina Merchant's 34 year old body was found between a garbage dumpster and a popular restaurant's oil bin. As in the first murder, Trina had also been stabbed. A single penetration of the back, deep enough to cause severe bleeding and organ trauma. She too had been known by Police as she was an active heroin addict and frequented some of the more common establishments to acquire her drugs and use. No one claimed to have seen her in the hours leading up to her demise so why she was there in that alley is still unknown. Toxicology reports show she was clean at the time of death. 

On April 14^th, 2010 - 32 year old Natalie Winder’s lifeless body was discovered only 1 block from the location of the first victim. Stabbed downward between the shoulder blades and left to bleed to death behind a dumpster, Natalie had been drug from the street curb to the alley by the hair; bruising of the skull and missing clumps of follicles reported in the autopsy proof of this.

Tenants of the few rental suites which overlook part of the alleyway all claimed to have heard nothing unusual that night. An early morning newspaper carrier, Jim Elderton was the first to report the murder at 4:45am. He would use a nearby pay phone to alert police, not revealing his name nor remaining at the scene of the crime. He would later be picked up for questioning and confess having made the call after little interrogation. His shoe size of 10 unrelated to other evidence found (see evidence page) was tagged and cataloged.

Natalie’s death would trigger a whole new direction in the investigation as outside expertise in Behavioral Science, Serial Killer profiling and a seasoned detective to lead were quickly sought. A pattern had formed with these three bodies.

The worse kind of killer was loose.

The United States Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a serial killing as: "[involving] the killing of several victims in three or more separate events." They are distinguished from spree killers in that they have rest periods between killings. 

Many street people have claimed a "shadow" killed the women. "A dark figure that slips from doorway to doorway and has no face".  Even the most seasoned pusher or pimp has professed misgivings and reminds themselves and others to be watchful when the light is weak and the night thick. To frighten even the hardest of people makes the Shadow Killer that much more a monster.

When will it strike again? What tactics will the police attempt to entice it out? How successful will they be? Explore as we do, one detail at a time; as it all unfolds before us. And pray the dark is empty the next time you step through it.