M life isn't fair, justice is blind and dysfunctional, and some cops aren't
smart and dedicated like on television. This is Who Killed undiluted focused focus.
Uh, this is kind of a news update edition of the podcast. So
we'll, um, I got some meaty things to talk about, and we
will kind of give There's no case updates today, there's nothing like that,
but I'll kind of talk about where we're going with that and some housekeeping things.
It's kind of a plan of action for today. Something on my mind.
You know, I frequently write about Jack the Ripper, everything from Ripper
numerology to like Jack the Ripper baseball teams and things like this. But it's
not like I have this obsession with White Chapel murders. It's more that I
have a heightened interest in the interest of Jack the Ripper and just that they
seemed to be like a you know, there's murders, a flash point of
crime reporting. UM. I don't think there was anything quite like it that
that journalistic hysteria that occurred in the late nineteenth century, or was there before
newsprint. I kind of imagine that daily information was convey aid a lot,
not by newspapers but like town criers and things like this. I grew up
in Saint John, New Brunswick. We even had a town crier, this
guy named John with a rasping voice. In the HBO series Rome, if
if you've ever seen Rome, which is fantastic, it's like two seasons,
really early HBO. So you know, a lot of violence, a lot
of naked women, naked men. And in Rome there's this wonderful device of
the news reader. He's like this robust orator who stands in the capitol.
He's like bellowing out daily events that are occurring in the Roman Senate. And
even like the newsreader even has a sponsor. He's sponsored by the Brotherhood of
Miller's True Roman Bread. And it's just this great plot moving device. Whether
it's historically accurate or not, it's probably not. It's another matter. Probably
it's something like that. But but I you know, kind of the point
is that ancient cultures must have had verbal devices to communicate information to the masses.
And what is what what would else, you know, you know,
what would be the excuse for theater m And if you want a prime example
of of of ancient bloodlust, you can you look no for the Greeks.
Um, whether you know it or not, the whole of Greek tragedy is
comprised of under forty plays written by three guys, Sophocles, Euripides, and
Escalus. And these these are like really nasty plays. Right. There's there's
regicide and uh in that side dismemberments uh. And there's even like the daily
eating of this guy's liver by this big bird by a vulture um in the
Prometheus Bound. And then if you jump ahead two thousand years you'll you'll see
like England compelled by the same blood lust. There's there's an over focus on
Shakespeare and the Elizabethans, but it's a you know, it's what came after
the Jacobeans, who came after the reign of Elizabeth the first where you really
see this this gruesome spectacle. Some of Shakespeare's cruelest plays were written in the
Jacobean Age, not in the Elizabethan Age. The Scottish play Othello, measure
for Measure, which is which is pretty pretty nasty play, King Lear.
You know, measure for Measures got incest. Uh. There's torture, the
defenistration of Gloucester's eyes in Lear, the out vile jelly. These um,
these gruesome indulgences were even more painstakingly explored in if you don't know him,
the plays of like Thomas Middleton, of John Webster, John Webster who wrote
The White Devil, Duchess of Malfie. It's in Middleton's Revenger's Tragedy where you
kind of see this greatest achievement. I was in the production of The Revenger's
Tragedy, and it's got you know, it's got it, it's got it
all. It's got like mothers horring daughters and sons raping mothers, castration,
and it's like a blood bath of executions. You know, at one point
somebody even arrives on stage with a severed head on a spike. Those Jacobean
plays were largely dismissed by eighteenth and nineteenth century critics. They kind of saw
them as crass and not really worthy worthy of attention in the well made play.
And it's not. It's not until the Grand jole A Theater in the
in the eighteen eighties in Paris, France, where you the emergence of granol,
almost in perfect confluence with the emergence of ripper lore, where you see
this realization of grim spectacle. Again, if you've ever read Mel Gordon's grandan
Yole Fear of Fear and Terror, I think the book is out of print
now. He's a fascinating guy from San Francisco who who wrote extensively about Grand
Yole and the extreme themes in those plays of vivisection and mutilation, insanity,
sexual depravity. Of course, when gan Ganol finally fell out of favor,
as everything does things moving cycles in the nineteen fifties, the the England's Hammer
horror films kind of took up the mantle and took up the torch and continued.
And you see this in everything from plays like the movies like The Woman
in Black and Robin Hardy's The Wickerman. If you've never seen The Wickerman,
you should see it. It's celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this December. And you
know, all of this is kind of a perfect such segue to mention again
that I think last fall I had my friend Lauren Barnett on the show during
Halloween to talk about her forthcoming book Death Lines, which is sort of like
walking Tours of London horror, and that book is finally out. It was
finally released in paperback, and there's a link on the website. There's also
links here too if you want to explore gran and Joel and Thomas Middleton and
things like that further at Teresa La dot com. T H E R E
s A A L L R E point GAM. Couple of notes, I'm
I'm gonna kind of have to ghost you for a while, and we're probably
gonna go back to the publication of just the the old episodes every it's moved
out every Thursday, the original season of Who Killed Teresa? Those will post
every Thursday until July. I think we're halfway through, and we're more than
halfway through of a total of forty six episodes, so I'll kind of keep
the burner on there for a while. I'll probably post every second week now
or podcast every second week because I have to go back to editing. That
case is not here, that deadline is publisher's deadline is six months away,
and clocking and the kind of feeling the pressure of that, I need to
It was nice to get away from it for a while, but now I
need to get back to work on it and focus on a word about paid
subscriptions and and this just occurred to me because somebody somebody brought it up to
me. If if you, um, if you feel like for some reason
you should have access to premium content on the substack. I'm at John Allre
dot substack dot com, and of course there's you know, you can subscribe
and subscribe for free you get most of the content. Subscribe paid you get
a little additional content. We've talked about this. But if for some reason
you feel you should you should be comped in as a free UM subscriber U
because we've done something together, We've worked on a project in the past or
something like that. Just shoot me an email and remind me and make your
case. Uh, there's there are several people who I omitted to do that
for who of course I would, you know, one of one of the
people is someone who who maintains my website and and and they just kind of
gently poked me and said, hey, you know um, and of course,
UM, I felt I felt terrible about that for the oversight. So
if you're following the substack and are subscribing, and you think you have a
case, just just email me and and of course I'll do it. I'm
not aware of who listens, like hyper aware of who listens and whom who
follows, you know, the website or substacks substack subscription or whatever. I
don't painstinctly go in and and and review followers and things like that. I
know some people do. Some people have to write. I, um,
this is more like a cottage side hustle for me. Um. Others make
a living from it, so um or it's part of their second or third
job. So I understand that. And uh, you know, I don't
solicit my friends and families intentionally for this. I know, and I'm not.
I'm not knocking that some people. Some people do. It's their whole
world, and uh, it's just not my you know, my mother has
no idea that I do this, right, My brother doesn't follow me.
Why would he do that? Um, friends and families. I may have
some people who do and some people who don't. But UM, you know
I don't. You know, you know, I don't. I don't promote
it, like on my personal Facebook page or something like that occasionally if I
think it's something of broader interest, but I don't do it because I don't
want to put my my friends or my friends, and I don't want to
put them in an awkward position, which could be because you know, a
lot of them know me from from high school and college and things like that.
They have a different relationship with me, you know than John the crime
guy, and so I don't really there are others who who who who do
know me, you know, from those realms, and know me as John
the crime guy and choose to follow and that that's cool too. I'm fine.
I'm fine with either, but I've never wanted to push it or press
it because I would hate to sacrifice lose a friendship over that. Um,
my friends are my friends, so and how they choose to approach and to
you know, get to know me and interact with me is partly their choice.
So you know, that's that's the reason for that. And I say
that because you know, if if for some reason, I I like I
blanket um included you on a mailing list and then you dropped me, not
only would I not be offended, I wouldn't be aware of it because I
don't go in and meticulously look at my list and who who's you know,
who opened all posts that I've made and who's only opened twenty I why why
would anybody put themselves through that ridiculous? So I don't I don't do that.
All of that is a round about way to say. Um again,
there there's there's some key people like people who worked with me on Wish you
were here, and people who have who worked extensively like assisting me with the
project Quebec seek Um, people who are now working with me on on that
case is not here, of course, I I will never presume to charge
the money for that. Restue you, however, come on, chip in
buddy. Um. Anyway, I've I've I've rung all the moisture out of
that. Let's let's move on from it. Some reminders if you if you
missed the interview I did with Ben O'Hara burn on a little more conversations,
it's it's on it's in this post. There's a link to that interview.
I don't know, it's twenty minutes from the onset. We got together and
and I said to him what you want to do? And he said,
well, what do you want to talk I could talk about? And I
said, well I can tell you what I don't want to talk about.
I don't really you know, I'm not I'm not jazzed about talking about my
sister's murder case. If you if you go down that road, um,
particularly the road of the first book, Uh, you're going to find me
a really bored interviewer. And he said, okay, and you know,
lights, camera action, and that's exactly the road he goes down, right,
sort of like, Okay, when did you learn that she was murdered?
And how did you meet the love of your life Patricia Pearson? Which
is not true, right? And how did you two get together? And
tell me about the suspect you focused on? And I was nodding off,
And it's it's nothing against Ben O'Hara Byrne, who I found him to be
a lovely guy. I just wish it was a different line of questions.
But anyway, nevertheless, there it is. If I appear to be disengaged.
That's why. The second thing is that the Crime Junkie podcast that they
did, which is terrific, which is all that, And I'm fine with
it, I because I didn't have to do anything. You know, they
covered the case on their own and and ran with it, and I didn't.
I didn't participate. So I'm that I'm fine with you. Can you
can talk about dragging out the entire plot of the nineteen seventy eight Eastern Townships
murders. You do that to your heart's content on your own time. I
just don't. I don't want to do it. Um. Some guy emailed
me yesterday, you know, asking peppering me with little questions about this affair.
It was Friday, it was after three, and it was all I
could do not to say, you know what Rapefruit League Baseball is on and
I'm out. I'm like, I don't care Mac because the Padres and the
Seattle Mariners to West Coast teams, I couldn't give a rats ass about are
on the television and there's been no baseball for six months, and right now
it's the most important thing in my universe. What was that you were saying
about an unsolved murder? Forgive me, I'm quite punchy anyway. Crime Junkie
listened to the show. I thought, Ashley and britt I think it is
did a fantastic job. I didn't know it's the number one or practically the
number one true crime podcast in North America or the world, or something like
that. I had I had no idea, but there is time to why
you know where I am gonna get on a soapbox and be a little more
serious about here is um. I want to give some oxygen to a couple
of articles that appeared last month in February in the Quebec French language newspaper La
Press, focusing on law enforcement's use of genetic genealogy to assist in capturing criminals.
And again I've posted links to those those articles on the website Teresa Lor
dot com. If you don't speak French, just run them through a Google
translator or something, um because if you're interested in this arena, they're really
interesting. You know this, it's almost a daily occurrence now that cold cases
in the United States are solved using this technique. And these are really old
cases thirty years, forty years, fifty years. And I choose those dates
intentionally because because they're in print here and there's links two cases within the practically
within the last week thirty forty and fifty that we're solved using genetic genealogy.
And people in Quebec are beginning to question why the sartetic Quebec has had a
cold case unit for almost twenty years now and have yet to solve a crime.
And again put van case does not count because that case has not survived
the acid test of a trial. We know what can happen when a case
like that goes to trial. James Dubet case was thrown out for a while.
They had that on their website as a victory and they had to take
it down because on appeal the case was lost. And right now James Dubai's
case is technically unsolved, although I think everybody sort of suspects that his former
spouse committed the murder. So this this are this article in La Press.
Um I was I was quoted um and you know what I said was that
Quebec police forces have quote thrown away, misplaced or destroyed a number of objects
containing DNA linked to crime scenes over the years, including murders, which could
limit the scope of the use of these techniques for many files. And then
the Lapress article continued, for example, the Sequebec in Sherbrooke told me that
my sisters underwear had been destroyed five years after the murder. And then the
article says, and his case is not isolated, adds mister Lure, I've
been doing this for twenty years, and I've spoken to so many families of
victims who have been told the same thing. The DNA is no longer there
to be analyzed, says A Lure, who also hosts the podcast Who Killed
Teresa, which focuses on solved murders in Quebec. Hey, hey, I'm
happy if they can help solve crimes, but I'm not holding my breath,
A Lure said, So there's nothing new here. I've said this, I've
you know, I've squawked about this issue for years, and what I'd say
is that the Quebec police are playing poker and the genetic genealogy game, and
they're not holding any cards. More interesting than the first article which featured me
is the second article that came out on this subject that does not feature me.
That's it's the one most people missed and they shouldn't have. In the
article the Laboratory of Judicial Sciences and Legal Medicine of Quebec the lsj mL,
They've always got these massive titles with unmanageable acronyms. Anyway, the the ls
j mL was being quote hopeful of new techniques, but then they turn around
in the article and hedge. Their response with with the acknowledgment that the science
was quote quite complex, and then the piece went on to catalog like a
whole host of techniques available in Quebec, techniques that you all know because by
now most of the lay people are experts in this genetic genealogy, phenotyping DNA
networks, Patrick in y chromosome rapid DNA which we've talked about. But then
they failed to mention whether any of these techniques were currently being deployed in the
province, which is which is maddening. The point is not what is available,
The point is are you using them? And linked to that, of
course, is the elephant in the room is what was missing in the article
is any mention of Quebec law enforcements endorsement of the techniques in conjunction with this
legal body, the ls JML. So it's this maddening game of three card
Monty where Quebec law enforcement continues to stall in their shirking accountability dance. But
what I say is that sooner or later the music's going to stop, right
and we're going to know that they're not holding any cards. To borrow a
phrase from a scientist from another discipline who very similarly felt like he was chasing
windmills. No one's minding the store. They're all asleep at the switch.
Looks like you're gonna lose your shirt, kids, Good luck, kids,
got all he needs is an easy tent for a royal flush. Looks like
the kid hasn't got it after all. Skittle poker from Aurora. Sometimes you
win and sometimes you lose your shirt. You know. I bring all of
that up because it obviously I'm frustrated by it. And you know, one
you know, I'll just tell you I'm I'm working with two television producers,
one in Canada and one in the US. And and if you want more
on that, you're gonna have to be a paid subscriber, because for paid
subscribers, I've already revealed the details this in a separate post. But for
now, that's all you really need to know. And it's a constant struggle
with them trying. You know, I guess I'm not expressing myself correctly because
you know, it's a one point. Somebody said to me, what you
know, what's all is trash talking against the Quebec police. It's not trash
talking. It really is and anyone who takes it that way, you know,
maybe I'm not as I say, I'm not communicating myself is precisely as
I should. I think I've said very very clearly that at this point I'm
of the belief that my sister's case wasn't solved because of the obstacle of the
police, because they stood in the way of a proper investigation, because the
lead suspect in the case was a police informant, and to expose the police
informant would have would have compromised their work with him, and therefore Teresa's case
had to be sacrificed for the greater good. That's not trash talking. That's
just that's grounds for a wrongful death suit. Quite frankly, if if I
were litigiously inclined, that's grounds for a lawful unlawful death suit against Quebec law
enforcement. And it's not trash talking. And I am not again anti law
enforcement, as I've said before, and I sort of said to this producer,
I'm currently working with two police agencies in two very different states in the
United States, one in New England and one in the Midwest, and they
couldn't be more different. One is a bluish state. One is a red
state. I don't give a shit about I don't care about that stuff.
And they have been gems. They have been respectful, diligent, cooperative,
and equally I have been I've been a prince with them, working with them,
because there's this kind of mutual understanding which I've never experienced. All I
experience with Quebec law enforcement is insecurity and a general feeling that they know they
don't know what they're doing full stop, and that is that is the frustration.
So it's not trash talking the Quebec police. You know, I've done
it before out of frustration. I don't particularly like myself when I do it.
But it's there's no acrimony against any individual, um, even even with
the force. We're talking about professional matters, and we're talking about a very
old institutional problem um that no one else seems to want to even discuss.
Um. It's sort of kind of left. Well, that's just the way
it is. That's the way it is with with with your law enforcement agency.
I don't think so, I don't think so. Um, you know,
but by way of example, I uh, you know, I'll just
tell you at some point. Last year, the folks from the Polizon show
that on the Discovery Channel approached me and there were several overtures, and there
was there was some there was some work done around that about about possibly being
featured on the Polizon Show. And I'll just tell you, I don't think
Polizon and I are going to be working together because their first position was,
you know, we're very pro law enforcement, you know, we we want
the interview with them and we want their opinion on it. And I was
like, well, then we have nothing to talk about because that's not this
case. And I understand how that works into your formula. You know,
a very plot driven approach to true crime which follows a judicial process, which
frankly to me, is a very artificial process. It's very linear, uh,
and it's it's meant to express facts to the lowest common denominator in order
to get finally arrived at a yes and no answer, yes or no answer
in a judicial process. And and all of that may be true, you
know in the forces within that the corner, the prosecutor, the defense attorney,
the judge, the police force are all working at that very fundamental level.
But that's not the way behavior works. So that is not a proper
articulation of how crime works. So if you're using if you're taking the plot
journey of the crime, the arrest, the judicial process, the sentencing,
that that is a reality. But it's not the most fascinating reality to me
about how murder functions. But it's the one that ninety percent of these shows
focus on, and it's just the wrong model. It's the wrong model.
Behavior, how a victim and an offender come to interact are infinitely complex and
more interesting than that. And I would say that is that is where me
and the Polisons of the world part company because we have nothing to discuss because
it's um. They want to simplify something that cannot be simplified. Said,
that's my that's my soapbox. If you like the podcast, subscribe on substack
John Alre dot substack dot com. You will get a commercial free version of
this podcast and other information you'll get to hear who I'm working with two programs
of one coming out I believe in March, one coming out at the end
of the year. You can follow us on social media. I am on
all of them. Just look for a lore Teresa or something like that.
And Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, etcetera, etcetera. There's there's
always the old stand by the website Teresa Loor dot com. Th h E
r E s A A l l O r E point coum um. That's
that's all for this week. I thank you for listening, Thank you for
being a listener and uh an engaged advocate. It is much appreciated. That's
it. I'm I'm out. Thank you for listening. This has been Who
Killed Teresa? I'm your host, John Alore, have yourself so a great,
great day. She went found, I washed it. I still find
stems Stan. She got across the stars. I find I m I trans
got to go. It can't always be. I don't care. I love
game. I want to try to fay somebody. I was to meet it
all again. Sometimes I was starting. I was going to find on the
fixt rest. She got across the stars. I want to fight. I want to