Canadian True Crime - Collision Course: The Darcy Allan Sheppard Case (1)

Episode Date: August 20, 2024

TORONTOA special new presentation to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the controversial death of Toronto bike messenger Darcy Allan Sheppard.[ Part 1 of 4 ] Sheppard v BryantOn August 31, 2009, there was a catastrophic collision between a cyclist and a motorist on a busy downtown Toronto street — a collision so unfathomable that it shocked bystanders and the city at large. Darcy Allan Sheppard died on the street that night. The motorist, former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant was arrested, charged, and released the next morning. The way the case unfolded in the media – and the justice system – would be hotly debated for years to come.In this new four-part series, edited and re-mastered, you’ll hear a story of elites vs peasants, cars vs bicycles, and wealth and privilege vs poverty and crime. It’s a cautionary tale of how justice works differently in this country for some people.Release schedule: New episodes each day with the final episode on Friday August 23.Listen ad-free and early: The entire series will be available ad-free on our premium feeds within 24 hours - Amazon Music (included with Prime), Apple Podcasts, Patreon and Supercast.INVITATION: 15th Annual Memorial Gathering - TorontoPlease join us Saturday, August 31 at 3 p.m. at the spot where Darcy died at 151 Bloor Street West. There’s a white Ghost Bike opposite Tiffany & Co and close to Bloor St and Avenue Road.Special thanks to Allan Sheppard, Joe Hendry and Victoria (the eyewitness). Thanks also to writer Mary Fairhurst Breen for editing and creative direction on this reboot series.Please respect the privacy of those involved in this case.Full list of information sources, resources and credits:All the documents, evidence, statements, reports and news articles we’ve relied upon to write this series are available at www.canadiantruecrime.ca/episodes/darcy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canadian True Crime is a completely independent production funded mainly through advertising. You can listen to Canadian True Crime ad-free and early on Amazon Music included with Prime, Apple Podcasts, Patreon and Supercast. The podcast often has disturbing content and coarse language. It's not for everyone. Please take care when listening. Hi everyone, I hope you're well. We're still on a summer break here and our new season starts in just a few weeks, but today a special bonus presentation to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the controversial death of Toronto bike messenger Darcy Ellen Shepard. Several years back we released an extremely detailed series about this case. This is part one of a new, heavily edited and

remastered version of the story to commemorate the anniversary. The case is about a catastrophic collision between a cyclist and a motorist on a busy downtown Toronto Street on August 31 2009. A collision so unfathomable that it shocked bystanders and the city at large. Darcy Alan Shepard, the cyclist, died on the street that night. The motorist, former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant, was arrested, charged and released the next morning. What happened that night was a tragedy for all concerned.

But the sequence of events that led to Darcy's violent death were not so clear and would be hotly debated for years to come. The terrible news dominated the media cycle, with sudden twists and turns that made it difficult to sort out fact from possible fiction and the truth from the spin of a costly crisis PR firm, even as the case proceeded through the criminal justice system. While the outcome itself was controversial, Darcy's father, Alan Shepard, pretty much expected it. What he

didn't expect was the way the prosecutor chose to explain how that outcome was decided, and he wasn't the only one who thought something seemed significantly wrong with how the case had played out. Several years after that, hidden documents and files were released through a Freedom of Information request, strongly suggesting that what actually happened was quite a bit different to the narrative presented by the press and the prosecutor. Canada abides by the open court principle that public confidence in the integrity of the court system and administration of justice is upheld by fostering openness and full publicity,

accountability and due process. The open court principle is built on the notion that justice must not only be done, it must also be seen to be done by the public at large, not just the legal establishment. This is a story of elites versus peasants, cars versus bicycles, and wealth and privilege versus poverty and crime. It's also a cautionary tale of how justice works differently in this country for some people, and how any of us could find ourselves

on the wrong side of the machine. So to commemorate the 15th anniversary, this is part one of Collision Course, The Darcy Allen Shepherd Case. The series has been edited down to just over half the runtime, four parts, by the very talented writer and editor Mary Fairhurst-Breen, who regular listeners will remember from our Opioid Crisis series. There'll be a new episode each day this week, with the final on Friday, and you can find all the source material we refer to and

more at canadiantruecrime.ca slash Darcy. There's the documents, reports, transcripts, audio and video files, media articles and more. The intention of this series is to delve into the dark underbelly of the criminal justice system, not to put blame or pressure on individuals. So we ask listeners to respect the privacy of those mentioned in this series and not contact them directly. Finally, an invitation for listeners in the Toronto area.

A 15th anniversary memorial gathering has been organized by Darcy Allen Shepard's loved ones, and all are welcome to join. It'll be held on Saturday August 31 at 3pm at the Ghost Bike near Yonge and Bloor where he died. Darcy's father Allen Shepard and other loved ones will be there. I'll be there. Bike Messenger and cycling advocates as well well as some press, will all be there.

So please join us if you can at 3pm on Saturday, August 31. The location of the ghost bike is opposite the Tiffany & Co at 151 Bloor Street West in Toronto. Details in the show notes and on the website. and on the wrong side of the road with the guy trying to sing him off. Okay. And there's smuts everywhere. And I saw the whole thing, the guy just... Is the cyclist injured? I don't know, he grabbed onto the side of the car and the guy took off. An altercation that left a cyclist dead and shattered the life of a former Ontario politician.

Former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant has been charged for his role in a fatal incident last night that resulted in the death of a cyclist. In any event, it all ended. For me, on August 31, 2009, a man died. His name is Darcy Allen Shepard. I was charged in his death. The prosecution said it had no chance of conviction and suggested that Bryant was actually the victim in the incident last year.

I couldn't believe it. He's got his, like, defense, but what about the prosecution? Mr. Shepherd, I'm going to ask you too. Do you think Michael Bryant got away with murder? No. This is not a good or evil situation where my son is the manifestation of total evil and where my son is the manifestation of total evil and Mr. Bryant is the manifestation of total good. Life is not black and white.

I can't control what they think and the conclusions that they've come to. I've told my story, I've put it in the book, and people can accept it or not accept it. Both stories after the break. Okay I've got some exciting news. Only Murders in the Building returns with season four on August 27, exclusively on Disney+. Get ready for a new season of hilarious twists and mysterious turns as Steve Martin, Martin Short,

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athletic 33-year-old had found his purpose, working as a bike messenger in the downtown core of Toronto. He relished the freedom to be fast and agile, weaving in and out of traffic to deliver packages efficiently. But when it came to his personal life, Darcy had issues to sort out. That year he'd reconnected with a friend he'd known in high school and they began dating. This new relationship turned out to be an important one for Darcy and things were going well. That is, until baggage from his past started to surface. Darcy's propensity for heavy drinking was causing problems in his new relationship. By August of that year, 2009, things had come to a head

and Darcy knew that he had to do something about his drinking or risk losing his new partner. Darcy Alan Shepard wasn't actually from Toronto, nor was he given that name at birth. He was born Darcy Shane Cardinal in Edmonton, Alberta in 1975 to young parents Diane and Earl. Both were indigenous and while not much is publicly known about Earl, Diane was of Cree, Métis and Ojibwa heritage and had come from a troubled home life, often running away to escape her mother's abusive treatment. She was only 18 years old when she gave birth to her first baby, Darcy. Earl didn't stick around for long and was later tragically killed after being struck by a vehicle while intoxicated. Diane was left to care for Darcy on her own, and by the time she was 21 she'd given birth

to two more babies in quick succession. Now she was a single mother with three kids under the age of three, living on welfare with no one to help her or support her. Eventually child protective services were called, and three-year-old Dar were called and three-year-old Darcy, his one-year-old brother David and infant sister Chantal were removed from their mother's care and put in the foster system. The boys were kept together but they didn't last long at the first placement nor the second. In fact they would end up bouncing through a high number of placements.

A situation known as placement instability, which multiple research studies report can put children at increased risk for poor outcomes like attachment disorder, as well as behavioral problems that weren't present when they entered the system. While placement instability is often defined as being three or more moves

after the first year in foster care, Darcy and David bounced through about 30 different foster homes over the next few years. The placement that ended up being the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back was on a farm. Six-year-old Darcy complained to his caseworker that he and his four-year-old brother were being subjected to terrible punishments, abuse and neglect. The boys were put into emergency foster care with the Shepherd family. They didn't know it yet, but this move would end their streak of placement instability,

and while things weren't easy, the Shepherds were patient. After two years, the family adopted both boys. While Darcy and David finally had the loving, stable home they so desperately needed, a great deal of damage had already been done. Children who have experienced some grief, loss, and trauma early in life can find it difficult to form new attachments to their adoptive parents. And this can lead to a number of problems, like difficulties with cognition and concentration, poor social relationships,

problems with emotional and behavioral regulation, and feelings of unworthiness or being unlovable. In addition, Darcy had previously been diagnosed with ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, a complex brain disorder that is often perceived as a behavioral issue. It can manifest as hyperactivity, poor impulse control, inattention or lack of focus, distractibility being fidgety, oppositional behavior,

and problems regulating emotions. Darcy was put on Ritalin, a common stimulant medication given to people with ADHD that can help them manage their symptoms by increasing their ability to pay attention and stay focused on an activity. But medication is just one method of treatment. Darcy's impulse control issues meant that he would often pull potentially dangerous stunts at school, leading school authorities to plead with his parents to do something because the risk was becoming unmanageable. He ended up having numerous stays and facilities that treat youth with psychological and behavioral difficulties, including one where he

stayed for a year when he was 11 and another when he was 13. Darcy eventually dropped out of school in grade 10 and by 17 years of age he had left home. But he still wanted to remain close with Alan Shepard, his adoptive father. Alan's marriage had long since broken up and it had been an uncertain time for the family, but he was always there for Darcy and David. To Alan, Darcy clearly had significant abandonment issues, but they had formed a bond and he didn't want to let that bond go. Alan watched helplessly as Darcy continued to careen into trouble as an adult. He worked as a DJ, construction worker, club promoter, window washer and as a street performer, but no matter what he did, there were fairly significant roadblocks to push past.

Darcy was drinking heavily and using cannabis. He struggled to hold down a job and pay rent and started getting into trouble with the law. When he was around 20 years old, he was convicted of assault and breaking and entering. After that, he took a job operating rides for Conklin Shows, a traveling amusement company, and there he met a potential love interest. Tracy was smitten and she found him charming and funny. Many people did. Despite his personal issues, people really liked him. He was cheeky, engaging and fun to be around. Things got real quickly though when Tracy found out she was pregnant. And just months after she gave birth to their first child,

she was pregnant again. The couple fought, a lot. And Tracy would later describe their volatile relationship to the Toronto star as being quote, very much both sided. We always had broken phones, it was constant throwing and screaming, The odd shove, the odd push. She mentioned that they had been described by Darcy's father, Alan, as two scorpions in a bottle. Tracy would note that he didn't really have a serious, heavy drug problem until she introduced him to her group of friends who were drug dealers. And before long, not only were they both doing drugs too, but Darcy was earning cash acting

as a driver for the dealers. The situation was untenable. Eventually they split up and their kids ended up in foster care where they remained. Darcy pleaded guilty to assault and he moved back to Edmonton, Alberta, the place where he was born. He started a new relationship, but that partner was soon pregnant and after she gave birth to their daughter, Darcy's third child, they soon found themselves struggling with housing and food insecurity. Darcy turned to petty crime. He was soon caught and the Edmonton police charged him in relation to stolen property and fraud, all under $5,000. He was released on bail, but he failed to

show up for his court date. Darcy didn't have the capacity to be a very present father and was fast establishing a pattern of behaviour. When things went bad, he would run. So when the relationship with his new baby's mother ended very badly, he took off to the town of Hinton, about three hours' drive west of Edmonton. He soon found a job as a DJ and started dating someone new, but when he became aware that there was a warrant out for his arrest in Edmonton, he decided to get out of the province of Alberta. He moved to Toronto, Ontario, and the person he'd started dating came with.

For one reason or another, Darcy soon encountered the Toronto police, who looked him up and then contacted Edmonton police to see if they wanted him arrested and returned. But they declined. Darcy and his new partner were living in Toronto, but a move to a different city didn't solve Darcy's problems and they soon broke up. She flew back to Alberta and Darcy stayed put in Toronto. He wouldn't find out for a few years later, but she was actually pregnant at the time. After she left, Darcy lost all motivation, plunging into homelessness and surviving on the streets of Toronto,

squeegeeing car windscreens at traffic lights. He eventually got involved with an organized crime boss, dealing drugs and carrying out orders as a fraudster, leading to a bizarre incident in 2006 where he threatened a taxi driver and two female pedestrians with what appeared to be two black semi-automatic handguns. They were actually only airsoft guns or replica toy guns, but the threat was still perceived as very real and he was charged. During this time, he became a client of Aboriginal Legal Services in Toronto, an organisation that helped him with his defence and arranged for the preparation of a Gladue report that details unique circumstances

and systemic issues that come into play with Indigenous offenders. For example, Darcy's experiences while in foster care. He served about seven months in prison and was determined to turn his life around after that. He started attending AA meetings and remained a client of Aboriginal Legal Services, where he was highly regarded and respected according to caseworkers. During this time, Darcy met and started a new relationship with another woman and they lived together for about six months, but after they broke up he was back living on the streets. His adoptive father Alan Shepard journeyed to Toronto twice a year to visit Darcy and

would later say that the time spent with him quote, always depended on the state of relations between him and whatever demon he was confronting at the time. While Darcy's unpredictable behavior could also present as dangerous and violent at times, it also included many shades of light. He was known to be remarkably generous, often going out of his way to do favours for people and surprising others by making amends for his wrongdoings. This is how the Toronto Bike Messenger community saw him. After he decided he was done living on the streets and all that entailed, he found his calling on a bike. Unlike the other jobs he'd tried his hand at, he approached this one seriously and was determined to make a success out of it. When he got his white Miele road bike,

he decorated the wheels with stickers to give it a distinctive look. The bike was perhaps one of his most important possessions, instrumental to how he made his living. Darcy also relished the tight-knit Toronto Bike Messenger community. His charisma, sense of humour and generosity made him popular with the other couriers. By this point it was 2009 and Darcy had embarked on a new relationship with that friend he'd known in high school back in Edmonton, a friend named Misty who was also then living in Ontario. Things went really well, in fact they even talked about getting married. But Darcy's internal struggles, his demons, shadowed him no matter where he went. He had fallen off the wagon and by summer of 2009,

his heavy drinking was a big problem in the relationship. This was noticed by one of the caseworkers from Aboriginal Legal Services. Ryan Walsh told Jennifer Wells for the Toronto Star that Darcy was clearly going through a hard time. Quote, he and Misty had relationship struggles. He was drinking a lot. He wanted to get clean. He wanted to get sober. He was under a tremendous amount of pressure with his job. He felt like he wanted to do more, but he felt sometimes he was fucking up. What was clear was that Darcy loved Misty. She was a stabilising relationship for him,

someone who he could see a future with, who motivated him to get his life back on track. They put their relationship on hold while he promised to get better, continuing with regular sessions at Aboriginal Legal Services and making a decision to get sober and go to rehab. By late August of 2009, Darcy had managed to stay sober for a whole week as he waited for a spot in a rehab facility in Toronto. He had temporarily moved out of the place he shared with Misty while their relationship

took a break, but the plan was that he would move back in eventually. During this time, he caught up with one of his ex-partners on the phone, the one who was pregnant when she returned to Alberta. Despite his disastrous relationships, Darcy was able to remain on good terms with almost all of his ex-partners, and he was thrilled when she eventually told him that she'd given birth to his son. Even though he'd never met the little boy, his mother said whenever they spoke on the phone, Darcy always asked about him and sent hugs and kisses. During their phone call in late August of 2009, Darcy filled her in about what was going on in his life,

how he was eight days sober and planning to enter rehab. She encouraged him to continue with it, later telling the media that it was clear he was, quote, trying really hard to do really well. The next day was August 31st 2009, a date that would be seared into public memory. While much of that day would remain a mystery when it came to Darcy's movements, the events of that evening would be scrutinised for years to come. It's not known what Darcy was doing for most of that fateful Monday until some time in the

afternoon when he met a friend at a park. The friend would tell the Toronto star that Darcy was in great spirits. But after that, for unknown reasons, Darcy decided to end his eight-day streak of sobriety. The first anyone knew about it was around 6.30pm, when he showed up at his partner Misty's apartment. There were others gathered there as well, mutual friends, and they quickly realized that Darcy had resumed drinking. One of the friends would say to the Toronto Star that, quote, he came to us because we're his family. They let him in to make sure he was taken care of.

Another friend would tell CBC News that he knew Darcy had been drinking, but didn't consider him drunk when they were together. Quote, it didn't constitute any unruly behaviour. Like many who have alcohol use disorder though, Darcy had developed a high tolerance for liquor and could drink a lot more than the average person before he reached the point of visible impairment. According to reporting by Jennifer Wells for the Toronto Star, Darcy dozed there for a time on and off, but he was noisy, there was some arguing and then he suddenly got up and

announced he was going to ride his bike back to his own apartment. Misty protested, begging him to stay where he was safe, but he insisted on leaving. Right as Darcy exited the building, he encountered the Toronto police. The police would later state they'd been called to respond to an unwanted guest call. Police notes indicate a neighbour had reported a violent argument and the media would refer to it as a noise complaint. Regardless of the reason they showed up, the police soon noted that there were no assaults or injuries and no further action needed to be taken, except of course to figure out what to do about Darcy. As a 33 year old waited in the police cruiser Misty and a friend came down. They told the officers that Darcy had been drinking and asked

them to release him from the cruiser and let him return upstairs where they would continue to look after him. But according to the police, Darcy refused, so that wasn't an option. Officers told Misty that they had determined Darcy to be in control of himself, and they were just going to tell him to return home. As a last resort to keep him safe, the two women begged the officer to give him a ride home, insisting that he was too intoxicated to safely ride a bike. But the police stood firm. Darcy was free to return home. They watched helpless as Darcy climbed back on his bike and rode off. By 9.45 p.m., the 33-year-old would be cycling west along Bloor Street, a main street in the city of Toronto.

Darcy Ellen Shepard's evening had not gotten off to a good start, but it was about to get much, much worse. worse. That warm summer evening another man was on the same section of Bloor Street but he was driving a car. 43 year old Michael Bryant had only recently purchased the older sports car, a black Saab 900 SE convertible. The purchase coincided with his decision to get out of politics, at least for the time being. Michael Bryant always wanted to be a politician.

His father was a lawyer who had once served as Canada's youngest mayor at age 29, and Michael had set similar goals for himself. His strategy had been to get his law degree and start working in the field, and eventually he would run for provincial parliament as a member of the Liberal Party. And that's exactly what he did. After getting a BA and then his Masters from the University of BC, he attended Harvard Law School and then Osgoode Hall. He clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada, which is where he met his wife,

and then worked at several law firms. In 1999, 33-year-old Michael Bryant was successfully elected as a member of provincial parliament, and would go on to represent the Toronto riding of St Paul's for a total of 10 years. He started as a clear up-and-comer, and when the Liberals won the next election, he was appointed Attorney General of Ontario. He was only 37 years old, the youngest ever to hold that post in Ontario at the time. During his time in office, he served in other roles, including as Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Economic Development. He conducted an overhaul of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. an overhaul of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. But some of the moves he made were quite controversial,

including the introduction of breed-specific legislation that banned Ontario residents from owning pit bull and Staffordshire terriers. Michael Bryant touted himself as being tough on crime. One year, in response to an increase in gun homicides in Toronto, he invested $100 million to hire more prosecutors and upgrade forensic facilities. But members of the criminal defense community criticized this decision, noting that it was one-sided because there'd been no investment into legal aid to help those accused of a crime who can't afford to pay for a lawyer.

Michael Bryant also shuttered cannabis operations and put the hammer down on street racing. He gave the police the power to seize and destroy any car that had been modified for racing, even if no charges had been lodged against their owners. He described these cars as being as dangerous as explosives and an illegal narcotic. He was widely quoted as saying, We will crush your car, we will crush the parts. It was another polarizing decision. But with these bold decisions, Michael Bryant also had bold ambitions for his career, leading all the way to the top.

A Toronto Life article would describe him as cocky and ruthlessly ambitious. He was also described as brilliant and overachiever and frequently mentioned as a possible successor to then-premier Dalton McGinty as leader of the province's Liberals. But Bryant was also opinionated and outspoken, and during this time he found himself having what he would later describe as a difference of opinion with the premier. In 2009 Michael Bryant received a tempting job offer that made him rethink his future plans. His friend and fellow Harvard University alum David Miller, the Mayor of Toronto at the time, was setting up an agency to entice new investments to the city.

And he had just the person in mind for the job of president and CEO. Of course, if Michael took the $300,000 a year job, he would have to resign as a member of provincial parliament. But perhaps the timing was right. The situation with the Premier had grown precarious, and this provided him an opportunity to bolster his prospects for a return to politics later on, and by that time he might be better positioned to successfully compete in a leadership race. When Michael Bryant announced his resignation from politics, the media was greatly interested in his movements. That summer of 2009, he did an interview with

journalist Jennifer Wells for the Toronto Star, where he spoke about how it felt good to be out of politics. There was talk of a midlife crisis and the journalist asked him about a black convertible she'd heard about when she interviewed Canadian music executive Bernie Finkelstein. she'd heard about when she interviewed Canadian music executive Bernie Finkelstein. With some amusement, Michael explained that he'd purchased the 14-year-old sub for just $5,000, and Bernie was always joking about waiting around for the car to fall apart. Michael quipped that his friend was just envious about the low purchase price. But as for the scrappy sports car, he saw it as a symbol of his new freedom,

telling the journalist, quote, "'Road rage is back in my life.'" He referenced the fact that when out and about as an elected official, he was always mindful of how his actions might reflect on his public image. Quote, "'You can't give the bird to a neighbour who's just cut you off,

because you might want to put a sign on their lawn. Now that Michael Bryant was out of politics, he didn't have to put any election signs on anyone's lawns. He described the feeling as liberating. described the feeling as liberating. A month after that Toronto Star interview was Michael's wedding anniversary. He and his wife Susan Abramovich, also a lawyer but of the entertainment variety, were celebrating 12 years of marriage and two children. But celebrating really wasn't the right word for it. As Michael would write in his 2012 memoir 28 Seconds, their marriage had been in trouble

for a while. He'd been drinking heavily for a large portion of it, and finally Susan had enough of the problems that came with this drinking. He saw the writing on the wall, quit drinking and started attending regular AA meetings. While he was reportedly able to maintain his sobriety, there were still problems in the marriage and it became strained again over the next three years with things coming to a head in 2009. He wrote, I was usually in the doghouse that summer. Somehow I wasn't engaged with the same human race of which my wife was a member. I was a distracted presence in my own marriage, my mind usually somewhere else. I was going through the pressure of a career change, a significant reorientation,

maybe even something of a career change, a significant reorientation, maybe even something of a small midlife crisis. The night of August 31st 2009 tensions were high. Michael had actually forgotten it was their wedding anniversary until Susan mentioned it earlier that day and he dropped everything to put together plans for them on the fly. The couple had dinner at a Middle Eastern restaurant where Michael described Susan's smile as forced, quote, we were both trying, both of us, but to me we sounded more wary than anything else. After dinner, Susan mentioned a travel book she was on the hunt for.

Michael suddenly had an idea. He wasn't sure about the gift he'd scrambled to get her earlier in the day, but perhaps this was an opportunity to try and turn the night around. He announced to Susan that they were going to drive to a nearby bookstore to get that book. It was a warm evening so they got back in the Saab with the top down. It was currently 9.35pm and Michael knew the bookstore closed at 10pm. He drove along a particular stretch of Bloor Street that led up to an intersection at Bay Street. This area is part of an upscale neighbourhood called Yorkville, also known as one of Canada's

most exclusive shopping districts. There was still time to salvage their anniversary, or at least prevent the night from getting any worse, but that window of opportunity would be closing soon. The traffic up ahead seemed to be moving very slowly. Michael would write that he undid his seatbelt and sat up from his seat momentarily, peering ahead to see what was going on. The events of the next five minutes or so would be hotly debated for years to come, but one thing was certain.

The very different worlds of Darcy Ellen Shepard and Michael Bryant were about to collide, and both their lives would change. We're taking a quick break from today's episode to dive into the brand new season of Only Murders in the Building, brought to you by Disney Plus and Acast Creative. In the spirit of not-so-true true crime, we all understand how satisfying it is to solve a mystery. And as a huge fan myself, Only Murders in the Building is anything but your average

mystery or crime drama. It's a quirky and clever series perfect for discerning amateur detectives. And filled with witty dialogue, pop culture references and subtle clues that make solving the mystery a fun challenge each week. Confession, I often miss most of them on the first watch because I'm distracted by Selena Gomez's stunning outfits. She plays Mabel, a mysterious young woman living in an apartment building called the Arcadian, and she shares the elevator with two eccentric older residents with Steve Martin and Martin Short, playing a washed-up actor named Charles and an out-of-work thespian struggling to pay his bills named Oliver. They bond over a shared obsession with crime podcasts and when a fellow resident of The Arcadian is murdered this unlikely and unqualified trio can't resist snooping around and start

their own true crime podcast. I feel seen right now. Their podcast is called Only Murders in the Building and it soon amasses a cult fanbase who call themselves The Arcadians. The writing is smart, meta and self-aware. I loved Tina Fey playing a big time crime podcaster in one scene she records an ad with a promo code Butchard Bunny Yikes. And two crime podcasts that make a brief appearance on the show are called Don't Ever Go to Clown Camp and Abraca Doomsday. There are so many hilarious moments that caught me off guard and amazing special guests like

Meryl Streep. There's twists and turns, red herring, secrets and new revelations at every corner as Mabel, Charles and Oliver snoop around, get evicted, arrested, fight and make up. A millennial and two boomers with a lot to teach each other and a lot to learn. Season 3 ended in a huge cliffhanger and there are three things I'm desperate to find out. Who killed Charles? Who poisoned Winnie? And there's this mysterious Moriarty figure that keeps popping up. Who could that be? I will be watching the opening credit sequences to each episode closely because as fans of the show know they always include subtle

clues and Easter eggs. Only Murders in the Building season 4 premieres on August 27 exclusively on Disney+. I'll be trying to solve the case each week. You should join us. Don't forget to tune in every Tuesday for a new episode. Thank you for listening to Canadian True Crime, brought to you in partnership with Disney+, an A-cast creative. Summer is finally here, the time to get outside, move your body and enjoy the weather.

And this season, with Peloton, you define what it means to be a runner. Me? Definitely not a runner. But I do enjoy walking with my dogs and nature hikes with my family. And frankly at my age I really should be moving more regularly. So I'm letting Peloton help motivate me to get outside and make the most of these sunny days at my own pace. Did you know that Peloton has a huge range of class types from their pop runs to their walk and talks, including classes for those who

only have 5 or 10 minutes to spare, so you can choose what kind of runner you want to be. Right now I'm starting my weekday mornings with a 10 minute power walk. It gives me a positive can-do mindset and because it's not a huge chunk of time, it's far less overwhelming of a prospect, so that means I'm likely to continue. But that's just me. If you're looking to really get a sweat on this summer, check out Paliton's outdoor guided runs. Your run, your way, means being able to customize by selecting your difficulty level,

your favorite expert level instructor, and music. And for those really muggy days, just tap into the Palaton app and take to the treadmill. From sprints, walks, and hikes, to pilates, yoga, strength classes and more. No matter where you are in your fitness journey, Peloton has everything you need to get outside, show up as you are and move at your own pace. Call yourself a runner with Peloton at onepeloton.ca slash running. That's O-N-E-P-E-L-O-T-O-N.C-A slash running. You were just being seen firing ambulance? Yeah, there was just a hit and run here at the floor and in between Bay and University. Okay, is anyone hurt?

Well, the guy jumped on the side of his car and was on a bicycle and the car, the license plate is f***ed. And I saw the whole thing, the guy just, obviously there was an argument between the bike and the car. Okay, is the cyclist injured? I don't know, he grabbed onto the side of the car and the guy took off. I'm going to call you to the ambulance, okay? Hold on a second. That's Steve. That night, he and his wife Victoria had been having a casual summer stroll along Bloor

Street when they suddenly found themselves near what appeared to be a developing altercation at a mid-block pedestrian crossway. Toronto ambulance, where do you need us? altercation at a mid-block pedestrian crossway. car and the car must have been going 50 miles an hour with the guy on it. This is Luren Avenue Road area? Yeah in between University and Bay, Avenue Road and Bay. And this was a pedestrian's truck or guy on a bike? It was a guy on a bike but obviously there was an argument and the car the bike was in front of the car and then the car just sped up and hit him and then the guy went off his bike and he jumped from the side of the car and the car just took off with the guy hanging on the side of his car. Okay, where's the patient now? I don't know. That's why I was speaking to 911 and they put me through to you.

So he's got to be around here somewhere, not far. What kind of car was it? It was a convertible, like Saab or something like that, a newer car. Which way did they go? They were going west on Bloor Street. But now there's people standing around, oh, that guy's down on the ground. The car's not there, so obviously the guy took off. At the same time, Steve's wife Victoria was also calling through.

There's some background noise and a siren comes in, so you might not catch every word she says. We'll clarify her statement later. But for now, this is mainly to give you a sense of her perception of the chaos who was driving the car, I can't even begin to tell you what a fucking idiot. Like, he was like out to kill this guy. Okay, and he's... On purpose, like he was an idiot. He took him out, maybe three times. If this guy clung to the car and he drove on the wrong side of the road, with the guy trying to swing him off...

Okay, I know. ...and then he's gone to everywhere... And he's left the scene? He's... Oh yeah, of course he has. He had a woman in the car, it was a black car. Might have been four feet from someone on another line actually. Oh, OK. I'll go and check that out. I'll let you go. Now, it should be noted that several other witnesses to the event

had called 911 as well. But the only 911 audio that's been publicly released is from Steve and Victoria's calls and that's because they gave permission. And after that first spate of 911 calls from witnesses, dispatch would soon respond to another. One of the witnesses had reported to 911 dispatch that the driver of the Saab had driven away from the scene. This was true, but he hadn't gone very far. Michael Bryant had continued driving along Bloor Street until the next intersection at Avenue Road, where he turned north and pulled into the nearby Park Hyatt Hotel. Three minutes later he

called 911 identifying himself and his location at the hotel. Now we don't know the exact words spoken in this call because neither the audio nor the transcript have been permitted to be released publicly. More details on this will be provided later but what we do know is that the version of events that Michael Bryant gave to 911 dispatch was different to what Steve and Victoria said they saw. According to Michael, he was the one who'd been attacked by a man on a bicycle who had been hanging off his car. At the end of the call, the operator reportedly asked Michael where the cyclist was now, and he responded,

"'Somewhere on Bloor, I suppose.'" Darcy was somewhere on Bloor. He was lying on the road, close to the curb, in a pool of blood. First responders arrived to a scene of chaos and carnage. Darcy was technically still alive but he had sustained numerous serious injuries including to his head. There was also a large gaping wound on his torso. large gaping wound on his torso. Darcy was rushed to St Michael's Hospital, but he had no vitals when he arrived

and staff were unable to resuscitate him. Darcy Ellen Shepard was pronounced dead at 11.06 p.m. He was 33 years old. In the hours after the tragedy, the police started gathering witness statements, including from Steve and Victoria, the couple who witnessed the start of the altercation. You're about to hear clips from their separate recorded statements about what they had seen that night, as well as clips from three other witnesses. Now these were not the only witnesses, there were many more that you'll hear about later,

but these people were the only ones who gave permission for tape of their statements to be released publicly. According to Steve's statement, he and Victoria were looking at shop windows when he suddenly became aware of an altercation at a mid-block pedestrian crossway just metres away. Two parties had been waiting at the red light there, the driver of a black convertible and a cyclist who had stopped his bike directly in front of it.

Steve caught the incident as they waited for the lights to change. And they were stopped at the lights and the first thing that I certainly noticed was the cyclist was, my first image as I recall was pulling up in front of the car My first image, as I recall, was pulling up in front of the car and had a smile on his face, the cyclist did. You know, a cyclist, not a smile to say, I'm happy, but you're just, you know, I'm going to piss you off type of smile to the driver and pulled his bike right in front of the hood, blocking his way. And it was weird because you saw that there was

an altercation going on, you could just see it. What struck both Steve and Victoria was that it was clear that both parties were agitated, but the altercation did not appear to be verbal. Victoria described it as having a road rage, but said they were not arguing and shouting at each other. Steve observed that the driver was looking stone-faced and passive, and the woman passenger beside him

was just sitting there. The only actual words they heard uttered came next from the cyclist. The bicycle man just said to the car driver, he was kind of standing in front of the car with his bike and he wasn't moving and the lights changed to green. And he said, you won't, you won't need to move now. You know, like kind of he was tormenting him.

And the car driver then bumped him a couple of times and that's when I kind of I actually shouted to them stop it because they were I could see that it was gonna you know be a nightmare because he bumped him and as he bumped him the bike kind of fell between his legs and the back wheel of the bike was under the car so the cyclist picked up the bike and kind of had it between his legs again and got on it kind of was standing with it in between his legs. Then the car driver just kind of decided that he was going to drive off with the guy in front of him and that's when he tried to run him over. He basically started to move. The cyclist was in front of him and he didn't care. He just started driving and

that's when I got my husband's blackberry and said phone one. I didn't see, I didn't know if the lights had changed, but certainly the car then moved forward very slowly onto his back wheel. And the guy, the cyclist fell off his bike. Anyway, so then he basically started to drive forward, but not slowly, with the man on the bike in front of him and he was being moved along. He got thrown over onto the bonnet

and thrown onto the driver's side of the road. So he hit him full on at high speed. The cyclist obviously would have fell off the car and fell onto the driver's side of the of the car. The bike then was in the middle of the road. The guy got up and the car started to move away. And I would say that the cyclist, I can't recall if he was running or walking very fast in terms of the distances to where when the car started to move and the cyclist ran after the car. Later on in the interview Steve has asked a question that he struggles to answer. We're leaving the pauses in here to show that.

And how would you describe the style of driving that you saw from the driver? I mean, I mean, I think, I mean, it's almost broken down the stages, right? I think the first time when he nudged his tire was like, look, you asked, you know, this is, you know, I'm just going to show you sort of thing you know and then after that it was you know I mean he hit the guy he yes as far as I'm concerned and I'll say it anywhere he he purposely hit that guy and and and as far as I'm concerned he could have like all of us I mean I'm you know as bad as anyone else in terms of getting frustrated with people on the road. But, you know, you make a decision, right?

At a point in time where you can either, you know, but he had an opportunity. He certainly had an opportunity that second time to. It's not like the guy ran in front of the car to be hit by the car. He hit him full on. Another witness entered the scene just before this point. He had just driven his own car into a nearby parking garage and walked out onto the street. I went into the parking garage and I sort of heard a commotion and saw some people standing around.

I was going to enter my building and I stood there and I saw a car stop at the red light. I saw a man get up off the street, pick up his bicycle and I saw him, he was talking to the person driving the car and then he picked something up, maybe his bicycle or a bag or something and he threw it on the hood of the car. I heard him say to whoever was standing around that you're all witnesses to this. Now this particular comment wasn't heard or reported by Victoria or Steve, but as we'll explain later, it was also heard by other eyewitnesses. This entire incident happened very quickly and had many moving parts, so it was vitally important that investigators track down as

many eyewitnesses along the road as they could. With more information, they could overlay statements and identify commonalities in what the witnesses reported, which would hopefully bring them closer to the truth. In the chaos of the incident, this particular witness, the parking garage guy, thought Darcy had thrown something onto the hood of the car. It should be noted that a later reconstruction report would determine that it was Darcy himself who ended up on the hood, and fell over the driver's side of the car. He did have a messenger backpack on, which Victoria saw him take off and throw away.

As it landed at her feet, she assumed that rather than trying to hit the car, he just wanted to unburden himself of the backpack in the heated moment. Victoria would tell Jennifer Wells of the Toronto Star that it was like something out of the movies, a stunt chase, it was over in seconds. Back to the parking garage guy. Then the light turned green. The car sped away into the opposing lane, the oncoming lane, the eastbound lane. And the man was holding onto the car.

I didn't know what part of the car he was holding onto. But he was being pulled along by the car. The car was moving quite fast. It just started quite quickly. And after that, I didn't see anything else because the middle of the street was blocked with construction trucks. Darcy's bike was lying in front of the convertible's way.

So Michael Bryant had to veer on to the other side of the road to manoeuvre around it before he could drive off. Back to Victoria and Steve. When the guy in the car started to drive off on the wrong side of the road, the man on the bike gets up and starts to run after him. He jumped on the side of the road, the man on the bike gets up and starts to run after him. He jumped on the side of the car. So the car wasn't going too too fast but it was kind of going to go and he was running fast. The cyclist then somehow latched onto the car and from what I saw he had his hand inside the car and it was either on the headrest

or on the driver's door, on the inside of the driver's door. He jumps on the side, and he literally put his arms, both arms, over the driver's side of the door. But it wasn't like the driver was scared, you know what I mean? It wasn't like he was scared.

They were both very angry. It was kind of like, I think what he thought maybe was that the driver would stop. But the driver then put his foot straight down on the gas and at the top speed with the man dragging on the car like in a movie, like holding on for dear life, I don't think he could let go. He was going too fast. I don't know what he would have done, right? Because he couldn't let go because he would have fallen in the road. Here's how Steve describes it.

And that's when the car just... The fellow put his foot... Maximum gas. And took this cyclist away with him. And then the car dragged him and there were sparks coming out from under the car. The fellow was not letting go and to be honest with you, I mean it's one of those things when you look at it and you think well if he lets go he may have a chance, you know, with severe damage but that car was going very, very fast.

I didn't see him fall off the car or anything. I just saw him jump onto the car and the car, but the car was going about, I mean it was going about, like as much as you could put your foot down and go, like it was fast, it was like, you know, it's 90 miles an hour, 90k. It wasn't like slow. He sped off at top speed with a man on the car. And the man was dragging behind, his feet were dragging on the road. And that's kind of when I was really freaking out. Both Steve and Victoria watched as the convertible continued up Bloor Street on the wrong side of the road with a human hanging off the side of it. They watched until they lost sight of the convertible behind a utility van,

which marked the end of their eyewitness statements. As you'll remember, there was road construction and the two inner lanes were blocked off. Two construction workers happened to be there at the time and witnessed the final part of the incident after the Saab drove off on the wrong side of the road. Here's what they said. I was standing by the truck and I heard these squealing tires and I saw a black convertible racing the wrong way on past our construction site.

As I looked, this car was going about 90 and I didn't know there was a guy hanging on the passenger side. But after the guy went onto the sidewalk, the guy hanging onto the car hit the mailbox, hit the road, the guy in the car ran over him with the back tires, the guy bounced and the car sped off and the person that he ran over was there just bleeding. To clarify, it would be determined that Darcy had not been run over, but his body did hit several stationary objects on the curb as the car sped past. The witness was asked what was going through his mind at the time, whether he thought the harsh driving looked like a deliberate act by the driver of the car. The guy was going like 90 the wrong way. I felt sick to my stomach when I saw the guy bleeding from his head, his mouth.

And I just yelled to the guys to call 911. This is what a second witness from the construction site said. All I saw was the car speeding up the wrong side of the road with the injured man on the driver's side of the car holding on as tight as he could and then the driver of the car pushing up against the curb trying to knock him off on the poles as he went down the opposite side of the road. Then he hit the mailbox, fell off the car. I didn't see after that.

All I saw was him trying to shoot up the street there. All I saw was him trying to knock him off and then I saw fall off and after that I couldn't see him. This is all that this particular witness saw, but he said he heard some of the commotion before that and described hearing the driver of the convertible yelling loudly. I was scared to be honest with you, for the guy. Because that was a pretty nasty fall for sure. He was yelling pretty loud and he sounded very, very angry, kind of road rage. But honestly, if someone that's really, I don't think all there.

The driver of the car was yelling? Yeah. What was he yelling at? The cyclist? Yes. Tell me about that. All I heard was car was yelling? Yeah. What was he yelling at? The cyclist? Yes. Tell me about that.

All I heard was some loud yelling and then screeching tires. That's when we turned around and the car took off down the wrong side of the road trying to go and hit him off the poles for about probably 100 meters. He was holding on from like Bay Street onto the car up the side of the street on the curb. He was definitely holding on for dear life as soon as the guy accelerated. The witness was asked to speculate on why he thought Darcy was holding on to the car in the first place. At first, I think he was trying to get him because he hit his bike.

That was the whole thing. The guy hit him with the car on his bike, tired, bent over, and then he finally just said, OK, and grabbed onto the car and the guy sped off as fast as he could. It's difficult to hear, but the next question was, do you think he deliberately tried to hit him off with the mailbox? Oh, definitely, definitely deliberate deliberately, because he went for 100 meters right down the curb and up onto the sidewalk. In the meantime, police had arrived at the Park Hyatt Hotel around the corner,

where they arrested Michael Bryant and impounded the Saab. Multiple news reports state that Michael was interviewed at the station for 14 hours. But the truth was that investigators only tried to interview him. They were not successful. He'd already called his personal assistant to have her make the appropriate arrangements

with his personal lawyer. But as a lawyer himself, Michael Bryant knew the score. He gave no more information and would not give a statement. But exercising his right to remain silent wasn't all he did. As Joe Friesen would write for the Globe and Mail, quote, At the darkest hour of his darkest night, his dazzling career disappearing as inevitably as air from a punctured balloon, Michael Bryant or someone acting on his behalf, turned to a rogue assembly of political spinners to resuscitate his image. This assembly was Navigator Limited, a Toronto PR and Crisis

Management firm paid by individuals and organizations in crisis situations to help them protect and defend their reputations. The Toronto Star would report that Michael Bryant was said to be close to Navigator Chair Jamie Watt, a man touted for knowing everyone in Canadian power circles. This was a pivotal moment for someone like Michael Bryant. He would have learned that Darcy Allen Shepard had died and would have known that beyond the possibility of criminal charges, this had the potential to ruin all his future plans.

The Globe and Mail article exploring this had the headline Michael Bryant's spin class and provided insight into standard practice in these situations with communications and PR experts speculating on what likely took place in the hours and days after Navigator was first retained. It read, quote, people will have been assigned to write Mr. Bryant's statement to arrange a soothing backdrop to deliver his statement, and come up with a strategy for avoiding the unpleasant visual

of a moving scrum of television cameras. They will have decided what he should wear and what emotional tone he should aim for. The article goes on to state that Navigator would have started by gleaning inside knowledge from their clients' perspective, then monitoring the media extensively to get a complete picture about what had been written and said about the incident so far. Quote, and then the hard part, getting the facts and context favorable to their side into the public realm. One of the PR experts quoted in the piece speculated about possible implications of Michael Bryant hiring Navigator Limited.

Daniel Tisch from Argyle Communications concluded that it was certainly good for Michael Bryant that he got them on board, at least so far. But quote, is it good for society? The jury's out. This case has been described as a failure of both the justice system and the media. In part two, coming tomorrow, we'll explore how the mainstream press ran with a cleverly planted false narrative as though it was verified fact and how that influenced public perception about the case. We'll also unpack the documents that prove it was a false narrative, information that wasn't

publicly available at the time. Thanks for listening. Transparency and openness is important to us so we've put all the statements, reports, videos and other information we refer to in this series on our website at canadiantruecrime.ca slash Darcy. You can review and compare all of the documents and check out further analysis including on the Darcy Allen Shepard Files blog created by Darcy's father Allen and the Bryant Watch blog maintained by cycling advocate Joe Hendry.

Special thanks to Allen and Joe, Darcy's former partner Misty and eyewitnesses Victoria and Steve. Thanks also to author Mary Fairhurst Breen who edited the original series down to this shorter version. Initial research was by Hayley Gray with production assistance by Aviva Lassard and Eileen McFarlane. Additional research writing media analysis,

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