Canadian True Crime - The Death of Darcy Allan Sheppard [1]

Episode Date: May 25, 2022

A six-part series — On a warm summer evening in 2009 there was a violent collision on a downtown Toronto street, an incident so unimaginable that it left bystanders shocked and confused. The evening’s events dominated the headlines and would be hotly debated for years to come but one thing was certain: the very different lives of the two men involved would never be the same.Look out for early, ad-free release on CTC premium feeds: available on Amazon Music (included with Prime), Apple Podcasts, Patreon and Supercast. Full list of resources, information sources, credits and music credits:See the page for this episode at www.canadiantruecrime.ca/episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi everyone, I hope you're well. This is part one of a four-part series to be released weekly. For the release schedule, please see the show notes. Before I start today, I have a few things that I wanted to tell you. While we usually release two episodes a month, sometimes a case comes along that needs a bit more care and attention than my usual schedule allows. And this is one of those cases. I really appreciate your patience as I took a bit of extra time. to prepare and in exchange for that you'll get four episodes this month instead of the usual too so thank you this series is about an incident that happened just a few weeks after I moved to Toronto in August of 2009 this story was a big deal here in Toronto a headline maker but I wasn't following it too closely at the time because I was in new

immigrant hustle mode trying to get bank accounts a job a place to live years later I I started this podcast, my passion project, where I share the things I've learned about Canada in a true crime context. And when I came across an update to this particular case, I decided that I wanted to cover it one day. And I actually started working on it with a researcher in 2020. But we soon realized that the case was far more than met the eye. And what we knew about it was really only the tip of the iceberg. It was a case that seemed to be better suited as a long-form series, not a case-by-case anthology-style podcast like mine. So I reluctantly put the case in the too hard basket. But it kind of stayed with me. So early this year, I decided to challenge

myself and go for it. Let me tell you a bit about it and why it's going to be presented in a very specific way. This case is centered around two men who came from two very different backgrounds and lived two very different lives, so different that they were unlikely to ever cross paths. But they did. At the end of August of 2009, their lives hurtled towards each other like two comets on a collision course, and when the inevitable crash came, it was explosive, so explosive that it would completely change the course of both their lives. As humans, we tend to think in absolutes, black and white, everything or nothing, success or failure. And when it comes to true crime stories, we want to identify and label the good guy and the bad guy, because it often makes

us feel better, safer, more sure of things. But really, the concept of the good guy and the bad guy is just as flawed as every human is. No one is all good or all bad. We're all made up of many different colors and many shades of gray. And sometimes situations are so nuanced, so complicated, that it's impossible to know what's happening without digging into the mess, without identifying those shades of grey. And that's what this case is about. The problem was that when this incident first happened in 2009, and the story was being reported in real time, there was a lot going on behind the scenes that wouldn't become public knowledge for quite a few years. There were clues, though, things that didn't seem right, even to certain media outlets. So after the court proceedings were

over, one of the parties submitted a Freedom of Information application, asking to have documents related to the case publicly released. Freedom of information requests here in Canada are not easy. And after a few expensive years of wading through red tape, the application was approved and the documents released, followed by audio of 911 calls and eyewitness statements. This release of information didn't include everything related to the case, but it included a lot, and it revealed that there was a markedly different side to the story than what had been reported. So today, as we tell the story from beginning to end, we have those documents, those audio files, those statements, We also have a book that was written later and we can apply context in hindsight that wouldn't

have been possible when this story was unfolding. But it's a contentious case and we've had to be very careful about our words and the way we tell the story. So while usually these episodes might start with the crime itself and then we go back to the start to unpack the case, we're doing things a bit differently. Because this story centres around two men. from two different sides of the proverbial tracks, we're going to start with their individual stories, the things that happened in their very different lives that led to them colliding

so violently on a downtown Toronto Street in 2009. And before I go, I want to stress that I have no agenda here. These two men have been labeled multiple times, good guy and bad guy and vice versa. But I don't care about those labels. This is an issue. independent podcast, I have no boss or overlord encouraging me to arrive at a certain conclusion. My career doesn't hang in the balance and I have no colleagues or peers pressuring me to portray the case a certain way. My only goal is to unravel this story in a fair and balanced way to show you what can happen in cases like this. There'll be a lot of references and citations in this series and you'll be hearing audio from the 911 calls and the witness statements.

Some of it has been edited slightly for clarity, but if you want to review the source materials, you can find links to everything mentioned in the show notes, all the documents, the media articles, the audio files, and more. An additional content warning. While not the focus of this case, this episode does include mention of child sexual abuse and neglect. And with that, it's on with the show. Canadian True Crime is a completely independent production, funded mainly throughout advertising. The podcast often has course language and disturbing content. It's not for everyone.

It was the summer of 2009 and Darcy Allen Shepard was at somewhat of a crossroads in his life. Traditional nine to five jobs had never worked out for Darcy, but in recent years, the tall and athletic 33-year-old had found his purpose, working as a bike messenger in the downtown 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 Allen 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 as 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. She would say that she tried her best but found the task of being a parent very difficult and she would often use alcohol as a coping method. Darcy's father 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 Darcy, his one-year-old brother David and infant sister Chantal, were removed from their mother's care and put in the foster sister.

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 behavioural 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, an astounding amount. 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 and neglect. He described incidents of physical, mental and sexual abuse. The boys were removed from that placement and 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 Shepherd. 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. Multiple studies show that 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, in attention or lack of focus, distractability being fidgety, oppositional behaviour, 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, not to mention his own demons. 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 travelling 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'd been described by Darcy's father,

Alan, as two scorpions in a bottle. While Darcy had been a regular user of cannabis and alcohol before that, 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 drunk. 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 devolved to a point where the two parents were dabbling in hard drugs while they took turns to watch the kids. 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 failing to comply and attend court, and he moved back to Edmonton, Alberta, the place where he was born. He soon 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 had to find a way to provide for his partner and infant far. and he turned to petty crime. He stole checks from an organisation

and rather than forging the signature of the person who was supposed to sign the company checks, he wrote an entirely fictitious name and signature and put a small amount of money. He took it to try it out with a payday loan provider and without too much fuss, the cash year handed over the cash. It was too easy, so Darcy kept his fraudulent scheme going, cashing more checks at loan providers as well as conning individuals.

Part of Darcy's charm was that he could be very persuasive when he needed to be. His clumsy scheme worked because the organisation's bank did not carefully check signatures when it cleared them for payment. Not only would they have seen that it was the wrong signature, but there actually should have been two signatures on the checks. In any event, Darcy got away with doing this about seven days. times, with small amounts, some less than $100. He was soon court 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. 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. It was a sticky situation. Darcy had been fraudulent, but the stolen checks were from a company. They weren't large amounts and his unsophisticated plan only worked, because the financial institutions he went to did not follow clearance procedures. The police likely decided it wasn't worth it.

So now, 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 organised 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 Gladu 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 behaviour 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 wrong doings. 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. Bike messengers are often utilized by courier companies in downtown areas, because they're not constrained by heavy traffic and parking regulations and can often make faster deliveries than vehicles can. And Darcy loved the freedom he felt when biking around the city. 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 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, one of whom described him as a bright presence at the best of times. 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 felt some he was fucking up. What was clear was that Darcy loved Misty. She was a stabilizing 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 was. 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 the 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 they shared a joint, and 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. While they were likely a bit sad and heartbroken, they led him in to make sure he was taken care of. One of the friends would say to the Toronto start that, quote, he came to us because we're his family.

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, or being drunk.

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. As to why they were there in the first place, 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 the 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. Darcy climbed back on his bike and rode off. By 9.45pm, 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. 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 master's from the University of BC, he attended Harvard Law School and then Osgood Hall. He clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada, which is where he met his university.

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 also made a few big moves.

Michael Bryant conducted an overhaul of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. According to a later article by Law and Style.C.A., it had been taking an average of seven years for a huge, human rights complaint to make its way through the stages of government. But after Michael's restructure, the time was reduced to about a year. But some of the moves he made were quite controversial, including the introduction of breed-specific legislation that banned Ontario residents from owning Pitbull and Staffordshire Terriers.

This decision was welcomed by some, but it also widely angered pet owners, breeders and animal lovers. Michael 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 defence community criticised 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 in response to a death allegedly caused by the illegal activity. 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. At the announcement, 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 polarising 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, also 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. With some amusement, Michael explained that he'd purchased the 14-year-old Saab 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 rages 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. 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,

17 years totaled together 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 had 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 small midlife crisis. He wrote that there was discussion about the future of their marriage that summer. Quote, our marriage is in trouble, we know it, we've been in counseling since the spring. 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 appropriateness of a celebration was debatable,

but he figured if he did nothing to at least commemorate their anniversary, it could make things even worse. 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, they went for a walk on the beach and stopped somewhere for dessert, where 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 seat belt 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. It was just like a hit and run here at Bloor and in between Bay and University.

Okay, has anyone hurt? Well, the guy jumped on the side of his car, he was on a bicycle, and the car, the license plate was And I saw the whole thing. The guy just, obviously there was an argument between the bikes. 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 put 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? Well, I was just reporting a hit and a guy hit a guy on a bike. Okay, what's the address or location?

On Blue Street between Bay and University, but I don't know where the guy is because the guy jumped on the side of the car and the car must have been going 50 miles an hour with the guy on it. Okay, so this is Bloor and Avenue Road area? Yeah, in between University and Bay, Avenue Road and Bay. And this was a pedestrian truck or a 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 up on 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 sob or something like that, a newer car. Which way did they go?

They were going west on Bluer Street. But hang on there's people standing around how 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 that was unfolding. My husband's actually called in. He's on the phone right now telling the night. on the plate. Okay, he's already down here because the guy is bleeding like hell and he's uncomfortable. Oh no, we're already on our way. We're already on our way.

Look, if the guy 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 like, it was hideous. He took him out, maybe three times. This guy clung his car and he drove it on the wrong side of the road with the guy trying to swing him off. Okay, and there's tried to everywhere.

And he's left the scene? Oh, yeah, of course, yeah. He had a woman in the car. It was a black car. My husband's talking to someone on another line. 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. But this one would be from the driver of. the black Saab convertible. 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 Blur. He was lying on the road close to the curb in a pool of blood. First responders arrived to a scene of Kambor. 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. 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 I certainly noticed was the cyclist was, 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, 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 can just see it. It was, you know, I don't know where it started. I don't know how it began, but certainly there was an altercation taking place. Victoria's statement detailed how the man on the bike was standing in front of the car. A black convertible car and a man on a bicycle.

And the man on the bicycle was standing in front of the car. They'd obviously maybe had something gone before because they were agitated. 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 heard uttered came next from the cyclist. It's nothing. 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 want me to move now. you know like kind of he was tormenting him and the car driver then bumped him a couple of times 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 and that's when I kind of sort of kind of said to my husband you know I actually shouted to them stop it because they were I could see that it was gonna you know be a nightmare because 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. He didn't care. He just started driving. And that's when I got my husband's Blackberry and I said, phone 911 now, and I was screaming at him, get the number plate, get the number and I thought maybe even if I screamed get the number plate, that the man in the car would hear me say that. You know, because if I'm going to take his number plate, he knows I'm watching what he's doing and he's going to be caught. 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. He is how Steve described it. And again, you know, the thing that game just strikes me is, I mean, we've all been guilty of certainly getting frustrated with other drivers and some of his, some expletives and so on, but there was no dialogue at all. The fellow fell off his bike. He went up, got up, picked up his bike, got on his bike again,

and for some reason, the car then accelerated at a, at a, at a, high speed and knocked the fella onto his on to the front of his car it was you know it was at that point when you think to yourself in retrospect when you think back with it that this is where the guy should have just said you know he should the driver in my opinion should just said this is not worth it I'm going to get out of here and I'll scream and yell at my wife or whatever later on but this is where so he hit him he hit him full off at high speed. The cyclist obviously would have fell off the car and fall 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 distance as to where the car started to move and the cyclist ran after the car. Steve also wanted to point something out about his perception of the two people in the convertible and what had transpired. But I have to, I would like to reiterate, there was complete and utter passive look on the driver and the passengers face. And yeah, he was, I mean, the driver and the female possible.

were both totally focused on what was going on. And as far as I'm concerned, he made a decision that, you know, when he hit him first, I mean, it wasn't like, you know, this was a double whammy because he hit him full on onto his hood. 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 think, I mean, it's almost, you know, 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 going to show you sort of thing, you know. And then after that, it was, you know, I mean, I mean, he hit the guy. He, as far as I'm concerned, and I'll say it anywhere, he purposely hit that guy. And as far as I'm concerned, he could have, like all of us, I mean, I'm, you know, I'm as bad as anyone else in terms of, you know, getting frustrated with people on the road. But, you know, you make a decision at a point in time where you can either, you know. But he had an opportunity, he certainly had an opportunity of that second time to, It's not only 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 came out of 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 stopped 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. And I heard him say to, I don't know, whoever was standing around, that you're all witnesses to this. So this witness came out of the parking garage as the apparent altercation was in mid-swing. He saw Darcy get up off the road and say to those nearby, 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 tracked 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 on to, but he was being pulled along by the car. The car was going quite fast,

and 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 convertibles way, so Michael Bryant had to veer onto the other side of the road to maneuver around it before he could drive off. Back to Victoria and Steve. Then 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 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...

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, like, scared of it. 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,

behind, 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 some 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 890 miles now, 90K, it wasn't like slow. He sped off at top speed with the 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.

So before we move on to the next part, let's summarize the commonalities in these three separate statements from Steve, Victoria and the third witness who came out of the parking garage. According to all three witnesses, Darcy was on his bike, stopped at the lights of a pedestrian crossing. He had just pulled in front of the black Saab driven by Michael Bryant. They were having some kind of road rage altercation, but no one heard any actual words spoken until the lights turned green. Instead of biking off, Darcy turned and said something to the driver of the Saab in a tone that Victoria perceived as being provocative. The Saab then moved forward and hit the back of Darcy's bike as he was straddling it.

When the bike fell over, Darcy picked it up and righted himself. But then the Saab suddenly accelerated into Darcy and his bike a second time, much faster than before. As the bike was lodged under the front of the car, Darcy went over the hood and ended up on the road on the driver's side of the car. The Saab reversed back, dislodging the crumpled bike and then started to manoeuvre around it to drive off. At this point, Darcy stood up, ran after the Saab,

and grabbed hold of the driver's side door. But the Saab did not stop. It instead accelerated into the opposing lane with Darcy holding on. Had there been oncoming traffic in that lane, a head-on collision would have been likely. But the lane was clear, allowing Michael to continue driving the Saab on the wrong side of the road. with Darcy hanging off the side of the driver's door, skimming the curb. So these were just the commonalities in these three statements, things that all three eyewitnesses

mentioned. There were two more eyewitnesses who gave permission to release their statements publicly, though. 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 past our construction site. As I look, this car was going to about 90 and I didn't know there was a guy hanging on on the passenger side. But after the guy went on to the sidewalk, the passenger, the guy hanging on to the car hit the mail.

box 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. Oh, yeah, he meant to knock him off because apparently they had a confrontation up at the lights. But I couldn't see the guy because hanging on until he bounced off the mailbox.

And 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 I just yelled to the guys to call 911. This is what a second witness from the construction side 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 in 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 him 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 honestly, for the guy. Because that was pretty nasty, for sure. He was a lot of him. yelling pretty loud and he sounded very, very angry, kind of road rage, but honestly, someone that's really, I don't think, all there. The driver was the car was yelling? Yeah.

What was he yelling at, the cyclos? 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 deer 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, okay, 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 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 four, 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 right 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 organisations 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, someone who had recently left an impressive career in politics to take a high-profile president and CEO role, someone who had grand designs to one day return to politics and secure a leadership position. 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. In order to give himself the best chance of success, not only at beating any potential charges, but also at making sure, his public image remained intact, a planned and precise long-term public relations strategy was needed. 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 client's 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 favourable to their side into the public realm. One of the PR experts quoted in the piece speculated about the implications of Navigator Limited's involvement.

Daniel Tisch from Argyll Communications concluded that it was, certainly good for Michael Bryant that he got them on board. But as to whether it would be good for society, he said the jury was out. Thanks for listening. In part two, we'll unravel the aftermath of the incident that caused Darcy Ellen Shepard's death, the twists and turns that came with each new day and how investigators worked to get to the truth of exactly what happened. Part two will be released in a week on June 1st. subscribe to add free premium feeds on Apple Podcasts, Patreon and Supercast, look out for a slightly

early release. Special thanks to Aviva Lassad for production assistance with this episode. Thanks also to Haley Gray for research and to Victoria and Steve and the other eyewitnesses who gave approval for public release of their statements. Thanks also to Ellen Shepard, who set up the Darcy Ellen Shepard Files blog, which contains all the statements, reports, and other information that was later publicly released about this case. For a full link to that blog, and to view the full list of sources and resources used for this episode and anything else you might want to know,

see the show notes or visit canadian truecrime.ca. As always, thank you so much for your kind ratings, reviews, messages and support. I don't have much time to reply, but I read every message and I really appreciate them. Thanks also to the host of True for voicing. the disclaimer and We Talk of Dreams who compose the theme song. I'll be back with part two soon. See you then.