The Decibel - Introducing: In Her Defence, a new true crime podcast

Episode Date: September 22, 2023

Follow In Her Defence wherever you get your podcasts. The first two episodes drop Tuesday, October 10th.Everyone knew bad things were happening on the Naslund farm. Then, in the fall of 2017, Miles Naslund’s body was found welded into a box at the bottom of a pond near his family’s property in Alberta, Canada. His wife and son were charged with first-degree murder.The Globe and Mail’s newest podcast In Her Defence brings you Helen Naslund’s story in her own words for the first time. Through a series of jailhouse interviews with reporter Jana G. Pruden, Helen speaks about the domestic violence she suffered, and what led to that fateful night on the farm. Meanwhile, Helen’s friends come to terms with the abuse they suspected had been going on for decades, and the reality that Helen could spend the rest of her life in prison.Tens of thousands of Canadians joined the outcry over Helen’s harsh sentence, asking what is fair punishment when a victim becomes the accused. Now they’ll hear firsthand about Helen’s life, her long fight for freedom, and the way the justice and legal systems deal with women who kill their abusers.

A new podcast from The Globe and Mail. This is In Her Defense. I wouldn't even want to try and go back and count the number of times that I've had a gun to my head and to actually hear that click and I'll never forget that. All the time you'd be wondering, are you going to shoot me or not? People around the small town of Holden, Alberta, knew terrible things were happening on the Naslin farm. They heard stories about the way Miles Naslin treated his family, and especially his wife, Helen. He was a very intimidating person, and everybody knew that if you're going to approach him or cross him, there's going to be consequences, and it's not going to be good. But nobody knew how bad it really was.

And even if they had, they wouldn't have known how to stop it. He said, you're all going to pay when I get home. He was drunk, furious. What happened at home, I don't know. But that's the night it ended. I'm Jana Pruden. I've been reporting on crime and murder in the Canadian prairies for 25 years. And I've never come across a story quite like Helen's.

About a family that survived together and then broke apart. About a small town that suspects a murder for six years and never says a word. It's a story that forced people around the country to ask, how far would they go to protect themselves and those they love? And what does justice look like when the victim becomes the accused? What did you think about that? What, that Hager was dead? That she had shot him? Good job, Ma! Want a drink?

Let's go get drunk. I've spent the last year speaking with Helen and writing to her in prison as she shared her story for the first time. Join me for In Her Defence, a podcast about Helen Naslin's long fight for freedom and my search for the truth of what really happened on the farm that night. We know more of the truth,

and Helen didn't kill anybody. Follow In Her Defense, a new podcast from the newsroom of The Globe and Mail, coming this fall.