In January 1995, 23-year-old Melanie Carpenter vanished while working alone at a tanning salon in Surrey, British Columbia. Later that day, surveillance footage captured a man using her debit card, leading police to identify a parolee as their suspect. Before an arrest could be made, he died by suicide, leaving the case without a trial or verdict. Melanie’s body was later found in Fraser Canyon, and her death was ruled a homicide. Nearly three decades later, her case still raises difficult questions about parole, supervision, and what justice looks like when answers are never tested in court.

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Episode Notes

The Killing of Melanie Carpenter — Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Melanie_Carpenter

Killing of Melanie Carpenter — Grokipedia https://grokipedia.com/page/Killing_of_Melanie_Carpenter

Maclean’s Magazine (January 30, 1995) — Murder in the Giant Mine https://web.archive.org/web/20181124105745/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1995/1/30/murder-in-the-giant-mine

House of Commons Debates (Hansard), 35th Parliament, 1st Session — Public Safety & Parole Discussions (1995)https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/35-1/house/sitting-153/hansardhttps://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/35-1/house/sitting-156/hansard