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Calls From a Killer

Calls From a Killer

By: CBC
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What does a reporter do when they receive a cold call from one of the most horrific serial killers in Canadian history?


The killer: Clifford Olson, who murdered at least eleven children in the 1980s. The reporter: Arlene Bynon, who recorded her jailhouse calls with Olson for years.


Alongside legendary journalist Peter Worthington, Arlene spent hundreds of hours on the phone with Olson. It was kept secret from his prison guards; he wasn't allowed to speak to the media.


In Calls From a Killer, from CBC’s Uncover, Arlene unearths secrets that have been buried for decades.


Secrets about Olson's crimes, about how police failed his young victims and their families — and why law enforcement paid a psychopathic serial killer $100,000.


With Nathaniel Frum — Peter's grandson — Arlene exposes hard truths about a forgotten tragedy, a bungled investigation, the loved ones left behind, and the mind of a killer.

Copyright © CBC 2025
True Crime
Episodes
  • E1: The Olson Tapes
    Aug 1 2025

    Arlene Bynon answers a collect call. On the other end of the line is Clifford Olson: a man convicted of killing eleven children and teenagers in the 1980s. The oldest of them, eighteen. The youngest of them, nine. During years of secret phone calls from his prison cell, he tells this young journalist things he hasn’t told anyone else.


    Decades later, Nathaniel Frum dusts off a box of old tapes inherited from his late grandfather. When he hears Arlene’s voice, he knows he needs to find her.


    And they both know that this forgotten story needs to be told.

    Show More Show Less
    31 mins
  • E2: Something Monstrous
    Aug 2 2025

    ‘They called him the Candyman.’


    In British Columbia’s lower mainland, children are disappearing. Families are terrified as the local RCMP attempts to find out who is preying on vulnerable kids.


    At a time when both the public and the police don’t know how to deal with a serial killer, Clifford Olson slips through the cracks.

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    40 mins
  • E3: The Mounties Always Get Their Man
    Aug 3 2025

    It’s the summer of 1981 and the RCMP have their sights set on Clifford Olson, who is well known to them as a career criminal and informant.


    As police investigate, kids continue to be taken. Kids like Judy Kozma, a 14-year-old who never made it home from her shift at McDonald’s. By the time he’s finally arrested, Olson has murdered at least eleven young people.


    The RCMP’s case against him is weak - until Olson proposes a deal.


    In the present day, Arlene speaks to family members of those he killed.

    Show More Show Less
    38 mins
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