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

Tonight on Northern Dark, we examine the unsolved deaths of billionaire pharmaceutical executive Barry Sherman and his wife Honey Sherman, found inside their North York home in December 2017. Early assumptions spread fast, but as investigators and experts looked closer, the details raised harder questions — about the scene, the timeline, and what didn’t fit.

Years later, the home is gone, the investigation remains open, and no one has been charged. This is a story about power, uncertainty, and the unsettling reality that even the most high-profile cases can remain unfinished.

Listen and subscribe for more Canadian true crime from Northern Dark.

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Episode Notes

1. Wikipedia (Barry Sherman): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Sherman
2. Toronto Police (archived news release): https://web.archive.org/web/20171218112158/http://torontopolice.on.ca/newsreleases/39905
3. CBC (court-documents reporting, 2021): https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/barry-honey-sherman-murder-2021-1.5860527
4. Forbes (Donovan book excerpt, 2019): https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesdigitalcovers/2019/11/25/honey-and-barry-sherman-billionaire-murders-kevin-donovan-book-excerpt/
5. SuccessStory bio profile: https://successstory.com/people/bernard-c-sherman

A young woman is found murdered behind a Dartmouth apartment building in 1995. Police quickly zero in on her ex-partner, Glen Assoun — but the truth behind this case is far more complicated. Missing files, alternate suspects, and a dangerous serial killer in Halifax raise a haunting question: did the system pursue the wrong man?

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Episode Notes

Primary Investigations & Long-Form Reporting

1. Halifax Examiner – Dead Wrong (Part 1) https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/investigation/dead-wrong/
2. Halifax Examiner – Dead Wrong (Part 2) https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/investigation/dead-wrong-part-2/
3. CBC News – Glen Assoun granted freedom after wrongful conviction https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/glen-assoun-justice-supreme-court-1.5038635
4. CBC News – Serial killer Michael McGray once considered a strong suspect https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/michael-mcgray-serial-killer-brenda-way-glen-assoun-1.5209623
5. Innocence Canada – The Case of Glen Assoun https://www.wrongfulconvictions.ca/cases/glen-assoun/
6. Innocence Canada – Public Case Summaries https://www.innocencecanada.com
7. Global News – Wrongfully convicted man laid to rest in Nova Scotia https://globalnews.ca/news/11245324/wrongfully-convicted-man-halifax-laid-rest/
8. Global News – Daughter seeks answers after wrongful conviction https://globalnews.ca/news/10172551/glen-assoun-daughter-wrongful-conviction-probe/
9. Alberta/Nova Scotia oversight investigation into handling of Assoun files https://nanaimonewsnow.com/2025/10/16/alberta-watchdog-will-investigate-n-s-police-handling-of-wrongful-murder-conviction/