What happened to the cat lady?
That legend became a mystery when she disappeared 20 years ago. Now a new CBC podcast, Uncover: The Cat Lady Case, takes another look at her story. Joan Lawrence was 77 years old when she went missing in 1998. She was a fixture in the Huntsville, Ont., community because she had a highly visible routine. (Ben Shannon/CBC)
Who was known as'the cat lady'?
Joan Lawrence was known as 'the cat lady' because she had around 30 cats, some of which she had taken in from the community and raised from kittens. (Ben Shannon/CBC)
What happened to Joan Lawrence's cats?
All police could find were her cats, many shot dead with a hunting rifle. The case remains unsolved, but unsealed documents and new witnesses are shedding a light on one of cottage country's darkest crimes. What happened to Joan Lawrence? Investigative journalist Zander Sherman sheds light on one of cottage country’s darkest crimes. 3:38
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What was the cat lady's name?
Though Lawrence lived a solitary life, and was known locally as the " Cat Lady ," she had previously worked as a poet and journalist, and was in the process of reporting her landlords for "frauds, theft, mistreatment and neglect" at the time of her disappearance.
When was the OPP podcast released?
In July 2019 , a podcast detailing the case was released by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Shortly afterward, the OPP held its first-ever press conference on the topic of Lawrence's disappearance and suspected homicide in the 21 years that her case had been open.
Who was the person who disappeared in the cottage country murder?
In 2017, the disappearances of Joan Lawrence, John Semple, John Crofts, and Ralph Grant were featured in "Cottage Country Murder," a magazine article in The Walrus. The article was written by Zander Sherman, who had been researching the story since 2014. Sherman also consulted on "Murder in Cottage Country," a co-produced documentary by CBC's The Fifth Estate. In 2019, Sherman and two colleagues won a Canadian Screen Award for their work on the documentary. Later that year, Sherman hosted the fourth season of the CBC podcast Uncover, called "The Cat Lady Case."
Who were the people charged with the pension scam?
This led police to uncover a "pension cheque scam," and charged David, Walter, Walter's wife Karen, Paul, and Kathrine with defrauding the federal government of the benefit money it was providing Semple, Crofts, Grant, and other residents who had died or were missing.
Who was Joan Lawrence?
Joan Lawrence (1921–1998) was an elderly Huntsville, Ontario woman who went missing in 1998. Her disappearance led the Ontario Provincial Police to discover that three other seniors—John Semple, 90, John Crofts, 71, and Ralph Grant, 70—were also missing, presumed murdered. Though Lawrence lived a solitary life, ...
Did Marshall see Lawrence's body?
Marshall told police he heard gunshots and saw a backhoe being operated around the time of Lawrence's disappearance. Police obtained a search warrant for the property that December. Despite an extensive search by lake, land, and air, they failed to find Lawrence's body.
