Blood Ties: The Murder of Johnathon Madden

Blood Ties: The Murder of Johnathon Madden

Author: Dark Poutine / Curiouscast July 14, 2025 Duration: 1:01:03
Episode 375: On a bleak November afternoon in 2003, Toronto’s east end became the unlikely stage for a crime so brutal and bizarre that, even years later, it defies belief. The victim was 12-year-old Johnathon Robert Madden, a boy remembered by teachers and friends as “kind and thoughtful,” the kind of child who would go out of his way to walk a younger classmate home just to ensure he was safe. His murder was not the work of a stranger or a notorious criminal, but of his brother, 16-year-old Kevin Madden—a troubled youth whose anger and alienation had been festering for years. Kevin was not alone that day. With him were two friends: 15-year-old Timothy Ferriman, a self-styled “vampire” desperate for attention and belonging, and another teenage boy whose identity remains protected by law. Together, the teens would go on an afternoon rampage of violence and destruction that would shatter a family and horrify a city. Sources: 2006 CanLII 33472 (ON SC) | R. v. Ferriman | CanLIIMurder of Johnathon Robert MaddenRage by Jerry Langton (Ebook) - ScribdTHIS WAS JOHNATHONJohnathon Madden (1991 - 2003) — In Memory OfWhy Monitor Violent Websites? A JustificationGoth culture social network Vampirefreaks closesFarewell To VampireFreaks: The Website That Changed More Than Alt…Neighbours React To Johnathon VerdictMother chronicles Johnathon's life in memorial website | CBC NewsTeen Sentenced As An Adult For Murdering His Brother In Johnathon Trial'Johnathan' named as teen killers receive adult sentences | CBC NewsJohnathon’s killer loses bid for new trial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Podcast Episodes
Bound by Silence: The Murder of Dr. Edith Wightman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:40
Episode 395: On a cold December day in 1983, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, was shaken by a deeply unsettling crime. Dr. Edith Wightman, a respected scholar, was discovered dead in her office: bound with tape,…
Guardian UFO: The Carp, Ontario Mystery [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:31
Episode 394: On an August night in 1991, the quiet fields near Carp, Ontario, were interrupted by strange lights arcing across the sky—a sight so odd it left locals searching for answers. Soon, anonymous packages began t…
Really, I Did It: The Murders of Julia Howe & David Creamer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:29
Episode 393: On a cold February day in 2022, tragedy struck the small communities of Creston and Kimberley, British Columbia. Julia Howe, a familiar face to her neighbours, was found lifeless in the bathroom of her partn…
Mayhem in Saanich: The 2022 Bank Shootout [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:39
Episode 392: On the morning of June 28, 2022, as staff and customers began their day at the Bank of Montreal in Saanich, British Columbia, twin brothers Matthew and Isaac Auchterlonie entered the branch clad in body armo…
Canadian Connections: The 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:12
Episode 391: At dawn on December 26, 2004, a massive undersea earthquake off Sumatra’s west coast — one of the strongest ever recorded — triggered a devastating tsunami across the Indian Ocean. Waves up to 30 metres high…
Halloween 2025: A Brief History of Witch Trials in Canada [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:24
Episode 390: When most Canadians think of occult-related witch trials, their minds drift south to Salem, Massachusetts, or across the ocean to medieval Europe. The popular narrative suggests that Canada, with its reputat…
Pistols at Perth: The Wilson-Lyon Duel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:10
Episode 389: On a rain-soaked evening on June 13th, 1833, two young law students faced each other across a muddy field near Perth, Ontario, pistols in hand. John Wilson, a 20-year-old from humble farming stock, gripped h…
The Campbellton Python Tragedy: Connor and Noah Barthe [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:11
Episode 388: On the morning of August 5, 2013, Campbellton, New Brunswick, faced an unthinkable tragedy. Police and first responders were called to an apartment above Reptile Ocean, the town’s reptile and fish shop, wher…
Boxing Day Bystander: The Murder of Jane Creba [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:56
Episode 387: On December 26, 2005, around 5:15 p.m., there was a gunfight outside the Foot Locker store on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto. Unfortunately, a fifteen-year-old girl named Jane Creba was shot and killed. Sh…
All That Remains: Fox Hollow Farm — Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:22
Episode 386: In the last episode, we explored the origins of Herbert Baumeister and the early days at Fox Hollow, tracing the stories of early disappearances of gay men around Indiana. The disappearances beginning in the…