Missing & Murdered: Who Killed Alberta Williams? podcast series hosted by Connie Walker

Begins October 25

CBC News today announced the launch of a compelling new podcast and web series, MISSING AND MURDERED: WHO KILLED ALBERTA WILLIAMS? hosted by CBC News investigative reporter Connie Walker. Sparked by a chilling tip from the unlikeliest of sources, Missing & Murdered: Who Killed Alberta Williams? is an eight-part serialized podcast investigation into the unsolved cold case of a young Indigenous woman who was murdered in northern British Columbia 27 years ago. As part of this project, there will be a series of online interactives that can be viewed as a supplement to the podcast or on their own.

In 1989, 24-year-old Alberta Williams was working in a cannery for the summer in Prince Rupert, B.C.

On what was supposed to be her last night in town, she went out to celebrate with family and friends at a local bar. At the end of the night, she told her sister Claudia she was going to a party. Claudia never saw Alberta again. What began as a two-minute news assignment for Walker grew into a deeper investigation into Williams’ death as new information was uncovered.

“It was the beginning of a cross-country journey that took us into the centre of an unsolved murder,” said Walker. “What we discovered shocked not only us, but also the RCMP officers who first investigated Alberta's disappearance.”

During the course of the series, Walker uncovers new information about the Alberta Williams case as she tracks down people not interviewed by the police, and others who have been too afraid to speak out until now. Audiences will hear first-hand accounts from family and friends, some of whom come forward with new information, including the lead police investigator who always felt that more the cold case could still be solved.  Beginning today, the story will unfold on a weekly basis, with new episodes released every Tuesday.

“Congratulations to the investigative team and to Connie,” said Jennifer McGuire, general manager and editor in chief, CBC News and Centres. “With this series, CBC News furthers its commitment to investigative reporting and in-depth coverage on multiple platforms, to ensure the tragic scope of Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women is brought to national attention.”

Connie Walker is an award-winning investigative reporter, with a focus on Indigenous issues for CBC News. In December 2013, CBC News launched CBC Indigenous, which has become a leading voice for coverage of Aboriginal issues at CBC News. Last year, Walker and colleagues at CBC's Indigenous Unit won multiple awards including the 2016 Canadian Association of Journalists' Don McGillivray investigative award, a Canadian Screen Award and the prestigious Hillman Award for its "Missing & Murdered: The Unsolved Cases of Indigenous Women and Girls" interactive website.

Missing & Murdered: Who Killed Alberta Williams? is available online at www.cbc.ca/whokilledalbertawilliams or via iTunes and the Google Play.

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About CBC News

For more than 75 years, CBC has been the source Canadians turn to, to keep them informed about their communities, their country and their world. Through regional and national programming on multiple platforms, including CBC Television, CBC News Network, CBCRadio, CBCNews.ca, mobile and on-demand, CBC News and its internationally recognized team of award-winning journalists deliver the breaking stories, the issues, the analyses and the personalities that matter to Canadians.

About CBC/Radio-Canada

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. We are Canada’s trusted source of news, information and Canadian entertainment. Deeply rooted in communities all across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also provide international news and information from a uniquely Canadian perspective.

For more information including series synopses, press releases, hi-res images, video clips and bios, please visit the CBC Media Centre at cbc.ca/mediacentre.

For more information, please contact:

Nicola Makoway

CBC News & Current Affairs

nicola.makoway@cbc.ca (416) 205-7673