Dark Poutine podcast recap: Date with death — the murder of James Shannon

This week’s episode of the Dark Poutine podcast covers the death of James Shannon, whose body was found at his Port Alberni, B.C. home after he failed to show up for work the day before Valentine’s Day in 2008.

The Port Alberni nurse met Kim Winslow Rothgordt on the website Plenty of Fish. The Crown’s theory was that the two men met at Shannon’s home for consensual sex and that Rothgordt may have been confused about his sexual identity after his first homosexual experience, before he allegedly snapped and killed the victim.

Nine days later, Shannon’s body was found.

Rothgordt’s defence lawyer said his intoxicated client was sexually attacked and provoked to act in self-defence when he struck Shannon with a hammer.

Rothgordt was arrested for being drunk in a public place and he faked a suicide attempt so he could “lay low in hospital.” This is where he first mentioned the sexual attack.

He was found guilty of second-degree murder in 2008 and the B.C. Court of Appeal ordered a new trial for him on January 31, 2013. However, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Arnold-Bailey ruled in upholding the jury’s original conviction of second-degree murder on June 30, 2014.

WATCH: (April 16, 2018) Port Alberni RCMP investigate parents who hog-tied alleged child predator

2:04 Port Alberni RCMP investigate parents who hog-tie alleged child predator

Photo credit: Phil Smith on Flickr per CC licence

Sources:
R. v. Rothgordt, 2014 BCSC 1215 (CanLII)
Port Alberni on Wikipedia
MacLeans Magazine – Canada’s Most Dangerous Places 2018
Port Alberni ‘a safe place to be’ despite crime rate, says RCMP
B.C. man convicted in second-degree murder of nurse in 2008 gets new trial
BC judge says gay panic defence no longer valid

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The views, information and opinions expressed in Dark Poutine are solely those of the producer and/or the individuals involved in the production of Dark Poutine and do not necessarily represent those of Curiouscast, its affiliate Global News nor their parent company, Corus Entertainment. Curiouscast is not responsible and does not verify the accuracy of any statement made during Dark Poutine. The producers and Curiouscast assume no liability for any statement or service made in connection with this podcast.

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