Canadian True Crime – The Huenemann / Leatherbarrow Murders [1]

Host: Kristi Lee
Release Date: December 16, 2024

Overview:

In this deeply researched, trauma-informed two-part story, Kristi Lee investigates the shocking double homicide of Sharon Heunemann and her mother Doris Leatherbarrow in British Columbia in 1990. Through case archives, news reports, and court documents, Kristi peels back the layers of a brutal and complex crime that rocked the Victoria and Vancouver areas—and revealed startling truths about family, wealth, manipulation, and youth. In this first part, Kristi unravels the victims’ backstory, the mechanics of the crime, and the initial steps of an investigation that quickly widens from a botched robbery theory to chilling suspicions centered closer to home.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Scene: The Night of the Murders

• [03:00–07:30] Sharon Heunemann, returning from helping her mother Doris, goes missing on her customary Friday ferry ride home for Thanksgiving weekend. Husband Ralph grows anxious; after failed calls to relatives, police find mother and daughter murdered in Doris’s ransacked home near Vancouver.
• The crime scene reveals extreme violence: both women's throats were slashed, the kitchen in disarray, dinner abandoned mid-preparation.
  • "There's blood everywhere. The older woman has an 8-inch knife still embedded in her throat...They've suffered an extremely violent attack and it looks like it happened right as they were about to serve dinner." (Kristi Lee, 06:15)
• Initial police theory is a robbery, but cash and jewelry are left behind and no forced entry is apparent.

2. Building the Family Background

• [08:00–11:30] Doris’s journey from Depression-era roots to self-made success running a women's clothing chain, culminating in an estate worth ~$3 million (1990 dollars).
• Sharon's life: Only child, perfectionist, working alongside her mother; Darren, her only son, is doted upon by both women.
• Move to Victoria for Ralph’s prestigious academic job splits the family’s routine—Sharon commutes weekly to manage stores.

3. The Investigation’s Early Focus

• [12:30–17:00]
  • Alibis are gathered.
  • 18-year-old Darren provides a detailed timeline: he was on Vancouver Island, seen that night with his girlfriend Amanda and friends Derek Lord and David Muir in Victoria. All corroborate each other.
  • “Investigators had no doubt that Darren was telling the truth about being on Vancouver island all night, so he couldn't have been one of the teenagers seen loitering near his grandmother's house...” (Kristi Lee, 13:30)

4. The Motive Emerges: Wealth and Will

• [20:15–22:35] Doris’s will: Sharon is primary inheritor; Darren stands to gain everything if both women die before his 24th birthday, though most funds are withheld until age 25.
• Notably, Darren calls Doris’s sister (executor) four days after the murders, grilling her about the will—prompting detectives to see Darren as a possible orchestrator.
  • “At this point, investigators realized that Darren Huneman had a very serious motive to want his mum and grandma dead.” (Kristi Lee, 20:50)
• Physical impossibility: Ferries and alibis make it near-impossible for Darren to have personally committed the murders.

5. Suspicions Circle Friends & the Dungeons & Dragons Connection

• [24:30–32:00] Attention shifts to Darren’s high school friends and Dungeons & Dragons gaming group.
• The Grandmaster describes Darren as clever, manipulative, obsessed with inheritance, and shockingly open about deadly imaginings.
  • “They even had fake business cards made up... [Darren] would try to manipulate the game’s scenarios... The game would end with him cracking that character's neck.” (Kristi Lee, 27:10)
• Several friends recall Darren joking about “half the money if he killed his gran, the rest if he killed his mother.” Everyone thought it was an act.

6. Unraveling Alibis with New Witnesses

• [33:00–41:30]
  • Bus/taxi drivers and ferry logs place Derek Lord and David Muir on the mainland at the right time, contradicting previous statements.
  • Diligent witness lineups confirm the two teens—not Darren—were seen loitering near Doris’s house.
  • Wiretaps catch Derek and David scrambling after police revelations and trying to coordinate stories.
  • “David told Derek, 'They know where we were on the 5th. They say they've got positive ID on us on the ferry and the cab drivers.' Derek said, 'They've got to be lying.'” (Wiretapped conversation, 42:50)

7. The Break in the Case: Wiretaps and Amanda’s Testimony

• [47:52–56:45] Police press Amanda (Darren’s girlfriend), who finally confesses: Darren had spoken of elaborate plans to kill his mother, grandmother, and even stepfather for inheritance.
• Darren delegated the murders to Derek and David, promising them lands, cars, and allowances from the estate.
  • “According to Amanda, the reason Darren said he wanted to kill her stepfather was because he thought Ralph Huneman might become executor of the will. ... He wanted to eliminate all possible barriers that stood in the way of his being the sole beneficiary.” (Kristi Lee, 48:25)
• Police charge all three: Darren, Derek, and David. Though teens, Derek and David are tried as adults given the brutal and calculated nature of the crime.

8. Psychological Profiles, Family Dynamics, and Legal Strategy

• [57:00–01:04:30]
  • Darren: Model student, pampered, pressured, and highly performative.
  • Derek: Socially awkward, fascinated with knives, sometimes menacing.
  • David: High IQ, quiet, compliant, easily manipulated.
• Psychiatric assessments suggest Derek and David were impressionable, peer-driven, unlikely to reoffend, yet the judge rules their actions showed “maturity and resolve far above mere immaturity or peer pressure.”
  • “The judge found that the calculated and brutal nature of the murders involving defenceless women for profit showed a level of maturity and resolve far above mere immaturity or peer pressure.” (Kristi Lee, 01:04:10)
• The Crown’s key witness is Amanda, whose explosive testimony is previewed for part two.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the shock of the crime:
  "A friend of both women told the Vancouver Sun that she couldn't believe that, quote, two very kind and gentle people had been murdered in such a brutal way." (Kristi Lee, 17:10)

• On Darren’s open boasts:
  “The friend told investigators that Darren mentioned he’d get half his gran’s money if he killed her, but if he also killed his mother, he'd get the rest of it. All of it. But once again, everyone thought he was joking.” (Kristi Lee, 30:45)

• On wiretap chaos:
  “David told Derek, ‘They know where we were on the 5th. They say they’ve got positive ID on us on the ferry and the cab drivers.’ Derek said, ‘They've got to be lying.’” (Wiretapped call, 42:50)

• On Darren’s manipulation:
  “The police noticed that he was very skilled at communication and manipulating people.” (Kristi Lee, 45:56)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:00] – Discovery of the murders.
• [11:30] – Doris and Sharon’s legacy and the family business.
• [20:15] – Revelation of the will and Darren’s inheritance motive.
• [27:10] – Dungeons & Dragons group accounts and Darren’s open threats.
• [33:00] – Taxi and ferry evidence shifting suspicion.
• [42:00] – Wiretapped phone calls among suspects.
• [47:52] – Amanda’s full confession and link to the murder plan.
• [56:45] – Arrest of Darren and the two teenage accomplices.
• [01:04:10] – Psychiatric evaluations and court’s rationale for trying the teens as adults.

Episode Tone and Style

Kristi Lee’s tone maintains empathy throughout, reflecting on the horror and sadness of the crime while diving unflinchingly into the intricacies of the investigation—always with respect for the victims and survivors. There’s a strong focus on factual detail, careful research, and trauma-informed storytelling. The narrative is deliberate and immersive, weaving family history, legal drama, psychological insight, and social context.

Closing and What’s Next

This episode ends as the case heads to trial, with a promise of further bombshells:

“There would be multiple court outbursts and details of a plot to escape prison that seemed too strange to be true, but years later would result in national headlines...All that and the Aftermath is coming up in Part two.” (Kristi Lee, 67:40)

For further resources and references, visit the podcast’s website. Part two of the series is slated for release the following week.