Choices

Summary

Podcast Summary

Suspicion: Murder on Mount Olive

Episode 10: "Choices"
Host: Kevin Donovan (Toronto Star)
Date: May 2, 2025

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Overview

In the season finale of "Murder on Mount Olive," host Kevin Donovan sits down for a candid and reflective interview with Christopher Sheriff, who has served 13 years in federal prison for a murder he says he did not commit. Through a combination of phone, video, and in-person interviews, the episode delves into Chris’s life behind bars, the toll his incarceration has taken on his family, the questionable evidence used to convict him, and his ongoing fight for justice. Donovan also explores themes of race, systemic bias, prison life, and the complexity of choices—both big and small—that have shaped Chris’s past and his possible future.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Family, Regret, and the Passage of Time (00:31–02:20)

• Chris reflects on his children: His teenage son is a soccer standout living with Chris’s parents after his mother’s death, while his daughter lives with her mother and enjoys flag football and hobbies like hair and nails.
• Longing for lost years: Chris expresses a yearning to reconnect with his family, lamenting “there’s a lot of time I missed already and I just want to kind of make up for that, especially with my kids.” (01:28)
• Challenges of re-entry: Now 35, Chris details anxieties about ‘settling back into society,’ citing changes to the world, trouble finding work, and supporting his family as major hurdles should he be released.

Revisiting the Night of the Murder and the Weight of Choices (02:20–06:09)

• Hindsight and regrets: Chris obsesses over his fateful decision to stay out that night:

  “I look back at the choices and I see signs of saying, just go home, go home. Like, you know. And I didn’t take it.” (02:34, Chris Sheriff)

• Coursework and growth: Chris has used his time in prison constructively, taking over 30 courses (including philosophy and entrepreneurship), with Toastmasters (public speaking) providing a newfound sense of belonging and confidence:

  “Everyone’s comfortable, everyone... It’s like a mini family in that Toastmaster group.” (05:54, Chris Sheriff)

• Support system: His mother Marjorie remains his staunchest supporter:

  “I have his son here and I know I have to stay strong for both of them.” (06:22, Marjorie)
  Chris, in turn, calls his mother his “best friend.”

Staying Safe and Staying Out of Trouble (07:20–08:06)

• Motivation to avoid conflict: Chris attributes his compliance with prison rules to his desire not to further distress his family:

  “I don’t want my family worrying about me or if I’m getting in fights... I try to stay out of all the trouble, all the problems, just because that’s who I think. Those are the people who I prefer.” (07:38, Chris Sheriff)

Awareness of the Outside World (09:20–09:50)

• Keeping up with current events: Chris affirms that, despite incarceration, inmates remain informed about world events, discussing news about Canada, the US, Trump, tariffs, and related issues.

The Night in Question: Motivations and Misconceptions (09:50–14:37)

• Chris’s recollection of events:
  • Confirms youthful interests (“I want to be around girls”) contributed to his choices that night.
  • Insists he had no fear or particular admiration for Awet, the co-accused.
  • Denies knowledge of Awet’s intention to sell drugs during the car ride.
  • Kevin Donovan presses for a possible “confession” of indirect involvement, but Chris stands by his story:

    “No, no, he didn’t. He didn’t say anything... I just pulled over, he got up and that was it.” (13:01, Chris Sheriff)

Cell Phone Evidence and Trial Questions (14:37–16:31)

• Phone issues: Chris’s phone was dead that night, a point used by prosecutors to paint a narrative of concealment, but Chris insists it was due to lacking a car charger.
• Sibling support: Messages from his sister Aquilla, expressing love and support, are shared with Chris for the first time.

Friends, Gangs, and the "Hustle Squad" Label (16:31–19:28)

• Friendships scrutinized:

  “Before my case, none of these guys were known to the police or in trouble with the police and were even labeled a gang member.” (16:51, Chris Sheriff)

• Becoming ‘guilty by association’: Police and prison authorities labeled Chris a gang member (STG – Security Threat Group), though later lifted due to lack of evidence:

  “We will be inactivating your STG... You have turned your life around while incarcerated.” (Case File, 2017)

• Chris sees systemic racism:

  “They’re targeting people, they’re creating people, they want people to be gang member.” (19:18, Chris Sheriff)

Reliability of Police Evidence and the Case Against Chris (19:28–21:24)

• Questionable evidence: Chris disputes the police narrative that he was a violent gang member with “bodies to his name.” He has never been questioned further about any such cases.

Parole, "Faint Hope," and Ongoing Legal Challenges (22:38–24:12)

• Parole situation: Chris’s parole eligibility is in 12 years unless a “faint hope appeal” (after 15 years) shortens his sentence by convincing a jury he’s eligible for earlier release.
• Refuses to confess to what he didn’t do:

  “I can’t admit to something that I didn’t have an involvement in. Like again like if it takes me staying longer in jail, I have to stay longer in jail.” (23:47, Chris Sheriff)

Hope for a Break in the Case—“Drops” (24:12–26:49)

• Debunking key witness testimony: Chris and his lawyers have tracked down “Drops,” the supposed gang rival, who is now in jail. They hope he will confirm there was no feud, no fight, and no stolen chain—a crucial element in the Crown’s narrative.

  “Hopefully he can come up with the truth and say that all this is a lie, that I wasn’t after him, never got into fight with him, never had a conversation with him.” (26:31, Chris Sheriff)

• Police informant credibility: Chris wants to prove that sources used by police were unreliable, which could prompt a review of his conviction.

Reflections on Kim Golub’s Family and Legacy (26:58–28:14)

• Desire to meet the victim’s family:

  “I’m willing to sit down, I’m willing to talk to them. They can ask me whatever question they want to ask me... I want to talk to them and show them I didn’t have nothing to do with it.” (27:28, Chris Sheriff)

• Burden of the label ‘cold-hearted’: Chris doesn’t want to live knowing someone believes he’s responsible for the crime.

Day-to-Day Prison Life and Advocacy (28:14–29:41)

• Active in prison community: Works in carpentry and sits on committees mediating conflicts and helping inmates transition out of segregation.
• Self-cooked meals: Prefers making his own meals (“probably just make chicken and some rice”) over cafeteria food.

Race and Policing—Advice to His Children (29:41–30:44)

• On raising Black children in Canada:

  “The police don’t treat us equally... If you’re black...they’re automatically going to think you’re up to something bad or you’re a gang member.” (30:14, Chris Sheriff)

  • Instructs his kids to always be polite to police, keep hands visible, and avoid misunderstandings.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On regret and youth:
  “I look back at the choices and I see signs of saying, just go home, go home ... And I didn’t take it.” (02:34, Chris Sheriff)
• On admitting guilt for parole:
  “I can’t admit to something that I didn’t have an involvement in. Like again like if it takes me staying longer in jail, I have to stay longer in jail.” (23:47, Chris Sheriff)
• On racial injustice:
  “The courts is the courts. The course has never been for the black people.” (27:39, Chris Sheriff)
• On challenging his gang label:
  “How come I’m not a gang member right now? Why is as soon as I get convicted they say this gang no longer exists?” (19:07, Chris Sheriff)
• On his motivation:
  “Me being here ... the reason why I don’t get myself in trouble is because I think about her and my family ... I don’t want my family worrying about me.” (07:38, Chris Sheriff)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:31–01:38: Chris talks about his children and family
• 02:20–02:51: Chris recalls his regrets on the night of the crime
• 05:20–06:09: Prison courses, Toastmasters, and adapting to incarceration
• 14:37–16:31: Cell phone evidence and sibling messages
• 19:07–19:28: Chris discusses challenges with gang labeling in prison
• 22:38–23:58: Explanation of faint hope clause and Chris’s refusal to admit guilt
• 24:27–26:49: Efforts to contact "Drops" and challenge police narrative
• 27:28–28:14: Chris expresses willingness to speak with Kim Golub’s family
• 29:41–30:44: Advice to children about interacting with police

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Conclusion

In "Choices," Kevin Donovan brings listeners deeply into the personal and legal labyrinth faced by Chris Sheriff, exploring themes of regret, justice, race, and hope. The episode is a meditation on missed opportunities, the persistence of contested truths, and the resilience of family bonds within a criminal justice system marked by doubt and systemic bias. Donovan closes by expressing skepticism about the original verdict and referencing Canada's new Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission, promising future developments and further investigation.

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For bonus coverage on confidential informants, police practices, and the Innocence Project, subscribers can access additional episodes. The investigation continues with more stories to come from Kevin Donovan and the Toronto Star’s Suspicion podcast.

Transcript

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[Chris Sheriff]

Right now. He's playing on the rep team right now, too. He loves it. He loves it. He has everything and he's better than me. He can shoot with both feet. He shoots left and right naturally. So he has a head starter than me.

[Kevin Donovan]

That's a conversation I had with Chris Sheriff just before this podcast series launched. His son is 13 now and quite the young soccer star. His daughter is 14. What about your daughter? What's going on with her?

[Chris Sheriff]

My daughter, she's more. She's doing flag football. She's working with my daughter. So she likes hair, she likes nails, and she's also into the flag football.

[Kevin Donovan]

Chris has watched his kids grow up from afar. His daughter lives with her mother. She and Chris are not together. As for his son, the boy's mother passed away and he lives with Chris's parents, Marjorie and Lloyd. I asked Chris about the outside world. If you got out of prison tomorrow, like right out of prison, what's the first thing you'd do?

[Chris Sheriff]

I spend time with my family. I don't spend time with my loved ones. You know, there's a lot of time I missed already and I just want to kind of make up for that, especially with my kids.

[Kevin Donovan]

Chris has been in federal prison for 13 years, plus time in provincial jail awaiting trial. He was 19 when he was arrested, 22 when he was convicted. He's 35 now. I ask him what would be the hardest part of getting out.

[Chris Sheriff]

The biggest challenge is more of settling back into society. Like, I've been away for a long time. A lot of changes happen and places look different. Being able to travel from place to place, getting a job, those would be the biggest challenges. Getting my feet back into society and get in the living and be able to support myself and my family.

[Kevin Donovan]

Alone in his cell, he often ponders the decision he made that Saturday night so long ago. After the barbecues, after juicy jerks, the decision to go to the hotel and stay out all night.

[Chris Sheriff]

Yeah, I do. I look back at the choices and I see signs of saying, just go home, go home. Like, you know. And I didn't take it.

[Kevin Donovan]

From the Toronto Star. I'm Kevin Donovan and this is season four of Suspicion Murder on Mount Olive, episode ten Choices. Okay, I'm calling again.

[Chris Sheriff]

Hi, Kevin.

[Kevin Donovan]

Hi there. Just wanted to check in.

[Chris Sheriff]

They haven't contacted you? I just called them. Let me go down and see what's happening there.

[Kevin Donovan]

I'd arranged with prison officials to conduct another interview with Chris, this time by video. I wanted to press him on a theory I had about the murder, among other things. The call was scheduled for 1pm at 1:10, I was staring at a blank screen. I reached out to a prison official. You're at the facility, correct?

[Chris Sheriff]

Yes, I'm at the facility, yes.

[Kevin Donovan]

Maybe there's an issue at their end. There's nothing spicy going on at Collins Bay today.

[Chris Sheriff]

I am in different departments, so I honestly have no clue what's happening.

[Kevin Donovan]

I waited while. I've spoken on the phone to Chris many times and in person at Collins Bay when I started this investigation, this would be the first time seeing his face in a year. The screen finally bubbled to life. Chris is putting on a headset. The audio cuts in and out.

[Chris Sheriff]

They can't hear. Hold on. Yeah, tell him I can't hear.

[Kevin Donovan]

Can you hear me now?

[Chris Sheriff]

Oh, it's not plugged in. It's not plugged in.

[Kevin Donovan]

Chris fiddles with some chords. All right, good. Good to see you again. That looks like the same place where I met you in person.

[Chris Sheriff]

Yes, it is, it is, yeah. Yeah, they kind of changed around the renovation here, but same place.

[Kevin Donovan]

Chris is wearing a white long sleeved crew neck sweater that looks to me like the one he had on when I first met him. As we start chatting, it's clear he's more self assured, more, I don't know, put together. I think his toastmaster's public speaking has paid off. That and the 30 plus courses he's taken. Not many left to do, he says.

[Chris Sheriff]

There's still a couple programs that I'm on the waitlist for. So I'm on the waitlist for the cpr. I'm in a philosophy course right now. They have another philosophy course where it's a university credit and they have another entrepreneur course that I'm trying to get involved in.

[Kevin Donovan]

Some of these courses, it's tough to get in.

[Chris Sheriff]

It's harder for me right now because they're trying to focus on people who are getting out rather than people who are doing life.

[Kevin Donovan]

The public speaking club remains his favorite. Something he couldn't have imagined doing before his arrest.

[Chris Sheriff]

When you look at it now, you see at least 2015, and it's like, consistently people come in, they like to do it. They're talking in front of everyone. They're getting used to it. They're talking freely. Everyone's comfortable, everyone, like. It's like a mini family in that Toastmaster group.

[Kevin Donovan]

His own family on the outside has never given up on him. I pull out my phone and play part of a recent chat I had with his mum, Marjorie. I'd been to see her a few weeks back.

[Chris Sheriff]

Believe it or not, I'm doing a little bit better than since 2009. It was worse. But because he's okay and I hear from him every day, he helps me. Plus, I have his son here, and I know I have to stay strong for both of them.

[Kevin Donovan]

Having Chris's son living with her and Lloyd helps.

[Chris Sheriff]

I love him to death. He's my savior. Take him to Spirit. I bring him lunch every day and I pick him back up. And that fulfills me.

[Kevin Donovan]

Chris listens. His face as it usually is. Not a lot of expression. But when I ask him about his mum, his eyes widen and he lights up. The Chris Sheriff version of lighting up. Just the hint of a smile.

[Chris Sheriff]

Oh, yeah, like she said, like, I talk to her every day. My mom, like my best friend. I talk to him every single day.

[Kevin Donovan]

Chris has changed so much since I first met him. He's more open about his feelings and more reflective. He says he focuses on trying to improve himself and stay safe.

[Chris Sheriff]

And again, like me being here. The reason why I don't get myself in trouble is because I think about her and my family like, you know, like, I can't think selfishly. I can't only think for myself. I got to think for my family. I don't want my family worrying about me or if I'm getting the fights or anything's happening. So I try to stay out of all the. All the trouble, all the problems, just because that's who I think. Those are the people who I prefer.

[Kevin Donovan]

We'll be right back.

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[Kevin Donovan]

This interview happened shortly after a change of government in the United States and a looming trade war between the US And Canada. I asked Chris if he and the other inmates knew much of the outside world.

[Chris Sheriff]

Yeah, people. People talk about the news. We talk about the news a lot. There's some people who watch Scene and all day in here too. So they know everything that's going on in America, especially what's going on with Trump and what's going on with the Canadians over here, how it's affecting us, the taxes, the tariffs and stuff like that. So we stay pretty much up to date.

[Kevin Donovan]

I tell Chris that I want to revisit the weekend of the Kim Golub murder to talk about choices, to look back at his 19 year old self.

[Chris Sheriff]

There was girls there. I'm young at the time, like, no, I want to be around girls.

[Kevin Donovan]

So he's talking about Roxanne and Hannah, the two college students he met at the barbecue. Roxanne was the one he had the connection with. He said he had a kid mentality that day, not thinking straight.

[Chris Sheriff]

But like looking back now, yeah, I would have changed it. I would have swim home. I wouldn't care about the girls. At least I would have had my whole life ahead of me and got to do everything I needed to do. If I just avoid that one situation.

[Kevin Donovan]

Okay, the young women, I get that. But what about a wet when you were driving him home? Why pull over when he asked, was there something about him, something you admired? Cool older guy. Chris said no, he barely knew him. I asked, were you scared of him?

[Chris Sheriff]

No, he didn't do anything for me to be scared of. Like, you know, like again, like, that's what I'm trying to say. Like I'd never seen him with a weapon. I never seen him hurt anybody. I never seen him anything.

[Kevin Donovan]

I push Chris a bit Here I've got a theory about what was really going on. I ask, did you know he was a drug dealer?

[Chris Sheriff]

I know he got caught with drugs before he got arrested and got charged for trafficking or whatever, possession of whatever he had. I know that, but like, other than that, like, I didn't have any fear or anything, like he was going to do something to me.

[Kevin Donovan]

Here's the next part of our conversation. So I've got this theory and I'm really going to ask you to dig deep here and try and recall conversations. You wanted him to pay for gas, right?

[Chris Sheriff]

Yes.

[Kevin Donovan]

And you knew he sold drugs.

[Chris Sheriff]

Well, I didn't know he sound drugs at that moment, but I didn't know what he was doing to get money. But he said he cannot pay the gas.

[Kevin Donovan]

Okay, but so remember, you go to that gas station, you're hoping he's gonna pay for gas. Instead he goes and buys some cigarettes.

[Chris Sheriff]

Yes.

[Kevin Donovan]

Then he gets back in the car. And you told me that you're not pleased. Cause you've been driving them around all night and want some money for gas.

[Chris Sheriff]

Yeah.

[Kevin Donovan]

And I expect you were a little bit concerned that you're gonna get in trouble from your parents for bringing the car back on empty.

[Chris Sheriff]

Yeah, I was concerned.

[Kevin Donovan]

I know when I was 19, if I didn't find some money and put gas in the car, I'd catch it from my father.

[Chris Sheriff]

See, me, I find things to do that they need. If they need the house to be cleaned or they need the grass to be cut. That's how I kind of. I have chores that I do in my house. So that's what I kind of do to kind of make up for it.

[Kevin Donovan]

Okay, so you're in the car and you've agreed with me that he needed gas, he wanted some money for gas.

[Chris Sheriff]

Yes.

[Kevin Donovan]

So I am going to got to put it to you that at some point in that conversation, when he said, pull over and you pulled over on Silverstone, he said, I'm going to go sell some drugs.

[Chris Sheriff]

No, no, he didn't. He didn't say anything. He just pulled. I just pulled over. He got up and that was it. Like, he didn't say what he was doing. He said, you're going to come back to. Give him two seconds, he'll come back. And that's basically it.

[Kevin Donovan]

Chris says if he knew Owet was planning to sell drugs, he wouldn't hide it. He would have told the jury.

[Chris Sheriff]

Okay. No, no. If I knew he was gonna go sell drugs, I said, yep. I thought he went to go sell drugs. And that's what happened. I would have said that, like, I don't feel like that would be a big deal.

[Kevin Donovan]

I'll be honest, I was at first disappointed with his response. It seems so obvious to me that this was Awet's plan, or at least this is what he said to Chris. I guess I was looking for a confession of some kind to fill in the blanks I still had on what happened. But then I started thinking about it and realized that Chris has been telling the same story for all these years. It's very likely the truth.

[Chris Sheriff]

No, you just came back in the car, you sat down, and he said, okay, we're good. And I just drove off. Drove off, drove down Silverstone right to his house.

[Kevin Donovan]

If he had a do over, Chris said he would have asked a wet what he was doing.

[Chris Sheriff]

I understand, like, the logical question is like, why not ask him what he's doing? But when you're in a situation in the moment, I'm not really thinking that anything gonna happen or something's gonna happen down the street or anything like that. Like, this is again, like, this is not the first time someone asked me for a ride.

[Kevin Donovan]

Another thing that's been nagging at me relates to Chris's cell phone. This was 2009. It was a BlackBerry, a phone he and his mother shared, which was registered to Marjorie. According to police, the phone was off all night. I played Chris a text message his sister Aquilla sent early Sunday morning while he was still at the hotel. There'd been a power outage in some parts of the city. This is Aquilla reading her message.

[Lexi]

If you are awake, do you have

[Chris Sheriff]

power where you are?

[Kevin Donovan]

Chris said he never received it. He was having fun at the hotel and his phone was dead. The power was on at the hotel, but he had no way to get his phone going.

[Chris Sheriff]

No, I didn't carry a phone charge on me. No, I always kept that mouse. I only had the one charger, so I kept that mouse, the one that plugged into the wall. I didn't have a phone that goes into the car. I just had the one at my house.

[Kevin Donovan]

I asked him about this because a lot was made at the trial about how his phone was mysteriously off in the early hours of Sunday. And until he got home later that afternoon, the opposing lawyers made it seem like he kept it off to help him conceal his location. I didn't see any evidence of that. It may simply be that his battery died. To help take his mind back to 2009. I also played for him text Messages his sister sent the next day, the Monday, which he never saw because he was in the police interrogation room.

[Chris Sheriff]

Just letting you know I'm thinking about you and praying you are the best brother in the world. I love you so much.

[Lexi]

Thinking about you again.

[Chris Sheriff]

I love you, bro.

[Kevin Donovan]

Chris said that was typical of Aquilla.

[Chris Sheriff]

I was always close to my sister and my brother. You know, they always looked over me, basically, the baby, right? So they always looked off me. They always made sure I was okay.

[Kevin Donovan]

Still, on the theme of choices, I shift the conversation to his friends, the guys he hung around with back then, the guys from the Hustle squad photo, the guys police sources say are gang members. And Chris says they're his pickup basketball squad. I asked Chris, do you wish you had other friends back then?

[Chris Sheriff]

No. I'll say no. And the reason why I say no and I'll stick to that decision is because before my case, none of these guys were known to the police or in trouble with the police and were even labeled a gang member.

[Kevin Donovan]

At Chris trial, some of those guys testified for him. Afterwards, they became linked to gang activity. Through that police checklist I told you about earlier, Chris was now a convicted gang member, so they were now guilty by association. Chris feels badly about that. He says a lot of those guys he knew from when he was little and they all encouraged his soccer career.

[Chris Sheriff]

They pushed me to play soccer. They pushed me. They know me as a soccer player. That's who. That's how they know me. They know me from being a soccer person, telling me to keep playing soccer. They want to see me on tv.

[Kevin Donovan]

Going into prison with a gang label, as Chris did, meant guards and fellow inmates looked at him differently. His file was marked STG Security Threat Group, a classification prisons use to profile someone who is in a gang or organized crime. After he'd been behind bars for five years, Chris decided to do something about it. He wrote to Correctional Services Canada, which oversees prisons. I've got a copy of his. Hi, I am looking to get the STG off my file and would like to know if there are forms I need to fill out. I would also like to get a copy of the police report that they gave you of about me being a member of a gang. The response Chris got back didn't take long. First, Toronto police had no record of Chris being in a gang. There was no report to send to the prison. A new entry was made on Chris's prison file. Considering your recent behavior within the institution, we will be inactivating your stg. You have turned your life around while incarcerated. And because of that, you will no longer be considered a Jamestown or Hustle squad member. That's dated October 11, 2017. Five years after he went to Collins Bay.

[Chris Sheriff]

Why?

[Lexi]

Why?

[Chris Sheriff]

How come I'm not a gang member right now? Why is as soon as I get convicted they say this gang no longer exists?

[Kevin Donovan]

Maybe Chris says it's not that mysterious

[Chris Sheriff]

and that's what I've seen that's going on in the community is going on with these areas of high black people. They're targeting people, they're creating people, they want people to be gang member.

[Kevin Donovan]

That's Chris's perception and I can see where he's coming from knowing what he's been through. But given the lack of information on Chris in the Toronto police files, I decided to ask him about that bodies to his name. Comment by Officer Nasser's source have you in the 15 years since then been questioned by any Toronto police officer, any Toronto homicide to find out anything that would help them solve any cases? Anything?

[Chris Sheriff]

No, because there is nothing. Those are all this conversation just to get to bolster their story. Where are these bodies? When did it happen? What year, what month? Where? They can't, but they can say it to them just to make their case sound like it's true and I'm a bad guy.

[Kevin Donovan]

I've asked the Toronto Police to comment on this and other problems I found with the case against him. I sent detailed questions about the confidential informants, the false DNA, the rush to charge by homicide. Stephanie said a spokesperson for the Toronto Police sent back a short response. I've asked a voice actor to read it.

[Lexi]

As you know, it is the role of police to investigate and pursue charges where the grounds exist and the Crown's responsibility to assess the case and make the decision to prosecute or not. In this case, Mr. Sheriff was found guilty by a D jury. His appeal was unsuccessful and as you said, the case was extensively litigated. Any decision to reopen or reinvestigate this case would rest with the courts, not the police.

[Kevin Donovan]

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[Chris Sheriff]

And the influencer did get us 53

[Kevin Donovan]

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[Kevin Donovan]

When Chris went to prison, his parole eligibility was automatically set at 25 years because he was convicted of first degree murder. That means Chris has 12 more years before he can apply. But he's just two years away from what is known as a faint hope appeal. Here's how this works. Fifteen years into a life sentence, an inmate can request a review of their parole date. Ontario's Chief justice must then decide if there's a realistic chance that of them getting out earlier. If so, a jury of 12 conduct a review. It's not a new trial, but an examination of several the character of the applicant, the nature of the offence, the effect on the victim's family and anything else the judge handling the case agrees they should look at. One factor would be does the applicant take accountability for for his offense? For Chris, that's a non starter.

[Chris Sheriff]

Yeah, that would actually help. That will help me to get out.

[Kevin Donovan]

So do it. Why not do it?

[Chris Sheriff]

I can. Like I can't admit to something that I didn't have an involvement in. Like again like if it takes me staying longer in jail, I have to stay longer in jail.

[Kevin Donovan]

Even after all these years, Chris continues to pore over his trial transcripts. That's how he found the false DNA that his lawyers had missed. Now he thinks he's found something else.

[Chris Sheriff]

So we were trying to get in contact with a witness who the police used from a confidential informer to be as reliable.

[Kevin Donovan]

Remember Drops?

[Chris Sheriff]

So right now we're at a stage that we found the person we're trying to get in contact.

[Kevin Donovan]

Drops is the guy. Officer Nasser's source said Chris Sheriff was looking for part of a back and forth retaliation that ended up with Kim Golub, an innocent victim being shot dead and a wet asfaha. Chris's co accused testified that he heard third hand. It all started with Kris ripping a chain off Drops at a mall. Drops, by the way, is a giant much bigger than Chris. It never happened. Chris says and one of his lawyers has set out to prove it. In early 2025, they found drops. He's in a jail in Ontario facing drug and gun charges.

[Chris Sheriff]

In the case, they called him Drops and they tried to say that I was after him. They say I got into a fight with him, I took a chain from him.

[Kevin Donovan]

I know his real name, but I'm not including it here until I see how this plays out. And I'm trying to speak to Drops as well. Chris and his lawyer are hoping the man will say the story was untrue,

[Chris Sheriff]

have an interview and basically show them, like all the lies that's going on in the trial, what the witnesses are saying and things that people who they're saying is reliable and information that this person providing which is fake and is fabricated.

[Kevin Donovan]

Chris is upbeat about his chances, so

[Chris Sheriff]

they're going to book an interview with him, see his side of the story. If me and him got into an altercation, if I took a chain with initials on it or anything like that.

[Kevin Donovan]

Now Drops is facing some pretty serious charges. A search warrant on his car turned up a loaded semi automatic Glock handgun, 396 grams of fentanyl, 200 grams of cocaine, and a box of.45 caliber bullets. Will he speak to them? And even if he backs up Chris's story that the two have no connection and there was no beef between them and no stolen chain, will that be enough to reopen Chris's case so they

[Chris Sheriff]

can end up in the jail and hopefully he can come up with the truth and say that all this is a lie, that I wasn't after him, never got into fight with him, never had a conversation with him. We never even had a conversation.

[Kevin Donovan]

Before Nasser testified the two sources had never lied to him. Chris wants to prove they did.

[Chris Sheriff]

Nasser said if one of his witnesses or his CIA were ever to say something that wasn't true, then they're going to have to review this whole case.

[Kevin Donovan]

Nasser never said anything about a review, but he did say that These sources were 100% trustworthy. Looking at the clock on my computer, I can see that our one hour time is almost up. I want to talk about the victim. I asked Chris if he ever thinks of Kim Golub's family. He says he does. In fact, he'd like to talk to them.

[Chris Sheriff]

I hope that their family does see this interview. And I'm willing to sit down, I'm willing to talk to them. They can ask me whatever question they want to ask me. I won't want to clear my name. I Don't care about the courts. The courts is the courts. The course has never been for the black people. You know, I want to talk to them and show them like I didn't have nothing to do with it.

[Kevin Donovan]

Chris was there in court when members of the Golub family read their victim impact statements. He heard how he and Awet were called cold hearted and evil.

[Chris Sheriff]

And I don't want to be put in that kind of a spot where it's like I have to live with someone hating me for something that I didn't have nothing to do with.

[Kevin Donovan]

It's almost 2pm I asked Chris, what do you have coming up for the rest of the day? I thought it would be a dumb question given that he's in prison and it's a place of routines.

[Chris Sheriff]

I have a couple things to do in the institution. So some people are in psych. I'm trying to get some people out

[Kevin Donovan]

of sick seg is segregation. There's actually a new name for it, an attempt to make it sound more humane. Structured intervention unit. But it's pretty much the same thing as it always was. An inmate separated from human contact. Chris is part of a committee of inmates that meets with prison officials when there's an issue. In this case, a dispute between two inmates could got violent.

[Chris Sheriff]

You guys had a fight again. I get these guys together, mediate it. Everyone's good. It was a one off situation, the miscommunication and trying to get everyone back right now.

[Kevin Donovan]

So Chris makes enough money from his jobs at the prison carpentry and the committee work that he can buy food from the canteen and he has access to a toaster oven. What's for dinner?

[Chris Sheriff]

Oh, I did. I didn't even think of dinner. Probably make. I don't eat from the cafeteria. The cafeteria food is really bad. The food that they give out in the prison is pretty bad. So like I more make my own food. So probably today I'll probably just make chicken and some rice. Have chicken in the freezer and make some rice.

[Kevin Donovan]

Chris takes off his headset. We both press the end call button and the connection goes dark. I did ask him one other question though. It was when we were talking about his case and how he feels that racism had a lot to do with him being in prison. Looking from his lens, he sees white cops, white prosecutors, white judge, white jury. I asked him what if any message he's given to his own two children.

[Chris Sheriff]

I said the police don't treat us equally. And it's true, they don't treat black people equally. If you're black, they find you in a certain area. If they find you in a group, they're automatically going to think you're up to something bad or you're going to do something, or you're a criminal or you're a gang member.

[Kevin Donovan]

Any specific instructions?

[Chris Sheriff]

Talk to them with respect. Don't put your hand in your pocket when you're talking to them. Always keep your hand in clear sight and things like that.

[Kevin Donovan]

So here we are. As of today, Chris Sheriff remains in prison. He and his family are still fighting for his freedom. What do I think? As in, is he guilty? From everything I've learned in this long journey, the evidence doesn't support a finding of first degree murder. It, it just doesn't. Sure, it's possible that Chris had some knowledge of the shooting before or after, but there's simply no evidence. None at all. The police and the Crown Attorney had a hunch and the jury agreed. All of these questions raised in our series will be at the heart of Chris Sheriff's new bid for freedom. In early 2025, the federal government established the Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission, an independent body created in response to numerous wrongful convictions in Canada. It will investigate and decide which criminal cases should be returned to the justice system for a new court hearing. Thank you for listening to murder on Mount Olive. In addition to the 10 episodes, we have three bonus episodes for subscribers. They deal with confidential informants, policing, and the Innocence Project, which seeks to undo wrongful convictions on this story as well as the billionaire murders and Death in a small Town. There's more to come as I continue my investigations, so stay tuned. Murder on Mount Olive was written and narrated by me, Kevin Donovan. It was produced by Angelyn Francis and Sean Pattenden. Our executive producer is JP Fozo. Additional production by Kelsey Wilson, Matt Hearn and Tanya Pereira. Sound and theme music by Sean Pattenden.

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[Chris Sheriff]

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