What if tragedy struck just steps from your home, leaving an entire community grappling for answers? This episode takes you through the heartbreaking story of Jason McCullough, a 19-year-old university student from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, whose promising life was cut short by a senseless act of violence. We recount the events of that fateful night on August 28th, 1999, exploring Jason’s background, his kindness, and the bitter shock that enveloped his family and friends upon discovering his untimely death. Listen as we unravel the circumstances that led to this unsolved murder, and the profound impact it has continued to have on the Dartmouth community.
Join us as we reflect on the indelible mark Jason left behind, and the ongoing efforts to seek justice. Through the poignant memories of his cousin Vanessa and the relentless pursuit of answers by Jason's parents and the Halifax police, we paint a vivid picture of a community united in grief and determination. Learn about the annual Jason McCullough Memorial March and a scholarship in his name, both serving as beacons of hope and calls to end youth violence. Hear from Jason's father, Alan, as he shares his struggle with loss and his message of unity against senseless violence, ensuring that Jason's legacy reverberates through time.
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If you love the show, the easiest way to show your support is by leaving us a positive rating with a review., and tell friends and family about Haunted Canada Podcast.
What if tragedy struck just steps from your home, leaving an entire community grappling for answers? This episode takes you through the heartbreaking story of Jason McCullough, a 19-year-old university student from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, whose promising life was cut short by a senseless act of violence. We recount the events of that fateful night on August 28th, 1999, exploring Jason’s background, his kindness, and the bitter shock that enveloped his family and friends upon discovering his untimely death. Listen as we unravel the circumstances that led to this unsolved murder, and the profound impact it has continued to have on the Dartmouth community.
Join us as we reflect on the indelible mark Jason left behind, and the ongoing efforts to seek justice. Through the poignant memories of his cousin Vanessa and the relentless pursuit of answers by Jason's parents and the Halifax police, we paint a vivid picture of a community united in grief and determination. Learn about the annual Jason McCullough Memorial March and a scholarship in his name, both serving as beacons of hope and calls to end youth violence. Hear from Jason's father, Alan, as he shares his struggle with loss and his message of unity against senseless violence, ensuring that Jason's legacy reverberates through time.
Support My Work
If you love the show, the easiest way to show your support is by leaving us a positive rating with a review., and tell friends and family about Haunted Canada Podcast.
Welcome to Haunted Canada. On episode 18, we're going to dive into a cold case the unsolved murder of Jason McCullough from Dartmouth, nova Scotia. In the early morning hours of Saturday, august 28th 1999, 19-year-old university student Jason McCullough was found dead shot in the back of the head while walking to the family home in Dartmouth, nova Scotia. Jason was only six blocks from the family home when he was subjected to what many believe was a random act of violence. Jason McCullough grew up in Dartmouth, nova Scotia, with his brother, and both boys were the pride and joy of their parents, alan and Carolyn McCullough. Jason had just turned 19 a month earlier, on July 9th, and was enjoying the last few days of summer. Jason was a good kid. He was shy but was a really good person, a kind and thoughtful young man who, as a teenager, would mow lawns, deliver newspapers and shovel the driveways for his elderly neighbors. This, to me, shows Jason's true character of being kind, hardworking and thinking of others. Jason was involved in his community and was a Boy Scout who had made his way up to Chief Scout for Scouts Canada and was a junior leader for the Boys and Girls Club. These were all great organizations that he was involved with that had a meaningful and positive effect on Jason's life, growing up in Dartmouth. Jason had just graduated from the Dartmouth High School and was working at a local gas station, and he was great at his job, mainly because he was professional and he gave exceptional customer service. He was saving his money to go to university and Jason had choices, as he had been accepted to two universities, st Mary's and Dalhousie University, both located in Halifax. As we all know, a university education can be very expensive, so Jason was considering joining the Royal Canadian Navy to help him pay for his education, while also working that summer. Jason had everything going for him he was well-rounded, had a good head on his shoulders, he had a great family and he was looking forward to his future. Yet sadly, jason was subjected to what one local newspaper described it as quote On that faithful evening of Friday, august 27th 1999, jason was doing what all 19-year-olds did in the summer months he was heading out to hang out with his friends.
Speaker 1:
That Friday night he had gone to a friend's house on Joseph Young Street, just about a five-minute walk from his own home on Russell Street in the community where he lived. It was a quiet evening, with his group of friends hanging out, talking, listening to music. When, just after midnight, around 1.30 am, saturday morning, jason decided that he was going to head home and, as Jason had grown up in the community, he knew the area like the back of his hand. Jason would have known the side streets, the shortcuts and the quickest way for him to get home from where he was at the friend's house on Joseph Young Street to get to his own house only about a five to eight minute walk away, depending on what route he decided to take. And of course, since he knew all the shortcuts, he knew a quicker way to get home. All he had to do was go up on Joseph Young Street, cut through the small local park that would then put him on Pinecrest Street, and then it was a straight walk down the street to the family home on Russell Street. Just a five-minute walk, I'm sure, a walk that he would have done a hundred times before.
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When Jason left the friend's house, it was a very dark and humid night in Dartmouth. It was the last weekend before everybody was headed back to school and, of course, when Jason would have started university. So Jason walked up Joseph Young Street, past a few apartment buildings and units and then took a right turn to cut through the local community park that at the time was known as Highfield Park. It was a small park with a walking path, green space, a basketball court and a children's playground and a swing area. It wasn't a big playground, just a small community one similar to the thousands of community parks that are in neighbourhoods all across Canada. Yet the backyards of many of the people who lived in the Highfield Park housing co-op backed onto the very playground, and from the people's back windows and patios they could actually see the playground area and the basketball court clearly in the daytime. But as it was 1.30 am in the morning, it was dark outside and what people would have been able to see that very late at night, of course, is limited. Yet sadly, jason never made it out of the park that evening.
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As Jason walked through the park on that warm summer night, someone approached him and shot him point blank in the back of the head, killing him instantly. The people in the surrounding apartments and units heard the gunshots or popping sounds, and also heard the sounds of people running from the park, and immediately many people called the police. When the police arrived, they actually used a police dog, who soon found Jason's lifeless body at 2 30 am lying on the walking path near the children's playground. In a 2019 interview a neighbor, dave, whose house backs onto the small Highfield Park, remembers that evening and said in the interview that quote he was home that evening watching a movie when he heard a loud pop that night Actually, he heard commotion. Dave went on to talk about when the police arrived, saying that quote and there was a lot of people gathering around and stuff. The cops were searching the neighborhood and all that saying that quote.
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Even the police were shocked at such a senseless crime as there had not been any motive. Jason was not robbed, he didn't have any affiliations or hang out with any gang members or anything like that, and police were quickly to realize that, sadly, jason had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It truly was a senseless act of violence. While the area that Jason was murdered in was described in the local papers back in the day as a rough neighborhood in 1999, it also shocked the police and the local residents that Jason was murdered, as it had been the first murder in that community in almost 20 years.
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In the early morning hours of Saturday, august 28th 1999, halifax police knocked on the door of Jason's parents' home and had to deliver the tragic and heartbreaking news that no parent ever wants to get that their child, their kind, shy, university-bound son, had just been murdered. Blind, shy, university-bound son had just been murdered. Alan and Carolyn were devastated and they could not understand who would want to hurt such a wonderful young man. As the sun rose in Dartmouth, nova Scotia, on that tragic Saturday morning, news quickly spread throughout the community and the province of what had happened. People who lived in the Pinecrest area woke up to see their community park that their children usually played in on Saturday mornings was now completely closed off with police tape. As they continued to investigate the murder of Jason McCullough, everyone in the neighborhood was shocked how could this have happened in their neighborhood? It truly was a senseless crime. Local police, of course, taped off the area to preserve the crime scene and any evidence. They brought in a mobile crime unit bus and they went door to door taking statements and trying to discover if anybody had witnessed the murder or seen anybody in the area at the time.
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Yet right from the beginning, the trail was cold and there were no leads as to who had murdered Jason. On Sunday, august 29th, just one day after their son had been murdered, jason's parents did an interview with local reporters and they made an emotional plea for clues about their son's death, encouraging anybody to come forward with information. Alan McCullough said in the interview that, quote I don't think that there's a reason, but some scumbag knows and there are other people who know about this scumbag. In the news article, both parents are fighting back tears as they couldn't understand who would want to hurt their son, with Jason's mom saying, quote I could never imagine that something like this would happen in the North End Dartmouth area. Jason's mom, carolyn, also said in the interview that day after her son was murdered that, quote we had 19 good years with Jason. I only wish we had more.
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Yet sadly, as the days, weeks and months passed by, it seems as if the case was going cold as there had been no arrests. However, after a year, the Halifax police investigators soon discovered that there had been five men in the Highfield Park when Jason was murdered, and the police released a sketch of the five men that were now considered persons of interest. This was very positive news. After a year investigating the police had a lead. This would have given hope to the family and to the community that they were close to solving the mystery of who had murdered Jason.
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Former Daily News made the somewhat controversial decision in 2000 to publish the four names of the suspects or the persons of interest. Those names were Lloyd Douglas Orman, stephen McKean, christian Marsman and Tyrone Downey. It seems that just a few hours before Jason was murdered, three of the men from the release sketch Lloyd Douglas Orman, christian Marsman and Tyrone Downey had broken into a house on Pinecrest Street near the park where Jason was murdered. When the three men broke into the house, one of those men, tyrone Downey, had a gun, and the three men ended up stealing a couple hundred dollars from the occupants of the home. These three men, the persons of interest in Jason's murder, did actually live in the Pinecrest area and were eventually arrested for breaking into that home. While the men did plead guilty to the charges with respect to the break-in, they were never arrested or charged with the murder of Jason.
Speaker 1:
From this information, my biggest question, of course, would be about the gun that Tyrone Downey had in the house robbery on Pinecrest Street just a few hours before Jason was murdered. Was that gun ever located? Was it ever tested to see if the bullet that had killed Jason had come from that gun. This, to me, is crucial evidence, yet nowhere in all the research that I've done can I find the answer to this question what happened to that gun? Was it ever recovered, or was it ever tested to see if it was connected to Jason's murder or if that bullet that killed Jason came from that gun? Over the next five years, it seems that the search for who murdered Jason went cold until in April of 2005, halifax police held a press conference to announce that they had received new information and were looking for a woman who was believed to have been in the Highfield Park when Jason was walking through it the night that he was so brutally murdered. Yet, for all the information that the police put out, this woman has never been identified and to this day, no one has ever been arrested or held accountable for the murder of Jason McCullough.
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One of Jason's cousins, a woman by the name of Vanessa Clark, was interviewed in 2020 on a blog called CanadaUnsolvedcom. This is a really great resource for unsolved murders across Canada and I highly recommend it to you and I'll link it in the show notes. Vanessa said in an interview that her cousin Jason was quote the sweetest guy you could ever have met. He would have given you the shirt off his back and I know that he did in one case Like that's just the kind of guy he was. Vanessa reminisced about her cousin Jason or Jace as the family called him in the 2020 interview, and remembered him as a kind and thoughtful cousin who taught her to play basketball. Vanessa and Jason's family were close, as Vanessa's family lived in the top unit of the duplex while Jason's family lived in the main unit. The cousins and the family were very close. Vanessa remembered that her cousin Jace loved R&B music and that he was focused and a kind person who was going to university in just a few short weeks.
Speaker 1:
Vanessa recounted that morning when she found out that her cousin had been murdered. That Saturday morning, the sun was shining as Vanessa had returned home from a sleepover and found her father and her mother upstairs talking. Vanessa had a gut feeling that something sleepover and found her father and her mother upstairs talking. Vanessa had a gut feeling that something was just wrong because her father was at home from work and she knew that this was odd because her father always worked on Saturdays. I'm sure, of course, that Vanessa's parents had just been told that their nephew Jason had been murdered. So they were probably still in shock themselves, trying to formulate how to tell Vanessa. So Vanessa's parents told her to complete her paper route that morning and that they would talk to her when she got back.
Speaker 1:
Vanessa said in the interview that she had a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong, so she hurried to deliver her 32 papers. I can only imagine what must have been running through the young girl's head at that time, not knowing what was happening, but having that dreadful feeling that something was terribly wrong. Once Vanessa had delivered the papers to the neighbors, she rushed back home and found her aunt in the apartment as well. That's when her parents took Vanessa to her bedroom and told her that her cousin Jason had been walking home last night and that he had been killed. Vanessa asked her parents is he alive? And her parents had to tell her that sadly no, he had died. Vanessa said that's when everything went a complete blur for her, and then a lot of her family began to arrive at the home as well. I'm sure that Vanessa, her parents and the entire family were completely in shock as to what had just happened to 19-year-old Jason as they all began to gather at the family home to comfort and to support one another.
Speaker 1:
One very heartbreaking part of the story is the fact that the next day, on Sunday, august 30th, jason's picture would have been on the front page of every newspaper in Nova Scotia when Vanessa was out delivering her papers. Vanessa said in the interview that she did with CanadaUnsolvedcom that quote. The next day after that, the 29th, I was delivering the newspapers with the front page the whole front page of the Chronicle Herald was my aunt's face, jason's mother bawling her eyes out, and I had to deliver 32 papers around the neighborhood looking at my aunt, and that's all it was literally for the next two to three weeks. Every day on the front page was my cousin. Vanessa went on to say that she would read the articles every day before she made her deliveries. Every story was about the unsolved murder of her cousin Jason.
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After about a week and a half, school started up again and Vanessa entered grade seven and she said in the interview that what she remembered most was that everybody at her school knew her cousin Jason as he had gone to the same school that she was going to, and it was literally like living a nightmare. We know that Jason was a well-liked young man. He was smart, thoughtful and was well-liked by all of his teachers, so this definitely would have been an extremely difficult time for Vanessa and the entire school. The sudden death of her cousin deeply affected everybody in the family, as Vanessa had said that Jason's death was the first major death that happened in her family and that quote it was really hard and it was kind of surreal. And then, after Jason was murdered, everything kind of just fell apart.
Speaker 1:
In the coming days, weeks and years after Jason was so brutally murdered, Jason's parents had done numerous interviews pleading for somebody anybody to come forward with answers. Halifax police had made numerous pleas over the years, also stating that quote we know there are persons out there with information in relation to what happened. The police went on to say in a 2006 interview that quote maybe I would ask those people to put themselves in a position where, if Jason had been one of their family members, what would they want? Over the years, police have made several public appeals for information and have urged possible witnesses to come forward. Yet to date nobody has, even though police have continued to state that quote Yet to date nobody has. Even though police have continued to state that quote, witnesses will not be charged with failing to report a crime.
Speaker 1:
At the end of the day, the McCollett family just want answers. They want to know who murdered their kind and thoughtful 19-year-old son, who had his entire life in front of him, who took his life that fateful night on Saturday, august 28, 1999, and forever changed the lives of the family and the friends who loved Jason. Someone needs to be held accountable. Jason's own father, alan McCullough, had said in a 2019 interview with CTV News that quote. Yet in that same interview, jason's father, alan, also believes that there needs to be better communication with the police and the people in that community, stating that quote I blame it on, maybe, a lack of communication between the police and the community. If there was more communication, then people would come forward with more information, but if they believe that the police are their enemy, people aren't going to come forward and be forthcoming. Halifax police stated in a 2019 interview that they believe that Jason was a good kid and that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that they hope, with the passage of time, that the person or persons responsible for Jason's murder would come forward. Halifax police still believe that there are witnesses to the shooting, yet sadly, no one has ever come forward, presumably out of fear. Halifax Regional Spokesman Constable John McLeod said in a 2019 interview that, quote Time has changed those circumstances and that people will come forward and feel that they can do so now and help us bring closure to the family.
Speaker 1:
Jason's memory is kept alive every year with the Jason McCulloch March started by the Boys and Girls Club, an organization that Jason believed in and was involved in as a junior leader. Jason's memory is kept alive every year with the Jason McCulloch March started by the Boys and Girls Club, an organization that Jason believed in and was involved in as a junior leader. Every year, the march grows as people gather to remember Jason as the group walks from the Boys and Girls Club to the park where he died, which now bears his name, the Jason McCulloch Memorial Park. Once everybody arrives at the park, they honor Jason with a moment of silence to remember the young, kind individual whose life was so sadly taken that August night. At the 2019 march, one lady by the name of Alana, who used to have her newspaper delivered by Jason, said in a news article that quote Every year during the memorial walk. Donations are collected with that money going towards the Jason McCulloch Memorial Scholarship. Jason's picture still hangs at the Dartmouth High School that he attended, and every year, the Jason McCulloch Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a graduating student. So that quote so that they continue to remind it of the value of young people and the cost when a young person is lost.
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In 2018, musician Jim Hyman from the Canadian band April Wine that was formed in Halifax, wrote the song Some of these Children to bring awareness to youth and gun violence. Jim dedicated the song to Jason and donated 50% of all iTunes and CD sales to the Boys and Girls Club Dartmouth North. Jason's father, alan, said in a 2018 interview that, even though it's been over two decades since his son was murdered, for him it feels like yesterday, and despite the improvements made in the investigation resources that over the last two decades, that he and his family continue to struggle with the frustrating lack of closure. Allen said that quote. It was a senseless act, as Jason was a good kid. He wasn't the kind of person who would have harmed a fly. Yet for the family, one of the most difficult aspects that Allen spoke about was that quote. Unfortunately, people aren't coming forward it's harder to figure out, but hopefully somebody either for the $150,000 or because they can't live with themselves or live with their conscience that hopefully they will come forward and give police the information that they need. While the memorial walk and the support of the community does provide Alan and the McCulloch family with some comfort, alan, carolyn and the entire family still grieve for the tragic loss of their son. Alan said in a 2018 interview about the Memorial Walk that quote it may only be temporary, but it feels like you're not all by yourself, like you're not doing it all by yourself. Alan also added that the walk isn't all about Jason. That quote. It's about anybody who has lost people to senseless violence. Everybody that shows up to the march is affected in some way. The murder of Jason McCall on that warm summer night was a senseless act of violence and I can only hope that, by doing this podcast and speaking out about the case, that it encourages the people who might have information about the murder to come forward so that the person or persons who killed Jason can be brought to justice and that the family can find closure.
Speaker 1:
After researching this Cole case, five questions and things that really stood out to me are, of course, who murdered Jason, the men in the sketch that are considered the persons of interest Lloyd, douglas Orman, stephen Meekins, christian Marsman, tyrone Downey. Have they been re-interviewed about this cold case? And the sketch of the persons of interest has five people, yet only four were identified. Can you identify that fifth person? Of course, another great question is who is the woman that was bleeding in the park the night that Jason was murdered? And, of course, was the gun that one of the men, tyrone Downey, from the sketch, that he used in that home invasion and the theft the very night that Jason was murdered? Was that gun ever located, and was it tested against the bullet that killed Jason? When Jason walked into the park that evening, was he killed because of mistaken identity or did he stumble upon something that he wasn't supposed to see and because of that he was killed? I'm going to post the sketch of the five persons of interest on the Haunted Canada podcast Facebook group and on the Instagram page as well. While four of the men in the sketch have been identified, the fifth one hasn't been, so definitely take a look and let me know if you recognize the person. If you have any thoughts or comments, you can also leave your theory of the case or what you think may have happened that evening to Jason.
Speaker 1:
As of the airing of this podcast, it has been 25 years since the unsolved murder of Jason McCall. Someone was there that night when Jason was murdered in the park on Pinecrest Street in Dartmouth, nova Scotia, and there are people out there who know what happened. Of course, the biggest question is will one of those people be brave enough to step forward and take responsibility for what they've done? The unsolved murder of Jason McCull is listed on the Nova Scotia Department of Justice Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes Program and up to a $150,000 reward is available to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Jason's senseless murder. If you have any information, you can call the Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes at 1-888-710-9090. Or if you have any information about this case, you can also call the Halifax Police at 902-490-5020. Or you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, that's 1-800-222-8477. 1-800-222-8477.
Speaker 1:
Well, everyone, thank you for listening to episode 18 of Haunted Canada. If you want to see some of the photos from this case and the other cases that I've covered, you can definitely join us on our Haunted Canada podcast Facebook group or Instagram page, where, of course, some of those pictures will be. You can leave your theories and your thoughts on the cases that we've covered as well. If you have enjoyed this podcast, please take the time to give us a like. Leave a five-star written review, as that always does help. Also, please take the time to follow us on Facebook, instagram and TikTok and tell a friend about this podcast. Again, thank you to everyone for your continued support. I truly do appreciate it. Have a good night, everyone and stay safe.
