meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Crime Beat

The evil and senseless plot against Ray Johnson |3

Crime Beat

Curiouscast

Society & Culture, Documentary, True Crime, News

4.81.7K Ratings

🗓️ 17 November 2020

⏱️ 74 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this episode of the Global News podcast Crime Beat, crime reporter Nancy Hixt shares the story of the evil and senseless plot against Ray Johnson. Johnson was a kind and generous soul, the kind of man who would give the shirt off of his back to someone in need. He was an antiques and collectibles dealer and had a table at a Calgary flea market. In January of 2009 he celebrated his 77th birthday, and enjoyed daily routines that included coffee every morning to start his day with his youngest daughter. That’s exactly how Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 began. Ray and his daughter Bonnie went out for breakfast and sat and read the paper together.  They ended their meeting with a hug and goodbyes and promised to see each other at dinner later that night. In the meantime, he went to a garage sale with one of his close friends -- then planned to meet up with an online seller who had reached out to him about some items he might be interested in.  When Ray didn’t show up for dinner that night, his daughter thought he must have gotten delayed at a garage sale. He loved to visit, even with complete strangers. But the next day, when she still couldn’t reach her father, Bonnie started to worry. She called family and friends and even tried local hospitals to see if Ray had been in an accident. No one had heard from her father.  Bonnie called police and reported him missing. The next afternoon, investigators met with the Johnson family to update them on his case. Their father was found dead -- murdered. Follow along as family and friends helped investigators retrace Ray Johnson’s last steps. And, learn the shocking and senseless reason he was targeted. Contact: Twitter: @nancyhixt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nancy.hixt/?hl=en  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey, it's Nancy. Before we begin today, I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to

0:05.7

Crime Beat early and add free on Amazon Music included with Prime.

0:11.3

A listener's note, the following episode contains course language, adult themes, and content of a violent and disturbing nature,

0:20.0

and may not be suitable for everyone.

0:22.0

listener discretion is advised.

0:27.7

I've mentioned before that I was raised on a farm

0:30.9

northeast of Calgary. What most people don't know is that my family built an old

0:36.6

west town on our farm. The kind you see in movies and TV shows, complete with a jail, a blacksmith shop, a church school, you name it,

0:46.9

our little town had it.

0:49.1

It was my dad's idea.

0:51.0

He collected antiques and built a place to showcase them.

0:55.0

It evolved over the years and it was a true family project.

0:59.0

Eventually, it grew to the point where tour buses would bring hundreds of people by for guided tours.

1:08.0

Because the antiques are extremely rare, films like Legends of the Fall, Brokeback Mountain, and Shanghai Noon used some of my family's

1:17.1

artifacts as props on their sets.

1:20.3

It was a huge part of my childhood.

1:28.0

The reason I'm telling you this story is because for many years, I spend time with my dad at antique shows and flea markets,

1:32.0

scouring for items to bring back to our own Western town.

1:37.0

I'm Nancy Hicks, a crime reporter for Global News. The reason I'm sharing my personal

1:47.3

history with antiques and collectibles is because I've experienced the power of connection that exists between collectors.

1:55.7

It's a community.

1:57.2

And that community and the tragic loss of one of its members is at the heart of today's story.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Curiouscast, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Curiouscast and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.