the Murder of Alexandra Wiwcharuk - 2 - a discussion with author Sharon Butula

Nighttime

Curiouscast

True Crime, Documentary, Society & Culture, History

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Saskatoon, SK - May 1962 In 1962, 23-year-old Alexandra Wiwcharuk—a vibrant nurse, beauty queen, and beloved daughter—went for a walk along the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon and never came home. Her body was discovered weeks later, buried in a shallow grave not far from her home. She had been brutally assaulted and buried alive. In this episode of Nighttime, we revisit Alexandra Wiwcharuk’s haunting case with acclaimed author Sharon Butala, whose book The Girl in Saskatoon explores Alexandra’s life, her death, and the deep scars left in its wake. Butala, as a former classmate of Alexandra, brings a unique and intimate lens to this decades-old mystery. Together, we explore the investigation, the cultural context of 1960s Saskatoon, and the lingering questions that continue to haunt those touched by the case. This is more than a story of a crime—it’s a story of memory, silence, and a community still searching for justice. Links: the Girl in Saskatoon by Sharon Butala - https://www.amazon.ca/Girl-Saskatoon-Meditation-Friendship-Memory-ebook/dp/B0068LY6BE make a case suggestion: https://www.nighttimepodcast.com/contact Subscribe to the show: https://www.nighttimepodcast.com/subscribe Musical Theme: Noir Toyko by Monty Datta Contact: Website: https://www.nighttimepodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightTimePod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimepod Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/nighttimepodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, listeners, Jordan here.
0:01.9	I just want to let you know that you can listen to Nighttime Early and Ad Free on Amazon Music, include it with Prime.
0:16.9	You are listening to the Nighttime Podcast.
0:22.6	Hello, listeners, and welcome back to nighttime.
0:25.4	Tonight, we're going to revisit a case that was featured on the show last week,
0:29.2	a case that even after the passage of 60 years continues to echo with mystery, shock, and unanswered questions.
0:37.1	In that episode, we heard how in May of 1962, a 23-year-old nurse named Alexandra
0:42.7	Wacharik vanished while out for a walk along the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon.
0:48.2	Days later, Alexandra's body was found in a shallow grave just blocks from her home.
0:53.1	She'd been beaten, assaulted, and buried alive.
0:56.2	Her murder shocked the community, and the investigation that followed was intense. Yet despite
1:01.2	the efforts of police, friends, and the public, her killer was never found and the case eventually
1:06.3	went cold. But Alexandra's story didn't end there. Decades later, acclaimed Canadian author Sharon Bhutala,
1:14.1	who went to school with Alexandra, found herself drawn to the case. The result of her interest
1:19.2	was both the book, The Girl in Saskatoon, and a renewed interest and reinvestigation into
1:24.7	Alexandra's murder. Tonight, in this episode of Nighttime,
1:28.9	Sharon is going to join us to again revisit Alexandra's life,
1:32.5	the legacy her murder left behind,
1:34.5	and the trials and tribulations of writing a book
1:37.0	that quite literally kicked the hornet's nest
1:39.3	that formed on the cold case.
1:41.6	So let's get into it.
	...

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