The Mysterious Death of Christina Kettlewell | Morbid | Podcast | Forensic Files

hey weirdos I'm Ash and I'm Elena and this is morbid this is morbid and I bit my
[Music] lip she done bit her lip but it's okay actually it's bleeding but we we all
float on okay I tried to sound like the song but I just sounded cry cry you sounded
perfect we all float on all right oh and I almost just knocked over Caesar dressing this is just a mess I know
sorry I didn't cover that a mess we did a thing today and by we Elina did it yeah say it here's the thing I wasn't I
wasn't ready to share this with the world but I guess oh you don't have to to being a dick what if we just don't
say it that's it we're just going to talk okay so this no I'm just kidding so very quickly before we start this don't
worry course uh we just have to start off with like a fun little thing uh we're eating mozzarella sticks I uh I
fancy myself a connoisseur of mozzarella sticks I love mozzarella sticks I like dipping mozzarella sticks but not just
in marinara in fact I don't dip them in marinara you don't ever uh I would if like it was the last dip on Earth but
what yeah I never knew this I never noticed that yeah my favorite thing is dip it in blue
cheese cheese I judged you before and I shouldn't have so I won't judge you about that you shouldn't because there's
many good dips in the world as we are all aware yeah do I will dip a mozzarella stick in most of those dips
just not marinara and I got Caesar dressing today and I said never done this before so I just dip dip right in
the right in the Caesar dressing and I said that's delicious and Ash said I'm judging you a little bit I said no I
actually said it with her eyes I did I said I'm not judging you but did you just dip that in Cesar dressing which is
where the Judgment came out my eyes I know Ash so I know what judgment is actually coming through her words but
she said do you want to try it I said try it and she tried it I said okay and then she said can you pass me that dip
again and then she just scooped it like a [ __ ] spoon yeah I love Caesar dressing and he said I judged you a
little bit but yeah I admitted it after and you were like I know you did you know if you like two things try them
together who knows might be a great thing yeah chocolate chip cookies were a mistake and yeah so
that's with Ash and Elena that's weird snack food well I have a strange case today uh to just continue the weird
snack food yeah exactly weird snack food weird cases all of it m obviously it's a
tragic case because somebody loses their life but it's the the circumstances that
lead up to that are very very strange and this is one that I've heard before but I got to say Dave did a really good
job helping me find some new [ __ ] that I didn't know before oo so let's do it let's go today we're going to be talking
about the mysterious death of Christina kettlewell and we're going to start at the very beginning which is in
1925 oh when Christin Christina Cecilia um I believe it's mochen was born on August 7th 1925 in Toronto Ontario she
was one of three girls born to to parents Casmir and Mary according to her sister Helen the girls had a relatively
ordinary upbringing and she described Christina as quote a very nice girl everybody liked her uh when Christina
completed High School in 1943 she found work as a teller at a bank in Toronto and just settled into a pretty normal
routine just living life it was around that time that Christina met 23-year-old Ronald Barry a local professional
Ballroom dancer oh o casual who lived in the same Toronto neighborhood as she and
her family he was formerly known as Ronnie sufo and he had immigrated to Canada from Italy years and years
earlier hoping to establish himself in the construction industry but when that failed he moved on to selling Insurance
until he actually started supporting himself as a professional dancer which is really cool wow that is cool so he
and Christina they knew of each other you know they lived in the same neighborhood they head it off and they
started seeing each other out and about socially but Ronald insisted there never
anything romantic between them they were just friends okay he told a jury he would later tell a jury in 1947 there
was definitely no feelings between me and Christina everything was strictly on Plain friendship basis that's nice yeah
you know guys and gals being friends yeah no expectations just friendship yeah Harry's wrong girls and guys can be
friends hell yeah have you ever seen that movie When Harry Met Sally yeah I just saw it for the first time this year
really yeah loved it wow [ __ ] loved it but the platonic relationship between rodal and Christina was likely due to
her interest in his best friend and roommate Jack kwell ah although he had recently enlisted in the Canadian Armed
Forces in May of 1943 Jack and Christina began dating and Ronald kind of acted as
a proxy companion while Jack was stationed elsewhere during the war okay uh Ronald said I wrote to him steadily
while overseas and definitely told him that as long as he was Christina's boyfriend I took her to the odd uh old
odd danc and show so he was like I'll take care while I'm taking holding down the for Fort back here in July of 1946
while Jack was still stationed overseas Christina went to Ronald and asked if she could borrow some money to buy
something she said but she was very vague and very avoidant when he asked what exactly she wanted the money for
but he did trust her by that point and he ended up giving her $2,000 wow which that's a lot of money I sorry I didn't
do the conversion I usually do but they had an understanding that she was going to pay this money back back however
after a month had passed and she still hadn't returned the money he pressed her for an explanation was like hey um
where's my money but according to Christina quote somebody was making it very hard for her to do some in uh
excuse me somebody was making it very hard for her due to some incident that had happened the previous April of
1946 okay so still confused Ronald pushed further and was like what incident like what happened and
Christina explained that in April she had gone to a church dance in Toronto and after the dance she had been quote
unquote criminally attacked by five men who she said were now blackmailing her what and Ronald was like that's horrible
why didn't you go to the police or ask your father for help like why why is this the first I'm hearing of this like
this is a big deal yeah and when he started asking questions she became very emotional and claimed that she would
kill herself before telling her father wow now Ronald was worried that Christina really was having thoughts of
ending her life if put in that position so he agreed to keep her secret and he actually continued to lend her money
eventually advancing her more than $122,000 wow lot of money that's quite in advance mhm now he believed her story
at first to some degree but he definitely at the same time felt like some part of that seemed off and that
she wasn't being entirely forthcoming but still he continued to keep the secret particularly from her boyfriend
Jack despite his growing concern internally huh now things took an even stranger turn a year later in April
1947 when Christina came to Ronald and Jack's apartment that they shared and she asked Ronald to speak privately H in
a separate room and out of the apartment itself like they literally like left with Jack there yeah huh so and out of
Jack's uh earshot Christina handed Ronald an envelope that had $10,000 in cash inside of it in denominations of
$50 and $100 bills and when he was like where did this come from like how did you find the money to pay me back she
got really evasive and vague with him and according to him she said only that quote the persons that had been
blackmailing her had agreed to help her that's strange because why would five men attack you outside of a church event
steal money from you and then blackmail you and then to help you like what was the point of the blackmailing I don't
know now Ronald thought the explanation like us seemed highly suspicious but the
moment he said that Christina became very emotional so he didn't press her any further he said and instead he asked
that since she was going out already would she mind depositing the money into his account because she worked at the
bank oh okay she said she would and later she returned with his bank book which indicated that the money had been
deposited so so clean clean yeah in the months following her death because Christina does eventually die
unfortunately a lot would be made of her behavior and her emotional state during
her relationship with Jack kettlewell later speaking to the jury during the Corner's inquest one of the medical
experts concisely and somewhat politely referred to her emotional stability uh as that of a quote child
who takes Tantrums oh yeah you don't want to be described as that no uh Christina's requests to borrow money to
pay off unnamed blackmailers for vague reasons were enough to give Ronald uh pause and even make him somewhat
suspicious but they were also part of a pattern of behavior that should have been more concerning to anybody who knew
her yeah now like I know that was all clean in the end but it's like what happened there like I need to know what
happened here you can't just let it go that's the thing now many of Christina's quot quot Tantrums it seems came from
what sounds like a deep insecurity and fear that Jack would eventually leave her for somebody else well that's just
sad it's not entirely clear what made her feel that way but she had this suspicion that things weren't going to
end well between them and that he was going to leave her for some reason sad cuz she was beautiful gorgeous like look
up a picture of her cuz I'm telling you like stunning yeah she was really pretty
and Jack's a really handsome guy yeah I immediately looked him up and I was like
okay yeah that's okay you can say that I know I mean I was like is he bad your face was like can I say that is he bad
guy please tell me now no the day after she secretly handed Ronald the envelope containing the $110,000 Christina showed
up again at Ronald and Jack's apartment a little before 9:00 in the morning she had a dozen eggs in hand and she told
them that she had taken the day off and she wondered if they would mind her hanging out around the apartment for the
day yeah girl now Ronald left to run some errands and when he came home around lunchtime uh excuse me he came home
around lunchtime and then he left again and then returned about an hour later so
it sounds like he was going off to work came back for lunch and then like uh ran
a couple errands yeah but then he came back and when he came back he told police later I was back within an hour
to find both of them unconscious at first I didn't know what happened and I tried to arouse them but to no avail
they were both definitely unconscious like not asleep no we're talking like unconscious for hours like he could not
wake them up this is very this is a strange case already like I don't know what's
happening well and it's so abrupt like say I'm very confused by what's happening right now she she borrows this
money she gives it back she comes over to hang out she's very worried that Jack is going to leave her all the time but
she's still hanging out at the apartment he comes back and everything's good and
then he is only gone for an hour and when he comes back the second time they're unconscious the two of them yeah
huh so so Ronald spent the next several hours instead of calling the police trying to revive Jack and Christina and
while they were both still breathing he was unse unsuccessful at getting either of them to come to like he could tell
that they were breathing but they weren't waking up or responding so on his way to the bathroom to get cold
towels to you know see if maybe that would make them wake up he noticed an envelope sitting on the on an end table
with his full name written on the outside of it in Christina's handwriting this is weird man in the envelope was
what appeared to be a suicide note written by Christina that explained she had killed Jack and herself in her words
quote if Jack didn't marry her she didn't want to live and she couldn't be Mrs Kettle uh she couldn't be Mrs
kettlewell no one else was going to be if she couldn't be wow this is escalating very quickly
very quickly so fearing what their friends or family might think if they learned the the truth of this situation
Ronald stuffed the letter in his pocket and spent the rest of the evening trying
to bring them back from the brink of death really so to be to be clear y they've been unconscious this whole time
yeah and he's just Milling about trying to wake them up and then he finds this letter and he reads it and he's like I
don't know what her family's going to think or what his family will think so I'm going to hold on to this but in the
meantime I got to try to wake them up this is so this is so weird it is like what's going on here what's going
on I'm dying to know like what is why are they unconscious are they going to wake up what's going to happen they wake
up okay so he spent nearly all night moving Jack and Christina's limbs for them to keep their blood moving and
applying cold towels to them never calling an ambulance okay no the next morning they were both still unconscious
so Ronald called a local pharmacy to ask their advice he later told police quote
they got too nosy and I hung up the second one told me to give mustard and warm water to induce vomiting I gave
some to Christina but all she vomited was the mustard and the water I wish I had like adequate
questions right now but I'm so confused by what is happening right now they've been unconscious since yesterday is
anyone going through active brain death right now like what is going on hope not
like he's just like well they're breathing I guess so I I'm what couldn't tell you why
isn't this man calling someone you'll find out later why he doesn't call anybody at least
or they there are explanations for why he doesn't call someone I guess you could say you don't find out
definitively I am confusion I bet but I was too this whole time and then I got to the end and I was like H oh good you
didn't end up confusion so that's it I I ended up with some confusion still but there are a couple things that made me
you know figure it out yeah yeah all right at least at least I won't end up completely confusion yeah you never know
you're like maybe maybe you might you're like like I'm not making any promises now Jack and Christina did finally
regain Consciousness by noon the next day but they both remained very groggy and very violently ill for the remainder
of the day the [ __ ] later in his statement to the police Ronald recalled that several times throughout the day
the phone and the door buzzer rang but he ignored it worried that he wouldn't be able to explain the scene in the
apartment now by the time Jack was finally alert enough to understand what was going on his immediate concern was
Christina's reputation and what he assumed would be her family's concern that she hadn't returned the previous
evening CU remember she doesn't live there she was just hanging out for the day and now she's been gone for like a
whole day a whole night and into noon the next day yeah now Ronald later said quote Jack seemed to think maybe if we
sent a telegram saying that they were married it would keep her people from worrying too much this is so extra like
what that the escalation that is happening here it's like what yeah so okay yeah so they going get married
they got married according to Ronald they they didn't get married they didn't get married let's tell everybody we did
though yep according to Ronald the telegram was only in intended to buy them all some time until Christina
regained her faculties and could decide for herself what she wanted to do and you know explain things to her family
yeah I mean it would be awesome if she explained things to me as well because I don't have any idea what the [ __ ] is
going on right now however when she did regain full Consciousness Christina could not be more pleased with the plan
of and rather than explain herself she convinced Ronald to call her sister Helen and tell her that she and Jack had
gone up to his Cottage Ronald's Cottage cage okay Ronald felt that the telegram had been enough notice but he was
worried that Christina might become hysterical or try to self harm if he didn't do what she wanted so he
reluctantly agreed to make the call there seems like there is just so much happening there's everything is
happening wow now by the next morning it had sunk in it had started to sink in for the both of them that in trying to
avoid a scandalous situation they had actually created a potentially larger problem for themselves by telling
Christina's family that he that she and Jack had gotten married yeah Ronald said
he really I supposed intended to get married someday but he said he wasn't rushing in into anything unprepared I
mean that's smart It Is by and by all accounts Jack cared really deeply for Christina but when it came to the
subject of marriage he always seemed to have an excuse for not wanting to fully commit okay but now he had not only
informed Christina's family of their supposed wedding but had also given Christina every reason to believe that
he intended to realize the scheme by getting married yeah when you're suggesting instead of just saying we
fell asleep I'm sorry oh man crazy us mhm when your first thought is let's just tell your parents we got married
that would give me the idea that you wanted to get married yeah 100% I think because of the time period yeah I know
20s or the 40s oh yeah yeah um the the we fell asleep thing everybody would start calling her names and saying that
she had done [ __ ] out of wedlock but I can definitely understand why she but yeah I don't know take that as like a
hint of like maybe he you know he came up with that idea yeah so he must be thinking about it like I can understand
that and especially when you really really like someone yeah and she really me she you can tell she like seems like
she like loved him yeah I mean to the point that she didn't want anybody else to be Mrs kettlewell yeah cuz was that
real I didn't know if that was real or not I didn't know what the the it's hard to even say it very fever dreamish I
think it all does that's the perfect way to describe it I think yes but like you don't really know
for sure because Christina ends up dying at some point she's not around to confirm to confirm or deny all right
interesting uhhuh okay either way we know she really loved him and was very invested DES in this relationship so
hearing him say let's just pretend we got married she's like or could Dre yeah you know now later that afternoon after
Jack and Christina appeared to be cover uh be appeared to be recovering from the
previous days events Ronald finally felt Comfort comfortable leaving them alone in the apartment while he ran out to run
some errands to be clear Ronald has not asked them what the [ __ ] happened no my first set question would
be I don't really know if he asked them any questions it sounds like from what I
read is that he read the seist of the suicide note or what was intended to be a suicide note and that answered his
questions and then to be clear here yeah to be clear y he read that yeah a note which says I
kill I'm like we're dying together I made him do this I killed him yep and then myself mhm he read that he found
them in that state yep and then when they woke up he didn't think to say like hey um about
like attempted murder do you want to talk about it like do you want to should we he might have he didn't should we
have a conversation what I read I don't if we want all live together and not like I'd be like I would like to move
out like I don't want to live here anymore like that's a this is all non [ __ ] chalant it's like it's true very
much stressing me out no it's very stressful cuz I keep having to be like am I hearing this correctly no I I'm
having to reread things I don't know if there was any kind of discussion once they woke up or if it was like we don't
want to like make her upset so we're just going to let this be what it is because now Jack wants to marry her so
like okay yeah it just seems like so much is happening and not enough questions are being asked to exactly
what's happening I'm pretty sure but so he what I don't agree with is that you know once they woke up from this failed
murder suicide attempt allegedly he was just like I have errands to run are you guys
good like you just left the apartment I mean but I mean hey he's I guess he's not responsible for either of them I
don't know yeah but as Ronald was leaving Christina asked him where he was going and he told her he was on his way
to the bank and she immediately broke down crying oh and when he was like why are you like I'm what's the problem she
explained that she had said that she deposited that money into his account a few days earlier but she had in fact
lied and never truly put the money in the $10,000 that she returned to him or the additional 15 or excuse me the
additional $5,000 he gave her to deposit into the account but she was able to produce the the book yeah saying that
she did right she worked at the bank wow MH it's a lot of power yeah she she messed things up oh man so as the
current Ledger Keeper at the local branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia cha had fraudulently entered the deposit
into Ronald's Bank book as having been deposited but then kept the money for herself Yik so she made a note looking
like oh yeah had gone in but it hadn't Oh no he recalled later Ronald I've never been so St I had never been so
stunned in all my life I had done everything under the sun to help her had placed myself heavily in debt to come to
her assistance and here I found out that i' had been living in a Fool's Paradise
thinking the money was in my account oh damn so he started pressing her for an explanation like why the [ __ ] did you do
that yeah because not only she owed him $10,000 and then gave him an envelope full of
$10,000 and he was like oh do you mind running that to the bank for me since you work there and can you take this too
yeah so he gave her more of his own money not as like a not as like a favor but as a hey can you also put this in my
account since you're putting and she took it all she took all of it oh damn so he was like why the [ __ ] did you do
that but she just started crying hysterically and begging him not to tell anybody so he dropped the matter a few
minutes later when Jack came into the room because remember Jack knows nothing about this whole money situation damnn
now after learning that Christina had once again manipulated him and taken his money Ronald had every intention of
getting an explanation for this behavior and this like you know screwing him over
this but given everything that had happened that last week of April you know the murder suicide plot the alleged
the alleged murder suicide plot he decided to wait for quote unquote more favorable circumstances before raising
the issue this man has a lot of Pati Ronald is patient potentially kind he seems kind yeah I hope he is he feels
like he is I'm like damn for you not to be losing your mind right now like the way that I would lose my [ __ ] and like
not telling Jack like he's thinking of everybody here that's pretty himself really yeah exactly everybody else now
by May 3rd 1947 the tension and the drama had subsided and somehow things returned normal between Christina Jack
and Ronald that morning May 3rd Jack and Ronald had planned to leave for a weekend trip to go to Ronald's cottage
in uh on the San River I think it is but first Christina and Jack were going to go get their marriage license in order
to make everything official cuz they were they were doing they really doing it but by the time they got everything
together for the trip the Licensing Bureau had closed for the weekend so they decided to wait until after the
weekend like go on Monday and Ronald and Jack were going to make their way to the
cabin but now Christina was coming along so they had planned to go go just the two of them but then she ended up going
oh okay yeah so the trio spent four days by the river and during the time that or
during that time Jack and Christina got along well and seemed to be having a good time they had you know put that
wildness behind them yeah and although he hadn't exactly planned on getting married Jack told Ronald he was Ming
willing to make a go of things if she was wow and for her part Christina was elated with his decision to go ahead
with the marriage she was insisting that that was what she wanted all along boy and when they returned to Toronto on
Wednesday May 7th she immediately began making plans for her and Jack's wedding now for reasons still unknown because
everything is unknown she asked Ronald if he would go to the parish priest father Markle and explain the
circumstances on their behalf he agreed and a few hours later returned to the apartment with the news that the priest
would like to see them immediately like to figure out this whole marriage thing yeah now although
he was hesitant to bring up the matter of the missing uh $155,000 now Jesus and he was you know hesitant to risk ruining
the good mood and triggering another suicidal homicidal episode Ronald claimed he did eventually get the nerve
to bring it up but they were either quote interrupted or she got hysterical and I dropped it finally on the morning
of May 11th he raised the issue again now determined to get an answer and after more than a little insistence
Christina claimed she had quote given it back to those fellows that she had or that had been blackmailing
her but I thought the fellows that okay they gave it to her and she said she gave it back to them no she
it's so they blackmailed her for money she borrowed the money from Ronald yeah she gave it to the blackmailers they
gave it to her they had a change of heart gave it back to her she gave it back to quote unquote gave it back to
Ronald but actually took it and then didn't actually just take it she gave it back to the blackmailers yeah okay I got
it yeah you do yep good for you that was impressive honestly thank you lots of just making sure this all doesn't make
sense lots of red yarn all over the [ __ ] uh this is like this this is I feel like I'm serpentining through this
you are you are I am we all are yep so she said she gave it back to them and he was like okay why but she seemed deeply
upset and spent the rest of the day sulking so he didn't really know what he was to do about all of this now the next
morning May 12th Christina woke up early and left the apartment without saying a
word to Ronald or Jack about where she was going she literally just dipped so Ronald stuck his head out the window and
called after her and he was like hey where are you going and she was like I'm going for a walk I'll be back soon after
several hours had passed both of them you know became concerned that Christina hadn't returned and their land lady Mrs
Barger reluctantly informed them that over the weekend Christina had asked her her to borrow a large sum of money from
the land lady oh [ __ ] quote to go to Hamilton Ontario where some boyfriend of hers lived what yes now she comes back
though later when she returned to the apartment the only explanation she offered was that she had gone to see her
parents where she quote had a sort of favorable reception of telling them about the
wedding okay among other things she which like she said she had a sort of favor sort of favorable reception but
then she explains it and it doesn't sound favorable at all what's happening because the family was disturbed by her
behavior and the unexpected announcement that she was marrying Jack all of the sudden Casmir and Mary her parents
didn't fully object to her relationship with Jack but they were flatly opposed to the idea that she was going to marry
him because he was not Roman Catholic like they were so that was out of the question that they get married they
could date and have a good time but they could not get married this is the the problem it was the 40 going on all right
now there was also the matter of his relationship with his roommate and best friend Ronald Barry it's unclear whether
Christina's family had actually met Ronald by this point but she must have at least told them something about him
because they quote couldn't understand the relationship between he and Jack they thought it was strange yeah
Christina's sister Helen said when Jack and Christina got married we thought it was very strange that Barry went along
on the honeymoon uh Ronald's Barry that uh that's what made us wonder if Ronnie was also in love with
Chris okay okay you follow okay yeah absolutely I am so later that evening when Jack Christina and Ronald had
joined some friends for dinner like after she tells them about how everything went with her parents they
had some friends over for dinner the group was surprised when their meal was interrupted by Christina's two sisters
showing up on announced to the apartment and their names were Helen and Sophie and they were quote quite mad and
antagonistic what's so who knows this is so chaotic it's the most chaotic story that I think I've ever heard just real
quick before we get into the next bem that's I'm sure about toold no this is good that we have to keep explaining it
along the way are so the landlord story just just moving on past that it like sort of comes back l
okay I was just wondering I was like okay so the landlord is like hate to break it but gave her money so she could
go see a boyfriend in Ontario and she comes home and is like no no no I saw my parents and they're like okay yeah like
what does Mrs burger or Burger have to do with any of like she's not lying for any reason I would assume no I don't
think she's lybe not who knows okay I think all right and now her sister show up out of nowhere they're [ __ ] pissed
they're [ __ ] pissed yes they were quite mad and antagonistic so mad but reports of this encounter vary widely
depending on who's telling the tale of course but Ronald insisted he tried to talk to Christina's sister to find out
what they were so upset about but they quote kept shouting something about giving Christina opium and trying to
force her to marry Jack this can't get more bizarre no it does it will every paragraph gets more and more crazy so um
confused and rather frustrated by the situation Ronald turned to Christina and was like listen make up your mind do you
want to be with Jack or not like what's going on here uh and Jack was like yeah like what's going on he was equally
confused now in Helen's her the Christina's sister Helen's version of events Christina quote was nervous and
she wouldn't listen to anyone you couldn't get any sense out of her but what both versions agree on is that
Christina clearly stated she did want to marry Jack and at that point they called
a cab so that they could leave the S the tent situation okay Ronald said Sophie tried to stop them and kept crying that
Christina was being kid kidnapped which was ridiculous as Christina was walking ahead of jack
what now once they had left the scene at their own apartment tensions escalated as Helen and Sophie continued to accuse
Ronald and Jack of drugging and manipulating their sister when it was clear that there was nothing more they
could do Helen left the larger apartment house and went to the police station to
enlist the help of the authorities to stop the marriage but she was informed that because Christina was an adult
there was nothing that the police could do to intervene now the other sister Sophie meanwhile continued escalating in
her emotional accusations until Ronald actually had to call the police to have her escorted out of the
apartment this is a fever dream no truly okay so given the fact that Jack kettlewell never made a formal public
statement about his marriage or the death of his wife he didn't no never the only accounts of this altercation on
record come from Ronald Barry who gave his statement to the police and Helen the sister who told the story to a jury
during the coroner's inquest and during subsequent interviews with press so uh it's difficult to establish
what exactly happened at the apartment that night but it sounds like during her visit to her parents house to inform
them of the marriage Christina may have given an inaccurate account of the suicide homicide attempt maybe
presenting herself as the victim and Jack and Ronald as the villains and that's where they were talking about
drugging and opium and all that so she went to her parents house to be like hey I'm let's let's talk about me marrying
Jack and they were like yeah that sucks we're not cool with the fact that he is not Roman Catholic and she was like well
this is really going to blow your [ __ ] top because he also drugged me with opium like is that how that went
that's what some people Helen and Sophie were like wait a second like a day later
like or later they were all of a sudden just like wait a [ __ ] second and they just showed up at the house and were
like we just realized what you said maybe they were at home and then the parents told them I don't know why would
she just go and tell her parents that she was drugged with opium couldn't tell you but that she's
marrying one of them I don't know I'm confused maybe I'm missing a giant part of this puzzle but like this we all are
this makes no no we literally all are missing like the biggest part of this puzzle yeah so um we'll never really
know which which version of the events is true but it seems like Christina was trying to hedge her bets weaving a story
that would absolve her of her responsibility for the murder suicide attempt if her family found out about it
without her compromising her impending marriage to Jack but like feels like it would compromise it a little bit feels
like that to me too like I'm I'm going to go out on a limb here and say if my child told me that their future husband
drugged them unwillingly with opium yeah that's G to that's going to compromise the marriage in my in my mind I wonder
and in my heart I think I wonder though if she said it was Ronald and not Jack but she got it seems like she was saying
Jack and Ronald's are like the villain of this story here yeah I don't know it's very confusing damn okay so that
happened hedge those bets I guess but after satisfactorily uh explaining himself to the police Ronald returned to
the apartment cuz the police were like yeah I think this is all a big mess but like did you drug anybody with opium and
he was like no way the police were like we don't know what's going on either so so he went back to the apartment where
Christina and Jack had returned and told him told him that they didn't want to wait any longer to get married to
because they didn't want to risk further interference of her family the ones you
told that he drugged you with opium yep okay or or Ronald who knows and they decided they wanted to get married that
very evening wow okay so Ronald was like okay should I call the priest like this
is for real zies Ronald you can have an opinion at some point like you can step in and be like friend to friend can I
just like both of you like I don't think this is the time I would say that probably to my friend like I know you're
trying to not ruffle feathers here but ruffle time to ruffle some [ __ ] feathers ruffle a few feathers he didn't
he called father marle who agreed to see them all that evening uh and they all were like oh my god let's go get married
so they all left to go to the priest's house that evening in markle's living room father marle there Jack and
Christina were married before a wedding party that included of course Ronald Barry of course uh the land lady Emma
Barger I'm obsessed with that the couple's friends the Thomases and they used Emma barger's wedding ring as proxy
for the ring that Jack had yet to buy and Christina was wearing a borrowed dress they did the damn thing they got
Mar okay they did it if that's how they wanted to do it then they did it yeah this is very chaotic like the most
bizarre story of all time you know tend your own garden that's all that's all on
you she says if she eats a mozzarella stick di in Caesar exactly she just keeps moving away from the microphone to
eat I don't want you guys to hear it that's that's like so thoughtful but it's funny to watch you crouch you're
just like home Caesar home mozzarella oh in order excuse me in Ronald Barry's version of events the
three of them decided as a group that it would be best for Ronald to join them at
the cabin on their honeymoon because quote they had so much stuff to Take Along okay Drew and I had a lot to bring
on our honeymoon like we each had a suitcase that we had to check and to carry on like that was that's four bags
right there it was just you didn't need me to come with you no love you so much but like I'm not inviting you I'm not
inviting my best friend like what yeah I don't know I don't know Different Strokes for
different fols yeah it's I don't know so on the morning of May 16th 1947 all three of them drove down to the cabin in
a car that they borrowed from a friend okay have fun you guys yeah have the best time the first few days of the trip
were casual and uneventful but on the morning of Sunday May 18th Ronald entered the kitchen to find Christina
sitting at the table crying and he was like what's wrong like why are you so upset and Christina said she quote
didn't know whether Jack had married her because he loved her or on account of you know the murder suicide
attempt I feel bad yeah of course sad that's I think the realization is hitting her yeah that like this was was
gone about in the wrong way it's very like Twisted Romeo and Julia kind of you know what I mean like that whole
story where like I know of that one you were just BL for so long that I was I don't know I don't even see it
like that I kind of just see it like she kind of forced this to happen so it's like and now she I think it's
hitting her that she kind of forced this whole situation and now she's like well
I thought what's sad about it is she thought she was going what by getting what she wanted it wouldn't matter how
she got it she got it she got Jack she got to marry him but I think all of a sudden she woke up in the morning and
it's like okay but it's still bothers me like I got what I wanted but like now I'm really thinking about it and I would
rather have the love attached to this yeah and have it be his decision or like or her decision at that point like like
get it girl that like nobody pressured anybody two were just so in love that you wanted to get married and not
because something had pushed you to having to do this you know and it's just really sad that she that she did come to
that realization because that's a hard realization I imagine to hit it's sad which is you got exactly what you wanted
but you still didn't get exactly what you wanted like a careful what you wish for moment yeah but Ronald said he
reassured her that Jack did indeed love her and she seemed to accept that fact but there were several points throughout
that day where Christina seemed to be just lost in her thoughts and Ronald became concerned that she might try to
hurt herself or you know somebody else again I mean yeah this is not there's no way you're going to trick
yourself into into believing that everything is hunky dory here it's just simply not yeah so the following morning
Ronald left the couple alone and went out for a long walk I think he was like I need to like remove myself from the
situation for a minute and things seem okayish right now and when he returned he found Christina at the table writing
a letter and Jack seemed like he was sleeping on the couch now he tried to like talk to them like he was like oh
hey how are you guys but Christina ignored him and Jack was deeply asleep so rather than repeat himself he just
went to the couch to make Jack more comfortable he said not wanting to intrude any further he left again and
told Christina that he was going to go lay out in the sun for a bit and that he'd be back in a few hours but that he
would come back and check on them periodically throughout the afternoon to see if they needed anything okay when he
returned later that afternoon he found Christina still sitting in the kitchen and Jack still on the couch where he had
last seen him several hours earlier still asleep huh but this time Ronald noticed that the pillow under Jack's
head was covered in blood oh so assuming he had a nose bleed Ronald took a closer look and realized
that the blood was actually coming from Jack's head what the [ __ ] so concerned
he started cleaning his friend's head in face looking for a cut he told police I
asked Christina what happened but she just looked up at me and didn't say a word what the [ __ ] so he's wiping Jack's
face and head and he begins to notice the faint smell of coal oil and fearing that there might be a a leak somewhere
he said he lifted jack off the couch and carried him outside to get fresh air W this is a good friend I know honestly
after getting Jack situated on the ground by the river and when he turned to start back towards the cabin to you
know figure out what what Christina was doing he saw smoke billowing from the exterior door leading to the kitchen
what is so he ran he ran back into the cabin yelling out for Christina but by the time he made his way back into the
front part of the cabin he could barely see anything through all the smoke but still he was yelling making his way to
the front room calling up for Christina but he wasn't getting any response so he
was like I is she not in here anymore cuz the fire had started but he he had to get out of there he couldn't tolerate
the smoke filling the cabin so he made his way back out the front door leading outside and he grabbed a couple small
items on the way including one of Jack and Christina's small suitcases man he's a good friend I know damn now he'd only
reached the shore where Jack sat when he looked back and saw that the cabin was now engulfed in flames and mind you this
is his cabin this is his yeah this is his so he later claimed that he dragged Jack further from the house to a safer
location and then went in the direction of the woods calling out for Christina but he didn't see her and he didn't hear
her anywhere so after about 30 minutes of searching for Christina Ronald returned back to Jackson location and
managed to flag down a passing boat he explained to the men in the boat what had happened and that he still been
hadn't been able to find Christina anywhere so one of the men volunteered to stay behind and look for Christina
while the other men took Jack and Ronald to meet the nearest car to go and get them to the hospital so after checking
Jack in at the hospital Ronald went straight to the Provincial Police to report what had happened and that was
when he learned that Christina's body had been discovered near the shore of the River about 200 yard from the
cabin what the [ __ ] is going on so she made it out of the house before the fire
started but she's dead holy [ __ ] so authorities were able to locate Christina's body lying face down in a
9in pool of water adjacent to the riverbank what still dressed in the floral print pajamas that she'd been
wearing the night before there were no burns on her body no evidence to suggest that she had been in the fire there were
no signs of violence or indications of what had caused her death Jack remained hospitalized where he claimed to have no
memory of the fire or the events leading up to it what so he was of little help to the
investigators now given the wildly mysterious circumstances under you need to make up a new word for mysterious
truly under which Christina had died authorities opened an investigation to determine whether or not she'd been
murdered what the [ __ ] because this is all so bizarre they're like was she murdered what happened this makes no
[ __ ] sense on the morning of May 22nd 1947 an autopsy was conducted by the chief coroner Dr Smur laon following his
examination he confirmed there were no signs to indicate that Christina had been in a fire there was no smoke in her
lungs she wasn't burned nothing to indicate that she'd been in the fire what and he deemed that her cause of
death had in fact been drowning what she drowned in a 9 in pool of water with no
smoke in her lungs like she wasn't really affected by the fire no she got out in time somehow and like and and
right before that according to Ronald's Jack has like a head injury he found Jack lying unconscious with a head
injury and said it to Christina and was like what happened to his head and she just looked at him and didn't answer him
like what was happening here all I can say Lawson told reporters that's the corner is that Mrs cat uh Mrs
kettlewell was definitely drowned to make sure that she wasn't drugged or poisoned specimens of her body body are
being examined while the contents of her stomach and other material have been sent for chemical analysis what a short
time later when the uh when the lab results came back Lawson learned that there was codine in Christina's stomach
at the time of her death oh okay on its face Christina's death and the circumstances leading up to it were
the most suspicious thing anybody had ever heard of in their entire [ __ ] life why had she been so quick to marry
Jack why had they done it so Secret what the [ __ ] was going on why was Ronald Barry always around yeah why
would a newlywed couple bring a third party with them on their honey exactly and how does somebody ostensibly escape
a roaring house fire without a scratch only to drown in what was more or less a pudle of water this is the most bizarre
thing I think I have ever heard me as well so those unanswered questions LED investigators to suspect Foul Play and
what they learned next did little but make them more suspicious oh no the statement given by Ronald to the police
was sus but it only got more so when he got to the subject of money there was of
course the $15,000 he claimed Christina had stolen from him over the course of the previous year and refused to return
but there was also the matter of insurance money between having bought the cottage the previous year in the
fire he had procured insurance on the home for $3,000 now that wouldn't have been
unusual in and of itself but in his statement to the police he mentioned that he had become quote unquote
financially embarrassed due to the large sums of money that he'd lent Christina and he was unable to pay many of his
bills as a result okay so they were like are you trying to cash in on the $3,000
to like make up for some of your bills that feels like it would be but it's like a lot it's only $3,000 and
you're out like ,000 and I'm not saying only 3,000 obviously that's a lot of money but if
you're out 15,000 like is that really really worth all of that right exactly that's what I'm saying now given that he
you know had become financially embarrassed and needed money it did seem plausible to investigators that the fire
could have been set intentionally in order to collect on the insurance yeah and also Ronald had sent to and received
a telegram from an unknown person in the United States which just added to the mysterious uh which just added to the
mysterious facts of the kettlewell case and given all the talk of large sums of money led the investigators to wonder
whether there was some kind of illegal business being operated by Ronald Christina and
Jack so in a statement given to the police Ronald Barry flatly rejected the possibility that he had burned down his
own cottage for insurance money he said we lost everything when a thing like this happens one does not think of
insurance it is something that cannot be replaced it is like a life lost we had planned on staying here all summer away
from everybody the flowers were beautiful we were going to plant so many more but I guess I shouldn't say
anything else I've said too much what investigators found his statement to be quote unquote fantastic
like like fantastic like whoo not like fantastic like amazing like fantastic like little hard to believe yes Fant
exactly yeah I mean it's yeah I mean he with the thing is he's saying everything
he that you want to hear yeah from somebody but they either doubted or at the very least were very suspicious of
many of his claims but just a few days later Chief Inspector Albert Ward formally announced that there were no
signs of Foul Play and No suspects but emphasized that they the case would remain
open okay Ronald talked to reporters after Ward's statement and he doubled down saying there was no foul play on
that I would stake my life I mean I I'm not saying Ronalds has anything to do with it because I
honestly nothing up to this point would lead me to believe that he would hurt her
no but but like this play looks pretty foul it's just wild it just looks strange like what happened I have no
idea it's like a Riley Sager novel it's it literally is you were explaining that
one to me the other day and it sounds like this it does like I'm just I'm just so confused I'm
so confused I'm so confused how this woman how she was sitting there and Ronnie's asking her like hey Jack's got
a massive head injury and is bleeding all over the the pillow and has been out for several hours and she's just like do
you know what happened here and she's just like and then just a fire starts and he carries Jack out and she somehow
makes her way out and then toots a 200 yards or so and drowns in tin of water yeah it's wild I've never heard
anything like it in myti I can't come up with I'm I'm gonna have to think on this
one so hard well we're not done yet curly so meanwhile shocked it's it is shocking meanwhile reporters were
attempting to get their own statements from Jack and Ronald with the latter having promised to make one in the days
immediately following the fire but the statement however was never given and Ronald did seem to be avoiding the Press
at that point so they turned to their next best contact his brother Mario Ronald's brother Mario and Mario told
the Press Ronnie has always been a secretive fellow according to his brother the family had always found his
closeness with Jack somewhat unusual usual okay he said we often remarked on the close friendship between Ronnie and
jack it seemed they were always together both worked for a box Factory and when one was discharged the other quit so he
was like they were just very close yeah now as far as Jack kettlewell was concerned investigators were very clear
that he was never a suspect and at no time was he detained for questioning okay an inspector told the Press he is
not under arrest nor in any kind of custody as far as I'm concerned anyone can see him but the problem was that
even once Jack had been released from the hospital for a head injury and quote the apparent effects of a drug which
left him in a dazed condition had wear wore off he had said little to investigators or reporters so nobody
knew what the [ __ ] had like they were like did anything happen before but he wasn't he didn't remember allegedly what
in his initial statement to the police he insisted he remembered nothing from the morning of the fire until he came to
in the hospital I need to know like got to rack the deepest parts of your brain Jack I
got to know but it seemed like he was in a dazed condition I said like from would
which I was like did she give you Codine too well that's what I'm wondering I'm like what what's happening here cuz also
I'm still wondering what happened at the apartment oh yeah I mean everybody's wondering I'll never like never forget
what happened at the apartment I will not so it's like I'm still wondering what happened there like what drug was
used what's going on over there and now this happens and it seems like there's more drugging happening y possibly
allegedly yep and it's like by whom I do not know nor me yeah I wish I had ideas or I got
nothing well the wreckage of the cabin also yielded few Clues to an explanation oh good among the debris investigators
found a gallon jar of coal oil which Ronald claimed he had bought uh brought along for cleaning pots and pans and
they also found a 5 gallon can which a neighbor claimed was using to power the generator okay otherwise there was
nothing at the scene that could have explained Christina's death or the fire having ruled out the foul play and
potential that the death was the result of drug trafficking uh a drug trafficking operation between the can
between Canada and the US they ruled that out the only Theory investigators were left with was that Christina had
indeed taken her own life after setting fire to the cabin okay in fact among the
only physical evidence in the investigation was the couple suitcase that Ronald grabbed on his way out of
the burning building oh [ __ ] which contained the letter Christina was writing on the morning of the fire oh
which turned out to be yet another suicide note again addressed to Ronald because remember the other one was too
when yeah uh she allegedly had tried to end her life and Jack's allegedly this time Christina stated that she did not
believe Jack's proposal of marriage was genuine and that he instead made it out of fear that she might harm herself if
he didn't go through with it she wrote this will be the best way out as I cannot bear to see another girl
have him this is like heart-wrenching it is it really is it's it's sad she was so
sad like she needed someone to just talk to her yeah so Ronald turned both suicide letters over to the
investigators which appeared to corroborate at least part of his story particularly his account of the murder
suicide attempt in April and Christina's behavior on the morning that she died in
the third suicide note written on the morning of the fire and addressed to uh Mrs Thomas Christina wrote Ronnie is in
the boat outside somewhere by the time he gets back everything will be all over with he must have been afraid something
would happen because he's staying an extra day to make sure we go back to Toronto with him I actually wondered if
that's why Ronnie was hanging around so much yeah because either he jack or both
of them were worried about not having a potential third person to watch over things yeah it kind of seems like I
wondered if that was part of it I think that's part of it especially when Ronnie
was coming in being like you guys need anything yeah just going outside for a little while like I'll I'll come back
and and I can bring you something if you need it like it seems like he was there
to be like just keeping everything keeping tabs on it yeah I think so too yeah and I especially think so when you
find out details later so nevertheless the suicide notes didn't explain all the unanswered questions so a Coroner's
inquest was scheduled goodness I was like someone get me in a Coroner's inquest doesn't really do much to be
honest the primary motive for the coroner's uh inquest was to identify the circumstances of Christina's drowning
sorry I was just shifting there and definitely or defin definitively I can never say that rule out Foul Play but
from the perspective of the public it was the mystery surrounding Ronald's involvement that more people wanted to
learn about this aspect of the case was significantly Amplified by Christina's sister Helen who was always heavily
suspicious of Jack and Ronald and especially now she believed full-heartedly that they were
responsible for Christina's death wow yeah CP hope the special counsel to the crown was also suspicious of Ronald's
involvement in the drowning at one point just before the inquest began hope told
reporters Ronald was a liar of the most blatant kind whose Sinister figure permeates the whole of this tragedy but
whose purpose and design are shrouded in mystery whoa yeah the inquest began on June 19th 1947 with the jury hearing
from several medical experts including RC Wade the Doctor Who treated Jack at the hospital and the coroner himself SML
Lawson Dr SML Lawson Wade explained to the jury that Jack had indeed been treated for a head wound but when it
came to his Dazed and Confused State Wade said I suggest he was not ill he was upset he did not act like a normal
individual what so like he was he was upset because he had been drun and do and I don't think you've
mentioned it but they don't know what kind of head wound this is no like what it's
from he was bed is That's So he was bleeding from his wild but according to Wade he said Jack was more likely
suffering from shock in the after effects of trauma but he was unable to explain the head wound that he arrived
with he did have a head wound but he did not know how had no idea where it came from from what kind of head wound like
no wow no idea this is very strange so the second witness called was Helen um Christina's sister thank you and her
testimony would do little to exonerate Ronald or Jack she told the jury that Christina was always a happy girl before
Jack and Ronald came into her life and that she had never ever suffered any bouts of depression moreover she refuted
Ronald's claimed that her sister had been sexually assaulted or blackmailed and emphasized that Christina had never
talked about or been in possession of a large amount of money she said if she had that kind of money I would have
known about it or so you think that's the thing you know like I I understand thinking that
but it's like you you can never know people act strangely especially when they're like in a new relationship or
something's different like it can change way or they're suffering Mally they suffering you know yeah mentally with
something it's like I can understand why she would think that she would know that
but it's like there is a small chance that you would would well it's like sometimes you lie to your sister like
exactly I mean Ash never lies to me and I never lie to her but that's true that's actually very true yeah never Li
when I was younger I lied to you like but you always got the truth out of me but the real problem Helen claimed was
Ronald Barry she said anytime Jack went out with Chris Christina Barry was with them and in fact contrary to what
anybody had heard it wasn't Jack that their family objected to but Ronald according to Helen Ronald Barry
was a generally bad influence on Jack and her sister and Helen said that Ronald had even convinced Christina to
try drugs on at least two occasions oh in this case Helen was referring to the incident in which she confronted the
trio at the Barger apartment and attempted uh to convince Christina not to marry Jack she had no evidence to
support her belief but she claimed that Christina had been doped up when she agreed to marry
Jack there's so much happening everything is happening because like in the the reality of the situation is it
see from like what you can tell from the whole story is that like that murder suicide thing happened uhhuh and that's
where the marriage was born out of yeah so it's like I I think everybody was under an influence of many different
kinds of stress yes stressors yes at that point absolutely I think the problem here is like that marriage never
should have happened well I I think yes I think that and I think one of the other bigger problems is that nobody
really knew what Christina was going through I think that's the thing Christina was going through some kind of
she suffering alone it sounds like it sounds like it big time and it sounds like she had a lot of Secrets
maybe things she was going through that well and it sounds like she like she clearly loved Jack uhhuh
but it sounds like it was it got to be a little bit of an unhealthy love a bit of an obsession to yeah for
lack of like like when when it comes to the I'd rather you die than be with anyone else it's like that's when it's
crossed over into a little bit unhealthy and it's like love can make you do crazy
things it can make you feel what you know un unorthodox things and it's like that's why you need somebody to talk to
you about it to kind of bring you right out of that it sounds like she didn't have that or didn't think she had that
yeah cuz I I honestly think she could have talked to Ronald Ronald seemed like a very sounds like there was people
around her that that would have talked to her exactly but maybe she just didn't know it and then what was the money well
that's the other thing I just can't wrap my brain around this money thing why did
she need that that's a lot of money to need yeah and back to me like there was there was I think she was in some kind
of trouble she was in trouble whether it was being blackmailed by these men it's
possible yeah maybe she got roped up with the wrong people somehow like was something else completely that she was
in trouble with she was in trouble she was in trouble you don't need that much money when you're not in trouble so like
that's a that's a huge part of this thing is like what the [ __ ] was going on uhhuh that nobody knew about yeah and
now I want to dedicate my entire life to figuring out what the [ __ ] she was doing
before this because I'm so invested but I haven't found anything that gives you any kind of clue because we're about to
get murkier awesome so despite testifying that their family had no objection to Jack kettlewell Helen went
on to explain that the time Christina left the apartment and told Ronald she was going for her walk she actually had
gone to visit another boyfriend just like she told the land lady she visited her boyfriend Eddie Cura whom the family
preferred over Jack cutwell so the family did have a problem with Jack cutwell and what she was so in love with
Jack like an obsessive love yeah that she was willing to go through all that but she's also dating another guy and
she not only told the land lady that but her sister knew about it too which leads
me to believe was she going and it just leads me to question not to believe anything it leads me to question was
Eddie some like was he related to the trouble that she was in that's the thing I'm like who the [ __ ] is Eddie bring me
Eddie that's the thing bring me Eddie and also it's like so she didn't go to her parents that night she I think she
went to both places oh she went to both place cuz I was going to say cuz then the sisters came over all up in arms and
it's like but did she even see you today did she even tell you like I think she went to see the boyfriend and I think or
the the the previous boyfriend and and told her parents that she was getting married was she going to see the prevest
boyfriend to tell him that she was getting mared break things off and be like I'm actually getting married now
right where's Eddie where's Eddie I don't know but according to Helen the sister Christina was quote quote unquote
afraid of Ronnie and Jack so she said she that like Helen said she came to me and my sister Sophie and she had Sophie
buy her a ticket to Hamilton where Eddie Kira lived at the time so she Helen is saying my sister
bought her a bus ticket to go see or a ticket but the land lady also said she gave her money but she gave her money
she didn't give her a ticket so maybe she needed a ticket and money money for did she owe any money and she asked for
more money from this landlord got the money and then went to her sister and asked for a bus ticket what the [ __ ] was
that money for and why do she need all this money and Helen claims that that she said that she was a she said
according to according to Helen Christina was afraid of Ronnie and Jack did she explicitly say that she was
afraid of Ronnie and Jack or what did she seem afraid to you when she was going to visit this Eddie car
character and did they know about like they said they preferred Eddie over Jack but does and then I'm thinking I'm like
does do Jack and Ronnie know about Eddie is there like some complete farce happening right now and this wasn't a
honeymoon at all but what would it be if not a hone like do were you all there for some
other reason and you masked it as a honeymoon maybe and there was that weird telegram that nobody ever figured out
and it's weird that Ronnie was there even though we did come up with a this is what I mean there's so many different
explanations you can kind of explain away anything uhhuh cuz it obviously we explained away like Ronnie being on the
honeymoon is maybe you know like they felt like they needed somebody else there because she was kind of going
through it at the time and they wanted to make sure everything was okay right but but it's also weird that Ronnie was
at the honeymoon so it's like maybe it wasn't a honeymoon at all maybe I mean this this marriage is strange and it's I
mean yeah and it came to be in came to be in a strange way and she keeps questioning it and worrying about it and
it and I just I'm not hearing anything about them I don't know this is just weird
well it gets weirder oh Lord so Sophie the sister bu said she bought her the ticket to go visit Eddie and she went to
go visit Eddie and Helen continued the story and said although Christina gave no explanation as to why she feared
Ronnie and Jack she did say the men were at the apartment quote unquote fooling around with handwriting and said let's
see you write your name to Christina okay so Christina went and told Helen allegedly that the that Ronnie and Jack
were fooling around with handwriting and made her write their her name for them okay now Helen believed her sister had
quote discovered Ronnie and Jack were a bunch of crooks and intended to do something nefarious which is why she
went to visit Eddie that afternoon but if she discovered that they were a bunch of crooks and she did indeed go to visit
Eddie that afternoon why did she go back to the house that very night what I don't get or like the next night and
then get married to Jack this is what I'm not understanding unless she was kidnapped and like forced into it but
then the priest said that everybody was happy that night yeah I don't know so Helen's story
fed into the prosecutor and the Public's belief that Ronald was somehow responsible for Christina's death but it
was based purely on her own interpretation of events that Not only was unsupported by the facts of the case
but also contradicted direct directly cont icted the testimony of others for example like I just said father marle
the priest who performed the wedding ceremony told the family told both the family and the jury at the inquest that
quote he had not observed anything unusual about Christina's appearance or her behavior on the day of the wedding
he went on to explain that though he understood the family opposed the marriage both Jack and Christina were
clear that they wanted to be married and entered into the marriage of their own free will okay and remember that night
she looked at her sisters and said I want to marry Jack yeah and Helen was like No and went to the police and the
police were like we can't do anything and this is what's making me even more just wild and out over here because I'm
like her sisters were so serious they were so upset that they to the police like what the [ __ ] is going on
cuz that leads me to believe that maybe Christina did say to them I'm scared of Jack and Ronnie maybe and they thought
okay we got to get her out of there and then it's like did she just say to double down on the story that she had
nothing to do with the to again try to preserve her innocence in the story of the murder suicide allegedly thing the
alleged murder suicide yeah I don't know wow but as for Helen's comments about Jack and Ronald quote
unquote fooling around with handwriting that might have been an attempt to dismiss the inevitable issue of the
suicide notes supposedly allegedly written by Christina Helen insisted Christina never experienced depression
or mental illness and that she would have never taken her own life however Toronto handwriting expert Steven Le uh
testified that he examined the letter supposedly written by Christina and determined or and confirmed that the
handwriting was undoubtedly that of Christina which it's a shaky it's a shaky Science question mark But many
times when someone takes their life y the people around them say they were never depressed would have done that
never would have done that right so it's one of those things where you just don't
realize that some people suffer silently yeah absolutely which is not anybody's fault that they don't know that you know
what I mean like it's not her sister's fault for being like I never saw her depressed I never so it's like but that
is absolutely something that could have been happening without your knowledge and the handwriting expert was not the
only person who believed that the letters were indeed written by Christina Dr CS Tennant a local psychiatrist also
testified as to the content of the letters telling the the jury he believed Christina quote belong to a group of
people who are abnormal in certain ways they are abnormal habitu habitually abnormal and their emotional reactions
from childhood or early adulthood he went on to say that people like Christina quote demonstrate rather poor
judgment often had tantrums and in their emotional outbursts they may commit acts
which may be a crime in which they would not ordinarily commit and hadn't she been described before as having t
yes so whatever it is he's describing seems to seems like something she might be suffering from that at least around
something like that yes now going into the coroner's inquest Helen was confident that the proceedings would
clear up the mystery surrounding Christina's death but with just a few within just a few days the conflicting
testimony from Helen and the other Witnesses really only seemed to further confuse things ultimately and somewhat
ironically it was testimony from Ronald Barry and Jack kettlewell that would prove CL or provide Clarity around many
of the more confusing matters oh time kind of in his statement given to police shortly after his discharge from the
hospital Jack kettlewell admitted that uh admitted to the police that in addition to his three-year relationship
with Christina he had also been engaging in quote unquote unnatural sex relations
he says that because of the time with Ronald Barry Oh and that the two had been quote unquote lovers for many
years okay so when hope confronted Jack with this statement during the inquest Jack actually tried to walk back his
admission telling the jury that he had been pressured into that com that confession by the police which maybe he
was pressured into that confession or maybe he just wasn't willing to admit in front of an entire room full of people
in the 40s that he was a gay man exactly the problem with his recantation was that it had already been confirmed by
Ronald Barry in his own statement to the police but nevertheless when he was called to testify Ronald Barry still
tried to corroborate Jack's assertion telling the jury that they had only engaged in sex a few times and it had
been over a long time ago this makes me really sad it's really sad that they're both like they both clearly like each
other and it's like and it's like they and it it's making me really sad that they're having to like run it backwards
like like no nope it was just one like it happened a long time AG go and it's like it's okay man it's really sad like
but it's like the 40s and it's like [ __ ] that's the thing and still convinced of
Ronald Barry's guilt and and that's the sad thing I think I think Ronald Barry was always around because he loved Jack
and he was worried about Jack's safety with I think he knew that that obviously he and Jack had been involved in some
way MH and I think he knew that this seems like you know like it's a bad idea yeah this this
marriage chrisa because this is isn't for the kind of love that you are looking for exactly and that's really
sad it is and it's really sad too that everybody thinks that he has something to do with this woman's death if he
didn't I still have no [ __ ] idea one way or the other but it just doesn't feel like it from it doesn't totally I
wouldn't say like 100% I'm unconvinced but I wouldn't say I'm 100% convinced oh no at all no now but but that's the sad
thing is that most people did suspect him and one of those people people convinced of Ronald Barry's guilt was
the was hope there and he rejected his attempts to Shield Jack and pursued this angle as one of the driving forces in
the case and actually act do asked Dr tenant the psychologist his opinion of the men's
relationship this is the 40s remember according to tenant quote the case of homosexual is a case of Arrested
Development many matured slowly but they did mature he said others told him that
women nauseated them so we cannot tell what the girl found out or experienced emotionally that is some 40s ass
backward [ __ ] absolutely and that was said with his whole chest like that was right out in public being like I am a
doctor and this is true and at the same time was he saying we cannot tell what the girl found out or experienced
emotionally because did she find out that's the thing that they were together and that's what she was so upset about
this and that's what had you know triggered this entire thing potentially but then you wonder too cuz
in her notes she says another girl she says another girl does she say that to save Jack or does she say that because
she believes it who knows yeah because I would think she would say another person
you know at the same time in her emotional state would she possibly and this is just a question have used that
to her advantage and outed him because this was a time where you know you could do that and people could have suffer
serious consequences so did she know yeah that's the that's what makes me think she didn't know yeah
but then again I don't know Christina I don't know if that would be something she would do you know yeah she didn't
know I don't think really I don't think anybody really knew Christina oh man at this point anyways now after several
days of testimony the coroner's inquest came to a close on June 25th 1947 when the jury returned an open verdict
meaning that while they didn't believe Christina had died as a result of murder they nonetheless still found the
circumstances very suspicious and re recommended further police investigation yeah in their statement they said due to
the fact that the postmortem examination disclosed codine in the stomach of the deceased and the suspicious fact that
she was found drowned in 9 Ines of water the jury is unable to decide from the uh
evidence given whether or not there were foul means employed in her death because
I mean Codine will knock you out yeah so it's like if she staggered away from that that fire the stress of a fire
that's an adrenaline rush you get an adrenaline crash with codine in your stomach you fall down flat unconscious
in 9 in of water you're still breathing and you breathe that watera I don't know but it just doesn't
explain anything else the Jack of it all well did she did she drug Jack and where
did his head wound come from I don't know about the head wound the head why was he just laying on the on the couch
he was laying on the couch that's what I mean like why was he just laying on the
couch with a head did he like stumble and fall after ingesting some kind of coating whether not she drugged him or
he took it I have no idea and then she took some too like and what was the reason for
that if it did happen the only thing that I can think of and this is again alleged and just a a thought a theory
did did was she upset because remember she was upset that morning saying to Ronald like he I don't know if he
married me because he wanted to or if because you know the alleged murder suicide yeah did she get to a point of
like deep deep sadness again and realized that he didn't love her and maybe he was going to leave and she
ingested some kind of coding herself and gave him some and somehow he stumbled and hit his head and then climbed up
onto the couch and fell asleep I mean maybe I don't know that's a possibility absolutely the head wound of it all is
the part that kind of yeah is strange to me but without any suspect leads or even evidence of a
crime the police declined to pursue the case as a murder and Christina's death to this very day remains a mystery now
obviously the coroner's inquest was intended to provide answers for many of the lingering questions in the case of
Christina's death and to determine whether Foul Play was involved and although many felt like those lingering
questions were never answered or an explanation was provided it's more likely that they just didn't like or
couldn't accept the explanations they were given yeah this was a time where mental illness was a very taboo subject
and was very poorly understood and in addition to that the type of illness described by Dr tenant is essentially a
personality disorder yeah was hardly what anybody had in mind when they considered a mentally ill person back
then so they were like no she didn't she wasn't mentally ill and it wasn't something that they would apply to a
quote unquote seemingly normal young woman but the suicide notes corroborated by Dr tenant and Ronald Barry's
descriptions of Christina confirm that she was emotionally unstable yeah impulsive when it comes to the marriage
and potentially dangerous with what she had done allegedly who had already shown
herself as willing not to just end her own life but Jack if they couldn't be together yeah if all that is true so if
all that is true it is entirely plausible that Christina did take her own life and tried to take Jax a second
time but we'll never know if that happened or not thing and as for the suspicious behavior of Ronald Barry that
was more or less explained in his statements to the police and the jury not in a way that they would have been
able to understand at the time though as a closeted gay man his entire life was ruled by secrecy and ambiguity in order
to protect his privacy and his relationship with Jack and realistically both of their personal safety yeah
absolutely but unfortunately in this case that drive for secrecy made his behavior seem more inappropriate
suspicious or malevolent yeah even if it was really innocuous right for example in hindsight his attempts to revive his
friends after the first suicide attempt rather than call a doctor or a hospital seems suspicious because it implies that
he's trying to do something but instead according to his own statements what he was really concerned about was
protecting his relationship with Jack and not wanting to put Christina in a scandalous situation should the truth
about her actions come to light that's true now what confirms this even further for me is that three years after
Christina died Jack remarried and had a son uh but he did uh separate from his wife and in 19 1969 in 1969 excuse me
and he never remarried and when he died in 1998 he left his military pension to Ronald Barry wow so they absolutely were
in love at some point I just got like chills I know I know I did too wow Jack's family never knew about Christina
or Ronald and they only learned about the case after his death when his daughter-in-law discovered something
about it in an old newspaper shut up so he just went on to live life alone without Ronald
even oh that like shatters my heart yeah alone in the way of not having a romantic partner is what I mean cuz
obviously he had like family and a son and everybody but but like never really it seems like never really like getting
what he wanted needed because I mean still 1969 damn he was still closeted at that point you know wow so to me I do
come out of this leaning toward that it was a second suicide murder attempt murder suicide attempt
yeah it kind of seems that way and that the coding in her system made her fall into that puddle after she escaped the
house fire yeah it kind of seems that way and who knows if the house fire was just an accident I don't know if I
believe that she intended to set fire to that house I don't know if it was an accident with the Cole um and what
happened to Ronald Ronald stayed in I think it's about 10 for about 10 years after the
inquest but in 1956 he left Canada for New York uh for New York and dropped out of sight he left his peany dog Ling for
Jack's then 2-year-old son Richard so Jack leaves his military pension for Ronald Y and Ronald Leaves
his like beloved dog for Jack's 2-year-old son yep like I'm sorry like they were in such love that's a love
story that is a very tragic love story the most tragic love story and you feel bad because Christina's like chrisa lost
in here somewhere yeah in the confusion and the Mystery surrounding all of it yeah because we don't know no if she if
that's really what happened if she did try you know a second time or well I mean we really don't know if she tried
the first time it's like this is all just she's not here to say wow but it truly is one of the most confusing and
just unclear tragic cases I've ever heard of and the fact that it's still unsolved is just like what I'm that I
truly think that might be the most bizarre story I've ever heard right I don't think I've heard anything that
shocking and confusing in forever like I'm my brain will not stop just like trying to piece these things together
can on compute wow but yeah that is the tragic death of Christin kettlewell and the
tragic and mysterious death of Christin mysterious and with all of that we hope you keep listening and we hope you keep
it weird but not so weird that someone out there someday doesn't solve this because wow I really need answers I'm
going to solve this man you got this keep it that [Music] weird [Music]

On May 20, 1947, decorated army veteran Jack Kettlewell and his friend Ronald Barrie barely escaped a devastating housefire at Ronald’s cabin along the Severen River in rural Ontario, Canada. One day later, Jack’s twenty-two-year-old wife, Christina Kettlewell, was discovered dead a short distance from the cabin, lying face down in a pool of shallow water and still wearing the pajamas she had on the night of the fire. During the autopsy, it was discovered that Christina’s lungs were clear of smoke and her body was free of any burns or other signs of violence; rather, as unbelievable as it seemed, the cause of death was drowning.

Christina and Jack had married in a secret ceremony held just eight days before the fire, leading many to wonder whether her new husband had something to do with her death. Was it a crime of passion? A calculated murder to cash-in on a life insurance policy? Or was it truly just a tragedy? And what of Ronald Barrie’s presence on the trip? If it was indeed a honeymoon of sorts, why had the young newlyweds brought along a friend?

In the months that followed, Christina Kettlewell’s mysterious death captivated the residents of eastern Canada. With each new day, a piece of the puzzle seemed to fall into place, indicating that the mystery might soon be solved. Yet by mid-summer, a police investigation and the coroner’s inquest had failed to provide an explanation for Christina’s death or a satisfactory conclusion to the case. Today, more than seventy-five years later, the death of Christina Kettlewell remains one of Ontario’s most enduring mysteries.

Thank you to the wonderful David White, of the Bring Me the Axe Podcast, for research assistance!

References

Isai, Vjosa. 2017. What happened to Toronto's 'eight-day bride?'. July 4. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/what-happened-to-toronto-s-eight-day-bride/article_1a09012b-13fa-5931-b512-7cc331d56ed4.html.

Kingston Whig-Standard. 1947. "Coroner's jury to view place bride died." Kingston Whig-Standard, June 25: 1.

North Bay Nugget. 1947. "Open verdict is returned in Kettlewell case." North Bay Nugget, June 26: 1.

Owen Sound Daily Sun-Times. 1947. "Possibility of suicide in drowning of bride investigated by police." Owen Sound Daily Sun-Times, mAY 23: 1.

Sun Times. 1947. "Open verdict is returned by Kettlewell case jury as no decision reached." Sun Times, June 26: 1.

—. 1947. "Open verdict is returned by Kettlewell case jury as no decision reached." Sun Times, June 26: 1.

Toronto Daily Star. 1947. "Police report distrubance before Christina married." Toronto Daily Star, May 28: 2.

—. 1947. "Suicide notes bride's expert tells inquest." Toronto Daily Star, June 20: 1.

Windsor Star. 1947. "Police hint at foul play in mystery." Windsor Star, May 22: 1.

—. 1947. "Probe for missing cash in honeymoon mystery." Windsor Star, May 26: 1.

—. 1947. "Statement of Ronald Barrie reveals some strange events." Windsor Star, June 21: 8.

Brief Summary

The episode covers the tragic and mysterious death of Christina Kettlewell, exploring her relationships and the events leading to her drowning.

Key points

Mysterious Death of Christina Kettlewell. Exploring the strange circumstances surrounding Christina's death and her emotional struggles.
Suicide Note Discovery. Ronald discovers a suicide note that escalates the tension of the situation.
The Suicide Note Revelation. A note reveals a chilling pact between Christina and Jack.
Christina's Manipulation Uncovered. Ronald discovers Christina's deceit regarding the money she owed him.
Family Drama Escalates. Christina's sisters confront her about alleged drugging and manipulation.
The Chaotic Wedding. In a whirlwind, Christina and Jack decide to marry amidst family turmoil.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I judged you before and I shouldn't have.

Elena reflects on her initial judgment of Ash's dip choice.

1:37WatchDec 21, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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