Multiple RCMP cruisers were stationed outside a rural Whiskey Creek property on Nov. 2, 2020 following a triple homicide (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

investigative podcast

Podcaster shines light on dark Whiskey Creek triple homicide

May 9, 2023 | 4:44 PM

NANAIMO — The day after Halloween in 2020 two men and a woman were found dead and another man seriously wounded at a rural Whiskey Creek property.

Since then very little has been publicly disclosed about the killings, which NanaimoNewsNOW verified in the days following the incident resulted in the deaths of Shawn McGrath and girlfriend Shanda Wilson.

Their bodies were found in a burned-out travel trailer on private property home to a gravel pit.

No arrests or charges have been laid.

Vancouver Island-based podcaster Laura Palmer deputed a seven-episode series on Tuesday, May 9, titled ‘Whiskey Creek.’

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“I’m hoping once people hear more about them and also more about Shawn that they may feel differently and not write this off as ‘well, just a bunch of bad people doing bad things out in the woods,” Palmer told NanaimoNewsNOW.

McGrath, 52, had a lengthy criminal record, and Palmer said had the tattoo ‘crazy’ across his back.

Notably, Palmer’s series does not include RCMP participation, who she said declined to contribute.

The RCMP’s Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit won’t provide updates on the investigation, other than to acknowledge it’s an active file.

Names of the deceased have not been publicly disclosed by law enforcement.

“There was a flurry of news stories right at the time, but then very little afterwards and that’s largely down to the fact that nobody’s talking about this,” Palmer said.

She wonders if the lack of public discussion about the case is connected to the fact the incident happened at an encampment home to the unhoused.

Palmer’s series delves into the lives of the victims, explores events leading up to the killings, and what could have been done to prevent the incident and future similar occurrences.

Potential motives are also explored.

“Those are the kinds of things that give this story hopefully a little more meaning and context than just a headline about three people dying in this horrible way out in the woods.”

Palmer embarked on ‘Whiskey Creek’ after receiving an email from the mother of one of the victims.

“She wants answers and she wants justice and if this series can go a ways towards making that happen for that family and for the family of the other victims then I think it will be worthwhile.”

Palmer’s series is available free of charge on multiple podcast platforms.

“Whiskey Creek” is free to enjoy on various podcast platforms. (Laura Palmer)

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes