Town file
Oshawa, Ontario
Oshawa, Ontario (Ontario, Canada) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 526, "Deadly, Disturbed & Lazy" (7 September 2024). On 11 September 2017 a fisherman and his grandson spotted something floating in Oshawa harbour on Lake Ontario: a severely decomposed human torso with no arms, legs or head.
- Town
- Oshawa
- Region
- Ontario
- Country
- Canada
- Episodes
- 526
- Approximate location
- 43.898, -78.864
Episode 526 / 7 September 2024 / 75 min / express
Deadly, Disturbed & Lazy
"We're going to uh Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, OSHAWA." about 0:03:14
The case: Murders of Rory Hachey and Candice Fitzpatrick (2008 and 2017). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2024
- Population
- 185,611
- Median household income
- about $100,700 Canadian
- Median home value
- $102,843
History, in brief
- Nicknamed Canada's Motor City, the Detroit of Canada, because the GM plants are there. about 0:04:44
- In 1836 Edward Skey relocated his general store to the site; it became a popular meeting place because it had a makeshift post office inside. about 0:04:57
- In 1842, as postmaster, Skey applied for official post office status but was told the name Skey's Corners would not work. about 0:05:12
- The name Oshawa, said to translate to 'where we must leave our canoes', was adopted as the post office name immediately. about 0:05:49
- In 1846 there were about a thousand people, mainly farmland, with a couple of churches, a post office, a fulling mill, a brewery, a couple of distilleries and a machine shop. about 0:06:21
- In 1849 it was incorporated as a village. about 0:06:17
- The GM factories have been where the main jobs have been since there were cars. about 0:06:39
The reviews read out
"The only downside is dealing with people who buy into 'the dirty schwa'; urban sprawl north of the city is running into problems with Toronto gangs moving in, but don't believe the hype: it is a nice place with bike paths and plenty of parks, and the biggest problem is a jackass setting off fireworks at 2 a.m. on a Wednesday."about 0:07:04
"A reply calling North Oshawa garbage: the park is nice but people do not care about the area, garbage is everywhere, there is noise from neighbours and 'gangsters' tearing up the street, and there were three or four shootings in the Windfield area; Oshawa is not good and its only pro is amenities."about 0:08:11
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Caledon, Ontario52 miles
- Pembroke, New York66 miles
- Brighton, New York84 miles
- Penfield, New York88 miles
- Otisco, New York150 miles
- Strathroy, Ontario153 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.