In 1901 Montreal, two members of the elite Redpath family were found dead from gunshot wounds in their luxurious mansion. The family’s intense secrecy around the deaths bordered on pathological. This bizarre behavior only intensified a curiosity that persists today about what has become a classic Victorian-era whodunnit. Conspiracy Theories is on Instagram @theconspiracypod and TikTok @conspiracy.pod! Follow us to keep up with the show and get behind-the-scenes updates from Carter and the team Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What happened to the Redpath family in 1901?
Due to the nature of today's case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of murder and suicide. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. To get help on mental health and suicide, visit Spotify.com slash resources. John and Ada Redpath selected their Montreal mansion with privacy in mind.
Chapter 2: How did the mansion's design contribute to the mystery?
Its layout allowed guests to remain isolated within the formal front rooms, separate from the more intimate spaces farther into the house. Servants had their own entrance and designated areas, keeping their work mostly hidden behind the scenes. The hallways and stairwells were built wide, making a surprise collision all but impossible.
Chapter 3: What were the health issues faced by Ada Redpath?
The design choices helped the Redpath family maintain the propriety they so desperately desired. By controlling what guests, servants, and other family members could see, they could ensure respectability. They could control the narrative, no matter what. In June of 1901, two members of the Redpath family were found dead in the family mansion.
Chapter 4: What led to the tragic events on June 13, 1901?
The building's design and the secrecy of the people living inside it turned the crime into a headline whodunit, a real-life version of the game Clue. It happened in the primary bedroom with a gun, but who pulled the trigger and why? Welcome to Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify podcast. I'm Carter Roy. You can find us here every Wednesday. Be sure to check us out on Instagram at The Conspiracy Pod.
Chapter 5: What were the witness accounts after the shootings?
And we would love to hear from you. So if you're listening on the Spotify app, swipe up and give us your thoughts. Stay with us.
Chapter 6: What were the findings of the coroner's inquest?
Hi there, this is Steve Fishman from Orbit Media. Our new series, season four in the Burden Feed, is Get the Money and Run. You'll love it. Here's the trailer.
Chapter 7: Why were there discrepancies in the shooting reports?
I'm standing here with Joe Loya. Over 14 months, Joe robbed so many banks, he lost count.
Chapter 8: What are the unanswered questions surrounding the Redpath deaths?
just terrify these people and get them so scared that not only would they give me the cash, they would give me their terror and made me feel strong. All I know is we're f***ing helpless. All I know is anarchy. All I know is chaos. I just leaned into that.
Listen to Get the Money and Run on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Before we begin, of the many sources we used, we found the academic article, She Must Not Stir Out of a Darkened Room, The Red Path Mansion Mystery, by Anne-Marie Adams, Valerie Manette, Marianne Potnan, and David Theodore extremely helpful to our research. We couldn't have made this episode without it.
Okay, now, if you're familiar with American history, you can think of the Redpath family as the Canadian Vanderbilts. In the late 19th century, the family's patriarch, John Redpath, essentially created the city of Montreal from the ground up. He owned the construction company that built a ton of city landmarks, like the theater and cathedral.
Then he used the profits to purchase a giant swath of land on a mountain overlooking the city. The land he bought soon became Montreal's most sought after neighborhood. Everyone who was anyone lived there. Among the many impressive homes in the area, one of the most remarkable belonged to John Redpath's daughter-in-law, Ada. In 1901, Ada was a widow. Her husband, John James, passed away in 1884.
Of her five children, only two still lived at home, the oldest and only daughter, Amy, and the youngest child, Clifford. On paper, Ada was a suitable head of their household. Her father was a former mayor of Montreal, and she came from money. But her health had always been precarious. At 59 years old, she depended on Clifford and Amy to take care of her.
It's unclear what exactly was wrong with Ada. Newspaper reports say she suffered from a nervous condition and melancholia, as well as insomnia. Her eyes, jaw, and joints also bothered her. At the time, it was natural and expected for Clifford and Amy to dedicate themselves to their mother's care. Family letters and diary entries show that Ada felt guilty about the burden she placed on her kids.
But even so, that didn't stop her from hanging on to her caretakers for dear life. Sometimes even when she had other children to rely on. Ada once planned to travel to a sanatorium with her second oldest child, Peter. But when Amy came to the train station to see them off, Ada basically forced Amy to come along. Ada became overwrought, clutching Amy, saying she felt too ill to travel without her.
Amy ended up on a spontaneous trip to the Adirondacks without any of her belongings. Ada was clingy with Clifford, too. A few days after that train incident, Ada wrote to him saying, quote, I have become so dependent on you that I am lost without you. Nothing seems worthwhile without you." Despite the pressure they likely felt, accounts suggest Clifford and Amy were devoted to their mother.
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