GUILTY Canada - Shannon Burgess, 25, Calgary, 26 Nov 2014 - #4 *Arrest*

[dotr]

Darn just saw this now so missed the Dateline, will have to stream it another time. Glad they are covering it.

I wonder if her family emailed or hounded Dateline? Seems so random. I hope they did to get attention about her killer's release!

By chance caught the last 20 minutes or so of the show last night, it was good, so disappointed to have missed it all!
September 12, 2025

Shannon Burgess and Her Husband Had a Seemingly Happy Marriage. Then, He Killed Her So She Would 'Stop Talking'

In December 2014, Shannon Burgess went missing from her home in Calgary, Alberta. Here's everything to know about what happened to Shannon Burgess and why her husband said he killed her.

people.com

Shannon Burgess.Credit : Dateline NBC
''Shannon's husband also told police that they were in an open marriage and that they often spent time with other partners, including Shannon's boyfriend Ian Wallace. Police later learned that the couple had argued about a woman he was dating weeks before she vanished.

During that fight, Shannon allegedly told Joshua that she wanted to close their marriage, per A Wedding and a Murder. But he continued to date the other woman.''

''Joshua allegedly told police that he asked Shannon if she wanted to have "angry makeup sex." They did, but afterward, he learned she had thought he said "break-up sex" and that she "regretted" marrying him.

“I just wanted her to stop talking," he allegedly told police, per A Wedding and a Murder. "She said she was disgusted touching me ... I put my hand over her mouth."

 

[otto]

Wait, what? No flippin way! Released? That's insanity.

This is so upsetting to me. He killed her with his bare hands and when that wasn't enough, got a belt to end her young promising life

I hope her family will fight this tooth and nail. Canada seriously needs an overhaul for our justice system.

Her poor family. He's such a creep and will be on dating sites in no time, I guarantee!

Thanks for posting this Otto! I am shocked, disgusted... angry, but mostly sad to hear this.

There's nothing to fight. He pled guilty to second degree murder, standard sentence is 10 year without probation. Pre-trial incarceration counts as time and a half. He didn't commit additional crimes in prison, so he's done.

I wonder whether he murdered her for money. They were married and he had a good job in IT. He had a new girlfriend and wanted a divorce. She was an artist with no income. He had to give her some money when they divorced.

Yes - I agree that he will be looking for another woman to subjugate, control and prey-on as soon as he is released.

 

[otto]

Darn just saw this now so missed the Dateline, will have to stream it another time. Glad they are covering it.

I wonder if her family emailed or hounded Dateline? Seems so random. I hope they did to get attention about her killer's release!

I think so - the timing is important. The family has good reason to put the murder of Shannon Madill in the news a week prior to his release from prison. They want to warn other women about who he is.

 

[dotr]

Nov 7, 2020 #CrimeBeat #GlobalNews
Shannon Madill had everything going for her. She had just landed an audition for a role in a television series, and was looking forward to moving from Calgary to Edmonton. That audition was recorded on video. Hours later she vanished.

 

[otto]

By chance caught the last 20 minutes or so of the show last night, it was good, so disappointed to have missed it all!
September 12, 2025

Shannon Burgess and Her Husband Had a Seemingly Happy Marriage. Then, He Killed Her So She Would 'Stop Talking'

In December 2014, Shannon Burgess went missing from her home in Calgary, Alberta. Here's everything to know about what happened to Shannon Burgess and why her husband said he killed her.

people.com

View attachment 614320
Shannon Burgess.Credit : Dateline NBC
''Shannon's husband also told police that they were in an open marriage and that they often spent time with other partners, including Shannon's boyfriend Ian Wallace. Police later learned that the couple had argued about a woman he was dating weeks before she vanished.

During that fight, Shannon allegedly told Joshua that she wanted to close their marriage, per A Wedding and a Murder. But he continued to date the other woman.''

''Joshua allegedly told police that he asked Shannon if she wanted to have "angry makeup sex." They did, but afterward, he learned she had thought he said "break-up sex" and that she "regretted" marrying him.

“I just wanted her to stop talking," he allegedly told police, per A Wedding and a Murder. "She said she was disgusted touching me ... I put my hand over her mouth."

He told her he wanted a divorce, then he said he didn't - but he kept the relationship with his girlfriend after agreeing to end it.

I think it was premeditated. When police went to their townhouse, he welcomed them for a walkthrough even though her body was in their house at that time. He had figured out how to prevent police from finding her body, something that doesn't usually happen when someone is stressed from accidental murder. Accidentally killing someone tends to leave evidence - but there was none in this case. Furthermore, he was calm after the murder with police, friends, work colleagues and her family.

I thought he was guilty as soon as the family made a public appeal for information. He looked uncomfortable and exposed.

 

[dotr]

@5:50, the family enters, the killer looking like a hangdog, imo.

 

[otto]

@5:50, the family enters, the killer looking like a hangdog, imo.

That's the one, but it looks like it's been cropped to remove the suspect. I vaguely recall that he was visible in the original footage and he looked really uncomfortable throughout. I thought he was guilty early on.

Dateline mentions that Shannon's phone went for a walk, but no one saw her. She returned from Edmonton, went home, missed an appointment with her brother, and no one saw her again. There are cameras at the townhouse and CCTV in the neighbourhood. Since there was no evidence that she left the apartment, she had to still be in the apartment. She was eventually found in the raised garden.

 

[otto]

A few screenshots from the original video that included the suspect. This was from the time when the family was 100% supportive of the suspect and could not believe that he would murder Shannon.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

By chance caught the last 20 minutes or so of the show last night, it was good, so disappointed to have missed it all!
September 12, 2025

Shannon Burgess and Her Husband Had a Seemingly Happy Marriage. Then, He Killed Her So She Would 'Stop Talking'

In December 2014, Shannon Burgess went missing from her home in Calgary, Alberta. Here's everything to know about what happened to Shannon Burgess and why her husband said he killed her.

people.com

View attachment 614320
Shannon Burgess.Credit : Dateline NBC
''Shannon's husband also told police that they were in an open marriage and that they often spent time with other partners, including Shannon's boyfriend Ian Wallace. Police later learned that the couple had argued about a woman he was dating weeks before she vanished.

During that fight, Shannon allegedly told Joshua that she wanted to close their marriage, per A Wedding and a Murder. But he continued to date the other woman.''

''Joshua allegedly told police that he asked Shannon if she wanted to have "angry makeup sex." They did, but afterward, he learned she had thought he said "break-up sex" and that she "regretted" marrying him.

“I just wanted her to stop talking," he allegedly told police, per A Wedding and a Murder. "She said she was disgusted touching me ... I put my hand over her mouth."

Thanks! Glad you watched! Heartbreaking... He sounds like a narcissist. Terrible

 

[Lalalacasbah]

There's nothing to fight. He pled guilty to second degree murder, standard sentence is 10 year without probation. Pre-trial incarceration counts as time and a half. He didn't commit additional crimes in prison, so he's done.

I wonder whether he murdered her for money. They were married and he had a good job in IT. He had a new girlfriend and wanted a divorce. She was an artist with no income. He had to give her some money when they divorced.

Yes - I agree that he will be looking for another woman to subjugate, control and prey-on as soon as he is released.

True, thanks for that info. I forget so much of the legalities. Her poor poor family.

I hope he gets called out when he's released from people, he doesn't deserve happiness or a good life MOO

 

[otto]

True, thanks for that info. I forget so much of the legalities. Her poor poor family.

I hope he gets called out when he's released from people, he doesn't deserve happiness or a good life MOO

I think the family wants to warn his potential future partners that they view him as a sociopath who completely fooled them after murdering Shannon. There they were appealing for information about Shannon, and the only person who had the answers was standing with them, fooling all of them by pretending to be a "church mouse".

 

[Cedars]

There's nothing to fight. He pled guilty to second degree murder, standard sentence is 10 year without probation. Pre-trial incarceration counts as time and a half. He didn't commit additional crimes in prison, so he's done.

No, he's not done. He was sentenced to life in prison, with a chance at parole after 10 years.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/joshua-burgess-shannon-madill-guilty-plea-1.4431581

 

[otto]

No, he's not done. He was sentenced to life in prison, with a chance at parole after 10 years.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/joshua-burgess-shannon-madill-guilty-plea-1.4431581

Non-violent (in prison) spousal homicide criminals are typically released after serving the 10 year sentence. Any pre-trial prison time is counted as time and a half against the 10 year sentence. That is, if he spent 10 days in jail prior to sentencing, 15 days are subtracted from the 10 year sentence.

According to Dateline, he is due to be released next week. I assume that information comes from Shannon's family.

 

[Cedars]

Non-violent (in prison) spousal homicide criminals are typically released after serving the 10 year sentence. Any pre-trial prison time is counted as time and a half against the 10 year sentence. That is, if he spent 10 days in jail prior to sentencing, 15 days are subtracted from the 10 year sentence.

According to Dateline, he is due to be released next week. I assume that information comes from Shannon's family.

Yes, since he'd confessed to police and pleaded guilty at trial, he will probably get parole. However, if he violates parole conditions, at any point in the rest of his life, he will be sent back to prison.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

Still doesn't seem like enough time in prison. MOO

 

[otto]

Still doesn't seem like enough time in prison. MOO

No, it doesn't. I think Shannon's mother wanted to convey that with repeated imagery of her boxing throughout the documentary.

Sadly, it's common across Canada that spousal homicide results in a 10 year sentence that is automatically reduced by pre-trial incarceration. Spousal homicide, even when the body is hidden for a long time, can be legally explained as "heat of passion" murder (occurs during intense emotional disturbance caused by provocation from victim).

Josh Burgess spoke to a lawyer first, and then successfully claimed that Shannon provoked him with person remarks that hurt his feeling. Therefore he strangled her. By confessing prior to the start of trial, he maximized his pre-trial incarceration time (each pre-trial day counts as time and a half against sentence), and he explained the murder as "heat of passion"; blame the victim.

His lawyer, Allan Fay, spent 6 years at the prosecutor's office. He knew how to manage the murder to minimize responsibility and consequence.

The prosecutor's office is not going to attempt to prove first degree murder when they are handed a second degree murder conviction - low chance of success.

Arguments for first degree murder are that Josh wanted a divorce and he did not want to financially compensate Shannon. She did not want a divorce. Just before the murder, he said that he did not want a divorce and that he would end his affair. That was not true, but those statements made Shannon vulnerable. I believe that he planned the murder and he planned how to hide her body. Her body was so well hidden that police saw/smelled nothing suspicion when they did a walkthrough a few days later. All evidence of murder was gone even though her body was in the townhouse.

Furthermore, on the night of the murder, he was so clear-headed that he took her phone for a walk to Inglewood (nearby district) to give the illusion that she left voluntarily. He was calculating in his decisions around the murder.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

No, it doesn't. I think Shannon's mother wanted to convey that with repeated imagery of her boxing throughout the documentary.

Sadly, it's common across Canada that spousal homicide results in a 10 year sentence that is automatically reduced by pre-trial incarceration. Spousal homicide, even when the body is hidden for a long time, can be legally explained as "heat of passion" murder (occurs during intense emotional disturbance caused by provocation from victim).

Josh Burgess spoke to a lawyer first, and then successfully claimed that Shannon provoked him with person remarks that hurt his feeling. Therefore he strangled her. By confessing prior to the start of trial, he maximized his pre-trial incarceration time (each pre-trial day counts as time and a half against sentence), and he explained the murder as "heat of passion"; blame the victim.

His lawyer, Allan Fay, spent 6 years at the prosecutor's office. He knew how to manage the murder to minimize responsibility and consequence.

The prosecutor's office is not going to attempt to prove first degree murder when they are handed a second degree murder conviction - low chance of success.

Arguments for first degree murder are that Josh wanted a divorce and he did not want to financially compensate Shannon. She did not want a divorce. Just before the murder, he said that he did not want a divorce and that he would end his affair. That was not true, but those statements made Shannon vulnerable. I believe that he planned the murder and he planned how to hide her body. Her body was so well hidden that police saw/smelled nothing suspicion when they did a walkthrough a few days later. All evidence of murder was gone even though her body was in the townhouse.

Furthermore, on the night of the murder, he was so clear-headed that he took her phone for a walk to Inglewood (nearby district) to give the illusion that she left voluntarily. He was calculating in his decisions around the murder.

Very frustrating about spousal homicide, especially when it seems so rampant

He totally victim blamed. I re-watched Crime Beat last night as the Dateline still isn't available to stream yet in Canada. The video of his confession seemed like over the top super fake crying/whispering to me - very melodramatic. I am actually surprised he confessed! MOO

I totally agree Otto, I think he's cool as a cucumber as well and this isn't a crime of passion. If anyone had passion it was Shannon, he seems cold and off to me - not a warm personality but prickly and anal retentive.

Did he even have assets/finances for her to get? I think they lived in a Co-op? Was he the original tenant of the Co-Op I wonder? He wouldn't own it. I guess he'd pay her alimony (if she wanted it)?

 

[otto]

Very frustrating about spousal homicide, especially when it seems so rampant

He totally victim blamed. I re-watched Crime Beat last night as the Dateline still isn't available to stream yet in Canada. The video of his confession seemed like over the top super fake crying/whispering to me - very melodramatic. I am actually surprised he confessed! MOO

I totally agree Otto, I think he's cool as a cucumber as well and this isn't a crime of passion. If anyone had passion it was Shannon, he seems cold and off to me - not a warm personality but prickly and anal retentive.

Did he even have assets/finances for her to get? I think they lived in a Co-op? Was he the original tenant of the Co-Op I wonder? He wouldn't own it. I guess he'd pay her alimony (if she wanted it)?

I'm a bit fuzzy on the details. They had been married for less than a year, but one of them (or both?) rented the co-op townhouse (subsidized rent) for 4 years. He worked in IT, which was a good income in 2014.

Many people apply for subsidized co-op housing when they have a lower income, but they are not required to vacate when their income increases. If someone can manage their taxes such that their income appears low, they qualify for subsidized housing.

Common-law in Alberta kicks in after 6 months cohabitation. If he had a pension through work, a portion of that belonged to her. RRSP, savings, investments, all partially hers ... since she did not have a salaried job. She was entitled to 50% of capital gains during their time together.

Did he have life insurance for Shannon? I doubt it, but it's possible. I'm guessing there would be some sort of lump-sum payout, or transfer of funds, at the time of divorce - something that Josh probably didn't want to do.

He is cold and calculating. He tricked everyone in her family into feeling sorry for him.