With police staying mum, criminologists and podcasters dig into Trina Hunt murder case

It’s been two years since Trina Hunt’s husband told police his wife vanished after leaving their Port Moody, B.C. home.

The Jan. 18, 2021 disappearance piqued the curiously of a husband-and-wife team behind the popular podcast “True North True Crime” which focuses on missing and murdered people in Canada.

“There was something different about this story when it broke, because Port Moody is an incredibly safe place to live. So, for a 48-year-old woman to just go missing in Port Moody seemed odd,” said co-host Graeme Duffy.

“I grew up in Port Moody, so I was initially super intrigued by this case because I was very familiar with the area,” said Graeme’s wife and co-host Caitlin. “And I think overall, Trina is just a very relatable person, and that’s what really got us into this case.”

The couple was putting together an episode about the mysterious disappearance when police reported in May of 2021 that remains found near Hope had been identified as Hunt's.

“We had started it as a missing person episode, and by the time we finished it was a homicide,” said Graeme. “We just knew in that moment it was going to be incredibly devastating for the family and for a really large group of people who have gathered in communities online to support the family.”

ARREST BUT NO CHARGES

Thirteen months later, neighbours shot video of Trina’s husband Iain Hunt in handcuffs being arrested in the couple’s driveway.

“I remember that being the day we were like, 'Finally, we are going to get answers. We are going to get justice. This is it,' Caitlin recalls.

"And then it wasn’t, he was released,” said Caitlin.

Since then, there have been no further arrests and no suspects have been publicly named. Homicide investigators won’t discuss the case or take questions from the media.

Criminologist Rob Gordon, a professor at Simon Fraser University and a former police officer, suspects that’s because they don’t believe a public appeal will help their case.

“They’ve got their prime suspect, all they need is a piece of the jigsaw puzzle that is currently being held by the BC Prosecution Service,” said Gordon.

His hunch is that police thought they had enough to charge Hunt's husband when he was arrested, but that Crown counsel disagreed and did not approve the charge.

REWARD STILL OFFERED

Trina’s family is maintaining a $50,000 reward for information leading to criminal charges. Graeme said that could signify police suspect at least one other person besides the murderer knows details of the crime.

“Are people willing to step forward and say, 'I know more information than I previously spoke about, or I was silent on, and now and I would like to come forward and give this family some peace,'” he wondered.

But Gordon is skeptical any reward will help at this point.

“The people who know, know. And they’re loyal to the prime suspect, so they’re not going to spill the beans. Especially since it will probably require a public appearance in a court giving evidence,” the criminologist said.

Gordon predicts the crown may be forced to proceed without an iron-clad case.

“You throw everything into court, and hope the jury accepts the evidence the police have, warts and all.“

The Duffys agree crown counsel is likely deciding whether they believe more evidence could be forthcoming, or if this is the best case they will get.

“I guess the question is: Is the Crown just waiting on one last piece of evidence? Have they passed the file back to IHIT a number of times and said there’s not enough?” Graema asked.

“I think they are appealing for that last piece of information,” said Caitlin.

With the case still unsolved two years after Trina Hunt was last seen alive, the podcasters say listener interest remains high. They are currently working on another episode of True North True Crime about the case that’s scheduled to drop in February.