First Degree

This true crime investigation reveals new information about the sensational murder trial that gripped Nova Scotia—with previously unpublished photos.

Will Sandeson seemed like a model son from a good family. He was a medical student at Nova Scotia’s Dalhousie University. He worked at a group home for adults with disabilities. Then he was arrested for the murder of fellow student Taylor Samson in August of 2015.

Samson lived in a fraternity house near Dalhousie. When he disappeared without a trace, the investigation eventually led to Sandeson. But Sandeson’s trial was blown open by a private investigator accused of switching sides. In the process, a dangerous world of drugs, ambition, and misplaced loyalties was revealed. In First Degree, award-winning journalist Kayla Hounsell tells the full story of two young men who appeared destined for bright futures—until their lives took a dark turn.