Dragonfly: Brett Cantor Murder Mystery · Casefile Presents

Episode 9: We Live to Remember

·40 min·3 clips

Mark Cantor defied his father's advice to get a job, choosing instead to cherish their final days together.

This episode focuses on the Cantor family's grief following the deaths of patriarch Paul and his son Cliff, set against the backdrop of the unsolved murder of another son, Brett. Hosts and investigators Jacy Nova and Tom Dre continue their series with contributions from Brett's brother Mark Cantor and retired detective Rick Jackson. The episode examines how tragedy compounded within the family over decades. Paul Cantor, a respected music agent who managed Dionne Warwick, died of natural causes in January 2014 at age 86. His son Mark cared for him extensively in his final years, finding solace in Jewish mourning rituals like saying Kaddish. Paul's other son, Cliff, entered a severe depression after their father's death, despite having maintained sobriety from drug addiction for several years. On July 1, 2014, Cliff contacted an acquaintance from Alcoholics Anonymous, referred to as "Joey," expressing fears of relapse. Joey provided Cliff with cocaine and a heroin dealer's contact information; the heroin was laced with fentanyl. Cliff died of an accidental overdose two days later, just six months after his father's passing. Mark discovered the text exchange and confronted Joey, who was reportedly unsympathetic. Licensed therapist Duane Osterlin explains relapse is often triggered by a stressful event and an inability to cope with emotional pain. The episode notes over 100,000 U.S. drug overdose deaths in a 12-month period ending January 2022. The 2022 conviction of dealers in rapper Mac Miller's fentanyl-related death is presented as an example of evolving legal consequences. A striking insight is Mark's description of his brother Cliff as "the Kurt Cobain of AA," a figure others looked up to, which made his relapse more shocking. The episode reveals the complex betrayal Mark felt upon learning the drugs came from within Cliff's AA support network. Detective Rick Jackson shares a poignant memory of Cliff giving him Brett's baseball glove as a token of gratitude during the murder investigation, which he still uses. The narrative connects Cliff's preventable death to the broader fentanyl epidemic and questions the accountability of those who sell drugs. Friends continue to post tributes to Cliff on social media, with one noting a dragonfly visitation. The unsolved murder of Brett Cantor in 1993 remains the series' core mystery, with Mark hoping the podcast generates new leads before the 30th anniversary in July 2023. The tone is solemn, empathetic, and investigative, weaving personal family testimony with expert commentary on addiction. Its style is narrative-driven, moving between past tragedies and present-day reflections to build a poignant portrait of loss. This episode will deeply resonate with listeners interested in the human impact of the opioid crisis and complex family sagas intertwined with true crime. Those seeking only forward momentum on Brett Cantor's murder mystery might find the focus on subsequent family tragedies a somber detour.

As heard by us

A sober, interview-led story that treats grief as evidence, not decoration.

The episode treats an old case less like a hard-chase procedural and more like a grief-soaked look at what stays behind after death: sobriety, relapse, fellowship, and the people left to make sense of it.

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Why you'd press play

You want an interview-led addiction story about sobriety, relapse, AA, and the grief that follows loss.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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