Stoddard Online The Defense Of Wilbert Coffin, That Should Have Been. . .
In defense of any criminal litigation, it is paramount that the case be assembled piece by piece. It is very wrong to simply put together some elements of defense, and state this the case for the defense. This would be a sure recipe for disaster. Any criminal lawyer would agree, in order for a case to have merit, it's construction must reflect planning, diligence, and chronology of events laid out in indestructible fashion. Otherwise, the case is going to flounder.
In the Wilbert Coffin case, it is important that we stop periodically and update the known facts. In other words, build it strong and stalwart as the case progresses. This is what we have to offer at this stage in the defense planning, that is reflective of the actual crime scene. More importantly, this case is being constructed without reference to what has been written of the case over time. This case as it builds here, would have been the result of my investigation had I been the lead defense lawyer for Wilbert Coffin at the onset in 1953.
Firstly, we have the remains of three hunters who met their demise in the forests of Gaspe'. All three met their death in a particularly brutal and barbaric fashion, obviously at the hands of an outside force. The actual physical aspects of the crime scene presented an abhorrent picture. Skeletons were not intact and bones were spread over a considerable area of the forest floor, as a result of ravaging by forest creatures, namely black bears. Each of the three skeletons would represent a separate crime scene, due to the fact that they were not together in the same location of the forest.
In order to establish a central case, it is necessary to study each crime scene independently. What are the similiarities? What are the differences? Why are the crime scenes spaced apart from each other? A particularly important question to answer would be, were all three deaths attributable to one person or more than one?
This is the point where the investigation takes on depth, involving painstaking detective work. Let us first deal with the death of Eugene Lindsey, who's remains were located furtherest from the others. His crime scene dictates that his death was violent in nature, however, it may have involved very little physical contact from the killer, and on the other hand, it is possible that Eugene Lindsey vigoursly defended himself. The telescoptic sight on his rifle bore physical evidence of what was reported to be bits of his hair and scalp. This would indicate that the rifle had been used as a club to bring him down. Did this kill Eugene Lindsey? The answer to that question is not known, as his head and torso were never recovered, thus masking the complete details of his death. The remaining sketetal evidence was somewhat intact, however, as with the others to be discovered later, his bones had been spread by the bears. There was no flesh remaining, again, the results of hungry bears foraging for food after a long winter of hibernation. Clothing, other than shreds was none existent. Bear droppings in the area depicted shreds of clothing, and buttons.
Two and a half miles down the road, on the same side of the River St. John, the crime scene of Richard Lindsey housed it's secrets. His skeleton, though nearly complete, would also be found to be spread over an area of the forest floor thanks to the bears. Now that we see a similiarity between Richard Lindsey's skeleton and that of his father, it is important here to note something different. In Richard Lindsey's case many items of clothing remained, indicating that perhaps the clothing had been removed by human intervention. For what reason? It can be concluded that the clothing was possibly removed as a means of speeding up the process with the bears to erode any possible physical evidence more quickly. It must be noted as well, some of the pockets on young Lindsey's jeans were turned inside out. There is a question here. Were the pockets turned out to suggest robbery as a motive? As well, the skeleton of Richard Lindsey was found some two hundred feet from his rifle. The rifle, a 30/06 calibre Winchester, was located on the ground with the safety still in the engaged position, indicating that he never had the opportunity to defend himself with it. The muzzle was plugged with mud and debris. Why was that? I will explain in a few moments.
On the opposite side of the River St. John, lay the disturbed skeleton of Fred Claar. Again, items of clothing were found intact, with the skeleton having fallen prey to the bears. Many of the smaller bones of the skeleton were missing. The position of the remains indcated trauma before death. The similiarities of the crime scenes of both Richard Lindsey, and Fred Claar indicated they had met their demise at the hands of the same person. Doctor Marie Charles Roussell permormed autipsies on all three remains. Though Eugene Lindsey's cause of death was not established, the findings by Dr. Roussell officially declared that Richard Lindsey and Fred Claar died of gunshot wounds, possibly from the same weapon, or at least, the same calibre. Calibre of the firearm was not established, although the diameter of the circular perforations, indicating bullet holes, was consistent in both cases.
The diameters were 7/16 inch to 1/2 inch diameter. It was these diameters that troubled me. These bullet holes were simply too large. I knew of no bullet that would come close to these diameters. During the past summer while convalescing from a medical condition, I had the opportunity to devote much time to this situation. I cannot begin to count the number of times that I sat at a picnic table on the banks of The Fraser River in British Columbia pondering the situation.
I decided to seek professional ballistics information. I contacted Mr. Harry Cottle, a former sales manager for CIL (Canadian Industries Ltd.) and Mr. Frank Moore, also a former national sales manager with Winchester Canada. Both these gentlemen ended up living in the same apartment building in the Vancouver region. I asked both these gentlemen the same question. The question was, could you please tell me what calibre of ammunition in Canada would have a diameter of 7/16 inch to 1/2 inch diameter. In both cases the answers were short and swift. There simply does not exist in Canada or the world, a sporting firearms type of ammunition that would have a bullet of that size. My suspicions were answered, however, the question still remained.
It was another one of these trips to the Fraser River with my pipe and a large thermos of black coffee on the afternoon of September, 2006 that the light finally came on. I was thinking, the crown is saying that these two young men were shot to death. The crown was suggesting a possible calibre of 38 Special, which I knew to be impossible. The crown was unable to produce a weapon. They were unable to produce bullets or bullet fragments, and as well, they could not produce spent cartridge cases. They searched, they dug, they used metal detectors, all to no avail. Then it hit me. They couldn't find any of these pieces of evidence for one reason, and one reason alone. The reason was simply that they did not exist.
These two boys did not die of gunshot wounds, they died by stabbing. I instantly telephoned Lani Mitchell, and explained to her that I now had the answer. Lani was of course excited. I explained to her that there were a few details to work out. I had to identify a murder weapon. At this point most folks will be thinking, how can one reasonably accept that these individuals were stabbed when the holes in the clothing were circular. Stab wounds are generally straight line, and either vertical or horizontal. I needed to place a phone call, and I needed to do it at that moment.
It was by then 11:30 PM and I telephoned Mr. Dale Hayton at his home. Dale has been connected with the firearms and military surplus industry for in excess of forty years, and has gained the respect of law enforcement agencies for his knowledge. I explained to Dale that I was working on a fifty year old murder case, and could he assist me in my attempts to identify a murder weapon with certain capabilities.
I explained that this murder weapon would probably be easily attainable, be capable of piercing clothing and leaving round holes, be very effective in achieving quick death, and be silent in operation. Dales answer was swift and sure. He said when you say fifty year old case, that puts it back to post Second World War era. I agreed, and Dale stated one of the most effective and most easily attainabe weapons of those capabilities would have been a spike bayonet. The spike bayonet could be used on the muzzle end of a rifle, or it could be used as a detached weapon for one on one war combat. The surplus stores were full of them, as they still are to this day. In the United States, this weapon sold in surplus stores for perhaps two dollars.
I asked Dale what the diameter of a bayonet of this nature would be. He said they were manufactured by a number of suppliers, and described them as being round, being approximately 17 inches in length, extending from a sharp point up and gradually increasing in diameter to approximately 7/16 to 1/2 inch. I rest my case. Here is a picture of a spike bayonet, although it is much smaller than it appears in this photo.
It is now easily explainable as to why Richard Lindsey's rifle muzzle was plugged with mud and debris. I have reason to believe, and I do believe that Richard was standing with his rifle resting on his forearm, which is a common stance for a hunter. He was stabbed from behind and falling forward, the muzzle of the rifle would have been driven into the ground. He did not die instantly and dropped the rifle and stumbled perhaps two hundred feet mortally wounded before death took over.
This weapon also would account for the fact that there were no broken bones in either person, other than fragments from one small bone which could have been caused by contact with the bayonet. In the case of Fred Claar, reportedly he had been violated four or five times. That would have been impossible to be shot that many times and exhibit no broken bones. It is possible with the bayonet however.
I made the decision to post this episode to my story today, chiefly because it needs to be investigated, and it needs to be investigated now. This posting would have otherwise been made available in a couple of weeks. I am of the opinion that it should be presented to government to support any application to study this case.
In the next posting, I shall be outlining my suspects in this case. You will note that I used the plural designation, as I am confident that I can now present my suspects to you.
Lew Stoddard
Posted to site October 29, 2006
The material contained in this story is the copyrighted material of Lew Stoddard. Reproduction in part or in whole for commercial means, is not permitted without the express permission of Lew Stoddard.
In defense of any criminal litigation, it is paramount that the case be assembled piece by piece. It is very wrong to simply put together some elements of defense, and state this the case for the defense. This would be a sure recipe for disaster. Any criminal lawyer would agree, in order for a case to have merit, it's construction must reflect planning, diligence, and chronology of events laid out in indestructible fashion. Otherwise, the case is going to flounder.
In the Wilbert Coffin case, it is important that we stop periodically and update the known facts. In other words, build it strong and stalwart as the case progresses. This is what we have to offer at this stage in the defense planning, that is reflective of the actual crime scene. More importantly, this case is being constructed without reference to what has been written of the case over time. This case as it builds here, would have been the result of my investigation had I been the lead defense lawyer for Wilbert Coffin at the onset in 1953.
Firstly, we have the remains of three hunters who met their demise in the forests of Gaspe'. All three met their death in a particularly brutal and barbaric fashion, obviously at the hands of an outside force. The actual physical aspects of the crime scene presented an abhorrent picture. Skeletons were not intact and bones were spread over a considerable area of the forest floor, as a result of ravaging by forest creatures, namely black bears. Each of the three skeletons would represent a separate crime scene, due to the fact that they were not together in the same location of the forest.
In order to establish a central case, it is necessary to study each crime scene independently. What are the similiarities? What are the differences? Why are the crime scenes spaced apart from each other? A particularly important question to answer would be, were all three deaths attributable to one person or more than one?
This is the point where the investigation takes on depth, involving painstaking detective work. Let us first deal with the death of Eugene Lindsey, who's remains were located furtherest from the others. His crime scene dictates that his death was violent in nature, however, it may have involved very little physical contact from the killer, and on the other hand, it is possible that Eugene Lindsey vigoursly defended himself. The telescoptic sight on his rifle bore physical evidence of what was reported to be bits of his hair and scalp. This would indicate that the rifle had been used as a club to bring him down. Did this kill Eugene Lindsey? The answer to that question is not known, as his head and torso were never recovered, thus masking the complete details of his death. The remaining sketetal evidence was somewhat intact, however, as with the others to be discovered later, his bones had been spread by the bears. There was no flesh remaining, again, the results of hungry bears foraging for food after a long winter of hibernation. Clothing, other than shreds was none existent. Bear droppings in the area depicted shreds of clothing, and buttons.
Two and a half miles down the road, on the same side of the River St. John, the crime scene of Richard Lindsey housed it's secrets. His skeleton, though nearly complete, would also be found to be spread over an area of the forest floor thanks to the bears. Now that we see a similiarity between Richard Lindsey's skeleton and that of his father, it is important here to note something different. In Richard Lindsey's case many items of clothing remained, indicating that perhaps the clothing had been removed by human intervention. For what reason? It can be concluded that the clothing was possibly removed as a means of speeding up the process with the bears to erode any possible physical evidence more quickly. It must be noted as well, some of the pockets on young Lindsey's jeans were turned inside out. There is a question here. Were the pockets turned out to suggest robbery as a motive? As well, the skeleton of Richard Lindsey was found some two hundred feet from his rifle. The rifle, a 30/06 calibre Winchester, was located on the ground with the safety still in the engaged position, indicating that he never had the opportunity to defend himself with it. The muzzle was plugged with mud and debris. Why was that? I will explain in a few moments.
On the opposite side of the River St. John, lay the disturbed skeleton of Fred Claar. Again, items of clothing were found intact, with the skeleton having fallen prey to the bears. Many of the smaller bones of the skeleton were missing. The position of the remains indcated trauma before death. The similiarities of the crime scenes of both Richard Lindsey, and Fred Claar indicated they had met their demise at the hands of the same person. Doctor Marie Charles Roussell permormed autipsies on all three remains. Though Eugene Lindsey's cause of death was not established, the findings by Dr. Roussell officially declared that Richard Lindsey and Fred Claar died of gunshot wounds, possibly from the same weapon, or at least, the same calibre. Calibre of the firearm was not established, although the diameter of the circular perforations, indicating bullet holes, was consistent in both cases.
The diameters were 7/16 inch to 1/2 inch diameter. It was these diameters that troubled me. These bullet holes were simply too large. I knew of no bullet that would come close to these diameters. During the past summer while convalescing from a medical condition, I had the opportunity to devote much time to this situation. I cannot begin to count the number of times that I sat at a picnic table on the banks of The Fraser River in British Columbia pondering the situation.
I decided to seek professional ballistics information. I contacted Mr. Harry Cottle, a former sales manager for CIL (Canadian Industries Ltd.) and Mr. Frank Moore, also a former national sales manager with Winchester Canada. Both these gentlemen ended up living in the same apartment building in the Vancouver region. I asked both these gentlemen the same question. The question was, could you please tell me what calibre of ammunition in Canada would have a diameter of 7/16 inch to 1/2 inch diameter. In both cases the answers were short and swift. There simply does not exist in Canada or the world, a sporting firearms type of ammunition that would have a bullet of that size. My suspicions were answered, however, the question still remained.
It was another one of these trips to the Fraser River with my pipe and a large thermos of black coffee on the afternoon of September, 2006 that the light finally came on. I was thinking, the crown is saying that these two young men were shot to death. The crown was suggesting a possible calibre of 38 Special, which I knew to be impossible. The crown was unable to produce a weapon. They were unable to produce bullets or bullet fragments, and as well, they could not produce spent cartridge cases. They searched, they dug, they used metal detectors, all to no avail. Then it hit me. They couldn't find any of these pieces of evidence for one reason, and one reason alone. The reason was simply that they did not exist.
These two boys did not die of gunshot wounds, they died by stabbing. I instantly telephoned Lani Mitchell, and explained to her that I now had the answer. Lani was of course excited. I explained to her that there were a few details to work out. I had to identify a murder weapon. At this point most folks will be thinking, how can one reasonably accept that these individuals were stabbed when the holes in the clothing were circular. Stab wounds are generally straight line, and either vertical or horizontal. I needed to place a phone call, and I needed to do it at that moment.
It was by then 11:30 PM and I telephoned Mr. Dale Hayton at his home. Dale has been connected with the firearms and military surplus industry for in excess of forty years, and has gained the respect of law enforcement agencies for his knowledge. I explained to Dale that I was working on a fifty year old murder case, and could he assist me in my attempts to identify a murder weapon with certain capabilities.
I explained that this murder weapon would probably be easily attainable, be capable of piercing clothing and leaving round holes, be very effective in achieving quick death, and be silent in operation. Dales answer was swift and sure. He said when you say fifty year old case, that puts it back to post Second World War era. I agreed, and Dale stated one of the most effective and most easily attainabe weapons of those capabilities would have been a spike bayonet. The spike bayonet could be used on the muzzle end of a rifle, or it could be used as a detached weapon for one on one war combat. The surplus stores were full of them, as they still are to this day. In the United States, this weapon sold in surplus stores for perhaps two dollars.
I asked Dale what the diameter of a bayonet of this nature would be. He said they were manufactured by a number of suppliers, and described them as being round, being approximately 17 inches in length, extending from a sharp point up and gradually increasing in diameter to approximately 7/16 to 1/2 inch. I rest my case. Here is a picture of a spike bayonet, although it is much smaller than it appears in this photo.
It is now easily explainable as to why Richard Lindsey's rifle muzzle was plugged with mud and debris. I have reason to believe, and I do believe that Richard was standing with his rifle resting on his forearm, which is a common stance for a hunter. He was stabbed from behind and falling forward, the muzzle of the rifle would have been driven into the ground. He did not die instantly and dropped the rifle and stumbled perhaps two hundred feet mortally wounded before death took over.
This weapon also would account for the fact that there were no broken bones in either person, other than fragments from one small bone which could have been caused by contact with the bayonet. In the case of Fred Claar, reportedly he had been violated four or five times. That would have been impossible to be shot that many times and exhibit no broken bones. It is possible with the bayonet however.
I made the decision to post this episode to my story today, chiefly because it needs to be investigated, and it needs to be investigated now. This posting would have otherwise been made available in a couple of weeks. I am of the opinion that it should be presented to government to support any application to study this case.
In the next posting, I shall be outlining my suspects in this case. You will note that I used the plural designation, as I am confident that I can now present my suspects to you.
Lew Stoddard
Posted to site October 29, 2006
The material contained in this story is the copyrighted material of Lew Stoddard. Reproduction in part or in whole for commercial means, is not permitted without the express permission of Lew Stoddard.
