Stoddard Online

THE WILBERT COFFIN STORY

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Some months back at the commencement of the writing of this story, you will recall that I described in detail the public inquest that was held in Gaspe' with respect to the charging of Wilbert Coffin with murder. That was the inquest where the inquest jury had delivered a verdict that the three American hunters had been killed by a person or persons unknown, however the crown prosecutor, Mr. Noel Dorion, would not accept this verdict and insisted that a new verdict be reached naming Wilbert Coffin as the one who should be held responsible, based on the fact that he was the last known person to have seen these people alive, even though Mr. Coffin insisted through his own admissions that there were others with the victims when he last saw them.

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At this inquest, the coroner, Doctor Lionel Rioux, whom I consider to have displayed a flagrant showing of ineptness for a professional person, allowed Noel Dorion to walk all over him. Prosecutor Dorion not only got his way by demanding a new finding of culpability against Wilbert Coffin, but he also persuaded Coroner Rioux to not allow Wilbert Coffin to testify on his own behalf.

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You may recall in my writings of that event, I suggested this was the beginning of the end for Wilbert Coffin. Upon delivery of the guilty verdict at his trial for murder, I stand by my earlier suggestion.

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The subject of that inquest has always troubled me. Lets look at the facts. You have a panel of six very prominent persons from the community, headed up by an equally prominent citizen, Doctor Lionel Rioux who doubled as coroner. This panel of citizens acting as jurors consisted of Lloyd Annett, Lewis Miller, George Kruse, Gabriel Bernard, Owen Patterson, and Wharrell Annett. It was that coroners job to stand on his feet and do the job that he was paid to do. He did not do that. He was a puppet on a string. He allowed himself to be controlled by the crooked practises of none other than Maurice Duplessis at the top.

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In my view, by allowing himself to be corrupted by Duplessis and his merry men, Doctor Rioux made it very difficult for his panel of jurors to do their job effectively. They had afterall, done what was required of them. They had reached a decision, even though it was a decision that the government did not like. It was Coroner Rioux who submitted to the wishes of the crown and allowed the verdict to be changed, when in reality, he had the power to tell the government prosecutor to shut up and get out of the way.

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From the onset of this project I had a keen desire to seek out someone who may still be alive who took part in these proceedings. You may recall that a number of times I reached out on this website for assistance. I was told time and time again that, other than Coroner Rioux, all who took part in these proceedings were now deceased.

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If you look at my motto on the heading of the page you are now reading, you will see my statement. It says, "Accept nothing in life at face value, ask questions." I was not ready to give up. I finally received an e-mail from a lady in Ontario, asking me why I did not contact Gabriel Bernard. I e-mailed her back and informed her that I had been advised that Mr. Bernard was deceased. Again this lady e-mailed me and informed me of an e-mail address and a telephone number. On this same day, I received an e-mail from a prominent citizen from the Gaspe' area informing me of an e-mail address and telephone number for a Gabriel Bernard. The information from this gentleman paralleled exactly the information from the lady from Ontario.

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This took place several weeks ago. I tried the telephone number many times, always the same, no answer. Those pesky time zones that divide Canada from coast to coast do not always make life easy as well.

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During those weeks I became more determined than ever to speak with this Mr. Gabriel Bernard. One thing that I did know about the Gabriel Bernard from the inquest jury was the fact that he, along with Wharrell Annett, were the two jurors who were the hold out's when the provincial prosecutors wanted the verdict changed. In my mind I was thinking of the teriffic pressure that they would have been under. I was also thinking that it would be fantastic to speak with this gentleman, who would be able to put a face on, and shed some light on this situation from over fifty years ago.

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On this past Friday, January 26, 2007 I was working on my posting for the story. Like so many times previous, I dialed Mr. Bernard's telephone number. This time it was different. I heard an elderly gentleman say Hello. Immediately I responded by asking for Mr. Gabriel Bernard. He replied and said, this is Gabriel Bernard. I stated that the Gabriel Bernard that I was looking for was formerly from the Gaspe' area of Quebec. He immediately responded and informed me that he was from the Gaspe' region. I asked by chance if he was one of the jurors from the inquest jury of Wilbert Coffin. He was. The search was over.

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I spoke with Mr. Bernard twice on this date. He was able to fill me in with details of what actually happened on that day at the public inquest of August 27, 1953. He explained as to how prosecutor Noel Dorion did in fact insist on a finding of responsibility on the part of Wilbert Coffin, and that involved changing the verdict from the first finding. Mr. Bernard further explained that both he and Wharrell Annett did not accept the methods used at the inquest. They were adamant that Wilbert Coffin should have been allowed to testify at the inquest to explain his position and movements. Mr. Bernard explained that if Wilbert Coffin was guilty of anything, it would have been no more than minor theft by the evidence produced. Most importantly, Gabriel Bernard explained to me that absolutely nothing was produced in the form of evidence that would implicate Wilbert Coffin in a charge of murder.

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Gabriel Bernard is still convinced to this day that Wilbert Coffin was not responsible for the death of Richard Lindsey and the other hunters. He also feels that this case may be far from over. I share that feeling as well.

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Mr. Bernard will be reading the posting today. I informed him that I was writing him into the story for today's posting and he assured me that was alright. I want to take this opportunity to personally thank Gabriel Bernard for availing himself to me and being willing to go public with some very important facts regarding this matter. As most of you know by now, this is the sort of material that we thrive on. If I can't back up the story with documentation, or with an interview, it does not make it onto the site.

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The posting that would have appeared today has been set back by about two days, however, I think you will agree that the emergence of Mr. Bernard into the story makes it all worthwhile. Whenever one can put a face and conversation into a news story, suddenly, it becomes all the more real, as it depicts real people and real events.

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Thanks for reading, and I will be back in two days with the wrap up of the appeal process of Wilbert Coffin, and as well, I shall be talking about his brief "escape" from Quebec jail. I will then tell you all about Wilbert's last day prior to the execution, what he did, who he talked to, and information from his lawyer.

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Lew Stoddard

January 28, 2007