Stoddard Online

TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT

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The time has arrived to get down to some serious business and set the record straight on a few very important aspects of this case. This case is not based on some fictional story with a setting in some unknown land. It is a case that has its roots right here in the country of Canada, in the province of Quebec, and as history books will prove, it took shape in modern times. This is what makes it scary, because it did happen in relatively modern times, the question that must be answered is simply, "could it happen again?"

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Though fifty years have passed with much better tools to work with today, an unattended judiciary in the hands of a select few individuals bent on a personal agenda, as was the case in the Coffin affair, indeed raises serious concerns. I shall attempt to point that out in an understanding way to you in the next few paragraphs.

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Prior to digesting what we are talking about, it is important that you consider that which makes an enquiry necessary in the first place. In no way am I suggesting that every court decision be the subject of an after enquiry, or an indepth scrutiny. It is necessary though when the original court process is so skewed that it hinges on illegalities.

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It would be wrong at this point to suddenly pull a specific instance completely out of context from a court process and disect it with the intention of using it as a means of autopsy on the complete affair. Clearly, I do not believe that it can be done in this manner, nor should it be done in this way.

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In order to study the Wilbert Coffin affair, it is necessary to go back in time, back into a time previous to the actual trial at Perce'. It is my contention that if rules were not followed during this preparation time, then serious questions were being created with reference to the actual trial. I believe that to be a fair statement. Consider if you will for a moment, how is it possible that a proceeding can be put together to form a legal process such as a first degree murder trial from proceedings that violated laws and freedoms of the accused?

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It is therefore paramount that the trial be looked at and studied from the very genesis of the complete affair. This particular trial when talked about is often referred to as a particularly long affair. I do not believe that it was. The trial duration in this case was nineteen days including preambles and summations. Over the years I have attended many legal ramblings that surpassed this trial in total time. A number of years ago, I attended a trial in New Westminster that was taken to court and challenged by a driver charged with speeding on a photo radar charge. That particular trial reached into the fourth day before a legal conclusion could be reached on a test case for photo radar.

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In spite of whether nineteen days was of short or long duration, I am troubled by the ratio of trial length and the length of deliberation time by the jury on conclusion. The total deliberation time was thirty one minutes. In simple arithmetic that equates to one minute and twenty-one seconds of deliberation time for each complete day of trial. In my opinion, that is absolutely incredible and astounding, comparing only to a proceeding whereby a defendant has more or less admitted guilt to a charge.

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In the case of Regina versus Coffin, Wilbert Coffin of Gaspe', Quebec was charged with the first degree murder of Richard Lindsey of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, USA. Three cases of murder had been committed, although Wilbert Coffin was charged with one case only, with the other two cases remaining unlitigated to this day.

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In the beginning it must be understood that Wilbert Coffin was out of town at the commencement of proceedings. It is generally accepted that he was in Montreal when he was called back. In reality, he was not in Montreal. He was in Abitibi, Quebec. The private inquest had been held by local coroner, Lionel Rioux. The finding of the inquest panel was simply that the three victims had been killed at the hands of a person or persons unknown.

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Information arose that indicated Wilbert Coffin had been seen in and around Gaspe' with one of the victims prior to the murders. They were attempting to secure a new fuel pump for Eugene Lindsey's truck. To the authorities, Sgt. Henri Doyon of the Quebec Provincial Police and others it appeared prudent to talk to Wilbert Coffin, as at this point, Wilbert Coffin appeared to have been the last person to have seen these people alive.

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Sgt. Doyon would then contact Wilbert Coffin's family to learn of his present whereabouts. I believe the following revelation speaks volumes as to Wilbert Coffin's innocence of this crime. In all honesty, we must ask ourselves the following question. If you were in Wilbert Coffin's shoes at this point and you were guilty of murder, would you be in a rush to get back to Gaspe' to face the music? You must consider the fact that you would not know if the police possessed something that would draw the net tight over you. What would you do at this point? I tend to think that it would be time to get out of Dodge.

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Now another question, was Sgt. Doyon concerned that Wilbert Coffin would use this time to slip away into obscurity? Absolutely not, because it was his belief from the start that Wilbert Coffin was innocent. A few hours later, right on queue, Wilbert Coffin arrives back at his Mum's house in Gaspe'. He is informed that the police were still wishing to speak with him. What does he do? He heads directly to the police station to meet up with Sgt. Henri Doyon.

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A few days later the tables would turn on Wilbert Coffin. The word was out from the authorities, if this man was the last known person to see these people alive, then pursue him relentlessly, he was to be their man.

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A public inquest is announced with a panel of jurors made up of prominent area businessmen. At the conclusion the verdict is the same as the private inquest. The three hunters are killed at the hands of a person or persons unknown. This inquest is different. The coroner, Dr. Lionel Rioux has strict orders to not question Wilbert Coffin. He is not to be put on the witness stand at the inquest. This is where Quebec justice 1950's style under the direction of premier Maurice Duplessis who also doubled as the attorney general would show its true colours.

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Doctor Rioux, being the weak individual that the authorities knew that he was, would be an easy prey for the smooth, sleazy, manipulative team from Quebec City. I am ashamed to have to admit that the next set of circumstances took place in my country and were a large part of the framework that managed to hang a man until he was dead. The special prosecutor and police sent to gaspe' for this inquest simply approached the bench and informed the coroner that he was to order the jurors to go back to the jury room and return with a finding of responsibility on the part of Wilbert Coffin. Like a flock of lost sheep, their master, Doctor Lionel Rioux gave them the order, "go back to the jury room, change the verdict and return."

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From the panel of jurors, two held out and would not go along with the change. These jurors were Gabriel Bernard and Whorrel Annett. Unfortunately, the majority followed direction and decided that it was alright to thwart justice. I found this part of this whole story very sickening. I was determined to locate anyone who might still be alive that served on this jury. I was ready to give up, when suddenly, through a third party I was asked if I might like to speak with one of the jurors from the Coffin inquest. That jurors name was Gabriel Bernard and he confirmed what I just told you. Mr. Bernard is also willing to convey his story to investigators looking at overturning this case.

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From this account, you have now been introduced to the sleaze, manipulation, and dirty tricks which prevailed during this time. You can now see how the very corner stone was put together to gain a conviction in this case. This is all so evident and we haven't even touched the court room yet.

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I know that it has been covered in the past, but it is necessary to talk again about the actual locating of the remains in the forest, how they were handled, by whom, and where they were transported to. The subsequent autopsies, and the autopsy reports are in need of being scrutinized in court in a much more subtle way than what was actually done.

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Another area that was literally taken for granted was the ballistic reports, or in this case, the lack of a proper report. These are all things that were never examined in depth at trial and yet form such an important aspect leading to a final determination of the case.

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I shall be presenting to you examples of the crown cross examining their own witness, which is strictly prohibited. You will see examples of fabricated evidence, you will see examples of evidence that was submitted, but never brought forth during the trial. You will see examples of evidence being sworn for trial with "convenient parts only" being pre-extracted by the crown. More alarming still, is the stifling reports of police officers being censured concerning their account of certain activities.

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We shall be looking in depth at the behaviour of court officials such as prosecutors and police. We will learn what it is like to go out on the town as a jury member and be treated to a movie, dinner and booze.

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When you consider all these things it is a bit difficult as to how someone can run all over the country screaming about the fair trial that Wilbert Coffin received. Now that we are entering the court room, the case will go quite quickly, so I encourage all to join with me over the course of the next few days.

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I hope to see you again in the next few days, but little by little these are things that we should know. I thank you for making that possible.

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Lew Stoddard

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This manuscript is protected by copyright. Reproduction, by any means, in part or in whole is not permitted without the express written consent of the author, Lew Stoddard.