Wilbert Coffin and the Gaspe Massacre of 1953: Part 2

Wilbert Coffin

 

As Wilbert Coffin nabbed newspaper headlines across the Unites States, there was a growing resentment towards Canada. During the initial search for the missing hunters, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police refused to get involved, despite pressure from the FBI and U.S. government officials, arguing that the case should be handled by the Quebec provincial police.

Relations between the U.S. and Canada were strained even further on September 7, when three Vermont fishermen were attacked by their guide on a Quebec lake. Donat Andre Bernard had been hired by the Vermonters to serve as a fishing guide on an outing to Lake Tibele. Bernard fled with $300 after stabbing one of the tourists and holding them in his crosshairs throughout the night with a shotgun from shore as they tended to their wounded companion. The incident came very close to duplicating the Gaspe massacre, and American officials urged outdoorsmen to reconsider their hunting and fishing excursions in Canada. Since tourism was a major industry in Quebec, a boycott could have serious economic consequences. Provincial officials requested the postponement of the Coffin trial to ensure that the verdict would be so convincing that Americans would not fear a trip north of the border.

 
The Checkered Life of Wilbert Coffin

Only Coffin's attorney was permitted to visit him in jail at Quebec City. As the nation clamored to learn more about the accused killer, reporters turned to those who knew him best, and their words painted a colorful portrait of the wilderness prospector, who was one of eleven children born to a lumberjack.
Perhaps most interesting was the story of Marion Petrie, who, for seven years, posed as Wilbert Coffin's wife after she had given birth to a boy out of wedlock. Since Canadian law permits a wife the right to refuse to testify against a husband in a court of law, Coffin's defense attorney tried his hardest to get the couple legally married before the murder trial. Marion, who firmly believed that Wilbert had only stopped to offer his assistance to tourists in need, was bitter about her lover's arrest and possible hanging. "Holy smoke!" she said. "You do somebody a favor and you probably swing for it."

"What they say about him being a jack of all trades is true," Marion continued. "He's worked in the copper mines, cooked for lumber camps, been a soldier, done carpentry. Just lately he started prospecting." Marion claimed that Wilbert, whom she simply referred to as 'Bill', had discovered a rich lode of copper ore, but had not yet been able to capitalize on it. He had one of his rock samples assayed, and it was four times richer than the ore being mined at the copper boomtown of Murdochville.

 "Coffin didn't need money," explained his defense attorney, Raymond Maher. "He owned the richest vein of copper yet found in the Gaspe and he had more than thirty people grubstaking him. If he'd needed cash, he could've gotten it from them." But Captain J. Alphonse Matte, the detective who cracked the case, scoffed at the rumors of Coffin's wealth.

"Coffin borrowed money from half the people in Gaspe on the strength of that claim," he said. "He promised shares in his mine in exchange for groceries, liquor, the loan of a truck... anything. But he was a long way from having a mine. You don't just dig up copper with a shovel. It takes expensive equipment, and Coffin didn't have that."

Captain J. Alphonse Matte

 

Captain Matte's retelling of how he managed to crack the case is also a fascinating story. After the hunters had been killed, Coffin took off on a 1,200-mile trek through the Canadian wilderness. Matte, suspecting that Coffin had played a larger role than he had told authorities, diligently followed the trail, and it was a rotten egg which ultimately proved to be his most valuable clue. The detective found the egg by the roadside, where he believed Coffin's truck had skidded into a ditch. Matte was able to trace the egg based on the dealer's pencil mark on the shell. He discovered that the dealer had sold the eggs not to Coffin, but to Eugene Lindsey. Matte followed the trail all the way to the Abitibi region of western Quebec, where he learned Coffin had sold one of the sleeping bags to an Abitibi bush pilot. Between running down leads, searching for clues and traveling to court appearances, Captain Matte would travel more than 10,000 miles just on this particular murder case. 

Matte first suspected murder when he arrived in Gaspe and studied the pair of jeans which were eventually identified as those owned by Fred Claar. Though provincial police insisted at the time that the hunters had been mauled by bears, Matte noticed that the pockets were turned inside out. "Bears do not do such things," the detective said in his thick French accent. "Only the human race."

Victims of the Gaspe massacre

 

The Trial of Wilbert Coffin

Knowing that any delay would benefit the prosecution, defense attorney Raymond Maher had been trying since October, without success, to have his client stand trial as soon as possible. Maher also argued that it was inhumane to keep Coffin locked up without visitors for such a long period of time, and he filed a petition asking for bail for the accused killer. On May 13, 1954, Judge Wilfred Edge denied bail. Wilbert Coffin would remain in the Quebec City jail until July 15, when a special term of the Court of Queen's Bench would convene at Perce, a remote fishing village at the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula, to hear the case. A Superior Court judge, Justice Gerard Lacroix, was selected to preside.

In Canada, the case was shaping up to be the "trial of the century". Hunters and outdoorsmen on both sides of the border closely followed every detail of the proceedings. There was more than just justice at stake; tourists pumped millions of dollars annually into Quebec's economy, and the Gaspe Peninsula was the nation's top draw for American outdoorsmen. There was also a sensational aspect to the case, as prominent witnesses would include Coffin's sharp-tongued common-law wife, an old-timer (Barney Donahue) who claimed to have killed three wolves with his bare hands, and a dapper police captain who was Canada's real-life version of fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was reported that Captain J. Alphonse Matte only had two true loves in his life-- his beautiful daughter and a glass display case in which he kept pieces of the ropes which had been used to hang the famous killers he had caught.

During the trial, prosecutor Noel Dorion called several witness in order to establish a financial motive for the killings. One witness, William Arthur Hastie, testified that Coffin had attempted to sell him a piece of land in July of 1953, after the murders, claiming that it contained high quality copper ore. He paid Coffin $50, only to learn there was no copper on the land he had purchased. By Monday, July 26, most of the crown's 105 witnesses had testified, though most could only provide circumstantial evidence. Witnesses, 88 in total, told how they had seen Coffin spending money freely after the murders, most of which was spent on beer and hard liquor. Coffin had driven his truck into a ditch on three different occasions during these drinking binges. Other witnesses testified to having seen Coffin with Richard Lindsey in June, and one witness stated that Coffin had repaid a debt owned to him in American currency shortly after the murders.

 

Coffin with his attorney, Raymond Maher.

 

Many were curious about how Marion Petrie would fare on the witness stand. Defense attorney Maher had failed in his plan to have Marion and Wilbert Coffin legally married before the trial and Justice Lacroix ruled that she did not have the right to refuse to testify against the defendant. During her testimony, Marion stated that Coffin had told her that the hunters' belongings were given to him as a gift for helping to fix their truck, though earlier witnesses has identified these "gifts" as property of the three victims. 

The trial came to an abrupt end on August 2 after defense attorneys rested their case without calling a single witness, and those who hoped to hear Coffin tell his side of the story were disappointed. The announcement even caught the Lindseys off guard; Mary Lindsey and her daughter, Donna, exchanged puzzled glances, as did Mr. and Mrs. Claar. On August 5, after the closing arguments had been made, the jurors were dismissed and returned to the Perce Rock Hotel to deliberate.

 

The verdict was reached after only 34 minutes. Wilbert Coffin was found guilty of murder and was immediately sentenced by Justice Gerard Lacroix, who declared that he would be hanged on November 26. Coffin stood dumbstruck as if the verdict had been wholly unexpected. In the back row of the tiny seaside courtroom his sister, Rhoda Stanley, broke into tears while Marion Petrie wept silently into her handkerchief. "I think justice has been done," said Clarence Claar as Coffin was whisked away by police officers. Interestingly, under Canadian law, if Coffin had been drunk at the time of the murder, the jury could have found him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter, which might've saved him from the gallows.

Marion Petrie

 

Execution Postponed

As the day of the execution drew near, Superior Court Judge Alfred Sevigny granted a stay of execution to allow time for Coffin's appeal. The new date for the execution was set for March 12, 1955. However, he was subsequently granted several additional stays of execution to allow time for his defense to build its case. The postponement also gave Coffin time to plan an escape from jail. On September 6, using a fake gun carved from soap and painted black with shoe polish, Wilbert Coffin made a dash for freedom after managing to lock eight guards inside his cell at the Quebec City jail. His freedom was short-lived, however; he voluntarily surrendered two hours later after a discussion with his attorney, Raymond Maher.

"We talked it over for a while and he agreed to go back to the prison with me," stated Maher. "I let him out at the gate and the cab driver and I drove around for a while talking about it. Then we went to the Quebec provincial police. I told the sergeant on duty that I explained to Coffin that going back would be much better for him. He was broke and he didn't know what to do. He wanted my advice."

 

Mary Lindsey

 

Coffin Swings From Gallows

Wilbert Coffin was hanged on the steel gallows at Montreal's Bordeau Prison shortly after midnight on February 10, 1956. He professed his innocence up to two hours before his death, when he refused to speak to anyone. "He said not one word, but walked very bravely to his death." recalled Sheriff Paul Hurteau. After he was pronounced dead, his body was claimed by his mother and taken back to Gaspe for burial.

It was reported that Coffin's final wish-- to marry Marion Petrie-- had been denied by the Premier of Quebec, Maurice DuPlessis, and that Coffin went to his death with a broken heart. However, Wilbert's plea had more to do with his desire to save his own skin than with true love. If Marion and Wilbert had been able to get married, her previous testimony would have been declared invalid, and since Marion's testimony had been crucial in establishing that Wilbert had been in possession of the dead hunters' personal belongings, the case against him would've been thrown out on appeal. Premier DuPlessis, who said that it would be against public interest to permit the marriage, knew this and acted accordingly.

Back in Pennsylvania, life went on for the families of the victims, albeit with an enormous void that would never be filled. The morning after the hanging, Clarence Claar got dressed and went to work at the Altoona railroad shops, just as he had always done. "It's a relief it's settled," stated Mrs. Claar. "But we feel kind of sad. I keep putting myself in the place of Coffin's parents. They couldn't help what their son did. And for the last three years to know their son's life was at stake... I wouldn't change places with them."

Courtroom sketch of murder trial. Raymond Maher points at witness, while Coffin sits on the left.

 

Did They Hang the Wrong Man?

While the three victims of the Gaspe massacre-- Eugene Lindsey, Richard Lindsey and Fred Claar-- have been sadly forgotten by history, even right here in Pennsylvania, Wilbert Coffin has become something of a Canadian folk legend, thanks to the many articles and books which have been written in attempt to prove his innocence. Two such books were penned by Jacques Hébert, a journalist and politician, whose 1958 work, Coffin était innocent, and his 1963 follow-up, J'accuse les assassins de Coffin, created such a media sensation that the provincial government of Quebec decided to re-examine the case. They interviewed over 200 witnesses, and ultimately concluded that the original jury had rendered the appropriate verdict. Nonetheless, the "Coffin Affair", as it came to be known, served as the inspiration for a 1980 Canadian film of the same name, as well as an episode of the CBC television network series Scales of Justice. 

One person who went to his grave believing Coffin was innocent was Lionel Rioux, the Gaspe coroner who had listened to Coffin's testimony at the inquest.  In August of 2006, Rioux, who was 89 years of age at the time, told the Montreal Gazette that he sent the typed transcript of Coffin's testimony to the attorney-general in Quebec City but it disappeared, allegedly under mysterious circumstances. "They eliminated the only declaration that Coffin ever made," Rioux said. "Coffin defended himself pretty well at my inquest. They destroyed his testimony. I'm certain they did it on purpose." The reason, contended Rioux, was to protect the tourism industry in Gaspe. 

 

Rioux went on to state his belief that Coffin had returned to Eugene Lindsey's truck, and, finding no sign of the three hunters, helped himself to their belongings. While this might explain how Coffin had gained possession of these items, it doesn't explain why Coffin was "flush with cash" (in American currency) and seen spending freely in the days following the disappearance of the three hunters. After all, in his own testimony at the July 27, 1953 inquest, Coffin said that he was paid just $40 to drive Richard Lindsey and Fred Claar into town for a new fuel pump, while Marion Petrie had claimed that the binoculars, knife and suitcase had been distributed as gifts. The pistol was sold to Marion's brother for $15 in Montreal. The other items were also sold to Canadian residents, who, ostensibly, paid with Canadian money, so where else could the American currency have come from if not from the wallet of Eugene Lindsey?

Maybe Wilbert Coffin had managed to swindle an American tourist into buying his bogus copper claim just as he had swindled William Arthur Hastie. Maybe, by sheer chance, he had found Lindsey's wallet which the "real" killer had discarded without pocketing any of its contents. Maybe he had followed a rainbow which led him not to a pot of gold, but a pile of U.S. banknotes. Or maybe, just maybe, Wilbert Coffin really was the man who murdered three Blair County hunters in 1953.

Sources:

Altoona Tribune, July 14, 1953.
Altoona Tribune, July 15, 1953.
Altoona Tribune, July 16, 1953.
Shamokin News-Dispatch, July 16, 1953.
Altoona Tribune, July 17, 1953.
Altoona Tribune, July 21, 1953.
Altoona Tribune, July 22, 1953.
Altoona Tribune, July 24, 1953.
Altoona Tribune, July 25, 1953.
Pittsburgh Press, July 26, 1953.
Altoona Tribune, Aug. 3, 1953.
Huntingdon Daily News, August 10, 1953.
Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, Aug. 28, 1953.
Pittsburgh Press, Aug. 30, 1953.
Philadelphia Inquirer, September 8, 1953.
Pittsburgh Press, Oct. 11, 1953.
Somerset Daily American, May 14, 1954.
Pittsburgh Press, July 11, 1954.
Altoona Tribune, July 27, 1954.
Pittsburgh Press, Aug. 3, 1954.
Altoona Tribune, Aug. 6, 1954.
Pottsville Republican, Nov. 18, 1954.
Pittston Gazette, Sept. 6, 1955.
Pittsburgh Press, Feb. 10, 1956.
Montreal Gazette, August 16, 2006.