Wilbert Coffin (23 October 1915 – 10 February 1956) was a

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who was convicted of murder and executed in Canada.

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journalist, editor, author and politician

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raised doubt as to Coffin's guilt in ''J'accuse les assassins de Coffin'', published in 1963. The book led to a royal commission which upheld the conviction. Eugene Lindsey, his 17-year-old son Richard, and 20-year-old Frederick Claar were last seen going into the woods to hunt in the Gaspé region of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Richard Lindsey had graduated from high school the day before the trip. A month later on 15 July 1953 the remains of Eugene were found torn apart by bears, and eight days later the bodies of Richard and Claar were found 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) away. Coffin was found to be in possession of some belongings of the deceased and was accused of ambushing the men and stealing more than $600. He and others were known to salvage abandoned property in the area, and claimed to have acquired the property when he found the dead men's abandoned vehicle. After his conviction Coffin went through seven reprieves where he was denied clemency by the Quebec Court of Appeals, the

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and the Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent's cabinet. He was hanged on 10 February 1956, having been denied his final wish to marry his partner Marion Petrie, mother of their 8-year-old son James.

Posthumous

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Frederick Gilbert Thompson confessed to the crime in 1958, naming his friend Johnny Green as Richard's killer. He recanted his confession and his story was dismissed as not credible.1958 : inal Edition 57 (1999, December 27). ''Kingston Whig-Standard'', p. 61. Retrieved February 15, 2008 from Canadian Newsstand Core database. (Document ID: 294746281) Coffin was portrayed by

August Schellenberg August Werner Schellenberg (July 25, 1936 – August 15, 2013) was a Canadian actor. He played Randolph in the first three installments of the ''Free Willy'' film series (1993–1997) as well as characters in '' Black Robe'' (1991), ''The New Wor ...

in the 1980 film ''

The Coffin Affair ''The Coffin Affair'' (french: L'Affaire Coffin) is a Canadian drama film from Quebec, released in 1980. Directed by Jean-Claude Labrecque, the film is a dramatization of the Coffin affair of 1953. The film stars August Schellenberg as Wilbert Cof ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffin, Wilbert 1915 births 1956 deaths Executed Canadian people Canadian murderers of children Canadian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Canada People executed by Canada by hanging People executed for murder

Posthumous

See also

References