The Shell Lake murders is the name of a

mass murder Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...

incident committed by Victor Ernest Hoffman (1946 – May 21, 2004) in Shell Lake,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada, during the early morning of August 15, 1967. Nine people, all members of the Peterson family, were shot in the head by a man who was later called "Canada's worst random mass murderer."“Canada's 'worst random mass murderer' dies,” ''

Regina Leader-Post The ''Regina Leader-Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Regina, Saskatchewan, owned by Postmedia Network. Founding The newspaper was first published as ''The Leader'' in 1883 by Nicholas Flood Davin, soon after Edgar Dewdney, Lieutenan ...

'', May 22, 2004.

Events

Victor Hoffman was 21 years old at the time of the murders and had been released from a mental hospital just three weeks prior. On the morning of August 15, he entered the Petersons' farm armed with a .22-calibre Browning pump-action repeater rifle. He then proceeded to shoot all but one of the present members of the Peterson family, seven of them children, at close range around the four-room house. According to police, 28 shots were fired in total, of which 27 found their target. James Peterson was shot in the kitchen, while his wife Evelyn and her one-year-old baby were found in the backyard. The other six children were shot while sleeping in their bedrooms. Their ages ranged from 2 to 17 years old. Phyllis Peterson, then 4 years old, was the lone survivor of the massacre. She was sleeping under the bedclothes between her two sisters and was not noticed by Hoffman. However, Hoffman later declared that he spared her because "she had the face of an angel." The bodies were found by Wildrew Lang who was to help James Peterson with farm duties later that morning. He had to travel 6 km (3.7 mi) to the next telephone post before he could report the incident to the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

. The police immediately started an extensive manhunt on the surroundings of the house.

Victims

* James Peterson, age 47 * Evelyn Peterson, 42 * Jean Peterson, 17 * Mary Peterson, 13 * Dorothy Peterson, 11 * Pearl Peterson, 9 * William Peterson, 5 * Colin Peterson, 2 * Larry Peterson, 1 The Petersons' oldest daughter, Kathy Peterson Hill (then age 19 or 20) was married and living in British Columbia at the time of the murders. She moved back to the Peterson farm and took custody of her youngest sister.

Aftermath

On August 19, 1967, Hoffman was arrested by the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

without putting up resistance. He was found at his parents' home in Leask, about 65 km (40 mi) southeast of Shell Lake. After his arrest he told the police that he had fought the

devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

before the murders and described him as being "tall, black and having no genitals." He was remanded to a mental hospital in

North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The B ...

where he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Hoffman was found not guilty by reason of insanity on non-

capital murder Capital murder refers to a category of murder in some parts of the US for which the perpetrator is eligible for the death penalty. In its original sense, capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, Northern Irela ...

charges in February 1968. During the trial, Crown prosecutor Serge Kujawa called Hoffman "the craziest man in Saskatchewan." He was put under the custody of the provincial Health Ministry and sent to a mental institution. He remained most of the time in an

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

-based institution until December 2001, when he was granted supervised access to the towns of Penetanguishene, Port McNicoll and Midland in Ontario. This decision was not without controversy since the hospital was only required to inform the local police of Hoffman's release. Canadian journalist Peter Tadman wrote a book about the murders in 1992 and had the chance to interview Hoffman several times. According to Tadman, Hoffman felt no guilt about the murders and reported that he still saw the devil that compelled him to commit them. Hoffman died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

under custody on May 21, 2004.

In popular culture

Manitoba country musician Irvin Freese took an interest in the event, writing and recording "The Shell Lake Disaster" which was released as a 45 on

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Eagle Records Eagle Records is a British record label, a division of Eagle Rock Entertainment, itself a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. In the United Kingdom, the label's managing director is Lindsay Brown, former manager of Van Halen, while in the ...

label (ER-128) within a month of the event (September 1967). Lawyers threatened the label with a lawsuit, and the 45 was rapidly recalled. This rarity has recently been released on "The Best Of Eagle Records" on the Super Oldies label (2009).

Events

Victims

Aftermath

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading