Identified! Canada - Tofield, AB, 'Septic Tank Sam' Ntv/WhtMale 1046UMAB, Apr'77 - Gordon Edwin Sanderson

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MarziPanda said:
I completely disagree with the notion that you can't seek justice because of a perpetrator's age. Here in the UK we just arrested and charged an 88 year old man for the murder of his wife in 1982. As long as the killer is competent to stand trial (doesn't have dementia etc) then I don't see why they shouldn't be arrested.
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No one is stating that we can't/shouldn't seek justice for this perp.

It's just what that punishment would be .... IF a Canadian jury even found them guilty. What they will be charged with will all go down to motive if the perp is found. Then, if found guilty, the judge will consider mitigating circumstances such as age, if any previous convictions etc. IE: A Manslaughter sentence here averages from 4 - 7 years. And, a life sentence does not mean life -- rather it's 25 years maximum unless declared an Dangerous Offender (a la Paul Bernardo).

Canadian law does differentiate between "justifiable" first degree murder and plain old first degree murder, so motive of whoever will come in to play ... and all defendents know it (ergo why we have so many "victims" here).
 
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Vern said:
No one is stating that we can't/shouldn't seek justice for this perp.

It's just what that punishment would be .... IF a Canadian jury even found them guilty. What they will be charged with will all go down to motive if the perp is found. Then, if found guilty, the judge will consider mitigating circumstances such as age, if any previous convictions etc. IE: A Manslaughter sentence here averages from 4 - 7 years. And, a life sentence does not mean life -- rather it's 25 years maximum unless declared an Dangerous Offender (a la Paul Bernardo).

Canadian law does differentiate between "justifiable" first degree murder and plain old first degree murder, so motive of whoever will come in to play ... and all defendents know it (ergo why we have so many "victims" here).
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I agree, any changes would be a question of evidence. But there can’t have been any evidence of who was responsible for this crime or it would’ve been solved years ago, even if the identity of the victim remained unknown, a John Doe. At best the RCMP may determine someone interviewed who lied about this person who later went missing but there could be other excuses for that, such as he was believed to have been run out of town. On the other hand, perhaps Septic Sam wasn’t associated with the Tofield area at all, nor anyone who lived there at the time. As well, as the average life of expectancy for a male is 79.9 years, chances are the perp is no longer alive if he’d be over 80 years old today.

We can’t put the cart before the horse as the RCMP have given absolutely no hints of an imminent arrest being announced later today. That Sam’s grave will finally be given a headstone with a name is a positive step forward. As his identity was eventually determined by DNA traced through relatives, I wonder if the RCMP will tell us the reason they never connected him to the body of “Septic Sam”? That’s my #1 curiosity and an equal tragedy in the case - how someone can suddenly go missing without anyone caring enough to notice?

JMO
 
Vern said:
I believe it was Othram (@othram ) as was posted to the facebook page that an announcement was due and David is tracking the press conference coming this afternoon.

Veronica
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It wouldn’t surprise me if it was Othram because it seems Canadian policing forces utilize their genealogy services. Only a few days ago Othram was credited with determining the identity of another unknown deceased individual and they were also involved in determining the identity of the murderer of Christine Jessop.

Whitehorse Daily Star: Human remains from lake identified
 
MistyWaters said:
I agree, any changes would be a question of evidence. But there can’t have been any evidence of who was responsible for this crime or it would’ve been solved years ago, even if the identity of the victim remained unknown, a John Doe. At best the RCMP may determine someone interviewed who lied about this person who later went missing but there could be other excuses for that, such as he was believed to have been run out of town. On the other hand, perhaps Septic Sam wasn’t associated with the Tofield area at all, nor anyone who lived there at the time. As well, as the average life of expectancy for a male is 79.9 years, chances are the perp is no longer alive if he’d be over 80 years old today.

We can’t put the cart before the horse as the RCMP have given absolutely no hints of an imminent arrest being announced later today. That Sam’s grave will finally be given a headstone with a name is a positive step forward. As his identity was eventually determined by DNA traced through relatives, I wonder if the RCMP will tell us the reason they never connected him to the body of “Septic Sam”? That’s my #1 curiosity and an equal tragedy in the case - how someone can suddenly go missing without anyone caring enough to notice?

JMO
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Perhaps suspect DNA was found on the clothing as well? He was recovered with clothing. Hopefully, somewhere in the background, the perp's DNA was also found and can be run through the familial genetic DNA testing.
 
MistyWaters said:
It wouldn’t surprise me if it was Othram because it seems Canadian policing forces utilize their genealogy services. Only a few days ago Othram was credited with determining the identity of another unknown deceased individual and they were also involved in determining the identity of the murderer of Christine Jessop.

Whitehorse Daily Star: Human remains from lake identified
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Yes, I saw that out on Othram's facebook page and then the thread in here which I 'follow'. David commented on that thread that there was another Canadian solve coming soon, so I've been anxiously waiting!
 
MistyWaters said:
That’s my #1 curiosity and an equal tragedy in the case - how someone can suddenly go missing without anyone caring enough to notice?
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RSBM. I'm sure someone noticed. To use an analogy: you can delete a file from your computer, though that doesn't change the fact that file was once there. Just like that file, a person's existence cannot be entirely erased. A life was lived and there will always be proof of that - even if it is only in someone else's memory.

Maybe he was reported missing but, presuming he was from outside Alberta, the case file never reached the appropriate authorities or maybe it just got lost/forgotten about over the years. If he was Indigenous, maybe there was a cultural aspect to his disappearance not being reported to the RCMP or a similar authority. There have been tons of rumours about locals knowing who he was and refusing to speak up about it, but I'd rather not get into that as it is just pure hearsay.

In any case, someone has to have missed him or at least wondered where he got to. I'm sure things will become a little clearer within the coming hours when his identity is released.
 
Vern said:
Perhaps suspect DNA was found on the clothing as well? He was recovered with clothing. Hopefully, somewhere in the background, the perp's DNA was also found and can be run through the familial genetic DNA testing.
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Wouldn’t police have already done so, given they knew Sam had been murdered, no reason to wait? However usually it often requires more evidence of a connection than just DNA to prosecute a murder case, for example circumstances involving the victims clothing bought at a used clothing store or donated.
 
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MistyWaters said:
Wouldn’t police have already done so, given they knew Sam had been murdered, no reason to wait? However usually it often requires more evidence of a connection than just DNA to prosecute a murder case, for example circumstances involving the victims clothing bought at a used clothing store or donated.
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Yes, I am sure that the police have already done a good deal of homework. Once they learned the man's name, it wouldn't be long before they found out when he went missing, who his "friends" were, if there was any connection between anyone he knew and the location where his body was found.
 
i keep going between refreshing this page and the RCMP page
 
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