Australia Australia - Dr. Gilbert Bogle, 39, & Margaret Chandler, 29, Sydney, 1 Jan 1963

This is a fascinating case; the webside listed above, http://www.boglechandler.com/, is required reading if one has the time:

In Brief

On the morning of 1 January 1963, two youths went hunting for golf balls near Fuller's Bridge, on the Lane Cove River in suburban Sydney. They found the body of Dr Gilbert Bogle beside a dirt track running beside the river. When police arrived, the body of Mrs Margaret Chandler was found several metres away.

Both Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler had been at a New Year's Eve party in Chatswood, several kilometres from the Lane Cove River.

Mrs Chandler's husband, Geoffrey, had attended the Chatswood party. However he'd left to attend another party and meet a girlfriend. Despite returning to the Chatswood party, he'd left again with the understanding that Dr Bogle would take his wife home.

When the bodies were discovered, it was apparent that Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler had been poisoned. Forensic testing could find no trace of poison, however, and speculation about the nature of Bogle’s work led many to believe that he had been assassinated.

However in 2006 the documentary film-maker Peter Butt presented an alternative theory. He suggested that Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler had been killed accidentally when hydrogen sulfide gas leaked from the nearby Lane Cove River.

So what actually happened, and how? This website attempts to explain both the known facts and the speculation. Please use the links below to find out more.

The other link above is to an article on the Sydney Morning Herald's website, and develops the theory that hydrogen sulfide was to blame for the two deaths, though this does not seem likely given the circumstances in which the bodies were discovered.

If one has time, check out the boglechandler.com website. Like the case of the Beaumont children (there's a thread at WS for it), this is one of Australia's great unsolved mysteries.

The Party

Mr Chandler's movements

At Fuller's Bridge

The Investigation

Speculation
 
BUmping this because I was reading the wikipedia page last night. I didn't know that
A woman who was a child at the time came forward at the time of the film's screening. She claimed she had found Mrs Chandler's handbag 4 km away in bushland between three houses. One of those houses was discovered to belong to a relative of the greyhound trainer and was near to his own home. A veteran greyhound racing steward also came forward and said that he received a call from the suspect soon after the deaths during which he admitted that he did come across the bodies.
I would like to watch the film about the gas again. I watched it in 2006 but I haven't seen it advertised again. I wonder if it's online.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogle-Chandler_case
 
Was the handbag between the houses identified as Mrs. Chandler's; because her husband said she left her purse at home because it clashed with her party dress.
 
p.s. anyone captivated - and indeed it's a captivating one - by Bogle-Chandler might also see, in addition to the great www.boglechandler.com link above, the online discussion forum dedicated to the case, http://boglechandler.freeforums.net/ -- new, bright, and not quite organised, but bringing eventually together a variety of sources and of people.
 
One thing that I'm confused about: is there any evidence except Geoff Chandler's statement that in fact they had an "open marriage"? Hoping somebody who's a lot more knowledgeable can weigh in. I don't remember seeing anything that says the police found friends who could confirm that Margaret said they had an open marriage.
 
p.s. anyone captivated - and indeed it's a captivating one - by Bogle-Chandler might also see, in addition to the great www.boglechandler.com link above, the online discussion forum dedicated to the case, http://boglechandler.freeforums.net/ -- new, bright, and not quite organised, but bringing eventually together a variety of sources and of people.

Margaret Chandler's husband Geoffrey Chandler wrote a book about his wife's murder (and Dr. Bogle's murder).
the book is called: So You Think I Did It. I had this book until about 18 months ago, I had a big clean up and gave to a second hand shop,
Ref: http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/21218657?selectedversion=NBD68070

He revealed some details - such as they seemed to have been exposed to some dreadful chemical that made them tear away at their own bodies as if their skin was extremely itchy and they were trying to scratch their own skin off. NOT drag marks from being moved to that location. Also it was a few hours later after the discovery of Dr Bogle's body that his wife's body was found, and she would still have been alive at the time of the discovery of Dr. Bogle's body, had anyone kept looking.
Copies of the book may be found if anyone tries looking.
 
I should also have said Geoffrey Chandler thinks the intended victims would have been either Dr. G. Bogle and probably Mrs. Bogle.
Or else Dr. Chandler (himself and his wife) Mrs. Chandler.
He very much doubts (the murderers) would have expected Dr. Bogle to be in the company of Mrs. Chandler.
 
Two women may hold answer to how Dr Gilbert Bogle and Margaret Chandler died in 1963
7.30 (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
By Tracy Bowden
Updated Fri Sep 02 16:25:15 EST 2016
Posted Fri Sep 02 16:06:51 EST 2016

'The hunt is on for two women who may hold the answer to the Bogle-Chandler mystery, one of the oldest cold cases in New South Wales history.

Key points:

• Man says two women witnessed deaths of Dr Gilbert Bogle and Margaret Chandler in 1963
• Women never reported it to police for fear of having their own relationship outed
• Filmmaker hoping one or both of the women will come forward

It is believed the women witnessed what happened to respected physicist Dr Gilbert Bogle and his lover Margaret Chandler, who were found dead on the banks of the Lane Cove River in Sydney on New Year's Day in 1963.'

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-02/two-women-may-hold-answer-to-bogle-chandler-case/7808820

Tonight's 7.30 program, including a transcript, will be uploaded later tonight at:

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/
 
These late in the day witnesses seem very unlikely to me.
 
Or they took drugs themselves for a bit of fun and took them during the night?
 
Weren't they found with cardboard covering their bodies? Why would do that if they were struck down by poisonous gas?
 

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