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

[Satchie]

While I agree there is always the possibility this murder was a hate crime

I don't know where the idea came from that it was a hate crime....that seems even less likely to me.

I look at unsolved crimes from the point of view of human psychology and criminal profiling.

Most often, a particular type of crime has been committed by a particular type of perp, for a particular reason which reflects their psychological state of mind. Understanding the probable psychology behind the crime gives a good starting place in sleuthing, because it provides a preliminary explanation of the potential relationship between perp and victim, the motive, methods, and so on.

For eg, when a married woman disappears, LE first look at the husband, rather than speculate she was part of a gang. When a known gang member is shot in his car by someone in another vehicle who races off, LE don't first assume it was his wife.

From the autopsies, "He had been tied up, sexually mutilated by a sharp object, burned and beaten before being shot in the chest and head." This was not just a case.of being tackled and beaten up by several gang members (which sensationalistic headlines you cite mislabel 'torture'. )

For the other googled citations, sadistic sexual torture, rape and murder of complete strangers: young women by straight perps, and young men by gay perps, is all too common, and IMO, has nothing to do with gang membership. Some perps may happen to belong to gangs, the vast majority don't. In the UK there's currently a case of such a perp who was a police officer at the time.

To me, that is not a crime that has anything whatever to do with gang payback. It is a crime involving the perps acting out sexual fantasies involving complete control and sadistic sexual domination over the victim. That is it's psychological motivation. Only someone who gets turned on by that kind of sexual fantasy, and who consunes that kind of *advertiser censored* and wants to act it out in real life, is going to commit that kind of crime. If it doesn't turn you on, it doesn't matter how angry you are at the victim, or how much you hate them, tying them up and repeatedly attacking their exposed genitals, etc, will be totally gross.

So I would assume this was a sadistic sexual crime, quite likely committed by a stranger, and I fail to see how it can be assumed that his alleged gang membership accounts for it.

<modsnip>

 

[dotr]

Because the victim was still wearing clothing including his shoes, it does not strike me as a crime driven by sexual urges.
Thinking this was revenge on a romantic interloper, payback for double-crossing, snitching or stealing from someone or group, imo, speculation.

 

[dotr]

July 1 2021 rbbm.
Septic Tank Sam finally identified.

''The Alberta RCMP were also able to provide family members with information on Gordon Sanderson’s brother, who had also lost contact with family for many years and unfortunately passed away in Edmonton several years ago.''

''Legendary Calgary Sun crime reporter Peter Smith recalls the case of “Septic Tank Sam” as one of the most puzzling of his career.

“In all the 20 cases covered in my true crime books this was the only unsolved case among them, making it the most mysterious of all – until now,” the now retired Smith told the Western Standard.


RCMP are now looking for anyone who they may not have spoken to, who may have spoken to Gordon Sanderson before his death, or may have information regarding this homicide. Please contact the Tofield RCMP Detachment at 780-662-3353, or your local police. You can also reach the Alberta RCMP Historical Homicide Unit via email to RCMP/KHHU-KHHU.GRC@rcmp''

 

[MadMcGoo]

Can’t believe I missed this live!

 

[Gina20]

As much as I am glad that Gordon finally has his name back I can't get over the negative impact that the dominant culture of European Canadians had on generations of First Nations people. Not only did we take their land, we tried to take away their culture by removing their children and forcing them to learn a language they didn't understand. We punished them for not integrating fast enough, we ignored the anguish and damage we did to these people.

We allowed them to retain their culture as long as they stayed on reserves in areas that were inhospitable to year round settlements. Many native Americans were nomadic; they followed the caribou during the fall, they traveled to lakes to fish, they grew crops like potatoes, corn, squash and tomatoes to sustain them. How many reserves in Northern Canada have the facility to grow these crops?

It is inconceivable to me that while Canada was grooving to bands like the Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Supremes and the Rolling Stones we were blissfully unaware of the horrors inflicted on our aboriginal peoples. In October of 1966 a young boy called Chanie Wenjack ran away from a residential school. He wasn't alone but he was the only one who died of exposure. An inquest posed questions regarding the treatment of Indian children and whether their treatment was ethical. That was in 1966. The last residential school closed permanently in 1996. Thirty years. Here's a link to his tragic end.

Chanie Wenjack | The Canadian Encyclopedia

There is a relatively new scientific field called epigenetics. It's the study of how the environment and trauma affects our DNA. Here's a couple of links.

What is Epigenetics? | CDC

Can Trauma Be Passed Down From One Generation to the Next?

I feel for Gordon and his tragic end. I ask myself whether his trajectory into a criminal life was pre-ordained by the collective trauma inflicted on our native people.

RIP Gordon

Traumatic stress during pregnancy and its effects in utero is another subject that needs more study, IMO.

 

[branmuffin]

Traumatic stress during pregnancy and its effects in utero is another subject that needs more study, IMO.

Very true. And also possible that any indication of illness through isotope testing could be related to the time before GS was sent to residential school.

 

[MistyWaters]

Very true. And also possible that any indication of illness through isotope testing could be related to the time before GS was sent to residential school.

“Gordie had a hard life. He was separated from his family at nine years old during the `60s Scoop and placed in foster care.”
Body of man found in Alberta septic tank in 1977 identified using genetic genealogy: RCMP | Globalnews.ca

The ‘60s Scoop doesn’t refer to him being sent to a residential school, if that’s what you might be referring to. It was a time when aboriginal children were removed from homes by Social Services for various reasons and placed in non-aboriginal foster homes. If there was a good reason, that might’ve directly impacted his path in later life as well.

 

[Gina20]

“Gordie had a hard life. He was separated from his family at nine years old during the `60s Scoop and placed in foster care.”
Body of man found in Alberta septic tank in 1977 identified using genetic genealogy: RCMP | Globalnews.ca

The ‘60s Scoop doesn’t refer to him being sent to a residential school, if that’s what you might be referring to. It was a time when aboriginal children were removed from homes by Social Services for various reasons and placed in non-aboriginal foster homes. If there was a good reason, that might’ve directly impacted his path in later life as well.

To further complicate things, many of the parents of children removed during the 60s Scoop were residential school survivors themselves. They were raised in institutions and often did not return to their ancestral homes after they left school. Parenting knowledge was not learned or passed down from generation to generation. Parents lived out residential school trauma without support of any kind in many cases, and their children were taken away.

 

[branmuffin]

“Gordie had a hard life. He was separated from his family at nine years old during the `60s Scoop and placed in foster care.”
Body of man found in Alberta septic tank in 1977 identified using genetic genealogy: RCMP | Globalnews.ca

The ‘60s Scoop doesn’t refer to him being sent to a residential school, if that’s what you might be referring to. It was a time when aboriginal children were removed from homes by Social Services for various reasons and placed in non-aboriginal foster homes. If there was a good reason, that might’ve directly impacted his path in later life as well.

Not all of them were adopted. If Gordon wasn't adopted for whatever reason, he probably ended up in a residential school. There was no silver lining in regards to aboriginal children being placed in residential schools or taking children away without the bands or parents' consent to be adopted to countries as far away as New Zealand.

 

[MistyWaters]

Not all of them were adopted. If Gordon wasn't adopted for whatever reason, he probably ended up in a residential school. There was no silver lining in regards to aboriginal children being placed in residential schools or taking children away without the bands or parents' consent to be adopted to countries as far away as New Zealand.

No where is it stated GS was adopted nor that he was put into a residential school, just that he was taken at the age of 9 and placed with a foster family during what’s now referred to as the 60’s scoop.

https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/the-sixties-scoop-explained

 

[branmuffin]

No where is it stated GS was adopted nor that he was put into a residential school, just that he was taken at the age of 9 and placed with a foster family during what’s now referred to as the 60’s scoop.

https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/the-sixties-scoop-explained

Foster care waiting for adoption? Or just foster care? We have no idea what really happened to Gordie when he was nine. If he was in foster care was he ever returned to his parents? Did he get bounced around from one home to another? Nobody knows. "Placed in care" Who even knows what that means? Nobody, that's who.

 

[MistyWaters]

Foster care waiting for adoption? Or just foster care? We have no idea what really happened to Gordie when he was nine. If he was in foster care was he ever returned to his parents? Did he get bounced around from one home to another? Nobody knows. "Placed in care" Who even knows what that means? Nobody, that's who.

I’m certain the RCMP know as Social Services would’ve maintained documentation but they’ve not disclosed anything further. There’s absolutely no doubt his short life ended in tragedy but we can only speculate on specific reasons. What’s additionally sad to me is the fact that none of his Alberta acquaintances reported him missing at the time that he totally disappeared.

 

[Gina20]

It does not surprise me that Gordie was not reported missing. How many lasting connections did he have, given his life circumstances? The problem is explained here.

From foster care to missing or murdered: Canada's other tragic pipeline - Macleans.ca

This is why women and men are still going missing, and their disappearances unreported. It's harsh, and hard to comprehend for those of us who have not walked in those shoes.

 

[MistyWaters]

I think it was mentioned during the RCMP press conference that the investigation into “Sam’s” true identity led to a a different family reunification. I wonder if it was this one, a story of the search for a missing man with several parallels to GS.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/mervin-sinclair-cold-case-1.6089369

 

[MorbidLace]

I am SO HAPPY that he's finally been identified! Rest in peace, Gordie. Only 26...so young.
I still feel like the level of brutality had to be driven by more than some gang affiliation. And I've said it before, but having grown up in Alberta, I know first hand how violent the anti-Indigenous sentiment can be here. I don't think the police will consider that, but I hope they don't just decide it was gang-related and close the case there. Even if it was, I just hope they investigate Gordie's case to the fullest extent.

 

[beubeubeu]

Ever since I first heard about him and the horrific way he died I thought it was about jealousy.
It sounded like something what big time nutcase woman could inspire and encourage her equally sadistic boyfriend to do - to punish him for some "unforgivable" crime as rejecting her advances, asking out or even looking at a girl who in somebodys mind was not for him.
Odd, but I always imagined him looking like that. Not as strong, vile or quick thinking as others in the crowd, often mocked, often blamed for things that he never did just cause he was naive, shy, acted odd or... fell in love with a wrong girl. Eerily simmilar to what some "honor" killings commited on a guys in India or Pakistan look like. If no girl ended up missing with him or got murdered in equally horrific way, then she probably was informed that he ran away.
Him, being troubled, poor, probably not that well adjusted cause of trauma and of course Indigenous had to make him very vulnerable for a crime like that. And at the end of it he was literally drowned in s**t. That's next level personal petty rage of a violent nutcase who was sadistic enough to do it, but had no idea how to get rid of a body. No gang related crime IMO.

 

[beubeubeu]

Seriously, how long that list of suspects could be here?

At least one male. Two or more people, very close to each other. So a couple? Brothers? Some combo of family members? Longtime friends maybe.
For how long that property was abandoned? It still had working septic tank pomp there. Nobody stole it, it was surely worth at least few bucks. So apparently not a lot of stealing going on in the area. So, pretty secluded community with not many outsiders showing up just out of the blue.
So, someone with close ties to Lindbrook. Maybe not a local in 1977 but few years back. Someone with a reason to learn that property is long abandoned. Someone who checked it out before. Relative or a friend of the closest neighbours. Maybe some employee who stayed around long enough to have all reasons to believe that nobodys going to show up at the property anytime soon. Long enough to know that no kids are sneaking there to play hide and seek and no teenagers are partying there.
Maybe I'm going too far with it but I'd say someone who worked at this specific abandoned farm (but that would probably mean significantly older than him) or at pne of the farms nearby.
20-something - 30 something at the time.
Lime was used and it was a farm, lime was used in farming. So this person/persons work was farming focused on growing vegetables or grain, not animals.
And the main perp would be either this person or someone close to them who visited and checked out the abandoned property with them.

Comfortable with butane blow torch. So handy. Working with metal, repairing stuff, some plumbing maybe? I'd guess that not so rare skill considering time and it being a rural area, but still not something that literally every guy would know how to do.

Gordon never made to visit his brother. But he was going to. Maybe he didn't have good friends there or any friends, but some people that would notice if he'd just disappear out of the blue. Not a person close enough to go on high alert as soon as he wouldn't call in few days or send.
Someone planned to use his planned trip as coverup for his disappearance.
Did he owned a car? Got a bus ticket? Was going to use train maybe? If he owned a car then where his car went? If he didn't, then maybe someone was offering him a ride? If that person wouldnt be involved in his murder, then they would start talking, asking - where is Gordon, he was up for driving there with me but he never showed up?

There had to be someone close enough to Gordon or people who would feel some concern about his whereabouts if he'd just disappear one day out of the blue. Employer? Coworkers? Roomates?
With knowledge of how his living/working situation looked like it should be easy to narrow it down to person close enough to Gordon to know about his planned trip and know that with "Calgary" excuse people around him would just assume that he moved.
How many people around Gordon could have ties with Lindbrook?

This mystery is totally solvable with access to case files but more than likely he'll never get justice cause figuring out who did it is nowhere close to having enough to make an arrest.

 

[Springrain]

@beubeubeu,

Just wanted to say, thank you for your wonderful posts - they've given me a lot to think about in this case! I am still not 100% sure on my theory on this horrible case, but I agree that whoever did it, had a lot of rage and hatred towards Gordie. I don't think it's gang-related, either.

 

[Blurgle]

Seriously, how long that list of suspects could be here?

At least one male. Two or more people, very close to each other. So a couple? Brothers? Some combo of family members? Longtime friends maybe.
For how long that property was abandoned? It still had working septic tank pomp there. Nobody stole it, it was surely worth at least few bucks. So apparently not a lot of stealing going on in the area. So, pretty secluded community with not many outsiders showing up just out of the blue.
So, someone with close ties to Lindbrook. Maybe not a local in 1977 but few years back. Someone with a reason to learn that property is long abandoned. Someone who checked it out before. Relative or a friend of the closest neighbours. Maybe some employee who stayed around long enough to have all reasons to believe that nobodys going to show up at the property anytime soon. Long enough to know that no kids are sneaking there to play hide and seek and no teenagers are partying there.
Maybe I'm going too far with it but I'd say someone who worked at this specific abandoned farm (but that would probably mean significantly older than him) or at pne of the farms nearby.
20-something - 30 something at the time.
Lime was used and it was a farm, lime was used in farming. So this person/persons work was farming focused on growing vegetables or grain, not animals.
And the main perp would be either this person or someone close to them who visited and checked out the abandoned property with them.

Comfortable with butane blow torch. So handy. Working with metal, repairing stuff, some plumbing maybe? I'd guess that not so rare skill considering time and it being a rural area, but still not something that literally every guy would know how to do.

Gordon never made to visit his brother. But he was going to. Maybe he didn't have good friends there or any friends, but some people that would notice if he'd just disappear out of the blue. Not a person close enough to go on high alert as soon as he wouldn't call in few days or send.
Someone planned to use his planned trip as coverup for his disappearance.
Did he owned a car? Got a bus ticket? Was going to use train maybe? If he owned a car then where his car went? If he didn't, then maybe someone was offering him a ride? If that person wouldnt be involved in his murder, then they would start talking, asking - where is Gordon, he was up for driving there with me but he never showed up?

There had to be someone close enough to Gordon or people who would feel some concern about his whereabouts if he'd just disappear one day out of the blue. Employer? Coworkers? Roomates?
With knowledge of how his living/working situation looked like it should be easy to narrow it down to person close enough to Gordon to know about his planned trip and know that with "Calgary" excuse people around him would just assume that he moved.
How many people around Gordon could have ties with Lindbrook?

This mystery is totally solvable with access to case files but more than likely he'll never get justice cause figuring out who did it is nowhere close to having enough to make an arrest.

How long? Every violent racist in Edmonton willing to kill an indigenous man. That puts it in four, maybe five figures - yes, I'm talking 10,000.

 

[Ozoner]

How long? Every violent racist in Edmonton willing to kill an indigenous man. That puts it in four, maybe five figures - yes, I'm talking 10,000.

You left off a zero.