Decades after he was hanged for murder in Quebec, family hopes his name can finally be cleared

Jim Coffin's mom wouldn't buy newspapers and kept the radio station fixed on the country music channel.

She would keep her son away from the small black-and-white TV and sneak him out of the house using the back door.

For the first 11 years of Jim's life, he had no idea reporters would stand on his lawn, waiting to ask questions about his father who was found guilty of murder in a high-profile case and subsequently executed in 1956. 

He knew his father was dead, but was told he had died in a car accident. It was only on a trip back home to Gaspé, Que., when that version of events was shattered.

"Some of the kids were teasing me about my dad dying and hanging," said Jim, 77, who now lives in Sechelt, B.C.

"I just lost it… that's when my mother told me what had really happened. She said she couldn't keep me away from it any longer."

On Feb. 10, 1956, at the Bordeaux prison in Montreal, Wilbert Coffin was hanged for the murder of 17-year-old Richard E. Lindsay.

Despite his conviction, he went to his grave swearing he had nothing to do with the murder of the young American tourist.

The case captured the public's attention much like a true crime mystery, spurring theories and inspiring the publication of books, podcasts and movies — several suggesting a wrongful conviction.

Nearly 70 years later, the fight to clear Coffin's name continues as a new miscarriage of justice review commission gives his family hope.

Three years prior to Coffin's execution, three Americans — a man, his son and a friend — went missing in the woods while out on a hunting trip in Gaspé.

Their remains, ravaged by animals, wouldn't be found for weeks.

Police turned to Coffin, who helped in the search in 1953. He became the last person known to see the men alive — and then the sole suspect

Coffin admitted to having met the men and helped them when their truck ran into mechanical problems before their disappearance. He also admitted to being in possession of some items stolen from the victims.