‘Septic Tank Sam’: A Vicious Murder that Remained a Mystery for 44 years
After almost half a century, the identity of a man brutally killed and dumped in a septic tank has been uncovered.
A Murder Mystery
In April 1977, a Canadian couple returned to their abandoned farm just outside the small town of Tofield, Alberta, to retrieve a pump from a septic tank on the property. However, they instead made a gruesome discovery. Protruding from their tank was a human foot, which they noticed was attached to a leg submerged in the murky water.
Immediately alarmed by what they saw, the couple contacted the authorities. After police arrived and the tank was drained, the full extent of the situation was revealed. Wrapped in a bedsheet and tied together by rope was the decomposing body of a man. He was still fully clothed in a blue shirt, grey t-shirt, blue jeans and shoes. With it being evident that the body had been deliberately dumped there, a murder investigation followed, during which the unidentified male became known as ‘Septic Tank Sam’.
The nature of the man’s death was to disturb the close-knit community for years to come, given the heinous circumstances. In addition to multiple fatal gunshot wounds, ‘Sam’ had endured prolonged torture before his death. There was evidence that he had been beaten, restrained, burned with blowtorches and also had his genitals mutilated with shears. The mutilation was so extreme that the pathologist examining his body was initially unable to identify him as a male. Traces of quicklime were also found on his remains, which is a chemical compound that can speed up decomposition. The use of this substance implies that Sam’s killer(s) had knowledge of how to dispose of a human body and had possibly murdered before.
Examinations of the crime scene turned up little evidence, which indicated that he had likely been murdered elsewhere and then transported to the rural farm to be disposed of. Given that the perpetrators must have known about this location, authorities came to believe that they were familiar with the area and probably lived locally. Also, although those responsible for Sam’s death have never been identified, the brutal and sadistic way in which he was killed indicated that he was known to his attackers and possibly murdered in an act of revenge or spite. Some have theorised that Sam had been sexually mutilated due to committing a sex-related crime, or perhaps because he had been unfaithful in a relationship.
Since the discovery of the body in 1977, Sam has undergone numerous exhumations for analysis, and investigators were able to build the following picture: male, dark hair, in his late 20s, medium-build, right-handed, around 150–180 lbs in weight, an approximate height of 5 ft 9 inches, and likely of Native American descent. His dental records were also distributed to more than 800 dentists across Canada and featured in dental magazines, but unfortunately produced no leads.
Cracking A Cold Case
In June 2021, news broke that Septic Tank Sam had finally been identified as 26-year-old Gordon “Gordie” Edwin Sanderson, bringing an end to the 44-year-old mystery.
Canadian authorities partnered with Othram, Inc — a biotechnological company specialising in human identification — to crack the cold case. Genetic genealogy was used, also known as genetic ancestry testing, which takes DNA from unidentifiable remains and compares it to a public genetic database in order to determine any possible related matches.
It has also since been discovered that Gordon has a living sister and also a daughter, who have now been able to find out what happened to their loved one all those years ago. Known more endearingly as ‘Gordie’ to those who knew him, he had set off from Edmonton to travel and meet his younger brother named Arthur — but unfortunately, he never made it there.
During his childhood, Gordon had been placed into foster care at 9 years of age, after experiencing a difficult upbringing. In adulthood, he allegedly struggled with various addictions and was known to local police. Authorities are still currently speculating that he was likely killed by people known to him, who he may have been associated with through criminal activities.
Although there has finally been a positive identification, still no arrests have been made in this case. However, considering the time that has passed, the possibility that Gordon’s killer is no longer alive must be taken into account.
The body of Gordie Sanderson now rests in a grave at Edmonton Municipal Cemetery in Alberta, Canada, with the inscription “Beloved son, father and brother”.
