Len Hogue was one of three dirty VPD cops who supplemented their salaries initially through B&Es, escalated to bank robberies, and in 1965 pulled off the biggest heist in Vancouver’s history – $1.2 million worth of bank notes that were being sent back to Ottawa to be destroyed. When police officials caught on, 33-year-old Hogue went home, shot his sleeping wife in the head, and then hunted down and shot his six kids aged between three and 14 before turning the gun on himself. Or did he? This is part two of two.
The following story is from my book Cold Case BC
Listen to: When Cops were Robbers, Part one – Episode 28
Harbour Drive:
Two days after his partners in crime—Joe Percival and James McDougall—were arrested, Constable Len Hogue was involved in a car accident. He booked off work. When he didn’t turn up for his shift the next afternoon and couldn’t be reached, two VPD officers drove to his house to check on him.
There was a Vancouver Sun on the doorstep and there was a black lab waiting by the back door. All the curtains were closed, but they could see a single light on in the basement. One of the officers got down on his hands and knees and peered into the ground level basement window. He could just make out the body of a young girl lying on the Chesterfield with a bullet hole in her forehead.
Eight Bodies:
When police kicked in the door of the Hogue’s house, they found eight bodies scattered over all three floors of the house. Each one had been shot in the head. Larry, 14 was lying face down in an upper bunk bed. Richard, 3 was found in his cot upstairs. At this point it seemed that the other four children were woken by the gunshots and scattered throughout the house trying to hide from the killer. Darlene, who would turn five in a few days, was lying in the corner of the basement. Noreen, 12 lay on the couch. Raymond, 8 was lying face up on the bathroom floor. Six-year-old Clifford was found in the room next to the laundry. He was hiding in a closet when he was executed.
There were six shots still in the gun, meaning that the killer had stopped to reload before continuing to hunt down the children.
Guilty, Case Closed
The coroner’s jury rejected the suggestion that Hogue and his family could have been killed by an outsider. He had already been tried, found guilty and convicted by the media. To this day members of the police force and media are divided. Some believe that Hogue murdered his family and killed himself, others believe that one or more of his partners thought Hogue was about to give them all up and decided to get rid of the problem.
Listen to the podcast and see what you think.
Show notes:
Sponsored by:
Sponsors: Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tours and Erin Hakin Jewellery
Music: Andreas Schuld ‘Waiting for You’
Intro: Mark Dunn
Interviews: George Garrett (CKNW reporter, retired); Paul Ballard (retired VPD detective and Hogue neighbour); Colin Gray (Hogue neighbour)
Buy me a coffee promo: McBride Communications and Media
Source: