Cody Legebokoff

Case identification

Cody Legebokoff (born c. 1990) was tried in the Supreme Court of British Columbia for murdering three women and a teenage girl between 2009 and 2010 in or near the City of Prince George, British Columbia.

Timeline

• Oct. 9, 2009 — Jill Stuchenko, 35, was last seen in Prince George, British Columbia.
• Oct. 20, 2009 — Jill Stuchenko’s body was found in a gravel pit off Foothills Boulevard near Prince George.
• Oct. 26 (year not stated) — Stuchenko’s body was found half buried in a gravel pit in the outskirts of the city.
• Aug. 31 or Sept. 1, 2010 — Natasha Montgomery, 23, was last seen leaving a friend’s house in Prince George.
• Sept. 10, 2010 — Cynthia Maas, 35, was last seen.
• Oct. 9 (2010 stated elsewhere) — Cynthia Maas’s body was found in L.C. Gunn Park, in a wooded park on the outskirts of Prince George.
• Nov. 27, 2010 — An RCMP officer spotted Legebokoff’s truck leaving a remote logging road near Vanderhoof, British Columbia and pulled him over.
• Nov. 29, 2010 — Legebokoff’s girlfriend, Amy Voell, appeared at the detachment, and Legebokoff told her that he did not kill Loren Leslie.
• Sept. 11, 2014 — Legebokoff was convicted on four counts of first-degree murder.
• Sept. 16, 2014 — Legebokoff was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 25 years.

Background

Legebokoff was raised in Fort St. James, a district municipality in rural British Columbia. He competed in ice hockey and showed no propensity for violence, and friends and family members described him as a popular young man. He had a minor criminal record and was not “on the radar” of local police.

After graduating Fort St. James Secondary School, Legebokoff lived briefly in Lethbridge before moving to Prince George. In Prince George, he shared an apartment with three close female friends and worked as a mechanic at a Ford dealership. He used the Canadian social-networking site Nexopia, using the handle “1CountryBoy.”

The offence

Legebokoff was convicted on four counts of first-degree murder in connection with:

• the slayings of Loren Donn Leslie, Jill Stacey Stuchenko, Cynthia Frances Maas, and Natasha Lynn Montgomery.

Victim details

Loren Leslie, 15

• She was legally blind, with one completely blind eye and only 50% vision in the other.
• Police alleged she met Legebokoff online at Nexopia.
• She was last seen in relation to the events leading to her death, and her body was found on a remote logging road just off Highway 27 near Vanderhoof, British Columbia. The body was found after a conservation officer investigated suspected poaching.
• Investigators determined she had died only several hours before Legebokoff was arrested.
• One account described her body as partially buried near a gravel pit near Vanderhoof, with her pants pulled down.
• Another account described multiple injuries to her hands, and that she fought off Legebokoff.

Jill Stuchenko, 35

• She was a mother of five.
• She was last seen on Oct. 9, 2009 in Prince George.
• Her body was found four days later in a gravel pit on the outskirts of Prince George, and was also described as found half buried in a gravel pit in the outskirts of the city.
• Crown counsel said Stuchenko died from blunt force trauma to her head.
• A forensic pathology witness testified that Stuchenko had two scalp lacerations and multiple bruising to her legs, thigh, kneecap, calf and ankle, and a star-shaped wound through the thickness of the earlobe.
• The pathology witness described a tear in the anal area “speaks to force.”
• The witness testified that blood was found in Stuchenko’s airways and lungs.

Cynthia Maas, 35

• She was last seen on Sept. 10, 2010.
• She was described as dying of blunt-force trauma to the head and penetrating wounds.
• The body was found in L.C. Gunn Park on Oct. 9, 2010.
• Injuries described included a hole in her shoulder blade, a broken jaw and cheekbone, and injuries to her neck consistent with someone stomping on it.

Natasha Montgomery, 23

• She was last seen Aug. 31 or early Sept. 1, 2010.
• Her body has never been found, but DNA from her was later found in samples taken in Legebokoff’s apartment.
• In court, Crown counsel said several items found in Legebokoff’s apartment tested positive for her DNA, including shirts, shorts, bedsheets, a comforter and an axe.
• A DNA analysis expert testified that more than 30 swabs of blood taken from multiple rooms were Montgomery’s, with a statistical certainty reported as 6.4 billion to one, and that swabs taken from the axe were also found to be Montgomery’s blood, including one on the wedge and three on the head.
• The DNA profile was said to have been obtained by taking a sample from a toothbrush she owned and comparing it to samples provided by her parents, with the statistical confidence reported as 100 billion to one.
• Another timeline statement placed her missing status around August 2010 and described her as missing for nearly four years.
• The court also heard that Montgomery had been released from Prince George Regional Correctional Centre before going missing.

Sexual assault findings

The sentencing judge concluded that all four murders were committed during the course of a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault, and he found Legebokoff was a sex offender registered as such for life.

Investigation and evidence

Stop and arrest connection to the Leslie death

On Nov. 27, 2010, an RCMP officer observed Legebokoff pull his truck onto British Columbia Highway 27 from a remote logging road. The officer suspected the vehicle of speeding and signaled for it to pull over. After being joined by a second officer, the officers approached the vehicle.

Officers reported they noticed blood smears on Legebokoff’s face and chin and blood on his legs, and they saw a pool of blood on the driver’s mat. Searching the pickup truck, the officers said they discovered a multi-tool and a wrench covered in blood, along with a monkey backpack and a wallet containing a children’s hospital card with the name of Loren Leslie on it.

When questioned about the blood upon his person, Legebokoff purportedly stated he was poaching and had clubbed a deer to death, saying: “I’m a redneck, that’s what we do for fun.”

The officers arrested Legebokoff under the Canada Wildlife Act and called for a conservation officer. The conservation officer retraced tire tracks of the vehicle, and the tracks led to the body of Loren Donn Leslie.

DNA linkage to other deaths

After his arrest in connection with Leslie’s death, Legebokoff was linked by DNA to the deaths of Jill Stuchenko, Cynthia Frances Maas and Natasha Lynn Montgomery.

Forensic evidence described during trial

• DNA from Cynthia Frances Maas was reported to have been found on a pickaroon seized from Legebokoff’s apartment after his arrest, on a sock found in his truck, and on the sweater he was wearing when he was arrested.
• Blood from Jill Stuchenko was reported to have been found on a couch seized from Legebokoff’s apartment, and witnesses living with Legebokoff identified the couch and described helping load it into his pickup truck when he moved apartments.
• Semen samples taken from Stuchenko’s body were said to match Legebokoff’s DNA.
• Blood from Montgomery was said to be found throughout Legebokoff’s apartment, including on an alleged murder weapon.

Arrest and custody

Legebokoff was arrested after the RCMP officer stopped him on Nov. 27, 2010. One account described him as being stopped after his truck was seen turning onto Highway 27 from an unused logging road. A conservation officer investigated and found Leslie’s body.

Investigators determined Leslie died only several hours before Legebokoff’s arrest.

Legebokoff later gave a video-recorded police interview two days after he was arrested for Leslie’s murder.

Defence position and testimony

Legebokoff pleaded not guilty to all four counts of murder.

During the trial, Legebokoff testified that he was “involved” in three of the deaths but claimed he did not actually commit the killings. He alleged that a drug dealer and two accomplices, whom he would only name as “X, Y and Z,” were the actual murderers.

In a recorded police statement, Legebokoff admitted to hitting Loren Donn Leslie “twice at the max” with a pipe wrench but maintained he did not kill the girl. After first claiming he stumbled across Leslie’s body while exploring the area, he said he knew the girl and described meeting her after conversing through a social networking website.

He described drinking alcohol, having sex, driving towards Fort St. James, and taking a detour. He claimed Leslie “went psycho,” said she wanted to kill herself, and said she hit herself with a pipe wrench and stabbed herself in her neck. He said she was out of the truck and down in the snow with stab wounds to her neck. He said he was too stunned to give first aid, then dragged her about 15 feet before returning to his truck and taking off. He initially denied sex with Leslie but changed that aspect after being told she was found with her shoes, pants and underwear off.

He told the court he had sex with Stuchenko at his apartment. He claimed X told him she had to die and hit her with a pipe, and said X also ordered Montgomery’s death. He testified that Z pulled out a weapon and X then killed her. He described watching X strike Maas in his apartment, said X hit her in the head with an “object,” and claimed he and Y then put Maas into his truck and drove her to a park. He described Y pulling Maas out of the truck and stated: “She just fell to the ground.” He said he then pulled a pickaroon from his truck and handed the spiked log-handling tool to Y, and he said he heard Y hit her three or four times.

Legebokoff described watching X strike Maas in his apartment and said: “I didn't feel very good about what was going on, or how I got myself into this mess.”

He also testified that Leslie’s purpose was “purely sexual,” as noted by the sentencing judge.

Prosecutors did not accept an attempt to plead guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder.

Trial

Scheduling and court

Legebokoff’s trial on four counts of murder was originally scheduled to begin in September 2013, delayed a month until October, and then delayed again until June 2014.

The judge and 12 jurors heard testimony from 93 Crown witnesses and the defendant. The trial began June 2, 2014, and included events where:

• Aug. 1: the Crown finished its case after calling 93 witnesses.
• Aug. 26: Legebokoff took the stand in his own defence.
• Sept. 2: during closing arguments, Legebokoff’s defence lawyer asked the jury to convict on four counts of second-degree murder instead of first-degree murder.
• Sept. 10: the jury retired to consider its verdict.
• Sept. 11: Legebokoff was convicted.

Evidence and witness testimony described

• Legebokoff’s father and mother testified. Doug Leslie identified Loren Leslie’s belongings, including a monkey knapsack, a black and white checkered wallet, her glasses, and a family ring Doug had made containing all the birthstones of the family.
• Under cross-examination, Doug Leslie denied defence counsel James Heller’s suggestions that Loren Leslie had been bipolar or psychotic.
• Donna Leslie testified that Loren had texted her the night of her death to say she was meeting a girlfriend, and that she was told to be home at 1 a.m. PT.
• Donna Leslie testified that she hugged Loren’s monkey backpack when it was shown to her and said Loren loved it and wore it all the time.
• Donna Leslie testified that Loren had told her she had been sexually assaulted, but Donna said she did not believe it at the time.
• Donna Leslie testified that Loren was diagnosed with post-traumatic depression and was taking medication.
• An expert forensic pathology witness, Dr. James Stephen, testified about injuries to Jill Stuchenko and Cynthia Maas, including an autopsy on Stuchenko performed on Oct. 29, 2009 and an autopsy on Maas performed on Oct. 13, 2010.
• Another witness described DNA analysis at an RCMP forensics laboratory in Edmonton conducted by Jason Solinski.

Quoted statements during proceedings

Cody Legebokoff testified: “At that time, I didn't expect to be what I actually did was murder. But now, sitting here charged with it, I don't feel very good about it.”

In the sentencing-related reporting, Doug Leslie was quoted reacting outside court: “I just bit my lip, as you can see,”

In sentencing-related reporting, Doug Leslie also said: “I'm sure he's not ever going to see daylight, but just the way everything was put, the system still seems to lean to the criminal, you know?”

In sentencing-related reporting, Justice Glen Parrett was quoted: “He lacks any shred of empathy or remorse,” and “He should never be allowed to walk among us again.”

In video interview reporting, Cpl. Greg Yanicki was quoted: “You couldn't do both to yourself, you could do either one, but you couldn't do both,”

In video interview reporting, Sgt. Paul Dadwal was quoted: “You're not a psycho, you're not a monster,” and “She did something and you reacted.”

Paul Dadwal was quoted: “That, Cody, is not you,”

Verdict

Legebokoff was convicted on four counts of first-degree murder on September 11, 2014.

Sentencing

On September 16, 2014, Legebokoff was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 25 years. Reporting described the no-parole period as allowing potential parole application after serving 15 years, and it also referenced a “faint hope clause” being discussed by Justice Glen Parrett.

Justice Glen Parrett also added Legebokoff to the national sex offender registry for life due to sexual assaults committed as part of the murders and Legebokoff’s apparent degradation of the victims’ bodies.

Quotations attributed to Justice Glen Parrett included:

• “He lacks any shred of empathy or remorse,”
• “He should never be allowed to walk among us again.”

Outcome

Legebokoff’s conviction remained with the four first-degree murder verdicts delivered by the jury on September 11, 2014, and his sentence of life imprisonment with no parole for 25 years was imposed on September 16, 2014.