Early in the morning on October 30, 1934, 14-year-old Jean Cardinal went into the barn of Joe Turgeon and made a gruesome discovery. The nude, badly beaten body of a man was found, dripping with blood, in a crouching position in the manger. His head was touching the bottom and his pants and underwear were hanging from one leg.
Joe Turgeon called the RCMP and Constable Sincennes went immediately to the farm, which was located eight miles north of Spiritwood, Saskatchewan. The dead man’s head was battered almost beyond recognition, but it soon came out that this was the body of Ovilla Laventure.
(There were multiple different spellings of the victim’s name in the newspapers, including Orila, Ovilla, and Olive. I went with what was used most often.)
The Constable noticed a trail of blood and followed it to a spot about a quarter of a mile from the barn. He counted about 31 pools of blood in that spot, and found the dead man’s hat in one of them.
As he started questioning people in the district, it came out that Ovilla had been seen in the company of two men the day before, Lorenzo Tremblay and Rudolph Marchildon. When Constable Sincennes went out to talk to them, he asked to look at their car. When he did, he noticed blood stains on the rear seat as well as on the left side of the car.
The two men were taken into custody as material witnesses and a Coroner’s Inquest was opened shortly after, on November 2, 1934. Dr. Frances McGill, provincial pathologist, was called to the district to perform the autopsy.
The Coroner’s Inquest lasted until November 20th, but the jury didn’t feel confident in naming Tremblay or Marchildon as responsible. The RCMP, however, felt very strongly that they were, charging both of them with murder. Marchildon was given a preliminary hearing on the same day, November 20th. This is the story the two men told the court:
Tremblay and Marchildon stated that on the evening of October 29, 1934, they’d all been drinking together and Laventure was drunk when the trio left Spiritwood. Tremblay was driving, with Marchildon and Laventure in the back seat. The Oldsmobile ran out of gas about a mile west of Tremblay’s home, so Marchildon got out and attempted to crank the car. According to Marchildon, Laventure had followed him out of the car and insisted on bothering him while he was doing this. He became enraged and struck him over the head with the crank. Laventure didn’t fall, but came at him a second time, so he pushed him down.
Tremblay and Marchildon then told Laventure that they were going to Tremblay’s for gas and left him there. Tremblay claimed his legs were tired and didn’t go back, but Marchildon did, carrying a funnel, monkey wrench and gasoline. Later, he returned for the car key and Tremblay went back with him. On the way, he asked Marchildon how Laventure was and he said, “all right.” But when they returned, Laventure had disappeared, leaving his combination coveralls near the car.
They started the car and looked for Laventure. Seeing a light on in the Aussang brothers’ home, they went there and asked if they’d seen Laventure, even searching the cellar of the home in case he’d somehow found his way down there. They stayed for a visit, then, giving up the search, they both went home. The next morning, Marchildon went to Tremblay’s and told him Laventure had been found dead.
Tremblay also told the court that during the trip home, Marchildon had suggested they “roll” Laventure, but he said no, because he knew Laventure didn’t have any money. Marchildon had pulled Laventure over the front seat and searched him.
Dr. Frances McGill testified about the findings of her autopsy. She spoke of numerous abrasions on Laventure’s arms and legs, scratches on his shoulders and a large quantity of clotted blood on his chest. The skull was fractured about an inch above the left ear, which caused hemorrhaging of the brain and ultimately, death.
There were also multiple witnesses that testified to seeing the trio. A man listed as I. Croteau told of a minor accident between his wagon and Tremblay’s car that night. Wilfrid Colleaux and his mother told of meeting the stalled car on the road and of a man asking for gas. The man had told them there was a dead man in the car, but later said the man was only sick.
Rudolph Marchildon was committed to stand trial, although the magistrate, S. M. Mighton said he didn’t think he’d convict on the evidence presented at the hearing, and the following day, after another preliminary hearing for Tremblay, Magistrate Mighton ruled that Lorenzo Tremblay would not stand trial, stating that Tremblay was under no legal duty to take care of Laventure after he scrapped with Marchildon.
On December 7, 1934, there was a bail hearing and bail was set at $10,000 for Marchildon.
The trial opened on February 8, 1935, with the charge being reduced to manslaughter. The prosecution was represented by W. L. Clink and the one and only J. G. Diefenbaker K.C. for the defense.
At trial, a few more details became clear. First, it was obvious that all three of the men were drunk that night, not just Laventure. Secondly, during the drive home, there had been some quarreling and at some point Laventure had even fallen out of the car.
Tremblay had told the court at his own hearing that he hadn’t been able to see clearly what had taken place at the front of the car when it had stalled. Only that he heard blows struck and noises made by the loose crank handle.
Tremblay’s wife testified, telling of her husband and Marchildon returning to her home that night and their story of Ovilla falling out of the car. They had run of gas, they said. They expressed concern at leaving Laventure out in the cold all night and Marchildon went back to try and find him. On his return, she said Marchildon declared that Laventure was behind the car on all fours and that there was blood on his face.
Dr. McGill testified again, telling the court that Laventure’s wounds might have been caused by the crank, a heavy wrench, by falling on a stone or by falling from the car and hitting his head against the auto. She couldn’t say for sure that the crank was the cause, all she could do was show the fracture in the skull and point to where the end of the loose crank handle might have made the damage.
Louis Laventure, Ovilla’s nephew, as well as Ovilla’s brothers testified that when under the influence, Ovilla generally quarreled, disrobed and threw himself about.
On February 11, 1935, Justice MacDonald took the case from the jury and declared that the evidence did not support the crown’s contention that Marchildon struck Laventure over the head as charged. He pointed to the fact that Dr. McGill couldn’t state for certain that the crank handle was what caused the skull fracture and dismissed the charge. Marchildon was free to go.
So, what was the truth? Had it occurred as the RCMP suspected? Had Marchildon coldly beaten Laventure to death then dragged him to the barn? Or had it been as Tremblay and Marchildon described? With Ovilla not only falling out of the car at some point, but also getting into a scuffle (either or both of which may have caused his injuries), and then wandering off into the night, eventually succumbing to his head injuries in the barn of Joe Turgeon while his inebriated friends were none the wiser. In this case, it’s possible not even the men who were there could say for sure.
And that is the story of the mysterious death of Ovilla Laventure of Spiritwood.
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Information for this post came from the following editions the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix: Oct 30, 1934, Oct 31, 1934, Nov 2, 1934, Nov 7, 1934, Nov 8, 1934, Nov 13, 1934, Nov 22, 1934, Nov 23, 1934, Nov 24, 1934, Dec 8, 1934, Jan 24, 1935, Feb 8, 1935, Feb 9, 1935, Feb 11, 1935, Feb 12, 1935
If you’d like to read more Saskatchewan true crime stories, give these a try:
The Mysterious Deaths of Roy Casement and George Ireland
Melanie Cole 
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