Day #3 of 31 days of Halloween
This one takes place on January 18, 1983, in Coquitlam, British Columbia.
Just for the record, my home town. 7 minutes away from the quiet community where I grew up.
Up the hill, just past the serene man-made Como Lake, in the Ranch Park area.
530am, RCMP officers arrived at the home on Spurway Ave, to find a young man, in his early 20s, slender, wearing a leather jacket, and jeans, wandering around the property.
They asked him about the report of gunshots, and he smiled and replied that he didn’t know anything about it. Once inside, officers found the bodies of six people- all dead. As they moved through the home surveying the horrific scene, they received some news on their radio.
“Suspect has just admitted he is the Antichrist, and the world is going to end” (KillerQueens.org)
Now I am going to be gentle here, as mental health and religious matters deserve respect but some important points here have to be exclaimed.
Bruce Alfred Blackman was born in 1960 to Richard and Irene Blackman and had 5 siblings, in fact, one was his twin Brother. Though he had a relatively mild, young adulthood, he was often troubled with hyper-focusing on certain things. Like opposites. And the number 7
In his late teens, He wouldn't eat for days on end and started “seeing” things that he felt were ominous or scary. This is when he started to tell his family that the end of the world was coming and that he received a message from an angel, she would tell him that he needed to “know God.”
He proclaimed he was seeing this angel who gave him messages in dreams, and talking to him throughout the day as well.
Bruce began referring to her as the “white woman.” At this point he grasped everything in opposites fully, and the fact that his last name is Blackman felt like another sign. Is She a God, the White Woman. He is “black man,” therefore he must be the AntiChrist.
Another encounter witnessed by his friends while leaving their house, Bruce opened the door and grimaced in pain and fear. He yelled “The beast!” And exclaimed he saw a huge beast with yellow eyes and blood-dripping fangs. His friends tried to convince him he was seeing the neighbor’s dog. He had already run away screaming about the end was near.
He actually became so obsessed with god, and the works of the bible, he literally ate it. He would prepare a daily smoothie of blood, orange juice, 2 pages of revelations, and two packets of ramen chicken soup powder.
At 4:45AM, January 18, 1983. The voices were relentless. Bruce heard a final message, that his family needed to be saved.
He went downstairs, picked up a rifle and prepared for what had to happen. He walked upstairs and saw his father who held his hands up and yelled “Bruce! Don’t!”
Bruce fired the gun. 4 times into his father. First through the hand and then the cheek and chest before the final shot ended his life. His brother heard the noise and came into the room. 2 more shots and his Brother Ricky was gone.
He then went upstairs and shot his mother, Irene in the back of the head. 2 shots. As he was instructed by the voices.
To the garage and 2 more shots to Karon, the oldest sister.
His other sister Bobi and her husband John, also were found bludgeoned to death with a claw hammer in the backyard of the residence.
6 people are gone. One more left to fulfill his prophecy. Number 7. Himself.
This is when the police lights lit up the night in the quiet neighborhood. It was over.
Bruce was sent to Riverview, a mental institution where he received around the clock care. He was initially found unfit to stand trial, but in April 1983 he was deemed fit as he continued to improve and in November of 1983 his trial began. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was committed to the Forensic Psychiatric Institute in British Columbia, where the jury believed he would be held the rest of his life.
In 1993, government officials helped Bruce Blackman change his name as he prepared for release from his institution. He was released in 1995 and given absolute discharge,
meaning he is no longer monitored by a facility and was released back into the community.
His whereabouts are currently unknown.
Court Evidence
1995 CanLII 3437 (BC CA) | Blackman v. British Columbia (Review Board) | CanLII
1993 CanLII 2620 (BC CA) | Blackman v. British Columbia (Attorney General) | CanLII
British Columbia Review Board - Decision on Bruce Alfred Blackman (archive.org)
River View Hospital Spurway Ave
Forensic Psychiatric Institute in British Columbia,(Colony Farm)
Add comment
Comments