Cody Legebokoff – Country Boy Serial Killer

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Cody Legebokoff is one of Canada's youngest serial killers.

In November 2010 the murder of a 15-year-old girl would lead authorities to the discovery of a serial killer who had been operating unbeknownst to everyone around him.  Who was this killer who identified himself as 1CountryBoy?  Listen to the story of how Cody Legebokoff became one of the youngest Canadian serial killers.

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Location

This story takes place in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. It was named in honor of King George III of England by Simon Fraser. Simon established the fur trading post with the North West Company. This area averages a little over 80 inches of snow each year.

Speeding Into Trouble

On Saturday, November 27, 2010, at around 9:45 pm Constable Aaron Kehler, a rookie officer with the RCMP noticed a truck traveling at a high rate of speed onto Highway 27 from an abandoned logging road south of Fort St. James near Vanderhoff. The truck was a 2004 black GMC pick-up.

What stood out to the officer was why was this truck speeding away from a road that didn’t see much traffic especially at that time of night. The officer pulled the truck over after following it for a short period due to the driver not slowing down; around 110 km/hr (68 mph).

When the officer pulled the truck over he was immediately suspicious that something just wasn’t right. First, the driver was wearing shorts and a sweater in November. It was a cold night and those shorts had what looked like blood on them. Blood smears also could be found on the left cheek and thigh of the driver. Also a pool of blood was visible on the driver’s side floor mat. 

Cody is Order to Exit the Vehicle

The driver exited the vehicle after being directed to do so by Constable Kehler. The constable then noticed an open container of alcohol. He then proceeded to pat down the driver and found a utility knife that also looked as if it had blood on it.

A short while later another constable arrived on the scene.   In his search, the constable found more alcohol along with a bloody pipe wrench. He also found a backpack that looked like it was something that would belong to a young girl since it was in the shape of a monkey.

The driver told the officers his name was Cody Legebokoff and that he was 20 years old. The officers thought that Cody might have been illegally hunting or poaching. So they radioed for a Canadian Conservation Officer to join them and he arrived on the scene around 11 pm.

A Hunting Story

Conservation officer Cameron Hill read Cody his rights even though he wasn’t under arrest. Cody didn’t have to talk to him, but Cody said he would talk. Cody tells the conservation officer that he and his friend Thomas had been out hunting deer. While driving around they saw a deer in the road so Thomas got out and shot it. They had put it in the back of his truck and drove it down the logging road to dump it.

When asked why they didn’t keep it he didn’t have an answer. Cody also didn’t seem to have an answer for why they didn’t move the deer off to the side of the road. When asked who hit the deer with the pipe wrench Cody said they both took turns. When asked why he was poaching Cody responded that “I’m a redneck, that’s what we do for fun.”

The conservation officer didn’t seem to believe Cody’s story. He informed him that they would have to track down his friend and collaborate the story. They would also have to go down the logging road to locate the deer. He asked Cody to confirm that when they run the blood on the wrench, knife, and in the truck that it would be deer blood, right? Cody said that it would be. 

Cody was placed under arrest due to a violation of the Canada Wildlife Act for illegal poaching.

Not What They Thought They’d Find

While the conservation officer was talking to Cody, other officers were finishing up searching the truck. They found a hospital card in a black and white checkered wallet belonging to Loren Leslie. This was in addition to the monkey backpack on the front passenger seat. Also, officers found a Brillo sponge, two crack pipes, and a cell phone.

After finishing his questioning of Cody the conservation officer went down the logging road to search for the dead deer. He followed the truck tracks and came upon some footprints left in the snow. Following those tracks, he came across the body of a young girl. She would turn out to be 15-year-old Loren Leslie from Fraser Lake.

Lorenn was legally blind in one eye and partially blind in the other due to a rare eye condition. She had been partially buried beside a gravel pit with her pants and underwear pulled down to her ankles. She had no shoes on. 

Cody was now charged with one count of murder. Once under arrest, handcuffed, and sitting in the back of a patrol car, RCMP Constable Sidhu informed Cody that he had a right to an attorney and asked if he wanted one.

In Canada individuals being arrested have rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which are:

  • Being told why they are being detained or arrested.
  • Be searched reasonably.
  • The right to remain silent.
  • The right to a lawyer.

Cody kept saying he wanted to talk to his dad ignoring the officer when asked repeatedly if he wanted a lawyer.

Who’s That Man?

Cody Alan Legebokoff was born on January 21, 1990, into what is described as a large and loving family from the northern British Columbia area of Fort St. James. He is described as a typical country boy who enjoyed hunting and fishing with his grandfather. He was a popular student at his Fort St. James Secondary School participating in ice hockey, downhill skiing, and snowboarding. Cody stands 6 ft 2 inches tall with blond hair with a husky build. He weighs 220-pounds and is described as having a babyface.

At the time of his arrest, he was working as a mechanic at a Ford dealership in St. George and had been living with three female roommates he had known from school. Cody had recently moved out into his apartment. He was also dating a girl whom he had met through work. She was a student at the College of New Caledonia and was studying to become a teacher.

None of them could believe it when they heard about Cody’s arrest for murder. They had never known him to be violent.

Changing Story

Cody is taken to Vanderhoof RCMP headquarters for questioning and it’s at this point that his story started to change. At first, he said that he had stumbled across the body while out exploring the area and even touched the body, but he denied killing her.

The Officer ran a trace on Loren’s hospital card and found a missing person’s report from a hospital in Saskatchewan. Loren had been hospitalized there for mental health concerns and she had run away. Then after further questioning, he admitted that he knew Loren. They had met on the online social media site, Nexopia, and had corresponded for the past couple of weeks. Eventually, they agreed to meet up. 

Cody picked Loren up and after driving around for a while they stopped and had sex and drank some alcohol. Initially, Cody denied having sex with Loren, but when the officer told him that they found her with her pants and underwear down by her ankles he changed his story. He told the officers that afterward Loren “went psycho.” She was yelling about wanting to kill herself and then she grabbed the pipe wrench and started hitting herself in the head. Then she stabbed herself in the neck with the knife from his truck.

Cody said he was shocked and that was the reason he didn’t render any first aid to Loren. He did admit to dragging her about 15 feet away from his truck and taking off. Cody also admitted to wanting to put her out of her misery before taking off so he hit her with the pipe wrench approximately two times (max).

At one point, Cody’s girlfriend appeared at the RCMP headquarters. 

Cody Apologizes to His Girlfriend

He told his girlfriend that he did not kill Loren between tearfully telling her he was sorry. Cody and his girlfriend had been together earlier that evening. His girlfriend left his apartment after he had fallen asleep. After she left Cody met up with Loren.

The officers continued to question Cody. Cody continued to deny killing Loren even when they told him that his story didn’t make any sense. Cody was also asked about Cynthia Maas, whose half-naked body was found seven weeks earlier in L.C. Gunn Park on October 9, 2010. He was specifically asked if he might have had sex with her.

Cody denied knowing Cynitha Maas. 

Not a Cleaner

Officers searched Cody’s apartment while he remained in custody. What they found would lead them to solve three additional murders over the next year. They found different DNA belonging to three women whose deaths and disappearances had yet to be solved. 

  • Jill Stuchenko (35)
  • Cynthia Maas (35)
  • Natasha Montgomery (23)

All three women had grappled with drug addiction and worked in the sex trade industry.

More than 32 swabs of blood would be taken from Cody’s apartment. Blood was taken from the kitchen, dining room, bedroom, hallway, and couch.

Birth of a Killer 

Jill Stacey Stuchenko was the mother of six children, four boys and two girls. They ranged from the ages of 2 to 14 when her body was found half-buried in a shallow gravel pit on the outskirts of Prince George. Jill worked for various escort agencies. At times she worked in the street-level sex trade to help support her drug and alcohol addiction.

People who knew Jill were aware of her struggles with drugs. She tried to beat her addiction, but never fully able to. She had even gone to visit an addiction treatment center just days before she disappeared. People who knew her said that Jill wanted to stop using crack, but she would often relapse.

Police were not certain when Jill was murdered, but believed that it was sometime between October 9th to the 26th in 2009. October 9th being the last date she was seen by anyone. October 26th is when her body was found.

She died from blunt force trauma to the back and right side of her head and from massive blood loss. During her autopsy samples were taken from under the fingernails of her right hand. Swabs taken from her vagina and anus would lead to an unknown male profile.

Investigators came to believe Jill was killed in Cody’s first apartment while his roommates were away visiting family on the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend in 2009. Stuchecko’s DNA would be matched to a bloodstain on the couch and from the carpet of the house. Cody was 19 years old when he killed Jill.

Just Getting Started

Natasha Lynn Montgomery was 23 years old when she disappeared sometime between August 30, 2010, to September 1, 2010. She had two children, a boy (4) and a girl (3) when she went missing. Natasha had a longtime boyfriend who was the children’s father. The father was raising their two children as the two had separated due to Natasha’s drug use.

Blood samples taken from Cody’s apartment would also be matched to Natasha Montgomery. She had disappeared after being released from the Prince George Regional Correction Center. Natasha had been staying with a friend for about two weeks when she disappeared. Her body had never been found.

Forensic testing is what tied Cody to Natasha’s death.  32 blood samples taken from Cody’s apartment would match Natasha. The shorts that Cody had been wearing at the time of his arrest had two spots that matched Natasha’s DNA. In Cody’s apartment Natasha’s DNA was found on bedsheets, a mattress, carpet in the hallway, and linoleum tile in the kitchen, a blue bathroom mat, and on the head and handle of an ax.

Not Done Yet

Cynthia Francis Maas when she was murdered in September 2010. She was a mother to a little girl and was from a First Nations family, as was Natasha Montgomery. Cynthia was born with a disability. A statement her mother made indicated the disability made her “vulnerable to those who prey on such people.”

Cynthia was last seen on September 10th after visiting a friend’s apartment. The day before she had met with an area social worker, shelter coordinator, and her step-father. Cynthia’s body was found in a remote area of L.C. Gunn Park by two police officers patrolling the area in October. 

Cynthia had been left propped up against a tree with her pants and underwear pulled down around her ankles. She was in an advanced stage of decomposition. She had suffered from massive blunt force trauma to her head and face (16 blows in all), fractured ribs, as well as, fractures to her right clavicle and scapula. Her autopsy also showed penetrating wounds to her right chest and neck area in addition to more fractures to her wrist and hands.

A black sweater and white sock taken from Cody’s truck had three blood spots in the neck area of the sweater. These spots on the sweater and the sock would be a match for Cynthia. Shoes found in Cody’s apartment would also have Cynthia’s DNA on them. Her DNA was also found on the shaft and head area of a picaroon (log handling tool). Investigators felt the picaroon made the penetrating marks on Cynthia’s chest and neck.

Cody’s Final Victim

Cody’s final victim was 15-year-old Loren Leslie. When her body was found she was face down under an evergreen tree. She had been dragged beside a gravel pit in an effort to conceal her body. Again, her pants and underwear were pulled down to her ankles. It was very similar to how Cynthia Maas was found.

Because Loren was found immediately her investigation was able to begin right away unlike the other three victims. There was a lot more evidence to go on with Cody’s connection to Loren in terms of text messages.

How Cody and Loren Met

Cody and Loren had met through the social media site Nexopia which began on November 1, 2010. Cody went by the name “1CountryBoy.” The first message was from Cody to Loren who was looking for a meet-up. This showed he was looking for possibly something sexual.

On November 27th Cody received a message from Loren a little after 6 pm while he was with his girlfriend at his apartment. His girlfriend left at 6:30 pm and 6:31 pm Cody texted Loren back and arranged to meet up. Cody had warned Loren not to tell anyone about him. Loren texted him that she didn’t want to do anything sexual. The last message was sent at 8:22 pm right after Cody had purchased some alcoholic beverages.

Loren’s Last Hours

Cody and Loren met up outside at W.M. McLeod Elementary School where they were seen by a witness. Loren was also texting a friend telling her that she was out driving around with Cody, but those messages ended at 8:35 pm. The pair then drove to the logging road arriving around 9 pm.

Cody was spotted by Constable Kehler at 9:35 pm and eventually pulled over at 9:47 pm.

Loren Leslie died from massive blunt force trauma. There were five to eight blows causing extensive brain injuries and two stab wounds to her neck. The trauma to her head was too severe for it to be self-inflicted. She also had fractures to both of her hands and wrists along with extensive bruising to those areas. This showed that Loren and tried to fight off Cody. When Cody was pulled over he had her blood on his sweater and shorts along with having her cell phone in his pocket.

On October 17, 2011, Cody is charged with three additional counts of first-degree murder for Stauchenko, Maas, and Montgomery.

Another Story for Trial

On June 2, 2014, Cody’s trial begins in Prince George. He is now 24. Cody pleaded not guilty to all four counts. The jury would hear from 93 witnesses in all and his trial would last until September. The crown informed the jury that all four murders were committed by Cody. He had also sexually assaulted each of his victims before killing them.

Cody’s three female roommates would take the stand for the crown/prosecution. One roommate testified that when she returned from visiting her parents over the Thanksgiving weekend she went to Cody’s room to check on him. Cody lived in a basement bedroom and she found him lying on a couch he owned. The roommate noticed a large bloodstain (about the size of a melon) at one end of the couch. When she asked him about it and another bloodstain on the carpet he said that he had gotten high and fell asleep on the couch and had gotten a nose bleed.

The Jury Heard About Cody’s Drug Use

The jury heard about Cody’s drug use and how he started using cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy, as well as psychedelic mushrooms while living with his roommates. The crown would tell the court that Cody would get into using crack and usually obtained his drugs from sex workers he solicited.

His former roommates would also testify to seeing an ax in his room and wondering why he had it by his bed. Cody replied that it was for protection.

On August 26th Cody would take the stand in his defense. He stuck to his story about Loren’s death and told the jury he was only present for the murders of Jill Stauchenko, Cynthia Maas, and Natasha Montgomery. Cody tells the jury that drug dealers that he identified only by the letters X, Y & Z were the actual killers. X, Y & Z had been at his residences when each of the women was murdered due to the victims owing a drug debt and that was the reason they had been murdered. His only involvement, according to him, was that he was a witness and had helped to clean up the crime scene and dispose of the two of the bodies

Cody Doesn’t Want to Be a Rat

He refused to name X, Y & Z saying he didn’t want to be considered a rat in prison. The prosecutor pointed out it also doesn’t bode well being a sexual offender. At one point, during his cross-examination, Cody did admit to hitting Loren in anger and not just wanting to put her out of her misery. He still claimed he didn’t kill her. The prosecutor asked Cody if his story was true about Loren jumping out of his truck and going around to the front of it where she supposedly started hitting herself with the pipe wrench, why was no blood found there? Cody also testified that he had had consensual sex with all four victims.    

It was during closing arguments on September 2nd that Cody attempted to plead to four counts of second-degree murder instead of first-degree. The prosecutor blocked his attempt to do so and the judge did not accept it. On September 10th the jury entered into deliberations. A day later on the 11th, they came back with their unanimous verdicts.

Guilty on four counts of first-degree murder.

Is Cody Just Making Stuff Up?

The Oral Argument for Sentence document was written by the prosecutor who didn’t seem to think Cody had much credibility. The prosecutor pointed out that Cody would include others in his stories that may not exist or had nothing to do with it.

  • His childhood friend, Thomas Russell, was inserted into his poaching story.
  • The drug dealers X, Y & Z were included in the murders even though there was no physical evidence to implicate them. These were three separate murders on three separate occasions at Cody’s residences. There was no evidence of the drug dealers involvement on the murder victims bodies or at the dumpsites. 

The prosecutor wrote that nothing ever seemed to be Cody’s fault and things just seem to happen that he is not directly responsible for. He also noted that the injuries that Cody inflicted on his victims were “massive and disfiguring, the object of each attack appearing to be aimed at not simply killing, but degrading and destroying them.” Cody has also not shown at least to that point any remorse or guilt for his actions.

He was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 25 years. The prosecutor also asked that Cody be placed on the National Sex Offender Registry.

Sooner Than Later

In Canada, there was a “Faint Hope Clause” that would allow Cody to apply for parole after serving just 15 years in prison. This provision was repealed in 2011 for cases involving serial murders. His crimes, however, occurred before this change and therefore he could be eligible.

Cody has never told authorities where Natasha Montgomery’s body is and has at times tried to leverage this information for his personal use. In 2019, Cody made the news again due to the shock and outrage that he had been transferred to a medium-security prison in Ontario from BC’s Kent Institution which is a maximum-security prison. Only two of the four families were notified of the transfer. Officials have not said what prompted the transfer.

Luckily all of Cody’s appeals have been denied.

Cody Legebokoff is not the youngest serial killer in Canada. That distinction goes to Peter Woodcock. He raped and murdered three young children in Toronto in 1957 when he was just 16 years old. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity, but did spend his life behind bars and died in 2010. While imprisoned he killed another inmate.

Loren’s father set up a foundation in his daughter’s name. The Loren Donn Leslie Foundation works to educate young people about the dangers lurking on social networking sites.

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