Cook Family Brutal and Gruesome Massacre in Stettler Alberta Canada

August 20, 2025 City Towner

In the summer of 1959, the small farming town of Stettler, Alberta, was a quiet community where people knew their neighbors, and crime was rare. Among its residents was the Cook family, headed by Raymond Cook, age 53, and his wife Daisy, 37. Raymond had been married before and had an adult son, Robert Raymond Cook, from his previous marriage. The younger Cook, known as “Bobby” to some, was a troubled young man with a history of petty crime and run-ins with the law.

Raymond and Daisy lived with their five young children: Gerald, 9; Patrick, 8; Christopher, 7; Kathy, 5; and Linda Mae, just 3 years old. By all outward appearances, the Cook home was like any other in Stettler—humble, family-oriented, and filled with the noise and energy of children. The Cook property included a garage with an oil-change grease pit beneath it, a feature that would later become central to one of the most notorious criminal cases in Alberta’s history.

Robert had spent much of his youth in and out of reformatories and jails. In early 1959, he was out on parole and living a transient life, drifting between odd jobs and petty theft. His relationship with his father had long been strained, and tensions within the family were well known to some members of the community.

The Days Leading Up to the Murders

In late June 1959, Robert returned to Stettler. He visited with his father and stepmother at the family home, and neighbors saw him around town. While little is known for certain about what transpired during those few days, prosecutors later suggested that there was a heated disagreement between Robert and his father.

Robert had been using the family car—a 1950s sedan—and had allegedly spoken about needing money. Some accounts suggest he wanted to sell or trade the car, while others point to the possibility of deeper resentments or confrontations at home. Whatever the cause, the events of the night of June 25 would shatter the Cook family forever.

The Murders

On or about June 25, 1959, seven members of the Cook family were killed in their home. The adults, Raymond and Daisy, were shot with a double-barreled shotgun. The five children—Gerald, Patrick, Christopher, Kathy, and Linda Mae—were bludgeoned to death, likely as they slept.

The crime was particularly brutal. After the murders, the killer—or killers—placed all seven bodies into the grease pit beneath the garage. This concealed them from immediate discovery, and there was no sign of forced entry at the house.

The killer then appears to have gathered personal belongings—birth certificates, report cards, family photos—and placed them in the family car. These items, seemingly innocuous, would soon become the key to unraveling the mystery.

The Arrest of Robert Raymond Cook

The first break in the case came not from a missing person report but from an encounter with police. On June 27, 1959, Robert was stopped in Edmonton after attempting to trade in the family car. Suspicious of his vague answers and the unusual presence of personal documents in the vehicle, officers took him into custody on car theft charges.

When questioned about the whereabouts of his family, Robert gave inconsistent answers. Police returned to Stettler to check on the Cooks, and what they found would make national headlines.

On June 28, 1959, officers searched the Cook property. Lifting the wooden cover of the grease pit in the garage, they made a grisly discovery: the bodies of all seven family members stacked together. The shotgun wounds to the adults and the severe blunt-force trauma to the children left no doubt that they had been murdered.

The Investigation and Charges

Public outrage was immediate. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched an extensive investigation, and attention quickly centered on Robert. While there was no direct eyewitness to the murders, the circumstantial evidence was substantial:

He had possession of the family car and their personal documents.
He was the last known person to see them alive.
He gave conflicting accounts of his family’s whereabouts.

Prosecutors faced a legal challenge. Trying him for seven murders would be a massive undertaking, and Alberta law allowed for a conviction and death sentence for a single count of capital murder. They decided to charge Robert solely with the murder of his father, Raymond Cook, while making clear to the public that they believed he had killed the entire family.

The Trial

Robert’s trial began in late 1959 and drew widespread attention in Canada. The defense argued that there was no direct evidence tying Robert to the murders. They suggested alternative theories, including the possibility of another assailant. Robert himself took the stand, maintaining his innocence.

The prosecution relied heavily on circumstantial evidence. Witnesses testified about Robert’s strained relationship with his father, his possession of the car, and his actions in the days after the murders. The physical evidence—particularly the concealment of the bodies and the removal of personal items—was presented as part of a calculated cover-up.

The jury deliberated for only a short time before returning a guilty verdict. Robert was sentenced to death by hanging.

Appeals and Retrial

Robert’s legal team appealed the conviction, arguing that the trial had been unfair and that evidence had been mishandled. In a rare move, the Supreme Court of Canada granted him a retrial.

The second trial, held in 1960, was nearly identical in its presentation of evidence and witness testimony. Once again, Robert maintained his innocence. Once again, the jury found him guilty. The death sentence was reinstated.

Execution

In the early hours of November 15, 1960, Robert Raymond Cook was executed by hanging at the Fort Saskatchewan Provincial Gaol. At age 23, he became the last person ever to be executed in the province of Alberta.

Even in his final moments, Robert denied responsibility for the murders. He left behind a poem and personal writings, proclaiming that the real killer had gone free.

Public Reaction and Lasting Debate

The Cook family murders horrified the nation. The sheer brutality of the killings, combined with the youth of the accused, made the case one of Canada’s most talked-about crimes of the era. For some, Robert’s conviction was an open-and-shut case, the only logical conclusion given the evidence. For others, lingering doubts remained.

Over the decades, the case has continued to inspire debate among legal scholars, journalists, and true crime enthusiasts. Some question whether the circumstantial evidence was truly enough to prove Robert’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Others argue that the case was solid and that Robert’s denials were simply the words of a desperate man facing execution.

The Legacy of the Case

The Cook family murders remain one of the darkest chapters in Alberta’s history. They serve as a grim reminder of how quickly tragedy can strike, even in the most seemingly peaceful communities.

The crime also occupies a unique place in Canadian legal history. Robert Raymond Cook’s execution marked the end of capital punishment in Alberta, occurring just years before the death penalty began to be phased out across Canada.

Today, more than sixty years later, the story still resonates. For some, it is a cautionary tale about family conflict, criminal behavior, and the destructive power of violence. For others, it is an unresolved mystery, a case where the truth may have been lost with the swing of the gallows.