Bogle-Chandler case

The Bogle-Chandler case refers to the mysterious deaths of Dr Gilbert Stanley Bogle (1924-1963) and Mrs Margaret Olive Chandler née Morphett (1934-1963) on the banks of the Lane Cove River in Sydney, Australia on January 1, 1963. The case is also known as the Bogle-Chandler mystery. The case became famous because of the circumstances in which the bodies were found and because the cause of death could not be established. However, in 2006, a filmmaker discovered evidence to suggest the cause of death was the gas hydrogen sulphide, which may have come from factory wastes pumped into the Lane Cove River. On the night the lovers trysted an explosion of gas from the polluted river bed may have occurred, causing the noxious fumes to pool in deadly quantities in the grove.

Background to the case

Dr Gilbert Bogle was a physicist who worked at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Married with several children, he was considered to be a brilliant scientist and had been a Rhodes Scholar [ [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130243b.htm Bogle, Gilbert Stanley (1924 - 1963) Biographical Entry - Australian Dictionary of Biography Online ] ] . He was also involved in relationships with people other than his wife, having as many as five affairs at any one time.

Mrs Chandler was also married, to Geoffrey Chandler, who also worked at the CSIRO. She was a mother and a housewife and witnesses later suggested that she may have been slightly bored with her life.

Dr Bogle, the Chandlers, and several others attended a barbecue just prior to Christmas 1962. Mrs Chandler was quite taken with Dr Bogle and later mentioned this to her husband. Mr Chandler later explained that he and his wife had "an understanding", and so he told her: "If you want to take Gib as a lover, if it would make you happy, you do it."

The Chatswood party

Two of the other people at the barbecue were Ken and Ruth Nash. Ken Nash also worked at the CSIRO and knew Geoffrey Chandler. He invited the Chandlers to his New Year's Eve party, to be held at his home in Waratah Street, Chatswood.

The Chandlers arrived late for the party, with Geoffrey Chandler underdressed. Chandler soon left the party and drove to another party (organised, he says, by the Sydney Push) in the suburb of Balmain where he met Pam Logan, with whom he was having an affair. He returned to the Chatswood party in the early hours of the morning but left again, with the understanding that Dr Bogle would drive Mrs Chandler home.

Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler left the party soon after 4 a.m. and drove to the nearby Lane Cove River, which was known as a lovers' lane. What happened next is still unclear, but several hours later, their bodies were found.

Discovery of the bodies

Dr. Bogle's body was discovered first, by two youths searching for golf balls. They saw his body and presumed him to be drunk. When they returned an hour later to find that he had not moved and that his face had turned blue, they went to fetch help.

When police arrived at the scene, they discovered that Bogle's body was half-undressed. Somebody had placed his clothes on him in such a way that he appeared to be dressed, but was not.

Shortly after this, Mrs. Chandler's body was discovered a short distance away. She was also in a state of undress, her body having been covered with pieces of cardboard. It was initially believed that she had covered first Bogle's body and then her own, but closer examination suggested that someone had covered her body as well.

Investigation

It was obvious that both had died from some sort of poisoning. At the scene were signs of vomit and excreta. Unfortunately, forensic examination of the bodies was delayed for 36 hours because New Year's Day was a public holiday. When forensic examination did take place, no traces of any poison could be found.

As might be expected, the case attracted instant publicity. It involved a high-society party, wife-swapping, an unidentified third person at the death scene and an unidentified poison. Combined with speculation that Bogle was involved in research important in the Cold War, it was guaranteed top-story news. That time of year was also the quietest period for news stories of any time of the year.

The inquest in May 1963 did not help to resolve the mystery. The coroner, Mr J.J. Loomes, concluded that Bogle and Chandler had died because of "...acute circulatory failure. But as to the circumstances under which such circulatory failure was brought about, the evidence does not permit me to say." In other words, Bogle and Chandler either died because their hearts stopped beating or they stopped breathing.

Poisoning Theories

One suggested solution to the mystery came in 1989. Heart tissues from both Bogle and Chandler had been preserved and new forensic techniques were applied to them. These techniques gave evidence of the presence of LSD. These techniques were not claimed as conclusive, but they were presented as evidence that Bogle and Chandler had used LSD and some authorities suggested that they died of an overdose. Against this, LSD is considered to be a drug on which it is next to impossible to overdose, with no other associated fatalities. This has led to further speculation that impurities in the LSD may have caused death, but both this and the LSD overdose theory are dismissed by many and the cause of death for Bogle and Chandler remains subject to speculation.

A documentary by Peter Butt (Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler?) was shown on the ABC in September 2006, suggests that the two deaths may have been caused by accidental hydrogen sulphide poisoning. A government scientist was employed to investigate foul odours and nauseating pollution near the river in the late 1940s, and reported that very large and rapid releases of hydrogen sulphide gas did arise from a meromictic section of the river impounded by a weir. Supporting evidence for this theory includes:
* A great disturbance of black river bed sediment was reported by police divers the next day, so strong that visibility remained poor for 11 days;
* The very still weather conditions at time of death, would have allowed high concentrations of gas to accumulate despite being outdoors;
* The bodies were found very near the point on the river bed where the highest concentrations of gas-generating pollutants occurred;
* Dr. Bogle's body was found in a small depression, where the heavier-than-air hydrogen sulphide would tend to accumulate;
* Mrs. Chandler's body was not found in the depression, but slight abrasions suggest she may have staggered around confused for a while before collapsing;
* Most importantly, a purple discoloration seen in the victims' blood is characteristic of hydrogen sulphide poisoning (although it can also be caused by other poisons; see cyanosis, and compare to methaemoglobin/methemoglobinemia).In this theory, the victims' clothing was rearranged not by a murderer, but a prudish passerby the next morning—a person who was actually interviewed by the police, although he denied interfering with the crime scene. A woman who was a child at the time came forward at the time of the film's screening, said she found a handbag 4km away in bushland between three houses. One of those houses was discovered to belong to a relative of the suspect and was a location near his own home.

References

External links

* [http://www.boglechandler.com The Bogle-Chandler case]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/200609/programs/ZY8229A001D7092006T203000.htm Who Killed Dr Bogle And Mrs Chandler?, Australian Broadcasting Corporation]
* [http://www.rebeccayoung.org/boglechandler/movie.html Remembering Bogle Chandler - an interactive narrative]