Episode 515: Septic Tank Sam

About this episode

The episode discusses the case of an unidentified murder victim known as Septic Tank Sam and the recent advancements in forensic genealogy that have brought new insights into the case.

Septic Tank Sam was the nickname given to an unidentified murder victim found on April 13, 1977, in a disused septic tank on an abandoned farm near Tofield, Alberta. Because investigators could not identify him for decades, he became known as “Septic Tank Sam". In 2021, advances in forensic genealogy finally led to a major breakthrough in this case, but that doesn't mean the case is closed, there's still work to be done! If you have any information about Gordon Sanderson’s movements around the time of his death in the spring of 1977, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Alberta RCMP at 780‑412‑5424. No tip is too small. Click here to join our Patreon. Click here to get your own Inhuman merch. Connect with us on Instagram and join our Facebook group. To submit listener stories or case suggestions, and to see all sources for this episode: https://www.inhumanpodcast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Inhuman Podcast

Topics covered

• unidentified victim
• forensic genealogy
• cold case
• true crime
• murder investigation

Keywords

• Septic Tank Sam
• murder victim
• forensic genealogy
• cold case
• Alberta

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Tofield, Alberta

More episodes of Inhuman: A True Crime Podcast

• Episode 514: The Unsolved Murder of Betsy Aardsma · June 9, 2026 · 47 min
• Episode 513: Eric Grady Smith · June 5, 2026 · 39 min
• Episode 512: Listener Stories Volume 52 · June 1, 2026 · 59 min
• Episode 511: The Duston Family Murders · May 28, 2026 · 36 min
• Episode 510: Cinnamon Brown · May 26, 2026 · 39 min
• Episode 509: Eurydice Dixon · May 21, 2026 · 36 min