FILE 188 / 10 September 2020 / 169 MIN / full

A Garbage Disposal Full Of Secrets

Corcoran, MinnesotaListen

The town

N ↑Public placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

today we're in Corkran, Minnesota, which is in southeastern Minnesota ... a suburb of Minneapolis ... about 30 minutes to downtown Minneapolis ... this is in Hennepin County about 0:04:36

History, in brief

1840

Morin went to Michigan in 1840, worked in the shipyards on Lake Superior and married in 1844.

about 0:06:15

1845

In 1845 Morin and his wife left Minnesota in a birch bark canoe and followed the Black River for 15 days.

about 0:06:15

Town note

They reached the St. Croix River in a day, followed it to the Mississippi and went to St. Paul, where they stayed 11 years.

about 0:07:30
All 11 history facts

1840

Morin went to Michigan in 1840, worked in the shipyards on Lake Superior and married in 1844.

about 0:06:15

1845

In 1845 Morin and his wife left Minnesota in a birch bark canoe and followed the Black River for 15 days.

about 0:06:15

Town note

They reached the St. Croix River in a day, followed it to the Mississippi and went to St. Paul, where they stayed 11 years.

about 0:07:30

1856

They moved to Corcoran in 1856, built a home and had eleven children.

about 0:07:36

1855

The town was settled in 1855 and organized in 1858.

about 0:08:51

Town note

The city was named after Patrick B. Corkern, its first school teacher, merchant and postmaster.

about 0:09:00

1857

The first school was a 12 by 16 log house built in the winter of 1857 by Corkern, and his first class had 16 children.

about 0:10:11

1847

Corkern opened a general store in a log house on the west side of town; he was originally from Ireland and moved to the US in 1847.

about 0:10:58

Town note

Niche.com ranked Corcoran number 4,330 in its list of best places to raise a family.

about 0:11:36

The figures, as told

Religious

55%

Biggest faith: Catholic residents, 19%

about 0:17:45

Who lives here

White 89% · Black 0.2% · Asian 4.3% · Hispanic 5.6%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
▼ about one third of the national average

about 0:29:48

Violent crime
▼ under one third the average

about 0:30:00

Money

Median home value$352,600
Two-bedroom rent$1,660
Median household income$102,708
Cost of living118

For sale

$309,900

Four-bedroom two-bath house, 2014 square feet

about 0:21:30

For sale

$475,000

Four-bedroom two-bath house, 3,130 square feet

about 0:21:47

For sale

$830,000

Four-bedroom six-bath house, 4,840 square feet

about 0:22:20
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2020

Property crime

"about one third of the national average"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2020 about 0:29:48

Violent crime

"under one third the average"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2020 about 0:30:00

Population

"5,671"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:15:15

Population growth

"up nine percent"

Comparison: "1990s". Direction: above.

As told in 2020 about 0:15:24

Median age

"43 and a half years old"

Direction: below.

As told in 2020 about 0:15:31

Marriage rate

"68%"

Comparison: "usually 50-50". No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:16:00

White residents

"89%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:17:00

Black residents

"0.2%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:17:03

Asian residents

"4.3%"

Comparison: "almost the national average". No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:17:09

Hispanic residents

"5.6%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:17:17

Residents of German ancestry

"36%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:17:21

Residents of Norwegian ancestry

"15%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:17:21

Residents of Swedish ancestry

"8%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:17:21

Residents of Irish ancestry

"7%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:17:21

Democrat vote in the county

"63%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:18:41

Republican vote in the county

"28%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:18:50

Independent vote in the county

"almost nine percent"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:18:50

Unemployment rate

"3.2%"

Comparison: "before this year". No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:18:58

Median household income

"$102,708"

Comparison: "about $57,000 in the rest of the country". No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:19:07

Households earning over $200,000

"double the normal amount"

Comparison: "normal". Direction: above.

As told in 2020 about 0:19:24

Religious residents

"55%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:17:45

Catholic residents

"19%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:17:53

Lutheran residents

"14%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:17:53

Jewish residents

"1.5%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:17:53

Cost of living

"118"

Comparison: "100 is regular average". Direction: above.

As told in 2020 about 0:20:13

Housing cost index

"152"

Comparison: "regular average". No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:20:18

Median home cost

"$352,600"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:20:24

Average two-bedroom rent

"$1,660"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:20:57

Four-bedroom two-bath house, 2014 square feet

"$309,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:21:30

Four-bedroom two-bath house, 3,130 square feet

"$475,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:21:47

Four-bedroom six-bath house, 4,840 square feet

"$830,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2020 about 0:22:20

The reviews

4.0 / 5 · average of 3

5 stars

“I really like Corcoran. It's small compared to the other cities around it, but the people are nice here.”
about 0:12:09

4 stars

“It's a great place to live, but since there isn't much to do that is super close, you have to find things to do yourself, which isn't necessarily bad.”
about 0:12:41

3 stars

“I love the small town feeling Corcoran has. There is no urgent need to develop because everything you could ask for is next door in Maple Grove; it has a hobby beekeeping association and a summer kids soccer program.”
about 0:13:08

In Minnesota

Closest episodes

  1. The Bloodiest Present Under The TreeCrystal, Minnesota · 16 September 202319 km / 12 miShow on map
  2. Bones In The BonfireAndover, Minnesota · 30 March 202325 km / 16 miShow on map
  3. Meat Cleavers & Ham FishingHam Lake, Minnesota · 28 May 202234 km / 21 miShow on map
  4. A House Of HorrorsLino Lakes, Minnesota · 3 May 201737 km / 23 miShow on map
  5. Bloody Headless MessShakopee, Minnesota · 27 June 202538 km / 24 miShow on map

The story

He lived with his parents in north Minneapolis, next door to the Stebbins family, and met their daughter Carol when he was twenty-two and she was fifteen. Her parents were unhappy about the age gap, but Carol insisted she was in love, and after two years they signed the papers; the couple married on Christmas Eve 1970, when Carol was seventeen. They had two daughters, the first in 1971 and the second in 1977, and apart from one two-day separation around 1978, during which Carol took the elder child and left, the marriage seemed ordinary. Carol worked long hours, often overtime, and still ran the home.

She had married young, divorced around 1950 and remarried the following year. He was her only son among nine children, and he treated her as a queen.

That night, according to the statement he later gave, Carol refused sex, as she had the night before, and told him to go downstairs and fuck his fat mama. He dragged Carol to the bathtub, cut off her hair with scissors and burned it in the wood stove, then dismembered her with a ten-inch serrated scuba knife and a twelve-inch knife, cutting the body in half, taking off her legs below the knees and removing her head. He packed the remains into a gunny sack and a duffel bag with rocks as weights, drove them to Weaver Lake between 3.30 and 4 a.m., returned home, dozed, woke at 6.30 a.m., ate two pieces of toast and took the bags by boat to submerge them in the lake. He told his three-year-old daughter that her mother had a big owie and would be at the doctor for a long time.

Her rings were in her purse at home, although her fingers had been so swollen the day before that she could not remove them, and her family said she would never leave without her children. Co-workers told police he had joked about killing Carol, once describing drowning her in a snowmobile accident on thin ice to Renee Halsworth, and after the disappearance he offered her $5,000 not to repeat it. Leona Olson and Steve Brant said the threats were jokes.

Carol's family maintained a Facebook page called We Speak for Carol.

The case

Murder of Carol Hoffman

Victims

Carol Hoffman. Hoffman's wife, mother of two daughters, worked full time and kept the house

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 10 September 2020.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Ray Stebbins. Carol's father, who signed the papers for her marriage at 17 and testified to her happiness
Linda. Carol's younger sister
Rogers Stebbins. Carol's brother
Heidi. and Carol's three-year-old daughter, in the house during the killing
Renee Halsworth. co-worker, told about the snowmobile plan and offered $5,000 to keep quiet
Leona Olson. co-worker, said his threats were jokes
Steve Brant. co-worker, said he did not believe was involved
Stephen Doyle. lawyer who defended

The timeline

  1. 1915 is born.about 0:47:45
  2. 1946 is born in St. Paul.about 0:33:03
  3. 1954 , aged eight, is taken from his mother with two younger sisters and put in an orphanage.about 0:52:14
  4. two years later is reunited with his mother, who he sees as having rescued him.about 0:52:48
  5. December 24th, 1970 and Carol Stebbins marry; she is 17 and he is seven years older.about 0:35:33
  6. 1971 Their first daughter is born.about 0:41:17
  7. 1977 Their second daughter is born.about 0:41:29
  8. about 1978 Carol takes their child and leaves for two days after the couple's only big fight, then returns.about 0:41:33
  9. July 26th, 1980 moves in with and Carol as a live-in babysitter. (Hoffman house)about 0:49:59
  10. August 9th, 1980 and Carol go scuba diving near Stillwater; he considers cutting off her air supply but does not. (Stillwater dive site)about 1:26:49
  11. August 10th, 1980 complains about the household, locks Carol and out, and criticises dinner; leaves and misses dinner. (Hoffman house)about 1:00:25
  12. August 11th, 1980, 12.17 a.m. strangles Carol in their bed, holding her neck for about four minutes and then using his knees. (Hoffman house)about 1:33:34
  13. August 11th, 1980, 3.30 to 4 a.m. drives the bagged remains to Weaver Lake and dumps them in the water. (Weaver Lake)about 1:38:26

Last meals

  • Carol Hoffman. beef with rice and onions, a casserole-style dish dinner at home the night she was killed, August 10, 1980about 1:09:15

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.