The body is a textbook; it tells you everything if you know how to read it.
Gilbert Paul Jordan
The Boozing Barber.
Victim(s)
Ivy Rose, Mary Johnson, Barbara Paul, Mary Johns, Patricia Thomas, Patricia Andrew, Vera Harry, Vanessa Lee Buckner, Rosemary Wilson, Verna Chartrand, Sheila Joe, Mabel Olson
perpetrator(s)
Gilbert Paul Jordan
Case Status
Closed Case
Case Years
1965, 1980–1987
Location(s)
Downtown Eastside, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Synopsis
Gilbert Paul Jordan, known as the "Boozing Barber," was a Canadian serial killer active between the 1960s and 1980s, primarily in Vancouver. He targeted vulnerable women—mostly Indigenous—by coercing them into consuming deadly amounts of alcohol. Jordan is suspected in the deaths of at least eight women, though he was only convicted of manslaughter in the 1987 death of Vanessa Lee Buckner. His unique method of murder, using alcohol as a weapon, made him one of Canada’s most disturbing and overlooked serial killers.
Victim Details
Ivy Rose
1965, at a Vancouver hotel. Blood alcohol level: 0.51
Mary Johnson
November 30, 1980, at the Aylmer Hotel, Blood alcohol level: 0.34
Barbara Paul
September 11, 1981, at the Glenaird Hotel, Blood alcohol level: 0.41
Mary Johns
July 30, 1982, at 2503 Kingsway (his barbershop) Blood alcohol level: 0.76
Patricia Thomas
December 15, 1984, at 2503 Kingsway (his barbershop) Blood alcohol level: 0.51
Patricia Andrew
June 28, 1985, at 2503 Kingsway (his barbershop) Blood alcohol level: 0.79
Vera Harry
November 19, 1986, at the Clifton Hotel, Blood alcohol level: 0.04
Vanessa Lee Buckner
October 12, 1987, at Niagara Hotel, Blood alcohol level: Unknown
Rosemary Wilson
November 20, 1987, at the Balmoral Hotel, Blood alcohol level: 0.52
Verna Chartrand
November 21, 1987, at the Pacific Hotel, Blood alcohol level: 0.43
Sheila Joe
November 25, 1987, at the Rainbow Hotel, Blood alcohol level: Unknown
Mabel Olson
November 26, 1987, at the Pacific Hotel, Blood alcohol level: Unknown
