The Forest Hung Them: Centriia, 1972

The Forest Hung Them: Centriia, 1972

Four men were found hanging upside down from oak trees in 1972, their rifles untouched, ammunition still slung across their shoulders. Whatever killed them wasn't interested in their gear, a detail that should have ended the investigation, but didn't. What happened to the two men who kept looking?

In this episode, we revisit the chilling events of October 14, 1972, in Centriia, where each piece of evidence contradicted the last, and no version of events has ever held together. We explore the impossible sequence of discoveries, from the initial finding of the bodies to the inexplicable appearance of a mature fir tree in the middle of a road.

Event: Four men found hanging from oak trees
Location: George Washington Park, Centriia
Date: October 14, 1972
Victims: Carl Deetman, Roy Demund, Phil Okafor, Thomas Brightwell
Suspect: George Callum

- Four men were found hanging upside down from oak trees at 4 AM, their rifles untouched.
- The coroner noted hundreds of shallow cuts and deeper puncture wounds across all four bodies.
- Detective Martin and his apprentice Drew Kowalski investigated the case.
- George Callum claimed he instructed the trees to kill the men for taking from the forest.
- A mature fir tree, three feet across, inexplicably appeared in the middle of the road after the detectives had already driven through.

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