Okay, so last night I watched a
FANTASTIC movie,
Changeling. The movie is based on a true story that took place in LA, California back in 1928. The story was amazing. I was on the edge of my sheet the entire time, not to mention the empathy I felt for the Christine Collins, mother.
After the story was completed, I couldn't help but do some research on my own of this story as well. I have included some of this below for anyone who was moved by this movie.******** If you have not watched the movie...and don't want to spoil it.....you may not want to read this. ********
The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders— also known as the Wineville Chicken Murders — was a series of kidnappings and murders of young boys occurring in Los Angeles and Riverside County, California, in 1928. The case received national attention. The 2008 film Changeling is based upon events related to this case.
In 1926, Saskatchewan-born ranch owner Gordon Stewart Northcott took his 13-year-old nephew, Sanford Clark (with the permission of Sanford's parents), from his home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Once in California, Northcott beat and sexually abused his nephew. Sanford's sister, Jessie Clark, later informed the police about the situation. In September 1928, the Los Angeles Police Department visited the Northcott Ranch in Wineville. Police found Clark at the ranch and took him into custody.
Sanford Clark testified at the sentencing of Sarah Louise Northcott (Sanford's grandmother) that Gordon Northcott (Sanford's uncle) had kidnapped, molested, beaten, and killed three young boys with the help of Northcott's mother, Sarah Louise Northcott, and Sanford himself. Sanford said quicklime was used to dispose of the remains, and that the bodies were buried at the Wineville ranch. Authorities found shallow graves exactly where Sanford had stated that they could be found at Wineville. Upon the discovery of the graves, it was learned that the bodies had been dug up by Gordon Northcott (once he knew that the police were onto him) and that Gordon dumped and reburied the bodies in the desert; they were never recovered. There were only partial remains of hair, blood and bones found at the Wineville burial sites.
In addition to the three young boys murdered, Sanford stated that Northcott had also killed a Mexican youth (never identified, but referred to in the case as the "Headless Mexican"), without the involvement of his mother or Sanford. Gordon Northcott had forced Sanford to help dispose of the "head" by burning it in a firepit and then crushing the skull into pieces with a fence post. Gordon stated that "he had left the headless body by the side of the road near Puente (La Puente, California), because he had no other place to put it." The Northcotts fled to Canada and were arrested near Vernon, British Columbia.
AftermathPolice found no complete bodies, but they discovered personal effects of the three missing children, a blood-stained axe, and partial body parts, including bones, hair and fingers, from the three victims buried in lime near the chicken house at the Northcott ranch near Wineville – hence the name "Wineville Chicken Coop Murders". Wineville changed its name to Mira Loma on November 1, 1930, due in large part to the negative publicity surrounding the murders. Wineville Avenue, Wineville Road, Wineville Park and other geographic references provide reminders of the community's former name. Sanford Clark returned to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. City of Saskatoon records indicate that Sanford Wesley Clark died on June 20, 1991 and was buried in the Saskatoon Woodlawn Cemetery on August 26, 1993.
TrialSarah Louise Northcott initially confessed to the murders, including that of nine-year-old Walter Collins. She later retracted her statement, as did Gordon Northcott, who had confessed to killing more than five boys.
Canadian police arrested Gordon Stewart Northcott and his mother on September 19, 1928. Due to errors in the extradition paperwork, they were not returned to Los Angeles until November 30, 1928. Upon her return from Canada, Sarah Louise plead guilty to killing Walter Collins. Superior Court Judge Morton sentenced her to life imprisonment on December 31, 1928, sparing her the death penalty because she was a woman. Sarah Louise Northcott served her sentence at Tehachapi State Prison, and was paroled after fewer than 12 years. During her sentencing, Sarah Louise claimed her son was innocent and made a variety of bizarre claims about his parentage, including that he was an illegitimate son by an English nobleman,that she was Gordon's grandmother,and that he was the result of incest between her husband, George Cyrus Northcott, and their daughter. She also stated that as a child, Gordon was sexually abused by the entire family. Sarah Louise Northcott died in 1944.
Gordon Northcott was implicated and participated in the murder of Walter Collins, but because his mother had already confessed and been sentenced for the murder of Walter, the state chose to not bring any charges against Gordon in the death of Walter Collins. It was speculated that Gordon may have had as many as 20 victims, but the State of California could not produce evidence to support that speculation, and ultimately only brought an indictment against Gordon in the murder of an unidentified Mexican boy known as the "Headless Mexican" and brothers Lewis and Nelson Winslow (aged 12 and 10, respectively). The brothers had been reported missing from Pomona on May 16, 1928.
In early 1929, Gordon Northcott's trial was held before Judge George R. Freeman in Riverside County, California. The jury heard that he kidnapped, molested, tortured, and murdered the Winslow brothers and the "Headless Mexican" in 1928. On February 8, 1929, the 27-day trial ended with Gordon Northcott convicted of the murders.
On February 13, 1929, Freeman sentenced Gordon Northcott to be hanged. The sentence was carried out on October 2, 1930, at San Quentin State Prison.
Gordon Northcott (c. 1906 – October 2, 1930)
Gordon Stewart Northcott was born in Saskatchewan, Canada, and raised in British Columbia, Canada. He moved to the Los Angeles area with his parents in 1924. Northcott asked his father to purchase a plot of land in Wineville, California, where Gordon built a chicken ranch and home with the help of his father (who was in the construction business) and his nephew Sanford. It was this pretext (building a ranch at Wineville) that Northcott used to bring Sanford from Canada to Southern California. Northcott abducted an undetermined number of boys and molested them on the chicken ranch. Typically, after molesting the children, Gordon would drive his victims home and let them go.
There was a rumor that Northcott had "rented" his victims to wealthy southern Californian pedophiles, but there was no evidence to prove that speculation. Ultimately, Northcott was convicted of the murder of the Winslow boys and an unidentified Mexican teenage boy. The Mexican boy was Northcott's first victim. Gordon Northcott was also implicated in the death of Walter Collins.
Northcott's second murder victim was Walter Collins. A few days after abducting Walter Collins, Northcott received a phone-call from his mother, Sarah Louise Northcott, informing him that she was immediately on her way out to see him at the ranch in Wineville and was going to stay for a few days. The drive from Mrs. Northcott's home in LA to Wineville was only about an hour. By then, Northcott had already held and molested Walter at the ranch for a few days. During Sarah's visit, Walter was kept in the chicken coops.
Owing to prior incidents, Sarah was well aware that her son had sexually abused boys. She became suspicious of the chicken coops and Gordon's desire to keep her away from them. At some point during her visit to the ranch, Sarah discovered Walter in the chicken coop. According to Sanford Clark's testimony, she told Gordon that Walter could identify him; Gordon had once worked at a supermarket where Walter had shopped with his own mother, Christine Collins. She asked, "how Gordon could have been so stupid as to kidnap and molest a boy who could identify Gordon?"
In fact, it is believed that Northcott had targeted Walter at the supermarket, saying, "Would you like to come out to my ranch and ride the ponies?"
However, since Walter could identify Northcott, Sarah told her son that Walter knew too much and needed to be silenced permanently. Sanford Clark testified that Sarah decided that all three of them should participate in the murder of Walter Collins. That way, none of them, Sanford, Gordon, or Sarah, could go to the police and implicate the two others without placing themselves at risk. Gordon Northcott suggested using a gun, but Sarah feared that the noise might alert neighbors. The blunt end of an axe was chosen as the murder weapon and was used to dispatch Walter as he lay sleeping on a cot in the chicken coop. Gordon, Mrs. Northcott and Sanford Clark (against his own will) each delivered the fatal blows to Walter. They dispatched the Winslow brothers in a similar manner.
ry! 
