Court scene where Christine Collins is having to defend herself against the city of Los Angeles.
Scene in the film where Christine realizes this is not her son.
Marked photo of where bodies were found on the Wineville ranch.
The Changeling, featuring actor who played Gordon Northcott.
Actual chicken coop in Wineville where Northcott kept his victims.
Christine Collins.
Gordon Northcott. Many people said they could see "evil" in him.
Gordon Northcott in court in Los Angeles during his trial.
Walter Collins, victim of Gordon Northcott. Note the description by his mother Christine Collins.
Gordon Northcott in shackles showing authorities where some of his victims bodies are buried.
Many of you might have seen The Changeling with Angelina Jolie last year. It was on HBO last night, and reminded me that I read a book about Gordon Northcott, the killer in the story. Here is some information about the murders, in case you aren't familiar with them.
In 1928, Gordon Northcott kidnapped and tortured several boys at his parents chicken ranch in Wineville, (now Mira Loma) CA. Northcott used the boys as sex slaves, then murdered them and buried their bodies in the chicken coops.
Northcott kidnapped his own cousin, Sanford Clark and forced him to help take place in the murders. Northcott kidnapped a boy, Walter Collins from his home in Pasadena, CA and took him to the ranch. Christine Collins, Walter's mother came home to find her child missing and filed reports with the police. There was a lot of corruption going on in the L.A.P.D. at that time, so they tried to smooth over the case by returning a child who wasn't Walter to her. They expected her to be so distraught with guilt and pain that she would simply accept the child as her own. She didn't. She continued to fight, stating that the child wasn't Walter. They put her through many trials and tribulations, including throwing her in a mental institution. Christine never gave up looking for her son, but of course, he never returned home.
In August 1928, authorities were tipped off by a family member to what was going on at the so-called "murder farm" in Riverside County, and they took Clark into custody. Sanford began to tell the police of the gruesome tales of murder and what his cousin was up to at the ranch. Investigators dispatched to dig up the farm found no bodies. Clark said quicklime and fires had been used to get rid of the remains and the bones had been dumped in the desert. Searchers did find a finger, hand and foot bones, and personal items belonging to the boys. They also found axes soaked with human blood.
Northcott's mother was suspected of having some involvement in the murders. It is still unclear whether she simply knew about them and did nothing, or participated in the murders in some way. When Clark was taken into custody, Northcott and his mother, Louise Northcott, fled to their native Canada, where they were arrested and extradited back to the United States.
Northcott was executed in 1930, the same year that Wineville residents, concerned with the stigma now attached to their community, changed the town's name to Mira Loma. While on Death Row, Northcott estimated he had killed "maybe 20" boys, but later retracted that statement. He was ultimately hanged for his crimes at San Quentin.
Sad post, but part of our history of Southern California. If you haven't seen the movie, you have to check it out. Wonderful film directed by Clint Eastwood. Have a great Tuesday, friends!
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