Wineville Chicken Coop murders
| Wineville Chicken Coop murders | |
|---|---|
Northcott's ranch | |
Location in Riverside County and the state of California | |
| Location | 6330 Wineville Ave Jurupa Valley, California 91752 |
| Date | 1926–1928 |
Attack type | Child murder by bludgeoning, serial murder, child abduction |
| Weapons | Axe |
| Deaths | 3 confirmed, 10 confessed |
| Injured | 1 (Sanford Clark) |
| Perpetrators |
|
No. of participants | 3 |
| Verdict | Gordon: Guilty on all counts Sarah: Pleaded guilty |
| Convictions | First-degree murder (3 counts for Gordon, 1 count for Sarah) |
| Sentence | Gordon: Death Sarah: Life imprisonment |
Between 1926 and 1928, Gordon Stewart Northcott abducted and murdered three boys, and was implicated but not convicted in the murder of a fourth boy, in Los Angeles and Riverside County, California. The remains of three of the boys were found at his farm in Wineville (now Mira Loma), with the fourth being found in La Puente. Northcott, a native of Canada, moved to the U.S. in 1924 with his parents. The case later became known as the Wineville Chicken Coop murders.
Besides Northcott, his mother Sarah Northcott and his young nephew Sanford Clark were also suspected in participating in the murders. Learning that the authorities were searching for him, Northcott fled to Canada along with his mother and was arrested while visiting his sister (Sanford Clark's mother) in Canada in November 1928. The case received national attention because one of the assumed victims was 9-year-old Walter Collins, whose disappearance in March 1928 had led to an impostor claiming Walter's identity for several days in a widely publicized case.
Ultimately, Gordon Northcott was found guilty of three murders (the Winslow Brothers and Alvin Gothea) in February 1929 and was executed at San Quentin State Prison in October 1930. Sarah Northcott was found guilty in the murder of Walter Collins.