The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders[1] – also known as the Wineville Chicken Murders[2] – were a series of kidnappings and murders of young boys occurring in Los Angeles and Riverside County, California, in 1928. The case received national attention.[2] The 2008 film Changeling is based in part upon events related to this case.[3]

Murders
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, visited Sanford in Wineville concerned for his welfare. Once in Wineville, Sanford told her that he feared for his own life and one night while Gordon Northcott slept, Jessie learned from Sanford about the horrors and murders that had taken place at Wineville. Jessie returned to Canada in the next week or so.

Once in Canada, she informed the American Consul in Canada about the horrors in Wineville. The American consul then wrote a letter to the Los Angeles Police Department, detailing Jessie Clark's sworn complaint. As initially there was some concern over an immigration issue, the Los Angeles Police Department contacted the United States Immigration Service to determine the extent of the complaint from Jessie. On August 31, 1928, the United States Immigration Service (inspectors; Judson F. Shaw and Inspector Scallorn) visited the Northcott Ranch in Wineville. The Immigration Service found 15-year-old Sanford Clark at the ranch and took him into custody. Gordon Northcott had seen the agents driving up the long road to his ranch. Prior to Gordon fleeing into the treeline, Gordon told Sanford to stall the agents, or he would shoot Sanford from the treeline with a rifle. In the 2 hours that Sanford stalled for Gordon, Gordon had kept running, and finally when Sanford felt that the agents could protect him, he told them that Gordon had fled into the trees that lined the edge of Gordon's chicken-ranch property.[4]

The Northcotts fled to Canada and were arrested near Vernon, British Columbia.[5]
Sanford Clark testified at the sentencing of Sarah Louise Northcott (his grandmother) that Gordon Northcott (his uncle) had kidnapped, molested, beaten, and killed three young boys with the help of Northcott's mother, Sarah Louise Northcott, and Sanford himself. 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" (of the Mexican youth) 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."[6]

Sanford said quicklime was used to dispose of the remains, and that the bodies (of Lewis and Nelson Winslow, as well as that of Walter Collins) 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 discovered that the graves were empty of complete bodies, however, there were partial body parts that remained. During testimony from both Jessie Clark (Sanford's sister) and Sanford Clark, it was learned that the bodies had been dug up by both Gordon Northcott and his mother, Sarah Louise Northcott, on the evening of August 4, 1928 (a few weeks before Sanford was taken into protective custody by authorities) and that Gordon and his mother had taken the bodies out to the desert where they were most likely burned in the night.[7] The complete bodies were never recovered. There were only partial body remains of hair, blood and bones found in the graves at the Wineville burial sites. It was these partial body parts, coupled with the testimony of Sanford Clark, that allowed the State of California to obtain the death penalty against Gordon Northcott and a life sentence for his mother, Sarah Louise Northcott. It was also this evidence that allowed the State of California to unequivocally conclude that Walter Collins, the Winslow Brothers and the unidentified Mexican boy had all been murdered.

Aftermath
Police found no complete bodies, but they discovered personal effects of the three children reported missing, 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".[2] Wineville changed its name to Mira Loma on November 1, 1930, due in large part to the negative publicity surrounding the murders. The new City of Eastvale, California took parts of the area of Mira Loma in 2010 and the new city of Jurupa Valley took parts of Mira Loma in 2011.[8][9] Wineville Avenue, Wineville Road, Wineville Park and other geographic references provide reminders of the community's former name.[1] Sanford Clark returned to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. City of Saskatoon records indicate that Sanford Wesley Clark died on June 20, 1991[10] and was buried in the Saskatoon Woodlawn Cemetery on August 26, 1993.

Judicial proceedings
Canadian police arrested Gordon Stewart Northcott and his mother on September 19, 1928.[11] Due to errors in the extradition paperwork, they were not returned to Los Angeles until November 30, 1928.[12][13] During the time period that Sarah and Gordon Northcott were being held in Canada, awaiting extradition back to California, Sarah Louise Northcott confessed to the murders,[5][14]including that of nine-year-old Walter Collins. Prior to being extradited to California, Sarah Northcott retracted her statement, as did Gordon Northcott, who had confessed to killing more than five boys.

Once Sarah Louise Northcott and her son, Gordon Northcott, were extradited from Canada to California, Sarah Louise Northcott, once again, pled guilty to killing Walter Collins. There was no trial. Upon her plea of guilty, 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,[16] and was paroled after fewer than 12 years.[17][18] 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,[14] that she was Gordon's grandmother,[19] and that he was the result of incest between her husband, George Cyrus Northcott, and their daughter.[9] 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 not to bring any charges against Gordon in the death of Walter Collins.[20] 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[5] known as the "Headless Mexican" and brothers Lewis and Nelson Winslow (aged 12 and 10, respectively).[21] 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 death,[23] and he was hanged on October 2, 1930, at San Quentin State Prison.

Involved parties
Gordon Stewart Northcott

Gordon Northcott
Background information
Birth name	Gordon Stewart Northcott
Born	November 9, 1906 Saskatchewan, Canada
Died	October 2, 1930 San Quentin State Prison
Cause of death	Hanging
Conviction	February 8, 1929
Sentence	Death
Killings
Number of victims	3-20+
Country	USA
State(s)	California
Date apprehended	September 19, 1928

Gordon Northcott (November 9, 1906 – October 2, 1930)

Gordon Stewart Northcott was born in Saskatchewan, Canada, and raised in British Columbia, Canada. He moved to Los Angeles 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 at 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 that Gordon had murdered and thendecapitated. The Mexican boy was Northcott's first victim.

Northcott's second murder victim was Walter Collins.[25] 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?"

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.[25]

Sanford Clark
Sanford Wesley Clark (March 1, 1913 – June 20, 1991)
Sanford's older sister, Jessie, became suspicious of the letters Sanford was forced to send home from Northcott's ranch that assured the family he was well. She went to the ranch in Wineville, and stayed several days. However, she became terrified of Northcott, left and returned to Canada, where she told the American Consul (in Canada) about the crimes that had occurred at Wineville.

Sanford Clark was never tried for murder, because the Assistant District Attorney, Loyal C. Kelley, believed very strongly that Sanford was innocent,[27] a victim of Gordon's death threats and sexual abuse, and that he was not a willing participant in the crimes, nor was he a criminal. Mr. Kelley told Sanford that he had "secured an entirely unique settlement to Sanford's legal situation by having Sanford signed into the nearby Whittier Boys School, where an experimental program for delinquent youths was under way. Mr. Kelley assured Sanford that Whittier Boys School was unique because of its compassionate mission of genuine rehabilitation".[28] Sanford was sentenced to five years at the Whittier State School (later renamed the Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility). His sentence was later commuted to 23 months, because the trustees of the Whittier School for Boys felt that "Sanford had impressed the Trustees with his temperament, job skills and his personal desire to live a productive life during his nearly two years there."[29] Upon Sanford's release from Whittier Boys School, Mr. Kelley's "punishment" of Sanford, ("that Mr. Kelley had single-handedly pushed through the Justice system for Sanford"), was now complete."[30] As Sanford boarded a ship to be deported back to his native Canada (by American authorities) he was requested by Mr. Kelley to: "Use your life to prove that rehabilitation works ... go prove that I am right about you Sanford."[30] "He threw his body and soul into fulfilling Mr. Kelley's request, the only thing that he had been asked to do for the best man he had ever met, a man who believed in him. The thought of failing Mr. Kelley was intolerable. Sanford left the Whittier Boys School resolved to go after a normal life the way that a passenger who falls off a ship will swim to land."[31] Clark's son, Jerry Clark, credits Clark's wife June, his sister Jessie, associate prosecution counsel Loyal C. Kelley, and the Whittier State School for helping rehabilitate Sanford from the emotional and physical horrors of Gordon Northcott.

Clark served in World War II, and then worked for 28 years for the Canadian postal service. He married, and he and his wife, June, adopted and raised two sons. They were married for 55 years and were involved in many different organizations. Sanford Clark died in 1991 at age 78.[32] Sanford Wesley Clark was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1993.