Gordon Stewart Northcott
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Gordon Stewart Northcott (November 9, 1906 – October 2, 1930) was a Canadian
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
, child rapist, and child abductor who was convicted of the murders of three young boys in California and confessed to the murders of nine in total. Sentenced to death, he was executed on October 2, 1930.


Biography

Gordon Stewart Northcott was born in
Bladworth, Saskatchewan Bladworth ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of McCraney No. 282 and Census Division No. 11. The village is located south of the City of Saskatoon on Highway 11. History ...
, and raised in
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. He moved to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
with his parents in 1924. Northcott asked his father to purchase a plot of land in Wineville, California. On this land, he built a chicken ranch and a house with the help of his father—who was in the construction business—and his nephew, Sanford Clark. It was under this pretext that Northcott brought Sanford from Bladworth to the United States.


Wineville Chicken Coop murders

While residing at his chicken ranch, Northcott abducted an undetermined number of boys and
molested Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...
them. Typically, after molesting them, he would drive the victims home and let them go. Four of them, however, he murdered at the ranch. Canadian police arrested Northcott and his mother on September 19, 1928. Due to errors in the
extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...
paperwork, they were not returned to Los Angeles until November 30. Northcott was implicated in the murder of Walter Collins, but because Northcott's mother had confessed to murdering Collins and had been sentenced for it, the state chose not to prosecute Northcott in that murder. It was speculated that Northcott may have killed as many as 20 boys, but the state of California could not produce evidence to support that speculation. Ultimately, the state only brought an indictment against Northcott for the murders of an unidentified underage Mexican national later to be identified as Alvin Gothea—known as the "Headless Mexican"—and the 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, 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, the 27-day trial ended with Northcott being convicted of those murders. On February 13, Freeman sentenced him to death. He was hanged on October 2, 1930, at San Quentin State Prison.


Popular culture

Clint Eastwood directed ''
Changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore throughout Europe. A changeling was believed to be a fairy that had been left in place of a human (typically a child) stolen by other fairi ...
'' in 2008, and Gordon Northcott was portrayed by
Jason Butler Harner Jason Thomas Butler Harner (born October 9, 1970) is an American actor. Life and career Harner was born in Elmira, New York and grew up in suburban Northern Virginia, where he saw a handful of plays at Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage. His mid ...
. ''
American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the cable network FX. The first installment in the '' American Story'' media franchise, each season is conceived as a ...
'' referenced Northcott in season 5, ''
Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
''. Maid Hazel Evers’s (
Mare Winningham A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four y ...
) son is abducted and killed upon the farm.


See also

* List of serial killers in the United States


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northcott, Gordon Stewart 1906 births 1930 deaths 1926 murders in the United States 1927 murders in the United States 1928 murders in the United States 20th-century Canadian criminals 20th-century executions by California Canadian male criminals Canadian murderers of children Canadian people convicted of child sexual abuse Canadian people convicted of murder Canadian people executed abroad Canadian rapists Criminals from Los Angeles Executed Canadian serial killers Gay men Male serial killers Murder in Riverside County, California People convicted of murder by California People executed by California by hanging People from Saskatchewan San Quentin State Prison inmates Violence against men in North America