Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders” - Gordon Stewart Northcott

Episode Date: March 4, 2019

This Serial Killers and Hostage crossover covers Gordon Stewart Northcott, who held his nephew captive and forced him to participate in the murder of at least three boys. Northcott would restrain his victims in a chicken coop before eventually murdering them. The small town of Wineville, California changed its name in 1930 to disassociate from the killings.  Parcasters - If you found yourself fascinated by this story of captivity and crime, check out our podcast HOSTAGE, wherever you get your shows. Listen to our new episode on John McCain now at parcast.com/hostage Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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And now, you can try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com slash killers. That's ZipRecruiter. Meet your match on ZipRecruiter. This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Bonnie and Clyde, the Lonely Hearts Killers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. These are infamous criminal duels. But you don't need to break any laws to find your perfect business partner because you have Shopify. It's the commerce platform that can help you with literally everything, website design, marketing, shipping, and more. So start your business today with the best partner, Shopify, and get that. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at Shopify.com slash killers. That's Shopify.com slash killers. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for

superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamavatheater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter. Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of murder and assault that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. Wineville, Southern California, named for its plentiful vineyards,

Wineville was once nothing but open space and clear blue sky. Mountains towered in the distance over the scattered farms, ranches, and fields of growing vines. A beautiful view on a clear day. It was a quiet place, where the nearest neighbor was off in acres, away. But in the late 1920s, underneath its veneer of natural beauty, Wineville was hiding something horrible. From 1926 to 1928, Gordon Stewart Northcott turned his small Wineville chicken ranch into a torture chamber and final resting place for at least three young boys and harmed

countless others. Stewart's reign of terror made Wineville so notorious, The city eventually changed its name to Miraloma, meaning view from the hills. At a glance, one would never suspect that buried beneath those hills lie the bones of children still screaming for justice. Hi, I'm Greg Polson. This is Serial Killers on the Parcast Network. Every Monday, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. At Parcast, we're grateful for you. you, our listeners, you allow us to do what we love. Let us know how we're doing. Reach out on Facebook and Instagram at Parcast and Twitter at Parcast Network. And if you enjoy today's episode,

the best way to help us is to leave a five-star review wherever you're listening. It really does help us. We also now have merch. Head to Parcast.com slash merch for more information. Today we're taking a deep dive into the life of Gordon Stewart Northcott, the monster behind the Wineville Chicken Coop murders. Gordon Stewart Northcott was a unique serial killer in that he held his victims hostage for weeks before murdering them. To get a better look at hostage situations and the psychological toll they take, we've asked our friends Carter and Irma hosts of Parcast, Podcast Hostage,

to join us for these two episodes. everyone. Thanks for having us. Erma and I are excited to dive into this unusual and terrifying hostage situation. We are. Every Thursday, we tell intense and electrifying stories of real hostage situations and the people trapped inside them. So Gordon Stewart Northcott fascinates me. Me too. So let's get started. Between 1926 and 1928, Gordon Stewart Northcott kidnapped, raped, and brutally murdered at least. three boys in Wineville, California. Though these are the only murders that can be pinned to Stewart with certainty, there's likely an untold number of living victims who survived Stewart's cruelty before he turned to killing. Stuart operated in a remote town in Southern California and used that isolation to his advantage. No one was close enough to hear his victim screams,

which allowed him to keep his captives alive for weeks. He would finally end their misery by waiting until his victims fell asleep, then bludgeoning them to death with an axe. This case has also become famous for the difficulties the victim's families later endured while seeking justice for their murdered children. Christine Collins searched for her son Walter and her subsequent gaslighting and mistreatment by the Los Angeles Police Department became infamous. Later, Clint Eastwood made his 2008 film, Changeling, based on this same story. This week, we'll cover the early years of Gordon Stewart Northcott, his family life, his arrival in California, and the moment his chicken ranch turned into a murder farm. Next week, we'll cover the murders themselves and what might have led Stewart to commit such brutal acts before his eventual capture and execution.

We'll also discuss survival tactics used by Stuart's nephew Sanford that helped him survive over two years of captivity as Stuart Northcott. hostage. Gordon Stewart Northcott's life was full of pain and sorrow, and unfortunately, it was like that from the start. The timing of Louise Northcott's pregnancy could not have been worse. She and her husband, George, had just lost their youngest child, Willie, to pneumonia. Willie was only six years old when he died in 1906. The depth of Louise's grief was matched only by her fury. Louise raged against the world that took Willie from her and gave her this new pregnancy instead, as though any child could ever replace the one she lost. She took out her anger on her husband, George, and living daughter Winifred. While she'd always been a domineering personality, Louise verged on tyrannical in her sorrow.

She didn't care that Winifred and George were also grieving Willie. What mattered was ending her own unfathomable pain, and the only way she saw to do that was by ending her pregnancy. Louise tried every home method for abortion known at the time. Everything short of going to a doctor. She even exercised vigorously until she collapsed from a combination of exhaustion and sadness, hoping that the stress on her body would end the pregnancy. George, who was grieving in his own way, routinely lashed out at Louise. In some of their more violent fights, George kicked Louise in the stomach

an attempt to settle the argument and rid them of the pregnancy in one fell swoop. But despite their best efforts, Gordon Stewart Northcott was born on or around November 9, 1906. Nobody paid close attention to the exact date or time. By all accounts, Stewart entered the world a baby no one wanted. At first, Louise treated Stewart with complete indifference. She fed him and made sure he did not come to harm, but was uninterested in him in any other way. She called him by his middle name instead of his first.

She was certain this child could not replace her willy or fill the void inside her. When a parent loses a child, they suffer through a unique, incomparable kind of grief. They're also at a huge risk of developing anxiety, depression, or other such mental illnesses, which may help explain some of Louise's behavior. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or a psychiatrist, but she has done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, parents who have lost a child are 70% more likely to be hospitalized for mental illness for the first time than parents who have not.

This is especially true of mothers who have an 80% increase of hospitalization risk compared to bereaved fathers at 40%. But even for someone who is not hospitalized, the psychological impact of losing a child can be severe, especially at this time in the early 1900s, when hospitalization for mental illness was barbaric and stigmatized. Louise might not have sought psychiatric help or even knew she needed it. The first year after a child's death is an especially volatile time, which may explain Louise's desperation to end her pregnancy and her initial indifference towards, Stuart. San Francisco grief and loss counselor Dr. Gloria Horsley, who has also lost a child herself, compares the first year after a child's death to something like a tantrum. In addition to depression,

parents may not eat or sleep well display manic symptoms and struggle to accept their new reality. But slowly, the new reality does take hold, which is exactly what happened to Louise. Almost overnight, her attitude towards baby Stewart reversed completely. Louise grew obsessed with him, more so than she had ever been with Willie. It's a mystery as to what spurred this change of heart, other than to speculate that at some point her grief was so all-consuming, it finally broke. Whatever the reason, Louise developed a rabid devotion to her son. George and Winifred were only too happy to indulge Louise and embrace the baby as well.

With a renewed purpose in life, Louise became easier to live with, which must have made George and Winifred even more grateful for Stewart's presence. Some accounts claim that Louise babied Stewart to an extreme, even dressing him as a girl until he was an adolescent. However, if such a claim were true, it seems likely that photos of Stewart in girls' clothing would have survived. All existing photos of the young Stewart show him dressed as a boy. What's more likely is that these rumors sprang up as a way of rationalizing Stewart's of feminine nature and later crimes.

Even as an adolescent, Stewart was flamboyant and coquettish. He became known for exuberant gestures and fancy clothes that made him look like a dandy. Stewart even adopted a more feminine, high-pitched voice at times. In the 1920s, Stewart was an enigma. He blurred gender roles in a way that made the vast majority of people uncomfortable. When they later heard that this overly genteel man had preyed on and murdered young boys, they looked to rationalize his behavior. And so began the narrative that Louise dressed him as a girl,

which undercut his masculinity and later drove him to murder young boys. But again, this is outdated psycho-babel. Regardless of whether Stewart ever wore dresses, by the time he was a teenager, he was labeled an oddball around town. His bombastic nature was polarizing. He made many people uncomfortable. Still others saw him as a colorful local celebrity. Stewart loved both reactions.

He was used to being the center of his family's world, so any attention was good attention. As Stewart grew from a demanding child to a petulant teenager, Louise was ever his champion. When it came to Stewart, she could be positively vicious. She was ready to give him anything, everything he wanted at a moment's notice and berated anyone who didn't follow suit. Her husband, George, was the only one who ever told Stuart no. And on those occasions,

Louisa would verbally and emotionally abuse him until he broke and finally gave in. Stewart watched how his mother abused her husband and learned how to manipulate others based on her example. He would act volatile to get what he wanted, be it attention, money, or preferential treatment. And while one might expect Winifred to resent the fact that her brother was clearly Louise's favorite, she did not. Instead, she spoiled Stuart just as badly as her parents. She was 18 years his senior and likely saw him as something between a little brother and her own child. Though accounts don't tell us much about Winifred's experience growing up with her younger brother, her devotion to him as an adult suggests that she was as drawn in by him as Louise. would say that Louise ran the roost, but over time it became clear that Stewart was really the one in charge. He was a little king, prone to tantrums, whining until every member of his household gave him his way. Not that emotional manipulation was his only passion. Far from it. Stewart had one other love in life, music. Stewart loved the piano and started playing as a young boy.

By the time he was a teenager in 1922, he was accomplished enough to start playing for money at different bars and events around town. He cited Beethoven as his favorite composer, perhaps drawn in by his emotional, tortured melodies. But his favorite modern composer was Debussy. Debussy's whimsical work aligned more closely with the flamboyant Stewart, who never seemed to stop playing a role. Stewart was also a master conversationalist. He had a charismatic charm that drew people to him, a magnetic quality, punctuated by his unusual style of dress and flare for the dramatic. But the attention he liked best came from young boys. In his late teens, Stuart began going out of his way to draw adolescent boys to him. He owned a fancy car with a retractable roof and would

offer rides to the young boys around town. He would sometimes try to him. He would sometimes try to him, travel with a dog or spare toys as an extra incentive. There are no police records showing that Stewart was ever reported for pedophilia during this time, but for reasons we'll discuss later, it's unlikely that any boys Stewart victimized would have reported any of these crimes to the police. So while we'll never know what really happened on these drives with Stewart, it's safe to assume that he wasn't hanging around 10-year-olds for their conversation. In addition to his over-the-top personality, there was one more physical feature that made Stewart stand out, his excessive body hair.

Stuart was, for the most part, a handsome man with delicate features and wavy hair. But after puberty, around 1921, he began to grow dark, thick hair all over his body. The body hair was so extensive that in later years, Stuart would earn the unflattering nickname, the ape man. In the 20s, most psychological theories were closely linked to theories of evolution, so for the community to compare Stuart to an ape could indicate a great deal about where they felt he landed on the evolutionary chain. Many saw his effeminate personality and excessive body hair as proof that he was less than human and deranged. By dehumanizing him, his later crimes were somehow easier to swallow. James Bradley, lecturer in history of medicine and life science at the University of Melbourne, explains

it was a common belief that criminals were less human than other people. Instead, they were bestial, examples of failed evolution. Ironically, while murderers like Stewart were often dehumanized by the larger population, murderers themselves often dehumanize their victims. It was a vicious cycle that made empathy difficult, if not. impossible. Although if there is one thing to be concluded from Stewart's upbringing, he placed little value in empathy. Stewart liked to control people. It made him a difficult adolescent to get along with, and soon he would grow into an even harder man to like.

Up next, Stewart manipulates his way into a chicken farm that would soon become a torture chamber. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade. Stop taking bad travel advice.

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Who knew your questionable music taste will be a money-making machine? Your style can make you cash. Start selling on D-pop, where taste recognizes taste. Now back to the story. In August of 1924, when Stuart Northcant was 18, He and his family moved from Canada to Los Angeles, California, so Stewart's father, George, could find better work. It was a move that proved financially advantageous to the Northcott family and set the stage for Stewart's dark future. Los Angeles offered a whole new environment for

18-year-old Stewart to explore. It would have been thrilling to live in Tinsletown during the 1920s. He enjoyed wandering the city and exploring the nightlife scene, and his eccentric behavior was welcome in a town like L.A. Stewart enrolled in school and began working part-time as a car salesman to help his family make ends meet. He also played the piano for extra cash whenever possible. And for the first time in his life, he even made a friend, fellow classmate Claude Scott. Soon, Stewart was spending much of his time at the Scott family home. Stewart could be incredibly charming, and the entire Scott family seemed to love him.

But Stewart had an ulterior motive for keeping Claude so close. He found himself very attracted to Claude's 10-year-old brother, Philip, or Philly. As a friend of the family, it was probably easy for Stuart to spend as much time with Philly as he wanted, either in Claude's company or alone. At some point, though it's unclear when, Stuart began sexually assaulting Philly, and due to his age, Philly most likely didn't understand what was happening, or was too defensive to tell an adult. According to Rosemary Webb and Jennifer Mitchell,

national child safety experts and co-presidents of child lures prevention, there are many reasons a predator might concentrate on a family member or a friend's younger relative. Perhaps their familiarity with the family affords them opportunities. Proximity, along with quiet, uninterrupted time, makes a perfect environment for a pedophile to act. And if that person is close to the child, or the entire family, this time together can be arranged with little suspicion.

But in this case, proximity might not have been the only reason Stuart chose to target Philip. It appears he developed twisted feelings for the boy that lasted the entirety of his life. For instance, he kept a stool that Philip made and used it as a piano bench. Sometimes amidst one of his famous tantrums, Stuart would sit on the bench and repeatedly play Philip's favorite song, song of songs while weeping. It's unclear how long Stewart had unfettered access to Philly Scott or for how long he abused him. But thankfully, the Scott family eventually caught on and intervened. On July 25, 1925, Stewart was arrested for statutory rape.

There are conflicting reports on what happened next, which could be due to the Northcott's desire to keep the story quiet, or the Scott family's desire to protect Philly's reputation. Whatever the reason, the case never went to court. It's unclear whether the charges were dropped or if Stewart reached some kind of plea deal and was put on a somewhat lax probation. Regardless, the arrest seemed to have little to no lasting impact on Stewart. Worse, it probably taught him that his behavior would never really carry consequences. From August to mid-October 1925, 19-year-old Stewart attempted to recover from what he perceived to be heartbreak, as opposed to the predatory relationship it was.

He threw himself into new hobbies to forget Philly. He began working at a Ralph's grocery store. This short stint would not have been remarkable, except for a young boy who frequented the store, Walter Collins. Walter would later become the most famous of Stewart's victims. Alburnier, the manager of the vegetable section at the time, remembers Stewart always having a special interest in Little Walt. If only he had known what would transpire in the years to come.

In the meantime, Stuart found other ways to stave off his sexual urges, which were growing noticeably darker. Around this time, it's rumored that Stewart was soliciting sex from young boys in the Pasadena-Aroyo-Saco district. It seems as though a neighbor once saw him pick up a pre-teen boy who was a known sex worker in the area. It's hard to say why the neighbor never reported this to the police, but it's possible that in a time when being gay was illegal, he didn't want to get involved. Unfortunately, at the time, many people equated homosexuality with pedophilia

and generally tried to steer clear of anyone associated with either activity. What the neighbor probably didn't realize is that, that behavior like Stewart's almost always escalates, as was evident by Stewart's frequent house calls to one of his few friends. Dr. Ernest Tracy lived in the same neighborhood as the Northcots and got to know Stewart shortly after he moved into town. Tracy recalls him being a curious man with a vested interest in medical science. Stewart loved to quiz Dr. Tracy with all sorts of questions about death

and what happened to a person after they died. At the time, Tracy assumed Stuart was interested in becoming a doctor himself someday, so he was happy to act as a mentor. In Tracy's estimation, it's easy to understand why Stewart, a good-looking boy from a nice, respectable family, might want to pursue medicine. But in hindsight, Stewart once asked Dr. Tracy a question that should have raised a red flag. Stewart asked how one might dispose of a dead body. His interest laid primarily in the process of decays. and disposal. What might cause the rapid decay of a human body? How could one hide a body so that no one would be able to find it? Could traces of death like blood be eliminated? Dr. Tracy found himself

caught off guard, but chalked the line of questioning up to Stewart's natural, if somewhat morbid, curiosity. He told Stewart that while he wasn't an expert in body disposal, he knew Quiclyme to be a great aid in dissolving human remains. It seems as though this was the information Stewart had been waiting for. After that, his visits to the doctor dropped off significantly. He spent weeks and a day's,

his mind racing with possibilities and options. Finally, he landed on a plan. In 1926, Stewart approached his father with an unusual request. He wanted a patch of land to start a chicken farm. George Northcott was not in the habit of telling his son no, and Louise lived to make Stewart happy. By the spring of 1926, when Stewart was 19, the Northcots were owners of ranchland in rural Wineville, California. But tending to chickens could be tedious and backbreaking work.

Stewart would have to dirty his soft, well-manicured hands, something he had no intention of doing. He had a different solution in mind. he decided to pay his sister a visit. 19-year-old Stewart had always been close to his sister Winifred, now 37. She was accustomed to babying him and would treat him preferentially, even over her own children. So naturally, she was thrilled when Stewart came to visit and proposed to take Winifred's son Sanford on a sightseeing trip and have him help out on the new farm for a while.

Winifred thought it would be the perfect opportunity for the two to bowl. But Sanford didn't like the idea. Stuart had never laid a hand on him, but he knew his uncle to be a self-centered, childlike man, prone to tantrums, not someone he wanted to spend one-on-one time with, let alone on a road trip. But more than that, Sanford hated the way his uncle looked at him and how he stood just an inch too close, like a starving animal stalking a meal. It made Sanford's stomach churn. But there was little he could do. He knew his mother would never side with him over his uncle Stuart. He was trapped. Sanford was reluctant to leave. He had to be practically pried off his older sister, Jesse. The two loved one another dearly.

A fiery young woman, Jesse was four-year Sanford senior, and had always been his protector. But she could do little to change Winifred's mind. Jesse begged and pleaded with her mother to let Sanford stay home. She even tried to influence their father, John Clark, to intervene. But Winifred was just as controlling of her spouse as her mother Louise was over her father, George. John Clark put up no resistance to his son Sanford being sent away, and Jesse was only able to promise Sanford that she would visit him whenever she could.

She promised to write often. Soon, Sanford and Stewart were off to the chicken farm, or as Stewart called it, the ranch. And at first glance, it wasn't much to behold. The land was largely empty when Stewart first took possession of it, little more than a barren dust bowl. But Stewart had a vision and enlisted his father George to help. Together, the three men got to work, raising a chicken farm. Over the course of a few weeks, they constructed a rustic,

one-bedroom cottage to operate as the main house. They also built a rickety garage for Stuart's beloved car, the fancy one with a retractable roof. They built six chicken units, rabbit hutches, a goat house, a brooder house, a henhouse, a hen-runs. Although all of this sounds more grandiose than it was, the ranch was still small and remote, unimpressive and not very comfortable. The only luxury item was Stewart's piano. Much to Sanford's dismay, the ranch was secluded. The only neighbors were miles away and accustomed to minding their own business.

It would be a lonely existence on this makeshift ranch. With the ranch completed, George packed up and returned to Los Angeles, leaving Stewart and Sanford with nothing but each other for company. And soon, Sanford would find that his uncle was about the worst company a boy could keep. In a minute, Sanford's nightmare begins. This is Euphoria Calvin Klein, the new Elixir Collection, featuring three perfume intense scents, inspired by a unique orchid accord, paired with vanilla, each with its own distinct attitude, each with its own universe, bold elixir, sensual,

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The first evening after George left, Sanford finished cooking dinner, as always, something simple, like beans out of a tin or some toasted bread and cheese. It was never fancy and hardly filling, because Stuart insisted on eating first. With George gone, Sanford had hoped that he might get his grandpa's share of the food, but Stewart shoveled it all in, leaving Sanford scraps. This would be the first of many nights that Sanford would be left, hungry. After dinner, Stewart plunked around on his piano as Sanford cleaned the dishes, then did a final evening check-in on the chickens. When Sanford came back inside, Stewart told him it was his turn to take the bedroom. This caught Sanford off guard. Sanford had spent the past few weeks sleeping on the couch and had assumed he'd be continuing to do so for the remainder of his stay.

But tonight, Stewart insisted Sanford take the bedroom. He would be up late. playing piano anyhow. Sanford was not a stupid boy. He knew something strange was happening. It was unlike Uncle Stuart to give up the best of anything, and certainly never to Sanford. But Stewart insisted, saying that his little darling Sanford needed a good night's sleep. Sanford could hear the hollowness in those words. He winced, as his uncle called him such a sickeningly sweet name. He tried to come up with an excuse, a reason he should take the couch. but none came to him. In any case, what choice did Sanford have?

If there was one thing he knew about Stewart, it was that Stewart always got his way. He went into the bedroom, shut the door, and tried to sleep. Perhaps he even succeeded for a little while, because the next thing Sanford knew, he was awoken by Uncle Stewart's hot breath on the back of his neck. That was when Sanford realized this had been his uncle's plan all along. along. Alone, Stewart was able to treat his nephew however he wanted.

According to Sanford, Stewart assaulted him repeatedly, quote, two or three times a week or sometimes oftener, end quote. He kept Sanford from running for help by hissing vitriolic lines into Sanford's ears about how no one would believe him if he went for help, how his part in the abuse made him just as dirty as Stewart. That if he, fathers knew they would throw Sanford in jail too. This verbal abuse was only one way Stuart manipulated Sanford. According to Rhonda Freeman, a clinical neuropsychologist and cognitive neuroscientist, there's a subset of sexual predators that also meet the criteria for psychopathy. If Stewart was a psychopath, this would help explain why he was able to act violently towards Sanford without

fearing consequences while understanding that what he was doing was morally wrong. So to hide his behavior from family and outsiders, Stewart worked to convince Sanford that he too was doing something wrong. This form of manipulation is often called gaslighting. As Freeman explains, gaslighting is a system of creating an alternate reality for the victim of abuse. By reinforcing the belief that the abuse was Sanford's fault, Stuart was able to keep Sanford from revealing the abuse even when he had opportunities to do so. Stewart convinced Sanford that others would think of him as a pervert. During the day, Stuart forced Sanford to do the lion's share of the chores to keep the ranch running, while Stewart lounged around. In fact, to give Sanford more time to focus on his chores,

he refused to enroll Sanford at school. Life on the ranch was long and monotonous, endless days filled with toilsome work, punctuated by nights of humiliation. Then Stewart began beating Sanford. Sanford was used to getting hit at home when Afred was always quick with a slap, but Uncle Stewart's physical abuse was something else entirely. He hit Sanford the way Sanford had seen grown men fight, punching him or grabbing whatever object was at hand to bludgeon him. Stuart would sometimes pour boiling water over the boy,

once over the upper half of his back while he was sleeping. This left Sanford with a massive scar down the length of his shoulder blades. Stuart only felt good about himself when he was in complete control of others, and Sanford was his favorite person to prey on. But knowing that Uncle Stuart relished having power over him gave Sanford a little power, too. Sanford quickly learned that there were ways to minimize his own suffering. The louder Sanford screamed or cried while his uncle beat him, the sooner Stewart would leave him alone. And then he'd find a small reprieve as Stewart receded to his bedroom to clean up. These short moments of silence were the closest thing to freedom that Sanford had

in the two long years Stewart kept him captive on the ranch. The Los Angeles Evening Herald later reported that Sanford was also forced to beat and whip his uncle until Stewart was driven into a frenzy. Then Stewart would turn on Sanford and beat him instead. Stewart relished pain in every form. Despite the relatively remote location, Stewart's physical abuse of Sanford was intense enough to draw the attention of the neighbors. But at the time, it was not unusual

for an adult to physically discipline a child, so the neighbors probably felt like there was nothing they could do to intervene. In the face of this violence, some neighbors even decided to move away from the area, afraid to live anywhere close to Stewart for what they would later characterize as his mean disposition and temper. Even if the neighbors were too private or too scared to help Sanford, they could tell from a distance what a nightmare the boy was living.

Stewart's insatiable libido and his taste for physical abuse were closely linked. Stewart's behavior matches the textbook definition of sadism in the DSM-5. He seemed to derive sexual satisfaction from causing others' pain. Sexual sadism refers to causing pain, humiliation, fear, or some form of physical or mental harm to another person to achieve sexual gratification. Stuart's sadistic behaviors meant he had no interest in a consenting sexual partner. Instead, he craved dominance, and sickeningly, this is almost certainly why he targeted children. Part and parcel to this was in need to control any contact Sanford had with the outside world. Stewart would dictate letters for Sanford to send home.

In these letters, Sanford would rave about his Uncle Stewart's kindness, the lessons he was learning in school, and how fulfilling his time on the chicken ranch was. Written in Sanford's own handwriting, these letters cut off his only chance of escape. This is a common occurrence in modern hostage situations, where hostage takers force their hostages to record audio or video messages,

often spouting the hostage takers' propaganda. It's no exaggeration to say that Sanford was quite literally trapped. Wineville was a small rural town. There were no taxi or train services or any sort of public transportation beyond hitchhiking. There could be days between the rare cars that drove by the ranch. And even if he could get off the ranch, he had no money or resources to journey home to Canada. Besides, his own mother was the one who sent him a... away in the first place. He had no guarantee that she would welcome him back. Sanford was,

for all intents and purposes, a hostage. Sanford's life on the ranch was a living hell, but thankfully, the devil wasn't always home to torture him. With increasing frequency, Stuart traveled around the area, entertaining himself, leaving Sanford some precious time alone. But if Sanford got the night off, it meant somewhere another young boy was falling prey to Stewart's dark fantasies. It was the end of August 1927, when

Junior Thompson and his parents decided to take a walk around Pickering Park. It was a cool summer's evening. The entire Thompson family was enjoying the time outdoors. Nobody worried when Junior wandered a little ways from his parents. But no sooner was he out of sight

than a strange man approached him and struck up a conversation. The man seemed friendly enough, Junior wasn't worried. Then the interaction grew strange. The man asked Junior if he wanted to tickle him, and Junior grew uneasy. He started to walk away, but then the man stopped him with a more appealing offer. He mentioned he had a dog back in his car and asked if Junior would like to come back and meet

it. Junior loved dogs. He had always wanted one of his own. He gladly agreed. But as they neared the car, the man grabbed Junior. his arm and started dragging him inside the vehicle. Junior kicked and screamed as Stewart shoved him. He fought Stuart with all his might.

And thankfully, Junior managed to wiggle free and ran back to his father. Mr. Thompson ran after Stewart, threatening him with a penknife, but Stewart managed to get into his car and drive off without being caught. It might seem odd that Stewart would risk abducting a child in a public place when he had unfettered access to his nephew at home. But in reality, it's possible that as Sanford got older, Stewart was less interested in him and was growing bored. Kenneth V. Lannning, a retired FBI agent in Manassas, Virginia,

who is a consultant for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, suggests why a person might switch from child molesting to child abduction. Lanning theorizes that an individual would make, make this switch, quote, because they lack the interpersonal skills to attract, befriend, and seduce their victims. Sanford was easy for Stuart to abduct. His mother Winifred loved Stewart and would give him whenever he asked. Sanford had no family or friends in Wineville, so he was isolated both socially and financially.

He was easy to control. But if Stewart was seeking new victims, it would be far more difficult to find occasions to befriend children or be around them. Unlike with his former victim, Philly Scott, Stewart did not have many friends with younger siblings. He had to resort to other means. Abduction proved a faster, easier way to trap a helpless victim. The way Stewart saw it, he just needed to practice.

Just six months later, on February 1, 1928, Stewart's practice paid off. It was February 1, 1928, when Stewart returned to the chicken ranch after one of his trips to Los Angeles. Ostensibly, Stewart had gone to see his parents, but Sanford was never really sure where his uncle went. No matter what, Sanford had to be constantly ready for Stewart's return. If he was found slacking, Sanford would be punished.

Sometimes he was punished anyway. But on this day, Stewart looked anything but mad. Rather, he was oddly gleeful. He got out of his convertible and, grabbed a silver pail, waving it around like a prize. He called Sanford over. Sanford made his way over reluctantly. He knew that anything that pleased Stewart couldn't be good.

At first, Sanford didn't understand what he was seeing when he peered into the bucket. It looked like some sort of dead animal in the pail. Something his uncle had hit while driving, maybe. But Asse's mind worked through the shock. Sanford realized that what was in the pale wasn't an animal at all. It was a severed human head. Sanford screamed, dropping the pail, and vomited into the dirt. Over the sounds of his own retching, he could hear Stuart's maniacal laugh.

He fully expected Stewart to beat him for dropping the pale, for being sick, for reacting. But Sanford couldn't help it. Stewart explained that he had murdered this boy in self-defense. The young boy had tried to kill Stewart, so he shot him and then decapitated him so that his body would be more difficult to identify. He said the rest of the murdered boy was in the trunk of the car if Sanford wanted to see.

But before they disposed of it, Stewart wanted to destroy the head beyond recognition. After making him build a fire, Stewart ordered Sanford to burn the head. Then they pulverized the charred bones and let the wind scatter them. Stewart then dragged Sanford to the car and set off to visit his parents, George and Louise.

Along the way, Stewart stopped to throw the headless body of his first murder victim into a ditch along Hudson Road. Sanford sat in the front seat of the car, terrified. He had known his uncle's cruelty firsthand, But he had never expected this. He was trapped, and the stakes just escalated to life and death. He looked at the lifeless body in the ditch, wondering how long until his own body joined it.

Thanks again for tuning in to serial killers. And thanks to Carter and Irma for joining us for this episode. Thanks for having us. We're looking forward to coming back next week. If you enjoyed this episode, you can find hostage wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes come out every Thursday. And if you want to listen to any previous episodes of serial killers or any of Parcast's other shows,

you can find them on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Google Play, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Spotify, or your favorite podcast directory. Several of you have asked how to help the show, and if you enjoy the show, the best way to help is to leave a five-star review. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Parcast, and Twitter at Parcast Network. Join us next Monday as we continue delving into the twisted psyche of Gordon Stewart Northcott. Have a killer week.

Serial killers and hostage were created by Max Cutler, are productions of Cutler media and part of the Parcast Network. They are produced by Max and Ron Cutler, sound designed by Michael Langsner, with production assistants by Ron Shapiro and Paul Mahler. Additional production assistance by Carly Madden and Maggie Admire. This episode was written by Megan Callahan, Serial Killer stars Greg Paulson, and Vanessa Richardson. Hostage stars Carter Roy and Irma Blanco. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile, the message for everyone paying big wireless way too much.

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