Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders” Pt. 2 - Gordon Stewart Northcott

Episode Date: March 11, 2019

It seemed as though no one would be able to save Sanford from his uncle. Sanford had lived with him in Wineville, California from 1928-1929, only to now have to stay quiet about his uncle holding two young boys captive in his chicken coop. When Sanford's sister Jessie showed up on the chicken farm looking for answers, Sanford worried that she, too, would never leave the ranch alive. Hostage! Check out Parcast's other Podcast Hostage now! Thank you Carter and Irma for joining today's episode.  Sponsors! Care/of - For 50% off your first month of personalized Care/of vitamins, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code SerialKillers50. Upstart - Hurry to Upstart.com/SERIALKILLERS to find out HOW LOW your Upstart rate is! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Meet your match on ZipRecruiter. Do you want to hear something? Spooky. Some monster. It reminded me of big stuff. Monsters Among Us is a weekly podcast featuring true stories of the paranormal. One of the boys started to exhibit demonic possession. Stories straight from the witnesses' mouths themselves. Something very snake-like lifted its head out of the water. Hosted by me, your guide, Derek Hayes.

Somehow I lost eight whole hours. Listen now on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. On February 2nd, 1928,

a farmer in Southern California was driving along Hudson Road, near Puente, running his usual errands to town. This morning, his dog was with him, full of energy, the mutt couldn't sit still. So finally, the farmer let the dog run alongside the car. The pair made their way down the lone highway. The farmer took in the sunrise, letting his thoughts drift as he kept pace with his dog. Suddenly, his dog darted into a ditch alongside the road, barking.

At first, the farmer kept driving. But when the dog didn't try to catch up at the car, he pulled over. He tried to call her, but it didn't work. Annoyed, he walked over to see what was the matter. The farmer expected a rabbit or a piece of roe. Instead, he found a small, decapitated human body lying in the mud, a thick pool of blood collected where the head should have been. The farmer reched.

He looked up and down the deserted highway, wondering whether the monster responsible had dumped the body on his way out of town or whether he was just moving in. Hi, I'm Greg Paulson. This is serial killers on the Parkast Network. Every Monday, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa. Hi, everyone. At Parcast, we're grateful for you, our listeners.

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Head to parkast.com slash merch for more information. Today, we're continuing our 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 once again asked our friends Carter and Irma, hosts a Parcast podcast Hostage to join us.

Hi, everyone. Thanks for having us. Irma and I are excited to talk more about the unique circumstances of this hostage situation. We are. Every Thursday, we tell intense and electrifying stories of real hostage situations and the people trapped inside them. Gordon Stewart Northcott's nephew, Sanford Clark, is one of the most fascinating hostages we've covered, given the horrors he was coerced into committing.

So let's get started. Gordon Stewart Northcott was a spoiled child who never got used to hearing the word no. So when as an adult, he demanded his parents buy him a rural chicken farm in Southern California, they did so without hesitation. But Stewart had more in his mind than farming. He used the isolation of his rural farm to imprison, torture, and assault young boys that he kidnapped from surrounding areas. Last week, we followed Stuart to Wineville, California, where he set up his ranch with the help of his 13-year-old nephew Sanford in 1926.

Sanford would spend the next two years on the chicken farm, all the while being forced to endure physical and verbal abuse and sexual assault by his own uncle. But soon, Stewart was no longer satisfied with just abusing his nephew. Instead, he went searching for other victims with the intent of enacting even more horrible crimes. This week, we'll cover the abductions and child murders that made Gordon Stewart Northcott infamous, and the lengths his parents would go to protect their perfect little boy. We'll also cover Sanford's continued captivity on the ranch and his struggle for survival. On February 1, 1928, Stewart returned to the ranch. the chicken ranch after a brief time away, supposedly running errands in town. But instead of groceries,

he brought back the decapitated body of a young boy. Sanford was horrified. He was so shocked that it took several moments to understand what he was looking at. And when Stewart forced him to help destroy the remains, Sanford nearly passed out. Sanford was forced to burn and destroy the poor boy's head, then helped Stewart discard the body in a ditch on the way to Los Angeles. The two then continued on to Stewart's parents' house for a few days, so they'd have an alibi when the body was found. When they arrived at George and Louise's house, Stewart immediately told his parents about the murder,

maintaining that it had been in self-defense. His parents were shocked. Sanford prayed that they might call the police and end this nightmare. But Sanford would be horrific. disappointed. Louise rushed to Stewart and embraced him, assuring her baby boy that none of this was his fault. George kept his distance, but knew better than to come between Louise and her son. A growing dread churned in Sanford's stomach as he realized that nobody was coming to help him. He fought the urge to run, knowing he had nowhere to go. Instead, he sat down at Louise's kitchen table

as she served them coffee cake, as though nothing in the world was wrong. Meanwhile, Sanford's thoughts drifted to the abandoned body in the ditch. He wondered if they would have to drive by it on their way home. He prayed the police would find it soon and come knocking on Uncle Stewart's door. But unfortunately for Sanford, Stewart had been right about decapitation making the body harder to identify. Police and the coroner searched the boy's body for identifying marks, but could find none. To complicate matters, police suspected the murdered boy might have been a migrant worker,

meaning his family might not have a permanent U.S. address or might avoid contact with police, making them nearly impossible to find. Though we don't know how Stewart met this unknown boy, or what the circumstances of their encounter were, the most likely explanation is that Stewart approached him for sex. Perhaps the boy resisted or tried to attack Stewart to escape. It may be possible that Stewart believed he really did kill the boy in self-defense, not understanding that he was the initial attacker. This line of thinking is consistent with a morally indiscriminate killer.

Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but she has done a lot of research for the show. Thanks, Greg. According to Dr. Michael Davis, a clinical psychologist and researcher at the Center for Forensic Behavioral Science at Monash University, a morally indiscriminate pattern of behavior involves the sexual abuse of children as simply another form of antisocial behavior in the offender's life, and elevated levels of psychopathic personality features are often found in these offenders. Stewart's inability to feel empathy and his perceived ownership of the people around him are two such hallmarks of a psychopathic personality.

The main difference between an indiscriminate and discriminant offender is opportunity. Indiscriminate offenders choose victims based on their vulnerability rather than a specific characteristic. For this reason, children are often targeted by indiscriminate offenders, like Stewart. And now that Stewart knew the rush that came with killing, a person. He began cruising for vulnerable boys more frequently. His next victim would arrive on the chicken farm just a month later. On March 10, 1928, 9-year-old Walter Collins disappeared from his home near Pasadena. Though we don't know whether Walter was abducted or went with Stewart willingly, the latter seems more likely, since Walter would have remembered Stewart from when he worked at their

local grocery store. Research supports this idea as well. According to the organization, Darkness to Light, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering adults to prevent child sexual abuse, about 90% of the time children know their abusers. So when Friendly Faye Stewart offered Walter a ride in his shiny convertible, Walter probably thought nothing of it. Stewart was basically a friend. But Walter quickly realized his error in judgment, as the pair made their way to the chicken ranch two hours from home. Upon arriving, Stuart quickly overpowered Walter and threw him into one of the hen houses, where he sexually assaulted him, then left him chained inside.

Sanford was horrified. He later recalled Walter's first night on the ranch. He could hear him screaming and crying throughout the night. The boy was alone and scared, and Sanford felt powerless to help him. Eventually, Sanford pulled his pillow over his head to try and muffle the sounds. He laid in bed, shaking until morning. With the new boy in the ranch to play with, Uncle Stewart left Sanford alone. Sanford felt grateful for this, and then hated himself for feeling grateful.

He wanted to help Walter, but he wasn't sure how. Even if he let the boy out of the henhouse, where would the two of them go? They were too far away from any sort of town to rely. on help, and the rural wilderness of the California desert didn't offer water, shelter, or places to hide. But Sanford hardly had time to plan an escape, whether he wanted to or not. One morning he was busy feeding the chickens when he heard the sound of tires on gravel. Uncle Stewart had been home all morning, pounding at his piano before disappearing into

the locked hen house. He wouldn't have been expecting visitors. It was Louise, Stewart's mother who visited often and Sanford's grandmother. Sanford felt something like hope rise in his chest for the first time in what seemed like forever. Louise had supported Stewart when she felt he was forced to kill someone in self-defense, but surely she would see what was happening in the chicken coop and realize her son was a monster. When she asked Sanford where Stewart was, he pointed to the locked henhouse. She called Stewart's name and knocked. Sanford knew he should go.

back to feeding the chickens, but he couldn't stop watching. The door opened a crack so Stewart could talk to his mother, but Louise was a formidable woman. She shoved past her son and into the henhouse. She was hardly in there a moment before she stormed back out, dragging Stewart by his arm and into the house, barking at Sanford to follow. Louise was not in the habit of denying her son anything he wanted, but kidnapping? She thought he would outgrown his interest in young boys by now. Sanford was shocked. He was only just now beginning to understand how much Louise had overlooked when it came to Stewart. As Louise ranted at Stuart,

who was perched in a kitchen chair and sobbing like an overgrown child, Sanford became more and more uneasy. Stuart kept assuring Louise that if Walter disappeared, he would never do this again. Louise sighed and made her baby boy promise. Sanford felt sick. He tried to tell himself that Louise would return Walter to his family, but deep down he knew that wasn't true. Louise was eerily calm. She had a plan.

That night, Louise led Stewart and Sanford to the henhouse where Walter lay sleeping. They were so quiet, and Walter was so exhausted from crying and struggling that he never woke. not even when Stuart picked up the axe. This was Louise's big plan. If they all killed Walter, they would all share blame,

and none of them would rat out the others. More likely this was done to implicate Sanford and keep his silence. While Walter lay sleeping, Stuart gleefully bashed his head in with the axe before forcing Sanford to do the same. Louise delivered the final blow. And then she and her son went inside, leaving the shell-shocked, sobbing Sanford alone, to dig a grave near the henhouse.

Sanford couldn't believe he was related to these monsters. Walter's broken body stared up at him as he dug. Sanford couldn't fight off his guilt. Maybe he was a monster, too. Considering the circumstances, Sanford was holding up relatively well in captivity, especially given the fact that he was forced to help murder a child. However, according to former FBI negotiator Thomas Trends, Sanford was at the beginning of a slippery slope that may have had serious ramifications on his ability to survive this ordeal as Stewart's hostage. Two strengths that a hostage can undertake are maintaining a feeling of superiority over their captors and harboring hostility towards them.

As he began to see himself as a monster, no better than Stuart and Louise, Sanford risked. falling into a depression that would make it all the harder to escape. In any hostage crisis, the best chance for survival is to keep faith in an eventual release, fantasize about the outside world, and continually look for escape opportunities. But it is important to remember that he was hardly 15 years old, and had spent the past two years under Stewart's constant, physical, emotional, verbal, and sexual abuse. According to Professor Jill Astbury at the College of Arts at Victoria University, child sexual abuse is related to significantly increased odds of a lifetime diagnosis of several

different psychiatric disorders, including anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, sleep disorders, and suicide. A particularly strong link between child sexual abuse and subsequent PTSD, has been found. Stewart and Louise likely threatened Sanford with death if he refused to help them murder Walter or if he ratted them out to police. And Sanford likely

dissociated entirely from what he was forced to do, focusing instead on survival. Later, Sanford buried Walter near the chicken coop, as though nothing had ever happened. On March 15th, the Los Angeles Times reported that

Christine Collins' son, Walter, was missing. tragically, she would never see her son again. Next, new visitors arrive on the farm. I wrote a little song to remind you, Choice Hotels gets you more of the experiences you value. The Canberia Hotels got it all. A rooftop bar, have a ball.

Bring a date, your squad, or even your mom. Book direct at choiceotails.com. Now back to the story. After the abduction and brutal murder of Walter Collins in March 1928, Gordon Stewart Northcott wasted no time in finding another victim. Now that he knew the joy of holding a boy captive, he was soon looking for another target, someone younger than the rapidly growing Sanford. On May 16, 1928, nearly two months to the day since Walter's murder,

Stewart kidnapped Lewis and Nelson Winslow as they were walking home. They had been at a boys' club learning to build small models of ship. and yachts. The brothers were 10 and 12 years old. They had almost stayed home that night because their mother was feeling ill. Her decision to let Lewis and Nelson go out would haunt her for the rest of her life. Stuart tricked the boys into the same henhouse where he had trapped Walter under the guise of showing them the ranch. Though no one had come looking for Walter, Sanford held out hope that someone would come for the Winslow boys. The boys were middle class, dressed and clearly loved.

The same thought must have occurred to Stewart, because three days into their captivity, he forced the boys to write a letter home, explaining that they had run away to Mexico. Stewart likely knew this wouldn't stop the Winslow family from searching for their sons, but perhaps he hoped he could divert their attention elsewhere. What neither Sanford nor the Winslow boys could have known at the time was that the police were finally taking an interest in the missing boys. Christine Collins had been searching desperately for her son, with increasingly public disappointment in the Los Angeles Police Department,

as they failed to offer any theories or even find clues. It was Sanford's job to care for the Winslow boys. He changed their bedding, emptied their chamber pots, and brought them food. They had been on the chicken ranch for nearly a week and a half, and Sanford was still never left alone with them long enough to hatch an escape plan, not that he had one to relay. The Winslow Boys, on the other hand, passed the time by drawing on pieces of wood, Sanford had brought them as a kindness.

But every time Sanford looked at the boys, his gut wrenched. He would have flashbacks to the night he killed Walter and wondered if these boys would meet the same fate. Sanford tried to make their final days as bearable as possible, largely because he knew what fate awaited them, even if the Winslow boys did not. According to Dr. Nancy Sherman, author of Stoic Warrior, Inside the Military Mind, Sanford likely felt responsible for the Winslow Boys and experienced what today is known as Survivor's Guilt. Although in actuality, Sanford was helpless to rescue the Winslow Boys, he couldn't help feeling like their captivity was his fault.

This specific kind of guilt has also been called Protector's Guilt, which is often seen in secret service agents and other officers on protective detail, who survive an ordeal but failed to save the person they were assigned with protecting. Sanford assigned himself the role of protector, which made it all the harder to accept the fact that he could not save the boys in the henhouse. Sanford's perceived responsibility to the captive boys only made it that much more traumatizing when Stewart forced Sanford to participate in their murder. First, he distracted Nelson as Stewart beat his head in with an axe,

then reverse their roles so that Sanford was the first to strike Lewis. Later, Sanford would remember the awful noise the boys made as he and Stewart tossed them into a freshly dug grave. Lewis and Nelson weren't quite dead when Stewart made Sanford begin filling in the hole, dirt muffling the boy's final moans. With both the Winslow boys and Walter Collins buried under his chicken ranch, Stewart was feeling confident that he would never be caught. That's when he decided on an extremely bold endeavor.

In June 1928, he started taking the necessary steps to kidnap and enslave an entire family. That summer, Stewart signed up to volunteer for the local Salvation Army and expressed interest in working with children. The oblivious staff was only too happy to connect a prosperous, well-dressed young man like Stuart with the family who had fallen on hard times. They introduced Stewart to the Dahl family. Jacob and Ella Dahl had been struggling to make ends meet

ever since Jacob had fallen ill and was unable to work. When Stewart visited the family, he offered Jacob a job on his chicken ranch and free housing for the whole family. The deal seemed too good to be true, but the dolls were destitute. They had no choice. They agreed to go visit the chicken ranch to learn more about the job. On June 30, 1928, Stewart picked up the doll family in his convertible and drove them to the ranch. He introduced his mother, Louise, under the false name, Mrs. Mayo, and claimed that Sanford was her son. While the dolls were looking around the ranch, Stewart pulled both Louise and Sanford aside to explain his plan.

Louise half-heartedly protested, but eventually agreed to help her son. Sanford, on the other hand, was appalled. He harbored two thoughts. Part of Sanford wanted Stewart to take the family hostage. He figured that kidnapping an entire family might finally be the thing that got his uncle caught. But he wanted to protect the dolls. They were honest, hard-working people. He couldn't use them as bait.

Finally, reluctantly, Sanford told Stuart his plan would backfire and get him caught. Stewart slapped Sanford across the face and sent him to wait in the chicken coop. Sanford waited in the chicken coop, his eyes focusing on a red stain along the wooden baseboard. He wondered if Walter's blood had made the mark, or if it had been one of the Winslow boys. He waited to hear the screams of a family being attacked. But a few hours later, Sanford watched as the entire doll family climbed into Stewart's convertible, and Stewart trove them off the property. He was confused. Was this part of the plan?

A while later, Stewart returned and casually announced he'd taken the doll family home. They weren't worth the risk. Sanford felt his chest unclench. He still had no hope of being rest. but at least the Dull family was safe. As July bled into August, 1928, Stewart stopped looking for a family to abduct and instead focused on one boy in specific.

15-year-old Stephen Neil Black lived with his parents in Alhambra near the Global Super Service station where his father worked as a mechanic. Stewart became a frequent customer at the Global Super Service. He began to obsess over Stephen, as much as he had idolized Philly Scott back in Los Angeles. Stewart started befriending Stephen's dad

and eventually ended up spending time with the entire black family. According to Dr. Michael Davis, a clinical psychologist and researcher at the Center for Forensic Behavioral Science at Monash University, this type of sexual predation can be classified as seductive. Stewart was attempting to woo an entire family and gain their trust so that he could have increasingly,

unsupervised access to Stephen. Even though Sanford was stuck at the ranch, he could tell his uncle had found a new fixation. He watched as his uncle spent more and more time away from the ranch, dreading the day he would come back with a boy in his car. But whatever Stewart's plan, it was unexpectedly interrupted by a surprise visitor. Sanford's older sister, Jesse, arrived unexpectedly in early August, 1928. She said she was there to visit her little brother, but secretly she suspected that something was amiss on the chicken ranch. Jessie had always shared Sanford's concerns about Uncle Stewart and was horrified that he had been sent to live with Stewart in the first place.

But what piqued her suspicions was the very thing that had been meant to mask Uncle Stewart's abuse, Sanford's letters. Over the two years Sanford had spent on the ranch, his handwriting hadn't improved. whatsoever. Jesse began to wonder if Stewart was making Sanford work the ranch instead of enrolling him in school, so she made a spontaneous visit. Sanford was elated to see his sister. He couldn't believe she was really there, even as he ran to her and threw his arms around her neck. But as Joy quickly soured, knowing that Jesse was not safe so close to Uncle Stewart. Jesse, meanwhile, was equally shocked at the sight of her 15-year-old brother, who was so emaciated that he hadn't grown an inch in the two years since she'd seen him.

He was dirty, bruised, and acted skittish like a caged animal. Though it was clear he was happy to see her, Jesse would later remember that Sanford was very quiet and almost afraid to move. She immediately sensed that Stewart had been abusing her brother and regarded him like the snake he was. was. Stewart knew that Jesse was on to him. The two seemed at odds from the moment she walked through the door. But Sanford was too vital to Stewart's operation to risk losing. Perhaps at a loss for how else to put Jesse at ease. He occupied their days by taking her and Sanford

sightseeing. He drove them up and down the California coast, showing his Canadian-born niece and nephew anything he thought might be even remotely interesting. But there was an old ulterior motive to Stewart's tour guide act. By keeping the siblings under lock and key, he could ensure they had no time alone together to talk about the abuse Sanford was suffering. Finally, one night while the three were staying at a seedy motel, Jesse snuck into Sanford and Stewart's room and crawled under Sanford's covers. She quietly begged Sanford to tell her the truth about what was going on. At first, Sanford was too afraid to admit anything. He worried about what she would say or do if it would make Uncle Stewart want to hurt her.

But eventually, over the course of a few nights, Sanford told Jesse everything, the beatings, assault, and the verbal and emotional abuse. He showed Jesse the massive scar on his back from where Uncle Stewart had poured boiling water on Sanford while he slept. And he told her about the boys he'd been forced to help kill. Jesse replayed those words over and over. over in her mind until they finally made sense. Their uncle had made Sanford murder three boys and bury them in the yard. Jesse was dumbfounded, but she knew that she needed to get Sanford off the ranch

before he was the one who ended up beneath the chicken coop. Next, Jesse attempts to help Sanford escape. 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.

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three teenage boys on the ranch. Jesse resolved to help her brother escape. It was a matter of life and death. Uncle Stewart had already killed to protect himself. Jesse was pretty sure their shared bloodline wouldn't protect her or her brother. And so she began devising a plan. Jesse would buy Sanford a bus ticket.

From there, he would travel towards the coast and meet her at the docks, where a ship would be preparing to sail back to Canada. From there, they would hitch a ride to Vancouver safely out of Stewart's reach. Well, there was only one problem. Jesse had already stayed longer than expected and was running out of money. She couldn't afford the bus ticket plus two tickets to Vancouver. She was desperate. That's when she took a chance on the only relative in America that she knew, Stewart's long-suffering father, George.

Jesse snuck to a payphone and called George, begging him to help. George had long turned a blind eye to what was going on at the chicken ranch, but something about his pleading granddaughter's voice moved him. He agreed to help. Jesse and Sanford were stunned. This was the first time he'd ever sided with his grandchildren over his wife and son. George urged Jesse to take the next ferry out of Wineville to protect her from Stuart. He reasoned, Jesse should make him a little bit of.

make Stewart think she'd given up. Then when his guard was down, George promised to sneak Sanford to the docks, where he would be reunited with his sister. Jesse and Sanford knew it was a leap of faith, but they had no other options. The next morning, Jesse kissed her brother goodbye and headed out of town. They both prayed they would see each other in a few days. Then Sanford waited. He watched as Uncle Stewart slowly returned to the normal routine, lazing around while Sanford worked. Sanford didn't dare to feel hopeful. He curled up on the couch on what he hoped would be his last night of this forsaken ranch, but was too anxious to sleep. The next morning, before dawn, a car rolled silently up the driveway to the ranch. Sanford crept out of the house,

taking nothing with him. Even if it only bought him a few minutes before Stuart realized he was missing, it would be worth it. Sanford crept into Grandpa George's car, and the two headed off towards the bus station. As the ranch faded away in the rearview mirror, Sanford nearly began to cry. He couldn't believe he was finally escaping. But his relief would be fleeting. On the way to the bus station, Sanford spotted a fancy convertible speeding towards them, cutting them off at a four-way stop. Stuart had found them. Sanford turned to his grandfather and begged him to keep going. But whatever ounce of courage George had found quickly withered. Within minutes, Sanford was in Stewart's car on his way back to the ranch.

Sanford wondered if Uncle Stewart would kill him this time. He welcomed it. Sanford realized there was only one way he would ever escape his uncle. Now that his sister was safe, he was ready to die. Jesse waited for Sanford as long as she could, long after the bus he was supposed to be on had and gone. The shipworkers were yelling at her to get on the ship, or she'd be left behind. Broke, she had no option. She boarded the ship, heart-sick and fuming, knowing her grandfather had double-crossed them. Sanford wasn't safe, and there was nothing she could do to help. But she had the entire journey back to Canada to hatch a new plan. She had promised her brother that she would rescue him. She wasn't abandoning that now.

as she arrived in Vancouver, she went to the American consulate and reported what Sanford had told her. She told them that Sanford's life was in danger, that her uncle had already murdered three teenage boys and would feel little remorse over adding a fourth to the pile. Meanwhile, back in Wineville, Stewart had yet to kill Sanford. Instead, he ordered his nephew to help Stewart sell off all his possessions. Stuart knew it was time to flee. He correctly assume that Jesse would report him to an authority that would listen, and the last thing he wanted was a visit from police who might ask Sanford questions. But that did little to quell Sanford's fears. Would Stewart kill him before leaving the ranch, or worse, abduct him, take him to some new

location where he would be forced to endure this abuse for the rest of his life? He helped his uncle pack the trunk and back seat of his car. Then, Stewart began filling the front passenger seat with knick-knacks. Sanford's stomach dropped as he realized Stewart had no intention of bringing him along. On August 30th, 1928, Detective Lieutenant Chester A. Lloyd of the LAPD received a telegram from Canada. The American consul requested that he investigate Jesse's claim about Gordon Stewart Northcott and rescue Sanford. Police set out

for the chicken ranch immediately. They sped the full two hours from Los Angeles to Wineville, hoping they would make it before any harm had come to the boy. But when they pulled onto the ranch, it seemed deserted. They knocked on the door, but heard nothing. They walked to the small, rustic cabin, noting that someone had left in a hurry. Finally, one of the officers pointed out the hen house and suggested they take a look inside. They broke the lock off the door and crept into the dark chicken coop. One officer spied something in the corner and inched closer to investigate. It was a boy, motionless, curled up in a ball. He feared the worst. Then the boy moved. Sanford slowly looked up at them and began to cry. Stuart had abandoned

him when he fled the ranch. Sanford thought he would starve to death there. The police rushed him to the hospital for medical attention. Sanford was skin and bones by the time he arrived at the hospital. It took him three weeks to regain his health and finally give a statement to police. He sent police back to the ranch and told them exactly where they could find the bodies. On September 19th, Stewart was arrested while trying to buy a room on a steamship in Canada. Stewart's trial began on January 2nd, 1929, wherein he acted as his own attorney. Stuart called both of his parents to testify on his own behalf. When asked about Stuart, George went on to say,

quote, I was deathly afraid of him. So was his mother, if she would tell the truth. Stewart was always in full charge of the house when present. We dared not cross him. Spoiled is no name for him. I would say he is ruined, end quote. True to form, Louise attempted to defend her son, by confessing to his single-handedly killing Walter Collins.

She was sentenced to prison for life. On February 8, 1929, after only three hours of discussion, the jury found Stewart guilty of murder in the first degree. He was sentenced to hang. Though Stewart often threw tantrums or behaved like a child, he was quiet and withdrawn the day of his execution. His one request was a phonograph to play Song of Songs, a long ago favorite of his first victim, Philly Scott.

Stewart was hanged on October 2, 1930. He was only 24 years old. Meanwhile, Sanford was made award at the state on January 19, 1931, and was sent to the state industrial school for boys in Whittier. Despite its daunting name, the Institute was an incredibly humane place that did wonders for helping Sanford work through his trauma, Afterward, Sanford was sent home to Canada. In the wake of his uncle's death, Sanford went on to live a full, fulfilling life. He married a woman named June McGuinness in 1935, and by all accounts they were deeply in love, staying married until death.

During World War II, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Artillery, where he served honorably. Upon his return, he and June went on to adopt two sons. Some reports suggest that Sanford pushed to adopt, afraid of passing on his genetics. He said he worried the same sickness that Uncle Stewart had could be present in his children. Sanford kept his dark past from his children for most of their lives. But one night when Sanford was middle-aged, he recounted the story of his uncle Stuart to his oldest son, Jerry, while on a long car ride home. Jerry eventually began writing a book about his father's life in an effort to memorialize him,

although Sanford would not live to see it published. That book, The Road Out of Hell, Sanford Clark, and the true story of the Wineville murders, along with many other sources, provided fantastic detail for these episodes. Sanford Clark died on June 20, 1991, at age 78. his son believes he never truly forgave himself for the atrocities he was forced to participate in as a teenager.

He was Gordon Stewart Northcott's last surviving victim and the only one who left the chicken ranch alive. Thanks again for tuning in to serial killers. And thanks to Carter and Irma for joining us for these episodes. Thanks for having us. If you enjoyed this episode, you can find hostage wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes come out,

Thursday. And if you want to listen to any previous episodes of serial killers or any of Pardcast's other shows, you can find them on Apple Podcasts, tune in, Google Play, 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 Pardcast and Twitter at Parchast Network. Join us next Monday for another episode of serial killers. Have a killer week. Serial killers and hostage were created by Max Cutler, our productions of Cutler media and part of the Parcast Network. They're produced by Max and Ron Cutler, sound design by Michael

Lansner, with production assistants by Ron Shapiro and Paul Mahler. Additional production assistance by Carly Madden and Maggie Admeier. This episode was written by Megan Callahan. Serial Killers stars Greg Paulson and Vanessa Richardson. Hostage stars Carter Roy and Irma Blanco. Own it all. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Buckslot Machine by Aristocrat Gaming,

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Details at Yamava.com must be 21. One-twenter, please gamble responsibly. Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro. Hasbro is not a sponsor of this promotion. A beloved 75-year-old man washing up getting ready for bed is brutally beaten and killed. Despite an exhaustive investigation, the killer avoids arrest and then strikes again. I'm Global News crime reporter Nancy Hicks. You might listen to a lot of true crime podcast this year, but they're not crime beat.

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