Getty Gordon Stewart Northcott was known as the Chicken Coop Murderer, who targeted young boys and teens in 1920s Los Angeles before notorious killers like the Zodiac Killer and the Grim Sleeper. He was executed in 1930 at San Quentin Prison after being found guilty of kidnapping, sexually assaulting, and murdering two boys and a teenager. It is believed that Northcott may have had up to 20 victims.
Residents of Los Angeles were unaware of the killer in their midst until the discovery of the decapitated body of Jose Gonzales, an 18-year-old, in 1928. This was followed by a series of disappearances of young boys and teens in the area. One of the infamous cases involved Walter Collins, a 9-year-old who went missing after being given money to see a movie by his mother. The disappearances continued, with two more young boys vanishing on their way home from a Model Yacht Club meeting.
Northcott, who had relocated from Canada to Los Angeles, had abducted the brothers and held them captive on his family’s chicken farm, where he subjected them to horrific abuse before murdering them. His nephew Sanford Clark, 11, was forced to help with the killings and burial of the bodies to keep him quiet. The crimes were eventually exposed when Clark confided in his sister, leading to Northcott’s arrest.
Northcott was charged with multiple murders, but his mother confessed to one of the killings in a bid to protect him. She received a life sentence, while Northcott was convicted of several murders and executed.
According to a 1930 report in the Healdsburg Tribune, as he was being executed, he sobbed and pleaded not to be brought to the gallows. At his request, he was blindfolded to avoid witnessing the distressing event. You can access the original article about this individual on People’s website.
