This controversial case in the 1930s exposed the ineptitude and corruption of the Los Angeles police, and "incidentally" led to the capture of a serial killer who had committed horrific crimes on a small farm in California. However, the body of the missing Walter Collins has never been found. What happened to him?
Walter's mother became a symbol of the victim of a ruthless system. Its tragic story was transferred to the big screen in 2008 by Clint Eastwood. The role of a desperate woman was played by Angelina Jolie. The production was entitled Cheated . However, to what extent does the story presented in the film correspond to real events?
Substitution
On March 10, 1928, Christine Collins left for work, leaving her 9-year-old son Walter at her home in Los Angeles. During my mother's absence, the boy was supposed to go to the cinema, but he never reached it. His disappearance very quickly attracted the attention of the townspeople and the media - for good reason.
The local police have long had a "poor" reputation. She was famous for solving things "in her own way" - only to validate statistics, not to seek real justice. In addition, another tragic event occurred three months before Walter's disappearance. In December 1927, the banker's 12-year-old daughter, Marion Parker, was kidnapped for ransom and brutally murdered. These circumstances put the law enforcement agencies under tremendous pressure, which was gaining momentum every week.
There were new clues practically every day. More witnesses came forward who allegedly saw Walter in various parts of the state and even the country. The boy's father, who was serving his sentence, claimed that the kidnapping was supposed to be a revenge for his fellow prisoners. Unfortunately, none of this information was true. Little Collins seemed to be gone without a trace. By the time. Five months later, in August 1928, a child appeared at a police station in Illinois claiming to be the missing son of Christine Collins.
The mother was immediately informed of this, and when she paid for the boy's trip to Los Angeles, Walter was brought home. However, at the train station where Christine was to pick up her son, she found it was not him. In order to avoid a media storm, Captain Jones, in charge of the search, managed to convince the woman that her uncertainty resulted from the trauma and that she should take the child home. There, Mrs. Collins only confirmed her conviction. The boy turned out to be much shorter than her son - and was circumcised.
In the 1920s, the Los Angeles Police "had" a poor reputation and were famous for solving cases "in their own way."
Christine returned to the police station asking for the search to be resumed. Instead of help, she was met with aggression and was sent back with a doctor's opinion, who said that all the changes could be explained in a logical way. But she did not give up. She decided to collect the evidence of the false identity of the boy with whom she lived.
Cheated
Walter's mother asked his dentist for an opinion, who, based on his dentition, confirmed that the boy claiming to be Mrs. Collins' son was not. The woman also collected testimonials from friends and teachers. Unfortunately, when she presented all the evidence to Captain Jones, this accused her of being insane and wishing to avoid maternal duties, sending her to a psychiatric hospital for treatment . Christine spent 10 days there. She was released when the boy claiming to be her son finally confessed to the hoax.
He was 12 years old and although he was very similar to the wanted Walter, his real name was Arthur Hutchens. He was from Iowa, where he lived with his father and stepmother. He ran away from home due to mistreatment by his parents. He wandered the country for a long time, until he heard in Illinois that he looked like a missing Walter. A cunning plan was immediately born in the head of the boy, a great lover of Westerns. He decided to impersonate Mrs. Collins' son to reach Hollywood, where he hoped to meet his greatest idol, Tom Mix.
Christine decided not to let go of the humiliation she had suffered from the police and decided to file a complaint against the city and the commander. At the same time, 15-year-old Sanford Clark appeared at the police station with a story that was supposed to scare all California residents.
The dark secret of Wineville Farm
Sanford lived on a farm in the village of Wineville. The boy came there from Canada to work on chickens with his uncle, Gordon Northcott. However, it was not his only occupation. The teenager also helped a relative lure into the farm little boys in and around Los Angeles whom Gordon molested, raped - and some he killed as well.
The case came to light thanks to Sanford's older sister. In the summer of 1928, she came to Wineville from Canada to visit and discovered the terrifying truth about her brother's unhealthy relationship with his uncle. Concerned about the situation, after returning home, she decided to notify the US consul, who passed the information on to the Los Angeles police.
While giving his testimony, a shaky Clark told of how he became the first victim of his uncle to sexually abuse and beat him. Finally, the man got bored with his nephew and decided to look for new "sensations". He and Sanford drove around the neighborhood, luring the boys he came across to the car. He chose mainly Mexican children because he was convinced that no one would look for them. With time, however, his preferences changed - he also began to kidnap white boys from "better" districts of the city. This is where the story got even darker.
Northcott Farm where the horrific crimes occurred.
Northcott usually collected a few boys and then placed them in chicken cages. There he abused them. When he had had enough, he would take them to the room where he killed birds and murdered them with an ax. Of course, the other victims heard the terrifying sounds of the torment . Sanford, on pain of death, was also forced to kill two small prisoners. Interestingly, Gordon's mother Sarah Louise Northcott knew about everything. The woman was not only aware of the horror that unfolded on the farm, but she was also supposed to take part in it herself.
After hearing Sanford's testimony, police immediately issued an arrest warrant for Northcott and his mother. However, the couple managed to escape from the farm, taking some of the corpse with them. They were to be burned in an unknown place in the desert. Then Gordon and Sarah traveled to Canada where they were eventually arrested.
Meanwhile, on a farm in Wineville, investigators discovered three bodies buried in shallow graves. There were probably many more victims, as fragments of other bodies were also found, but could not be identified. It was estimated that Northcott murdered 20-30 boys . The accused himself never admitted it, and the number of victims was difficult to prove, as some of the graves were covered with burnt lime in order to accelerate the decay. In the room where Gordon slaughtered the boys with an ax, in addition to a bloodied murder weapon and a stump, a whistle, scout badges and a book with a letter from one of the murdered boys to their parents were also found.
During the interrogation, Clark was shown photos of the children - he was to indicate other victims of his uncle. One of the photos he selected showed Walter Collins, but his body was never found. And Sanford also testified that three little prisoners managed to escape the farm (one was caught by Gordon). Unfortunately, the teenager did not know the identity of the fugitives.
Hope dies last
The trials of Gordon Northcott and his mother were hailed as a circus by the media. The man fired his lawyers and undertook his own defense. He claimed to be innocent, and he loved the boys on the farm and could not hurt them. Sarah, on the other hand, made an agreement with the police to protect herself from the death penalty. During the trial, she pleaded guilty to complicity in the murder of Walter Collins. The woman was to decide his fate, because the boy knew her son from the store where he and his mother shopped.
Louise, wanting to explain Gordon's behavior, told about his difficult childhood. He was supposed to be molested by his father, and even ... came from an incestuous relationship between her husband and daughter (she herself would then be his grandmother). However, these statements were quickly challenged by Northcott's sister, and Sarah was judged to be insane by the court and sentenced to life imprisonment in a prison. Eventually she was released after 12 years in prison.
Californian correctional facility where Sanford Clark was imprisoned.
When Gordon found out about his mother's agreement and her testimony, he accused her of compelling him to have sexual relations with her as well. It did not save him from punishment. He was sentenced to death by hanging. The execution was carried out on October 2, 1930. The day before, Gordon was visited by Christine Collins and another mother. The man planned to admit his crimes to them, but eventually chickened out and continued to maintain his innocence.
Apparently, when Gordon saw the gallows, he became hysterical. And probably right - the rope he was hanging from came loose and instead of dying immediately from breaking his neck, he was dying for 11 minutes thrashing on the rope. His death did not bring relief to Christine Collins, for she was convinced that her son was alive. She had certain reasons for this:Captain Jones, during the hearing of the woman's complaint, testified that he was forced to resolve Walter's case quickly and include him on the Wineville victims list.
Five years after these events, in 1935, a boy was found who was considered one of the survivors of a horror movie at Northcott's farm. It rekindled Mrs. Collins' hope. Until her death, she believed that her son also somehow managed to survive.