During the 1920s, Boys Became the Prey of a Brutal Killer

In December 1928, three months after his arrest, Northcott was taken to the chicken ranch in handcuffs. Police reported that he initially said nine boys had been killed there, but admitted killing only five. In a written confession that day, he owned up to just one, believed to be the Mexican ranch hand: "I killed Alvin Gothea on the ranch on Feb. 2, 1928. No self-defense. Gordon Stewart Northcott will plead guilty to the above charge in Riverside County tomorrow."

Northcott's mother, who said she would "do anything" to protect her son, confessed to killing Walter Collins with an ax. She was sentenced to life in prison.

Northcott was charged with killing Walter, along with the Winslow brothers and the Mexican youth. His trial began in January 1929 amid heavy security. Women were excluded from the jury because the judge believed the crimes were too heinous for the fairer sex to be exposed to. (They were admitted as spectators, however.)

Retired Superior Court and appellate court judge John Gabbert, now 95, was then a student at Riverside City College. "I waited around the courthouse a long time to get a seat," he said in a recent interview. Northcott "was a very self-possessed guy, not overawed by the trial at all. During breaks, he kidded around with the prosecutors. He was as much at home in the courtroom as any attorney but didn't know what he was doing [legally]. He was a conniving, smart guy, in a limited way."

Northcott toyed with investigators, sending them on wild goose chases for bodies with hand-drawn maps that never led to anything. He fired three attorneys in succession, took over his own defense, growled obscenities at the prosecutor, Deputy D.A. Earl Redwine, and even put himself and the prosecutor on the stand. Playing attorney and witness at the same time, he asked himself questions and answered them.

Redwine portrayed Northcott as a pathological liar and a sadistic degenerate -- fearless, defiant, foulmouthed and full of bravado. Northcott's conduct underscored Redwine's case.

At one point, smiling benignly at the jury, Northcott accused the sheriff of plotting to kill him and of stealing his legal papers. He alleged that his family members were "liars" coerced into testifying against him. Moreover, he said, the judge wasn't giving him a "square deal."

At times he hinted that there were more than four victims.