Carl Switzer - Death

Death

Prior to a hunting guide job, Switzer agreed to train a hunting dog for Moses Samuel "Bud" Stiltz. After the dog was lost, having run after a bear, Switzer offered a $50 reward for the dog's return. A man found the dog a few days later and brought it to the Studio City bar where Switzer was working. Switzer paid the man $35 and bought him $15 worth of drinks from the bar. Several days later, on the evening of January 21, 1959, Switzer and his friend, thirty-seven year old unit still photographer Jack Piott, came to the conclusion that Stiltz owed Switzer the $50 paid to the man who found the dog. Shortly before 7:00 p.m. that evening, the pair arrived at Rita Corrigan's home in Mission Hills, where Stiltz was staying, to collect the money Stiltz "owed" Switzer.

According to Stiltz's testimony, he banged on his front door, demanding, "Let me in, or I'll kick in the door." Once Switzer was inside the home, he and Stiltz got into an argument. Switzer informed Stiltz that he wanted the money owed him, saying "I want that 50 bucks you owe me now, and I mean now." When Stiltz refused to hand over the money, the two engaged in a fight. Switzer allegedly struck Stiltz in the head with a glass-domed clock, which caused him to bleed from his left eye. Stiltz retreated to his bedroom and returned holding a .38-caliber revolver, but Switzer immediately grabbed the gun away from him, resulting in a shot being fired that hit the ceiling. Switzer then forced Stiltz into a closet, despite Stiltz having gotten his hands back on the gun. Switzer then allegedly pulled a switchblade knife and screamed, "I'm going to kill you" and was attempting to stab him with it, but just as Switzer was about to charge Stiltz, Stiltz raised the gun and shot Switzer in the groin. Switzer suffered massive internal bleeding and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.