Historical Context
In 1926, 13-year-old Sanford Clark was taken from his home in Saskatchewan, Canada (with the permission of his mother and reluctant father) by his uncle, 19-year old Gordon Stewart Northcott. Northcott took Clark to a ranch in Wineville, California, where he regularly beat and sexually abused the boy—until August 1928, when the police took Clark into custody after his sister, Jessie Clark, informed them of the situation. Clark revealed that he was forced to help Northcott and his mother, Sarah Louise Northcott, in killing three young boys after Northcott had kidnapped and molested them. The police found no bodies at the ranch—Clark said they were dumped in the desert—but discovered body parts, blood-stained axes, and personal effects belonging to missing children. The Northcotts fled to Canada, but were arrested and extradited to the United States. Sarah Louise initially confessed to the murders, including that of Walter Collins. She later retracted her statement; Gordon, who had confessed to killing five boys, did likewise.
After Christine Collins was released from Los Angeles County Hospital, she sued the police department twice, winning the second lawsuit. Although Captain Jones was ordered to pay Collins $10,800, he never did. A city council welfare hearing recommended that Jones and Chief of Police James E. Davis leave their posts, but both were later reinstated. The California State Legislature later made it illegal for the police to commit someone to a psychiatric facility without a warrant. Northcott was convicted of the murders of Lewis Winslow (12), Nelson Winslow (10) and an unidentified Mexican boy; after his conviction, Northcott was reported to have admitted to up to 20 murders, though he later denied the claim. Northcott was executed by hanging in 1930 at the age of 23. Sarah Louise was convicted of Walter Collins' murder and served almost 12 years in prison. In 1930, the residents of Wineville changed the town's name to Mira Loma to escape the notoriety brought by the case.
Read more about this topic: Changeling (film)
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