the changeling, the real story in !928 Los Angeles

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The Changeling was a great film but fantasy incorporated , heres the real stuff.making a film which is more a less a half hearted lie cannot be good for anyone, Jolle comes across as a reasonable person who ends up in a nightmare but the reality seems to beg another reality of dysfunction and the police realising they were dealing with someone who might not have been all the ticket. I dont want to speak badly of something I cannot know but Im left with grave doubts about this film.Remember where you heard it, hush hush.
In March of 1928, Christine Collins was raising her son, Walter, by herself in Los Angeles. Her husband, Walter JS, was serving a term in Folsom Prison for robbery.below 1939 nude ralph gibson On March 10th, Christine thought Walter was playing in the neighborhood. When he did not return by the evening, Christine made a report with the police. She would never see 9 year-old Walter again.L.A 1928
Police worked on the theory that Walter had been kidnapped as part of a revenge plot against his father. Walter JS was a "straw boss" in the prison, and was in charge of several other inmates. Police surmised he had made enemies of those he was in charge of. They began searching for inmates who had been recently released. In addition, they followed up on reports of a gas station attendant who had seen a car with a "body wrapped in newspaper" in the back seat. A young friend of Walter's also reported that a stranger had been in the neighborhood, inquiring about the Collins residence. None of the leads went anywhere.
mrs collins
In August of '28, authorities in Illinois discovered a young boy working in a restaurant (also reported to have been working on a farm) near the town of DeKalb. He resembled photos of the Collins boy that had been distributed nationwide. At first, the boy denied being Walter, but following "gentle" questioning, he admitted that he was, in fact, Walter. He was then turned over to the Los Angeles police by the Illinois police.
The LAPD investigators were baffled when Christine stated that the boy was not her son. They stated that he closely resembled the photos of Walter, so they had "Walter" undergo a series of tests. He had, allegedly, directed authorities to the correct home, and knew information about other homes in the neighborhood.
Christine still disagreed, and though she stated the boy did closely resemble Walter, he did not act the same as her boy. Authorities tried to convince her that his kidnappers had "altered the aisles in his brain" during his captivity, which accounted for his odd behavior. wineville dig up
As the final point in determined that the boy was in fact Walter, the police noted that Walter's pet dog, a black spaniel, immediately took to the young boy.
When Christine still refused to accept that the boy was in fact her son, public sentiment (fueled largely by statements from LAPD Captain JJ Jones, in charge of the Juvenile Investigation Unit) turned against Christine. Based entirely on Jones' say-so, Christine was committed to a psychopathic ward. She spent ten days in the unit, until "Walter" finally recanted.the real oneL.A 1928
The boy was not Walter, but was in fact Arthur Hutchins, Jr. He was a young runaway from Iowa, working in Illinois at the time of Walter's disappearance. He told reporters and police he took what little he knew of the case from newspaper reports. the famous "Arrow Collar Man" from the early 1900’s, the picture of American male sophisticated style in advertising, was actually Charles Beach, a gay Canadian. Beach got more fan mail during the 1920’s than Rudolph Valentino
When asked why he had perpetrated the hoax, he told authorities he had "always wanted to see Hollywood". Hutchins further stated that he had fooled the authorities by delaying his answers to certain questions until someone suggested an answer. The rest was just "wild guesses".

In mid-September, 15 year-old Sanford Clark approached police with an incredible story. He had just escaped from the chicken farm of his grandparents, Cyrus and Louise Northcott. fashion 1928
(Other papers report that immigration officers had located Clark at the farm following inquiries as to his presence in the US). He stated he had travelled to the farm from Canada with his uncle, Gordon Stewart Northcott. Gordon had "misused" him, and held him captive.hutchens
 During his time there, he was forced to witness and participate in the torture and murder of four boys. One of the boys, he declared, was in fact Walter Collins. Clark stated he was positive the boy was Walter.
                                                                                                                      northcott on left
Clark told authorities that the murders had begun with a young Mexican boy, who Nothcott had killed with an ax; in fact, the headless corpse of a young Mexican boy had been found along a highway near the town of Puente some few months prior. 1928
Next had come the week-long ordeal of Walter, who Northcott had tied to a bed and tortured for a week. Finally, Louise, Gordon's mother, killed Walter with an ax. Next came the torture and murders of 12 year-old Lewis and 10 year-old Nelson Winslow. Clark told police he had been forced to kill Nelson while Gordon hacked Lewis to death.
trilby 1928, the classic mobster hat not the fedora
When police arrived at the ranch, only Cyrus was there. Louis and Gordon had fled. They found overwhelming evidence attesting to the truth of Clark's assertions. A bloody cot was located, where the tortures had taken place. Three empty graves were located, from which the police determined that the bodies had recently been removed. The bodies had been covered in quicklime. Bones, body parts (a hand was reported to have been found) and a hat which the Winslow's father later stated had belonged to one of his sons were located. In one of the chicken coops, a bloody axe was found. It was clotted with hair and "human debris".

sandford with detectives
A short time later, Louise and Gordon were located in Canada and returned to California. Louise intially confessed to all four murders, most likely in an attempt to save her son.northcott on her way to quentin
 She was convicted of the murder of Walter Collins and sentenced to life in San Quentin State Prison.
It was reported that prior to his trial, Gordon had taken authorities on a trek through the Mojave Desert in search of the boys' remains. During that time, he allegedly stated that he had killed "Walter Collins, Lewie Winslow, Alvin Gothea, a boy named Richard" and another boy whose name he did not know. moto guzzi 1928 model
Gordon hinted to police that it was possible another four boys had been murdered at the ranch (Woodland Daily Democrat, 12-4-1928. A Wikipedia article on the murders states that one of the boys Gordon claimed to kill was in fact found alive and well five years later; this may be the Gothea boy mentioned, though I have yet to confirm this. A UP story, carried in various papers in early January '29, states that Gothea was the Mexican boy; this is the only place I have seen this stated).

Northcott's trial began in January of 1929. During the trial, the jury heard the details of the torture and murder of the boys. Louise Northcott testified that she was not actually Gordon's mother, but his grandmother. Louise's daughter disputed this in newspaper reports, stating that Gordon's birth records were "readily available". Christine Collins also testified during the trial. Acording to the Modesto Daily Herald, dated 2-2-29, Christine testified that she had received a note following Walter's disappearance that read "boy bad sick, afraid to call doctor".
On February 8th, 1929, Gordon was found guilty of the murders of the unknown Mexican boy and the Winslow brothers. He was sentenced to hang.
The night prior to the execution, Christine and the mother of the Winslow boys confronted Gordon after he sent them telegrams stating he would tell her the truth of what happened to their children. Instead, Gordon proclaimed his innocence, blaming his mother and his nephew.

Northcott was executed on October 2nd, 1930.

Christine never stopped believing that Walter might still be alive, as no solid evidence of him was found at the farm. Christine's treatment at the hands of Captain Jones and his officers resulted in Jones' four-month suspension without pay. She was awarded over $10,000 in a settlement against Jones. Christine vowed to use every cent to find out what really happened to Walter.

She never did.

Jerry Clark, 17, was on his way to a hockey game when his father, Sanford, pulled the car over and revealed a shocking past.
When he was 15, Sanford Clark became the main witness against his uncle, Gordon Stewart Northcott, who kidnapped boys from the Southland in the 1920s then molested and killed them at a chicken ranch in Wineville.
Not only did his uncle rape and beat him, Clark told authorities he was made to help dispose of the bodies and, at gunpoint, ordered to shoot one of the boys.
"Sanford said he never planned to tell Jerry the story," said Anthony Flacco , who is writing a book about Clark and was at the Whittier Museum last week doing research.
But he said Clark was worried reporters working on an unrelated killing near their town would unearth his past. His concern was that his children would hear about it from others. His fear didn't materialize.
postscript.
Louise Northcott was sentenced to prison but not death. Fact being  she was not put to death seeing  that she was a woman.

 During Gordon's trial, Louise Northcott shockingly revealed that Gordon was not her son, but her grandson. She stated that he was the product of her husband's rape of their daughter. Gordon hadn't known he had been born to his "sister" in 1908. So in reality Sanford Clark was not his nephew but his brother.Here we have the echo of Chinatown with Jack Nicholson.

Gordon Northcott was eventually sentenced to execution., the town of Wineville officially changed its name to Mira Loma in an attempt to escape  the Chicken Coop Murders. and  the ranch was destroyed.

As said Walter Collins was a 12-year old runaway from Illinois named Arthur Hutchins Jr
 a man at a cafe  had told Hutchins that he resembled Walter Collins. Hutchins thought that if he impersonated Wakter Collins he could perhaps meet his favorite actor Tom Mix in Hollywood.
 His step mother Violet Hutchins was getting to him and wanted to get away from her. His own mother died when he was 9 .

Christine Collins remarried and remained childless. .  website entries say she died in 1935. Others state she died in 1996 in Lafeyette.
I am very curious as to why those confessions were not included in the film. In the film, Mrs. Collins's finds that one of Gordon Northcott's victims escaped from the ranch and remained in hiding for years. In reality, no victim of Northcott survived apart from Sander Clark.
Arthur Hutchins, the boy who pretended to be Walter Collins, was sent to Iowa's State Training School for Boys until the age of 14. He worked as a carnival concessioneer and later moved back to California to train horses and be a jockey. He married and fathered a daughter. He died of natural causes in 1954.
 I am disappointed that the film forgot many facts that are  important to the story.Eastwood totally denies that there is anything but black and white to this story and tghats damaging both to our sense of history and to the souls of those passed on if you believe in that kind of thing. below 1931 fashion

Collins spent five days in the psychiatric ward against her will under “Code 12”. This was a term that referred to a difficult or inconvenient person, usually a woman, committed to the local psychopathic ward.http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8540054134050405509#editor/target=post;postID=6620483121027049811
 Code 12 is like today's 5150 which is California Law which allows for Involuntary Hospitalization.

I  mention that the police in L.A also had a long history of abusing its power but that may not be the real story behind this particular situation as I feel more research needs to be done.
Changeling is a film that I  recommend but remember its bullshit as  mostly theres a lot below the surface here that doesn't come up.. 
DICK MORRIS RESEARCH ON COLLINS  WHILE TALKING WITH THE MIRROR NEWSPAPER
Except for her two earliest known addresses, which were in Venice, Christine lived within a fairly restricted part of Lincoln Heights, east of downtown Los Angeles.   

Dick found her in the 1920 census, living with her husband, Conrad J., a streetcar motorman, and 1-year-old Walter at 1110 2nd Ave., Venice.

Locating this address is problematic with Google maps, which defaults to Santa Monica. And my oldest map, a 1946 Thomas Bros. Guide, is no help. Second Avenue was close to the streetcar tracks, so that location makes sense if Conrad was a motorman.

Update: This appears to be the general vicinity of the Collins home.

Christine was born about 1891 in California, according to census records, and married when she was about 25. Christine was a first-generation American; her father was born in Ireland and her mother was born in England.

Voter registration for 1920 shows Christine and Conrad living at 112 Thornton Place, Venice.
venice
In an updated e-mail, Dick points out a Sept. 24, 1928, United Press story in the San Mateo Times saying that Christine gave a 10th birthday party for her missing son, Walter, on Sept. 23. We can infer that he was born Sept. 23, 1918.

Dick didn't find any birth record, but I'm not surprised. In searching The Times for C.J. Collins, there was found an early listing of someone by that name visiting from Salt Lake City. (In the late 19th and early 20th century, newspapers published the names of people who were visiting Los Angeles and gave the names of the hotels where they were staying.)  Of course, it's unclear if this is the right C.J. Collins.

According to census records, Christine's husband, Conrad, was born in Nebraska about 1890 and his parents were born in Iowa. He appears only in the 1920 census, Dick says.

He also says he didn't find a death record on Walter, but I somewhat expected that. Because the victims' remains weren't found, they weren't formally declared dead until sometime later.

In 1928, the time period of "Changeling," Christine was living at 219 N. Ave. 23, and working as a supervisor at the phone company.

The 1930 census lists her as a roomer in the home of James C. Barton, , still working for the phone company. (The 1929 city directory lists a James C. Barton as a chauffeur living at 1802 E. Vernon, but it's unclear if this is the same man.)

Update: Dick clarifies this is James C. Borton, who was a salesman at a furniture store. The Times published a paid obituary on a man named James C. Borton on May 1, 1938, but he's not necessarily the same person. 

In 1934, she was living at 2121 Workman St., a multi-family home built in 1907.
In 1936, she was living at 152 N. Ave. 24 and listed as a housewife.
In 1938, she was living at 551 S. Lorena.
From 1942 to 1944, she was living at 2451 Daly St.
In 1946, she was living at 2603 Griffin Ave. Clarifies earlier error.
From 1948 to 1950, she was living at 2919 N. Broadway, Apt. D.
From 1952 to 1954, she was living at 2330 Johnston St., Apt. D

There is nothing to be found of her after 1954, Dick writes. He was writing for the Mirror.