Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-03-26
HneIat Paris.
Cook Your Pork,
TINE NORTON CASE.
A Resume of One of The Bloodiest
Episodes Ever Chronicled In
Southern California Details of an
Abnormal Tragedy

The telegraph has recently informed
us of the pardon by Governor Stoneman
of Mrs. Norton, who was sentenced to
Imprisonment for life for the murder of
her husband. Although the crime was
committed some seven or eight years
ago, the loneliness of the spot which
was its scene and the heartlessness man.
Tested by the perpetrators, have invested
even its memory with feeling of horror
in the minds of many of the people of
Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
Norton and his wife-the husband be-
ing man well spoken of by his neigh
bors, the wife a prepossessing, rather
handsome woman of twenty-six years of
age-lived in small house near what is
called the Rincon, near the ocean, on
the road from Santa Barbara to San
Buenaventura, where neighbors were
few and far between. Jack Cotton was
their hired man. Norton was missed,
after Cotton had been in his employ
some little while, and Mrs. Norton in.
formed the neighbors that Norton was
out of health, that the water at the Rincon
did not agree with him, that farming
was not profitable there, and that he
had gone to Los Nietos, in this county,
to seek more congenial homo.
One fine morning, Cotton and Mrs.
Norton, were seen in wagon on the
road to Los Angeles, having informed
the nsighbors that Norton had been
taken seriously sick at Los Nietos, and
had sent for his family. The pair, with
the Norton children, came to Los An.
geles, "saw the sights. conducted them
selves here like loving bride and bride
groom, and after few days returned to
the Rincon.
Mrs. Norton was, on her return, a.
most frantic with grief, and wept and
moaned with profuseness that wrung
the hearts of her few neighbors, and
they beseeched her mot to take on so;"
in fact, as weeping widow, she was an
immense success. Almost inarticu.
lately, amidst means and tears,
she told the story that she arrived at
Los Nietos just in time to see Norton
die OF Inflammation of the bowels, and
pathetically narrated how he with diff
Guilty recognized his favorite child ere he
breathed his last. Cotton and herself
then disposed of Norton's farm imple-
ments, house, furniture, etc., CLEANED
up" about 5000 and left for San Fran.
cisco.
Mrs. Norton and family were kindly
parted with, for they were always con.
sidered good neighbors; but, as to Jack
Cotton, it was thought, to use homely
phrase, to be good riddance to bad rub.
bish." The grief-stricken widow and
the hired man then went to Santa Bar
bara, San Francisco and other places;
frequentea theatcrs, took buggy rides
together, and at San Francisco Cotton
and she had their photographs taken in
one picture, his hand resting lovingly
upon her shoulder and smile Of serene
and innocent happiness playing upon her
features.
But the relatives OF Norton heard of
these "carryings on" and thought 1t
suspicious enough to seek for more and
minuter details regarding his death. His
late residence at the Rincon was
searched, without any clue being OBJ
tanned, While leaning upon a stick
on sand-hill back of Norton's house, a
neighbor felt that the stick, which was
buried little in the sand by his weight,
struck against something hard. Curios-
ity led him to prod into the sand
couple of feet, and, lol murder was
out" The body of Norton was there
discovered, with his head pounded into
fragments. the largest Of which was less
than the size of mans palm. Investi.
CATION led to the discovery of human
blood on the floors OF one Of the rooms
Of the house; and the ncighbors then b..