Imperial Valley press., 1928-12-05
NORTHCOTT TO
PLEAD AGAIN in
MEXICAN'SDEATH
Has Already Pleaded In
Same Case in Riverside
County. agysH'
by United Press Leased Wire

by United Press Leased Wire
LOS ANGELES, Dee. 5.-For the
second time in two days, Gordon
Stewart Northcott, accused AK slay-
cr, will plead today to the charge
of the murder of Mexican youth.
He will appear before Superior
Judge Fricke here at . p. m. to an
swcr Il Los Angeles Indictment al
lcging that he behcadcd the boy
whose body was found on the high
way near Pucntc last February.
b Yesterday he pleaded not guilty
in Riverside to a Riverside county
Indictment accusing him of the same
crime. Previous to his court ap-
pcarancc he made a written confcs-
sion of the Staying.
Northcott S eccentric conduct in
the Mexican case, as well as in the
other six, eight or 10 murders he
indicated were committed on his
chicken farm, apparently was a
gesture to confuse Los Angeles and
Riverside county Officers.
When NorthcOtt wrote: ~ killed
alvin Gothea (thc MeXican) on the
ranch February .. No self defenseo
he did it only after officers prom
ised him the privilege to plead
guilty to the murder.
Once in court before Superior
Judge Morton, of Riverside, he
promptly entered not guilty plea
to that charge and to the charges
that he killed Lewis and Nelson
Winslow.
Trial date for these three cases
was set for January ..
As Northcott explained in his
written admission he set Riverside
as the scene of the murder while
Los Angeles county held the corpus
dcllcti. Puentc, near where the
body was found, is in Los Angeles
county. His confession means moth
ing, Northcott said.
Northcott still has another indict-
ment to face in Riverside county -
the one charging him jointly with
his mother, Mrs. Sarah l.. North
cott, of the murder of Walter Col
Inns.
Hoaxes Officers
He attempted to enter n plea of
not guilty to this accusation yester-
day but Judge Morton ruled he must
wait until his mother arrives here
from Canada. She left Calgary yes,
tcrday in the custody of Sheriff
Glenn Swccters of Riverside.
Northcott appeared supremely
content with the wild goose chase
he led officers over the Mojave dcs-
crt.
Hour on hour he spurrcd on a
searching party with the promise to
reveal the burial place of the head
of the Mexican. He had a salts
fled smirk when the searchers de-
cidcd they had been hoaxed and that
Northcott had no intention of max
ing any revelations, if there were
any to make.
While the hunt continued, he var
led the number of butcherics to the
credit of his chicken ranch. Once
he set it at nine. another time at
seven and still another at II. He
implicated all members of his fam
| lily except his mother in the various
asserted killings.
See Insanity Dodge
For the present, Ford has employ
ed DIR. Paul Bowers and DR.. Victor
Parkin, alienists who took a promin-
cnt part in the trial of William Ed
ward Hickman, hanged recently at
San Quentin for the murder of l.
year old Marion Parker.
Bowers and Parkin are members
of the Los Angeles county lunacy
commission.
Ford said he believed the hectic
and fruitlcss chase which Northcott
led officers over the Mojave yestcr
day was part of the insanity plot.
Other actions, such as North
cott s refusal to give his name, his
confessing to various and chang
ing numbers of murders, his contra
dietory statements and his frequent
: pfcvarications, also were taken by
Ford to indicate the possible defense
! plan of Northcott
The accused AK slayer will b'
brought into court here this after
noon to plead to Los Angeles in
dictment charging the murder of al
unidentified Mexican.