The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders Part 1

Summary

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Crime House 24/7: The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, Part 1

Host: Carter Roy
Date: July 24, 2026
Theme:
An investigative deep dive into the disturbing origins of Gordon Stewart Northcott, whose childhood, family dynamics, and early crimes ultimately paved the way to the notorious Wineville Chicken Coop Murders of the late 1920s.

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Episode Overview

This episode unravels the early life and family background of Gordon Stewart Northcott, setting the stage for one of California’s most unsettling murder cases. Host Carter Roy paints a layered picture of Northcott’s fractured upbringing in Canada and subsequent move to California, focusing on the toxic family relationships and the first hints of the criminal behaviors that would soon shock the nation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Northcott Family Origins (02:07–05:29)

• Gordon Stewart Northcott’s parents, George and Louise, married in 1886 in Canada and settled in Bladworth, Saskatchewan.
• Louise suffered repeated child losses: “Losing Willie broke something in Louise... After he died, she started to believe God was punishing her.” (Carter Roy, 02:47)
• George responded to the family’s tragedies with violence, especially after developing severe migraines.
• Louise’s grief and religious fixation deepened after her fourth child Willie’s death.

Notable Quote (Louise’s devotion):

“She decided he was her last shot at being a mother. Her whole purpose. From then on, Louise was completely devoted to her son. And she swore she’d protect him, no matter what.”
— Carter Roy (06:26)

2. Gordon Stewart Northcott’s Birth and Upbringing (05:29–10:48)

• Louise tried, unsuccessfully, to end the pregnancy that resulted in Stewart’s birth. Despite physical abuse from George, Stewart was born healthy in 1906: “Somehow, the baby survived. Gordon Stewart Northcott was born on November 9, 1906.” (Carter Roy, 05:56)

• Contradictory stories about Stuart's upbringing abound, with accusations of mental illness, abuse, and questions about his gender identity—all hotly contested and likely exaggerated.

• “In the end, there are only two things everyone ... could agree on. One, Louise was obsessed with Stuart… And two, in public, George did whatever Louise told him.” (Carter Roy, 08:07)

• Stewart grew up spoiled and entitled by his mother's devotion. He was musically talented and somewhat charming, but “underneath, there were warning signs.” (Carter Roy, 09:18)

  • Lied compulsively, could not handle criticism, made few friends outside the family.
  • His cousin, Jesse, once tried to kill him as a child—an early sign of violent family dynamics.

Notable Quote:

“The other kids knew Stuart would lie about anything, spinning wild, pointless stories for no reason at all. And he couldn’t take criticism. The second anyone tried to correct him, he’d melt down into tantrums and screaming threats.”
— Carter Roy (09:23)

3. Moving to California: Searching for a Fresh Start (10:48–13:30)

• The Northcotts moved to Los Angeles in 1924, possibly to escape scandal but primarily seeking new opportunities.

• The family blended quietly into the bustling city; George worked construction, Louise at the General Hospital, Stewart bounced between jobs, and attended trade school.

• At trade school, Stewart befriended Claude Scott and grew close to his younger brother, Philly, whom he eventually sexually assaulted.

• In 1925, Stewart was arrested for sexually abusing Philly Scott. With little evidence, he avoided serious consequences, but the word spread.

Notable and Chilling Moment:

“What Stewart wanted was a place far from prying eyes, where he could do whatever he liked. Because he didn’t feel one ounce of guilt about what he’d done... He was only sorry he’d been caught.”
— Carter Roy (14:33)

4. The Path to Wineville (13:30–15:16)

• Nine months after the abuse allegation, Stewart asked his father to buy him land—ostensibly to raise chickens, but in truth, a hideout.
• George complied, purchasing three remote acres near Wineville, 50 miles east of LA.
• Stewart labored over the makeshift farm, but his true agenda was secrecy and isolation for future crimes.

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Memorable Moments, Quotes, and Timestamps

• Louise’s obsessive devotion (06:26): “She decided he was her last shot at being a mother. Her whole purpose.”
• Dysfunctional family control (08:07): “In public, George did whatever Louise told him. Whatever went on behind closed doors, she ran that house.”
• Stuart’s childhood instability (09:23): “The other kids knew Stuart would lie about anything... he’d melt down into tantrums.”
• Chilling intent behind the chicken ranch (14:33): “He didn’t feel one ounce of guilt... He was only sorry he'd been caught.”

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Northcott Family Tragedies Unpacked: 02:07–05:29
• Stewart’s Upbringing and Personality: 05:29–10:48
• Move to California and Early Criminal Behavior: 10:48–13:30
• Acquisition of the Wineville Ranch: 13:30–15:16

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Tone and Language

Carter Roy’s narrative blends meticulous research with a dark, reflective tone, highlighting the ambiguity and dysfunction of the Northcott household. His storytelling keeps the mood ominous yet empathetic, foreshadowing the horrors to come without sensationalism.

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Conclusion & Next Steps

Cliffhanger: The episode ends as Northcott acquires the isolation he craves in Wineville, setting the scene for the crimes that earned global infamy in Part 2.

For Part 2:
Follow “Murder True Crime Stories” on all major podcast platforms to hear what unfolds at the Wineville ranch.

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Note: This summary skips advertisements and podcast network promos and focuses strictly on true crime content.

Transcript

[Vanessa]

Hi listeners, it's Vanessa. Before today's episode, I want to tell you about another show I think you'll love. Crime House and A E are teaming up on the podcast version of the famous true crime series the First 48. Each week, Carter Roy takes you inside a landmark homicide case. The interrogations, the dead ends, and the breakthroughs in the critical first 48 hours. Listen to and follow the first 48 every Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to podcasts.

[Carter Roy]

This is Crime House.

[Vanessa]

Hi listeners, it's Vanessa. Happy Friday. This afternoon I'm bringing you an episode of our Crime House show, Murder True Crime Stories. On Murder True Crime Stories, host Carter Roy explores the depths of history's most notorious murders like you've never heard before. In this episode, host Carter Roy traces the path of 19 year old Gordon Stewart Northcott, who in 1926 convinced his parents to buy him three acres of barren land outside Los Angeles under the guise of raising chickens, where he would instead build one of the most disturbing crime scenes in California history. What you're about to hear is part one of the episode for part two. Follow Murder True Crime Stories on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts

[Carter Roy]

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[Carter Roy]

Even now, Gordon Stewart Northcott is hard to pin down. Over the years, his parents, Louise and George, told all kinds of stories about their family, and a lot of them contradicted each other. So piecing together his childhood takes some guesswork. But here's what we know. George and Louise got married in 1886 in Canada. A few years later, Louise gave birth to a daughter, Winifred. And at some point, the family settled in the little prairie town of Bladworth, Saskatchewan. We also know that Louise dreamed of a house full of kids. Over the next decade, she gave birth three more times. None of those children lived very long. The cruelest blow came when her fourth child, a little boy named Willie, died of pneumonia at 6 years old. Back then, losing a child wasn't rare the way it is now. But that doesn't mean it wasn't devastating. Losing Willie broke something in Louise. She'd always been a strict Christian, but after he died, she started to believe God was punishing her, that he was taking away her children on purpose, one by one. Her husband, George, was a construction worker, and he handled his grief in an uglier way. He turned violent toward his wife and their only surviving daughter. Around the same time, he started getting blinding migraines that made his temper even shorter.

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[Carter Roy]

Calling that household a nightmare would be putting it kindly. And it was about to get worse. A couple of years after they lost Willie in 1906, Louise found out she was pregnant again. She was 37. She and George agreed that another baby would only bring more heartbreak. According to Winnie, who would have been a teenager by then, her mother tried to end the pregnancy. She jumped up and down. She rode horses hard. And that wasn't all. At one point, in a fit of rage, George kicked her in the stomach so hard he injured her spine. Somehow, the baby survived. Gordon Stewart Northcott was born on November 9, 1906. Physically, he was healthy, but with parents like that, the damage was already baked in. Winnie said that at first her mother wouldn't even look at the baby. Louise was terrified of getting attached, sure that if she let herself love him, he'd be taken from her like the others. She couldn't keep that up for long. One day, Stuart started crying and she picked him up just to quiet him down. The second she looked into his big blue eyes, that was it. She decided he was her last shot at being a mother. Her whole purpose. From then on, Louise was completely devoted to her son. And she swore she'd protect him no matter what. For his part, Stuart denied all of Winnie's stories, even though he wasn't alive for most of them. Instead, he claimed Winnie was the one who was mentally ill. And he accused his father of sexually abusing both of them, though he insisted George never hit them otherwise. Some writers have also claimed that Louise dressed Stuart as a girl and raised him as her daughter until he was 16. But every surviving photo from his childhood shows him in boys clothes, so it's hard to know if that's true. In the end, there are only two things everyone who knew the Northcotts could agree on. One, Louise was obsessed with Stuart. In her eyes, he could do no wrong. And he was just about the only happiness she had. And two, in public, George did whatever Louise told him. Whatever went on behind closed doors, she ran that house. And he almost never pushed back. Everything else is up for debate, but however you cut it, everyone seemed to agree that something was not right about the Northcotts. And the older Stuart got, the more obvious it became. While Stuart was still a baby, when he married a man named John Clark and moved out, that meant Stuart was essentially now an only child. His parents weren't well off, but Luis was so devoted to him that he basically got whatever he wanted. So it's no surprise he grew up with a smug, entitled streak. One that got worse once he started piano lessons. He turned out to have a real gift for it. Good enough to land regular gigs at a local movie theater and a cafe. By his teens, it looked like Stuart had a few things going for him. He was a good looking, talented kid with fair hair and deep blue eyes. And when it suited him, he knew how to turn on the charm. But underneath, there were warning signs. The other kids knew Stuart would lie about anything, spinning wild, pointless stories for no reason at all. And he couldn't take criticism. The second anyone tried to correct him, he'd melt down into tantrums and screaming threats. All that made real friendships hard to come by. The only kids he really spent time with were Winnie's children. At that point, they had a daughter named Jesse and a son named Sanford.

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[Carter Roy]

Even with family, things were tense. Jesse, who is about three years younger than Stuart, reportedly tried to kill him when they were kids. Nobody seems to know exactly why. The one upside to all those troubles was that Stuart had almost no ties to his hometown. So when his parents announced that they wanted to move to California in 1924, Stewart was happy to come along. Nobody knows for sure why the Northcotts left Canada. There were whispers of some kind of scandal forcing them out, but they were probably just chasing work. In the 1920s, Southern California was booming. The movie business and big agriculture were pulling families west by the thousands, all of them hoping for a fresh start. The Northcotts settled in Los Angeles, and it didn't take them long to find their footing in a city swelling with new arrivals. One more family from out of town barely drew a glance. George found work as a contractor. Luis took a job doing laundry at the General Hospital. And Stuart bounced between odd jobs selling cars and clerking at a store on the side. He enrolled in a trade school. And that's where the real trouble started. In one of his classes, Stuart befriended a student named Claude Scott and started hanging around the family's home. There he got to know Claude's younger brother, a boy named Philly, who was somewhere between 9 and 12 years old. Stuart started making excuses to get the boy alone, and eventually he sexually assaulted him. On July 25, 1925, Stewart was arrested on a child sexual abuse charge. What happened next isn't clear. There wasn't much evidence, so either Stewart got off with probation or the charges were dropped altogether. But the damage to his reputation was done. Word got around the neighborhood, and Stuart became more of an outcast than Ever. His family did what they always did. They looked away. Luis decided the boy who accused her son must have been lying or confused or out to get him. George said nothing at all. And Winnie, who was still in Canada, probably never even heard about it. But an allegation like that doesn't just go away. About nine months later, in April of 1926, 19 year old Stewart decided he'd had enough. He told his father he wanted a place of his own, somewhere quiet and out of the way where he could raise a few chickens and start fresh. George, passive as always, didn't argue when his son asked for money. He bought Stewart three acres near a tiny town called Wineville, about 50 miles east of LA. There's just one problem. Stewart had no idea how to raise chickens. He spent the next three months camping on the property, slowly nailing together a few flimsy coops for birds he didn't even have yet. With his father's help, he eventually managed to build some sturdier henhouses. But to actually get a real ranch going, feeding and watering and breeding all those chickens, he realized he was going to need help. And in the back of his mind, he had another reason for wanting that land. Chickens were never really the point. What Stewart wanted was a place far from prying eyes, where he could do whatever he liked. Because he didn't feel one ounce of guilt about what he'd done to his friend's little brother the year before. He was only sorry he'd been caught. And now, with three private acres all to himself, he was going to make sure it never happened again.

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[Vanessa]

For Part two of the story, follow Murder True Crime stories on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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[Vanessa]

Hi listeners, it's Vanessa. Before today's episode, I want to tell you about another show I think you'll love. Crime House and A and E are team up on the podcast version of the famous true crime series the First 48. Each week, Carter Roy takes you inside a landmark homicide case. The interrogations, the Dead Ends and the breakthroughs in the critical first 48 hours. Listen to and follow the first 48 every Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to podcasts.