115:. Northcott's mother, Sarah Louise Northcott, confessed in late 1928 to her participation in the murder of Walter Collins as being amongst her son's victims. Following her confession, she was sentenced without trial to life imprisonment for her role in Walter's death. The state chose not to prosecute Gordon Northcott for Walter's murder and instead brought him to trial for the murders of three other young boys for which there was also forensic evidence. On February 13, 1929, he was found guilty for all three murders and sentenced to death. Despite these convictions, Gordon Northcott denied killing Walter Collins, and Sarah Northcott later attempted to rescind her confession and gave other scattered and inconsistent statements.
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before his execution. Northcott pledged to explain the true account of her son's fate, but he recanted at the last minute and professed his innocence of any involvement. Collins was further encouraged by the appearance of another boy that
Northcott had abducted and probably molested. The police initially thought the boy might have been a murder victim of Northcott's. Collins continued to search for her son for the rest of her life. Collins attempted several times to collect the money owed her by Jones, including a 1941 court case, in which she attempted to collect a $ 15,562 judgment (equivalent to $ 320,000 in 2023) in the Superior Court.
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95:. Collins was released ten days after Hutchens admitted that he was not her son and filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department. Collins won a lawsuit against Jones and was awarded $ 10,800 (equivalent to $ 200,000 in 2023), which Jones never paid. The actions of the LAPD outraged the public, and were "particularly embarrassing" for chief
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where a boy disappears in Los
Angeles and is seemingly found about 9 months later in Dayton, Ohio, when a runaway is caught by police and claims to be the missing boy. The impostor is brought to Los Angeles and "reunited" with the missing boys' grandfather, but eventually the grandfather realizes the
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Jones questioned the boy, who admitted to being 12-year-old Arthur
Hutchens Jr., a runaway from Iowa. Hutchens was picked up by police in Illinois and, when asked if he was Walter Collins, he first said no, but then said yes. His motive for posing as Collins was to get to Hollywood so he could meet
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Walter
Collins disappeared on March 10, 1928, after Christine gave him money to go to the cinema. Walter's disappearance received nationwide attention, and the Los Angeles Police Department followed up on hundreds of leads without success. The police faced negative publicity and increasing public
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At the reunion, Christine
Collins said that the boy was not Walter. Under pressure to resolve the case, the officer in charge, Captain J. J. Jones, convinced her to "try the boy out" by taking him home. She returned three weeks later, again saying that he was not her son. Although she had dental
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Christine
Collins, who chose to believe her son was still alive (in spite of the guilty plea entered by Sarah Northcott to a judge, and corroborating testimony by Sanford Clark, in the murder of Walter Collins), corresponded with Gordon Northcott and received permission to interview him shortly
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boy is not his grandson and the imposter admits the ruse under questioning by the police. Four months later the body of the actual missing boy is found buried at a farm on the outskirts of
Riverside, California, the victim of murder.
153:, a 2008 film directed by Clint Eastwood, depicts the events from the disappearance of Walter Collins in 1928 until the reappearance of one of Northcott's other victims in 1935. Christine Collins was portrayed by
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The written confession of the boy who finally revealed he was Arthur
Hutchens, Jr., not Walter Collins, then later told juvenile authorities he was not Billy Fields. He was later identified as Arthur Hutchens.
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records and backing from friends to prove her case, Collins said Jones accused her of being a bad mother and bringing ridicule to the police. Jones had
Collins committed to the psychiatric ward at
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Walter's parents were
Christine Collins (born in 1888 as Christine Ida Dunne) and Walter J. Collins (an ex-convict born Walter Joseph Anson). Walter B Collins was born in September 1918.
443:"Hoax Discussed in Collins Suit: Hutchens Boy's Deception Subject of Argument Witnesses Tell of Seeming Truth of His Story Capt. Jones Lays Damage Action to Politics"
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569:"Suit to Renew Old Judgment Recalls Northcott Murders: Mother of Supposed Victim Who Was Imprisoned as Insane in Imposter Mixup Tries to Collect Damages"
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Walter B Collins was a nine-year-old boy who went missing in 1928. The state of California concluded that Collins had been murdered by
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pressure to solve the case. Then, five months after Walter's disappearance, a boy claiming to be Walter was found in
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under a "Code 12" internment – a term used to jail or commit someone who was deemed difficult or an inconvenience.
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74:. Letters and photographs were exchanged before Christine Collins paid for the boy to be brought to Los Angeles.
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512:"Enigma Boy Identified:Youth Impersonating Walter Collins Now Declared to be Arthur Hutchens, Jr., of lowa"
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was found guilty of abducting, molesting, and killing three young boys in what became known as the
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242:"New Kidnapping Clew Furnished in Hunt for Missing Collins Boy: Glendale Man Helps Police"
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To protect and to serve: the LAPD's century of war in the city of dreams
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30:"Christine Collins" redirects here. For the American rower, see
284:"Spoilers: Changeling – The Real Story Behind Eastwood's Movie"
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in character as Christine Collins, while filming on the set of
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634:"Christine Collins and the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders"
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1928 disappearance of a nine-year-old boy in California
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Christine died on December 8, 1964, at the age of 75.
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167:, the June 7, 1951, episode of the radio program
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391:"The Boy Who Vanished – and His Impostor"
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601:"Personal details for Christine Collins"
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389:Rasmussen, Cecilia (February 7, 1999).
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638:The Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals
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547:. New York: Pocket Books. p. 55.
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668:1032/1033 (Jan. 30/Feb. 6, 2009): 45.
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418:"The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders"
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520:. 21 September 1928. Archived from
185:List of solved missing person cases
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694:Missing person cases in California
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282:Howells, Sacha (7 November 2008).
195:
25:
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577:. 29 January 1941. Archived from
64:
561:
536:
321:"'Changeling' production notes"
78:Impostor and abusive internment
699:History of women in California
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451:. 13 July 1929. Archived from
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250:. 4 April 1928. Archived from
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159:Academy Award for Best Actress
113:Wineville Chicken Coop murders
43:Wineville Chicken Coop murders
13:
1:
664:Dave Karger, "Best Actress,"
359:"Changeling stories – Part I"
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57:Christine Collins, circa 1928
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157:, who was nominated for the
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7:
202:Nothing Is Strange with You
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85:Los Angeles County Hospital
10:
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684:1920s missing person cases
483:Los Angeles Public Library
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632:Morgan, Michelle (2013).
345:(Microsoft Word document)
325:Universal Pictures Awards
32:Christine Collins (rower)
642:Little, Brown Book Group
109:Gordon Stewart Northcott
39:Gordon Stewart Northcott
689:History of Los Angeles
543:Domanick, Joe (1994).
485:. 1928. Archived from
475:"Hutchens' confession"
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58:
204:, James Jeffrey Paul
133:
56:
666:Entertainment Weekly
335:on February 25, 2009
215:The Road Out of Hell
91:his favorite actor,
479:photograph: b&w
298:on 10 November 2008
581:on 18 October 2017
524:on 16 January 2018
455:on 16 January 2018
367:. October 26, 2008
329:Universal Pictures
145:
126:Portrayal in media
59:
651:978-1-4721-0034-4
574:Los Angeles Times
554:978-0-671-75111-1
517:Los Angeles Times
448:Los Angeles Times
396:Los Angeles Times
364:Los Angeles Times
254:on 9 October 2008
247:Los Angeles Times
217:, Flacco, Clark,
18:Christine Collins
16:(Redirected from
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165:The Big Imposter
72:DeKalb, Illinois
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41:as part of the
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65:Disappearance
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615:. Retrieved
611:the original
606:FamilySearch
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583:. Retrieved
579:the original
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526:. Retrieved
522:the original
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493:14 September
491:. Retrieved
487:the original
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457:. Retrieved
453:the original
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427:February 22,
425:. Retrieved
422:Crime Museum
421:
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402:February 22,
400:. Retrieved
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371:February 22,
369:. Retrieved
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337:. Retrieved
333:the original
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300:. Retrieved
296:the original
292:RealNetworks
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256:. Retrieved
252:the original
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339:October 18,
302:10 November
190:Personation
97:James Davis
678:Categories
528:28 January
459:26 January
229:References
223:1402768699
210:1436366267
150:Changeling
140:Changeling
49:Background
585:9 October
288:Film News
107:In 1929,
103:Aftermath
617:July 15,
179:See also
258:12 June
170:Dragnet
143:in 2007
93:Tom Mix
648:
551:
221:
208:
646:ISBN
619:2015
587:2008
549:ISBN
530:2008
495:2008
461:2008
429:2018
404:2018
373:2020
341:2008
304:2008
260:2008
219:ISBN
206:ISBN
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
