The Case of the Sacramento Mad Killer
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| Oakland Tribune August 1941 |
That year, Jones name was everywhere -mostly for his roles with the Knights of Pythias. He was well respected and liked throughout Northern California. Him and his wife were active members of the community. You would think trailing a serial killer would have gained him notoriety, but not the case. In fact, the case of the "Mad Killer" would only have his name in the papers for one month, along with the other law enforcement officers of Sacramento County. How could the deaths of possibly 10+ men only warrant a blip of time in a few area newpapers? That summer in September 1941 earn no books or movie rights, but no doubt it was something to those wondering if they were next.
All the credit I can give that would go to 1 web page detailing pieces of a puzzle. It's author, only sporting the initials "E. A. H." put together these facts to create a story. I attempted to elaborate on the story myself, but was unable to find much that wasn't already included in this one blog entry at www.nokilli.com.
There's no doubt this one will serve as a challenge to find out more- If there is more to find.
The Murders
September 1941, the west side of Sacramento had a string of horrendous murders that left battered bodies through Sacramento and Sutter Counties. These men were being picked up in various bars and watering holes. Most of them were said to have possibly been indigent field workers who were seeking work. A stranger had been recruiting these individuals possibly for work, or possibly for something more sinister. Bodies started springing up in remote areas near the Sacramento and American Rivers, as well as the vicinity of Verona. All of them were left battered and beaten. The grotesque cadavers, for the most part were found sometimes weeks after they had been dumped and left like riverside garbage.
In a summer setting, the sight and smells had to be overwhelming.
Among the bludgeoned bodies, there were a few other stories that emerged. Men that had survived brutal beatings after they had been at the bar drinking, and they were offered a ride home by a stranger. Beaten and dumped, none of the men made mention of being robbed.
Did Sacramento and Sutter County have a thrill killer on their hands?
Throughout September, newspapers ran the story. Names like the "Mad Killer", "Slugger Killer" and "Insane Slayer" were spread across front pages. After that- the trail and headlines went cold.
How could just a violent and widespread epidemic of killings just go silent? This is the question posed by the author at NOKILLI, "Apart from some certifiably kooky stories and the usual coverage of the war in Europe, this series of killings seem to be just about the only story of interest from this time.
In a summer setting, the sight and smells had to be overwhelming.
Among the bludgeoned bodies, there were a few other stories that emerged. Men that had survived brutal beatings after they had been at the bar drinking, and they were offered a ride home by a stranger. Beaten and dumped, none of the men made mention of being robbed.
Did Sacramento and Sutter County have a thrill killer on their hands?
Throughout September, newspapers ran the story. Names like the "Mad Killer", "Slugger Killer" and "Insane Slayer" were spread across front pages. After that- the trail and headlines went cold.
How could just a violent and widespread epidemic of killings just go silent? This is the question posed by the author at NOKILLI, "Apart from some certifiably kooky stories and the usual coverage of the war in Europe, this series of killings seem to be just about the only story of interest from this time.
At least eight people were attacked and killed in a period of a few months. About a dozen policemen were put to work on the case, which would have been anywhere from twenty-five to fifty per cent of the entire police force at that time. Suddenly, there was no mention of it. No other odd stories appeared to displace it. That is, until months later, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and the war was on. Wouldn't the reading public have demanded to know what became of this case?"
Reading these lines, I couldn't agree more. What the hell happened? Did we just forget that a madman was running amok undetected? War or no war there was clearly a dangerous individual targeting men in the neighboring counties.
After reading this story I am taken back to my research on Juan Corona and the 25 plus migrant workers that were killed 30 years after this case. The victims were men that society wouldn't miss. Did the trail of news coverage go cold because the men didn't matter to the common person? Did their societal disposition of being homeless make them matter less? It's hard to say, but it is certainly interesting to think about.
Had these been housewives, perhaps the coverage would have been a higher priority?
In 2007 an article called "Bloody Sac" by David A Kulczyk, the murders were summarized:
Reading these lines, I couldn't agree more. What the hell happened? Did we just forget that a madman was running amok undetected? War or no war there was clearly a dangerous individual targeting men in the neighboring counties.
After reading this story I am taken back to my research on Juan Corona and the 25 plus migrant workers that were killed 30 years after this case. The victims were men that society wouldn't miss. Did the trail of news coverage go cold because the men didn't matter to the common person? Did their societal disposition of being homeless make them matter less? It's hard to say, but it is certainly interesting to think about.
Had these been housewives, perhaps the coverage would have been a higher priority?
In 2007 an article called "Bloody Sac" by David A Kulczyk, the murders were summarized:
"The bodies of men started appearing on the banks of the Sacramento River in the late summer of 1941. On August 19 that year, Santa Barbara resident John Saunders was found on a West Sacramento roadside with a broken pelvis. Just a few feet away from him was a dead man, later identified as 55-year-old Alfred Reed, a ranch hand from Davis. Saunders was able to tell police that he and Reed had been drinking in Old Sacramento the day before when they hooked up with a man who took them for a ride. The man drove them to West Sacramento, where he beat Reed to death and Saunders to a pulp, dumping them near the river and leaving them for dead. Later that month, 41-year-old Ramon Rivas was found floating in a Natomas area slough with his skull bashed in. Robbery did not appear to be a motive for the murder. Eventually, Reed, Rivas and five John Does were found on the riverbank or in the river between mid August and late September 1941.
Sacramento’s two daily newspapers, The Bee and the Union, came up with sensationalistic names for the killer, such as “the Insane Slayer,” “the Mad Killer” and “the Basher.” Although the Sacramento Police Department claimed to have made the murders a top priority, their investigation turned up nothing. There was no follow up about the status of Saunders or the families of the dead men in the newspapers. The murdered men were ranch hands or migrant workers, and they may have been homosexuals attracted to Old Sacramento, where drugs, hookers, gambling and gay sex were for the taking. A little more than a month later, Japan would attack Pearl Harbor and the murders would stop. The Mad Killer may have enlisted or moved out of town. The crimes were never solved."
This story had all the makings of modern stories we know today. This story almost seems to be plucked from that summer of 1972, when Juan Corona's victims were found on the river banks of the Feather River. "Homosexuality" and "labor workers" were two common phrases that frequented the newspapers. The similarities are haunting.
Headlines-
These headlines are all accumulated by the previously mentioned website and I have absolutely no part in collecting them. They are too good not to share, and essential in telling this story. The magnitude of the headlines make it seems almost unfathomable that the stories would just stop after a month, ESPECIALLY in 1941.
September 1, 1941
The Bee reports: The discovery of two bodies found in Yuba City. Coroner Hugh P. Jones makes a connection between these and two bodies found in Sacramento County based on apparent cause of death. The perpetrator(s) are referred to as "sluggers." The age of one victim is claimed to be about 55. A hat found near this body was purchased at a downtown, west-end store called "Al's Style Shop, located at 327 K St. Later articles point out that the hat brought no leads to the investigation. Both bodies had been, Jones claims, at the locations for over a month. He also says that they were killed at another location and dumped where they were found.
September 2, 1941
The Union reports: John Saunders is found a day after Alfred Reed was found, severely beaten. Saunders was a few yards away from Reed, but was unable to attract the attention of rescue workers as they loaded Reed into an ambulance. Reed died eight days after he was discovered. No mention is made of whether Saunders survived his injuries. Reed was able to tell investigators that he was offered a ride from the West End to his home in Davis but instead was taken to the Gardenland District where he was beaten and left for dead.
The Bee reports: An autopsy will be held on a body found in Verona District. Both Hugh P. Jones and Sheriff Bert Ulrey believe that the body is a homicide victim, that he was murdered elsewhere and dumped where he was found. Identification will be difficult due to advanced decomposition and the fact that many teeth are missing. Whether or not the person had many teeth when he was alive or if they were knocked out in connection with his fatal assault is not mentioned.
The Bee Reports: Detectives Lyons and Spraktes are to assist Sutter County police in searching for the murderer responsible for as many as four assaults, three of which ended in death. It is believed that both Sacramento County victims are connected with the Sutter County victims and that all were taken by car to isolated spots, beaten and dumped elsewhere. Mention is made of the fact that John Saunders' pelvis was broken.
The Union reports: Another victim, this one found dead, is identified as Ramon Rivas. Police named in the article: Captain M.W. Lincecum, Sheriff Don Cox, investigators, Mel Reese and Charles Ogle.
September 3, 1941
The Union reports: There are now five presumed victims of the Mad Killer. A friend of Ramon Rivas, Tony Ochoa, whom police speculate may have last seen Rivas alive is missing. Ochoa's age is given as 51, Rivas' age, 41. Rivas body "battered" and found in a Natomas Slough. Both men were last seen alive in the West End, where they were well known. Their last place of employment was at a ranch in Clarksburg. They may have arrived in Sacramento on or about August 23, 1941. Investigators have discarded any possible connection between Ochoa and the death of Rivas, due to the fact that Ochoa had no car and the perp almost certainly needed a car for the crimes to be carried out. The Sutter County bodies are as yet unidentified and will remain that way. Alfred Reed has died of his injuries. Hugh P. Jones awaits autopsy results of the two Sutter County victims. John Saunders is reported to be alive in the hospital.
September 5, 1941
The Bee reports: Coroner Jones sends clothing from a body found near the Verona District in Sutter County to the State Division of Criminal Identification and Invest- igations for use in identifying the victim. Jones says that this one was strangled, since death by shooting or bludgeoning couldn't be proven due to advanced decomposition. Jones adds that these deaths in Sutter County are likely connected to those three in Sacramento County.
Detective A.J. Soulies is trying to locate Tony Ochoa. Soulies claims that Ochoa was in the police station the previous Saturday telling detectives that not only had he wired Rivas' family about the killing, but that he was to travel to Mexico to tell them in person. Soulies does not think Ochoa is dead.
The Union reports: Police believe Ochoa to be a victim of the "mad killer." The hat found near the second Sutter County victim is not helpful. Also, the autopsy was inconclusive due to advanced decomposition. Further, Rivas was last seen in the West End, Sunday evening with two men. The identities of these men remains unknown.
September 6 & 7, 1941
The Union reports: Local police are now conducting investigations in the Bay Area in search of the "mad killer." So far the body count is four dead and two seriously wounded. The police are acting on an anonymous tip from September 4th. The officers on the trip are Lyons, Spraktes, Ogle and Reese. Sutter County officials now now say that the second Sutter County body has no connection with the Sacramento County killings, saying that a cause of death is unknown.
September 16, 1941
The Union reports: Benjamin A. Lucas has been eliminated as a suspect. Police went to a lockup in Turlock where Lucas has been held in connection with the beating and robbery of H.R. Martinson of 724 8th street.
September 22, 1941
The Union reports: Body found at Hollister Landing and mile and a half below Hood. The victim was about 55, five foot seven, 145 pounds and going bald. This one was found by E.J. Garrison and C.H. Nelson of 3915 14th Ave. Ramon Rivas and one Frank Reed are named as prior victims.
Wow. What a month!
Sacramento’s two daily newspapers, The Bee and the Union, came up with sensationalistic names for the killer, such as “the Insane Slayer,” “the Mad Killer” and “the Basher.” Although the Sacramento Police Department claimed to have made the murders a top priority, their investigation turned up nothing. There was no follow up about the status of Saunders or the families of the dead men in the newspapers. The murdered men were ranch hands or migrant workers, and they may have been homosexuals attracted to Old Sacramento, where drugs, hookers, gambling and gay sex were for the taking. A little more than a month later, Japan would attack Pearl Harbor and the murders would stop. The Mad Killer may have enlisted or moved out of town. The crimes were never solved."
This story had all the makings of modern stories we know today. This story almost seems to be plucked from that summer of 1972, when Juan Corona's victims were found on the river banks of the Feather River. "Homosexuality" and "labor workers" were two common phrases that frequented the newspapers. The similarities are haunting.
Headlines-
These headlines are all accumulated by the previously mentioned website and I have absolutely no part in collecting them. They are too good not to share, and essential in telling this story. The magnitude of the headlines make it seems almost unfathomable that the stories would just stop after a month, ESPECIALLY in 1941.
September 1, 1941
The Bee reports: The discovery of two bodies found in Yuba City. Coroner Hugh P. Jones makes a connection between these and two bodies found in Sacramento County based on apparent cause of death. The perpetrator(s) are referred to as "sluggers." The age of one victim is claimed to be about 55. A hat found near this body was purchased at a downtown, west-end store called "Al's Style Shop, located at 327 K St. Later articles point out that the hat brought no leads to the investigation. Both bodies had been, Jones claims, at the locations for over a month. He also says that they were killed at another location and dumped where they were found.
September 2, 1941
The Union reports: John Saunders is found a day after Alfred Reed was found, severely beaten. Saunders was a few yards away from Reed, but was unable to attract the attention of rescue workers as they loaded Reed into an ambulance. Reed died eight days after he was discovered. No mention is made of whether Saunders survived his injuries. Reed was able to tell investigators that he was offered a ride from the West End to his home in Davis but instead was taken to the Gardenland District where he was beaten and left for dead.
The Bee reports: An autopsy will be held on a body found in Verona District. Both Hugh P. Jones and Sheriff Bert Ulrey believe that the body is a homicide victim, that he was murdered elsewhere and dumped where he was found. Identification will be difficult due to advanced decomposition and the fact that many teeth are missing. Whether or not the person had many teeth when he was alive or if they were knocked out in connection with his fatal assault is not mentioned.
The Bee Reports: Detectives Lyons and Spraktes are to assist Sutter County police in searching for the murderer responsible for as many as four assaults, three of which ended in death. It is believed that both Sacramento County victims are connected with the Sutter County victims and that all were taken by car to isolated spots, beaten and dumped elsewhere. Mention is made of the fact that John Saunders' pelvis was broken.
The Union reports: Another victim, this one found dead, is identified as Ramon Rivas. Police named in the article: Captain M.W. Lincecum, Sheriff Don Cox, investigators, Mel Reese and Charles Ogle.
September 3, 1941
The Union reports: There are now five presumed victims of the Mad Killer. A friend of Ramon Rivas, Tony Ochoa, whom police speculate may have last seen Rivas alive is missing. Ochoa's age is given as 51, Rivas' age, 41. Rivas body "battered" and found in a Natomas Slough. Both men were last seen alive in the West End, where they were well known. Their last place of employment was at a ranch in Clarksburg. They may have arrived in Sacramento on or about August 23, 1941. Investigators have discarded any possible connection between Ochoa and the death of Rivas, due to the fact that Ochoa had no car and the perp almost certainly needed a car for the crimes to be carried out. The Sutter County bodies are as yet unidentified and will remain that way. Alfred Reed has died of his injuries. Hugh P. Jones awaits autopsy results of the two Sutter County victims. John Saunders is reported to be alive in the hospital.
September 5, 1941
The Bee reports: Coroner Jones sends clothing from a body found near the Verona District in Sutter County to the State Division of Criminal Identification and Invest- igations for use in identifying the victim. Jones says that this one was strangled, since death by shooting or bludgeoning couldn't be proven due to advanced decomposition. Jones adds that these deaths in Sutter County are likely connected to those three in Sacramento County.
Detective A.J. Soulies is trying to locate Tony Ochoa. Soulies claims that Ochoa was in the police station the previous Saturday telling detectives that not only had he wired Rivas' family about the killing, but that he was to travel to Mexico to tell them in person. Soulies does not think Ochoa is dead.
The Union reports: Police believe Ochoa to be a victim of the "mad killer." The hat found near the second Sutter County victim is not helpful. Also, the autopsy was inconclusive due to advanced decomposition. Further, Rivas was last seen in the West End, Sunday evening with two men. The identities of these men remains unknown.
September 6 & 7, 1941
The Union reports: Local police are now conducting investigations in the Bay Area in search of the "mad killer." So far the body count is four dead and two seriously wounded. The police are acting on an anonymous tip from September 4th. The officers on the trip are Lyons, Spraktes, Ogle and Reese. Sutter County officials now now say that the second Sutter County body has no connection with the Sacramento County killings, saying that a cause of death is unknown.
September 16, 1941
The Union reports: Benjamin A. Lucas has been eliminated as a suspect. Police went to a lockup in Turlock where Lucas has been held in connection with the beating and robbery of H.R. Martinson of 724 8th street.
September 22, 1941
The Union reports: Body found at Hollister Landing and mile and a half below Hood. The victim was about 55, five foot seven, 145 pounds and going bald. This one was found by E.J. Garrison and C.H. Nelson of 3915 14th Ave. Ramon Rivas and one Frank Reed are named as prior victims.
Wow. What a month!
Would it not seem that such a story would have continued until a resolution came, or at least until every lead had been exhausted?
Did the incident get shadowed by the events at Pearl Harbor? Was there more coverage, but the coverage in the papers get lost with time? We will never know, but as of today, the crimes have never been solved.
I can only think that "E. A. H." was as perplexed as I am. It shows in their thoughtful entry. The following was written by them-
The victims seem to have one thing in common. They tended to drink. To do this, they went to what is now known as Old Sacramento. Now, of course the place is where merchants have set up shop to snare tourist dollars and where young folks into the club/hip hop scene go to see and be seen, hook up and hopefully not become targets of racial profiling. Then, it was where the bars and hookers and drug dealers were. It was where people drank and got into fights. It was a mix of the class of the victims and the more wealthy who went slumming in search of action."
They continued, "I guess we will never know whether the end of the story came about because of a squeamish reading public, gutless editors, a corrupt police force obsessed with protecting the tax-paying, land-owning public to the detriment of the inhabitants of the West End or a little of each. After speaking with a newspaperman who worked in the years following these incidents, it appears that a combination of the above is probably true. The police force was known for corruption. The West End was a highly-prized beat. In fact at one time, a cop and his wife leased a set of rooms on lower J street to a known madam. Lower J Street was known as "rowboat row," with "oars (whores) on either side." The West End was sought after because of the amounts of payoffs and shakedowns which would have supplemented a police salary considerably."
Much to think about. For more information on the author's take on the situation, I recommend his blog entry at NOKILLI.
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| The once Funeral Home/Ambulatory Service/ Coroner's office of Hugh Pryce Jones. It was originally addressed as "535 Reeves Ave. Yuba City". The address changed in later years as more buildings were introduced on the street. |
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| Advertisement fans that are created in Hugh P Jones campaign for reelection as Sutter County Coroner in 1938. |
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