“For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 (RSV)

On the night of December 14, 2016, I’m sitting at my desk looking out of the window at the Christmas lights, through the snail vines on the driveway trellis, when suddenly three gunshots pierce the air.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

I quickly crouch underneath my desk, it sounds that close, as I look up at the clock on top of the curio cabinet. It’s 9:24 pm. An eerie silence follows. People start gathering outside at the corner bar while a man is sobbing loudly in the middle of the road confirming what we all fear. ‘He killed her! He killed my brother! Oh my god!’ I was outside in the yard standing underneath the trees in the dark, with tears running down my face. In a matter of minutes, fifteen cop cars, including a coroner with silent flashing lights, pull up one right after the other, the white double wide mobile and the sobbing man now hidden from view. After everybody went back inside the bar and all the police cars leave, the coroner is still there when the sun comes up. I couldn’t finish editing, ‘The House of 3 Murders’ knowing, three people just died two acres away in a double homicide/suicide. People were evil then, as they are evil now, was my disgusted reasoning, as I tossed and turned all night. For days, I couldn’t get the sound of the gunshots or the man’s sobs out of my mind and when the snail vines freeze on the trellis in winter I can see the boarded-up, abandoned, white double wide mobile clearly and still ask God why.

I went to visit a friend, who’s lived in Needles all of her life and told her what I’d seen and heard in the Valley the other night. We talked about how terrible the tragedy was and how we couldn’t understand something like this could happen in a small desert community, but, even Needles, (pop.5,007), has its’ own dark tales to tell.

She asked if I heard of Jimmy Joe Cox and I told her no.  She continued, “The town was divided over whether he killed his girlfriend or not. It was a topic nobody cared to talk about. He came from a fine family and didn’t have a criminal record. It was scary, knowing someone that lived here for years, could be a murderer. Whenever I saw him in his yellow dune buggy, I turned the corner and whenever I saw him at the grocery store, I went down a different aisle. He was just that creepy to me…”

In The San Bernardino Sun, printed on May 13, 2010: ‘Needles, CA: Man, 71, Arrested in Death of Girlfriend in 1982’

‘Jimmy Joe Cox was arrested on Wednesday at the Needles Sheriffs’ station and is expected to be charged with murder today. He has always been a suspect in the Dec. 23, 1982 disappearance of his live-in girlfriend, Carole Spearman, 26. Witnesses saw the couple arguing at the Sundowner Tavern that night and the victim’s severed hand was found the next day wrapped in a plastic bag along the Colorado River near the Topock bridge. A week later, Cox contacted Sheriffs’ investigators expressing concern that it could belong to Spearman since he hadn’t seen her in a week . He then, filed a missing persons’ report. It was another year before Spearman’s head was found near the Topock Marina. Her body has never been found. A motive hadn’t been released, but records show Cox was abusive to his girlfriend. He was arrested months before her disappearance for burning her with a road flare.

Spearman’s family who lives in New York, said they had ‘no idea Cox was abusing her but they were grateful someone had been arrested. ” It’s 28 years waiting for the news that someone is going to be held responsible,” said Spearman’s younger   sister, Catherine Axberg.  She was 11, when her sister went missing, but she remembers the letters that Spearman always signed, ‘I love you immensely and profusely,’ and the handmade doll furniture that Spearman mailed to her.                           

Axberg describes her sister as ‘a voracious reader, an honest and thoughtful woman, who never forgot a birthday’ and a talented crafts woman who also made  jewelry.  Sheriffs’ investigators took over the case in 1989 from the Mohave County Sheriff’s Department. The county’s cold case team headed by Detective, Ken Ford reopened Spearman’s case and began re-interviewing witnesses.’   

Carole Spearman

Online that evening, I asked FB’s Memories of Needles Past and Present Page, if anyone knew Jimmy Joe Cox personally. A minute later, a message pings on my phone. It’s a Needles-born, past resident, that was a dispatcher at the Police Department in the early 80’s.  Like everyone else, he went to ‘The House of 3 Murders’ to drink a few beers with his friends on a Friday night. He said Jimmy Joe Cox was there one night with some of his friends and lit candles on a large piece of concrete where the foundation of the house used to be and performed satanic rituals, surrounded by tall salt cedar trees and didn’t seem to care if anyone watched, he was surprised.  Out of curiosity, I google: ‘satanic rituals’:  ‘ Satanists/Occultists place a great deal of importance on ‘Numbers,’ it read.   ‘Before they do anything, they ask themselves two questions. 1) Is the plan of this action in accordance with the astrological lineup of the sun, moons and planets? 2) Is the timing of this in accordance of the numbers it will produce?   I also google, “What do Satanists think about murder?”

‘The ethical practices, according to the writings of Anton S. La Vey, provide the direction for Satanists in the Satanic Bible. One of the 9 practices, is number 5, which represents: Vengeance, instead of ‘turning the other cheek.’ Number 6, represents: All the so-called sins, as they please, for physical, mental or emotional gratification.   Number 7, represents: ‘Man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse, than those that walk on all fours, who, because of his divine and intellectual development has become the most vicious animal of all.’

Satanists are a diverse group. A few of them are so inspired by the concept of an all-consuming evil, they actually commit murder. Richard Ramirez, the so-called, ‘Night Stalker,’ who terrorized California in the mid-80’s, scrawled Satanic symbols, numbers and yelled satanic slogans, while committing his murders. During court appearances, David Berkowitz, aka, ‘Son of Sam’, claimed a demon commanded him to kill people. Germans, Manuela and Daniel Rudy, an American teen, Ricky Kasso and a heavy metal group called, ‘Hatred’, all committed gruesome murders while involving the name of ‘Satan’. The popularity of Satanism in music and movies along with the isolated, but widely publicized Satanic murders created an infamous era, ‘The Satanic Panic’.

Printed on December 23, 1983,  The Arizona Republic claimed, ‘A possible satanic ‘cult’ involvement had been an integral part of the investigation’ —but didn’t go into detail. In the  70’s-80’s, there were three young Needles girls missing and murdered, as other victims were found dismembered in trash bins, raped, strangled and buried in Arizona as well as along the California, Oregon coast.  

In 1974, Debbie Starkey was in her early 20’s and  lived in Needles for a few years before her death. One night she and a friend went to a party in the desert between Needles and Kingman. Debbie was 3 months pregnant when she was found faced down in the sand, raped and strangled with her bra straps. Her remains were found buried near the Franconia siding on the ATSF. Her cousin commented on a thread, “Debbie was mentally challenged, she thought like a 10 year old, so sweet and innocent, which made it even harder for our family to accept her tragic death…”

In May 1976, Robin Jennings, 22, finished her waitress duties at Sambo’s on West Broadway for the night, when she disappeared. ‘She was intelligent, friendly and trusting’, her close friends remember her fondly. Her remains were found several years later south of Needles. “And no one could convince me, she committed suicide by jumping off the Needles Bureau Bridge at midnight, either,” confided a close friend online.

 

In 1978, William Floyd Zamastil 57, was convicted of rape and murder of a Wisconsin woman after she was abducted on her way to pick up her husband and her body was found at an old U.S. Army or Air Force base in Tucson, Arizona. He also bragged about the Bradshaw murders he committed in  Canoga Park, outside of Barstow, California. The siblings, Malcom 17, Jacqueline 18, had hitched a ride with Zamastil from Vegas and were both raped and bludgeoned to death with a socket wrench in a remote area. Authorities suspected Zamastil of at least five other homicides, including Nikki Bunch, which he later denied.

In 1974, Zamastil lived in Needles and was working as a mechanic at Phillips 66 Gas Station on the corner of Cibola and Broadway, when Nikki Bunch went to get a loaf of bread at the old Buy Rite Market nearby and never returned.  Although Zamastil was immediately a suspect, relatives and close friends claimed it had to be someone Nikki knew.  Jimmy Joe Cox was a close neighbor and also, became a suspect.

  Nikki Bunch Memorial Field

 

The sweet 16 year old girl was a member of the NHS class of 1976 and loved by all her classmates. Her body was found two years later in 1976  at Gravel Girty Wash.  With the help of friends from the Needles community the Nikki Bunch Memorial Field was erected in 1980 .

 

Another message pings. “He’s a piece of shit. Why would you keep his name alive?’ It was a cousin of the 12 year old boy, Patrick Mello, that went missing on July 28, 1995 and is still a cold case.  ‘That SOB killed him. I know he did. We tried to get him to admit to it but he sat in a blank fucking stare. He took that shit to the grave.”

 

Jimmy Joe Cox was Patrick Mello’s stepdad and was known to be abusive towards the boy. He’d been married into her family for years, she claimed. What kind of person was he? She messaged back: ‘Ok, so he had bars on the kids windows only. The doors were locked from the outside at 6 pm every night. We were not allowed out of the room. He locked the fridge and the cupboards so we couldn’t eat, he had a toilet in his bathroom made out of drugs—there’s so much I don’t want to put it all in text.’ Someone commented on a thread in Memories of Needles Past & Present Page: ‘He had some pretty evil friends. He sold his girlfriends like property and he even had orgies in his backyard. I think people were just afraid to say anything for fear of their own lives. Needles just didn’t feel like Needles anymore. It was a real scary time.’

Three people had been brutally shot to death at the ‘House of Three Murders’ on the old River Road in 1949. The number ‘3’  is the first sacred number, the first ‘perfect’  number that represents the pagan trinity.  Satanists/Occultists will multiply and add three to other sacred numbers to create new numbers.  However, they also group three’s in two’s and three’s for the purpose of  ‘intensification’.  

It suddenly became clear why Jimmy Joe Cox was spotted at ‘The House of 3 Murders’ performing satanic rituals. He claimed his innocence to his family and friends for years, disregarding the facts: he was an abuser, had a violent temper and a known Satanist. In the end, he was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, where he died of cancer, on July 7, 2015, admitting to 9 murders, including Nikki Bunch  and Robin Jennings.  Cox’s Public Defender, Edward Wilson, stated at the time of Cox’s sentencing, he didn’t believe there was sufficient evidence to convict without reasonable doubt, especially since much of the evidence was circumstantial, relying mostly on testimony. The case was on appeal.

“We’re always out there hunting and searching and we want to bring people to justice, no matter how long it takes,” said Sgt. Frank Montanez, of the Mohave County Sheriff’s Department. “Cox killed somebody so young and stepped right back into society doing his thing. This is justice delayed.”  added, Detective Ryan Ford.

 

 

 

Special thanks to Needles Regional Museum, Needles Library and Needles residents for your contributions.🌹

 

 

 

www.youtube.com/watch

“For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 (RSV)

On the night of December 14, 2016, I’m sitting at my desk looking out of the window at the Christmas lights, through the snail vines on the driveway trellis, when suddenly three gunshots pierce the air.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

I quickly crouch underneath my desk– it sounds that close–as I look up at the clock on top of the curio cabinet. It’s 9:24 pm.  An eerie silence follows. People start gathering outside at the corner bar while a man is sobbing loudly in the middle of the road confirming what we all fear. ‘He killed her! He killed my brother! Oh my god!’  I was outside in the yard standing underneath the trees in the dark, with tears running down my face. In a matter of minutes,  fifteen cop cars,  including a coroner with silent flashing lights, pull up one right after the other, the white double wide mobile and the sobbing man now hidden from view. After everybody went back inside the bar and all the police cars leave, the coroner is still there when the sun comes up. I couldn’t finish editing, ‘The House of 3 Murders’ knowing, three people just died two acres away in a double homicide/suicide. People were evil then, as they are evil now, was my disgusted reasoning, as I tossed and turned all night. For days, I couldn’t get the sound of the gunshots or the man’s sobs out of my mind and when the snail vines freeze on the trellis in winter I can see the boarded-up, abandoned, white double wide mobile clearly and still ask God why.

I went to visit a friend, who’s lived in Needles all of her life and told her what I’d seen and heard in the Valley the other night. We talked about how terrible the tragedy was and how we couldn’t understand something like this could happen in a small desert community, but, even Needles, (pop.5,007), has its’ own dark tales to tell.

She asked if I heard of Jimmy Joe Cox and I told her no.  She continued, “The town was divided over whether he killed his girlfriend or not. It was a topic nobody cared to talk about. He came from a fine family and didn’t have a criminal record. It was scary, knowing someone that lived here for years, could be a murderer. Whenever I saw him in his yellow dune buggy, I turned the corner and whenever I saw him at the grocery store, I went down a different aisle. He was just that creepy to me…”

In The San Bernardino Sun, printed on May 13, 2010: ‘Needles, CA: Man, 71, Arrested in Death of Girlfriend in 1982’

‘Jimmy Joe Cox was arrested on Wednesday at the Needles Sheriffs’ station and is expected to be charged with murder today. He has always been a suspect in the Dec. 23, 1982 disappearance of his live-in girlfriend, Carole Spearman, 26. Witnesses saw the couple arguing at the Sundowner Tavern that night and the victim’s severed hand was found the next day wrapped in a plastic bag along the Colorado River near the Topock bridge. A week later, Cox contacted Sheriffs’ investigators expressing concern that it could belong to Spearman since he hadn’t seen her in a week . He then, filed a missing persons’ report. It was another year before Spearman’s head was found near the Topock Marina. Her body has never been found. A motive hadn’t been released, but records show Cox was abusive to his girlfriend. He was arrested months before her disappearance for burning her with a road flare.

Spearman’s family who lives in New York, said they had ‘no idea Cox was abusing her but they were grateful someone had been arrested. ” It’s 28 years waiting for the news that someone is going to be held responsible,” said Spearman’s younger   sister, Catherine Axberg.  She was 11, when her sister went missing, but she remembers the letters that Spearman always signed, ‘I love you immensely and profusely,’ and the handmade doll furniture that Spearman mailed to her.                           

Axberg describes her sister as ‘a voracious reader, an honest and thoughtful woman, who never forgot a birthday’ and a talented crafts woman who also made  jewelry.  Sheriffs’ investigators took over the case in 1989 from the Mohave County Sheriff’s Department. The county’s cold case team headed by Detective, Ken Ford reopened Spearman’s case and began re-interviewing witnesses.’   

                        Carole Spearman

Online that evening, I asked FB’s Memories of Needles Past and Present Page, if anyone knew Jimmy Joe Cox personally. A minute later, a message pings on my phone. It’s a Needles-born, past resident, that was a dispatcher at the Police Department in the early 80’s.  Like everyone else, he went to ‘The House of 3 Murders’ to drink a few beers with his friends on a Friday night. He said Jimmy Joe Cox was there one night with some of his friends and lit candles on a large piece of concrete where the foundation of the house used to be and performed satanic rituals, surrounded by tall salt cedar trees and didn’t seem to care if anyone watched, he was surprised.  Out of curiosity, I google: ‘satanic rituals’:  ‘ Satanists/Occultists place a great deal of importance on ‘Numbers,’ it read.   ‘Before they do anything, they ask themselves two questions. 1) Is the plan of this action in accordance with the astrological lineup of the sun, moons and planets? 2) Is the timing of this in accordance of the numbers it will produce?   I also google, “What do Satanists think about murder?”

‘The ethical practices, according to the writings of Anton S. La Vey, provide the direction for Satanists in the Satanic Bible. One of the 9 practices, is number 5, which represents: Vengeance, instead of ‘turning the other cheek.’ Number 6, represents: All the so-called sins, as they please, for physical, mental or emotional gratification.   Number 7, represents: ‘Man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse, than those that walk on all fours, who, because of his divine and intellectual development has become the most vicious animal of all.’

Satanists are a diverse group. A few of them are so inspired by the concept of an all-consuming evil, they actually commit murder. Richard Ramirez, the so-called, ‘Night Stalker,’ who terrorized California in the mid-80’s, scrawled Satanic symbols, numbers and yelled satanic slogans, while committing his murders. During court appearances, David Berkowitz, aka, ‘Son of Sam’, claimed a demon commanded him to kill people. Germans, Manuela and Daniel Rudy, an American teen, Ricky Kasso and a heavy metal group called, ‘Hatred’, all committed gruesome murders while involving the name of ‘Satan’. The popularity of Satanism in music and movies along with the isolated, but widely publicized Satanic murders created an infamous era, ‘The Satanic Panic’.

Printed on December 23, 1983,  The Arizona Republic claimed, ‘A possible satanic ‘cult’ involvement had been an integral part of the investigation’ —but didn’t go into detail. In the  70’s-80’s, there were three young Needles girls missing and murdered, as other victims were found dismembered in trash bins, raped, strangled and buried in Arizona as well as along the California, Oregon coast.  

In 1974, Debbie Starkey was in her early 20’s and  lived in Needles for a few years before her death. One night she and a friend went to a party in the desert between Needles and Kingman. Debbie was 3 months pregnant when she was found faced down in the sand, raped and strangled with her bra straps. Her remains were found buried near the Franconia siding on the ATSF. Her cousin commented on a thread, “Debbie was mentally challenged, she thought like a 10 year old, so sweet and innocent, which made it even harder for our family to accept her tragic death…”

In May 1976, Robin Jennings, 22, finished her waitress duties at Sambo’s on West Broadway for the night, when she disappeared. ‘She was intelligent, friendly and trusting’, her close friends remember her fondly. Her remains were found several years later south of Needles. “And no one could convince me, she committed suicide by jumping off the Needles Bureau Bridge at midnight, either,” confided a close friend online.

 

In 1978, William Floyd Zamastil 57, was convicted of rape and murder of a Wisconsin woman after she was abducted on her way to pick up her husband and her body was found at an old U.S. Army or Air Force base in Tucson, Arizona. He also bragged about the Bradshaw murders he committed in  Canoga Park, outside of Barstow, California. The siblings, Malcom 17, Jacqueline 18, had hitched a ride with Zamastil from Vegas and were both raped and bludgeoned to death with a socket wrench in a remote area. Authorities suspected Zamastil of at least five other homicides, including Nikki Bunch, which he later denied.

In 1974, Zamastil lived in Needles and was working as a mechanic at Phillips 66 Gas Station on the corner of Cibola and Broadway, when Nikki Bunch went to get a loaf of bread at the old Buy Rite Market nearby and never returned.  Although Zamastil was immediately a suspect, relatives and close friends claimed it had to be someone Nikki knew.  Jimmy Joe Cox was a close neighbor and also, became a suspect.

  Nikki Bunch Memorial Field

 

The sweet 16 year old girl was a member of the NHS class of 1976 and loved by all her classmates. Her body was found two years later in 1976  at Gravel Girty Wash.  With the help of friends from the Needles community the Nikki Bunch Memorial Field was erected in 1980 .

 

Another message pings. “He’s a piece of shit. Why would you keep his name alive?’ It was a cousin of the 12 year old boy, Patrick Mello, that went missing on July 28, 1995 and is still a cold case.  ‘That SOB killed him. I know he did. We tried to get him to admit to it but he sat in a blank fucking stare. He took that shit to the grave.”

 

Jimmy Joe Cox was Patrick Mello’s stepdad and was known to be abusive towards the boy. He’d been married into her family for years, she claimed. What kind of person was he? She messaged back: ‘Ok, so he had bars on the kids windows only. The doors were locked from the outside at 6 pm every night. We were not allowed out of the room. He locked the fridge and the cupboards so we couldn’t eat, he had a toilet in his bathroom made out of drugs—there’s so much I don’t want to put it all in text.’ Someone commented on a thread in Memories of Needles Past & Present Page: ‘He had some pretty evil friends. He sold his girlfriends like property and he even had orgies in his backyard. I think people were just afraid to say anything for fear of their own lives. Needles just didn’t feel like Needles anymore. It was a real scary time.’

Three people had been brutally shot to death at the ‘House of Three Murders’ on the old River Road in 1949. The number ‘3’  is the first sacred number, the first ‘perfect’  number that represents the pagan trinity.  Satanists/Occultists will multiply and add three to other sacred numbers to create new numbers.  However, they also group three’s in two’s and three’s for the purpose of  ‘intensification’.  

It suddenly became clear why Jimmy Joe Cox was spotted at ‘The House of 3 Murders’ performing satanic rituals. He claimed his innocence to his family and friends for years, disregarding the facts: he was an abuser, had a violent temper and a known Satanist. In the end, he was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, where he died of cancer, on July 7, 2015, admitting to 9 murders, including Nikki Bunch  and Robin Jennings.  Cox’s Public Defender, Edward Wilson, stated at the time of Cox’s sentencing, he didn’t believe there was sufficient evidence to convict without reasonable doubt, especially since much of the evidence was circumstantial, relying mostly on testimony. The case was on appeal.

“We’re always out there hunting and searching and we want to bring people to justice, no matter how long it takes,” said Sgt. Frank Montanez, of the Mohave County Sheriff’s Department. “Cox killed somebody so young and stepped right back into society doing his thing. This is justice delayed.”  added, Detective Ryan Ford.

 

 

 

Special thanks to Needles Regional Museum, Needles Library and Needles residents for your contributions.🌹

 

 

 

Along the old River Road, nearly 70 years ago, three people were shot and killed on February 24, 1949, at the Winstead Ranch, 12 miles north of Needles, California, in the Mojave Desert.

Ernest Winstead, 23,  born in Arkansas, was living in Needles for a few years, working various trades before meeting and marrying his bride, Frances Mendez.    Mrs. Frances Winstead, who was born, lived and attended Needles schools all of her life, had just turned 25, the day before she died. Ernest and Frances were married for 4 years and it had only been six months since they signed the deed to the small, red and white farm house, secluded by salt cedar trees, creosote bushes and fertile desert.  Still newlyweds, they enjoyed the privacy and peacefulness of their new home, which made Ernest begin making plans to renovate and farm part of the property,  plus he worked full time for the City of Needles. They were both so young, too busy building their future, too busy being in love, neither of them had time to die.

William Pugh, 70, was  born in Columbus Grove, Ohio and lived in Needles for 49 years, where, ‘everybody knew and loved Pugh.’  He had 4 children living in Ohio from a previous marriage and a daughter who lived in Needles. Frances Winstead considered Pugh as family,  since he was once married to her sister, Mary.  He was employed as a boiler maker for the Santa Fe,  later, he took up ranching, raised cattle, trapped the river, became a member of the local Elk’s Lodge, purchased the property adjacent to the Winstead’s and before he was murdered, he had just become a bee keeper.

Les Hoverton and Dora Farro, were friends as well as neighbors, of the Winstead’s and  Mr. Pugh’s, who lived further up the road.  Les felt compelled to ask Dora if she thought it odd Ernest’s car was parked in front of his house at 10 o’clock on a Thursday morning, instead of at his job at the Street Maintenance Department for the City of Needles, as they drove slowly by. Dora agreed with Les, something just didn’t ‘feel right’, as he parked and they both stepped out of the pick up truck. ‘Oh my god! Look Dora! ‘ Les shouted, as he walked closer to the house. In the front yard, he found William Pugh, lying on his back, shot dead, on the ground, his face unrecognizable, blood sprayed everywhere,  a little further was Frances Winstead’s lifeless body, lying crumpled on her side, bathed in her own blood, 150 feet away on the east side of the house, Ernest Winstead’s body was sprawled out, his clothes, shoes, face, hair, saturated in his blood. The front door was left open and nothing looked out of place inside the house, except a torn lampshade in the livingroom. They went to the bedrooms and brought out 3 blankets to cover the bodies of the victims.  Next they went to look inside Pugh’s house, nothing out of the ordinary stood out, only  breakfast dishes that had been left on the table and unmade beds. Dora remained in the house while Les drove to Needles to notify the authorities.

As the news of the murders spread through Needles and the surrounding areas, calls/reports started coming in at the Needles police station.  Mr. Hoverton shared with the police and a ‘Desert Star’ reporter,  Billy Ray Gilbert had appeared at Pugh’s ranch about three weeks prior and spent some time with the rancher, who lived alone. Gilbert told Pugh he had been working at Davis Dam and was  laid off, a new disclosure divulged,  Gilbert had been held on a grand theft charge in Kingman jail and escaped on January 26th, while Mr. Pugh let Gilbert stay at his house for a few days, fed the man and tried to find him employment.

About a week before the murders, Gilbert left the ranch and told Mr. Pugh he planned to visit friends and relatives on the coast. When Gilbert returned a few days later, he was driving a 1947 Ford Coupe accompanied  by  George Schmid, who had just been released from Arizona State Penitentiary,  and a woman named Florence Chisholm, whom he introduced as his wife.

Chief Bland said he had investigated a call, claiming trouble was brewing at Ruby’s Tavern.  Mr. Pugh, Mrs. Winstead and the three visitors had been at Ruby’s Tavern Wednesday afternoon around 4 p.m. while Mr. Hoverton added, they  stopped by his house later and seemed to be  in good spirits. Chief Bland said there were only a few people at Ruby’s  Tavern when he arrived and he hadn’t seen any trouble. A big tulle fire was in progress, so he  left.  It was also reported from the Needles Trading Post, men answering the description of the suspects had  purchased ammunition for a 380 and 44 the day before.  The woman, Florence Chisholm, also visited the Sprouse-Reitz store and bought toothpaste and lipstick.  It was also discovered, Florence had been forced to accompany Gilbert and Schmid in her car from the Phoenix Riding Stable where Gilbert had formerly been employed and knew her well.

Late Thursday night, a report came in, the trio had just robbed a gas station in downtown Phoenix and escaped. Miss Chisholm called the police from a Scottsdale Drug store where she had been sent by Gilbert to call a deputy sheriff whom he wished to ‘bump off.’ Gilbert ran when police cars drove up, but Chisholm turned herself in and asked  she be given protection. She claimed Gilbert had intentions of killing more officers and the warden at the Arizona State Penitentiary in Florence, Arizona. Schmid had left them and was hiding in the area. She also revealed Mrs. Winstead had been killed first  on Thursday morning when she stepped in between Gilbert and her husband as he threatened Ernest, then Ernest was shot and Pugh was in the  car and ordered out and told by Gilbert to, “Look me in the eye and die like a man’ then shot Pugh in the face.

Two of the suspects were now in custody. George Schmid was captured Saturday afternoon as he was walking along an irrigation ditch, he didn’t resist arrest and complained he hadn’t slept or eaten in days. Gilbert died in a barrage of officers’ fire when he was cornered at a tourist cabin outside of Phoenix.

The Desert Star’s (single copies, 10 cents) headlines’ caption on Thursday, July 7, 1949 read in black, bold font:

‘SCHMID GETS 15 YEARS’

‘George Adolph Schmid was found guilty of 3 counts of second degree murder of William Pugh, 70,  Ernest Winstead, 23 and Frances Winstead, 25,  by a jury of four men and eight women and has been sentenced to serve three consecutive terms of five years to life in San Quentin Prison. The prosecution asked that Schmid be found guilty of first degree murder which would have carried the death penalty. The jury deliberated for 5 hours. Under the sentence Schmid must serve at least fifteen years in prison. For good behavior he might be able to reduce the time by three years. Schmid had only been released a few months before his arrest in connection with the local triple slaying.  The woman, Florence Chisholm, pleaded she had been kidnapped by Gilbert and was held prisoner by him during the crimes. Schmid verified her statements. She wasn’t held, except as a state witness. She testified that Gilbert was the killer and that Schmid only fired one shot which  missed the mark.  Schmid’s plea to the jury was that he too, was under the spell of fear of Gilbert and that he was merely obeying commands in the killing.’

‘It was really something. So very sad.  It made national news.  I was small, only 10 years old when it happened, but I remember.  Frances Winstead’s maiden name was Mendez. She was my Dad’s (Filo Mendez) sister, my Aunt. There were alot of  people with cameras, all over town,  the FBI followed all of my Dad’s family watching our every move for several weeks after it happened. Everybody talked about it and there were many rumors, which we’ll never know the answers to.’  –Mrs. Tillie Puentes,  a lifelong resident of Needles, Calif. shared on her back porch, by the Colorado River.

‘In the 60’s-70’s’, another lifelong resident, Stella Bernal, remembers it was ‘everyone’s hang out’,  although the house no longer existed,  only a slab of concrete and part of the walls remained, the trees were still there, which provided the privacy underage kids or anyone needing a off- the-beaten-path place to throw keg parties, smoke pot, make out and tell ghost stories. ‘It’s what bored river rats did for fun. One time in high school, my boyfriend asked me if I wanted to take a drive out to ‘House of 3 Murders’,  then he felt embarrassed when he realized my family was related to Frances Winstead.  She was my grandmother’s sister, which made her my Mom’s aunt and my Great Aunt, and Ernest, my Great Uncle  ‘Pugh’ which everyone called him, was my Great Uncle, too. He was married to my Grandmother’s twin sister, Mary.  It was just something that happened,  a terrible, terrible, family tragedy. There was an article written about it in ‘Inside Detective’ Magazine, which my Mother bought a copy right away and a laminate cover, to preserve it. She thought it was important to save the past, to always remember, no matter how tragic it was.’

Special thanks to The Needles Regional Museum & The Needles Desert Star, Ms. Stella Bernal and Mrs. Tillie Puentes for your contributions. Without you, this story couldn’t been written.🌹