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Outside the Coburn house, the curious crowd was growing. Reporters from San Francisco and San Mateo joined the Pescaderans as well as private detectives looking for a new case and attorneys protecting the interests of their clients. Word spread that … Continue reading →

As Wally was driven away,  Franklin Swart, the 41-year-old longtime (since 1910) D.A. remained inside the Coburn house. He had come all the way from Redwood City to personally take charge of the investigation. Swart wasn’t afraid to get his … Continue reading →

Now Wally became a murder suspect. Two sheriff’s guards took him into custody and on June 4, 1919 he took his first automobile ride. Sarah had never allowed the “uncontrollable boy” to ride in a horse and carriage–and he had … Continue reading →

Like his father Loren, Wally was tall and slender. But there the similarities ended. Unlike his father, who favored conservative black “swallow tail” coats, Wally was dressed in soiled and mismatched clothing. Wally hadn’t had his hair cut by a … Continue reading →

Andy Stirling next walked to the McCormick General Merchandise store where the telephone operator and her equipment had been located since 1904. There was a call for Stirling from a San Francisco reporter who wanted confirmation on the death of … Continue reading →

It was Andy Stirling who discovered the alleged murder weapon: a heavy wooden club, two feet long and three inches wide. The club lay in open view on the floor in the space between Sarah and Wally’s bedrooms. Joe Quilla … Continue reading →

“…I spoke to him [Wally],” Stirling said, “but he did not reply other than to fly into a fit of rage and shake the body again….” Stirling claimed he heard poor Wally “growl…like an animal,” then speak softly to his … Continue reading →

“…The first sight that greeted my eyes was the body of Mrs. Coburn lying partially robed on her bed; her head was crushed and bleeding,” Andy Stirling later told a reporter from the “San Francisco News.” Contemporary newspaper reports graphically … Continue reading →

By June Morrall 7:30 a.m., June 4, 1919 Joe Quilla, Sarah Coburn’s Portuguese ranchhand had finished milking the cows in the pasture behind the rambling house–and, as always, carried a bucket of the fresh milk to the back door. The … Continue reading →

By June Morrall In 1919 the commercial vitality of Pescadero could be found on San Gregorio Street.  There was J.C. Williamson’s General Store,  McCormick’s Merchandise Store, Duarte’s Tavern & Saloon, and the Elkhorn Saloon where Mrs. Frey worked as a … Continue reading →