Kern County Obituaries

Benjamin J. Butler

Submitted by Don Stowell; 13 Feb 2008

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Source Unknown; 1 Dec 1955


Aged Pensioner Murdered By Four Antelope Valley Boys
Benjamin J. Butler, 72, pensioner, was found dead of three bullet wounds on the 
Bob Zangle property nine miles west of Mojave last Friday afternoon, November 25. 
Ranch is the first one west of the town on the right hand side of Oak Creek Road.
The body was found in a tool shed approximately 100 yards from the deceased man's
cabin. Gruesome find was made by two friends from Los Angeles County who had 
driven up to visit him.
John Stein of Monrovia and D. R. Turley of Bellflower told Sgt. King of the 
Mojave Sheriff's substation that they had purchased a set of wagon wheels which 
they were going to remove from an old wagon on the ranch.
When they arrived at 2:30 p.m. they found no one at home so the two men opened 
the tool shed to get a wrench for removing the wheels. They saw the body and 
immediately drove into Mojave to notify the authorities.
Sgt. David King and deputy Tom Shuell answered the call and drove out to the 
Zangle ranch where they verified the two men's story. Radio communications was 
contacted and Sgt. Joe Taylor, Coroner Stan Newman and District Attorney 
investigator, Tom Hildreth immediately drove over from Bakersfield and the 
investigation began.
Sgt. King remembered a former visit from the slain rancher, who complained a 
Danny Green had shot a couple of his chickens and stolen some wine out of his 
cabin after he and his father, Richard Green had been given permission to hunt 
on the property.
With this slim lead, the officers swung into action and with the aid of the 
Los Angeles County Sheriff's office in Lancaster, Green, who had lived there, 
was ordered picked up: He was not at home however and officers located a friend 
who said that Green and the Sewell boys of Littlerock, paled around together.
Arrest of the Sewell brothers, Lloyd and Weldon, was the next step and, they 
implicated Darrell Standridge of Bakersfield. Sgt. Taylor obtained a confession 
from the elder Sewell boy who admitted firing one of the .30-.30 rifles used.
Danny Green was arrested Sunday night when he and his father returned home from 
a trip to Mexico where they had gone to think the whole thing out, according to 
a statement made by the father.
Another crime was solved at the same time when it was learned the firearms used 
in the murder had been stolen from the General Supply Co., in Lancaster in an 
earlier burglary.
Story of the crime as related by the boys to investigators is as follows: Danny 
Green told Sgt. Taylor he had planned to kill Butler on two previous occasions 
and went to the ranch to carry out his plan but .changed his mind at the last 
moment.	
Danny told the Sewell boys about his plan last Tuesday, Nov. 22 and they made a 
special trip to Bakersfield to pick up Darrell Standridge and the four returned 
to the desert to carry out their intentions.
They drove back to the desert Tuesday and late that night went to Butler's cabin 
and woke him up saying they needed gasoline for their car. Butler got up, put on 
a jacket and jeans and came outside with a flashlight. He gave the boys some gas 
and then apparently becoming suspicious, went back to the cabin for his rifle.
While Butler was in the cabin Sewell and Standridge picked up .30-.30 rifles off 
the floor of their car and as Butler approached started firing. One shot struck 
the doomed man in the neck, one in the hand and two in the chest.
All four boys then dragged the body more than 100 yards and placed it in the tool 
shed. The boys then drove back to Lancaster and tossed Butler's rifle, which had 
been damaged by the hail of bullets, from the car somewhere between Mojave and 
Lancaster.
'The quartet then went over to Green's home and spent the night there. The guns 
were found by Green's father the next day and in company with the boys drove out 
into the desert 16 miles east of Lancaster and buried them.
All four boys will be charged with first degree murder, said Marvin Ferguson of 
the District Attorney's office, who will prosecute the case.
Under California law, the four will be referred to Juvenile Court as all are under 
the age of 18. It is thought, however, that the Juvenile authorities will refer 
them back to stand trial in an adult court.
The boys seem to think the murder a lark and as one of them put it, "Just like 
shooting rabbits" Another said, as he posed for photographs, "Will this make all 
the big papers?"