burblestein
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William Walter Goddard
Date of birth: 25 April 1944
Place of birth: California
Murdered: 4 April 1984
BACKGROUND
According to a family friend, Goddard was a wealthy widower supported by a trust fund based on southern California's Signal Hill oil wells. Goddard owned large tracts of land in Redwood Valley CA, including both sheep and cattle ranches. Goddard's son claimed his father was too wealthy to need to traffic in illicit marijuana to make money. However, he also characterized his father as a marijuana aficionado who liked to maintain an all-day buzz.
THE HOMICIDE
At 3:30 PM on 4 April 1984, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office received a report of a woman screaming and a man down. Upon response, deputies found Goddard dead in his Meadow Drive home in Redwood Valley. They believed he had been shot to death. He became the seventh active homicide case in the case load of a scanty LE force entrusted with a huge and sparsely settled county. Two days later, a body dump homicide in Ukiah drove the total to eight.
Three weeks into the Goddard investigation, deputies still had no suspects. The autopsy on Goddard found he had died by stabbing, not shooting. The drug screen revealed no drugs in his system.
By late September 1984, an ad in the local newspaper offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Goddard's killer(s). LE reported they were considering a possible suspect. However, witnesses were purportedly reluctant to help LE.
A November report by the MCSO revealed that Goddard's murder was one of four 1984 county homicides directly attributable to illegal marijuana cultivation and trafficking.
By November 1992, the reward amount had been increased to $100,000 by the younger Goddard, with the monies to be drawn from the Goddard estate. The MCSO insisted it still had leads to work. These leads included an inmate in a foreign prison, and an unidentified fingerprint from the crime scene.
Information concerning this active homicide case may be called in to the MCSO Tipline at 707-234-2100. Their Investigative Services Bureau may be emailed at barneys@co.mendocino.ca.us. The Sheriff's Office can also be reached at 951 Low Gap Road, Ukiah, CA 95482.
Sources:
Mooseroots genealogical website: http://death-records.mooseroots.com/1/213337678/William-Walter-Goddard
Ukiah (CA) Daily Journal, 30 April 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/33408346
UDJ, 5 April 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/33406542
UDJ, 6 April 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/33406632
UDJ, 26 April 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/33408049
UDJ, 23 September 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/4134204
UDJ, 26 September 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/4136168
UDJ, 27 November 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/985775
UDJ, 27 November 1992 (two articles) https://www.newspapers.com/image/879523
Date of birth: 25 April 1944
Place of birth: California
Murdered: 4 April 1984
BACKGROUND
According to a family friend, Goddard was a wealthy widower supported by a trust fund based on southern California's Signal Hill oil wells. Goddard owned large tracts of land in Redwood Valley CA, including both sheep and cattle ranches. Goddard's son claimed his father was too wealthy to need to traffic in illicit marijuana to make money. However, he also characterized his father as a marijuana aficionado who liked to maintain an all-day buzz.
THE HOMICIDE
At 3:30 PM on 4 April 1984, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office received a report of a woman screaming and a man down. Upon response, deputies found Goddard dead in his Meadow Drive home in Redwood Valley. They believed he had been shot to death. He became the seventh active homicide case in the case load of a scanty LE force entrusted with a huge and sparsely settled county. Two days later, a body dump homicide in Ukiah drove the total to eight.
Three weeks into the Goddard investigation, deputies still had no suspects. The autopsy on Goddard found he had died by stabbing, not shooting. The drug screen revealed no drugs in his system.
By late September 1984, an ad in the local newspaper offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Goddard's killer(s). LE reported they were considering a possible suspect. However, witnesses were purportedly reluctant to help LE.
A November report by the MCSO revealed that Goddard's murder was one of four 1984 county homicides directly attributable to illegal marijuana cultivation and trafficking.
By November 1992, the reward amount had been increased to $100,000 by the younger Goddard, with the monies to be drawn from the Goddard estate. The MCSO insisted it still had leads to work. These leads included an inmate in a foreign prison, and an unidentified fingerprint from the crime scene.
Information concerning this active homicide case may be called in to the MCSO Tipline at 707-234-2100. Their Investigative Services Bureau may be emailed at barneys@co.mendocino.ca.us. The Sheriff's Office can also be reached at 951 Low Gap Road, Ukiah, CA 95482.
Sources:
Mooseroots genealogical website: http://death-records.mooseroots.com/1/213337678/William-Walter-Goddard
Ukiah (CA) Daily Journal, 30 April 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/33408346
UDJ, 5 April 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/33406542
UDJ, 6 April 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/33406632
UDJ, 26 April 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/33408049
UDJ, 23 September 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/4134204
UDJ, 26 September 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/4136168
UDJ, 27 November 1984 https://www.newspapers.com/image/985775
UDJ, 27 November 1992 (two articles) https://www.newspapers.com/image/879523
