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The Murder of Alfalfa – Part III

This is the final installment in our three-part series on The Alfalfa Murder. In 1954, Carl had been arrested on a drunkenness and disorder charge and got into a fight with the police when they brought him to the station. The bond was set at $ 100.

In January 1958, he left a bar and got into his truck, when a bullet went through the window and hit him in the arm. The identity of the mysterious sniper was never established. Carl told police that he had no idea who would want to shoot him.

In December of the same year, he pleaded guilty to petty theft for cutting down 15 fir trees in the Sequoia National Forest. He was fined $ 225.

And then a month later, on January 21, Carl was shot and killed by his ex-partner, Bud Stiltz, 38. Bud was a mechanic and welder, and he and Carl had worked together as hunting and fishing guides. Carl had borrowed one of Bud’s dogs and then lost it on a trip. When the dog was found and returned, the man demanded a reward and Carl gave him $ 65. He felt that since he was Bud’s dog, Bud was obliged to pay him. Bud got tired of Carl stalking him. To get it out of her hair, she told Carl she would give him $ 35.

That night, Carl had drinks with a friend, studio photographer, Jack Piott. They went to Bud Stiltz’s house. He lived with the ex-wife of actor Crash Corrigan and their three children. Carl introduced Jack as a police officer and Jack showed a fake badge. Stiltz said he had no money and Carl got belligerent. They began to fight. Ms. Corrigan and her two daughters fled the home, but Stiltz’s 14-year-old stepson, Tommy Corrigan, was left behind. Said Carl hit Stiltz in the face with a watch. Stiltz went into the bedroom to retrieve a .38 caliber revolver from a drawer by the bed. They fought. The gun fired harmlessly, but a chunk of flying debris from the bullet hole in the wall slightly wounded Tommy Corrigan. Carl disarmed Stiltz, and then Stiltz pushed Carl into the closet and retrieved the gun. At that moment, Tommy fled to the front porch, where he heard a gunshot. Before the police arrived, Jack Piott threw away the fake badge.

At the investigation, Stiltz gave tearful testimony. He wore an eye patch for the serious injuries sustained in the fight. Said Carl came out of the closet with a razor and fired in self-defense. The coroner’s jury returned a verdict of justifiable manslaughter.

But some 40 years later, after Stiltz died a long time ago, Tommy Corrigan spoke up when he said he was bothered by the rumors he had heard about on the internet. It was surprising that people were still interested in alfalfa in 2001, but they said they had killed him in a drug deal gone wrong, and it just wasn’t true. Tommy said he didn’t believe his stepfather’s version of what happened. He said Bud was bad. “He used to push me.” He accused Stiltz of deliberately murdering Carl Switzer. Said, “I didn’t have to kill him.” He had volunteered to testify in the investigation, but was never called.

Tommy “Butch” Bonds didn’t give Stiltz credit, either. I thought Carl was unarmed. “Yes, he would use his fists,” he said, “because he was a country boy. But I never knew he carried a gun.” And so the man who pulled the trigger was exonerated. But every year until his passing in 1984, Bud Stiltz received a mysterious Christmas card, signed “Alfie.”

Carl was 31 when he died.

His older brother, Harold, also died in trouble in 1967. According to his daughter, he had an altercation with a man and shot him dead. A few hours later, he took his own life.

Carl’s ex-wife gave birth to a son. Later he remarried and the boy grew up not knowing who his real father was. When he finally found out, in his early 20s, he got in touch with some of the surviving Our Gang cast members, including Spanky McFarland. He told them he wanted to know more about Carl.

He worked with some of the biggest names in the industry. George Cukor, Fritz Lang, Joseph Mankiewicz. Kirk Douglas, Elizabeth Taylor, Bob Hope, Natalie Wood, and Mickey Rooney. Directors like Stanley Kramer, Alan Dwan, and Edward L. Cahn used it repeatedly because they liked working with it.

Very few other child stars have been as well known and loved as Alfalfa. Even in death, he was identified in headlines by the name he had created 20 years earlier. ALFALFA KILLED IN FIGHT FOR OVER $ 50.

Carl Switzer was a brilliant, ambitious and talented dynamo, brimming with energy and personality. He loved the movie business and was not afraid to break through its forbidden doors.

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