Willett Distillery

A while back Patty did a POST on the Willett distillery, complete with a taste test!  Today we will update on what is happening with the distillery today.

The March 2018 issue of Food and Wine magazine featured Drew Kulsveen, the distiller at Willett, in one of their articles.  Drew would be James Willett's nephew, son of James sister Martha.

A LINK to our many posts on James and Lauren Willett.

Drew Kulsveen   Master Distiller   Willett Distillery

Bourbon's Boy Genius

At Willett Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky, fifth-generation master distiller Drew Kulsveen is making some of the world's most sought-after whiskeys.

Betsy Andrews

Ask Drew Kulsveen whose bourbon, besides his own, he likes to drink, and he'll demur. "I don't want to go on the record," he says, "or people will start chasing after it." Kulsveen's opinion matters that much, because in the world of American whiskey, he's a bona fide celebrity.

Kulsveen grew up playing amid his grandfather's rickhouses in the "Bourbon Capital of the World,"

Bardstown, Kentucky. Today, Willett is among Kentucky's last significant family-owned distilleries, and Kulsveen, 36, is its master distiller. It's a huge responsibility because Willett is legendary, yet for 30 years, during a long downturn in the bourbon market, the family distilled nothing. Now, the stills are operative again, expectations among whiskey lovers are fierce, and demand couldn't be higher. "We're running 24 hours a day, making as much bourbon as we physically can," Kulsveen says during a recent visit. For operations like Jim Beam, which distills nearly 40 times as much, Willett's 1,000 barrels a month is "a drop in the bucket," says Kulsveen, "but it's a lot for us."

Kulsveen strikes a different profile than other Kentucky distillers. He is so charismatic, says Fred Minnick, author of Bourbon: The Rise, Fall and and Rebirth of an American Whiskey, that "when he started making public appearances, he ruined it for everybody else."

Still, Kulsveen stays humble. "Distilling's not rocket science," he says. "As long as you use the right ingredients and pay attention, you can have a good product."

We are in Willett's limestone-columned distillery watching the contents of a 10,000-gallon fermenter roil. Gorging on the sugars in a soup of grains and water, yeast sends foaming ripples across the oatmeal-colored liquid. It is transforming the mash into beer that later will be rendered into alcohol in two huge stills: a gnome-shaped copper pot still, antique-looking but new; and a stainless-steel column still with a colorful past. Manufactured for the old Kentucky brand Waterfill and Frazier, the still wound up in Mexico during Prohibition, where it was used to make contraband. Drew's father, Even Kulsveen, bought it for a steal.

The column-still purchase is one chapter in a storied history that has led Drew Kulsveen to this moment. It starts in the 17th century with Cognac-producing ancestors. The Willetts were French Protestants who escaped persecution from the Catholic church by moving to America. They settled in Kentucky, where they got into bourbon making in the late 19th century. Prohibition was a temporary setback. More significant was the blow dealt by vodka when James Bond's "shaken, not stirred" martini helped vodka top spirits sales by the 1970s. Seen as old-fashioned, bourbon lost popularity. By 1981, Kulsveen's grandfather had leased his stills to an ethanol producer that then went bankrupt, leaving only ruined equipment behind.

Drew's father Even took over a few years later. His son joined him in 2004. But it took them until 2012 to start distilling again. In the lull, Willett became a cult NDP, or Non-Distilling Producer.

"We were taking odd lots from Four Roses, Jim Beam"—forgotten casks and ones with flavors that couldn't be blended into standard labels. "Anything under a few hundred barrels, we'd scoop it up," Kulsveen recalls. Willett used the whiskey to make its own brands, including woodsy, spicy Johnny Drum; Rowan's Creek, named for a rivulet that runs through the property; and Noah's Mill, named after the gristmill that stands over it. To yield their lauded flavors, says Kulsveen, 
"We got really good at blending."

Minnick confirms it: "They purchased well-aged stocks, let them mature, and would mingle them in small batches, so for the past 10 or 15 years, they put out some of the best product on the market." The whiskeys were coveted by aficionados partly because the operation was so tiny. For a long time, says Minnick, it remained "kind of a secret."

That's changed. With the comeback of classic cocktails, demand for bourbon reignited. Today, American whiskey sales top $3 billion annually. But distillers can't just bottle on demand; whiskey must age. And the overstocks that Willett relied on had dwindled by the time they were able to reboot the stills. "We would have been in a world of hurt if we had not started back up," says Kulsveen.

Rickhouse where the barrels of bourbon age

He leads me to one of the Willett rickhouses. With six stories of thick, wooden beams illuminated by southern sunlight seeping through small windows, the building holds 6,000 barrels of slowly aging bourbon and rye. Though Kulsveen intends to keep most of it for a decade or more, Willett has already released some of its own distillate in its cask-strength Family Estate bottlings as well as in the affordable Old Bardstown series. They're also slowly introducing it into their seven or so other brands.

Kulsveen takes a drill to a cask, capturing the stream in tulip-shaped glasses before stanching the flow with a wooden plug. "It's all about figuring out the different profiles of the barrels and how they meld together," says Kulsveen. "I want character. I want it to stand out."

We sniff, then sip. This is a five-year-old wheated bourbon and a new mash bill for Willett: 65 percent corn—the main grain in bourbon—plus 15 percent malted barley and 20 percent wheat. It is still young, the grain flavor not yet balanced by the wood, but it already tastes deliciously like orange marmalade on brioche toast.

Though the old family recipes are still in use, wheated bourbon, which is smoother and sweeter, drives Willett's distilling nowadays. There are more updates, too. In terms of distilling, Kulsveen is experimenting with stave curing and different barrel woods. At the new visitor center, overseen by Kulsveen's wife, Janelle, a bar will open this spring for cocktails, library pours, and small plates. And the gristmill and some cabins have been transformed into guesthouses.

New recipes, new hospitality—Kulsveen is balancing his heritage with innovation to create a Willett for the 21st century. I can already taste it in the glass: bourbon that's more approachable than in the past, yet deeply nuanced—handcrafted by a fifth-generation Kentucky distiller with the stomach to let each barrel sit until it hits its sweet spot. "Time is really the magical ingredient," he says, taking a sip. "You just have to wait, wait, wait."

Lambert Willett, far right, James father, 1960

The Willett Whiskeys

The new distillery at Willett is already yielding some great bottles. Go to kentuckybourbonwhiskey.com for where to find them.

Willett Family Estate Bottled 3-Year Small Batch Rye ($45) The scent of this rye mixes maple with aromatic wood. Orangey and spicy with a touch of charcoal, it brings complexity to cocktails.

Willett Family Estate Bottled 5-Year Single Barrel Bourbon ($60) A crème brûlée palate mingles with mushroomy notes. It blooms with salted-caramel flavor when you add water.

Old Bardstown 90 Proof Bourbon ($20) Honey-roasted nuts on the nose yield to buttery flavor and notes of dried citrus in this smooth, easy (and affordable) sipper, ending in a lip-smacking finish.

Old Bardstown Bottled in Bond 100 Proof Bourbon ($22) A complex orange peel and ginger scent resolves into a caramel-corn sweetness here, with a balancing bitterness on the finish.

Old Bardstown Estate Bottled 101 Proof Bourbon ($28) A rich vanilla nose and an herbaceous midpalate—think of fresh-cut grass and soil—with bright endnotes of citrus zest in this potent drink.

James Willett is first, on the left, in the bottom row in this photo from 1965 when James was a student at the University of Kentucky/Lexington.

Billy Goucher's Grand Jury Testimony

                                                       Billy Goucher and Maria Alonzo

These are the pages from the grand jury testimony that Billy Goucher gave prior to testifying against Michael Monfort and James Craig for the murder of James Willett in Guerneville CA in 1972.

The newspaper articles about the trial are HERE.

Color Footage of Monfort, Pitman, Craig, Fromme and Cooper's Stockton Arrest

This is some recently released film of those arrested for Lauren and James Willett's murders.  It's from San Francisco Bay Area television station, KPIX.  It's kind of cool that it is in color and you can tell exactly where the newspaper pictures came from.  There is also some footage of the exterior of the house on Flora St.

Q&A Back to the Barker raid ammo question

You all might recall one of our members "Matt W" asking a previous question (see below) about the ammo seized at the Barker ranch raid.  I was chatting with Matt W about it recently and he brought up an interesting question. Was it James Willett who stole the weapons/ammo for the Family?
Matt W also brought up a good point being we don't even know if James was ever stationed there.

Hi Liz, I've been reading your blog for a couple weeks, looking for specific information regarding a list of weapons that were seized during the Spahn and Barker ranch raids. Main reason was while I was stationed at Camp Pendleton (Ca) there was a report of  someone stealing grenades and other armaments. The only people having access to the armory would have been Marines (to my knowledge). Any help sure would be appreciated...

The Trial For James Willett's Murder

Michael Monfort and James Craig ultimately pleaded guilty for James Willett's murder but a jury was picked and the trial did open before a plea deal was reached.  The articles begin with Billy Goucher in June of 1973 pleading guilty to second degree murder in the death of James Willett.  Goucher agreed to the plea to reduce his charge from first degree murder and therefore do less prison time.  He also had to become a state's witness in the upcoming trial of Monfort and Craig in order for that plea to stand.

Almost six months later the trial for Monfort and Craig was ready to get underway.  Nancy Pitman and Priscilla Cooper were brought from Frontera to testify as witnesses.  There were the usual motions and protests voiced by the defense attorneys.  Along the way there were a couple of surprising twists and turns before the deal was done.

Jameses and Laurens

Farflung. Gotta love him (at least, Patty does. Don't tell Mr. Patty, okay?). He is into the minutiae, the "devil in the details." He wrote this to Patty recently, and it made her go, Hmmmmm.  What do you think?:

"From the ridiculously deep trivia files only Farf finds interesting, and maybe Patty.

I did a little searching for the mysterious James and Lauren which have been used as ‘Free-Spaces’ on the Manson Family connection bingo card.  It appears to have been a strong case of confirmation bias and I think I’m about to add to the mix. 

It begins in 1970 when James Forsher and Lauren Elder are mentioned in association with the missing attorney Ronald Hughes.  James and Lauren are both reported as 17 years old and from West Los Angeles.

Next in 1972 is the disjointed murders of James and Lauren (Willett) in Stockton with Squeaky and Brenda in attendance as Manson associates.  Even though nothing has tied James and Lauren to any Manson activities, this does not appear to impede the inferences.

Then arrives 1974 and the publication of ‘Helter Skelter’ with an oblique mention of James and Lauren who have somehow become Manson Family members and potential assassins of Ronald Hughes.

Subsequently James Forsher comes out of the woodwork and files a law suit against Bugliosi, which he (Forsher) loses in 1980, where the paper reports his age as 22.

Now for the Twilight Zone stuff.  The ‘other’ Lauren was Lauren Elder and there was only one I could find that lived in the LA area in the 70’s but she would have been 21 at that time rather than the 17 reported in the previous article.  So dead end and the ‘One Degree of Separation’ has been established.  Or was it?

Apparently this Lauren Elder was flying in a light aircraft in 1976 which had crashed in the high mountains resulting in the death of the pilot and other passenger.  This Lauren manages to stumble, fall and crawl from the crash site and arrive in Independence, CA and rescue.  But that rescue was delayed because people refused to help her, out of fears that she was part of the Manson Family (insert that weird, sci-fi Theremin sound).

I don’t know if the plane crash Lauren Elder is one in the same as the Ronald Hughes disappearance Lauren Elder, but was surprised how easy it would be to make the association with Manson and add to the confusion and lore.

Sincerely, Farf"

Farf, who the hell are you, anyway? Patty is thinking, ex-CIA. Is she close?

Geographic analysis of Guerneville concerning James Willett

Being driven by minutia and trivia I thought some geographic analysis of Guerneville was in order.  After all, California has experienced a blossoming population growth since the end of WWII and many things have changed in a few years.  I gave up trying to convince some younger types that Disneyland was once surrounded by orange groves and Knott's Berry Farm had free admission.  Suggesting what travel was like when Nevada had no speed limits and the Interstate system was just oddly scattered fragments of road, places me in the category of liar or overdue to be processed into some sort of gasoline.  But I'm comfortable with it.

Thanks to the miracle of the internet a person can make a virtual time machine and see into the past.  Well at least on a map.  The USGS has a site that one can download historical maps from various years.  These maps are extremely detailed and include roads, trails and building footprints to name a few features.  So what did Guerneville look like 40 years ago you ask?  Astonishingly similar to today's representation by comparing the same area side by side in the attached file.

This area is over one and a half square miles of terrain south of Guerneville.  This 'should' enclose the murder site of James Willett, if the news articles were remotely accurate.  Virtually every feature on the 1971 map is identical to the modern version today.  One can see the same road network, structures and infrastructure which 'should' limit errors and extra assumptions.

The articles variously called the gravesite an 'old road' and 'trail' about half a mile south of town.  The only road which could meet such a description is Mays Canyon Road which is outlined in blue on the 1971 chart.  Circled in red is the location of Parker's Resort which is on the northwest corner of a square mile section outlined in red to give a sense of distance and scale.

The magenta lines represent un-improved roads which could be characterized as 'old roads' perhaps.  The black squares represent structures which could be storage sheds, garages or occupied dwellings.  This is a resort area and the Willetts and 'friends' were there in the beginning of the off season when the overall population was likely at a low, along with the prices for accommodations.

The only other thing I could imagine being described as an old road or trail could be the easement cut for the power lines which is marked in yellow.  These are the sort of things that easily pass through our visual filters since they are so commonplace, even in the middle of wilderness areas.  This is pure guessing on my part and has been associated with zero reports or articles.

Adding to the possibilities is the road Panamint and Beef Patty researched which appears to lie between the power line and the second unpaved road on Mays Canyon Rd.  Considering the number of structures associated with the other roads would make them less likely, but the actions of Monfort have rarely aligned with intelligence or thought.

The bright yellow 'pipe gate' has a BLM and Forest Service look to it along with the oddly placed 'Jersey barriers' indicate this is the hand of your government hard at work where Patty took her photo.  The fact that trails and water tanks are mapped religiously by the USGS and this road being missed is quite the find and a reflection of the attention to detail which Panamint and company have given this subject.  I for one am impressed and believe the area identified on the blog is an extremely good fit to the description.  At least I can't find many other options.

Contributed by Farflung

The Parker Resort in Guerneville

When the Pattys were in Guerneville recently investigating the death of James Willett, they tried to determine which of the many local resorts it was in which the group had been living. Mystery solved: on the police report that FARFLUNG just provided, Priscilla Cooper states that some photos introduced into evidence were taken "at the Parker Resort."

Parker's Resort is family owned and operated, and has been for decades. They are dog friendly and offer camping and RVing (cabins like those pictured below are no longer rented to the public). They generally have good reviews on yelp.


The Pattys nearly stayed there, but ended up several miles away instead. The entrance on Neeley Road is barely marked as you can see. In fact, The Pattys almost missed it entirely.

Here also is a great view from Neeley road just a few hundred yards west of Parker's Resort of the thriving metropolis of downtown Guerneville, CA:


You can read Eviliz.com reader Cece's firsthand account of life at Parker's with the Willetts here:http://www.eviliz.com/2011/11/this-is-for-heidi-willett_02.html

Links to Willett Articles

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9/suspectinkillingnov1419.jpg

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/2748/exconsmanosngirlscharge.jpg

Why they married

http://www.sonomasheriff.org/about_history.php

Left- Nancy and baby Eric

In October of 1972, The Press Democrat headline read “Manson Link to River Slaying.” Aryan Brotherhood members Michael Monfort and James Craig, along with notorious Manson family members Pricilla Cooper, Stacy Pitman and Lynnette Fromme (a.k.a. “Squeaky,” and who incidentally, attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975) were arrested in connection to the murder of United States Marine James T. Willett. Willett was shot through the head with a .38 caliber weapon and buried in a shallow grave on a mountain south of Guerneville. His wife, Lauren Willett, was also found murdered and buried in a similar grave in Stockton. Monfort was the first to be linked to the murders. He used James Willett’s identification after being arrested for robbing a liquor store. He later jumped bail. His recapture was shortly followed by the arrest of the other four suspects at a Stockton apartment, where officers located Willett’s discharge papers. The prosecution subpoenaed Cooper and Pittman to testify against Monfort and Craig. In an attempt to mock the law, Monfort and Craig managed to marry the women before the trial, making it illegal for the women to testify against their husbands. Nevertheless, Monfort and Craig were both convicted and served time for their crimes. After being paroled, Craig was shot numerous times, his body was stuffed in the trunk of a car and the car was set on fire on a Sacramento street.

A Reader from Bardstown, KY Writes to Eviliz.com...

December 6, 2011 6:45 AM

MelissaDrastic said... I live in Bardstown ,Ky where James Willett was from. I know his family quite well. I do know that his sister Alice was under protection for awhile after the murders. The Willett family received death threats and numerous threatening phone calls. Everyone was so scared for a long time around here. Yours is the only site where I have found much info on James and Lauren.

Hi Melissa, thank you for writing. We would absolutely LOVE to hear more from you. Would you write to Panamint Patty please? Patty at this website.

This is for Heidi Willett...

On February 5, Liz posted photos of  "Lauren & Heidi Willet with Frenemies". You can re-read it here:
 http://www.eviliz.com/2011/02/lauren-heidi-willet-with-frenemies.html 

Last night Cece, who knew the Willets and stayed in a nearby cabin at the Russian River resort posted the following message for Heidi. First-hand insight - the kind of stuff that makes this blog so worth it. Thank you, Cece. We hope Heidi still reads regularly. 

This is for Heidi Willett...

Heidi, I met both your mother and father while living next door to them in one of the cabins at the resort up in Guerneville, which were the cabins right on the banks of the Russian River.
I never in a million years would have suspected that they were part of a robbery gang, they seemed like such a loving couple.

Your mom used to carry you around in her arms and you were getting pretty heavy, so I gave her my baby backpack since I was using a new stroller instead for my little girl who was too heavy to be carried in a backpack.

Your mom was very shy and looked quite frightened most of the times I saw her and wouldn't talk with me. Your dad seemed so nice and loving to her and you that I couldn't figure out why she looked so worried. Now I know.

Your dad was a very friendly person, calm, easy going and was very kind to my elementary school age son and loved to take him catfishing at night on the river. My son adored your father and never had a bad word to say about him. They caught catfish using a lantern and I had to learn how to cook the one my son brought home. Shake'N'Bake for fish did the trick.

I was living up there with my two young children and my friend who I had met through my religion, the Baha'i Faith. We used to hold Baha'i meetings in our cabin on Saturday nights and sometimes your dad would ask if he could come in and listen to what we were talking about.

He wouldn't come into the main room where we were all sitting around, instead he would sit out in the kitchen at our wooden picnic table and listen all by himself.

One night when he was sitting there listening, we heard someone pounding on our door, opened it and were startled to see "Spider" Craig holding a large commercial size mayonaise jar full of Tarantulas. "Spider" looked past us at your dad and then said "here's a present for you girls." We said "no thank you", he turned away smiling and we closed the door.

We didn't even know "Spider" knew your father. We had just heard some really scary stories about "Spider's" violent behavior around town, so we tried to steer clear of him.

A few days later we heard that your dad's body was found. And then later that your mother's body was found in Stockton. My friends and I were very sad about this, but my young son was very upset.

One night shortly after your parents' deaths my friend and I decided to say prayers for your mom and dad. After we were done, I asked my friend what she thought they were thinking because I had some feelings that I wanted to verify. She said that she felt at first that they were both annoyed and mad at us for praying, that they felt we didn't know them well enough to pray for them, but then as we continued to say prayers out loud for them, they became calm and then happy and grateful we were praying for them.

Those was exactly the same feelings I picked up while saying the prayers...anger, then calming down then gratitude.

I certainly hope both your parents are blessed and can rest in peace.

I've always wondered if perhaps your dad's contact with my Baha'i friends caused him to try and back out of the robbery gang. That makes me sad to think this but at the same time happy that perhaps he and your mom are blessed because of what he attempted to do to protect you and your mom.

Wishing you every happiness and peace Heidi...you were a darling, sweet-faced baby girl and very loved by both your parents.

Cece

Willett Pot Still Reserve Taste Test

Patty has been thinking an awful lot about James Willett. When Liz posted the info about his family's distillery, Patty got curious and ordered a bottle of Willett Pot Still Reserve from Bev Mo with some gift certificates she'd been sitting on.

As you can see from the photo, the 750mL bottle is hand numbered. For $47 plus tax and shipping, The Pattys received bottle 127 of 266 out of barrel 147 delivered right to their front door. "Let's do a taste test," Patty said. In simpler times, Mr. Patty was a bartender and amateur sommalier. He also brews his own beer and is told that he is pretty good at it. "Educate me," Patty said.

From the bar, Mr. Patty retrieved three other kinds of Kentucky or Tennessee whiskey that is known collectively as bourbon: Jim Beam, Jack Daniel's and Gentleman Jack. Patty asked if she could taste on the rocks but Mr. Patty scoffed, so she did it the real way.

BEAM. What you would call "hot" because you can really taste the alcohol. If you swish it, sniff it, hold it on your tongue and savor the finish, you get oak, butterscotch, caramel, and a super sweet finish. "Blech," Patty said.

JACK. Not nearly as "hot" as the Beam: rounder, tastes like oranges and cloves.

GENTLEMAN JACK. A fanicer version of the standard stuff and definitely much finer. Again Patty got orange, but this time with caramel, molasses and a soft wood finish. Not bad! But still, not great.

WILLETT. THIS STUFF IS THE SHIT. At 47% alcohol instead of the standard 40%, not only can you get your buzz on quicker, but it is smooth, rich and silky. There are caramel and vanilla notes and a tart, dry woody finish possibly due to the higher proof. It's the finish that makes this stuff so astounding. For a good ten minutes, Patty's mouth sang with complex layers of flavor that only became more pleasant as the burn wore off. In fact, Patty let out a huge belch about 15 minutes after that was freaking delicious. Mr. Patty sat there looking like the cat who ate the canary. "Good?" Patty asked him. "Mmmmm hmmmmmmm" is about all he could manage with his mouth full. "I wouldn't send it back."

So in short, even those of you who do not necessarily like bourbon might enjoy this. If you do know your bourbon, definitely pick up a bottle, and like the Patty's, be sure to toast James, Lauren and Heidi.

Cheers!

Guerneville, CA: In Search of James Willett (Part 5)

Above: headstone of James Willett's parents in Bardstown, Kentucky

Readers: we are coming to the end of our exploration of the murder of James Willett in Guerneville. We saw where his body may have been found, and where it was initially taken to be identified and prepared for burial. James Willett is most certainly dead. Today, however, he lives on in the person of Heidi, who we understand reads the blogs. We wish her the best. This last article pulled from the Press Democrat deals with what became of Heidi when she was not yet a year old:

HEIDI WILLETT: GRANDPARENTS CLAIM HER

STOCKTON, Calif. (UPI) - The tiny daughter of a nomadic young couple gunned down after joining a group of ex-cons and "Manson girls" has been claimed by her grandparents in XXXX.

George XXXX of XXXX, Conn., a general foreman at a plant in New Haven, and his wife, Vera, said Wednesday they would fly here later this week to take custody of eight-month-old Heidi Willett.

The youngster was found Sunday in a house where police discovered the body of her mother, Lauren Olmstead Willett, 19, in the basement and arrested two men and three women for her murder.

The child's father, Marine combat veteran James T. Willett, 26, was shot to death a month ago and buried near the town of Guerneville, 100 miles northewst of here.

Willett's father, distillery president A. Thompson Willett of Bardstown, Ky., sad he and his wife discussed their grand-daughter's future with Lauren's parents and decided the Connecticut couple should adopt her because they had a smaller family.

Willett said his son's lifestyle bordered on "being a hippie," while his daughter-in-law, whom he met once, was a "quiet" girl who ran away from home in a dispute over continuing in school.

Authorities said Mrs. Willett and her daughter apparetly accompanied the three men charged with her husband's death to Stockton after his slaying. They all lived here in a two-bedroom home with three girls invlved in the cult of mass murderer Charles Manson.


And that, dear readers is the end of our story: an oft-overlooked chapter in the history of The Family that is obscure enough by now that today's editor of the Press Democrat for Guerneville was informed of the incident by doing a standard internet search on her town and stumbling upon Eviliz.com earlier this week. James, you are gone, but you are not forgotten. Not here, not on our watch.

Eviliz replaced some names and addresses with "XXXX", out of respect that no one will bother the family of Lauren. If you remember, Heidi did contact us and post in the comments awhile back. She told us she is doing very well in life. We here wish her nothing but the best.

Willett Distillery

Just as Abigail Folger was to become the heir to the Folger Coffee empire.

Would James Willett have become the heir to his families distillery?  

                        

  Click here for the history of Willett Distillery.      http://www.kentuckybourbonwhiskey.com/history.php

Shawn one of our researchers told me about the Willett Distillery quite some time ago.

Good think I tucked it away.

Guerneville, CA: In Search of James Willett (Part 4)

By Wednesday, November 15, 1972 staff writer Bonny Saludes of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat had turned in the following article:

Willett Slayings: Did Wife See Husband Slain?

The slain wife of an ex-Marine whose headless body was found in a shallow grave in Guerneville last Wednesday may have witnessed her husband's killing and agreed to it.

That possibility is being discussed here as investigators evaluate statements of a confidential informant, who was instrumental in the identification of the Guerneville victim and the arrest of suspects in Stockton Sunday.

District Attorney John Hawkes said the ex-Marine, James Willett, 26, allegedly was shot by three members of a armed robbery ring to silence him on October 10.

There is speculation Willett's 19-year-old wife, Laurete (sic), was slain last weekend for a similar purpose.

Three men, Michael Lee Monfort, James Terill Craig, and William Merland Goucher Jr., were charged Monday with first-degree murder in the slaying of Willett, the son of a president of a Kentucky distillery.

Monfort, Craig and three women- Priscilla Copper, Nancy Pitman and Lynette Fromme- are charged with the murder of Mrs. Willett, whose body was unearthed from beneath a Stockton residence early Sunday morning. She reportedly was living in the house with the defendants.

At Hawkes' request at the time he filed the murder complaint, Municipal Court Judge Kiernan Hyland sealed the affidavit which the district attorney filed in support of the complaint.

The document gives details which led to the murder charge. Hawkes' written request to seal the affidavit stated it "contains material which cannot be released to the news media prior to trial of the case."

The Press Democrat has learned that by co-incidence, the confidential informer was reporting a body would be found in Guerneville about the same time an elderly man stumbled upon Willett's shallow grave on a mountain overlooking Guerneville last Wednesday.

About the time of Willett's death, it was learned, Willett reportedly wanted his wife and child disassociated from the alleged robbery ring and wanted her to go to another state.

The wife, however, wanted to continue her associations with the group.

Authorities say they have no evidence other than that indicating Mrs. Willett left the Guerneville area with the suspects on her own volition after her husband's death.

Miss Cooper told Stockton authorities Mrs. Willett was shot by Monfort while he was engaged in a modified version of russian roulette. She said the shooting was "accidental."

Authorities here are skeptical about that story and are wondering if Mrs. Willett was killed to silence her about her husband's death.

According to Hawkes, the robbery ring established headquarters at a Guerneville resort and allegedly went back and forth to Southern California, committing robberies. The four couples reportedly stayed at the resort for about a month.

Monfort, Craig, and Goucher probably will not be prosecuted in Sonoma County for the Willett slaying until well into next year, Hawkes said.

He said San Joaquin County District Attorney Joseph A. Baker told him he intended to prosecute the defendants in Stockton for the wife's murder before releasing them to Sonoma County for trial.

Hawkes said Goucher, who is not charged with the murder of Mrs. Willett, may be brought to Sonoma County sooner than the other two.

He is charged in Stockton with two counts of armed robbery and has already been bound over for trial after a preliminary hearing.

Goucher could be returned here shortly after the first of the year, Hawkes said.

The next scheduled appearance in Stockton for the other defendants is Nov. 28.


Believe it or not Eviliz readers, there is one last part of the Guerneville saga to come. Here's to hoping you are finding this as interesting as Patty does.

Guerneville, CA: In Search of James Willett (Part 3)

The Pattys had learned from the Press Democrat that the body was found about a half mile south of town, near an old road, and on the side of a mountain. It seemed to Patty that the best place to start looking was on the western side of Mays Canyon Road, on the side of Neeley Hill which is the only thing resembling a mountain south of Guerneville. Mr. Patty made note of his odometer and at 0.5, they started to look carefully. Could this be “it?” The metal gate to the old road is covered in scratched-in graffiti and someone had come out and freshly chalked a big peace sign onto a cement barrier. This appears to be a place where, for some reason, people come and linger. Patty ill-advisedly ventured around the gate onto posted private property.
Further up the trail just out of sight of the main road and to the left was a large turnaround containing a rotting mattress. On the right, a carefully bouldered-off wash full of detritus in which a shallow grave could easily have been dug on short notice. Right next to this little wash, the side of Neely Hill jutting up and looking very mountainous, indeed from where Patty stood.


In brief, Patty cannot be sure that this is the exact spot where James Willett was found. If not, it is highly probable that this is the“old road” that the hiker was treading upon that day in 1972. The site was surely close to the road if an elderly man could distinguish a human hand from piles of twigs and sticks that you find in the forest.

If you are not yet convinced, had the Pattys driven much beyond this spot to the south they would have been out of range of the half mile estimate in The Press Democrat. If, however, one were allowed to drive this old road beyond the gate and to the west, it would sweep out a half-mile contour that would closely follow The Pattys' hand drawn map in Part 1 (see http://www.eviliz.com/2011/09/guerneville-ca-in-search-of-james.html ).

For whatever it is worth to you, it felt right to Patty, so she paused a moment to think about the victim and his family. Wouldn't you?

But wait…that’s not all, there is more...seriously! Check back soon for more about the Willetts, The Family, and Guerneville.

Guerneville, CA: In Search of James Willett (Part 2)

It was not long before the authorities realized the Manson connection. The page one headlines of the Press Democrat on November 13, 1972 read:



Manson Family Linked to River Area Slaying



The slaying near Guerneville of a young Marine has touched off the arrest of two men and three female members of the Manson family in Stockton.



San Joaquin County authorities yesterday uncovered the body of Lauren Willett, the 19-year-old wife of James T. Willett, 26, whose body was found on a mountain south of Guerneville last week.



The body of the young woman, shot through the head, was found in a shallow grave in Stockton yesterday.



Sonoma County Attorney John Hawkes said he would file a murder charge today in connection with the Guerneville slaying.



San Joaquin County authorities said those arrested over the weekend in Stockton are being held as suspects in the slaying of the Willetts.



Willett’s body was found by an elderly hiker when the hiker saw the victim’s hand protruding from the ground.



San Joaquin investigators said the Marine’s wife had been buried one day. She had been killed by a .38 bullet through the head.



Authorities said the three women, arrested with the two men at a residence in Stockton yesterday, had scarred crosses on their foreheads – a mark that identified the women in the notorious southern California hippie family of Charles Manson.



Stockton police said they had arrested one of the suspects, Michael Monfort, 24, on Oct. 3 on charges of robbing a liquor store. He identified himself as Willett and later jumped bail.



Officers recaptured him Saturday and questioned him about having Willett’s identification.



Sonoma County detectives, however, were in Stockton Friday investigating certain aspects of Willett’s slaying.



Others arrested at a Stockton apartment were James Craig, 33, Priscilla Cooper, 21; Nancy Pitman, 24, and Lynette Fromme, 24.



Willett’s discharge papers were found in the residence, the officers said.



“These people travel – Los Angeles, Guerneville, Sonoma County, San Francisco, Stockton. The have no address,” said an officer.



DA Hawkes today said the sheriff’s office has placed holds on Monfort, Craig, and a third man, identified as William M. Goucher, 23.



Goucher was arrested with Monfort for the Oct. 3 robbery and has been in jail since.



He said he is withholding issuance of a murder complaint until completion of some last minute investigation in the Guerneville area by a sheriff’s detective.



Meanwhile, an official with the Department of Corrections said today Monfort and Craig are known to be members of the Aryan Brotherhood, a white racist cult of prison inmates which deals in murder contracts for profit.



At the time Monfort was arrested with Willett’s identification and stationwagon, officials said, he was wanted for escape from a state prison work camp.



…



Hawkes said today there is thus far no connection between the three women and the death of Willett in Guerneville.



In Guerneville, The Patties located the old Redwood Chapel at 14045 Mill St., which is now a county building of some sort:



James' body was likely brought to the lower level through these very doors. But, where was he found? Check back soon, there is much more to come.

Guerneville, CA: In Search of James Willett (Part 1)

The idea was to get to the public library in Santa Rosa to view old Press Democrat on fiche by five on Friday. That would give Patty a full hour before closing to find the goods! The traffic gods were not with The Patties however and they arrived a mere fifteen minutes before closing. Due to not yet having eaten for the day, encountering an especially witchy librarian, and being distracted by the lights being switched on and off, Patty’s hands shook so badly she could not even thread the damn thing: it exploded into a puddle on the floor. “Patty needs a drink….NOW” she said to Mr. Patty on her cell.



Patty returned to the library on Saturday morning completely refreshed and relieved to find a much nicer librarian to help her find the following:



Body Found in Shallow Grave Near Guerneville

Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Wednesday, November 8, 1972

A badly decomposed body was found in a shallow grave yesterday atop a mountain about a half-mile south of Guerneville, acconding to Sonoma County Sheriff Don Striepeke.



Striepeke, who had deputies out last weekend digging for possible Hell's Angels' victims, declined to speculate today whether the unidentified body was involved with the motorcycle gang.



"We're not speculating on this at all," he said. "We haven't tied in anything with this body."



But the sheriff pointed out that the body was "clear across the county" from the Sonoma Valley area where deputies hunted unsuccessfully for buried remains last weekend.



Striepeke said his identification people returned to the grave today and were making a careful check of the area around it for evidence. He said deputies secured the area after the body was removed Tuesday night.



The grave was discovered by Robert W. Stevens, 71, who was hiking along an old road in the mountainous area when he saw a hand protruding from the ground, the Sheriff said.



Striepeke said identity of the body, which had apparently been buried several months, had not been established and it was impossible to say this morning whether it was male or female.



The clothing offered the best lead to officials trying to identify the person, he said.



Shortly after Stevens contacted deputies at the Guerneville sheriff's substation, Sgt. Joseph Aleksick went to the spot and confirmed the presence of the body, according to official information released about the discovery.



Striepeke, several members of his staff and Deputy Coroner Don Noriel worked several hours into the night exhuming the body.



It was taken to Guerneville Redwood Chapel where an autopsy will be performed today to determine, if possible, the cause of death, the sheriff said.



The only physical description authorities were able to provide was that the person appeared to be medium height and had dark hair.



Striepeke asked that anyone with information on someone wearing a Marine dress blue jacket to call his office at (redacted).



Over a cold pint of Pliny (the Elder), The Patties took a pencil to a mapquested aerial view of the area south of Guerneville:







And then, they were off. (More later: check back soon!)

The Willett House - 720 W. Flora St., Stockton, CA

~Photo courtesy of-The Grump from Pahrump ~ Thank you!!!