Granite statue of 19th-century California meat-packing magnate is BEHEADED in bizarre crime - leaving cops scratching their heads over vandal's motive
- Charles Swanston, a 19th cen. meat-packing magnate, was decapitated Monday
- Sacramento Police are offering a $1,000 reward to help them solve the case
- The statue has sat in Sacramento's Land Park for nearly 100 years
- The head of the statue was left on the ground near the memorial
- Eric Hud, the great great grandson of Charles Swanston, was enraged upon learning his great great grandfather's head was chopped off
The granite statue of Charles Swanston, a 19th century meat-packing magnate, has sat in the same Sacramento park for nearly 100 years but was beheaded this week in a bizarre crime that has left cops stumped over the vandal's motive.
Sacramento Police Department received news of the decapitated statue in William Land Park on Monday night. They are now offering a $1,000 reward to help them solve the case.
The head of the statue was found resting by a bush near the memorial on Tuesday, a day after it was believed to have been vandalized, the Associated Press reported.
The statue, which was constructed in 1925 by the late San Francisco sculptor Ralph Stackpole during the Great Depression had been in the park since 1926, includes the inscription: 'To the pioneers.' Below the inscription are two cattle, facing opposite directions.
Eric Hud, the great great grandson of Charles Swanston said he was enraged upon learning his great great grandfather's head was chopped off, Kron4 News reported.
'I'm angry. My family is angry. We all really don't understand this or why anyone would do this,' Hud said.
The historic statue of Charles Swanston, its head recently decapitated, stands in William Land Park on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, in Sacramento, Calif. The statute of a 19th-century Northern California meat-packing magnate was beheaded earlier this week
An early Sacramento pioneer and settler, Swanston then became a rancher and started a meat-packing business that made him rich. His son commissioned the statue in the 1920s.
It is part of a fountain and was donated to the city after Swanston's death in 1911 at 101 years old, The Sacramento Bee reported.
The family's ranch was located on what is now William Land Park, known as Land Park, a major park in the city. According to Sacramento City Historian Marcia Eymann, if not for his son's donation, the city would likely have never put up a piece for Swanston.
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'Not that anybody knows who he is, but that´s something very special that Sacramento had and now it´s destroyed,' she said.
Eymann said she found the whole ordeal 'bizarre. 'I have no idea why anyone, unless they´re vegetarians and didn´t like meat-packers' would do this to the statue.
Swanston traveled west from Ohio as part of the California Gold Rush and quickly realized he'd make more money as a butcher, Eymann said.
During the 1880's, he founded meat-packing firm Swanston & Son in the 1880s with his son George Swanston, the nonprofit organization Preservation Sacramento told The Sacramento Bee.
His butcher shop that would become of the largest of its kind in the Sacramento Valley, KCRA News reported.
Detectives are investigating the vandalism and are trying to determine if it was a random act, or if the vandal was targeting the Swanston family.
There have been no suspects identified as of yet, according to Sacramento Police Department spokesperson.
The head of the Charles Swanston that was decapitated this week was found near a bush in William Land Park on Tuesday the day after it was believed to have been vandalized
The statue was erected by George Swanston in memory of his father Charles Swantson
Sacramento City Historian Marcia Eymann, if not for his son's donation, the city would likely have never put up a piece for Swanston
The family's ranch was located on what is now William Land Park, known as Land Park, a major park in the city of Sacramento, California
Those with information on the case can call 916-808-5471 or Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at 916-443-HELP.
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