Ronald Bristlewolf
Ronald Bristlewolf was convicted of killing three people in the Black Rock Desert on June 15 or 16 and 28, 1978. The victims were:
- Richard C. Weese, 40 of Longmont, CO
- Judy Weese, 31, also of Longmont, CO
- Peter Cachenaut, 75, a fellow desert recluse, who was killed after the Weeses on June 28, 1978
- Buried in the Winnemucca Cemetary
The LA Times article states that the couple was looking for a prospect worked by his father. Ronald Bristlewolf was known as Ronald Gress and in 1970 had blow off the thumb and a finger from his right hand. The LA Times stated that "the spring at the foot of Pinto Butte was called 'Three Fingers Hot Spring' because the hermit 'sort of rules over it'." Presumably, this is Pinto Hot Springs.
Bristlewolf was sentence to three consecutive life terms.
In December, 2013, the Nevada Prison Inmate Information site has a Ronald J. Gress, inmate #14937, Male, Caucasian, age 78, "INACTIVE-DEATH", no prior felonies. The February, 8 1980 news paper article states that he was 44, putting his birthdate around 1937-1938, which suggests he died in 2013. Archive.com has a 1940 Census page for Ron Gress, age 4, birth year 1936.
A 2003 newspaper article describes how in 1980, Jack Lee Harelson went to the Denio bar where the barkeep told him that a prospector, presumably Peter Cachenaut, had found a cave that was brimming with Indian artifacts. The barkeep told Harelson that Bristlewolf later shot the prospector and two other people. Harelson looked for, but did not find the cave. However, a few months later, Harelson found a crevice that they later excavated. That location was at Elephant Mountain, which is southwest of Pinto Hot Springs.
However, Outside Magazine states that Harelson was shown an arrowhead by Marge Stevens in Denio that had been given to Marge.
References
- "Man Loses Hand in Blast, Walks 12 Miles for Help," Los Angeles Times, 07 Mar 1970. Ronald John Gress was "caught in a premature explosion Wednesday twelve miles north of the Quinn River crossing near Orovada." His left hand was blown off as were several of his fingers on his right hand. However, a later article only mentions the missing right hand digits.
- "Nevada Hermit Arraigned in Three Murders," Los Angeles Times, 27 June 1978, p. b24. Cachenaut is misspelled as Cachnaw. Weese is misspelled as Weiss.
- "Hermit Charged with Killing Couple, Prospector in Nevada," Toledo Blade, June 27, 1978.
- "Hermit Charged in Three Shooting Deaths," Lakeland Ledger, July 2, 1978. Gress hated to kill animals for food.
- R. B. Taylor, "Hermit is Key Figure in Desert Slayings Probe," Los Angeles Times, 10 July 1978, p. a3. Weese and Cachenaut are spelt correctly.
- "Nevadan Hermit Faces Charges of Murder of Three Persons," Ocala Star-Banner, January 22, 1980
- "Hermit Guilty of 3 Killings Near his Dugout," The Miami News, February 6, 1980.
- "Desert Hermit Triple Murderer Sentenced to Three Life Terms," Los Angeles Times, 13 February 1980, p. b19.
- Frank Bergon, "Wild Game," 1994. p. 112. A work of fiction that mentions Bristlewolf and is probably based on Claude Dallas, who was convicted of killing two game wardens in southwestern Idaho.
- Bryan Denson, "Grave Injustice," The Oregonian. Portland, OR. Sunday, December 28, 2003. Jack Lee Harlson, Ronald Bristlewolf connection.
- Deanne Stillman, "Desert Reckoning: A Town Sheriff, a Mojave Hermit, and the Biggest Manhunt in Modern California History," 2012. Quotes Bergon, but has Pinto Hot Springs in the Virginia Range?