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 Cress 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'."
Bristlewolf was sentence to three consecutive life terms.
References
- "Man Loses Hand in Blast, Walks 12 Miles for Help," Los Angeles Times, 07 Mar 1970. Ronald Cress 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 in Three Shooting Deaths," Lakeland Ledger, July 2, 1978. Gress hated to kill animals for food.
- "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.
- 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?