The Onion Field

Here I was telling you about living in Taft California and later the very same day there is a news story regarding "The Onion Field" killing. Jimmy Lee Smith, one of the two "Onion Field" killers has died in prison outside of Los Angeles.

Smith and Gregory Powell were convicted of abducting Officer Ian Campbell and his partner, Officer Karl Hettinger, from a Hollywood street on March 6, 1963, after the officers stopped their car for an illegal U-turn. Campbell and Hettinger were driven to an onion field 30 miles southwest of Bakersfield, where Officer Campbell was shot to death. Karl Hettinger escaped in the darkness. Their crimes were documented in the 1973 book "The Onion Field" and the 1979 film of the same name, both written by former Los Angeles police officer Joseph Wambaugh.

The onion field in question was outside of Maricopa California and we drove past it every time we came down from Taft to the Los Angeles area. I mentioned before that my wife was City Manager of Taft and as such, had a great deal of contact with the Kern County Board of Supervisors. One of the Supervisors was Karl Hettinger.

As the husband of the City Manager I met Karl on a number of social occasions. Karl had become sort of a local Bakersfield celebrity after the book and movie came out. I thought Karl was sort of a strange bird and I never understood why a Los Angeles cop would settle down in Bakersfield, so close to the location where his partner had been murdered. I think the crime ate at him over the years, like Karl had "survivor's guilt." Karl was alive because he ran away and his partner was dead because he didn't. At least he always seemed to me like a man attempting to drink away his past.

Karl lost his seat on the board in 1993 and died in 1994. I can't say I have thought much of him since we left Taft, but here is his name in the news again. I tried to locate a picture of Karl for this item, but all I get are shots of John Savage who played Karl in the movie.