For more than twenty years, everyone believed 14-year-old Jimmy Gilmore had simply run away.
Then, during renovations to his former family home in Baldwin Park, California, a worker spotted a shoe sticking out of the ground.
Jimmy had never run away at all.
His remains had been beneath the house—directly under his parents’ bedroom—for decades.
What followed was a mystery almost as disturbing as the discovery itself: How did Jimmy get there, and who buried him?
BALDWIN PARK
“.... Well, if you want to be a movie star, I can take you to Hollywood. But if you want to stay just like you are, You know, I think you really should….”
Just About a half hour east of Los Angeles, in the San Gabriel Valley, is the community of Baldwin Park. It is famous for being the first location of the In-N-Out Burger, California’s first drive thru, where a combo of a burger, fries, and a cold drink would cost a whopping 50 cents when it opened in 1948. 50 cents then is $6.55 today. And years later Baldwin Park would be known for something much more sinister: having one of the most notorious homes in town in the 12700 block of Bess Avenue.
On January 7, 1962, 14 year old Jimmy Gilmore was at home watching television with his sister Linda and brother Wayne. His parents were not at home. When there was a knock on the door, Jimmy got up to answer it. He then returned, got dressed and told Linda and Wayne he had to go out.
He never came back, and nobody really was worried about him.
His mother Donna thought very little of it; the two had not gotten along, and Jimmy had always been getting in trouble. When he didn’t show up for three days, his mother finally called the police, but she was convinced that he had probably just run off. Police were all too familiar with the Gilmore residence, having been called there numerous times over the years to break up violent family arguments. It seems the parents took to firing gunshots at each other. They always missed.
The police investigation as to where Jimmy was did not get far after his mother told them he was vicious, his brother described him as crazy, and neighbors called him “a pain in the butt.” Everyone in the family agreed on one thing: Jimmy did not get along with anybody. They said it was a relief when he was not around.
Police soon discovered that other neighborhood boys had run away around the same time. It was obvious to all involved that Jimmy had most likely joined them.
Then In 1973, more than ten years after Jimmy vanished, the Gilmores decided to sell their home and move away. New owners moved in, lived there for more than 10 years, and then they sold the home. In 1985, while doing renovations to the home, a worker found a shoe sticking out of the ground. When he went to get a closer look, he discovered Jimmy’s skeleton in a shallow grave under the home, buried face down in a foot of sand, directly under his parents bedroom.
Police tracked the Gilmore family down with the news. Had they never smelled in anything, in all those years? No, they said. Police then located the man who lived there from 1973 to 1984 with the shocking news. Did he ever smell anything? No, he said.
Incredibly, Jimmy’s body lay there for more than 20 years, under the noses of both the Gilmores and the next owner. Nobody ever complained of a smell. The home had sat vacant for years, and was surrounded by livestock. Police could not determine a cause of death, but they knew one thing: Dead people cannot bury themselves. They kept asking themselves another question: “Who buries a person under their own house?” If the killer or killers murdered Jimmy elsewhere, why would they risk bringing him back to his and trying to bury him where his family was living?
Without calling them suspects, the police investigation would take them back to Jimmy’s dysfunctional family. They discovered his older sister had been stabbed to death by her boyfriend in 1979. Other family members gave conflicting stories about their memories. His father James pointed the finger at other family members. Detectives said James Gilmore believes his son never left the house that night.
They were all given polygraphs, and all passed. No substantial leads have ever emerged.
California Has a Darker Side
Behind California’s sunshine, beaches, and Hollywood mythology are stories that rarely make the postcards.
In California: Surf, Sand & Murder, veteran journalist Bob Cyphers explores crimes and mysteries from across the Golden State—including the baffling case of Jimmy Gilmore.
Explore California: Surf, Sand & Murder