Northern California Statue of Meat-Packing Magnate Beheaded

The historic statue of Charles Swanston, its head recently decapitated, stands in William Land Park in Sacramento, Calif., on Dec. 27, 2022. Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee via AP

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The statue of a 19th-century Northern California rancher and meat-packing magnate was decapitated earlier this week, leaving investigators in the state’s capital city scratching their heads to find a motive behind the vandalism.

Tipsters could receive a $1,000 reward for information about what befell the nearly century-old granite statue of Charles Swanston in Sacramento’s William Land Park on Monday. The severed head was found on the ground nearby.