California, O-P, 1899-1977, Undated

Sg ae a ei

rr ae eee ee Se ae

“NSE LA

paymest. Sabah ‘cers aeoed sewed tn clothing

further informa-‘left in one of their sutomobiies, Ss

:$25.000 in currenty. 7

Bette officers telezraphed a de-
scription of the gypsies who swind-
‘ted the Montana widow of her sav-
ie were being ings by faking her Boney to.
quentionir g atthe: e aeods ihe

OO ane, where
e1 ewir tied of!

"stamps. ° ove eee

Life Buoy |

| On Gallows
- For] Murder

| Monn Bes ‘Soldier Ie

a ted in B Ottey: vatket ‘paimay |

a orant &@ year and ry half ago.

= ton, either of fear or bravado, OKs |
‘ cording to the United Pregx, 28 bed

4 minutes later he was, pronounced | 4
, dead.) He waa accotnpanied ‘from. 7

Catholic priest. who was one: of!

“FULL UNITE:

_ SALINAS. CA

Ottey Diesll

Calm: As Executioner:
- ‘Places Noose; Few”
| Witness Death. ie

mam San ‘Quentin prisons “Laat
fie Friday morning and mount
edt the 12 stairs Ww pay wi th his

“of his wife fy . Monterey Ppeetancl

ater,” ‘alone | * fe

The 35-year. old ex-sol i
aa forgotten, exhikited no emo- | See

stepped under the noose. The trap,
Waa sprung at 10:02 am, and 12.

tke death cell by Father O'Meara.

the handfut of <itnesses preaent.

Grouse of the ecatain ppitit that prevails at (he Caffornis rodro in this preac

Joby an Index-Journal aad Morning: Post photozrapher on a hill overiooking the
arena test: Sunday, and reproduecd here as an Utes tration of a typical. Wweatren eat
: pata nad, realy horses pauning to rest on » ek wosid det! hii

nswering ancetied newapeoer felt
cism. Police 'Commissiner’: ‘Amos Koff announced. Friday:

we e s

sane Rean

~Girl Fe

 guiblig ry aay ‘ohar he. sald. he ;
amily bridge game where we find. “~~~
. ante playing for ninney. te Betinaa Pee

the. eepan de: aRRinat nu ath diam ¥

‘going-to
A we'll bast, up e¥

¥ Zi the FE, E podurr
‘The police: Ey: ia ‘peqorts: PBAW ficre thar
tL rapdiy ciysing upall concessions cath the Cat:
ithe | xtwalk iat KiNG ner= wd weieet Lhe:
vihigh achont
“Kiwulerecki a:
= pdidate lin the:
fe oyunt ton haw! Aiwcteall gielicer:
anyone. Flaxihz @ erat hap! ata bret hy Care
hurch “party. fc Rod aad well tre Caiferms
coest “ther Ae, TH wt this
parce what a sloner town realy ia”
i “Rofts Ceahun camaparn ta; g a
ja jdlowed reports taztheantoties eity = :
authorities hac aliow est” Cisutecs in
int nitarem werner Y © ara re niente Li. craedb&... 7S’

re the July, Fourth hobd

- the-atate:. alleged alihee’ once
‘claimed tn his defense that hin wife
was attempting to, wrest ‘the fatal
“gun from his hand when he tried:
© commit suicide. ‘He turned the:
gun of himself and,! Ihicte: a
aiight wound =
The Case. attracted. wwide atten

puMbgacnns, the

Baker o pany revealed


OITEY, Irvin B,, white, hanged California (Monterey County) July 10, 1936.

: Emectcedsy | Tan talizing’ Showe |
i Buby Arrives in Family’ : Nears. Pedi Vs aig ile
EC Y VEILS HOME> (On Gallow s).

‘
> = ;

riba iA ‘tod for It were shrouded ‘in at Makers ExSoldies 1 Te
i b WT UtinGst secrecy’ by Bir ana | 3
# tke fats Dionne ‘Hang Friday Morning:

i Angry cver the eatabtiahrs ,
we the mother | . i eee ot, For. Wife Marder.

C & Kvare Tanenip which fett thers: Mo.
two i the viutce ocare of quntupiets they: /Remaing Calm
gre the auin refuse} ts have anything more to! 3

me a eee ‘with Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe, who |  Bahtting no "break: tn the
who attended attended at birth of the quintup- | ~
eietilt wald {tlets and hes m their metical phiegmatic calm with which he}

sot

rly part of the ‘hreclos ‘evé¥ wince. watched his trial here tn February, . 4
: i ' For several weeke Mrs Dicaxe “7035, when he was sentenced to” f
“Ree and chill wha isechided in the farm home ' ‘death for wife. murder, frets Boi

‘sal leare to Frenne ghbors were unatie to see: year :
: i 7 “pote , $5- ou Monterey one:
: her. is

420° te the ‘Dnanne baile a? boprd © tednet iecidter sean trapaterred th themes |
Nut from other around part of the yard, posted a. ,Quentin death house Tnuradey a.
fel

\ Deaths a dubibuted To Hot 1 Weather
| Set'4t 235; Burning Winds Withe
yo ‘Tops Already Badly Damaged

? (iicaco (UP)—The great mid-American drought
‘Xa ‘baked again Thursday under a blazing sun, rellev
: iby tantalizing showers and sultry clouds in scattered
“There is no material change today in the entire c
Mates district,” Forecaster 4. R. hast tdod ef the Chicage w
‘bureau mete: eee ee
“It’s another si eo 8
|" “Deathe attritatable to the weath. | iy oison. War

: . of nmwunted ta at least TIS ap the |

ai
nv

H

i

arned that if one avimittance’ sign at the gate await hanging at'16 a, m. Friday : a 1 Ti
ds in and refuse entrance to all except! - Ottey . was onnvicted by @ jury. : oe : ek hoe chip aa tek, i Waged o
‘he 11th of the those who bore paasen BiRDED DY in the court of Superior Judge B a NB OTTEY, 38-year. oid .*t8'e2 to the eax. Conservative oa: |
: jhimself. Such paysen were denied +) Ee ea-soidier, whe Mtl e on the {tiers ee pete gr: March Of B

“teipated sev: ‘to all exeept the most intimate 7 Jorgensen of having: anes to ; ‘ gallows Friday meruing st te “S° #! more than § :
Call preprara- friends Of the family, 9 _. ~ death his wife, Oreanne, on ber o'clock im Ram Queatin prison tor! . NO RELIEY AHEAD

al a hap oyna eg ie ‘pp Parthday. Octoder 31, 1934, in a the murder of hts’ wife, Oreanne, | apt : N | Kariibes Work At?
vj Chinese restaurant in Mosterey. im a. , Monterey’ restaursat . the it ie not quite wo bot th. orth

th } 2 . 1
~ | Ottey's appeal was rejected by the. peste of preter et. 19a. ge : aioiets but” “thes toot ‘ “the | To Escape Blast
miperior court'in an important de. | ———— "" jdronght’ district baw ao relief in oF arnace-Like He
jelaton which supported the ‘right : f the” Liogd seit. . Speier
A em, ‘of the trial mdge to comment to | a 0 fic Is — ,
er, ee if a iney an ihe wierd um. icin 3; Hot winds wilted already withet Ry JACK GL mwrL

bictl trope in South Dakota, Mon- | (Uaited Preas Staff Corres

{ i n di 1 ¢ t e d Tn mast of Minnesota, lowa. Ne- Copyrighted, 1886, by Vail

4 ;Braska and mouthern Ditnots and, RED OAK, lowa, th-

‘trial. which conciuded with the I; eda C hindiana, © a sKlare of a Dlaging oun.at

jury's finding him guilty and re- A amec a ase. ‘Lacal showers were forecast for ‘COC boys Jahored mixing 5

4 : ML | Socting’ hie plea ‘cf tnot gullly’ oy age gs Ay [northern Minnesita and Ue north- hoa sacs : i m -
: OT reason of. ineanity, -Ottey matu-  -.eest portions ef Wisconsin and | usty. rattting truc

tamu ‘quinte New’ are. new brother, “=e jtalned ‘an ~tmperturbable calm. Chages’ Reta Returned By Michigan tomorrow and in nortia- #fed with the potion to fei

which San Quentin officials said , [Grand Jury. Aft er - }eaastern Minnis, northern Indian, }ased by ecrop- devouring

he would in all probab(ity take te 4 SoM eMern Michigan, and the en- [Pere and chinch bugs.
ire er I To d As_ a ithe gajlowa with him ~| | an Lengthy P robe, ;} 4 a trume sputhesater: part of Wia- | Farmers ecattered the fu
Sa The shooting iatoes in’ an argu. EG were Tami el coneta this aftamonm of tonight. [the paths of the ineect armi

ment over the couple's separation & Heaviest rainfall during the night | 4 Baunt Jersey cow tn
Aids. Tired Fighters %, before. Otay. an “expert | UTAMRGS. Pate Fates of alba: | aaned sen on eathea Gente [erably tn one of Ama

markeman serving in the mitttasy: en. former quer en=] near Exfisgham, Ciinets, where 3.42 | 2°Y stfeam bade. Bhe trott
{police at the presidio. resigned at forcement agent of the state board here

ar ene ily, splaying dust with ever
een A a2 of equalization, and Michael Con- See ee peneahes bad 4a @ sweating boy hooted h
“BULLETIN: |) [Me Wee's request after their mar wolty, pred sod pet la. Bay-ecattered peetura,
‘loats,| Fire that st ieee "fy became 4 chauteu foe Oa |“iel 8 Oakland war tice by |; RAIN. I T00 kate. it was annther day Whe t
ened te pcbeseent ranch [stable George Kinloch, and ae @. hey Alameda county ‘grand jury, Devil. Lake. North Dakota, i 30 oF 40—-there have been
{| buildings and some of sesthern | deputy constabie, ho carried « pies ssbory aa on Sharger: Myniving ‘ the beart. at larga ieee hen bbe Pear ramn iota a
A) : a 4c ra r ;
pincer med: = on a st Suing Eye qetkaraat te ‘Ge. Bi casio gd: were rehired but. it waa tho late ty revive black - . gee gnurnant Frese: by
+ : wot - tad

ere oe atin i ipeenior den pent rere pd pina Gi nue At Woe paneer aig nalts reed tests

ere at hing Clty Thureday after {whtch ended when Ottey feed four, pig lienewy gnationa ts aoe | stinigh to wet tha parched sor, /erasshopper hordes
neon. jbuiteta into his wife's body. then “TE Wee ax degrees cocier at Big | Wetneaday night, taking

nt E breezes
iDespil te an bour: and a urls turned the gyn on himself 3 fa. * a paone anode ats maryck and Witleten, North Dakota tage of enol to

‘rain, the heey grass on the hills |fitile suicide attempt ‘| ings Hickman testified that he = this morning than yesterday with ler plowed ete ona wy
oe catill underneath, while!) “CLAIMED. ACCIDENT ‘<j accepted large fees as legal counaet | '7Peratures at 12 at the North jtight. They reated in th
ie jm Die atumpa. within. the! pis court defense wae to the tor club owner whors be repre | DEAR capital ard 46 at Wilhaton. breezes that swept acres t
intersy coun-/ fire ines threaten’ at any time to’ effect that the shooting was acct ‘sented in action to obtnin restora | Beattered rains fell ‘in parte of tone ©
ling mrea are ‘topple over, ‘apreading new blazea dental. occurring when bie wife : tort of their revoked liquor Rcenses j St. Lugs. Misseuri, and thern were 4 Binders rattied throug
pahung entries:as they. roll. Patrols of more than wreatied with him foe posecesion { Un Awoinatances,’ he patd, he had : bowers in, Macisor, Venice, and! ‘Aight, cleaning up standing
feo on Satur. 150 COU workers were maintained ‘of the gun with which Be had at- ‘waited wntit the tast minute before {| Grantte my » AUincis, during the | ‘burnper crop, but of ema!
Neuncea CA on the fnnir-tislor £0. Areas te. Pitempteet ‘emeide,—tut evidence “Of retry BSW HEHATE Chey WOURT ba vem NE Ont the-enttre aaatriet peeied -4g@ Compared ta cam. -
of the Flks Jalon region, . = - peers {prior murder threata against tis tq’ ‘Pay ea mich as $160 each of & drenching rain. |. feat Wier Mt dvesn't rain pretty
rit tee. tos Rig” Offtcasia revealed on thee” re! wife spelled Boom, for the. farmer | ne: would tpt Fepreemnt, then: Not: hk thermocneter reading of " ‘at said AL W. Giteon, of  &
on turn from the fire lines Thursday | woldier. 20s SE Rok eae. tine, to arrange’ tor otheg: Otnalen at T a. it oC e high record {"we'll all go beck on the
comme mites that the flames crept within 50 | mad \e, coripanton” af Ottey’a’ ‘ f

- REMAINS CALM :
Cotarbughedt the ordeal of. the:

¢
Hs

rey iney ere “fored tj for: the ‘heat spell pat! perspiring Varmern. gathered 6
do Bul PAMINE feeloor the Little’ clukter of bdulld-. death house, Charies: Be Stevens, comply. + Fed tinea aeiped fee, relied. ath the cream Pi tp waded erie gi
yy tries ings that forms the town of Jolon, ; former: Los) Angeles. policeman, | Berge precipitated ties invee-| forecast ot scattered : ehowern end fp aera sth gies eo coy
\ Ring’ and atone time were dang trous-: was ‘saved from hanging at ‘the j Ugatien. Anta’ Bquct trtorcement § cooler today AM tonierrnw.. ise TOOLA STOLEN
+ heed to the itv close to the Hearst San Miguel- | laet’ minute Thursday when “his ‘aoaditioan : in the:

eeaatity “w het twas 85 at M, oO

nfield cham ito and Milpitas ranch buildings jsentence was commuted to life im admitted, thee. be and pate eel: Wiescostne wah aor mcrehng aie Gs th
“have an en- ant Mission ae Ae tonle de Pa- 'prisonment: td Goveiner Praak, Pe: forcentent agent pas $0 froma: dexin prospect.) i ee EF Charles Kels. 67, Stone stree
; Fie dua. 3 | Merrtam. i , & tale owner. ta xp Chargea (A shower fet) in the ‘Chiregs dts- aaid the’ locke were taken fr
nterey | A her! of 600 cattle in aye Ran: |: Stevens wes. sentenced te here aguingt hin. ‘the regtanrateas had j trict, Park ofticinia eatitnat e4 809.- | Tranah iam Spartment build
» take’ part: “Miguciit. feed yards was in grave. for ‘killing Mike Mucich, ’ alleged | been. charged” bie {DOO persona spent “tke ‘night on i whicn Kelis is working on
chamber of : ‘tanger and erty @ deaperate fight | Chicago Beer deron in 1971, vet bis | untaxed Jiqupe, 7 | peaches and in forest reserves. | airee! sume time Weleadtay

ntlerey funtor - (by the “Ore crews saved the ani- | sentence was ‘commuted becsuse 7 : ae bees “ ee

ec Both: are mais. it: was teamed ©The fires (the only Witness’ connected> with J ‘

ranch AGC j nda ying peteckaaey facta a tee py

Pig 3 ‘ prea F Se ee ee sete
? Bo? pst * he Rea ee ‘i oe

[Were the result of a0 separate
wilh De ety jesny, 9 ert ny in

*

ie

sas summer’s
stood at the
cedom in his
ry dust that
' was better
's faded suit-

1, and I hope
ed itself into

y it like that,
me in with a
vod you better
hical softness,
carried out of

e smell of the
ig and strong.
ur-letter word

‘ay, in @ far
jand tangled
1 death, This
‘fornia as the
the story of
r out a girl’s

clings to the

rra range in. ~

eville has -its
J homes; its

a ae M
ete § i

He died to protect a girl's honor —then the law stepped in!

stores, clubs—and pretty girls, among them Margaret and
Ruth Brusso, the charming daughters of a Roseville railroad
man.

On a dreamy July day in 1938, Margaret stood on a street
corner in Roseville, nervously tapping one foot.

-She made a pretty picture, even with the frown that clouded
her soft oval face, with a thin, sleeveless dress, trim light -
_shoes and a white silk scarf that billowed around her throat.
But Margaret Brusso was impatient, for she had just missed
the bus she was accustomed to taking every morning—and
it meant that she would be late to her work in the SRA
office at Auburn, some miles east.

“J wish somebody would come along and give me a ride,”
she murmured.

At that moment, whether by coincidence or design, a small
laundry delivery truck slid up to the curb and the driver, 2
dark, handsome youth, leaned out. :

“Can I take you somewhere ?”

Margaret Brusso stared at the man and felt a sudden
impulse to run, But something held her there and while her
mind was framing a sharp retort, he smiled again and then
she vaguely remembered having met him somewhere.

“Isn't your name Spike ?” she asked.

The man grinned, “That’s what they call me.”

“Well, you see,” she said hesitantly, “I missed ‘the bus to
Auburn where I work and——”

“And you don’t want to be late,” he finished, “Well, that’s
just where I’m headed, C’mon. I’ll take you there.”

The girl saw nothing in his friendly invitation that implied
danger. She jumped lightly into the truck cab, And so

. they started up the long, gradual grade to Auburn, riding
along the famed Lincoln Highway that runs through the
green mountains to Reno and continues across. the deserts

+ and valleys to the east. It is,a historic cradle, this hill

country, where men once went mad in the frantic rush for
gold.
And it was here that Margaret Brusso came face to face
with a more sinistér kind of greed. ‘
’ She will probably never recall just how it happened, al-
though she felt the first twinges of fear when the man circled
- Auburn and drove down a lonely side road, -ignoring her
protests. Somehow he forced her into a field, and suddenly
she knew the last extremity of terror. She screamed, and the
towering trees threw back her pitiful cries. There was no
one near enough to hear. Then things spun around in her
, brain and blotted out the light... .
It seemed ages later when she woke, and the sun was

ABDUCTION VICTIM

“Yet When she missed her
“bus, Margaret Brusso ac-
cepted a ride from a youth |

mounting in the sky. She looked up—and into the eyes of her
assailant.
“Please take me home. . . please let me go,” she pleaded.
He looked at her grimly. “Sure, so you can run home and

‘tell on me.”

“Oh, no,” she sobbed. “I just want to be alone. . . ad
“T don’t believe you,” he muttered. “But listen. Plt let you
go if you promise to meet me in Zeller’s candy store in Rose-

ville tomorrow night.”

Margaret Brusso nodded. Anything to get away—and
to safety. “Yes... all right. Vl meet you.”

He stood up, helped her into the truck, and drove back
to Roseville in silence. |

T WAS already sundown when the truck reached the out-
-skirts of Roseville, and the scowling Spike pulled up at

_ the curb several blocks from the downtown district. Margaret

Brusso, red-eyed and trembling, climbed out and started
walking away when he called out sharply:

“Listen—you keep quiet about this unless you want trouble.
Where I come from they don’t like squealers.”

The girl looked back at him, white and frightened. “Yes...
yes.”

“And don’t forget to meet me at Zeller’s !”

She nodded dumbly and then ran down the quiet, friendly
streets to her home. And there, an hour later, Margaret told
the story of that nightmarish experience to her younger
sister, Ruth, and showed huge bruises on her face, neck and
legs.

“This is terrible, Margaret,” Ruth gasped. “Don’t you
even know his name?” ;

The older girl shook her head. “No—I thought I knew
him. He said some people called him Spike, but he didn’t
tell me his last name.”

“But the laundry truck—what company was it?”

Margaret wearily ran a hand across her forehead. “Oh,
Ruth,” she said, “I don’t know. I didn’t even look. Iwas...
well, I just wanted to get away. What am I going to do?
T’ve got to meet him “4 ‘

“Qh, no you don’t!” Ruth interrupted angrily.

“But he said——”

“Never mind what he said! You’d be a fool to go down
there. I’ve got a better idea. Now, go on to bed and get some
rest. I’ll talk to you about it tomorrow.” ;

The following night, stirred by a curious mixture of excite-
ment and dread, Ruth .Brusso strolled hesitantly into the
popular little Roseville confectionery that served as a rendez-

il


could have looked

ht, he might have
rage that brought
wn,

1 they entered the
n they had never
it problem if the
‘a of laughing stu-
ight. He alone sat
i, half-closed eyes.

juestioner and his

id, with clenching
i. “I don’t know

ulse to smash _ his
ight a glimpse of
that he might be
ig man...

1 telling me your

ou’re pretty young
t to stay that way,
is none of your

; voice, perhaps it

eyes—but George
was facesto face
ret Brusso to meet

{cElroy challenged.

h? I’m just telling
> And if you know
me.” ;
iugh at the threat.
- movie.

TITY

{ Elmer Gum
ne knew the
id vanished.

|. coming to you,

“TI ought to take you out in the alley and give you. what’s
You took my girl’s sister and a
The stranger’s right hand crept unnoticed inside his leather
* jacket, and he snapped abruptly: “Okay, c’mon.”
|’ —- He led the way through: the door, followed by McElroy and
~ the girl, and started walking slowly down Washington Street.
The young athlete was cooler now, and he felt a little foolish;

*

}° he still didn’t know the man’s name, and he had not quite de-

- cided what move to make even if the stranger should admit
. he had attacked Margaret Brusso in the Auburn hills. Then
- McElroy came upon Jim Gautier, an acquaintance whose
car was parked at the curb.

“Jim,” he said with sudden decision, “can I borrow your
'-car for awhile? I want to drive this fellow to Margaret
_ Brusso’s house and——” : ,
“Not me, wise guy,” the stranger broke in heatedly. “You're
* not taking me anywhere.”

. He turned on his heels and strode away. McElroy quickly
M followed. “Come back, you!” he snapped.
- The stranger’s hand darted from beneath his jacket with the

‘|. sspeed of a snake’s tongue. George McElroy saw the gun, saw

| the muzzle spit flame, even heard the roar of the shot. But
¢ his brain, went dead when the slug ripped through his chest,
and he slipped down on his knees and rolled over with a
strange grimace on his face.

A wild scream cascaded from Ruth Brusso’s constricted

throat, and chilled men and women who heard it blocks away.

PP APIO

H
i Simultaneously the murderous stranger jammed the gun back

into his pocket and fled down the street.

; a ona persons saw the thing happen—Constable Elmer
be

Beerman of nearby Lincoln, Mrs, Earl C. Ayres, who was
Fe sitting in a parked.car across the street; Roy Chesten, a

zi Pacific Fruit Express employee, and Jim Gautier.

Beerman, who was visiting in Roseville that night, saw
* the gunman running down Washington street and went after
him. But his quarry had a two-block start and finally, cursing
the darkness, Beerman lost sight of the fugitive in the thick

¢
~#} brush of a-nearby park. The constable hurried back to the
4

scene of the ‘shooting, but young McElroy had already been

ARM OF JUSTICE

Seen preparing his case against the murderer, Dis-
trict Attorney Lowell Sparks ended it by sending the
guilty ‘man “to California’s lethal gas chamber.

carried to the office of Dr. James McAnally in Roseville for
emergency treatment. :
A few minutes later the news reached the ears of Sheriff
Elmer Gum, District Attorney Lowell Sparks, and Police
Chief Russell Carter, who were attending a lodge meeting
in a downtown hall. Sheriff Gum, one of the most popular and
experienced peace officers in the far West, hastily organized
a posse and blockades were established on the roads leading
out of Roseville.

But the gunman slipped through the net. Hours later, at
a dance hall in nearby Rocklin, a youth named Jack Bolster
reported that his car, a Ford convertible, had been stolen—
and the authorities were convinced that it had been taken by
the hunted man.

George McElroy, meanwhile, was making his exit from life.

They rushed him to Mercy Hospital in Sacramento in an
ambulance and fought desperately to block the hemorrhage
in his chest, District Attorney Sparks stood at the bedside,
hoping that some whispered clue would fall from the boy’s
bloodless lips, but he never regained consciousness. He died
just before dawn, and it was then that Ruth Brusso, stumbling
out of the room blind with tears, revealed that the murdered
boy was her secret husband.

She and George McElroy had slipped away to Nevada not
two weeks before; they had returned man and wife, ‘and had
planned to surprise their families and friends with a formal
announcement later in the summer, And now she was al-
ready a widow, and her young husband had lost his life
trying to avenge the attack on her sister.

Roseville heard this mocking denouement with a fever of
indignation and pity. Small crowds gathered on,the street
corners, business was momentarily forgotten’ and there was
lynch talk on a hundred tongues. Who was the killer? Why
had he picked Margaret Brusso for a victim? “And why had

_he murdered, in cold blood, when McElroy demanded his name?

There were no answers—yet.

Chief Carter and Sheriff Gum meanwhile were busy gather-
ing clues. They located‘a man named Claude Katy who had
found a blue jacket in his back yard that was identified as hav-
ing been worn by the vanished slayer. The statewide teletype
system was already throbbing with a terse description of the
wanted man and the license number and description of Jack
Bolster’s stolen car. Charles Eppling, an employe in Zeller’s
candy store, related details of the conversation between the
killer and McElroy, and said: “I’m sure I’ve seen that man
around here many a time.”

The officials again interviewed the stunned widow and her
sister, Margaret.

Finally, by a process of elimination that involved a quick
checkup of all the laundry truck drivers in the county, the in-
vestigators narrowed suspects down to one man—Everett Gil-
bert Parman, twenty-five, of Roseville. Parman, employed by
the Lilywhite Laundry, was known around Roseville as a
pleasant, likable youth who had made a reputation as a pitcher
in the local softball Jeague. But Parman was definitely miss-
ing from his home, and he fitted the description given by the
two girls.

Moreover, some weeks before, Parman had been brought
into court by his ex-wife, Lucille Tescari Parman of Oakland.
She swore to a battery complaint against him, and declared
he had threatened her sister with a gun. The charge was
later dropped, but it had the result of stirring up Everett Par-
man’s sinister past, and it splashed him with a stain he would
never erase.

For Chief Carter discovered that the cocky, handsome ball
player was an ex-convict—that beneath the genial mask Par-
man hid a vicious nature. The records showed that he had
done time in Ohio, had served a term at the Preston Reforma-
tory in California, and put in four years at Leavenworth.
“So he’s an ex-convict, eh?” (Continued on page 54)


vous for the college crowd. She glanced about her,

She was accompanied by George McElroy twenty-year-old
star halfback and student-body president of the Placer Junior
College at Auburn, McElroy, a handsome, dark-haired youth,
had come to California from Cleveland a year before,
and was earning his way through college driving a school
bus. The young athlete was a close friend of both the Brusso
girls and when Ruth told him what had happened, he offered
to help.

“A fellow like that ought to get beaten within an inch
of his life,” McElroy said in anger. “And believe me, I’d like
to do it!”

“I know, George,” Ruth nodded. “But please be careful,’
A man who would do something like that wouldn’t stop at
anything.”

McElroy laughed. “I’m not afraid of him.”

A BRIDE... A WIDOW

Below: Married secretly only a fortnight before to
McElroy, tragic Ruth Brusso revealed her marriage after
an unknown assailant shot her young husband dead.

Nor was he. But if George McElroy could have looked
ahead into the unborn hours of that night, he might have
tempered the blind courage and sudden rage that brought
violence and death to the quiet valley town. -

It was still early in the evening when they entered tlie
candy shop, looking for a stranger whom they -had never
seen. It would have been a. more difficult problem if the

' store had been crowded with its usual quota of laughing stu-

dents, but there was only one customer in sight. He alone sat
in a booth, watching the door with sullen, half-closed eyes.
McElroy approached him boldly.

“Your name Spike?” he asked brusquely,

The man in the booth looked up at his questioner and his
upper lip cyrled,

“What’s my name to you?” _ ;

“You know well enough!” McElroy said, with clenching
fists,

“G’wan, beat it,” the stranger muttered. “I don’t know
what you're talking about.”

McElroy stiffened, and he had an impulse to smash his
fist into the man’s dark face. But he caught a glimpse: of
Ruth’s worried expression, and realized that he might be
making a mistake. This might be the wrong man. . , .

“Listen,” he said quietly, “do you mind telling me your
name ?”

The stranger stood up then, “Buddy, you're pretty young
yet,” he said deliberately, “And if you want to stay that way,
you’d- better watch your step. My name is none of your
business.”

Perhaps it was the icy. tone in the man’s voice, perhaps it
was the cunning in his darting, wavering eyes—but George
McElroy was suddénly convinced that he was face to face
with the attacker who had warned Margaret Brusso to meet
him in Zeller’s shop. ; .

“How about stepping outside with me?” McElroy challenged.

“So you're trying to start something, huh? I’m just telling
you buddy, I’m from Chicago. I’m hot, see? And if you know
what’s good for you, you'll quit bothering me.” ;

The youthful football player wanted to laugh at the threat,
It sounded like a line from some gangster movie,

LEARNED KILLER'S IDENTITY

Working with Police Chief Carter, Sheriff Elmer Gum
(below), checked laundry drivers until he knew the
man he wanted, But the slayer had vanished,

“T oug’
coming t
The st:
jacket, ar
He led
the girl,
The youn
he still di
cided wh
he had i
McElroy
Car was |
“Jim,”
car for ;
Brusso’s
“Not m
not takin
He tur:
followed.
The st:
speed of :
the muzz’
his brain
and he s
strange g
A wild
throat, an
Simultanc
into his p

EVER
Beern
sitting in
Pacific Fr
Beermai
the gunms
him. But
the darkn:
brush of <
scene of t!


holding her head high, took the witness
stand. Almost in a whisper, Mrs. Berry
said the handsome ex-coast guardsman had
attacked her early on the morning of July
4 as he was driving her into town.

After direct examination by Attorney

Cunningham, Mrs. Berry was cross-ex-
amined by Special Prosecutor Joseph
“Graha

m.

Q.—Didn’t Baker give you any intima-
tion of his intention beforehand? A.—No.

Q.—He just stopped suddenly? A—Yes.
I asked him why he was taking that road.
He said this one eventually gets back to
the highway.

Q.—Was the door on the right-hand
side of the car hard to open? A.—No.

Q.—Did you try to get out? A—I did
after he had stopped.

Q.—You say the assault was committed
in the front seat? A.—lIt was.

Q.—Did you strike against the wheel or
the panel of the car while this struggle
was going on? A.—Not that I remember.

Q.—Did you have any bruises on you
when you went back to camp? A.—None
that showed.

Reddick, McAloon and Smith each
testified in turn, each placing blame on Dr.
Berry. Reddick said he had been hired
as a taxi driver; McAloon said he had
been drunk; Smith said Dr. Berry lured
him into the case on the pretense of seeing
a hunting dog, and argued that he had
interfered to save Baker from emasculation.

Prosecutor Troy then introduced Miss
Winifred Keplinger, the Berry_ maid.
prim young girl of nineteen, Miss Kep-
linger sat on the witness stand with an
open diary in her lap.

“Dr, Berry quarreled with his wife on
July 20,” she read from the diary. “He
kept asking her, ‘Did you do it, or did he
force you?’ Mrs. Berry told him, ‘I was
just as helpless with him as I am with you
now’.”

As his maid testified, Dr. Berry broke
down and cried.

Quickly, Troy placed Baker upon the
stand. “I didn’t attack Mrs. Berry,” he
said, reluctant to go on. “She got into
my car uninvited and_rode from camp a
short way with me, On the way she told
me she wasn’t getting along with the doc-
tor, and she suggested that we would make
a fine team. I told her I wasn’t interested,
and she got out of the car, slammed the
door and walked back to the camp.”

Testimony was over. The following day,
Friday, November 25, Judge John M. Wil-
son read instructions to the jury, and in so
doing dealt the defense a severe blow.

“Justification is no defense in the eyes

. of the law,” the even voice of the judge
ruled, “You are instructed that no person
has the right to take the law into his.
own hands and mete out punishment either

for a real or a fancied injury.”

On November 27, after eleven hours’
deliberation, the jury returned its verdict.

“Defendants Berry, McAloon and Red-
dick are guilty of first degree assault,” the
clerk read, “Defendant Smith is guilty of
second degree assault. Defendants Berry,
McAloon, Reddick and Smith are guilty
of kidnaping. Life imprisonment is rec-
ommended.”

Silence hung like a pall in the courtroom.
Then Dr. Berry leaped to his feet. “The
whole thing is a frameup!” he shouted, his
face livid, “The authorities would not
permit me to swear out a warrant against
Baker, and told me to take matters into
my own hands!”

The trembling physician was led out by
jailers. Behind him came the three co-
defendants—and behind them, their shoul-
ders shaking with sobs, the wives of the
convicted men.

The bitter tragedy that sprang from a
gay three-day party at Mud Bay had taken
its final toll.

54

INSIDE DETECTIVE ©

The Avenging
Football Star -

(Continued from page 13)

Sheriff Gum said thoughtfully.

“That’s right Elmer,” ief Carter
nodded, “For a fellow his age, he’s got a
bad record.”

“Well, maybe that explains why he shot.
McElroy down without any apparent
reason, He must have known that it’s
dynamite for an ex-con to be caught carry-
ing a gun, Probably got -panic-stricken
when McElroy kept asking his name,”

h Sheriff Gum stood up, reached for his
at.

“I'm going to call Leavenworth Prison,”
he added, “After that, I’m just going to
sit tight. Parman’ll make a mistake, some-
where, some time.”

Gum telephoned the Federal penitentiary
that night, urged officials there to rush
Parman’s fingerprints and prison photos by
airmail. Two days later the sheriff was
turning out a stream of “Wanted” circu-
lars that were promptly distributed to police
and sheriffs’ offices in every community of
California and other western states. Justice
and law were putting Everett Gilbert
(Spike) Parman—murderer—on the spot.

Gs passing weeks public clamor in Rose-,
ville faded to a whisper. Everett Parman
had. dropped out of sight in that No Man’s
Land peopled by furtive hunted men, and
Ruth Brusso McElroy slowly began pick-
ing up the broken pieces of her dreams.

But behind the scenes District Attorney:

Sparks and Sheriff Gum were still follow-
ing the trail.

They found that Parman had bought a
gun from Tony Sanches in Roseville not
long before the crime, a weapon whose.
caliber was the same as the slug that had
killed George McElroy. They traced the
stolen car to Sacramento, Orleans and
other northern California towns, but were
unable to warn the authorities in time to
intercept it. And that was the situation on
an evening a few weeks later, when the
last chapter began to unfold many miles
away. ,

ON THE NIGHT of August 1, 1938, a
trim Ford convertible coupe streaked
along the redwood-bordered highway that
follows the extreme northern California
coast, between the seaport town of Eureka
and the Oregon border. There was a smoky
mist drifting in from the ocean, a haze that
blurred the ancient trees and shrouded the
road’s sharp curves and the girl beside
the driver grew nervous. ;
“Listen, Jack,” she said apprehensive-

ly, “the fog is getting thicker, and you don’t .

know this road. And anyway, what’s the
rush?” ;

The man at the wheel laughed recklessly.
“Say, you're doing all right. Here I’ve
only known you four hours and already
you're telling me how to drive.”

The girl peered through the. windshield
as the car shot around a turn. She. saw
lights blinking in the distance through. the
mist, and sat back in the seat with a sigh
of relief.

“Well,” she said, “it doesn’t matter, We're
almost in Eureka.”

“That’s swell,” the man grunted. ‘I’m
hungry enough right now to eat the up-
holstery.” He pushed the accelerator, and
the car was whining down the hill when
his eyes suddenly spotted a row of red
lights, about a mile distant, He stepped on
the brakes, slowed down with a uzzled
frown. “Looks like a whole line of cars,”
he muttered. “Maybe somebody had an

accident.” :
The car. slowly closed the ‘gap on’ the
road and then, with a smothered oath, the
man saw a uniformed officer at the edge
of the highway, swinging a flashlight.
“What the hell is this for?” he asked the

girl.

“Oh I suppose .they’re highway patrol-
men,” she said, “probably checking lights
or brakes. They do it every once in awhile.”

The man bit his lips -in sudden alarm,
“Well, they’re not gonna check mine. ’m
going through!” My

The girl gasped. “Jack, you can’t do
that! They’d go right after you. And ang
way, your lights are all right, aren’t they.?”

“Yeah—the lights are okay.” :

“All right then. Don’t be silly.”

The man shrugged and shifted gears. “I

guess you're right. I'll take a chance.”
A hundred yards down the road Captain

Sam Kirkpatrick, Sergeant Thad Douarin |

and Officers Lonnie Hill and A. A. Nichols
of the California Highway Patrol were
busy on a routine checkup of auto head-
lights. As the line moved up and thinned
out, Sergeant Douarin glanced ahead at the
machines still waiting, and spotted the Ford
with its tattered cloth top. He nudged
Captain Kirkpatrick.

“Say, Captain, look at the Ford coming
up! That convertible.”

Captain Kirkpatrick’s eyes automaticall
dropped to the license plate holder. “Well,
I'll be——!” he exclaimed, as memory
clicked.

“That’s the one, all right, isn’t it?”

; at that’s the car. I wonder if he’s in
it ”

He started towards’ the machine,. with
Douarin at his heels.

“Take it easy Skipper,” the sergeant
warned, “The teletype said he’s quick on
the trigger. Never gave the guy in Rose-
ville a chance.”

Captain Kirkpatrick’s right hand dropped
down to his. holster as he marched down
the road, and in.a moment he was along-
side the Ford, and staring at the driver.

“All right, Mister,” he commanded
ir aa “step out here with your hands
up!” ;

“Who, me?”

“Yes, you! Make it snappy!”

The man shrugged, slid out from behind
the wheel and, at Kirkpatrick’s order,
started walking ahead. “Get that girl, too,”
Kirkpatrick motioned to Sergeant Douarin.

The man with his hands in the air
stopped and faced the officers. “Leave her
out of this. She just met me today.”

“On the level?”

“She doesn’t know me, I’m telling you.” -
Captain Kirkpatrick nodded. “Okay. I'll .

take your word for it. Go ahead.”

FVERETT PARMAN realized he was

in a tight spot, and he cursed himself -

silently for keeping the car he stole from
Jack Bolster, But as they walked toward
the Humboldt County Jail,

his brain was not idle,. He could. feel his
own gun swinging against his hips beneath
his coat. He shot a swift glance at Kirk-
patrick from the corner of his eye and saw
that the officer had not drawn his revolver.
It was a long chance, but he might... .

“Listen Captain,” he said lightly as ‘they :

reached the jail door. “I don’t want any
trouble here.”

“There won’t be any,” Kirkpatrick said.:

“We're just going in here and talk things
over.”

This was the moment, . ;
_“Like hell we are !” Everett Parman
ripped the words out between his t
sprang backward in a quick leap a
whipped out his gun.

Once... twice’. ., the trigger jerked,
and the muzzle was.so close that the burn-

ing powder singed Kirkpatrick’s face. But’

a block distant, .

a wit

4.4 3 “pace { rey ates Yad ies
Sin UA Eh tg ata AAT Bens eating

Wadine Sates

Se Ghia See

fos Msi

ya Raagtanng ea o>

al

IS upon a young Roseville woman, em-:

*-\plofed in Auburn,

1€/fatally wounded him on the street |
Y- Jin Roseville, in the presence of his;

idjwife, Mrs, Ruth McElroy.

'¢ hind him,
of
e

‘S| they had lost all trace of the
nN! man,

h Meanwhile, the Placer

hyarea in) which Parman wag
t
a

-| later,

2

streets of Eureka.

: Auburn, as she blasted claims of ac-
| On his return to Auburn by Gum, |** Se A
1 c -
District Attorney Lowell L, Sparks cident and self defense with her con

+: took ch>rge of the case, obtained an

thes and jitterbug tunes, have
: Civilian Air Pilot Training
ament”—Marcelle Tournier,
a pin in the trim air cruiser
last word” in prestige-trans-
rts big interest in the station

ville street, after an asserted assault :

The woman is McElroy’s sister in
law. The Auburn student, in com-!
‘;Pany with his wife, sought Parman ;
for an explanation. Parman ‘first |
sought to conceal his identity, but
when pressed by McElroy, shot and!

|
McElroy died the next day in we
| Sacramento hospital, and the search |
of! for Purman became the problem of! §
-| Sheriff Elmer Gum of Placer county | }
+» | after Roseville city police admitted
niissing | j

County |
~|&rand jury, aroused by the escape,
tiasked the supervisors to offer a re-
|} ward for Parman’s arrest, and a mo- P.
nition to appropriate $250 was Passed, ce
- Sheriff Gum obtained a tip on the —
hiding, ;
and pel operatives te “smoke him
out,” meanwhile Betting the coop-, aa
Jieration of the state Highway patrol | 12 Bh oss ing seinen
"jat three key points where Parman , &"
- | seemed certain to appear sooner or

: ~ a ‘fore Judge Landis, and a speedy ver-
4 predbny cen on he hemes a of guilty was returned. Parman
a steel ‘ 7 ratty pis {was also declared sane by the jurors,
“Ith — it rapa Sia 3 +44 teq | Who had decreed the death penalty.
bd c. Mit to piri not Gap Mrs. McElroy, also a Placer junior
Bs ne a , - . . ] it-
-' catpured after a gun battle in the college student, was the principal wi

i Bat

In the confusion over McElroy’s | | |
*€ |shooting, Parman escaped, and later
is! obtained an automobile in Rocklin,
lin which he fled, leaving no trail be-

‘tha

n
= 3

m AAS RIED Sree we

|
‘ ee Oe |
Aen eae a ieee er Spent

. Parman was tried in September be-

ness against Parman at the trial in

vincing testimony. ue
The marriage of McElroy and the
former Miss Ruth Brusso of Roseville
had taken place in Nevada only a
few days before the tragedy, and was
not revealed until after the death of
McElroy at Sacramento, when she
claimed the body of the deceased.
Mrs. McElroy later returned to
Placer junior college and finished her
course, She has been employed at the
court house on temporary jobs sev-
eral times, and is well and favorably
known here.
- McElroy came here from Cleveland,
Ohio, where he had been a crack
football and track athlete. He en-
tered junior college in 1937, play-
ing quarterback on the football team.
After the football season, he de-
cided to learn basketball, and play-
ed on the “two unit” team which won
the championship of the B division o{
the conference. ;
McElroy later went out for track
running the last lap on the relay tear
and throwing the javelin.
In addition to earning three letters
the youth was elected president of the

college student body, drove the Ne.
vada county bus, and made 8rades in
college that were entitling him to gC

On to a four year college and com.
plete his education to become a physi- |
cal director. .

THE AUBU

T accept your offe
which renew my sui
and send me the mag
specified.

REMEMBER—when |
scription to THIS }
year, and in addition |
for the full period sh |

and mail or bring thi
PAPER.


Dey ts hear

SILAS AE A PI Si nh nL EDN REISE Mat

a

thin MRO

. a
vy - ‘ 2 foi A i
Chee Leer2417 epeerr Ak APOC?

peers Ce 7, SES

asphyx, Calif, SP (Placer) August 16, 1910.

THE JOURNAL-REPUBLICAN

= pa es -_

seville Man Scheduled
To Die Friday For Murder
_ Of Placer J. C. Leader

Clinton Duffy, recently appointed warden of the California State
Ison at San Quentin, tomorrow is scheduled to carry out the verdict
a Placer county jury which decided that Everett G. Parman of
seville should pay with his life for the murder of George McElroy,
peer junior college student leader, at Roseville in July, 1938.
Parman is scheduled to die in the gas chamber of the prison at
a. m, August 16. If carried out, it will be Duffy’s first execu-
in since he was named warden by the prison directors.
Duffy's formal announcement to®
urn newspapermen says:
‘Friday, August 16, 1940, at 10
lock a. m. is the date set for the
scution of Everett Gilbert Parman,
480. :
‘In conformity with the law, I am
ding you this notification. If you
ire to be a witness, present this
er at the prison gate not later
n 9 o’clock a. m.”
thomas Sargent, attorney for Par-
a, yesterday confirmed the prob- |
e execution date, |
The plans of Mr. Parman’s moth- ;
to appeal the case to the Supreme
rt of the United States have been
pped due to the lack of the neces-
y financial outlay,” said Sargent.
’arman has twice been saved by
vernor Culbert Olson of California;
e for a report by the advisory body
uch matters, and once to give time
get the case before the United
tes Supreme Court.
he Supreme Court of California
already passed upon the verdict |

Journey's End

the dutv of interment dnec not
d-
‘Sn
my
b

Everett G. Parman of Roseville who,
1 is scheduled to be executed Friday

e

re morning for the murder of George | tic
rn McElroy, former Placer junior college ed
\\¢ Student leader. on 81. ees

I

<

STR RA plas Sealer Steep din. pig Sam aes ate BATTS ED ae Sp"

eri et ee

LOUISE PEETE (California)

"In Los Angeles! county jail last week greying, motherly Mrse
Louise Peete Judson began preparing herself for death. When the matron
and her fellow prisoners wept for her, she said: 'Don't be troubled, my
dears. Death is merely an eventuality in all our lives.! They were
not comforted; she was so nice, so poised, so kind. But throughout her
life, death trailed her like the fragrance of the xpensive perfume
(Chanel Noe 5) she used.

¥People had always liked Louise Peete. In 1919 her soothing mame:
had attracted a wealthy old Los Angeles oilman nemed Jacob E, Denton.
She leased his house, and agreed to let him stay on ih ite Soon she
was using his car, paying his bills, handling his business with bankers.
On the night of June 1, 1920, after months of happy companionship, Jaae
Denton disappegred. Weeping, Louise Peete helped police ina fruitless
hunt for clues, Then she sadly sublet his house and went to Denver,
where, she said, her second husband, one “ichard Peete, was divorcing
here

"Mulling over Denton's strange disappearance, detectives had the
hofise searched again. Finally they found a neatly plastered crypt umnie)
the basement stairs. In it was Jake Denton s body, shot in the backe

"Louise Peete was arrested, charged with murder. She kept her als
assurance. At the trial, she did not testify. An all-male jury was
moved to sympathy, even after hearing that she had forged Jake. Denton(s
name on checks. When they convicted her of murder, they recommended
life sentence instead of death.

"When husband Richard Peete got the ne&s he committed suicide.

(Her first husband had killed himself, too, leaving her a widow in her
teens.) In San Quentén and Tehachapi prisons Louise Peete was a model
prisoner, After 18 years she was paroled. She went back to Los Angedes
got a gob as a housekeeper for one Jessie Marcy, 60. Mrse Marcy diede
¥hen she kept house for 7-year-old Emily Dwight Latham, one of the
probation officers who had helped her win her parold. Mrs, Latham
died. Each time police investigated. Each time the verdict was death
from natural causes,

“Early last year Louise Peete,now middle-aged, full-bosomed, and
and addicted to strange hats, began keeping house in swank Pacific
Palisades for mentally-alling Arthur C. Logan, and his real-estate
broker wife, Margaret. Tremulously, she confided her past to the
Loganse Far from firing her, they took her to their heartse when she
married a 67-year-old bank messenger named Lee Borden Judson, they
insisted that she bring him into the family circle,

"Soon the circle was contracted. Margaret Logan disappeared,

When mild Lee Judson querulously noted that his bride scemed unconcemed
she sweetly replied: ‘Well, if you must know, Mre Logan bit Mrse Logan's
nose. She's at a hospital for some plastic surgerye' Mrs, eete re»
mained unperturbed when Arthur Logan was taken off to an insane asylum,
Where he died. nae

"But one day a bank teller challanged the signature of the vanished
Margaret Logan on a checke Police questioned Louise, as they had dorm
24 years beforee Detectives searched the house, as they had searched
Jake Denton's. The cellag floor was untouched. But near an avocado
tree in the backyard they found a mound of earthe Inside was the body
of Margaret Logane She had been shot in the back.

"Two weeks later an inquest had cleared Mrs, Logan's husband, but
not Lou@se. Shy little Lee Judson walked from the hearing straight to
a downtown office building, plunged eight floors down a stair well.

(PEETE, Louise, Continued)

"Thrice-widowed Louise, once pyri the defendant at a murder trial,
saw the @bstrict Attorney slip the Yenton trial transcript into the
evidence against her. She heard him describe the deadly parallel,
noted that the jury - eleven women and one man - appeared to find it
amazing but not inerddible, This time, Louise decided to testifye

"She had a logical story: Arthur had killed his wife in an insane
fit; Louise had buried the body because =- she smiled a little cynically=
the world cartainly would unite against her in disbelief if she reported
the deathe She spent four days on the stand. In the county jail, her
fellow prisoners rallied to her support; throughout the six-week trial
they kept her hair dyed and waved, tidied her cell, washed her nylonse
Halfway through her ordeal they bought her a new spring hat to weat to
court. While the jufy deliberated, she read Lin Yutang's The Importance
of Living.

"But once again Louise Peete was convicted of first-dggree murder.
This time there was no recommendation for mercy. Last week, on the 25th
anniversary of Jake Denton s death, Louise Peete was sentenced to her
own in California's gas chamber. Back in jail she smiled sadly, told
her adoring friends: "It goes without sayinge.eeeI have nefer killed
or &ven harmed a human beinge..--But truth js elusive.....'*

XXNKKX TIME MAGAZINE, June 11, 1945 Pages 22=23.

CHARLES TIEDT ...... (Mg ssourt )

“You didn’t find one on that trip,
did you?”

“T don’t go looking for two-legged
coyotes, Mister,” the man drawled.
“But if any of them gets in my way in
the ordinary course of events, well—
that’s why I got my forty-four.”

His hostile manner prompted Cody
to leave. The detective was deter-
mined, however, to make a thorough
check of the alibi when he returned to
Los -Angeles.

Oddly enough, he uncovered nothing
in Oatman to indicate that Jacob Den-
ton ever had been interested in a wo-
man during those hectic boom days
five years before. Oatman, like other
Arizona towns, had its share of Span-
ish-blooded people, dark-eyed senori-
tas who more often than not were
pleasing to the eye. Yet no one whom
Cody questioned could recall that Jake
ever had been interested in any of
them.

At Bouse and other towns where
Denton had lived, the detective met
with the same failure. He found no
whispers of romance, aboveboard or
otherwise. -

Weary from the long, tiring search,
he returned to Los Angeles the middle
of September. Two tasks occupied his
immediate attention — locating Den-
ton’s nephew who had written the
letter and checking the prospector’s
alibi.

He learned that the prospector’s son
had been married on June 1 and that
his father had come from Arizona to
attend the wedding. But he also
learned that the old man_ stayed
around Los Angeles for nearly a week
following the ceremony, just looking
over the city.

Had he met Jake during that week
and settled an old score? Cody was
skeptical of this theory because he
was unable to find any definite evi-
dence to support it.

He conferred with Blodgett before
tackling the other task—locating Den-
ton’s nephew.

“If Jake has a nephew here it’s news
to me,” Blodgett said.

Cody went to No. 900 North Main
Street. The address was that of a fac-
tory. There he made a startling dis-
covery. No one by the name of Den-
ton was employed in that factory. Nor
did anyone there know of a relative of
Denton.

Communications ‘ were flashed to
Denton’s brother, Joel, in Missouri,
and to a sister who lived in San Fran-
cisco. Replies came speedily, provid-
ing still another shock.

None of the missing man’s nephews
ever had lived in Los Angeles or ever
had visited there!

“The letter is a hoax,” Cody told the
attorney. “Someone was trying to
blackmail him and used a_ phony
address.”

“Right,” agreed Blodgett.

“It’s time to call in the law,” said
Cody grimly.

“You’re right again,” said Blodgett.

Cody sought the aid of ‘District At-
torney Thomas Lee Woolwine, who
recently had been elected to office.
Woolwine was out of the city, so the
detective presented the case to Deputy
District Attorney William C. Doran, a
brilliant young man who since has
been elevated to the California Ap-
pellate Court bench.

VER intrigued by mysteries, Doran

listened attentively. He called in
Charles A. Jones, district attorney’s
investigator who later became chief of
police of Los Angeles, and together
they went over the case.

“Looks like murder, doesn’t it?”
asked Doran.

“Murder? I’ll say it does!” replied
Jones.

Eagerly these two public officials
tackled the mystery. First they in-
vestigated Denton’s finances. Since he
was a wealthy man, they concluded
that money as well as jealousy might
have motivated a death plot.

At the Farmers and Merchants
Bank, where Denton did business, they
dug up a possible clew. Two checks,
totaling $750, had been drawn on one
of Denton’s account on June .9—a

ID—3

whole week after he dropped from
sight.

“Look!” exclaimed Doran as he ex-
amined them. “They’re made out to
Mrs. J. C. Denton and endorsed by
her but—”

“I know just what you mean,” said
Investigator Jones. “Mrs. Denton died
last March.”

The bank authorities examined the
two checks. They admitted that Den-
ton’s signatures might have been
forged, but the handwriting was strik-
ingly similar to other documents Den-
ton had signed.

The teller who cashed the two
checks had only a hazy recollection of
the woman who signed herself, “Mrs.
J.C. Denton.” Attractive, young, very
dark—those were the meager details
he remembered.

Doran and Jones took the checks to
Milton Carlson, Los Angeles hand-
writing expert.

“That’s about the cleverest pen
work I have seen,” Carlson said, after
making comparisons.

They handed him the letter from
Denton’s “nephew.”

“Could the same person have writ-
ten this?” asked Dovan.

i ie THE inexperienced eye the writ-
ing appeared very dissimilar. The
critical eye of the handwriting expert,
however, found a number of like-
nesses.

“I can’t say definitely,” he told the
officers, “but I’ll admit there’s a strong
possibility the letter was written by
the same person,”

Now that they had discovered a pos-
sible motive for murder, the two in-
vestigators immediately went at the
task of finding evidence of the murder
itself. Accompanied by Blodgett and
Cody, they hurried to the Denton
home. Determined men they were,
carrying picks, shovels, crowbars.

“We're going to tear this place apart
until we find Jake Denton’s body,”
Doran announced. He remembered
grimly the “noises” heard in the big
house. Did they hold a sinister signifi-
cance?

Their first discovery was that the
locked bedroom, which the owner had
filled with valuable personal effects,
had been stripped clean.

The Links, who still occupied the
residence, could offer no explanation;
the room had been locked, they said,
ever since they moved in.

Next the officials searched the
grounds. If Denton had been mur-
dered, they speculated, the slayer
probably hid the body somewhere near
the scene of his crime.

Investigator Jones uttered a cry of
triumph when he came upon an odd-
looking depression in the ground at
the rear of the dwelling, near the
garages and servants’ quarters.

“Looks like a grave,” he said.

They dug in with their shovels, and
soon fresh dirt was flying. But they
did not find a grave. They found noth-

ing, nothing but the embedded sedi-
ment of centuries.

“What do you suppose caused that
depression?” asked Jones. His sweat-
ing face was a study of disappoint-
ment.

The others could not answer that
question—then.

They ripped open an outside door
leading into the basement, determined
to explore whatever secrets it held. A
musty odor assailed their nostrils as
poe a snapped on flashlights and en-
ter

The yellow beam of his light stabbed
the darkness, played upon old furni-
ture and other discarded items dusty
with years.

An hour later they had examined
the entire basement, moved the junk a
dozen times, searched the concrete
floor and walls for disturbances. But
they had not found Jake Denton’s
body.

A small closet in one corner engaged
Doran’s curiosity. Its doorway was
spiked up with heavy planks, Exam-
ining the planks, he observed that the
nails evidently had been driven in by
a novice, for around each nail-head
were numerous hammer scars.

“Looks like the work of a woman,”
he commented.

They jerked off the planks with
crowbars. To their surprise, they
found that the closet floor was covered
with a two-foot thickness of dirt.

“That’s the missing dirt from the
place by the garage,” said Jones ex-
citedly. “See—it’s the same kind of
sandy loam!”

For a tense minute he worked furi-
ously with his shovel. Presently he
had uncovered a large bundle wrapped
in a quilt. The other men knew what
to expect and steeled themselves as he
pulled back a fold of the half rotted
bed-covering.

A dead man’s face looked up at
them.

Jones removed the quilt. Inside was
a body jack-knifed into a grotesque
position so that the knees almost
touched the chin. The arms and legs
were securely trussed with clothes-
line rope.

“Good Heavens!” exclaimed Blod-
gett, horrified. “I wonder if he was
buried alive!” ,

“Buried alive!” said Doran. “And
we'd never have found out if too many
people hadn’t lived in the same house
with his body.”

They found only one immediate
clew to the identity of the badly de-
composed body. A silver belt buckle
carried the engraved initials, “J.C. D.”

“It’s Jake, all right,” said the attor-
ney with emotion. “Poor old Jake!”

The sensational murder mystery
caused a big stir throughout Los An-
geles. Citizens were outraged by the
ghastly fate which had overtaken the
wealthy man. Who was the murderer,
or murderess, who plotted this grisly
crime? Why? Why wasn’t the killer
captured?

While autopsy surgeons sought t
determine the exact cause of deat!
Police Chief George K. Home turne
loose his entire homicide squad on th
sensational case.

Two days later these significant fact
were reported to him:

Police Chemist Lyman Stookey ha
discovered bloodsmears on a stairwa
leading from the kitchen to the base
ment, and more bloodstains along on
edge of the linoleum in the kitcher

Autopsy surgeons found a .32 calibe
slug in the dead man’s body. It wa
mute evidence that the victim ha
been cut down from behind.

Detective Sergeants Sidney Hickoc
and Louis Canto reported another dis
covery plainly pointing to the fact tha
the cunning hand of a woman wa
behind the crime.

At exclusive dress shops which th
dead Mrs. Denton once had patronizec
they learned that another woma
representing herself as Denton’s “ney
wife” had charged dresses and lingeri
on at least eleven separate account:
These accounts, all opened and use
during the first two weeks of Jun
totaled more than $4,000!

Shop owners described the new Mr:
Denton almost identically with th
words used by the bank-teller who ha:
cashed the two phony checks.

Meanwhile, Doran and Jones ha
been following another lead.

“Something happened to all tha
stuff in Denton’s room,” Doran saic
“Let’s try the pawn-shops.”

At one shop on South Main Strer
they located a ring which unauestion
ably was Denton’s. It was a large dia
mond set in massive gold. Incide wo
inscribed, “D. M. W. to J. C. D.” Dolli
Mae Winters—the full name of Den
ton’s dead wife—to Jacob C. Denton

Doran examined the pawn-tickei
He saw that $200 had been loaned o:
the ring. The name and address of
woman were on the pawn-ticket.

“Probably a phony name,’ sai:
Jones. “Let’s find out.”

They raced to the address given o)
the slip, which was not far from Den
ton’s residence. They were rather sur
prised to find that the woman was
real flesh-and-blood person.

“Can you explain how you happene
to pawn this ring?” asked Doran.

“Certainly,” the woman _ replicc
“One of my friends asked me to paw)
it for her.”

ER next words stunned the tw
investigators. “Her name is Mr:

Louise Peete,” she continued. ‘“She’s :
wealthy woman from Denver who wa
visiting here a few months ago.”

The two investigators rushed t
Blodgett’s office, where they foun
Cody.

“Tell me, quick—what does this Mrs
Peete look like?” Doran asked.

“Pretty as a picture,” replied Cody
“Small, dark hair and a nice smile.

“Does she seem to be Spanish?
asked Doran anxiously.

FOR c t \));
may om

RECEPTACLE FOR
USED BLADES INSIDE!

You Breeze Through Beard
With PROBAK Jr. Blades...

Twenty For A Quarter!

35


ani a TR

“Not much. Well, maybe a little, be-
cause she’s very dark. Say, do you
think that—” Cody was too astounded
to finish the sentence.

“Yes,” interrupted Doran. “I think
she killed Jake Denton. I think she
made up that story about the jealous
Spanish woman to throw us off the
track. I think she wrote that letter
for the same purpose.”

Doran knew that his case was weak.
He knew that the woman probably
would not be extradited from Colorado
on such flimsy evidence. Yet he need-
ed Mrs. Peete in Los Angeles. He
needed her badly. If she could be
identified by Denton’s neighbors as
the “Spanish woman,” by the bank-
teller as the passer of the spurious
checks, by.the shopkeepers where the
gowns had been charged—yes, he
needed her in California very badly.

“We've got to get her here some-
how,” he said desperately. “I doubt if
legal means will do it.” .

He turned to his partner, Jones.
“You’re the man for the job, Charlie!”
he exclaimed. “Get that woman out
here any way you can. Do anything
—but get her here!”

Jones rushed to Denver. He found
his job simpler than he had imagined.

-Mrs. Peete was more than eager to

return with him and assist the police.
“Mr. Denton was such a sweet man
that I’d do anything to help,” she de-
clared.
Her attitude completely disarmed

the detective. She certainly didn’t ap-
pear to be a hardened criminal. In
fact, she seemed exactly the opposite
—a_ very gracious lady.

While she was preparing for the
trip, he made discreet inquiries. With-
in an hour’s time he had dug up star-
tling facts. Mrs. Peete believed that
her husband’s -business was on the
verge of collapse. Jones heard ru-
mors that she was contemplating a
divorce because she was afraid he-
would not be able to provide her with
the luxuries he had showered upon
her during their seven years of mar-
ried life.

“Now I’m beginning to see daylight,”
Jones said.

He knew that he should search the
woman’s home. He accomplished this
delicate feat by hurrying Mrs. Peete
to the railroad station an hour ahead
of schedule. Then he excused him-
self and dashed back to her home.

The maid was the only obstacle to
his daring plan. Quickly his wits came
to the rescue.

“Mrs. Peete forgot some of her lug-
gage,” he told the maid. “She wants
everything she brought home from
that Los Angeles trip.”

“You mean she wants those two
suitcases she hasn’t unpacked yet?”
asked the maid. “You’re going to have
a job because they’re heavy.”

She took him upstairs and pointed
out two large suitcases in a closet.
Jones grinned. Both cases bore the

She Invited One Lover

about this girl’s private life?” he asked.

“Well—” the woman hesitated—‘“I
don’t know so very much about her.
She was a quiet girl and she stayed
home a lot. She dated a couple of
boys but not every night in the week,
the way some of them do.”

The officers learned that Lillian Rob-
erts had been deeply in love with a
young man, George. Underwood, an
usher at one of the near-by theaters.
Underwood was seven years younger
than the girl. They had been going

_together steadily for several months

and at one time Lillian had confided in
her neighbor that she and Underwood
were to be married.

“Just a few davs ago Tilian enme

again and turned his attention to the
divan. The gayly colored covering was
disarranged and a small throw-rug di-
rectly in front had been kicked into a
heap. Chamberlain beckoned to the
finger-print man. .

“See what you can find here,” he
ordered, pointing to the wood trim-
ming on the divan. “And over on that
table is a leather strap. Maybe you
can raise some prints on it.”

Chamberlain and Sergeant Miller
moved back into the kitchen. The body
was gone by then, and somehow the
room seemed unusually empty, almost
-* if that body had belonged there all
along.

“What dn van malen af it Dato

stamped initials, “J. C. D.” One con-
tained the expensive Denton silver-
ware, all marked with the initial “D.”
The other held jewelry and other cost-
ly trinkets, which Jones felt certain
had been stolen from the murdered
man.

He checked the suitcases on the
baggage car and joined Mrs. Peete just
before the train pulled out.

When they -crossed the California
state line Jones told his pretty com-
panion, “Mrs. Peete, I want to con-
gratulate you. You are a very clever
woman.”

Mrs. Peete blushed slightly and
gazed out the car window at a choppy
desert scene of sage and mesquite, of
drab, gray hills fringing the horizon.

“But,” Jones continued gravely,
“you are not clever enough to get
away with murder.”

The woman whirled like a tigress.
Her features froze in an expression of
terror.

“You’re under arrest for the mur-
der of Jacob_Denton,” the detective
announced crisply.

He signaled. Miss Hal Bland, a
matron from the District Attorney’s
office, came up the aisle and took the
prisoner in charge.

During the next few days a web of
circumstantial evidence was woven by
Deputy District Attorney Doran and
his men around the dark-hair
beauty. :

She was identified as the woman

who had cashed the checks, who. had
charged the costly gowns and. in-
duced the innocent friend to pawn
the diamond. Incidentally, she also
was identified by Denton’s neighbors
as the “Spanish woman” whom they
had seen come and go. They were
mistaken in their belief that she went
to Denton’s home merely to visit its
wealthy owner. She lived there!

Handwriting evidence, which ex-
perts admitted was not absolutely con-
clusive, linked her a wee bit closer
to the unholy crime.

During the many times that officers
ope to question her, she had nothing

say.

Only once did she break that ap-
palling, self-imposed silence, to say, “!
am being crucified.”

In February, 1921, she went on trial
for her life in Judge Frank R. Wallis’
Superior Court in Los Angeles. Still
she remained silent as evidence piled
up against her, as Public Defender
Frederick Vercoe tried desperately to
blast it down. :

The jury found her guilty and she
promptly was sentenced to life im-
prisonment. And still she maintained
her silence. Not once did she admit
the murder of Jake Denton.

But officials did not remain silent.
They were satisfied that Denton’s
killer had been brought to justice.

The names A. B. Links and Mrs. Ann
Bender in this story are fictitious.

to Kill (Continued from Page 18)

chair and turning on the gas, after
beating her unmercifully?

Despite the lateness of the hour
Chamberlain and Miller found Major
Edward T. McElliott, Chief of Detec-
tives, and Captain William J: Oeltjen
waiting for them. To these two Lieu-
tenant Chamberlain reported the find-
ings in the case.

“Did you notify her parents yet?”
asked Oeltjen.

Chamberlain shook his head.

“¥ know the family slightly,” Major
McElliott said. “The son is pretty ill.
I suppose the parents are at the hos-
pital now.”

Because of this and because of the

The two detectives who had been
detailed to trace down the mysterious
“Philip” reported in early the next
morning. They had located the youth
through a neighbor who knew the
boy’s full name and his address. When
he was confronted by his questioners,
Puilip Rawlins admitted that the let-
ters found in the bureau drawer had
been written by him.

‘, “I wrote to her often,” he said, “but

I‘didn’t kill her. I’ve got an alibi and
you can check on it.”

HE two detectives who had -ques-
tioned Rawlins went out to check his
story.

she was pretty well «
the Roberts home.” 7

“George Underwood?”

“Could be. Let’s take <
his hcuse. If hé isn’t in tc
our nian.”

They found young U
home, however. He met
door, his eyes red-rimr
white and strained.

“T know what you wan
them. “Come in.”

“Okay, let’s have your
Chamberlain.

“Why, I haven’t got ar
swered the pale-faced ye
at the theater last night 1
ter after twelve. Then
festaurant for a cup of «
home at 1 o’clock. When
lian had been murdered I
here; I figured you’d wan
me.”

“Come along while we
alibi,” said Miller.

They drove to the th
Underwood was employed
There they learned that
had been on duty until pz

A trip to the restaurant
the suspect was telling
Coroner Keaney had set
Lillian Roberts’ death at a
ly midnight. The usher
couldn’t have been invol
was released.

The detectives next visi
tim’s parents. Mrs. Robert
a physician’s care. Her hu
ever, was able to discuss t
some degree of coherency

“I don’t know why it ha
to Lillian,” said Roberts.
always so happy, always
whistling about the hx
doesn’t know what to do
self. Even he misses her.

Chamberlain looked dc
dog, who had pattered int

“He was crazy about her
Roberts in a toneless voic
dared lay a hand on her.
ferocious when he gets en
because we used to tease |
tending to strike Lillian.”

“Did she ever say any
her life being threatened?”
geant Miller.

“No, no. Nothing like 1
the part I can’t believe—
ing Lil enough to kill her.

Chamberlain, who haé b
at the dog, suddenly raisec¢
if to strike Roberts. Billy
leaped. A moment late- }
the dog in his arms


1 ae

eth shesnid ined

j

ihe 9

To Find This Woman's Killer, Why Did Los Angeles, Cali-

fornia Investigators Have to Go Back 23 Years for a Lead?

By Z. Williams

Special Investigator for

_ ACTUAL DETECTIVE STORIES

line wouldn’t identify herself. She
said simply to Captain Thad
Brown of the Los Angeles, California,
police: “I believe there is something
terribly wrong at a home in Pacific
Palisades, 713 Hampden Place—and I
think you ought to investigate!”
Within the next few days, similar
anonymous calls were received by Dis-
trict Attorney’s Investigator Walter C.
Lentz, and by Sheriff’s Inspector Wil-

Te woman on the other end of the

liam Penprase of Los Angeles County. ,
Meanwhile, Detective Lieutenant Harry .

L. Hansen, working out of Captain

Brown's office, submitted his report on
the morning of December 17, 1944—two
days after the original call came
through.

“The house at Number 713 is known
as the ‘Logan Place’,” he told Brown.
It is located in a comparatively lonely
section of Pacific Palisades, overlooking
the sea, and the grounds are well-kept
—with the back yard dotted with flower
beds. The house itself is a low, ram-
bling one-story stucco dwelling excel-
lently kept up by its owner, the late
architect and real estate operator,
Arthur C. Logan. Mr. Logan died re-

cently in the Patton State Asylum for
the Insane...”

“Who's living out there now?’ in-
terrupted Captain Brown. “Surely the
place hasn’t been abandoned! Where’s
Arthur Logan’s wife—or didn’t he have
one?” He glanced down at the report
on his desk. “Is_ that all down here?”

“Arthur Logan’s wife — Margaret
Logan has been missing from her
home since the first of June, accord-
ing to neighbors. She was associated
with her husband in the real estate
business. The story, as I get it, is that
on the first of June—Logan suddenly

rues 5
ee

eeeemmme
ps : P yy up .
> oe sp Ad / ie

Mrs. Margaret Logan: The
flower bed she loved was des-
tined to become her grave

,

became very violent. The housekeeper,
Mrs. Lee Borden Judson, heard a
Scream right after the Logans had
come back from an automobile ride.
Mrs. Judson ran into the front room
and there she found Logan beating
and slashing his wife. He appeared to
have gone completely mad. He disfig-
ured his wife’s face so much that she
went to see a plastic surgeon several
days later. That was the last any of the
neighbors saw of her, though it appears
she has been in contact with Mrs. Jud-
son, the housekeeper, and was instru-
mental in having Logan committed to

20


height, ‘much younger than his
age. 1} hes were tattered and_
muddy, __ _yes red, his face un-

shaven. Chief Gregg noted that he
had aged considerably in the past few
months. His face was thinner and his
cheeks seemed sunken in.. His voice,
too, was peculiar,
slightly. .

He was beligerent, evidently afraid
that he was to be arrested on some

charge. .
- “What do you want?” he asked sul-—

lenly. .

“Sit down,. Donald,” said Gregg. “We

want your help this time.” : :
“My help?” said Hanson. “That’s a

and he lisped .

“Well,” said Hanson; “I reckon
maybe I would.”

“All right, Hanson,” said Raines.

““That’s all.”

The man stood up to go, a smile of
relief on his face.

“Wait a minute, Donald,” said Chief
Gregg.

scupilly lo tus teel. “L didn’t kill |
You’re trying to frame me!”

“You didn’t kill her,” said Gri woes
“yet you lost your false teeth close to
her shack that night. And after she
was slain you disappeared for two
days, hiding in the woods if I-can
judge by the condition of your clothes.
Come on, Donald, you might as well
admit it.”

Donald Hanson didn’t admit it, until
Officers Murray and Carl found in his
home other clothes which he had hid-
den there right after the crime and
before he had fied to the woods—
clothes stained with the life-blood of
Vivian Lichteig.

Then he broke down and confessed.

And Pete Sparling, too, was com-

etely absolved. No charges had been
x-aced against him at any time. The
two men Vivian had asked for a drink
were the men he had mentioned;
eventually they were found and testi-
fied. The bartender had forgotten them.

October 8, just two days after the -

crime had been committed, Donald
Hanson signed his confession. Novem-
ber 21 he was indicted by the grand
jury. And shortly thereafter he pleaded
guilty to murder and was sentenced to
life imprisonment in the penitentiary.

To protect an innocent person, “the
name Pete Sparling in this story is
fictitious. .

Too Many Lived with the Dead (Continued trom Page 2)

things about the case had him baffled.

Those mysterious noises, for instance
—what were they? Did they have any
connection with the case? And the
Spanish woman—what about her?

In Blodgett’s office, the detective
picked up a package of mail that had
been sent to Denton at his hotel after
his disappearance, and which Blodgett
had claimed.

The detective hurried away with the _

letters. In his home a few minutes
later he was busy examining them,
praying that they contained a clew to
Denton’s fate. Some of them were
from the missing man’s daughter,
Frances, others from the auto dealer,
still others from a number of Los
Angeles business firms.

At last one of the letters absorbed

his attention. The name and address
were scrawled -in a strong, masculine
hand. The letter was postmarked ”Los
Angeles, June 13.” Hungrily : Cody
ripped it open, and. as his eyes raced
over the lines they bulged with amaze-
ment. He read:

Dear Uncle. Just a line to say
there is such a thing as being a

darn fool about certain things, and
also that you are not immune from
the same. Now I think this is one
case where you better listen to me
. . - SO that I can help you out of
the mess you are in.

... There is no use being angry
about our trying to find you for,
as you know, it was the only thing
for us to do. If you had used a
little bit of diplomacy you could
have saved us a great deal of
worry and yourself the com-
promising position you have put
yourself into.

. .. Another thing is that I have
not been blind to everything that
has been going on before this time,
though I had no idea of letting
you know anything of the kind.

Better see me if you come in,
or in case this reaches you write
me at 900 No. Main St. I will
receive it there and no one else
need know. n

The implications of the letter struck

Cody forcefully. Evidently it had been
‘written by someone who knew con-

siderably more about Denton’s dis-
appearance, and the reason for it, than
anyone else.

The detective was relieved. Possi-
bly nothing serious’ had happened to
Jake Denton—nothing more serious
than blackmail. Or—and Cody’s brow
furrowed—maybe a blackmail plot had
back-fired. Maybe Jake Denton was
dead.

I Senses days later Cody was in Oat-

man, Arizona. In the town Denton
had made his stake during the mining
boom of 1915. And there, Cody im-
agined, he would learn the identity of
the beauty who had become entangled

~ with him.

Instead, he ran ihto a lead strongly
hinting that murder—a cold, calcu-
lated murder for revenge—might be
the explanation of Denton’s disap-
pearance!

“If Jake Denton turned up missing
around the first of June,” an old sour-
dough informed him, “I’d .investigate
a certain gent right here in this town.
He hated Jake like poison. Once he
tried to squat on some of Jake’s
claims.and Jake beat his pants off in a

lawsuit. Right then. and there he
threatened to kill Jake, if it was his
last act. Made bad blood betwixt ’em
to this day.

“But here’s the point,” the infor-
mant continued confidentially. “This
gent made a trip to Los Angeles in
May. Come back the first week of
June. Looks like a case of two and
two makes four!” ;

Cody took no more than Passing
interest in this story until he learned
from another informant that Denton’s
bitter enemy had taken his .44 caliber
pistol on the trip to Los Angeles.

Immediately he went to question
the suspect. This. man was a dour,
Pinch-faced prospector who lived
alone in a ramshackle cabin at the
edge of town. He stated that he had
made the trip to Los Angeles to be
present at his son’s wedding. .

“If you went to a wedding why. did
you take your forty-four?” Cody in-
quired bluntly.

The old prospector’s eyes coldly *
“Cain’t tell .

appraised the detective.
when a traveling man’ll run into a

two-legged coyote,” he said. “That’s.

why I took my forty-four.”

May INTIMATE DETECTIVE STORIES Goes on Sale Wednesday, April 1

34

‘

i eel 2 SPIO PT AT OEE

ID—2

iby:

Ati yatats:.

a

Rie’ Kay

Had he met Jake during that week
and settled an old score? Cody was
skeptical of this theory because he
was unable to find any definite evi-
dence to support it.

He conferred with Blodgett before
tackling the other task—locating Den-
ton’s nephew.

“If Jake has a nephew here it’s news
to me,” Blodgett said.

Cody went to No. 900 North Main
Street. The address was that of a fac-
tory. There he made a startling dis-
covery. No one by the name of Den-
ton was employed in that factory. Nor
did anyone there know of a relative of

enton.

Communications ‘were flashed to
Denton’s brother, Joel, in Missouri,
and to a sister who lived in San Fran-
cisco. Replies came speedily, provid-
ing still another shock.

None of the missing man’s nephews
ever had lived in Los Angeles or ever
had visited there!

“The letter is a hoax,” Cody told the

attorney. “Someone was trying to
blackmail him and used a phony
address.”

“Right,” agreed Blodgett.

“It’s time to call in the law,” said
Cody grimly.

“You're right again,” said Blodgett.

Cody sought the aid of District At-
torney Thomas Lee Woolwine, who
recently had been elected to Office.
Woolwine was out of the city, so the
detective presented the case to Deputy
District Attorney William C. Doran, a
brilliant young man who since has
been elevated to the California Ap-
pellate Court bench.

Eves intrigued by mysteries, Doran

listened attentively. He called in
Charles A. Jones, district attorney’s
investigator who later became chief of
police of Los Angeles, and together
they went over the case.

“Looks like murder, doesn’t it?”
asked Doran.

“Murder? I’ll say it does!” replied
Jones.

Eagerly these two public Officials
tackled the mystery. First they in-
vestigated Denton’s finances. Since he
was a wealthy man, they concluded
that money as well as jealousy might
have motivated a death plot.

At the Farmers and Merchants
Bank, where Denton did business, they
dug up a possible clew. Two checks,
totaling $750, had been drawn on one
of Denton’s account on June -9—a

ID—3

J

\


Ld Jike so very much to help, if you'll
only tell me what to do.”

“I was hoping you'd say that,” Lentz
replied. “Just stay right on, and if you
should hear anything that you think
would be of value in finding your em-
ployer, call me immediately.”

The woman promised to do so, and
Lentz departed. but as he did so. How-
ser approached, with two men in over-
alls.

“Surely. you'll have no objection to
these men’s examining the cellar and
plaster work?” Howser asked.

“None, whatever,” the woman as-
sured him. “Please do. It will be a re-
lief. I can’t stand suspicion, and I
know you must be suspicious of me.”

For hours, the workmen examined ev-
ery corner of the house. They were
looking for hollow spbts. possibly for
a secret grave. But if Howser expected
(0 uncover a crypt in which Mrs. Logan
might have been buried, he was doomed
io disappointment, for the concrete was
old, the mortar used to hold bricks to-
gether was the original, and there were
no cracks in plaster or flooring.

Throughout the lengthy procedure, the
district attorney watched Mrs. Judson.
He detected in her expression only the
normal curiosity any woman might dis-
play. Certainly. there was nothing to
indicate that she feared the result of
the exploration.

Days grew shorter, and as weeks
passed with no word from Mrs. Logan,
Lentz and Howser continued their in-
quiry, hoping against hope that some-
thing tangible might develop. And then,
about mid-August, a telegram was placed
on Howser’s desk. It stated that Mar-
garet Logan was working in a restau-
rant in Bakersfield, about 100 miles
irom Los Angeles. It was unsigned and
had been sent from that community.

Although the investigators were puz-
zled about ‘the message, for the search
had been conducted in the utmost se-
crecy, they were determined to over-
look nothing.

Lentz went to Bakersfield, where his
first stop '-s the Western Union Tele-
graph Company office. Investigation
quickly disclosed that the message had
been sent by a woman who said she
cduld not leave her address as she was
proceeding at once to Los Angeles.

Undaunted, Lentz visited every res-
taurant in Bakersfield. And in each one
he met the same response: No one an-
swering the description of Mrs. Logan
was employed there. After many hours,
he walked into a soda shop. Behind the
fountain was a woman about 60 years
old. Lentz studied her features. They
tallied almost identically with his de-
tailed description of the missing wom-
an,

However, the woman insisted that her
name was Evaline Jenks.

“I don’t know any Margaret Logan.
and I have never been to Los Angeles,”
she declared. “Il came here from Chica-
gO

“How long have you been here?”
Lentz persisted.

“About two ‘months, maybe two and
a half months.”

Two and.a half months would -have
been about June 1, the day on which
Mrs. Logan supposedly vanished.

The woman declined to give her
Chicago address, saying, “I had a good
reason ,for leaving that city.”

She declared she was old enough to
do what she wanted. and added, “Since
I've violated no laws, I'll thank you
to leave me alone.”

From the manager of the soda shop
Lentz learned that the woman had
started to work there on June 5. Obtain-
ing the address of the house where
she’ boarded, be hastened there.

“Mrs. Jenks arrived by automobile on
the second of June and has been living
here ever since,” the landlady informed
him. She had sold the car to a used
car dealer, but the landlady did not
recall whether the automobile had Cal-
ifornia license plates and could not tell
what make it was. All she knew, she
said, was that “it was a nice car, a
fairly new sedan.” j

Mrs. Jenks received no mail, and so
far as the landlady knew, she wrote
no letters. She did not associate with
the other boarders and seemed unwill-
ing to talk about herself.

“How do you know she sold her
automobile?” Lentz asked.

The landlady answered that her board-
er had asked her for the name of a
used car dealer, and later had told
her she had disposed of the sedan.

However, the: investigator was des-
tined to another disappointment. Pains-
taking search of records by the dealer
revealed that he had purchased, and
later resold, a 1941 sedan registered in
the name of Evaline Jenks by the Il-
linois bureau of motor vehicles. Ap-
parently, Evaline Jenks was not Mar-
garet Logan.

To make certain, Lentz communicated
with Chicago police. Before long. he
was advised that Mrs. Jenks’ husband
had died in May,-leaving no survivors.
A son had been killed in action over-
seas, and apparently Mrs. Jenks had
no reason to remain in Chicago. Lentz
returned to the soda shop and apol-
ogized for inconveniencing the woman.

ONTHS passed. Crimes of violence

occupied the attention of the dis-
trict attorney’s office, but the strange
case of the Logans was still open.
Periodically, Lentz and Howser tackled
it, but they were getting nowhere. Mrs.
Logan had not returned home, nor had
she written. Her automobile, the one in
which she departed, had vanished, too,
and there was no trace of it. Her bank
account remained inactive, and her hus-
band lingered in the Patton Asylum.

The routine in the Logan home con-
tinued, with Mrs. Judson dusting, and
scrubbing. The lawn remained in good
condition and the.geraniums in the back
yard continued to flourish. Mrs. Jud-
son’s parole reports continued to be
signed with the name of Margaret Lo-
gan, but there was no sense making a
fuss about that. Howser and Lentz were
convinced that there was something
more important about the Logan home-
stead than a forged signature on a
parole report.

“I'm satisfied now that Margaret Lo-
gan is dead,’ Howser declared, “and
I'm satisfied that Mrs. Judson knows
the answer. Sooner or later, she’s going
to betray herself, and it’s up to us to
be on hand when she does.”

Early in December, 1944, A. C. Lo-
gan died in the Patton asylum. His
wife being missing, members of his own
family arranged for burial.

“See that the newspapers get some-
thing about his death,” District Attor-
ney Howser directed. ‘‘There’s just a
bare possibility that if Mrs. Logan is
alive, she'll see the obituary and do
something about the insurance. Or—”
He paused significantly. “Or * someone
else may ‘ask about it. Get in touch with
every insurance company in the state
and ask them to instruct their agencies
to advise us the minute an inquiry is
made.”

The D. A. also ordered a plant placed
on the Logan house, with instructions to
watch for any suspicious actions on the
part of its occupants.

“We've given Louise Peete the bene-
fit of every doubt, but if she knpws
anything about Mrs. Logan’s disappear-

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Hall of Justice, where a woman's fate will be decided up-
on for second time. County Jail occupies four upper floors.

ance we ought to soon learn. tbout it,”
he asserted.

But if the housekeeper kiew any-
thing, there was nothing in her demeanor
to show it. SHe tended the girden and
she did her household chores with her
accustomed pains. Mid-December came,
and there still was no trace of the miss-
ing woman,

On December 20, the telephone rang
in District Attorney Howser’s office.

“You'd better take this,” said an as-
sistant. “It’s about the Logan insur-
ance.”

Howser needed no urging. He listen-
ed anxiously and hung up.

“Call Police Captain Thad Brown,”
he instructed as he seized his hat and
topcoat. “Tell him to get out to the
Logan house in a hurry with a search
warrant. Tell him he’s going to need
some help on a digging job.”

The D. A. paused at Lentz's office,
and shouted:

“Come on. We're ‘calling on Mrs.
Judson. I'll explain as we're driving
there.” ° :

Someone had telephoned about Lo-
gan’s insurance; first to the Patton
asylum, then to the insurance agency,
Howser related. “And she gave her name
as Mrs. Logan. The call came from
Los Angeles.”

Stopping their car in front of the
Logan residence, Howser and Lentz went
directly. to the back yard, while Police
Captain Brown, in another automobile,
rang the front doorbell.

The geraniums were as beautiful as
ever. They seemed to thrive better than
those of nearby neighbors, nurtured by
Mrs. Judson’s tender care.

“Start digging here,” Howser order-
ed a crew of detectives, pointing to the
geranium bed. .

Mrs. Judson, aghast at the damage
being done to her flowers, screamed,
“My lovely blossoms. Why are you de-
strpying them?”

“Because we're looking for disturb
ed earth,” Howser replied. “and this
flower garden seems the most likely
spot. The lawn is too level.”

The men continued digging. The earth
was soft from constant watering 1
cultivating and yielded easily to
spades.

Eighteen inches below the surfac:
part of a human form began to -
pear. Later, when exposed in its en-
tirety, the investigators found a rotted
grey housedress clinging to the body
and the head wrapped in a towel.

Mrs. Judson was summoned to the
garden.

“T don't want to see it, I don’t want
to see it,” she moaned, covering her
face with her handkerchief.

“So you couldn’t resist the old habit.”
Howser said sternly.

Further search of the house disclosed
a .32 caliber revolver in a dresser draw-
er. Several bullets had been fired from
It.

“T didn’t do it.’ Mrs. Judson scream-
ed. “Logan did it. I buried the body
because I knew if she were found dead
I'd be blamed on account of my past
record. I only buried the body.”

She was taken to headquarters, while
the body was sent to the morgue. An im-
mediate post mortem disclosed that
Mrs. Logan had been shot—in almost
the identical place Jacob Charles Den-
ton had been slain years before.

The fatal slug was of .32 caliber.

Still insisting that she had only buried
the body, Mrs. Judson was held on a
murder charge. She said that she and
the Logans were leaving for an auto-
mobile ride on June 1, but as they left
the house the telephone rang. Mrs. Lo-
gan went inside to answer it and Logan
followed her.

A few moments later, the housekeep-
er declared, she heard agonizing screams
She ran inside and found Logan beat-

(Continued on page 29)

23

i 8

BRILLIANT sun beamed on
A Los Angeles, Calif., that
June morning and District
Attorney Fred N. Howser’s
thoughts turned to a round of
golf or a sail on the cooling
waters; anything but office rou-
tine. It was a slow day, and his
desk was virtually clear. His rev-
erie was short-lived, however, for
an assistant who had been talk-
ing on the telephone said:
‘“Chief, I think you’d better
take this call. It’s a woman who

says it’s important — something
about the disappearance of a
friend.”

“That’s a job for the missing
persons bureau,” Howser replied.
“We don’t—.”

"Yes, I know,” the assistant in-
terrupted. “That’s what I told
her but she says she’s afraid her
friend’s been kidnapped or worse.
She says something about a mad-
man.” .

Howser had the call transfer-
red to his extension and listened

intently to the voice at the other

12

The search for Mrs. Martha Logan extended throughout California and also
underground. Photo shows Coroner's assistants coming upon a gruesome find.

end. He jotted down some notes,
put the receiver back in place
and pressed a buzzer.

Walter H. Lentz, chief of the
prosecutor’s bureau of investiga-
tion, appeared in answer to the
summons. Howser handed him a
slip of paper with an address in
Pacific Palisades, an attractive
residential community.

“Mrs. Margaret Logan, a real
estate agent, has a home out
there,” the district attorney told
him. “I just received a call from
a woman: neighbor saying she
hasn’t seen Mrs. Logan or her hus-
band in several weeks and that
the housekeeper hasn’t heard from
them, although they were just go-
ing away on a short vacation. The
woman who telephoned me says
A. C. Logan, the husband, spent
some time in a mental hospital
after he had beaten his wife, and
she’s afraid something may have
happened to Mrs. Logan. It may
be just another one of those crank
cases but you never can tell.”

Margaret Logan went on a jour-
ney which allows no returning.

DID HABIT LEAD LOUISE PEETE
JUDSON TO REPEAT A HIDEOUS
CRIME OR IS SHE THE CHOSEN
DAUGHTER OF GRIM DESTINY?

R. HOWSER was to remember

some time later that indeed, one
never can tell, for far from being a
crank case, Mrs. Logan seemingly had
vanished completely, and the search
for her was to lead to one of the most
sensational denouements in California’s
history.

A short time later, Lentz parked his
automobile outside a well-kept dwell-
ing set back on a spacious lawn. Be-
hind the dwelling was a garden of pot-
ted geraniums surrounding a graceful
avocado tree. Everything about the
house and the grounds reflected care
and attention, with an atmosphere of
comfort and freedom from financial
worry.

He climbed the steps to the porch;
rang the bell. Presently a motherly-
appearing woman of about 60 years
opened the door and greeted him.

“I'm so sorry,” she said, “but Mrs.
Logan is away. Is there anything I can
do?”

Lentz identified himself, and the wom-
an invited him into the living room.

“Y’m Lee Judson, the housekeeper,”
she introduced herself, “and I’m so hap-
py you've come. I, too, have been
wondering about the Logans. They left
here on the first of June by automo-
bile and they were just going to be
away three or four days. They were
going over to San Bernardino.”

She said that she had not heard from
the Logans. It was now June 22.

“J didn't think anything of it when
they stayed away a week, because they
often took trips for a week or more
at a time,” she continued. “In fact,
last spring they were going away for
overnight, and it was more than ten
days before they came home. But this

e


etime Mrs. Logan didn’t leave much
money to run the house, and when no
word came from her I telephoned her
office. They didn’t know any more than
I did, and I began to worry but I as-
sumed everything would. be all right.
But now it’s three weeks, and I asked
the woman next door to make some in-
quiries. I suppose it was she who re-
ported the case.”

“Yes, he did.” Mrs, Judson whis-
pered. “A couple of months ago he
blackened her eye and she swore out
an insanity complaint against him. They
kept him in the mental hospital for
19 days.” :

“Did he ever hit anyone else?” Lentz
queried.

“He struck me once. I was frighten-
ed and I telephoned Mrs. Logan at
Douglas Aircraft, where she was work-
ing at the time. She came right home
and gave him a good lecture. He never
hit me again,”

When Lentz asked the woman how
she was managing without funds sup-
plied by her employer, she explained,
“IT was married in May and my hus-
band is staying here. He works in a

Remorse or resignation? Onl
can interpret correctly the

y God and a jury of her peers
mood this woman now expresses.

bank and we're living on his money.”

Lentz wandered from room to room,
his keen eyes missing not the slight-
est detail. Nothing seemed’ amiss; ev-
erything was in its place; the house
was immaculate. Outside, the flowers
were well kept.

“I water them every morning,” the
housekeeper explained, -“and my _hus-
band mows the lawn regularly. I want
things to be just as they were when

Mrs. Logan went away, so that on
her return she'll find things ‘spic and
span.”

Lentz left the house, and called on
neighbors, but from no one could he
learn any more than Mrs. Judson had
told him. Mrs. Logan evidently had
told nobody of her plans, and her hus-
band had not been overly communica-
tive. Lentz returned to the district at-
torney’s office, relayed his information
to Howser, and added, “Mrs, Logan
certainly is old enough to take a trip
if she wants to. We haven’t had any
complaints about her husband, either.”

“I've been in touch with city po-
lice. There’s been no complaint filed.
They told me of the black eye Mrs.
Logan suffered, and they verify what
you've just told me about Logan hav-
ing been committed to an institution for
observation. I don’t know what author-
ity we have for any action, but keep
this case in your files. We'll see what
turns up.” .

That ‘night, however, Howser found
himself thinking about the Logans. He
decided to do something about it.

Early the next morning, he conferred
with Lentz.

“Just on a chance that something may
be wrong, let’s see what there is to

this plastic surgery theory,” Howser
advised. “Suppose we contact the hos-
pitals for about 100 miles around. We
may be entering something that doesn’t
concern us, but let’s make some judi-
cious inquiries. Find out what you -can

about Mrs. Logan and her husband.
Work through the usual channels. Try
to trace her through the mail, through
relatives, the automobile clubs and agen-
cies, the railroads and the bus lines.
There’s always a possibility we'll learn
something that may be very much our
business.”

hee: first thing Lentz did was to
communicate with postal authorities,
From them he learned that there had
been no order to forward Mrs. Logan’s
mail anywhere else. :

“Certainly, if she expected to be away
more than a few days, she’d have had
her mail forwarded,” he told Howser.
“She may have been delayed somewhere,
but if it was voluntary she’d have com-
municated with her housekeeper. I’m be-
ginning to think there may be some-
thing wrong with this setup. A wom-
an in the real estate business would
want to know what’s going on, yet she’s
made no effort to contact her office
or her home.”

But Howser, too, had already taken
some action. He put a call through
to the hospital where Logan had been
confined, and “he was now awaiting a
connection.

A few moments later, he had some
information.

“Logan is in the Patton State Insane
Asylum,” he told Lentz. “His commit-
ment was ordered at the request of his
foster-sister. Because of his previous
record of confinement, there was little
or no red tape attached to the order.
He’s being observed now.”

“But where’s Mrs. Logan?” Lentz
exclaimed.

The D. A. shrugged his shoulders.

“I think I'll take a trip over to the
hospital,” Lentz said, “If Logan isn't
too sick, he may be able to tell us
where his wife is.”

“And it might be a good idea to see
the foster-sister,” the prosecutor added.

shoulder, Lee Borden

With succeeding days, the disappear
ance of Mrs. Logan took on an addec
air of mystery, for no foster-sister o:
Logan could be found. Logan’s com
mitment had been dated June 2, one
day after his wife left home.

But she had left with her husband
Had Logan’s commitment been request -
ed by his foster-sister or by someone
who said she was his foster-sister? Could
Mrs. Logan have posed as someon:
else? But, if so, what reason could
there be?

Careful investigation disclosed that n«
Margaret Logan had regis.ered at any
hospital for plastic Surgery or any other
reason. Relatives of the missing woman
had heard nothing from her, and the
expressed themselves as being at a loss
to understand what could have hap-
pened to her.

Moreover, careful study of police re-
ports in villages, cities and towns for
many miles around failed to find un-
identified accident victims, or other per-
sons answering a description of the
woman. Railroads and bus lines exam-
ined their records. No Margaret Logan
had bought reservations.

Howser visited the manager of one
of the large Los Angeles hotels and
discussed the problem with him. The
hotel executive agreed to conduct an in-
vestigation through a hotel association
to determine whether Mrs. Logan might
be living in any hostelry in the state
But exhaustive as the search was. and
long as it took, it ended in failure.

Logan could offer no material aid to
the authorities. He said he had start-
ed out with his wife, and that after
proceeding a short distance he left the
car to make a purchase. When he re-
turned to where the car had been park-
ed, it was gone. He had not seen his
wife since.

Margaret Logan had vanished as com-

Continued on page 22)

With the hand of the Dark Angel about to rest on his 13
Judson points to another's grave.

ENUVUKE:S ENU VK .

District Attorney Fred N. Howser, left, and Walter H. Lentz, Chief of
Bureau of Investigation, examine strong box and papers found in the murder house.

pletely as if she had been a solid dis-
~olved in an active chemical.

Early in July. Investigator Lentz
visited the Logan residence. Mrs. Judson
was busy dusting when he arrived, and
‘he house was as neat as when first he
had gone there.

Somehow, I think she'll be back
soon.” the housekeeper said. “That’s
why I'm staying on. Otherwise I’d lock
up and get another position. With the
shortage of help, it should be easy
enough. But I feel confident that she'll
write or telephone or that I'll hear
from her some way. Certainly, both of
them couldn't have been swallowed up
—Mrs. Logan and her husband, too.”

The woman seemed stunned when
Lentz told her that Logan was in. the
asylum.

“Oh, then you've contacted them.”
she said. “Where was Mrs. Logan?”

Lentz shook his head. “No, we found
nly Mr. Logan. His wife is still miss-
ng. By the way.” he inquired, “does
any mail ever come for the Logans?”

Mrs. Judson rose, walked to a desk,
pened it and took from a drawer a
large package of letters, advertising cir-

culars and magazines. Handing them

‘o the investigator, she explained, “I’ve
kept everything, as you can see by the
dutes on the envelopes.”

“And no word ever has come from
Mr. or Mrs. Logan to you?” Lentz
queried.

‘Not a line.”

“How about telephone calls?”

Mrs. Judson handed him a memo-
randum pad, filled with notations. Ev-
ery memo bore a date, the exact time

and the name and number of the per-~

son calling.

Lentz complimented her on her me-
ticulousness.

“And here is a record of every per-
son who has come to the house asking
to see the Logans,”” she said, handing
the official another note pad.

5

>

Carefully, Lentz copied the penciled
notations on both pads, as well as the
names and addresses on the envelopes.

N his return to his office, Lentz

detailed members of the district
attorney's staff to get in touch with
every person who had written, tele-
phoned or called at the Logan resi-
dence, hoping that someone might have
some information about the missing
woman.

“I am positive there's some sinister
connection between Mrs. Logan’s dis-
appearance and her husband’s commit-
ment to the asylum,” he told District
Attorney Howser, “and if we can find
out what that connection is, we’re going
to find Mrs. Logan. I’m sure she had
no intention of being away so long. I
went through that house and the closets
are filled with good summer clothes,
just the kind a woman would want on
a trip. I think she went away in a hur-
ry, planned to come back soon and
has been detained against her will.”

“What did you learn from the bank?”
Howser asked.

“Enough to make me positive she
didn’t go away on a pleasure trip. If
she had, she’d have drawn checks against
her account, but the account has been
inactive since before June 1. On May
25 she drew a small check, and none
has come through since. She’s got a
healthy balance.

“Here’s something else. On May 19
a check for $200 was drawn against
the account, but the cashier questioned
the signature and sent the check back.
It wasn’t offered again.”

“What about your investigation of
telephone calls made from. the Logan
house?” Howser asked.

“Not a single long distance call has
been made to or from that phone since
before Mrs. Logar disappeared. And
the telegraph company hasn’t had any
messages to or from the house. Life

there seems to be going on normally,
except that less food is now being or-
dered. The grocers and others who serve
the family say the housekeeper is
budgeting carefully.”

Howser opened a drawer of his desk.
took out a sheet of paper and shoved
it across the desk to Lentz. The latter
glanced at it and squinted quizzically, for
on the paper was: written only a name,
Louise Peete.

“Louise Peete!” Lentz exclaimed. “I
thought that face was familiar. But it’s
20 years or more.”

“Twenty-four years, to be exact,”
Howser nodded. “Mrs. Judson is Louise
Peete, and on June 2, 1920, Louise
Peete was housekeeper for Jacob Char-
les Denton. Denton disappeared under
circumstances very much like thwse of
Mrs. Logan.”

Howser handed over another sheet
of paper. “This will bring vou up to
date.”

Denton, a wealthy retired business
man, had employed Louise Peete in
May, 1920, as his housekeever. About
two weeks later, he disappeared from
sight after reportedly startine on .an
automobile trip. A niece reported him
missing, and investigation disclosed his
body sealed under a stairway leading
to the basement of his luxurious home.
The grave had been covered with con-
crete. An autopsy showed he-had been
shot through the neck and strangled
with-a belt. Louise Peete was arrested,
charged with the murder of her em-
ployer.

Purely on circumstantial evidence she
was convicted of murder, though she
never testified in her own behalf and
though she insisted that she had seen
him ‘alive several days after the date
on which he was reported to have dis-
appeared.

Louise Peete served 18 years in prison,
and in 1939 she was paroled. Her spon-
sor for parole, a friend who testified

as a character witness at the time of
her arrest and who steadfastly main-
tained a strong belief in Louise Peete’s
innocence, was Margaret Logan.

From the day the paroled woman left
prison to start life anew under the
name of Lou Anna Lee, Margaret Logan
vouched for her. She made regular re-
ports to the parole board in her friend's
behalf, and in October. 1943, Louise
Peete, or Lou Anna Lee. moved into
the Logan home and became housekeep-
er.

Lentz read the report avidly, though
he was familiar with the case. When
he had finished, he sat motionless.

Howser was the first to break the
silence.

“Tl never forget. Thomas Lee Wool-
wine was district attorney then. and he
prosecuted her. When the jury brought
in its verdict, this convicted murderess
screamed... ‘When Thomas Woolwine
meets J. C. Denton in hell or heaven.
wherever they meet, and Denton tells

who actually killed him, Woolwine is go-

ing to be greatly surprised.’ She in-
sisted she never. killed Denton, and
there was considerable public sympathy
for her.

“But whether she did or not. the
fact that she was convicted doesn't
mean Mrs. Logan isn't alive. Louise
Peete paid her debt to society, and
although this disappearance of Mrs
Logan begins to look queer I’m not
going to railroad Louise. And even if
we should find Mrs. Logan dead, we'll
need unquestionable proof against some-
one. not just coincidence.”

“You're right. Chief.” Lentz agreed.
“but I’m going to work all the harder
on this case. By the way, where'd she
get the name Judson? Did she marry
as she said?”

“Yes, she married Judson in May.”

In San Francisco, Mrs. Wave Walk-
er. California Officer for Women, was
thumbing through a series of monthly
parole reports at Lentz’s request. Find-
ing what she wanted, she telephoned
Los .Angeles.

“Mr. Lentz,” she stated, “the sig-
nature on Louise Peete’s last parole re-
port is different from all preceding ones.
It’s signed ‘Margaret Logan’ but the
handwriting isn’t the same. The ‘a’s’
are broken and the ‘g's’ loop the other
way.”

Lentz again drove to the Logan resi-
dence. This time he greeted the house-
keeper as “Mrs. Peete.”

“So you know,” she sighed. “Yes,
I’m Louise Peete, but 1 was trying to
live it down. But, you must realize that
Margaret Logan is my dearest friend.
She believed in me when others didn’t.
and she has been my benefactress. I
know she will come back. I feel it, and
I am keeping this house just as spot-
less as I possibly can, so that when
she comes home she can feel she never
left it.”

| Bead stared at her intently. Either
the woman was horribly misunder-
stood or she was a born actress.

“What makes you so sure she'll come
back?” he asked.

“I just feel it,” the woman insisted.
“I know I have a sort of past. a past
that isn’t very pleasant. And I can un-
derstand how you, an officer of the law,
must feel about me. But, believe me,
all I know is that Mrs. Logan has gone
away.

“T realize I'm—well, I’m on the spot,
so to speak—but I assure you I’m in-
nocent of anything the least bit out of
the way,-and I'll do anything to prove
it. Isn't there something I can do to
help find her? The suspense of won-
dering where Mrs. Logan is and when
she will return is torturing me, and


5

hand and guiding it and the pen, Mrs.
Logan had then made a _ reasonably
legible “X-mark”—Louise said.

For some reason the bank accepted
her glib explanation and Louise found
herself with $916 in cash. Moreover,
the bank made the check payable, not
to Margaret Logan, but to Anna B.
Lee.

Many months later, Louise and Jud-
son still occupied the old Logan house
and Louise told an old friend of Mar-
garet Logan that she was having some
remodeling done, at her own expense,
so that none of the old associations
would remain to upset her beloved
friend. Then with her characteristic
frankness, she added: “But I know
what I'm doing is useless as far as
Margaret is concerned, because I just
know she’ll never, never come back
here. She told me when she left that
she never wanted to see the place again
and told me to do whatever I wanted
with the things here.”

Somehow Louise began to confuse
her stories. A handyman who worked
about the house and yard was told that
Margaret was staying in a hotel near
San Bernardino, so as to be near her
husband in Patton hospital. A neighbor
was told a story of Mrs. Logan having
gone to Oregon for a terrible opera-
tion, adding that she had developed
cancer from injuries incurred in her
struggle with her deranged husband.

On and on the stories went, few of
them jibing. Mrs, Musser was told that
Margaret Logan had gone into a hos-
pital for plastic surgery; Judson, that
she was in San Francisco for treatment
for her injuries.

On December Ist, 1944, Louise and
Judson called on neighbors, It was evi-
dent that Louise had bad news. Logan,
she said, had only a few more days to
live and Margaret, in spite of her great
illness, was on her way to San Bernar-
dino from Oregon.

On December 6th, Arthur Logan,
bereft of the last assurances that his
wife had not deserted him—since she
never reached Patton at all—confined
to a narrow cell on a sheetless cot,
alone, wretched and bewildered, came
to his miserable end. Appalling as his
death was, there was worse to ‘come.
His corpse was sold to a hospital and
medical school for research purposes,
and the sum of one hundred dollars
went into Louise Peete’s growing bank
account.

The evening of December 20th,
1944, was a pleasant one in the Los
Angeles area, warm and windless. Lou-
ise and Lee Judson were at home at
Pacific Palisades, sifting through a maze
of papers. On the desk before them sat
a green, steel and asbestos box, prob-
ably accounting for Louise’s agitation
when the doorbell rang unexpectedly.

Captain Thad Brown, chief of the
Homicide Detail of the Los Angeles
police, wanted to ask Louise some ques-
tions about Margaret Logan’s where-
abouts and one or two other salient
matters.

Louise swept the strong box up and
44

quickly put it inside a Winthrop secre-

‘tary. Following this, she asked her hus-

band if he would drive over to Santa
Monica to pick up a package for her
at a certain drug store and bring back
an evening paper. Judson left immedi-
ately. Louise settled down to spar with
the detective captain.

Brown asked what had happened to
Margaret Logan. Louise told him that
she had been resting in San Bernardino
since her husband’s death, but had left
there and was currently en route to
Oregon. Asked where Mrs. Logan had
been resting in San Bernardino, Louise
confessed she didn’t know the exact
spot. Asked where she would go to in
Oregon, Louise was again vague, but
said it was a suburb of Portland, since
letters had come to her before post-
marked from Portland.

“She tried to stay here,” Louise ex-
plained, “but she just couldn’t. She said
she could smell the blood from her
beating by Arthur before she put him
away.”

“You put him away, Louise,” Brown
corrected.

“When she told me to,” Louise said,
pointedly. “I cleaned the. floors thor-
oughly, getting down on my hands and
knees to scour them, I recovered the’
furniture and I cleaned her clothes, but
she still would become terribly nervous
when she was here and complain she
smelled the blood, I even burned some
of her clothing.”

“And had some altered to fit your-
self, too, Louise,” Brown interrupted
again. He seemed ‘to know a lot that
Louise didn’t suspect he knew, but she
was in no way disturbed.

“Some were too good to throw away,”
she admitted, “and Margaret told me to
wear them if I could, so I had them
cleaned and altered and wore them.”

Brown leaned forward, fixed his eyes
bleakly on Louise and asked: “You're
still on parole, aren’t you, Louise?”

“Yes,” she said. “I am and I report
regularly.”

“But who signs your parole papers
every month,” Brown demanded.

“Why Margaret—Mrs. Logan—she’s
authorized to,” Louise stammered,
growing somewhat pale.

Brown drew a sheaf of papers from
his pocket, fanned them out in his big

“hand like a deck of cards. He said,

“Mrs. Logan hasn't signed your papers
since last May.”

Louise threw only a momentary
glance at the signatures on the papers
in the captain’s hand, Then she had her
answer, embellished with her warm,
friendly smile.

“That’s right,” ‘she said. “Margaret
actually hasn’t put the pen on the paper.
I've done that because she told me to
and I supposed it was all right, while
she was away. She had given me au-
thority to handle all her other busi-
ness.”

“Better get your things,” Brown said,
rising, “and leave a note for Mr. Jud-
son. We'll have to go down to the dis-
trict attorney’s office to check on a few
things.”

At the district attorney's office Louise
was confronted by the district attorney
himself, Frederick Napoleon Howser.
The first thing Howser said would have
been calculated to give the’most hard-
ened criminal the jitters, but didn’t
faze Louise.

“What happened?” he asked. “Did
you blow your top and do what you
did before?”

“You know,” Louise said, laughing
lightly, “my friends have told me that
some day I would blow my top.”

“Tell us where Mrs, Logan really is,”
Brown demanded. :

“She'll be back,” Lowiise replied.
“She comes to see me often. I just know
she’ll be back.”

Howser informed her that he had dis-
patched a crew to the Pacific Palisades
home to make a thorough search of the
house and grounds. He had supposed
that this would evoke some sort of ad-
mission from Louise, but he was wrong.
Her only comment was that she hoped
no one would alarm Mr. Judson, who
was not well.

“We've sent a car out to bring him
him down here,” Howser said, sud-
denly shifting tactics as he sensed her
concern about Judson.

“That’s absurd,” Louise sputtered.
“He’s absolutely innocent. He doesn’t
know any more about this than you
do!”

“What’s he innocent of?” Howser
shot back.

“What I mean is he doesn’t know
any more about where Margaret is
than I do,” Louise explained.

A detective entered the room and
spoke in a whisper to Captain Brown,
out of Louise’s hearing. Brown called
Howser aside. After a few minutes they
returned and Howser told Louise they
would take her back to the Logan
house. She asked if Judson had come
downtown and was told that she would
meet him later. If this sounded odd to
Louise, she made no comment, but
confidently accompanied Howser and
Brown back to Hampden Place.

They entered the house through the
living room. There, prominently dis-
played on the Winthrop desk, Louise
saw a .32 caliber Smith and Wesson
pistol.

Brown and Howser led her into the
rear yard. Under an avocado tree, they
stopped above a mound of freshly
turned earth, flanking a shallow grave.
In the grave lay the body of a woman,
apparently in her 60s and somewhat
plump.

Louise Peete Judson stared down at
the corpse and never changed facial
expression. Finally Howser asked her a
question.

“Is that Mrs. Logan, Louise?”

“T don’t know,” Louise said, calmly.
“But I don’t think so. How on earth
would she get down there?”

“Not without some help,” Howser
said. “Your help, Louise.”

They took the woman back to the
district attorney’s office and from there

they told Lee Judson that his wife
was to be charged with the murder of
Margaret Logan and that she was, in
reality, Louise Peete, infamous mur-
deress and ex-convict.

It was Judson’s first knowledge that
the woman he’d married and apparent-
ly loved tenderly, was one of the
most ruthless killers of this century.

On the morning of December 2ist,
Louise was brought to the district at-
torney’s office once more. She was
bright and amiable. After a consider-
able discussion of the events of the
night before, Captain Brown threw a
direct question at the suspect.

“Did you dig the grave yourself?”

“Yes,” she said, “and I almost ruined
my hands.”

But this was no confession to mur-
der. Louise calmly explained that she
was on parole and she had spent 19
years in prison—unjustly—for the Den-
ton murder. That slaying paralleled
this one too closely for her to depend
upon coincidence to protect her. No
one but Louise Peete would be blamed
for a violent death in any household in
which she resided, and having felt the

pain of unjust conviction before, she.

didn’t want to tempt it again.

Secondly, her husband did not know
she was Louise Peete and respected and
loved her as Anna B. Lee. She would
do anything to protect him from dis-
covering her true identity, which he
certainly would have had she reported
Mrs. Logan’s death.

That was why she had secretly buried
Margaret Logan's body after Arthur
Logan had shot her in the neck and
beaten her to a bloody pulp with a
beefsteak hammer.

She had dug the grave late on the
night of May 29th, and then unde1
cover of a moonless sky had dragged
her dearest friend to the yard, rolled
the body into the twenty inch grave
and covered it with dirt.

In the first thirty minutes of her
trial, the prosecutor ripped apart this
story of coincidental death and a jury

convicted her of murder, sentencing
her to death by not recommending
mercy. :

At first, Lee Judson was held as an
accessory to Margaret Logan’s mur-
der. Then he was detained as a witness,
even against Louise’s protestations of
his innocence. Finally, on January
13th, 1945, he was released.

Dazedly, he wandered out of the
county jail building and went to a
fifteen story building on Spring Street.
He took the elevator to the thirteenth
floor and walked slowly to the stair
well. An office worker, in the hall for
a drink of water, saw Judson pain-
fully climb over the stair well banister
and vanish. Broken and bleeding, he
landed on the marble floor of the
street level, his sufferings over.

On an Autumn day in 1948, Louise
Peete walked from her cell in San
Quentin prison across the small ex-
panse of green and cobbled yard to
the octagonal shaped death house. With
a composure that was almost terrify-
ing to witness, she stepped across the
threshold and without so much as a
flick of an official finger to direct her,
paused in front of the middle of three
heavy chairs festooned with thick
straps.

She bowed politely to a newsman
peering through an observation window,
gave him a fleeting smile, and sat down.

The lethal pellets dropped into the
pan of water under the chair. Thus she
died, smiling, stately, inscrutable in her
motives, unshakable in her oblique ego,
until the end.

Her last message, left with Warden
Clinton Duffy, was: “As before, I
am innocent. I am not afraid to go. In
fact, I am rather glad. It is an easy
way and I have no more strength to
fight the injustices that seem to have
picked me as their target.”

Those are the final words of perhaps
the most implacable, and easily the
most dangerous, female of which
history tells us. *

HOSTAGE WITH GUN AT HEAD
(Continued from page 13)

From what I can tell just by looking at
a stiff, Smith has been dead four or five
hours at least. The others knew all right
—and took it on the lam.”

“What about Mrs, Smith?” Dugas
asked. “Think she’s in on it?”

“Good point all right,” the sheriff
said, “hard to tell, More likely the Hel-
minens took her and the kid along as
hostages.”

Davis turned to Hughes. “What kind
of a car are they driving?”

“A black Plymouth sedan with Ken-
tucky license plates—old, about 1949
or ’50, I think.”

POLICE DRAGNET

The sheriff was about to order an
alarm sent out for such a car when,
still rummaging through the bureau
drawers, he found two objects of im-
mediate significance to the investigation.

In a drawer of the Smith couple’s
bureau, he found a derringer revolver.
He flipped open the chamber, found that
it had been fired several times, He
sniffed the barrel. There was no telltale
odor, The derringer apparently had not
been used to shoot Smith, nor fired
recently.

The other find, in the Helminen
family’s drawer, was possibly even more
important. It was Storm Helminen’s
billfold.

Just as no woman is normally with-
out her handbag, no man ventures forth

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later, Mrs. Logan filed a petition for his
commitment to a hospital for mental
diseases. The Superior Court found
him to be mentally ill, dangerous, and
insane and signed the commitment pa-
pers.

In the meantime, feeling the urge of
patriotic service, Mrs. Logan had added
a shift at an aircraft plant in Santa
Monica to her arduous tasks and had
left the care of her home strictly in
Louise Peete’s capable hands. To make
certain that Louise would be in no wise
trammeled, she had signed an author-
ization addressed to the General Hos-
pital management instructing them to
release Logan to Mrs. Peete at any time
his return home became practical.

So complete was Mrs. Logan’s trust
in Louise that she referred to Mrs.
Peete in the authorizations as her foster
sister, Anna B. Lee.

Thanksgiving of 1943 approached
and Arthur Logan returned to the
Santa Monica house in time for an old
fashioned family dinner. He seemed
fairly rational, hospital attendants said,
and Mrs. Peete insisted afterward that
he had acted normally throughout the
holiday period.

It seemed inevitable that wherever
Louise went, real estate operations al-
so went. Ostensibly unaware or unmind-
ful of the circumstances of Jacob Den-
ton’s death—circumstances involving
the transfer of property with all its
titular ramifications—Mrs. Logan called
upon Louise, shortly after Thanksgiv-
ing, to aid her in a deal involving a
$50,000 Santa Monica home. The home
belonged to a Mrs. Musser and Mrs.
Logan had been commissioned to sell
it. It was the largest single private home
deal she had encountered and, in her
bewilderment, she fell back upon Lou-
ise’s calm efficiency as a bulwark.

“My trust fund will fall due in Den-
ver within thirty days,” Louise said

calmly, “and we can use that for the
purchase.”

“Trust fund? How much of a trust
fund?”

“It isn’t much,” Louise assured her,
modestly, “but it will swing the deal.”

“But how much?” Mrs. Logan in-
sisted, her womanly curiosity having
by now overcome her suspicions.

“Only a hundred thousand dollars,”
Louise admitted, “but it’ll cover us and
we can make several thousand on the
resale. My husband really wasn’t a
wealthy man, you know.”

After recovering from her astonish-
ment, Mrs. Logan went ahead with the
deal. She and Louise were to purchase
the property jointly, a provision insist-
ed upon by Mrs. Musser, and then
place it on the market. To sew up the
deal and gain a seventy day escrow,
which would provide time for Louise’s
bonanza to materialize, they were to
make a $2,000 good faith depcsit im-
mediately.

Mrs. Logan, told that Louise would
have to make a trip to Denver to col-
lect on a loan, drew the money out of
her own savings account and made the
deposit.

Shortly after this, Mrs.. Logan and
Louise returned Logan to the General
Hospital briefly and arranged a trip to
Denver. In purchasing the tickets, Mrs.
Logan explained to the ticket clerk that
she and her foster sister were going to
Denver on a real estate deal out of

_ which they were in a position to realize
$6,000 each. The following day, Mrs.
Logan returned with her ticket, cashed
it in and sent Louise to Denver.

One week after Louise was scheduled
to reach Denver, Mrs. Logan received
an intriguing telegram: “Dearest sister.
Everything wonderful here; objective
attained. Need $300. Happily, Louise.”

It had been sent from Denver. Mrs.
Logan wired the requested money and

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four days later Louise was back in
Santa Monica. She assured Mrs. Logan
that they were on their way to riches.
So successful had her trip been, she
said, that she would now return the
$300, after which she would take an
apartment of her own for a time.

She had, she implied without saying
anything directly, been able to raise a
sum on her prospective trust fund and
would no longer burden the Logans,
although remaining partners with Mrs.
Logan in the real estate ventures al-
ready cooking. :

Blithely, Louise took her leave, but
the Logans were not so blithe. They
were, indeed, profoundly sad at losing
their adorable guest and it is a matter
of record that Logan was reported,
shortly thereafter, to have lapsed back
into his most depressed state.

For Louise, however, there was a
new and joyful world. She took the
trolley directly to a Glendale hotel and
there, tripping as lightly and as gaily
as any maiden, she let herself into a
honeymoon suite and flung herself into
the welcoming arms of one Lee Judson,
a kindly, late-sixtyish gentleman em-
ployed in a Glendale bank who had
met and married her in Denver under
the name of Anna B. Lee.

Unfortunately for Judson, she had
neglected to mention her twenty-two
years of penitence as a murderess; and
Judson, charmed by her gracefully aged
beauty and lovely manners, believed
himself the luckiest man on earth to
induce Louise to wed him. .

Louise had been enjoying her con-
nubial solitude only a few days when
Mrs. Logan sent for her. Logan had
become unmanageable again, she re-
ported, and something would have to
be done about his future. Mrs. Peete
agreed to find an institution in which
Logan could be well cared for.

Shortly after this, Louise decided
that Mrs. Logan had been in danger
long enough and that she, Louise,
would have to take matters into her
own hands, Accordingly, she called Lo-
gan’s relatives and reproached them for
preventing Mrs. Logan from putting
Arthur in a safe place.

“One day,” she said, “you will wake
up to read about a terrible tragedy at
713 Hampden Place and you will have
no one to blame but yourselves. You
know that she simply won’t put him in
an institution because of what you will
say, and she’s really in danger.”

April passed and May wore on. Came
the nineteenth of the month and with
it a minor crisis. Louise Peete appeared
at the Santa Monica Commercial Sav-
ings Bank, where Mrs. Logan kept her
account and where Louise also had
opened one, and presented a_ check

bearing the signature of her dear friend. |

She deposited the check, along with
some small bills, in the account of her-
self and Judson. A few hours later a
clerk detected a flaw in the signature
and called Mrs. Logan.

Mrs. Logan promptly phoned Louise
and told her, in no uncertain terms, to
cover the check—or else.

POLICE DRAGNET

Trapped, and fearful of revealing
her plight to her husband, Louise
phoned Mrs. Logan on May 29th and
asked her to cover the check until
money could be obtained from the trust
fund in Denver. Mrs. Logan bluntly
refused and at the same time advised
Louise that she didn’t believe the trust
fund story and stood to lose her $2,000
deposit on the Musser place because of
Louise’s lies.

“This can’t go on any longer,” Mrs.
Logan informed Louise. “You are still
my friend and welcome in my house,
but you must never attempt to handle
any financial matters that concern me
and you must not pretend, ever, to have
any business associations with me.
That, Louise, is final!”

On May 29th, 1944, Louise visited
the Logans and was received hospitably.
The following day she telephoned her
husband and asked him to come to the
Logan home as soon as possible. Jud-
son arrived to find Arthur Logan and
Louise Peete, apparently on the best of
terms, in the house. When he asked
where Mrs. Logan was, Louise ex-
plained: “She’s winding up a deal for
us today that will make us all rich.”

On the following Monday, Louise
appeared at the Santa Fe ticket office
in. downtown Los Angeles with two
tickets to Denver. These she cashed in
for $180. They had been purchased the
preceding Wednesday by Mrs. Logan,
apparently in the expectation of «ac-
companying Louise to Denver for a
last bit of hopeless spadework on that
illusory trust fund.

With the $180 Louise went as quick-
ly as the trolleys would take her back
to Santa Monica to clear the embar-
rassing check that had been hanging
there all week. With this Damocletian
sword removed from above her head,
Louise was gay and characteristically
amiable when she rejoined her husband
and Logan at the Logan home.

She hired a man to drive the three of
them to Glendale, and en route broke
the glad news that Mrs. Logan had
asked her and Judson to move into the
Logan house while she was away, add-
ing the exhilarating information that
she had told Mrs. Logan of their mar-
riage and that she had been delighted
beyond words.

Throughout all this, Logan seemed
to be quite normal and, while manifest-
ing some concern about his wife, well
pleased with the advent of the Judsons.
He helped them to pack their belong-
ings and was unusually convivial on the
return trip to the Palisades. There,
however, he began to show signs of an
illness that was soon to lead him back
to the dark hours that had plagued him
before. He had strolled into the back
yard and following an old custom of
neighbors had struck up a conversation
with a woman who lived next door.
Apparently she had asked about. Mrs.
Logan because, just as Mrs. Peete ap-
proached to join the talk, Logan was
saying with a frightened look in his
eyes that Mrs. Logan had met with an
automobile accident and would not be

POLICE DRAGNET

home for several days.

Louise at once took his arm and led
him gently back to the house as the
neighbor stood, agape, at the fence.
Mrs. Peete returned almost immediately
to ask her to overlook what Logan had
said, that Mrs. Logan hadn’t been in-
jured and that the story of the accident
was a ruse to get him back to the psy-
chiatric ward of General Hospital.

“Mrs. Logan will remain away until
he is safely in the hospital,” Louise ex-
plained. “He has become unmanage-
able and dangerous again and the only
way we could get him into custody,
without a terrible scene, was to tell him
that Margaret had been hurt and was
in the hospital.”

That same day Logan was taken to
General Hospital and Louise made her
report to the psychopathic probation
officer, Dr. Charles Vanee. On May
29th, she said, Logan had gone berserk
and had hit his wife in the face and
about the head, had bitten and clawed
her on the neck and nose, and then had
choked her until Louise had arrived in
the nick of time to pull him away from
his victim.

Mrs. Logan had been so badly beat-
en, Louise said, that she had left, in
Louise’s absence, for a hospital, leav-
ing a note that she would not return un-
til her husband had been put safely
away. She. had been so terribly shocked
and exhausted, Louise said, that it
might be necessary for her to take a
long rest.

“I haven’t heard from her yet,” Lou-
ise told Dr. Vanee, “but I will as soon
as she’s able to get in touch with me.
In the meantime I have commitment
papers for Mr. Logan.”

A week later Logan, bewildered and
broken, was committed to the State
Mental hospital at Patton on a Superior
Court order.

Two days after Arthur Logan was
committed to Patton, the bank which
was handling the Musser escrow matter
telephoned and asked for Mrs. Logan.
Louise Peete explained that Mrs. Logan
was very ill and in the hospital and that
she, Mrs. Anna B, Lee, Mrs. Logan’s
foster sister, would handle her affairs.
The bank then explained that the
$2,000 deposited to hold the Musser
place would be forfeited unless further
security was forthcoming at once. Lou-
ise—as Mrs. Lee~—said that the trust
fund she had expected to materialize
was still in litigation and that she and
Mrs. Logan would be unable to do any-
thing more for several weeks.

Louise hastened over to the bank in
person. She explained that Mrs. Logan
had been gravely injured in a struggle
with her maniacal husband and that
her right arm was now temporarily use-
less. Because of this she had empowered
her foster sister—Anna Lee—to sign all
business documents.

To bolster this claim, Louise pre-
sented a typed paper bestowing such
power upon her with a signature ap-
pended in a most suspicious scrawl.
The signature, she said, had been af-
fected by her holding Mrs. Logan’s

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65

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F Dy 4s
figure was that of a man of average height and build. It was not Witt.

McNamara stiffened as his ears caught a signal knock—three quick,
sharp raps, followed after an interval by two more leisurely blows on
the panel. The man then took out a bunch of keys, selected one and
inserted it in the lock. He vanished into the dark space beyond and
then closed and locked the door.

McNamara relaxed and considered the situation. Who had just
entered that room? Was he in there alone? And where was Witt?
Perhaps more could be learned outside, so the detective tiptoed back
to the stairway and descended to the street. He crossed the roadway
and secreted himself in a doorway with a good view of the rooming
house entrance.

Presently the stranger emerged to the street, passing under a street °
lamp as he crossed the intersection. McNamara had never seen him
before, of that he was certain. At a discreet distance he followed, his
unsuspecting quarry leading him to a neighborhood drugstore two
blocks down Temple street. The man entered, and McNamara slipped
up to a window to observe.

The customer bought a roll of gauze bandage and a bottle of iodine.
Then he began retracing his path to the rooming house, the detective
keeping him under surveillance from some distance.

It was well that he did so for the stranger was met at the door of
the rooming house by a short, squat figure. The latter took the package
from the stranger who started on up the street after promising that
he would “be back in an hour or so to see how things are going.”
McNamara overheard the remark as he drew close enough to identify
the man at the rooming house door.

It was Witt.. The detective saw him gaze after the retreating figure
of the taller man for a moment then enter the building with the phar-
macy package in his hand. :

Employing all his skill, and determined not to let his manhunting
enthusiasm lead him into mistakes or perhaps a trap, McNamara
gained the second-floor landing, then the next higher level. He had
noted that the pair had parted at 10 p. m. is

Thirty minutes went by and the detective—too absorbed in his.
work to call for reinforcements—approached the door, loosening his
service revolver in its holster as he did so. :

He listened for a moment at the door and thought he detected some
low, muffled conversation. Then he raised his hand and imitated the
signal knock he had witnessed an hour or so earlier. As he heard
footsteps approaching from the inside, McNamara drew his revolver.

The door flew open, revealing the heavy, squat figure of the burglar.
His jaw dropped in astonishment at sight of his former detective
Nemesis, and he promptly obeyed the order to throw up his hands.

“7 TERE was a sudden squeaking of springs on a ramshackle bed in
the corner. McNamara moved to one side and leveled his gun at the
moving figure. The second occupant of the roqm relaxed, then slowly
held up his hands. McNamara backed Witt into a corner, pocketed a
revolver found on the table, and fished another gun from under the
pillow on the bed. He slapped the bed clothing with an experimental
hand, but found no other weapons.

“All right, Witt,” he began, “where were you night before last and
who’s your friend? Talk up, now.”

Witt sat down in a chair but shut his lips grimly. Eying him nar-
rowly McNamara swung his attention to the figure on the bed. He
stepped over and commanded the man to pull up the leg of his trousers.

The reclining man’s left leg was heavily bandaged below the knee.

“So you're the fellow they were buying bandages and iodine for ?”
McNamara demanded. The detective took out a pair of handcuffs
and quickly manacled the man to the frame of his bed. Not having
another pair of handcuffs, he was forced to keep an eye on Witt.

The officer, mindful of the promised return of the third man, de-
cided to leave the wounded man shackled’to the bed.

He marched his stocky prisoner down the stairs, out to the street
and down to the drugstore, where he telephoned for help.

Within a few minutes Detectives Craig and Hawley responded.
McNamara turned Witt over to Hawley and led Craig back to the
rooming house, pausing at the ground-floor office to caution the land-
lady against giving any alarm.

The wounded man lay on the bed. He looked in terror at McNamara
as the door opened. Craig remained on the ground floor in conceal-
ment to await the promised return of the third suspect. Within 15
minutes he had made the arrest and marched the man, James Thomp-
son, upstairs to the room where McNamara sat with the other prisoner,
whose name, it was learned, was Charles E. T..Oxnam.

Oxnam was unable to stand on account of the pain ir his swollen leg,

DARING


DETECTIVE

The door flew open revealing
the heavy, squat figure of the
burglar. His jaw dropped in
astonishment at sight of his
former detective Nemesis.

so an ambulance was sent to
take him first to the emer-
gency hospital and then to
police headquarters. There
after sharp questioning. he
confessed having fired the
fatal shot in the Alexander
home. He identified Witt as
his confederate.

The witnesses took one
look at the pair and instantly
pointed them out as Alex-
ander’s murderers. The third
man, Thompson, they had
never seen before. He sub-
sequently served six months
for vagrancy.

McNamara quickly gath-
ered up the loose ends of the
investigation. Witt finally
led the officers to the route
of his flight from the Alex-
ander home and showed the
detectives where he had
thrown the telltale jimmy.
His revolver, found in his
room, was the one carried
the night of the murder.

"@ Wiabiege said he limped
from the mansion with
his left calf bleeding from the
bullet fired by young Alex-
‘ander, and that he took ref-
uge behind the billboard and
tore up a handkerchief in an
attempt to stop the flow of
blood. He said he had never
seen the whisky bottle found
by McNamara. It was Ox-
nam’s hand-print found on
the window sill of the Alex-
ander home. The prisoner
said he had never been finger-
printed before.

The two gunmen were
given speedy trials. Oxnam
was found guilty of first de-
gree murder in 15 minutes
by a jury in Judge’ Willis’
court on Jan. 13, 1915. Two
days later a jury returned a
similar verdict against’ Witt.

In their confessions the
prisoners had admitted ob-
serving the Alexander home
for several days before the
family moved in and settled
down. On the night of the
murder they hid in the grass
across the street for hours
after the lights went out in

the house and then gained.

entry through the window.

Both men paid for their
crime on the gallows on
Mar. 5, 1916, their appeals

having been denied.

(The name James Thompson as
used in this story ts not real but
fictitious.—Ed.)

23

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LESS


wound wi

In a moment the second burglar was McNamara’s dubious conjec- ; “ie
getting it so hot and heavy from the ture about the merit of the cor- kerchief «
girls who were hitting him with hand- don idea in that particular case \ gleamed
mirrors and hairbrushes that he fled. : tag? bloodstain
proved well-founded. Despite aired
an intensive hunt and an ex- we bial “O
haustive interrogation of all pos- } te “ “C
“sibly suspicious persons found Bis “Th ie
in the area, no logical suspects | ly fe
could be located. poorer Mga
While officers continued their | iy ~~
search through the closed-off pa A :
area, McNamara prowled along | “a : oar
the street, through the weeds, foc hauns
grass and shrubbery, over piles Warne
of debris left by the builders of | i an
the Alexanders’ new home, look- | . Tt News
ing for clues. | th ne
As McNamara waited impa- detettive:
tiently for full daylight to take | “Chief
up the search for the trail of c to .
blood he had observed leading “i d hit ~
from the front door of the Alex- i b ri 7
ander mansion, it seemed that ap _ ‘
the elements were arraying rt “Well
themselves on the side of crime. te
briskly as
tive bure:
[7 BEGAN to sprinkle. The Nias
officer reflected gloomily that plied as h
the rain, while not heavy, would Flammer
be sufficient to wash away the | es
blood spots he had hoped would eb : E : dies
lead him to his quarry. . said:
Throughout his investigation Leas mie
McNamara had been turning had tl
over in his mind the names and pe opie
faces of all possible suspects in me Tn
his amazingly large and well- i ve k
ordered mental picture gallery — . i
of men he had encountered dur- ie h f ;
ing his years on the burglary eae Se
and pickpocket details. McNa-
mara was known never to forget |
a face he had seen. He never 1 Oe
failed to recognize traces of a tt 1
modus operandi which had once glary and
come under his eye. And for . see if I «
these reasons newspaper re- among fh
porters and other officers had Aided
dubbed him “Camera-Eye Mac.” from the
Just as he had feared the rain senting k
had erased the telltale red spots ene
from the sidewalk in front of names be
the house. He recalled, however, began th
that the trail had led across and down an
down the street to the left. alibis of |
McNamara attempted to fol- oe As mi;
low the trail but it had simply warneet
vanished in the rain. He jail and «
sauntered down the _ block, | - such com
crossed the intersection and tives oF
walked slowly along, his eyes SOCEC
scanning the pavement, the hs ceeding!)
grass lawns and the houses. Detective
' At the next intersection on a mara hac
vacant lot stood two large bill- of the in
boards, set at an angle across Judgin
McNamara closed his notebook and act. And if the short, squatty fellow had the corner with two of their ends abut- oat
wént downstairs with Capt. Flammer. _ been intent on killing he would have shot ting. McNamara noted that the structure behaved
The latter spoke first. “Mac,” he began, the Alexander children. could have furnished at least temporary | as well: a
“do you think there is any possibility that “We'll check everything just as soon haven to a wounded man attempting to | stocky c
the robbery attempt was a side-issue and _ as it gets lighter—let's see, it’s after four avoid notice of running or limping. |... girls and
that these men primarily were after Alex- _o’clock now. But the first thing is to Sure enough, the grass in the angle be- ing from
ander for revenge or some other motive?” shake down this whole neighborhood for hind the billboards was pressed down. ee cacepe, ‘
McNamara shook his head. “I doubt the suspects.. Even if they've made a ~ It was mostly dry, too—except for sev- __ short
it. I think these were a couple of would- getaway before the cordon was estab- eral small patches of blood, Undoubtedly E° in the det
be burglars who wouldn’t have used their _ lished, they may have left something for — the wounded bandit had spent some time | phrase tc

guns if they hadn’t been caught in the us to work on.” there. He had attempted to bandage his | = Sociation
DARING | PErEC)

Namara’s dubious conjec-
bout the merit of the cor-
ea in that particular case
| well-founded. Despite
ensive hunt and an ex-
ve interrogation of all pos-
suspicious petsons found
area, no logical suspects
de located.
le officers continued their
through the closed-off
{cNamara prowled along
eet, through the weeds,
.nd shrubbery, over piles
‘is left by the builders of
xanders’ new home, look-
clues.
cNamara waited impa-
for full daylight to take
search for the trail of
ie had observed leading
e front door of the Alex-
nansion, it seemed that
-ments were arraying
ves on the side of crime.

‘GAN to sprinkle. The
‘t reflected gloomily that
. while not heavy, would
‘ient to wash away the
ots he had hoped would
1 to his quarry.
ighout his investigation
ara had been turning
his mind the names and
all possible suspects in
zingly large and well-
mental picture gallery
ie had encountered dur-
years on the burglary
pocket details. McNa-
s known never to forget
i¢ had seen. He never
recognize traces of a
9erandi which had once
der his eye. And for
‘asons newspaper re-
and other officers had
im “Camera-Eye Mac.”
- he had feared the rain
od the telltale red spots
' sidewalk in front of
:. He recalled, however,
rail had led across and
street to the left.
nara attempted to fol-
tail but it had simply
in the rain. He
down the block,
the intersection and
lowly along, his eyes
the pavement, the
ns and the houses.
next intersection on a
t stood two large bill-
2t at an angle across
vo of their ends abut-
oted that the structure
ed at least temporary
ed man attempting to
ining or limping.
grass in the angle be-
S was pressed down.
too—except for sev-
f blood. Undoubtedly
t had spent some time
mpted to bandage his

DARING

ee
aise

wound with strips from either a hand-

kerchief or a shirt.
gleamed with hope as he picked up a
bloodstained strip of linen_bearing what
appeared to be ‘most af an embroidered
initial “O,” or perhaps it was a complete
letter, “C.”

The detective spent ten minutes mi-
nutely inspecting the scene but found
nothing more of interest. There was an
empty, broken flask which had once con-
tained a cheap brand of whisky but
whether it had been behind the_billboard
for hours or days was uncertain, Mc-
Namara retrieved it, however, for a
check on possible fingerprints.

It began to rain again, this time as

though it would continue all day and the’

detective returned to the Alexander home,

“Chief Flammer wants to see you down
at Central,” another plainclothes officer
told him as he reached the veranda. He
climbed into his car and drove through
the rain to headquarters.

“Well, any progress?” Flammer asked
briskly as McNamara entered the detec-
tive bureau.

“Not much, I guess,” McNamara re-
plied as he laid the slain man’s wallet on
Flammer’s desk and placed beside it the
torn strip of cloth and the broken bottle.

Flammer after inspecting the articles
said: ‘“We’ve found that the burglars
broke into the house by jimmying a front
window. The jimmy they used must have
had some notches in the end because we
found some irregularities in the marks it
made. I’m having impressions made from
the marks on the window sill so that if
we find the jimmy we’ll make it mighty
tough for the man who owns it.”

M‘NAMARA nodded in. approval.

“T think I'll go through the .bur-
glary and pickpocket files,” he said, “and
see if I can figure out a prospect from
among the C’s and O’s,”’

Aided by clerks, McNamara selected
from the files a handful of names repre-
senting known pickpockets and a dozen
or more burglars and suspects whose
names began with either C or O. Then
began the exhaustive task of running
down and checking the statements and
alibis of the suspects.

As might have been expected, some
were out of town, others were already in
jail and a few supported their alibis with
such convincing corroboration from rela-
tives or employers that their possible

* connection with the murder seemed ex-

ceedingly remote. With the assistance of
Detectives Craig and Hawley, McNa-
mara had practically completed this phase
of the investigation by nightfall. ~”
Judging by the uncertain, nervous man-
ner in which the wounded burglar had
behaved when surprised in the bedroom,
as well as the effrontery of his squatty,
stocky companion in battling with the
girls and yet either forgetting or refrain-
ing from firing his revolver to aid his
escape, they might have been amateurs.
“Short and squatty.” Something clicked
in the detective’s mind as he repeated the
phrase to himself. But just what its as-
sociation could be, he was too weary to

DETECTIVE

McNamara’s eyes:

Lye IP UY Serr are

remember and he dropped off. to sleep
until daybreak.

McNamara did not go to headquarters
after he had breakfasted but reported by
telephorfe that he wanted to talk to the
Alexander family again. At the Wilshire
place mansion, McNamara was admitted
to the Alexander home. Mrs. Alexander
and her three children readily conferred
with him on his attempts to get more
detailed descriptions of the killers.

“Describe the bigger fellow first, if
you will,” the. officer invited. As the
murderer’s physical characteristics were
being pieced together by first one, then
others of the quartet, McNamara men-
tally leafed over his cerebral picture gal-
lery, especially those who names began
with either C or O. But there was no en-
lightening spark as the Alexanders re-
lated all they had observed of the killer.

“All right,” the detective said. “Now
let’s have what you saw of the short,
squatty fellow.”

, .“Short and squatty—that just describes

-him,” one exclaimed. “From what I re-

member, he was a sullen, slow-witted—”
The informant paused as McNamara
leaped to his feet.

“Please go on,” the detective urged. |

“T just thought of something.”

But the detective listened with only
half his mind as the family gave its de-
scription of the killer’s confederate. When
they had finished, he closed his notebook,

* thanked therm courteously, and strode

for the door.

Witt! Glenn Witt—could that be one
of the gunmen? McNamara asked him-
self. He eritered his car and sped to the
detective bureau. As he walked past the

- captain’s office, Flammer noticed his ex-

citement.

Flammer rose, hurried around his desk
and overtook McNamara as the latter
strode into the record bureau.

“Boys,” McNamara said, “check your

‘prints on the Alexander murder with

those of Glenn Witt, about twenty-three.
He did a hitch in the county jail last year
for rolling drunks. I pinched him my-
self. I was on the pickpocket detail.”

“What’s up, Mac ?” Flammer demanded
as the pair returned to the detective bu-
reau. “Got a line on it yet?”

“Well, Chief, I don’t know. To tell you
the truth, all I’ve got is that when the

Alexanders were going .over their de- ‘

scription of the killers they mentioned
that the short, squatty one was sort of

ERE ree ey"
RE OE NA

CVS ying: Ri “aoa
On RTO fo

slow-witted. Right away I thought of
young Witt, who answers the general de-
scription of the shorter murderer. I could
almost see him run onto that staircase
and start swinging with those ham-like
fists of his. Besides, I haven’t had a line
on him since he served his term for
drunk-rolling, because I was transferred
to the burglary squad.

But Witt’s prints were not to be found.
There was a good palm print on the win-
dow sill where the jimmy had been used
but there was not another print in the
files that could be matched with it. The
maker was someone hitherto unknown to
the police. enthe

Equipped with a notation of Witt’s last
known, address,,.McNamara went there
only to learn that the man had moved
leaving no forwarding address.

A check with the postoffice, however,
yielded the information that Witt was
being dunned by a clothing store to a
cheap rooming house he had given as his
residence when buying a suit on credit.
McNamara hurried there, only to learn
that Witt was employed as a shipping
clerk in a small factory in downtown Los
Angeles.

It was about quitting time at the estab-
lishment so McNamara refrained from
driving to the factory. He preferred to
nab his man at home on the chance his
wounded confederate—if Witt had par-
ticipated in the murder—might be netted
at the same time.

M‘NAMARA climbed two rickety
flights in a dilapidated building on
West Temple street and knocked on the
door of the room the landlady had in-
formed him was rented by Witt.

There was no answer to his knock. The
detective eased his fingers around the
door-knob and cautiously turned it. The
door was locked.

The detective stood uncertainly in the
hall for a minute or two, listening, but
his stealthy approach had either been
heard or the room was empty.

McNamara flattened suddenly against
the wall as footsteps sounded on the stairs
and then darted on tiptoe to a recess lead-
ing to the fire-escape. Someone was com-
ing. Was it Witt?

The detective peered cautiously around
the angle of the wall as a dark figure
topped the stairs and went to the door the
officer had just deserted so hastily. The

Ber | a

A bloody trail led to the midnight prowler, left above, who slew wealthy W. M. Alex-
ander, center. Detective Mc amara, right, remembered a face and solved a crime.

#6 cite

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Dent Sree toe ered SES,


mi Prevene oc the state

: oF.
wane thete pay to one. ‘thipl ot the
nom, wth the. same priountas. bet
core ib easme where jail wenterces
sere “iiPoed. * This. .Rasis contin-
ond in effect Ent. the Wright act
recame effective: 6
wares ACT. EFFECT *.
“Wik Moai be Wright ct came an

schbe. of. punishment for :

uaeer dey wtoiators, “eae con! ‘poss
ae for ihe: police. edurt; Judge. to
oboe & tiakver re Fre buj dol
wire. “teirict Attorney 'Georse-R.
Loweloy and I conferred oh the mat:
ter of pay: etek stool! ptgeons,: and
taed. we ©. would ‘pay? a
fat @umy of-one hundred ddilars tn,
tired of & et ‘the widen

i oeue when an commilssiory: Renn
he aboillion’) of rts, (stool pigeon!

ae vite Pre stent

\ lege, courses |

: Career
Freain, Ste "eilicas weit tek
fuged Ontyrat the bet ation ot tte

Beant of” ‘cs gh ‘wn * nes ot

pehert of Mex
Bb tites Rréwer sy

Begnd ot) Dentrol.
Peank: WT hem

set, the emllege am;
Seertead Yesterday
& Hie Race c thon $
eas. mae ‘when
afefiance of ATX
Pisreé*semnind
“that the’ state col
“De
shortened atid
ehanged for teach-
‘€rs was made yes:
terday by) Wilt ic,

Wood» In’ Satra-
merit 7 MASS NELLIE rreace

for. + “training general *
teachers, '

Years, in

two, : ryears,, So(thate mare ° teachere
‘could. be, trained | 49th) pth sane
amount of mronéyiet Sy

“lo Wood ‘eonttnded rat - “thie: present
fettort:. of: Mrs.” Plerme. ito eXercise
controz; over the; y.oourses: of study!
and sreducational , Policies in - the:
teachers Peteidie Sa" aa aed wie a;

* elementary

of eerunulous.
DN “FRAME: UPS":
-“In my personal
he ery of ‘frame ‘ap’ eethe
Se liquor law:

ery fia We. have: shad. of course,
aces; where =the. stool
pliberatety connived. atithe

JEx6 made me dott” “If he had}

ng to piuté “the na-
onal prohibition act: panes besmirch

at

ps aga sprue oyetm |

rides the plan”. It: says?) ey
"The: parking” ome ye which ‘cut

’

ve occurred.
“From July 2 7 chal’ employ: op
tives from leensed- Private deted=
© agencies at a.cost' pf 10) dollars
Bay and legitimate. expenses: in
curing evidences That Pricey latin,
formed, ism? standard “one with
Bencies for such” ‘work, and moh
nd@ will
ch operatives: most of the time
ORK OF DETECTIVES<;?*

They wilt be used to: obtain’ evi:| 5

ace. against . bootlegging. prost{-
| and gambling, where {t ia:tm:’

sible f one" of my. officersit
Tyna tad Lal

ng forth: the: faci that’ ‘Hauéel §

pai sold on the Premises be
the magistrate who js-
a earch -warratit.. “This

iv. gnanner {ni which % iwef

premises and’ wearch* ‘for:
ateze f{licit Hquor, *
tis obvious, 1 think:

perinit me to eihpjoy: three}:

a ee

Thomas a6 a courses of; study
Wwefermade™to® fit" local) conditions:
andthat; 48) Wood also, declared, the
lawi- places“ complete: nbthority” Tor

) the administration: of “the teachers’

‘reper Cigna 6
part of
alse one tn about nine cascs:out of)

hands? of: the “btate
utatior/and not fn
Mrs’ Peres or the: botird of contro:
‘Attorhey’ General vA S. * Wen hasi
iruled? that. the ‘poard: et ¢ontrdl has
“Ro aurbvrify bats that ‘the power: fs

ees. in the;

tT vested: Sead oats te pear a.

s

Eta

ets pares

e ae
EwhiGh it fe hoheht win hy
i utne ‘threes petitioners Chalin? that
* tre’ 3 rr 8 Fhe MBN;

~ ee pak were either paid Sar fyli joe!

Mrs,’ Pierce’ would redtce the term

from two> and Sone-haif
effect: in: Fresno? now, to

i Oh farrdé fe ibe ee mee

wel titel! tial ted vas

ttn, Ass Sater b Nba?
wire ates ei # od

Cab hate ye erin tig

gts {eas | with
Mon ace aee Mee bef.

f eRe em. Bett, ie

*

Tesi trase te S20 Tired”

Na! faetition: ie Na Bppoi Ath
a? a refered Has wna theatay
totimatest that: bettlément
‘ be Lamoty tof sited: Ritelareg?
dan pany has tind’ July
“ening: of dhedtivane
done

me dee ViMOVE WATIREA CTO,
¢ eri Ls The, we AA PEC M Hie Th) pee area! he

Serle Wad BLOF: tee ris 4 ea) oe ine
iadel ta Pye? nh, apes OL ei Riekr¢ {HU Wing be g
Shyu Bho: Fee LRUEO of Vim atin nt the

+ 3
Wialdirbatt aint He,
Tees tds thojpeak the +

Oe ee
s (hit }
tnheh feta lee this ake + ‘ ; ;
4 Khan val, vance m: ideetik ze LEH f 5
1973, Fluinie 6p te! less eH Ph, Pat inten teh Dy Epa the At eycit
Be ee vies diy Lu thovint Bites to SUBST SAAT bene: Uikeinatcuek tisateteby Ad rieh five ABLE
A i white =the aimee yar Vins: ‘eh: Stites RIT: Ge ads wih Cithne esd ies ra 5
eat: fe (ror Giana. ltr ip eat Ry ceo if Me ei by ez
sun paare © uN preference ina faye Oop Wnts hee Hite. : get ay Fe 4
POLS SP credtogs aver: Mie threw { Rerieiehot. wnt kttedsiatattaly gy i
petitioners: iS. set fone 1p “the Bett + thes Fresiyaitireer: Ayre: ot: et BH ht its ernene af “ty, eget arn
tien) an, alters vatfor. *

: parid ys ithe Maran TPO MG Of tts Gedin epee ki ay, pie
: up at awe fiiew a ‘petitions for aj shown : uring i the? trie’ ‘alas from! biydaet sestimmaty, ‘Ohvet ort pa:
precefPérship the sehédule taf MaAbiliL in wena: fn the bark, Satie ach wet Ftank oT raax has ked for brasey
ties will ‘he gone” aver either by;

eral DUDES penetrated his be ba : Radi tlafrat Off} ers: te. mark Carn,
Federal Juiige’ Bledsoe or Jatnés!: | CLAIMER SELF: DEFENSE apiath Men Loe Fae trey Firth and
ey Ettorts to refinance the Tusinesa’ «Im his tdetense,: burt) clair: odd hel ee ctihars |

shot. atter.: Salauini® Kae, drat is Mayor

(wa motore ¥4

and-‘continue are being made. by "Pawns ge Of the pa
Cahn, who wired ftom Ney York; revolver €ind- setenipted ‘ ts nelurder, Hart eid wil! ne Posbt ean that
hiare nights) yl am, endeavoring tOT Him: iNont tof the “weve ral’ Xe ware! the: reagent: fer additional isen will
put. the basdiieede oni anew ifinmstcsalt nesses to the cramte * heir Patt; ieee deed “The Ptitef of police, he
-basis-and dontin ue. it”?! ; 7 jiraw: igo Bunland notre er Ge rae pao as, WEE probablys be instructed
With the creditors idiv faea into thay: thataised by. thel migtderer ke to Fp ploy, this Sik .eirkera-for the
several - groups) efforts: tO. Work. oug: found ht the scene. or Be “rime Ry ; PULpOReD, , for wiki i: rh che asked addte
4 oThe! condemned | nai Blepa to chet Hoga men:

the: financing on sucha *Dasis aM ts
stave off? the’ filing# of: banhReuptey, KovetMbE that” Pedant Jiad insu, g) REQUEST: GIVEN SUPPORT
his mikcepy! and it wis tor" that tie; be /oTnmmissioner -Strankhan

proceedings, failed. - The} inieres: 5
“af ppeg uneasy. Pectte ier et Tad | Roly the: crinte ivas. cominitrs) that he wold taupport’ the Tequest
AR “of ithe thier: Of DGlies for additional

tng to Permit chim tol J conf Aue ’ = mbatiod ot i fact di
} Hei ds they irould be

pink the’ (tiade
B-effAct in directing
\ barter fine where'there.
vet jakting, abou f pita “ st rol.  Corpinissioner..
ner spine § Harb ‘e4td that “helwould Certainty.
stport the reduestrof the chief of

time: Hefty e2i -t
Set guier ct eae Potre "tor the "additional men to

ae
pans fot fpatrot thei sesidential sections,

! Anéther miotian, introduced by
Lommilesinher: Sharp. that it Is the
peenae of; ‘the? cor

Mir ine

hat ek) p

4oefile ha

Medak ip fhe
cae “* Dart or ent

Ullchrn heh te
ate hw Ub ra fy way

or

Wiidece:

fs

Dt te Pees that'the monte
+ obligations? ‘of ¢ the: Wonder," wear cana adn ee degree;
around” 225° thousand # dollars/™ ot! fire Tanees ance Rea
which. 200 .thousind | idoliars oe hed he
by. eastern: concérns):!154 thausdnd i He hanged today iat 10, ater. :
| dollars: by. San ¥ co." Corcetns | Le hanging, bowever, ee

Parisi f
Base

lace, ones About’, Be
ig | ed
et phi coer ddllars elsewhere ittir that irs thei wa ster!

Saal Sharp Sug gemted that.

[si Meetings of creditora! Wace Bean ia’ (toma: pee minute re reer ti eBpatey ef the state rail--

Doisera patente Selpdtin: 1 2 foad: ‘cOhigi8sion be secured for thie
ha Purpaes.: nd. declared the «deli

ee! view in mina’ ‘bt both femédvini ale thats. Seegruices ‘ould ybe secured. ey

+ the situation. and: ‘to orig thetic fi ‘

pe) Oni k* crdinatice - was laid
Week to permit. of the:

ay } oter ‘tort!
a Fine . 48 further

pment, of: educatios

* first time! oi, the
ae the country,; the government: i:
ft being gun: one a business . baste :*
Congressman | Hey Barbour dt =?
elared~th’p- talk-to-members\ ofthe.

‘Fauetiatiing Sunnyside/Country ¢ind
qast’ night.{o vexplanafion: - s8t thal
| Rey attest Rxyatém, |

a abe Le arte va weficit of.

hutid tien dollard Gn * Iutie”
Be nicks rh iA gh, a ‘ystimaterd. take
int puget aya has* Resulted ; ind the
t ms States! being

oriany!
n order}

Business ‘.was done “on ’a -hit-;
mixs;, hapbazatd peystem, whe: said.
By the‘new, wyatem’ the bxecutivda’

botiaal sMepartmense; ire required) to}

tevin: un the
re

[being went.to the-uppropr

Aton: pe east,
ager The execu Ute:

a Recond ” eae
{neal

Ee elirn tr

; ur'Praises ¢ Ge ‘ooeenmenie

Hance thes

Frésno Realty board th: ‘apnual Dans!
J BARBOUR: DISAPPOINTED.

er"

£5 Congraes - ae e

¢ (Continued en: on Page 16)" iat ; Ret aia
- ein tHe: tase’ Fas nrf-
Pused: Hs: “is tobe exec 6d “Fhe? ‘timers mee, gis merchants
;Quentin? tuingtrew, for Syurs: have felt. says HE: Patterson of
der, and was Revit ag “fopvinced 7 el the ch; amher of eemmmerce, “that the
_pman's! Sullt’ and, Would‘ let, ane UNF prea at parking regulations have
j takentd course» RON hie Bey 4 Revere: handigap to business,
7 pariak shot Feutx, Pe roel phan oe tee Fdeterms? Hatiom: to test ott
ya streets ror, tik aah oe: “ipliriiied
genes “after: wher Phe vd PEER EIN - of this
Starnes and fled.iso re Craii “Aor” Itis understood that
Pt ae ae | Pawisti followed Be UR, reliant twill be tye ed *out for a
“retiring SF abrttye, nef Tadd) tale Pistey abt hitdie Bers before decision is randered ag.
sj thet Maftitenance Of | disables war: times,’ the 1st) watt oe tering “the to Sheinkroe shal! be mAintainea
veterina the - budget ~ caWojaid: Have | backiand ‘coring bid tdhee tea nee se hia
been “on an (equal basis/: with the | 068." This shot stopped, Padaitnio., NOT Success 4. ~
pre; War level. the siraker.: cons! “Parisi ciaght yp. with: hin Wictim.: +418 Gtge found: thatthe plan te
tinued: |“ \ saa bent ovepe street rading, and prut-) nor’ shicmenstuls tt- may de well- to
tt tiotieme Kim inthe ‘bead; With. the, thvesticnte’: she plan now Ini vogue
wea pur, until bye tanderts wuited inn inh Omaha whsoh 18 maid. to: remove
ere af: jSeven shots were S ired Eitha at: Tslities of Vine "Situation: Thi
Forkner;: wee the congress onie 4 Dg
mag, WG Hag -jukr returned troti'a > ya}

“aise: nit 4a} padi’ ig th e Mas oe a i BRN
(Continued on Page 22}
to CAlanka? weeny that, i,

3. Jaurd:
ae ‘San

cp ter rae
tisk etitite og

ssp

f

In response to a’ qy Sextion Pe

ut Sahy dt Pa two ay S tetent Att et i Me :

i ferin ey eetdPagons Senge tas, EO

-r" a awe re ngdtevous wi teace t

De, ¢ to) thee, “ is Crtcapatl
ediideny Sone)

“tre rined: ‘to Rot

sat Jength;.on, they

Ob adaieie. thats s0PPonent
'{ onents+*ef thee pla

tart Jere og sth j:
pire. oh red at BUsfi¢iont” t5 =
both" ‘naaell ascent hi penalty Imposed: ‘by tired
) eitua-) Judce and the firs’
tty. was,ben! aft: baile one been
* great “extent, par- bme es
eMbiranepetece tothe: thar) irey Fah ate re
Wenn of Papere ery }
| Relative ‘ey the: Government QP
irtigation? Bark :
t Aen, ‘Setictent: dan" tine ae

sits atcrebuttar:
fe. murdered. man
Beaiay | tor peate @

hat California ‘was eg tthe, Wie

; teed (anid understood’ in.‘ We, East!
pana itdle Went, i He Nid Shae’ the
Jnewsbaders with) beth i

Prinunk’ only dy RP Stews ne frye’;
shart} emanating frome the Wee

19, Fedeon: ap rete
the ijdry. andthe: Nach; i

he Judes hott Trot: be Dentess th

nae

rr fad, f:
s otiawdéainee: Wiye

nthovare Rl Wasa | ae plete eet
Se “2 ‘ a

al

4

“perking-wit—-—

a et trite t me

ite


my.

aaa hobo ‘and "en.
rameeting \Diace.. Hex had
ted} himeelt.: until? his

sdentitywnd prociaimed ‘throughout
fae halle’ And: I ‘considered that ‘His}-
ares) ‘extellent' and that> he!

a ;
: peers me, ( and with; 2
shout} of ‘Here. am ide :

: = (Continued. fram Pause %

é a from: Crime’ must.

} guarded.) The’ execution; ah Parisi
will be: a-warning: to men. of, his
dype ‘that..they’ cannot ron amuck
in California, murdering - peaceable
citizens and: ‘wounding bystanders in
} crowded city streets without paying}
the penalty: imposed “by law.”

%

Barbour Gives ‘Praise: -:
ans To “Ei inancial Systert

: “(Continued Fromm: From: Pace 3) <
educate them on? on needs. sy Ula #66:

: Bawin ry ys Kayaet;’ date! ‘real: es:
tate commissioner; ‘explained; the
new.real estate ‘statute -passed; at
the: ‘recent / session of the Legisla—
ture. ° This; includes ‘censoring: ‘of}

ve ‘advertising andthe Investigation of:

subdivisions -by the commissioner, ;
| California! ‘Texan’ and Florida have

“i the: blackeat records with regard, te

a

Pe, PE ere Cg

e172, 189. military, “pitine<

amoun of good from the minimum | t
jexpenditures, for I, too, Am: seat

real estate operators, '-he “said and,

iy urged & higher standard of jethics:
» Past-President Herbert: Lavy gave:

nial annual report and: the new. ¢x- |
‘ecutive. D. Richard ‘Atnsley. tant
stalled; making:ianvacceptance; talk
and outlining, his; Sere forthe com=:
{ year. 18
Shtertainment was furnished’ ri
Harvey Humphrey With. a’ vocal
solo:- orchestral selections by Leoh-'}

} Joe King aAnd).A Wmidleville “pet bir
Frank Coleman) frusiness) manager:
of the pet Franci<¢y. chamber ats
commerce: a

g ie

2 ph

in. the’ “wortd, being Credited “with?
as con Paredt]
with 71 for’ the. Untad. States, 268;

[2 DeVores. wai bet ra. the. body

i and’ Tulare, where it' waa iputy ‘out.

| atredts. jing eathbiisbehent moved

‘¥ratre: pas the. ‘pareent "ale ‘force,

for: ere anit 390 for Japan-2 Pon et

finanetaty embarrass} trem: ry a

yAsmeeting* of San Francisco’ treas
tors was held ‘at'thy board of trade*
Wedneeday : niotning: when? a. prot
posal of, the, Associated > Dress} In+
dustries of New Yorkifor a 340 per.
Cent settlement was submitted. Par-
ticulars ‘werd wired for and Jatertin
i$he «day. iti/wWas learned that, three
Fresno creditors had filed a *petition
jin involuntary bankruptcy: ae

“The? Fresnd’ credivors «wha fited
the petition!’ in. bankruptcy. were
Fresno. Republican’ Job | Printing:

and? Advertising “company, $427.50: |
H.: Graff and:tompany,. merchandise,
$55.60; Einsteing,: anadgoetccnatanea
$168,82.):). THY; ‘are Jthree of, ,the
smallest. creditors): t

{ The {Wonder ia, 6né. ‘ot Fibend's!
oldest » exclusive women’s: Abparet |
stores’ ard ‘ohne of the Jost}

‘| 3

Tal

on
4

ak Casey)
Aan i

Devils’:

TCONTINUOUS.
Star) i i

‘LIBER

‘NOW--

"A tremendous camer
“Glrected by the men
op “Over The

“THE TO
> THAT

tt.

BER,

eaidtaeth &, WwE>

FORGOT

ESE Was cohen acne ae

Mae

Fold

BIG: RODEO |

-, Old Fort: ‘Millerton -
On: ‘San Joaquin: River,* -
3 Miles Eastof? Friant i

*y

a 3
a i is

Ha

| 50:"Head | of Best Stock in) the
alters An oppertunity- to see

5S ‘Goon, PICNIC ‘GROUNDS

Alse
“Kick Out,” a ¢

an +30, P!M

$

ue Fort Millerton.’

hent jin the state. :(ithwas Ra ear ts

YWikhed for-many: years-at: Broadway.

“of business through fire. Later the
store was established: at. Tulare
J Streets, whefe (it) was ; jagnig 2de-3
stroyed; wher flames. Sonaumed. ‘thé
Forsyth: busting.) a ht
ti Cabn opened) ja tem tary. n

He-. bigs] hotel building. -and!
moved sera
between ener: Ana *Maripdsa

sg its presegtsiccation ‘In | Aprif, .-|
‘The "Btaf Spangled, Danner’ was

ey

*y x
Wow Ptayiig ae ey

7

Payer. vat: iccen: finish the

cdnsideratle = proportions,
Ag putest proportion: to

eA: S$}

year) [
with ans junexpended balance ,eti}—
¥ ahall|

Ea bal-

Bruce ae aesy

—“

cere Ce s

PtHe olin, Ward and. ‘Ideal line :

Se ae tieagectn, tetera einer eaeeraeten

paryy eaneryeere se te

=

a

nd}

| & location. on J street!

LZ

Sf uy wrens nanrepemnacensemasear et ees

GUN anv CAP
W. A. “SNO

‘-

~

ie aie ener
yo.

=

weather ma

Tt ig ‘about time! to- take the Su
Senigusly. The hot days-call for a 2%
ut of ight weight fabric, that Hie
426 yarn Ma and service. :

“We Have a complete line of suital .
iL of all shade

ste de


<i [Que Bieaiier: Migher.os
ts a vernnen creomed from

Sate “: K “ 3 <3
ae | ease one sa erras|

Imperial, Rboant tock of $e a0 hd be
4 vibs@ oper la:
‘onde ie: being: ee hy

of Administration Oe}
2 Foréign’® Liquors
1 : Ships: Unalt i

Pin ‘the house. oft Ios :
he ifeethie cohen
ie reomntie ete

a We

ANC PRA ~ Jans: 29—The
23; “model face bas al ‘etreaniline:

f , eansention: :
eae

Pete: Pp pi good: re
ant: Perea Bopulas ied

Siorectest, Yet, TH ein ans ae
ene F ar as on: of
peace ae * °RABML? 60 A Z
¥ e: eed EEE:
.  Waittier,, WDx BARKS Pays oh 00> we

AGVANSS, | ORE BEIGE Oo oe a59.¢ 0

NOx; £ SRE OR Oe wees

CC he IORI BP ABO AE? te %

Jato, BTx oo Mees panns onnsites.

‘Attias, ORs “Ch vie Ae ems cae cao

- sevvevege

‘ PUES SLs cosas ow pige
nage er  Capran. om
g Lahabra,, NOx Seeaseasoemaces

: ~ cecx oa 6 sAOr.gere es

Ls OR=z. mario ae ank.© >

ask) on geome rman? as ;

bow oF wiwiae 9 0% 93,8 om

rere ree ee .

na AE

Sicaudh oes Lae rpians

TO. i ae o0 6+ -anaham

Eo Tune; 28. -
of oranges and’ one car
ld=" Market: easier oh or

ot lower. inienite irik Gk ot’
cherries;: market” higher- peac
CiHriiax ° ehacdekawdwess cs01.45

: Cals BlUC “rectus iveniones 0" 1.16

Keni mecees doagsvsws 3.40

¥ Tragedy * ios qajeems cae e 1, 60.
Formosa: a +e omeweeeuste 1.65
+> Santa. Rosa owge anacwnand 1.40
‘ 3 ; dial ainda take Sn inne pchadinstin te die 2. 40
mdance bah h tind Sued ede. 4 1.35

i Bo Comet) v-cqemmcoerae sn. 75

cap: Lawsons Retheraes 2.25

Po kee

aad be aed: me i
liand Mra? Mouse | &
e healthy, Dut stolltele: :

HR, Be

Sceneece 3.36

limax. ree ow uh 6 de wewece = “es 3 os

ei: Burbank:

. CHICAGO, June 28.<~Twent ia
ears: sold,;-ten cars .California
‘Distributors,’ thrée:.cars, Nort

on rune sor noe marie
era oe

2 sdinfeabhy wanes irae

» eee. Rosa ogee » aie & 1,40

agedy. 40 ae ee steers 8 te ae “3: §0

w Hette* Bene vee has mide 4.65

riumphe- “we awed be ee seg 1.40

Lt. ie Cee Bade sos ee tes 3:35

TYMANIA vied ceva acess 2.20

Royals - twee eet sense ees ee 7H
ri Tilton aeo@vien ees ee 4.45 -

Tt? Somet +9 PESO 'eae oO 2.35
peBotan enh steric tae esate 4.15 o
urbatice’ eee ee ee ee >a. a =
< tals ul eenererieteerniy

ne- 33. Nine cas pean


~~ wre

i
prt
rh

x: got Hooyer toward. brings <
2a. mpmediate=- federal s a;
¢< investigation and sut-

[ite ie ne wibs6 and
“mam: appealed’ to patel Publie’ peoets
c PP eee round Latent ep

OME aa rec at re ise
oe Califorsin* We, ee ee T

He 8 taco
iad the _ eeu
de arena apron Sand. slower co-0p= fh

teri pt: saaagrbwolation: <r att e 7 te wp eae mag
whieh: will: he» arene ude the: propelter inate

ee Pai Grumpied” 3t. atill
of the 4 tmpérits® Sine early to diige

LS MPardic-eiot Rel x
3 otrests: ef Freano- ta bens,
€ | Peat. - Alter’ the Me

t


=
Murderess |

To Die Toda
'ToDieT day
et) tl, loa?’ ~~ | SAN QUENTIN, Calif., Apr. 10
(AP)—Her final pleas rejected, in
‘both Washington and Sacramento,
plump and motherly Louise Peete
Judson, 69 years old, must die in
‘San Quentin's pale green gas
chamber tomorrow—the second
woman to be executed by Cali-

fornia. ,

The execution is scheduled just
eight years to the day after she
'was paroled from a- prison sen-
Itence pronounced for her first
conviction of murder.

Today, both the U. S. Supreme
Court and Gov. Earl Warren de-
nied Mrs. Judson's latest in a long
series of pleas for clemency. .

The court rejected her request
for a review of the California
supreme court's decision of a few
days ago denying her freedom on
a writ of habeas corpus, Last De-
cember, the U. S. Supreme Court
refused to review her trial.

Mrs. Judson first was sentenced
to. life imprisonment for the mur-
der of Jacob C. Denton, Los An-
geles engineer, in 1920. She was
paroled, after serving 18 years
of the sentence, to Mrs. Margaret
Logan, 60, of Pacific Pallsades—
‘for whose murder nearly three
years ago she is to be executed
tomorrow. e

The prosecution in both cases
presented evidence that Mrs. Jud-
son murdered her benefactors to,
obtain their property.

eee


Brown
Heady

: January, 1956

A plot by Patricia Ricco (above) and a friend
to kill Pat’s husband went sour when a Bronx
cabbie told police he’d been propositioned to
run his cab into the husband. Patricia was to

Contacting wealthy women through “lonely hearts” columns,
mulcting and then killing them, was the vicious racket of.
infamous Martha Beck and her sweetheart Raymond Fernandez.
Martha (above) posed as Ray’s sister while he wooed the gals,
Both paid for their crimes in the hot'seat at Sing Sing.

| ianed at 2, Bonnie Brown was
er friends and neighbors as one
nate girls in ‘northwestern Mis-

1e the heiress to a rich 360-acre
adparents who reared her were
off, and what they had would
, She grew up a remarkably at-
ellent horse-woman, a belle of

ably restive. After two and a
t to take a course to become a
ife dull and lonely, even in an
th highways had almost wholly
tion of the farmer. Bonnie pre-
t. Joseph, and of occasional
2r the placid existence of her

ith gold flecks in her reddish-

Heady; a Prosperous com-

busy Stockyards, and became
‘8 Matrons in that city,

eautiful new Cape Cod home

Its_ bordering hedges, where

* 3 of flowers that became the

ley entertained and were en-
> surface, Bonnie Heady ap-
, young housewife, Secretly she
and boredom which even she

J than her friends; a little
Che friends drifted" away,
(Continued on Page 73)

POLICE DRAGNET CASES

!
A sexual delinquent at 13,
in the badger racket when
15, and the smoothest con
game girl in the country
at the age of 17, is the
life history of Barbara
Spencer (left). In one of
her jobs, she swindled an
elderly woman of $18,000.

/

Before the long and lethal
life of Louise Peete ended
in the gas chamber at San
Quentin she racked up a
record of two murders and
four men driven to suicide
while another murder and
three “natural” deaths are
credited to her but not
proven, The victim’s cash
motivated all the crimes.

then sue for $100,000 and split it three ways.


*men as the robbers.

Inmates of the New Jersey penitentiary
refer to Archie Herron as the man who
“beat the rap.” He was sentenced to be
hanged during September, 1908, after he
had murdered the Reverend Samuel B.
Prickett. His execution was delayed for
appeal until January, 1909, but he lost the
appeal.

Governor J. Franklin Fort granted two
reprieves. When psychiatrists disagreed,
Justice James J. Bergen—Herron’s trial
Judge—ordered the execution stayed until
he had issued further orders, but before
he could do that he died.

Herron has since remained a legal riddle.

* *

What was probably the most expensive
drink on record was served in an English
pub recently. During a rush hour, the
owner accidentally poured a customer’s
brandy into the glass where she had placed
her $2,000 diamond ring for safe-keeping.
The ring vanished along with the customer
who, it is now certain, was in a condition
in which swallowing a ring meant nothing
to him. The proprietress, Mrs. Ann Revel,
has offered a reward of $200 for the return
of the customer.

DOUBLE IDENTITY

A Deerfield, Ohio, man and wife turned
in a robbery report to Sheriff George
Shields, Portage County. In the statement
they claimed that two holdup men took
$1400. from them at their inn, also $340
belonging to a roomer.

The wife later identified two out-of-town

The astute Sheriff resorted to a little
strategy to help clarify the case in
mind. He substituted a third man fop’one
of the two men already identified, and
asked the wife to view the suspec#s again.

She identified the third man, tgo! That
made it all too clear.
Shrewd questioning broughy a break-

down, and the woman admitted that the
robbery tale was a phony. he couple’s
object was the roomer’s $340 which was
found on the husband when follared.
The unscrupulous pair appdared before
Justice Blake C. Cook, who|\gave them
thirty-day jail sentences and fine of $50
and costs. :

BOAT LOAD

A floorwalker in the sports equipment de-
partment of a Detroit department store
was approached by two men who told
him they were after a canoe which was
to be repaired before delivering it to a
customer. With the help of two salesmen
and the floorwalker they hauled it down
on the freight elevator, loaded it on a

car and drove off, never to he seen again.

As Miss Velda Davenport, a nurse of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, entered her apart-
ment building, a thief snatched her pocket-
book containing $55 and darted through a
narrow passageway. Miss Davenport noti-
fied the Police Department and two detec-
tives were sent out to investigate. The de-
tectives promptly returned the purse to
Miss Davenport with the explanation, “We
got it from a Christmas tree.” And this
was not a joke. They had traced the thief’s
footprints in the snow to a discarded Christ-
mas tree in the passageway. There on the
tree lay the purse, apparently dropped by
the thief as he had stumbled over it in his

A Middle-Western Judge, refusing a di- Pane aes Se:
vorce recently, rendered the followitg
opinion: .

“The libellant claims that the respondent
is now paying attention to another woman
(presumably near his own age) and that
he now casts reflections on the libellant’s
age and calls her ‘an old ——.’

“As we understand the testimony, she
objects principally to the use of the word

“Daddy told me never to stop for strange
men,” a Newton, Massachusetts, girl told the
Judge when she was arraigned on a speed-
ing charge.

The strange men were police officers. She
was fined $15.

PISTOL-UNPACKING MA

‘old. ” Accosted in his store by a teen-aged thug,
Henry Wendt of Sioux Falls, South Dakota,
DAISY TRAIL involuntarily let out a cry for “Ma.” So
. “Ma” hurried in from a back room, took in
E——B , a boilermaker, became sus-

picious of his ‘wife, Daisy, a war plant
worker, in Chicago. He sleuthed the park- (\
ing lot outside Mrs. B’s place of employ-
ment and took the license numbers of the AN
more than fifty cars parked there. Then,
through the motor vehicle bureau, he got vv”

/

the names of the car owners and in the
course of time reduced the number of sus-
pects to two. *

One day he saw his wife enter one of the
two suspected cars, with a man. He followed
them to a hotel and had them arrested.
Judge Joseph Sabeth, in granting him a
divorce, commended him on the evidence
he had gathered. ,

B told the Judge he first got suspicious of
his wife when he didn’t hear the bus stop
when she came home from work one day.
He didn’t say anything but lis
she arrived after that-and“found she en-
tered at the same time whether the bus

<

the situation at a glance, struggled with the
youth for the weapon, and when last seen,
the would-be holdup man was scurrying up
the street, no doubt charging this affair up
to no profit and all lost.

It is believed that a new record in sen-
tencing and releasing a man has been made
in a Middle-Western state.

The week beginning May 14th, 1945, a
man ntenced to not more than twenty
years onas tory charge. He was taken
to the state prison_on May 18th. The fol-

stopped or not. ein ; A
¢ ‘ R owing day a notice.was received that he
Before’ he became a_boilermaker, B in- j,ou1d be eligible for parole July Ist.

e court, he had been a detective. \

“DEAR » tea oa al

“Dear flower lover”—The brothers Pike
so addressed many who took the saluta-
tion for a compliment. Their letter went
on to say that recipients would be rewarded
with twenty-five beautiful flower bulbs, six
silk handkerchiefs, a seed jcatalog and a
surprise package worth a dollar. All they
had to do was to send in two dimes and eight
penny postcards addressed/ to other flower
lovers. ‘

The Pikes—Silas, Ernest and Charles—
were pikers instinctively and went in for
saving postage.

From Febru to July they mailed three

million po rds. According to United
POLICE DILEMMA torney Woll in Chicago Federal
A Chicago janitor has confessed that he urt, a million-and-a-half orders were
slugged Mrs. Rose Michaelis and stuff: ft returned with $300,000 in dimes. Premiums
while she was_sti e—into a were offered those who responded without
furnace. For two weeks, police under Lieut. delay. But few got anything. There were
Philip Breitzke, of the Homicide detail, thousands of complaints, but these were
sifted ashes, but were unable to find any parried with the excuse that war orders
trace of the body. Unless the janitor pleads interfered with the shipments. Some got
guilty in court, it will be impossible to con- _‘ the come-on—offer of a “golden opportu-
vict him of the murder, because of the nity” for an additional two dollars.
absence of a corpus delicti. The Pike brothers might have attempted
to keep their noses clean by having a few
of the handkerchiefs on hand; they mailed
some withered weeds. And in some in-
stances they sent out thin packets of seeds,
implicit with the apt irony typical of con-
men telling the sucker he was stung: cactus.

These may grow into a spiny bed on
which the Pikes can rest a long time before
the Government is through with them.

* *. *

Mrs. Louise Peete was reading in her.cell
in a Los Angeles, California, jail when word
was brought to her that she had been sen-
tenced to death in the San Quentin gas
chamber. She had been found guilty of
the murder of Mrs. Margaret Rose Logan,
a benefactress who had taken her in after
she had won parole on a life sentence for
the murder of Jacob Denton in 1920. The 62-
year-old murderess accepted word of the
second sentence calmly. It had interrupted
her reading of Lin Yutang’s The Importance
of Living.

Francis I. Woodburn, director of the
Red Cross safety program in the New York
area, has let it be known that man’s bravado
in showing himself off to the pretty girls—
that is, in summertime at the various
beaches—has caused nine men to drown for
every woman.

Could you call this an accident?

A middle-aged
ier was recently h
of his unwelcome
year-old ballerin:
bar, he was askec
offer for his cond

“Under the Co
to life, liberty, and
That’s why I sent

The Judge gave
he pondered the n

DIVINE RIG

William Linkha’
demeanor by a ju
of Robeson Count:
noisy singing of
Church of which
and a man of exe
voice was so louc
disrupted the div
appealed and the
.Court summarize¢
that at the end
Linkhaw’s voice
long after all the
that one witness
fendant’s singing
of prolonged and
vulsing alike the
jury and the Cou
fied that defenda
the congregation
mad, the frivolou
the devout were
gregation had be
preacher finally
the hymn and
that the presidin
because of it ana
to sing, whereur
will worship my
worship it is my

The Supreme
court as it was
tion that Linkhav
the church servic

It is in the rec
Pertland, Maine
one day to disco
pumper they had
also draw water
pump it out. Th
use of buckets «
was made and hi
for twenty-five

as

CASH V

Captured Jap
a substitute for
tives in the D
official Netherla
a case where a
quested a quote
“good condition


PEETE, Louise

wt

she had killed her admirer,
Byrne, in a quarrel. Below:


Sey

nothing about Denton and never had seen him.
When Cody asked him why he moved out so soon
he answered bluntly, “That’s my business.”

The detective was puzzled. Hoping that the first
tenant might be more helpful, he made a search
for Mrs. Peete. He learned from a dressmaker in
the neighborhood that she had returned to Denver.

He reported his findings to Attorney Blodgett.

“Shall I go to Denver and talk to this Mrs.
Peete?” he asked.

“She probably wouldn’t know.any more than
the others,” the attorney said glumly. “But there’s
one thing I want you to understand, Cody. Your
expense account is virtually unlimited until this
thing is cleared up. And if you don’t get some
action soon, I’m going to call in the police.”

“That’s fair enough,” said the detective. “I think
I’d better go to Denver.”

“There’s one other angle that might be inves-
tigated first,” suggested Blodgett. “I’ve made a list
here of all Denton’s friends I know of who live in
Los Angeles. See what you can find out from
them. They’re more likely to know something
about him than a tenant.”

Cody quickly discovered that several of Denton’s
friends were very much concerned about the man’s
absence, but none of them could contribute any
clews to his whereabouts.

NE of them—J. E. Metcalf, a salesman who had
known Denton in Arizona—had seen the mining
man two days before he checked out of his hotel.
“He was a worried man, too,” Metcalf confided.
“I saw him that night at his home, not his hotel.
And imagine—I found him reading the Bible! Yes,
Sir. All he wanted to talk about was death and
the hereafter.

“I said, ‘You’re worried about something, Jake,’
and he admitted he was. .‘Do you know,’ he said,
‘you’re taking chances coming here to visit me?’ I
said, ‘What do you mean, Jake?’ and he said, ‘Well,
if someone came here and got me they might take
a notion to get you, too,’”

“You mean he thought someone was going to kill
him?” asked Cody. .

“Exactly.”

“Did he tell you who?”

“No, he didn’t. But I think I know. He was
mixed up with a Spanish woman who followed
him from Arizona. At least that’s what I heard.”

“Where did you hear that?” asked Cody. eagerly.

Metcalf scratched his head. “Can’t remember,
off-hand. It was some friend who knew him well,
a Said she was a little spitfire, jealous as all
get-out.”

“One other thing,” said Cody. ‘You say this visit
took place at his home. That must have been
before he rented it.”

“No, afterward,” the salesman said. “He didn’t
rent all of the house. He kept one room where he
stored a lot of personal stuff. It was the bedroom
he and his wife used before her death. He often
went there at night because he said he could almost
feel his wife’s presence.”

“Very interesting,” commented Cody.

What interested him more, however, was the
lead of the “Spanish woman” who had tagged Den-
ton from Arizona, Cody returned to the fashionable
Catalina Street district, determined to learn more

‘about this mysterious woman. Soon he was
rewarded.

A neighbor remembered that a dark-haired,
flashing-eyed young lady around 22 had called at

32

“I Don’t Go Lookin’ for Two-Legged Coy-
otes, Mister. But If Any of Them Gets in My

Way in the Ordinary Course of Events,
Well—That’s Why I Got My Forty-Four”

Deputy District Attorney William C,
Doran: "Looks like murder, doesn't it?"

District Attorney's Investigator Charles
A. Jones: “Murder? I'll say It does!”

the Denton residence “numerous times” during the
month of May.

Cody heard this with interest. “A Spanish girl?”
he asked quickly.

“Could have been Spanish—or Mexican,” the
woman conceded. “Her hair was almost black and
her complexion a dark olive. She was very good-
looking and she dressed like a million dollars.”

“Did you ever talk with her?”

“No, Didn’t even say hello on the street.”

Cody was disappointed. “Can you tell me any-
thing else about her?” he asked desperately.

Only after he explained the importance of his
query did the woman reveal that the “Spanish
girl” had a “terrible temper. One night, she said,
she heard the girl quarreling with someone in the
big house. It was a bitter quarrel, lasting more
than an hour.

The neighbor was unable to recall the exact date
of this incident, though she was certain it was some
time in May. She hadn’t heard plainly enough to
tell what the quarrel was about, and she merely
presumed that the other party involved was the
owner of the house.

Further attempts to learn more about this
glamourous creature were futile. While other resi-
dents of the neighborhood recalled seeing her, none
of them knew very much about her.

Cody reported again to Blodgett.

“Better beat it to Denver and talk with that first
tenant,” the attorney suggested. “If someone was
bothering Denton during May, she might know
more about it than anyone else.”

ODY took the first train to Denver. Mrs. Peete,

a leading socialite and the wife of R. C. Peete,
a prominent automobile dealer, greeted him cor-
dially. Small of stature and brunet, she had sharp,
dark eyes and a winsome smile that appealed to
him instantly.

“You say you are a detective?” she asked. “How
exciting.”

Cody explained his business. He asked her to
tell him everything she knew about Jacob Denton
and particularly about his relations with the
Spanish girl. -

“Ah, I suspected that something bad would come
of that romance,” the lady said wistfully. “I think
Mr. Denton was trying to brush her aside, but she
aT to be the type that wouldn’t be brushed
aside.”

Mrs. Peete had leased the Denton property on

. May 19, she related, paying a month’s rental of $300

in advance. The owner reserved one room for
himself and often came there during the first two
weeks, The Spanish girl usually was with him,
she said, and almost invariably she made a scene.

After June 1, she added, Denton failed to show
up. For several days the Spanish girl haunted the
house waiting for the owner to make an appear-
ance. Finally she also stopped coming.

“Was that girl the reason you kept the place
for such a short time?” inquired Cody. .

“Only one of the reasons,” replied Mrs. Peete.
“My husband and I planned on moving to Los
Angeles and living there permanently if I liked it
there. But I didn’t, so I came back home.

“There was another reason why I moved out
before the end of my first month,” she continued
gravely. “You may think this is funny, Mr. Cody. I
do when I think of it now. But all the time I was
there I heard strange sounds at night.”

At last, mused the detective with satisfaction, a
first-hand account of spooky noises. “What sort of
sounds, Mrs. Peete?”

“They’re difficult to describe. They were simply
strange sounds. And they seemed to come from
the basement of the house. I became so nervous
that I locked the two basement doors and nailed
the windows. It all seems foolish now. Maybe I
was overwrought because of being alone.”

“You had no servants?”

“A gardener. A maid came in two or three times
a week, also. But at nights I was alone in that big
house most of the time. It made me jittery, I
guess.”

“And did you hear those noises before Mr. Denton
disappeared?” Cody asked.

The woman nodded. “Both before and after,”
she said.

ODY again turned the conversation to the
Spanish girl, but Mrs. Peete could give him
little additional information. Once, she recalled,
Denton had addressed the girl by the name of Rosa.
“I don’t remember hearing her last name,” she
explained. “Mr. Denton always seemed embar-
rassed by her presence, and the time or two that
he had an opportunity he never took the trouble
to introduce me.”

With the disappointed feeling that he was no
nearer to a solution of the riddle, Cody returned to
Los Angeles and reported to Blodgett. The case was
at a standstill. He knew through his past experi-
ence that this was more than a temporary disap-
pearance. And many (Continued on Page 34)


4 iy —

Hy tinct

v4

Jacob Denton: He was easy

prey for any scheming woman

By Jesse I. Simmons

Who Made a Special
Investigation of This Case

She was chased out Blodgett felt that Frances Denton

by the first haunt had plenty of cause to worry.

Somehow, he, too, sensed something

strange, something dire and sinister, in

the disappearance of her father.
Carefully, Blodgett reread the letter

pe he had received that morning.
said:

Dear Mr. Blodgett:
On May 25 my father wrote and

told me that he was leaving for
the East within a few days to pick

Mrs. Loulse Peete: G Biedeett Attorney Rush M.

up a new car, and that he wou
visit me on his way back to L
Angeles. But I have not seen hi
or heard from him since. I thoug
you might be able to tell me wt
in the world has happened.

The reason I am worried is tl
he doesn’t answer my letters.
have addressed several to his ho
in Hollywood.

Do you know if he went E:
or not? Please let me know
once if is the matter w)
him.

So great was the interest in the Den-
ton case that crowds braved the
rain to keep up with developments


Blodgett scowled as he toyed with the letter.
“Something fishy somewhere,” he muttered.
“Jake wouldn’t ignore his daughter’s letters unless
he’s mixed up with a woman.”

That was the explanation, of course. A number
of scheming women had been angling for Jake ever
since his second wife, Mae, had died. Jacob Denton
possessed an immense fortune which he had taken
from his rich mines in Arizona. He was a tall,
handsome fellow not much past 40 and as ruggedly
built as an oak.

That was the logical explanation. Still, Blodgett
was worried. He couldn’t help thinking...

Denton owned a home on South Catalina Street
in Los Angeles, but Blodgett knew he had taken
quarters at the exclusive Hollywood Hotel imme-
diately following the death of his wife. Blodgett
called the hotel and asked for him.

oo Denton has checked out,” the hotel clerk
said.

“Do you know where he is?”

“No. He instructed us to forward his mail to
his home, but I can tell you in advance he isn’t
there. I’ve been trying to locate him myself.”

ears de allowed his presentiment to grip
him. What had happened to Denton? Was he
dead—murdered?

“What date did he check out?” Blodgett asked.

“On the second of June,” came the ready reply.
“He said he was going East to buy a new car. In
fact, I arranged for his railroad ticket myself.
What do you think happened to him, Mr. Blodgett?”

“Did he say when he intended to return?”

“Yes, he did. He said he wouldn’t be longer
than a couple of weeks.” ,

As the attorney hung up the receiver his eyes
fell upon his desk calendar. It was turned to July
10. The wealthy mining man had been missing
for more than a month.

Blodgett called E. B. Latham, a geologist he knew
who had done business with Denton.

And he learned that Latham, too, was perplexed
over the unexplained disappearance of Jake
Denton.

The geologist explained that on June 2 he had
talked with Denton regarding the purchase of some
oil land in western Texas. At that time the deal
was almost completed.

“He called me that morning to let me know that
he couldn’t keep his appointment for that after-
noon,” Latham stated. “He said he was going East
in a few days, but he’d get in touch with me and
conclude the deal before he left.”

“You saw him, then, after the second of June?”
asked Blodgett.

“No, I didn’t, and I can’t understand it, either.
He seemed very anxious to purchase that land. Do
you know where I can get in touch with him im-
mediately, Mr. Blodgett?”

“J haven’t the slightest idea,” replied the attor-

ney.
Blodgett then, called the Union Pacific ticket

agent and was surprised to learn that the ticket
purchased for Denton never had been used.

30

2 ERI Snape n, Raa

No ghost pawned this
diamond ring which
Jake Denton treasured

to the call. When he heard the facts he sat up
sharply. To him this. sounded far more serious
than it did to Blodgett.

“What makes you think he’s mixed up with a
woman?” Cody asked.

Rioocerr pondered a moment, then said, ‘“Most-
ly because I know he was a lonely man. Ever
since his wife died last March, he’s been restless
and just plain lonely. I figure a man in that con-
ee is a first-class prospect for female manipu-
ation.”

“Do you know if any woman in particular was
making a play for him?”

“No, but likely there was one, or several, for

all we know.” . :
“Hmmm,” said Cody. “We haven’t much to work
on,
He went directly to Denton’s home, hoping to
pick up a lead to the missing man’s trail. He dis-
covered, to his surprise, that the house was occu-
pied by the A. B. Links family.

“We moved in only a few days ago,” Mrs.-Links
explained.

“Did you rent this place from Mr. Denton?”

inquired Cody. .
“No, I don’t know Mr. Denton. We subleased it

eae
jetta
ate bs

And no ghost signed this pawn-ticket for
other articles Denton would not have given up

Denton’s daughter had mentioned a new car her
father planned to purchase. Blodgett called several
dealers trying to locate the right one. And when
he did, the disappearance of Jacob Denton became
still more mysterious.

The dealer declared that Denton had paid in full
for a new car late in May, promising to pick up the
machine at the factory.

“But he hasn’t accepted delivery yet, although
he promised to be at the factory in ten days,” said
the dealer. “The factory’s been hounding me about

it. But what can I do? I’ve written him letters, -

I’ve tried to call him—do you know where he is,
Mr. Blodgett?”

“Certainly not, or I wouldn’t be trying to find
out,” snapped the attorney. He hung up.

“Is something the matter, Mr. Blodgett?” the
werner® pretty, red-headed secretary inquired

ndly.

“Plenty!” he said. “Get Cody, that private de-
tective, on the phone.”

That was the logical way to proceed, of course.
Jake Denton wouldn’t want the police trailing him
down, perhaps finding him in a secluded love-nest.
His disappearance was a strictly private affair, as
Blodgett saw it, yet it was serious enough to war-
rant discreet investigation. As Denton’s attorney,
he felt that his duty was to go at least that far.

Private Detective A. J. Cody, a methodical man
with a shrewd, deductive mind, quickly responded

from another gentleman who lived here before
we came.”

The attractive residence, which had cost Denton
$35,000, was changing tenants like a cheap rooming-

ouse.

Phas he had leased it from Mr. Denton?” Cody
asked.

“Oh, no. This man was here only a couple
of weeks. They leased it from Mrs. Ann Bender
of San Francisco. But she lived here only a short
time, too.”

“Wait a minute,” said the detective. “You mean
—t have been three different tenants here since

‘ay?’

Baca Mrs. Links corrected him with a smile.

“ ‘our

“Yes, four. I know there have been four because
their names are on the lease.”

“Well, who in thunder held the original lease?”

“A Denver woman, Mrs. Louise Peete.”

The unusualness of this situation—four tenants in
less than three months—aroused Cody’s curiosity.
He could not withhold a slightly sarcastic comment.

“I suppose,’ said he, “that the house is haunted.
Is that why everybody’s moving out so fast?”

Mrs. Links’ face became serious. “No, not
haunted,” she said, “but one of the tenants did hear
some strange noises at night. But we don’t mind.
We're not superstitious.”

Cody was unable to suppress an exclamation.

a La et Ss cc Ra

CE, ny
ory

LEMURS Ee Te ge:

3

Ph a You mean you hear strange noises at night,

“Oh, no. What I mean is, we wouldn’t care par-
ticularly if we did.”

Since the woman could tell him nothing of Den-
ton’s whereabouts, Cody hurried away, anxious to
interview the other tenants. At a near-by real-
estate agency, where they had paid their rentals, he
learned their present addresses.

MES: BENDER, the San Francisco woman, was
still in Los Angeles. But she added little to
what Cody already knew. She hadn’t met Denton
and didn’t know him.
" “Why did you move out so soon?” Cody asked

er.

The woman hesitated. “I prefer not to say,” she
stated finally.

*Did you hear strange sounds at night?”

“Oh, no,” she said. “Gracious, no!”

With the feeling that something was being kept
from him, Cody searched out the man who lived
there after Mrs. Bender. But he also knew

Sm patito Bi rioas Deby

AT

A living death was
planned for Jacob Den-
ton. Models show how
@ woman tried to put
the plot into being


by CRAIG CALDANIE

to persons well along in years, but all that seems to

have changed, beginning slowly in the ‘‘camp” move-
ment about five years ago, but gathering momentum and
devotees rapidly. By the end of 1971, nostalgia had become
not only a passion among the populace, but it was big busi-
ness, as well, particularly in the fields of styles, music, and the
commercialization of such previously worthless relics as old
Mickey Mouse wrist watches, Lone Ranger eye masks and
Junior G-Man badges.

Inevitably, nostalgic recollections of old crimes and crimi-
nals had to be included in this wave of remembrance, and the
editors of this and other detective magazines have been the
recipients of impressive numbers of letters‘from young people
which begin substantially as follows:

“I remember hearing my parents (or grandparents) talk
about a famous murder case that happened when they were
young...”

Sketchy details as to time, place, and general circumstances
follow, with a request for publication of the story. These let-
ters have been received from all over the United States and
Canada, for the most part, but many have come from Europe
as well. High on the list of requests is the unique detective
story involving a murderous lady who began life in the tiny
hamlet of Bienville, in northwestern Louisiana, but who trav-
eled extensively in her colorful lifetime, leaving in her wake a
trail of mysterious deaths, many of which remain unexplained
to this day.

A perusal of the lady’s record indicates that her list of
victims includes two official murders, one “unofficial” mur-
der, four men driven to suicide, and at least three suspiciously
convenient deaths written off as natural departures from this
vale of tears. The number of murders in which she was a
prime—in some instances the only—suspect, has been variously
estimated by investigators as 10 to 20. And perhaps the most
chilling fact about them is that the deaths for profit attributed
to her were not crimes of passion, but coldly calculated hor-
rors based on careful planning and premeditation.

The lethal lady whose career would reach its ultimate
climax two years after the end of World War II was born Lofie
Louise Preslar in the little hamlet of Bienville, Louisiana on
September 20, 1888. She was never able to blame her evil
destiny on an underprivileged or disadvantaged childhood. On
the contrary, in the social scale of her time, she was born into
the upper middle class. Her father was the publisher of a small
weekly newspaper, and he held various other business inter-
ests, most of them profitable. She grew up in Coushatta, in the
cotton country of Red River Parish. She acquired the conven-
tional education of young ladies of that day, with heavy em-
phasis on music and the social graces. She had a pleasant sing-
ing voice, and reportedly became a pianist of considerably
more than average talent. For most of her life, she discarded
her first given name and was known as Louise.

fee nostalgia has always been restricted

Photographs taken of her in later life revealed her to be an
impressively handsome woman, and they confirm earlier re-
ports that she was a beauty in her teens and twenties, with a
wealth of glowing brown hair, a creamy complexion and a
lush, fulsome figure which matured early. The record shows,
however, that Louise scorned the small town swains with the
same haughty contempt she was to hold for men throughout
her life. She concealed that contempt only when it suited her
purposes to use men as pawns to her devious ends.

Young Henry Bosley, who was the first man in her life,
learned that the hard way. Almost from puberty, Louise had
made it clear she wanted no part of the life of a back-country
planter’s lady. She yearned for the glitter and glamor of the
big cities, so when Henry, a traveling salesman with great ambi-
tion, blew into town, it was not he who entrapped the inno-
cent village belle, but he who became ensnared. She married
Hank or a spring day in 1903 and he carried her off to the
metropolis of Shreveport. She was a mere 15 at the time, but
she could have passed for 19.

To the love-stricken Hank Bosley, she was the most beauti-
ful female in the world, but even his passion could not blind
him for long to a character defect in his bride which now
began to emerge with painful clarity. Louise could not keep
her pretty hands off other people’s property. She had a special
predilection for jewelry and fine clothes, and before long, their
fellow lodgers in a Shreveport rooming house were openly
accusing her of being a thief. Louise always had some sort of a
persuasive explanation, however, and Hank did his best to
cover up for her.

Louise never fitted the clinical description of a klepto-
maniac. She simply chose to steal the luxuries of life rather
than to save or work for them; she constantly berated her
young husband for his modest income and urged him to take
the easy way, to cut corners and cheat his employers and his
customers. ,

Bosley soon had his fill of her. They separated and recon-
ciled two or three times, and made brief “new starts” in Okla-
homa City and Dallas. They split up in 1905. Hank allowed
Louise to get the divorce. A short time later he took his own
life because, according to his closest friends, “he couldn’t get
that woman out of his system.”

The young widow, an extraordinarily mature 17, made her
way to New Orleans, where her sultry charm and sad story
landed her a job as social secretary to a wealthy society
woman. Then, free from the nagging of an honest husband,
Louise made herself a tidy little stake by forging the names of
her employer and society friends to store accounts and selling
the merchandise thus obtained. When her larceny began to
catch up with her, she left town a jump ahead of the law,
taking with her a diamond ring of her employer’s and a sheaf
of forged letters of recommendation from some of the city’s
most prominent people, including the mayor’s wife.

Louise found greener pastures in Boston, where she present-
ly surfaced as ‘‘Louise Gould,” 19-year-old New Orleans heir-
ess to a large estate in Germany, waiting only for the legal red
tape to be cleared away before she came into her inheritance.
Her forged letters opened the doors of Boston society to her
and she soon was installed in an exclusive girls’ finishing
school.

She had the air and appearance of a woman of refinement, which

somehow made all the more chilling the fact that the deaths

attributed to her were not crimes of passion, committed on

the spur of the moment, but coldly calculated horrors

based on careful planning and premeditation...

42

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vinced Louise Peete killed Margaret
Logan, and it's up to you men to find the
body."*

The four investigators set out for the
Logan house at 713 Hampden Place in
Pacific Palisades. It was a neat stucco
bungalow on the side of a hill overlooking
the ocean. Brown and Penprose had al-
ready searched the basement, but they
went over every inch of it again. All they

Proved was that no digging had been done »

there.

Captain Brown checked the walls. Ev-
erything looked normal except at one
spot directly beneath Mrs. Peete’s back
bedroom window. A wet place in the
center of the wall there could mean but
One thing, excess moisture.

“This is not a new house,”* the detec-
tive said to his partners. ‘‘The earth next
to the foundation should be Packed hard
by now, so there shouldn’t be any seep-
age. :

“Unless someone has loosened the
ground outside, Lt. Vaughn Suggested.

The officers hurried out into the yard
below the bedroom window. There was
an avocado tree and a flower bed near the
wall where the seepage had occured. Dis.
appointment was written on the men’s
faces.

‘Flowers have to be watered,” Inspec-
tor Penprose said. ‘‘Some people leave
the hose going with just a little water com-
ing out so the flower roots will get a good

' soaking. That much water could have

caused the seepage."’

Captain Brown knew that was true. But
he had done a little more gardening than
the others. He knelt down and examined
the little plants in the flower bed.

“These are verbenas,”’ he said. They
will take a little shade, but not as muc¢h as
they're getting here. They're leggy and
spindly, for this is the north side of the
house and the tree cuts off the little sun-
shine there is."’ ;

“That's right,’* Brown continued.
*‘And take a look at the size of the bed.
It’s just about the length of a body.”

Detective Hansen obtained a shovel
and started digging in the soft earth. The
other officers watched anxiously as dirt
was moved from the flower bed. Minutes
later Hansen's shovel hit something
solid.

Brown could wait no longer. He
pushed Hansen aack and got down on his
knees and pulled the earth back carefully
with his hands. The stench of decaying
flesh assailed his nostrils, but he kept
working. Moments later he stood up.

The captain didn’t have to tell his part-
ners that Margaret Logan had been
found. Her corpse was there in the shal-
low grave, fully clothed except for shoes.

“We'll have to notify the district attor-

38

Sweet Sixteen And Bloody Mean!

. (continued from Page 27)

ney and coroner,”’ he said.
Howser hurried to the scene and
watched as the coroner's men removed

the woman's remains from the flower

bed. Then the district attorney went back
to headquarters. ‘

“We'll talk with Lee Judson first,’ he
told the investigators, “‘Maybe he'll
break and tell us what really happened.
‘Experience has shown that Louise Peete
won't."

This move met with little success, |

however. Judson insisted he was not
Present when Mrs. Logan died. The gen-
uineness of his surprise when told about
the grim discovery of the missing wom-
an’s body led detectives to believe he
could be telling the truth.

“We'll take Mrs. Peete to the flower
bed first,”’ the district attorney said.
‘Then she goes to the morgue. We know
she’s a cold customer, but maybe the

sight of that cadaver on the slab will make

her talk."

That's the way it was done. But Louise
Peete lived up to her reputation. She
looked down into the shallow grave be-
neath the avocado tree and maintained a
Stony silence.

“You killed Margaret Logan and
buried her in this flower bed,”” Captain
Brown told the accused woman. “She
had befriended you, and that's how you
showed your gratitude. Why don't you
clear your conscience?"

Mrs. Peete made no reply. She was
taken to the morgue. But no one could
make her look at the decayed remains of
her benefactor.

“It’s too horrible,’ Louise Peete pro-
tested. ‘

After ordering Louise taken back to her
cell, the district attorney told the inves-
tigators, ‘We've found the body. We be-
lieve Louise Peete killed Margaret Logan
just as she killed Jacob Denton. The jury
recommended mercy that first time be-
cause California doesn't like to execute
females. This one is a monster and I want
conclusive evidence this time. Louise
Peete is going to the gas chamber.”’

Six cars filled with detectives and sci-
entists from the crime laboratory hurried
to Pacific Palisades. Some investigators
concentrated on seeking information
about Louise Peete in the business sec-
tion. Police chemist Ray Pinker super-
vised work at the Logan house. Walls and
ceilings examined; furniture was moved;
rugs taken up.

Lieutenant Vaughn found two un-
loaded guns in a closet in Mrs. Peete's
bedroom. One was a .25 Colt automatic.
The other was a .32 Smith and Wesson
revolver. \

Detectives working in the downtown
area Came up with a painter who had re-
done the living room walls at Mrs, Peete’s

request. An upholsterer had Tecovered
the sofa. Both jobs were done in June,

Wallpaper behind the devaneport wag

cut away. The plaster had been patched.

. and ballistics men dug a badly smashed.

-32 slug from the wall. i

District Attorney Howser listened
while Ray Pinker told him about taking
scrapings from the living room floor ang”
finding traces of blood. i

“IL think | know exactly what hap.
pened,’’ the prosecutor said. “Mrs,
Logan was seated on the davenport in the
living room when Louise Peete killed her
with the revolver,”’

Dr. Homer Keys, deputy county
coroner, bolstered this theory when he
reported Mrs. Logan died froma gunshot
wound in the head.

Howser confronted Mrs. Peete with
this evidence. ‘tTheré’s no use Stalling.”
he said. ‘*We've got you and Lee Judsog
dead to rights.’ ; 4

Mrs. Peete became furious. “My hus
band had nothing to do with this,” she,
screamed. *‘He wouldn't harm any:
body.” mr

The district attorney walked inearer, ©
“If that’s the case," he said. “You'd bet
ter come clean.” y

The prisoner turned away. Howser
watched her closely. Louise Peete was#
different person from the charming sex
kitten who had captivated the traveling
salesman so miny years ago back ia
Louisiana, She was trapped and she knew
it. ;

“IL want to see Sheriff Biscailuz,”* Mrs.
Peete sobbed. ‘‘He was good to me once
before. Maybe I'll talk if | can see him.”

Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz had beena
deputy in 1921 when Louise Peete was
convicted for the murder of Jacob De
nton. Howser sent for him. :

The veteran county officer entered the
interrogation room quietly, ‘Hello,
Louise,”* he said.

Mrs. Peete looked up through teat
Stained eyes. She wanted to be alone with
the sheriff. Howser and the others left.

“This is the way it happened,” the
prisoner began. ‘Arthur Logan was if
sane. He turned on Margaret several
times while I was there. We managed 0
take care of him. The night of June I, 4

_ was in the kitchen when I heard Mrs.

Logan scream. I ran into the living room.”
Mr. Logan was beating his’ wife in the”
face with a gun. He shot her before ty
could stop him.” +
Biscailuz asked Mrs, Peete if she had»
buried the body in the flower bed. :
“Yes,"’ the prisoner admitted. *'I got
the gun away from Arthur and cal
him down. Mrs. Logan was dead. What
chance did I have? I was on parole for one
murder, so who would believe my.
story?" i 3
Mrs. Peete went on to tell hdw she had
buried Margaret Logan's body that night
and taken the husband to a mental institu
tion the following morning. All this wa
included in a nine-page statement.

(continued on next page)
}

t

toad

Neither Biscailuz nor Howser believed
lotise Peete. Arthur Logan could not
testify in court. He was dead. Mrs. Peete

tad forged Mrs. Logan’s name on parole

papers and on checks. She had gone right
living as though nothing had happened

wme other woman could have gotten
way with the story. But not Louise
fecte, The trail behind her was too

y.
Louise and Lee Judson were given a

ie the Pacific Palisades house. Maybe °

preliminary hearing on January 19, }945,
before Municipal Judge William Byrne.
District Attorney Howser outlined the
case againt Louise Peete and her hus-
band. The woman was held for trial, but
Judson was released for lack of evidence.

Mrs. Peete appeared relieved. “The
judge was fair,”’ she said. ‘Lee Judson is
completely innocent.”

However, that was not-enough for the
last man in Louise Peete’s life. He leff the
Court and took an elevator to the top floor

of one of Los Angeles’ tallest buildings.
Moments later Lee Judson leaped to his
death. ,
Louise Peete was tried before a jury of
eleven women and one man. Her own sex.
was notas kind to her as the Jacob Den- ”
tori jury had been. She was found guilty »
of murder in the first degree with no re-
commendation for mercy. Judge Harold
Landreth sentenced the Prisoner to death
in the gas chamber at San Quentin. The
execution took place April 11, 1947. ¥&

B4, ‘

Jes previously.-Men who advertised,
fequently pictured themselves fraudul-
aly as anywhere from well-fixed to fan-
istically wealthy.

Thus we can see Jiggs, who was a basi-

"ally intelligent man, sitting up there in

®e altic of his dwelling, -where he had
+Bivacy, looking over two or three of
ese matrimonial journals and planning
Se future. As far as could ever be deter-
wined, George Perry first began to get
‘0 correspondence with the dames who
advertised in the mate magazines the

me year that he started wearing a glass

ek
Renting Box. 1330 at the general post
in Milwaukee, George Perry was a
fuble-barreled threat man right off the
tal. He not only answered the ads that
been placed in the matrimonial
magazines by women, but also inserted
‘ss of his own. ;

Asa Precaution, the philandering
ead, fearing that his wife might come
*708s one of his ads while browsing at
he Newsstands, didn't use his photo-

Box 1330. He was on safe enough ground
fere, too, because in hiring the box at the
Preral post office and paying a year's
"al incash in advance, George Perry had
fren a name other than his own —
Hunt.
_ As far as was ever to be ascertained in
=f years, George Perry's first murder
wxtim was a middle-aged widow named
Darrow, of Chicago. Mabel had
Mtised herself as somebody who
“ated a husband — Preferably a wealthy
me, he lonely hearts slayer, answering
§ appeal as George Phillips of Box
* Presented himself as a widower

Mabel's home town.
e letters between Mabel and George

hotter and hotter, over a period of
than a month. Then the fiend, exp-
to his wife that he had caught on as
*lesman who had to do a little travel-
ked his trunk in the attic and took

for Mabel’s house.
Just happened that Mabel Darrow
ing visited by a woman neighbor,

ph. Nor did he use his real name — just.

*0 owned considerable real estate right

. The Don Juan Killer

(continued from page 21)

that day in July of 1925, when the doorbell
rang. There stood George, holding a kou-
quet of roses so big~that his face was
hidden from view.

Taking the flowers, Mabel saw George
— not bad looking as he stood there smil-
ing. ‘Ah, precious one,"* he said, s\ep-
ping into the vestibule, taking Mabel’s
hand and kissing it. The neighbor slipped
behind some curtains so as not to be in jhe
way during the meeting and yet remain in
a position to overhear everything.

Going into the parlor and Seating him-
self on a green velvet sofa, the Sinister
scoundrel took hold of Mabel’s hand. He
drew her down alongside of hims¢ If.
Looking at Mabel with the good eye,
George spouted these lines from Fre-
derick Thomas:. :

Tis said that absence conquers love

But oh, believe it not!

I’ve tried, alas, its power to prove

But thou art not forgot...

Now George took a look into Mabe|'s
eyes, then up and down her- figure.
Mabel’s appearance — hennaed hair, big
hips, thick ankles — left a lot to be de-
sired. But the neighbor hiding behind the
curtains, drinking things in, could hear
the poetry murmuring phony, his voice
low and stirring, laying it on thick as he
told Mabel how exciting and enchanting
she was.

During the next few days, the neighbor,
Popping in to talk to Mabel, kept up qn
things when George, who'd checked into
a large suite at the classy Drake Hotel,
wasn't at the house. ‘‘My fiance is almost
too modest,’ Mabel was saying to the
lady next door. “Why, he owns a whole

block of property right here in Chicago, °

on downtown, Clark Street.
millions!"”

Mabel explained that it was a good
thing she, herself, lived ina rented house,
**George and | are going to San Francisco
to get married and I'm leaving everything
— all the furniture — behind until we
come back.”* :

There was one other thing: Mabel
owned about $18,000 worth of stock,
“Lover Boy,”* she said to her neighbor,
*‘has taken it all. I've been making eight

He's worth

per cent a year and he’s going to transfer

the money into some of his own stock.

Says I'll eam not less than 40 to 50 per

cent. Isn't that simply won-der-ful?”’

So off they went — Mabel Darrow and
the little one-eyed monster who called
himself, for this job, George Phillips.
Mabel’s neighbor waited and waited and
waited for some word from her friend.
Mabel never did return.

Back home, George Perry was quite
busy in correspondence with several
lonely hearts ladies who had advertised
for husbands. All this was one day to be
learned when that trunk he had in the attic
was opened — a day five years and 20 or
more murders too late!

The kiss-and-kill Don Juan had been
operating for two years when he turned
up in St. Louis, Missouri. Using the name
George Caraway, the murderer chose for
his hangout a hotel with a singularly ap-
propriate name — The Chase. He had,
through the matrimonial books, engaged
in correspondence with seven widows in
St. Louis County. The women, getting
phone calls from Jiggs after he checked
into The Chase, began to report to him in
his suite on the 13th floor.

The lethal lover, decked in a yellow
Palm Beach suit, white shoes with brown
trimming, his glass glimmer all polished
uP, Was going great guns at The Chase.
Bellhops passing George's suite — par-
lor, bedroom and bath, but mostly bed-
room — could hear him versifying to his
guests. A couple of favorite lines of Jiggs,
paraphrased from Billy Shakespeare,
were: ‘

Oh, how your spring of love resembles
The wonderous glory of this June day!
Four lines that George used quite a bit

in St. Louis that summer — first to one

widow, then to another, were: :

Tis well tobe merry and wise
| Tis well to be honest and true

Tis well to be off with the old love

Now that we’re on with the new...

By the time the deadly Don Juan had
been in The Chase for two months, the
bellhops and the maids were watching
him closely. They would hear, in addition ;
to the poetry, sounds emanating from the
bedroom which normally made the house
detective cock an ear.

(continued on next Page)
39


A ny ep: an

Richard Peete, Louise’s second hubby,
could not stand the shock of wife’s con-
nection with murder, shot himself

That lasted until her itching fingers
betrayed her and she was exposed in the
theft of valuables from lockers, as well
as for leading some of the impressiona-
ble young lady students astray. Louise
pulled all the stops on her Southern
charm, and managed to get away with
it. Anxious to avoid scandal at any cost,
the school authorities refrained from
calling in the police, on Louise’s prom-
ise that she would get out of Boston and
stay out.

When Louise turned up in Texas
soon afterwards, she was playing the
role of the widowed Mrs. Bosley. In
addition to her musical bent, Louise by
this time had developed the unladylike
penchant for firearms which would play
a prominent part in her subsequent
career. One night, according to her own
story, she was amusing herself at a
shooting gallery in Waco when a hand-
some well-dressed stranger expressed
admiration for her skill with a shooting
iron. They got to talking, and went for
an automobile ride together.

An hour later, Louise drove up to the
sheriff’s office to announce that she had
killed the stranger with the little nickel-
plated. .32 she carried in her purse for
protection. Her explanation was simpli-
city itself:

“He tried to violate my honor.”

Investigating deputies found the man
where she told them to look; he was

_ lying cold stone dead beside the road,

shot through the head. Someone must
have robbed him of his valuables since
the pretty widow left him to go back to
town and report the shooting, because
his pockets were turned inside out.

Impressed by the young widow’s gen-
teel manners and languid beauty, the
sheriff grimly declared that no Southern
woman should be prosecuted for de-
— her honor,

A Dallas grand jury became interest-

44

ed in Louise in 1913 during its investiga-
tion of the fatal shooting of Harry
Faurote, a clerk at the hotel where she
was residing. It seemed that both Louise
and Harry had been suspects in the theft
of a $700 diamond ring. When the ring
turned up among Harry’s possessions,
Louise explained that she had found it
and given it to him for safekeeping.

The grand jury finally decided that
Faurote had committed suicide, appar-
ently convinced he was disgraced and
his career was ruined by the unjust
suspicion. ;

In 1914, the turbulent year that saw
the start of World War I, Louise was
jiving in Denver, Colorado, and em-
barked on a course of singing lessons
with the proceeds of her various enter-
prises. That was the year she suffered a
head and back injury in an auto acci-
dent. It was a point her attorneys later
would belabor, blaming her murderous
tendencies on that unfortunate blow on
the head.

Louise married for the second time,
that same year. Her new husband was
Richard C. Peete, a wealthy automobile
dealer. Apparently she spent the war
years quietly in their comfortable home
on Adams Street. On the record, she
seems to have stayed out of trouble. But
with the end of the war, Peete’s health
began to suffer. So did his fortunes.
When he could no longer supply her
with the luxuries she demanded, Louise
sought them from other associates, cul-
tivating a number of rich women
friends. She mo ved out on Peete to “live
her own life,” although no divorce was
sought and they remained on “good
terms.” From the local Belgian consul,
Louise rented a large house on Sherman
Street and took in selected roomers.

Peete, meanwhile, in an attempt to
recoup his finances, went to Singapore
in May of 1919 on a 2-year contract to
represent a tire company. He and Louise
had an understanding that when he re-
turned, they would make another try at
family life.

Six months later the Belgian diplo-
mat, whose distinguished name Louise
had been using freely to obtain credit,
filed action to evict his fast-talking ten-
ant. In addition to back rent and un-
authorized sale of his furniture, the
charges involved noisy parties, unsavory
associates, and general bad repute in the
neighborhood.

In the legal action which followed,
Louise appeared before Judge Ben Lind-
sey, who later would achieve a notori-
ous renown as the advocate of ‘“com-
panionate” marriage in his crusade to
lower the divorce rates. Lindsey later
turned Louise’s case over to a lady
judge, Mrs. Lesley Dortland.

Due to one of the finest exhibitions
of her formidably persuasive Southern
charm, Louise not only got the case
dismissed, but she and Judge Dortland,
who was just about to retire from the
bench, became the best of friends.
Agreeing that both would enjoy a
change of scene, they decided to move
to Los Angeles with the judge’s grown
daughter; they would share expenses

Lee Judson married Louise in his 60s.
Later he leaped to death because he
could not erase horror of wife’s crime

and possibly take in roomers, until
Richard Peete returned from the Orient.

Richard’s health, however, had
worsened. He developed tuberculosis
and at the end of 1919 he quit his job
and returned home. In February 1920
he went to Phoenix, Arizona, for his
health. Louise followed him there a
month later, but their reunion did not
last. Funds were short and in mid-May,
Peete went back to Denver while Louise
went out to Los Angeles to go ahead
with that plan of cooperative house-
keeping with the former lady judge,
Mrs. Dortland.

It was a spring day in 1920 when
Louise Peete made her first bow in the
City of the Angels, then in the midst of
its phenomenal postwar real estate and
oil boom. Here she soon met Jacob
Charles Denton, a ruggedly handsome
man of 48 who had made an impressive
fortune as a mining engineer in Mexico
and Arizona. He was presently a specu-
lator in mining and oil properties.

Shy and reserved with women, Den-
ton had experienced more than his share
of grief along with his business success.
His first marriage went on the rocks; his
wife divorced him and was living in
Phoenix with their grown daughter. He
remained single for a long time, but the
previous year Denton had married a girl
named Dolly, who finally brought him
me happiness he had missed in his active
life.

Although his own tastes were simple,
he had bought an English Tudor man-
sion in the fashionable Wilshire district
for his bride, and soon afterwards, their
bliss was crowned with the arrival of a
baby daughter. But Jake Denton’s hard
knocks were not yet over. In February,
1920, the baby died.

The grieving parents planned a long
trip abroad to try to forget, but they
had hardly begun this journey when his

lovely
ill. She
Jak
could
house
dead |
East b
stay, h
Catalin
Peete a
Clez
lowed,
with hi
’ ty anc
owned
arrange
over tl
Dentor
idea of
She
Denton
use unt
June. |
Was at
too ste
while t
In t)
Dortlan
the hou
house e
was goi
On Ma:
daughte
had pu

helped
in vento)
somed
beach p
31st he
Roger F
leaving }
By t
installed
cooking
On J
mining
appoint:
an insur
man, QO:
Dortlanc
that De
two won
Durin
inquries
Mrs. Pec
gone to,
Seattle,
personal
When
ton by 1
became j
of the m
nix, his «
Russ Ave
He went
Peete.
“Tl {
Louise s
Mr. Den
know. Th
infection
amputate
right arm
ashamed
doesn’t \

a)

Te

o be an
tlier re-
with a
1anda
shows,
‘ith the
‘ughout
ted her

er life,
ise had
ountry
of the
t ambi-
2 inno-
narried
to the
ne, but

beauti-
t blind
h now
t keep
special
3, their
openly
rtofa
est to

selling
‘an to
> law,
sheaf
city’s

esent-
: heir-
al red
ance.
o her
shing

os

Peony

PEETE, Louise, white, asphyx.e Calif. (L.A.), April 12, 197,

TD DOUBLE-LENGTH FEATURE

CROSS COUNTRY MURDER TOLL
OF A LETHAL LADY
NAMED LOUISE

Suspicions rolled off Louise like water off a duck’s back; for years and years, she got away with one crime after another

TRUE DETECTIVE MAGAZINE, October, 1972.

SO sy UP Aster

Idenly as he saw a
2 floor between two
was a wreck, hardly
liture remaining in

inder, Mac,” Chief
‘lammer said, indi-
1 on the floor. “He
heart.”

DARING

[

Flammer explained that he already had

obtained a graphic description of the

midnight battle from the widow, two
daughters and a son. “Mr. and Mrs,
Alexander occupied these twin beds,” he
said, “The family had only been in the
new house forfour days and Mrs. Alex-
ander was restless. She woke up suddenly
at a noise in the room.”

DETECTIVE

The woman had turned up a lamp. Her
husband was still asleep. But near the foot
of the bed was a prowler. The burglar
was holding his shoes ‘under one arm arid
was taking a wallet from the husband’s
trousers which he had picked up from
a chair.

It was at that instant that Alexander

woke up. Sensing the situation immedi-

By JOHN HART

ately, the lawyer leaped out of
bed and grappled with the in-
truder who produced a gun.

“The son, Will, heard the
scuffle and ran into the room,”
Flammer went on. “He was
armed, too. The bandit cut loose
and shot the son in the arm and
then dropped Alexander with a
bullet in the heart.”

In spite of his wound, how-
ever, young Alexander was able
to pull the trigger of his gun as
the burglar dashed from the
room, He was certain that he
had hit the man in the leg but
how seriously the intruder was
wounded he did not know.

McNamara nodded, .“What
happened out on the staircase ?”

Flammer explained that the
two daughters, clad only in their
nightgowns, had come upon a
second burglar there. He, too,
was carrying shoes ‘in one hand.

handy articles for weapons.

In a moment, the second bur-
glar was getting it so hot and
heavy from the girls who were
hitting him with hand-mirrors
and hairbrushes that he fled
down the stairs. ,

‘THE shots and screams woke

the neighborhood but the
burglars escaped. Police squads
were being assigned to search
a large blocked-off area.

An officer carefully handed
McNamara a plump leather bill-
fold bearing the initials, “W.
M. A.” McNamara took the
wallet by a corner to preserve
possible fingerprints. The slayer
had dropped it apparently as
soon as the fight began,

“What about descriptions ?”
McNamara asked Flammer. The
latter beckoned one of the girls.
She described the tavo gunmen.
The man believed to have been wounded
was, she said, rather tall and gangling,

-and apparently in his early twenties.

The shorter man who later joined in
the fray appeared to be a few years older.
and of stocky, powerful build. Neither
had addressed the other by name during
the battle. Neither had dropped his shoes
although hard put’to it to escape.

19

The daughters had grabbed up |

oo

y

me ee

ted SY

<a oa mat

ae We dee

sok

=%

4
4
4
|
4
4
i
5
#
j

DOE & MEANS

Of A2M ICE

RESIDENCE

Fea

METHOD

‘ ¢.

-

Pde ieee sae i 5 CREPE ay NS Nite hie iN Raabe Ry 7 < ; ee cs is ee ee

S| lots, hat of lank, 18 fore bili oUG ee Lak | y

(VE Cnc pi Prt

-
LAST WORDS VA

iat

pom

EXECUTION

¢

SUPPLY—DOTHAN

Jute, 3 Be


DOE & MEANS

3/390 b

OCCUPATION

DATE

prin SURES

eS OT

BYN 1

the Mit mst at eagblagnisnd dyenty + hocvt peraun didlo oepar-

17 oad
thot Uae

ema NEWTON OFFICE BUPPLY-COTHAN


i ee

Cee I

OXNAM, Charles E. T. & WITT, EMAEXEX, whs, hanged CA (Los Angeles) March 3, 1916.

. came a voice over the wire, “Get

, has shot and killed Alexander,

Glenn

McNAMARA of Los
Angeles, Calif., snapped
awake as the telephone bell jan-
gled beside his bed. He lifted the
receiver. _
“This is Captain Flammer,”

D) ‘texans JAMES

out to Wilshire place. Someone

the millionaire lawyer who just
built the big house out there. I
want you to take charge of the
case and I’ll meet you there.”

“Be there in ten minutes,”
McNamara replied. He turned
up the bedroom light and dressed
rapidly, glancing at the clock
which showed the time a few
minutes past 3 o’clock. He had
come off duty in the burglary de-
tail at midnight Dec. 22, but the
prospect of a manhunt refreshed
him like a cold shower-bath.

As McNamara drove up in
front of the Alexander mansion
he noted with misgivings that
almost a hundred persoris, many .
of them clutching bathrobes
about, their night-clothes, had
jammed the sidewalk and road-
way in front of the house,

A dozen policemen stood’
guard around the structure but
many clues probably had been
obliterated. McNamara, from
long habit, eyed the faces of the
crowd as he forced his way up
the walk to the front door.

His remarkable memory for
faces was well known in the
department. Jocular fellow
members of the force sometimes
even referred to him as “Cam-
era-Eye Mac.”

McNamara stopped short as
he reached the front door. There.
on the newly-painted porch floor
were telltale crimson splotches.
McNamara eyed the train of
spots, noting that they. led down
the steps.

H E DESCENDED the steps

quickly, following the trail
of blood out to the sidewalk
where it disappeared under the
feet of the milling crowd,

The detective returned to the
porch and sought out the ser-
geant in charge. “Get these
people back from the house,” he
Instructed. “Better yet, clear the
whole street to the corner both
ways. I don’t want any clues
destroyed by these sightseers,”

Swiftly McNamara ascended
the steps and entered the living
room. Evidences of a terrific struggle in
the brand-new dwelling met his eye. Car-
pets were rumpled, a couple of chairs lay
on their sides, a picture frame on the
staircase leading to the’ second floor was
awry and near the foot of the stairs a
table lamp, a bowl of flowers and several
books lay in the kindling that had once
been an ornamental table.

18

The burglar was holding his shoes under

one arm and was taking a wallet from the

husband’s trousers which he had picked
up from a bedroom chair.

a

Rnigaioe, |
PEA noe pag +

bal aad ae

THIS SLAYING OCCURRED IN LOS ANGELES

.

The «detective did not take time to
examine the living room in detail, merely
using his powers of observation. that had
been sharpened by long years, of critical

- alertness at the scenes of crime, He fol-
lowed a uniformed officer upstairs, *

“In here, Mac,” the man said, indicat-
ing a door to the right,’

McNamara stepped through the door-

DARING DETECTIVE, BSbruary, 1942.

way, then halted suddenly as he saw a
form stretched on the floor between two
beds. The room itself was a wreck, hardly
a single piece of furniture remaining in
its appointed place.

“That’s Mr. Alexander, Mac,” Chief
of Detectives Paul Flammer said, indi-
cating the silent form on the floor. “He
was shot through the heart.”

DARING

oe

Flammer e
obtained a ;
‘midnight bai
daughters ar
Alexander oc
said, “The f:
new house fo
ander was res
at a noise in

DETECTIVE


Right on the main street of quiet Roseville, California
(above), murder stepped in to reveal a grim drama of
Personal tragedy which had been kept from police.

SLAIN ATHLETE —

College haliback and student leader, George McElroy
was unprepared for bullets when he wen! to give a
‘beating to the man who had wronged his sister-in-law,

10

By CARLTON RUSSELL

SUN, -TORTURING the earth—the sun of a Kansas summer’s
day... .. It blinded the scowling youth who stood at the
Leavenworth Prison gates with the papers of freedom in his
hand, and his nose rebelled at the clogging dry dust that
puffed in the hot morning wind. But anything was better
after a four-year jolt in stir. He reached for his faded suit-
case, faced the kindly guard:

“Well,” he said, “I guess I’m on my way.” .

“Sure, kid,” the guard nodded. “Y ow’re going, and I hope
you don’t come back.”

The youth’s full lower lip drooped and twisted itself into
a sneer, “Come back? Not me!”

The guard looked at him gravely, “Don’t say it like that,
kid. You've had plenty of trouble here. You came in with a
mean streak, and you kept it. And for your own good you better
get rid of it. Believe me,” he added with philosophical softness,
“it’s better to get along with people than to be carried out of
prison in a hearse: So long, good luck.” \

The youth shuffied through the gates, and the smell ‘of the
parched earth and the scorched fields was choking and strong.
Through the corner of his mouth he uttered a four-letter word
of obscene contempt. a
But he would remember all this‘on another day, in a far
distant state, when the fingers of fate reached out and tangled
him in a web spun with threads of hate, lust and death, This
is the story of that tragic affair known in California as the
“case of the avenging football star.” This is the story of
a man who forgot that it’s still a crime to tear out a girl’s
heart and laugh at her shame.

ROSEVILLE is an ordinary little town which clings to the
rolling, fir-studded foothills of the beautiful Sierra range in.-
northern California. Like any other town, Roseville has -its
“main drag,” its theaters, schools. churches and homes; its

He

stores,
Ruth |
man.
On.
corner
She
her so
shoes :

But M

the bu
it mea
office :
“T ‘w
she mt
At t!
laundry
‘dark, |
“Car
Mar:
impuls:
mind \
she vi
“Isn
The
as 9
Aubui
“An
just v
The
dange:
they s
along
green
and
count:
gold.
An
with ;
* She
thoug:
Aubu:
prote:
she k:
tower!
one n
brain
It s

“CRERORNEA, 1 SATURDAX, Al “AU GUST Al, ~ 1885.

Biss eps woEKe is not “5 tool seta

— ena

a Nar AFRAID

, ALLIGATOR LEATHER.

Ame.
when ‘deatrad, I
paneer

—_-

Feadticiied “ea

i ee

"is Christiara—woulk
_ itis often the butt f other creatirres,"

but it is’ its .inguisitivenéss as a rule
’ +:that-pets it into.trouble*not its folly.

7+ lie posts Aesoribe.it-a l-en-itior
Lv Bhd y fad’ itatione=-“yaat

silled to know the right and choose:
BT iery_atteaddd to with ‘Atyatch “the: Wron Mel — ut I” HEYe 5G: Gften

2 enerous Cre- |.
dulity and otheryiee Ia audable thirst

RVILLEY cat

4 ot Placerv ills!
aa ie:

sthin: Seca,

<“—~—> : for Sudwied e, that I. speak-as an
DEDMAN, >. «+; expert when, £ sy that though I have}.
-——+harm

"re pea

ie Dresomaker

“nf Maiit Street, “> ~~
 rescererrrr PEAGER VI ThE)

s-painting .oie-of their number
a ? agresuble jjermillion, i pexer, ‘saw
“fark, Jng 1D. Leir- 80 ber_or |

‘trains of gudpowder and. He penal
a Sy a community ont of

Oolish, as compared with. men... -In-
rdleedwh en-amdisttrh

x

; Mwhich | coni els.
L

"ly not “a-fool-of .the greatest gite,”

Feelf taken acvautag @ in their wild}

bies-

\NSoditan Parhen'e Trip--wotting ink wdlone

to Sooner tay ;

h —_——or
"_SBetto—Tow tar. tarts. it to tho next
Ftown tt --— oo .

a ‘These Words greeted “the “eats of
Ar, W. \V. Davis'and faniil? as" they:
Bit at ‘supper Festerday . evening a “at

leusly astonished them~‘witk

umber |

ky—0om pasad of-.alarasazi- that.

their residence, Sixteenth bend ONei
streets.

. Mr. Davis lyoked | ont of the’ “ypen:

oor. of, his diving room: upon" Nix-

‘teéuth strect> Ho saw thére an un-

fusual* picture. A-fne, large sorrel
“piare- with ‘a- yeathng ejl— at her

“or | 8106, Was. standing: by’ ine" * Tdewilk.

e-to-think,-them—particularly

keytias—o—pb ilosophiaat-era
Bat pirstion,. although

re as at fonfe
rere key=trivolit rand uaaeio a “Bxagper—l
aery_St vores. ty Le. a Se

5 {"

-esk-metai
rine penen “ahcinht’ “ire- teas feo- toner

Te si woudl ea = Tittle

pr

r OE
: fete solution - Hitetest “anno:

wat cnreciraint
— Her ediaplexion was of the’ hud that
ens greatly Wiy-arethey-aliayaso-sad=; "Wind “and-"éun™ -puté’on' ‘Than -or

eed avlien-avidentlyt 8? most con: |

rae, ist. Bowl sepea

=}.shoés, and-

ye
+ tid up ‘beniad the saddle. The!
wae young:

Upar the mares back sata. young
Wwomniftr - biclewise if a man's “waddle. |

WT, ow rubber, goat was]

WOniad” was. sunburnt .. pur)
“stained... bit? -watoorget— und.

Felligen t tace;- ae cumel

aa cases, hand b

-—Erom_-Wiesonsin-tu-itide-cn-Horseback |-tictes—niade.of..

—_——

the same ‘kind of : A
(Reo aa ronnd “ Rd gti | bondwriting, "gaid the-elerk. “PVT Fes Fon h ack“ WHat
otherr. "Two flippers projected from! been “bebind @ Gesk~fiore than ten. did you have at the

each widd of it

“The-uge of alligator shins seems } lieve nuthitigthat came from a trav- editor, quietly. « “ty

SIGNATURES: . _-—--& SITE BI

+ © + wis) nt
Of: ao “7 scialt-aist ola
8, “anid other ar-lesgaracior y . Algnatures---A conaden- | ing editor, sptingin;
4 Pear Seis en oh ah : ByoUa-

as seen in a Chayubers atreet!* Xveut te 2, the-r
barrow pieces of ;
sather hung over ;

| duster over the back

“You can't tell auythidg by th olighteg the best in

Pyenre, and long ugo leaxned to be: “So, “so,” replied:

US tbe prptetsr of es

t rence

ot Bh Juan wh, ae ong he; tin tired, dhety, Luugry, and laboring. Fa precious. gnd_re
soars | tinderthe excileuent that-follonws the te

as al pay ywent of av oxorhjtgnt hack bill. chiro no

| betwee is‘the unly-mac I know! ayen’t seen .00)

“Twelve or fifteen 3

Ago iivgator leather was tanne
.EKaw articles ware made}
of it~ “About foni_yeure aga, how-’
ever, the manuitfactnro of ulligator
leather began in earnaut: First‘a few }
‘shyes were madeotit and tha mann: | fully revised ‘camputyn map; thera is “might” have =come-fe

-‘facturors.of “auch guoils:, saw. there hullovss in it, anct the nelf assertion ‘ Se2¢8," retarned the r
was sométling in it,

res }
the Slis ‘lad on. taau's bh -briuwad | {7 bepetlin! Téather:

{ hat, a close- -titting. Lino and whité

‘checkort- calico ~dvess,. wough lace} 'Ubnes Jeather. cg
on one foot’ wus sant 1

tien pe pn t

ins marked ; Sehealibet und: it

bs@uul donnie. “Sen Tabor .weites!
&; fullows that go two ar ticlog mymdeul

“The nate} ap iu D slink. wud Shisrun, another uf. x5 5 ou expect anyT
abs Oe sacar ; Fog

It: finistorsaelt anil ‘tian it in,
It is conceded that-Armerieans tan
: pant noel m “R maaner ‘BIIprrign ta
-Hooked-éadt- “she--wae~ ~aibte-“to~ takers o.--bast work uid nishipe Ja rom ae Uke
“Feare ot herselt=—-Sla- inl of Pernitirys - “Hees =k
le Fuliotit, 20 or 22 years of age, Fa American ‘alligator aki hen the
Se

four petnidles Amerienss fskiin'the

reer peo, partiontarly w on ha cama rsoulsgerom

say, auy letters for :

v anemiag- editor...
“whose FIER Ei tapgyeste-bis_busl—; ont

TOR”
ness; -his sigpatnredaoks like a care-' ay didn't’ know i

—hondccntidence thatcars ‘bon of pei ' as ively. “No. cay

am a 2)
“No one been up he
likugbirodinan with one. band tied | managing editor, sha

didn't know bnt.

’ 1
pRRWO Os capt iy-and neatly as a. and fe religions ed ito:
erndnating irk a eh ther aibbup :
brifimexd ahmed fe wil

bine oR dah bh ooenarne a . ana pretiy. ell

are
}iladkeyn hil toners ork ia
Jones, af Nevara, line to take a. back aoe aig

peat when the tint clusa in | Writing, is, ;

tont iis oo"
ESidttent a Mar Didi es “4 Ful_expect bey to. came

Pew frac) ed—mtn—de—sveH] ike rR Baa a ei

Srererramac
tahorke “and bagged.

a atryi ji ight,

. Sek at eS Se

ae onke ee
ait should aurea “thea aie.

Club; a monkey calling in|”
te aia live: eae ag

g pare u

—— bd Skt gt ee DGD
Le a” Se

hin home—isab Kings ton, ‘Geen iind the otlier Guit.Statos: ~

fhtect TH tehy att orttins “thie herbie i
as well as the best lerther of the
de abo in. ante Poo ; “Sixty in a
Sas om b Swoman; apd ‘her® pa were chapped |Uozen forsnch goods, ma lant ey.
roprieter eg ie te Whers.—is: ‘the ae from: the same Canee. She’ had

rave, -is ‘alow price. °
bright: Tee eyes - ‘an

“While the -¢eanty a
Risin sedis
it

~paper._:
S Fteraet rrosnp-larper—extrus-thant;
aaa

mt et wa at
i ae ruts lati

$ om pe
ere cha

ya oT ips

Sov eee

oo ee Paleo reonnty, ue 18;

*-Hneeaie Te

<Not’ ‘less thao hale ailions: .
eo pan ees

ae mi eatin Ting ie his, r mere nro
ae Eevrery ete) jn thia srarld ‘Here i is A. tal-t

| low-—three’ weeks’ igo; Maskery-Ae~ y
Knight, New. York Ci tye “wisest beth, 12. Ae tae blo wy-<

i where do the Truth.
“f= SVIGSE of: (herg-corug Front Figeielay

aw des ra‘, “where | Sutord are shot witli.zifles, and: she

L_ILV6 1a D er. DeRTo
on Wi a t = once Cee Lie Wihenvrar al
‘a b sams yonte aye faeanlcan omtboaRN EL

dL *

tho pou. - There. id téxe-piuel of t Louris expe ror tere
mide and quiver in their signatures 1-biaenode-reileotival
that’ remind: ono uf the‘ o} 1. “Hines, | be

“Yon're “too hard—
when they Werd ‘more familiar. with:
the plok pnd ged shovel than with perrand } murnmfed: the -religic

5 t
dint Lyvy pay their brils_bet: eh Saat

ne valhto-witht wrewng eer,

a |coral-bada of: of: the Orion

= 5 tSeen beret Se
L—No#> said “fie—mrart

“EIVED TE 9een anh ¥n,

Ainge Liwself for an,

les f+ wanted-toom

| den, to"uriforeseen- itr ‘their transfor:
fmations {TU ~--<0"th Thaldry, tavhe

Sr Sag ansoR I

rational, feo: furtive in . “ox reseion.” toy.

iMoiis-serd

"I Dave. for-: Soverul= thou
¢} dtatarting id theepring tnd-mektne Te

a

he -jonrney=on-horsshack= thie

‘tie: un-| *
obing-of Hindoo’ tars} 9

fento Street.
ea eatcuico

3h nig HTS TREAT, v=

nr ete pe “Tp

4 He

par~ I-raude up my. mind at
 ronld’ ee it. have been eight the. oe ara. beginnino

«BaF chome pagarce. Laws will lave to

eras te lta is 900 er ind :
kthen-600-and mere-to Cheyenne. -Ho | Lolea-aite th
have, come. over a thousand miles [CHOIe-siin Is:

“Hay

n

“ta give--up

F 2
pi Ti

a3 yeurna taadede
~ ae

Ory: Metiig ‘Salts, Waters, "

Bartel « upon,” Cojullatigal

teal atiestions

x a int-whon- ‘youn: “daked WW hy,. soma: _

Bt-thedechnter.’ :“It ist'tthaé I want
the rim
butt do. — =

: ‘Black!

imp, > making the play‘of an ‘expert

pers

= pe wh oe ti
-ontlenren.totakée ‘something, -E) angry with me--Detause - persis ed.

7 ‘part: the,
don’t: keer if I do; yemarked’ “the: J%; FOlDE. on, and colt

manny, * 90 ay my passnge; >

. do tot nee money, ad. TJ)
can buy. that for Sa Lpart—withthat’ mate

eed-as a: “trother, -Aggd :

cccaes =

weigthis: as: -zatich to. a-pound ss

TNA RAR Helena wan ae have ty

rO ee from, iat a

Roi gtn snore - :

es fryma two to ao
“WAT UCW killed.

uFéss Ada> ma

wan pretest of a gas co mp:
< ing ‘ptock in a paying-ouget
ee apaiy, . It was worth.

sie “hifi put: “duwn’ his name,’ but:
wil} nuver.bé worth that mel ain |
ae =te*ar-

feet in ee

~butiveen thie. Rix:
youn goed horse?” foot skin and the Bon.
“Indeed have. “8 oF ranted are Se ~

ae trips wat Kearney |e. hi

: anes
8 * niet | cess naa on ke ty

Mt takes four” montlis
onc phe. the fekio, ‘Th

gin Brooklyn.” —
_ “Has ai any ove ano Jmnita-|
of allightor Mather. - -

“rHul parties

t and he poured. out a pg

BC fot retreshoian}, “Whi
- "Ey vey hres. 5s-
“Very “hicé,""\cointher

mrss o--palite.
“. chief wait, longs———
$21) fo |". ‘WVas. seek anil) ed th

-Drunimors ers ra domonsating in [oon

with jrood }*
He crore drinks, lingered managin -editereyeing:
their names, particularly : “Fake pies -a

ad of them mo-where you canght the
vB yans “thing

“Strange she hadn't
ise Haag they/talk, t ‘the muttered fe-religious ed

Siesta in using imperfect

Ze =the re losng= Ess il-softon“the har LOL

er fuiling occa: 75, she. drépped=in whei
Hina to: “make hue sipuatare look |
Fiken =A ces-utorwcAon Me LOW. or -when- she-got-here


ot

: iGk:
shag: tnetsententy oe or ista

ELDorado

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s$=* Bari


” he said,

the last-
-ommitted.
my hunch,
disappears
is heard
me there’s
you agree

the mane”

4d the lawyer.
not, Blodgett
nlicity had as

made by rela-
t time they’ve
1e newspapers,
n good time,”
nephews—Mr.
med. Besides,
ig in Phoenix,
‘om her father
ste, asking her

WILSHIRE MYSTERY

fy

Months after he had strangely disappeared, the wealthy Jacob

Denton was found in a crude crypt in the murky basement of his

Los Angeles mansion—murdered, Did the beautiful woman who
had recently crossed his path hold the key to the ghastly riddle?

to meet him at the station in Phoenix on June third, He
failed to appear and she’s heard nothing since, What do
you make of it?”

“Not much of anything, yet. Could he have been in-
volved in financial difficulties orp——"

“No. Everything appears to be in ship-shape order. His

housekeeper is taking care of collecting his rents and that
sort of thing. She says he packed his suit-case and an-
nounced his intention of taking a short trip. Her idea is

kept and, proceeding step by ‘step, minutely examined
the house,. finally going through a door leading from
the kitchen..to the small basement directly under-
neath, ;

Below ‘the narrow stairway descending into the
basement there was what later turned out to be a
small, vault-like room, constructed from unpainted
lumber. In front of the door of _ this make-shift
Toom was a stack of boxes and trunks. A_ few

~ feet away was a pile of loose, rich dirt,

PYLE OF CRUDELY
MIXED CEMENT

mixed with fertilizer. When the boxes
and trunks were removed, the door was
found to be a substantial affair, fastened
by hinges and an iron staple, and further
barred by two heavy boards nailed
across it.

DETECTIVE Cody broke open the
door of the. wooden vault. In the

heterogeneous ‘collection of rags, news-
papers and old pipes. Underneath these

ing a mound of loose dirt.

With a sharp-edged board, Blodgett
began to scrape the soil away. At the
third or fourth stroke, he started back,
seized Cody’s arm and pointed to the

SMALLER
. REVOLVER FOUR
HER

Phowes Fy
Qa 884047 ko,
“ny yep. s

~~

Sooy UNER DIRT PILE Zilli
OARPED UP Te Z,

EVENT OISCOvERY,

i; ro -"  BOoy

BASEMENT SHOWING i! yi

earth with a shaking finger.
“What did I tell you?” he gasped,
From the mound of earth protruded
a human foot in a mouldy tennis shoe.
While Cody stood guard over the
gruesome discovery, the attorney rushed
A upstairs and telephoned Police Head-
i ' quarters. Within a short time Detec-
Atl tives Tom O’Brien, Louis Canto and
Sidney Hickok were on the scene.
About the same time Paul Aument, Den-

that he may have changed his mind and gone for a long
voyage—Europe, possibly—and that he may show up any
day now.

“But here’s what I have in mind: | propose to go out
to his house and take it to pieces, if necessary, in order to
find some clue to the mystery. Isn’t that what they always
do in the best detective mysteries?”

“Right!” replied Cody.

It was on the morning of September 23rd, 1920, that the
two men went to the Denton residence, 675 South Catalina
Street—in the fashionable Wilshire district of Los Angeles—
and began an exhaustive search of the premises. They first
entered the room where Denton’s personal belongings were

ton’s nephew, arrived in response to a
- hurried summons,

The-mound of dirt was removed, revealing a huge oblong
bundle wrapped in a heavy quilt and tightly roped. The
bulky mass was carefully carried upstairs and into the open
yard, where ropes were cut and wrappings unrolled—
disclosing to view the body of a man, horribly decom-
posed,

Although all facial lineaments had been obliterated by
decomposition, Paul Aument unhesitatingly identified the
body as that of his uncle, Jacob C. Denton, by the initialed
belt buckle on the remains, and a wedding ring that en-
circled one finger—a ring that had belonged to Denton’s
late wife and which he had had enlarged. At the same time,
Aument noted that a valuable diamond ring—one which

11

POI RN PD Yi EB ks se —S——

semi-darkness there first appeared a

was a sheet of earth-stained canvas cover-

IM a SN cen NCE ct

Susie a srenaatemnieal - smareerrnresneenemennneeenees

12 The Master Detective

Denton had worn for some years—was missing from the
dead man’s hand.

At the time of its discovery the body was clothed
in a white shirt, without a collar, white tennis shoes,
white socks and dark trousers, Over the clothing
were five loops of rope. One of these had: been tied
about the neck. Another was twisted around
the chest, one around the hips, the fourth
about the knees and the fifth about the
ankles. Each was tied with a “lashing” knot,
sometimes known as a marlin knot, usually
used by sailors. The manner in which the.
loops were tied around the corpse brought
the arms close against the sides, making the body
a tight and compact mass.

As to the death crypt, all indications were
that the vault was of comparatively
recent construction, inasmuch as the
woodwork seemed new. Most of
the crypt was built from packing-
house boxes, and the nails
were bent and twisted, as
though driven by an inexperi-
enced hand.

FOR weeks the “Great Wil-

shire Mystery,” as the case
became popularly known, oc-
cupied the front pages of the
newspapers.

“Who killed Jacob Denton?”
was the question of the hour.
What was the answer?

Chief of Detectives Charles
R. Moffatt assigned Detec-
tives E. R. Cato, Herman
Cline and Eddie King to
co-operate with | Detectives
Canto and Hickok and the
District Attorney's office in the
effort to bring to justice the per-
petrator of one of the most shock-
ingly cold-blooded murders in Los
Angeles crime annals. ¢

It was ascertained that in the spring
of 1920, Denton, then forty-six years
of age, having accumulated a con-
siderable fortune as a promoter and
mining stock speculator in Mexico
and Arizona, decided to move from
Phoenix, Arizona, to Los Angeles with
intent to spend the rest of his life in
enjoyment of his well-earned wealth,

Death disarranged his original
program. A few weeks after ar-
riving in Southern California, his
beloved second wife died. How-
ever, the first shock of sorrow
past, the retired capitalist had
carried out his plan to establish

a home in the city where ever-

green gardens, smiling skies and

ocean-tempered breezes afforded an
alluring contrast to

Arizona’s torrid climate

and the desert wastes

and barren mountains
that had been the
scene of his activities |
for the preceding twen-
ty years.

On May 8th he

purchased, at a total

cost of $23,000, a palatial residence surrounded by
beautifully landscaped grounds at 675 South Catalina
Street and had the place richly furnished and dec-
orated.

A few days later, Mrs. Louise L. Peete entered
upon the scene. It was the understanding of Den-
ton’s relatives that he employed her
as his housekeeper. Mrs. Peete’s sub-
sequent explanation of her presence
in the house was to the effect that
she had rented it, after reading an
advertisement inserted by Denton in a
newspaper, with the understanding that
she would sub-let the place to. other
tenants.

Mrs. Peete was a woman of some
thirty-five years, with a full but
shapely figure, dark brown eyes and
chestnut hair, her face bearing distinct
traces of a rather striking
beauty. Jacob C. Denton
was very favorably impressed
by Mrs. Peete and, whatever
her status, a day or two after
their meeting, Mrs. Peete
took up her abode in the
Denton residence, along with
her four-year-old daughter, a
winsome little girl to whom
Denton, an ardent lover of
children, was greatly at-
tracted.

“Charlie” Denton, big two-
fisted miner and shrewd spec-
ulator, was at the same time
a-man of easy-going disposi-
tion and generous nature.
From the first, his relations
with the attractive Mrs.
Peete were apparently most

friendly. He urged the woman
to invite to the house any
friends she might wish to en-
tertain and the last weeks of
May were marked by several
informal parties, picnics and mo-
toring parties which included her and
Denton.

MBS. PEETE had lived for some years

in Denver, where she bore an. excel-
lent reputation and had many friends of
high standing in social and civic circles.
Among them were Mrs. Ida Gregory and
her daughter, who were sojourning in
Los Angeles at the time Mrs. Peete went
to live at the Denton mansion. On May
29th these ladies met Denton, through
Mrs. Peete, and made an agreement to
lease his residence, Mrs. Peete to remain
there as caretaker at a salary of fifty
dollars a. month. It was agreed that
Mrs. Gregory would move from her

A man of easy-going
disposition and gen-
erous nature, Jacob
Denton had no
known enemies.
What, then, was the
motive for the baf-
ae atrocity of
which he was the
sorry victim?

hotel ;
On t
ment t
June Is
being i:
go to
engagen
failure
such m
daughte:
letter fr
Phoenix
few hou
the dep.
expect h
On the
at the r:
appearec
plans on
On M
phoned
few day:
Denton ;
kitchen :
On the a
again ca
formed h
packed a
house wa
the pros;
might m
so, and }
Denton
social gai
herself in
seemingly

ABOUT
month
Denton hc
her daugh:
Almost at
upon asser
Still-absent
place to ne
about one
On Augu
more sub-};
at $300 per
and on th:
structing
future ren:
left for th
come the g
Period noth
Jacob Dent
tives and
Caused alar:
About the
telephoned |
ters for Den:
seen for sor
tion be mad
the matter u
tive Sergean:
Matter of the
tive Jones 2
whom he fo:
and cheerfu!

Avery's Office
light on the

Mrs. Peete

crudely typev


The GREAT

By
D, L, MICHEL

and
CARROLL N, WRIGHT

“Whatever it is, I’m at your service,” he said,
simply.

“Good! 1 rather incline toward the last-
named theory—that is, that a murder has been committed.
Can’t tell you why, exactly, but that’s my—my_ hunch,
you might call it. When a wealthy man disappears
for no apparent reason and not a word is heard
from him for almost four months, it strikes me there's
something deucedly peculiar about it. Don’t you agree

with me?”
“Certainly do,” Cody answered. “Who is the man?”

(Above), Mrs. Louise Peete, the vivacious grass
widow who kept house for Jacob Denton. What role
did she play in the solution of the rich speculator’s
murder? The diagram at the right depicts the
Denton residence in the exclusive Wilshire district
of Los Angeles and shows how Denton was shot down
at his kitchen table. Note how the body was
dragged from the kitchen to the basement, there
to be interred in a make-shift tomb

Blodgett,” announced the office boy.
“Send him right in.”. Rush Blodgett, well-
known Los Angeles attorney, carefully folded a
letter he had been reading and replaced it in an envelope.
At ape bane moment, the door opened and he rose to greet
his caller.

“ R. A. J. CODY of the Pacific Coast
Detective Agency to see you, Mr.

“Sit down, Cody,” he said, after a brief handshake. “Have.

a cigar?” When Cody had accepted the proffered smoke,

Blodgett, without further preamble, went straight to the.

point:

“T sent for you because I want your assistance in what
will prove to be one of two things—a wild-goose chase or a
murder case.”

The detective betrayed no surprise.

10

“Jacob’ Denton; ever heard of him?” asked the lawyer.

When the detective admitted that he had not, Blodgett
informed him that for certain reasons no publicity had as
yet been given the matter.

“The usual inquiries and search have been made by rela-
tives of Mr. Denton, but up to the present time they’ve
kept the fact of his disappearance out of the newspapers,
believing, of course, he’d show up in his own good time,”
said Blodgett. “Now, however, two of his nephews—Mr.
Baxter and Mr. Aument—are thoroughly alarmed. Besides,
Denton has a fifteen-year-old daughter living in Phoenix,
Arizona, who writes that she hasn’t heard from her father
since May thirty-first. At that time he wrote, asking her

2A CASP (Crige al MeQe)

to meet
failed t
you ma}
“Not
volved i
“No
housekee
sort of

nounced

that he m:
voyage—Eu
day now.
“But here
to his house
find some c!
do in the be:
“Right!” r
It was on
two men wer

Street—in the

and began an
entered the r


by
vtalina
dec-

ntered
Den-
-d her
s sub-
resence
that

1g an
} ina
ng that
other

some

j but
ves and
distinct
striking
Denton
mpressed
whatever
two after
rs. Peete
le in the
long with
jaughter, a
to whom
© lover of
reatly at-

n, big two-
\rewd spec-
same time
ing dispdsi-
us nature.
is relations
itive Mrs.
ently most
the woman
house any
wish to en-
st weeks of
by several
nics and mo-
4ed her and

or some years
bore an. excel-
any friends of
d civic circles.
1a Gregory and
sojourning 1n
(rs. Peete went
sion. On May
-aton, through
, agreement to
Peete to remain
salary of fifty
as agreed that
nove from her

an of easy-going
osition and gen-
s nature, Jacob
nton had no
wn ene mies.
at, then, was the
rive for the baf-
ag atrocity 0
ich he was the
sorry victim?

|

The Great Wilshire Mystery

hotel and make her home in the Denton place on May 3lst.

On this same day, May 29th, Denton made an appoint-
ment to call at the office of a business acquaintance on
June Ist. At the same time he announced his intention of
being in Phoenix June 3rd. From Phoenix he planned to
go to Kansas City. Denton did not keep the business
engagement for the Ist, nor leave any explanation of his
failure to do so although he was notably punctilious in
such matters. On May 3lst, Frances, fifteen-year-old
daughter of Denton by his divorced first wife, received a
letter from her father announcing his plan to stop off in
Phoenix on June 3rd, en route to Kansas City, to spend a
few hours with the girl, and telling her to meet him at
the depot. He also wrote his brother, Joel R. Denton, to
expect him in Kansas City on June 6th.

On these dates daughter and brother waited for Denton
at the railroad stations in the cities mentioned. He never
appeared, nor did they receive any notice of change of
plans on his part, which seemed odd.

On May 3lst, Mrs. . Peete tele-
phoned Mrs. Gregory to wait a
few days before moving into the
Denton mansion, saying that the
kitchen: range was out of order.
On the afternoon of June 2nd she
again called Mrs, Gregory, in-
formed her that Mr. Denton had
packed and gone away, that the
house was now in order and told
the prospective tenants that they
might move in at once. They did
so, and that night the handsome
Denton home was the scene of
social gaiety. Mrs. Peete showed
herself in a gracious mood and in
seemingly high spirits.

ABOUT the first of July, after a

month’s pleasant sojourn at the
Denton home, Mrs. Gregory and
her daughter returned to Denver.
Almost at once, Mrs. Peete, acting
upon asserted authority from the
still-absent Denton, rented the
place to new tenants who remained
about one month.

On August 19th Mrs, Peete once
more sub-let the Denton mansion
at $300 per month to new parties
and on that same day, after in-
structing the tenants to remit
future rent to her in Denver,

13

and addressed to Avery, wherein he left all his property
in the form of an income to his daughter Frances, or, in
the event of her death, to some home for children as a
memorial to his second wife.

MBs. PEETE then stated that one evening early in June
she was with Mr. Denton and a woman friend when
they drove up to the Catalina Street house, returning from
a trip to the beach. They noticed a woman sitting on the
front porch, Mrs, Peete said, and Denton had appeared to
recognize her but drove past the porch into the back yard
and let Mrs. Peete and her companion into the house by
way of the back door. Then Denton went out on the front
_porch and held a long conversation with the strange woman,
whom Mrs. Peete described as young, with dark hair and
complexion, typically Spanish in appearance. Mrs. Peete

said that she and her friend went to their rooms upstairs,
and through the window she heard Denton and his strange

left for that city with her little daughter, to be-

come the guest of Mrs. Gregory. During this Jong -

period nothing had been seen or heard of Charles
Jacob Denton and his failure to communicate with rela-

The white cross shows where Denton’s
body lay buried for months—while anxious
relatives searched for him in vain. The

- stairs which you see lead to the kitchen,

where the master of the mansion met his

visitor talking heated-
ly and quarreling in-
to the small hours of
the morning.

tives and friends had aroused curiosity—and then
caused alarm. ;

About the middle of June, Aument, Denton’s nephew, had
telephoned Judge Russ Avery, who had handled legal mat-
ters for Denton, informing him that his uncle had not been
seen for some time and suggested that a quiet investiga-
tion be made, as he feared foul play. Judge Avery took
the matter up with the District Attorney’s office and Detec-
tive Sergeant Charles Jones was assigned to look into the
matter of the capitalist’s mysterious disappearance, Detec-
tive Jones at once sought an interview with Mrs. Peete,
whom he found residing in Denton’s house. She readily
and cheerfully volunteered to accompany him to Judge
Avery’s office to give any information that might throw
light on the mystety.

Mrs. Peete first turned over to Judge Avery a will,
crudely typewritten and signed by Denton on May I[5th,

horrible fate “A day or two

later,” continued Mrs.
Peete, “Mr. Denton went out in his automobile, returning

some time afterward with his right arm in a sling. The
next day he disappeared; on the day after that he sent for
his grip—but he never returned to the house. He told me
nothing regarding his mysterious lady friend.”

Shortly afterward, Baxter, Denton’s other nephew, called
on Judge Avery, remarked that Denton had seemingly dis-
appeared and asked that efforts be made to locate the man
as several good offers had been made for the purchase of
the Catalina Street house. However, the attorney, feeling
that he had gone as far as his authority permitted, without
uncovering. any indication of foul play, did not have the
inquiry pressed at that time.

Early in September, little Frances Denton and her
mother—the missing man’s first wife—laid the matter of

\


Mrs. Louise Peete: Since she was housekeeper for Mrs.
lice naturally came to her for help in solving her benef

“Arthur C. Logan,” stated the Patton
uperintendent, “was originally judged
nsane in November, 1943. He was here
vith us for a short time, and then pa-
oled into his wife’s care for ‘senti-
iental reasons.’ We had no further
nowledge of his case until June of
his year, Then we had it brought to
ur attention that on June fifth, a wom-
n who asserted she was Logan’s foster-
ister, appeared with Logan at the
sychopathic ward of the General Hos-
ital. She asked for his commitment
ack to Patton and showed a letter pur-
orting to be from his wife refusing
istody of the demented man.”

, D2 YOU have that letter?” asked
Captain Brown.

“Yes. It’s right here in the file, with
»me other correspondence on Logan.”
e handed the letter to Brown. “Natur-
lly, there was no difficulty about get-
ng Logan recommitted, inasmuch as
2 was Officially insane in the first
‘ace. His return here was an auto-
atic procedure, and we kept him
ere until he died on December sixth—
» which time we wired his wife about
ie disposition of the body.”

“We understand you received a tele-
ione call asking his body be turned

over to a medical school.”

“That is true. The request was un-
usual, and we asked that it be verified
in writing. A few days later, it was—
in this letter.” The superintendent
passed Over a second letter. “You will
note that the signatures of Mrs. Logan
were identical in this and in still a
third one we received from her.”

“What was in the third letter?”

mt ASKED the hospital authorities
to fill out proof of Logan’s death,
so that she could collect her husband’s
insurance money. This third letter was
only received a few days ago, and it has
not been answered as yet—but of course
we shall do so in the very near future.”
Captain Brown made a mental note
of the origin of the letter. He would
look into that later. At the moment,
he had more pressing work to do.
“Don’t do anything until you hear
from us,” Captain Brown told the of-
ficial. “If Mrs. Logan should contact
you again in regard to this matter, say
that it will be necessary for her to ap-
Pear personally to get this proof she
requires of her husband’s death—and
then notify us of the time she’s com-
ing.”

“Very well,” replied the hospital of-

Margaret Logan, po-
actor's disappearance

Police Chemist Ray Pinker, digging
out a slug that missed. District At-
torney Fred Houser in background

ficer. “Just as you say.”

“We should like to take these three
letters with Mrs. Logan’s signatures on
them. We'll want to compare them
with signatures of Mrs. Logan which
were written prior to June first, 1944.”

“I’m sorry that we have no such
signature here,” said the hospital
superintendent. “We don’t have the
Papers for Mr. Logan’s original com-
mitment, but you could probably find
them at the General Hospital.”

“That’s all right,” Captain Brown
told him. “Our best bet in this con-
nection is Mrs, Logan’s bank, and we'll
have a talk with her bank officers
when we return to Los Angeles tomor-
row.”

At THE Santa Monica branch of the

Bank of America, where Mr. and
Mrs. Arthur Logan had kept their
funds, the three investigators found
bank officials.only too willing to assist
in the inquiry. The sudden inactivity of
the Logan account after the middle of
June had interested those persons in
charge, and they had felt that some un-
usual explanation was behind the fact
that Mrs. Logan’s checks had stopped
coming in.

“It was a rare month that Mrs. Lo-
gan didn’t write twenty-five or thirty
checks, as you'll see from these state-
ments for January through May of
this year,” one of the bank officers told
Captain Brown. “So when these checks
stopped coming in abruptly, we wrote
to her asking if we had given some
unintentional offense. That’s our usual

Policy in such cases. You see, we
thought she might have been offended
because of our questioning the signa-
ture on the ‘Anne Leigh’ check.”

“Which was the Anne Leigh check?”
asked Captain Brown.

“It was a check—the last check she
drew—for a sum slightly over two hun-
dred dollars made out to one Anne
Leigh. Our accountant decided Mrs.
Logan had not signed the check, and
we got in touch with her about it. How-
ever, Mrs. Logan was aware of the
existence of the check and we made the
payment.”

“You don’t have that check here now,
of course?” asked the Homicide Cap-
tain. “I'd like to see the endorsement
of this Anne Leigh.”

“No. It went back at the end of
June with the regular statement for the
month. We could send to our vaults in
town and have the check brought up
from micro-film,; so you could look at
the endorsement. But that would take
a day or two.”

” E MAY have to do that.” Cap-

tain Brown thought for a mo-
ment. “When you wrote to Mrs. Logan,
asking her if the bank’s procedure had
offended her in any way, what did she
reply in return?”

“We received no answer to our let-
ter and we allowed the matter to drop.
Somehow, we came to understand she
was out of town—Denver, I believe the
report had it—and we assumed that
was the reason she was no longer do-

(Continued on Page 49)
23


in of

“Was Arthur Logan the kind of man
who might have killed his wife in an
insane frenzy?” one’ officer asked a
neighbor.

“No. He was a very fine man.”

“What can you tell us about Mrs.
Lee Borden Judson, the housekeeper
for the Logans?”

“Mrs. Judson is an elderly lady who
seems to have been an old friend of
Mrs. Logan’s. She came here to take
care of the house about a year ago. In
May of this year, we understand she
was married to a banker. The marriage
had the blessing of the Logans, appar-
ently, for Mr. Judson was a frequent
visitor at the house and seemed to be
accepted as one of the family.”

T= police officer held up a small
photograph. “Is this a picture of
Mrs. Judson?”

“I think so. But it must have been
taken a long time ago. Mrs. Judson
should be fifty-five or sixty years old
now. But I’m pretty sure that was Mrs.
Judson when she was young.”

Captain Thad Brown was tramping
over the ground in the back yard of
No. 713 Hampden Place. A newly ce-
mented area against the lower wall of
the house attracted his attention.

“Why do you suppose that was
done?” he asked his companion, Lieu-
tenant Vaughn. “It seems to have been
done recently.”

“Seepage,” replied the Lieutenant.
“This whote section slopes into the sea,
and there’s a natural drainage into
cellars and substructures. That was
done to keep water out of the base-
ment.” ‘

Captain Brown stared down at a
flower bed neatly marked off with brick
and stone, which rested almost against
the side of the house where the new
cement had been installed.

This particular flower bed, thought
the officer, seemed to be a favorite in
the yard, for it seemed to be tended
better than the others that were laid
out around the place. Its proximity to
the house was also unusual; and it was
undoubtedly the spade work that had
gone into this little six-by-three-foot
plot which had loosened the earth and
caused the seepage into the basement.
A small cross-like marker also was
visible at the head of the flower bed.

Lieutenant Hansen came quickly
around the corner of the house.

“An elderly man has just let himself
in the front door,” he said.

The officers hurried around to the
front. They had barely reached the
top of the short stairway leading to
the door when it opened, and a pleas-
ant-looking gentleman, wearing glasses,
greeted them.

44LJELLO,” he said. “I thought you

were my wife coming around
from tending the garden. Is there some-
thing I can do for you?”

“You must be Mr. Lee Borden Jud-
son,” said Captain Brown.

“Yes. Won't you come in?”

“We'll be frank with you, Mr. Jud-
son,” said Captain Brown, as he fol-
lowed Judson inside. “We're the police,
and we're here on a serious matter.
We're specially interested in a flower
bed in the back yard that appears to

be marked with a cross. Can you tell
us anything about it?”

“You ‘mean the one outside my bed-
room?” asked Judson. “My wife had a
man lay that out last September. Then

-she found that water was seeping into

the house through the cracks, and she
had the same man put some cement
against the wall. But I never noticed
it was marked with a cross or anything.”
“It’s just a marker,” replied Captain
Brown. “Perhaps just to support some
of the flowers or shrubbery.” He paused.
“May I ask where Mrs. Judson is now?”
“It may be she went to visit Mrs.
Logan in San Bernardino,” replied Jud-
son. “She does that occasionally, you
know—and now with Mr. Logan dead,
she probably feels an even greater con-
cern for Mrs. Logan’s well-being.”
“So Mrs. Logan lives in San Bernar-
dino,” said the Homicide Captain.
“Yes, so my wife tells me. I haven't
seen Mrs. Logan for at least six months
myself, but since Mr. Logan was com-
mitted, Mrs. Logan sold the house to
my wife and went to live in San Bernar-
dino to be near him. Of course, I don’t

know what she'll do now that he’s dead.”

“I understand you have been married
to Mrs. Judson less than a year,” Cap-
tain Brown said.

“That's right,” stated Judson readi-
ly. “We were married on May second, to
be exact. We went to live in a hotel
during the month of May, and on May
thirtieth my wife visited the Logans.
The next day I got a telephone call to
come out there. I did, and I found blood
on the living room floor.”

R, - this room where we’re standing
now?”

uNYES, on that rug there,” Judson
pointed to the center rug. “It. has
been cleaned since then. My wife told
me it was the result of Mr. Logan going
berserk and attacking his wife. She

said Mrs. Logan had gone away, for

her own protection, and that she—my
wife—had been retained to take care
of things during her absence.”

“You never saw Mrs. Logan after
that?” asked Captain Brown.

“No—but she was here several times
while I was away at work. She would
drop in during the day and leave
quickly.”

Eg wife told you that.”

“Yes.”

“What was your wife’s maiden
name?” asked Captain Brown, kindly.

“Anne Leigh. Her full name was
Lou Anne Leigh.”

“This living room has been recently
redecorated, I believe. May I ask when
that was done?”

“When Mr. Logan went crazy and
attacked his wife, he also shot at her
and several bullets were imbedded in
the walls. The room was redecorated
to remove the marks of the bullets.”

“Could you tell us where those bul-
let holes were?”

“Yes.” Judson walked over to one
of the walls. “They’re somewhere
back of that wall paper. They were
not plastered over, to my knowledge.

“Thank you, Mr. Judson. And now
that will be all for awhile, except that
we'd like you to come downtown with
us to put this statement on paper
with the department. I’m sure you

won't object to that.”

“I certainly will not!” Judson was
growing indignant. “I shall be glad to
make any statement to you at any time
and at any place. And I am sure my
wife will feel the same when she gets
home!”

|= WAS three o’clock in the morning
of December 21, 1944, and Captain
Brown and Lieutenant Vaughn were
digging softly in the flower bed locat-
ed against the bedroom wall of the Lo-
gan house. They did not have to go
very far down before they came to
what they were looking for. The de-
composed body of a woman was buried
shallowly about a yard below the
ground. The back of her head had
been beaten in with heavy hammer
blows.

Captain Brown stepped out of the
grave and mopped his brow. Then he
stared curiously at the dark house ad-
joining the flower bed. He whispered
a word to Vaughn to leave things be,
and he walked around the side of the
house to the front door. There he took
up the knocker and sent a hard, metal-
lic sound ringing throughout the
rooms inside. When no answer came,
he inserted a key and let himself in.
He walked softly through the living
room, and into a den-like chamber at
the back of the house. A heavy-set
woman whirled from what she was do-
ing as the Captain’s step sounded on
the threshold. Papers were scattered
all about her, and jewelry gleamed
from the strong box under her hands.
When the officer said nothing, the
woman straightened up and demanded:
“What do you want?”

“It’s the police, Mrs. Judson,” said
Captain Brown. “Please do not disturb
Mrs. Logan’s effects further. It’s
much to late to cover up now.”

“I know you're the police,” the wom-
an replied calmly. “And I know you’ve
been digging out there. I heard you.”

“Then you know what we found.”
Captain Brown said evenly.

“I admit I buried the body after Mr.
Logan killed her,” said the woman in
the room rapidly. “But that’s all you've
got on me—”

“We know who you really are, Mrs.
Judson,” said the officer.

“Well, what of it? The Parole Board
gave me the right to change my name.”

“Then you don’t deny you are Mrs.
Louise Peete, who was convicted of the
‘cellar-crypt’ murder of Jacob Denton,
retired millionaire, in 1921?”

U\AJHAT good would it do me to deny
it, when I served eighteen years
in San Quentin and the woman’s prison
at Tehachapi for a crime I did not
commit!”

“Following which,” Captain Brown
continued, “you were paroled in 1939
and became the housekeeper for Mrs.
Emily Latham, State Parole officer,
who died quite suddenly in September
a@ year ago—” .

“Are you going to say I killed her,
too?” shouted the woman. “Are you
going to say I killed my benefactor, Mrs.
Latham?”

“I didn't say that. But Mr. Denton
was your benefactor, too. He allowed
you to move into his house before you

had bought it. That was on February
fifth, 1921. Shortly thereafter, he drop-
ped out of sight—and after months of
investigation his body was found be-
hind a boarded-up cupboard in the
basement, under a mound of earth. He
had been shot in the back of the head.
It was found you had obtained money
by pawning his jewelry—”

“Stop!” cried the woman, “I didn’t
do it! I’m innocent!”

“Do you still deny killing Mrs.
Logan?” asked the Homicide Captain
gently. “Do you still deny it, Mrs.—
Peete?”

“Yes,” replied the woman. “I deny it.
If I killed Mr. Denton, as they said I
did, then why would I want to kill
again? Mr. Logan killed his wife in
an insane frenzy. I didn’t do it!,You
can’t ever make me say I did!”

OOKED on suspicion that day, Mrs.
Louise Peete-Judson was charged
formally with the murder of Mrs. Mar-
garet Logan by the District Attorney's
office in a joint complaint which also
named her husband, Lee Borden Jud-
son, as an accessory. This action took
place on December 23 when the couple
appeared before Municipal Judge Wil-
liam M. Byrnes. Preliminary hearing
on the charge was set for January
10, 1945. As the arraignment was
nearing its close, Mrs. Judson took
the occasion to say, “My husband, Lee,
is absolutely innocent of anything. I
wish everyone would disabuse their
minds of any suspicion by act, word or
form about Mr. Judson. He never knew
I was Louise Peete, with all that had
gone by. Time and time again I tried
to summon the courage to tell him.
But I guess I was just a coward. I
didn’t want to hurt him...”
Meanwhile, at the Coroner’s inquest
on January 3, 1945, named Mrs. Peete
as the killer of Mrs. Logan, Los Angeles
authorities went about tightening the
case against the suspect. Coroner
Frank Nance reported that Mrs. Logan
had died of gunshot wounds in the
back of the head, as in the Jacob Den-
ton case, complicated with the brutal
bludgeoning on the skull. The bullet
extracted from the head of the body
matched those bullets found imbedded
in the wall of the living room, and these
in turned had been fired from a .32 cal-
iber revolver which was found hidden
in the basement of the Logan house.

WEDNESDAY, January 10, 1945,
the Judsons appeared for a prelim-
inary hearing before Judge Wallace
Curtis in Superior Court. Judge Curtis
ordered the woman held for trial. Lee
Borden Judson was freed by the court
and entry made that he was innocent
of any connection with the slaying of
Mrs. Logan. Judson appeared delighted
by the verdict of the court. Then on
January 12, he walked to the top floor
of a building in downtown Los Angeles
and leaped to his death down the stair-
well. When the police reached his side,
he tried to say something, failed in his
effort and died wordlessly.

Mrs. Peete has pleaded not guilty, as
OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES goes
to press, her trial date has been set for
April 23, 1945. She has asked permis-
sion to be tried as Mrs. Louise Peete.

"Catch That Hitchhiking Multiple Killer!"' (continued trom Page 11)

they known each other, been connected
in any way? And would that way,
whatever it was, account for their
common fate? Perhaps somewhere,
sometime, their slayer had known all
of them, known them and hated them.
Perhaps this was no simple multiple
hitchhiker killing, but a subtle com-
plicated plot. The possibility could
not be overlooked. And it meant an
enormous amount of work, for it in-
volved digging into the private lives of
all the victims.

The driver of the Batesville-Little
Rock bus said, “I remember him. He
got on right where you say he might,
just beyond the long suspension bridge

50

over the Little Red near Tumbling
Shoals. We were heading south, to-
ward Heber Springs.”

Sheriff Turney asked, “Did he seem
excited or anything?”

44 JO, I wouldn’t say so. I just remem-

ber him because I thought it was
funny that he was out there in that de-
serted stretch and because—well, he
didn’t look like a farmer.”

“Why?”

“His overcoat, for one thing. It
looked like an expensive coat, and pret-
ty new. It was a sort of bluish-gray,
and it didn’t fit him any too well.”

Captain Scroggin looked at the

Sheriff and nodded.

Sheriff Turney asked, “What else
was he wearing?”

“I think he was wearing a khaki
shirt and pants under the coat, like
part of an Army uniform. No hat. He
was red-headed. I remember that.”

“How old?”

“Oh, maybe twenty-eight. He was
a nice looking fellow. Average size.”

“What did he do?”

“Just flagged me down at the side
of the road. Didn’t say anything when
he got on.”

“You didn’t see the car?
have still been burning.”

“No.” ;

It must

“What time was this.”

“Let’s see. We're due in Heber
Springs at three o’clock. But we were
pretty late that day. It must have
been about half-past three Friday
afternoon. Yes, that’s about right.”

“Where did this man get off?”

_ CAN’T tell you that. I don’t re-
member at all.”

Well, it was a start. Now they had
a description to work with. And a red-
head—that was a break. People re-
member a red-head.

But how could they trace him
further?

They decided to ask the newspapers

lice blinker war apotted near ‘Twonty~
seventh and Mitchell Streets, This time
a squad car sped after it, but soon lost
it in the busy Saturday traMc,

Worst of all, it was now probably

apparent to the bombers, if indeed the -

. black car were theirs, that the cops
were wise to them. That meant they

would instantly drop the siren and:

police flasher—the officials’ only hope
to catch them red-handed.

Saturday night ticked away without
incident. Either the extortionists had
been frightened into inactivity or their
plans for bombing the City Hall had
gone awry.

Sunday morning dawned cold and
wet, with a light drizzle falling.

Some churches called off services due
to the danger of bombings. Others
went through with theirs, making sure
in advance that their places of wor-
ship were amply protected. The police
guard continued about all office and
public buildings, including theaters,
schools and recreation halls.

Me°st of Milwaukees citizenry set-
tled down in their homes for the
day, afraid to venture out. Radios were
turned up and everybody was waiting,
waiting. But waiting for what?

Shortly after noon the phone buzzed
at the detective bureau. The caller iden-
tified himself as Alex Kalbing, of the
Fifteen Hundred block on South 25th
Street.

“My sixteen-year-old daughter
seems to be very upset about some-
thing,” he told the desk sergeant. “For
the past week she’s been very nervous
and keeps talking about somebody
wanting to kill her. I think it’s got
something to do with those bombings.
She has some information she’s trying
to hide because she’s afraid. I think
a detective could get it out of her.” °

Twenty minutes later, Acting Detec-
tives Joseph Kasnirski. and ‘Fred

v

“Why Should

ing business with our branch.”

“I want to ask you something off
the record,” said Captain Brown.
“Wasn't it possible that the Anne
Leigh check was the attempt of some-
one to draw on the Logan account
after Mrs. Logan was dead? That. it
was in the nature of a trial balloon to
establish whether or not the. bank
would honor the forged signature of a
woman who was no longer living?”

The bank official frowned. “I—I
never even thought—but—but who
would want to try anything like that?”

“Maybe,” replied Captain Brown
softly, “the one person in the world
who knew she was dead—the one who
had killed her!”

ON THE way back downtown, Captain

Brown addressed the other officials
in the police car. “Suppose we say Ar-
thur Logan killed his wife, which is
quite possible as things shape up at
this stage of the game. Then—what
do we have? A man of declared in-
sanity first attacks his wife in such a
way as to disfigure her badly, and
then in another try at her he actually
kills her. Then he intimidates those
around him—his foster-sister and the
housekeeper—and manages to get rid
of the body. A few days, later he is
again lucid enough to realize what he
has done and he begs his foster-sister
to return him to Patton, where he can
do no more harm—” :

“Who is this foster-sister?” asked
Inspector Penprase. ‘Has anyone ever
seen her?”

“She seems to be the relative in Den-
ver that Mrs. Logan was supposed to
have visited during the Summer,” an-
swered Captain Brown. “We will have
to get after all that tomorrow. There's
the little matter of the identity of
Anne Leigh for one thing—the person
to whom the forged check was drawn,
but who was allowed to retain the
money. There are a lot of things we’ll
want to go into tomorrow. when we go

Mamnes were abl the Malbing home,
gently questioning pretty Alice Kal-
bing. The girl was nearly hysterical,
She sat hunched up in a corner of the
living room, twisting a handkerchief,

“He's going to blow me into a million
pieces!" and she kept sobbing over and
over to herself. “He said he would!”
Kasnirski asked gently, “Who, child,
who?”

SHE raised her tear-streaked face.
“Idzy. Idzy Rutkowski. He knew—
that I knew about the accident.”

“Accident? What accident?”

Bit by bit the detectives edged her
story from her. Through a girl friend
she had learned that two neighborhood
youths had stolen a car and run down
@ pedestrian on the night of October
23. In stealing the machine, the boys
had acted against the orders of the
gang leader, Idzy Rutkowski, a 21-year-
old self-styled tough guy. In fact, their
insubordination had resulted in their
being ousted from the gang, which con-
sisted of only one other member, sev-
enteen-year-old Paul Chovonec.

On Sunday, October 27, Rutkowski

‘had met Alice on the Street.

“Listen, you,” he said threateningly,
“if you breathe a word about that ac-
cident, I'll blow you into a million
pieces. Take a look at tomorrow’s
Paper if you think I can’t do it.”

The following morning, of course,
the newspapers carried the stories of
the bombings of the two banks.

Almost a minute elapsed before the
detectives grasped the full significance
of Alice Kalbing’s statement.

“This Rutkowski,” Stamnes said
slowly, “he drives a car?”

The girl nodded. “He’s got a black
sedan and he spends half of his time
in his garage puttering around it.”

“Doesn't he have a job?”

Alice shrugged. “He works on and
off, I guess, but mostly he and Paul

Chovones work on something mysteri-
ous in Idzy’s garage.”

She said the garage was between 21st
and 22nd Street, a half block south of
West Mitchell Street.

Stamnes gestured toward his partner.

“What are we waiting for?” he said,
his voice vibrant with emotion. “Let’s
go!”

The detectives dashed for their -po-
lice car and started toward Rutkowski’s
garage, two blocks away. The rain,
lashed by the brisk wind against the
windshield, made visibility poor.

Suddenly a thunderous roar shook
their car. The windows split open, as
though punched in by some giant un-
seen hand.

The machine spun halfway around,
then stopped dead.

Kasnirski and Stamnes tumbled out.
Off to the southeast, in the very direc-
tion they had been heading, the dreary
sky was alive with flying debris. For
only a second a roof hung in mid air,
then disintegrated into pieces.

Something bounced off the police car
roof and fell to Kasnirski’s feet. He
stooped over to pick it up, then drop-
ped it, his eyes wide with horror.

It was a human hand!

FROM every direction crowds began
to converge on the scene of the blast.
Screams and moans and angry shouts
filled the air like some weird night-
mare, accompanied by the frantic, wail
of racing police cars and fire trucks.

Kasnirski and Stamnes fought their
way toward the center of the explosion.
A totally wrecked car lay buried under
a pile of rubble that had been a garage.

Idzy Rutkowski’'s garage.

Half of the homes west of the blasted
garage had been sheared through the
middle as though by some huge scissors.
A man was staggering in one of the
split-open rooms, holding an injured
woman. He was sobbing hoarsely that

his child was burned in the wreckage.

Rescue squads began to uncover the
debris, Bare hands dug into the sharp
glass and wood and plaster.

Five minutes later they reached the
still form of nine-year-old Patricia
Mylnarek. She was dead.

A ‘dozen other seriously. injured per-
sons were loaded into ambulances and
private cars and hustled to hospitals.
Then police roped off the area and set
about the grim task of collecting the
remains of those persons who had been
caught in the blast.

AND when the officers had finished
the job, they had most of the bodies
of two young men—positively identified
by relatives as those of Idzy Rutkow-
ski and Paul Chovonec.

In the attic of Rutkowski’s home
they found the typewriter on which
had been composed the extortion note.
They also uncovered several hundred
dollars worth of loot which tied Rut-
kowski to a series of city burglaries.

In the rubble of Rutkowski’s garage,
they located 38 sticks of dynamite,
which by some miracle had not ex-
ploded. More important than that,
they dug out an alarm clock to which
was attached a piece of green-threaded
fuse—positive evidence that Rutkowski
was preparing his next bomb at the
time it suddenly back-fired.

Milwaukee's eight days of terror
were over at last.

The two ex-members of Rutkowski’s
gang were able to satisfy police that
they had no part in the bombings or
extortion plan. They confessed to the
auto theft and hit-and-run accident
and they were committed to the State
reformatory at Green Bay from which
they since have been released.

The name Anthony Carrao is ficti-

tious to protect the identity of an in-
nocent person.

Read It First In

1 Kill Again?" (Continued from Page 23) opie DETECTIVE STORIES

over the ground at Pacific Palisades,
because while I don’t rule out the Pos-
sibility that Arthur Logan killed his
wife in a fit of insanity, I am far more
inclined to believe the background of
this crime is more complex than that.”

“What do you think actually hap-
Pened?” asked Investigator Lentz.

“I want to think it all over tonight.
And then do a little spade work in the
back yard of the Hampden Place house,
if you know what I mean. After
we’ve done some digging in that neigh-
borhood, I venture to say we'll have a
different conception of the nature of
this investigation.” He stepped out of
the car im front of Central Homicide
Bureau and turned back to address
the other two officers. “This is a homi-
cide we're dealing with. We've got no
real proof, but you and I have dealt
with crime long enough to know in-
stinctively when one has been com-
mitted. And I’m sure that this is a
careful and calculated Slaying not by
@ maniac in a moment of irresponsi-
bility, but by someone premeditating
every step of the way, aware of the
risks,”

Lieutenant Hansen was waiting ‘for
Captain Brown in his office. “Did you
get any line on any relatives of Lo-
gan’s?” asked Brown.

ANSEN said, “Yes, I found a man

named Edward Baird who lives in
Glendale. He is a cousin of Arthur
Logan.”

“What did he have to say?”

“He didn’t know his cousin was dead.
When I told him about Logan sup-
Posedly attacking his wife, he said he
didn’t believe that was likely. Logan
was insane, but he was also seventy
years of age and quite feeble. The
ferocity of the described attack didn’t
seem possible to him.”

“When was the last time he saw
Mrs, Logan?”

“Last Spring—in March. He went
to the house for a visit and found

everything in good order. Then he
dropped in again in July, and was told
Mrs. Logan was ill and had gone away.
He was told she was in seclusion and
didn’t want anyone to know where she
was staying. He was told she had left
word that she would get in touch with
anyone she desired to contact. Re-
specting her wishes, Mr. Baird said he
withdrew and never heard anything
on or regarding Mrs. Logan after
at.” :

“Who was it that told him all that
about the seclusion?” asked Captain
Brown carefully.

“It was the housekeeper, Mrs.- Jud-
son.”

“I see,” said the Homicide Captain.
Then he added, “Anything else?”

“NOTHING except that I think I
tracked down where those an-
onymous tips to the police came from.
The tips about the fact that there was
something wrong at the Logan place.”

“Where did they come from?”

Bit someone in the Parole Divi-
sion.”

“Who?” Brown couldn’t believe what
he heard. “Who in the Parole Division
has any interest in the case?”

“I don’t know that. And I don’t
suppose it really matters. What does
matter is that someone over there sus-
pected that something was wrong out
at the Logans’, and advised the Police
anonymously.”

“Why did that person suspect some-
thing?” asked Captain Brown.

“Well, first of all, because Mrs. Lo-
gan accepted the custody of a parolee
from the Parole Board in the early
part of this year,” Hansen said. “The
parolee’s name was Anne L. Leigh.”

Anne Leigh! The person to whose
name a forged check: had been issued.

“Go on,” Captain Brown said tense-

“Letters have been coming monthly
to the Parole Division with Mrs. Lo-
gan’s name signed to them, and these

letters state that Anne Leigh is still
in Mrs. Logan’s custody and on her
good behavior.” Hansen paused. “The
letters since last June bore signatures
that do not correspond with those on
the letters which the Parole Division
received in the early months of this
year. Someone over there finally
spotted the fact, and that’s how we got
the tip.”

“What else do you know about Anne
Leigh? Where is she now?”

“I think I know where she is,” re-

plied Lieutenant Hansen. He got up
from his chair. “Shall we take a little
trip out there to find out tonight?”
. “No,” .said’ Captain Brown, after a
moment. “She won’t leave after all
this time,” he added. “Tell you what
you can do, though. Get the whole file
on this Leigh woman from the Parole
Division, and we'll take it with us when
we go out there tomorrow. Just in
case any question arises.”

TH next day, the authorities spread
out over Pacific Palisades, deter-
mined to get to the bottom of the mys-
tery at No. 713 Hampden Place. From
Central Homicide went Captain Thad
Brown and Lieutenants Hansen and
Roy Vaughn. Several deputies ap-
peared with Inspector Penprase from
the Sheriff’s Bureau; while the Dis-
trict Attorney’s office was represented
by Investigator Lentz and Deputy
District Attorney John L. Barnes.

When these officers arrived on the
scene, they found that no one was in
the Logan home. But the house was
in perfect order. Taking advantage of
the fact that they had the place and
the neighborhood to themselves, po-
lice went to work.

A house-by-house inquiry in the
area brought to light certain facts
about the dead Arthur Logan and his
missing wife. The date of Mrs. Logan’s
disappearance was quickly re-estab-
lished as “about June 1.” No one had
seen her after that.

49

.

MONTHLY REPORT MORTHLY REPORT @

| —
| : cs i i. oe one | fo Dhow ard W4
To is Stare anata Orrcas forth Cazsromsaa Lerrromow roa Wensae : . | To the Sr: re Pasots Ormices for the Cauiroanta Instrrunion ron Worlen
"1323 Washington Building, Los Angeles, Californie ; : | . 1323 Washington Badal , Los Angeles, California °
In compliance with the conditions of the Stanted me, I herewith report that I have been omablgnce with the condition ofthe parole granted me, I herewith repoct that I have been
wader employment during the pt months Bara me, . 2 ae i velar employ meet dang eaten the Y es anh
heey Ed We Mie Depend Spot. LDP = yaar
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T helicve the alune slalement to be correct,

Bosines ‘

1Cenrury, Thet. veported to me in. ;
me ome of tore

on the _dey Ff 19

the above statement to be ene

"lye gh we

IMPORTANT —Cerefully Follow Instructions Ox Otber Side

An official escorts a Suspect into
leadquarters for uestioning,
hoping to clear up th

The differences of signatures on
these reports started a police in-
ie mystery vestigation at the Logan home

.

the Patton Asylum, where he died.” ture didn’t seem genuine. The bank
Captain Brown shook his head vigor- wrote with reference to this check, and
ously, “I’d like to know who called with received assurance it was all right
that tip there was something wrong and to let it go through. The difference
out there. That person had the right in Signature was laid to the fact that
idea. There sure is something wrong. Mrs, an was nervous at the time
For instance, where is Mrs. Logan now? she signed the name, After that, no
yY wasn't she at her husband's other checks signed by Mrs. Logan
funeral?” went through the bank.”
“And what do you make of all that?”
M4 | GOT in touch with the Patton Asy- queried Captain Brown.
lum,” replied Lieutenant Hansen. “I make of it,” answered Hansen
“When Mr. Logan died, they tele- slowly, “that Mrs. Logan is dead and
graphed his home. In return they has been dead since around the middle
got a phone call from Mrs, Logan, in- of this year.”
structing them to give Mr. Logan’s “Correct,” said Captain Brown grim-
ly to Loma Linda Medical Hospital ly. “We've got no sure-fire evidence,
for research work.” but everything inside me tells me that
“How did they know it was actually you're one hundred percent correct!”
. Logan who called?” asked Captain
Brown. “You Say no one has seen Mrs. FoR the next three days, the Central
Logan e first of June. Homicide Bureau worked quietly in
pes have called and Said she was Mrs. ae with the District Attorney
an!"

“Yes. You're right. No one has seen cific Palisades. The investigation

- Logan since her husband attacked broke naturally into three directions,
her. She has kept out of Sight since one to the Patton Asylum for the In-
then. I'm told that’s because she was sane, the second to the bank where Mr.
So badly disfigured she didn’t want to be and Mrs. Logan kept their funds, and

went through the bank. It was Ques- stitution. There the Logan file was
tioned by the bank, because the signa- made available to them.


her tonight. I knew I wouldn't because
knew my ship was sailing.”

As & matter of fact, Kuhn was taken
off the. boat 30 minutes before it was
scheduled to depart.

He left Clara and was in the street
when he again remembered the ring, he
said. He called to her, and she went to
him. They walked to the opposite side-
walk, and got into an argument.

“You tried to rob her, you mean,”
Heard interrupted, “but she -resisted, so
you struck her. Isn’t that so?”

Kuhn admitted that as Clara scream-
ed. he punched her, then strangled her.

knocked again, this time much louder.
An audible yawn from inside the room
greeted the second knock.

“Open up,” the detective demanded.

Red-eyed, St. Don obeyed.

That he had been drinking the night
before was apparent, but Dufresne ig-
nored the man’s obvious bleariness, and
came right to the point.

“Blanche Holt was a friend of yours?”
he asked.

“Was? What do you mean, she was?
She is a friend of mine.”

Dufresne repeated the phrase, this
time emphasizing the word, “was”, and
adding:

“No, she no longer is a friend of
yours. She’s dead, and I have an idea
you know why I’m here.”

St. Don now was wide awake. “She
can’t be dead. I saw her last night at
the place where she works. Why, I talk-
ed to her.”

“Just what time did you talk to her
last?” the detective inquired.

“Oh. around quarter to twelve, may-
be a little. later, just before I left the

club. I was with a girl,and we left a’

little before midnight.”
Dufresne asked whether the conver-
sation with Blanche was cordial. ‘
“Oh, sure, sure.” St. Don answered.
“In fact. I told her I’d be seeing her
tonight or tomorrow.”

f be detective mentioned that Sylvia
fad referred to an exchange of harsh
words between the waitress and St. Don,
whereupon the latter remarked, “Oh,
that? Yeah, she wanted to know how
come I broke a date with her the other
night. but I explained it, and there
wasn’t any hard feelings.”

“As a matter of fact.” Dufresne con-
tinued, “you had a date with her for
last night, didn’t you? And then you
showed up at the club with this blonde
girl friend of yours. Don’t you think
that was carrying things a little too
far?”

St. Don said nothing. and the detective
questioned him sharply.

“Just why did you go back to the
club. after you took Sylvia home?”

His ring fell. from her grasp, and in
the excitement he left without it.

Back in Dallas, Kuhn’s wife sobbed
as she learned what had happened. As
she brushed the tears from her eyes, a
simple gold band glistened. It was iden-
tical to the ring found near the hedge.

A charge of murder was filed against
Kuhn before Justice of the Peace Ra-
gan, and the charge handed over to the
Navy, pending determination whether
he would be tried in civilian court or
court-martialed. ™

However, the Navy turned him over
to county officials, and on Tuesday, Dec-

ember 19, a grand jury returned a mur-
der indictment and two days later Judge
Frank Williford, Jr., set January 15 for
trial. .

At the time this story was written,

Kuhn’s guilt or innocence had not been
determined legally. Whether he is guilty
or innocent of the charges filed against
him, is for a court and jury to say
_after his hearing and trial.
Editor’s Notes The names Denning,
Farnsworth, Hoffman and Domino Club
are’ fictitious names given innocent peo-
ple and a place of business m order to
save them from all embarrassment. )

“Who says I went back?” the man
demanded.

Countering with another question, the
policeman asked, “What time did you
get back?”

St. Don stared but could do nothing
but repeat his previous query, “Who
says I went back?”

Dufresne played a hunch, and set a
trap for the man.

“I know you went back,” he declared.
“You figured you’d get rid of her, be-
cause you didn’t like the idea of her
bawling you cut in public, so you took
Sylvia home early, in plenty of time
to let you get back before Blanche
quit for the night. Then, you waited
outside the club and when she left the
place around one o’clock you talked to
her, and told her you’d see her home.
You argued about the broken dates,
and when you got to the house you shot
her. But why did you have to shoot
her twice? Once would have been
enough.”

“Shoot her?” St. Don asked in amaze-
ment. “I thought you said she was cut
up.”

Dufresne pounced on his prey. “I
didn’t say anything about her being cut
and since the story hasn’t yet appeared in
the newspapers you couldn’t know that
was what happened unless you did it.”

During his interrogation of the man,
Dufresne’s eyes had been taking in
the entire hotel room. Thrown across
a chair was a shirt, which bore un-
mistakable evidence of crimson. He
picked it up, held it-in front of the
suspect, and said, “I suppose you had
a nose bleed.”

St. Don was silent.

“And I suppose you had a nose bleed
when you got this,” Dufresne con-
tinued. exhibiting a bloody handker-
chief he had taken from a pair of
trousers hung on the chair.

Now, he was studying brown spots
on a suit jacket and on a pair of shoes.
“Some. nose bleed,” he remarked.
“Believe it or not, that’s just what

happened,” St. Don asserted.

“Baloney,” the detective said. In a
corner of the washroom, he observed.

a. towel, also
smears.

“No, your story won’t hold,” he shook
his head. “You stabbed Blanche Holt,
and got blood all over -your clothes.
When you came back to the hotel you
washed your hands and wiped them with
this towel. Then, you went to sleep.”

St. Don retorted, “You're crazy. If
I killed her you don’t think I’d have
come home and gone to sleep, do you?”

“Could be,” was the detective’s com-
ment, ‘“‘Let’s get over to headquarters.
I think the captain has a little surprise
for you.”

‘The surprise was Blanche Holt’s pock-
etbook. ;

“How’d you get this?” McCarty ask-
ed. Without waiting for an answer, he
said, “Your fingerprints are all over
it.”

St. Don knew the jig was up.

“She accused me of going out with
other women,” he said, “and while we
were walking to her house she started
to give me the devil again. I told her
to shut up, but she got madder and mad-
der. When we got to her house, she began
to scream, and I put my hand over
her mouth and threw her around.”

Some time during the struggle, he
said, he took a knife from his pocket
and stabbed her. His mind became a
blank, and did not return to normal
until some time later, when, as he was
walking on Acushnet Avenue foward
Sawyer Street he realized he had Mrs.
Holt’s pocketbook under his coat. He
tossed it away, where it was found
later. The knife, he said, he threw into
a yard near a taxicab stand west of
Acushnet Avenue.

Chemical analysis of the spots on the
shoes, shirt and jacket were found to
be blood.

St. Don was booked on a formal
charge of murder less than 24 hours
after the crime had been committed,
and arrangements were made to speed
the trial date.

De Cia, Sylvia Mantern and Mawson
were, of course, absolved of any con-
nection with the case.

splotched with dark

Editor’s Note: The names Nick De Cia,
Felix Mawson and Sylvia Mantern, as
used in this story, are fictitious in or-
der to save innocent persons from all
possible embarrassment.

re ee

ing his wife. Then, she continued, he
seized the gun and struck his wife with
it. There was a sudden explosion and
the bullet entered Mrs. Logan’s head.

Mrs. Judson said she calmed Logan,
started to bathe her benefactress’ head
and discovered the woman was dead.
She buried the body because she was
afraid she would be accused of the
slaying. Then, she explained, she board-
ed a bus with Logan and turned him
over to psychopathic autho.ities on the
previous commitment.

beng story failed to satisfy the po-
lice and Mrs, Judson was arraigned
on a murder charge while the grand
jury prepared to file an indictment.
Puzzled by several aspects of the case,
Howser and Lentz, in cooperation with
Police Captain Thad Brown, launched
an exhaustive study of Louise Peete
Judson’s activities in the house, as well
as those of her husband, Lee Judson.
They uncovered one highly illumin-
ating fact—Mrs. Logan had one ac-
count in the bank where Judson was

employed, and this account had been
ordered transferred to that of the Jud-
sons. A notation disclosed that Judson
had witnessed Mrs. Logan’s signature!
But Mrs. Logan already was missing
on the date of the transfer.

“Then, Judson may know more than
appears at first blush,” Howser declared.

The district attorney decided to go
to the house again, this time to search
for a gun or for some other clues.

In a dresser drawer, beneath a quan-
tity of clothing, he found a nickel-plat-
ed revolver, a .32 caliber; rusty and
bearing evidence of having been spot-
ted with a liquid of some kind. Engraved
on the gun were the initials, E. B. L.

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And painstaking investigation reveal-
ed a tiny section of a wall in one of
the rooms on the first floor appeared
lighter in color than the rest of the
walls. There was no doubt of it; that
spot, no larger than a 25-cent piece,
bore fresher paint than the rest of the
room.

The paint was quickly scraped off,
and soon it was apparent that a hole
in the wall had been filled. Removing
the filling was a simple task. Howser
eased-one of his fingers into the cavity
and after some manipulation drew out
a .32 caliber slug.

Examination of the gun by Ray Pink-
er, chief of the police department's
crime laboratory. disclosed that the
weapon held particles of congealed blood,
and that there were traces of human
hair near the handle—gray hairs. Mrs.
—— had gray hair.

nformed that the transfer of funds
to her and her husband’s account had
been effected after Mrs. Logan’s dis-
appearance, Mrs. Judson swore that her
husband knew nothing about .the death
of her benefactress.

However, under questioning, Judson
told another story. He had married
Louise Peete on May 2, 1944, he said,
knowing nothing of her past.

“But on the morning of June first,”
he continued, “my wife told me she was
going over to the Logans’ and she would
be late returning. About quarter of ten
that night she called me and said she
was sorry but she couldn't get home
and was going to stay there over night.”

Judson said he protested because he
didn’t think his wife would be safe,
since she had told him that on occasions
Logan became violent.

The next day, his wife did not re-
turn, and he went to the home in Pa-
cific Palisades, where his wife met him.

“IT hardly recognized her,” he said.
“She was dressed in a pair of old slacks
and she appeared terribly distraught.”

It was then, Judson added, that his
wife told him that Logan had bitten
Mrs. Logan, and that the woman had
gone away to have a plastic surgery
operation on her face.

However, when Judson entered the
house, he saw a large spot of blood on
the blue rug in the living room. The
cause was never satisfactorily explain-
ed to him. }

The next day, he said, he and Mrs.
Judson took Logan to the psychopathic
parole office of the County Lunacy Com-
mission, where Mrs. Judson talked to
officials and Logan was committed.

A coroner’s inquest was conducted on
January 3, and a jury quickly returned
its findings naming Louise Peete Jud-
son as Mrs. Logan’s slayer and her
husband as “possessing guilty knowl-
edge as a principal.’”’ The coroner’s
jury recommended that both be held
for trial.

Mrs. Judson sat impassively through-
out the inquest, only once casting aside
her mask of calm composure, and that
was to shout to her husband not to
talk lest he incriminate himself. She
asserted he was “making some mis-
statements because he doesn’t remem-
ber.”

“As for myself, I don’t care,” she
said, ‘but he just doesn’t remember.”

However, Judson testified at the in-
quest, stating. “No, I will not be in-
criminated. I'll be glad to tell you what
I know.” He then told the same story
he had given before when relating the
events of the first three days of June.

Taken to the Los Angeles County
Jail, Louise Judson was placed in a
cell with a parolee from Tehachapi,
now serving a 10-year sentence for
forgery and who had been arrested in
November on a charge of stealing $47
from her escort at a night club.

Late Thursday night, January 4, 1945,
the parolee swallowed five hypnotic-
sedative drug tablets. Louise Judson no-

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32

tified the guard. Two suicide notes were
found in the cell. Then, despite her pro-
tests, Louise Judson was searched and
four similar tablets were found hidden
in a roll in her hair.

Mrs. Judson was placed in isolation.

Nor was the attempted suicide of the
woman’s cell mate to be the last act
in the drama. On January 11, Mrs.-Jud-
son was remanded for trial at a court
hearing. At the same time, the formal
charge against Judson was dismissed on
the ground that he did not know any-
thing about the actual murder. .

me | apa pai
shrivele crippled right
an unusally large thumb.”

Because of Captain Marmon’s shrewd
deductions, another piece was fitted into
the puzzling description of our killing
phantom.

A check was started for anyone having
this deformity and who was a resident
of Jackson. With a splendid mental
picture of the missing killer in our mind,
we decided to canvass within a five
mile radius of Jackson in an effort to
land our clever fiend.

Despite the fact that these new char-
acteristics brought’ out by Marmon’s
observations did not tally with Sam
Bowers’ hands, it was decided to hold
the man awhile longer—just in case.

I was assigned, along with Deputy
Russel Blake and Trooper John Col-
lins, to make a thorough search of all
buildings and farms in the vicinity of
the pond where the killer had so in-
geniously made good his escape. I had
a strange hunch before we started out
that morning that the party I was as-
signed to would hit pay-dirt.

We tackled the job with an enthus-
iasm and alacrity which was soon to
wear itself out as we pounded the coun-
try roads from one house to another.
We figured the bloodhounds weren’t far
wrong in their selection of the district
where the killer lived, but where?

From farmhouse to farmhouse we
tramped, asking the same question, “Do
you know of a man with a wen on his
forehead, thick lips and a crippled right
hand?” The denials became discourag-
ing at times, but we continued on.

We were entirely ignorant of the
drama that was going on around the
Jackson jail where a man’s life was
giaduaHy drawing closer to the noose
every second. The leader apparently
was the tall, good looking young man
who I met in the morgue. The threats
to lynch his relative’s killer were not
idle boasts, but he had no way of know-
ing that Sam Bowers was not that man.

Angry threats were hurled at the bar-
red windows as the officers, Larrabee,
Hudson and Marmon eyed ,the ever-
increasing throng anxiously.

“T think someone ought to talk to
‘em,” Hudson said, gravely. “They'll be
bustin’ in here any moment now.”

Larrabee nodded. “Okay, fellows, it’s
my jail and it’s my job. Open ’er up.”

The heavy steel door clanged open
and the tall, taciturn figure of Sheriff
Larrabee stood: on the top step facing
the angry mob. An ominous murmur
ran through the crowd like the billowing
of an angry sea.

Larrabee held up his hand and plead-
ed for silence. When he got. it, he
said: “Gentlemen! I realize how you
all feel. The murder ¢ommitted in this
town was a terrible one. I’m-not blamin’
anyone, even the victim’s family, for
wanting action, quick and sure. But
don’t you people do something you may
be sorry for someday. We’ve got a sus-
pect in that jail as you all know. Maybe

But Lee Judson could not stand the
disgrace placed on his shoulders by an-
other. On January 12, he took the ele-
vator to the 12th floor of a building
in the Los Angeles financial district
and then walked:a flight of stairs to the
13th floor. A few minutes later, his
body plummeted’ over a railing, struck
the fifth floor landing and toppled to
the fourth floor. He was dead when
the police and an ambulance interne
reached his side.

Informed of his death, Louise Judson
sobbed hysterically. “I told you he was

innocent,” she cried.

At press time, Mrs. Judson had not
yet been. tried. Her guilt or innocence is
for the California court and jury to
decide. If her story that Mr. Logan
committed the crime is true and ac-
cepted she is innocent of the crime
with which she is charged and will go
free. '

Editor’s Note: The name, Evaline Jenks,
as used in this story, is fictitious in or-
der toe save an innocent person from
all possible embarrassment.

e's guilty. :
rate, we'll know mighty soon. Be sens-
ible and give the law a chance to earn
the money you taxpayers are payin’
us.”

It took nerve to face an angry mob
like that, but Ed Larrabee had nerve,
plenty of it. The mob dispersed slowly,
until finally, only a handful remained
near the jail. Among them was the tall
form of Alice Mallett’s relative.

Meanwhile, out in the country, we
continued our work. We were making
one of our many stops and asking our
routine question when the overall-clad
farmer nodded his head.

“Yep, I know the man you mean,”
came the startling news. “Mean lookin’
cuss he is, too. Name’s George Straub
I believe.”

“Where does he live?” I asked eag-
erly.

“Down the road apiece. Second house
on the right, you can’t miss it.”

LAKE and I started down the road

with renewed energy. Trooper Col-
lins was on a road running parallel with
ours but a blast of a whistle would
bring him: over.

At the second house on the right we
asked for George Straub. A heavy-set,
work-worn farm woman watched us with
small eyes set in a round face.

“He'll be along any minute. I sent
him on an errand. What’s he done now?”
she asked suspiciously.

“Has he ever done anything before?”
I countered.

“I wouldn’t know,” she snapped.

“Was Straub home last Thursday
night?” I pressed.

She thought for a moment. “No, he
wasn’t.” -

“What time did he come home?”

She thought again. “I’m not sure,
but I think it was about two in the
morning.”

“Does he work here?” Blake asked.

“No,” she answered curtly. “He just
rooms here.”

At that moment a man turned the
corner of the building and stopped
when he spied us. In my many years
of police. work since then I've never
seen a more hideous face on a human
being. What’s more, the description
given by the girls matched that of the
man we were looking at in every detail.

When. he didn’t shew any inclination
to walk anv closer to us, we strode to
where he stood.

“George Straub?” I asked, watching
him closely, my fingers tightening on
the gun resting in my coat pocket.

“Yeah, that’s me,” he nodded warily.

“We're taking you into Jackson for
questioning,” I said quietly. The man
looked like a caged beast who had been
cornered. My sixth sense warned me
that he would kill again at the slightest
provocation.

“What for?” he asked, his eyes light-
ing dangerously.

“For the murder of Alice Mallett.”

I snapped.

“You're nuts,” he spat viciously. “I
didn’t kill anybody.”

Blake removed his gun and leveled
it at Straub. I took handcuffs from my
pocket and snapped them on his re-
luctant wrists. Striding back to” where
the woman was watching us, I asked if
she had a telephone.

She nodded and jerked open the door
for me. “In the hall.” she said.

It was only then that I learned of
the disturbance ‘outside the Jackson jail.
After informing Marmon and Larrabee
of our capture, we whistled for Collins.
Five minutes later we were speeding
towards Jackson with the murderer of
Alice Mallett seated sullenly in the back
of the car.

Reaching the jail we led Straub into
Larrabee’s office where he sat down de-
fiantly. Looking at him seated there we
could easily understand how he had
frightened the girls when he had sud-
denly appeared from behind the hedges
on darkened streets. Dark complexion-
ed. with thick lips and a large mis-
shapen nose, he could, in the dark, easily
be mistaken for a monster or most any-
thing else not human.

He gave his age as 46 and his oc-
cupation as a laborer. While Marmon
and the others questioned him, I con-
tacted the State Barracks at East Lan-
sing with the man’s description for a
check-up on his past.

Straub denied in no uncertain terms
that he had killed the popular social
worker. Slowly, relentlessly. the officers
tripped him in one lie after another.
but he stuck adamantly to his claim of
innocence.

At Marmon’s suggestion, he was taken
to the scene of the crime in the hope
of breaking down his resistence, but
it only made him glower at us with
a sneering smirk on his thick, fat lips.
I knew we'd never get him to con-
fess by, any ordinary means. It would
have to be something unusual.

Speeding back to the jail we were
surprised that the mob had suddenly
grown larger by leaps and bounds. Word
had quickly spread that we had the
real killer in the jail.

We got him inside with difficulty. I
noticed when he sat down that the calm
dssurance with which he had faced us
all along was vanishing. Suddenly I
knew the answer. He was afraid of
the mob!

I strode to the window and looked
out. He was watching me like a cat
watches a mouse. His small, crafty eyes
glancing around the room nervously.
then returning to steal covert glances
in my direction. -

I decided to play on that fear.
“Straub, that crowd means business,” I
said slowly. “They know .as well as we
do that. you killed Alice Mallett. If they
start breaking in that door there isn't
a thing we can do to save you.”

He twisted nervously in his chair, but
said nothing. I. could see that his cruel
mind was frantically taking stock of the
situation, weighing everything carefully.

“You know who's leading that mob.
Straub?” I said, “the one man in this

e

- world who wants to see you dead. A
relative of Alice Mallett.”

As I finished the sounds outside be-
came louder: and more ominous. Sud-
dently someone--outside banged heavily
on the door, the sound making a noise
like the knell of doom in the eerie
silence of the, small room.

Straub fell his knees, his lips mov-
ing spasmodically, his eyes roving wildly
in his odd-shaped head.

“T did it! I vg yi he cried hoarsely.

* “T hit her with the ax and dragged her
body in the yard behind the hedge where
I finished her off, I'll tell you the
whole story if you'll only get me out
of here!” \

He cowered on the\floor, like the
frightened animal he wass.We had to
act quickly and did. Dressigg Straub
and Bowers in police unifowns, we
sneaked out the back way and shed to
Lansing, forty miles away. Some o\the
mob saw us, but recognizing the ubi-
forms paid us no further attention.

Reaching Lansing, we released Bow-
ers with apologies and gave him fare
to Ohio to rejoin the circus. The fol-
lowing morning Straub, completely
broken in spirit, signed a complete con-
fession of the crime.

haa > ¥
where were believed to be the fugitive
from Hillsborough County. But all were
false alarms.

It was on January 28, 1941, that po-
lice in Fayetteville, Tenn.. got in touch
with Deputy Myers. They had picked
up a young man there for drunkenness
who answered Jack Williams’ descrip,
tion. Of course, the blond youth denjéd
that he was the Florida berry picker.

YERS described the suspects wife,

and on the next day héard from
Fayetteville that she had shofn up there
to visit her husband in jai¥ Myers went
at once to the Tennesseé town.

Williams and his wife then admitted
their identity but phe farmer denied
he had had anythihg to do with the
slaying of Arnol¢. Myers talked with
him straightforwardly.

“Your wife/seems like a good kid,”
he said. “Shé loves you. That's pretty
obvious. I bélieve you care for her about
as much. Do you want her to have to
take the rap for your crime? Remem-
ber, she warned you that we were after
you—she escaped with you. .. .”

“Okay,” Williams said. “That's

Mrs. Louise Peete Judson at Count
Borden Judson having died after

It read in part:

“It started when I got into an argu-
ment with my landlady about some
money I owed her for back rent. It
made me so mad to hear her always
harping on it, I walked around Jack-
son that night determined to kill some-
body, anybody, in order to gv' money.
I was walking along Lansing Avenue
when I spied an ax against a tree in
someone’s back yard. I picked it. up
and continued walking.

“When I got to this place with the
big hedge, I figured on waiting there
until a woman came along: It was very
dark, just the place I needed. Finally
I heard the sounds of a woman's high
heels coming along the sidewalk. When
she came near I walked out and said,
‘How do you do?’ She didn’t answer,
but started to walk around me, so I
knew I'd have to work fast. I brought
the ax down on her head and. she fell.
She groaned and I dragged her alo
the ground to the back of the hedge.

“I heard someone coming along’ the
eet so I grabbed her by thehtroat
to keep her from making any/sound. I
hardl\ got any blood on pfe, just on
my hands. I took out my/handkerchief
and openéd her handbag by holding
the handkerthief in Any hand. Some

bills spilled out and I put them in my
pocket. I didn’t want to leave any finger-
prints on the bag.

“I crossed the street and kept cutting

through fields until I came to the farm- v4

er’s pump, where I washed my hands

“When I came to the pond I walked
tight in and waded through it for ahile.
coming out the other side. .I did it to
throw the hounds off the tr4il. That’s
all there is,”

Although he was ig ntified by two
Jackson girls as ha Ving tried to rob
them, he steadfaStedly denied the
charges.

Because ofthe high feeling through-
out, the stdte against the cold-blooded
killer, twenty: state troopers had to es-
cort bim back to Jackson to stand trial.
Thefe, on June 20th, less than two

teks after his brutal crime, he was
Sentenced by Circuit Judge Benjamin
Williams to the maximum penalty al-
lowed by the State of Michigan—life
imprisonment at the northern branch of
Marquette.

Editor's Note: The name, Sam Bowers,
as used in this story is fictitious in order
to save an innocent person from all
possible embarrassenent.

= Pe

enough. Jahe had nothing ab all to do
with it. Please believe me, and\give her
a breakK—won't you?”

He’ made a complete confession’
said he had been drunk when he m
old in the roadside tavern. Ross
eft the place first, and Williams fol-
lowed afoot soon after. As he walked
down the road toward his home, he
came upon Arnold sitting in his car.

“He had a bottle. I got in with him,
and we both had several drinks. Then
we got into an argument. I guess I was
on edge—I needed money desperately,
and I’d spent what I had on drinks:

“I don’t know what came over me,
but I decided then that I would kill
Ross, and take what money he had. I
hit him when he did not expect it. He
tried to fight back, but I had my knife
out. It was all over in a few minutes.”

Williams explained that he then rdlled
the body out into the road, had driven
a short distance and then had realized
that his bloody shirt and Arnold’s hat
were incriminating. So he ripped off
the shirt and hid it with the hat in
some weeds, where Neil Keen found
them later.

e

y jail weeps as she hears news of her husband, Lee
fall from 13th floor of a Los Angeles building.

Then the slayer said, he drove aim-
lessly about in Ross Arnold’s car until
Monday morning, when he abandoned
the sedan because he was nearly out of
his mind with fear.

“You robbed Arnold?” Myers asked.

“Yes.” A wan smile curved the cor-
ner of Jack Williams’ mouth. “And all
I got was a measly six dollars.”
Jane Williams, being innocent, was
completely absolved of. any connection
with ‘the crime. Both she and her hus-
band deified all knowledge of how their
house had Rappened to burn.

Williams wa’\brought to trial only a
week later. On February 5, 1941, he
was convicted of mider and Judge L.
L. Parks sentenced him toJife imprison-
ment. He entered the state per itentiary
two days later, and still is serving his
sentence. ~~

Ev Angier had spoken more tru
than he knew the night he taunted Ross
Arnold about his knowledge of poker.
Aces and eights—the dead man’s hand
—were strangely prophetic when they
showed up in a game in a little Florida
town.

Editor’s Note: The name Ev Angier; as
used in this story is fictitious in order
to save an.innocent person from all pos-
sible embarrassment.

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OXNAM: 149 PACIFIC 165; and WITT: 148 PACIFIC 928 (LARGE CARD.)

OXNAM, Charles E. Te, white hanged at San Quentin (Los Angeles) on March 3, 1916; and
WITT, Charles, white, hanged at Folsom KSAMXRMAMKXAX (Los Angeles on March 3, 1916.

"Los Angeles, Calif.e, Dec. 22, 191). =<Glenn Witt and Ethelbert Oxnam were arrested this
afternoon in connection with the killing of William M, Alexander, a wealthy retired law-
yer, by burglars in his home early today, Witt is said to have confessed, Witt showed
a number of bruises, which police thought were from blows administered by Miss Penelope
Alexander, who grappled with the robber after her brother William had been shot, Oxnam
had a bullet wound in his leg, Oxnam also confessed, the plice declared, saying it was
he who had shot and killed Alexander, The two men, taken to the Alexander residence,
were identified by Mrs, Alexander, Afterwards it required two hours work at a hospital
for their wounds to be bandaged, The two Alexander girls, Penelope and Anna Alexander,
had battered the robbers with silver-backed hair brushes, 'Those two girls fought like
w ild cats,' said Witt, Witt, aaid, according to the police, that he shot William
Alexander, Jrey when the son rushed to aid his father, Penelope and Anna, the young
man's sisters, ran down during the fight and made such a brave showing that the men fled
from the house, leaving their hats, shoes and socks on the lawn outside. 'When the old
man was awakened by a noise I made, he fired at me, I returned the fire' was Oxnam's
statement, as reported by the police, Young Alexander was shot in the chest, but is not
dangeously wounded. ‘rs, Alexander said she was entering the room where her husband was
killed and had taken off her rings to give to the burglars when the fatal shot was
fired, Her husband fell in her arms, Witt said he came from (?) and Oxnam said his
father had been a minister in San Francisco and was pastor of a church at San Diego
where he died a year ago," ADVERTISER, M ntgomery, Alabama, December 23, 191) (2/5.)


Cal.) BRILES y.
implied as to persons who are in fact under
18 years of age, but simply a suspension of
proceedings, when, upon “suggestion” to the
judge’ that the delinquent is under that age,
he has satisfied himself that the delinquent
is under 18 years of age and has so certified
to the juvenile court. There is nothing in
the language used in this Section to suggest
the idea that, in the absence of any sugges-
tion, inquiry, and determination by such
judge, there is any want of jurisdiction to
proceed under the general law relating to
crimes, simply because it may subsequently
be developed that the delinquent was in fact
under 18 years of age. In fact, the lan-
guage expressly requires the judge himself to
be satisfied on the question of age before he
certifies the matter to the juvenile court at
all, and unquestionably it was contemplated
that in the absence of any such determina-
tion by such judge and any proceeding in
the juvenile court, the case should proceed
in ‘the ordinary way and that the order or
judgment of the judge should be valid and
immune from any collateral attack based on
the juvenile court act. Section 19 of the act,
at the end of which is the provision special-
ly relied on here, provides for a proceeding
in the juvenile court “whenever it is claimed
at any person under the age of twenty-one
years is a neglected, dependent or delinquent
Person”; the same to be commenced by the
filing of a verified petition praying that such
an adjudication be made. In said proceed-
ing the court is authorized to make such or-
der “as is meet in the premises,” including,
in the event that it determines that a delin-
quent minor is not a fit and proper subject
to be dealt with under the reformatory pro-
Visions of the act, an order that the proceed-
ing be dismissed and the delinquent “prose-
cuted under the general law.” Then follows
the provision specially relied on here. We
regard this provision as in no way going to
the Jurisdiction of the superior court to pro-
Ceed under the general law in the matter of
any indictment or information filed therein
charging a public offense.
[8] It is certainly clear that no claim bas-
€d on this provision of the act can be main-
tained in an appellate court after conviction
and judgment under the general law, where
no claim under the act was made prior to
the ®ppeal, and there has never been any in-
Vestigation and determination as to the age
of the offender. Such is the situation here,
8CCording to the record, if we assume in ac-
Cord with defendant’s theory that his case
Was never presented to the juvenile court.
© age of defendant was not an issue tried
8nd determined in the superior court by ei-
ther the judge presiding or by the jury, was
even suggested to the trial judge for
trial and determination, and we have no find-
ing thereon. In other words, we have no
Judicia) determination at all that the de-
’ ant was, in fact, under 18 years of age,

ee

PAULSON 169

and the proceedings in the superior court did
not call for any determination on that ques-
tion.
termination on the question of age,

ed on the trial from defendant’s witnesses
may indicate such to be the situation. Nor
of the circumstances
of this case as shown by the record and al-
ready detailed that there was any error com-
mitted by the superior court in this matter.

[9] As we have said, action of that court
looking to investigation under the juvenile
court act upon the theory that defendant
was under 18 years of age was never invok-
ed or even Suggested, and, whatever might
have been the duty of the court in the event
of such a Suggestion or request—a matter
which it is not necessary here to consider—
we are satisfied that the mere fact that cer-
tain evidence elicited on the trial of a de-
fendant for a crime tended to show that he
is under 18 years of age does not require
the superior court to take any such action on
its own motion.

We find nothing in the record
& reversal.

The judgment and
trial are affirmed.

warranting

order denying a new

We concur: MELVIN, J.: SHAW, J.;
HENSHAW, J.; LORIGAN, J.; LAWLOR,
J.; SLOSS, J.

BRILES y. PAULSON. (Sac. 2181.)
(Supreme Court of California, May 15, 1915.)

1, APPEAL AND ERROR €>1011—F in pings—
CONCLUSIVENESs.
A finding on evidence substantially conflict-
ing is conclusive on appeal.
{Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Appeal and
ere Cent. Dig. §§ 3983-3989; Dec. Dig. €>
1011.]

cases, see Vendor and
23; Dec. Dig. €>18.]

Appeal from Superior
Clarence A, Raker,

Department 1.
Court, Modoe County ;
Judge.

Action by Thomas Briles against A. J,
Paulson. From a judgment for Plaintiff, de-
fendant appeals. Affirmed.

i>

@=>For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes

DOE & MEANS

oS aert. a Dl fo _s (> te ST fa

pos ban! AGE . Pe ’ i RESIDENCE 2 |

7 :

RECORD

wep Ke ee
pilin Ze. Pitlee

MOTIVE

fE01ga.
VA

APPEALS

pits

LAST WORDS

EXECUTION


vie ge mn ‘ F + i Yl op iy ale ee | \ y t & 4 Ch
Wyn % \ f aC u oe AC LLU dtd (Lo é oly a od Net cain Now Bin wt

SANTED y

|

”
rtd

AS
Se aA

ts acl

a

He was always |
* helping folks —
until one day

i he was found

f. in his bed with &
i] a gory towel ae
tied around
his face and a
gag viciously
thrust in his
bruised lips —

i he had helped

ep Sy | the wrong guy!

One of the two killers
is seen (right) with an
officer after a trap by
cops ended his career.


ANOTHER—.
view of the killer whose oriminal
assault of the girl struck fear in-
to the hearts of West Coast girls
and set off a widespread manhunt.

your name? And I expect an answer.”

The curly-haired man sat up a little
straighter and there was a dangerous
burning in his eyes. “I don’t like little
boys who play Galahad,” he said
sneeringly. “And you're only stickin’
your neck out, I come from Chicago
and I’m hot. See?”

For a moment McElroy was tempted
to smile. The byplay of words was
almost funny, like a couple of ama-
teur actors rehearsing a scene from
“Little Caesar.” But then his mind
flashed back to Margaret Brusso and
the fear and repugnance in her voice
be she had repeated her shocking
story.

“You took my girl’s sister and you
beat her up,” he snapped. “Now
e’mon outside.”

_“Oh, so you’re looking for exer-

cise?” The stranger slid out of the -

booth, stood up; “Okay. Let’s go.”
ac oe Mage ar rentiy stiffly out to

e sidewalk, each w appraising
the other. ey were standie there,
wondering who would make the first
move, when McElroy saw a friend,
Jim. Gautier, .

“Have you got your car, Jim?” he
asked suddenly.

“Sure. Want to use it?”

“Just for a few minutes. I want to
take this fellow,” et the
stranger, “out to the Brusso house
He—’

But even as he spoke, “Spike”
turned on his heels and began striding
away on Washington Street. McElroy
abruptly left his puzzled friend, and
hurried after him
he called out. “I want to talk to you.”

around. “I’m not talkin’ to anybody.
Now get away from me!”

_ Perhaps, had he seen the despera-
tion and rage in the other man’s eyes,

f e night was dark and
his features were shadowed. McElroy
kept walking and Piney as though he

his sweater. It lurked in “Spike’s”
hands and McElroy, only inches away,
caught the slugs in his abdomen. He
frcped wildly for sup ort, buckled

€ an accordion and slumped to the
walk. The stranger stood over him
for a moment, laughing to himself,
then whirled and ran off into the
gloom.

UTH BRUSSO, watching the scene
R from the doorway of the restau-

running from stores and homes, and
soon the street was filled with shocked
citizens. There were a number who
had seen the stab of flame in the dark-
ness, among them Gautier, Mrs. Nina
ee ad been across the street;
Roy Chesten, Pacific Fruit Express
worker and Constable Elmer Beerman
of Lincoln, a neighboring community.
Beerman, closest to the scene, ran
after the gunman but lost track of
him in the Roseville City Park and
returned to rouse local authorities.
By coincidence District Attorney
Lowell Sparks, Sheriff Elmer Gum

36

DEATH SENTENCE
was given slayer in this courthouse where, oddly, Margaret worked.

and Police Chief Russell Carter of
Roseville were ee a lodge
meeting only a few blocks from
Zeller’s when they heard the grim
news.

They set up an immediate blockade
of the town. Armed men were posted
on the roads, others were assigned to
the parks and a third group went
down into the busy railroad yards
that are a main Switching point for
the Southern Pacific.

“We might pick him off at one of

die

those three points if he hasn’t got too
much of a start,” Chief Carter said.

“Maybe,” Sheriff Gum agreed. “If
that doesn’t stop him perhaps the tele-
type bulletin will. Anybody recognize
him?”

“Apparently not. I’ve got a good
description, but that’s all.”

In the office of Dr. James McAnally,
meanwhile, George McElroy was in a
coma. He had bled profusely before
medical aid reached him, and had
been unconscious when he was car-


ious to get out, she grabbed the ipni-
tion key and twisted it. The cnpine
coughed, stopped, and the driver
cursed as he pulled the emergency
brake.

“What the hell’s the idea!” he
snapped. “You want to get out, eh?
Okay. Let’s go.”

To this day Margaret Brusso has no
clear recollection of what happened
after that. But she did recall a man’s
face, distorted in passion, long, ner-
vous fingers clawing at her. A hard
fist smashing against her mouth as
she was thrown to the ground on
her back.

It might have been minutes or

hours later that she regained con-
sclousness and there, standings over
her in the dark, was the man who
had attacked her.

She raised her head and sobbed,
“Oh, please, get me out of here.”

“Yeah.” His voice was flat, pitiless.
“I take you home and then you get
the cops after me.”

She was silent for a moment and
her mind searched desperately for the
right answer. He might do anything
now. He might even murder to save
himself from California’s severe pen-
alty for criminal assault.

“Oh,” she whispered finally, “I’d be
ashamed to tell anyone about this. I
just want to go home.”

“You better not talk,” the man
rasped. “I wouldn’t put it past you.
If you'll meet me tomorrow night in
Zeller’s at Roseville I’ll let you go.”

“All right.” She would have prom-
ised anything then. “I'll meet you.”

“Bight o’clock.”

“Yes, eight o’clock.”

They started walking back to the
road, and she realized then how far
he had taken her into the thick forest
—far enough to muffle the sound of
her voice and far from possible in-
truders. The rest of the trip to Rose-
ville was wordless; Margaret hugged
the door on her side of the seat and
the man kept silence. She did not
speak until they reached a shadowy
side street just inside the city limits.

“Let me out here, please.” .

“Okay.” |He stopped the truck and
pushed the door open.
“Don’t forget the date.”
-She jumped out and
ran, breathlessly, until
she got to the home of
her father, a Roseville
railroad man. She said
nothing to her parents
because she knew how
badly they would feel,
and she wanted to handle
the problem in her own
way. But she held noth-
ing back from her pretty
young sister, Ruth, a stu-
dent at the Placer County

Jumtor College in Attburn, Calitormia

“Tt must have been horrible,” Ruth
gasped when Margaret finished the
grim account.

“It was,” Margaret nodded, shiver-
ing. “I thought he was going to kill
me. I had to promise to meet him.”

“But you won't!”

“What can I do? How do I know
he won’t come after me here?”

“Let me handle it,’ Ruth said
sternly. “George will know what. to
do with a man like that.”

“George McElroy?”

“Of course.”

“Now, look, Ruth,” the older girl
pleaded, “don’t go dragging your
fiancé into this. Oh, yes, I know he’s
a great football player and a swell
fellow, but this is my headache and
I don’t want to put it on other
shoulders.”

“Nonsense, Margaret. You can’f do
this yourself. Now stop worrying and
let me take care of it. And don’t go
near Zeller’s tomorrow night.”

HE next night, shortly after seven
o’clock, George McElroy and Ruth
Brusso walked a little nervously
into the restaurant and fountain that
was a gathering place for the young
people of Roseville. They were a
handsome couple, Ruth and George,
with scores of friends in Roseville and
Auburn. George, dark, square-faced

THE SISTER——
Ruth Brusso McElroy, of Margaret,
who was made a widow by slaying.

KILLER———

and attacker, the
man at the right,
found no mercy at
the hands of the
law. He managed to nae
elude officers af-
ter he had commit-
ted the two crimes
but was trapped by
cops, although not
before he tried to
shoot his way out.

EVIDENCE...
in the case was the killer’s.
gun which is pictured above.


aes

ria.
Ruth
the

ver-
» kill
im.”

“now

said
ait. to

girl
your
he’s
well
and
ther

t do
and
t go

sven
tuth
vusly
that
ung
ea
rge,
and
iced

nn lili

and husky, was presi-
dent of the college stu-
dent group and ace
quarterback of the
school’s football team.
But he was also work-
ing for his tuition by
driving a schoolbus, a
factor that added to his.

popularity.
He had confided to
friends that he and

Ruth would marry as
soon as his schooling
was finished, and Ruth had nodded a
smiling assent. But tonight they were
not laughing; there was serious busi-
ness ahead and neither of them was
quite sure how to proceed.

There were only a few customers in
Zeller’s when they sat down at the
fountain, and none of them fitted the
description of “Spike.” But shortly
after eight o’clock, when the restau-
rant was almost empty, a man swag-
gered through the door and plumped
himself down in a booth.
ae: Ruth whispered. “I bet that's

im.”

“Yes.” McElroy nodded, glancing
casually at the stranger. “He fits the
description.”

“Well?”

“Tll go over and talk to him.”

Leaving Ruth, the young athlete

The cops caught him in a net
meant for plant parasites . . .

crossed the restaurant, and rested one
arm on the panel of the booth where
the stranger sat. For a moment he
paid no attention to McElroy; then,
with a surly look, he said: “Are you
the waiter?” :

“No. But Il—”

“Okay. Then beat it.”

“Listen,” the youth persisted, “is
your name Spike?”

“What the hell’s it to you? Now
scram.”

But tough talk wasn’t enough to
frighten off a man used to hurling his
180-pound frame through a solid line
of bone and muscle on the playing
field. George McElroy sat down on
the opposite seat; he was convinced
now that he had made no mistake.

“It’s plenty to me,” he said calmly.
“Now I'm asking you again—what’s

THE DRAW———

was fast and perhaps McElroy would
have kept out of the murderer's sight
if he had seen the desperation and
rage in the other's eyes, But it was
dark and he didn't see the stranger
pull the gun from inside his sweater.

eee ee ee ee ee

en oar


he said with sudden harshness,
leasant and “We're doin’ this my way.”
young. He “Oh—” So that Was it. A
with a pro- cheap masher and a blusterer,
and spark- too. She Png her hand on the
f door handle, sat up stiffly. “T’]}
ly, “I’m not get out right here,” she said
. ride home. atly.
: But the truck 8ained speed,
he inter- €ven as she spoke. And th
were on a lonely unfamiliar
unt? Have road, rimmed by towering
yn before? Pines, She was frightened now
‘My name’s and the fear crept into her
mon, jump voice,

: al “Oh, please let me out,” she
to his ban- begged. “I don’t want to go
t a small ; any farther. Just leave me
3 closer to alone—”

t his good The young man turned

and there toward her how, studied her

nouth that figure from the top of her head
: had con- to the tops of her shoes, But
ke care of he did not answer her plea un-

is quickly til, becoming desperately anx-

uck pulled

ed toward
paid little
° whizzed
it she sat

it through

MY

That was

Passed, |
Roseville, :
iands

he

MEMORIES—__.
of the attack are Vague to
the girl as she recalls them
today. But she does recall his
face distorted in utter fury,


around in
ry called at

Mr. Den-
the rather
who came

ask again?
: telephone,
begun seri-
ippearance,
ut a family
way from
“specially a
go into the

ormed him.
eft them in
ared. The

\very.

ud managed
urported to
it had been
ay 15, two

2, or in case
—’’ That’s
e presaging

: phrase re-
| happen to
| an inkling
10nition, or
life was in

| no clue to
ft his fate.
state to his
inder to an
ved no un-
ery read it.
id pressing
ore, he told
reles county
it investiga-

rt came in,

in Seattle,

2where, but
Frances in
and Hayes
fort her.

s and Allee,
an attorney
ett in turn
wo renewed

places had
missed no
‘e; inquired
t.every turn
1 apparently

sed the lux-

. maybe you do.”

urious Denton residence, at 675 Catalina
Street, to T. T. Miller, who now occupied the
place. Mrs. Peete also was gone. Miller had .
agreed to pay her $300 per month rental, he
told Detective Cody and Mr. Blodgett when
they arrived. The attorney and his helper
had hoped to get some helpful clue from the
house itself, and talked long with Mr. Miller.

Finally, Miller’s mnemory, produced some-
thing.

“Funny thing,” he suddenly said, “I remem-
ber now that Mrs, Peete told me I needn’t pay
any attention to the basement.”

“That so? Why?” demanded the detective,
alert now.

“Why, I don’t know. She just told me that
I would have no occasion to go to the base-
ment, and that I should keep it locked... The
back room of it, I mean.”

“The hell you say !”

“Yes.. Why? You think maybe—?”

Mr. Miller didn’t get to finish his inquiry.
The detective and the lawyer already were
heading for the basement ahead of him.

It was musty and damp and dark down
there; even the stairway was hard to see.

“Damn good place for ghosts, all right,”
said the detective, in a grotesque attempt to
be funny. The lawyer grunted.

With matches they made a feeble light. It
revealed a heavy door to a back room.

“By Henry, it’s locked, right enough!” ex-
claimed Mr. Cody, the officer: “Not one, but
two heavy locks on this door! Sealed up
with new cement, too!”

“Whew! What do you make of that?”

“Nothing yet. But let’s hustle up a crow-
bar and some other tools.”

ea ie turned inside revealed noth-
ing save dust in foul air, and a pile of dirt
at one side. Mr. Cody said little. He just
went to work with a shovel. He had been in
police work a long time and had an officer’s
suspicions.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” said
his lawyer employer, “and I’m afraid

“No report yet. Wait’ll I’m through.
I'd lay you a bet on it, though.”

Mr. Cody was shoveling dirt as fast,
yet as carefully as he could. Pretty
soon he came onto something. He
brushed away some of the dirt with his

“What is it?” demanded Mr. Blodgett, waiting tensely.

“A white shoe,” said Cody.

“Anything in it?”

“Nep.?

“What? What is it, man?”

“A human foot!”

Cody removed some more dirt, then straightened up.

“This is as far as we better go just now,” he told his law-
yer. “I'll stand by, while you go upstairs and telephone
police. From now on it better be in official hands.”

The search for Jacob Charles Denton was over.

His body had been carelessly wrapped in an old crazy
quilt. It was not easy to identify by sight. But there was
a gold tooth, a gold ring, a cuff button and a belt buckle, all
of which made identification positive.

Dr. A. F. Wagner, the Los Angeles county autopsy sur-

ona

WEIRD TALES TOLD

The crumbling Union Hotel  geon, examined the body and said that Denton
(above) in Phoenix, Arizona,

se ee gS wah etl Saal neck. It had pierced the man’s spinal cord, the
er bought the place, he discov-
ered some old trunks in the
cellar and put them up for auc-
hand tion, with an unusual result,

had been instantly killed by a bullet wound in the

surgeon explained.

In due course, police investigating the house
found a pisfol, in one chamber of which was a
cartridge of wrong calibre. In Denton’s bed-
room upstairs, they also found stains which tests showed to
be human blood.

The discovery had been made on September 23, 1920,
almost four months after Denton had disappeared.

Of course, there was an immediate hue and cry about it,
and right away the police wanted to know where Mrs. Peete,
the former housekeeper, could be found. Had she disap-
peared, too?

She had not. She had just gone to Denver. A reporter
who interviewed her there, said she expressed deep sorrow
at the news of Mr. Denton’s murder. Moreover, when she
learned that police wanted to question her, she forthwith
packed up and headed for Los Angeles to aid them all she
could! Her husband, R. C. Peete, a badly agitated gentle-
man, came with her. She had been separated from him be-
fore. (Continued on page 78)

55

Trew

aes

camera angles and in the end—well, it
wouldn’t be fair to tell that. You'll like
Kent’s remark when asked why he married
his obnoxious wife. Says he: “She was a
damn good-looking woman and she was
built.” And you'll like Mr. Coxe’s style of
writing and be looking forward to seeing
more of it.

If you’re the type who reads the political
hews avidly and often has long discussions
on the possibility of an American dictator
becoming an actuality, you'll have a grand
time reading Murder in the Senate by
Geoffrey Coffin (Dodge). There is great
rivalry going on in the Washington of the
book, between the Moderates and the Pre-
torians and right in the midst of the strug-
gle, Admiral Archibald Whitehead, a prom-
inent Pretorian, is killed. Inspector Scott
Stuart of the Department of Justice, is
assigned to the case and he has to work
against time, for the fate of the country
hangs by minutes. Only a prompt solution
of this crime and the sudden death of
Senator Pickett on the floor of the Senate
in the midst of the most important speech
of his career, can save America from rey-
olution, foreign war and other disasters.
It's all very exciting and at times so poig-
nantly drawn, that one forgets that it is
only fiction after all. A rare tribute to the
author, that.

Thrilling gangland adventures feature
Two Knocks for Death by Wallace Jackson
(Hopkins). Here we follow the trail of a
new group organized from the London un-
derworld to combat the forces of law and
order. These outlaws take an oath of ab-
solute obedience to the heads of their vari-
ous lodges. These lodges in turn are under
the direction of a central bureau, at whose
head is a man of mystery. They stop at
nothing—stealing, torture, murder are
everyday occurences to them. Scotland
Yard becomes aroused to their activities by
the ruthless wav in which they mete out
punishment to those of their rank whom
they consider traitors. The police cannot

_ even protect the men in their jails, from the

revenge of this organized group. There’s
plenty of excitement and some colorful
characters, with the odd names of Boss
MclIron, Sopay Hudson, mg Gregg, etc.
And then there’s Zed Call y, an ex-convict
who talks good English and who turns out
to be—well, guess for yourself.

One of the most gripping stories it has
been our good fortune to read in many a
month is Thirteen Steps by Whitman
Chambers (Doubleday Doran). Here we
have the stock group of wild young per-
sons, hard drinkers and passionate lovers,
but thanks to Mr. Chambers’ facile pen,
this particular crowd all seem to live and
breathe before your eyes. The book opens
with a delegation of reporters from various,
San Francisco and neighboring town
dailies, on their way to cover a hanging at
San Quentin. They arrive at the grim
prison and take their places in the execution

THE SPHINX MURDER

“It’s that Spanish woman! I just know
it was!” Mrs. Peete declared to Los An-
geles authorities.

“What Spanish woman?” they wanted to
know.

“The one Denton chased around with.
All the time she was after him. He used
to bring her to the house. There was a
dark stranger with them sometimes, a man.
I bet he did it!”

“What was this Spanish woman’s name?”
officers asked Mrs. Peete.

“T don’t know.”

“Where does she-live?”

“T don’t know.”

“Then what do you know about her, be-

78

FERRE OS PME GERE IMENT

chamber, There are thirtcen steps leading

‘up to the gallows and as the condemned

man mounts them one by one, Al Herrick,
one.of.the newspapermen, lets his mind
flash back to the sequence of events leading
up to the murder for which his friend is

“now about to die. Herrick’s mind whirls

through the New Year’s Ewe brawl and its
alcoholic revelry and his meeting with the
lovely Diane Polk, who was destined to
play such an important part in the forth-
coming drama. As he watches the con-
demned .man, Herrick’s mind is tortured
with doubt. Is this the real culprit? Per-
haps he himself is the one who should be
there about to swing, Herrick knows that
until this doubt is cleared in his mind, there
can never be any peace for him or the
woman he loves. The fascinating part of
the story is that, unless you figure it out
for yourself, you do not know until the
last pages, who the person on the gallows’
steps is. The denouement will come as a
shock. Don’t start this one, unless you
have time enough to finish it in one gulp—
because whether you have or not, you
won't put it down until it says “The End.”

Here’s another one of what we like to
think of as mysteries with a personal guar-
antee of genuineness. As in his previous
book, [t Couldn’t Be Murder, Hugh Austin
in Murder in Triplicate (Crime Club) as-
sures the reader that every clue offered is
bonafide and furthermore that nothing is
held back in the way of vital evidence. In
other words, you have a challenge to match
wits with Lieutenant Peter Quint in arriv-
ing at a solution to the three murders com-
mitted at Andrew Arnold’s estate. Not
only are the unfortunate victims cruelly
pierced with a blunt instrument, but for
some mysterious reason, in each case the
tip»of the nose has been removed. The first
corpse is that of Mrs. Valentine Merritt
and Lieutenant Quint goes about the pro-
cess of elimination in his search for the
murderer, methodically and purposefully.
You’ll have to weigh the alibis of the vari-
ous guests and servants at the Arnold
estate on this hot, sultry August day, and
decide, if you’re astute enough, why the
murderer or murderers could be just the
one person or persons Quint succeeds in
running to earth. This is recommended
for these chill winter nights in front of an
open fire—provided you’re not squeamish
and easily frightened.

The many followers of the audacious
society crook, known to the police as
Blackshirt, will enjoy his latest adventures
in Blackshirt, the Audacious by Bruce
Graeme (Lippincott). It seems that the
brilliant and socially prominent writer of
detective stories, Verrell, is never suspected
by Scotland Yard of having any connection
with the notorious Blackshirt. In this book,
his: identity becomes known to fellow crim-
inals and much of his time is spent in escap-
ing their efforts to trap him. His luck, as
is to be expected, is miraculous and his

yond what you have said?”
“Nothing.”

ND “NOTHING” it remained! The cir-

cumstantial evidence seemed to incrim-
inate Mrs. Peete herself, and she was
charged with murder and brought to trial.
Then it was that officers and newspaper
men began calling her “The Sphinx
Woman.”

She just wouldn’t talk at all about the
case, except to reiterate the sketchy story
of the Spanish woman. She slept well in
her jail cell, often twelve hours a night.
Reporters noted that fact; suggested that
her conscience must at least be clear.

encounters with Jackdaw, his. rival as a
thief, are thrilling. Blackshirt combines
his talents with those of a beautiful young
woman crook, Janet Dove, and together
they concoct a difficult and daring robbery.
This one is crammed full of action and
fast motion.

Welcome back to Thatcher Colt. After —

too long an absence, Anthony Abbot once
again brings his intrepid detective to the
fore in About the Murder of a Startled
Lady (Farrar & Rinehart). Mr. Abbot is
one of the mystery writers who makes you
feel the authority behind his words, and as
such is always welcomed by -the readers.
The book begins when Colt receives a tip
from a medium, describing the exact loca-
tion of the body of-a girl named Madeline.
The bones are found as indicated and the
police start the arduous task of identifying
the victim. The police department in this
instance utilizes the services of an artist,
who given the skull can construct a fairly
accurate likeness of_the original. The body
is identified and Colt starts out to check the
girl’s movements on her last day on earth.
This check-up leads to several suspects—
her fanatical father, her crushed mother,
her step-sister,; the man she loved, etc.
When at last there appears to be sufficient
evidence to point to the guilty man, Colt
refuses to make an arrest until he has
enough evidence to present to a jury. His
effort to secure this evidence, is one of the
most exciting parts of a thoroughly enjoy-
able book.

We have a new society sleuth with us
this month. He is Jerry Todd and he’s the
hero of an unusually complicated series of
killings entitled The Yellow Robe Murders

by Melville Burt (Macaulay). For six |

years Jerry has been unable to find the
famous Todd collection of jewels, includ-
ing the Kathaba ruby, stolen centuries be-
fore from a sacred dagoba.. On the eve
of the Kentucky Derby, a jade bowl from
the collection is found in the hands of a
murdered jockey and this clue starts Jerry,
by. profession a lawyer, but by inclination a
crime investigator, off on a long chase that
leads from Jerry’s boarded-up ancestral
mansion on Fifth Avenue, to London and
finally to the jungles of southern Ceylon.
The entire way is paved with murders,

grim and mysterious, and in each case dis-’

tinguished by a fragment of a yellow robe
at the scene of the crime. Jerry doesn’t
pretend to.be a super-sleuth, but admits he
works mostly on “hunches.”

The Telegraph Press has put out a little
book that may interest some of you invet-

erate mystery readers. It’s called Mcet the

Detective and is a collection of stories by
the creators of such well known characters
as Dr. Fu Manchu, Dr. Eustace Hailey,
The Saint, Bulldog Drummond and
others, telling how these super-sleuths came

to be born. You'll find it interesting to.

read in the author’s own words, what he
thinks of his brain child.

From page 55

She did say that she had rented the Den-
ton house on May 24 from Denton himself,
because he planned to be away for several
months. She stayed in it until August 18,
when she sub-let it to Mr. Miller.

“On June 6, just a week after I last saw
him, I received a mysterious telephone call,”
Mrs. Peete alleged. “Somebody just
warned me to stay out of the Denton base-
ment. No, I don’t know who it was, for
sure, but I believe it was that Spanish
woman. She would give me no name.”

A strange, sinister “Spanish woman!”

The prosecuting attorneys openly sniffed
at such a tale.

Mrs. Peete lacked funds to hire attor-

neys, she and hx
Aggeler and R.
fenders, were as
put up a good fi
then only twent

The trial wa:
most of the sur)
prosecution. H
courtroom. Mr.
consolable as his

Testimony sh:
pawned a diamo
ton, on June 2.

A clerk and
department stor:
testified that
things there, pc
ton.”

V. H. Rosetti,
of the Farmers
Bank of Los A
caught two che
by Mrs. Peete,
had been forge:
writing expert,
names on the ch

But the inter:
when William /
stand.

“On June 15, ?
Arkins testified
where she could

“What do’:
Peete?’ I asked
she wanted just
a house.

““T won't nee
enough to seal
mementoes of |}
sentimental albx
Mrs. Denton ha:
1920 I mean.

“T told Mrs. ]
some cement, a
I heard about tl

NOTHER WI1

F. Heitzma

had often take
flowers around °
“Yes, sir, I n
dirt under w!
found,” Heitzm
neys, on the wit:
“Why did you

“Mrs. Pecte
“Did you kn
for?!"

“No, sir, cert
me take the dir
bushes and put

HENRY

Orleans that ha
watching each
fear. The ban
Wolf” and he p
$25, $45 and $1(
Fifty extra |
placed in each ¢
Jack Connor
men and he m
gun duel that
killed and the
stein) captured.
Berstein was
date neared for
cials became pa
hang him? Fr
Mississippi, an
Butcher” who
ings in New Or
missing. Besid
had trouble enc
time he was in :
Andy Ojeda,

paperman, can


V4 Sabet a befoule , # i 4-@ MR ieee b gb kk Y

‘9 dealer said.
to the auction house.
drayage down there, or

ig ephirn. ‘he De ae
Geestan lore, was ferme ;
When Los # wgeales qe por

old for $2, and
Véater had ruined

ured te be in better
- West, an impe-
“4 saed, and he dar-
Ze was a little thad when he got
maddes ven he lugged the
75, M ves: berated ber hus-
a new hat and pair of shoes.

r-opened ihe trunk-—and there

jou of woinen’s things.

eo -zoods once worth

for mit Nee

jowelps oe ood

sik hen jot

} of use. Silver
» yvaIS, oriw of strange lingerie,

» Aad ag ah ot. on - dex, hats’ and coats,

og ivhate beg 5g kde oa huge packet of business and

tnat the trunk once belonged

ed aloud ix uy te his friends
rie! an ¢ detective heard
West, musing.
letchei: ‘She had
¢.4921. Name
ix womati.’
rene of the

Bette I ‘heard of het some-

* 2
They reek with
uriéen vyé go, would have
gldoctur nthe Union base-
ton murcer case™, was a baffling
wsowyed. wiht

Jacob “Charles. Denton.

|
‘

Fi
WN
a

Des AOE had> begun igecArizona, and he
ee) Ee eeeh Bs ‘eal miner, He was

tthe Grand Pacific

’ A 3
ANTI

; 1a, and he

lads felts Oe it, other parts. of the state.
Bie shad. myvr ie tirofa. Beusé, Arizana, a mining
toya-but ; ie Met:

~ when. he moved
“ive,” be neverthe-
fd eoast @ity;, but’ his
ices wher Qe appeared
ifted ‘in *Phoenix.’.-The° girl
“iy, comstant’ correspondence.
yont firs almost @very day, and

Sale re Se

»,

=

hecdaldi t:
ing that dadjwas going
mix to"see het. He was
Hrances pelated.. “Daddy
anxious to seé

“a, Was at

~Tt diayspointed me ter-
(ateleervam I-never did
tnixvety etevw. “She wrote jo

ey

b ‘
eo Te sirecrs ps

&


pay 7eS: iacad Allee, Dhcenine law Gris ditie hid be-
friended her and her father’ before’ Pat*Hayes, “/
a prominent iattorieyin PhoeniX téday; “has res”
cently; distinguished ‘himsel fas” ah’ actor ti ‘Littles! a
Theatre:work there: Saad VR
“Well; Francesy we will look: into it,”
to hheartemothe girltwhen'he had heardiher ‘story. »)
Probably it will be allvright: iajuts-Herpaticht hutive shall
see,’ Sit star, SF. Bia ies an
But it wasn’t all tighes prod task YS I ese
Hayes and Allee investigated through Defias
Phoenix» and Los Angeles, and found ‘that no’ mar
,, been drawn from his account since: his:disappearai .
first.” TA
.. The lawyers wrote: to’ Judge"Ross Avery: of ‘Lew ‘Angeles
: Superior Court, a personal frierid-of Denton, but*Avery’s
own investigation revealéd nothing. Derton-just*Wasn’t to
be. found, ; No, all his aéquaintances said,:they hadii’t seen or
heard of him in nearly.a month; although one of them casu-
ally. remarked, the housekeéper “in Denton’s homie had evi-
dently been enjoying herself, “> PH,
“How’s that?” Judge Avery inquired. ae
“Oh, nothing of. importance, I suppose. I just saw her

54

ain

Prsaeet

*yind

MRI a A

FADED
fletcher West (areas Phoe-
“nix expressman, paid $3.75 for
this old trunk when it was auc-
tioned off. It was found to
an entire wardrobe,

ae a collection of old letters
he thick YE belonging to Mrs, Peete.

having parties there, and riding around in
Denton’s automobile.”

urio

Dire:

As‘soon as he Could, Judge Avery called at plac
.the.Denton home. ; agre
“IT am Judge Avery. Are you Mr. Den- told
ton’s housekeeper?” he asked the rather they

pretty and plump young woman who came had
» tothe dograg” ny oat! | aial hous
“Yes,. sir.’ Fi
“What s"your rane 2%" er thing

ao “Peete— Teen, a

Sane Mr nton, xe I ask again? ber :
Yott: shavenalveddyet fold meyyongithe, telephone, any
that, he went away.” ef .Nobody had begun seri- “ses

ously to wor eenetneg at alerts
until now. Bo Without fa, ily 4 BY \
is likely segtheett raed et ih, i

Ae “Ca Ss away from I

home, an eee A pecially a ,

sitet!
mining.man, who might have, i go intg» the = back La
outlying mibuiaiH® of Aen. NB. A
“I have no idea,” ” Mrs, Bes ig: Be ehi™- 7
“He packed’ THEA we afl in @
-the,, front, hall. here, andy ida epeastigaT
grips are still “here.”
“Well, well!” exclaimed Judge Avery. i
Hegtalked with her somegmore, and managed y.»

eto get from her*asdoc ent that pur orted to Ge v
oe i te
be’ Denton’s last will fs st it had been; © ; ‘aid
written by Denton hithself on May 15,.two % a Neary
weeks before he disappearéd. " \ |

“Tf anything should happen tor
of death» witich: milist-cme t
the way the will opened, ES
of tragedy. “~~ bet
Later in the same do
curred again—“Tfanyth
me.” Could J. €2D
eof death?» Did- he
ins reavog

: tery
orphans’ home Metst
willingness when,

“pas
yo alle his “worries en

: attorney,
- tors.out to:

in Los
_these reports could not be verifi
Phoenix was extremely worried

ee ee

\X JHEN THE ‘COUNTY ATTORNEY fail
; at, Judge Avery’s suggestion,
named Rush: Blodgett ines Angel
hired A, J. Cody, a private setae iv
the hunt for Denton. :

It scemed evident. that’ most.

been thoroughly searched but pg

chances... Hé. and Cody ‘investigated! everywhere oe

at every: place De t iol: possibly be. But at every peal

they were thwarted: malt was just ‘gone, with ‘apparently, ‘a gi

no trace of him left beh pape 3S
August per come, a 1d D

* Ys ae


‘ | ; EN ON THE 16th
i.

Mrs. Peete readily admi:
, but said she had done it with \
an’s knowledge, since Mrs, Logan was away.

es Roy Vay,
he case. They discovered that Mrs. Lo;

, and also that Mrs. Peete had |
trouble with a forged check in, which she had forged Mrs, Logan’s name, |
had subsequently made the check good at the bank. :

he detectives looked up the details of the Denton murder and discovered tt
ton at close range through the back of the neck a

his house, Operating on the theory tk
Something similar might h i an they decided to sear

rector of the Los Angeles police
rime investigation laboratory, and our Pictures show how

criminology, disproved Mrs. Peete’s story and
Proved that she was in fact the mur.

s Mrs. Peete was sentenced to die in the gas chamber and now that her appeal
7 ARE has been turned down by the Supreme Court, the sentence will be executed in the
; 3: Convinced Mrs. Logan's absence is suspicious, Vaughn tare fine: :
oe and Hansen leave H.

lomicide office to search Logan home.

6: Technicians fluorosco

ped walls of Logan home and found
only one bullet refuti

ng story of a "spray of bullets."

7: Rey Pinker examines revolver found in Mrs. Peete's
bureau. He finds hair and blood still imbedded in the butt,


MM ls si lb

66

Cad

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had obtained $1,000 from Mrs. Logan’s real
estate deposit, generously allowing the dis-
appointed seller to keep the other $1,000.

When Captain Brown, with Detective
Sergeants Harry Hansen, Roy H. Vaughn
and other officers, rang the doorbell of 713
Hampden Place on the evening of Decem-
ber 20th, they found Louise Peete in
lounging pajamas, She was going through
a strongbox full of Margaret Logan’s
papers. Mr. Judson was reading his news-
paper.

They took the couple down to the district
attorney’s office for questioning. Louise
stuck to her story that Mrs. Logan was
in a hospital “somewhere” and would be
back soon. But, under grilling, she became
hopelessly confused.

Lee Judson was amazed and aghast.
He declared that he had had no suspicion
that his bride was the notorious Louise
Peete. He had accepted without question
her story of what had happened to the
Logans.

The homicide men went out to the Logan
house again with a crew of technicians.
Recalling the Denton case, Thad Brown
led the way first to the basement. Nothing
was found buried there, but he noted seep-
age of water at a spot on the basement
wall, indicating that the earth outside
was loosely packed.

They began to dig outside. Soon the
shovels turned up the remains of Margaret
Logan, buried in a shallow grave in a neat
flower-bed under an avocado tree, just
outside the window of the bedroom where
Louise had been sleeping for six months.
Like Jake Denton, she had been shot
through the neck. In addition, her skull
had been fractured, apparently by blows
from a hammer.

Inside the house Police Chemist Ray
Pinker found bloodstains indicating that
the murder had taken place in the living
room. And hidden among Louise’s pos-
sessions they found two guns,’a .25 auto-
matic and a .32 revolver. The latter was
identified as having belonged to the late
Everett Latham.

District Attorney Howser charged both
Louise and her husband with murder. But
at their preliminary hearing on January
10th, 1945, Municipal Judge William M.
Byrne accepted Lee Judson’s story that he
had been completely unaware that a mur-
der had been committed. The judge ab-
solved him of any guilt, but he held Louise
for trial in Superior Court on the murder
charge.

Two days later Lee Judson, unable to
erase the horror from his mind, leaped to
his death from the 12th floor of a down-
town office building. He was the fourth
man driven to suicide by lethal Louise.

Louise wept when she learned of it. “We
had such a happy time together,” she
sobbed. “He could not bear the disgrace I
brought upon him.” But she still stead-
fastly asserted her innocence in the death
of the woman who had befriended her.

While she awaited trial Captain Brown
investigated the deaths of Emily Latham
and Arthur Logan. He considered the
possibility that Logan had been the victim
of a slow-acting poison. But at this late
date nothing definite could be determined.
And the body of Emily Latham had been
cremated.

Another death investigated was that of
60-year-old Mrs. Jessie M. Marcy, who had
lived next door to Louise when she oper-
ated the soldiers’ dormitory on North Ho-
bart Boulevard. Mrs. Marcy had died on
January 9th, 1943, after suffering painful
injuries in two supposedly accidental falls
within a month. She was known to have
quarreled with Louise. But again it was too
late to uncover more facts.

On the eve of her trial Louise changed
her story. She now admitted that she had
buried Margaret Logan in the flower bed,

after Arth
in an insan
kept quiet
she knew
open to su

She repe
before the
man, but i:
deliberatin
found her
with no re

And on
after the :
25 years af
ior Judge
Louise to c

Almost t
before Loi
of her inc
fenders wt
efforts to :
but their ;

Meanwh
test her i
that’s all,”
wouldn't §
been conv
didn’t kill

On the
llth, 1947,
A.M. She
ported the
ing the n
Duffy car
what she ¢

He told
pointed to
looks ver)
it?”

When s!I
back. “TI?
ready for
supposed

He told
deeply. It
he said.
wear a mi

Then, w
ing her a
woman gc
gas cham}
70 witnes:
ironic bow

She sat
chairs anc
heavy str
body. Tt
guards le}

One of
he passed

And the
—breathe

“Thank

Then th
10:30 am
the seven
and she s
to him a
“Let's go.
farewell ;

A mot
eyes, bre:

At 10:
“That's al

At noo)
removed
a pine bo
fied “frie
Louisiana

nA? ~~

omnalin SEM OT


: aa
PEETE, Louise, white, gassed Calif. (LA) hel12-19)7,5

MURDER REPEATS

I: A handwriting expert verifies that Mrs. Logan's sig-

i : 2: Detectives Vaughn and Hansen look through files of
nature on Louise Peete's probation report is a forgery.

Denton murder case for which Mrs. Peete was convicted.

a IV: Biba: © ae

vs
©.

a ea aed ead

ey

4: Vaughn and Hansen find a low mound on the lawn of 5: This grinning horror is what Detectives Vaughn and Hansen
the Logan home and dig to find out what lies beneath it.

unearthed and later proved to be the body of Mrs. Logan.

20


sails

after Arthur Logan had killed his wife
in an insane rage. She had done this, and
kept quiet about it, she asserted, because
she knew that her record would lay her
open to suspicion.

She repeated this story in her defense
before the jury of eleven women and one
man, but it failed to convince them. After
deliberating 2 hours and 40 minutes, they
found her guilty of first-degree murder,
with no recommendation for mercy.

And on June Ist, 1945, exactly one year
after the murder of Margaret Logan and
25 years after that of Jacob Denton, Super-
ior Judge Harold B. Landreth sentenced
Louise to die in the gas chamber.

Almost two years were to pass, however,
before Louise reached the inevitable end
of her incredible career. The public de-
fenders who represented her made valiant
efforts to obtain a reversal of the verdict,
but their appeals were denied.

Meanwhile their client continued to pro-
test her innocence. “I only buried her,
that’s all,” she reiterated. “I was afraid they
wouldn’t believe my story, because I had
been convicted of murder once before. I
didn’t kill Jake, either.”

On the sunny morning of Friday, April
11th, 1947, Louise was awakened at 5:30
a.m. She was calm, although, it was re-
ported that she had slept but fitfully dur-
ing the night. When Warden Clinton P.
Duffy came to see her, she asked him
what she should wear for the execution.

He told her, “Anything you wish.” He
pointed to a neat brown street dress. “That
looks very nice,” he said. “Why not wear
it?”

When she was dressed, the warden came
back. “I’m ready,” she said. “I’ve been
ready for a long time. Tell me what I’m
supposed to do.”

He told her to count ten and breathe
deeply. It would take only a few minutes,
he said. He asked her if she wanted to
wear a mask, and she said no.

Then, with two gray-haired guards hold-
ing her arms, she walked calmly, like a
woman going to a tea, into the green steel
gas chamber. Outside, she could see the
70 witnesses gathered. She made a faint,
ironic bow toward them.

She sat down in one of the two steel
chairs and swiftly the guards clamped the
heavy straps about her feet, hands and
body. Then, their grisly duty done, the
guards left the chamber.

One of them touched her shoulder as
he passed, and said, “Goodbye—good luck.”

And the other reminded her, “Count ten
—breathe deep.”

“Thank you,” Louise murmured.

Then the heavy steel door closed. It was
10:30 a.m. Her face turned toward one of
the seven windows of the death chamber
and she saw Warden Duffy. She nodded
to him and her lips formed the words,
“Let's go.” He nodded, lifted a hand in a
farewell gesture.

A motor whirred.
eyes, breathed deeply.

At 10:13 the assistant warden said,
“That’s all, gentlemen. Please leave.”

At noon two guards wearing gas masks
removed Louise’s body and placed it in
a pine box. It was delivered to unidenti-
fied “friends.” The belle of Bienville,
Louisiana, had made her finalbow. $¢@

Louise closed her

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Harold Peete watched his wife without
knowing what to do until that day when
Louise showed a. little too much interest
in a front page story about the finding of
a. body in the basement of a swank
Wilshire Boulevard mansion. The identi-
fication had been made as Jacob Denton—
retired millionaire.’

The story went on to say that the badly
decomposed corpse had been buried be-
neath a pile of fresh earth in a sealed
storage compartment.

searching for the dead man’s former
housekeeper who was known to have sold
art objects to local dealers after Denton’s
disappearance. :

The Peetes had hardly finished reading
the story when two gentlemen rang the
front doorbell. These men put a strong
arm on Louise‘and explained to Harold
that she was wanted for murder in Los
Angeles. .

“You shipped a trunk to’ Denver,” one
explained. “The rest. was elementary.”

Louise went to trial and was found
guilty of shooting Jacob Denton in the
back of the head and then hiding the
corpse in the dirt the gardener had ‘pro-
cured for her to grow “miracle” plants. .

She went to prison—life sentence.

Harold Peete, still very. much in love
with the girl from Shreveport, became
the third direct or, indirect victim when.
he put a bullet in his head.

Louise became a model prisoner. She
used ‘her abundent charm on both matrons
and parole board'members. She had made
‘the mistake of getting caught, but for
her life was far from over.

It took eight®eri years for Louise to
win a parole, but in October, 1939, she
was a free woman. She changed her name
to Anna Lou Lee and went back to work,
as a housekeeper for a Mrs.
Latham, one of the parole officers who
had helped her cause.” °

Everything ran smoothly’ until 1944
when Mrs. Latham died of natural causes.
Then the parole board got Mrs. Peete a
job with a Mr. and Mrs, Arthur C. Logan.

Mrs. Logan was unusually interested in
horticulture and her special hobby. was
Japanese cherry trees. Louise used to ad-
mire the blossoms greatly.

Then a little man named Lee Borden
Judson came along. Although Louise was
nearly 65 she was so skilled in the ways
of romance that Judson forgot all about
age and married her in May, 1944. He
knew nothing about ‘his bride’s past.

Shortly. after that. date Louise confided
to Judson that her employer, Mrs. Logan,
was going away on a long trip. Mrs.
Logan didn’t put in an appearance after
that. Also, Louise explained Mr. Logan’s-
absence by saying that he had been a
border line case for a long time and that
in Mrs. Logan’s absence she had been
forced to commit him to the state hos-
pital for the insane.

All this meant to Lee Judson was that
he and his wife would then have more
room around the Logan house. This didn’t
work. out as well as he had expected,
however, because oné day while he was
‘in the basement he came upon a blood-
stained rug that had once been in the

It ended by saying the police’ were”

Everett .

That was

When he questioned Louise about it
she explained that she had cut herself
several days earlier and hadn’t mentioned
it because she didn’t want to bother Lee.

Even his suspicions began to mount
when he accidentally came upon a small
hole in the living room wall that had been
carefully covered by a tapestry.

“That looks like a bullet hole,” he told
her.

Louise said it wasn’t important what
it was. “I’m having this room done over
anyway,” she said. “I don’t like-the color.”

Judson kept stumbling onto things until
finally he came across a $10,000 insurance

policy on the life of Mrs. Logan taken -

out just prior to her disappearance.

“What about that?” he asked.

Louise lost her temper for the first
time and told her husband to mind his
own ,business and not to ask her any more
questions.

On another occasion while Judson was
working around one of Mrs. Logan’s prize
cherry trees he was surprised when a
bucketful of water drenched him.

Louise apologized from a second story
window: She said, “I’ didn’t know you
were out there. But stay away from that
tree.”

Meanwhile, Louise had been forging
Mrs. Logan’s name on monthly reports to
the parole board. In December the signa-
ture was such a fraud that it was noticed,
investigated and the facts'came out.

The board members said nothing, but

started an immediate investigation. A call
to the Logan house and Mrs. Peete told
them that Mrs. Logan was away on an
extended trip and that Mr. Logan had
died the previous week in a mental hos-
pital.
Strangely enough, the latter was a fact.
The detectives gathered their informa-
tion carefully and then went for Louise.
She wasn’t home, but Judson was. He
passed out when apprised of the, facts.
When he came to he told them about the
bloodstained carpet, the bullet hole in
the wall and the cherry tree water
incident.

The officers took shovels in hand and

4

age

found Mrs. Logan’s. body beneath her
prize tree.

The story was almost a repeat on the
Denton murder operation. Mrs. Peete- .

Judson when arrested admitted everything
and explained the burial beneath the
cherry tree by saying, “I thought that was

where Mrs. Logan would have preferred —

to be buried.”

Eleven women and one man_ formed
the jury. at Louise Peete’s second. murder
trial. The found her guilty and by-passed
the life in prison stuff.

“Death in the gas chamber,” they said
sternly.

Louise Peete-Judson was executed in
April, 1947. She never knew that a fourth

n was added to her list of casualities.
little Lee Judson, the last
husband.

He waited until after the empction and
then went to a downtown Los Angeles
skyscraper and jumped out of a window.
Perhaps he, like -too many others, had
loved too well but not wisely.

' The little southern girl from Shreveport,
Louisiana, had taken a long route on her

sent FREE. McCl . ivi : $
isd Els Bivd. en My Meng peospital, | Logan living room.. journey to hell—but she finally made ‘it.
} my s

.

Le
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ain

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‘un when they were killed
hitch-hiker had done the
had taken the. car because
Id be implicated and had
way from Wisconsin as

ter Sheriff Jenkins and
Goodman, of Monroe
riff Tom Jester, of Ke-
ived to bring Bailey back
Vhen apprised of the fact
id no capital punishment,
elling his contradictory
sed to the killing of the

rt Bragg I went to Chi-
ice. “Then I hitch-hiked
a resort place called
vomen gave me a ride.
ks an’ was feeling kinda
‘ in the front seat with
back seat was full of
ark an’ I started foolin’
inds with the girl named
think she minded, but
were both laughing at
rl who was driving saw
the dashboard. But it
en she said: ‘Give a kid
few drinks and he’s a
f them laughed.
‘Sexy fast. But I was
right,’ I told them, ‘V1

‘rily after her
hen questioned
{! over a table
is left’ temple.

’ DID WHAT
| When-Where-How ?
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Statement of the Ownership, Management, and Glircu-
lation required by the Act of yey vk of August 24,
1912, as amended by the Acts of March 3, 1933, and
oad, 2, 1946 (Title 39, United States Code, Section
233), of Crime Detective, published menthly at
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* 4. The names and addresses of the publisher,
editor, managing editor, and business man-
agers are: Publisher, Crime Detective, Inc.,
535 Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y.; Editor.
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Business manager, Phil Keenan, 535 Fifth .

Ave., New York, N. Y.

2. The owner is: (If owned by a corpora-
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holding 1 percent or more of total amount of
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dress, as well as that of each_individual
member, must be given.) Hillman Periodicals,
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holder: Alex Hillman, 535 Fifth Ave., New
York, N. Y.

3. The known bondholders, mortgagees,
and other security holders owning or holding
1 percent or more of total amount of bonds,
mortgages, or other securities are: (If there
are none, so state.) None.

4. Paragraphs 2 and 3 include, in cases
where the stockholder or security holder ap-
pears upon the books of the company as
trustee or in any other fiduciary relation, the
name of the person or co ration for whom
such trustee is acting; also the statements
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knowledge and belief as to the circumstances
and conditions under which stockholders
and security holders who do not appear upon
the books of the company as trustees, hold
stock and securities in a capacity other than
that of a bona. fide owner.

PHIL KEENAN,

(Signed)
Business Manager
Sworn to and subscribed before me this
23rd day of July, 1951.
(SEAL) MARGARET ROTHENBERG
(My commission expires March 30, 1952.)

Be a a are

show you who’s a man!’ Then they started
to laugh all'the more. ‘With what?’ Doro-
thy said, and I reached into my pocket
and pulled out the .45 and put it on my
lap. ‘With this, I said. The girl who
was driving almost went off the road. ‘Put
that away, it makes me nervous,’ she said,
and I told her when we got onto a lonely

stretch of road they were going to have

something to be nervous about. When we
got to the trunk line leading off Highway
12 toward Tomah I told her to turn.

“Then she started pleading with me. But
I was looking, for nice lonely woods and
_wasn’t paying much attention.

“At last I found the place I wanted. I
told them to stop the car. I was going
to lose them in the woods and go off with
their car and their money. They got out
and walked ahead of me into the woods.
Suddenly ' Dorothy stopped and said she
wasn’t walking any further. She was going
to tell the police. That made me mad. She
started to run and I shot at her and she
fell.

“The girl named “Neil said she’d walk.
‘Please don’t shoot.’ We went a little
further and then the old feeling came
back. I pulled her down and ripped her
dress down the front. But she got up and
«started to run. She could lose me easily
in the woods so I fired—three times in the
back. And then I went back and shot the
other girl again. Then I went to the car
and drove away.”

On September 29, Robert Taylor Bailey
was indicted for the murder of Neil Piet-
rangeli. Then, pleading guilty, in a hear-
ing before Judge Robert S. Cowie, he
pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced
to life imprisonment in Waupun Peni-
tentiary.

The murder of Dorothy Braun was not
mentioned in the murder charge due to
the smart prosecution of District Attorney
Goodman. “We've got to protect society
against killers like these,” he said. “In
case some lenient parole board ever gets
the idea Bailey has served enough time,
then we'll slap the charge of the Braun
murder on him. He's in prison for keeps,
or until they take him out feet first.”

SIN OF BLACK WIDOW

(Continued from page 9)

MES. PEETE started selling things from

the house to Los Angeles art dealers.
There were a lot of expensive paintings
and antiques that brought high prices until
the local dealers got to thinking about
buying this stuff without the written con-
sent of the owner and stopped putting out
the cash.

Louise Peete was growing restless any-
way. She had decided that the weather
and suspicious persons in Los Angeles
were both too hot so she rented the man-
sion to some nice folks and took a train
for Denver and the almost forgotton
husband, Harold.

He. greeted her with open arms and
no questions. The only thing he noticed
changed about her was a new interest in
out-of-town newspapers—especially those

from Los Angeles. She’d buy them every

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W. M. RALSTON

This little babe took a tong route to Mell

but her midget mind finally made it... .-

CRIME DETECTIVE, January, 1952

| HERE never was any doubt about
Louise Peete having had what it

| takes. She was one of those real-

‘So life Scarlett O’Haras— out of the

“you-all” country of Louisiana—who
know what all men want and exactly how
to give it to them.

Louise was on the small side physically,
but no one in his right mind ever accused
her of being a bird-brain. She reasoned
that women’s legs wete meant for better
things than mere standing on; that all
hope chests are not cedar lined; and that
little southern girls can win most anything
they want from the opposite sex if they'll
just get a helpless look in their eyes, flut-
ter the lashes spritely and. coo, “Oh, you
great big, strong, wonderful man.”

This . practical philosophy —plus_ the
fact that men found her to be a diamond
in the buff—was all the social security
Louise Peete ever needed.

Husbands in Shreveport—her home
town—found Louise extremely exciting;
but the wives referred to her as, ‘That
little bitch.” This former group was about
to do something like tar and feather her
beautiful body when she up and married
a traveling salesman named Sam Purdy.

Now this couldn’t properly be called a
true-love match. Sam Purdy’s home office
was Boston and Louise thought the home
of the bean afd the cod would provide
a much wider opportunity for her talents.

She left the salesman’s bed and board
shortly after their arrival in the East;
and Sam, realizing what he’d tied himself
to, divorced her soon afterwards.

Youth and beauty and just plain gall
carried the little southern girl quite far,
fast. .She .met many of the Back Bay
socially elite gentlemen (mostly in hotel
rooms); and by the time they got what
they wanted their wallets were on the flat
side. Several victims decided it would be
much cheaper to chip in and pay her to
get out of town.

Louise went to New York and stayed
there just long enough to drop her ill-
gained cash at the race’ tracks. She ended
up in Dallas, Texas, broke but far from
disillusioned. They have men in Texas,
too.

A clerk in the hotel where she was
conducting her business decided he’d like
the little plaything, for keeps. The point
he missed was that Louise would have
married a chimpanzee to get out of Dallas.

The hotel clerk quit his job and took
her to Chicago; and she quit absolutely
nothing and took him for everything he
had. Then she waved goodbye.

The love-sick swain pawned his gold
watch, bought a gun and killed himself.

Louise wasn’t nearly as young as she
had been back in Shreveport, but she had
picked up a lot of polish in her rolling.
She ‘still had that commodity for which
there is always a market. She also had
two weaknesses: race horses and liquor.
As fast as she took cash from the men
these two: latter parasites lifted it from her.

That brings us up to thé: year 1920—
Louise was about 40 years old then—and
a new man. named Harold Peete. This
one was a quiet (Continued on page 9)

fellow from
attending a
when he first

Just why
chose quiet,
men to marr
a mystery.

She marri
a modest lit
neighborhoac
until Louise
Then she p:
choo-choo t

California
naive than t
ping off pla
to going thr«
columns of
prospects.

She hit p:
“Retired gen
tured lady
Wilshire Bou

When Loui
and went to
man” turned
Denton, a wi
He’d made h
and the Wils)
20-room Tud
of town.

A lot of we
necks to hav
that, but Lou
to offer much

The pay
prospects of ;
the elderly De
old, had rece
eX-miner said
late wife. The

Louise playe
aged to get
thought he w
mentally and
soon wonderin
house or playi

Louise waite
the propitious
holy matrimo
loud. The dis
on an act but
minded her of
for the housek:

The relatior
quite strained
was frustrated
That million d
had easily.

‘Mrs. Peete kc
means. She ce
gardener who
man wasn’t ve
Denton was di
chummy with
bottle of scotch
fided. that she
with some “mi
ment and wouk
of good topsoil

“It’s all to b
sun or light,”
works out it'll
old man Dento:

Denton hims«
dirt delivery unt
bors didn’t see
notice new face
turned out to
shocked the fa

was any doubt about
having had what it
as one of those real-
O’Haras — out of the
try of Louisiana—who
want and exactly how

2 small side physically,
ight mind ever accused
d-brain. She reasoned
were meant for better
standing on; that all
+ cedar lined; and that
can win most anything
opposite sex if they'll
look in their eyes, flut-’
ely and. coo, “Oh, you
vonderful man.”
philosophy — plus the
d her to be a diamond
all the social security
needed. ;
hreveport — her home
se extremely exciting;
srred to her as, “That
‘ormer group was about
ike tar and feather her
en she up and married
in named Sam Purdy.
yt properly be called a
sam Purdy’s home office
ouise thought the home
the cod would provide
ortunity for her talents.
esman’s bed and board
r arrival in the East;
» what he’d tied himself
soon afterwards.
vuty and just plain gall
southern girl quite far,
,any of the Back Bay
lemen (mostly in hotel
the time they got what
wallets were on the flat
ims decided it would be
chip in and pay her to

) New York and stayed
enough to drop her ill-
e race tracks. She ended
-xas, broke but far from
ey have men in Texas,

1e hotel where she was
susiness decided he'd like
ng for keeps. The point
that Louise would have
anzee to get out of Dallas.
ck quit his job and took
and she quit absolutely
1k him for everything he
vaved goodbye.
swain pawned his gold
gun and killed himself.
nearly as young as she
n-Shreveport, but she had
of polish in her rolling.
jat commodity for which
a market. She also had
race horses and liquor.
took cash from the men
parasites lifted it from her.
us up to the year 1920—
ut 40 years old then—and
imed Harold Peete. This
t (Continued on page 9)

—_—

fellow from Denver, Colorado. He was
attending a sales convention in Chicago
when he first glimpsed her figure.

Just why a red, hot potato like “Louise
chose quiet, modest and harmless little
men to marry will perhaps always remain
a mystery. The fact is, she did.

She married the guy and they lived in
a modest little house in a conventional
neighborhood in Denver for several years
until Louise reached the lunacy stage.
Then she. packed her pants and took a
choo-choo to Los Angeles.

California men must have been less
naive than those at Louise’s other stop-
ping off places because she was reduced
to going through the classified advertising
columns of the Los Angeles Times for
prospects.

She hit pay dirt with one that read:
“Retired gentleman wants charming, cul-
tured lady to assume. charge of his
Wilshire Boulevard home.” <

When Louise read that one she stopped
and went to work. The “retired gentle-

man” turned out to be one. Jacob Charles:

Denton, a widower, a millionaire and 50.
He’d made his rocks in Arizona mining
and the Wilshire Boulevard home. was a
20-room Tudor Mansion in the best part
of town.

A lot of women would have given their
necks to have latched. onto a spot like
that, but Louise, as always, was prepared
to offer much more. P. S. She got the job.

The pay was $100 per month — and
prospects of a bright future. Louise told
the elderly Denton that her husband, Har-
old, had recently died in Denver. The
ex-miner said Louise reminded him of his
late wife. They got along.

Louise played up to the boss and man- |

aged to. get it across to him that she
thought he was very stimulating, both
mentally and physically. Neighbors were
soon wondering whether she was keeping
house or playing house for Denton.
Louise waited for what she thought was
the propitious time and then mentioned
holy matrimony. Denton laughed out
loud. The disappointed southern girl put
on an act but it didn’t work. Denton re-

minded her of the many other applicants _

for the housekeeping job.
The relations between the two were
quite strained after that because Louise

we frustrated for the first time in her life. *

at million dollars was not going to be
had easily.

‘Mrs. Peete looked around for ways and
méans.’ She centered her ‘attention on a
gardener who worked for Denton. This
man wasn’t very bright. One day while
Denton was down town Louise becaine
chummy with the gardener and split a
bottle of scotch with him. Then she con-
fided that she was going to experiment
with some “miracle” plants in the base-
ment and would need about twenty yards
of good topsoil to accomplish the purpose.

“It’s all to be done without benefit of
sun or light,” she explained. “And if it
works out it'll make us both richer than
old man Denton.”

Denton himself never knew about the
dirt delivery until it was too late. Neigh-
bors didn’t see him again; but they did
notice new faces in the mansion. These
turned out to be boarders— and _ that
shocked the fancy people of Wilshire

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ten to Denton’s relatives in Arizona and
told them something was amiss in Los
Angeles because a cousin put in his
appearance there during the first week
in August. ;

When this man asked where Jacob wa
Louise Peete said, “Mr. Denton’s away on
an extended trip.”

The cousin asked, “Where?”

Louise said she wasn’t sure and that
Jacob Denton hadn’t taken the pains to
inform her when he’d return.

When more inquiries were made Mrs.
Peete’s answers became shorter and snap-
pier until finally the cousin sneaked out
because he was afraid the woman would

do him permanent bodily harm.

But this man’s suspicions were thorough-
ly aroused. He wired to Arizona, contact-
ing a female relative of Denton’s, whom
he thought would be better equipped to
deal with the uncooperative housekeeper.

Mrs. Peete was sweet as sugar to this
woman and even said, “If you think I
killed Jacob Denton I'd suggest you search
every inch of this house.”

The woman said that. was what she
intended to do. No trace of the missing
millionaire was found, however. Not even
the crypt-like basement with its dank,
musty odor provided a clue.

The puzzled relatives went back to
Arizona. (Continued on page 65)

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928 148 PACIFIC REPORTER (Cal,
ae
(170 Cal. 104) warden of the state prison, and that sentence be

PEOPLE v. WITT. (Cr. 1922.)
(Supreme Court of California. April 27, 1915.)

1, HoMicipE €>18—“Murper IN First Dsz-
GREE.”

Under Pen. Code, § 189, providing that any
murder committed in the perpetration or at-
tempt to perpetrate robbery, burglary, etc., is
murder in the first degree, defendant, whose
own confession showed that he and another bur-
glariously entered the house of deceased in the
nighttime to commit larceny therein, that, when
discovered, defendant himself had no revolver,
and that in an ensuing struggle his companion
shot and killed deceased, was guilty of “murder
in the first degree.”

[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Homicide,
Cent. Dig. §§ 24-31; Dee. Dig. €=18,

For other definitions, see Words and Phrases,
rind and Second Series, Murder in First De-
gree.

2. INDICTMENT AND INFORMATION €=7=110 —
LANGUAGE oF STATUTE — MURDER IN FIRST
DEGREE.

An information in the language of Pen.
Code, § 187, charging that defendant and anoth-
er, on a certain day and in a certain county and
state, feloniously and with malice aforethought,
killed and murdered a certain named person,
contrary to the form and effect of the statutes,
sufficiently charged the offense of murder speci-
fied in section 189, declaring murder committed
in the perpetration or attempt to perpetrate
robbery, burglary, etc., to be murder in the first
degree; it being sufficient to charge the offense
in the language of the statute defining it, what-
ever the circumstances of the particular case.

{Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Indictment
and Information, Cent. Dig. §§ 289-294; Dec.

Dig €=110.]

3. CRIMINAL Law €=854—TrIAL—‘‘SEPARA-
TION OF JURY.”

Under Pen. Code, § 1121, permitting the ju-
ry to separate at adjournments and recesses un-
til the case is submitted to them, unless the
court in its discretion orders them kept togeth-
er in charge of an officer during trial, the
court’s excusal of a juror who went to an ante-
room and returned in two or three minutes,
where no adjournment was taken and no pro-
ceedings were had during his absence, and where
the jury had not been placed in charge of an
officer, was not a “separation of the jury.”

[Ed. Note—For other cases, see Criminal
Oe Cent. Dig. §$ 2039-2047; Dec. Dig. ¢=

For other definitions, see Words and Phrases,
First and Second Series, Separation of Jury.]

4. CRIMINAL Law €=>1186—APPEAL—HaARM-
LESS ERROR—SEPARATION OF JURY.

Error, if any, in failing to admonish the ju-
ry in the manner prescribed for each adjourn-
ment by Pen. Code, § 1122, as to not talking
about the case or allowing any one else to talk
to them about it, was too technical to require a
reversal of the judgment and a new trial, es-
pecially in view of Const. art. 6, § 414, declar-
ing that no judgment shall be set aside or new
trial granted for error in procedure, unless the
court, upon examination of the entire case, shall
determine that the error complained of result-
ed in a miscarriage of justice.

{Ed. Note—For other cases, see Criminal
Law, Cent. Dig. §§ 3215-3219, 3221, 3230;
Dec. Dig. G=1186.]

5. CRIMINAL Law ¢€=>636—JupGMENT—FIx-
ING TIME FOR EXECUTION—PRESENCE OF DE-
FENDANT.

A judgment imposing the death penalty,
and directing that defendant be delivered to the

executed on a day to be thereafter fixed }
court, was valid without any appointment
such time; and hence defendant had no right to
be present when the judge, as required by P
Code, § 1217, subsequently signed a warrant ros
pointing a day on which the judgment was to
executed.
{Ed. Note.—For other ‘cases, see C
Law, Cent. Dig. §§ 1465-1482, 2190; Deo a!
C>636.]
6. HomicrpE €—163—EvIDENCE—RELEy
Pen. Code, § 190, giving the jury the right
to assess punishment in the event of convicti
of murder at either death or life imprisonment,
does not contemplate the admission of evi
as to matters not otherwise relevant, but
based solely on such evidence ag is admissible on
the issues made by the indictment and plea So
that evidence as to the defendant's character
and previous habits, his condition at the time
of the crime, and as to his parents, home
roundings, and education, were inadmissible,

[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Homicide,
Cent. Dig. §§ 310-317; Dec. Dig. €>163.]

In Bank. Appeal from Superior Cot
Los Angeles County; Frank R. Willis, Judge.

Glenn Witt was convicted of murder in the.
first degree, and from the judgment and de.
nial of his motion for a new trial, he‘ ap-
peals. Judgment and order affirmed. ial

Clyde E. Cate and Hocker, Morris & Ats-
tin, all of Los Angeles, for appellant. U..§8.
Webb, Atty. Gen., and Robert M. Clark, Dep-
uty Atty. Gen., for the People. ds hang’)

ANGELLOTTI, C. J. Appellant, Glenn
Witt, and one Oxnam were jointly informed,
against for the crime of murder, alleged ‘to
have been committed December 22,' 1914)
They were tried Separately, and appellant, ;
having been convicted of murder in the first
degree, was, on January 21, 1915, adjudged
to suffer death. This is an appeal from such
judgment, and from an order denying hig
motion for a new trial. co

{1] It is not claimed that appellant ig not
guilty of the offense of which he has
convicted. In view of the record, such @,
claim would be without warrant. According
to his own admissions made shortly after his
arrest, and his own testimony given on the
trial, appellant and Oxnam burglariously en-
tered the house of deceased, William M.
Alexander, in Los Angeles, at about 2 o’clock
on the morning of December 22, 1914, for the
purpose of committing larceny therein. They
obtained access to the house through a win-
dow on the ground floor, and, having gone
upstairs, went into the room occupied by de
ceased and his wife. The attention of Mrs
Alexander was attracted by some noise made.
by them, and she awakened her husband.
Upon the flashing on of the electric light by
the latter, appellant and Oxnam were dis-
covered. Even then the two men persisted
in their efforts to take and carry away the
valuables of deceased; Oxnam attempting
to hold Alexander at bay with a revolver

¢€—>For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes


NRO Rela rR

eng,

ARERRER ieep aipane tm

Cal.) PEOPLE vy. WITT 929

which he had brought with him, while appel-
lant was Searching for articles of value. In
the struggle which ensued between Alexand-
er and members of his family, on the one
hand, and appellant and Oxnam, on the oth-
er, Oxnam shot and killed the deceased. The
appellant himself did not have a pistol.
Both men escaped from the house, but were
shortly after apprehended in a room where
they had taken refuge. They were identi-
fied beyond question as the two burglars, and
the case is one where guilt is shown beyond
the question of a doubt, even Without the
admissions and testimony of appellant. But,
as We have said, the testimony of appellant
himself convicts him of murder in the first
degree, Although he did not himself fire the
fatal shot, he was at the time engaged with
Oxnam in the perpetration or attempt to
DPerpetrate the burglary, was a principal
therein, and was equally guilty with Oxnam
in the eyes of the law of any act committed
by the latter in and about the prosecution of
the burglarious Scheme of himself and Ox-
nam. Our statute expressly providing that
any murder “which is committed in the per-
petration or attempt to perpetrate arson,
rape, robbery, burglary or mayhem, is mur-
der of the first degree” (section 189, Pen.
Code) makes this a case where no other ver-
dict than that of guilty of murder of the
first degree could properly have been render-
ed. As said by this court in People v. Mil-
ton, 145 Cal. 169, 78 Pace. 549, the law in
such cases as this has declared to the male-
factor:

“If in your perpetration of or attempt to per-
petrate arson, rape, robbery, burglary, or may-
hem you shall take the life of a fellow being,
intentionally or unintentionally, your crime ig
murder of the first degree. The killing may be
willful, deliberate, and premeditated, or it may
be absolutely accidental. In either case, you

A review of the record shows that there
was in the proceedings no error affecting any
Substantial right of the appellant. In the
light of the admitted facts, the various points
Made by counsel for appellant appear trivial
and inconsequential.

[2] The information charged the defend-
ants with the crime of murder, committed
as follows:

“That the said Glenn Witt and Charles EF. T.
Oxnam, on the 22d day of December, 1914, at and
in the county of Logs Angeles, State of Califor-
nia, did willfully, unlawfully, feloniously, and
With malice aforethought kill and murder one

filliam M. Alexander, a human being,” con-
trary to the form, force, and effect of the stat-
ute, etc.

Concededly, this describes the offense of
der in the language of our statute, and

148 P.—59

:is in accord with a form approved over and
over again by this court. It is claimed, how-
ever, that it does not sufficiently allege the
kind of murder proved in this case, viz., one
committed in the berpetration, or attempt to
perpetrate, one of the felonies specified in
section 189, Penal Code. Whatever may be
the rule declared by some cases from other
jurisdictions, it must be accepted as the set-
tled law of this State that it is sufficient to
charge the offense of murder in the language
of the statute defining it, whatever the cir-
cumstances of the particular case. As said
in People y, Soto, 63 Cal. 165:

“The information is in the language of the
statute defining murder, which is: ‘Murder is
the unlawful killing of a human being with mal-
ice aforethought.’ Pen. Code, § 187. Murder,
thus defined, includes murder in the first degree

Under our decisions there is no ground for
distinction in this regard between the class
of murder in the first degree here involved
and any other class. People y. Hyndmann,
99 Cal. 1, 33 Pac. 782, does not decide other-
wise. Our simplified system of pleading in
criminal cases has been in use for many
years, and we think it may safely be said
that it has not been found that defendants
have, in fact, been without Sufficient notice
of the nature of the charge against them
to enable them to make such defense as they
had. It is certain that in the case at bar
no such claim could be made, in view of the
fact that the facts proved against appellant
were precisely those which he had admitted
before the trial and to which he testified on
the trial. Of course, if it should appear in
any case that a defendant was, in fact, sur-
prised by the theory of the prosecution as
developed on the trial, a trial court would
undoubtedly grant him such time as was
reasonably necessary to make his defense.

In view of what has already been said, it
is clear that the trial court did not err in
instructing the jury substantially that, where
the killing is done in the perpetration or at-
tempt to perpetrate one of the felonies spec-
ified in section 189, Penal Code, the jury has
no option but to find the killing to be murder
in the first degree. We find no substantial
error in any of the other instructions.

[3] The record shows that during the ex-
amination of one of the witnesses a juror
asked to be excused for a minute, and the
court answered, “Yes,” whereupon the juror
went “into the anteroom, and returned in
two or three minutes,” whereupon the court
directed the tria] to proceed. Apparently,
while no adjournment was taken, no proceed-
ings were had during the absence of the
juror. It is admitted that, when the juror
was thus allowed to absent himself, no ad-
monition was given to him or to the other


Cal.)

how long has it been since appellant resided
with her and his father, whether the father
was still living, what occupation appellant
has followed during the last year, what his
education had been, when she herself came
to Los Angeles. No statement was made as
to the object of these questions, or what it
was expected to show thereby. We cannot
perceive that they had any legitimate bear-
ing on any question to be determined by the
jury, and can see no reason to assume that
answers to the same could have affected the
verdict in any way.

The judgment and order
trial are afiirmed,

denying a new

We ccncur: SLOSS, J.; MELVIN, J.;
SHAW, J.; LORIGAN, J.; HENSHAW, J.;
LAWLOR, J.

170 Cal. 101
In re WASSERMAN’S ESTATE,

WASSERMAN vy, JONES.
(S.. F. 7172)
(Supreme Court of California. April 27, 1915.)

1. WILLs €=>34—TESTAMENTARY CAPACITY—
UNSOUNDNESS OF MIND.

The rule of law is not that no person who
is insane may make a valid will, but that the
will of no person who, by reason of insanity,
is incapable of making a valid testamentary dis-
position shall be upheld.

[Ed. Noie.—For other cases, see Wills, Cent.
Dig. §§ 71-73; Dec. Dig. €=34.]

», WILLS €>55—TESTAMENTARY CAPACITY—
JUDICIAL Dury.

Whether a testator’s unsoundness of mind
amounts to incapacity to make a will must be
determined by the court upon its own responsi-
bility, though his whole neighborhood believes
him to be of unsound mind.

[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Wills, Cen
Dig. §§ 1387-158, 161; Dec. Dig. €=55.]

3. WILLS €—55—TESTA MENTARY CaPAcITy—
SUFFICIENCY oF EVIDENCE.

On the trial of a will contest, where it ap-
peared that there was insanity in the testator’s
family, and the testimony of witnesses and en-
tries by the testator in his diary showed that he
entertained strange beliefs, delusions, and hallu-
cinations; that he thought waiters and saloon
keepers were trying to poison him; that wire-
less electricity was shooting violet rays through
him, instigated by his enemies; that a former
employer, a railroad company, sought to destroy
him, and had detectives pursuing him, who en-
tered his house and stole articles; that the com-
pany instructed its engineer to blow steam as
they passed the neighborhood where his proper-
ty was situated; that the steam would be car-
ried by electric waves and give him a shock;
that a lemon given him by a neighbor was poi-
soned; and that he was visibly nervous, wild-
eyed, distressed, and irrational—a verdict
against the validity of the will was warranted.

[Ied. Note.—For other cases, see Wills, Cent.
Dig. §§ 137-158, 161; Dec. Dig. €=>55.]
4. WILLS €==54—TESTAMENTARY CAPACITY—
EVIDENCE.

On the issue of testamentary capacity, the
jury might properly consider the facts that the
testator, who was unmarried, committed sui-
cide, and that he left his little property away

IN RE WASSERMAN’S ESTATE

931

[ from his aged mother and his brothers, from

whom he had not been estranged.

[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Wills, Cent.
Dig. §§ 181-134, 136; Dee. Dig. C54.)

Appeal from Superior
of San Francisco;

Department 2.
Court, City and County
Marcel li. Cerf, J udge.

Proceeding to prove the will of Victor H.
Wasserman, deceased, contested by Sophia F,
Wasserman. From a decree on a verdict
against the validity of the will, and from an
order denying a new trial, the proponent,
Horace C., Jones, appeals. Affirmed.

Nowlin, Fassett & Little, of San Francisco,
for appellant. Joseph P. Lucey, of San Fran-
cisco, for respondent.

HENSHAW, J. This is a contest over the
admission to probate of the will of Victor H.
Wasserman, deceased. At the time of his
death he was 45 years of age. He had never
married and left surviving him his mother,
two brothers, and one sister. He had been
employed as a railway freight clerk in the
oflices of the Southern Pacific Company, but
some time prior to his death was obliged to
cease his employment on account of ill
health. He invested his savings in a six-acre
tract of land in Santa Clara county, and
devoted his time to planting this land to or-
chard trees. Before his death be was de-
spondent over his lack of money. In March,
1914, he committed suicide by hanging. His
body was found in a barren Spot near the
reservoir on Twin Peaks in the city and
county of San Francisco. While his death
was caused by the strangulation of hanging,
he had also stabbed himself. In his hat,
found alongside his body, was an olographic
will in language as follows:

“San Francisco, Cal. Mar. 9 14,

“Being of sound mind, I will my (6 1-5) six
and one fifth acres in Santa Clara county to

Horace C. Jones of Berkeley.
“Victor H. Wasserman.”

Its date was the day preceding the tes-
tator’s self-destruction. The beneficiary un-
der his will and the proponent thereof, Hor-
ace C. Jones, was a friend of the deceased of
several years’ standing and had been engag-
ed with him in the same general employment
in the Southern Pacific Company, had inter-
ested himself in the deceased’s affairs and
made many week-end visits to the deceased’s
property in Santa Clara county. The deceas-
ed was not an infrequent guest at the home
and at the table of the proponent. The econ-
test of this will instituted by the mother of
the deceased was based upon the mental in-
capacity of the deceased to execute a will
by reason of his insanity. The issue was
tried before a jury, which returned its ver-
dict against the validity of the will upon the
ground indicated. Form the decree which
followed and from the order denying his mo-

€—For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes


930 148 PACIFIC REPORTER (Cal.

jurors, and that no officer accompanied said
juror. There is no pretense that any objec-
tion was made by defendant at the time. It
is urged on these facts that the jury was al-
lowed to separate during the trial of the
case, and that such separation must be held
to have been prejudicial to appellant. It is
not claimed that the trial court had placed
the jury in charge of an officer, and under
our statute (section 1121, Pen. Code) the jury
are permitted to separate at adjournments
and recesses until the case is submitted to
them for decision, unless the court, in its dis-
cretion, orders them kept together in charge
of an officer during the progress of the trial.
Of course, a separation would be improper
after the jury has been placed in charge
of an officer or after submission of the
cause to the jury, or at any time while
evidence was actually being received, and the
cases cited by appellant from this state are
all cases of this character. There was no
forbidden separation here. See People y.
Coyne, 116 Cal. 297, 48 Pac. 218.

[4] The only possible error here was the
failure of the court to admonish the jurors
when one was allowed to retire for a mo-
ment, in the manner prescribed for each ad-
journment by section 1122, Penal Code, as
to not talking about the case or allowing any
one else to talk to them about it, etc. Under
the circumstances, no one probably thought
of the necessity of such an admonition for
this brief retirement of one of the jurors into
another room. If error was committed here,
it must be said of it, as was said in People
v. Coyne, supra, of the failure of the court
to so admonish the jury upon an adjourn-
ment, that the error is technical, and not of
the importance to demand a reversal of the
judgment and a new trial. Especially is this
true in view of the provisions of section 414
of article 6 of the Constitution. It would be
most unreasonable to assume that any prej-
udice was suffered by appellant by reason
thereof.

[§] Appellant was personally present when
judgment of death was pronounced on Jan-
uary 21, 1915, the judgment decreeing sub-

stantially that he suffer the penalty of death; |

that he be delivered into the custody of the

warden of the state prison at Folsom; and —
| tunity by any ruling of the trial court of

that the sentence be executed by said warden
on a date to be thereafter fixed by the court.
Subsequently, the judge, as required by sec-
tion 1217, Penal Code, signed a warrant, ap-
pointing a day on which the judgment was
to be executed, and directing the sheriff to
deliver the defendant to the warden of the
state prison for execution. Appellant was
not present at the time the judge so ap-
pointed the day for execution. It is now
claimed that appellant was entitled to be
present when the day of execution was fixed.
Under our statute, the fixing of the time fo
the execution of the judgment is no part or
the judgment. That is to be done in the

warrant signed by the judge and attested by
the clerk after the judgment is given. The
judgment here was complete and valiq with-
out any appointment of such time, and, of
course, could not be reversed for the reasons
urged, even if appellant’s contention that he
was entitled to be present, at the fixing of
the time be well based. But we think there
is no force in the contention. It has been
substantially held that under our statutes hig
presence at the signing and attesting of the
warrant is not contemplated or Tequired
(People v. Flannelly, 128 Cal. 94, 60 Pac.
670), and we see no reason to doubt the cor.
rectness of this view. The question here ig
probably, however, of no practical impor-
tance, for the reason that the time fixed has
passed without the execution of the judgment
by reason of this appeal. An order for the
execution of the judgment at a specified time
must be made by the court under Section
1227, Penal Code, before it can now be ex-
ecuted, and by express provision of that sec-
tion appellant is entitled to be present at the
time of the making of any such order. See
People v. Chew Lan Ong, 141 Cal. 553, 75
Pac. 186, 99 Am. St. Rep. 88.

[6] Finally it is urged that the trial court
erred in refusing to permit testimony to be
given by appellant and his mother with ref-
erence to his character and previous habits,
It is not claimed that the offered testimony
was relevant or material on the issue of eij-
ther guilt or degree of crime, but simply
that, inasmuch as the jury had the right to
assess the punishment in the event of con-
viction at either death or life imprisonment,
appellant was entitled to have admitted for
their consideration evidence as to matters
not otherwise relevant or material. We are
of the opinion that our law does not contem-
plate any such independent Inquiry on a trial
for murder, and that the determination of
the jury, under the provisions of section 190,
Penal Code, as to death or life imprisonment,
is necessarily to be based solely on such evi-
dence as is admissible on the issues made by
the indictment or information and the plea
of the defendant. But, if we assume other-
wise, we are nevertheless satistied from an
examination of the record that it cannot be
held that defendant was denied the oppor-

Showing any extenuating fact or circum-
stance that could have properly affected the
verdict. So far as he himself was concerned,
he fully testified as to his condition the even-

| ing of the homicide, said that he had no place

to sleep. was “broke,” out of work, had no
supper that evening. His answers to the
remaining two or three questions to which
objections were sustained could not have
added to the effect of this. The only other
witness on this branch was appellant’s moth-
er, who testifiec as to her age, that of the
appellant, and her own occupation. Objec-
tions were sustained to questions asking her


ee 2

-

ed

PARMAN, Everett, white, gagsed CA (Placer) August 16, 1940

GIRL-MAD

By Deputy
District
Attorney
FLOYD H.
BOWERS

Placer County,
California

As told to
M. E. CLARK

HE attractive girl, Margaret Brusso, hurried home
from the SAR office at Auburn, California, shortly
after noon on Saturday, July 16th, 1938, and made
for the bus station in front of the Placer County
Courthouse. Once the stamping ground of gun-toting miners
and hard-riding Vigilantes, the courthouse square had wit-
nessed many stirring scenes of early Gold Rush history. Now
wealth came not from mines, but from trees and vineyards,
and a populace of home-loving, hard-working farmers  re-
placed that of the boisterous, ever-moving prospectors.

Margaret found the streets drowsing under the high sum-
mer sun, and the square deserted. The Roseville bus, which
was to bring her home, had departed.

One block distant was a service station operated by the
girl’s aunt. She decided to go there and find out when the
next bus was scheduled.

Telephoning the Greyhound Depot she learned that. it

JUNE, 1936

Dee) eal wai ae : — ioral

Above is the man who regards
human life as a plaything; who
regards women as his own par-
ticular toys; who feels that laws
are made for everyone but him-
self, With the gas chamber draw-
ing nearer, his opinions are
altering. Margaret Brusso (left)
was trapped by the fiend above

would not be until two o’clock. Her face fell as she realized
that she would not arrive in time to join her friends in a
week-end outing.

As she was coming from the booth, a laundry wagon of
the Lily White Laundry Company of Roseville rolled up
to a gas pump.

Margaret’s aunt, Mrs. J. H. Troutwine, knowing that her
niece was anxious to reach her home as soon as possible,
valled to the driver, whom she knew only as a casual cus-
tomer of the service station. As she made out a charge slip
for gasgline, she asked him when he expected to arrive in
Roseville:

“I’ve got one or two stops to make vet. I ought to be there
in an hour. Why?”

“My niece missed the bus. I thought you might give her
a lift.”

The driver eyed the girl who stood in the doorway of the

0

MASTER DETECTIVE - June, 1939


TECTIVE

errr fa «.\|

{NSIDE DE

“some _—— — eee oak se

the slugs spattered against the wall and
Parman didn’t wait to shoot again. He
bounded down the street on a zig-zag line
Just as the patrol captain opened fire, in-
stinctively ducking and dodging.
. Sth He was lucky, for the darkness blotted
7 ifn : Kirkpatrick’s vision, and he ran through
: a gasoline service station and raced down
an alley between Third and Fourth Streets.
S ’ He paused a moment to fire another
: blast at Kirkpatrick and Douarin, who had
Joined the chase. And then, like a crazed

Charles Lewis,
Chemist, New York

@@ Many physicians advise

animal, he ran into a poolroom screaming : 13 i
in “The cops will never take me alive.” building eat gta al alkaline
= Startled patrons dove beneath tables, the reserve when you have a
oo bartender vanished under his counter, but :
: ean a his mad flight. He broke cold. Luden’s have an
own a door at the rear of the -place, :
“y gained the next street and stumbled along added alkaline factor. 99 ,
3. ae aw gh “with ~ ng stinging and 9
P is mouth -taut and dry. At that instant
ota Officer James O’Neill of the Eureka police, LUDEN S MENTHOL COUGH DROPS
hols who had taken a short cut, whirled around
c oa the corner and crashed into the killer.
be O’Neill threw out his arms blindly and VEWELED WRIST WATCH
a ‘wrapped them like steel bands around the Ea i WITH EVERY RING
a he murderer’s waist. But he didn’t pin down Me Sa i) oe FRE E. ORDERED AND
Sond caramn's gun hand, and taatenly he ide we 1] | Nw ‘ am PAID FOR
: mouth of the weapon in his stomach. : \ f PROMPT:
audged = Listen, copper” Parman snarled, “I’m Dials (ES SAN E 4 =>
i gonna let you have it—and you won't be S
coming the first man I’ve bumped off !” I DAYS TR i AL Mame wkes 1939 Queen
tically ; O'Neill, weak and sick, met the threat SEND ONLY 20 CENTS with name, age and | Litetime Sterling ooallty: Wateh.
“Well with a high courage that will not soon be | #ddress, and by return mail RECEIVE a set of | Silver Decorated in Dime. Jeweled.
’ forgotten. He tightened his grip around 14 TRIAL GLASSES to select from to fit your | Rich 1. 30, 14k Gola. Accuracy Guarantee enclosed.
nemory, pe i ; | eyes NOTHING MORE TO PAY until you can | WATCH is yours FREE of i
the squirming gunman, braced himself for see perfectly far and near. Then the above Beaue : every ting otdered Now cal
we the shock of a bullet and said: ; tiful Style will cost you only $3.90, no more; other paid for within one year on our new
ABE Go ahead and shoot, ‘rat! But I’m styles $1.95 and up. easy two $2 payment plan (total
f hes gonna: hang on!” eeuer, Pindle High ceveenue Vision and -— we). Remember. the cost _of
sat Everett Parman’s finger crept around the f oe BIFOCAL {the ring... YOU PAY Ww THe
6 ET trigger. He heard the sound of pattering GLASS: DOCTOR WS eae eee Dowith ING" EXT Yor the WATCH
scent feet:.and hoarse voices, and wondered if} over 30 years’ experience, GUARANTEES to Seni NO Mae. enor as!
set ¥ pos he: should shoot. Before he had time to | give rs Perfect Fit or NO COST, Circular trust you. Mail pesteard pow. We
ag ae think it out, he was hit from behind with with latest styles and lowent prices FREE, PRIMI Pay Postage. Your package comes
in a tremendous smash by Sergeant Douarin, | - babe i Re ey Calne pa at once by return matt.
2 tel Parman was caught—this time for hiedos. @, Chicago, Til. LO STANDARO WATCH CO. Dept. T-592, Newton, MASS.
ied pal E DENIED everything, of course, ex- | [-
‘as a nes cept that he stole Bolster’s car and
. drive! ied used his name while working in a forest K FOOD DIS q Ri BU E ORS
aorta camp. He insisted that he had not meant |’
our ha to kill George McElroy, he blasphemed the |!
name of Margaret Brusso and boasted that
she had gone with him willingly. V e
er" And when he found all these lies blasted {/ y
irom der by the evidence, he turned to insanity as pre
ick’s * oe a defense, and told Sheriff Gum he was
at sit rin. pt ag PR gi ra He daw P
vn i offered proo e ha en confine
in the ait in the mental ward when he served his MAKE UP TO
_ “Leave her prison term in the East.
today. a But it was another story when. he went 00
” 4 to trial in the austere old courthouse at IN
valine yori a An oa + ceria oe ee , A WEEK
a. “ . or there he was declared absolutely 7
ahead.” sane by Drs. Burton Adams and O. D. with my proven plans

~ Hamlin of Oakland, and Dr. Walter Rapa-
port of the Napa State Hospital. The
physicians further testified that Parman

ACT QUICK!

ized he was
pone himself

irk- tS ior Judge J. B. Landis heard
ce at Kir or ‘uperior Judge Jj. + ,vandis hear . be former coal miner, reported average
glan e and saw District Attorney Sparks in a damning | ‘ With Big Cash Income sight months, "Mrs: Mt. i. Toslek £0
his €y' Ported $41.73 for her ve

he might. . ; -
«4 lightly as they
don't want any

‘ id.
Zirk atrick sal
anak talk things

: : co Cl :
by his own blind lust and the yellow streak — ee Miia compe i 4 Kindly? mall fait pariiculare, telling me phow Tenn he ;
; H i H ou ‘tn to nythi. . Al it i strtbu Spier nce make up
Everett Parman pom made his Fy a anne ss your Ramo tnd Badress pel can seal noe teal eels ¥ to '$49.00 in a week’ at “once. ‘
n his teeth pitiless nights in Condemned Rove ie on | fai creates cetera cmt zoe
7 ve . ‘ BS MS NOMeI © ss soteesceoissecesbacasseasnvnycosulanaicd tv ard lossassscoe

iaaeke™ feap an pitiless nights in Condemned Row he must But don’t delay! Write me immediately before some- i a

a qui hearing the echo of the Leavenworth | one else in your locality gets aheed of you. Rush the & aqaress ‘

cer jerked, guard’s advice: “. . . . It's better to get | °umen %F # Penny posteard TODAY! : :

the ibe he burn- along with people, than to be carried out of E. J. MILLS, President i @iease ‘print or write plainiyy a |

Ctoserick’s face. prison in a hearse. . oe -« . 9313 Monmouth Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio eee |
2 pa °

. final argument.

actually had been confined in the mental
ward, as he claimed, but only because “he
was so mean he couldn’t get along with
the sane prisoners.”

On September 22 the jurors in the court

hey went out, deliberated
five minutes and came back with a verdict
finding the suave ex-convict guilty of mur-
der in the first degree. The jurors offered
no recommendation of mercy, and Parman
was duly sentenced to die in the lethal
chamber at San Quentin Prison.

He is there as this is written, doomed

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55


A courtship begun on the campus of
Placer Junior College (right) brought
happiness to Ruth Brusso (above).
Yet, thirteen days after her marriage
to George McElroy, her husband
was dead, slain by the fiend who
had trapped her sister, Margaret

filling station. “Sure,” he agreed readily. “I’ll be glad to.”

Smiling her thanks, the girl climbed into the seat beside
the man. Leaning out of the window, she waved good-by
to her aunt.

+’ 6 6@ *

At the Brusso home in Roseville, the clock struck seven.
Margaret’s father and mother were vacationing at Yosemite
National Park, and the only one home was her younger sister,
Ruth Brusso McElroy. The latter, a Placer Junior College
student, had been married thirteen days. before. Now she
paced the floor. in anxiety, worried because Margaret had
failed to come home for lunch.

Suddenly she heard. footsteps on the walk. She listened.
Some one was on the porch, crying.

With a catch at her throat, Ruth hurried to the door. Her
hand flew to her mouth in astonishment as she saw that the
disheveled and hysterical person before her was her sister.

Between sobs Margaret told ‘of an afternoon of horror.
The laundry driver had not driven to Roseville, but had
gone twenty miles north of the city on Highway 99 E. There
he had delivered some bundles ‘toa crew of the Southern
Pacific Railway. After that he had driven into the lonely
foothill country north of Lincoln. Once in the deeply-wooded,
secluded road, he had furned on Margaret like a madman,
dragged her from her seat and had brutally attacked her,
Beaten into submission, the girl was later permitted to re-
enter the truck, and then the driver headed for Roseville.

6

Threatening her with death, he forced her to swear that
she would never reveal what had taken place during the
afternoon. To make certain that she would keep her word,
he pledged her to meet him at Zeller’s Confectionery in
Roseville at eight o’clock that very evening, where she was
to report the results of her explanations of her prolonged
absence to her family.

Now the girl was too shaken to move. Ruth undressed her,
bathed and bandaged her wounds and called the family
physician.

Fifteen minutes later, smiling George McElroy, football
star and idol of the Placer campus, bounded up the steps of
the house and jovially entered the living-room. Ruth kissed
her husband. Then, without a word, she led him to the
bedroom where Margaret lay.

Although George was only twenty, there was something
about his reassuring presence that calmed and soothed the
household.

Prompted by his questioning, Margaret revealed her ex-
periences of the afternoon.

He listened in silence, his lips compressed into a firm line.

The driver had told the girl that his name was “Spike
Gorman.” It was a name that none of them knew, nor could
they recognize his identity by Margaret’s description of him.

“He had tattoo marks on his arms,” she recalled, but was

incoherent when pressed for details regarding his height,
weight, complexion and dress.

D4ZED by the unexpected turn of events and the problem
that confronted them, George and Ruth walked back
to the living-room as the clock struck eight.

“Shall we call the police?” asked Ruth.

George thought for a moment, then replied, “Let’s go up
to Zeller’s. It’s eight o’clock, and if the man Margaret de-
scribed shows up, we can call from there. Otherwise we
may never be able to find him.”

Ruth agreed, and with her husband left the house.

The confectioner’s place was a blaze of lights, and several
young people were present. Carefully they surveyed thei
features. No one even remotely resembling the descriptior
of the attacker could be seen.

Puzzled and anxious, Ruth seated herself on a stool a’
the counter and ordered a soda.

George, standing near her, ordered the same, and walked
to the rear of the establishment.

Ruth, alone with her thoughts, sat sipping her drink, and
was lost in reflection until she happened to look up into the
mirror opposite. As she did so, a shiver went through her
Eying her closely was: a man who had not been presen’
when she entered.

Quickly she dropped her eyes from the mirror and sough
to avoid the reflected gaze of the stranger.

MASTER DETECTIYV

The lat
trousers
inche
five
preseutavi
decided fa;
all-knowin:

Suddenl,
and left.
beside her. ,
without lo
mouth, “\V

4

The rem:

x

George \\
as he over!
“Margare
The stra
moved. The
his questio:
step out to
to have a si
tion here.”
George st
and weight }
her attacke:

wore a jacket,
were tattooed
n his unce:
and the three
Unknown t:
Lily White L:
his own. Aski
there, he had
the list of driv
Killett.

“No,” came
I’m plenty tot
“Why did yc
The man |:
Oaks. I thoug!
you.”
Ruth was m
attitude were \
At this poi
of the McElroy
you know this
Buckner star
know his name
“You're wro)
for the Pacific

JUNE, 1939

lee

“> to swear that
Jace during the
keep her word,
‘onfectionery in
. where she was
i her prolonged

_&

‘h undressed her,
dled the family

[cElroy, football
| up the steps of
om. Ruth kissed | |
led him to the

e was something
and soothed the

revealed her ex-

| into a firm line.

| name was “Spike

i knew, nor could
leseription of him. |

recalled, but was

‘carding his height,

nts and the problem
Ruth walked back
ight.

th.

replied, “Let’s go up
» man Margaret de-
there. Otherwise we

eft the house.
if lights, and several
they surveyed their

bling the description

% ierself on a stool at
he same, and walked
ping her drink, and

* to look up into the
er went through her
ad not been present

@:: and sought
rer.

MASTER DETECTIVI

The latter was dressed in blue sports jacket and light
trousers, appeared to be about five feet, ten and one-half
inches tall, and weighed about one hundred and seventy-
five pounds. He had blond, well-combed hair and seemed
presentable. But he kept his eyes on Ruth, who bore a
decided family resemblance to her sister, and his smile was
all-knowing and sinister. :

Suddenly the person sitting next to Ruth paid his check
and left. At this the stranger walked over and slipped in
beside her. Casually he placed his order with the clerk. Then,
without looking at the girl, he said out of the corner of his
mouth, “Where’s Margaret?”

The remark dropped like a bombshell.

George McElroy had now come up behind his wife, and
as he overheard, his fists clenched.

“Margaret who?” he demanded.

The stranger for a few moments neither looked around nor
moved. Then he slowly turned about on the stool and faced
his questioner. “If there’s to be any argument, why not
step out to the street?” he said in a low tone that seemed
to have a sinister import. “We appear to be attracting atten-
tion here.”

George studied the man. The color of his hair, his height
and weight roughly conformed with Margaret’s description of
her attacker. But his clothes were different and, since he

wore a jacket, there was no way of telling whether his arms
were tattooed.

In his uncertainty, he agreed to follow the stranger’s lead
and the three then went outside.

Unknown to his wife, George had already telephoned the
Lily White Laundry, resolved to do a little investigating on
his own. Asking whether a “Spike Gorman” was employed
there, he had learned that there was no such person on
the list of drivers. However, there was a man named Gordon
Killett.

Now, in the darkness, George turned upon the stranger.
“Aren’t you Gordon Killett, the laundry truck driver?”

“No,” came the brusque reply. “I’m from Chicago and
I’m plenty tough. Do you want to make something of it?”

“Why did you ask about Margaret then?” demanded Ruth.

The man laughed. “She’s a friend of mine from Fair
Oaks. I thought you were some one else. I thought I knew
you.”

? Ruth was not so sure. The breezy reply and domineering
attitude were unconvincing.

At this point, George Buckner, a fellow college student
of the McElroys’, came along. McElroy stopped him. “Do
you know this man, George?” he asked.

Buckner stared at the heavy-shouldered stranger. “I don’t
know his name, but he drives a truck for the Lily White.”

“You're wrong, buddy,” retorted the stranger. “I work
for the Pacific Fruit Express, and I don’t drive a truck.”

JUNE, 1939

cael satis

Passers-by cast curious glances at the little group on the
sidewalk. The stranger tapped George McElroy on the arm.
“Let’s get away from here,” he said. “We’re attracting too
much attention.” He started to walk to the corner of Wash-
ington and Vernon Streets, and George and Ruth followed.

At the corner, George stopped. “Will you walk to the
Brusso home with us and meet Margaret? ‘Then we will
know if you are the man we are looking for.”

“Sure,” replied the stranger, and joined them as they
walked down Washington Street.

Ten paces farther on, he suddenly made a move to his
hip pocket as he jumped to one side and whipped out an
automatic pistol. Then he fired point-blank at McElroy.

George’s eyes widened, and without a sound he, slumped
to the sidewalk. Ruth screamed and tried to raise her
stricken husband.

Slowly the stranger walked ahead. Fifty paces away, he
turned, stared at his victim, then scurried off in the direction
of the city park.

Attracted by the shot, a crowd of bystanders gathered.
Some one called an ambulance. When it came, Dr. James
F. McAnally, of the Folsom Prison surgical staff, did what
he could. Then the youth was put on a stretcher and sped
to Mercy Hospital at Sacramento. He was in a coma, and
his young wife desperately tried to comfort him. She could

Halfway down the ‘street at left,
George McElroy kept an appoint-
ment with “the stranger.” Lured
outside, McElroy was slain as he
rounded the corner at the far left.
(Below) Sheriff Elmer’ Gum con-
cluded the case for Placer County
when he delivered the killer to
authorities from San Quentin Prison

ast,


n’’ was
{ shortly
further

motive.
id Jacob
r many

on May
impend-
at might
al grudge
rth. But
jown the
produced

nest and
ition and
ced, With
erences of
+> a homi-
contrary,
1 consider-
1 the pro-
nature.

» cloud of -

Denton’s
nformation
jerer. This
‘tment the
id theories
1, When run
me, bits of
e investiga-
verful links
ickle finally

>

- of hysteria
ss than two
‘ither one of
vas a curious
is a “profes-
ho had, sev-
of narcotics,
ad been fea-
-e his claims

reason that

‘fully investi-
pparently as-
{ much of his
well as many
r during her

ormed of the
of the Denton

enton!”

ered man was
Ȣ publication,
Avery months

estigator from
‘r to interview
ctorily explain
, Denton, she
vn expense for
ttorney’s office

husband, Rich-
t city five years
ete had moved

- the Denton house late at

_ added nothing to state-

The Great Wilshire Mystery 15

to Los Angeles her husband had instituted divorce proceed-
ings against her, claiming that her extravagant tastes and
love of ostentation had proved not in accord with his own
retiring habits and disposition. However, as soon as it was
hinted that Mrs. Peete was to be questioned in connection
with the murder, her husband dropped the divorce suit and
rallied to her side. At that time, Mr. Peete’s health was
precarious in the extreme. Notwithstanding, when Mrs.

Peete left Denver for Los Angeles on October 2nd, with the:

District Attorney’s representatives, he insisted upon accom-
panying her, with their little girl.

At the little town of Cajon, some seventy-five miles east
of Los Angeles, Deputy District Attorneys Doran and
Turney took Mrs, Peete from the train and whisked her

into seclusion at a quiet foothill resort called Glenn Ranch,.

near Los Angeles. While there, she was questioned at great
length by Doran, who declined at that time to make her
statements public, pending further investigation and her
appearance before the grand jury.

O far as was generally known, Mrs. Peete had adhered to

her original story, with a few additional details regard-
ing the mysterious Spanish beauty—such as the assettion
that she had received a telephone call from said Spanish
beauty in July, warning her not to go into the cellar as
Mr. Denton had valuable wines stored there. Mrs. Peete
suggested that Denton’s ,
murder and burial might
have occurred well along
in June while she was
spending several days at
Catalina Island, a nearby
resort. Furthermore, she
said she had returned to

night several times, to
find lights burning, the
same having been
turned on during her
absence by unidenti-
fied persons who
left the premises
before her arrival
and who might
have commit-
ted the murder.
Taken through the
Denton residence by
detectives, Mrs. Peete

ments already made.
However, it was noted
that on leaving the prem-
ises, she, who came to be
known as “the woman of
marble,” gave the first dis-
play of emotion since the
beginning of the investiga-
tion. A former neighbor
took her hand and ex-
pressed in warmest terms
his confidence in, her innocence of any
connection with the affair and wished her
good luck. For the first—and almost
the last time—the dark eyes were mo-
mentarily blurred with tears and the
well-controlled voice faltered slightly as

impersonated by

. she murmured her thanks for “the only

kind words I've heard from any one since I left Denver.”

Before the grand jury, Mrs. Peete told a story that elec-
trified the public sd which, it was later disclosed, was the
substance of statements already given at Glenn Ranch.
According to her new version, about 4 o’clock on the

Mrs. Dolly Denton (above), beloved
deceased wife of the speculator, was

various Los Angeles department

stores, where Mrs. Peete purchased

costly finery and charged it to the
account of the déad woman!

thorning of June 2nd she had been awakened by voices
raised in dispute downstairs, followed by the sound of a
shot. Hastening to investigate, she said she arrived outside
the kitchen door just in time to see Denton, sitting at the
table opposite the “Spanish woman,” fire a revolver at the
woman. The bullet struck the Spanish woman’s shoulder
and she slumped across the table. Blood gushed from the
wound into an empty plate that crashed to the floor a
toment later.

Mrs. Peete said she then hurried to the aid of the injured
woman, took her upstairs and dressed the wounded shoulder.
In the meanwhile, Denton was said to have left the house.
Later the Spanish woman called an unknown man by tele-
phone and he came to Denton’s. Then, according to Mrs.
Peete, the Spanish woman and her male companion waylaid
Denton on his return to the house—and killed him!

-Mrs. Peete explained that she had not revealed these
facts before, owing to her desire to protect Mr. Denton’s
good: name!

While not as yet officially under arrest, Mrs. Peete re-
mained in informal custody of the District Attorney's office
at’ Glenn. Ranch, pending investigation of facts set forth
in her latest story. Her husband also remained at the
place and their little daughter played and prattled on the
flowery banks of the pretty stream that rippled nearby, in
happy ignotance of the dark storm clouds fast gathering

about her mother.
The most important re-
sult of the check on Mrs.
Peete’s new “explanation”
was the discovery of what
analysis proved to be
dried and clotted blood-
stains under the kitchen
linoleum at the Denton
mansion — the _ fluid
having seeped through
cracks in .the floor-
covering—and similar
stains on the stair-
way leading into
the basement. In
addition, Den-
ton’s .32-caliber
revolver, contain-
ing one empty shell,

was discovered on a
second floor closet
shelf. A smaller re-
volver was also found
in the basement.

Then, too, Detective
Canto and others, not
satisfied with the theory
that Denton had been
strangled to death. con-
ducted a post-mortem ex-
amination of their own
over the body, and dis-
covered that the vertebra

in the neck had been splin-
tered by a bullet, shattered portions of
which remained there, the other remnants
of the bullet being scattered and im-
bedded in the bones of the jaw and the
decomposed ‘flesh of the right cheek!
This made it evident that a fatal shot
had been fired at Denton from behind.

Once again Mrs. Peete was taken by detectives to the
Denton place, where she explained and rehearsed her ver-
sion of the killing, as given to the grand jury. But de-
tectives, upon the massive foundation of evidence that they
had carefully gathered and skilfully cemented together

Mrs. Peete at


16 The Master

bit by bit, reconstructed the cold-blooded crime along quite
different lines, to wit:

That on the morning of June 2nd, 1920, as Jacob C. Den-
ton sat at the kitchen table with his back to a door opening
at the base of a stairway leading to the upper floots, he was
shot and killed by a person standing in that doorway, his
body trussed with ropes, dragged down the stairs to the
basement, rolled in a quilt, re-roped and thrust into the
vegetable pantry which was converted into a burial vault,
later covered and nailed up!

The new evidence was assembled, added to that already
accumulated, and laid by the District Attorney’s office before
the grand jury. Shortly afterward, Mrs. Peete was indicted
by that body, charged with the murder of Jacob C. Denton,
placed under arrest and held at the County Jail pending trial,
the date of which was finally set for January 19th, 1921.

After engaging and then severing relations with several
prominent attorneys, Mrs. Peete placed her defense in the
hands of Public Defender William T. Aggeler, who is, at
this writing, a Superior Court judge. Meanwhile, the long
arm of official investigation had delved into the past of
the accused woman and brought forth facts which, while
having no direct bearing upon the crime, were of keen
interest. She had had a more or less spectacular career.

Née Lolie Louise Preslar of Louisiana, the woman first
came to public attention at the age of eighteen, when, as
Miss Louise M. Gould, she was arrested in Philadelphia as
a diamond thief. Some years later came her first marriage,
an elopement with a Texan named Bosley, the marital
bonds later being severed in Texas when the husband ob-
tained a divorce on the grounds of cruelty and “outrageous
conduct.”

Richard C. Peete was her second husband. It appeared
that reckless spending and an in-
ordinate fondness for diamonds had
more than once occasioned her
mates serious embarrassment. Then
too, her name had been mentioned
in Texas and Colorado in connec-
tion with two murders, in which
men had been shot to death, al-
though she had not been held by
the authorities in either instance.

HE accused woman’s husband

and child were the center of
much public interest and sympathy.
Richard Peete’s belief in his wife’s
innocence remained unshaken. He was optimistic regarding
the favorable outcome of the ordeal to which she was to
be subjected and confident that she would soon be free
to accompany him and her child—happily too young to
understand anything of the tragic state of affairs—to begin
life anew in other parts. The little girl, meanwhile, was
told that her mother was “away on a visit” but would soon
return.

There were thousands who could not believe that a
woman who could inspire such devotion as that shown by
Richard Peete, and who was apparently a loving mother,
could have committed the hideous crime for which she
had been arraigned at the bar of justice.

By the middle of January, 1921, legal forces on both sides
were marshaled in battle array for the last dramatic phase
of probably the most sensational cause célébre ever tried in
Los Angeles courts. On the one hand, District Attorney
Thomas Lee Woolwine.and his aides were prepared to
charge that Jacob C. Denton was murdered by Mrs, Peete;
that robbery was the motive for the crime; that it was
a premeditated killing and that Mrs. Peete alone committed
the murder. The much-discussed Spanish woman—the
backbone of Mrs. Peete’s defense—would be assailed as a
mythical personage and the defendant’s story in that con-
nection would be branded a fabrication. In conclusion, it

Detective

was understood that the State would demand the deatn
penalty,

On the other hand, the contention of the Defense was
outlined as follows: Mrs. Peete was not guilty of the
murder of Denton, and she did not know who killed him—
if he were dead. Mr. Aggeler and his assistants were pre-
pared, first of all, to keep out of evidence acts committed
by Louise Peete after the murder on the ground that the
commission of such acts subsequent to the crime was no
proof. that she had killed Denton. Moreover, it was to be
contended that it was a physical impossibility for Mrs.
Peete to have slain the victim and disposed of his body
as charged.

SHORTLY after 10 o’clock on the rainy morning of
~ Januaty 19th, 1921, the curtain arose on the somber
drama in which Louise Peete was cast to play the leading
role. The trial began with Judge Frank R, Willis presiding.

The room was packed with the morbidly curious, made
up for the most part of women, while disappointed hun-
dreds, unable to gain admittance, jammed the corridors in
hope that some lucky circumstance would gain them a
coveted place inside. Feminine eyes took eager note of
Mrs. Peete’s personal appearance and attire as she sat be-
tween het husband and Mr. Aggeler. She was tastefully
dressed in a tailored suit of midnight blue serge, trimmed
with henna. A mink scarf was flung carelessly about her
shoulders,

From the very first stage of the trial, Mrs. Peete’s per-
fect self-possession, sang-froid and indifference, so extraor-
dinary on the part of any woman in her tragic situation—
whether ihnocent or guilty—gave rise to much speculative
comment, favorable and otherwise, by those in attendance.

Two views of the pala-
tial residence at 675
Catalina Street, Los
Angeles, where gay
parties were held while
the body of Denton
was entombed in the
basement

While the jury was being selected, Mrs. Peete complained .

of the hatshness of the light and requested an eye-shade,
which was furnished her; also, at her behest, several win-
dows were adjusted to admit more air. At the same time,
sh. demanded a foot-stool. Still later in the day, she asked
for nd.was provided with a larger and more comfortable
chait. It was then that a woman spectator was heard to
sniff and observe:

“Well, she’s sure gettin’ all the comforts of home, ain’t
she?”

The jury box was filled by noon of.the second day and
the testimony began. The first issue was the positive iden-
tification of the body found in the crypt as that of Denton.
Edward L. Half, whose acquaintance with the slain man
had: extended over many years, and who had worked with
him as miner and surveyor, testified, with homely sincerity,
to having viewed the body of the deceased at the under-

takir
wher
able
long-
striki
with
very
grues
dence
cisor
the j:
~ dered
‘hibite
Mrs. |}
tooth
Osity
were
relic ir
no pe
From
X-ray
of the
ness j
jury t
tained
many \

OTH
repe
given 2
inquest
defens:
* contest
of gro
tablishe
body ir
surely t
Auto;
fied to
that a
spinal ¢
offered
the tiss
Detec
Narratec
In erc
that thr
basemen
have be
and disp
200 pour
In crc
give the
going t
cellar; t}
hunch—a
ticularly
had disc!
One ot
Court, «
Coolly ig
glimpse
Mansion
friendly ;
porch. |!
walked, c!}
mystery
with her
TOOM to :
Nor did
descended
On the ot
upper floc


Oe AA,

deatn

se was

yf the
him—

| re pre-
ymitted

rat the
was no

is to be

yr Mrs.

s body

ning of
somber
leading
residing.
is, made
ted hun-
ridors in
them a
note of
sat be-
astefully
trimmed
ibout her

ete’s per-

extraor-
tuation—
veculative
tendance.

the pala-
at 675

| set, Los
ere gay*
eld while
Denton
4d in the

nt

e complained
in eye-shade,
several win-
e same time,
lay, she asked
e comfortable
was heard to

f home, ain't

cond day and
positive iden-
sat of Denton.
the slain man
| worked with
mely sincerity,
at the under-

_the jaw of the mur-
* dered man—was ex-
‘hibited’ to the jury.

The Great Wilshire Mystery 17

taking establishment
where he (Half) was
able to identify his
long-time friend by a
striking gold tooth
with which he was
very familiar. The
gruesome bit of evi-
dence—a left front in-
cisor removed from

‘Mrs. Peete viewed the
tooth with polite curi-
osity, as though it
were some trifling
relic in which she had
no personal interest.
From inspection of
X-ray pictures taken
of the body, the wit-
ness identified an in-
jury to the arm sus-
tained by Denton
many years before.

THER __ witnesses
repeated testimony
given at the coroner’s
inquest. Finally, with
defense counsel hotly
contesting every foot
of ground, it was es-
tablished that the
body in question was
surely that of Denton.
Autopsy Surgeons A. F. Wagner and Frank Webb testi-
fied to the manner and cause of Denton’s death, to wit:
that a bullet fired with homicidal intent had severed the
spinal cord, death probably resulting instantly. The State
offered in evidence portions of the shattered bullet cut from
the tissues of the deceased’s neck.

Detective Cody and Attorney Blodgett were called, and
narrated in graphic language their discovery of the body.

In cross-examination, Aggeler drew out at length the fact
that three or four men carried Denton’s body from the
basement, adducing therefrom that the defendant would
have been physically unable to drag the body downstairs
and dispose of it as charged. (Denton had weighed about
200 pounds.)

In cross-examining Blodgett, the Defense endeavored to
give the jury the impression that the lawyer knew before
going to the Catalina Street house that the body was in the
cellar; that Blodgett had acted upon a tip, instead of a
hunch—as he claimed—and that Denton’s relatives, par-
ticularly his nephews, knew more about the crime than they
had disclosed.

One of the sensations of the trial was the visit of the
Court, counsel, defendant and others to the Denton home.
Coolly ignoring the crowd which had gathered to get a
glimpse of her, Mrs, Peete ascended the front steps’ of the
mansion with an almost jaunty air, pausing to wave a
friendly greeting to a next-door neighbor standing on his
porch, If there were any inward tumult of emotion as she
walked, charged with murder, through that house of ‘tragic
mystery, it was not reflected on her countenance as she,
with her husband and counsel, followed the jurors from
room to room.

Nor did her face or demeanor alter as every one present
descended into the basement and inspected the death crypt.
On the other hand, when the jurors had returned to the
upper floor, she walked, with Aggeler, over to what had

Here is

(Los Angeles Examiner photo)

Mrs. Peete facing a barrage of questions. Do you think she looks like a woman cold-
blooded enough to kill and bury a man and then stage 4 hilarious party?

been Denton’s burial vault, looked into its murky shadows
with mild interest, exchanged a few casual remarks with
her counsel, then calmly rejoined the others.

The trial was resumed and, one by one, stones in the
form of circumstantial evidence were added to the wall that
seemed gradually enclosing Louise Peete.

Paul Aument, nephew of the slain man, told the Court
of evasive answers given by the defendant when he at-
tempted to question her regarding his uncle’s possible where-
abouts. She had shown matked reluctance to discuss his”
disappearance, giving Aument to understand that he wished
his whereabouts kept secret—especially from his relatives.

AUMENT'S wife made an excellent witness for the State.
* Her statements were to the effect that Denton had in-

‘formed her on June Ist that he expected to leave the next

day for the East. On June 9th she telephoned the Denton
home and was informed by Mrs. Peete that Denton had
called her by telephone from San Francisco, much elated
over a successful business deal. When Mrs. Aument asked
Mrs. Peete to whom the tenants (Mrs. Gregory and
daughter) were paying the rent, Mrs. Peete said that a
private arrangement between herself and Denton had been
made regarding that matter. In addition, the purchase of
fertilizer for the lawn had necessitated spending a part
of the money received, Mrs. Peete stated.

On June 13th Mrs. Peete told Mrs. Aument that Denton
had sent an unidentified man in a Ford after his luggage;
also that she had written permission from Denton to sell
the house and keep the first payment.

When Mrs. Aument suggested attempting to trace Denton
through checks at his bank Mrs. Peete told her it would
not be advisable to “pry” into Denton’s affairs and to wait
until the following week. When, on July 24th, Mrs. Aument
spoke of the anxiety of the girl, Frances, regarding her
missing father, Mrs. Peete urged her not to take the matter


14 The Master

Los Angeles Examiner photo

Mrs. Peete (above), remained unshaken when clouds of

suspicion began to gather about her head—so unshaken,

in fact, that she earned the en “the woman of
marble”

Denton’s disappearance before a firm of lawyers in Phoenix.
This firm had, in turn, communicated with Attorney Blod-
gett, whose prompt action in the matter led to the discovery
that the capitalist had been murdered and his body en-
tombed in the cellar of his home.

The approximate date of the murder was fixed as between
June Ist and 3rd.. The business acquaintance with whom
Denton had made the engagement for June Ist, kept a date
book which recorded the appointment and the slain man’s
failure to keep it.. Moreover, Denton’s grip and: suit-case,
packed for a journey, had been found in a hallway in his
home. It was thus evident that he had never Jeft Los An-
geles on the contemplated trip.

N the meanwhile, the authorities were having great diffi-

culty in ascertaining the exact means by which the slain
man came to his death. Poison was advanced as one theory
but the regulation post-mortem failed to disclose evidence
of any lethal drug having been taken into the body. X-ray
pictures did not give the maximum results awing to the
fact that the murdered man’s skin had taken on a leathery
texture that rendered it more or less opaque, even to the
boring eye of an X-ray. Hence, no bullet or bullets were
to be seen in the body and its general condition was such
that it could show no trace of a wound by knife or dagger,
if such had been made, ,

There remained only the theory of death by strangulation,
based upon the tightly-knotted rope-which had been drawn
about Denton’s throat, although there was the strong possj-
bility that the rope had been tied about his neck after death.

At the coroner’s inquest “death by strangulation” was
the verdict and although funeral services were held shortly
afterward the body was not ‘buried, pending further
investigation.

In the meantime the detectives were hot after a motive.
At first, the revenge theory filled the foreground, and Jacob
Denton’s past life was painstakingly probed for many
years back.

The peculiar text of the will written by Denton on May
15th indicated that he might have been in fear of impend-
ing death at that time, and every possible clue that might
lead to an enemy who might have borne a mortal grudge
against the promoter was meticulously run to earth. But
these investigations, which extended up and down the
Pacific Coast, into Arizona and Northern Mexico, produced
no interesting developments.

It appeared that Denton had always been honest and
just in his business dealings; his genial disposition and
open-handed liberality had made him very well liked. With
some of his relatives there had been trifling differences of
opinion at various times, but nothing to engender a homi-
cidal hate on the part of any of them. On the contrary,
at the time of Denton’s disappearance, and for a consider-
able period prior thereto, the relations between the pro-
moter and his-kin had been of the most friendly nature.

S days passed and no light penetrated the cloud of.

mystery enshrouding the circumstances of Denton’s
death, the City offered a reward of $1,000 for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of the murderer. This
stimulus brought down upon the Police Department the
usual avalanche of anonymous tips, hunches and theories
in the form of letters and telephone calls, which, when run
down, proved to be worthless, At the same time, bits of
information were brought to the attention of the investiga-
tors that later proved to be small though powerful links
in the chain of evidence that was destined to shackle finally
‘the actual perpetrator of the murder,

It is interesting to note that during the wave of hysteria
that swept the community at this time, no less than two
persons “confessed” the murder of Denton—neither one of
them having had anything to do with it! One was a curious
character, well known to police on the Coast as a “profes-
sional confessor.” He was a young Mexican who had, sev-
eral times before, while under the influence of Narcotics,
“confessed” to murders and robberies that had been fea-
tured in the press. In this particular instance his claims
received no consideration for the very excellent reason that
he was in jail at the time of the Denton slaying.

During these busy days, detectives had carefully investi-
gated the manner in which Mrs, Peete had apparently as-
sumed control of Denton’s affairs and handled much of his
personal property after his disappearance, as well as many
acts performed and statements made by her during her
residence at the Catalina Street house.

When Mrs. Peete, in Denver, was first informed of the
discovery of a man’s body in the basement of the Denton
mansion, she exclaimed:

“It isn’t Mr. Denton! It can’t be Mr. Denton!”

However, when the identity of the murdered man was
positively established she made a statement for publication,
substantially the same as given to Judge Avery months
before.

Detective Charles Jones and a woman investigator from
the District Attorney’s office went to Denver to interview
Mrs. Peete. Insisting that she could satisfactorily explain
any questions relative to her association with Denton, she
volunteered to return to California at her own expense for
the sole purpose of “assisting the District Attorney’s office
in its investigation of the Denton murder.”

In Denver at that time was the woman’s husband, Rich-
ard C. Peete, whom she had married in that city five years
previously, A few months before Mrs. Peete had moved

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in series:


38

ee]

by MICHAEL KING

LOUISE AND DEATH
WERE PARTNERS

Her long and lethal career finally stood at:
2 official and 1 unofficial murders,
4 men driven to suicide, and

3 suspiciously convenient natural deaths

T IS POSSIBLE that “Lethal Louise” never had
read the horror stories of Edgar Allen Poe. She
may have thought that her spine-chilling pat-

tern for murder and the concealment of her victims’
bodies was entirely original with her. Unfortunately
for Louise, the man who was to become her nemesis
was an ardent reader of the Poe murder stories. He
recognized the pattern. And because he did, the
belle of Bienville, Louisiana, became the second
woman in California history to die in the San Quen-
tin gas chamber.

Her list of victims comprises two official murders, one un-
official slaying, four men driven to suicide, and at least three
suspiciously convenient deaths written off as natural. The
deaths-for-profit attributed to her were not crimes of pas-
sion, but coldly calculated horrors, Perhaps it may be said
that murder was her passion.

She was born Lofie Louise Preslar, in the little hamlet of
Bienville in northern Louisiana, on September 20th, 1888.
The daughter of a respectable middle-class family, her
father the publisher of a small weekly newspaper, she grew
up in Coushatta in the cotton country of Red River Parish,
and acquired the conventional education for a young lady,
with emphasis on music and the social graces.

By all accounts she was something of a beauty in her
*teens, with a wealth of glowing brown hair, creamy com-
plexion and a lush, early»maturing figure. But Louise
scorned the small-town swains with the same haughty
contempt she was to hold for all men throughout her life,

TRUE DETECTIVE, May, 1955

concealing it only when it suited her devious purposes to use
them as pawns to some end.

In this way she used young Henry Bosley, the first man
in her life. Louise had no intention of becoming a back-
country planter’s lady. She longed for the great glittering
world of the big cities. So when Henry, a traveling sales-
man with eager ambitions, blew into town, it was not he
who entrapped the innocent village belle, but he who was
trapped. On a spring day in 1903, at the age of 15 by her own
account and 18 or 20 by that of others, she married the
adoring Hank and he carried her triumphantly off to
Shreveport.

But even love-stricken Hank Bosley couldn’t remain blind
very long to the character defect that his bride had man-
aged to keep cleverly hidden in her home town: she just
couldn’t keep her hands off other people’s property. She had
a special affinity for jewelry and fine clothes and, before
long, their fellow lodgers in Shreveport were openly ac-
cusing her of being a thief. But Louise always had some
smooth explanation and Hank did his best to cover up for
her. ;

Louise wasn’t a kleptomanic. She chose to steal luxurious

WOMEN who

walked the last mile

#17 in series:


, Louise
for fire-
2er. One
: herself
-dressed
, got to

rf a $700

1 Denver.
rises, she
she suf-
ash. This
to blame
2s.
ond time.
) ploneer
Jetty, was
y in their

s fortune
1 the lux-
ther asso-

housekeeper

ciates, cultivating a number of rich women friends. She
moved out with the baby “to live her own life,” although
she and Richard were not divorced and remained on good
terms. She rented from the Belgian consul a large house on
Sherman Street and took in selected roomers.

In May, 1919, Richard, hoping to recoup his finances, went
to Singapore as representative of a tire company on a two-
year contract. It was understood that he and Louise would
make another try at family life on his return.

In November the Belgian diplomat, M. Mignolet, whose
distinguished name Louise had been using freely to en-
hance her credit, filed action to evict his fast-talking ten-
ant. In addition to back rent and unauthorized sale of the
consul’s furniture, the charges involved noisy parties, shady
associates and general bad repute in the neighborhood. The
harassed Belgian complained that he couldn’t get Mrs. Peete
to vacate.

‘Legal action resulted in a citation against Louise for con-
tributing to the delinquency of a minor by neglecting little
Betty and exposing the child to bad influences. She came
before famous Judge Ben Lindsey, who turned the case over
to a lady judge, Mrs. Gregory.

Louise turned on her persuasive Southern charm, with
the result that not only was the case dismissed as a mis-
understanding, but she and Judge Gregory, who was just
about to retire from the bench, became good friends. Agree-
ing that they both would enjoy a change of scene, they de-
cided to move to Los Angeles with Louise’s baby and the
judge’s grown daughter. There they would share household
expenses and perhaps take in roomers, till Richard Peete
should return from the Orient.

However Richard’s health had worsened. He developed
tuberculosis and at the end of 1919 he gave up his job and
came home. In February, 1920, he went to Phoenix, Arizona,
for his health. Louise followed a month later with their
child. But their reunion didn’t last, funds were short, and
in mid-May Peete returned to Denver, taking four-year-old
Betty with him, while Louise went out to Los Angeles to
go ahead with the plan of cooperative housekeeping with
Mrs. Gregory.

On a spring day in 1920 Louise Peete made her first bow
in the City of the Angels, which was then in the midst of
its phenomenal postwar real estate and oil boom. Here she
quickly met Jacob Charles Denton. Denton was a ruggedly
handsome 48-year-old man who had made his considerable

En SS 4
TY lobe ts tat Oe ae

Digging in garden of Logan home Sgt. Roy Vaughn and Capt. Thad Brown find Margaret’s body. She had been shot in the neck

Mot ied daeeaaadeaceaa nn aanlll

fortune as a mining engineer in Mexico and Arizona. He
now was a speculator in-mining and oil properties.

Shy and reserved with women, Denton had had more than
his share of grief. His first marriage went on the rocks;
his wife divorced him and was living in Phoenix with their
grown daughter, Frances. Single for a long time, only the
previous year Denton had married a beautiful girl named
Dolly, who finally brought him the happiness he had missed
in his active life.

Although his own tastes were simple, he had bought a fine
English Tudor mansion in the fashionable Wilshire district
for his bride and shortly their bliss was crowned with the
arrival of a baby daughter. But Jake Denton’s hard knocks
were not yet over. In February, 1920, the baby died. The
grieving parents planned a long trip to try to forget. But
they had hardly started when Dolly was stricken suddenly
ill and died in a few hours.

Jake Denton plunged into work. He couldn’t stand living
alone in the big house echoing with memories of his dead
bride and baby. Arranging to go East by way of Texas for
an indefinite stay, he advertised the house at 675 South
Catalina Street for lease or sale. Louise answered his ad.

Doubtless she impressed the tough engineer with her ap-
pearance of shrewd capability and her tales of the property
she owned in Denver. They talked over an arrange-
ment whereby she would take over the $30,000 house, fur-
niture and Denton’s car, on lease, with the ultimate idea of
selling them for a commission. She would move in at once,
and Denton would retain one room for his use till he was
ready to leave, early in June. Denton thought $350 a month
was fair. Louise said this was too steep, but she moved in
while they discussed the amount.

She wrote to Mrs. Gregory, telling her she had found just
the house for their cooperative rooming house enterprise,
for which the ex-judge was going to put up the initial capi-
tal. On May 24th Mrs. Gregory and her daughter arrived
in Los Angeles. Louise had put them up at a hotel while she
worked out final arrangements with Denton.

On May 25th Denton’s niece helped her uncle and his new
tenant make an inventory. On Memorial Day, May 30th,
Jake blossomed out and escorted Louise to a beach party
given by his niece. On May 31st he kept a business date with
one Everett B. Latham and told him he would be leaving
Los Angeles any day. By that time Mrs. Peete was fully
installed, keeping house and cooking for Denton.

an aie vi 7 4

40

Ba weep. 7 y
~

=
>

Eve

tb oo ‘

BS ta
xu SOE

ew }
Police Chemist Ray Pinker linked Louise to Logan murder

things rather than to save or work for them. She constantly
berated her young husband for his meager income. She
urged him to take the easy way, to cut corners and cheat on
his employers.

Hank Bosley soon had enough. Perhaps he began to dis-
cern even at that budding stage of her career, behind his
languorous little wife’s slow smile and droopy-lidded gray
eyes, the suggestion of a cold-blooded reptile coiled to
strike. At any rate, after brief “new starts” in Oklahoma
City and Dallas, they split up in 1905 and Hank gallantly al-
lowed her to divorce him. Shortly thereafter he killed him-
self, presumably brooding over his disillusionment.

The young widow made her way to New Orleans, where
her sultry charm and sad story landed her a job as social
secretary to a wealthy woman. Now she was really in busi-
ness. Untrammeled by a scrupulous husband, in no time at
all Louise made a tidy little stake by forging the names of
her employer and society friends to store accounts and sell-
ing the merchandise thus obtained, as well as by exercising
her light fingers in the usual way. When things began to get
hot for her she prudently left town a jump ahead of the
police, taking with her a diamond ring of her employer’s and
a sheaf of forged letters of recommendation from the
Crescent City’s upper crust.

Next she turned up in Boston as Louise Gould, 19-year-
old New Orleans heiress to a large estate in Germany, just
waiting for the legal red tape to be cleared. The forged let-
ters opened the doors of Back Bay society to her and short-
ly she was installed in an exclusive girls’ finishing school to
pursue her musical studies.

Inevitably her itching fingers betrayed her and she was
exposed in the theft of valuables from lockers and also for
leading some of the impressionable young ladies astray. She
exercised to the limit her Southern charm and,’'for fear of
scandal, the school authorities refrained from calling the
police, provided she got out of Boston and stayed out.

Louise presently appeared in Texas, this time as the wid-

owed Mrs. Bosley. In addition to her musical bent, Louise
by this time had developed the unladylike penchant for fire-
arms that was to play such a large part in her career. One
night, according to her own story, she was amusing herself
at a shooting gallery in Waco when a handsome well-dressed
stranger expressed admiration for her skill. They got to
talking and went for an automobile ride together.

An hour later Louise drove up to the sheriff’s office to an-
nounce that she had killed the stranger with the little
nickeled .32 she carried in her purse for protection. “He
tried to violate my honor,” she explained.

Deputies went back with her and found her new friend
lying stone dead beside the road, shot through the head.
Strangely, he had been robbed of his valuables, including,
it later developed, a diamond ring. Clearly someone must
have come:along and robbed the corpse as it lay there.

Bemused by the young widow’s languid beauty, the sheriff
forcefully declared that no Southern woman should be
prosecuted for defending her honor. He congratulated her
on her narrow escape. Apparently no one ever questioned
her account or suspected her of the robbery.

In 1913 Louise was questioned by a Dallas grand jury in-
vestigating the fatal shooting of Harry Faurote, a clerk at
a hotel where she was living. It seemed that both Louise and
Harry had been suspected by police in the theft of a $700
diamond ring. When the ring turned up among Harry’s pos-
sessions, Louise explained that she had found it and had
given it to him for safekeeping. The jury decided that Fau-
rote had committed suicide, apparently convinced that he
was disgraced and his career ruined by the unjust sus-
picion.

The turbulent year of 1914 found Louise living in Denver.
There, with the proceeds of her various enterprises, she
started taking singing lessons. About that time she suf-
fered a head and back injury in an automobile crash. This
her attorneys were to make capital of later, trying to blame
the blow on the head for her murderous tendencies.

In that, same year Louise married for the second time.
This husband was Richard C. Peete, a well-to-do pioneer
automobile dealer. In 1916 their little daughter, Betty, was
born. Louise apparently spent the war years quietly in their
neat house on Adams Street, keeping out of trouble.

But shortly Peete’s health began to fail, and his fortune
with it. When he could no longer supply her with the lux-
uries she demanded, Louise sought them from other asso-

Trusting Margaret Logan engaged Louise as her housekeeper


ben

Br ~~ yg

ARNG as PR

SPIE OOD TPE EL ER

CURT

‘Tehachapi to San Quentin, where
the gas chamber stood waiting, it
looked hopeless. But still Louise did
not give up; there had been miracles
before in her life and perhaps another
was even then in the slang FA
She thought back nearly half a cen-
tury when, a slim, blue-eyed belle, she
had first charmed her way out of a bad
jam. She was no longer young and dis-
armingly pretty; she. was old, plump,

Wie. THEY took her up from

graying, slovenly-looking in the drab

prison garb. But there was something
remaining still of her charm. res,

It had fooled a great many people.
At least seven persons were dead be-
cause of it. It had saved her from
paying the full penalty for a murder

Hopelessly entangled in the affairs of the woman

of doom, Lee Judson could see only one
His innocence was established in the murder probe.

f

“*

‘once before. . Desperately she clung

to the belief that it would save her
now.
However, the hours ticked slowly by
and there was no news. It looked like
curtains for Louise...

. A LITTLE BEFORE the turn of the

.Twentieth Century a young salesman

named Harry Bosley brought -his ‘15-
year~old bride to a rooming house in
Shreveport, La., proud of her imperious
beauty, anxious that she be well re-
ceived. ;

Within a month she was queen of the
place, and acted.every bit of the role.

Then abruptly Her Majesty was de-_

throned. The cause of the’ revolution
was the discovery in her room of sev-

way out.

FACT DETECTIVE YEARI

#3, 1947

eral pieces of jewelry and other valu-
ables which had disappeared from ‘the

“quarters of their owners.

Harry and Louise moved, the dis-

heartened groom thankful ‘that his
. wife’s. tender years, loveliness. and

charm had persuaded her robbery vic-
That, he firmly believed, would have

- been a tragedy. —

The real tragedy. probably was that
the girl was not then arrested and pun-

’ ished for her crime. Her going scot-free

after this venture settled in her selfish
mind the idea that’she was a creature
of destiny, above the laws men lived by.

The Bosleys went from Shreveport:to
Oklahoma City, far enough so that gos-

sip about Louise’s indiscretion would


alty. She was sen-
‘isonment; the state

er term at 20 years. -

riends who stood-by
eving in her. inno-
ic the way. this ill-
dd win and hold the
ragic often for the

nchest supporters in
and Margaret Logan,
r ceased their efforts |
After Harold Peete
1imself in 1929, the _
”s daughter into their,
her until her mar-

lucated, Mrs; Logan —
ie to time. before the
ng that Mrs. Peete be
1929, after serving 19
Louise was released’

; prison at Tehachapi
as her sponsor.

then, using the name
ee—with the parole
—Mrs. Peete held a
without tangling with
October of 1943, went |
;. Logan as a house-
xanion. Mrs. Logan,'a
itor, lived in a com-
713 Hampden Place in

\, while still living with |
ise Peete—under the
ee—married Lee Bor-
.essenger for the Bank
was 67, his bride 63.
£ 1944 Mrs. W. F. Weis-
role officer, visited the —
ict Attorney Fred N.
as directed ‘to Walter
he D. A.’s identification

antz two sheets of paper,
the law required. em-
ees to fill-out at regular

’s anything suspicious
’eete,” said Mrs. Weis-
1 full investigation is in
look these over care-

i them. One was dated
ned by Margaret Logan
hat Mrs. Peete—as she
yn—was regularly em-

ping within the terms of |
: second report was dated. =
44. It also stated that —

shaving herself and the
by Margaret Logan.
z noted quickly, the
different.” ;
I’m kere,” Mrs. Weis-
nee June someone other
an_has been signing these

eve the forgeries are by |

herself. There may be
ating circumstance, but
ake sure.”

that.o on reat Decem-

siping ete

ber 18; the district attorney called in
aptain Thad Brown of the city police
homicide detail and Inspector William
Penprase of the Los Angeles. County
» sheriff's staff and suggested that they
_make a thorough check upon Louise.

4 Neighbors in the Pacific Palisades
4 community had news that set the offi-
“cers to wondering. Not only was Louise
E living i in the Logan home with her new
| husband, but Arthur Logan had died
| in an insane asylum only two weeks _
~ earlier and Mrs. Logan had. not been
' seen since the first of June.

- “Mrs. Peete had told several stories to
© explain her absence, but the one ‘most,
| frequently given was that Arthu

Logan, in a rage, had beaten and dis-
p fgured his wife so horribly that she
| still was under the care of plastie*sur-
' geons and was therefore keeping out of
i ‘sight.
' But Louise also had said that her
‘lifetime friend and benefactress . was
) visiting in the East, that Mrs. Logan
» was in a sanitarium, that she was seek-
| ing to regain her health at a desert re-
"sort and that she was resting in a nurs-
hing home i in San Bernardino.

misadventure in the Denton home near-
‘ly a quarter-century before, Captain
‘Brown shuddered.

» He and Inspector Penprase went to
the mental institution in which Arthur
Togan had died on December 6. There

th e Sa ienat a AL of a an ala tet

| What was the truth?~ Recalling her -

they were told that Logan, 75, eects

had indeed twice been committed to the
place.

It was after his first release! in the
custody of his wife that his attack upon
her was supposed to have occurred. At
any rate, Mrs. Peete had returned him
to the asylum on June 2, 1944, posing
as his foster sister and explaining that’
he had gone berserk and injured Mrs.
ane

‘ During the next five months, accord-
ing to the hospital records, Logan re-
ceived not a single word by mail nor a

single visitor at the institution. His

death had been from natural causes.

“Who claimed the body?” Penprase
asked.

“We received a wire signed ‘Mrs.
Logan,” instructing us to turn over the
remains to some school for medical re-
search,” said the hospital official whom
the detectives were interviewing.

"Tragic Mistake”

Penprase and Brown reported to the
district attorney. Meanwhile Investi-
gator Lentz had checked with several
banks and learned where Mrs. Logan’s
account was kept. It had not been used
since -May 21, when a $3 draft was
cleared. However,~on‘May 19 a teller

_had phoned Mrs. Logan to question her

signature on a $200 check which had

. been endorsed’ by Mrs. Peete and by

her husband, Judson.
Logan.told the bank official

Margaret
ne to let the check go through. She said

Captain Thad Brown (lett) and Lieutenant R
stand behind. the woman held responsible for many
deaths. “Why don't you confess?" Brown asked her.

District Attorney Fred N. Howser (left) and Walter
Lentz, his chie
the case. Their work brought about a death sentence.

investigator, inspect evidence in

4

Vaughn

“Mrs. Lee” would drop by to make it
good.

“Apparently,” said Lentz, “Louise had
forged this piece of paper, but -Mrs.
Logan was willing to take the loss rather
than see Mrs. Peete go back to prison.”

“A tragic mistake,” the D. A. decided.
“For I’m sure that not long afterward
something happened to Margaret Logan
—something more than a beating at the
hands of an insane husband.”

Handwriting experts already had de-
termined that the last parole reports
on Louise Peete were forgeries. Here
was cause enough for action and the
able young district attorney was re-
solved to act. If there was nothing else,
Mrs. Peete could be held for violation
of her parole.

Captain Brown headed the two car-
loads of detectives who went to the
Logan. home, reaching the trim Pacific
Palisades dwelling early in the eve-
ning.

Officers surrounded the place while
Brown and Detective Lieutenants Ray
Vaughn and Harry Hansen went to the
door of the stucco bungalow.

Mrs. Peete answered the bell. None
of the detectives ever had seen her
before. Brown looked at the tastefully
dressed woman, heard her strong, sure,
musical voice, looked into her wonder-
ing blue eyes and for a moment doubted
that this creature could’ have been the
author of all the misery charged up
against her.

“Well?” she said. (Cont'd on pagé 93) 35

rv


of jewelry and other valu-
had disappeared from the
their owners. :
d Louise moved, sors pron
groom thankful t
er years, loveliness. and *
sersuaded her robbery vic-
it summoning the police.
mly believed, would have

edy. 0
tragedy- probably was that

not then arrested and pun-" |

rerime. Her going scot-free
enture settled in her selfish
lea that she was a creature

a

ibove the laws men lived by. - q

ys went from Shréveport:to :
Dity, far enough so that gos-
Louise’s indiscretion would

ae ‘net-give-it time- te follow. Within 2
| .couple of months she and Harry were _
beautiful

adel

not catch up with them. Even so, she did

enroute to Dallas because ©

Louise again had been caught stealing.
The next three years saw several

repetitions of the Shreveport and Okla-

homa City embarrassments for Harry

Bosley, but on each- occasion when
Louise was exposed: as a thief her
charms. saved her from. police action.
Finally Bosley gave up and left her.
Some months later the Louisiana

; beauty appeared-in Boston where she

represented herself as Louise Gould,
a Southern heiress with estates in

~ Europe. It is not of record that she
made great headway with the Beacon

Street Brahmins, but there were plenty

tS

Wr aca | Mrs. Louise Peete Judson wept copiously during one

of her hearings in court. She repeatedly denied
that she murdered her friend and buried the corpse.

Left: Trying to solve the strange disappearance of
Mrs. Margaret Logan, the police dug into a flower
bed. A foot and.a half down they uncovered a body!

ae

33


of moneyed socialites in Boston who ac-

cepted the lovely Louise—until her pen- .

chant for taking-other people’s posses-

sions made it expedient for her to leave.
She quit Boston with plenty of money

and still without the blemish of a police

report. Back in Dallas, the cold-blooded

little minx became involved in a big-

time diamond theft and for the first
time tragedy touched .her life.

’ . Louise managed to get out from under
when the gem heist was exposed, but
Harry Fauroto, a hotel clerk to whom
she had given a $700 ring, committed
suicide because of the scandal.

- How the young adventuress spent the
next couple of years in obscure. Then
she met and married Harold Peete, a

’ Denver salesman, and settled down for
a considerable time. She bore a daugh-
ter. But by the spring of 1920, when
she first turned up in Los~ Angeles,
Louise and Peete were estranged.

In the California city, Mrs. Peete, a ©

poised, matronly beauty of 39, answered
a newspaper ad and became house-
keeper for Jacob Charles Denton, a

‘ mining millionaire who kept a mansion
in the Wilshire district.

In June, Denton’s daughter Frances,
then 16, went to the district attorney’s
office saying she had not for some time
heard from her father, from whom she
lived. apart.

Investigator Charles Jones was as-
signed to make an inquiry. Denton, he

learned, had not been seen anywhere, °

neither at home nor in his usual haunts,
for a couple of months. The neighbors
were gossiping about his new house-

keeper; how could Louise Peete afford .
the finery she’d been sporting on the ©

income of a domestic?

Body i in the Cellar

While Jones and Russ Avery, who
handled much-of  Denton’s legal busi-
ness, were quietly probing into Denton’s
whereabouts, Louise moved to Denver.
She had made large purchases in Los
Angeles, using Denton’s charge ac-
counts, and while in Denver she col-
lected the rent from tenants tg whom
she had leased the Denton home. ©

When Avery and Investigator Jones

.

‘heard of loads of dirt and cement which

had been delivered to the Denton ad-
dress, they pressed for a search of the
premises. Louise had explained that
she was merely burying some posses-

sions of Denton’s Jate wife because they

kept reminding her employer of his be- -

loved mate’s death.
Walled up in, the cellar, the probers

. found Denton’s body. He had been mur-_

dered. Taxed with his slaying, Louise
told a fantastic tale. She claimed that
the corpse, badly. decomposed, was not
that of Charles Denton but of a man’
whom Denton himself had shot and
buried there. As a result of his crime,

Mrs. Peete insisted, Denton had van-.
' ished. |

Brought to trial in January of 1921,
Louise refused to take the stand in her

own, defense and was convicted of first

degree murder. But the jury, having
looked for days into her limpid blue
eyes, weakened when it came to assess-

Mrs. Margaret Logan made a fatal mis-
take when she protected Mrs. Peete on
a pees charge of forging a_ check.

re bedi in bo "oth Mrs. Peete

posed’ for the photo at left at the _

TE ., NE RRR GNI te ee Uaeaa wae rR
FLD XS Cas gael ce ae aay 2" Vepocaph eared

ing the death penalty. She was sen-
tenced to life imprisonment; the state
prison board set’ her term at 20 years.

Mrs. Peete had friends who stood-by
her, honestly. believing in her. inno-
cence. It was tragic the way, this ill-
starred woman could win and hold the
faith of friends—tragic often for the
friends themselves.

Among her staunchest supporters in
1921 were Arthur and Margaret Logan,
a couple who never ceased their efforts
in Louise’s behalf. After Harold Peete
shot and killed himself in 1929, the

Logans took Louise’s daughter into their

home and reared her until her mar-
riage. ~

Kindly, well-educated, Mrs, Logan
appeared from time to time. before the

. parole board, urging that Mrs. Peete be

freed. Finally, in 1929, after serving 19

of her 20 years, Louise was released’

from the women’s prison at Tehachapi
with Mrs. Logan as her sponsor.

For four years then, using the name
_of Lou Ann Lee—with the parole
board’s sanction—Mrs. Peete held a
number. of jobs without tangling with

the police and, in October of 1943, went |

to work for Mrs. Logan as a house-
keeper and companion. Mrs. Logan,'a

real estate operator, lived in a -com-"~
- fortable home at 713 Hampden Place in

Pacific Palisades.

On May 2, 1944, while still living with ©

the Logans, Louise Peete—under the

name of Mrs. Lee—married Lee Bor-

den. Judson, a messenger for the Bank

of America. He was 67, his bride 63.
In December of 1944 Mrs. W. F. Weis-

brod, a state parole officer, visited the

\offices of District Attorney Fred N.

Howser and was directed ‘to Walter
Lentz, chief of the D. A's identification
bureau.

She handed Lentz two sheets of paper,
reports which the law required em-
ployers of me ea to fill: out at regular
intervals. |

“When there’s- ‘anything ‘suspicious

about Louise Peete,” said Mrs. Weis-
brod, “I think a full investigation is in
order. Please look shoes over care-

fully.”

Lentz studied them. One was dated
June 1, was signed by Margaret Logan
and certified that Mrs. Peete—as she
was still- known—was regularly em-

ployed and keeping within the terms of
her parole. The second report was dated. =|
August 1, 1944, It also stated that-

Louise was behaving herself and the
signature was by Margaret Logan.
“But,” Lentz noted quickly, “the

‘handwriting is different.”

“That's why I’m here,” Mrs. Weis-
brod said. “Since June someone other
than Mrs. Logan has been signing these

“papers. I believe the forgeries are by

Louise Peete herself. There may be

some extenuating. circumstance, but
-swe'd better make sure.” ; "4
‘ time. of her first trial fo der... Thusi t

ber 18, the
Captain Tha
homicide de
_ Penprase of
sheriff's sta/
make a thor
‘ Bea Neighbors
/. community
> cers to wonc
living in the
© husband, bi
>. in an insan
; earlier and
-) seen since t!
» ~Mrs. Peet:
* . explain her
| frequently
©. figured his
= still was un:
> geons and w
» sight.
> But Loui
lifetime fric
Visiting in |
»- Was in a san
» ing to regair
| sort and tha
» ing home in
© What was
+ misadventur
-ly a quarte
Eprown shuc
‘He and Ii
Ethe mental i
*Logan had d
btney were to
the represen

_ grapbed for this morning. |
The cause of the shovting was the

) action for divorea against the husband ,
| which . was commenced about two |
A, months ago but which has been contest- |
fi! ed by him. The grounds for the appli-
' cation are extreme cruelty and failure to
| provide. ‘Owens was specially aggrieved
‘at the marriage of his daughter on Sep-
' tember 30th last to Tiedemann, and the
| husband’s actions at that time were
‘ such as to lead the wife to bring: action
| for divorce. Since the pendency of the
suit Mra. Owens bas been making her
fi home with Mr. and Mre. Tiedemann,
H+ and the husband went there to commit
the foul crime.

Owens was arrested by Sheriff Purvis
and Deputy Waterhouse and taken to
the county jail. —He was in a semi-
stupid condition, or at least feigning so,
when a News representative called to
ask if he had astatement to make. He
complained of great pain in his head
aud the bullet caused a large swelling at
the point of egiess.

Since nis wife left him he has-been
around town in a dejected frame of mind
and usually uncommunicative, bat no
one: who knew him thought for a
moment that he contemplated aseassi-
nation and self-destruction. He was
usually of a quiet disposition and has
never been considered a quarrelaome
man, but the brutal and fiendish acts ofa
cowardly heart brand him as a monster,
and on all sides he was harably con
demned, 2

On Saturday morning last, very early,
the memibera of the Tiedemann house
hold heard a noise at the door but snp-
posed. it was caused by the milk man
and bat little attention was paid to it

a


‘train and returned on the train. whicb
left here thé sane day at 2:17 p. m.

Owene had long been. # resident of | ~
this county and«war lA carpenter. He |
was a native of Penneylvama, aged 50 |
‘| years, and was well known to most ail |
of the residents of Modesto. In’ every
day life he was quiet, but when excited
be exhibited a vicione temper, and
probably owing to this oct he
forfeited his life. 9

The wile, whose Ji’ e he took. “was one
of the muvat highly respected women 1n |
this city. By her death 8 ¢ hild unborn |
was deprived of life. ; oak:
; “Ae far as learned there has been no re- |
| of. George Cc. ‘Owens. ‘tbie morning “was quest tor: the remains to be brought ‘tof

remarkable in two respects. Ho made thia county for interment eo in all prob:

ability the burial will take Wie: ‘at fan |
Quentin, Ps oe ee gg rE

a manly and pathetic speech from “the

is ecaffold. He died so inetantaneouely
that Dr. Lawlor, the prison poysielae,

ordinary. 1D his experience. :

Owens waa recently ‘baptized in the
Catholic faith, and was attended on the
gallows by Revi Father Logan, of San.
Rafael. Owene wore a brown acapular
around bis neck which ‘had. been given

1 Boe ans ‘dislodged ‘the scapular. ex

ee his neck His voice was clear,
bot trembled with emotion. He said:
‘Gentlemen, lam about to depart for
‘my everlasting home. I killed my wife,
the woman I loved, and have never
ceased to love her, I go to the grave
with that strong love in my heart. 1
killed the only woman I loved, hut was
&y not then in my ‘right mind, My God in
Heaven knows it. Good bye.” —
; ~ Immediately after he bad finiehed

talking the cap was slipped over hie head
=\and the trap eprung at 10:343g. ~-Dr.:
| Lawlor “detected. absolutely. no respire-
‘tion in the guepended body, aod after |
the firet balf minute there was no ‘pulse.

| There was no ‘muscular action at any

time. The neck wae completely broken


until next morning when it was found
that a door key had been used and had
become doubled into the lock and could
not .be removed.- Then they felt satis-
fied that Owens had tried to-ygain en-
trance and in the light of thig morning’s
moet cowardly and distressing affair
gives riee to tha belief that be tried to
get in and murder them ste bey wero |
asleep.

District Attorney Folkerth and Official |
Stenogranher Leek went to the acene of |
the horrible crime this morning and
took the dying declaration of Mrs,
Owens, ° Tt is ag follows: :

+ ~ MRA, ‘OWENS’ DYING STATEMENT.

“Lf have abandoned all hope of living, | ie
I ate I am pineal ponased that I}:

| And Wounds His. Daughter—He
: Then Shoots Himself in
‘the Head.

This city wae thrown jato. an intense
excitement thie morning by the avs
that George Cc. Owens, the carpent:r,
+ had about 9 o’clock gone to the houe¢of
“| his son-in: law, W.F. pieces corser

momenta eat Shot wae twice—once in
the atomach—once in the chest, I left
him because I thought he was untrue to
me and I commenced auit for divorce.
We coald not agree ‘about the children. |
{I thought he did— not care for me any |
a} more, have “been stopping with my |
son-in: law, Tiedemann, for about. two
monthe. George came to the house this
morning. Mr. Tiedemann is away from
home. | “George wanted me to come back
aud five with him. I eaid I didn’t want
‘JHe said that Etta (Mrs.
mac n) told bim that I would not. .7
Iwas muety better away from him,
sbulles said bee could not live without me.
a short ab ithe: “pulled out a_pistol. -and then shot)
tance from the back. _Dr, Surryhne me Without saying anything further. I
tended the lady and the bullet was ¢~ was at tie breakfast table and begged |
tracted and the injury found to be slixt. | bim not to shoot, He shot me twice.
: : ig Then he shot. at “Etta once. Ie was
Owens ‘torned the pistol on himeelf val standing up: ‘when he stot me both
Batters to. blow his. brains out, bt shote, - IT jomped- ‘up before ‘he shot.
q@ his aim wag “uncertain and. the bulh | Etta was sitting at the table too. She
BD only grazed ithe top of the head an |jumped up wheu I did and after ghoot-
| came out near ‘the crown.” When fond ing me twice shot her. The only thing
he was covered with. blood and was lyid I suid to, (cause | chim to shoot me was
e ina semi- -conecious state and it. was Br that I thoughts we could live better
‘| believed that he had encceeded in endin apart. I had not refused to go back to
S| hie own existence, bnt later he rallie him. I desire Etta to have all my. prop-
and it was fouod that his injury walerty ii she lives. I make this. state-
*\ only slight. .He spoke of the attempte| ment realizing that I cannot live and
|| assaseination and eaid that he emptiel have abandoned all hope of life.”
“A his pistol and reloaded it. He also ex Subsequently Mra. Owens made a will
pressed regret that he had not a chanc{i

in which she bequeathed her property
to kill Tiedemann, a8 he would then bv

to, Mra. Tiedemann and her daughter
_ Daisy, who isa minor, and who was at
. Beven’ shots. were ‘fired by the fiend idechool at the time of the shooting. —
took The Owene family Spied Men: ‘of bie:
A effect. One of the bullets was found iweng, the inother, Mre. C. AL Dannt,

the sink i in “the ‘kitchen ~ and had goneMrs.. W.-F, Tiedemann; of thia ity,
| through. a brusb and made a slight deatHerbert Owens and Jasper Oweng, of

bis wile and daughter. A regs rus
to thea scene and Mrs. Owens wag, for

a in the woodwork, Three of the pistol
shells: “wh: ich ‘he had taken out of the
‘pistol wore found on the floor near him.

~ What. mak 3 the shooting of Mra.
*}! Owens all the more -heartlesa and fiend-
‘lish is the fact that she is about to be-

come a mother. e te

Tiedemann was not at sagt having
‘gohe to Pacheco, ‘Contra’ Costa county,
4 on Saturday ast “3

attend the ee ofl

og Apgeles, and Daisy Owene, who
ved with her mother and tister. All
ar. excellent’ reputations and the sad
w8 of the terrible deed of tlre mad-
ned and infuriated husband and ACCT
yet a gloom over thia city. :
The pistol used was a 38 calibre Simith
Wesson five-shooter. _

{re, Owens was failing this ahtecméon

it is believed that ‘he cannot pos


The crime for which Owens paid the
| penalty with his life was that of killing
| hia wife, Ruth Owens, in this city on
' December “13, 1897. For about two
mohthe prior to the murder iira, Owens
| bad lived at the home of her son-in-law
|and daughter, W. F. Tiedemann and
| wife, on the corner of Fourteenth and
'G streeta in this city. The wife was ap-
| plying for a divorce on the grougd of
| @xtreme crueity, ~
< Owens went tu the house about 9:30
clock in the morning and recneated
bia wife to return und life With him,
“she replied that she thought it were
better that they Should live apart. He
thereupon drew a pistol and ebot ber in
the breast. ‘He turned the pietol upon
/ ile daughter, Mra. Tiedemann, and shot
_ler, but the wound was not dangerous
‘and she soon recovered. Mra. Owens
| lingered until next afternoon and died
‘rom the result of the injury inflicted by
\her husband, Owens then ehot himself
‘to the head but the’ injury was only a
| superficial scalp wound, For a time he
| was _unconsciove and it was believed
‘that he had ended his own life. Soon
after he recovered conscionsnesa and
asked to be given a pistol that he might
shoot more of his relatives,

At bis trial he testified that hig life for
three days prior. to the shooting had |
been @ perfect blank, and that he did |
not come to his senses until he found:
himself locked up in the county jail,
He was tried at the February term of
the Superior Court in 1898, and founa
guilty of murder in the firet degree aud
the jury fixed the penalty of death. The
day set for the execution by Judge Minor
was May 25th, 1898, but a Stay of execu-
tion was had and an appeal was taken
‘to the Supreme Court. On February
1?th of the present year the Supreme
| Coart affirmed the decision and verdict
| of the lower court, On Saturday, March
| 15th Owene wag brought to Modeato and
‘the day for carrying out the sentence
| was eet for Friday, April 21st. The pro
ceeds were very ehort and Owens was
Drought to this eaty on the 1:38 p, m,

*
i Dat nae ‘
“ Pisa aie ok Li Eads. Sehr
ee ee tet tertgetens msn ansmsmsersisoan i oes


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LOWE'S
Dept. DW, Holland Bldg., St. Louis, Mo.

76

theory that robbery had been the motive.
However they had no way of: knowing
whether or not Fuller had any valuables
in the first place.

They did find several personal letters
addressed to Fuller from relatives in Chi-
cago. They took them so that the family
could be notified.

In questioning other tenants of the
building, the detectives learned two im-
portant things. A woman who lived across
the hall from Fuller’s apartment, said
that she had heard loud voices about
8:30 o’clock the evening before. She was
sure that one of them was Fuller’s. “But
they weren’t angry, or fighting,” she
added. “Just loud.”

“How many voices were. there?” Giese
asked.

“Two are all I heard,” she said.

“Could you understand anything that
was said? Even a word or two?”

“I didn’t understand anything,” she

said. “I really didn’t pay any attention.” .

A man who lived down the hall near
the stairway said that he had seen two
men .gcing toward Fuller’s apartment
around 7 o’clock. “Neither one was Mr.
Fuller,” he said. “One was a young fellow
who has been around here before. I didn’t
know the other one at all.”

“Can you describe them?” Sanderson
asked hopefully. BN
« “It was kind of dark,” he replied. ‘“Nev-
er saw them very well. Not even sure if

the one was that fellow who stayed with -

Fuller sometimes. But when I come to
think about it, I never did see those fel-
Icws go out.”~

The officers could find no one else who
had seen the two men leave the building,
although two other tenants had seen two
strange men in the building at about that
time.

Anderson suggested that the men might
have left by the rear stairway which was
on the outside of the building. “I don’t
know why they would do that,” he said,
“but then sometimes people do use that
stairway.” Z

“They would have good reason to want
to avoid being seen,” Sanderson said.

“Or they could have had a car parked
in the alley,” Giese guessed. “Let’s have
a look out that way. Maybe some one
saw it.”

With Anderson showing them the way,
they walked to the rear and down the
flights of steps. On the landing to the
first floor, Sanderson, whose eyes were
never still when he was investigating a
murder case, noticed an envelope on the
edge of a step. Almost automatically he
picked it up.

The envelope had been stepped on and
was dirty. He waited until they reached
the ground before brushing it off and
locking at the address. It was addressed
to “Mr. Harry F, Goold, General De-
livery, Metropolitan Station, Los An-

geles, California.” Jt was empty, and
Sanderson started to toss it aside, then
looked at it again.

“This one of your tenants?” he showed
the envelope to Anderson.

Anderson looked at the name. “No,”
he said. “It's no one living here that I
know about.” .

“Must have come from the building,”
Sanderson said thoughtfully. He noticed
that it had been postmarked at Hunting-
ton Park, omnia, and that a return
address on the back listed 7919 Elizabeth
Avenue, South Gate, California. Both
cities, he knew, lay along the eastern
edge of the city of Los Angeles.

“That could have been dropped by
someone getting down the stairs in a
hurry,” Giese ‘said.

“Could have,” Sanderson nodded. He
stuck the envelope in his pocket. “At
least it has-an address.”

There was no indication that a car
had been parked in the alley, and tenants
in the rear apartments could not recall
having seen one. If the two strange men
seen going toward Fuller’s apartment had
fled by the rear stairway, there was no
evidence of it.

The canvass of the area for a Frank
Jones failed to turn a single clue to the
man, However one pair of officers did
learn of a woman who did laundry. She
was not at home at the time, and they
promised to check witb her the next morn-
ing or later that night if she returned
home.

Be was evening before Sanderson and

Giese returned to the Homicide Bu-
reau, where Captain Davidson waited for
their report. “Then all we've got is a
package of laundry for Frank Jones,”
Davidson commented after he heard the
details, “And\that might be a phony
name.”

Detective Lieutenant Ryan, a_ thick

- Set_ man who spoke in short, clipped

phrases, was listening to the reports.
“Check the Record Bureau on him. May-
be we’ve got something on him,” he sug-
gested,

“Good,” Davidson agreed. “You and
Sanderson go ahead with this case .We’ve
got another one I'd like for Giese to get
ontc.” . .

Sanderson and Ryan took time out for

-@ quick dinner and to call their homes

that they would not be home until later.
Then they went to the Record Bureau
and asked for g check of any men named
Frank Jones on file,

They found five such men with vary-
ing middle names. But two of them were
dead; one was in the County Jail; one
was in San Quentin; and the other one
was sixty-six years old.

“Looks like we drew a blank,” Ryan
said.

“Looks so,” Sanderson said. Then he

femen
out. ”
“give
Won't
all.”
Twr
return:
Goold
four ye
eral ti
with b
of ins
“He
though
Anders
staying
He -
be our
a run
this gu
Twe:
ping in
in Sou
noticec
man w
same ;
bell ar
docr. °
velope
Whe:
had le
greeted
had th
Harry
her.
The
questic
autom<
“Wh:
“But b
your \
- They
she shi
letter,
@® 3 had ti:
deliber
where
caught
a seat
Rya:
woman
mobile
This
that
Harry
althoug
see the
Armstr:
Mrs.
had ke:
friend
was ni
Genera!
“Did
name
Mrs
lieve J
name. |
Sand
Ryan. |}


remembered the envelope. He pulled it
out. “Just for luck,” he told the clerk,
“give us a check on a Harry F. Goold.
Won't be many by that name ,if any at
all.”

Two cr three minutes later the clerk
returned with a file card on Harry F.
Goold. 11 showed that he was twenty-
four years old, and had been arrested sev-
eral times. He had once been charged
with burglary but had escaped on a plea
of insanity.

“He’s psycho, huh?" Sanderson said
thoughtfully. He remembered that Mrs.
Anderson had said that the young man
staying with Fuller had had strange eyes.

He tcld Ryan about it. “That could
be our connection,” he said.,“‘Let’s take
a run out to South Gate and see who
this guy really is.” :

Twenty minutes later they were stop-
ying in front of 7919 Eljzabeth Avenue
in South: Gate. Just ahedd of them they
noticed a U. S. Mail. truck. A uniformed
man was stepping upon the porch of the
same address. They waited. He rang the
bell and an elderly woman opened the
dour. The messenger handed her an en-
velope and she signed a receipt for it.

When the special delivery messenger
had left, they rang the bell and were
greeted by the same woman, who still
had the letter in her hand, “Does Mr.
Harry Goold live here?” Sanderson asked
her. .

The elderly woman looked at them
questioningly. “We're checking up on an
automobile accident,” Ryan said.

“Why, yes, he is my son,” she said.
“But he is not here now. Could I help
your Will you come in?”

They gladly accepted her invitation. As
she showed them in she laid the opened
letter, which she obviously had not yet
had time to read, on a stand. Sanderson
deliberately maneuvered to seat himself
where he could see the letter. Ryan, who
caught what Sanderson was doing, took
a seat on ‘the opposite side of the room.

Ryan immediately began asking the
woman a lot ‘of questions about an auto-
mobile accident which ‘never happened.
This gave Sanderson a chance to see
that the letter on the stand was from
Harry Goold. He could not see all of it,
although it was very brief, but he did
see the last sentence. “Write me as Jack
Armstrong, General Delivery, San Diego.”

Mrs. Goold told Ryan that her son
had been living in Los Angeles with a
friend. She did not know who the friend
was nor where he lived. “I wrote him
General Delivery,” she said,

“Did he ever mention a man by the
name of Fuller?” Sanderson cut in.

Mrs. Goold thought a moment. “I be-
lieve 1 have heard him mention that
name. I’m not sure.”, .

Sanderson shot a meaningful glance at
Ryan. Ryan terminated the interview

They thanked Mrs. Goold and left quick-
ly. As the door closed behind them, San-
derson jabbed Ryan in the ribs. “This
js it.” he exclaimed. “That's the guy who
has been living with Fuller, I’m dead sure.
He’s taken off and written his mother
special delivery. He told her to write him
under the name of Jack Armstrong, Gen-
eral Delivery, San Diego.”

Ras back to the homicide bu-
reau, they telephoned Davidson at

“his home. “We're pulling a picture of

the guy from the file. If the people at
the apartment house say that’s him, we're
taking off for San Diego, General De-
livery.”

“Good.” Davidson said. “You'd better
take off too. I mean fly. Get a plane.”

Although the Andersons were not posi-
tive, they were reasonably sure that the
picture of Goold taken from the file was
that of the man who had been living
with Fuller, “It’s the same funny eyes,”
Mrs. Anderson said.

A few hours later Sanderson and Ryan
were on a plane for San Diego. They
went directly to the San Diego Police
Department, who promised them any
help they needed. They caught a short
nap on the desk in the Detective Bureau
and ate an early breakfast. At eight
o'clock they were at the San Diego Post
Office when the General Delivery window
opened. :

All morning they watched each person
who went up to the General Delivery
windcw but didn’t see anyone who even
resembled Harry Goold. By noon they
were weary and began taking turns. One
watched while the other rested on the
stone steps outside.

Ryan was watching the window around
2 o'clock in the afternoon when he saw
a man he was sure was Harry Goold
approach the window. As he left the win-
dow without any mail, Ryan was close
behind him. At the door he called to
Sanderson and the two of them quickly
overtook the unsuspecting Goold.

Gocld’s flashing grey eyes flared at
them. “You' can’t do this to me,” he
cried. “Who are you?” -

Ryan ran his hand over Goold’s cloth-
ing feeling for any concealed weapon.
He found none. Sanderson waved down
a taxi cab and they hustled Goold off to
the San Diego Police Station.

Goold’s defiance soon melted. With un-
expected suddenness he said, “Sure, 1
did it. Well, not all of it. Frank really
did it. He clipped him a neat one. Frank
got most of the money. 1 only got ten
bucks. But you can’t convict me because
I'm crazy.” His strange grey eyes darted
from one to the other. “You can't con-
vict a crazy man”

“Who is Frank?” Ryan demanded.
“Frank Jones?”

Goold laughed, “Jones isn't his name

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PARISI, Mguro, white, hanged San Q,,entin (Fresno) 6-29-1923

\

a

“D0 SUMMERTIME| |
YOBHNG FRESNO} \

: rte Motte: £tne penned te
H er Ofte OL the): weather be-
Tp Pee cady et: nig the éntinary

Spe

Rene

oa

‘Derren ipavedings- Ore the: ptreet | -
Lifer ettting fis shade. iOF near.
| the: electric. fray! ax AN we ips

tees:
. elit,

hShak heats wa
pe We We BP ionielt:

trem ‘+
ee Jiet,
weather he observe} Ao redscrels
[yesterday wae teri: 97. a4.
Pacers that, way when: the isin |
{RS Coe hie heat end CR le }
Perens. Atpnis: woRACe Beh) Snap P|
£ Jdow! ters peratates Tar: the eame' ¢ if *
~Pdaceh test! tow Wada tnt 61" 4 :
ce satis rai {Cahn\ Endeavors) “ES,
Terie’ Oe rekne eal be? very it ei! oh abit rhe
wall Betied with theltemperc: [op Sine Firm: 4254
A tite “romeycherg. | around ‘one: ‘
bandred: degréds, patcording!, to!
Prediction SThe! ichatrices: | ‘are
shat the athermometer, twetil

te

ayn: :
i¥ed

enna Lee eee ae

TReiecenl In Bankruptch’
i; i

“Fagny Bureau Requests
a Consider. Case’

| Tead To. ‘Possible ;

eS Oe

PF such And Patrons
+ May Welcome New

Hite will tigate Geftect “1p Fresne
Ritar od few weexs an the resait of
ston (othe tity commiesion yes-
4 Lerisla tive Commissioner
USeteee! ie Shatp offered a mption
ing fer the Fireparation of as

from BF ‘the’ tity atrerney re«

ted sorts ene hour parking limit

Uretiett “AA additional motion
shen en) passed to .corisider the _

: reese hed baying been-intrrduced

: sesSion in order te

riféctive Gate of the

ing; apparel ‘
wit continue’ “in heres os _
until July; 15, the ‘dat
adication: by Referee:
; { sop jwhen the local’ étore ane an
ibe. declared soivent.ior. sal dent) ;
das = one lastnight) «|

The ‘future ‘of the; stra :

ere Tihancial f and busittess— “Ar
Prangenients’ which Max! Sane: ap.

ye dettars tentatively: appropriated eratet: eve hishen (in the next
Seer toa Commission. with which”

PCG Certain Jaws have tae ee!
heae

few idAys.- Mr? -Rbnnete: says
eae istein cant texperiment
FF =)
7 aus. + Chief oft» Police ank,: A 2 Sop ashes w
fed, there .—

suipbur aie ;
Spee she ie

eee “Ga spern |}
uses in te eters se % AL the present! time,’ Peer

tent to: ASsisuamet Cee

2 Cobdey/yestergag: = | +

Fs Petition usseavolunta ry Dk upt s+

acy) was. filed indbLos: ‘Angelés.:Mon-}

day! By AGorney :

who i$ representing ithe

H¥editard! who are three

hptding.; ere Sir gee”

concern!

ay jimi ‘Cabn’s Triends. itt sas.

yeeterday ‘thatthe . move. waa: don ef

t0-prevent unfriendty- interests Ba

Jevvingian attachment; against vy!

“-) {ghousiness The tore: Cahn wad fable

dedicat! Straighten out chis 1% fy

tr of thei ‘motion By. :
Fy Mel wetter the saeeting, wis.
le resait of a conference Between
Wiillain’ Stranahan. conitnissioner of
Hecs works.) H: BoP atterson, B.. E.
meee Be the. “fate! bureau and
5 eterday< He added that he
5 orbs also been advised ty the decree
} tary of | the Fresrii/Merchant#’ as<
foe top ! that’ it:was' its’ desire te
unlimited “parking. of tf at
Js give the scheme a trial.”
hhe «Fremnd® County Chaiaper of
FS Ty) Soe Qo t@ommerée,! the! Fyeano Merchants"
f ‘ : ane set oA A qa .4 > OO we adsaci ation: ‘end the Fresno ¢ounty
if Qlfferent inthe party we a aa rs whi . ‘ ag m, Dire are satisfied with teagan
@ time;* ec to’. the: time |. Course 5 ive redenes ‘i Bate, become 1 ‘somewhat volved dde . Tectigne of the® ‘City commission in
Pight act. hetume © ‘effective, wep hex Freaqosslate icollege. foil nd to; hravy _expenditures’ snd) Hess or > i th Fils, cere the hour parking Limit, it
them./ net fourth- of the: Tineb changed only Hythe, dictation “of ee from.4he-1920 fire) 0: he for: ‘thurder

7 This fund te: merely’a/ larger: ae
Ban the” J9° :Golars sap- |.
Opriated by the: *commission © tast?

etectives.: whose
Foxyment will be. more
TOOL: PIGEON, PAY ae; Tybee i 3 y,
too! pigeons were‘pald de ‘ tei 1 en me

&

oF : gta pears ‘Yesterday,
posed “oh: the. defendant! againat}’ fe beara ‘etication’. nd, not at Novipetition! for ‘thé | \appeintment U m2 Mw é ATISFACTO Y
hon théy ‘secured evidence.» This re: tie sak ae gata 4 of atreferee has ‘béen! filed-‘and, it!) ewig Ht: Sinit : . MOVES R
the behest: of Airs.» t Wilgearbart tnd Fh J) Ca Hine. LATHE ‘atinowAtsment was made by
ntinued for @, while, and then;we Ne Lie! ante si Was, intimated. that) a-crettlament th romecutlo OF the, ease es piv isi Pace i
falling ‘off in. the 1, / might be ettected outside a retéreera) tet piohigd oS x <r . Manager” of the
Pierce of the
rol, bas unl

-#f eommerce, fotto ress
mber bs Who “Ve boardof, amp i Wing

ch “employments This. condition, |

ey said, came: frony the fact: that
Steat numberof" their: cases rée-

ted in a Yat! sentence: for the: del}

Ndant, for which gney,t rcetrea, ‘bat
dollara, he =

: fomted arstricn
Se. “and: myself then- decided:

5 thes

would, be necessary: td, int 4

pay ta one third of the

je for.)
sage a
District? ;

* would < pay aa}!

t sur of: one hen dollarey inst

‘of the! college) as
verted Yeatertia its ub
Fi eve assert}.

. reduce the jterm
‘trainitige General? elementary:
fro

pb hae yi (Fterce;

ad cf = percentageiof the: finés|.

he sane; eum: would:
the Retentane, rece

he we, payment: Swart

oe when, the commission decrewi}:

abolition . of ; the’ afool © pigeon
tem >. Money waa nevér: paid: ‘the

paby

the ted ie p

pet jaeun Bune 260),
riporte

dqdded % ichdog

; othogen
ne until a conviction haa! tte terehsi
‘ Pehies sand)thia © feats: mot: ‘toda ok ole i

by iedk.to a fow *abuase: of the

=

at jay

PIs to. The oa Santa of: insolVenc
Lwwhich it As thohght will be done i

math Afat.i1e
8) amounting
while sth? here
wereinefther pan: fy uy
ret iat preference ine f4 or et

14

es sito refinance: tie ual ;
and} continue: are: being! madé
hn, whe: wired from New ¥

se ae

setverul .groupa;e
the: flngpcing on ‘auen ia
ve Off the yi ior bie 45; Seng

tr frie

+ bunlhieks SrpcDelievids tebbe! in etn s

proceédin faifed: othe ‘intarents
enaly pag ‘Lah * “1 who are wie
ines <a apérmie hin, to fontinue io’

2

ret. We witua tion) which fey
tah é

lente J eth endeavoring : 401

Ww: Fichardsonsthiat
to night ti ith

A oT he: three petitioners’ Re
pre

parish's
the’ Pres
an: omit

enowhy dui

. koVetnny Bhat: Balad

his wet
Rat ahe

4 iitntton wor

it

entiet of guilty At it ;

HO [stréethRubway aos

SPiptiot. word . of the action of the _
ives he 3

H Teumman G

. Hart called the
the honim@tssion to-the:
SOF: “stich” action ‘ex, thts

eae! “@ hardship on the.

ot: * ht,
Wision -

Fd t ¢
OR. Palit es oR of budaet)

ye ks the! trial. ty

; i era
forex olvery: at

baile
of erPosea,

vf tonak “men:

RE Qu JEST
06 inpiletions be

f had etn?
a ris for that
Hie vals leanpinitteds N6!
ae ‘act a made aby

FIAEEH tas,

is Fea RGae abe «
petty ata A Ste 2%

fxn. etore i Peg :

tes ee (ol gio

reement ots the time. limit

28 Cemiploy ihis sit hiatke

oS potieet- Lor's the
ey ad the. reaidentin} sections.

ttuient™ The department’.
Paid, ais ‘officers * who’
marking caré by way

Of the ordinance. }In his
mate, ‘Chief of Po
pani Yor. four
Officers | to

agi ae

Se io" doubt mean that
Fedidestisfor /RGditional men will
The. Whiefor police, he.
probably. ie instructed
ts for the ~
for ORL he asked. addte

civen SUPPORT

in” directing

where there
Commissioner

ould certainiy

ther request Of the chief -of
additiona&® men te

AnSthee imotion, intreduced by
cP. fab} Petite Sharp, that: te te the
Spas aril aka kit's the Scomitrisaton thal oan

a) She

pert fo inves tlente eon
pasearcmcats should, ba

matt


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WINEHOLT CO. Box P-71 Woodbine, Pa.

718

I just put that on his Jaundry because I
didn’t know his last name. He was broke,
so I sent out some laundry for him.”

Goold insisted that he did not know
Frank’s last name. “He’$ just a guy I
met in Pershing Square Park. Lived in
some hotel on East Third, I think. We
figured we could take Fuller’s paycheck
dway from him.”

He went on to explain that they had
waited in the apartment. for Fuller to
come home from work. Frank, who said
he had done a lot of fighting in the
Merchant Marines, clipped him on the
chin, and they both tied him up. “Frank
took his money .and gave me the ten.
I got my things and we beat it down the
back stairs.”

Sanderson smiled. ‘“You dropped some-
thing in your hurry to get away, Harry.”
He pulled the envelope from his pocket

’ and showed it to him. “You should be

more careful.”

“Gee,” Goold said, “I am crazy, ain’t
Wha

Back in Los Angeles, Sanderson and
Ryan sent out general broadcasts of the
description of the unidentified Frank. On
the assumption he was a merchant sea-
man they asked officers in port cities to
make special checks of merchant sea-
men, Then they went to their homes for
seme solid sleep.

By Monday morning they had received
no response to their broadcasts, and they
started out to look for the hotel where
Goold said he lived. They started at Main
Street and canvassed each hotel and
rooming house in order.

By good fortune, at the sixth place
they tried they got results. ‘Sure, I know
that bird,” the landlady said. “Owes me
for three days rent. Kept his suitcase
until he sends me the money.”

“What’s his full name?” Sanderson
questioned.

“Got it in the register,” she replied. “I
just called him Frank.” She ran a finger
along the pages. ‘Here it is,” she held
the book closer to her eyes. “I can’t read
this: Maybe you can.”

ANDERSON took the book. But he

-couldn’t read the name. Neither could
Ryan. It was a short name beginning with
“PA” and ending with “A” but the let-
ters in between were jumbled marks.

“Promised to send my rent money,”
the landlady said. “Told him I’d send
him his grip then.”

“When he does that we want to know
about it,” Ryan told her. “And I think
we’d better take a look at the suitcase.”

An examination of the-suitcase revealed
nothing ‘of-importance. It only contained
clothing. However some of the clothing
was the type worn by merchant seamen,
which confirmed that mlich of the infor-
mation on him.

Additional broadcasts were sent out
immediately. This time they were sent to

all gulfport cities, and to cities along
the Atlantic seacoast.

Three days later the landlady tele-
phoned that she had just received a let-
ter from her roomer. Sanderson and Ryan
hurried to the rooming house. The letter
was from Frank J. Paciga, and it asked
the landlady to send his suitcase to him
at “General Delivery, Mobile, Alabama.”

“We got one of them at General De-
livery,” Sanderson exclaimed. ‘Maybe we
can get the other one.”

telegram was immediately sent to
the chief of police of Mobile giving him
full information on Paciga and requesting
that he be watched for at the General De-
livery window of the postoffice.

A reply was received. the next day _

from Chief W. B. Steele that a search
was being made and that General De-
livery customers were being watched. It
was the fourth day later that another
telegram announced that Mobile had
Paciga in custody.

Sanderson and’ Detective Lieutenant
George L. Shattuck made the trip to Mo-
bile with extradition papers for Frank
J. Paciga. The husky, thirty-two year old
seaman at first denied his guilt but later
admitted it. “I only had to clip that
meonkey one time,” he boasted. “Out like
a light.” ,

Brought to trial before a jury in the
ccurt of Superior Judge Walton P. Wood
on July 30, 1931, Paciga entered a plea
of not guilty, and Goold made an addi-
tional plea of not guilty by reason of
insanity. However’ the jury found both
guilty of murder in the first degree and
made no recommendation. °

The same jury also heard Goold’s case
of insanity but decided that he was sane
at the time of hs crime. On August
19, 1931, Judge Wood sentenced Goold
to be hanged, and the next day pro-
nounced the same sentence as to Paciga.

Eight times the convictions were ap-
pealed, and eight times the judgement
and sentences were upheld. Finally, on
July 3, 1933, Frank J. Paciga was hanged.
But in the meantime Goold’s sanity was
questioned and he was ordered to the
State Hospital for the Insane at Men-
dccino, to be returned to San Quentin
for execution when cured.

Gocld remained in the hospital for
eleven years. Then, in 1944, he was pro-
ncunced cured and returned to San Quen-
tin. During that time the gas chamber
had replaced the scaffold in California.
To carry the sentence of the court, Goold
had to be “hanged by the neck until
dead,” and the prison official began to
build a special scaffold for the hanging.

The scaffold was never finished. Gov-
ernor Earl Warren commuted Goold’s
sentence to life imprisonment, and he re-
mains today in San Quentin where his
mail comes not at General Delivery but
to a box number which is the number on
his prison garb.

ed to k:
customs
“Bills
plied t}
The:
youths.
was we
worked
of the s
Becai
whether
Gallow:
Swanstr
the Du:
tives t
returne:
Both
employ:
which °
which |
the kill:
wasted
reachin:
Jimn
saw the
car wil
“Jim
see tha:
Durwo:

The

. got the

said, °
tco mu:
Far as
“His
Jimn
barn
him.”
But
the co:
barn, v
and coi

TT"
Wei
the gu
back f.
cover!:
Whe
shook
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did t:
about
you.”
Swa
the gi
identi:
had |
the f:
means
Bac!
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Durw:
tor sa


‘starter, The truck moved forward and, ©
‘negotiating the turn-in, slid into the ®

* "Phe next half hour’ passed pleas-‘7
” antly enough. The driver told the girl
‘his name was Spike, and that he had
‘come to California from Detroit. It +
was his intention to. start a trucking ©

~.? laundry truck wasn’t bad, but it didn’t:

ae is ‘offer: much’ of a future to a fellow.
= The girl wished him luck and so the’
conversation proceeded. =

Calls, delivering fresh linen to a road-~/
house on Route 99%-E, the girl was
chatting easily about herself and her ?

told -her' companion. She worked for
the State Relief office in Auburn and
commuted daily from the college
4 _ of Roseville where her Parents

iv ¥ ae
“Do you go steady?” Spike asked

her.

Poa re her head. “No,” ‘she shid.
e right: man hasn’t al
Si a ong.
: . He headed the truck into = gravel
“> surfaced spur Which paralleled. the
~. Southern.’ Pacific Railway tracks. -
“You never can tell,” he countered. ~

: 7 a raitway maintenance shack, Spike.
petned, the truck oe and beaded

~~ 'His meek a
returned to

4

Stream of. westbound traffic. “9 "7

~-firm of his own, he said: Driving a”

© By the time Spike made one “ot his :

_ “Please. I’ve got to get’ pail
_ His'lips were hard as he pulled” i
“the truck off the road and rolled to ”

“He, might have come along today.”
Delivering his last laundry bundle “mocking cruelty.: Pe ee

: he reached the main highway, how-

_ ever, he swung into a dirt road which
ted through the heavily-wooded foot-
hills between Lincoln * and - Loomis.

wre bars a fusned Ps him, question-
_ ingly

“Where are we going 2” she asked.

‘His eyes were-inscrutable. “Relax,
baby; phe said. .. The afternoon’s .
young.’

oe fe stared ‘at him,” Sermek He Z
c

hed over: and patted her knee.

“And so are we, kid,” he continued «*

~ Hiuskily. “Work’s over. Let's you and
_me have a little fun.” -

Dorothy: bit. her lip.. “She glanced
desperately through the’ windows of

~ the cab. There were no habitation in-~
_ family. She was 22 years of age, she » sight, only thick coppice growths and

2 yolling scrubland. * 4
-.“Pake.- me back,” = = sh

a stop in a grove of towering firs.

a Fike you back, kid,” he rasped

hoarsely. “—Later.” =: ie
“ She ‘shrank from his outstretched”
arms, her fingers fumbling for. the

‘door handle. He slapped her fingers
-from the. knob with a vicious back-
“hand swipe: ‘His ‘eyes were glowing -

* slits of-smonldering menace. His thin- #3

“lipped mouth was.a ‘twisted slash of |

‘Come here, ?: he bit out. “Don't.

a He mee her to ‘ean, his receding
_ fingers. digging inta the taut arch of
~her back. She strained.away from the
. crushing violence, of his rough em-
“> brace.
= the wings of a stricken bird. She
struggled frantically, but her resist-
ance only evoked a.more merciless
- onslaught.
“<~ Tt was shortly after 7 o'clock, that
“night of July 16th, 1938, when Mrs.
Ruth McElroy heard the sound of
“faint tapping on the screened porch-
door of her Washington Street resi-
_ dence in Roseville.

*~_ Mrs. McElroy went to the door and ;

“stared in dismay at the pathetically

Fear beat in her throat like

abject figure of her ee friend, Doro- =

thy-Pace, <0)

The faven haired young woman ©

- teaned heavily against the door’frame.

From neckline to shoulder, her ripped
floral print dress: revealed purpling
..-Welts on her flesh.

sobbed rackingly in her friend’s com-
-Elroy’ led her inside.

Two phrases repeated Nheachecs 2

in incoherent agitation as the weep-
Z ‘ing Dorothy sought for words to de-
g ‘scribe the horror of her. shocking
experience. She had been assaulted by
“a man, she told her friend. Further,
. she was afraid “to. go home lest the

<< For a moment the Spsterical girl

effect, of her appearance react on a

er eyes were red-rimmed with cry- ‘
*~<-ing. Her lips were puffed and bryised.

‘. forting arms. Then, gently, Ruth Me-. = he :

“You just rest where you are,
honey,” Ruth told her _ soothingly.
“I’m going to phone for the doc-
tor.”

The terrified girl entreated her not
\ to do this.

“He'll kill me if we tell anybody,”
she whispered tremulously. ‘
will. You don’t know him. He’s—
he’s-a monster!” Breathlessly she
poured out her harrowing account of
the sordid assault. She told how the
truck driver had beaten her into in-
sensibility when she attempted to re-
pulse him. He had finally brought her

_ back to Roseville, driving his truck

through the main thoroughfare, and -
thence to Washington Street. Before —

— dropping her off he threatened her
with swift and terrible vengeance
~ should she reveal the events of her
frightful experience. *~
Ruth McElroy listened with aston-
ishment to the incredible denouement
of the atrocity. So arrogantly con-
fident had the rapist been of his vic-
‘tim’s. fear-inspired. docility that he

had ordered her to meet him again _

that very evening to report her par-
ents’ reaction to her tardy homecom-

Sis crowning insolence,, ‘prepos-
,  terous though Jit was, had ‘actually
intimidated the unfortunate Dorothy.
Cowering under the imminent threat
of further violence at the hands of
her ravisher, [Continued on page 61]

ailing mother with dire consequences.’

“He really -

5:

ape IVE big—tand be bigt

re Big front—big home—big cars _

—big name—big everything.

-~ “To debonair Robert W. Brown,

35-year-old ‘socialite of St. Joseph,

Michigan, that was the galy, philoso-
phy to follow. -=

- People respected you, tewned over

z

_THE LITTLE ‘THINGS
IN LIFE ©

journal ad cate iotmred itatements

for the general ledger. ;
His juggling was so artful that

. three times commercial audits gave

him a clean hilt of health.

Life became fabulous for the

*.. Browr's—a trip to Hollywood to hob-

you, traded personal chit-chat for a

single favoring smile— 9. 4
: Money? mo e-
Sure, it took comedy tae a fot of

it, but Brown had that figured the ©
of March 12, 1951, Sheriff Erwin Ku-

- big _way,. too: He stole it by the
bushel—embezzled $165,000/in five

nob in movie circles, vacations on

Florida’s sunny sands, country club .

* memberships, civic jobs and praise.

_years’ time right under the boss’ nose. =

Explanations?
It took those as well—Brown gave
big ones. For the boss, who won-

dered how his $85-a-week bookkeep- ~

ing clerk could outspend him, there
was a bland story of money in his
wife’s name. For his wife, who ques-
tioned the continuing flood of cash,
there was an off-handed. tale of a
Chicago wholesale coal firm invest-
ment paying off at last.

The whole thing worked like a
charm—too bold, too big to fail.

Brown had worked until he ac-
quired the daily job of picking up the
mail from the company’s post office
box. With his standard tasks of post-
ing accounts receivable and of mak-
ing up control account entries from
sales invoices, the mail angle fit like
a glove. ,

Learning by experience what let-
ters likely would contain checks, he’d
withhold one or two pieces of mail
each day, endorsing vouchers with
the machinery company’s rubber
stamp and cashing them in the bank
which held the firm’s accounts.

No one ever questioned him; who
would—as big a man as he had be-
come?

To forestall suspicion at the office,
he evolved a crafty system of weights
and balances—he'd credit accounts
and adjust invoice figures. He’d pare
totals which went into the daily

-Five years of it—five years of
being big.
And then, suddenly, on the aight

bath of Berrien ‘County, Michigan,

- appeared at the bookkeeper’s palatial _—

home. PEs

“T have a warrant for your arrest,”
said the sheriff fatefully.

The Michigan community awoke
next morning to one of its biggest
scandals: Bobby Brown, playboy and
scion of a long venerated family, was
a common thief!

Still shocked, friends and acquain- _

tances sheard him plead guilty on
March 19 and listened. quietly while
Judge Edward A. Westin of Berrien
County Circuit Court intoned his
sentence:

A term of five to ten years in the
Southern Michigan prison at Jackson
for embezzlement.

. The irony of Brown’s apprehen-
sion seeped out with accounts sso his
denouement. <°

While the bookkeeper was Lolly
squandering a part of his stolen thou-
sands in a seashore holiday, the bank
mailed to the company a collection
charge on a check he had cashed.

No record of the check could be
found on the firm’s cash book and
routine inquiries led to the startling
chain reaction.

Brown had become so blinded by
grandeur, so chained to his philoso-
phy of living big, that he forgot the
little things in life counted, too—in
this particular instance, a check col-
lection charge worth 42 cents.

—Elwin G. Greening

x


sh

‘ Ly

fon on the next block..I want Dorothy to
» take a look at you. If she says you're
* not Spike, you'll be free to leave.” *
“ The light-haired man turned on him
‘Sneeringly. He stopped in his tracks.

_-*~ “Free to leave?” he echoed. “What kind
of talk is that, Buster? I’m from Chicago,
~ sonny. I'm free to do anyt

hing I want.
- Nobody tells re different.” :
~ . Ruth came up to them, her face blood-
less. “That’s the man, George,” she said.
'-“T'm sure of it.” = Ro po
The stranger snarled. “What man?” he
demanded. “What’s this all about?” —
« “You're the one who drove that laun-
dry truck,” Ruth “blurted. accusingly.:
“Dorothy told mé—”"

fist, “All right, Spike,” he. said evenly,”
“Are you gonna let Dorothy take a look
at you, or do we call the cops now?” ~
- The stranger looked from oné to the
other. Then he smiled. ~ > Siet
- ©“This is the craziest thing I ever heard

= “While road blocks were set u

i the man ther were seeking. The
kets had been emptied, and the label
been hastily ripped out. 5
at junc-

“tions on highway 99 E, the railway sta-
* tion and bus depot were kept under close

?

surveillance. Fortunately, no buses or
passenger trains had passed through
Roseville in the interval since the shoot-
ing. The police were confident that they
had their quarry sewn up within the
Roseville city limits.

-Together with District Attorney Lowell

-F. Sparks, Sheriff Gum visited the Mc-
- Elroy home -where they at once inter-

rogated Dorothy Pace, the hapless victim *

_of the roadside ravisher. The unfortunate

“George stood at her side, nursing his ~~

~ of—" he began. He shrugged. “Okay. ©

~ Let's go. You're nuts, but what the hell.
*_Pit go along with you just for the laughs.” —

-_ The trio headed into the shadows of
Vernon Street and were about to turn

| into Washington when the stranger
wheeled and faced them. His mouth was

a tight line and his eyes gleamed cun- |

" ningly in the gathering dusk. In his right

hand, the McElroys glimpsed the blued-
steel sheen of an automatic pistol.

Ruth McElroy started to scream. The

sound was cut off by the unexpected bark

of a shot. Curling wisps of smoke rose

* from both breech and muzzle of the gun.

George McElroy took a staggering step -

backward, his hands cupped to his waist.
He bent forward slowly as the stranger
backed away. :

-* With her widened fingers a mask across
her face, the shocked girl watched her”®
husband crumple to the sidewalk. Then,
the scream which had welled in her throat
burst unfettered from her lips. It shat-
tered the dusk stillness. drowning the
drumming footsteps of the gunman as he
rushed in headlong flight down darken-
ing Washington Street.

+

George McElroy was still breathing
by the time an ambulance from Mercy
Hospital arrived from nearby Sacramento.
Dr. James F. McAnally, a surgeon on the
staff of Folsom Prison, rendered what
on-the-spot emergency treatment was
possible, but he realized that there was
small chance that the college football star
would survive the shooting. ‘

A police search of the scene revealed
no other clues than a 9 mm. brass car-
tridge case which had evidently been
ejected by the desperado’s automatic.

Mrs. McElroy rode to the hospital in
the ambulance with her unconscious hus-
band after acquainting Sheriff Elmer Gum
with the circumstances leading up to the
tragedy. Passers-by, who had seen the
cold-blooded gunman making his escape,
were able to furnish the official with a
more accurate description of the fugitive
than the hysterical woman was capable
of conveying.

Immediately, every available officer in
Roseville was detailed to aid in the hunt
for the tall, light-haired gunman who was
described as wearing a blue sports jacket
and contrasting light trousers. .

Within twenty minutes. hidden in the
shrubbery of an entrance to City Park,
patroiling officers found the discarded

x?

~ local Rosev

girl sobbingly repeated the account she
- had given to her two friends.

The authorities now realized that their
man was a truck driver working for a
ille laundry. There were only

i

ah

Though he faced death in the state’s
lethal gas chamber, the prisoner was
apparently unconcerned over his fate.

three such firms in the small college town,
and Sparks anticipated no trouble in
identifying the trigger-happy rapist.

Despite the fact that their offices were
already shut down for the weekend, the
proprietors of the three Roseville laun-
dries were contacted and asked to co-
operate with the police in checking their
personnel records.

The name Spike was of no help in es-
tablishing the identity of the wanted man.

"However, the Lilly-White Laundry com-

pany reported that one of its trucks had
been detailed for a delivery to the South-
ern Pacific Railway shack to which
Dorothy Pace’s ravisher had driven in
the course of his rounds.

From the firm's payroll records, the
driver assigned to this route was one
Gordon Killett, who had been in the com-
pany’s employ for several months.

When Killétt’s description was dis-
covered to be consistent with that fur-
nished by Dorothy Pace and the shooting
witnesses, the driver’s rooming house was
immediately visited by deputies who were
warned that the fugitive was armed and
dangerous.

The worker was not in his quarters.
On his bed was found the uniform he had
worn that day. Evidently Killett had re-
turned to his room to change to the sports
attire which he was wearing when he

appeared at Zeller’s Confectionary store,
earching the premises thoroughly, th
authorities were rewarded by finding
quantity of 9 mm. cartridges hidden in a
bureau drawer, under a sheaf of handk
chiefs. eh a:
There were sundry letters and papers
among the fugitive’s effects which were
studied with interest for some lead-t
the hunted man’s possible destination,
had he already left town. Several pos’
cards were addressed to a “Spike Gordon,

and had been mailed fram Dayton, Ohio, ~

The knowledge that their quarry wa:

possessed of an alias at once suggested —
the possibility that he had a criminal:

a

pedigree. The fact that Killett, alias
Gordon, was the owner of a gun strength,
ened this supposition. Accordingly, arti
cles which might have been handled by

the missing man were at once rushed to

the police laboratory in Sacramento fo:
fingerprinting. - : “

In the meantime, the patrols which ha

~ been scouring the city had not succeeded” ~
§ Appar-—
ently, despite all precautionary measures,’

in flushing the elusive gunman.

the triggerman had slipped through the

_ meshes of the city-wide cordon. | 3

Sheriff Gum, in attempting to recon
struct the workings of the fugitive’s mind,
arrived at the means in which Killett ha
made his getaway. es

“Tf I were that guy,” he told Distric
Attorney Sparks, “I wouldn’t take -
chance on trying to hole up in a town

this small. I’d get out, but pronto. And |
I wouldn’t take a chance on the buses —

or the passenger trains, either. I’d hop
a freight or heist a car, whichever I cow
grab first.” ’

The prosecutor agreed with Gum. Toe
gether, both men visited the guard office’
of the Roseville railway yards. Here they ™

learned that a railway detective had
actually observed a tall coatless man run
ning along the banked cinder roadbed and
boarding a box-car, part of a freight train
which passed through Roseville at 8:25
that night. . ‘ ,

From the dispatcher’s schedule, it wa
quickly learned that this freight train was
headed west, bound for Santa Rosa. =

Immediately, a progress request was >)

clicked off on the railroad telegraph sys-
tem. The train was, at that moment, pass-
ing through Woodland, after having
taken on water for its boiler in Elverta,

a small town some ten miles west of. |

Roseville. :

Gum at once alerted the police authori-
ties in towns west of Woodland, asking
that the freight train be searched for sus-
picious characters. However, before this
could be done, a piece of significant in-
formation was brought to his attention
by the office of the State Highway Patrol
in Elverta.

A 1937 Ford convertible had been stolen :

from one Raymond Salkin. The car had
been parked in front of a roadhouse in

which Salkin was spending the evening. ©

He did not discover that the car had been
taken until the time of his departure,
shortly before midnight. nog

Of itself, the theft of the car signified
little. What imbued it with possible im-
portance was the fact that the roadhouse
was situated within sight of the Elverta
freight depot! ‘

Checking with the railway guards at
this station, the Placer County sheriff
learned that a coatless man had been
pursued by yard police when he made a
dash from the same westbound freight
train with which the investigation was

concerned. This train had passed through | ~

Elverta shortly before 9:30. :
Disappearing into the night, the coat-

#:

pe

i
a3

iin

Maik

s

fess fugitive had managed to shake off
his pursue~> wne_*-"owed him no further
than the «umits of the yard. _

There was, by now, little doubt in Gum’s
mind that the ravisher and the coatless
fugitive were one anti the same. It was
also a fair conclusion that Killett had
continued his flight by car after stealing
Raymond Salkin’s Ford. $ :

Accordingly, an all-points alarm was
dispatched through police facilities for
the missing Ford convertible, California
license tag, D-4198, and its blond-haired
driver. :

By 9 o’clock Sunday morning, the
search for George McElroy’s assailant be-
came the hunt for his killer. The foothall
star, who had sought to avenge the honor
of his wife’s friend, died, at Mercy Hos-.
pital without regaining consciousness.

The search for Spike Gordon was in- th [MRA Hs .
The motorist flicked -the -requisite |
baer 3 5 a > >,

tensified with the release of newspaper
accounts of the sordid circumstances
which had culminated in the tragedy.
In Sacramento, police laboratory tech-
nicians were successful in their attempts
to collect a set of Gordon’s fingerprints.
Rushed at once to the Washington office
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
the prints were compared with those of
known Criminals in the Justice Depart-
ment’s voluminous files. By Monday noon,
Sheriff Gum received a telegraphic
communication to the effect that the sus-
pect had been identified through his prints
as one Everett Gilbert Parman, a felon
only recently released from the federal
penitentiary at Leavenworth. ~~ *

A dossier was immediately compiled on
the ex-convict. Parman, although only 28.
had been in difficulty with the police for
sixteen years. He had been convicted of
two felonies, his most recent transgres-
sion having been a car-theft in New Mex-
ico, for which he was convicted in 1929.
Sentenced to the federal reformatory at
Chillicothe, Olio, Parman had made his
escape after sawing through the iron bars
of his cell. Recaptured a short time later,
he was incare: ed in Leavenworth from
which institution he was released in 1937.

.Circulars incorporating the ex-convict's
prison photography, fingerprints and de-"
scription were at once given wide distri-
bution along the Pacific seaboard. The
stolen vehicle was also fully described
in the hope that the fugitive had not
yet abandoned it. .

In the days that followed, reports fil-
tered into Placer County relating to the
progress of the stolen vehicle. It had been
spotted in Sacramento, but had managed
to outrace the patrols. It was also re-
ported in other northern California towns.

There was evidence that the owner-
ship certificate had been in the car at the
time it was stolen. Sheriff Gum learned

-that the. arrogant Parman had actu-

ally passed himself off as Raymond Sal-
kin, the owner of the Ford convertible.
On July 23rd, the fugitive had joined a
crew of fire fighters in the vicinity of
Orleans, just below the Oregon border.
He was paid for this work by check, and
had the effrontery to ask that it be
made out in Salkin’s name.

With news that the gun-slinging rav-
isher was at large in the northern coun-
ties, the search for him was concentrated
in that region of the state. All officers
of the state highway patrol were ordered
to memorize the contents.of the circular
received from Sheriff Gum.

It was in this manner that the steel
jaws of a police trap were enabled to
clamp shut on the elusive desperado.

On the night of August Ist, the state ‘

highway patrol at Eureka, Calif. set up
a routine light-and-brake check station
on route 101. Captain Sam Kirkpatrick

— “Now your dims.” - * Fen ee i
-« Again the motorist ‘complied. ~ so

of the roadblock across the southbound

lane of the picturesque model highway. _

Sergeant Thad Dourain and Patrolman
A. A. Nichols were inspecting the lights
and brakes of northbound vehicles.

A pall of sea mist had drifted in from
the nearby Pacific, shrouding the lines

ot cars as they trickled through the police

rriers. = = e-
A black Ford convertible pulled up in
. front of the post occupied by Kirkpatrick
and his assistant. The driver and a young
| woman companion nodded genially to the
officers. — - Sys ~= .
“What's up?” the motorist asked Kirk-
» patrick. Hates ma :
“Just checking the focus of your lights,”
the captain answered. “Turn on your
* brights so that they hit the screen over
ere.” Reais

* switch.

Kirkpatrick leaned on the car. door.
> “Now pull your emergency and keep your
foot off the brake pedal,” he directed.

© The driver dutifully obeyed the com-~

mand and the captain commenced to
write on an official pass-card the results
of the test. He walked around to the
*back of the-car and started to inscribe
the numbers from the license tag.
D-4198, he wrote. Then he stopped and
looked at the tag again. The number

seemed vaguely familiar. Black Ford con- °

vertible, he repeated to himself. Was such
a car listed on the alert sheet for stolen
automobiles ? . F

Kirkpatrick walked back to the driver.
He looked at him shrewdly. “What’s your
name?” he demanded suddenly.

The blond-haired motorist stared at

him in surprise. “Salkin,” he said. “Ray .

Salkin.”

* “Let me see your license.” :
The driver reached into his pocket and

extracted his wallet. He took out an

ownership certificate and handed it to-

the officer.

“Anvthing the matter?” he asked.

Salkin, the captain read: The name sud-
denly clicked into place in his memory.
A man posing as Raymond Salkin was
wanted for murder down-state in Placer
County. , ;

“Nothing’s the matter,” Kirkpatrick
said tonelessly. “Just step out of the car
for a minute, Mr. Salkin. There are a
couple of questions I want to ask you.”

The motorist shrugged and turned to
his girl companion. “Be right back, baby,”
he said. “You heard the man.” He opened
the door of the car and stepped out.

Kirkpatrick put the suspect license into
his pocket.

“We're just a block from headquarters,”
he said. “I'll have to ask you to accom-
pany me there.”

There seemed to be no reticence on the
part of the driver. He fell into step be-
side the wirey captain and walked away
from the barrier in the direction of the
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. There
was no talk between the men. In silence,
they walked to the very steps of Hum-
boldt County Jail.

Then, with catlike suddenness, the
motorist started to run. He pelted across
the street and darted into an alley, with
Kirkpatrick in hot pursuit.

The captain drew his gun at the en-
trance of the alley.

“Halt, or I'll shoot!” he called into the
darkness.

Two shots flashed from the far end of
the passageway, the bullets whistling over
Kirkpatrick’s head and thudding home in

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The ‘captain ecaoed te one Peet and
pumped three shots from his service re-
volver in the direction of the flashes.

' There was a scraping in the passageway

and then the sotind of muffled footfalls
disappearing into the night noises of the

» street beyond.

. Kirkpatrick swore as he raced into the
“now empty passageway.

way, Sergeant ‘Dourain heard the ex-
change of shots. He raced to his patrol
car.and headed in the direction of the
sounds. He reached H Street in time to

. hear thé pounding footsteps of the fugi-

tive who was running away from the alley
where the shooting had taken place.
Dourain rounded the corner of the next
_ block i in an attempt to cut off the escap-
ing gunman. His headlamps picked out
» the fleeing figure: on the nearly deaested

» “street.

. The gunman + whirled to face the lights
and again flame spurted from the gun in
his hand.

‘A bullet thwacked thrownke the wind-_

shield of Dourain’s car, leaving a spider-
web of concentric fissures around a small

_ but sinister perforation. __ :
Dourain. pulled out his own gun and

‘v At the police roadblock on the high- -

waited for a clear shot, yanking the siren _

~ chain as he drove. The wailing police car

hurtled down the street in the direction .

, taken by the fugitive. ;

‘waiting in readiness when the

ithe gunman darted ato ‘another alley Bs

and Dourain leaped out of his car to sprint
after him. |”

At Third and H Streets Eureka Police
Sergeant James O’Neil heard the ominous
sound of gunshots. He left his post at the
,traffic kiosk and headed for the noise.
He turned the corner in time to see the
gunman charging into the entrance of a
Third Street poof hall. Pulling his service
colt out of its holster, O'Neil ran to the
back entrance of the pool hall and was
gunman
burst through the door. ‘

“Get 'em up, you!” O'Neil bit out.

The desperado stayed where he was but
pulled the door shut behind him. The
light from the building’s interior was
abruptly cut off. The killer stood masked
in darkness while O’Neil was a perfect
target, framed against the glow from the
“street. =~

“Out of my way, copper!” a voice ~

rasped in gutteral menace. “I got a rod
in my fist and I ain’t afraid to use it!”

O’Neil leveled his revolver at the voice.
He shot once and dove in the direction
of his quarry. His quick action was all
that saved his life. A shot exploded close
to his ear. There was a muffled oath be-
hind him as the slug whined over the
head of Sergeant Dourain, who was
charging into the darkness from the
_ Street.

O'Neil grabbed for the desperado’s legs
while Dourain came up fast, driving his

_ closed with the struggling gungrun.®

- the course of his prison assault, Parman

a Sleaded 5, 1938, Everett Gilbert Parman tal

_Mercy, was tantamount to a sentence o:

Sowestal fists } in trip Ranimer blows

The two officers quickly sub iued and”
disarmed their quarry and hustled him
back to County Jail. Here, fingerprint
comparisons quickly established that

their prisoner was: ex-convict Everett’

Gilbert Parman, the roadside ravisher of” z,

pretty Dorothy Pace and ae killer of eG

of his crimes by a murder attempt on
the life of a cell-mate. He had become
suspicious of this man and accused him of
being a stool-pigeon. When subdued in

had in his possession a noose which h
had fashioned out of strips of blanket.
Indicted for first degree murder on

victed by a jury of his peers. Their ver-
dict, omitting a recommendation ~o

death. This sentence was formally pro-~
nounced by Judge Landis on September
26, 1939, and eleven months -later
Everett Gilbert Parman was executed in’
the lethal chamber in San Quintin’
Prison. 3

(The name Dorothy Pace is fictitious to prelech
see pee porwr involved from any embarrassment. pod

So are
Alibi Slayers

i from: page. 1

ourselves assigned to see the case through
to the end.

The store was located in a quiet resi-
dential section in the hills of east Oak-
land. It was a neat, up-to-date looking
establishment. A crowd had gathered out-
side,“ and Mangini and Brown were
questioning everyone, individually and

collectively, trying to get a good descrip-_

tion of the getaway car.

“Looks like a holdup shooting,” Man-
gini told us. “The storekeeper is dead.
Bullet got him in the face. Name is
Apostolos — Steven Apostolos. Every-
body speaks highly of him; very well liked
by his neighbors.”

Bertoglio and I entered the store and
looked at Steven Apostolos. He was lying
on his back behind the counter display
case. There was a bullet hole under his
right cheek bone. The shot had killed him
instantly. We observed that the cash reg-
ister was over behind the other counter.
The cash drawer was closed, but we didn't
know vet whether it had been rifled.

.

Even in death, there was character in .

the strong, well-modeled features of the
victim, who had evidently been an in-
telligent, energetic type of man. We later
learned that he was 50 and a native of
Greece who had been an American citi-
zen for many years. His wife, JoAnn
Apostolos was an attractive woman of
3S, and mother of a nine-month-old son.

The grocer’s home was a pleasant
stucco dwelling next to his store. Learn-
ing that JoAnn Apostolos had been sit-
ting in front of the house with her baby
on her lap at the time her husband was
“slain, we attempted to interview her.
But phe Serial er itheest woman pdicased

that she could not tock English very
well, and we were informed that she had
arrived in this country from Greece only
four years previously. -

" -We talked, however, with Mrs. John
Roe, a neighbor, who said she had stopped
to admire the Apostolos baby shortly be-
fore the shooting occurred at approxi-
mately 1:50.

a | moticed a tall man standing outside
looking in the window,” she related. “He
then put his head down and his hands up
to his face, and I wondered what he
was doing. It occurred to me later that
he was probably putting on a mask or
some kind of disguise.”

Mrs. Roe saw the man jerk the brim
of his hat down over his eyes and then

enter the store. Curious and somewhat |

apprehensive, she went to the store front
and looked in through the doorway.

“T caught a glimpse of Mr. Apostolos
standing behind the meat counter as this
man approached him,” she said. “Mr.
Apostelos had something in his hand.
It looked like a ruler, but I’m not sure

* what it was.”

Mrs, Roe turned away and hurried back
to rejoin the grocer’s wife. While she
was attempting to explain her misgivings,
both women heard what sounded to Mrs.
Roe like the sharp report of a firecracker.
The stranger rushed out and moments
later came the sound of a motor as a car
started up and roared away.

The witness could remember little
about the appearance of the murder sus-
pect, and she hadn’t seen the car, which
had evidently been parked around the
corner from the front of the store, on
Gray Street.

Mrs. Evelyn Green, who also lived in
that neighborhood, told us she heard the
shot and saw a man run out and jump
into an automobile, which was parked on
the wrong side of the street about 150 feet
from the grocery, on Gray Street. The
car started up immediately, leading her
to suspect that a second person had been
waiting behind the wheel with the motor

. running. However, she had not seen the

gunman’s companion, if he had one.
She described the slayer as a tall man ~

wearing a gray hat and a grayish brown. ne
overcoat. She didn’t know the make Oras

model of the getaway car, but said
was light-colored.
Knowing that something was wrong,
Mrs. Green had hurried into the store and tas
found Apostolos lying behind the counter.
She immediately telephoned the police;

with the result that the officer patroling 5

that beat arrived moménts after the —
shooting, followed by Mangini and
Brown, who responded to the same Fadi
alarm.

We interviewed a number of bystan
ers who had arrived after the shooting, ~

but none of those we talked with had seen

the killer or his car. Lieutenant Hubert
Murray, chief of the homicide detail, ar-

rived to supervise our efforts to obtain

additional information, and he was fol-°_
lowed by Inspector Duane Harper and ~~
others, including one of our identifica- |
tion men and a deputy coroner. ;
Meanwhile, we received an unexpected
tip from an attractive young woman who

identified herself as Mrs. Velva Salas.

She had just driven back to the scene,
she explained breathlessly, after pursu-
ing the fleeing bandit and his companion
in an effort to get the license number
of their car.

“I was driving along Gray Street,” she
related, “when I saw this fellow run from
the store and jump into a waiting car.
There was somebody sitting in the
driver's seat, and he turned around and
looked at me in a nervous way. I sens
that something was wrong, and as the
car started up at high speed, I turned
mine around and followed.”

She chased the getaway car for quite
a distance before finally losing it at
Thirty-fifth Avenue and School Street.

where she was blocked by traffic. She >

never got close enough to make out the
license number, but she described the au-
tomobile as a lime-yellow Ford converti-
ble, either a 1950 or 195) model. When she

4

:

x ~ last saw it, the getaway car was making

a left turn on School Street.
‘Lieutenant Murray ‘Seuntediately called

. the radio room and gave the dispatcher
* this information, which was promptly re-

layed to every police car in the city. From
that moment on, the officers manning es
roadblocks that had been thrown w

al) the main théroughfares leading So
that section of Oakland began stopping

_ every light-colored, late-model Ford con-

vertible they encountered. As the min-
utes passed, however, it began to seem
probable that the killer pair had made
good their escape, for none of the motor-
ists who were halted and questioned an-
swered the bandit’s description, and all
were allowed to proceed after satisfying

_ the manhunters of their innocence.

When the murder scene had been pho-
tographed and the victim officially pro-
nounced dead, we moved the body for
the first time and discovered under it,”
near the right arm, a loaded 38-caliber ~

_ revolver that had not been fired. We sur-

mised then that Apostolos had snatched

up the gun when the bandit attempted
to hold him up, with the result that the
robber had fired a single shot, pointblank _

_at the grocer’s face.

Evidently the killer had turned and fled
without attempting to rob the cash reg-
ister, for we found that the money in its
drawer had apparently not been touched.

One of the ambulance officers spoke

~ Greek, and, acted as our interpreter in

_ our interview with the victim’s widow.”

: begged her husband to getr

< husband had approximately

She revealed that her husband had re-
cently formed the habit of keepirg his |
revolver in his hip pocket or in a drawer"
near the cash register.

Afraid of firearms, Mrs. Apostolos had
rid of it. But
he had insisted on keeping it for protec-
tion, and had been especially watchful
since two recent attempts had been made
to burglarize his store at night.

It was Mrs. Apostolos’ belief that her
$400 on his
person at that time he was slain. He usu-
ally kept fairly large sums in his wallet,
which should have been in his hip pocket,
but wher the body was searched no sign
of the billfold was found, and there were
only a few dollars in the man’s pocket.

hile going about the eneighborhood
searching for possible witnesses who
could add to the information we had. we
kept in close touch with the radio dis-
patcher and Captain Bolger, who was di-

" recting the intensive manhunt. _Again and

again we heard officers call in and re-
port that they had just stopped a 1950
or 1951, light green Ford convertible.
Each time, however, the occupants of the '
car were allowed to proceed, when it
seemed evident that they had no connec-
tion with the crime. This happened more
than twenty times in the space of tess
than half an hour.

An officer had been sent to the toll
plaza of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay
Bridge to watch for the getaway car, and
among those he stopped was a late-model
Ford convertible painted a yellowish
green. The driver was a young woman, an
attractive girl with auburn hair, and her
companion was a slender, rather tall
young man with wavy hair.

Although he had been told to watch
for two men, the officer took down the
license number of the car and questioned
the girl’s companion, who gave his name
as Norman Mason and produced satis-
factory identification papers,

“I’m sorry,” the patrolman told the
couple, “but I'll have to hold you here
a few minutes.” z

He then reported in by radio, describ-
ing the couple and giving the man’s name

~ -

. and address, which “was

to let the
during her pursuit of the fleeing car, had
seen its occupants clearly enough to iden-
tify them both as men. A: young woman

did not fit into the picture, or so we
- thought. f

We continued our hunt for witnesses,
and Inspector Harper talked with two
new ones’ who had seen the bandits’ car.
Bob Donnachie, an insurance salesman,
positively confirmed Mrs. Salas’s descrip-
tion of it, and said it was his impression
that its occupants were two men. Shortly
after this, however, Harper interviewed
Mrs. Mary Texeira, who lived up the
street from the Apostolos grocery, and
she declared that the driver of the get-
away car was a woman. She told of seeing
the car start up the instant the bandit
jumped in beside the driver.

“Are you ace _ the driver was a
woman?” H

ked. ¢
“Well, I saw eal ine back of her head,”

the: witness explained, “but I would al-
most swear it was a woman’ s s head, , not a
man’s.” b

e

Tt seemed a pretty good bet that she

was mistaken, but meanwhile, unknown
to us on the scene, there was another
surprising development. A clerk in the
Eastern Division police station, a Mrs.
Taylor, had been listening to the various

‘tadio calls when she heard the officer at

the Bay Bridge toll plaza report fo the
radio room concerning the girl and her
companion he had stopped for question-
ing. The name “Norman Mason” struck

* a responsive chord in Mrs. Taylor’s mem-

ory.° == "
Going to the files, she found that a
man of the same name was wanted for
two traffic violations. Warrants for his

arrest had been issued when he failed to

answer the citations.
Mrs. Taylor took the file on Massa

~ to Captain Herbert> Kline, commanding

officer of the eastern division station,
and pointed out that his description tallied
with the one the Bay Bridge officer had
given of the Mason he had questioned
and released.

“It must be the same man,” ‘she de-
clared.

Captain: Kline agreed, and immediately
attempted to contact me by radio. Unable
to reach me, he then sent an officer over
to the murder scene with the file on the
suspect.

When [ realized that Mason answered
the description we had obtained of the

; killer, I hurriedly told Lieutenant Murray.

“I'd better call headquarters and have
the radio dispatcher broadcast our order
to pick up Mason for investigation,” I
added.

“By all means do that,” Murray said at

once.

I contacted the radio room and received
verification of the report that Mason and
the girl had been cleared and allowed to
proceed to San Francisco.

“We want that couple for questioning,”
I told the dispatcher, “so get that in-

formation on the air right away. Maybe

the San Francisco police can pick them
up for us.”

We waited impatiently, but luck was
with us. Less than an hour later Bertoglio
and I were notified that Mason and the
girl were in custody at Southern Police
Station in San Francisco. A traffic officer
had stopped them when he recognized
the license number of their car. They
were being held at Southern Station
pending our arrival.

My partner and I picked up the two
traffic warrants that were out for Mason,

“2512 Foothilf
© Boulevard in Oakland. He He was authorized ~
uple go, since Mrs. Salas, ©

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Toe cleverest ice of cite hopes
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photographs. Her hunch was right—the
developed plates showed the murder victim
had one badly infected tubercular lung.
It was assumed that, at some time, she
might have. been a hospital patient, and a
search of X-ray photographs in all Copen-

“hagen hospitals was instituted. A week later.

a picture was found in which the dark
shadow over the left lung was similar to
the X-ray photo taken of the victim, and
this tentatively identified the slain woman
as Margot Anderrson.

From the hospital records the police got
Miss Anderrson’s address and found that
she had been dispossessed from the apart-
ment some two months before. Neverthe-
less, fingerprints were found in the rooms
that proved beyond a doubt that the former
occupant was the whose di
bered body had been found in the moat.

Further work on the part of the police
revealed that the woman had been the
sweetheart of a man with whom she had
quarreled. The man, Stephen Richter, was
dpcated and arrested. For several days he
denied all knowledge of the ‘crime, but
police broke down his alibi and the pris-
oner finally confessed that he had killed
the woman in a fit of anger.

But for the reporter’s intuitive hunch
that opened up a new avenue of investiga-
tion in the crime, the police may never‘have
solved > murder of the severed body.

—Sam D. Cohen

60

taring out of the window, tense, wonder-
ing, and near tears. The detective ‘sitting

“opposite didn’t have much to say. c
Sheriff Delaney, Emerson and Revere

were burning the midnight oil in Oregon.
They were all quiet and tight- lipped men.
Delaney’s heavy face was grim. He got
right down to business and asked the
tor to*explain about his two wives.
Baer had told him of course.
“It’s very simple,” he said, and gave the
same story he- had to Baer. “I know I
shouldn’t have married her so Soon after
Bessie’s tragic .. .”

“There’ 's only one thing, Decics™ Baer
said, “we have found out you married
Bessie Kent after you were married to the
present Mrs. Webster.”

“Well!” Webster said, and got no fur-
ther. He looked at Baer as though he had

been betrayed.

“That’s bigamy,” Emerson said.

“Tf this is the ‘new evidence’ you
dragged me ail this way to talk about,”
Webster said, party his poise, “y
might as well go back.

“Just hold on to your shirttail,” De-
laney said. “We want to know about

_ these two marriages and if you don’t want

to talk, then we’ll listen to someone else.”

Webster sat silently chewing a cigar, ©

so Delaney opened a door and ushered
Mrs. Kent into the room. The look she
gave Dr. Webster was judge, jury, and
electric chair, but she remained out-

wardly calm. Delaney helped her get -

seated and then asked her to tell what
she knew about Webster and her daugh-
ter, Bessie.

Mrs. Kent went into some detail about
how Bessie and Webster had “kept com-
pany” for some time, then stopped. Mrs.
Kent had thought it was all through, when
suddenly they got married.

“But they no sooner got married,” she
went on, “than Dr. Webster wanted a di-
vorce. They weren’t living together—I
couldn’t understand it. Bessie told me
that he got an old girl friend of his named
Barbara York to spy on Bessie to try to
get evidence for a divorce—but he didn’t
get it. My Bessie was a good girl.” Mrs.
Kent started to lose control right about
there, which got on Webster’s nerves.

“Get her out of here,” he said, “and I'll
tell howit was-” A detective helped her out
and Webster stood up. “The truth is,” he
began, waving his cigar dramatically,

“that when it comes to women, I have
eorargier no sales resistance. Other men

ight wish they were more attractive to
women—but believe me, it is a curse.”

The doctor then launchéd into a long
description of how women had upset his
life. He started at the beginning where,
while he was stifl in high school, his
mother's,hired girl had opened up a whole
new horizon for him. He touched briefly
on the girl in the next block who thought
herself a queen bee. He passed quickly
over the girl whose father owned the res-
taurant.

“I didn’t want to marry her,” he said,
“but she talked me into it.” There were
others; then came Barbara York. Bar-
bara was a good kid. “She wanted to
marry me too,” he said, “but she kept
waiting for me to ask her—and I never
did.” He smiled triumphantly. “Bessie,”
he sighed, “was different.”

“So-how come you married two women
at once,” Baer prodded.

“Bessie and I had been going around
together for some time,” Webster said,
“before I met the present Mrs. Webster
who came to Chicago from Iowa to study
music. I fell in love with her the first time

fy ee =
‘wo cars ‘behind | thea nce Kent s sat

r. Task

it with Bessie. © = es
“When I finally had to tell Se, sh
was furious—and she didn’t cool down,

= 5 ee es then she'd divorce me right

a wAnd did she give youa divorce?” Baer ~

asked.

“No,” Webster said,
it. It was silly of me to marry her,
admit, but she made it sound so logical.
Furthermore, if I didn’t marry her, she
threatened to break up my other mar-

riage. I couldn’t let that happen. I-got

her solemn promise to divorce me—then
. she didn’t keep*her promise.”

“So you killed her,”

him. Webster smiled.

“Of course not,” he said. “No intelligent a

man would expect murder. to solve any-
thing.

“Then who did kill Bessie?”

“l'm not. a detective,” Webster said, 4
“but I suppose it was that old man who >

was crazy about her.

“You really believe he did it?” Delaney
said, 3
“That’s right.”

The police vofhents looked pic at one
another.

“Dr. Webster,” Baer said, “you told me
that you hadn’t been to see your parents
since the middle of August, right?” Web-
ster nodded. “Then what were you doing
a during the middle of Septem
-ber?”

“I wasn’t in Dixon in the thiddlé of
September.”

Revere went a the next office and
brought back the night telegraph opera-
tor from the Dixon railroad station. He

» was asked if he had ever seen Dr. Webster

before.
“I saw him get off the train from Chi-
cago about the middle of September
sometime,” he said. All eyes turned to
Webster who was turning a slight red.
“Maybe I did visit my folks,” he said.
“I’m trying to remember.” '
“Was Bessie with you?”
“Oh no, Bessie wasn’t with me that

trip,” he said, contradicting his earlier ~
statement. He had hardly finished before ~

he was confronted by the night clerk from
a Dixon hotel.

“I rented him a room on the night of —
September 15th,” the clerk said. “Lremem- ~
ber there was a woman with him, though I —
couldn’t swear it was the woman whose _

picture I saw in the paper.”
“That won’t be necessary,”

hired a horse and buggy on the morning
of September 16th and recognized Bessie
as the woman who was with him when
Delaney showed him a picture of her.

“Want to talk?”
ster.

“I have nothing to say except that I
didn’t do it.”

“Doctor.” Captain Baer interrupted,

“you might as well tell us your side of
the story—the way it actually happened.
Sheriff Delaney has witnesses who saw
you and Bessie driving off together and
who saw you returning alone.”

Webster sank lower in his chair.

“All right,” he said slowly, “it was this
way. We had an argument and Bessie
refused to ride any further with me. She
got out and started walking. I og t want

all she peee dP was to be marricd—at least 2

“she wouldn’t do —

i)

Delaney shot at —

Delaney ©
said, and ushered in a stableman who ~
identified Webster as the man who had ~

Delaney asked Web-

to leave her there, so I frtic~wed along ~
behind in the buggy. SP_ turned om the
road and into the wood:. I couldn’t follow
in the buggy, and besides, if she was going

to be that stubborn, I decided to go back ™

to Dixon alone. When she was found
murdered, I naturally couldn’t tell all this
or everyone would have jumped to the
conclusion that I did it.”

“We have anyway,” Delaney said.
“We've found the murder weapon. It’s a
plain clasp knife that anyone might have
owned—but the coroner has assured me

. that Bessie’s throat was cut by an expert

hand, by someone used handling a
knife—a doctor, for example. You spe-
cialize in surgery, don’t you, Doctor?
You know how to handle knives, where
to use it most effectively.” Webster was
starting to tremble, but Delaney’s voice

droned remorselessly on. “We have all -

night and all day tomorrow and all of
tomorrow night, Doctor, and we are going

to sit right here until you tell the truth.*

It might take a week or . . /
Webster leaped to his feet, swearing.
“All right,” he shouted, “I’m tired of

“the whole mess.” Suddenly he slumped

back into his chair. He looked ten years

older, his confident air pos his voice

was slow and tired.

“Bessie was out to ruin me. She was
going to break up any happiness I was
having with my real wife. She would
either have me or ruin me. I think she
was trying to drive me insane—and I’m
not sure but what she succeeded.

“She not only refused to give me the
divorce, but she insisted on meeting my
family. She followed me to Dixon on
the night of the 15th. I didn’t éven know
she was on the train until I got off. I
couldn’t take her to my folks’ house be-
cause they had already met my other wife
—she was gone to Iowa on a visit—so I
took her to a hotel. I tried to reason with
her—we argued all night. It was no use.

“The next day we got the horse and
buggy and while out driving, I again tried

to eopent to go better side. She didn't
have any. She laughed at me, taunted me.

I offered her money. She said she had

what she wanted, or soon would. She
wanted to see me suffer. We had an awful
argument. She said she was going to tell
my family everything. She jumped out
of the buggy and ran into ‘the woods,
screaming, that soon everyone would
know about me. I ran after her. I caught
her. I tried to talk some sense into her.
socal was a wild woman, hysterical and
cru

“I don’t know what happened, but all

at once, there she was, bleeding to death
in my arms. I was horrified. had cut
her jugular vein with my knife. I didn’t
remember doing it. I still don’t. I stripped
off her clothes and anything that might
identify her. I was terrified by what I had

done, yet some instinct seemed to tell -

me what to do. I bundled her helongings

together, drove the buggy back to Dixon, ~

returned to Chicago. My parents didn’t
even know I had been in town.”

He looked around at the jcmbertaced
policemen who now found their job on
this case finished.

“I guess that’s about all,” he said. They
fed him away to a Cell.

-Four months later, Dr. Harry Elgin
Webster entered the Tllinois State Peni-
tentiary at Joliet, sentenced to life im-
prisonment. It was one solution to bis
life-long problem with women.

On September 24, 1934, he was released
on parole after serving 23 years during
which he had had not one bit of woman-
trouble. -

Three years later, Webster died of a
heart attack in Hillsboro, North Dakota.
He had learned the hard way that women
are a one-at-a-time thing. It’s a good
thing for a man to remember whenever
he gets to feeling that one woman isn’t
a full-time job. Two women are too much
of a job. Two women,.you might say, are
murder. At least they were for Doc
Webster.

_* Date With a

Roadside
Ravisher

[Continued from page 15]

_ she had promised to meet him in a local

ice-cream parlor at 8 p.m.!

“Well. be there!” Ruth McElroy
averred indignantly. “George and I will
be there, all right. George will march him
right up to police headquarters!”

She was speaking of her husband,
George McElroy, popular football star of
the Placer College team. He was due
home from his summer job in a matter
of minutes. She felt certain that George
would know how to handle the situation.

Upon his arrival, the husky athlete
listened to the incredible story with re-
pressed fury. His clenched fists betrayed
his indignation at the enormity of the
outrage.

“T only hope the punk shows up,” he
muttered feelingly. “All I want is a chance
to talk to him before we call in the cops.
Okay, kid, where were you supposed to
meet that rat?”

Dorothy told him that the rendezvous
was to take place in Zeller’s confectionary
store, a coke-shop patronized by students
of the Placer College campus. George Mc-

Elroy and his pretty young wife, armed
with a general description of the Pace
girl’s ravisher, were present in the soft
drink parlor promptly at 8 o'clock.

A few minutes after their arrival, a

swaggering, light-haired young man

“walked through the door. He was wear-

ing gray slacks and a blue sports jacket.
He stood near the magazine rack and
looked over the patrons at the counter.

Ruth McElroy, watching the stranger’s
reflection in the mirror, nudged her hus-
band. “That looks like the man, George—”

The football player studied the man in
the mirror. He was definitely not one
of the college students. His rough-
knuckled hands were tipped with grime-
ringed stubby fingernails. Apparently in
his early 30s, he looked to be a man who
worked at manual labor. George got up
from his seat and walked slowly to the
newcomer.

“Your. name Spike?” he asked.

The stranger's eyes narrowed. “What’s
it to you?” he asked.

George McElroy felt the quickening
throb in his temples. “I’ve got a message
for a guy named Spike.” he said. “It’s
from Dorothy.”

The man’s lips hardened. His eyes
darted quickly around the store. “Go ped-
dle your papers, Buster,” he said. “I don’t
know any Dorothy.”

With difficulty, George McElroy con-
trolled his seething anger.

“I think you do,” he said. “Let’s go
outside and talk about it.”

From her stool at the counter, the

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Tm) nie

oe

PEETE, Louise

}
‘

vf HEN: the grim doors of San

Quentin prison banged shut

on buxom Louise Peete in
1921, (Ed. note:; Underworld Detec-
tive, Sept. 1950 issue) some six
months after Jacob Denton of Los
Angeles had been found dead and
buried in a home he had occupied

jointly with her, the world might »
‘ well have thought it had seen the
last of the lush, 38-year-old mur- “

deress.

She had been sentenced to life ;
imprisonment and, in her trial, there’

had been not one mitigating circum-
stance to promise her freedom at any
future time. She had lied about see-
ing and talking with her victim
weeks after she had shot and buried
him; she had raided his bank ac-
count, strong box and wardrobe af-
ter dispatching him and, worst of

all, she had waited only one‘ week’

after meeting him before readying
his murder.

Her sole good point was an amaz-
ing charm, a charm so amiable,and
composed in the face of incredible

odds that even her prosecutors were }
moved to a certain fondness for her. .

She treated everyone, even those she
accused of conspiring to ruin her,
with the: utmost consideration and
kindness. She had a ready smile, she
was extremely handsome and reas-
suringly calm.

She en- (Continued.on page 41)

ag rae

UNDERWORLD DETECTIVE,

Mrs. Peete in court, standing between her attorneys, hears herself
sentenced to die in the gas chamber for the murder of her friend.

October, 1950

il as a
»mbines
| young
ogether
obbery.
on and

After
ot once
to the
Startled
\bbot is
kes you

and as +

readers.
es a tip
ct loca-
adeline.
and the
ntifying

in this
artist,
a fairly
he body
1eck the
n earth.
spects—
mother,
ed, ete.
ufficient
an, Colt
he has
ry. His
e of the
y enjoy-

with us
he’s the
series of
\lurders
For six
find the
. includ-
aries be-
the eve
wl from
ids of a
ts Jerry,
nation a
lase that
incestral
idon and
Ceylon.
nurders,
case dis-
low robe

doesn’t
dmits he

it a little
ou invet-
Meet the
tories by
laracters
: Hailey,
ond and
iths came
esting to
what he

page 55

the Den-
1 himself,
r several
ugust 18,

last saw
one call,”
dy just
ton base-
was, for
Spanish

yman !”

ly sniffed

ire attor-

———

neys, she and her husband said, so W. T.
Aggeler and R. T. Scott, acting public de-
fenders, were assigned to her case. They
put up a good fight for their pretty client,
then only twenty-seven years of age.

The trial was a sensational one, with
most of the surprises being sprung by the
prosecution. Huge crowds thronged the
courtroom. Mr. Peete was there daily, in-
consolable as his wife’s case weakened.

Testimony showed that Mrs. Peete had
pawned a diamond ring belonging to Den-
ton, on June 2.

A clerk and a credit manager from a
department store produced sales slips, and
testified that Mrs. Peete had bought
things there, posing as “Mrs. J. C.’ Den-
ton.”

V. H. Rosetti, vice-president and cashier.
of the Farmers and Merchants National
Bank of Los Angeles, testified that he had
caught two checks, totaling $750, cashed
by Mrs. Peete, to which Denton’s name
had been forged. Milton Carlson, hand-
writing expert, also testified that Denton’s
names on the checks were forgeries.

But the interest in the case heightened
when William Arkins was brought to the
stand.

“On June 15, Mrs. Peete telephoned me,”
Arkins testified. “She, wanted to know
where she could buy some cement.

“What do you want with it, Mrs.
Peete?’ I asked her. I didn’t know whether
she wanted just a little or enough to build
a house,

“‘T won’t need much,’ she told me. ‘Just
enough to seal up some of Mr. Denton’s
mementoes of his dead wife. He is very
sentimental about them.’ It seems that
Mrs. Denton had died only just this spring,
1920 I mean.

“I told Mrs. Peete where she could buy
some cement, and forgot all about it till
I heard about this murder.”

NOTHER WITNESS was named William

F. Heitzman. He was a gardener who
had often taken care of the shrubs and
flowers around the Denton home.

“Yes, sir, I musta carried in that same
dirt under which Denton’s body was
found,” Heitzman told prosecuting attor-
neys, on the witness stand.

“Why did you carry it in?”

“Mrs. Peete ordered me to.”

P “Did you know what it was to be used
Orr?

“No, sir, certainly not! She just made
me take the dirt from around some rose
bushes and put it in the basement. She

HENRY THE HANGMAN

Orleans that had every druggist in the cit
watching each customer’s entrance with
fear. The bandit was dubbed “The Lone
Wolf” and he pulled jobs almost nightly—
$25, $45 and $100 hauls.

Fifty extra policemen were hired and
placed in each drug store of the city.

Jack Connors was one of the police-
men and he met the Lone Wolf. In the
gun duel that followed, Connors was
killed and the Lone Wolf (Louis Ber-
stein) captured.

Berstein was sentenced to die, but as the
date neared for his execution, prison offir
cials became panicky. Who was going to
hang him? Frank Johnston of Gulfport,
Mississippi, and self-described “Human
Butcher” who had been doing the hang-
ings in New Orleans for twenty years, was
missing. Besides, the prison officials had
had trouble enough with Johnston the last
time he was in the city on a job.

Andy Ojeda, veteran New Orleans news-
paperman, can tell about the trouble the

yoe teeny weeprere

said it would be kept there for future use.”

S. Hayata, another workman, testified
that Mrs. Peete had borrowed a shovel
from him, without saying what she wanted
it for. ‘

“A little while later,’ said Hayata, “I
found my shovel with some fresh dirt on
it. She had forgot to return it.

“Also she gave me a bundle and told me
to burn it. It had in it an old table cloth,
a man’s collar, and some cancelled checks.
I didn’t think nothing about it. I just
burned it, like she said.”

The “sphinx woman” had nothing to say
to all of this. She remained enigmatical.
She did not go on the witness stand at all,
but seemed:-to think that her story of a
Spanish woman would clear her. ‘The dis-
trict attorney, however, told the jury that
the Spanish woman story, as introduced by
other witnesses, was patently a myth, and
nothing more.

The jury-believed the district attorney.
Six ballots: were taken, the foreman later
said, and all.of them were for conviction.
Where they failed to agree at first was on
the exact penalty. Mrs. Peete came very
near to paying with her own life, but the
final agreement caused her to get a life
sentence to prison. She is serving that sen-
tence today, in San Quentin until Decem-
ber 6, 1921, and since then in the Women’s
Prison at Tehachapi, California,

The old bundle of love letters that were
found in Louise Peete’s trunk at Phoenix,
fifteen years after the murder, may in all
truth. have thrown some new light on the
case. In fact Fletcher West, who bought
the trunk at auction, intimated that they
did. But Fletcher had bought them, and
owried them, and he did not open them for
the morbidly curious to see.

“That woman’s life has been wrecked,
any way you look at it,” said Mr. West,
kindly. “Society has done all it could do—
found her guitty and imprisoned her for
the remainder of her days. Already she
has served fifteen years. That’s a long
time, itself. Perhaps she has utterly
changed,» in her heart, and is seeking a
spiritual freedom, that her body can never
know.

“That’s why I shall destroy this packet
of letters. They are the most personal
letters I ever saw. I do not even think
Mrs. Peete herself would welcome the
memories that they would bring to her. As
I see it, the letters are now the: business
of nobody in the world. They are just a
sort of echo from an ugly ghost, which I
will not permit to be revived!”

From page 45

prison officials had with Johnston better
than anyone else. Ojeda was almost choked
to death by Johnston.

‘Ojeda’s experience with Johnston hap-
pened as the date neared for the hanging
of Morris Mehojevick, sentenced to die for
a criminal attack on an eleven-year-old
girl, Johnston arrived in New Orleans,
but he indicated right off that he did not
care whether he performed the job or not.
He kept threatening to leave.

Ojeda wrote a story about Johnston for
his paper. It enraged the hangman and
the next day the Gulfport man attacked the
slight reporter, clutching him by the throat.
Deputy sheriffs rescued Ojeda and John-
ston was convicted of &ssault and battery
and sentenced to thirty days. Among other
things, the prison officials had made sure
that the hangman would not leave the
prison.

Johnston hung Mehojevick and right
after the job, Sheriff Ed Carver of the
hangman’s home town showed up and took

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79

Louise's stories of the whereabouts of the:
missing woman were as varied as they were
fantastic and she had a new story every day.

rneys, hears herself
rder of her friend.


en so terribly beaten
battered head could
ermining her identity.

ined the battered head.
3 on the face and skull.
beaten flesh at several
part of the body. The
with clotted blood, the

nan’s neck and on the
he long, lithe legs were
2n torn. There were no
arks on the thighs in-
ly worn. Yet the physi-
announced that there
an attack.

, to the county morgue.
1 to search for a truck
srickell. One went into
Jose, another checked
motor vehicles, finally
‘lam Brickell in Cuper-
nt to that little agri-
ithin an hour he ap-
. Brickell.

Zontinued on Page 45)

and mad. | saw
dam, shoved her
her disappear."

tered San Quentin prison with the
grace and stately assurance of a
queen arriving at her palace for her
coronation and within thirty days
she was the darling of the prison.

After half a dozen: years in San
Quentin, Louise Peete was removed
to the new women’s prison in Te-
hachapi.

Visiting her quite frequently in
Tehachapi was Mrs. Ruth Latham,
a member of the California State
Parole Board. Like many ' others,
Mrs. Latham had grown deeply fond
of Louise and already, although
there was no clemency in sight,
Mrs. Latham was planning a life of
freedom for her protege. Planning
with her were Mr. and Mrs, Arthur
Logan of Santa Monica, California,
solid, kindly people who had be-
come interested in Mrs. Peete dur-
ing her first trial and had given
her five-year-old daughter a home
during the hearing.

Finally, in April of 1943, approxi-
mately twenty-two years after she’d
entered San Quentin, Mrs. Peete
was paroled to Mrs. Latham
to take care of Mrs. Latham in what
was to be a fatal illness.

In September of that year, Mrs.
Latham died and Mrs. Willetta
Weisbrod of the Parole Board took
charge of Louise, Louise, in turn,
took charge of various items of
Mrs. Latham’s estate, including a
32 caliber’ Smith and Wesson re-
volver. :

Mrs. Weisbrod’s problem of what

to do with Louise was a brief one. ,

Almost immediately the Logans

-came forward and offered her a

home. Mr. Logan was in failing
health and Mrs, Logan, trying to
carry on the Logan business in his
place, needed someone to take ‘care
of her husband and their fine home
at 713 Hampden Place, Pacific Pal-
isades, above Santa Mehfiica. .Mrs.
Weisbrod released her charge. to
Mrs. Logan and thereafter it be-
came Mrs. Logan’s duty to sign the
monthly parole reports on her
friend,

Entering the calm influence of
the happy Logan home, Mrs. Peete
put,the past completely behind her
by assuming the name of Anna B.
Lee.

Within three weeks after Louise’s
arrival, Arthur Logan became seri-
ously ill, and began to exhibit cer-

tain mental aberrations which gave
his wife much, alarm. She confided
to Louise that Logan had shown
signs of mental deterioration for
some time and that because of it
he had withdrawn from activity in
the Logan real estate business and
left it completely to her.

A month after Louise’s arrival,
Logan became definitely unmanage-
able and was taken to General Hos-
pital where special provisions were
available to care for illnesses of
his type. A week later, Mrs. Logan
filed a petition for his commitment
to a hospital for mental diseases.
The Superior Court found him to
be mentally ill, dangerous and in-
sane and signed the commitment
papers. .

In the meantime, feeling the
urge of patriotic, service, Mrs. Logan
had added a shift at the Douglas
Aircraft plant in Santa Monica to
her arduous tasks and had left the
care of her home strictly in Louise
Peete’s capable hands. To make
certain that Louise would be in no
wise trammeled, she had signed an
authorization addressed to the Gen-
eral Hospital management instruct-
ing them to release Logan to Mrs.
Peete at any time his return home
became practical.

So complete was. Mrs. Logan’s
trust in Louise that she referred to
Mrs. Peete in the authorizations as
her foster sister, Anna B, Lee. —

Thanksgiving of 1943. approached
and Arthur Logan returned to the
Santa Monica house in time for
an old fashioned family dinner. He
seemed fairly rational, hospital at-
tendants said, and Mrs. Peete in-
sisted afterward that he had acted
normally throughout the holiday
period. :

seemed inevitable that wherever
Louise goes, real estate opera-
tions also go. Ostensibly unaware,
or unmindful, of the circumstances
of Jacob Denton’s death .. . cir-
cumstances involving the transfer
of property with all its titular ram-
ifications . . Mrs. Logan called
upon Louise, shortly after Thanks-
giving, to aid her in a deal involv-
ing a $50,000 Santa Monica home.
The -home belonged to a Mrs.
Musser and Mrs. ._Logan had been
commissioned to sell it. It was the
largest single private home deal she

had encountered and, in her be-
wilderment, she fell back upon
Louise’s calm efficiency as a bul-
wark,

“My trust fund will fall due in
Denver within thirty days,’’ Louise
said calmly, “and we can use that
for the purchase.”

“Trust fund? How much of a trust
fund?”

“It isn’t much,” Mrs. Peete as-
sured her, modestly, “but it will
swing the deal.”

“But how much?” Mrs. Logan
insisted, her womanly curiosity hav-
ing, by) now, overcome her suspi-
cions.

“Only a hundred thousand dol-
lars,” Mrs. Peete admitted, “but it’ll
cover us and we can make several
thousand on the resale. My hus-
band really wasn’t a wealthy man,
you know.”

After recovering from her aston-
ishment, Mrs. Logan went ahead
with the deal. She and Louise were
to purchase the property jointly, a
provision insisted upon by Mrs.
Musser, and then place it on the
market. To sew up the deal and
gain a seventy day escrow, which
would provide time for Louise’s
bonanza to materialize, they were
to make a $2,000 good faith deposit
immediately.

Mrs. Logan, told that Mrs. Peete
would have to make a trip to Den-
ver to collect on a loan, drew the
money out of her own savings ac-
count and made the deposit.

Shortly after this, Mrs. Logan and
Louise returned Logan to the Gen-
eral Hospital briefly and arranged
a trip to Denver. In purchasing the
tickets, Mrs, Logan explained to
the ticket clerk that she and her
foster sister were going to Denver
on a real estate deal out of which
they were \n a position to realize
$6000 each. The following day, Mrs.
Logan returned with her ticket,
cashed it in and sent Louise to Den-
ver alone.

A week after Louise was scheduled
to reach Denver, Mrs. Logan had
an intriguing telegram. It said:

“Dearest sister. Everything won-
derful here; objective attained. Need
$300, Happily, Louise.”

It had been sent from Denver and
it becomes more intriguing in view
of subsequent developments. Mrs.
Logan wired the requested $300 and

41

a i gi is

Slit ten ela i ES

Pit ty

the same boat was the female who had
played a large part in wrecking his life.

Jimmy and Betty were married in
France, by the mayor of Cannes, in
April of 1933—six years after he had
first laid eyes on her. He was 52 and she
was 29. And now a strange thing hap-
pened—well, maybe not so strange. The
Walkers came back to Manhattan and
lived in a place considerably less classy
than the Mayfair. Jimmy was busted,
but really. He took odd jobs that
lawyers get, but they didn’t supply any
real loot. So Betty fell out of love with
him. The glamor was gone. And they
were divorced after nine years of what
at times was misery. She died not long
afterward.

Jimmy Walker died in 1946, at the
age of 65. Quite a crowd turned out for
his funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Suddenly, the crowd remembered, re-
membered the scamp it had once greatly
admired. The traffic around St. Patrick’s
was so dense that the hearse carrying
Jimmy’s body was behind schedule. One
citizen, a hard-faced man, cracked:
“Jimmy couldn’t even be on time for
his own funeral.”

It was a little old Irish lady, the years
and the memories etched on her
Pinched face, who spoke for many as
she came out of St. Patrick’s following
the service that day. “Oh, Jimmy boy,
this town’ll never be the same again,
now that you've gone...”

There was wisdom in those words.
The springtime had gone with the man,
rascal though he had been, who had
excited the metropolis. The last trumpet
had sounded and laughter no longer
filled the night .. . ooo

Toll of a Lethal
Lady Named Louise

(Continued from page 45)

swered by the grisly yowl of an en-
tombed cat like the one in Poe’s story
“The Black Cat.” At one point under
the stairs he noted a hollow sound. Ex-
amination disclosed that it was the door
to a small closet completely nailed over
with planks.

“Mr. Denton keeps his liquor there,”
Mrs. Martin explained. “He boarded it
up and Mrs. Peete told me not to touch
it

. “Let’s go!” Blodget excitedly told
the detective. “Help me get those
boards off.” .

Using tools provided by Mrs. Martin,
the two men pried the clumsily nailed
boards loose and wrenched the flimsy
door open. The flashlight beam showed
not a store of precious Prohibition liq-
uor, but a pile of rusty stovepipe sec-
tions atop some rotting lumber, Undis-
caquraged, the two men moved the trash
aside to disclose a floor of loose brown
earth, a large patch of which showed
Obvious signs of having been recently
disturbed. Mrs. Martin, at the lawyer’s
request, brought a shovel.

So strongly did the suggestion of evil
now grip all three that there was almost
no surprise when the probing shovel
turned up a soiled white tennis shoe—
with a man’s foot in it. Still clutching
the flashlight, Mrs. Martin began scream-
ing, and she couldn’t stop.

Within the hour, Detective Com-
mander Herman Cline was at the scene
with Detectives Sidney Hickok and
Louis Canto.

Coroner’s men disinterred Jake Den-
ton’s remains, neatly swathed in a
bloody quilt. There was no amputation
of the right arm. Blodget observed. He
had been shot through the back of the

. neck,

Jake Denton’s murdered body had
been found, but Louise Peete was in
Denver, so authorities decided to with-
hold news of the discovery pending fur-
ther investigation, hoping they might

90

somehow lure Louise back to California
and frustrate what they were certain
would be a difficult and long extradi-
tion fight if they charged her at once.

Probers found bloodstains which
showed that Denton had been shot as he
sat in the breakfast nook, then appar-
ently he was led upstairs to die in bed.
It was estimated he had been buried
since early June.

Chief Cline’s men and probers from
DA Thomas Lee Woolwine’s office piled
up a mountain of evidence against
Louise Peete. The last few checks
cashed to the slain man’s account, early
in June, were clearly forgeries written
by her. The bank recalled that Mrs.
Peete had tried to cash more checks, but
they had been refused. She also had
forged Denton’s endorsement on several
large checks which had been mailed to
him. And she had been buying clothes
and jewelry in the Wilshire Boulevard
shops on the accounts of the late Dolly
Denton, which the grief-stricken Jake
had neglected to close out.

She had pawned some of the Den-
tons’ jewelry, and given other valuables
to friends for safekeeping. More directly
bearing on the murder, she’d had a gar-
dener dump a load of earth in the base-
ment, explaining that in Mr. Denton’s
absence she wanted to bury some of his
late wife’s treasures for safety’s sake.
And just before leaving for Denver, she
had ordered a quantity of cement,
which had not been delivered before her
departure.

Now the DA worked out a ruse to
lure Louise back to California. He sent
his ablest man, Charles A. Jones, who
later became chief of police in Los An-
geles, to talk Louise into returning to
help them, merely as a formality to
round out the details of Jake Denton’s
last days. She fell for it.

Once in California, she soon entan-
gled herself in a network of lies under
police questioning. She was charged
with murder, indicted, and held for
trial.

The arrest of the cold-eyed house-
wife, who still retained her creamy com-
plexion and could still be called beauti-
ful, created a newspaper sensation from
coast to coast. Richard Peete rushed to
her side and announced that he believed

in his wife and would stand by her.

Another who was convinced of
Louise’s innocence was an old friend
from Texas, Margaret Logan, who re-
cently had returned from the Orient af.
ter several years there and was living in
Los Angeles.

This time, Louise’s Southern charm

failed her; it could not square a murder
rap of such notoriety. The evidence
against her was too damning, although
she continued to insist she was the inno-
cent victim of circumstances. As for the
forgeries, her story was that Jake, with
his infected arm in a sling, had asked her
to sign his name for him.
*. The jury didn’t buy it and after only
four hours of deliberation, they found
Louise Peete guilty of first-degree mur-
der. On January 28, 1921, Superior
Judge Frank R. Willis sentenced Louise
to life imp risonment—sparing her the
death penalty because of the circum
stantial nature of the case and the long
tradition ‘against executing a woman in
California. Louise’s appeals to higher
courts were rejected.

Still protesting her innocence, Louise
was taken to the women’s section of
San Quentin. In 1924, Richard Peete,
who had never recovered from the blow
of his wife’s conviction of murder, shot
himself to death in a hotel room in
Tucson, Arizona.

In 1926 Louise reappeared briefly in
the limelight with a sensational appeal
to Governor Friend W. Richardson, then
involved in the reopened probe of the
mystery murder in 1922 of famous si-
lent film director William Desmond Tay-
lor. Louise got on the bandwagon with a
statement that Taylor had been killed
because he “knew too much” about the
real killer of Jake Denton.

Louise milked a lot of sensational
publicity out of this ploy, but it did not
get her out of prison. In 1933 she was
transferred with other women prisoners
to the newly established California Insti-
tution for Women at Tehachapi, where
she enjoyed pleasant, sunny quarters,
and easy work in the garden. Several
applications for parole, accompanied by
glowing letters of recommendation from
substantial citizens, including Margaret
Logan, were rejected. She was finally
paroled in 1939. Mrs. Emily Latham,
women’s parole officer in Los Angeles,
agreed to take Louise into her home
until she could find a place of her own.

It was further agreed that Louise
could assume the fictitious name of
“Anna B. Lee” in her new life. She was
then 51, by her own statement. Her
brown hair now was streaked with gray,
but her gray eyes and her slow smile
were colder and more deadly than ever,

With Mrs. Latham’s help, Louise ob-
tained a job as a housekeeper. It was
followed by other jobs.

In August, 1943, Mrs. Latham fell ill
herself and hired Louise as her house-
keeper. Three weeks later, she died, ap-
parently from an accidential overdose of
a heart stimulant. Louise had her
cremated at once. Perhaps Louise has-
tened her end. Perhaps not. At any rate,
no suspicion was attached to her at the
time, although it was found that some
of the widow’s valuable possessions

seemed to
keeper’s ha
Freed
friendly su
to see Ma
often visite
Hampden
erlooking t
The Lo
well to do.
estate bro}
her husba:
Far East
failing. He
years. Her
- This dra
wartime f
market, sp
take a te
factory. N:
to give her
return for
husband a)
agreed to
“Mrs. Lex
household.
Louise
to put he
“He’s not
insisting tc
bors. “‘He’:
some day v
Logan’s
to be talk
lonesome t
private ins
weeks, ove)
““He’s n
home,” M
keeper-frie:
Mrs, Lc
1944 and
business. £
she had he
ty for sale
She wishec
“T can
said. “‘I st
fund in I
about that
Mrs. Li
binder on
the name
‘vanced Le
Denver, so
funds she
came back
Margaret’s
They had
Logan hou
ried—secre
parole—Le
able widov
On Max
cashed a
signed by
Monica ba
bank calle«
ly contac
restitution
the money
On Jun
exactly th
Denton w
Margaret c
insist on re
She threat
Parole Bo
would con

his 60s.
cause he
2's crime

‘rs, until
ie Orient.
ver, had
yerculosis
is job
920
ror his
there a
1 did not
mid-May,
le Louise
go ahead
‘e house-
ly judge,

20 when
yw in the
‘midst of
state and
et Jacob
iandsome
mpressive
n Mexico
"a specu-
C5:
ien, Den-
his share
s success.
rocks; his
living in
ghter. He
2, but the
ried a girl
ught him
his active

re simple,
dor man-
‘e district
ids, their
rival of a
on’s hard
february,

‘da long
but they
when his

lovely wife Dolly was suddenly stricken
ill. She died in a matter of hours.

Jake Denton plunged into work. He
could not stand living alone in the big
house echoing with memories of his
dead bride and baby. Arranging to go
East by way of Texas for an indefinite
stay, he advertised the house on South
Catalina Street for lease or sale. Louise
Peete answered the advertisement.

Clearly, in the light of what fol-
lowed, she impressed the tough engineer
with her appearance of shrewd capabili-
ty and her tales of the property she
owned in Denver. They talked over an
arrangement whereby she would take
over the $50,000 house, furniture and
Denton’s car, on lease, with the ultimate
idea of selling them for a commission.

She would move in at once, and

Denton would retain one room for his
use until he was ready to leave, early in
June. Denton thought $350 a month-
was a fair price, Louise thought this was
too steep, but she moved in, anyway,
while they continued to discuss terms.

In the meantime, she wrote to Mrs.
Dortland, telling her she had found just
the house for their cooperative rooming
house enterprise, for which the ex-judge
was going to put up the initial capital.
On May 24th, Mrs. Dortland and her
daughter arrived in Los Angeles. Louise
had put them up in a hotel while she
worked out the final arrangements with
Jake Denton.

On May 25th, Jake Denton’s niece
helped her uncle and his new tenant
inventory. On May 30th, Jake blos-
somed out and escorted Louise to a
beach party given by his niece. On May
3lst he kept a business date with one
Roger Rogers and told him he would be
leaving L.A. any day now.

By that time, Mrs. Peete was fully
installed in his home, keeping house and
cooking for Jake Denton.

On June 2nd, the usually punctual
mining man failed to keep downtown
appointments with three Texas oil men,
an insurance agent: and an auto sales.
man. On June 3rd, Louise called Mrs.
Dortland and her daughter to announce
that Denton had finally left, and the
two women moved in with her.

During the ensuing weeks, when
inquries were made about Jake Denton,
Mrs. Peete said variously that he had
gone to Arizona, to San Francisco, or to
Seattle, and that she was handling his
personal business in his absence.

When no one heard from Jake Den-
ton by the end of June, the inquiries

became insistent. At the written request ,
of the missing man’s daughter in Phoe- :

nix, his old friend and attorney, Judge
Russ Avery, undertook an investigation.
He went to the house and talked to Mrs.
Peete.

“Til tell you the truth, Judge,”
Louise said confidentially, “although
Mr. Denton doesn’t want anyone to
know. The fact is, the poor man got an
infection in his arm and had to have it
amputated, up in San Francisco. The
right arm. You know how Jake is—he’s
ashamed of being crippled and he
doesn’t want to see any of his friends

for a while until he gets well.”

“He’s been in touch with you then,
Mrs. Peete? Do you have any letters
from him?” Judge Avery asked.

“No. I didn’t save them. But Mr.
Denton dropped in just about a week
ago and told me to keep on looking
after things here.”

Asked to produce papers showing her
authority, she coyly explained that her
agreement with Denton was only verbal;
Jake had gone away before they had
gotten around to signing a lease.

Judge Avery knew how close-
mouthed Jake Denton could be about
his affairs, how informally he sometimes
handled them, and how he would dislike
prying. Also, the languid Southern
matron had a way about her, and he was
inclined to accept her story.

Further inquiries piled up. Denton
had failed to pick up a new car he had
ordered in Detroit. A big Arizona busi-
ness deal had fallen through because of
his absence. His regular remittances to
his ex-wife and daughter had failed to
arrive.

Louise, meanwhile, was cutting quite
a figure in the Wilshire community,
making friends everywhere and display-
ing new clothes and jewels. She and Mrs.
Dortland gave up the idea of starting a
rooming house and Mrs. Dortland went
back to Denver. In August, Louise fol-
lowed suit, subleasing the house to a
Mrs. Martin and turning in Denton’s car
to apply on a new one for which she
promised to return and pay shortly.

In mid-September, Denton’s daugh-
ter, convinced that something had hap-
pened to her father, went to an attorney
friend in Phoenix and appealed to him
to get action.

The attorney forwarded the inquiry
and various documents including Den-
ton’s bank statements which Judge
Avery had sent to the daughter, to-
gether with a long letter to his associate
in Los Angeles, veteran attorney Rush
M. Blodget.

Blodget was a fan of the old-time
mystery master, Edgar Allan Poe, anda
great admirer of the cold deductive logic
whereby C. Auguste Dupin, Poe’s great
detective hero, solved his baffling cases.
So when the bulky inquiry from Phoe-
nix arrived on the afternoon of Septem-
ber 22nd, Blodget put Dupin’s methods
to work. Totally unacquainted with the
case, with Jake Denton or with Louise
Peete, he spread the documents on his
desk and studied them. He noted that
no checks had been written on Denton’g
large bank account since June 10th.

Yet Denton was supposedly living
somewhere, and he had to be spending
money. He’d always paid his bills by
check. Where were the checks to the
doctor and hospital for his arm amputa-
tion, which must have been very costly?
And how did it happen that the energet-
ic mining man, always devoted to his
business deals, now totally neglected
them?

“Jake Denton is dead,” Rush Blodget
finally announced aloud to the walls of
his office. “‘He’s been dead since early in
June!”

eee

Jacob Denton, wealthy mining engineer,
was found buried in basement floor of
his own mansion once rented to Louise

Then, following the logic of Poe’s

Dupin, he mused, “Louise Peete says

she saw him alive in July. She’s lying.
Why is she lying? Because she knows
where he really is and can’t tell .. .

“Louise Peete killed him!”

Obviously her motive had been to
take over his property. Where had shé
killed him, and where was his body?
Since the corpse had not turned up
anywhere, it was logical that she had
killed him in the house where they both
lived and had hidden his body there.

A night’s further reflection only re-
inforced the lawyer’s deductions, Early
next morning he telephoned Judge
Avery, told him what he suspected, and
urged him to join in a search of Den-
ton’s house. But the judge was hesitant.
After all, this was mere speculation, he
argued, and Jake would not like their
barging around.

A call to the district attorney’s office
met with the same unenthusiastic recep-
tion. But by this time, Rush Blodget
was thoroughly aroused and determined
to do his duty by the Phoenix client as
he saw it. He called a private detective
friend and together they drove out to

Catalina Street. Mrs. Martin, the new ~

tenant, was sure there was no dead body
in the house, but when the two men
insisted and showed their credentials,
she told them to go ahead and look.

“Where do we look first?” the detec-
tive asked. Blodget, in his assumed role
of Dupin, retorted with a withering
glance, “Where is the logical place to
bury a body? In the basement, of
course!” ;

The concrete basement floor seemed
solid enough. But as they prowled
among stacks of rubbish under the light
of a dim bulb, the attorney found him-
self aping Poe’s character and knocking
on the walls, half expecting to be an-

(Continued on page 90)

45


d by her.

convinced of
an old friend
»gan, who re-
the Orient af-
| was living in

uthern charm
dare a murder
The evidence
ing, although
was the inno-
es. As for the
at Jake, with
iad asked her

nd after only
_ they found
-degree mur-
21, Superior
‘nced Louise
‘ing her the
the circum-
ind the long
a woman in
s to higher

ence, Louise
» section of
chard Peete,
»m the blow
aurder, shot
‘el room in

iefly in
appeal
n, then
‘obe of the
’ famous si-
smond Tay-
‘agon witha
been killed
” about the

sensational
it it did not
33 she was
n prisoners
‘ornia Insti-
‘api, where
’ quarters,
‘n. Several
panied by
ation from
‘ Margaret
‘as finally
' Latham,
s Angeles,
ner home
“her own.
at Louise
name of
'. She was
lent. Her
vith gray,
ow smile
han ever,
ouise Ob-
r. It was

am fell ill
-r house-
died, ap-
2rdose of
nad her
uise has-
any rate,
er at the

‘me

ons

seemed to have stuck to her house-
keeper’s hands.

Freed now from Mrs. Latham’s
friendly supervision, Louise headed out
to see Margaret Logan, whom she had
often visited in her neat white stucco on
Hampden Place in Pacific Palisades, ov-
erlooking the ocean.

The Logans had always been fairly
well to do. Margaret was a licensed real
estate broker, but recently the health of
her husband, Arthur C. Logan, retired
Far East exporter-importer, had been
failing. He was 74, her senior by 12
years. He required constant care.

This drain on their finances, plus the
wartime freezing of the real estate
market, spurred the active Margaret to
take a temporary job in an aircraft
factory. Now she welcomed the chance
to give her old friend Louise a home, in
return for help in taking care of her
husband and the household chores. She
agreed to pay Louise $75 a month, so
“Mrs. Lee” moved into the Logan
household.

Louise soon began to urge Margaret
to put her husband in a sanitarium.
“He’s not right in his mind,” she kept
insisting to Mrs. Logan and the neigh-
bors. “He’s dangerous. We may wake up
some day with our throats cut!”

Logan’s wife finally allowed herself
to be talked into this, but she was so
lonesome that she took him out of the
private institution after only a few
weeks, over Louise’s objections.

“‘He’s my husband and this is his
home,” Mrs. Logan told her house-
keeper-friend. °

Mrs. Logan quit her defense job in
1944 and returned to the real estate
business. She mentioned one day that
she had heard of a fine piece of proper-
ty for sale at a bargain price of $50,000.
She wished she could swing the deal.

“I can help you, Margaret,” Louise
said. “I still have that $100,000 trust
fund in Denver—or don’t you know
about that?” She smiled complacently.

Mrs. Logan happily put a $2,000
binder on the property, to be bought in
the name of Lou Ann Lee, and she ad-
‘vanced Louise money for the trip to
Denver, so Louise could arrange for the
funds she had promised. But Louise
came back without the money, much to
Margaret’s shock and disappointment.
They had words, and Louise left the
Logan household. On May 2nd, she mar-
ried—secretly and in violation of her
parole—Lee Borden Judson, a respect-
able widower in his sixties.

On May 19th, Lou Ann Lee Judson
cashed a $200 check, purportedly
signed by Margaret Logan, at a Santa
Monica bank. Belatedly suspicious, the
bank called Mrs. Logan, who immediate-
ly contacted Louise and demanded
restitution. Louise promised to return
the money very soon.

On June 1st—by a grim coincidence
exactly the same day on which Jake
Denton was slain 24 years before—
Margaret called her former friend and
insist on repayment at once of the $200
She threatened to report her to the
Parole Board. Louise promised she
would come out to see her that night.

It was six months later, on December
7, 1944, that Mrs. Wave Walker, a San
Francisco parole officer, came to L.A.
on the trail of a housemaid who had
walked off with $50,000 in gems.
Learning that the girl had been a friend
of Mrs. Peete’s in prison, she looked up
Louise’s record and obtained Margaret
Logan’s address.

Calling at the Pacific Palisades house,
she found no one at home. A neighbor
told her Mrs. Logan had been away
since June, was supposed to be in a
hospital somewhere, and that the Jud-
son were living there now.

Surprised and thoughtful, Mrs.
Walker went back to the parole office
and checked Mrs. Peete’s records again.
Her superior, Mrs. W.F. Weisbrod,
agreed that Margaret Logan’s signatures
on the June, July and August parole
reports—the regular monthly employer’s
forms required by law—were forgeries.

They consulted with DA Fred N.
Howser, who assigned investigators to
look into the matter. Shortly, Captain
Thad Brown of Central Homicide—later
deputy chief and commander of detec-
tives—was in the picture, and the picture
rapidly was turning black.

The probers learned from neighbors
that neither Margaret nor Arthur Logan
had been seen since the end of May.
Early in June, Margaret’s friend, Lou
Ann, had moved into the house with her
nice elderly husband, Mr. Judson. Her
rather shocking explanation was that
Arthur Logan had become violent and
had bitten off his wife’s nose. Arthur
had been taken away to a psychopathic
ward somewhere, where he had since
died, and Margaret was in a hospital
recuperating from plastic surgery.

Investigation showed that Arthur
Logan had indeed been admitted as
insane on June 2nd, at the request of
Anna B. Lee, who represented herself as
his foster sister. When he died at Patton
State Hospital on December 6th,
complaining that his wife had aban-
doned him, a telegram signed simply
“Logan” ordered his body turned over
immediately to a college for dissection.
The wire had been telephoned from the
Logan residence.

The investigators also learned of a
number of forged checks, including
Louise’s $200 forgery, which had never
been made good.

Captain Brown, accompanied by
aides, rang the doorbell of the Logan
house on December 20th and found
Louise Peete in lounging pajamas. She
was going through a strongbox full of
Mrs. Logan’s papers. Mr. Judson was
reading his newspaper.

They took the couple to the DA’s
office. Louise stuck to her story about
Mrs. Logan being in a hospital some-
where, but she soon became confused
under questioning. Mr. Judson was
aghast. He had no idea his wife was the
notorious Louise Peete, convicted
murderess.

Returning to the Logan house, Cap-
tain Brown and his detectives started
digging, and in due time, they found the
remains of Margaret Logan buried in a
shallow grave under her rose garden. She
had been shot through the neck, and her

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ora

skull had been fractured, apparently by
hammer blows.

Inside the house, Police Chemist Ray
Pinker found bloodstains indicating that
the murder had taken place in the living
room. And hidden among Louise’s
possessions they found two guns, a .25
automatic and a .32 revolver.

District Attorney Howser charged
both Louise and her husband with mur-
der, but at their preliminary hearing,
Municipal Judge William M. Byrne ac-
cepted Lee Judson’s story that he had
been completely unaware a murder had
been committed. The Judge absolved
him of any guilt, but he ordered Louise
held on a murder charge.

Two days later, Lee Judson, unable
to erase the horror from his mind,
leaped to his death from the 12th floor
of a downtown office building. He was
the fourth man driven to suicide by the
lethal Louise.

Louise wept when she heard it. “We
had such a happy time together,” she
sobbed.

But she still steadfastly asserted her
innocence in the death of the woman
who had befriended her.

While she awaited the trial, Captain
Brown probed the deaths of Emily
Latham and Arthur Logan. He
considered the possiblity that Logan
had been the victim of a slow-acting
poison. But at this late date nothing
definite could be determined. And the
body of Mrs. Latham had _ been
cremated. A number of other suspicious
deaths of persons with whom Louise
had been associated were probed, but
because of the passage of time, nothing
could be proved.

On the eve of her trial, Louise
changed her story. She now admitted
that she had buried Margaret Logan
after Arthur Logan had killed his wife in
an insane rage. She had done this and
kept quiet about it, she asserted, be-
cause she knew that her record would
lay her open to suspicion.

She repeated the story in her defense
before the jury of eleven women and
one man, but it failed to convince them.
After deliberating 2 hours and 40 min-
utes, they found her guilty of first-
degree murder, with no recommenda-
tion for mercy.

Superior Judge Harold Landreth sen-

tenced Louise to die in the San Quentin
gas chamber. Sentence was pronounced
on June 1, 1945, exactly one year after
the murder of Margaret Logan and 25
years after that of Jacob Denton.

It would be two years, however, be-
fore Louise would keep her date in the
gas chamber. On the sunny morning of
Friday, April 11, 1947, she was led into
the execution chamber at San Quentin
by Warden Clinton P. Duffy. As she
entered the room dominated by the
ugly steel chamber of death, she made
an ironic bow in the direction of the 70
assembled official witnesses and news-
papermen.

She sat down in one of the two steel
chairs and the guards swiftly clamped
the heavy straps about her feet and
hands. One of the guards touched her
shoulder as he passed and said, ‘‘Good-
bye—and good luck.”

Another guard said to her, ‘“‘Count to
ten, breathe deep.”

“Thank you,” Louise murmured.

Then the heavy steel door closed. It
was exactly 10:00 a.m. by the big clock
on the wall near the gas chamber. Her
face turned toward one of the seven
windows of the chamber and she saw
Warden Duffy.

She nodded to him, and her lips
formed the words, “‘Let’s go.” He nod-

ded, lifting a hand in a farewell gesture
to the doomed woman.

A motor whirred. Louise closed her
gray eyes and observers could see her
breathe deeply.

At 10:13, the assistant warden, after
a word from the prison physician,
turned to the witnesses and said,
“That’s all, gentlemen. Please leave.”

At noon, two guards wearing gas
masks removed Louise’s body and
placed it in a pine box. It was delivered
to unidentified “friends” who had
claimed it.

The belle of Bienville, Louisiana had
taken her final bow. oe

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Mrs. Lesley Dortland, Mrs. Martin,
and Roger Rogers are not the real
names of the persons so named in
this story. Fictitious names have
been used because there is no reason
for public interest in the identities of
these persons.

Made Sex Spectator
Sport Before Killing

(Continued from page 21)

On the afternoon of June 14th, Lin-
da Goth took the witness stand. She was
wearing a mini-skirted black and white
dress and a pair of brown suede boots.
Her looks and her testimony suggested
she was far older and wiser than her 15
years.

She testified that when the group
parked in the remote canyon on: the
return trip from the beach, Medina
forced Dori to commit an act of sexual
intercourse with him in front of the

92

others. Linda and Valerie got angry
when she saw this and struck Dori in the
nose. Linda said that by this time, Dori
was crying. “‘Then I got mad at her. I hit
her but I didn’t hit her hard.”

As Linda Goth was testifying,
Townsend audibly snickered as he sat at
the counsel table and even laughed
aloud. When Judge Merrick rebuked him
and told him to be quiet, Townsend said
he was laughing because he thought the
testimony was funny.

At the same time, the judge ordered
a court bailiff to remove three youths
from the courtroom—youths he de-
scribed as “‘the grinning apes in the third
row.”

When the Goth girl resumed her testi-
mony, she told how Dori and Townsend
were forced to have sex while both she

and Lisa watched. Linda said she later
went off to find Townsend and heard
giggling in a small cave and found
Townsend and Cheryl. having inter-
course there.

Linda said that when Townsend left
the cave she asked Cheryl why she was
carrying on with Townsend. “She didn’t
answer me,” Linda said, “‘so I hit her in
the face with my fist. She tackled me
and I kicked her in the face with my
boots.”

Linda testified that she dragged
Chery! out of the cave and the girl was
lying on the dusty ground when
Townsend returned. Linda continued,
“A couple of minutes later Danny
stabbed her. He got out his knife and he
just started stabbing her. He stabbed her
in the chest and throat. I turned around
and left after he stabbed her four or five
times.”

After they left the scene of the kill-
ings, she said Danny told them “how
tough it was when he slit one of the
girl’s throat.” She said she saw Medina
and Townsend washing the blood off
their knives and heard them discuss
“which one was the easiest to kill.”

On June 15th Valerie took the stand
and testified how she got angry when
she saw Townsend kissing Dori and
smashed the rear window of the truck
with her fist. She told the court that
Medina “‘demanded” that Dori have in-
tercourse with him. ‘She did it unwill-
ingly. She cried,” Valerie testified, and
added, “she was doing it because she
was scared. She was afraid because we
were up there and she probably knew
what was going to happen to her or
something. She was crying.”

Valerie said that when Dori told her
she was sorry for taking her boy friend
away from her, “I kicked her and hit
her with a rock.” Valerie said she
watched Townsend stab Dori in the eve
with the knife, but added, ‘She was al-
ready dead.”

Valerie told the court that during the
incident in the canyon, a 10-year-old
boy rode right into the midst of the
ag on a mini-bike. He cruised around

or a minute and then took off. They
didn’t see him again.

Valerie said that after she saw
Townsend stab Dori, she returned to the
truck. A minute or so later, she said,
Medina’ called out to her. ‘They were
covering Cheryl’s body with brush and
someone told me to help cover her up, I
put a branch on her and we left. Danny
said, ‘Forget that it happened’.” Valerie
added, “I was really upset and crying
when we reached the Fountain of the
World.”

Valerie was cross-examined by
Medina’s attorney, and in an attempt to
discredit her testimony, he forced her to
admit that she had been taking drugs
since she was 12 years old and at times
took them every day.

Asked what she thought of her friend
Linda, Valerie sneered, ‘Her reputation
is cheap. She says things to get herself
out of trouble.”

Valerie also admitted under cross-
examination that she kicked Dori as the
girl lay nude on the ground. She also
told how she clubbed Dori on the head

ring to De-
ner,

nant Ray E.
to follow a

atly dressed
sin a police

cothy Apart-
eady here,”

“My hus-
“Come on,

ieorgia Street
the half-open
ctives greeted

en and a bath
the room and
that the man
dead. Neither
jor the blood-
ead and face.
er first,” San-

.o the hallway
om his pocket.

- the manager
ow if the man

“My husband .

At Sanderson’s request, she stepped into the room, looked
briefly at the victim and. put her. hand before her eyes. ‘Yes,
it’s him,” she said.

Mrs. Anderson identified the victim as Fuller, and explained
that he had occupied the apartment for nearly a year. He was
abcut forty years old and worked as a window dresser at Schwab-
acher-Frey Company, 736 Scuth Broadway.

“Live alone?” Sanderson asked.

“Most of the time,” Mrs. Anderson replied. “But often he
let people stay with him. He was always helping out some one
who didn’t have a job.” +

A frown passed over Sanderson's face, ‘Too often,” he said
slowly, “the person who helps out people gets hurt. Sometimes

murdered, Do you know ‘any of the people who have stayed
witht him?”

Mrs. Anderson shook her. head. “I never knew. them. Just
pecple he’d let stay for a day or so. We had no objections.. In
fact I thought it was fine of him to do such things.” ‘

“Did he have much meney, or valuables?” Sanderson could
recall a dozen cases where a Good Samaritan had been robbed
and murdered for his kindnesses.

“Not much, I'm sure,” Mrs. Anderson said. “He didn't work
steady. Only when there were things in his line.”

“Anyone staying here recently with him?”

“Yes, there was a young fellow here for several days, But
I haven't seen him lately, I don’t know who he was or any-
thing about him.”

Whoever he was, Sanderson knew, he
was a logical suspect. “Can you describe
him?” ;

“Never saw him except jn passing. Just
an ordinary sort of man. Young, maybe
twenty-five or so.”

“What did he do? How did he dress?
Anything distinctive about his’ appear-
ance or manner?”

“I don’t know what he did. He had
light brown hair, I think, And funny
sort of eyes. I don’t know what it was
abcut them. Acted like he was scared. or
something.” :

Sanderson made carefyl notes. Dan
Munn, photographer, and M, G. Gaskell,
fingerprint expert, arrived from the Crime
Lab. Sanderson and Giese turned their
attention to the death room, which Munn
photographed from variops angles, as
Gaskell dusted polished surfaces of furn-
iture for possible latent fingerprints.

When the Deputy Coroner arrived the
pile of bed clothing was refnoved, It was
then seen that the victim was fully dress-
ed in a dark blue suit, although he had
just come in from the street. .

The towel knotted around his head
covered two dark’ bruises on his forehead
and chin, ‘There wis a handkerchief gag
stuffed deep into his mouth, and the
coroner guessed that he had been slugged
and gagged, “And probably died from
strangulation.” ; ;

Two knotted towels bound his ankles
and were in turn tied to the bed railing
with a silk undershirt. Another towel had
been tied arcund his left wrist, and t
arm pulled around behind him and tie
to the right arm at the elbow.

“Intended he wouldn’t get away,” San-
derson remarked as he studied:the knots
in the towels to see if there was anything
unusual about them. So far.as he could
tell they were ordinary knots.

Although the pockets of the: victfin’s
clcthing were not turned inside out, they
were empty except for a’ key ring and a
small penknife. “He must have had a
billfold,” Giese said, “If it: isn’t around
then robbery must have been the mo-
tive.”

“Maybe we'll find it later,” Sander-
son suggested.

After the Coroner removed the body,
and Gaskell com- (Continued on page 74)

13

politan Station, 719 South Spring Street, in downtown Los
Angeles, was tired and vexed. It was time for him to go
off duty and his relief man had not yet arrived.

He paid no attention to the endless line of faces which came
to the window. To himsthey were merely shadowy forms with
voices. They asked for their mai] and took it gladly, when he
had some for them, or turned away in disgust when he said,
“Sorry, none today.”

He hardly looked up when the husky young man in the soiled
blue suit asked for his mail. “Expecting something from
Chicago,” he explained. Had “
he Icoked closely he would
have seen the grim lines in
the man’s tanned face, and
the newspaper - wrapped
bundle he carried under his
arm.

Neither did he notice the

man next in line. He was
ycunger, thinner, and more
neatly dressed, But he had
strange steely - grey eyes
which. darted around as
though they were not sure
what to fix upon.

When the husky man
mentioned Chicago, 'the
younger man looked at him
in half-surprise. When the
husky man cursed and walk-
ed away, the younger man
suddenly followed him with-
cut asking for his own mail.

Outside on the street,
the younger man caught up
with the husky man..“You
from Chicago?” he asked.

“What's it to you?” the
husky man turned. “What
do you want, bud?” ”

The younger man shrank back, his grey cyes flashing. “Noth-
ing. Nothing at all. I was expecting some mail from Chicago
myself.” He smiled warmly. “Got nothing to do myself. Figured
I'd like to talk to some one from Chicago.”

Gradually the husky man’s face relaxed. He half smiled as he
sized-up the younger man. “Talks all I could do,” he said. “Yd
like to be in Chicago right now and get my hands ona certain
party there. Promised to send me some dough. Owes it to me.
But when I’m broke and need it I don’t get it. The rat.”

“Times are tough everywhere,” the younger man said. “Plenty
tough. Let’s walk over to the park and rest. Been broke myself
for months.”

The husky man shifted his bundle to the other arm. “I can
eat a couple of mote days,” he said. “That is if I don’t eat
much. After that...” He didn’t finish. “Let’s get a nickle
hamburger. Got a nickle yourself td

They “walked up. Spring Street to Sixth Street and turned
left. They stopped at a cafe and ate a hamburger, each paying
their own check. Then they walked over two blocks to Hill
Street and entered Pershing Square Park.

The benches along the broad walks radiating out from the
fountain center of the square-block. park were crowded. They
walked toward the center looking for a place to sit down.
Most of the people sitting on the benches were men, and

t

T= clerk at the “General Delivery” window at the Metro-

By Malden Grange Bishop

William E. Fuller was found in his bed bound. with

bloody towels. Death had resulted from strangulation,

most of them elderly men. Nearly all were poorly dressed, and
some pulled shabby coats around them as the chill of the
early evening descended on the park. Some tried to read the
Want Ad sections of newspapers by the scattered lights of the
park, and others nodded as they dozed wearily. All looked tired
and haggard.

“Pye been through this,” the husky man said as he waved
a blunt-fingered hand. “Everybody's out of work, I ain’t taking
it any longer.” my es
_ The grey-eyed man looked at him. “There are other ways of
getting some dough,” he said suggestively. gate.

The husky man looked
back at him but didn’t say
anything.

They reached, the center
of the park, Crowds on ei-
ther side of the fountain ~
were milling around “Persh-
ing Square ~Orators” who
harangued their listeners
with the solutions of ‘man-
kind’s ills, They paused to
listen.

“We common _ people
must get that gang of cut-
throats out of the White
House,” one speaker shout-
ed beneath his raised fist.
“This country belongs to us
—to you and me, my
friends. We've ‘got. to claim
it!” :

Excitement flared 'in the
younger man’s grey eyes.
“He's right,” he nudged the
husky man,

“Yeah,” the other man
said from the corner of his
mouth, “But not take it the
way he means. I know 4
better way.” His hands
clenched into fists.

“You talk like I think too,” the younger man said. “I’ve got
some ideas. Let’s find a place where we can talk.”

Ps

gf tae only vacant bench was in the section reserved for women
and children, “To hell with them,” the husky man said. “I
want to sit down.” ‘

Nearly an hour later the two men got up from the bench and
shook hands. “Two o’clock Friday,” the grey-eyed man. said.
“Right here? I mean Thursday, not Friday.”

“Oke,” the husky man said. “Thursday.” .

They parted, the husky man going toward Fifth Street and
the younger man going toward Sixth. He was carrying the news-
paper-wrapped bundle and a strange new gleam flashed from
his darting eyes... .

By the middle of the afternoon of Friday, May 2nd, 1931,
W. J. Austin was worried. A Religious Practitioner, his waiting
room at his office in the Walter P. Story Building, 610 South
Broadway, was empty. All day he had been expecting one of
his patients, William Eugene Fuller, to come in for a treatment.

Finally, Austin telephoned the office of the Dorothy Apart-

_ments, at 911 11th Place, and asked for the manager. “Have

you seen Mr, Fuller?” he asked W. B. Anderson, who with his
wife managed the apartment building.

11


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‘

Lieut. Sanderson (above) found a
seemingly valueless envelope. that
proved vital in cracking the case.

- Anderson paused before answering.
“I-don’t belive I have seen him today,”
he admitted. ‘ ,

Austin identified himself. “Mr. Fuller
is ill. I’m concerned about him. Should
have come in for a treatment yesterday.
Weuld you mind locking in on him?
He might be very ill.”

_ “Whi, sure I'll see about him,” An-
derson promised. “And thanks for calling.” raya ®

Anderson climbed the stairs to the 4th floor apartment’ of
Fuller. At the door he rapped, and waited. He rapped again,
and called, ‘Gene! Gene, you here?”

When there was no response, he tried the knob. It turned in
his hand and he pushed the door open. His puzzled eyes swept
the room. The apartment was not in its usual:neat order. The
fold-down bed was pulled out and a pile of covers were in the
middle.

Then Anderson’s eyes fixed on the bed and suddenly widened
as he saw the blocdstained head an shoulders of Fuller sticking
cut from the pile. Unbelievingly he stepped closer to the bed. A
blocdy towel was tied around Fuller’s face,

Anderson wheeled around and hurried out of the room, re-
membering to close and lock the door with his own key. He
plunged down the stairs to the office and grabbed the telephone.

Anderson’s call was flashed from the Central Complaint Board
to the Georgia Street Police Station, in whose division the crime
was located, and to the Central Homicide Bureau.

“° Captain David A. Davidson, Chief of the Homicide Bureau,
handed the address to Detective Lieutenant Leroy E, Sanderson.
“You and Frank get this one,” he said.

12

“Frank's out now,” Sanderson reminded him, referring to De-
tective Lieutenant Frank E. Ryan, his regular partner.

“ll go with you,” volunteered Detective Lieutenant Ray E.
Giese, a big, rcbust man who was always anxious to follow a
case,

“Get your cap,” grinned Sanderson, a large, neatly dressed
man who looked more like a business executive than a police
officer. “Here we go.”

There were three police cars in front of, the Dorothy Apart-
ments when they arrived, “Georgia Street boys already here,”
Giese remarked as they climbed out.

Mrs. Anderson met them at. the first-floor office. “My hus-
band just took some officers up there,” she said. “Come on,

The apartment house where the crime occurred. Tenants told
police of two mysterious men they had noticed in the building.

Tl show you.” ,

They followed her up to the fourth ficor. The Georgia Street
officers were standing in the hallway in front of the half-open
door to Fuller's apartment. The homicide detectives greeted
them and walked into the apartment.

c was a one-room apartment with a tiny kitchen and a bath
at cne end, The officers glanced quickly about the room and
then walked over to the bed. There was no doubt that the man
on the bed beneath the pile of bed clothing was dead. Neither
wag there any doubt that he had been murdered, for the blood-
soaked towel was tightly knotted around his head and face.

“We need the Crime Lab Loys and the Corcner first,” San-

-derson said.

“I'll call them,” Giese said. He stepped cut into the hallway
and asked Anderson to show him to a telephone. ‘

In the meantime, Sanderson took a notebook fram his pocket.
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74

nearly a year by an unsuccessful appeal
to, the state supreme court, In the mean-
time, Arizona’s lawmakers abolished
hanging ag the legal means of execution
and adopted Iétha) gas, for which a cham-
ber was constructed at the penitentiary in
Florence.

It was there, in the gray morning of
Saturday, July 7, 1934, that the ,two
confessed slayers calmly faced their doom.

pleted his search for fingerprints ,of
which he found several, the detectives
began a minute study of the room.

One of the first things to attract their
attention was a package in an arm chair.
Giese felt of it. ‘Feels like clothing,” he
said, “Laundry, Ill bet.”

He picked the package up and on
the side, beneath a string, was a piece of
torn paper with the name ‘Frank Jones”
scrawled on it. He broke the package
open and found three shirts, some under-
wear, and socks, all freshly laundered.

“Frank Jones,” Giese repeated the:
name. ‘Could that be the man who stayed,
here recently?”

“Could “be,” Sanderson nodded, “Any
marks on the laundry?” ;

There were no marks on the laundry
which, plus the fact the name had been
scrawled on a piece of paper, suggested
it had probably been done by some
laundry woman or small hand laundry in
the neighborhood.

“If Jones had his laundry sent up here,
he must have been staying here,” Giese

said, “The question is where is Jones .

new?”

“Maybe we can trace the laundry,”
Sanderson said. “Of course it may be that
Fuller uses the name Jones sometimes and
this is his laundry.”

Giese picked up the package. “I'll show
it to the manager, and see what he says.”’

Neither Anderson nor his wife recog-
nized the Jaundry, or where it came from.
When Mrs. Anderson held up one of
the shirts she said, ‘This isn't Mr., Full-
er’s. Much too big for him.”

“Did you ever hear the name Frank
Jones?” Giese asked both.

Both shock ‘their heads. “Could this
belong to the young man who was seen
around here recently? Could his name
be Frank Jones?” . 8

“TY don’t know about his name,’ Mrs.
Anderson said. “But that shirt would be
too big for him. I don’t think he was
much bigger than Mr. Fuller.”

It was Giese’s turn to shake his head.
“Jones must be a newcomer then,” he
guessed.

Not only were they the firste to be Jegally
executed by gas in Arizona, but they were
the first pair to die together by that
means in the United States.

Note: For the trotection of persons in-
nucently involved in a \murder investiga-

_ tion, the names John Schraeder, Joe Wag-

goner and Henry Kane, as used in this
story, are purely fictitious.

Can’t Convict Me

(Continued from page 13)

‘Back in the apartment Sanderson was
studying a bottle of wine tonic and. three
used drinking glasses resting on a table
in the tiny kitchen. Gaskell had dusted
them but found only smudges of finger-
prints,

The bottle and glasses suggested that
Fuller might have entertained two guests.
“They killed him after an argument,”
Sanderson mused. ‘That could be the
angle.” .

However, the Andersons later exploded
this guess when they insisted that Fuller
never drank. “Not that man,” Mrs. An-
derson declared, ‘‘He had stomach troub-
le, and he may have had the tonic for
that reascn. But he never had any drink-
ing gcing on in his place, I’m sure.”

The presence of the laundty, if it did
not belung to either Fuller nor his un-

‘known guest, baffled the detectives. They

began speculating on how it could have
come to be there. ;

“Let’s assume,” Sanderson suggested,
“that Fuller drank from one of those
glasses, and that his guest—the guy with
the funny eyes—drank from the other.
That would leave Frank Jones, the guy
with the bundle of laundry, to drink out
of the third one.”

Giese nodded his agreement. “But why
was he running around with a package
of clean laundry? Looks like he might
have just dropped in, but left hurriedly
after the murder.”

“Let’s guess that way,” Sanderson said.
“He wouldn’t be far from home with a
package of laundry.”

“Must not live in the building,” Giese
reminded -him, “or the Andersons would
know the name. But he could live in the
neighborhood.”

“Right,”’ Sanderson nudded. “Let's get

some Gf the Georgia Street boys out ask-

ing about a Frank Jones.”

S the other officers began a canvass
of the area for a man named Frank
Jcnes, Sanderson and Giese continued to
search the apartment. They found no bill-
fold, watches, or other jewelry or valu-
ables of any kind. This strengthened the

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He also learned much about the
businesslike operations of this nefari-
ous racket. :

Suckers were speared by the shills,
operating in mostly every part of the
country and in some cases in Europe,
especially if the sucker had the right
kind of bankroll.

The agents and mechanics who, as
Mr. Simpson and others learned to
their regret, frequently bem as “fur-
riers” and other types of businessmen,
were then assigned to the “sucker
lists” and were responsible to the

higherups for the catch.

Signals were also put to use in the

ames against the sucker, Rooney
earned. A touch of the lobe of the
ear by a finger for instance would
mean the toucher needed a “queen.”
The picture-card “queen” wears an
ear-ring. A touch of the chin called
for a king because the king has a
beard, and so on.

Loaded with a comprehensive
charge of dynamite supplied by
Adolph Raskin and Jacob Baum, the
district attorney’s office. was about
ready to blast the card-cheating
racket out of New York.

Herbert E. Simpson finally got his
chance. And his revenge was doubt-
lessly very sweet.

Early in November of 1940 he was
whisked before the Kings County
Grand Jury. In short order the jury
handed up a sealed indictment against
sixteen of the card ‘chiselers. So
strong was the testimony offered by
the assistant district attorney against
Hymie Caplin that the grand jury also
voted an indictment against hice *

And then came the blow to New
York’s sporting world that left it
spinning for several weeks like a
punch-drunk third-rater under the
hammer blows of Joe Louis.

On the chilly evening of November
22, an air of uneasiness permeated
huge Madison Square Garden. The
night’s boxing program was over and
the big fight arena was quickly
cleared. i

Out on traffic-clogged Eighth Ave-
nue, thousands of weary fight fans
began wheedling their ways to sub-
ways, surface cars and busses. Every-
one was talking about the second-

HEADQUARTERS

ADETECTIVE

“Well,” Chief Carter said with con-
viction, “if he ever worked here it
won't. take long to find out.”

* Officers were promptly sent to
every commercial concern in. Rose-

ville that used trucks in its business. -

Finally, after hours of carefully
checking employers’ lists, they came
across one company, a laundry, which
furnished some information. One of
their truck drivers, Gilbert Parman,
had quit the day of the crime with
the explanation that he was leaving
town. Parman, they said, was hand-
some and of a pleasant disposition.
He was popular on his route and was
also a favorite in the Roseville soft-
ball league.

Chief Carter, when he heard the
name, rubbed his forehead in puzzled
fashion. He thought the name familiar.

round kayo scored by lightweight
champion Lew Jenkins over Petie
Lello, tough Italian challenger.
Hardly anyone in that vast throng,
which was still swarming out of the
Garden like ants from a mole hill,
realized that Howling Hymie wasn’t
in Lew’s corner on that -evening.
But up in the Garden’s front office,
“Uncle” Mike Jacobs sat disconsolate-
ly at his desk. He was surrounded by
several reporters and sports writers.
“Have you heard anything from
jo fe yet?” one of the newsmen

asked.

“All I know, boys, is what Mrs.
Caplin told me on the telephone
earlier today,” Mike said. “She said
Hymie left the house with two men
late this afternoon, and said he was
going downtown with them to talk
over some business deal.”

Mike bit hard on a stubby, wet
cigar. He glanced at his wristwatch.
It was a few minutes past ten o’clock.
“T can’t figure it out,” he exclaimed.

Just then the telephone rang. Mike
grabbed it.

“Hello!” he shouted. The newsmen
gathered closer around him.

“This is—who?” Mike hesitated.
His eyes widened. He looked startled.
Finally, he placed a hand over the
mouthpiece.

“It’s Hymie Caplin,” he exclaimed.
“He wants to know if we made much
money on the fight tonight, and what
kind of a purse his champion re-
ceived.”

“Ask him where he is and what
happened to him,” said a reporter.

“Where are you Hymie?”

Suddenly Mike’s face went pale. He
let out a deep sigh and hung up.

Mike turned to the reporters again.
“He says he’s arrested,” Mike an-
nounced. “But not to worry. It isn’t
anything serious. The police just
want to question him about a few
things.”

HAT was Hymie Caplin’s last con-
tact with the boxing world he loved
so well, and which paid him so well
—at least for several years anyway.
The headlines on that chilly Novem-
ber evening told the sad plight of the
dapper manager who had coached

HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE 41

such fistic stars as Al Singer, Ben
Jeby, Lou Salica, Solly Kreiger and
Lew Jenkins into championships. He
was accused of being the “brains” be-
hind the $2,000,000 card-swindling
racket. .

Hymie was freed for a few months
on bail after his arrest in November.
But finally he was brought back for
trial in early February.

The state, under the able direction
of Rooney, was ready to proceed
against Caplin, Baum and the others.

Just before the trial began on
Febuary 4, Hymie was struck a pow-
erful blow. Seven of his alleged
ee eee according to the

tate, of Hymie’s reign over the card-
swindling racket—stood up in court
and a. guilty. One of the seven,
Jacob Baum, announced he would
turn state’s evidence against Caplin.
Besides Baum, the others who pleaded
uilty were Mrs. Rubens, Hymie Gold,
rving Taub, Sam Epstein, Abe Blu-
menson and Gussie Blumenson.

Many of Hymie’s pugilistic asso-
ciates came to the trial and testified
in Hymie’s behalf. But it was all to
no avail. For on February 15, after
only an hour and forty-five minutes
deliberation, a jury, sitting in County
Judge Peter J. Brancato’s court,
brought in a verdict of guilty against
the little manager on charges of con-
spiracy and grand ee

Three weeks later Judge Brancato
sentenced Caplin to a. term of five
to ten years in Sing Sing.

For his testimony against Caplin,
Baum was given a thirteen-month
sentence in Sing Sing on the Hittel-
man charge, and a five-to-ten-year
suspended sentence in the major trial
of the Simpson case.

Mrs. Rubens was given a two-and-
one-half to five-year term; Gold, the
same sentence; Abe Blumenson, fif-
teen months; Irving Taub, a year;
Sam Epstein, serving three years on
the Hittelman charge, was given a
suspended five-year sentence in the
Simpson case; and Mrs. Gussie Blu-
menson, the “mysterious” apartment-
house mistress, was placed on proba-
tion for one year. :

‘At the time this was written all the
others were awaiting trial.

SEX-MAD SLAYER

CONTINUED FROM

‘“Parman—Parman,” he said aloud,
to other officers. “Somehow that name
rings a bell. Of course! I remember
him now. He’s the fellow who was in
court some weeks ago on a battery
complaint.”

He looked into the records and
found that his memory was right. Gil-
bert Parman, 25 years old, had been
arrested on a warrant a by_his
divorced wife, Lucille Tescari Par-
man of Oakland. She accused him of
striking her and said he had used a
gun to threaten her sister. The case
was later dropped when Parman
straightened out the quarrel without
going into court.

“If he had a gun then,” Chief Car-
ter said, “the chances are he’s got one
now!” :

“Any record on him?” Gum asked.

PAGE 37

“Tll make sure by checking on it
right now.”
hen the detailed report came
back from the State Bureau of Iden-
tification in Sacramento, Chief Carter
realized that even if Gilbert Parman
had not killed George McElroy, at
least. he had the record to match the
crime. The “popular” ball player had
started his career with a term in the
Preston Reformatory; he graduated
from that to the Ohio State Peniten-
tiary and had served a four-year
stretch in the Leavenworth Federal
Penitentiary—all before the age of
23. He was known as a “tough guy,”
and had been in a brawl at Leaven-

worth that gave him such a badly.

fractured jaw the doctors had to wire
it together. Despite that, Parman had
pulled the wire from the bone three

—manemeneones


DARING DETECTIVE, July, 1952.

—

The couple listened with shock to the
gitl’s story of the atrocity. The husky
athlete’s face betrayed his fury and in-
dignation at the enormity of the outrage

BY SEYMOUR J. ETTMAN

e S
tewified
by threats of violence

the beautiful girl

had made a

date

with a

roadside
ravisher

A bright July sun gilded the aluminum top of the
slowing bus and glinted in a flashing are along the
metal curb-stripping in front of the Placer County
courthouse in Auburn, California. It was a hot day.
The asphalt street was tacky underfoot, and shimmer-
ing heat waves rose from the copper dome of the
county building. The girl in the floral print dress,
clutching her white gloves and the patent leather
strap of her bag, began to run. She moved with quick,
lithe strides, the tall heels of her white pumps rap-
ping out an urgent tattoo on the concrete flags.

The bus rolled to a stop at Courthouse Square,
disgorged a solitary passenger, and wheeled into the
sluggish stream of traffic once again.

The running girl slowed to a walk. She stared after

the departing vehicle with chagrined brown eyes. Her.

lips pressed into a thin scarlet thread which bespoke
her disappointment.

In the distance, the bus swung into the left lane
and gathered momentum. Dorothy Pace walked to
the corner and glanced at the watch on her slim wrist.
Twenty after twelve! And the next Roseville bus
wasn’t due until 2:30. ..

Let’s see, shesaid to herself. I’d better phone the
Greyhound people. They run a bus to Sacramento.
Maybe it stops at Roseville.

She glanced across the street at the white stucco

facade of a gasoline service station. She saw the

ise
Semempecsteci mee net

thane 6 . K.

familiar blue sign- which denoted a public telephone.
She drew on her gloves, snuggling the creases be-
tween her fingers and started across the street to
make her call.

From the Greyhound agency, Dorothy learned that
they had no bus leaving for Roseville before 3 that
afternoon. Disconcertedly she replaced the receiver
on its hook and left_the booth.

A truck had drawn up before one of the gas pumps.

The driver was chatting with the station attendant
while waiting for his change. Dorothy glanced at
them briefly as she passed. Suddenly she stopped.
The word Roseville lettered on the truck panel caught

her eye.

4 «

The girl hesitated. Then, timidly, she approached
the driver. He stared at her as he crammed a handful
of change into his trouser pocket. .

“I beg your pardon,” the girl said. “Are you
going to Roseville? I missed my bus, and. . .”

The driver smiled. “Sure thing,” he said pleasantly.
“Got a couple of stops to make on the way, but I
ought to be in Roseville by 2 o’clock. That any good
to you?”

She smiled also. “Golly yes,” she said relievedly.
“That’s a lot better than waiting for the next bus.”

He leaned over and opened the door. “Hop in,”
he invited. “Glad to have company.” Bi,

Dorothy Pace climbed into the cab.and sat de- —

*

“ON6T-9T-0 Co

VICTIM ———

of the murderous attack was popular George McElroy (above).

ried into the physician’s office by the
officers.

“We've got to get this boy to a
hospital in Sacramento,” Dr. Mc-
Anally said to District Attorney
Sparks.

They called an ambulance and a
few minutes later were roaring toward
the capital, 20 miles west. It was
almost midnight when they arrived
at Mercy Hospital. While the doctors
were working, Sparks pleaded with
the boy to name his assailant.

But George McElroy was far beyond
speech, and just after dawn, while
Ruth Brusso sat weeping outside the
room, he died.

It was then, on the verge of collapse,
that the pretty Roseville girl revealed
she had lost not only a sweetheart—
but a husband. She and George had
been secretly married in Gardnerville,
Nevada, two weeks before, and had
planned a gay family party to an-
nounce their wedding.

In Roseville, meanwhile, dozens of

men took part in the nighttime seaveh,
and the posses stopped every car an
truck leaving the town. ut there
was no sign of the black-haired thug,
and the only tangible clue came from
Claude Katy, who found the man’s
blue jacket near a fence in his back
yard. It was evident that they had
acted too late; the man had wiggled
out of the trap. He had probably
stolen a car, and that guess was more
or less confirmed about five a.m., when
a report came through from the near-
by town of Rocklin.

Jack Bolster, a resident there, re-

rted that his Ford convertible had

n stolen from its parking place on

the main highway. Teletype messages
were flashed out at once to sheriff
stations, police headquarters and to
the inating atrol, giving the
license number, 2-H-4918, and warn-
ing officers that a murderer was at
the wheel.

the loose threads of the crime,

Sheriff Gum and Chief Carter lis-
tened to [ot Brusso’s story.

“And ‘Spike’ is the only name he
gave you?” Chief Carter asked.

“Yes. Naturally I wasn’t interested
in his name.”

“What kind of truck was it?”

“I’m not sure. It wasn’t very big,
one of those light delivery trucks. And
I think it was painted white.”

“And you think he worked in Rose-
ville?”

Margaret nodded. “Yes, I had a
feeling he knew the town well.”

(Continued on page 47)

Tite following day, trying to pick up

31


48 HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE

times in a desperate effort to get a
transfer. .

Chief Carter immediately showed
Parman’s photograph to Margaret
Brusso and her bereaved sister.

“Ever see this fellow before?”

“Oh, yes!” Margaret exclaimed.
“That’s the man!”

“Yes, he’s the one,” Ruth agreed.
“How could I ever forget that face?”

N_ passing weeks Chief Carter and

District Attorney Sparks ran down

a dozen false leads. But the case
against Parman was airtight—even to
the murder gun. Chief Carter learned
that the fugitive had purchased it
from a fellow worker, Tony Sanches,
only a week before that fatal night.

On an August evening, several
weeks after the murder, a group of
California highway patrolmen went
out on the road at Eureka to make a
routine test of automobile headlights.
This town, near the northwestern
boundary: of the state, is on the
famous Redwood Highway, the main
artery for California-Oregon traffic.

There were four men in the group,
Captain Sam Kirkpatrick, Sergeant
Thad Douarin and Patrolmen Lonnie
Hill and A. A. Nichols. They set up a
testing board on one side of the road,
lit flares to slow down the stream of
traffic and began checking the cars.

They had been there an hour or so
when Captain Kirkpatrick, betwee |
along the line of crawling cars an
explaining the apg 3 to impatient
drivers, came upon a Ford convertible
that seemed. vaguely familiar. There
were two passengers in the car, a man
and a girl.

“Say, what’s the matter here?” the
man asked, sticking his head out.

“Not a thing. Just checking lights.”

Captain Kirkpatrick went on, but
as the car moved forward he_ wrote
down its license number. Then, hurry-
ing back to the patrol car, he called
to Sergeant Douarin.

“Anything wrong?” Douarin asked.

“P}l tell you in a minute,” Kirk-
patrick said, running his finger down
a list of numbers on a pad near the
steering wheel. “I thi I’ve got a
hot one. Let’s see—2-H-4918—sure
enough, that’s it!”

“Say, that’s not the car in that
Roseville murder?”

“The same. Let’s go—and keep
your eyes open.”

They strode down the highway to-
gether, each fingering his gun until
they came alongside the ‘ord car.

HEADQUARTERS

DETECTIVE

fight for a chance at hap iness she
was to unwittingly draw the curtain
on a situation that had been going on
for several years behind the pictur-
esque walls of Sonoma Home, while
the public was utterly oblivious to it.
To this day Margaret Griffin is a pawn
being moved back and forth across the
boards of public debate in a dramatic
airing of the pros and cons of sterili-
zation for the feebleminded.

In the Sonoma Home less than a
week, she was subjected to the
usual intelligence tests and came

“Hey, you!” Kirkpatrick snapped.
“Pull out of line!”

“What’s the idea?” the driver pro-
tested.

“Never mind the argument. Get out
of that car and keep your hands up!”

White-faced and tense, the man slid
from the seat and stepped out to the
road.

“The girl, too!” the officer ordered.

“Now, listen,” the suspect coun-
tered, “she don’t belong in this. I
just met her today and I was taking
her to Eureka for dinner.”

Captain Kirkpatrick hesitated, peer-
ing intently at the trembling and
frightened girl in the car. “All right,”
he said to her finally. “You better go
home and figure you’re lucky. As for
you—” he prodded the man, “keep
walking and keep your hands where
you’ve got ’em.”

ND so Gilbert Everett Parman

AY vegan an unceremonious march
toward a cell, a “wise guy” so

dumb that he had continued riding
around in a stolen car with license
numbers known to every policeman in
California. But as he walked, hu-
miliated and deflated, rage distorted
his thinking and stirred up the same
homicidal instincts that made him
murder George McElroy. Captain
Kirkpatrick was at his side now, al-
most at ease, and he had taken his
hand off the gun holster.

“You know, Captain,” said Parman
casually as they neared the county
jail on the edge of town, “I certainly
don’t want any trouble here.” ;

“There shouldn’t be any at all,

oung fellow,” Kirkpatrick said crisp-
y. “You know what this is all about.
We're just going in here and talk
things over.”

The jail door was only a few yards
away now, and Gilbert Parman knew
that liberty would be permanently
locked out as soon as he stepped across
the threshold. He paused almost im-
perceptibly, threw one more uick
— over his shoulder at the officer.

hen, with the same lightninglike
stab of motion he had used once be-
fore when he was trapped, Parman
reached for his gun.

He fired almost pointblank at the |

astonished officer and waited for him
to drop. But nervous haste had spoiled
his aim. The flame from the muzzle
burned Captain Kirkpatrick’s hair,
and the two bullets whistled over his
head, gouging plaster from the jail
wall. The failure of his murderous

outburst snapped the false courage

he had mustered; he could have fired

again but now he.was suddenly afraid.

He whirled around and began a
desperate run even as Kirkpatrick
whipped out his own gun and opened
fire. But luck was with Parman; he
made a poor target shifting and
dodging in the darkness and the slugs
whined harmlessly into the air.

A block from the jail the panting
fugitive cut sharply .across a service-
station lot, sped down a narrow pas-
sageway between Third and Fourth.
Blocked by a dead-end wall, he
plunged into a pool hall and waved
his gun at a group of players.

“The cops are after me!” he
shrieked. “But they’ll never take me
alive. Now get out of my way!”

The customers needed no urging
and they were already sprawled on
the floor out of range when Parman”
hurled his body against a rear door,
smashed it down and emerged on the
next street. But-at that instant fate
put her thumb down. Parman, run-
ning from the poolroom, collided with
Officer James O’Neill of the Eureka
Police, who had: come running when
he heard the shots.

“Leggo me, you dirty—!” Parman
snarled as O’Neill’s arms bound him.
“Leggo, or I’ll give it to you right in
the belly.”

He wrenched his gun arm loose,
shoved the weapon against the police-
man’s stomach.

“Go ahead, you rat!” O’Neill grunt-
ed. “But I’m hanging on.”

Parman’s finger curled around the
trigger, pulled it. But there was only
a dull click, and before he could
squeeze it again he was tackled and
dumped on his face by Sergeant
Douarin, who had come up from be-
hind. And there he lay, gasping and
cursing, as Douarin picked up the
gun A snapped steel cuffs around his
wrists.

WO: days later, while he was mak-
T ing the 300-mile drive to Roseville
™ under guard, he protested whin-
ingly that he had not meant to kill
George McElroy, that he had only
drawn the revolver to frighten him
“and somehow the gun went off.”

On September 22, 1939, the jury
left the courtroom of Superior Court
Judge J. B. Landis and came back
five minutes later with a first-degree-
murder verdict. Parman was sen-
tenced ‘to die in the lethal chamber at
San Quentin. He died, August, 1940.

STERILIZATION ?

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 43

out sorely wanting. Her I. Q. was
fixed at 73, which would place her
mentality in the category of that of
an eleven-and-a-half-year-old child.
Ninety per cent is the minimum intel-
ligence quotient for a normal adult.
Storm clouds began to gather, when
the home pursued its policy of ten
years standing and brought Mrs. Grif-
fin before what became celebrated in
public prints as the Sterilization Jury.
Headed by Dr. Fred O. Butler, super-
intendent of Sonoma, this body in-
cluded seven physicians all immacu-

lately clad in white and several wo-
men attendants similarly attired.

Theirs is a tremendous responsibil-
ity, for in their hands they hold the
power of life and death for children
yet unborn. Margaret Griffin wondered
what this austere-looking group of
persons wanted with her.

The supervising social worker, the
assistant social worker and the chief
matron, all members of the jury, re-
garded Mrs. Griffin thoughtfully.

It did not take them long to reach
a verdict. When Dr. Butler put the


30, Louise went as
trolleys would take
nta Monica to clear
ig check that had
lere all week.
mnocle sword re-
ve her head, Louise
aracteristically ami-
2joined her husband
che pogan home,
man to drive the
o Glendale, and en
glad news that Mrs.
‘d her and Judson
Logan house while
\ding the exhilarat-
that she had told
heir marriage and
n delighted beyond

this, Logan seem-
normal and, while
concern about his
d with the advent
de helped them to
sings and was un-
on the return trip

There, however,
signs of an illness
lead him back to
that had plagued

into the back yard
n old custom of
truck up a con-
Ars. Kellough, who
Apparently Mrs.
sked about Mrs.
ist as Louise ap-
the talk, Logan
a frightened; far-
eyes, that .Mrs.
ith an automobile
ld not be home

‘ook his arm and
ack to the house
Stood, agape, at
eete returned al-
to ask Mrs. Kel-
what Logan had
gan hadn’t been
the story of the
e to get him back
ward of General

ll remain away
in the hospital,”
“He has become
dangerous again
ve could get him
hout a terrible
‘m that Margaret
was in the hos-

O€an was taken

and Mrs. Peete
the psychopathic
. Charles Vanee.

that: illusory trust

gone berserk and had hit his wife
in the face and about the head,
had bitten and clawed her on the
neck and nose and then had choked
her until Mrs. Peete had arrived
in the nick of time to pull him away
from his victim.

Mrs.) Logan had been so badly
beaten, Louise said, that she had
left, in Mrs. Peete’s absence, for a
hospital, leaving a note that she
would not return until her husband
had been put safely away. She had
been so terribly shocked and ex-
hausted, Mrs, Peete said, that it
might be necessary for her to take
a long rest.

“I haven’t heard from her yet,”
Mrs. Peete told Dr. .Vanee, “but I
will a8 soon as she’s able to get in
touch; with me. In the meantime,
I have commitment papers for Mr.
Logan.”

A week later Logan, bewiidered
and broken, was committed to the.
State Mental hospital at Patton on
a Superior Court order.

T is a regretable experience of
law enforcement officers that per-
sons bent on involved crimes, more
particularly those designed to pro-
duce money for the criminals, are

‘likely! to be favored by fortune

early in their operations and are
thus encouraged to continue on
their heinous ways, whereas an early
setback might bring them up short
before too great evil has been done.

One of these unfortunately fortu-
nate breaks came to Louise Peete
two days after Arthur Logan was
committed to Patton. The bank
which was handling the Musser
escrow matter telephoned and ask-
ed for Mrs. Logan. Mrs. Peete ex-
plained that Mrs, Logan was very
ill and in the hospital and that she,
Mrs. Anna B. Lee, Mrs. Logan’s
foster sister, would handle her af-
fairs, The bank then explained that
the ‘$2,000 deposited to hold the
Musser place would be forfeited
unless further security was forth-
coming at once. Mrs. Peete, as Mrs.
Lee, explained that the trust fund
she had expected to materialigt was
still in litigation and that they
(Mrs.. Logan and Mrs. Lee) would
be unable to do anything more for
several weeks.

Mrs. Peéte hastened over to the
bank in person. She explained that
Mrs. Logan had been gravely in-
jured in a. struggle with her mani-
acal, husband and. that her right
arm’ was now temporarily useless.
Thus, Mrs. Peete (alias Lee) said,
she had empowered her foster sister
to sign all business documents.

May 29, she said, Logan had ~ To bolster this, she presented a

typed paper bestowing such power
upon her with a signature appended
in a most suspicious scrawl. The
signature, she said, had been af-
fected by her holding Mrs. Logan’s
hand and guiding it and the pen.
Mrs. Logan had then made a reason-
able legible “X,” Mrs. Peete said.

For some weird, inexplicable rea-
son, the bank accepted it and Louise
found herself in possession of $916
in cash.

Moreover, the bank made the
check payable, not to Margaret
Logan, but to Anna B. Lee.

Many months later, Louise and

Judson still occupied the old Logan
house and Louise told Mrs. Ruby
Gibson, an old friend of Margaret
Logan; that she was having some
remodeling done, at her own ex-
pense, so that none of the old as-
sociations would remain to upset
her beloved friend. Then, ‘with her
characteristic inability to let well
enough alone, conversationally, she
added:
“But I know what I’m doing is
useless as far as Margaret is con-
cerned, because I just know she’ll
never, never come back here. She
told me when she left that she nev-
er wanted to see the place again
and told me to do whatever I want-
ed with the things here.”

Once more Mrs. Peete’s_ stories
of ‘a missing friend began to touch
the fringes of phantasy. A handy-
man who worked about the house
and yard told that Margaret was
staying in a hotel near San Ber-
nardino to be near her husband in
Patton hospital. To Mrs. Kellough
she told a story of Mrs. Logan hav-
ing gone to Oregon for a terrible
operation, adding, that she had de-
veloped cancer of the breast from
injuries incurred ‘in her struggle
with her deranged husband.

On and on the stories went, few
cf them jibing. Mrs. Musser was
told’ that Mrs. Logan was under-
going plastic surgery, Judson be-
lieved she was in San Francisco
for treatment for her injuries. For
Judson too, was a pathetic victim of
this fiendish woman’s charm.

On December 1, 1944, Louise and
Judson called on the Sperls. It was
evident that Louise had bad news.
Logan, she said, had only a few
more days to live and Margaret, in
spite of her great illness, was on her
way to San Bernardino from Oregon.

Then came December 6th and
Arthur Logan bereft of the last as-
surances that his wife had not de-
serted him, since she never reach-
‘ed Patton at all, confined to a nar-
row cell on a sheetless cot, alone

apo ye

NE of the davitdet and most

successful: pioneers in, the
matrimonial club racket was a
sweet looking young thing who
was best and most frequently
known as Cora Hebner. =
Cora learned ‘quite early in
life that a girl with charms
and a good business head could
make a living without either
spinning. or sewing. By the
time she met Will Hebner and
they decided to settle down,
she’d already gone, through
several marriages,
split up without penenit of legal
divorce,
Cora and will now went into
the marriage business serious-
ly. Avid subscribers to various

- lonely hearts clubs, Cora work-

ed the Jonely. males and Will
operated on the lonely females.
Will “married” some nineteen
women, milked: them of what-
ever money they had; Cora la-
ter admitted to ten men during
the same period. Between
“Jjob8,” Cora and Will lived on
their Arkansas farm.

Apart from bigamy, the
couple rolled up a record of
crimes that makes the average
law breaker look like a Sun-
day school teacher. There was
robbery, blackmail, prostitu-
tion, and embezzlement, to
name a few. And then finally
there was murder. Cora mur-

' dered Will. A. terrible. stench
-from the farm was the first

tipoff, and later, after Cora had

- left Arkansas and rented the
“ house, ‘Will’s

skeleton was
found in the. cellar.
She denied everything. She

 hadn’t killed Will, and if a
skeleton. had been found in the

cellar, 1t must have been there

each one >

a. long, Jong ‘time, because it .

wasn't. Will. He was visiting
somewhere, ale didn’t know

_ where.

Cora never ei to trial. She
managed ‘somehow, while in

» Jail, to get her hands on some

i
r

Asi pie hn Ca ds conduits

poison, and committed suicide
in her. _dank, dark prison cell. -

43

~ it

four days later Louise was back in
Santa Monica. She assured Mrs.
‘Logan that they were on their way
,to riches. So successful had her
_ trip been, she said, that she would

bet a

now return the $300 after which
She would take an apartment of
her own for a time.

She had, she implied without say-
ing anything directly, been able to
raise a sum on her prospective trust
fund and would no longer burden
the Logans, although remaining
partners with Mrs. Logan in the
real estate ventures already cook-
ing.

Blithely, Louise took her leave,
but the Logans were not so blithe.
They were, indeed, profoundly sad
at losing their adorable guest and

it is a matter of record that Logan

was reported, shortly. thereafter, to
have lapsed back into his most de-
pressed state. .

_ For Louise, however, there was a
new and joyful world. She took the
trolley directly to a Glendale hotel
and there, tripping as lightly and
as gaily as any maiden, she let
herself into a honeymoon suite and
flung herself into the welcoming
arms of one Lee Judson,.a kindly,
late-sixtyish gentleman employed in
a Glendale bank who had met and
‘married her in Denver under the
name of Anna B. Lee. :

Unfortunately for Judson, a sym-
pathetic character upon whom
tragedy was to fasten itself with
inescapable fervor, she had neglect-
ed to mention her twenty-one years
of penitence as a murderess; and
Judson, charmed by her gracefully
aged beauty and lovely manners,
had believed himself the luckiest
man on earth to induce her to wed
him.

| Setahenm had been enjoying her
connubial solitude only a few
days when Mrs. Logan sent for her.
Logan had become unmanageable
again, she reported, and. something
would have to be done about his
future. Mrs. Peete agreed to find
an institution in which Logan could
be well cared for. ( :

. Shortly after this, Louise decided
that Mrs. Logan had been in danger
long enough and that she, Louise,
would have to take matters into
her own hands, Accordingly she
called Logan’s relatives and re-
proached them for preventing Mrs,
Logan from putting Arthur in a
safe place.

“One day,” she said, “you will
wake up to read about a terrible
tragedy at 713 Hampden Place and
you will have no one to blame but
yourselves. You know that she

42

tion because of what you will say
and she’s really in danger.”

April passed and May ‘wore on.
Came the nineteenth of the month
and with it a minor crisis. Louise
Peete appeared at the Santa Monica
Commercial Savings Bank, where
Mrs. Logan kept her account and
where Louise also had opened one,
and presented a check bearing the
signature of Her dear friend. She
deposited the check, -along- with
some small bills, in the account. of
herself and Judson. A few hours
later.a clerk detected a flaw in the
‘Signature and called Mrs. Logan,

Mrs. Logan promptly phoned
Louise and told her, in no uncertain
terms, to cover the check or else.

Trapped, and fearful of revealing
her plight to her husband, Louise |
phoned Mrs, Logan on May 29 and
asked her to cover the check until
money could be obtained from the
trust fund in Denver. Mrs, Logan
bluntly refused and at the same
time advised Louise that she didn’t
believe the trust fund story and
stood to lose her $2,000 deposit on
the Musser. place because of Louise’s
lies,

“This can’t go on any longer,”
Mrs. Logan is known to have in-

_ formed Mrs. Peete. “You are still

my friend and welcome in my house,
but you must never attempt to
yhandle any financial matters that

- concern me and you must not pre-

tend, ever, to have any business
associations with me. That, Louise,
is final.”

Wm ‘happened in the Logan
home on May 29, 1944, was to
be assembled, piece by piece, many
weeks later. Certainly the Logans
were at home and certainly Mrs.
Peete was »welcomed. She phoned
her husband the following day and
asked him to come to the Logan
home as soon as possible. ;

Judson arrived there to find
Arthur Logan and Mrs. Peete, ap-
parently on the best of terms, in
the house. When he asked where
Mrs. Logan was, Mrs, Peete ex-
plained:

“She’s winding up a deal for us
today that will make us as rich as
Ford.”

On the following Monday, Louise
appeared at the Santa Fe ticket of-
fices in downtown Los Angeles with
two tickets to Denver. These she
cashed in for $180. They had been
purchased the preceding Wednesday
by Mrs. Logan, apparently in the
expectation of accompanying Louise
to Denver for a last bit of hopeless

1

spadework on that: illusory trust
fund.

With the $180, Louise went as
quickly as the trolleys would take
her back .to’Santa Monica to clear
the embarrassing check that had
been hanging there all week.

With this Damocletian sword re-
moved from above her head, Louise
was gay and characteristically ami-
able when she rejoined her husband
and Logan at the Logan home,

She hired a man to drive the
three of them to Glendale, and en
route broke the glad news that Mrs.
Logan had asked her and Judson
to move into the Logan house while
she was away, adding the exhilarat-
ing information that she had told

Mrs. Logan of their marriage and

that, she had been delighted beyond
words.

Throughout all this, Logan seem-
‘ed to be quite normal and, while
manifesting some concern about his
wife, well pleased with the advent
of the Judsons. He helped them to
pack their belongings and was un-
usually convivial on the return trip
to the Palisades. There, however,
he began to show signs of an illness
that was soon to lead him back to
the dark hours that had plagued
him before.

He had strolled into the back yard
and, following an old custom of
neighbors, had struck up a con-
versation with a Mrs. Kellough, who
lived next door, Apparently Mrs.
Kellough had asked about Mrs.
Logan because, just as Louise ap-
proached to join the talk, Logan
was saying, with a frightened, far-
away look’ in his eyes, that ,Mrs.
Logan had met with an automobile
accident and would not be home
for several days.

Louise at once took his arm and
led him gently back to the house
as Mrs. Kellough stood, agape, at
the fence. Mrs. Peete returned al-
most immediately to ask Mrs. Kel-
lough to overlook what Logan had
Said, that Mrs, Logan hadn't been
injured and that the story of the
accident was a ruse to get him back
to the psychiatric ward of General
Hospital.

“Mrs. Logan will remain away
until he is safely in the hospital,”

Louise explained. “He has become

unmanageable and dangerous again
and the only way we could get him
into custody, without a terrible
scene, was to tell him that Margaret
had been hurt and was in the hos-
pital.”

' That same day Logan was taken
to General Hospital and Mrs. Peete
made her report to the psychopathic
probation officer, Dr. Charles Vanee.

!

hey se

ii ;
Pees As
? ob “S
Rist po Ne
TORRENT FG: Cee
taal woudl Rae Sy


Wes a , Aad or

: say LASTS Ma cat stot oe :
* me often; I just know $f infamous murderess and ex-convict.
pine ae" It was Judson’s first knowledge

‘ormed her that he had that the woman he’d married and.
crew to the Pacific Pal-

landed on the marble floor of the
street level, his sufferings over.
On &’n Autumn day in 1948, Louise

to make a thorough
ie house and grounds.
posed that this would
sort of admission from
i€ was wrong. Her only
3 that she hoped no one
Mr. Judson, who was

- &@ Car out to bring him
Howser told her and
sht a nibble.

‘surb,” Louise protested.
‘ly innocent; he doesn’t
re about this than you

innocent of?” Howser

doesn’t know anymore
Margaret is, right now,
souise explained.
entered the room ana
whisper, to Captain
of Louise’s hearing.
Howser outside. After
Ss, they returned and
ouise they would take
he Logan house. She
son had come down
told that she would
. If this sounded am-
ise, she made no com-
fidently accompanied
3 and Brown back to

i the house through
1. There, prominently
the Winthrop desk,
' a 32 caliber Smith
tol. There is no doubt
recognized it as the
1 Mrs. Latham after
an’s death.

and Howser led her
urd. There, under an
1€y stopped above a
‘shly turned earth
llow grave. In the
dy of a woman, ap-
’ sixties and some-

Judson looked down
d it is a matter of
never changed ex-
Howser asked:
Logan, Louise?”
” Louise said, calm-
think so. How on
get down there?”
some help,” Howser
aelp, Louise.”
se back to the D.A.s
> to the county jail
hen they told Lee
wife was to be
murder of Margar-
1ey told him, too,
ality, Louise Peete,

apparently loved tenderly, was one
of the most ruthless killers of this.
century. ai

On the morning of December 21,
Louise was brought to the district
attorney’s office again. She was
bright and amiable. After a consid-.
erable discussion of the events of
the night before, Captain Brown
threw a direct question at the pris-.
oner. ;

“Loulse,” he said, “did you dig the
grave yourself?”

“Yes,” Louise said, “I did ahd I
almost ruined my hands.”

If the reader is ready to believe
that Louise went on then to admit
all, he has not properly judged her.
For of course she had not killed Mar-
garet Logan, but she’d had a good
reason for burying her without no-
tifying the authorities of her death.
Two good reasons, in fact, and to
her credit it can be said here that,
to a. mind as devious and conspira-
torial as hers, both were perfectly
logical.

In the first place, /she said, she
was on parole and she had spent
nineteen years in prison (unjustly,

of course) for the Denton murder’

which paralleled this one tog closely
to depend upon esr he’ ie
tect her. No one but Louise Peete
would be blamed for a violent death
in any household in which she re-
sided, and, having felt the pain of
unjust conviction before, she didn’t
want to tempt it again.

The second reason, she said, was
that her husband did not know she
was Louise Peete, that he loved and
respected her as Anna B. Lee and
that she would do anything to pro-

the woman you killed?” Hornbuckle
asked him flatly.

“I didn’t know her any time...
I didn’t know her,” Brickell answer-
ed, paling. y m

“Come along,” Hornbuckle snap-
ped. He motioned to two deputies
and Brickell was led to the morgue
anf the body of the mystery wom-

anWvas lying on a white slab. Horn-.

buckle removed the canvas from the
battered face, turned to Brickell.
-“Who, is she?” he demanded.
Britkell shook his head. “I don’t
know,” he said. “I never saw her be-
fore in my life. She's a stranger.”

death. :

In view of these circumstances,
she said, she had buried Mrs. Lo-
gan’s body after Arthur Logan had
shot her in the neck and beaten
her to a bloody pulp with a beef-
steak hammer,

’ She had dug the grave late on the
night of May 29 and then, under
cover of a moonless sky, had drag-
ged her dearest friend to the yard,
rolled the body into the twenty inch
grave and covered it with earth.

would be redundant to report
& here how all of Louise’s carefully
prepared stories were exploded un-
der strict scrutiny, how her story of
the frantic attack by Arthur Logan
which ended in his wife’s death fell
apart in the first thirty minutes of
Louise’s subsequent trial, of her con-
viction by a mixed jury’ on three
ballots and of her sentence to death
without one mitigating circumstance
to promise her reprieve.

But there is one more tragic tale
to unfold. At first, Lee Judson was
held as an accessory to Margaret
Logan’s murder. Then he was de-
tained as a witness, even against
Louise’s protestations of his inno-
cence. Finally, on January 13, 1945,
he was released.

Dazedly, he wandered out of the
county jail building and went to a
fifteen story building on Spring St.
He took the elevator to the thir-
teenth floor and walked slowly to
the stair well.

An office worker, in the hall for
a drink of water, saw him painfully
climb over the stair well banister
and vanish. Broken and bleeding, he

“Then why didn’t you come down
to the dam, like you said you
would?” Hornbuckle asked. ;

“Because I have to work to sup-
port my family and I knew I’d have
to answer a lot of questions and I’d
told you all I knew,” Brickell replied,
calmly.

Hornbuckle; a shrewd and under-
standing man, realized that the law
is not always adroit in handling
those who would help it. Instinctive-
‘ly he believed Brickell, but he could
not release him immediately. He
sent a clerk and a deputy to make
‘a quick check on the man’s record,

Quentin prison across the small ex-
panse of green and cobbled yard to
the octagonal death house. With a
composure’ that was almost terrify-
ing, she stepped across the thresh-
hold and, without so much as a flick
of an official finger to direct her,
paused in front of the middle of
three heavy chairs festooned with
thick straps.

There, catching. a glimpse of a
newspaper man she recognized as
he peered, ashen faced, through the
observation window to her right, she
bowed politely, gave him a fleeting
smile and sat down.

The lethal pellets dropped into the
pan of water beneath the chair. The
fumes rose and as they did, Louise
Peete drew a deep breath, then an-
other and still another.

Her face fell forward on her
breast. Her immaculately coiffed
hair glistened in the eerie light, her
hands were perfectly relaxed below
the thongs on her round, white
wrists.

Thus she died, smiling, stately, in-
scrutable in her motives, unshakable
in her oblique ego, until the end.

Just before starting for the gas
chamber, she had left one final mes-
sage with Warden Clinton Duffy. “As
before,” she had said, “I am inno-
cent. I am not afraid to go. In fact,
I am rather glad. It is an easy way
and I have no more strength to fight
the injustices that seem to have
picked me as their target.”

‘And that was the final speech of
one of the most implacable mur-
deresses of which history tells us.

fee S oil

found it impeccable. He checked
Brickell’s story that he had been
at his home all night and found it
tallied in every respect with the story
the truck driver had told him.

Brickell was immediately released
with Hornbuckle’s apologies.

ORNBUCKLE realized that with-

- Out an identification of the dead
woman, his search for her murder-
er was static. There was nothing on
the body to offer even the faintest
trace of who she was, whence she
had come, what type of work, if
any, she had done, although medical

45

Peete walked from her cell in San i

LT IT ST
} ate i hh

and wretched and bewildered, came

to his miserable end.

Appaling as his death was, there
was worse to come. The body was
Sold to a hospital and medical school
for research purposes and the sum

. of one hundred dollars was added to
Louise Peete’s suddenly growing
bank account.

HE evening of December 20, 1944,

was a pleasant one in the Los
Angeles area, warm and windless.
Louise and Lee Judson were at home
at Pacific Palisades, sifting through
a@ maze of papers. On the desk be-
fore them sat a green, steel and as-
bestos box probably accounting for
Louise’s agitation when the door-
bell rang unexpectedly.

Captain Thad Brown, chief of the
Homicide Detail of the Los Angeles
police, wanted to ask Louise some
questions about Margaret Logan’s
whereabouts and one or two other
salient matters.

That he observed the strong box
and noted the name on it, Louise
was soon to discover, even though
she swept it under her arm, along
with such of the papers as she could
conveniently lay hands on, and
quickly locked them in a Winthrop
secretary.

Following this, she asked Judson
if he would mind driving over to
Santa Monica to pick up a package
for her at a certain drug store and
to bring back an evening paper. The
complaisant Judson immediately
took himself off, his errand good for
at least an hour, as Louise figured,
and Brown took over.

He asked Louise what had hap-
pened to Mrs, Logan. Louise told
him that she had been resting in
, San Bernardino since her husband’s
_ death, but had left there and was
currently enroute to Oregon. Asked
where Mrs. Logan had been resting
in San Bernardino, Louise said she
didn’t know the exact spot. Asked
where she would go to in Oregon,
Louise was again vague, but said it
was a surburb of Portland, since
letters had come to her before post-
marked from Portland.

“She tried to stay here,” Louise
explained, “but she just couldn’t.
She said she could smell the blood
from her beating by Arthur before
she put him away...”

“You put him away, Louise,” cor-
rected Brown.

“When she told me to,” Louise
amended. “I cleaned the floors thor-
oughly, getting down on my hands
and knees to scour them, I recov-
ered the furniture and-I cleaned
her clothes, but she still would be-
come terribly nervous when she was

44

Ap tt eae

\

\ u ' y ‘
here and complain she smelled the
blood. I even /burned some of her

clothing . y

“And baldoaas altered to fit your-
self, too, Louise,” Brown interrupted
again. He seemed to know a lot that
Louise didn’t suspect he knew, but
she was in no way nonplussed.

“Some were too good to throw
away,” Mrs) Peete said, “and Mar-
garet told ime to wear them if I
could, so I} had them cleaned and
altered and wore them.” ,-

Brown, by now, had had enough.
He leaned forward, fixed his cold,
authoritative eye on Louise and
asked:

“You're still on parole, aren’t you,
Louise?” |

“Yes,” Louise said, “I am and I
report regularly.”

“Who signs your parole papers
each month?” Brown demanded.

“Why, Margaret . . . Mrs. Logan

. she’s) authorized to,” Louise
stammered, paling a little.

Brown drew,a ‘sheaf of papers
from his pocket, fanned them out
in his big hand, like a deck of cards,
and said grimly: “Mrs. Logan hasn't
signed your papers since last May.”

Louise threw only a momentary
glance at the signatures on the pa-
pers in Brown’s hand. Then she had
her answer, embellished with her
warm, confidential smile.

“That’s right,” she said, “she ac-
tually hasn’t put the pen on the
paper. I’ve done that because she
told me to and I supposed it was
all right while she was away. She
had given me authority to handle
all her other business . . .”

“Better get your things,” Brown
said, rising, “and leave a note for
Mr. Judson. We'll have to go down
to the D.A.’s office to check on a few
things.” |

A’ the | district attorney’s office
Louise was confronted by the
district attorney himself, Frederick
Napoleon Howser. The first thing
Howser said would have been | cal-
culated to give the most hardened
criminal pause, but it didn’t faze
Louise.

“Louise,” he said, “what happen-
ed? Did you blow your top and do
what you did before?”

“You know,” Louise said, laughing
lightly as she delivered a historical

ci

non sequitur, “my friends have told -

me that some day I would blow my
top.” *

“Tell: us where Mrs, Logan is,”
Brown ‘urged, quickly.

“She'll be pack,” Louise. replied,
confidently, even as she had when
questioned about: Denton. “She

comes to see me often; I just know
she’ll be back.”

Howser informed her that he had
dispatched a crew to the Pacific Pal-
isades home to make a thorough
search of the house and grounds.
He had supposed that this woulda
evoke some sort of admission from
Louise, but he was wrong. Her only
comment was that she hoped no one
would alarm Mr. Judson, who was
not well. j

“We've sent a car out to bring him
down here,” Howser told her and
now he caught a nibble.

“That’s absurb,” Louise protested.
“He’s absolutely innocent; he doesn’t
know any more about this than you
do.”

“What’s he innocent of?” Howser
shot back.

“I mean he doesn’t know anymore
about where Margaret is, right now,
than I do,” Louise explained.

A detective entered the room and
spoke, in a whisper, to Captain
Brown, out of Louise’s hearing.
Brown called Howser outside. After
a few minutes, they returned and
Howser told Louise they would take
her back to the Logan house. She
asked if Judson had come down
town and was told that she would
meet him later. If this sounded am-
biguous to Louise, she made no com-
ment, but confidently accompanied
Howser, Barnes and Brown back to
Hampden Place. .

They éntered the house through
the living room. There, prominently
displayed on -the Winthrop desk,
Mrs, Peete saw a .32 caliber Smith
and Wesson pistol. There is no doubt
but what she recognized it as the

‘gun taken from Mrs. Latham after

that good woman’s death.

Then Brown and Howser led her
into the rear yard. There, under an
avacado tree, they Stopped above a
mound of freshly turned earth
flanking a shallow grave. In the
grave lay the body of a woman, ap-
parently in her sixties and some-
what plump.

Louise Peete Judson looked down
at the body and it is a matter of
record that she never changed ex-
pression. Finally Howser asked:

“Is that Mrs. Logan, Louise?”

“I don’t know,” Louise said, calm-
ly, “but I don’t think so. How on
earth would she get down there?”

“Not without some help,” Howser
snapped. “Your help, Louise.”

They took Louise back to the D.A.s
office and thence to the county jail
for the night. Then they told Lee
Judson that his wife was to be
charged with the murder of Margar-
et Logan and they told him, too,
that she was, in reality, Louise Peete,


oe

ral SALI, FRE A BION 0

SCRE SS CINE ta ene AR rita. 4

i

j
‘

The train's first stop was Denver.

Harold Peete, a man of modest circums-
tances, made the same mistake Henry

Bosley did. He thought this little flower °

was the sweetest thing he’d ever encoun-
tered. What money he had was spent im-
pressing her. Louise didn’t find out about
that until after the marriage. But when
she did, she waved a fond farewell and
headed for Los Angeles.

Not knowing anyone in the California
city, Louise Peete picked up a newspaper
and looked through the want ads. A man
named Jacob Denton living on swank
Wilshire Boulevard wanted a house-
keeper. Louise got there as fast as her
pretty legs would carry her.

The house was a veritable mansion, set
far back from the street on spacious
grounds. Jacob Denton was a retired min-
ing engineer. Nobody had to tell Louise
he was wealthy. She did a lot of leg cros-
sing and eye batting during the interview.
Being only human, the elderly man hired
the southern charmer on the spot.

Neighbors are no different in Los
Angeles than any other place. They took
one look at the attractive housekeeper
and drew their own conclusions. Denton
and Louise Peete were seen leaving the
mansion together at night. There was new
life in the old boy. Then the retired miner
ceased to appear. Trucks were seen back-
ing up to the house and carting away ob-

jects d'art. Mrs. Peete blossomed pat in?

new finery. ;

Somebody called Denton’s baithier
and tipped her off. The daughter had a
talk with the housekeeper.

“Your father is away on a trip,"’ Mrs.
Peete told her. ‘tl don't know exactly

where. He was very secretive about it. I~

think a former business associate made a
rich strike and wanted his advice.”

The daughter took a look around and
saw that almost everything of value that
hadn't been nailed down was missing.
She went straight to the district
attorney's office, and he sent inves-
tigators to the Wilshire mansion. It took a
little digging, but Jacob Denton’s body
was found buried beneath a pile of dirt in
the basement. He had been shot to death
and wrapped in a quilt.

Louise Peete couldn’t imagine how the
retired mining engineer got there. The

district attorney was less puzzled, He is- *

sued a warrant charging the housekeeper
with murder in the first degree.

i

When police became suspicious

as to Denton’s absence, they

thoroughly searched his impres-

sive home... and found what they
were looking for.

26

- and the other August 1.

The belle of Bienville went to trial in
January, 1921. She refused to confess and
did not take the stand in her own behalf.

The jury returned a verdict of guilt} as’
charged, but recommended mercy be-.

cause she was a woman,

Louise Preslar Peete spent the next 19

years of her life in Tehachapi Prison.
Perhaps it was because no men were on
the scene, but those in charge said she
was a model prisoner.

One noteworthy event took place’ in
those years: Harold Peete killed himself
in 1929. That brought the score to one
murder and two suicides for men associ-
ated with Lethal Louise.

There 'were people, however, who,
thought the convicted woman was a vic-
tim of weird circumstances. She had
never confessed to the Jacob Denton
murder.

Arthur C. Scant and his wife, Mar-
garet, believed Mrs. Peete was an inno-.
cent pawn of Fate. Mrs. Logan, a real
estate operator who lived in Pacific
Palisades, was instrumental in securing a
parole for Louise in 1940. The lady from
Louisiana worked for several families as
housekeeper and kept her parole record
clean.

Mrs. Logan’s faith in Louise Peete ap-
peared to be justified. The paroled
woman went to work for her sponsor in
October, 1943.

Less than a year later Mrs. W.F. Weis-
brod, state parole officer, took two sheets
of paper to Walter Lentz, chief of the

district attorney's bureau of identifica-. -
tion. They were forms California law re- ,

quires all employers of paroled prisoners
to fill out every two months.

““Take a look at those signatures,"’
Mrs. Weisbrod said. ‘‘One is dated June |
They're both
supposed to have been written by Mrs.
Margaret Logan, the woman employing

s BRR cy

PY ouise Peete.”’
Walter Lentz remembered the tak
Denton case well. He studied the signa-

tures. *‘They'’re not thé same handwrk-
ting,” 2

the identification man said. *

Mrs. Weisbrod nodded in agreement.
“*That’s what I thought, “she said.
‘Louise Peete has been signing her own
parole papers...”

That was a violation of parole. Both
Mrs. Weisbrod and Walter Lentz knew
that if Louise Peete was forging Mrs.
Logan's name there was a-reason for it
The paroled woman’s record was brought

out, She was 63 years old in that year of —

1944. It seemed impossible that anyone of
that age could be causing serious trouble
again. But Lentz took the forms to Dis-
trict Attorney Fred N. Howser.

“I’ve compared these signatures with
Mrs. Logan's handwriting," he <said.
“‘They are forgeries.”’

Howser studied the documents and -
then sent for Inspector William Penprose:
and Capt. Thad Brown. After explaining,
the situation the district attorney said,
‘Find out what Louise Peete is up to.”

The two -investigators were well ac
quainted with he woman's backgbround.
They questioned neighbors in the Pacific:
Palisades vicinity. No one had seen Ar-
thur Logan or his wife since May.

‘Mrs. Peete married a man named Lee |
' Judson a few months back,”

one neigh»
bor stated. ‘‘We see them coming and
going from the house, but there’ s been no
sign of the Logans,"”

Continued questioning brought Out the
fact that Mrs. Peete hadn’t been consis-
tent in her stories about the missing emp-
loyers. She had told some people that
Logan had gone berserk and attacked his
wife. This story had it that Mrs. Logan
was undergoing plastic surgery in
Chicago hospital and that her husband

was in a mental institution. Another ver

ig * Son put Mrs. Loganina rest home in San
. | Diego. Almost everyone the investigators
gestioned came up with a variation of
what was supposed to have happened.
Inspector Penprose and Captain
frown checked mental institutions and
und an asylum where Arthur Logan had
heen committed by Mrs. Peete. He had
éed there in June, but Mrs. Logan had
sever gone to see her husband. The only
smmunication had been a letter, sup-
posedly written by the dead man’s wife,
gving those in charge permission to turn
Mr, Logan’s corpse over to medical au-
torities for scientific research. !
Further probing into Mrs, Peete’s ac-
tivities showed several questionable
thecks in Mrs. Margaret Logan’s account
#a local bank. The two investigators
bok their findings to the district attorney.
“This could be a repeat of the Jacob
Denton murder," Howser said. ‘‘Mrs.
Peete worked for him. He disappeared
iad his body was found buried in the
basement. Now Mrs. Margaret Logan is
missing, We know Mrs. Peete has viol-
@ed her parole. Bring | her in on that
tharge. That will give us a chance to
"March the Logan house.” -

' 4 Officers who went to the Pacific

Palisades residence found Mrs. Peete and
het new husband examining the contents
Wa strong box containing insurance and

_ | aher important papers belonging to the

logans, Mrs. Peete took the presence of

- Police officers in her stride, She went to
uarters with them. *

“I'll. be glad to tell you wHat hap-

ned,’’ the housekeeper told District At-

tile Mrs. Logan was to have me there.’
-Mrs.'Peete went on to say that Arthur
n had been in a mental insitution ona
Previous occasion. “I didn’t know that
¥hen | went to work there,” she said,
t\Mrs. Logan told me about it last
“inter. Nothing happened until this May
Yhen Arthur went into a rage and at-
‘cked Margaret. I managed to pull him
ay, but not before he had clamped his

J

tomey Howser. “You'll see how fortu- ;

teeth on Margaret's nose and almost tore
it completely from her face.” Ss:

The housekeeper insisted Mrs. Logan
, did not want anyone to know about the
* incident and had asked Mrs. Peete to take
care of having her husband put away.

“Then Margaret left for Chicago where
she knew about a famous plastic
surgeon,’, the paroled woman said.
‘“*That’s the last I saw of her.”

District Attorney Howser realized that ,

at least part of the story was true. Arthur
Logan had, been committed to a mental
institution and he had died there. But the
rest of Mrs. Peete’s explanation didn’t
hold water. She couldn't tell the au-
thorities where Margaret Logan could be
located in Chicago. There had been no
letters, no communication of any kind.
The housekeeper was locked up as a
parole violator.

Inspector Penprose and Captain
Brown brought her latest husband, Lee
Judson, in for questioning. He was a
meek little man who appeared to be com-
pletely puzzled by the police action... -

“1 did not witness Mr. Logan's attack
on his wife,’’ Judson said. **But Louise
told me all about it. I did see the blood on
the carpet and davenport.”’

The investigators took Judson back to
the house in Pacific Palisades. He pointed
out the davenport and a rug in a bedroom.

‘The rug was in the living room when it
happened,’’ he said. ‘‘Louise had it
cleaned and put in this room.”

‘‘How large was the bloodstain?"’ he
asked.

Lee Judson sald it was at least two feet
by four feet. ‘Mrs. Logan must have bled
a lot,’ -he told the detective.

Brown and Penprose knew that was too
‘much blood to come from one nose. They
examined the davenport where Mrs.

, Logan was supposed to have rested while
‘ Louise Peete administered first aid. The
piece of furniture had been recovered
with new fabric.

The investigators went back to head-
quarters and questioned Mrs. Peete

\

she was a ‘Southern belle who wanted to
move up in the world — no matter how |
‘many bodies she had fo step over. She
charmed and beguiled her way up the
social ladder until she got careless and
police found Gl body in the flower patch. ©

again. She repeated ‘the story she had told
before. It was the same in every detail
that Lee Judson had related.

“This thing doesn’t add:up,” ’ District.
Attorney Howser said when Brown and
Penprose passed the information along.

Captain Brown said he and Inspector
Penprose had searched the basement.”
**We thought maybe Mrs. Peete would
try her burial act again, but this basement
floor is solid cement, and none of it is
new. If there’s a corpse, Louise Peete
found another hiding place.”

District Attorney Howser had the suspect
brought into the interrogation room.

Howser said, ‘Louise, you're on\
parolé from a murder sentence. Mrs.
Logan, your benefactor, believed in you
and gave you a home. Now sheis missing.
I don’t think she would go away to
Chicago without letting you hear from
her. Why don't you tell us the truth?”’

Mrs. Peete drew herself up straight and
appeared to be hurt. ‘I’ve told you as
much as I know,” she insisted. ‘*As you
say, Mrs. Logan was kind to me. It wasa
lucky thing I was there when Arthur at-
tacked her. I saved that woman's life.”

The district attorney remembered that
Louise Peete had never confessed to the
Jacob Denton murder. She was cold-
blooded enough to take a life sentence
without even trying to defend herself on
the witness stand.

Finally the district attorney gave up.
Turning to Captain Brown and Inspector
Penprose, he said, ‘‘Lock her up. We've
got work to do.”

Detective Lts. Roy Vaughn and Harry
Hanson were summoned. They knew all
about the investigation, but Howser went
over every detail with them again.

“1 want you men to work with Captain
Brown and Inspector Penprose,”’ he said.
**Margaret Logan didn’t vanish in thin air
anymore than Jacob Denton did. The
blood on the carpet and davenport was
not just from a woman's nose. I’m con-

(continued on page 38)
27

Scliemetnemh\s Abmneahatininemmeadnaenenetoneans De ee ee ee ee eee rey) ott eee ee Eee ee tr OTT th eee eat re Tre


FRE ate

Siting.

7

8: Examination of the blood found on the gun butt in this 9: Pinker next takes a microscopic photo of the hairs
"precipitation tube" test, proves the blood to be human. on the gun. Hairs were later proved to be Mrs. Logan's.

Ne

13: This photograph shows the result of the bullet com-
parison test. Note how the bullets compare line for line.

12:Pin , raphs test bullet. and bullet taken
from wall of home to see if both came from the same gun.

22


re on

10: Pinker places the bullet found in the wall of Logan 11: This pantascopic photo of the bullet found in Logan
home in position to take a Pantascopic photograph of it. home, reveals that it Passed through a body of some kind.

14: After Mrs, Peete's conviction on his scientific evi-

15: This picture is the official police photograph of Louise
dence, Ray Pinker stores away the evidence in the case. Peete taken after her arrest for the murder of Mrs. hogan.


| Louise Presiar needed men to get
where she wanted. And, when she had
what she wanted, she tossed them aside.

SWEET |
|. SIXTEEN

BLOODY MEAN!

SR aca ME SARE

é

1S en OR a RRO 9 HORE ES
oe

obstructing his vision.

The attractive morsel of feminity
drawled hello,to the man behind the
counter and asked for a cool drink. Bos-
ley liked the way she pressed the front of
her curvaceous torso tight against the
fountain as she talked. He ogled her as
she sipped the beverage. His admiring
it eyes followed her wellrounded backside -
as she sauntered out. Then Bosley whis-
tled softly.
fh | “Who's that?”’ he sighed.

{ -  \The man behind the counter winked.
|
fi

iy

“The name is Louise Preslar,”’ he said.
24

ce lee yo ~Lro

ar MCL] /

by FRANK CRISCO

y ab

‘out as much as he could about
e Preslar. She was sweet 16 and her
‘ran the local newspaper. There
those who could have told Bosley
be girl was hot stuff in a parked car, but
key weren't talking. Louise had been’
smart enough to limit her favors to mar-.

ed men.

7 | Hin Bosley almost fell off the soda fountain stool when.
Tee the sultry brunette with the sexy wiggle walked into the.
3: | drug store. It was summerin Bienville, La., and this girl was
’ dressed for comfort. You could have stuffed what few
clothes she was wearing in Bosley’s bulging eyes without

*‘Don't get any ideas. You're a traveling
salesman, but she’s no’ farmer's daugh-
ter."*

Henry Bosley already had ideas. He

Jacob Denton hired the seductive :

Louise as a maid, but got much
more than he bargained for.

1977

a

ie going easy because he was exactly
ghat Louise Preslar had been praying for:

Gk Bienville.

*She fluttered her long eyelashes and
uted coy until Henry Bosley popped the
hg question. The wedding was impres-

Merica’s gain.

‘The bride liked nice things. Bosley
ought as many luxuries as he could af-
{but that was’ not enough. Then
wise turned out to be light fingered,

2 ous hotels_where business took the
neymooners. - '
éy moved on to Oklahoma City, Dal+,

under suspicion several times, but

e traveling salesman managed an in-
woduction and moved in fast. He found ©

ficket to bigger and better things out- _

gre, but Magnolia land's loss was hardly

ing whatever else her heart desired in/

sand other south-western cities. Louise .

no one would believe such a charming girl
could be a thief. Once, when she was
_ caught red-handed, Bosley kept her out
of trouble by paying off.
Finally, the disillusioned groom had to
admit the icing was off the cake. He asked

Vv f

Margaret Logan believed Louise ~
was aninnocent pawn of Fate, but
soon discovered otherwise,

the little’ woman to divorce him. She was

ready and willing because Henry Bosley °

had served his purpose. ‘‘Lethal
Louise,’ as this belle of the old South
was to be known, was off and running.
Boston was next on her itinerary. Us-
ing the name Louise Gould and posing as
an heiress with estates in Germany and
Norway, the petite charmer managed to

hoodwink Back Bay society until some-_

one caught her with a hand in their
jewelry box. Louise left. town under
cover of darkness.

Back in Dallas, she pocketed a $700
diamond ring and turned it over to an
unsuspecting hotel clerk, Harry Faurote,
for clearance. He killed himself when
police tagged him, but Louise turned on
the charm. All she got was a police escort
to the railroad station and a one way train
ticket. ate :

| (continued on next page)

Pre 3 aaa

A police detective’s extensive know-

ledge of blants supplied the clue as

to where to find Margaret Logan’s
body... in the flower garden.

si laa

bd

rath Senet

ff.

y

v


GIRL WHO MADE LOVE PAY
(Continued from page 37)

the lawyer and Cody rang the front
door bell at the Catalina Street house
and asked the new tenant for permis-
sion to search the residence. They were
not police officers, Cody explained, but
they believed that there might be clues
somewhere in the house that would
lead them to the missing capitalist.

Almost immediately, upon entering
the cellar, Cody’s attention was attract-
ed by a boarded up section beneath the
cellar stairs. The boards appeared new,
he noticed. They were partly concealed
by a large, wooden box with the name,
Mrs. R. C, Peete, stencilled upon it.
The box belonged to Louise, and had
been packed as Louise started for Den-
ver the last time. She had planned to
send for it later.

Blodgett and Cody, attempting to
shift the box, found it quite heavy and
the tenant remembered that the garden-
er had helped Mrs. Peete move it to an
out-of-the-way corner in the basement.

Cody pried the boards away from the
alcove under the steps. This done, he
found a pile of old stove pipe tossed
carelessly on a strip of canvas. These
were removed and then Cody stepped
back.

Beneath the canvas was a mound of
earth, probably eighteen inches high,
three feet wide and seven feet long—
precisely the dimensions: and general
outline of a newly covered grave.

Cody at once noted that the area be-
neath the stairs had not had a cement
flooring, although the remainder of the
cellar was carefully covered.

He asked for a spade and started
digging, with the lawyer spelling him
off. After ten minutes of careful spad-
ing, the lawyer stopped suddenly.

“Hit something,” he said, excitedly.
“Felt soft.” Cody, his nerves somewhat
steadier, took the spade, lifted a load of
earth from the spot and the toes of a
human foot came into view.

Cody continued to dig, carefully now.
Thirty minutes later the body of Jacob
Denton, clothed only in his night
clothes, had been uncovered.

The body had been trussed up with
a length of rope and carefully covered,
as if in sleep, by a blanket and a quilt.

HE SLEUTH immediately sum-

moned the police who began a
search of the house pending the arrival
of the medical examiner. Dr. Frank R.
Webb, chief autopsy surgeon for the
Los Angeles police, arrived forty min-
utes after the body’s discovery and he
announced that death had come from a
heavy blow on the head and then suf-
focation, the latter doubtless occurring
after the unconscious man had been
covered with earth by a slayer who
might have presumed him dead.

Dr. Webb and two other physicians
later made a thorough examination and
decided that Denton had been dead
four months—approximately since the
last week in May.

62

Yet Mrs, Peete had claimed to have
had telegrams from him and _ talked
with him several times after that. In
fact, he had been, according to Mrs.
Peete, in a considerable rhubarb with
the Mexican woman after his death and
had come out of the hassle minus an
arm.

Still, both the arms were on the body
and there was no sign of a scar or other
evidence of cancer on the right arm,
the one Mrs. Peete said had been af-
fected.

Thomas Lee Woolwine, a spectacu-
lar Los Angeles District Attorney, now
moved into the case, but only briefly.
Woolwine, acquainted with the extra-
ordinary anachronism developing in the
Denton story, turned the matter over
to brilliant, engaging young Chief Dep-
uty William C. Doran.

A young man of Scotch ancestry,
Doran had an aversion to the needless
expense of extradition, not to mention
the delay. He wanted Mrs. Peete handy
and he had a solid hunch that, unless
handled with care, she would refuse to
return to California without direct ac-
tion. And, he admitted, she would have
every right to do so.

Doran took himself off to Denver to
see Mrs, Peete. He found her in good
spirits and amiable as ever. He told her
he was from Denton’s law office and
had come to enlist her aid in straight-
ening out some affairs for the travelling
capitalist. He watched closely to see
what effect this would have-and when
.Mrs. Peete didn’t betray the slightest
knowledge of Denton’s death, he went
on boldly. He said that Denton appar-
ently had decided to remain away in-
definitely, if not forever, because of
family troubles, and would Mrs. Peete,
for a fee, be good enough to return to
Los Angeles and help get his affairs in
order? ;

ERTAINLY, Mrs. Peete said she

would go with him. Not only that,
but her husband, with whom she had
been reconciled after emerging from
the fascinating affairs of the wealthy
Denton, would go with her and help
straighten things out. He was a compe-
tent auditor and would ably represent
her interests.

They had crossed the tip of Nevada
and Utah and were past the California
border, safely, when Doran played his
first wild deuce. He appeared at the
Peete drawing room with a planted
telegram and his face was grim.

“IT have some terrible news,” he told
the couple, contentedly regaling them-
selves at pinochle. “Mr, Denton is
dead.”

“Dead?” Mrs. Peete rose to her fect
slowly. “Dead? When did they find
him?”

Something happened to Louise Peete
and her future right there, with those
luckless words . . . “When did they
find him?” but she didn’t realize it.
Doran noted the words carefully and
went on, neatly masking his triumph:

“They found the body buried some-
where . . . they say he’s been dead

more than four months. . .

“That’s a lot of nonsense,” Mrs.
Peete said coldly. “The man is an im-
poster.”

Obviously rocked by this astounding
declaration, Doran took a little time to
recover. Then he resumed -his palliative
ways with Louise. He also had been
informed by wire, he said, that con-
siderable excitement -had been stirred
up in Los Angeles and that affairs, by
and large, were in something of a state.
Wouldn’t it be a good idea, he asked,
if they stopped at a place called Glenn
Ranch, not far outside San Bernardino,
some ninety miles from Los Angeles,
and got everything under control before
proceeding to the city to face the re-
porters?

“I think that would be excellent,”
Louise said, whereat she dropped a
classic understatement by adding, ‘“be-
cause I’m not satisfied that everything
is all right with Mr. Denton.”

The party left the train at a desert
flagstop and fled, in two cars carefully

provided in advance, to the desert hide- *

away. There Doran’ was joined by Po-
lice Detective Sergeant Thomas Jones
who had been left in charge of the in-
vestigation when Doran took off for
Denver. Jones was fairly bubbling over
with information, none of which Louise
seemed able to understand very well.

*“They loused up the first autopsy,”
he explained. “When they examined the
body a second time, they found that
Denton had been shot in the neck with
a 38-caliber revolver and his neck
broken.”

He handed a revolver to Doran casu-
ally. Doran turned it over in his hands
as Louise stared at it. Then Jones said:
“We found the revolver in a locked
drawer in the Denton home. It’s the
one that killed Denton and the other
things in the drawer belonged to Mrs.
Peete.”

Louise calmly bent forward and took
the revolver, now emptied of shells,
from Doran. She turned it over ginger-
ly and then said, with that remarkable
composure she was to exhibit through
years of tragedy and evil: “Why, that’s
my very own gun; I took it to Los An-
geles with me for protection, but I
never had it out of that drawer. I left
it there with some things I was to send
for later.”

“It killed Mr. Denton,” Doran said,
abruptly.

“Nonsense,” Mrs. Peete
“Mr. Denton isn’t dead.”

“His daughter and his niece have
identified him,” Doran said. “And so
have half a dozen business associates.”

“I don’t believe it,’ Mrs. Peete
bridled. “I want to see that body my-
self.”

repeated,

ORAN threw off his mask then.

He told Louise that he was a depu-
ty district attorney, that he’d known all
the facts Jones pretended to bring him
before going to Denver, that he'd
known all along that Denton was dead
and that he’d also known about Mrs.
Peete’s supposed telegrams from the

POLICE DRAGNET

missing man, that he’d known all about
the checks she had cashed and the re-
course to the strong box.

He also told her, as she calmly lis-
tened, her hands folded in her lap, that
he knew about her having Denton’s silk
shirts remade into blouses for herself
after his death, about her selling most of
his clothing and of her turning his
watch, some rings and other personal

‘effects over to a friend of hers, to be

disposed of,

He also told her that he knew about
a rascally character who had done time
in Folsom prison, to whom Louise had
appealed to board up the outer cellar
door so that the house could not be
robbed in that way. He had refused,
Doran said, because he already had a
bad record and didn’t want to be mixed
up in anything suspicious. He had,
however, carried the dirt into the base-
ment, unaware of its felonious purpose.

As he paused for breath, Mrs. Peete
looked him straight in the eye and said:
“My dear Mr. Doran, you don’t sup-
pose I haven’t known all these things
all along, do you? I mean that you
knew these things and who you were?”

“If you knew, why did you come
along so willingly?” Doran demanded.

“Because I have nothing to conceal,”
Louise said, evenly. “I have told the
truth and I have been the victim of a*
frameup because all those people
wanted Denton’s money and they knew
he was mad about me and wanted to
marry me, but I have a good, faithful
husband who'll always be at my side.”

She extended her hand and_ half
turned as if to caress her husband’s
hand, but she had another surprise
coming.

He had quietly risen from her side
and slipped into the darkness of the
California desert. None present ever
saw him again, but he turned up briefly
in Denver, sent Louise money for her
defense and then dropped out of sight,
a terrified, bewildered man who: obvi-
ously considered himself lucky to be
alive.

Mrs. Peete now told her story, even
as she was to tell it on the witness
stand. The Denton family had _perse-
cuted her, she said, and she had been
happy to get out of the mess, The
Mexican woman, she said, had come
to her and threatened her and had re-
fused to go out of the house... or
enter it either . . . except under cover
of darkness. She had talked to Denton
and he had Jost an arm and he had told
her that he never intended to return to
Los Angeles and his family which, he
said, pestered him all the time about
money and made his life miserable.

When she told him she was return-
ing to her husband and home, she said.
Denton announced that he was going
away forever, probably to South Ameri-
ca and that his family could do what
they pleased about his properties. He
had enough cash with him, he said, to
get a new start in life and that was all
he needed.

“It sounds like fiction,” Doran said.
“Very bad fiction.”

POLICE DRAGNET

“It certainly does, doesn’t it?” Mrs.
Peete said, amiably, “but they do say
that truth is stranger than fiction.”

The jury in the case of the State of
California versus Louise C, Peete ap-
parently was in a mood for truth. After
brief consideration, she was found
guilty, but still she got a break. She
was sentenced to life imprisonment in
San Quentin penitentiary, but before
her term was out, she had been re-
moved to Tehachapi prison in the
mountains east of Bakersfield, a new
institution where her charm and unfail-
ing amiability brought her to the atten-
tion of philanthropically inclined peo-
ple, and especially women, everywhere.

Visiting the personable Louise quite
frequently in Tehachapi was Mrs. Ruth
Latham, a member of the California
State Parole Board. Like many others,
Mrs. Latham had grown deeply fond
of Louise and already, although there
was no clemency in sight, Mrs. Latham
was planning a life of freedom for her
protege. Planning with her were Mr.
and Mrs. Arthur Logan of Santa Mon-
ica, California—solid, kindly people
who had become interested in Louise
Peete during her first trial and had
given her five-year-old daughter a home
during the hearing.

Finally, in April of 1943, approxi-
mately 22 years after she‘d entered
San Quéntin, Louise was paroled to
Mrs. Latham, to take care of Mrs.
Latham in what was to be a fatal ill-
ness.

In September of that year Mrs. La-
tham died and Mrs. Willetta Weisbrod
of the Parole Board took charge of
Louise. In turn, Louise took charge of
various items of Mrs. Latham’s estate.
including a .32 caliber Smith and Wes-
son revolver.

Mrs. Weisbrod’s problem of what to
do with Louise was a brief one. Almost
immediately the Logans came forward
and offered her a home. Mr, Logan was
in failing health and Mrs. Logan, try-
ing to carry on the Logan business in
his place, needed someone to take care
of her husband and their fine home at
713 Hampden Place, Pacific Palisades,
above Santa Monica. Mrs. Weisbrod
released her charge to Mrs. Logan and
thereafter it became Mrs. Logan’t duty
to sign the monthly parole reports on
her friend.

Entering the calm influence of the
happy Logan household, Louise Peete
put the past completely behind her by
assuming the name of Anna B. Lee.
Within three weeks after Louise’s ar-
rival, Arthur Logan became seriously
ill, and began to exhibit certain mental
aberrations which gave his wife much
alarm. She confided to Louise that Lo-
gan had shown signs of mental deteri-
oration for some time and that because
of it he had withdrawn from activity
in the Logan real estate business and
left it completely to her.

A month after Louise’s arrival, Lo-
gan became definitely unmanageable
and was taken to General Hospital
where special provisions were available
to care for illnesses of his type. A week

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63

* SHE WAS CHARMING, soft spoken and well-man-
nered. Nobody who saw the attractive woman ring the
doorbell of the imposing house on Catalina Street near
the Wilshire Gold Coast section of Los Angeles that
bright May day would have guessed that Louise Peete

was anything but an acceptable person. Instead, she was
the devil incarnate.

Residing at the Catalina address was Jacob Denton, a
widower, a man among men. He was sturdy, deeply tanned,
strong hewed, definitely attractive in a lusty way. A healthy
46, he had done well in accumulating his share of the
world’s goods and he was known to recognize a woman of
enticing femininity when he saw one.

Small wonder, then, that when he answered the doorbell
on this May day and his eyes fell upon the exquisite lines
of lush Louise Peete, herself a blooming 37, he reacted
instantly. Here, it was apparent, was a woman to anyone’s
liking . . . full bosomed, bright eyed, just exactly plump
enough and altogether what a man of good taste and
mature judgment could appreciate.

The caller explained that she had learned he would
consider leasing the Catalina house, furnished, and Denton
replied that he would, indeed.

After a long conversation and an inspection of the house,
during which the already smitten landlord several times
paused to pour tea with a heavy but eager hand, Mrs.
Peete informed him that she liked the house very much and
would return on May 25th, the following Monday, to take
over. Mr. Denton, she was sure, would have prepared the
necessary papers by that time.

She had more than her
share of “charm” - but
she didn’t know enough to
quit when she was ahead

by George R. Foster

THE GIRL

Detectives Thad Brown (r.) and Roy Vaughn dug with shovels in an effort to locate missing body.

32

POLICE DRAGNET

May,

ome ee Eree eee genni

Mr. Denton certainly would have. Yes, indeed. Little .

did he know that these papers he looked forward to with
such eager anticipation were going to be the last he’d
ever sign, or at any rate the last that could be traced
directly to his hand.

Monday came and Mrs, Peete duly arrived. Her ring
was answered by a beautiful girl in her early 20s, who said
she was the niece of Mr. Denton. Mrs. Peete entered the
house.

After Louise had scanned the lease briefly, the booming
voice of the master was heard in the hall below. As
Louise’s dulcet voice joined with the niece’s girlish soprano
in reply to his “Hello, there!” Denton bounded up the
stairs like a lambkin ascending a flowered hummock and,
in the fullness of his pleasure, almost embraced the astonish-
ed, yet obviously pleased, Louise then and there.

The business of signing the lease was quickly completed
and then Denton made a proposition. He suggested that
he remain as a sort of part time guest in the house, that
he make it his Los Angeles headquarters and that in return
for her looking out for him, he pay half of the household
bills for Mrs. Peete and reduce the rental by fifty percent.
He travelled a great deal, he said, and he really wouldn’t
be any bother at all.

Louise agreed to the arrangement, astutely figuring that
she would be getting rent and keep for approximately
half of what she’d expected to pay.

After Mrs. Peete had explained, with just the proper
show of sophistication, that her husband had decided to
remain with his business in Denver when her health decreed
that she move to California, Denton’s obvious pleasure
and his hospitality fairly burst out of his pores.

For one week it was a merry household. Denton fairly
danced attendance upon Louise, and the delighted pair
from Catalina Street joined, like returning honeymooners,
in the social life of the niece and her friends.

Then, in the midst of a blooming romance that could
hardly be described as anything less than fervid, mystery

1

{
awe

This cellar provided additional clues.
POLICE DRAGNET

196k;

stalked from the wings and began inexorably to set the
stage for tragedy.

On the morning of June 3rd, little more than a week
after she had moved into the Denton house, Louise Peete
answered the front doorbell to confront a stranger. He
introduced himself as a business associate of Denton and
announced that he had made an appointment to discuss
important affairs with Denton on the preceding day, but
had not heard from his associate.

“Sounds mysterious,” he said.

“Not at all,” Mrs. Peete said. “He left on a business trip
and may be gone for some time. He expects to take a rest
after completing his business calls.”

“Rest?” He appeared puzzled. “Is he ill?”

“He seemed in good health,” Mrs. Peete said, “but he
said he wanted a rest, I have only known him ten days, but
I assume he is capable of making such decisions.”

“Of course, of course,” he said hastily. “He’ll probably
get in touch with me, but in the meantime, could you give
me his address?”

“He left no address,” Mrs. Peete said. “He only told me
he had some affairs to attend to out of the city. He didn't
even say where he expected to go for his rest.”

It became obvious to him, now, that his call was at an
end and he departed apologetically. :

The following day another caller appeared.

He said that he was from the Hudson automobile agency
and had come to pick up Denton’s old car and deliver a
new one.

For once Mrs. Peete appeared nonplussed.

“Did he give you an order to pick up the old car?” she
asked.

“Oh, yes,” he said, gesturing toward the street, “I’ve
brought the new one to leave.”

“But how about payment?” Mrs. Peete insisted. “He told
me nothing of a new car and left no money to pay the dif-
ference between his and a new one. I don’t understand.”

“Oh, that’ll be all right,” he assured her. “Mr. Denton’s

Innocent expression hid this woman's dark secret.

33

a Ladd

udse feqrym Sestnoy §

eT

Ted peq

JF

eTuao

*i16L *ZT Trudy uo (seTesuy sot)

* she will know something of him. . .

credit is the best. I'll just pick up the old car and leave the
new one and when he comes back, he'll settle with us.”

Louise was now transported into a sort of Seventh Heav-
en. She had, indeed, moved into Elysium. Not only was this
a handsome house, beautifully furnished, not only was its
owner obviously infatuated with her, but he had unlimited
credit to buy expensive baubles such as automobiles, with-
out so much as signing a paper.

Her joy was destined to be short lived, however, because
two more days passed and there were half a dozen telephone
calls, from as many different sources, asking for Denton.
Since all the calls came from rather close business or per-
sonal friends and no one had had word from him, his ab-
sence began to take on the aspect of an embarrassing inci-
dent.

Then, on the sixth day after these calls, the niece ap-
peared at the house, all too apparently expecting to find her
uncle at home, and was shocked to learn that he had left.
He had, she said, specifically told her that on this day he
would go with her to select a birthday present for his daugh-
ter, who was then living with relatives in Arizona—a gesture
he had not, in the ten years since its inauguration, neglected.

So disturbed was the girl that she telephoned her husband,
who promptly left his office to hurry to the house. He
seemed as alarmed as his wife; certainly there was no reason
for Denton to disappear and not to communicate with any
of them. Even the wire from San Francisco, in which he
sent his love, failed to palliate them. They were definitely
disturbed.

“I must telephone my cousin,” the niece said. “Surely

”

And then she added, with funereal apprehension:

“. . . Unless something terrible has happened.”

The daughter said she had not heard from her father, nor
had she received her allowance, a most unusual circum-
stance. Never had he been so much as a day late with that
payment; it was her bread and butter and he knew it.

The relatives and Mrs. Peete were visibly shocked. By
now it was obvious that Jacob Denton’s fate had followed
one of three lines—he was being held a prisoner and
was unable to communicate with anyone, he was not in his
right mind, possibly suffering from amnesia, or he was dead.

There was at least partial reassurance for the daughter.
Before leaving, Mrs. Peete told her, Denton had arranged
for her to send checks for certain rentals along to his
daughter. They would, Mrs. Peete said, be more than enough
to cover her allowance. The checks, she said, were expected
within a day or two. In the meantime, if she was in need,
Mrs. Peete would advance her sufficient money to protect
her until the checks came in,

The girl declined this kindly offer, but her concern for
her father was not in the least abated. Nor did she feel any
more assured when, two days later, two checks, representing
approximately double her monthly allotment, arrived at her
Phoenix home. They had been made payable to Jacob Den-
ton and had been endorsed, “Jacob Denton, per Louise C.
Peete.” Mrs. Peete explained, in the accompanying letter,
that Denton had arranged for her to make such endorse-
ments and to write checks against his account to cover cur-
rent bills in the same manner.

The daughter took the train for Los Angeles and arrived,
tearful and terrified, at the Catalina Street residence. The
niece was at once summoned and after a conference, the
two relatives announced that they felt it best to go to the
police.

Nice houses can he execution chambers.

The “Charm Girl” never lost her confidence.

“I’m afraid that would be a mistake,” Mrs. Peete said,
soothingly. “Mr. Denton is a business man of good reputa-
tion and, so far as anyone knows, he had no enemies. To
send the police out hunting him and to have them find him
merely taking a rest—which he had spoken about before
leaving—would be terribly embarrassing. Certainly it would
injure his standing in the business world and I don’t think
either of you would want to do that.”

It was a good argument, it made sense—and most im-
portant, it worked. They did not go to the police.

The daughter remained for the remainder of the week.
The day before she planned to go to her home, a telephone
call came and Mrs. Peete answered it. Her “Oh, hello,
Dear,” startled the girl, who was eagerly listening, of course,
and she reached for the telephone, but Mrs, Peete shook
her head.

“But you should speak to them, Jacob,” Mrs. Peete said,
then hesitated, finally resuming: “But they will understand
and it will make them feel better . . .” (Pause) “No?”
(Pause) “Well, I think you’re wrong, but I'll tell them.
Very well, I'll meet you there in an hour.”

Mrs. Peete turned to the daughter. The girl’s face re-
flected her anxiety. Mrs. Peete stroked her trembling hand
comfortingly.

“That was your father, of course,” she said. “I didn’t
know about this before, but he has had an operation. It
was his arm . ... he had developed a cancer from an old
injury and . . . now, please, dear, be calm .. . he has had
to have his right arm amputated.”

The girl sobbed convulsively and buried her face in her
hands. When she had regained partial composure, she
turned to Mrs. Peete.

She asked why her father did not want to see her and
insisted that they were nearest and dearest and that
just wanting to see Louise Peete was not right.

Important roles in true life drama were played by the
house (middle, +.) and actress who hid face (bottom).


“It’s because you are his nearest and dearest, darling,”
Mrs. Peete said, “that he doesn’t want to see you now. He
says he’s terribly thin and sick, When he’s well again, he
says he'll get an artificial arm and then the shock won’t be
so hard for you. You understand, don’t you?”

Thirty days later, when Denton still hadn’t appeared, nor
communicated with his daughter, Mrs. Peete: showed a tele-
gram from Denver asking Louise to meet Denton there. She
packed and went at once to Denver, but not until she had
cashed a check for $400 on the Denton account in a Los
Angeles bank. She gave a part of this money to the daughter
who went back to Phoenix pending further word from Mrs.
Peete, or from her ailing father.

Louise returned to Los Angeles ten days later and told

the niece that she had seen Denton and that he was in bad
physical condition and extremely depressed. He had con-
fessed to her, she said, that he had had trouble with the
Mexican woman. When the niece seemed unable to identify
any Mexican woman, Mrs. Peete appeared surprised.

“I assumed she was someone you all knew,” she said.
“He just spoke of her as the Mexican woman and didn’t
give any name and I didn’t ask for any. He said he’d had a
bad quarrel with her and that in a fight, she hurt his arm so
badly that a cancer developed and that caused him to have
it taken off.”

A telephone call to the daughter failed to enlighten
Louise on the Mexican woman. The girl had never met, or

Man (|. and below) was doomed by woman’s secret.

even heard her father mention, such a person.

A few days after her return from Denver, Mrs. Peete ap-
peared at Denton’s bank to cash a check for $350 and to
examine Denton’s safety deposit box. She had brought some
papers from Denver, she said, which she wished to put in
the box. And, she said, she also wanted to make a report
to Denton, which he’d requested, on the contents of the box.

Mrs, Peete’s request was referred to an official of the
bank and the check passed along to him. He summoned
Louise into his private office and rather grimly told her that
all this was highly irregular, that she couldn’t open the
safety deposit box without a written permission from Den-
ton, that the $400 check cashed two weeks before had not
been signed by Denton, as an examination had revealed
after it was honored, and that the $350 check now pre-
sented seemed to have been signed by the same hand that
had drawn the first.

“Didn’t I tell your man at the window that I had written
the signature on the first check, the same as I have on this
one?” Mrs. Peete asked, gently. “You know Mr. Denton
has lost his right arm, and... .”

“No, I didn’t know that,” the bank official said, profusely
apologetic. “I’m terribly sorry. I suppose he gave you power
of attorney .. .”

“He had me sign the checks as he touched the pen,” Mrs.
Peete said, “and told me I was to do that to meet bills until
he returned. Hasn’t he wired you?”

“No, he hasn’t,” the banker said, “but I’m sure he will.as
soon as he’s able. It’ll be all right for you to go along as he
arranged, Mrs. Peete, and anything we can do to help
you...”

August came and had almost gone and still no word from
Denton save through Mrs, Peete. Louise had reported meet-
ing him and he had been much improved and had. expected
to have an artificial arm within a matter of weeks. He had
been living in fear of the Mexican woman, she added.

In the last week in August, Mrs. Peete summoned the
niece and told her of a long distance telephone conversation
with Denton in Colorado in which he said he was leaving
for the East and thought it best if she rented the Catalina
Street house and had the rent money sent directly to his
daughter in Phoenix.

“He acted strangely on the telephone,” Mrs. Peete told
them. “He asked me if the Mexican woman had been here.
When I told him she hadn’t, he didn’t seem to believe me.
He said she had told him she would come here and stay,
but since she hadn't, it was best to rent the house.”

“Did he seem angry with you?” the niece asked.

“Not exactly,” Louise said slowly. “He said he didn’t
want me to have to take the responsibility any longer, that
I should get a good rest and he would look after things here
through the bank or his lawyers. I guess that sort of lets
me out.”

They agreed with Mrs. Peete’s hypothesis and she at once
prepared to advertise the house for rent, Two days later she
had rented it for immediate occupancy and packed her
possessions preparatory to returning to Denver. On the fol-
lowing day she left and the friends. she’d made in Los An-
geles, including the niece, gave her a warming farewell
party.

A few weeks after Mrs. Peete’s departure and the arrival
of the tenants to take over the house, the niece and her hus-
band decided that they had about all the apprehension about
Denton that they could stand. They contacted one of the
attorneys employed by Denton, to ask if he had heard from
the long missing capitalist.

He said it was imperative that a thorough search be made
for Jacob Denton. To this end, he suggested hiring A. J.
Cody, a tamed Los Angeles private eye. When the niece
agreed, Cody was sent for and immediately went to work
on the case.

In the meantime, letters arrived from Louise in Denver,
most of them relating to business matters. She relayed to
the attorney instructions on the disposition of the rental
checks and payments on the car whose purchase she had
completed under instructions brought from her first inter-
view with Denton.

Her letter to the relatives was somewhat less restrained.

POLICE DRAGNET

Who would have suspected she was a devil?

She was friendly, but she expressed grave fears as to the
safety of Jacob Denton. She had attempted, she said, to
reach him, but had been unsuccessful. She had been to the
hotel in which he had registered in Denver, but learned
that he apparently had used an assumed name there. She
was only able to identify him, she said. because of the
visitations of the Mexican woman, now emerging as a more
and more sinister figure in Jacob Denton’s life.

The Mexican woman, she said the hotel manager had told
her, had attempted to shoot the one-armed guest and had
only been halted by the providential arrival of a hall boy
with a pitcher. of ice water and glasses. She had ‘been
obliged, on Denton’s orders, to leave the hotel and had been
heard to say, as she was dragged down the hall from the
suffering man’s door, that he would rue the day he had dis-
graced and humiliated her.

It was late in September when (Continued on page 62)

37


cal.) PEOPLE vy. OXNAM 165

id .._.. that are su water to plaintiff's land on payment of the, knew and understood that it was a violation of
under the flow of th tublished rates. An alternative writ of napa vite rights and wrong in itself, and knew
nt distance therefro vmandate was issued and served on the de-| that it was prohibited by law and that its com-

| : : mission would entail punishment to himself
ntitled to the use feudaut. A demurrer to the complaint was and could appreciate the possible and probable

of the rates so estabe thereafter sustained, and thereupon, on leave consequences, he is criminally responsible there-

of court, the amended complaint was filed, are however utentally deficient he may other-
changing tbe prayer so as to present an ac- [Ed Note = . . Criminal
tiun to have it adjudged that plaintiff is en- “Cent. Die 68 Maen. CBSeS, see Crimina

cetthat in Decemb
ade and entered on

Law, Cent. Dig. §§ 58-58: Dec. Dig. @=o48.
vurporting to fix rateg itled to receive water from the defendant pega 0arS Cee ns ]
nd delivery of ifs feaia’ ta lant, that defendant 1s in charge of | 2. CRIMINAL Law €=2=570—MeEnTAL CAPACITY
"4 fixed by ee i. the water for plaintiff's ben.| —SUFFICIENCY or EVIDENCE.
those fi a public use in the water for plaintiff's be Evidence in support of the plea of mental
that thereafter it digg efit, and for damages for the injury from its incapacity in a homicide case held insufficient

ates and rules of the previous refusal to supply said water. The/to raise any reasonable doubt in defendant’s
) it again rae: to defendant objected to this change of the a a _ Sduioal
also that in 1910 df aracter of the case, and moved to strike “ote. Kor other cases, see Crimin
ite charac ’ ~ :
incorporation so as t¢ the amended complaint from the files on the B10) Cent. Dig. §§ 1285-1288; Dee. Dig. =
it it was organized for ground that it was a departure and stated

ng water “as a private an entirely new cause of action. We are of | 3 Cee AL Law @=660 — REOPENING oF |
is a public water coq the opinion that, under our system of proce- In a homicide case, the refusal to permit
and not for public us dure, it is irregular to change a proceeding defendant, to reopen his case, to introduce evi-
ers should have a pre in mandamus to an action for equitable re- pee not oent i cpecscter from re a
inal ara ited from, several witnesses relative to eir ob-
ter. The origin formal Hef or for ro Ftd oi cr eg = servations of defendant’s conduct as bearing on
‘ company was # amendment o e complaint. In t CaS@; | his mental capacity at various times from short-

ell the same for irrigj however, the facts necessary to support the|ly after his birth to a few months before the

ower it to do this bus prayer of the amended complaint were al- ee an not an abuse Pgh shige Meda
ite use oF public Us lege in the original complaint. “The case] the nly diferince suggested between this te
‘laimed that by reas has been tried on the theory that it was an latter referred to a time later than that refer-
changed its chara 2 action for equitable relief and for damages, | red to by any previous testimony.
id is not bound to com and not a special proceeding in mandamus.| [Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Criminal
"or a public use. It It does not appear, and it is not asserted, |Law, Cent. Dig. §§ 1619, 1620, 1625, 1626;
vater had become dedi that the defendant wag in any manner in- | Vec- Dig. €=686.] 1 |
. 1905, it was not with convenienced or hampered in the presenta-|4. CrrwinaL Law €=—686 — REOPENING oF dy |
jefendant, as purvey@ tion of the evidence or in the conduct of the TION. on an application to
re the dedicatt™ case by the change in its character. The open a criminal tase to permit the <ntroduction
pri use. This cay difference in the relief sought is slight. Even | of further testimony, that the proposed testi-
.se without the consem in mandamus the plaintiff could have recoy- mony is of substantial importance to accused,
‘all the beneficiaries 0 ered the damages here asked. Code Civ. arr cen bcoeorlgs granted, Criminal
‘t was not shown. TS Proc. § 1095. The difference in the form of - ~Note.—Nor other cases, see riminal
» decisions of this couj the action is technical in character, and we paw, Die eee ‘ 1619, 1620, 1625, 1626;
rr. Co., 157 Cal. 89, 19 cannot perceive that the defendant has suf- ° ° ° :
(N. S.) 213, and Fellow fered substantial injury by the change, or |5- CRIMINAL Law @=945—New Trratr—New-

al. 64, 90 Pac. 137. 4 by the conduct of the court below in permit- LY DISCOVERED EVIDENCE.

A new trial should be granted in a criminal

|
HH
ag or filing of the p ot cause for reversing the judgment. Code Civ.| such evidence renders a different result prob- i |

is made that it was né ting it. The error is therefore not good | case for newly discovered evidence only where
supervisors was autho Proc. § 475; Const. art. 6, § 414. ee Note th Crimt i
. NY aol ud. ote.—Wor other cases, see rimina&
it company. No re olt The objection that the evidence does not Law, Cent. Dig. §§ 2324-2397, 29336: Dee Dig.

directors authorizing 4 ; support the judgment for damages is not 6945. ]

ebook. But the petitiqna @ well taken. We cannot enter into the ques- -

ecretary of the company tion of the credibility of the witnesses. The|6 CRIMINAL Law €1156—A pPpEAL—DENIAL
tee : or NEW TRIAL — NEWLY DIScovERED EVI-

er as such, and the tegegg values given by them to the crops of alfalfa DENCE,
» was the organizer ; which the evidence shows the land would .,, Lhe denial of a new trial, sought in a homi-
rer of the company, a have produced if defendant had supplied wa- aah Poe age nemly oe PR ae postive
= . ie : ¢ Oo deiendant’s menta capacity, could no € alse
cen by the company i ter when demanded, after deducting the cost turbed in the absence of a clear abuse of dix.
-pervisors establish rates of production, are sufficient to show the dam- cretion or a showing that such evidence would
and disposition of thai ages allowed. probably produce a different result on a new

hen this was done J@ 3 The judgment is affirmed. trial.
to the rates establishé . {Ed. Note.—¥For other cases, see Criminal
As before stated, thie We concur: ANGELLOTTI, ©. J.; SLOSS, ise} oo" Dig. §§ 3067-3071; Dec. Dig. =
We think this showam J.; HENSHAW, J.; LORIGAN, J. ° :
ized the signing angie 7. INFANTS €=68—JUVENILE Court Act—Ju-
EIGEae é i 4 ¥ =——— . . , . RISDICTION,
| 4 ant a7) Cal. 211) That the matter has not been submitted to
as tried upon an e

a . 4 TA s {~~ | the juvenile court, pursuant to the Juvenile
viginal complaint-sili PEOPLD =. OXNAM. . (Or. 1021) ..,.... | Be Jovenile 1918, p. 1297) § 18, does not
lly as set forth in. @ (Supreme Court of California. May 20, 1915.) deprive the superior court of jurisdiction to
but the prayer thetet

1. Crivinar Law @248—CrmINAL Respon- | try a defendant for murder, though it develops

f SIBILITY—MENTAL CAPACITY, . on the trial that he was under 18 years of age
nandate. It was, ing Where a person committing an act crimf-|When the erime was committed.
1 mandamus, under ‘§ nal in nature had sufficient mental capacity to! [Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Infants,

oft ~ de of Civil Bi appreciate the character and quality of his act, | Cent. Dig. §§ 174, 175; Dec. Dig. ¢=68.]
he dant to de a . €=—For other cases see sama topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes


Cal.)

contemplated work of appropriating such val-
uables as they could find, When discovered
fry the bedroom of deceased, appellant still
persisted in an effort to accomplish the pur-
pose of the entry, in the struggle that ensued
shot the deceased, and finally fled and sought
a place of concealment. When found with |
Witt in the room in which they had taken |
refuge, he at first sought to explain a wound
received by him
house of deceased as one received elsewhere,
but finally confessed his guilt of the charge |
His recollection of what took |
place on the night of the homicide was clear |
and explicit, and his account was substan- |
tially in accord with What was testified to
by the other witnesses. It would he difficult |
indeed to reconcile the situation thus pre-
sented with any theory of mental incapacity
on his part sufficient in degree to exempt him
from responsibility under the law. As prac-
tically said before, the evidence introduced
in support of the plea of mental incapacity
Was hot, to our minds, of such a nature as to
Faise any serious doubt on the question.
)4Phree points are made for reversal.
iol8,4] 1. It is contended that the trial court
erred in refusing to. allow defendant to re-
open his defense after he had rested, for the
Purpose of calling and examining one addi-
tional witness in support of. his claim of men-
tal,incapacity. The record. shows simply
this:, The defense rested and a recess was
taken, . When court reconvened, defendant’s
attorney said he bad. been informed of one
more witness, not. even naming him, whose
testimony would be very short. The judge
inquired if the Proposed testimony was any-
thing different from what had already been
Siven. Defendant’s attorney said the witness
WAS, one covering a period later on, later than
any: period already covered, and that.,the
testimony was somewhat. different, not much,
but; covered a period after-he left home. . The
Judge said that he anticipated the witness
would testify somewhat. as the others. De-
fendant’s attorney said that he had not talk-
ed..with the witness.; The judge said he
thought the ground had. been fully covered |
and, directed the prosecution, to proceed with |
the rebuttal. Ak ;

While the matter of allowing a. party to re-
open his case is one committed to. the discre.
Hon of a trial court, if it had been made to
appear to the lower court that the proposed
testimony was of any substantial importance
to defendant, we should say that in the ex-
€rcise. of that discretion an .. opportunity
Should have been given him to introduce it,
Notwithstanding his. previous announcement
that he rested. But no such showing was
Made in the lower court, and there is noth-
ing in the record to warrant an assumption
that, the testimony could have assisted de-
fendant in the slightest degree. Confessedly
he, Proposed evidence was not different in

aracter from that elicited from aq long line
Witnesses who had testified as to their ob-

PEOPLE v. OXNAM-. i

167

servations, of defendant: at jvarious times

from shortly after his birth to a short. time,
a.few months at most, before the homicide;

of this testimony. The only difference sug-
gested between this testimony and the pro-
posed testimony was that the latter referred
to a time later than that referred to by any
It would be most un-

[5,6] 2. The motion for a new trial was
based in part on the ground of newly dis-
covered evidence relative to the mental ca-
pacity of the defendant. It is the established
rule in this state that a new trial should be
granted on this ground only where the newly
discovered evidence is such as to render a
different result probable, and it has been said
that the question as to the effect upon the
case of newly discovered evidence is from its

the discretion of the trial court.

“Unless the appellate court can plainly see
that this discretion has been abused, that the

fect that he had. information to the effect
that a lady in San Diego, naming her, would
testify that when a small child appellant had
suffered a severe attack of brain fever, Evi-
dence had been introduced on the trial to the
effect that when .a small child appellant was
very ill and had convulsions. The attorney’s
affidavit further showed that other persons,
naming them,. would testify that as a boy
appellant “was mentally deficient” and “not
bright.” -It.is elear that as to all this there
was nothing on which any claim of abuse of
discretion. on the part of the trial court can
properly be based. The other affidavits tiled
were; -(1) One of Dr. Ernest Bryant Hoag,
simply to the effect that he had on January
19 and .20, 1915, examined appellant, his ex-
amination covering some three hours, and
that in his opinion, based on Johns Hopkins
University reyised Binet-Simon Intelligence
Scale appeHant has a mentality less than
that of a normal child of ten years of age;
(2) one of Dr. Charles W. Waddle, to the ef-
fect that he is head of the department of
psychology and education of the California
State Normal School, Los Angeles, holds the
degree of Ph.D. and has had considerable
experience in “mental testing,” that he has
tested defendant, using the Stanford revision
of the Binet-Simon mental tests, and that
he is convinced that defendant is feeble-mind-
ed and not morally accountable for his acts
to any greater degree than a child of cor-
responding “mental age” may be; (3) one of
William T. Root, Jr., to the effect that he is


168

& member of the department of psychology

149 PACIFIC REPORTER

(Cal.

“No dependent or delinquent person under

and education in said normal school, that) eighteen years of age shall be prosecuted for

Dr. Grace M. Fernald and he examined de-
fendant, and that in his opinion, using the
Binet-Simon tests, defendant is of the “men-
tal age” of eight years and that he would
class him as a “low grade moron”; (4) two
of Dr. Grace M. Fernald, psychologist at said
normal school and the California State
School for Girls at Whittier, having a Ph.D.
degree, to the effect that she examined de-
fendant on January 16, 1915, and found him
to be a feeble-minded individual of the “mor-
on type,” grading eight years “mental age”
by the Binet-Simon test, and that she does
not consider him morally responsible for his
acts any more than a child of eight years
of age would be responsible; and (5) one of
Dr. Thomas J. Orbison, a physician and sur-
geon, to the effect that he had examined the
defendant by the Binet-Simon method or
scale, and concludes therefrom that he is of
the “mental age” of eight years, or “one year
above the imbecile age,” and that the Binet-
Simon method is the most satisfactory meth-
od in use for determining the mental age of
a person. All of the examinations of defend-
ant on which these statements were based
were made apparently after the trial. No
satisfactory reason was shown by any of the
affidavits presented on the motion for the
failure to ascertain prior to the trial by such
examinations as were had subsequent there-
to, the matters stated in these affidavits.
But, regardless of this, we are satisfied that
we cannot properly hold, in the light of all
the evidence given on the trial, that the
showing made by the affidavits was such as
to make it manifest that a different result
would or should be reached on the question
of defendant’s mental capacity in view of
the alleged newly discovered evidence. This
being the situation, we are not warranted in
reversing the order of the trial court denying
the motion for a new trial.

{7] 3. There was evidence given on the
trial by appellant’s witnesses tending to show
that his birth occurred in May, 1897, which
would make him only 17 years and 7 months
of age at the time of the commission of the
crime with which he was charged, and only
one month older at the time of his trial in
the superior court. Apparently the only evi-
dence to the contrary was the fact that he
had represented himself as over 18 years of
age some time before the crime when he ap-
plied for enlistment in the naval militia, and
his appearance; it being testified that physi-
cally he appeared older than his real age.
Basing his claim upon the assertion that the
evidence on the trial was substantially with-
out conflict on the question of age, appellant’s
counsel insists that the superior court was
without jurisdiction to try and sentence ap-
pellant in view of the provisions of the act
commonly known as the Juvenile Court Act,
approved June 16, 1913 (Stats. 1913, p. 1285).
In section 19 of that act it is provided that:

crime until the matter has first been submitted
to the juvenile court by petition as herein pro-
vided, or by certificate of the lower court as
provided in section sixteen (eighteen) hereof.”

Within the meaning of said act, the words
“delinquent person” include any person who
violates any law of the state, or any ordi-
nance of any town, etc., defining crime, and
which involves moral turpitude. Section 4.
It is assumed, although the record does not
affirmatively so show, that the matter of this
charge was never submitted to the juvenile
court. Apparently no suggestion of the age
of appellant as a basis for arresting the
prosecution was ever made in the superior
court, the evidence on that subject being elic-
ited in the ordinary course of the trial as
evidence bearing on the issues being tried
by the jury. No request was made of the
trial court relative to such matter either
before the trial, on the trial or on the mo-
tion for new trial. There is no pretense that
any suggestion of age was made to the com-
mitting magistrate. The claim of any ir-
regularity in this behalf is made for the first
time on this appeal, and is based solely on
what the evidence given on the trial shows
as to appellant’s age.

Consideration of the provisions of the
juvenile court law satisfies us that the pro-
vision relied on is not to be taken as affect-
ing the jurisdiction of the superior court in
any criminal prosecution. The design of the
various provisions relative to investigation
by the juvenile court of the cases of delin-
quent persons under the age of 18 years is,
of course, to afford an opportunity for inves-
tigation of the case of any delinquent person
by a judge of the superior court specially
charged with such work, with a view to as-
certain whether the delinquent person is a
fit and proper subject to be dealt with under
the reformatory provisions of the act, rather
than under the laws generally applicable to
offenses. With this design in view, it is
made the duty of judges, upon proper sug-
gestion and upon the finding of certain facts,
to do certain things. By section 18 of the
act, whenever a deposition or complaint is
filed in any court other than a superior court
charging a person with crime, “and it shall
be suggested to the judge, etc., that the per-
son charged is under 18 years of age,” it is
made the duty of the judge to suspend all
proceedings and examine into the question
of age, and if, “from such examination, it
shall appear to the satisfaction of said judge
* * * that said person is under the age
above specified,” he shall certify the matter
to the juvenile court, and “immediately
thereupon all proceedings against the said
person on said charge shall be suspended un-
til said juvenile court shall issue its mandate
* * * directing the court * * * to
proceed.” It will be observed from this that,
even in the case of a proceeding in an infe-
rior court, there is no want of jurisdiction


166 149 PACIFIC REPORTER (Cay,

8. CriminaL Law €>1033—A PPEAL—OBJEc-
TION BELOW—INVESTIGATION BY JUVENILE
Court.

On appeal in a homicide case, an objec-
tion that no opportunity had been afforded for
investigation by the juvenile court, pursuant to
the juvenile court act (St. 1913, p. 1285), could
not be considered when not presented below.

[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Criminal

Law, Cent. Dig. §§ 2629, 2630; Dec. Dig. €=>

1033.}

9. INFANTS €=—68—SuBMISSION To JUVENILE
Court — SUGGESTION oF DEFENDANT—NE-
CESSITY,

The mere fact, that evidence elicited on the
trial of accused tended to show that he was
under 18 years of age when the crime was com-
mitted, did not require that the superior: court
on its own motion, without any suggestion be-
ing made pursuant to Juvenile Court Act (St.
1913, p. 1297) §-18, cause an investigation to.
be made under such act. . ’

[Ed. Note—For other cases, see Infants,

Cent. Dig. §§ 174, 175; Dec. Dig. €=68.]

fn Bank. Appeal’ from Superior Court,’
Los Angeles County; Frank R. Willis,
Judge. hd Fel g

Charles BP. T. Oxnatii' was convicted of mur-
der, and appeals. Affirmed. ~ -_

George A. Hooper, of Los Angeles, for ap-
Pellant. U. S. Webb, Atty. Gen., and Robt.
M. Clarke, Deputy Atty. Gen., for the People,

ANGELLOTTI, C. J. Appellant and one
Glenn Witt were jointly informed against for
the crime of murder, alleged to have ‘been
committed December 22, 1914. They were
tried separately, and appellant was convict-
ed of murder in the first degree and adjudg-
ed to suffer death. This igs an appeal from
such judgment and from. an order denying
a motion for a new trial.

The circumstances attendant upon the com-
mission of the homicide are stated in the
opinion of, this court in People vy. Witt, 148
Pac. 928. It appears that it was this appel-
lant who actually shot and killed William
M. Alexander, the deceased, while he (appel-
lant) and Witt were in Alexander’s bome,
which they had burglariously entered in the
nighttime for the purpose of committing lar.
ceny therein. The sole defense was that
appellant was “an imbecile, feeble-minded,
mentally deficient, and without sufficient rea-
soning power to understand the nature of his
acts.”

[1] It is not claimed that the evidence was
insufficient to sustain the verdict of the jury
on the question of mental Capacity. The
sole test prescribed by the law in such cases
has been stated so many times by this court
that it is hardly necessary to restate it here.
If appellant, as substantially stated by the:
trial court to the jury, had sufficient mental
capacity to appreciate the character and
quality of his act, knew and understood: that
it was a violation of the rights of another
and in itself wrong, knew that it was pro-
hibited by the laws of the land and that its

commission would entail punishment and
Clemence

Penalties upon himself, if he had the Ca.

pacity thus to appreciate the character and
comprehend the possible or probable conse.
quence of his act, he is responsible to the
law for the act and is to be judged accorg.
ingly, however deficient mentally he May
otherwise have been.

[2] A review of the record satisfies us tha
not only does the evidence elicited in the trig}
sufficiently support the verdict so far as thig
question is concerned, but also that no other
verdict could properly have been rendered,
The testimony of his witnesses covered the
whole period of his life from infancy down
to a very short time before the commission
of the crime, at which time, according to the
claims of his counsel, substantiated by cer-
tain evidence, he was between 17 and 1g
years of age. A careful. analysis of the
mass of testimony. given in support of. the
claims of mental incapacity when made: in
the light of the uncontradicted. evidence ag
to’ the circumstances of the homicide, ang
the conduct of appellant in regard thereto
shows: to ug.no substantial basis for a con;
clusion that appellant was so mentally de;
ficient that he was incapable of distinguish.
ing between right and wrong with relation to
the act with which he was charged. At best,
the testimony relied on simply showed Sub;
stantially that he was not normal mentally;
that:as a child he was morose, timid, and
possessed of a violent temper; that he stole;
that he was~-'somewhat peculiar, was not
bright, was backward in his studies, was de
ficient in memory, etc.’ While some of. the
Witnesses testified that in their opinion he
was of unsound mind, or insane, their reas
sons given were not such as to show the de-
gree of insanity or want of mental capacity
necessary under the law to exempt a person
from responsibility, and some stated that, in
saying they regarded him as of unsound
mind, they meant that they did not consider
him bright or mentally efficient. Some of
the witnesses for appellant on this question
freely admitted that they considered him
capable of distinguishing between right and
wrong with relation to such an act as that
here involved, and we find no substantial
testimony to the contrary. While Dr. Allen,
who had examined appellant somewhat cur-
sorily, said he was defective mentally and
that he thought he was an “imbecile,” he
also testified that he would not pronounce
him of unsound mind, and that he was not
insane in the ordinary acceptation of the
term. According to the uncontradicted évi-
dence, appellant and his companion deliber-
ately planned the commission of the burglary,
went to the Alexander home in the night-
time for the purpose of executing their plan,
appellant being armed with a pistol, effect-

ed entrance through a window which they

opened, carefully removed their shoes to
prevent detection, and proceeded. with their

@—>For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes


not realize that the dreams and plans
which they had made together could
be forever swept away in a few fleet-
ing moments..

Soon District Attorney Lowell L.
Sparks and Sheriff Elmer Gum were
directing a manhunt that sent grim-
faced officers patrolling the roads lead-
ing from the city.

Before the investigation was many
hours old, clues began to come in.
Soon after the shooting, a man answer-
ing the description of the killer had
been seen boarding a west-bound
freight at the Roseville yards. Then,
at the outskirts of the city park, a
man’s blue jacket was found. From a
dance pavilion seven miles away, Jack
Bolster reported that his car had been
stolen.

D'STRICT ATTORNEY. SPARKS
then went to the hospital to get a
statement from McElroy. But the
youth was sinking fast. Blood trans-
fusions proved futile, and at nine :
o’clock Sunday morning he died without being able to utter
a word. Stay
At Roseville, Sheriff Gum was’ tracking down leads to the
real identity of Gordon. Killett. He learned ‘that the man’s
actual name was Everett Gilbert Parman. Immediately all

California police authorities were advised to be on the look- -

out for him, and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation at
Washington, D. C., went a request. for information on the
killer’s past. f

By return wire, the Sheriff learned that Parman was a
two-time loser, and that his: criminal record stretched over
sixteen of his twenty-eight years. Twice he had been con-
victed of felonies in Federal Courts, and had only recently
been released from Leavenworth. In 1929 he had been con-
victed for car theft in New Mexico. For this offense he had
been sent to the Federal Reformatory at Chillicothe, Ohio,
for three years. He had responded to this by sawing the
bars of his cell and escaping. Recaptured promptly he had
been sent to Leavenworth and given four additional years.
Because of his bad record, he had served his full term of
seven years before his release on April 7th, 1937.

Prison records revealed his true nature. Incorrigible and
resentful of, discipline, he had fought his fellow prisoners.
Once his jaw had been broken.

This was the evil, underhanded creature who had lured Mc-
Elroy into a side street, and who had shot him without warning.

Ignoring flying bullets, Captain
Samuel Kirkpatrick, Sergeant
Thad Dourain, and Sergeant
James O’Neill (from lett to right)
risked their lives to capture the
desperate fugitive murderer

Not even the presence of his
mother in court could break down
the sneering bravado of the killer.
They are shown together (op-
posite page), the mother broken-
hearted but loyal, the son dom-
ineering and still unrepentant

In the Placer County Courthouse
below, the girl-mad slayer heard
himself sentenced to die in the
San Quentin gas’ chamber

So aroused was the Sheriff that he posted his own personal
reward for Parman’s capture, and sent the fugitive’s photo-
graph, fingerprint classification and description throughout
the country.

Days passed into weeks, Rumors began to pour in. Some
said that the wanted man was hiding in a wooded jungle near

Loomis, seven miles from Auburn. Deputies searched the.

spot but found no clues. Then the killer was placed near
e home of a relative in the vicinity of Jackson. Again the
search was fruitless.

Finally a report reached the Sheriff that during the week
of July 23rd a man answering Parman’s description had
worked with a fire-fighting crew at Orleans near the Oregon
boundary, and that he had used the name of Jack Bolster
in drawing his cans check. This sounded important, inas-
much as it was Jack Bolster who had reported his car stolen
following the murder.

Sixteen days had elapsed since the crime. Meanwhile, the

‘number of the stolen car was being memorized by officers

of the California State Highway Patrol, who worked under
the super en of Chief Raymond Cato.

At Eureka, several hundred miles north of Roseville, Cap-
tain Sam. Kirkpatrick, and Sergeant Thad Dourain were
testing the headlights of south-bound cars. Wire screens had
been placed on the highway, which enabled the officers to
test the glare and focus in an effort to keep the accident

MASTER DETECTIVE

rate dov
about tl)

At ten
ing Cali
inspectio
and the
of twent
handed
“Thank >

Captai
vacation.
had not s
Hence th
as he m
clicked. ]

u
a lash he
toward tl
up, he lef
Kirkpat
ing more
asked the
“What j
“Jack B
The Cay
correct; b
to the driv
Excusing
They walk.
jail. Wher
turned. “J
.want any t
“We'll gx
okay there
But the 1
heels. Kirk
the air. Fro
close to the

As the cr

Patroln
Sergeant D:
at the roads
tion of the <
an alley he
At the nex
fugitive. T)
headlights.

He had ;

JUNE, 1939


on mW", orn \ ~ | fo mer ‘ VU ** ®
1 guentin (Placer Co.) 8-lé -
4 . = ~ ,ItIryw dee AE 8 Y SAL ee eee te
rmhate, mo EL ee g
Woda US g Ge |,

THE QIR Lan

eee BY CARTER GREENE

HE pretty, dark-haired girl stood His voice was low and Pleasant

out in the shopping crowd: that Margaret Noticed he wag young.

thronged the main Street of Au- appeared handsome, too, with a ;
burn, ifornia, and more than fusion of black curly hair and spa
one young fellow turned to take ling blue eyes. — :

& second look at her as she stood “Well,” she said hesitantly, “Pm

exactly lost. But I'd like a ride hor
‘ That is, if you’re—”

But brunette Margaret Brusso was “Wh

ere to—Roseville?” he int.
their glances, She rupted,

spo “Yes. Do you know my aunt? Hz
the sidewalk and you been here to the station befor<
kept dgoking up the street, frowning. “Oh, s
us e

” he laughed, “My nam
sh as a fellow Spike. I’ve been around. “C’mon, jun
employee stop de her and A
e. “What's the matter, Margaret? For a moment listening to his ba)
a you miss your ride home to Rose- T, Margaret Brusso felt a sm:
ville?”

twinge o doubt. She was closer ;
“Yes,” she said, and smiled, “Mr. him now, and in the light his goc
Stephens left a little early tonight, I looks were a little Coarse,
guess.” Was a flintiness around his mouth th:
“Well, when you get to be county Suggested cruelty,
auditor you can do it too,” the other fidence im her ability to take care o
- ai us t are you going herself and the choice was quick]:
Oo do?” d e.

if I can out of the station and t

Roseville, and M:

long!” The other girl waved as attention t

argaret crossed the street, her light
summer dress clinging lik

} € a veil to through a smaller town that she sai
her Youthful ayers. ‘up 1clously and peered out through
argaret walked down a few blocks the window.
0 a gasoline service Station owned by “Say!” she exclaimed ‘That was
er aunt, Mrs, J Troutwine Be- Calaga pring:

y the iets be Are you lost?”

Pp n e hig ierra ountains, € driver’s stron hands
= ‘ ‘drivers were turning on their tigh §

ea r

Showed no other emotion and
Margaret was a little concerned; her i i
parents and her sister road ahead.
or her at home in Roseville, might be. ‘Tm not lost,” he said
worried. For a moment She consid- slowly. “T just didn’t fig-
ered Phoning, but realized she might ure you were in a hurry,’
miss a ride if she went inside the “But I am!”
Station. “Never mind that,”
This was a busy intersection, on the
main road west to i

) in answer to her thought -

a light truck drove in and stopped be-
side her,

THE PROSECUTOR.

“You look lost, Going my way?”
who directed the law against killer, the driver asked,

pbs QUARTER s
Hoke Y, LIF,


m Captain
Sergeant
Sergeant
to right)
oture the
murderer

-e of his
reak down
the killer.
ther (op-
er broken-
son dom-
nrepentant

Courthouse
layer heard
die in the
chamber

s own personal
igitive’s photo-
ion throughout

pour in. Some
ded jungle near
>5 gearched the
yas placed near
xson. Again the

during the week
description had
near the Oregon
of Jack Bolster
important, inas-
ed his car stolen

~

Meanwhile, the
rized by officers
vho worked under

sf Roseville, Cap-
JYourain were
a screens ha
he officers to

keep the accident

MASTER DETECTIVD

iii

rate down. It was a routine procedure and the officers went
about their tasks efficiently.

‘At ten minutes past eight in the evening, a roadster bear-
ing California license D-4198 stopped at the screen for
inspection. Its radio gave forth a popular dance melody,
and the driver chatted pleasantly with his passenger, a girl
of twenty. Captain Kirkpatrick looked at the lights, and
handed the driver an inspection. card. The driver said,
“Thank you,” and started off.

Captain Kirkpatrick had just returned from a two weeks’
vacation. While he knew the stolen car list’ by heart, he
had not seen the teletype descriptions of. the Roseville killer.
Hence the car meant nothing to him until it passed. Then,
as he mechanically noted the license number, his brain
clicked. He knew that it was on the list of wanted vehicles.

The machine was now approaching the screen where traffic
in the other direction was stopped for inspection. Here
Sergeant Dourain and Patrolman Nichols were stationed.

Dourain saw the car, and spotted the license number. In
a flash he, too, was put on the alert. He waved the driver
toward the curb. Then, seeing his superior officer coming
up, he left matters to him. ; —— j

Kirkpatrick, believing that the investigation entailed noth-
ing more than an ordinary irregular license-plate matter,
asked the driver to step out of the car.

“What is your name?” he asked.

“Jack Bolster,” was the prompt reply. “What’s wrong?”

The Captain checked the name with the car license. It was
correct; but he wanted to be certain. Therefore, he said
to the driver, “Come with me. I want to talk to you.”

Excusing himself to his lady companion, the driver obeyed.
They walked down the street toward the Humboldt County
jail. When they reached the steps, the driver suddenly
turned. “Listen,” he snapped, “what’s the idea? I don’t
want any trouble.”

“We'll go inside,” replied the Captain quietly. “If you're
okay there won't be any trouble.”

But the man before him now spun around and took to his
heels. Kirkpatrick gave the command to halt, and fired into
the air. From the darkness a gun blazed. Two bullets whined
close to the officer’s head.

AS the crackle of gunfire broke the stillness of the night,
Patrolman Nichols ran to assist the Captain, while
Sergeant Dourain jumped into the white State car parked
at the roadside. A moment later he was racing in the direc,
tion of the shots. He turned into H Street, and as he passed
an alley he heard resounding footsteps on the hard cement.
At the next corner he cut to the right to intercept the
fugitive. The man loomed clear within the range of the
headlights. The Sergeant pressed after him.

He had approached within fifty feet when suddenly the

JUNE, 1939

figure turned, leveled his revolver
and fired. The windshield split
with a crash. Dourain- set the
brakes and ducked. The man
fled to the next corner.

Dourain turned on his red
light and cut loose with his siren.
Again he took up the pursuit,
but traffic blocked the way.
Cursing his luck, the officer
watched the fugitive disappear.

At the pool hall at 427 Third
Street, the click ef pool balls
was the only sound in the smoke-
filled room. Suddenly the front
door opened and a tall blond
adinay wearing overalls, logging

oots and lumber jacket stood on
the threshold. In his right hand
was a smoking gun.

“The cops are after me and
they won’t get me alive,” he
shouted as he made a dash
through the scattering crowd.

The rear door of the poolroom
was bolted, and painters had
placed ladders and a scaffold
over the entrance.

Seeing his way barred, the man
with the gun hesitated for a moment. Then he kicked at
the ladders with his heavy boots. They toppled over, and
the falling scaffold and planks clattered on the pool tables.
Quickly he unbolted the door, and slipped into an alley.

At the corner of Third and F Streets was Sergeant James
O'Neill, of the Eureka Police Department. He had heard
the running gunfight with Sergeant _Dourain, and had seen
the fugitive enter the pool hall. He knew his city. Back
to the alley in the rear of the hall he sprinted, reached the
spot as the fleeing figure turned into the rear door of the
Royal Café.

Following hard on his heels, the Sergeant advanced. Sud-
denly the-man wheeled, covered him with his gun.

O'Neill’s reply was to reach for his own service Colt.

At this the fugitive jumped for the officer. As they clashed,
he snarled, “T’ll kill you, Officer, and you won’t be the first
man I’ve killed.”

“You haven’t the nerve,” replied O’Neill steadily, as with
a sweeping motion of his arm he sent the gunman’s hand
upward into the air. As he did so the weapon flashed flame.
The bullet whistled through the air and narrowly missed
Sergeant Dourain, who had come up behind O’Neill. So close
was he that powder smudged his face, as he bore down on
the fugitive. At close quarters the latter was no match for
bi husky officers. In a trice they disarmed and handcuffed
him.

Breathing hard, the now sullen prisoner was taken to the
Humboldt County jail. Here a comparison of his finger-
prints with the circular mailed by Sheriff Gum proved his
identity as Everett Gilbert Parman, wanted for the Rose-
ville killing.

‘A wire was then dispatched. Soon Sheriff Gum, accom-
panied by Deputy District Attorney C. E. Tindall, started
on the long drive to Eureka.

Tt was at eight o’clock on the morning of August 3rd,
1938, that the prisoner entered the Sheriff’s car for the ride
to Auburn.

“Parman,” said Gum, “I’m taking you safely into Auburn.
You'll have a fair trial and there won’t be any lynching.
But don’t start anything you can’t finish. I don’t want to
haul back a dead man.”

Those few words wiped the smirk from the face of the
cold-blooded killer. He had lived in Placer County long
enough to know that the quiet-spoken officer had never made
an idle threat in thirty years. The ex-convict, who had
sawed his way out of a Federal prison, was a silent passen-
ger on the 400-mile journey.

Toward evening they arrived at Auburn, and the car
rolled up to the back entrance of the Placer County jail.
Parman walked into the office. There he was photo-
graphed, fingerprinted and assigned to a cell with six other
prisoners. (Continued on page 64)


RCM cate ane etm cml ams a emma» tet ama tits Ra a oR ia NA a IS

Girl-Mad Slayer and His Auto Trap

The next morning he had_ recovered
some of his old manner. “TI’ll beat this
murder rap,” he boasted at breakfast.

“How?” asked one of his cellmates.

“T’ll prove that the killing was an acci-
dent.”

The questioner smiled at the slayer,
then went on eating.

That smile nearly cost him his life.

THAT night, while the other prisoners

slept, Parman tore a blanket into
shreds and made a hangman’s noose, He
was certain that his questioner was a stool-
pigeon, and meant to have his life.

Through the prison grapevine, however,
the guards had been warned. They
swooped down on Parman before he could
go through with his plan to strangle the
man who smiled.

Feeling against the killer was running
high. Threats of lynching were frequent,
and it did not ease his mind to see the
college campus, where his victim’s memor
was still cherished, overlooking the jail.

But there were no untoward incidents.
On August 5th the Grand Jury convened.
After hearing the testimony of Ruth
McElroy, it indicted Parman for first-
degree murder and violation of the deadly
weapon act which lays a heavy penalty
of twelve years for carrying a concealed
weapon after previous conviction for a
felony.

(Continued from page 9)

A week later, Parman was arraigned and

counsel was appointed to defend him. On
August 29th he pleaded not guilty by
reason of insanity to each charge of the
indictment. Alienists were appointed to
examine him. September 19th was set as
the date of trial. Four days before this,
he appeared in court with his attorneys,
withdrew his plea with respect to the
weapons am, and admitted his prior
conviction. This was a shrewd move, for
by so doing he prevented any mention of
it during the trial.
_ On Monday, September 19th, proceed-
ings began. Judge J. B. Landis resided
and District Attorney Lowell Sparks, C. E.
Tindall and I represented the State.

Parman appeared confident. “Don’t
worry,” he assured his mother. “TI’ll get off.”

He believed that with the prior con-
viction out of the way, the prosecution
would have to rely upon his assault of
Margaret as the motive for the crime. He
figured that all he had to do was to
claim that the girl’s accusations were false,
and thus center the minds of the jurymen
on the truth or the falsity of the criminal
assault and so divert their attention from
the murder.

But we confined our evidence strictly to
the crime charged. No testimony was
given that accused him of the assault. We
introduced in evidence another felony con-
viction, not precluded as evidence under

the law. We proved that he had a gun on
the night of the crime, and that if searched
and found with that gun he would have
been subject to the twelve-year minimum
penalty. This, we contended, was his rea-
son for leading George McElroy away
from the crowd, and this was the motive
for the killing. -

The maneuver was a bombshell to the
defense. Vainly they tried to inject the
criminal assault angle into the case. We
argued that the defendant could not claim
that, because he had not assaulted Mar-
garet, he had not murdered McElroy. The
Court sustained our position, and Parman
was forced to rely on his assertion that
the killing was an accident.

I made the opening argument to the jury
and the District Attorney closed. We
hammered home our view that there was
not the slightest extenuating or mitigating
circumstance in Parman’s favor. For the
first time in twenty-three years of practise,
I requested the death penalty.

On Thursday, September 22nd, the jury
brought in its verdict. Guilty, without
recommendation of mercy—a death ver-
dict in California.

Four days later, Judge Landis sentenced
the prisoner to die in the San Quentin
Prison lethal gas chamber. He is, as this is
written, confined in Death Row, awaiting
review of his trial by the California Su-
preme Court.

Wanted! $100 Reward for Steve Mochan

there,” she said. iN

A girl of eighteen answered their knock.
She told the detectives that her husband
had not been home all night, but she be-
lieved he had gone to visit his son by a
former marriage. :

As she talked, however, fear came into
her eyes. “But why are you asking. me
all these questions?” she inquired.

The detectives had to tell her. It was
half an hour before they could calm
her sufficiently to take her to identify the
victim. Bise

When Shedlock brought the girl in,
saying, “Here’s his wife, John,” Superin-
tendent Black had looked bewildered.

He took the officers aside and explained.
It seemed that the detectives sent to the
Lime Hollow address had also discovered
a wife of the victim. This woman knew
the man as David Sturtz and had. been
married to him for fifteen years. He
stayed with her and their two children
each week-end, and left Sunday nights
for his job.in the city. He used to ex-
plain that it was too hard to drive ten
miles back and forth each day, especially
when he had to be on call any hour of
the day or night. And his family hgd
believed him. i

It was a complicated set-up. Both
women seemed amazed to learn of the
other’s existence. 3

An obvious guess was that his double
life had been discovered, and a bullet
had ended it all. But when we probed

deeper: we found that neither woman had |. |

had an inkling of the two-sided domestic
arrangement

A week later the dead mian’s car was

discovered near Delmont, twenty miles
from where the body had been found.
Despite the strange angles to the case, we
never came close to a real clue. Every
trail had led to a dead end.

64

(Continued from page 48)

Now I recalled. that the death of
Sturtz and that of Craig were just a week
apart. And both had occurred in the same
locality. On a long chance I sent for Ro-

-maska and Mikser.

I asked them if they had ever heard
of David Sturtz.

They looked at each other. Mikser
seemed ready to burst into tears. Romaska
nodded coldly. “Sure—we killed him, too.””

Months of work and years of wondering
—and in those five words the case was
solved!

Both men agreed to make detailed con-
fessions, When they had concluded’ it
was apparent that the third member of
the gang, Mochan, was the brains and the
driving power behind their cold-blooded

crimes. °

This is what I learned as the two men
salked and a stenographer took down their
words:

|. Johnny Mikser, in 1929, was the seven-
'teen-year-old ‘son’ of a respectable grocer

in Wilmerding. His father owned three
markets and hoped to expand his business
further. Jo worked as a delivery boy.
,One day he called to deliver an order at
the Romaska house. Mrs. Romaska was

‘out, but her son, Tony, eighteen, was

‘home.
“Aren’t you. sick of being a delivery
boy?” asked Tony. “You'll never get

j

‘rich that way. You ought to play along

‘with me.” He pulled a thick wad of bills
‘out of his pocket. Johnny gasped.
“Come in and have a drink,” urged
Tony. Johnny knew that he shouldn't;
‘but the other youth was insistent. Not
‘realizing what -he was letting himself in
‘for, he unwisely entered.
. Tony -be an.to brag about his friend,
Mochan, who lived in a cabin on the hill.
He induced Johnny to join them the next
night on a scheme that would net them

ny:

quick money.

The scheme was the robbery of the
Potter-McCune store in Turtle Creek.
But the plans went wrong. A night watch-
man was on the premises when they en-
tered. Johnny ran. Tony was the last
one to leave. When he came out he said,
“IT had to hit him on the head and lay
him out cold.”

Johnny was terrified. He had never
reckoned with the fact that the commis-
sion of any crime involves far-reaching
consequences, with the odds weighted
heavily in favor of the law. He was sure
that the watchman had recognized him
as he had often delivered packages to his
home. He was afraid to return to his
family. Tony suggested that he live with
Mochan, and that’s what Johnny did. He
crept into his house, made up a bundle of
clothes, and then climbed the hill back
of Wilmerding to the hut where Stephen
Mochan lived. —

THE latter welcomed him. He was a big
man with a hard, square face, in which
the dimple on his chin looked incongruous.
With the heart of a Fagin, he began to
school his new associate in the ways of
crime, '

Three on later Tony likewise moved
into the cabin.

“We'll swipe a car and do a stick-up,”
declared Mochan. .,

So the trio, on the night of December
3rd, set out to get a car. Mochan had
passed around guns and blackjacks, and
in their misguided way the youths were
on the road to disaster.

“We saw a green Essex coming, and we
flagged it,” Romaska told us. “Mochan got
in the front seat, pulled out a gun and
stuck it into the driver’s ribs. e was
that fellow Sturtz you asked us about.
We ordered him to turn off to a side road,

MASTER DETECTIVE

vet ee

ar

ne

th

or ivlOvU!
“T did

kill any

were Jus
It Wats

A youth.

ing wit

car whe:~
abandon
freight t

Mo!
cra
“It was
The t
days. !
par 1
y fear
visit his
He just
started
figures |
chan a
wanted
“We’l
threaten
Mikse
house.
It wa
the sna
into.
On D
another
the unf
pass at
the trio
way in
the sam
Again
murdere
back. .
it in thi
Tacwe
t
§

&
was dif
themse]
Rom:
the full
“But
chan bi
had de
men w!
who h:
harm. (
terial w


1 who
well
code

selves.

okies
scribed

Police
York

led in

inder-

1 for

man
spect-
suave
itured
ed in
) sus-
stolen
s from +
minent
had
him
ied a
rat of
{ been
2t pro-
rat his
iistake
looked
ave a
f him-
princi-
of the
made
atform
ed the
mani-
ggering

Detec-
of the
ibi un-
wn, he

false
srative,
or im-

in a

sughlin,
ir van-
1ge 71)

September, 1929

The Great Wilshire
Mystery

(Continued from page 18)

the next morning. She did as he advised.

Deep interest was occasioned by the
appearance of Mrs. Gregory, for years
the accused woman’s friend, as a wit-
ness for the State. This was un-
doubtedly a blow to Louise Peete—but
there was no indication of hurt or dis-
may on the marble mask that was her
face. Mrs. Gregory testified to Mrs.
Peete’s gayety and high spirits on the
Gregory’s coming to Denton house
from May 3lst to June 2nd. At the
same time she sought to offset this un-
favorable evidence by telling of Mrs.
Peete’s gayety and high spirits on the
night of June 2nd, and bringing out the
fact that the defendant had had the
house decorated with flowers—hardly
the conduct of a woman who had re-
cently committed a cold-blooded mur-
der!

JAMES CROWHURST, a_ plumber,
told the jury that Mrs. Peete had
hired him, during the month of June,
to do repair work on the furnace pipes
in the basement, which she declared
were making a noise “like a cemetery
coming to life.” He also testified that
she had given him clothing belonging
to Denton to sell and that she had un-
locked Denton’s trunks to take out the
apparel.

Department store employees identi-
fied Mrs. Peete as the purchaser of two
expensive gowns which she had charged
to “Mrs. J. C. Denton,” and the alter-
ation slip, which she had signed “Mrs.
J. C. Denton” was offered in evidence.

A realtor testified that Mrs. Peete
told him that Denton had gone to New
York but had given her permission to
occupy the house for a year or longer;
that she said she had authority to sell
the premises, pending Denton’s return
and that the transaction could be put
in escrow and she could, in the mean-
while, accept payments on the property.
She declared that Denton’s arm was in-
jured and he was unable to attend to
business at that time.

Finally came the sharpest legal tilt
of this extraordinary trial. The defense
fought long and bitterly to keep out
of evidence the by-that-time famous
Glenn Ranch statement, given by Mrs.
Peete to Deputy District Attorney
Doran while in his unofficial custody
immediately after her return from Den-
ver. The defense objected violently
on the ground that the statement had
been taken while the defendant was de-
prived of her constitutional rights.
However, Judge Willis over-ruled the
objection and the damaging document,
i00 pages long, was read to the jury.
It gave in detail Mrs. Peete’s fantastic
account of. the murder by an accom-
plice of “the Spanish woman,” her ex-
planations of all her acts involving the
handling of Denton’s property and per-
sonal effects—explanations greatly at
variance with her own statements given

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18 The Master Detective

to the police because it would cause much publicity.

During Mrs. Aument’s testimony, Mrs. Peete listened
with an. air of disdainful boredom and once, when the
young matron’s glance met hers with a flash of challenge,
Mrs. Pete yawned.

The appearance on the stand of Mrs. Tilton; a dress-
maker, and a Mrs. Woods, aroused keen interest as both
had been on cordial terms with the accused woman and
had attended many gay parties given by her at the Denton
home.

RS. TILTON’S attitude was distinctly hostile, as she

added many important blocks to the wall of damaging
evidence. She told of having been ordered to make several
of Denton’s silk shirts over into shirtwaists for Mrs. Peete;
that Mrs. Peete had given her a box containing baby cloth-
ing, toys, embroidery and other keepsakes that had be-
longed to Denton’s dead wife and baby. Mrs, Peete had
told Mrs. Tilton that Denton gave them to her. Denton’s
relatives, on the other hand, maintained that the dead man
had cherished these souvenirs and keepsakes so deeply that
he never would have handed them over to a comparative
stranger. ;

Mrs. Tilton also testified that Mrs, Peete had asked
her to pawn a man’s diamond ring, identified by Denton’s
relatives as one worn by him at the time of his disappear-
ance; that she had done so, and turned over to Mrs. Peete
the two hundred dollars thus obtained, which the defendant
had placed in the bank to her own account. This testimony
refuted Mrs, Peete’s claim to the effect that she had pawned
the ring for “the Spanish woman.” Mrs. Tilton also told
of a leather grip filled with papers and personal effects of
the dead man, turned over to her for keeping by Mrs.
Peete before her departure for Derniver, with instructions,

however, to later turn it over to Denton’s ‘banker or to.

Judge Avery.

Mrs. Wood, unlike Mrs. Tilton, testified
with manifest reluctance against her erst-
while friend, telling the Court that Mrs.
Peete had “loaned” her Denton’s car for a
period of some weeks, and of varying
theories which the defendant had offered to
explain the promoter’s prolonged absence.
The witness also stated that Mrs. Peete, on
leaving for Den-
ver, wore one of
the two dresses
which she had
charged to Den-
ton’s account,
after purchasing
them as Mrs. J.
C. Denton. This
testimony was in
contrast to Mrs.
Peete’s assertion
that she had
turned these
dresses over to
“the Spanish
woman” after or-
dering them at
the latter’s be-
hest. Mrs. Wood
further stated
that Mrs. Peete
had offered to
sell her part of
the furniture in
the Denton home,
later stating,
however, that she
would have to

Above is a view of San Quentin Penitentiary, where Mrs. Peete is doomed to spend
the remainder of her life. Inthe inset is “the marble woman” as she looks today

await Denton’s return to get a bill of sale. Other witnesses
testified that Mrs. Peete had told them Denton had given
her the furniture.

All through the trial the Defense made strenuous but un-
successful efforts to keep out of evidence contradictory
statements made by the defendant about various aspects
of the case. The Prosecution maintained that in a case
based almost solely on circumstantial evidence, conflicting
statements were of inestimable value, as they showed a

desire to conceal something and were an indication of

“a guilty knowledge.”

Two checks, one for $300, the other for $450, dated June
5th and 9th, made out to and cashed by Mrs. Peete and
supposedly signed by Jacob C. Denton, were pronounced
forgeries by Handwriting Expert Carlson: Bank employees
testified that they had challenged Denton’s signature but had
accepted Mrs. Peete’s explanation to the effect that she
had met Denton at a downtown hotel, that his right arm
had been injured and was in a sling and that he had asked
her to guide his hand while writing his signature. The
handwriting expert maintained that the signatures had been
written by a-hand free and unhampered. A mild sensa-
tion was created when Mts. Peete made her first admission,
namely that she had signed the checks—at Denton’s order.
Many witnesses testified that Denton’s arm, when he was
last seen about June Ist, was not in a sling.

Other witnesses told of Mrs. Peete’s attempt to carry out
Denton’s intention to trade his car in on a new automobile
and her having. listed the Catalina Street property for sale
with various real estate agencies. A society matron had
negotiated with Mrs. Peete for the property and had been
shown through the house—including the basement. This
lady had noticed the pile of dirt and fertilizer which
Mrs. Peete said had been ordered by Denton with a

view to planting bulbs.

~ The State introduced a surprise witness
in the person of a Japanese gardener em-
ployed on a neighboring estate. It was
brought out that Mrs. Peete had borrowed
a spade from him on June 2nd; later, when
he’ had called for it, it was found in the
basement, the scene of the gruesome in-
terment.

William F, Heitzman, landscape gardener,
testified that he
i] had worked
several days for
Mrs. Peete early
in June. At her or-
der, he had dug a
quantity of earth
from a rose bed
and placed it in
the cellar. On the
following morning
he had been sur-
prised to find
about one-third of
the dirt gone. He
had, while in the
basement, noticed
the closed closet
door, with a board
nailed across the
top. He also
stated that on first
descending into
the basement he
had been im-
pressed by an odor
resembling “some-
one dead” and,
thinking it might
be a cat or rat,
had requested Mrs.
Peete to leave the
door open for air
(Continued on

dage 57)

———— Oe

The stz

it is ;
times
print;
The
that I «
ing was

- the ye:

beyond
that it
for her
years, «
New Je
The «
ing of


58

at other times to various persons and
utterly refuted by testimony given on
the stand by the prosecution's witnesses.

When the reading was finished, Mr.
Doran took the stand to tell of verbal
statements made by the defendant, par-
ticularly on the occasion when he had
tried at great length to persuade her
to reveal the truth regarding the mur-
der of Denton and she had admitted,
in broken tones, that she would like
tu do so, but could not, because of her
husband and child.

The attempt of defense counsel to
show that Mrs. Peete told her far-
fetched story as a last resort to get
rid of pestering lawyers and detectives,
and more by way of a joke, as she had
a poor opinion of her questioners and
deliberately misled them to make them
appear ridiculous before the public,
failed to lessen the unfavorable effect
of the statement. The session closed
with the defendant, worn and haggard,
appearing for the very first time as a
woman on trial for her life!

HEN the defense brought on its

witnesses. Three reputable persons
testified, apparently in all sincerity, to
having seen Denton, on or about June
Ist, with his right arm in a sling.
Several others told of having seen him
alive, in various places, after June 2nd.

A Mrs. Collins told of an automobile
ride with Denton and Mrs. Peete, dur-
ing the course of which the promoter
told her that Mrs, Peete had his au-
thority to sell the Catalina Street house,
adding that she should communicate
with Mrs, Peete if she learned of any
party in the market for such a property.

A laundryman testified to having
called at the Denton residence on the
morning of May I1th, at which time he
found Denton in company with a young
woman of dark complexion. He told
of Denton’s annoyance and his reminder
that he had instructed him (the laun-
dryman) to make his calls only in the
afternoon.

A woman distributor of excursion
tickets swore that she talked with Den-
ton on the street on May 29th. At
that time a young Spanish woman had
approached and led him away without
a word, followed by a saturnine-look-
ing Mexican who had been watching
from across the street, according to the
witness.

Still another woman told of having
returned from a party with Mrs. Peete
and finding the house brilliantly illumi-
nated, although all lights had been ex-
tinguished when they left the premises
a few hours before, indicating that other
persons had been there during the in-
terim.

A former night watchman testified
that Mrs. Peete had given him a key to
the house during the latter part of May,
but had not told him not to go into
the basement; also, that she had asked
several times if he had found lights
burning during her absence. ,

While the brevity of defense testi-
mony was a disappointment in one way,
it was welcome to spectators in another,
as it presumably brought nearer the
eagerly awaited moment when “the
woman of marble” would take the stand

The Master Detective

in her own behalf and perforce reveal
something of what actually lay behind
that baffling, icy mask.

A RUMOR began to circulate to the
effect that Aggeler was not going
to place his client on the stand! Louise
Peete, in more than one statement to
the press, had declared her eagerness
and anxiety to tell her own story to the
jury. The packed court-room was a
scene of dramatic intensity when the
last defense witness—except Mrs.
Peete—had been called. It was late
afternoon when Defense Counsel Ag-
geler rose and addressed the Court.

“T would like to ask the Court at
this time for an adjournment until to-
morrow morning,” he announced. ‘We
have one more witness whom we might
put on the stand.”

One more witness! There remained
but one—Louise Peete herself. In-
stantly the very air was charged with
breathless expectancy.

District Attorney Woolwine instantly
opposed adjournment.

“Very well!” said Aggeler, “The de-
fense rests.”

The reaction was terrific. After an
instant of stunned silence, a gasp of
disappointment broke from the specta-
tors—and then all eyes turned to the
prisoner. For the first time, her dark
eyes gleamed with tears of vexation,
and her face turned fairly livid with
anger when she comprehended the situ-
ation. Her lawyers had closed the case
and her chance to be a witness at her
own trial was irretrievably lost. She
made as if to rise, whereupon Richard
Peete and others began to plead and
reason with her. She fairly slumped
in her chair and for a moment there
was in her glance the desperation of
a hunted animal at bay. The mask had
been torn off—but only for a moment.

When court adjourned, Mrs. Peete
expressed herself for the press.

“T am sorry I didn’t get a chance
to testify,” she said, with perfect com-
posure, “but my attorneys thought it
best not to put me on the stand and
I acquiesce in their decision. There
were many things I desired to say and
I wanted a chance to get better ac-
quainted with the jury before they re-
tired to deliberate, but I didn’t have
that chance. I'll just have to make the
best of it.”

Aggeler added:

“Mrs, Peete’s testimony was unneces-
sary. The prosecution has not estab-
lished cause to make her appearance as
a witness essential to free her from this
charge.”

N summing up his case to the jury,

Aggeler stressed the fact that the evi-
dence presented by the State had been
purely circumstantial. Prosecutor Wool-
wine, on the other hand, painted Mrs.
Peete in black colors. He pointed out
that she had stripped jewelry from
Denton’s body “while the blood was
still warm in his veins” and that she
had later sought to raise money on the
Denton mansion. All during Woolwine’s
address, Mrs. Peete remained perfectly
calm.

At 10 o'clock on the morning of
February 5th, Judge Willis delivered his
charge to the jury and the panel re-
tired. Mrs. Peete withdrew to the jail,
accompanied by her husband, smiling,
in good spirits and apparently with
every hope of acquittal.

The defendant, with firm step, re-
entered the court-room four hours later
and calmly took a chair facing the jury
box. The jurors were coming in... .

“Gentleman of the jury,” asked Judge
Willis, “have you agreed upon a ver-
dict?”

“We have,” answered the foreman.

“You will submit it to the Court!”

THE bailiff took the slip of paper
from the foreman and handed it to
the Court. Judge Willis read it slowly
and passed it to the clerk of the Court.

“The Clerk will read the verdict.”

“We find the defendant guilty as
charged—of murder in the first degree—
and fix her sentence at life imprison-
ment!”

A moment of deathly silence. Then
the pell-mell rush of newspaper re-
porters for the telephones. As the ver-
dict was read, the prisoner did not even
wince. Chin up, eyes straight ahead,
she seemed as one braced for a shock
which she met without a tremor. Even
in the moment of doom, Louise Peete
would not bare her secret soul to that
crowd that had watched for three
weeks, with cruel searching eyes for
some sign of weakness, some display of
feeling, however faint!

It was the doomed woman’s husband
whose shoulders bent under the crushing
blow, and he wept openly. His wife
slipped an arm about his shoulders and
laid her cheek against his. A stranger
entering the court-room would have
thought he was the condemned, and she
the comforter!

At the present moment, behind the
walls of San Quentin Penitentiary is
the forceful personality that might have
won success and distinction in the world
of men and women, had not greed im-
pelled her to take human life, with her
own liberty as the forfeit. However,
Louise Peete is the undisputed leader in
the grim little building that houses 107
women prisoners. “The Brains,” they
call her, and in such social affairs as
are permitted in the women’s ward, she
is dictator. She spends much of her
time sewing, reading and writing and
she keeps a diary which she plans to
later rewrite in the form of a book to
be entitled “My Life in Prison.”

A sad aftermath of the Denton
tragedy was the suicide of Richard
Peete in Arizona, some four years after-
ward. He is said to have placed his
daughter in the care of friends and re-
quested that she be reared in ignorance
of her mother’s fate.

There is a world of tragic truth in
an old English poet’s lines:

Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold!

Spurned by the young, but hugged by
the old

To the very verge of the churchvard’s
mould!

Motive of many a crime untold
Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold!


‘

Ye ey

PEETE, Louise

REAL

(Original crime)

KEPT OWN COUNSEL
Investigating officers were
amazed at the complete silence
of Mrs. Louise Peete (below),
when they questioned her re-
garding the death of her em-
ployer. Despite her refusal to
talk, she was convicted.

SPHINX IS A monster with a lion’s body and the
head of a woman, much‘given to sinister secrets. In
its Greek derivation, the word also means “to

strangle.”

By no means inappropriate, therefore, was the word as
applied in “The Sphinx Case” in Los Angeles, surely one of
the most bizarre and, for a time, mysterious episodes in all
the criminal records there.

The sphinx murder had an echo recently, a revival not
particularly significant in itself, but strange and dramatic
enough to be quite in keeping with the weird sequence of
events in the Southwest fifteen years ago. The 1935 angle
developed when an automobile dealer in Phoenix, Arizona,
bought the ancient and crumbling Union Hotel. He wanted
to tear down the hotel and erect a car showroom on the site.

The deal was made, and the time came to clean out the old
building, which harbored many tales of past glories, many
true human stories dating back nearly half a century. People
still living in Phoenix recalled, for instance, the incredible
story of the Russian gentleman who roomed there for nearly
a year, only to die in a saloon brawl and be revealed as a
woman. “He” had been a distinguished guest, the “man”
who had directed imperial Russia’s exhibit at the Chicago
World’s Fair (1893). After the Fair, he had gone west for
his health—or ‘‘she” had done so! People remembered the
shocking story well, when the old Union was sold in 1935.

The new owner of the hotel went through it with work-
men, and discovered some old trunks, rusted and cobwebby,
in a dark basement.

“Old stuff, held for hotel bills and never claimed, I reckon,”
said the retiring proprietor. ‘Nobody knows whose they
are.”

52

DETECTIVE,
February, 1936

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old man
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gan quit
into the
heard of
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t it, wish-
EL
yuise told
$100,000
you know

about that?” And she smiled complacently.

Mrs. Logan happily put a $2,000 deposit
on the property, to be bought in the name
of “Lou Ann Lee,” and advanced the money
for a trip to Denver, which Louise wished
to make, to arrange for the funds.

But she returned from Denver without
the money. Margaret was shocked and dis-
appointed. They apparently had some
words and Louise left the Logan household.
On May 2nd she married—secretly and in
violation of her parole—Lee Borden Jud-
son, a respectable widower in his sixties, a
former advertising man now employed as
a bank messenger, whom she had known
for about a year. They moved into a hotel
in suburban Glendale.

On May 19th Lou Ann Lee Judson cashed
a $200 check, purportedly signed by Mar-
garet Logan, at a Santa Monica bank. Be-
latedly suspicious, the bank called Mrs.
Logan, who immediately got in touch with
Louise and demanded restitution. Louise
promised to return the money very soon.

On June 1st—by a grim coincidence, ex-
actly the same date on which Jacob Denton
was slain 24 years before—Margaret called
her former friend and insisted on im-
mediate repayment of the $200. She threat-
ened to report her to the Parole Board.
Louise promised to come out to see her
that same night.

It was six months later, on December
7th, 1944, that Mrs. Wave Walker, a
women’s parole officer from San Francisco,
came to Los Angeles on the trail of a
housemaid who had walked off with $50,000
in gems. Learning that the girl had been
a friend of Mrs. Peete’s in prison, she
looked up Louise’s record and obtained
Margaret Logan’s address.

Calling at the Pacific Palisades house, she
found no one at home. A neighbor volun-
teered the information that Mrs. Logan
had been away since June, was supposed
to be in a hospital somewhere, and that the
Judsons were living there now.

Surprised and thoughtful, Mrs. Walker
went back to the parole office, looked at
Mrs. Peete’s records again. Her superior,
Mrs. W. F. Weisbrod, agreed that Margaret
Logan’s signatures on the June, July and
August parole reports—the regular month-
ly employer’s forms required by law—were
obviously different from previous ones.

A little further checking in Pacific Pali-
sades increased their suspicions and they
laid the matter before District Attorney
Fred N. Howser, who assigned investiga-
tors to look into the matter. Shortly Cap-
tain Thad Brown of Central Homicide, who
is now deputy chief and commander of de-
tectives, was in the picture, and the pic-
ture was rapidly turning black.

The sleuths learned from the neighbors
that neither Margaret nor Arthur Logan
had been seen since the end of May. Early
in June Margaret’s friend Lou Ann had
moved into the white house with her nice
elderly husband, Mr. Judson. Her rather
shocking explanation was that Arthur
Logan had suddenly became violent and
had bitten off his wife’s nose. Arthur had
been taken away to the psychopathic ward,
where he had since died, and Margaret was
in a hospital recuperating from plastic
surgery, Louise explained.

They found that Arthur Logan had, in-
deed, been committed as insane on June
2nd, at the request of Anna B. Lee, who
represented herself as his foster-sister.
And when he died at Patton State Hospital
on December 6th, grieving and complaining
that his wife had abandoned him, a tele-
gram signed simply “Logan” ordered his
body turned over immediately to a college
for dissection. The wire had been tele-
phoned from the Logan residence.

They learned of the $200 forged check
that never had been made good. There
were other forgeries besides, and Louise

MASTER

DETECTIVE

Teur Cases Feam Pores Hrenonantiys

an

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FOUR D

DAYS -
OF
TERROR!

The story behind Boston’s sensational prison
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LAST DATE for CELIA
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DETECTIVE

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65

ane ee

On June 2nd, the usually punctual mining man failed to
keep downtown appointments with three Texas oilmen, an
insurance agent and an auto salesman. On June 3rd Louise
called Mrs. Gregory and her daughter to announce that
Denton had finally left, and the two women moved in with
her. Manas

During the ensuing weeks, when inquiries were made for
Denton, Mrs. Peete said variously that he had gone to Ari-
zona, to San Francisco or to Seattle, and that she was han-
dling his personal business in his absence.

When no one had heard from Jake Denton by the end of

June, the inquiries became insistent. At the written request
of the missing man’s daughter in Phoenix, his old friend and
attorney, Judge Russ Avery, undertook an investigation.
He went to the house and talked to Mrs. Peete.
. “Tl tell you the truth, J udge,” Louise said confidentially,
“although Mr. Denton doesn’t want anyone to know. The
fact is, the poor man got an infection in his arm and had to
have it amputated, up in San Francisco. The right arm. You
know how he is—he’s ashamed of being crippled and he
doesn’t want to see any of his friends for a while.”

“He’s been in touch with you, then, Mrs. Peete? Do you
have any letters from him?” J udge Avery asked.

“No, I didn’t save them. But Mr. Denton dropped in just
about a week ago and told me to keep on looking after things
here.”

Asked to produce papers showing her authority, she coyly
explained her agreement with Denton was only verbal, he
having gone away before they had gotten around to signing
a lease.

Judge Avery knew how close-mouthed Jake Denton could
be about his affairs, how informally he sometimes handled
them, and how he would dislike prying. Also the languid
Southern matron had a way with her, and he was inclined
to accept her story.

Further inquiries piled up. Denton had failed to pick up a
new car he had ordered in Detroit. A big Arizona business
deal had fallen through because of his absence. His regu-

Model prisoner at Tehachapi, she won parole after 18 years

lar remittances to his ex-wife and daughter had failed to
arrive.

Louise meanwhile was cutting quite a figure in the Wil-
shire community, making friends everywhere and display-
ing new clothes and jewels. She and Mrs. Gregory gave up
the idea of starting a rooming house and Mrs. Gregory went
back to Denver. In August Louise followed suit, subleasing
the house to a Mrs. Miller and turning in Denton’s car to
apply on a new one for which she promised to return and
pay shortly.

In mid-September Frances Denton, convinced that some-
thing had happened to her father, went to an attorney friend
in Phoenix and appealed to him to get action.

The attorney forwarded the inquiry‘and various docu-
ments, including Denton’s bank statements which Judge
Avery had sent to the daughter, together with a long letter,
to his associate in Los Angeles, veteran attorney Rush M.
Blodget.

Blodget was a fan of the old-time mystery master, Edgar
Allan Poe, and a great admirer of the cold deductive logic
whereby C. Auguste Dupin, Poe’s great detective hero,
solved his baffling cases, So when the bulky inquiry from
Phoenix arrived on the afternoon of September 22nd, Blod-
get welcomed the challenge of a real-life mystery and put
Dupin’s methods to work. Totally unacquainted with the
case, with Jake Denton or Louise Peete, he spread the docu-
ments on his desk and studied them. He noted that no checks
had been written on Denton’s fat bank account since June
10th. Yet Denton supposedly was living somehow and
spending money. He had always paid his bills by check.
Where were the checks to the doctor and hospital for his
arm amputation, which must have been expensive? And
how did it happen that the energetic mining man, always
devoted to his business deals, now totally neglected them?

“Jake Denton is dead,” Rush Blodget said aloud to the
walls of his office. “He’s been dead since early in June!”
Then, following the logic of Poe’s Dupin, he mused, “Louise
Peete says she saw him alive in July. She’s lying. Why is
she lying? Because she knows where he really is and can’t
tell, Louise Peete killed him!”

Obviously her motive had been to take over his property.
Where had she killed him and where was his body? Since
the corpse hadn’t turned up anywhere, it was logical that
she had killed him in the house where they both lived and

She said she knew Denton’s killer, but dared not name him

a aad

unenthus
Was thor
the Phoe:
tive frien
lina Stree

no dead |
anc show
to go ahe
“Where
Blodget
glance, “\
attic, doy
In goin;
by logic,
Poe's “Th
ural place
The cor
as they p
of a dim b
acter and
swered by
under the
closed tha
nailed ove
“Mr. De
plained. “1
touch it.”
“Let’s gc
boards off,
Mrs. Mil
light while
loose and
beam show
a pile of ru
ber. The lit
“N othing
“Looks |
close. and
Here, give
They mo
a floor of ]c
disturbed, <
ly. “Do y
So strong
that there \
turned up a
Still clutch
couldn’t sto;
While La:
Cody phone


iiled to

1e Wil-
lisplay-
fave up
~y went
leasing
car to
rm and

some-
friend

docu -
Judge
letter,
ush M.

iwyer's

Judge
join in
esitant.
d Jake

Jacob Denton (1.) was found entombed in cellar wine closet, husbands Richard Peete and Lee Judson (r.) were driven to suicide

A call to the district attorney’s office met with the same
unenthusiastic reception. But by this time Rush Blodget
was thoroughly aroused and determined to do his duty by
the Phoenix client as he saw it. He called his private detec-
tive friend, A. J. Cody, and together they drove out to Cata-
lina Street. Mrs. Miller, the new tenant, was sure there was
no dead body in the house. But when the two men insisted
and showed their credentials, she shrugged and told them
to go ahead and look.

“Where do we look first?” Detective Cody asked.

Blodget, in his role of Dupin, retorted with a withering
glance, ‘Where is the logical place to bury a body? In the
attic, do you think? In the basement, of course!”

In going to the basement Blodget was motivated not only
by logic, but subconsciously by prickling recollection of
Poe’s “The Black Cat.” The dank, dark cellar was the nat-
ural place to head.

The concrete basement floor seemed solid enough. But
as they prowled among stacks of rubbish under the light
of a dim bulb, the attorney found himself aping Poe’s char-
acter and knocking on the walls, half expecting to be an-
swered by the grisly howl of an entombed cat. At one point
under the stairs he noted a hollow sound. Examination dis-
closed that it was the door to a small closet, completely
nailed over with planks.

“Mr. Denton keeps his liquor there,’ Mrs. Miller ex-
plained. ‘He boarded it up and Mrs. Peete told me not to
touch it.”

“Let’s go!” Blodget told the detective. ‘Help me get these
boards off.”

Mrs. Miller provided the tools and stood by with a flash-
light while the two men pried the clumsily nailed boards
loose and wrenched the flimsy door open. The flashlight
beam showed not a store of precious Prohibition liquor but
a pile of rusty stovepipe sections on top of some rotting lum-
ber. The little closet gave out a musty odor of decay.

“Nothing here but a lot of trash,” Cody observed.

“Looks like it,” Blodget agreed. “But why pile trash in a
closet and then board it up and tell people to keep away?
Here, give me a hand—”

They moved the stovepipes and lumber aside, to disclose
a floor of loose brown earth. ‘Looks like this earth has been
disturbed, and not too long ago,” Blodget commented quiet-
ly. “Do you have a shovel, Mrs. Miller?”

So strongly did thé suggestion of evil now grip all three
that there was almost no surprise when the probing shovel
turned up a soiled white tennis shoe—with a man’s foot in it.
Still clutching the flashlight, Mrs. Miller screamed and
couldn’t stop.

While Lawyer Blodget took care of the hysterical woman,
Cody phoned the police and soon Detective Commander

Herman Cline was at the scene with Detectives Sidney
Hickok and Louis Canto. Deputy coroners completed the
disinterment of Jake Denton’s pitiful remains, neatly
swathed in a bloody quilt. There was no amputation of his
right arm, Blodget observed. He had been shot through the
back of the neck.

Since Louise Peete had left California and extradition
might be difficult, the authorities kept their suspicions quiet
while they completed their investigation. Bloodstains
showed that Denton had been shot as he sat in the break-
fast nook, then apparently led upstairs to die in bed. The
coroner estimated he had been buried since about June 1st.

Chief Cline’s men and investigators from District Attor-
ney Thomas Lee Woolwine’s office piled up a mountain of
evidence against Louise Peete. The last few checks cashed
to the slain man’s account, early in June, were clearly for-
geries written by her. The bank recalled that Mrs. Peete had
tried to cash further checks, but they had been refused. In
addition, she had forged Denton’s endorsement to several
sizable checks that had been mailed to him. And she had
been buying clothes and jewelry in the Wilshire Boulevard
shops on the accounts of the late Dolly Denton, which grief-
stricken Jake had neglected to close out.

She had pawned some of the Dentons’ jewelry, and given
other valuables to friends for safekeeping, including Jake’s
cherished personal mementos of his dead wife and baby
More directly bearing on the murder, she had had a garden-
er dump a load of earth in the basement, explaining that in
Mr. Denton’s absence she wanted to bury some of his late
wife’s treasures for safety’s sake. And just before leaving for
Denver she had ordered a quantity of cement, which hadn’t
been delivered in time.

With the newspapers headl) 1ing the murder, District
Attorney Woolwine sent his m st discreet and diplomatic
aide, Charles A. Jones, later Lis Angeles Chief of Police,
to Denver to lure Louise back. J nes found her living quiet-
ly with her ailing husband anc their baby. He explained
that her testimony was needed, merely as a formality, for
the official record on Denton’s ast days. Louise fell for it
and accompanied him back.

Once inside California, she w is sunk. Under questioning
by police and the D.A.’s men she soon tied herself up ina
network of lies. Woolwine filed a formal murder charge and
she was indicted and held for trial.

““ The arrest of the cold-eyed housewife, who still retained
her creamy complexion and could still be called beautiful,
created a newspaper sensation, vying for headlines with the
League of Nations. Richard Peete came to Los Angeles and
announcd that he believed in her and would stand by her.

Another who was convinced of Louise’s innocence was an
old friend from Texas, Margaret (Continued on page 64)

43

Louise and Death
were Partners

(Continued from page 43) -

Logan, who recently had come back from
several years in the Orient with her hus-
band and was living in Los Angeles. Mrs.
Logan generously volunteered to take care
of baby Betty till things should be
straightened out.

But there was little hope of Louise’s
squaring the murder charge with her
Southern charm. The evidence against her
was too damning, too conclusive. In defense
she maintained that she was the innocent
victim of circumstances. She claimed that
the real killer was an unidentified Spanish
woman, a jealous beauty with whom Jake
had had trouble, and of whom he had been
in mortal fear. As for the forgeries, her
story was that Jake, with his infected arm
in a sling, had asked her to sign his name
for him.

Unimpressed, the jury of 12 men took
only four hours to find Louise Peete guilty
of first-degree murder. And on January
28th, 1921, Superior Judge Frank R. Willis
sentenced her to life imprisonment—
sparing her the death penalty because of
the circumstantial nature of the case and
the long tradition against executing a
woman in California. Her appeals to higher
courts were denied.

Still protesting her innocence, Louise
was taken to San Quentin. The months
went by, turning into years. Mrs. Logan
was taking care of Louise’s child, raising
the little girl as her own and keeping the
imprisoned mother posted. In 1924, Richard
Peete, who never had recovered from the
blow of his wife’s conviction, shot himself
to death in a hotel room in Tucson, Arizona.
Louise remained a model prisoner, ami-
cably sharing queenship of the San Quen-
tin women’s wing with hammer-murderess
Clara Phillips.

In 1926 Louise reappeared briefly in the

limelight with a sensational appeal to Gov-
ernor Friend W. Richardson. The governor
was taking a hand in the reopened probe
of the mystery murder in 1922 of famous
silent film director William Desmond Tay-
or, and Louise Peete climbed on the band-
wagon with a statement that Taylor had
been put out of the way because he “knew
too much” about the real killer of Jake
Denton. She kygw who Denton’s actual
slayer was, Louise said, but she couldn’t
reveal his or her identity because it would
endanger the life of her little daughter.

A San Francisco physician declared his
ex-wife, a former friend of Denton’s, had
told him a similar story. Another helpful
informant said that Denton had been en-
gaged in smuggling narcotics from Mexico
for Taylor to distribute to film stars, and
that both had been slain by a rival gang.
Los Angeles authorities duly investigated
these tales, but found nothing to support
them. Louise remained in prison.

In 1933 the aging Louisiana belle was

‘transferred with the other women prison-

ers to the newly established California In-
stitution for Women at Tehachapi, where
she enjoyed pleasant sunny quarters and
easy work in the garden. “This prisoner
works well,” Tehachapi Superintendent
Florence Monahan noted at that time, “and
seems to cooperate, but is subtly critical.”

From time to time, as she became eligible,
Louise applied for parole. She was able to
produce a number of letters from respect-
able citizens in her favor, including Mar-
garet Logan, to offset those opposing her
release. But no one would go so far as to
guarantee a job for her in the world outside
the big wire fence, and the Parole Board
delayed action.

In the mid-thirties her daughter was
safely married and left the Logan home to
start a new life for herself, putting the
shadowy family past behind her,

In 1939 Louise finally won parole. In view
of her excellent prison record over the long
years, the board, despite strenuous objec-
tion from the Los Angeles district attor-
ney’s office, decided that she rated another
chance.

There was no job immediately available
for her, but Mrs. Emily Latham, women’s

... and |'m just as stubborn as you are!"

Sen oS,

parole officer at Los Angeles, agreed to take
her into her own home till she should find
one. By coincidence, Mrs. Latham was the
widow of Everett Latham, who had been
one of the last persons to see Jake Denton
alive and had testified against Louise.

It was further agreed that Louise could
assume the fictitious name of “Anna B.
Lee” in her new life outside. When the su-
perintendent handed her the usual writ-
ten instructions for parolees, directing her
to report at regular intervals, she blithely
tore them up. “I don’t owe the world a
thing!” she declared. But she promised to
be good.

So on April 12th, 1939, after 18 years
behind bars, Lofie Louise Bosley Peete, now
Anna B. Lee, walked out to freedom. She
was then 51, by her own statement, or per-
haps five or six years older. Her brown
hair was streaked with gray, but her gray
eyes and her slow smile were colder and
more deadly than ever.

Mrs. Latham procured a job for Louise
as a housekeeper. Other jobs followed, and
1942 found “Mrs. Lee”’ the respected opera-
tor of a soldiers’ dormitory for transient
servicemen on North Hobart Boulevard.
Apparently she was behaving herself. At
least there were no complaints about her.

In August, 1943, Emily Latham, who had
kept a constant. eye on her protegee, was
taken ill and employed Louise as _ her
housekeeper at $25 a week. Three weeks
later Mrs. Latham died of an apparently
accidental dose of heart stimulant. Louise
had her cremated at once. Perhaps Louise
had hastened her end, perhaps not. At any
rate no suspicion was attached to her at the
time, although it later developed that some
of the widow’s possessions had stuck to the
housekeeper’s hands. .

Freed now from Mrs. Latham’s friendly
supervision, Louise headed out to see Mar-
garet Logan, whom she had often visited in
her neat white stucco home at 713 Hamp-
den Place in Pacific Palisades, overlooking
the ocean.

The Logans had always been fairly well-
to-do, and Margaret was a licensed real es-
tate broker. But recently the health of her
husband, Arthur C, Logan, retired Far
East export-importer, who was 74, 12 years
her senior, had been failing. Mentally as
well as physically, he required constant
care.

This drain on their finances, plus the
wartime freezing of the real estate market,
had spurred the active Margaret to take a
temporary job in an aircraft factory. And
now she welcomed the opportunity to give
her old friend Louise a home, in return for
help in taking care of Arthur and the
household chores. She agreed to pay Louise
$75 a month. So “Mrs, Lee” moved into the
Logan household.

Louise soon began to urge Margaret to
put her husband in a sanitarium. ‘“He’s
not right in his mind,” she kept insisting to
Mrs. Logan and any of the neighbors who
would listen. “He’s dangerous. We may
wake up some day with our throats cut!”

Although the mild-mannered old man
never had shown any disposition to vio-
lence, his wife finally allowed herself to be
persuaded, and had him committed to a
private institution. But she was so lone-
some without him after their years to-
gether, and he was so unhappy in his new
surroundings, that after a few weeks she
brought him home over Louise’s objections.

“He’s my husband and this is his home,”
she told her housekeeper-friend.

In the spring of 1944 Mrs. Logan quit
her defense job and went back into the
real estate business. One day she heard of
a fine piece of property that was for sale
for $50,000. She told Louise about it, wish-
ing that she could swing the deal.

“I can help you, Margaret,’ Louise told
her quietly. “I still have that $100,000
trust fund in Denver—or didn’t you know

about that?
Mrs. Log
on the pro)
of “Lou An
for a trip t
to make, t
But she
the money.
appointed.
words and
On May 2:
violation o
son, a resp
former ad\
a bank me
for about a
in suburba
On May
a $200 che
garet Loga
latedly su:
Logan, wh:
Louise anc
promised t
On June
actly the sz
was slain 2
her forme
mediate re)
ened to re
Louise prc
that same
It was ;
Ith, 1944,
women’s p
came to |]
housemaid
in gems.
a friend «
looked up
Margaret !
Calling «
found no ¢
teered the
had been
to be in a !
Judsons w
Surprise:
went back
Mrs. Peete
Mrs. W. F.
Logan's si;
August pa)
ly employe
obviously «
A little
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laid the r
Fred N. EF
tors to loo
tain Thad -
is now der
tectives, w
ture was !
The slev
that neith:
had been s
in June
moved int:
elderly hu
shocking
Logan hac
had bitten
been taker
where he !
in a hos;
surgery, L
They for
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2nd, at th
represente
And when
on Decem!
that his w
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They le:
that never
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young women could
Lucille with anyone.’
| Kennedy,
de the theaters so no
Probably made other
.e same way too.”

1en even sought to
m by questioning the .
ad hired to sit with

> she went out in the

., the . investigators
ntly did.

ever, had been em-
iort time. She had -
Ashcraft leave ‘with

; the pretty mother’
ilone, saying she was
or to some friend’s

I said,” this girl re-
k over the job after
tle went back home
June 1, so I really
Ashcraft very well.”
ned out, was a pretty
Je high school girl—
er last name—whose

near Janesville.

g with a brother

o school and re-
he: close-of the term,

her later,” Kennedy
t pick up something

tian and Stried did
ig else. They learned
c sedan had been
station on the north
June 1—and it was
a man and a woman. .
dark, in his 30s, well
nan was young and_

attendant could not ~-

r than to say she was

operator had changed
d thus had noted the
te had known neither
occupants, but said
1an around town on

remember the guy
Christian reported
ems the fellow got a
skin. Made him get
sure the petcock was
rankcase was drained,

certain kind of oil for

«

i the report. After a

nodded to Christian
e un,” he said, “We’re
. quick run over to

y lost little time in in-
0 the McClenna
ed with Lulabelle,

wwwide whose frank

;-and-cream complex-

vholesome life out of

icers she had returned
June 1 by car.

“she met ~~

«ey thought as much, the Illinois off
cer nodded. “That was on Friday. Why.
did he: take.a day off from work just
to drive you home?”

“He said. he just wanted to.”

“Tell me, child,” Kennedy said SN

: te : He was annoying you, wasn't he?"

Wanted To Marry ‘
ier lashes hid her ‘plue-gray eyes as
she cast them. down. “Yes,” she an-’
swered simply. “He kept telling me he
was in.love with me. He was begging |

. me to marry him. It was on account

Se neat shat my: stay in Zion

_ and came home June 1.”
“He wanted to marry you?” Maat

echoed. “He already had a wife.”
“Oh, I know. He said he was going to -
divorce her. I begged and begged him
not to. I told him I wouldn’t marry him.
I’m too young to marry anyone. But he
wouldn’t listen.. The day he drove me
up here he told me he’d be free by June

“15. He said Mrs. Ashcraft had consented.

‘to the divorce.”

On the way back to Zion, Deputy
Christian studied his chief for awhile,
then asked. “You-been holding out on

us?”

Kennedy shook. his head.
was only when you told me about the
couple in the Pontiae at the gas station
that I began to see things clearly.

“First off, the attendant’s description
of the woman in that car did not fit Mrs.
Ashcraft. Secondly, we hadn’t been able
to track Mrs. Ashcraft down to any date
with anybody, so.we had figured she
was just being extra careful not to be
seen with the boy friend, and it didn’t

“make sense that she’d stop at such a

place with him after taking all that care’
to hide her affair elsewhere.

_ “So the man in the car had to be Ash-
craft himself.. And the description did
fit Miss McClenna, who. had worked in
the Ashcraft home. I asked myself why
a mechanic would give up a day’s em-
ployment to drive a baby-sitter home,

,

“The police,” Brown replied. “Rou-
tine call. May we come in?”

She ushered them into the living
room where her husband sat before an
open metal strongbox with papers .
spread on the rug around it.

Brown gestured toward the box and
Lieutenant Vaughn moved close to it.
Hansen and Mrs. Marjorie Jones, a dis-

trict attorney’s investigator who had -

come along to act as matron, remained
with Louise while Brown took Lee Jud-

| ___ son into the kitchen. Behind the cap-

“No. It oe

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and it just didn’t make sense that he’d
do it unless he had a personal interest
in her. We found out what that interest
was.”

“Yeah,” Stried agreed. “But what
‘ does it prove?”

“Several things, maybe,” Kennedy

answered. “It may prove that we've
been following a great big red herring
all the way.

“You see; we haven’t been able to

_turn_up_a bit of evidence that Lucille

Ashcraft ever went out with any man
except her husband; so it would not be
improbable to guess she was with him
last Tuesday night.

- “Ashcraft made a slip when he said
he caught onto his wife’s infidelity by
catching her in a lie about staying at
the ‘Moziers’. By his own admission to
the Moziers that-night, he expected her
to pick him up there. Now if she knew
he was. there, would ‘she try to lie to
him about having been there herself?

“Ashcraft had the smell of liquor on

. his breath when the boys called on him

after the accident. He had an alibi, but
it doesn’t mean much. He could have
been with Lucille at the tavern and I’ll
bet the barkeep and waiter will identify *

CURTAINS FOR LOUISE

(Continued from page 35)

tain trooped others of the visiting offi-
cers. .
Captain Brown already#knew some-
thing about Judson. In earlier years he
had been a newspaperman in Los An-
geles, then he had become a business
executive. But in later life he found
himself unable to get a better job than
his bank messenger’s post.

Brown questioned him about the Lo-

.gans. Judson séemed sincere in his at-
_ tempts to answer. Arthur. Logan, of

course, had died recently, he said, and

’

him in a minute.”

Ford Hollis Ashcraft was, arrested on
a charge of murder. When they laid
the facts before him and called in the
witnesses from Stanley’s Tavern, the
ex-soldier cracked.

‘Tl tell you the whole story,” he said
hoarsely. “It is bad enough—but it
isn’t what you think. Lucille was run-
ning around. We quarreled about it.
That night at the tavern I drank a lot.
Then we drove out toward the beach
and I parked.

“T told her’ so far as I was concerned

‘ I wished some Jap had knocked me off.

She started crying and said, ‘Let’s both
end it all.’ We decided to drown our-
selves. Then I thought of a train. It
would be quick. She said okay.

“I waited till this engine came thun-
dering down the track. I raced up to
the crossing, slammed on the brake and
stalled. Then suddenly I couldn’t go
through with it. I jumped out and
yelled to Lucille, ‘Come on, honey!’ I
thought she got out, too, but she didn’t
make it.”

The sheriff's men figured he was
lying. They were sure of it when they
found a bloodstained jacket and club
in his home and a witness came for-
ward to say he had seen Ashcraft pick-
ing the club out of the wreckage hours
after the crash.

Ashcraft attempted to explain. He
said the club was one of his mechanic’s
tools and he had stained the jacket in
recovering it from the bloody ruins.

He was brought to trial on a first de-
gree murder indictment early in Oc-
tober of 1946. Meanwhile-investigators
for Assistant District Attorney Daniel
J. Dalziel had satisfied the prosecutor
that Ashcraft’s stories of his wife’s in-
fidelity were wholly without foundation.

On October 12 the jury’ returned a
verdict of guilty of murder in the
second degree, and he was sentenced
to prison for a term of 14 years.

Eprror’s Note: To spare possible em-
barrassment: to innocent persons, the
name Burt Mozier, used in this story, is
fictitious.

Mrs. Logan was in a sanitarium, al-
though he did not know exactly where
it was.

“But it can’t be far from here,” he
declared. “She comes home from time
to time in a taxicab. She always wears
a heavy veil because of the work she’s
had to have done on her face.”

The detective captain was momentar-
ily nonplussed. “You have seen Mrs.
Logan recently?” he queried.

“Qh, no. She always comes in the
daytime, while ’'m.at work. But Louise

93


isits.” : go

d the questioning.
er their marriage he
n a Glendale ‘hotel
hat date Louise was
and did not return
it. ,
< the next morning
idson related. “Mr.
> at the time. Mrs.
ouise was red-eyed,
me what had hap-

iat the night before

suddenly gone ber- .-

e could rush to her
isband had beaten
itten her horribly,
completely off and
i neck.

rding to her own
had given Logan a
sent Mrs. Logan to
ct day, June 2, after

uise took Logan |

where he remained
ince the second of
ind Louise had oc-
2.
ying that when
uugalow on June 2,
iocile enough, seem-
‘Louise showed me
ad occurred. There
£ blood on the rug.
room then, but we
it’s now in a bed-

ay Pinker examined
istain still could be
‘ported to Captain

bout three by four
an bled enough to
feet of a thick rug,
icates, then I can
ever walked away
ospital. She’d have
or the morgue.”
ais aides questioned
rer employer. She
f Logan’s ferocious
‘e. When Captain
e name of the hos-
in which Margaret
‘ing plastic surgery,
ung her head and
at she did not know.
sensitive about her
. e will tell nobody,
she is,” the paroled
he comes home at
r know when she’s

here for several

these strange visits,

-~’s been signing
's. Peete?”

‘s. Judson,” she

with downcast eyes

> been signing the

playing around,”

}
|
H

Cia 7 ee pa

don’t: you confess?” *

Her mood changed instantly. No
longer a picture of repentance for
having forged her parole ireports,
Louise looked up at the captain with
an almost girlish laugh.

“Why, Captain Brown!” she ex-
claimed. “Why should I confess to
‘anything? I’ve. done nothing—not a
thing to confess to.”

“You’ve done enough,” he said, “to
take a trip downtown with the matron

\ anda couple of the boys. We're going -

to look’ around here.”

Corpse Is Found
Searchlights were set up outside the

- bungalow and detectives swarmed over

the lawns and garden, while.Brown and
Lieutenants Vaughn and Hansen began

‘a careful examination of the interior

of the house..
Because the house sat on a hill, the

basement was dug so that a portion of.

it jutted out beyond the back wall of
the building. The walls of the cellar
were of earth, and in one spot the
searchers found an area where water
had been seeping through.

‘Td say,” Hansen surmised, “that
ground above this splotch had betn

- loosened recently. It’s the only way

water would get down this far,”

' They went outdoors. The place
nearest the seepage was just beneath
Mrs. Peete’s bedroom window, under
a tree. At the base of the_tree was a
neat flower bed which held only a few
potted plants. But the earth.. all
around was loose and damp.

Vaughn set to work with a shovel.
With another officer helping, they dug
away a foot and a half of the loose dirt
and uncovered the badly decomposed
body of a’ woman. Although her fea-
tures were unrecognizable, the- detec-
tives knew it was none other than
Margaret Logan. :

In the district attorney’s office Mrs.
Peete and Lee Judson were kept apart.
News of the finding of the corpse
reached headquarters even before the
prisoners were brought in.

Deputy District
Barnes talked with Judson. He told
of the discovery of the grave beneath
the bedroom window, but Judson ex-
claimed in a shocked voice that he:
knew nothing of it.

Barnes led him through his ‘ecital
again. Judson changed his story.
slightly, saying he had himself been
present in the Logan home ‘the night
of June 1—when the attack was sup--
posed to have been made by Logan on

his wife—but Louise’s Husband claimed

he was asleep at the time and did not
awaken until the next morning. .
Up until that moment, Judson de-

; clared, he had never heard his wife’s.

Brown ‘snapped. “Mrs” Logan ‘is in no
_ hospital. We're sure of that. © She’s '
_ dead: I believe you killed her. Why

Attorney’ John

true name, knowing her only as “Mrs.
Lee.” He refused at first to believe
‘ that she was Louise Peete, the slayer
of Charles Denton; and even after the
_assistant prosecutor convinced’ him of
her true identity, Judson stoutly de-
fended her.

“She's the dearest, sweetest woman I
have ever known,” he asserted. “I
would venture my life that she has done
nothing wrong.” eee )

Mrs. Peete was questioned next, She
shrugged when asked about the body
beneath her’ window, insisting blandly
that she knew absolutely nothing about
it.. She denied sending the wire to the
asylum directing that Arthur Logan’s
body be turned over to a'medical school,
even after Barnes pointed out to her
that Mrs. Logan could not possibly
have dispatched the telegram, since she
had preceded her husband in death by
at least several months; the decompo-
sition of the body showed that...

In an effort to shock the truth out of
Louise Peete, detectives took her back
to the Logan bungalow, where they led
her to the brink of the floodlighted
grave. There she shuddered, buried
her face in the shoulder of. the matron,
and cried out, “I can’t look! Please
don’t make me! I can’t!” f

But still she sobbed her denials that
she,had slain her friend and buried the
body at the foot of the avocado tree
outside her bedroom’ window. She
offered no explanation for watering the
unplantéd flower bed. Seeing that it
was hopeless to question her, -Barnes
ofdered her held on a charge of sus-
picion of murder and she was taken to
a cell in the Los Angeles Hall of Jus-
tice jail. -

Lee Judson also was taken to view
the grave. But,he said nothing except

.to repeat that his wife was “the dearest,

Sweetest thing in all the world.” He _

‘too, was locked yp on a suspicion of
murder charge.

Brown,Vaughn and Hansen were busy
inside the house. They found blood ‘in
the cracks of the hardwood floor in the
living room and picked up two guns in
a dresser drawer in Mrs. Peete’s bed-
room. One was a .25-caliber Colt auto-
matic. pistol, the other a .32 Smith &
Wesson revolver. Both weapons were
empty,

Firearms experts began at once to.
try to_trace ownership of these weap-
ons. The body of Mrs. Logan had been
removed to the county morgue for au-
topsy and: for positive identification as
that of the owner of the -bungalow.
Brown, Vaughn and Hansen teamed up
to canvass the neighbors of-Mrs. Logan
in a-search~for further information
which might bear on her death.

_. These officers learned that only that
fall Mrs. Peete had had some decorat-

'ing work done in the Logan. home.

From a neighbor they obtained the
“name of the contractor who had been

ye

smtbameteh item a i

called in to do the job.

Working around the clock, Captain
Brown and his men resolved to stay
with the case until it was ended with a
confession.

Brown, in a conference with the dis-
trict attorney and Deputy Barnes,
brought up the question of the motive
for-the murder of Margaret Logan.

“After all,” he queried, “what would
Louise stand to gain, more than the
$200 she already had snagged through
her forgery of Mrs. Logan’s name to a
check?” .* , \

_ District Attorney Howser pointed vut
that Arthur Logan had died only re-
cently. “Possibly,” he reasoned, “she
had some scheme in mind to get pos-
session of the Logan home and Mrs.
Logan’s real estate business once the
husband died.. And she must have been
aware last summer that he could not
last long.”

, On Tuesday afternoon, December 19,
Brown learned that on one occasion,
at least, Mrs. Peete had intruded upon
Mrs. Logan’s real estate interests with
a profit of $910 to herself and Lee
Judson,

On April 15, 1943, Mrs. Logan and
Mrs. Peete—then going under the
name of Mrs. Lee—had appeared at the
Security National Bank with the three
‘owners of a $50,000 piece of property
and had placed $1,000 in escrow for the
purchase of this property. ©

Nothing further had come of the deal.
In June of 1944—after Margaret Logan:
had disappeared—Louise Peete showed .

~ up at the bank and asked to remove
the money in escrow and give up the
still pending deal.

At that time, to give her the right to
claim.the funds, she presented a power
of attorney given ostensibly by Mar-
garet Logan. However, Mrs. Logan

_had_signed_only with an “X” and-the
bank officials hesitated, despite the sig-
natures of Lee B. Judson and another
woman as witnesses.

Judson thereupon had written a letter
to the bank saying he had witnessed
the signature of the power of attorney,
and the money was released. After
the bank deducted ‘its charges for han-
dling the sums involved, a check for
$910 was presented to Mrs. Peete. This -
was deposited in the joint account she
and Judson maintained.

The second witness to the power of
attorney could not be located. Police
believed this signature to be a forgery,
another committed by Louise herself.

“There’s the motive,” District Attor-
ney Howser commented. “She had
this faked power of attorney all ready.”

“And,” interrupted Lieutenant
Vaughn, “they were all set to use it.
The strongbox we found on the living
room floor when we went out to Pacific
Palisades last night, was filled with Mrs.
Logan’s personal and business papers.”

“This also indicates,” said Captain 95

j


Sana Se NO

Brown, “that both Louise and Judson
were mixed up in the fraud. He
couldn’t have witnessed her ‘X’ on that
power of attorney late last June, since
we know that Margaret Logan was dead
on June 2. Furthermore, why would
she ever mark with an ‘X’? Mrs. Logan
could have signed her name, ‘no matter
if her nose was chewed off, like our
Louise still claims.”

On Wednesday Dr. Homer Keyes,
deputy county autopsy surgeon, re-
ported that the body had been identified
as that of Mrs. Logan by her dentist.

Death, said Dr. Keyes, had: come from -

a skull fracture with a gunshot wound
as the cause of this injury.

Gas Chamber Finis

Strangely, however, the surgeon: had
found only one wound, at the base of
the neck, and there was no slug in the
body. But three of the front teeth had
been smashed and Dr. Keyes said it was
likely the bullet had entered through

‘the mouth and emerged through the

neck.

From the interior decorator Captain
Brown learned that the work done at
the Logan home was to recover a dav-
enport which had dark stains upon it,
and to repair and repaint the living
room wall behind the sofa.

Brown returned to the house. He
summoned experts who dug carefully
into the plaster behind the davenport
and there they found the battered slug
from a .32-caliber pistol.

The bullet was too badly smashed to
be of use in firearms identification tests,
but Brown was satisfied it had been
fired from the Smith & Wesson .32 taken
from Louise’s dresser.

He-was even more positive when he
saw the report tracing the ownership
of this weapon. It had belonged to the
late husband of Emily Dwight Latham,
a state parole officer. Mrs. Latham
herself had died in October of 1943.
The coroner then had reported her
death due either to natural causes or
to an.accidental overdose of sleeping
pills.

At the time of Mrs. Latham’s death -

she had had a_ housekeeper. That

* woman was none other than Louise

Peete, who moved to.«the Logan house-
hold after the parole officer’s demise!
“Good Lord!” Captain Brown ex-
claimed. “This not only links the pos-
session of a gun to Mrs. Peete, who cer-
tainly had no right to have one while
on parole, but I’d bet that Mrs. Lat-
ham was*another of Louise’s victims.”
“Unquestionably,” agreed Assistant
Prosecutor Barnes. “But we can’t con-

nect this pistdl definitely with the mur-.

der of Mrs. Logan.”

“No.” Brown shook his head. “But
here’s another piece of evidence for
you. The decorator told me the work
at the Logan house was not done last

| 96 fall, as the neighbor said. He was

o

_Attorney Howser.

Oey epee ate id Li i

‘called lo to cepelr the datrags erin

June. That should help to prove the ©

time of death,”
Mrs. Peete was inamaned from her
cell. Captain Brown . immediately

. broached the subject of Mrs. Latham’s

death, directly accusing her of it. Her
reaction was just what he expected.
Louise flared yiolently at him.

“Emily was my friend,” she cried. “I

had nothing to do with her dying.”
“Margaret Logan was your friend,
too,” Brown retorted. “So was Denton.”
“IT had nothing to do with their
deaths, either,” Mrs. Peete said, con-
siderably calmer.

“The jury decided differently about ©
“It will be easy |

Denton,” Brown said.
to convince another jury about Mrs.
Logan’s death, with all the evidence we
have against you and your husband .. .”

“Judson?” Louise was alarmed. “No,
not him. He is a good. man. He had
nothing to do with it...”

“But you did, didn’t you?”

‘T’'m innocent—I—if you get Sheriff
Biscailuz in here,” Louise whimpered,

. “I’m ready to make a statement.”

Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz of Los An-
geles County was called. By now Mrs.
Peete had calmed again. . With a ste-
nographer taking down her words, she

_ reeled off an impossible story as easily

as if she were describing the weather.

She admitted burying Mrs. Logah’s
body in the flower bed. “Arthur Logan
killed her the night he flew into a rage,”
she said. “But I knew then the police
would never believe that Louise Peete,
on parole, was ‘innocent. Consequently,
I took the only steps I could think of
under the circumstances.

“T lied to my husband about what had
happened. I hid the corpse and took
the crazy man back to the asylum . . .”

“Why,” asked the sheriff, “did you
forge the power of attorney in collusion
with Judson? Why did you take all
these steps later on. to cover up ia
fact of Mrs. Logan’s death?”

‘I have nothing more to’ say,” was
Mrs. Peete’s only answer.

“We'll never get a confession out of
her,” said Captain Brown, remember-
ing that in the Denton case, with so
much circumstantial evidence. against
her, Louise had steadfastly refused to*
make any damaging admissions.

“We won’t need one,” said’ District
“And this time, I
think, Mrs. Peete will be beyond hurt-
ing anyone else.”

Harry Faurote, Jacob Charles Dé-

. ton, Harry Peete, Emily Latham, Mar-

garet and Arthur Logan—all these had
died either at Mrs. Peete’s hands or be-
cause of association with her. But the
list was still not quite complete, despite
the district attorney’s prediction.

On January 5, 1945, jail attendants
rushed to Louise’s cell where they
found her roommate, Constance Ren-
ner, held for perl viclason, ie convul-

a

i i a ly a Naki

ro
om)

sions on her bed with her feet boa

to a stanchion by her own stockings.

Although Mrs. Peete disclaimed all
knowledge of what was wrong, the sick
girl’s condition was blamed on an over-
dose of sedatives and a search of Louise
netted five capsules of a sleeping powder
hidden in her hair.

“I merely intended to use them if I
couldn’t rest,” was all Louise would say.
In the cell ‘was a note saying, “Life is
more than I can bear.” Miss: Renner
recovered, and it was believed she had
taken the capsules. herself, obtaining
them from Louise.

Judson and: Mrs. Peete were given a

preliminary hearing on January 10,be-_

fore Municipal Judge William M. Byrne.
Assistant District Attorney Barnes out-
lined the state’s case against Louise and
her husband.

Accusing Judson, Barnes alleged that
he had profited from the funds obtained
through the fraudulent power of at-
torney—which he’ had witnessed after
Mrs. -Logan’s ' death—and ‘further
charged that he must have.known what
happened to Mrs. Logan because of
the shot, the large amount of blood on

the floor and because ofthe long: —

absence of his wife’s employer.

However, Judge Byrne believed that
Judson had had no part in the murder
but had, rather, blindly aided his wife
in her post-crime trickeries in the
belief that she was doing no real wrong.
He ordered Judson discharged.

The next day Judson leaped from one
of Los Angeles’ tallest buildings to his
death many stories below.

In the summer of 1945 Louise Peete
went on trial in a Los Angeles superior
court. She pleaded not guilty, but the
jury which heard the evidence pro-
duced by District Attorney Howser
found her guilty of murder in the first
degree.

This meant that Louise, who already
had served one “life term” for murder,
must die for her second homicide.
Under the California law, however, an
appeal from the death sentence was
automatic. >.

The months dragged out with Mrs,

‘Peete in prison at Tehachapi, awaiting

the decision of a higher tribunal. Con-
fidently she predicted that she would

not go to the lethal gas chamber. She,

who had got away with so much in her
long life, surely would beat the death
penalty.

But the supreme court turned her
down. An appeal to the governor for
clemency extended her life to late in
May of 1947.

On a May night in her sixty-sixth

year, Louise shuffled into: the little

- death chamber in San Quentin prison.
. She was calm ta the end. It came but
a few minutes after the door was closed -

and the deadly fumes began creeping up
around. the plump,
pied 20h ered iabe Ore aga

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Bee Tine about the visits.”

‘woman stated.

Brown continued the questioning.
Judson said that after their marriage he
and Louise lived in a Glendale ‘hotel
until June On that date Louise was
at the. Logah home and ‘did not return
to the hotel all night.

“About 10 o’clock the next morning
I came out here,” Judson related. “Mr.
Logan was at home at the time. Mrs.
Logan was gone. Louise was red-eyed,

tired out. She told me what had hap-

pen ed. ”

The: story was’ that the night before
Arthur Logan had suddenly gone ber-
serk. Before Louise could rush to her
aid, the insane husband had beaten
Mrs. Logan and bitten her horribly,
taking her nose completely off and
gashing her face and neck.

Mrs. Peete, according to her own
story at the time, had given Logan a

sedative, then had sent Mrs. Logan to

a hospital. The next day, June 2, after
Judson. arrived, Louise took Logan
back to the asylum where he remained
until his death. Since the second of
June, he said, he and Louise had oc-
cupied -the Logan home.

Judson continued, saying that when
he arrived at the bungalow on June 2,
Arthur Logan was docile enough, seem-
ingly in a daze. “Louise showed me
where the attack had occurred. There
was a large spot of blood on the rug.
It was in the living room then, but we
had it cleaned and it’s now in a bed-
room,”

Police Chemist Ray Pinker examined
the rug. The bloodstain still could be
seen. Soon he reported to Captain
Brown.

“The spot was about three by four
feet. If Mrs. Logan bled enough to
soak up 12 square feet of a thick rug,
as that smear indicates, then I can
assure you she never walked away

from here to any hospital: She’d have ~

been a-candidate for the morgue.”

Now Brown and his aides questioned
Mrs. Peete about her employer. She
retold the story of Logan’s ferocious
assault on, his wife. When Captain
Brown asked for the name of the hos-
pital or sanitarium in which Margaret
Logan was undergoing plastic surgery,
however, Louise hung her head and
confessed simply that she did not know.

“Margaret is so sensitive about her

appearance that she ‘will tell nobody,
not even me, where she. is,”’ the paroled
“She comes home at
odd times. I never know when she’s
going to show up.”
' “She’s not been here for. several
months, except for these-strange visits,
then, has she? | Who’s been signing
your parole reports, Mrs. Peete?”

“My. name is now Mrs. Judson,” she
corrected him. Then with downcast eyes
she‘ admitted, “I’ve been signing the
‘papers myself, Ws
ict «stop this Hag: around,”

‘

aS

Brown snapp<
hospital. We
dead: I belie
don’t: you con

Her mood

e : + longer a pic

having forge:
Louise looked
an almost girli
“Why, Capi
claimed. “Wl
anything? I’y
thing to confe:
“You’ve don
take a trip dov
- and a couple o
to look’ around

Cor

Searchlights
- bungalow and «
the lawns and g
Lieutenants Va
a careful exan
of the house..
Because the
basement was «
it jutted out b.
“1 the building.
were of earth,
searchers foun
had been seepi
“Td say,”, Ha
ground above
loosened recen
water would ge
They went
nearest the see
Mrs. Peete’s bx
a tree. At the
neat flower bed
potted plants.
around was loos
Vaughn set t
With another of
™~ away a foot and
and uncovered
body of a wom:
e tures were unr
tives knew it
Margaret Logan
In the distric:
Peete and Lee J
News of the {
reached headqu:
prisoners were }
Deputy Dist
Barnes talked \
of the discovery
the bedroom wi
claimed in a s)
knew nothing of
Barnes led hi
' again. Judson
slightly, saying
present in the I
of June 1—wher
posed to have be
his wife—but Loi
he was asleep at
awaken until the
. Up until that
clared, he had n

x

‘