Jack Sullivan: He smiled as
they prepared him for execution
crimes promised to establish a
record, both for numbers and
viclousness.
In Meridan, Mississippi, 15-year-
sid William Church confessed to
ounty officers that he had held his
her whiie his mother, Mrs. George
urch, cut the old man’s throat with
zor. The cold-blooded pair pied
self-defense, alleging that Church
iad attacked his spouse with a club
ond threatened to kill the entire fami-
lv of ten.
After stoning, strangling and slash-
ng his wife to death, Roy Hotalen, 30,
truck driver of Branchville, New
Jersey, reeled into the Sheriff’s office
and told what he had done. He would
give no reason for the crime, but led
»ficers to a woods into which he had
dragged the body through barbed-wire
‘ences
Guy M. Tallmadge, 58, an under-
r, had a story ready when his 53-
-oid mate was shot to death on a
T= MONTH'S roster of desperate
Cc
Mrs. Bessie Tallmadge: A bullet
ended her “happy” married life—
to make the field clear for another
Latest Sensations
and What the Law |
highway near Oregon, Illinois. A
shabby stranger, he said, had held
them up, robbed them and murdered
the woman. However, Mrs. Frances
Birch, 30, a comely widow, caused
suspicions by relating that the under-
taker had promised to marry her as
soon as he could get rid of his wife.
Faced with this statement and under
pressure from the Keeler “lie de-
tector,” Tallmadge admitted his own
guilt.
EN J. PACK, Junior, 21, met Ruth
Shaw, 20, at a dance hall in Salt
Lake City, Utah; drove her up Emi-
gration Canyon, and later tossed her
half-nude body from a car. Autopsy
revealed death from a heart attack,
following criminal assault. Pack was
accused of murder... He was one of
the many in the month’s frenzied
merry-go-round of lust and_ blood.
Police of Queens, New York City,
charged John Thomas with a crime of
the same order,
Thomas, a powerfully built man of
29, once light heavyweight champion
of the Marine Corps, picked up two
sisters at midnight in a restaurant.
He coaxed them into his car, put one
of them out when she objected to his
reckless driving, and sped away with
the other, Mildred McCabe, 39. A few
hours later Miss McCabe was found
dead in a gutter, stripped to the skin.
She had been outraged, and had suc-
cumbed to a hemorrhage, multiple
bruises and shock.
On his way to the lethal gas cham-
in the Crime Whirl
s Doing About Them
ber of Arizona State Penitentiary, Jack
Sullivan, slayer of a railroad officer,
was asked if he had a last request.
“Sure! Get me a gas mask,” he re-
plied flippantly. Sullivan was clothed
in nothing but shorts, and he con-
tinued to smoke a big cigar until the
death fumes got him.
Another hard-boiled answer earned
10 years for Jeffrey King, 19, up for
burglary in New York City. ‘You are
the toughest defendant I have had be-
fore me since Gerald Chapman, and
you'll get all that’s coming to you,”
the Judge said. ‘“Let’s have it!” the
prisoner responded with a sneer. Re-
sult was the long stretch. The Judge
explained that it had been his first in-
tention to suspend sentence.
A forest fire which raged on Wan-
tastiquet Mountain, near Chesterfield,
New Hampshire, threw an unsolved
murder into the lap of local police.
Forest wardens, seeking to determine
the cause of the blaze, stumbled on the
charred body of a woman, 20 to 30
Lois Alice Wright, at left:
Victim of sordid relations with
her uncle, Lothario - Barber
Robert S. James, below. He
is accused of using rattle-
snakes to kill his fifth wife,
Mary Busch James, right
Mrs. Anna Scanlon: From a
“pickup joy ride’ she fled.
Her sister remained to die
years old. She had been strangled
and shot, and both legs and both wrists
were broken. A .22 caliber revolver.
as well as an empty gasoline tin, lay
nearby. The killer’s attempt to burn
the body may have started the forest
fire,
In Los Angeles, Robert S. James. a
barber, was accused of bringing home
a box of rattlesnakes and seeking to
murder his fifth wife by having the
serpents bite her last Summer. Ac-
cusation came when he was held in
jail on a morals charge. James was
alleged to have finished the job of
wife-killing by drowning the victim in
a fishpond . .. Doctor William B.
Richter, a crazed dentist in Atlantic
City, New Jersey, bit two young chil-
dren on the beach and paid a $25 fine.
At Gordonsville, Virginia, a lynch mob
went berserk. For killing a sheriff
while resisting arrest, a Negro and his
sister were shot, burned, and their
bodies cut to pieces for souvenirs.
29
CHRONICLES OF
L.A. CRIME AND
MYSTERY
Marvin J. Wolf and
Katherine Mader
vj
Facts On File Publications ro \ 6
New York, New York @ Oxford, England \
aa _ : ais ;
LISEMBA, Major, white, 7, hanged San Quentin (Los Angeles) on May 1, 19)2.
HOW THEY DIED
No. 18: “I'm not guilty!” said
- Robert James to the end
‘THE CALIFORNIA SUN shone
“ * brightly into the sprawling grounds
~ of San Custin Prison the morning of
May 1, 1942,
, stone walls of the vast prison all was
grim,
__ Guards’ voices were hushed. It was
“execution day. :
“Robert S. James, infamous libertine
_ and “rattlesnake murderer” of his pretty
. blond bride, Mary, at Los Angeles, soon
»,would pay the penalty for his crimes
© moose. ws i :
“= Warden. Clinton S..
Duffy's face was taut ashe [>
Checked ‘last-minute ar-
rangements for the hang- .
sing. In 1937 California »
«had substituted the cyanide
, fumes of a lethal gas cham- | ©
4 ber as’ a more humane |: *
«method of execution. James’ | |
hanging probably would be |
the last in the state. ae
© A guard- knocked and -
eine i warden’s Lap
“James slept pretty good,”
* he said. rad bacon and
eggs for breakfast. He's
» Said goodbye to his Bible class in con-
pg demned row. The preacher’s with him
ue rw.” ae aes ;
ae Duffy “nodded. “We'd better get
Peglarted.”
He led the way to the top floor of the
“building housing the ancient baby-blue
\* painted gallows, followed by a silent
©“ group of newspapermen, guards, police
¥
“™ yeand enough other witnesses to make an
*, even hundred. Dr. Alex Miller, prison
«physician, and Dr. William J. Reynolds
were ready: The warden glanced at his
watch, then signaled to a guard.
ie, ‘The ominous silence was broken only
, by a linotype machine which buzzed like
an angry rattlesnake in the print shop
wh ‘
» of the San Quentin News near the room
= Ot death, *
"Exactly at 10 a.m. several guards
“came through the door to the gallows
* room, the réd-headed murderer between
_ them. The Reverend M. S. McKericher,
© prison chaplain, walked up the 13 well-
worn steps to the gallows, followed by
* the condemned man and his flanking
-, guards, ,
.. The whirring linotype machine in the
adjoining room must have opened a
« shutter in James’ mind. He seemed to
recoil as though living over again those
, moments of horror when he had thrust
_ &'the bare foot of his helpless young wife
“into the box of whirring, strikin rep-
tiles and held it there until the virulent
& poison from the snakes’ fangs entered
st . sed oleae ‘at
**. The lin suddenly stopped.
x At he top of the scaffold guards
~ abruptly turned the master barber
- around facing the witnesses. His red
hair stood out in startling contrast to
y the pasty face with its set grin,
ood) a brief, instant clad: in
Bs et ap et RE AE t
dame
But within the bleak °
Convicts stirred restlessly and
under the doomed man’s left ear, ~ ae
dangling at the end of the hangman's _
| HANGED
i
|
be
a
gleaming white shirt, black suit and soft °
slippers. Then a guard slipped the black *
hood_ over his head, wiping out the“
sickly smile. Other guards with swift. ¢
Dacia strapped his hands and feet. ,
The hangman’s knot was jerked Aight |
A. split-second later—at 10:01 a.m.”
the trap fell with a crash. James ‘+
dropped to the end of the rope, hung ‘4;
twitching spasmodically as life ebbed —
“swiftly. The hangman's hand had not |
lost its skill. Rae af
The prison physician recorded James’ |
‘ye A slowing heartbeat, * |
: Through Warden Dufty’s »
mind doubtless flashed the
_Afleeting words of the dying |
/ man who had organized. the ©
© Bible class among the mur-_.
derers of condemned row, —
~ “Pm not guilty of mur-.~
der,” he had reiterated the ©
day before. “I know I’ve)
led. a bad life. I’m ready |
to go any time. I’ll meet |
my Maker on the other ©
‘side. I know I'll be ac- °
fepted there.” ah
spite of these words, —
James had exhausted every possible -
method of staving off execution, as re-_
lated in last month’s Insipe Detective.
In the six years since his conviction .
his attorneys had twice carried appeals
from the death sentence clear up to the ~
United States Supreme Court at Wash-
ington. Additional last-minute pleas to
the California Supreme Court and to.
Governor Culbert b. Olson for clemency
also had failed. “If any murderer de- ~
serves to die, James does,” the governor _
had said.
Up almost to the very last moment
James had written to friends begging
them to aid him by getting petitions —
signed testifying to his general good
character. To the last he maintained
his innocence, claiming that he couldn’t
possibly have murdered his wife. The —
earlier case in which he was trapped
by detectives in a compromising situa-
tion with a beautiful young girl—a crime
for which he was later sentenced on
several morals charges—he described as iy
_a-“frameup.”
Some of his letters, written from the |
San Quentin death house and revealing °
James to be a remarkably cunning man
who had an answer for everything, were
published exclusively in last month’s
Insipe Derectrve. Though his protes-
tations convinced many peoplé into a
sincere belief in his innocence, they did
not impress those who knew James’
background and all the damning evi-
dence against him,
Exactly 13 minutes after the gallows
trap was sprung, Dr. Miller looked up
somberly, catching the warden’s eyes.
His lips framed the word, “Dead,”
The warden spoke.
: ‘ "That is. all, gentlemen,” he. said, ;
ve +
Silent Parrot
(Continued from page 21)
Clark Street, where the jack-rollers are
most active,” pointed out the precinct com«
mander. “Jack-rollers are like vultures;
they pick the bones of their victims, steal- ;
ing every object of value, even his shoes.
And that’s what happened in the case of -
John Grundstrom.
avoided by the lush artists.
Murder, of course, is :
But occasion- ©
ally they kill their victims to prevent his ie
identifying them later or because he puts.
up a fight.
away. He was deliberately murdered, Im; nor
“Everything points to a jack-roller—the § J
missing shoes, the tie-up with Clark Street, “Ge
and the fact Grundstrom was drinking. Our *s> ”
job will be finished, I believe, when we find %&
a strong-arm bandit with whom the victim %. sf
was acquainted or knew only by sight, *
possibly as a fellow patron of some dive.”
Captain Reynold’s theory was bolstered /
a short time.afterwards. A detective re-
ported that on the previous evening Grund-
strom had been seen touring the many re-
sorts of the Barbary Coast, drinking
heavily,
_"“As usual, when under the influence of
liquor,” the investigator continued. “he
talked big—boasted of all the money he
had. He acted like easy pickings for even
a broken-down lush artist.”
Reynolds instructed squads to canvass
all saloons on Clark Street in an attempt
to trace the victim's movements on the
night prior to his murder,
“Grab any women Grundstrom was in-
terested in,” he went on. “It’s possible he
ran afoul of a jealous lover.”
Other prowl cars were dispatched to
corral every man with a record as a jack-
roller.
“We're especially interested in ones with
bruised knuckles,” Reynolds said. “But
don’t give passes on account of lily-white
hands. I want them all in the basement.”
Inquiries at the Wells Street liquor store
brought the information that it daily sold
at least a case of the brands of wine and
liquor which figured in the investigation.
“Though we're not eager for their trade,”
said a clerk, “a lot of Clark Street Rover
Boys come in for it because it’s cheap and
potent.”
He viewed a photograph of Grundstrom’s
battered face, taken at the morgue, and
shook his head. \
1 Lae
moat. tt
“Don't remember that fellow,” he told ”
the policemen.
Two bottles, a quart and a pint, of the
wine, he recalled, had been sold the pre-
vious afternoon to a_seedy-lookin youth
who paid for them with pennies, nickels and
dimes.
“Three or four other fellows were with
him,” he continued, “but they waited out-
side. They probably all chipped in to make :
up the price. A little later I went off
duty and, while waiting for my trolley, I
saw the group sitting in the side doorway
of the building on the southwest corner of
Wells and North. Every few minutes one
of them slipped into the alley and returned,
wiping his lips. They must’ve had the
wine cached back there.”
He was able to provide only a sketchy
description of the .share-the-bottle club.
“T don’t think the dead man was among
them,” he stated. “They all impressed me
as being much younger than he, though I
*Z16l Sqsn3ny “aATIOLAI SCISNT
ly. I can’t
ag you into
Why should
n? Murder
nd stamped
n it hurts!’
vas a steno-
t to make
it we were
ipleasant as
we knew
could con-
#s, Dr. Car-
‘the inquiry.
“en stripped
‘Moore, and
Patrolman
* -adquarters,
iat covered
sharp steel
errible ad-
f the skull.
of the
ve 106)
pe
After embezzling $12,-
000 from a New York
golf club, Demetrius
Cirket ‘‘disappeared”’
for cight years. His
application for a
soldier’s bonus trapped
him in Los Angeles
Newell P. Sherman,
scout leader and psalm
singer, faces the elec-
tric chair for the mur-
der by drowning of his
young wife at Lake
Singletary, Mass. He
is seen with deputy
sheriffs. after hearing
his sentence,
Thomas West (left)
and Philip Goldberg
(right) are seen with
Captain William Lewis
of the Bureau of Crimi-
nal Investigation, after
confessing the murder
of Edgar Eckert in a
New York subway
station.
Harlan Crouch, Ih-
dianapolis liquor run-
ner, captured by Fed-
eral ageats and police
vafter a_ thirteen - day
hunt. He is charged
with the murder of
a Federal agent.
Six youths sentenced
to die in the electric
chair for the hold-up
and murder of a sub-
way collector. First
seat, left to right:
Salvator Scata and
Dominick Zizzio;
Second seat: Samuel
Kimmel and Joe Bolo-
ia; Third seat:
ugene Bruno and
Theodore Di Donna,
Robert S. James, bar-
ber shop Lothario,
convicted on Morals
charges involving his
twenty - one - year-old
niece. Faces trial for
the mysterious death
of his fifth wife, found
drowned in a lily-pond.
a
wT eR
contrary, he had the company of his pretty niece Lois —
‘Wright, twenty-one, and there were indications that
highly dubious things were going on. So we rented a
bungalow next door to the house where James lived,
_ and, in the absence of himself and his niece, set up a
system of microphone and dictograph connections be-
tween the houses so complete that from our listening
post we could hear the faintest whisper.
One microphone, for instance, was installed about six
inches from the bed in the room occupied by Miss Wright.
We loosened the fastenings of the window screens and
soaped the window frames in the James bungalow, so
that when.the time to enter arrived, there would be no
‘delay. And then we took up the job of waiting and lis-
tening. :
It was a long job and a sordid one, for the conversa-
tions and sounds that came over the wires were often un-
printable and indescribable. Steeling herself to the task,
my stenographer, Dorothy Adams, took down 270 pages
of shorthand notes. Two hundred dictograph records were
filled with other conversations. The watch on the James
bungalow was carried out under the direction of Captain
Clyde Plummer, chief of the bureau of investigation of |
the district attorney’s office. Working with him were
Southard, Littleton, Assistant Chief Investigator Charles
Griffen, Everett Davis, Deputy District Attorney Eugene
Williams, Harry Dean, Acting Captain of Police Detec-
tives Earl Knette and Detective Lieutenant Dick Morgan.
Deputy Sheriffs Willard Killion and V. P. Gray also gave
invaluable assistance in the.investigation.
On Sunday morning, April 5, Southard was taking his
turn at listening in. At about eleven A. M., he heard James
leave his bed in a rear room and go to Miss Wright’s
wo
Cee a ae MP Fe
en
boudoir in the front of the house. Jamming the phones
tightly against his ears and stepping up the dictograph’s
power control to catch any whispered conversation,
Southard began to make notes on the intimacies being
expressed next door. ’
During one course of the conversation, mention was
made of an incident that occurred the night before. Lois
asked James about some disorder she had observed
around the house when she returned at midnight.
“Oh, I had Violet here last night,” James told her, ap-
parently anything but conscience stricken. .
The investigators already knew about “Violet” and
how she had been entertained at secret trysts with James
in the bungalow. But still Southard was amazed at the
casual manner in which James admitted the “Violet”
episode to Lois. ee v
James went on to say that “Violet” had never before
been ardently loved. :
“Violet” paid dearly for her moment of passion—for
when she learned that the happenings of her night with
James had been overheard and recorded, she was driven
almost to the point of suicide. She was accorded every
protection from publicity that this office could volunteer.
Her story could have added nothing to the side of the
prosecution. Her real name has no part in this account
of the case.
On that Sunday morning, as Southard kept on listen-
ing, he was even more astounded. Clearly, James’ rela-
tions with his niece were of the most intimate and im-
proper kind.
When the most vital evidence had come over the wires,
Southard heard the couple going about the prosaic duties
of preparing breakfast.
Another conversation was recorded early on the morn-
ning of April 9. Miss Adams had the most disagreeable
task of putting the words of the lovers down on paper.
If there had been any doubt regarding the intimacy be-
tween James and Lois, it was now dispelled.
During that week, two more women engaged in ro-
welt a ee
Ga
ie phones
tograph’s
yersation,
ties being
f
ition was
fore. Lois
‘observed
ht.
pher,. ap-
i
plet”’ and
ith James
ed at the
t “Violet”
yer before
ssion—-for
night with
yas driven ,
ded every —
volunteer,
ide of the
is account
ion listen-
mes’ rela-
le and im-
t
tthe wires,
gaic duties
b
ithe morn-
agreeable
jon paper.
timacy be-
* .
ged in ro-
és
mantic raptures with James, little dreaming that every-
thing they said and did was being picked up by the hid-
den microphone at the bedside. They were “profes-
sionals,” however, and aside from checking on their *
movements and satisfying themselves that the women
had no othen connection with James, the authorities
dropped them from consideration.
On Sunday, April 19, the detectives went on watch
with the order: “When he goes, you go.”
We had picked up nothing that would help solvé what
we now felt sure was a case of wife murder, but we easily
had enough on James to arrest him for other crimes. With
James safely in jail, we hoped for a break.
As soon as the detectives heard James enter his niece’s
room on Sunday morning, they advanced toward the
bungalow in which their unsuspecting quarry was once
more urging his attentions upon Lois.
Southard went through one window, Dean through an-
other, Griffen through the back door. They converged on
Lois Wright's bedroom where Lois and James were so
lost in intimate raptures that they did not even know
that anyone had interrupted their tryst.
Next door, Miss Adams was still taking notes. This is
what she set down:
James: Oh, honey....
Lois: Oh, honey...
Southard: You’re under arrest.
Lois: (screaming) Oh-h-h-h!
James: What in hell are you doing here?
Lois hastily pulled a sheet over herself. James snatched
up a bathrobe. She sobbed and screamed hysterically.
He glared sullenly at the officers and said: “Well, you’ve
got me, but what of it?”
- James went to jail on morals charges. Lois was held
as a material witness. But we still had no. proof that
Mary James had been murdered. That proof came through
a lucky break, but a break that would not have come
if we had not kept watch on James, had not listened
ovér the hidden wires, had not arrested him.
The story of what James had been doing with his own
niece was too much for Sayles Sands. All this time Sands,
a winery proprietor, held the key to the James murder
mystery without realizing it. Away back on a night early
in August, Sands had listened to a drunken man talking
"1
incoherently and poralatontly,
The man babbled about a dead
woman, about somebody named
James, about weird details
that Sands, naturally enough,
thought were merely the fan-
tasies of intoxicated imagina-
tion. :
And then, in April, Sands
read the newspaper stories of
James’s arrest on the sordid
morals charges. He began to
wonder if, after all, there might
not have been something to the
rambling story the drunken
man told. So James was that
kind of a fellow, was he? His
own. niece!
Sands went to an attorney
vealed the name of the drunken
' babbler. The name was brought
to us. We went to Hermosa Beach and arrested Charles
Hope, former sailor and night club manager.
Now, Hope wasn’t the James type. Where James was
' self-possessed, sure of himself, cautious, Hope was weak.
He was the kind that breaks easily. So, when the investi-
gators brought him in, I let him have it without any
preparation or preliminary. .
“What am I pinched for?” he asked.
“For the murder of Mary James,” I told him.
I hoped he would weaken. He did more than that. He
broke. Those six words hit him with shattering force, and
turned him from a sullen, reluctant prisoner into a man
not only willing but eager to talk. He talked as fast as he
could get the Words out, scarcely waiting for questions.
And the story he told was, without question, the most
utterly horrible, absolutely incredible thing any of us had
ever listened to. We could feel the clammy chill of death
itself settling over the room as he talked. When Hope
had finished, and when, the next day, James had at last
broken his defiant silence and had likewise talked, we
knew how Mary James died.
Even now, although I have heard testimony to confirm
that story and have shuddered as I looked at the things
that were used in her death, I can scarcely believe it.
Mary James died because, dead,. she was worth ten
thousand ‘dollars.
Of course James and Hope, as they made the statements
that were heard by myself and half a dozen others and
were taken down by a stenographer, accused each other
of the actual killing. Their stories conflicted on those .
points, but together icsd made a damning total against
both men.
James and Hope were cana acquaintances. They met
in a beer parlor. Hope went to James’s barber shop when
he was broke, and James gave him a shave. They talked
about Mrs. James, about her poor health—and about her
insurance. They discussed how to kill her.
Hope said that the plan was James’s idea and that he
merely carried out orders.
James said that Hope did all the suggesting and car-
ried out the acts, and that he himself merely acquiesced
in the scheme; that he was not there when Mary James
died, but that he knew she was going to be killed.
Setting aside those conflicts, the fact remains that Rob-
ert James. and Charles Hope both admitted that they
agreed to kill Mary James with the use of the most hor-
rible weapon imaginable.
They agreed to have her bitten by rattlesnakes!
In the furtherance of their (Continued on page 90)
friend, to whom he had previ-.
ously told the story, and re- .
Si asaiai bates
Duncan, who divorced him in Alabama in 1919; then to
in case of accidental death. The policy was issued three
months before her death, and her husband was named
as beneficiary.
That was one thing. The other was the receipt by the
authorities of an anonymous letter. The letter purported
to come from the friend of a woman who said she had
spent a night with James at a Hermosa Beach hotel a few
days after his wife died. __ ;
According to the letter, this woman had met James in
a beer parlor while Mrs. James was still living, and he had
taken her to his home. There, unexpectedly, they found
Mrs. James. The wife was “very nice” to the other wo-
man; said that “it had happened before,” and directed
‘her to the car line which would take her back to .Lios
Angeles.
Later, after Mrs. James died, the letter said, the woman
met James again and went with him to the hotel. There
he was said to have offered her one thousand dollars if
she would testify, when necessary, that she had béen at
his home on the morning of August 5 and had seen Mrs.
James alive and well, shortly before noon.
Eventually we located this woman—Madge Reed. She
_ admitted going to the hotel with James and repeated the’
’ story of the offer to pay her one thousand dollars. She told
us that she had ‘refused to consider such a suggestion, .
and that James had said, “Well, let’s forget it. I was only
kidding.”
Nothing much there that we could go on, perhaps.
James was trying to convince the insurance company that
his wife’s death was accidental, entitling him to the ten
thousand dollars, and Miss Reed’s statement appeared to
‘fit in with that situation. Yet we began to think more
definitely about the possibility that Mary James had been
murdered. James lost his suit to collect the double in-
demnity, and the insurance company suggested that
somebody look into the case.
While these things were brewing, James was arrested
on complaint of Mrs. Rose Hunter, who said that he had
.accosted her on the street and had slapped her when she
refused to accompany him to a dance. He was fined $50.
That and Miss Reed’s story added to the indications that
perhaps Robert James, who had wept so bitterly over his
wife’s dead body, was not quite so inconsolable as he had
appeared. ;
During the weeks immediately after Mrs. James’s death
we had learned, between statements from his associates
and newspaper reports, that debonair, thirty-nine-year-
old Barber James, tall, dark and rather good-looking, had
had a fairly busy matrimonial career. Mary James was his
fifth wife. He had been married first in 1916 to Maude
CHARLES HOPE PLAYED CARDS AFTER ASSISTING AT A WEIRD HOMICIDE |
Vera’ Mae Vermillion in Emporia, Kansas, who also
divorced him; then to Winona Wallace, who died in
Colorado Springs in 1932; then to Ruth Thomas of New
Orleans, from whom he obtained an annulment on the
ground of intoxication at the time of the marriage; and
finally to Mary Busch James.
The three marriages that ended in the courts offered’
nothing out of the ordinary, except the fact that there
were three of them. But Winona Wallace James was a dif-
ferent matter. From her sister, Ruth Wallace, we heard
a strange story. , ;
She, Ruth, had bitterly opposed Winona’s marriage
“to James. She felt that he was the wrong man for her
sister to marry; that they never could be happy. But
Winona was very much in love, and refused to listen to
arguments. ;
Very shortly after they were _married, James and
Winona drove up Pike’s Peak, Coming back, Winona, a
‘ good driver, was at the wheel: Suddenly the car swerved
‘violently and went off the road, crashing over a steep
cliff. James received only minor inquries. Winona suf-
fered a fractured skull and narrowly escaped death. °
James, greatly agitated and apparently grief-stricken,
declared that the steering gear of the car must have
broken.
Winona Wallace James did not die—then. A few weeks
later she was found dead ina bathtub in a tourist cottage;
dead from drowning. The verdict was accidental death.
After all, accidental drownings in-bathtubs have hap-
“ pened,
But now here was James with another wife dead from
drowning. Those vague, general suspicions that had wor-
ried us began to take a definite direction.
The insurance company furnished another bit of the
picture. James, it developed, had gone through a fraudu-
lent marriage ceremony with Mary Busch three months
before they actually were married. He admitted paying
a beer parlor acquaintance ten dollars to “marry” them.
It didn’t seem to have much to do with a possible murder,
but it was all filed away with the increasing accumulation
of information on the James case.
More and more, it appeared to be an excellent idea to
keep a careful watch on Robert James who, in the mean-
time, had moved to a bungalow in Los Angeles and was
going calmly about his work as a barber. ‘Two investiga-
tors from my office, Jack Southard and Scott Littleton,
whose work in turning up a long-missing witness had led
to the conviction of Hazel Glab for the murder of’ her
husband, were put on the case.
They found that James was not living the life of a
solitary widower in his Los Angeles bungalow. On the
er ede
“Why, he was the one who killed
him! I was there, but he was the one
who used the gun!”
The rest of the story was soon told,
‘and the same legal double-cross was
given Goethe and Reck. Convinced that
Nash was talking to save himself, both
‘confessed in detail. In addition, they
named Michael Livingston, seventeen
years old, living at 1016 North Central
Park Avenue, as the youth who drove
them in a stolen car to the scene of the
crime. It was the old hackneyed story
of four idle vicious boys, no good home
influence, the corner pool room, a gun
and—murder.
Almost unbelieving, we hurried to
the West North Avenue station to di-
rect the inquiry. In amazement we lis-
tened to the details of the crime which
had been solved through persistence
and a “lucky break.” '
Goethe had called Dr. Peacock on
‘the telephone, and then the gang had
gone to the North Whipple Street ad-
dress to wait. The stolen bandit car
had been parked across the street.
«When Dr. Peacock drove up, Nash
walked over and inquired his identity.
The physician got out of his car, only
to have Goethe jam a pistol into his
back. .
Taken totally by surprise, Dr. Pea-
cock obeyed their order to get into the
rear seat of his own car. Reck got in
beside him, Nash took the wheel, and
Goethe sat half turned in the front
seat with the deadly weapon pointed
at his victim. The Peacock car moved
slowly northward, past Arthur Street
to the middle of the block—an even
more lonely spot.
The physician was ordered from the
car once more, and Goethe demanded
"y
FRONT PAGE DETECTIVE
his money. Dr, Peacock said he had
hone, and as he answered he swung an
uppercut at the gunman’s jaw. Goethe
closed in and struck him on the ‘head
with the pistol barrel. The slim physi-
cian, alone in the winter darkness, so
near and yet so far from aid, lashed
out with his feet. Goethe stepped back
a pace and fired three times. Those
were the reports that Mrs. Conway had
heard. One of the bullets went through
Dr. Peacock’s head. :
As the doctor tottered and began to
sag, his attackers closed in. His over-
coat was pulled from his limp body.
He was carried to his car and jammed
into the rear. At that point, Reck, who
had as yet done nothing active.
pounded him viciously over the head
with a club. It was an inane, useless
attack on a man already dead. They
searched the body as best they .could
in its cramped position, and twenty
dollars in bills was the total loot. They
dumped his instruments aimlessly on
the front floor of the machine. Once
more they entered Dr. Peacock’s car.
Nash drove to the next cross street,
turned east, turned south again at
Francisco Avenue. At No. 6328 they:
abandoned the car with its grisly bur-
den, rejoined Livingston in the stolen
getaway auto and vanished into the
winter darkness.
“We each got five dollars and we
spent it for beefsteak and beer,” said
their confessions.
Those .weird’ documents explained
everything but the presence of Dr.
Peacock’s eye glasses resting on the
rear seat. I never will know how they
’ got there, but I feel safe in concluding
that he took them off in preparation
for the resistance that was to cost him
his life. .
On April 20, Marshall Kearney, Blar
Varnes and I atood before the bard
justice in the courtroom of Criminl
Judge Joseph Burke.
“Yes, gentlemen,” said Judge Burke
“The state is ready, Your Honor’
we answered as one man.
Behind us there was a whispered
consultation going on among the fou
defendants and their lawyers. Pres
ently the clerk of the court called out
“Robert Goethe, Durland Nash, Emil
Reck, Michael Livingston, at the March
term of court, the grand jury indicted
you and each of you for murder. Ar
you guilty or not guilty?”
“Guilty” answered Goethe.
“Guilty,” echoed Nash.
“Not guilty,” growled Reck.
“Not guilty,” snarled Livingston,
Judge Burke promptly sentenced
Goethe and Nash to the penitentiary
for 199 years each. The defiance of the
others was short-lived. On the early
’ morning of May 20, a jury found them
guilty. Reck was given 199 years an
Livingston thirty years.
The Dr. Peacock murder was m
longer a mystery. Gone was the ob
scurity that had conceaied the weird
and brutal crime. Cleared of al] impli-
cations, the name of a man who had
made the care of sick children his life
work, stood forth untarnished. Downin
the little town of Bowen, Illinois, Mrs
Peacock sat reading over some sheets
of closely written manuscript. It wa
an almost completed report of her
husband’s long research into scarlet
fever. And it had been almost ready to
give to the world as it lay on Dr, Pea
cock's desk that night of January?
when he hurried forth into the black
cold of a winter night to see a sick
baby.
,
Pa
(Continued from page 11)
plan, they visited snake farms and
beach concessions where snakes were
exhibited. They asked questions about
rattlesnake venom and how long it
would take to kill. They tried to in-
duce one exhibit proprietor to put a
rabbit in a rattlesnake den to prove
’ that a rattlesnake bite would bring
death.
' Jt was Hope’s job to provide the
‘snakes. He tried three times before he -
got “real fighters.” Once the snakes,
‘tried out on a rabbit, were sluggish.
and refused to bite. Again they were
pronounced “no good.” At last, he went
‘to the establishment of “Snake Joe” .
Houtenbrink in Pasadena, and bought.
two snakes, guaranteed in good condi-.
tion. Needless to say, Houtenbrink did
not have the faintest idea of the fright-
ful' purpose that his snakes were to
serve. ia
' As to what actually happened on
the.night of August 4 and the morning
of August 5, the stories of Hope and
James diverge, although they agree in
the essential points.
Take Hope's story first.
He carried the snakes to the James’
home on Saturday — two writhing,
buzzing messengers of death, coiling
and striking in their box. He knew
what James wanted the snakes for.
James had told him it was “to collect
some insurance.” ;
He left the box of snakes there, went
home, and returned the next day, Sun-
day. In the house, he found that James
had started preparations for his wife’s
death.
There, flung on her back across. the
table in the breakfast nook. ‘bound fast,
adhesive tape over her eyes and mouth,
Jay Mary. James. She was clad in
“pajamas and her bare feet dangled
helplessly.
“Bring in the snakes,” said’ Robert -
James. :
Obediently, without. protest, Hope
brought in the box of snakes. He set
it on the floor, close to the table,
Cautiously James slid back the lid
of the box a little way. The snakes
buzzed and writhed angrily.. Their
rattles clashed with the dry, unmis-
takable sound of death.
’ Could Mary James. hear them? Did
she recognize the sound of the rattles?
Did she know what was going to hap-
pen? Fi
James, Hope said, went calmly
ahead. He grasped his wife’s bare foot,
swinging limply over the table. He
pulled it down, thrust her foot into the
box of snakes and held it there.
“She kind of gave a grunt,” said
Hope, as he told his story.
And what did Hope, the compliant
friend and procurer of rattlesnakes,
do? No writer of fiction could surpass
the bleak sentences of his own state-
ment: °
“T said: ‘How did you ever conceive
such a fiendish idea?’ and James an-
swered, ‘This is a new way to knock
a kid.’ So we argued about this and
that, and I took his car and got my
wife; then we took ‘the snakes back.
I didn’t tell her what had happened. :
“We went and played cards that
evening.”
Ama Ayn sn
eteeets ten)
ely to the fresh-
Je of less than
A bride of two
an ornamental
‘ician of whom
sible, of course,
‘wever, there is
id dizzy in the
case two days
ig evidence of
\ngeles county
ed and pains-
ade his report.
‘tr said, ‘“‘prob-
-t on her left
e. Dizziness
tissue prob-
; causing her
) drowning.”
the cellulitis
robably by a
or twice. |
ice the color
during the
a thorough
id stomach.
n the lungs
he swelling
of the bite
ted for her
iuestion of
nplete. A
suspicions
d only be-
‘ted,
im Bright.
Stensland,
tail and a
pen,” Sug-
Something
ten pages
1 the case
death of
ry Emma
dund its
mong the
r records
Three of the men who claimed they sold rattlesnakes to one of the
suspects. From left to right: Jack Allman, "“Snakey Joe’ Houtenbrink
and Mike Allman. Left: Phials of poison taken from the snakes in
question. Guinea pigs
of such weird and amazing
homicides as only Los Angeles
is able to collect.
‘The file remained in the hom-
icide bureau as the year 1935
drew to a close. The barber
James was not forgotten either
by myself or by any other mem-
ber of the sheriff's department
who had seen the pitiful, silk-
clad figure of the beautiful
blonde and who had enquired
into her strange death.
From time to time we
checked the barber’s past. His
late wife was a beautician
whom he had married in Glen-
dale. I discovered that a pre-
vious wife, Winona Wallace,
had died in Manitou, Colorado,
when she slipped in a bathtub
and was drowned. This infor-
mation went into the file of
accidental death. By mail |
obtained the fact that a coro-
ner’s jury had decided that
Winona Wallace’s death was
suicidal,
put with the reptiles, succumbed to bites.
| checked the saddened barber’s past more closely when-
ever a lull in daily assignments gave me an opportunity to
reopen the brown book of tragedy and study again the
details of the fish pond accident as gathered by half a dozen
operatives of the detail. “Iwo of the barber’s former wives
had divorced him. One marriage, this one in Los Angeles,
was annulled. “he fifth beauty to be led to the altar by
the marrying barber was Mary Emma Busch, the victim
of accidental death among the ornamental lilies in a back-
yard pond.
James was back at his shop in La Crescenta. ‘The
desert sun lost a little of its brazen glare. November came
and suddenly Robert James was being discussed by every
member of the homicide detail again. The Occidental
Insurance Company had filed a suit against him seeking
to cancel policies totaling $5,700 which had insured his
wife Mary Emma. ‘The policies carried a double indem-
nity clause in case of death by accident. ‘The insurance
company charged that Mrs. James’ health was misrepre-
sented when the policies were taken out a month before
her death.
The coroner’s inquest had returned that the pretty
blonde died by accidental drowning. Although our inves-
tigation and enquiry had revealed nothing more alarming
than a string of five wives in the barber’s career of mar-
riage and the death of one of them by suicide in a bath-
tub, the tightly bound file on the lily pond death was
triken out of the bookcase in Inspector Bright's office, It
21.
Robert James, right, pointing out the spot at which the body of his wite,
Mary Busch James (insert) was found face downward
was turned over to District Attorney Buron Fitts.
“Tt is an accidental death as far as anyone can make
out.” I told the district attorney as I sketched the case
briefly. Robert P. Stewart, chief deputy district attor-
ney, and Virgil Grey, a deputy prosecutor, were present
when IL took the matter up with Fitts. All three listened
eagerly to what I had to say. All three pored over the
inch-thick file and studied the findings of the coroner’s jury.
“Tell bear further investigation,” said Buron Fitts.
“This insect bite business looks innocent enough, but is
| knew what he was thinking.
We were officials in a
section of the United States whose residents have long been
accustomed to reading accounts of fantastic and weird hom-
icides in their daily newspapers. We were investigators
in a community whose floating population is the greatest
in the country. A community of such attractions that
among this floating population are the world’s strangest
types. The suit by the life insurance company brought to
light a possible motive for the murder of the pretty blonde.
The barber’s long list of marriages set him aside as one
of southern California’s numerous freak characters.
I attended the trial of the life insurance suit by special
22
in the lily pond.
assignment. At its conclusion, the only testimony of im-
portance which I could add to the file now in the office
of the district attorney was the assertion of an insurance
agent that James had offered to settle the case out of court
for three thousand dollars.
The action went off the cal-
endar.
I returned to my work on the homicide detail.
The two members of District Attorney Fitts’ force re-
turned to their mountain of labors in the prosecutor’s office.
Officially and probably finally, Mrs. James was still a
victim of accidental death. The evidence of that insect
or reptile bite still disturbed me. Buron Fitts’ unspoken
thoughts were mine as | frequently contemplated the case.
It was incredulous, indescribably horrible to consider that
a man would deliberately expose his wife to the bite of
an insect or of a reptile in a murder plot. Incredible,
that is, in any other community in America, probably in
the world.
But this was Los Angeles. Pulsing and throbbing with
its own mad fantasy and falseness, under the shadow of
the ugly mountains near the city borders, is fabulous
Hollywood. In this land where nothing is real, where
people live in a crazy world of their own fashioning; where
a sense of valu:
could be concels
reality. And at
in the braims ot
flock to southe
seek they know
The barber
the middle we>
string of five
double in his 1
on the mornin:
shaking, but bh:
looked into mr
as one of the s
make the task
ern California
into bizarre t)
In Deceml«
the screwbox «
strengthened
police report:
up.
A woman
passing pat
persistently
She had wal
man said. }!
actually stru
would appes:
paid a fine
behavior.
minor case.
fer further
tion by the
othice of the
ITH
WY iste
There wa
barber has
picions, *
nature,
hooks fr
finally we
scrawled
“The t
ready.”
Hack hat:
Hlis eyes
of cold cdi
ing barbe
murders
or he’s
tind of ©
“Weis
surance
bite on
drowned
pond is
lay. It
ma fat
ina hit:
“Hf «
hite of
der he:
ried t
attorn:
which
Hhe
top
pond,
ot The
ts
his t
inelis
slow
eVve#»®
We
Wee?
clew
\\
Th
stimony of im-
v in the office
! an insurance
e out of court
it off the cal-
micide detail.
tts’ force re-
-cutor’s office.
's was still a
t that insect
tts’ unspoken
ited the case.
consider that
the bite of
Incredible,
probably in
obbing with
* shadow of
is fabulous
teal, where
ning; where
| :
wy owes
a sense of values is unknown, anything
could be conceived in a brain long lost to
reality. And anything could be conceived
in the brains of those warped hordes who
flock to southern California to live and
seek they know not what.
The barber James had migrated from
the middle west. He had accumulated a
string of five wives. He had been bent
double in his last wife’s pretty sitting room
on the morning of her death, sobbing and
shaking, but his eyes were dry when they
looked into mine. Surely he could be listed
as one of the semi-psychopathic types which
make the task of a murder man in south-
ern California a constant series of enquiry
into bizarre types of crime.
In December the barber’s place among
the screwbox element of the community was
strengthened when the Los Angeles city
police reported that they had locked him
up.
A woman unknown to him had called a
passing patrolman and insisted that he had
persistently insulted her on a city street.
She had walked away from him, this wo-
man said, He had followed her and finally
actually struck her when she told him she
would appeal to a policeman. Barber James
paid a fine in police court for his odd
behavior. It was a minor fined and a
minor case, but it marked Robert James
for further and more detailed investiga-
tion by the sheriff’s department and by the
office of the district attorney.
ITH the district attorney and his as-
sistants, 1 discussed the case again.
There was no iota of evidence that the
barber had killed his beautiful bride. Sus-
picions, some of them of the very wildest
nature, were keeping the brown-covered
books from being closed definitely and
finally with the words “accidental death”
scrawled in ink across its cover,
“The thing has drifted along too far al-
ready.” Buron Fitts stroked his’ thinning
black hair back from = his high forehead.
His eyes were hard and his attitude one
of cold determination. “Mither this marry-
ing barber is guilty of one of the quecrest
murders your bureau has ever investigated
or he’s perfectly innocent and the vic-
tim of circumstance and suspicion.”
“We've got little or nothing but an in-
surance motive and that insect or reptile
bite on her leg. She quite evidently
drowned,” I reminded him. “And the lily
pond is about eight inches deep where she
lay. It’s queer how a woman could fall
ina faint just in the right position to drown
in a little bit of a lily pond.”
“If she were dazed or doped from the
bite of a snake in a first attempt to mur-
der her, then drowned elsewhere and car-
ried to the fish pond—,” began the district
attorney carefully studying my own report
which he had turned to in the file.
“Her pajamas were dry except at the
top where she lay over the edge of the
pond,” T reminded him. “The lower part
of her pajamas were dry.”
District Attorney Buron Fitts stroked
his rather prominent nose reflectively. “I’m
inclined to give it the works,” he said
slowly. “I'll put my men on it. You do
everything you can from your department.
We'll work it up slowly and if it takes
weeks or months we'll give this barber a
clean bill or charge him with murder.”
Winter came to southern California.
The rains followed and as if hurrying to
AMERICAN DETECTIVE
spread their beauty before the summer
sun could drive them back into the grey
earth, the desert flowers bloomed on every
vacant acreage in Los Angeles county.
There was no cessation in the work of the
homicide detail. I followed the drab parade
of murder, accidental death and suicide, but
I never forgot the case of the barber’s
wife and the district attorney’s assertion
“We'll give it the works. If a crime has
been committed we'll ferret it out.”
But April 1936 had come before the
prosecutor was ready with facts to add to
my own suspicions in. the case of the
on™,
~,
\" 3 O FR —
pik t alee
, % e 4
Val die VAAN
+ “7 . 4
23
but exceedingly attractive in a finished,
polished way, her affairs with the 46-year-
old marrying barber were not surprising
when we considered the man’s odd morals.
“We can and shall bring a morals charge
against him because of this affair with the
niece,” the district attorney said. “But
first of all we intend to go deeper, inves-
tigate further and try through his affair
with the niece to throw more light on the
death of his wife.”
And so Robert James became the sub-
ject for one of the most thorough investi-
gations ever conducted in Los Angeles
ay
Vera James, wife No. 2 of Robert James, lived with
him for seven years, longer than any of his other wives.
drowned beauty in the lily pond. The in-
vestigators from the district attorney's
office had been assigned to the James case
and had used every method of criminal
investigation to obtain facts concerning
the intimate details of the barber’s life.
By April the district attorney’s office
was in possession of facts that linked
the marrying barber in a morals scrape
with his own niece, an attractive manicur-
ist. Dark eyed, dark-haired and extremely
chic, she was living at the pseudo-Span-
ish bungalow in whose garden her aunt by
marriage had met death so tragically. She
was twenty-one years old. A product of
the beauty shops and manicurists’ tables,
county without more proof of murder than
we had in this case. A morals charge in-
volving the pretty manicurist could result
in an indictment for incest. We checked
the girl’s family and learned definitely that
she was his niece by direct lineage. Robert
James could have been arrested at any
time and the incest charge pressed to the
limit, but the mystery of his wife’s death
and the odd circumstance of the poison-
ous insect bite would have gone unsolved.
Tt was then that the district attorney’s
investigators. placed a dictograph in’ the
La Crescenta bungalow and spent hours
listening and hoping that at some time dur-
ing his confidential talks with his pretty
\
a
ak
ee oe ce ee
24
‘niece, he would mention the death of his
wife. The operators added to the thicken-
ing file strange accounts of conversations
between the manicurist and her enamoured
uncle. They learnéd.of a man’s moral in-
stability which had dragged him through
five marriages and a score of’ escapades
with women and which he interpreted for
the surprisingly naive manicurist as love.
The. incest charge was established be-
fore the middle of April. and evidence
enough had been gathered to press it when
the Los Angeles police department entered
the case with an amazing report.
An attorney who insisted that he remain
anonymous, visited the ornate police de-
partment building on Temple Street one
day and recounted a story a client had
told him weeks before. The informant was
quickly brought before District Attorney
Fitts.
“This client of mine,” the attorney said,
“was in a beer parlor last August, when a
man sat at a table with him and told him
he had procured two rattlesnakes with
which a La Crescenta resident intended to
kill his wife.”
STOUNDING and far fetched as the
A story sounded, it would supply the
missing details in the case of Mrs. Mary
Emma James. The tiny marks on her
ankle; the plain evidence of poison from
an insect or reptile bite would be answered
if this story were true and its narrator
could be traced.
Who was the client who told this wild
tale?
The attorney shook his head. He thought
it his duty to report it he said, but as his
client was in no manner involved and
chose to keep his identity and the identity
of his informant secret, there the matter
would have to end.
But it would not end. The district at-
torney urged the lawyer to press his client
for every detail. He begged that the man
be. induced to appear and identify himself
or at least name the beer parlor associate
who had told the story.
“The man who told the story was half
drunk,” replied the lawyer. “But I will
do my best. If I can get the name of the
man I'll telephone it to you at once. My
client I’ll protect. He simply heard the
tale, and it may be far ‘fetched and as ridi-
culous as it sounds.” J (
Not ridiculous, I told myself when I
heard the news from the police official to
whom the lawyer had first taken his story.
Exceptional, uncomformable to the ideas
most of us have of civilization, probably,
but not ridiculous and not too far fetched
when one considers the locale.
The file on the James case was develop-
ing new homicidal interest. What had at
first been an accidental death was in a fair
away to become the most sensational and
the most bitterly cruel murder ever listed
in the brown-backed books in the library
of death.
Without further ado and without wait-
ing for the telephone call from the lawyer
informant, District Attorney Fitts filed
the morals charge against the barber and
he was brought to the county jail.
Heavy-jowled, beady-eyed, as unlike the
Casanova we were prepared to prove him
as a man could be, Robert James was tac-
iturn and sullen when he went behind the
bars, No mention was made to him of
‘ee
AMERICAN DETECTIVE
his wife's death. His niece dabbed her
beautiful eyes in the district attorney’s
office and she; too, heard no mention of
the true reason for her uncle’s arrest. -
The dictographs had unfolded a warm
story of the love which these oddly as-
sorted. relatives had developed since the
slim body of the blonde was found in the
garden pool eight months before. Why
she should have been selected of all the
scores, hundreds, probably thousands, who
find illicit love in Los Angeles county, the
lovely manicurist was at a loss to under-
stand. The laws of incest were explained
to her. Her dark eyes saddened, her full
red lips curved downward and she wept.
For a week or more the district attor-
ney kept after the anonymous lawyer for
further information concerning the strange
beer garden conversation in August, 1935.
‘
OS ANGELES was gay with the spring
crowds. April was drawing to a close
and May was about to smile her warmest,
when the information finally arrived. The
lawyer, Buron Fitts was informed, had
finally induced his client to divulge the
name of the beer garden associate so that
justice could be served. The story, he be-
lieved, was too incongruous to hold up un-
der investigation but the name of the man
who had told the tale of the snakes was
C. H. Hope, a cafe manager at Hermosa
Beach.
In the district attorney’s office on the
night of May Ist, a man sat and nervously
fingered, the bulging muscles on the side
of his neck. He wore an open-necked polo
shirt, a light coat and dark trousers. A
bullet head was set on his muscular neck.
At some time his nose had been broken;
his eyes were steely grey and hard.
A former United States sailor, C. H.
Hope, who was called “Chuck” by his
friends, gazed from one to another of the
group assembled in the district attorney's
office. . With Buron Fitts were deputies
Eugene Williams, Robert Stuart and Vir-
gil Grey, the assistant prosecutors who had
remained as close to the James case as
pressure of regular duties would allow.
For hours .that night the former sailor
twisted his heavily muscled neck and cast
his baleful eyes from one to another in
the district attorney’s office as he an-
swered or evaded questions.
“T, must have been drunk,” he said when
he was told that in August, 1935, he had
babbled a tale of procuring snakes with
which a man intended to kill his wife.
“Who was that man?” demanded the
prosecutor.
“I musta been drunk,”. Hope repeated.
He was a difficult man to question. A hard
man who had seen much of the seamy side
of life.
When the name “Robert James” was
mentioned to him there was a flicker of
fear in his hard eyes. He began to clasp
and unclasp his heavy fingers as his square
hands rested limply in his lap.
With incisive, probing questions, the
prosecutor persisted. At last “Chuck”
Hope sprang from his chair and took
three nervous paces across the floor, to re-
turn and almost fling himself into his chair
again. His knuckles showed white through
the tan on the back of his hands as he
gripped the chair arms. —
“I got ’em from Snakey Joe’s over in
Pasadena,” he blurted suddenly. “I got
them snakes ‘at Joe’s. James asked me to
get ’em. I didn’t know what he wanted
with ’em.”
His questioners were aghast. They had
piloted him through a series ‘of evasions.
They had brought the questioning around ”
to the barber and had seen him wince. But
they had not expected the slightest con-
firmation of this strange tale he had told
to. a beer garden associate nine months
before.
OWHERE on the bookshelves of a
library of murder can be found a
confession as astounding as that to which
we listened as the erstwhile sailor un-
folded his tale. Never, I firmly believe,
in the history of Los Angeles has such a
story been told, and, I sincerely hope, never
will its equal be told again.
“I got ’em at Snakey Joe’s in Pasadena.
He told me to,’ Hope repeated, “but I
didn’t know what he would use them for
until I seen.”
“You saw?” Buron Fitts leaned forward,
his slender fingers touched a pencil on his
desk. His face was strained and eager.
Near him a stenographer sat with pad and
pencil poised. “You saw what?”
Hope’s eyes blazed madly as he stared
around the room once more. Then he ad-
dressed himself directly to the stenogra-
pher. He was as a man who dictates the
details of his life’s most dramatic moment
and wants his words transcribed correctly.
“It was the Sunday before they found
her dead,” his voice was lower, his breath-
ing strained. “The Sunday before they
found her—dead. I went to James’ house
to take his car back. I'd borrowed it. It
was eleven o'clock in the morning. I
walked into the kitchen. James had his
wife tied up and her mouth taped. She
only had on a nightgown. Her feet were
bare. She was tied on a breakfast nook
table. Her fect were dangling near the
floor. Her eyes were covered with tape,
too. She was on her back.”
He paused and his eyes wandered again
from face to face of his inquisitors. He
seemed to jerk his attention back to the
stenographer and began to talk again in
a slightly louder voice.
“James told me to get a box that was
out in the garage,” Hope said. “I went
and it was the box I’d brought the two
snakes in from over at Snakey Joe’s in
Pasadena. I took it in to him. I put
it down on the floor.”
The ex-sailor’ paused and shuddered.
“That guy sort of hypnotized me,” he -
whispered. “He had the sign on me. He
got a sort of spell put over me.”
“The box,” Buron Fitts’ voice broke
a full minute of strained silence. “What
happened after you brougbt the box into
the kitchen?”
“He had a spell on me, that guy did,”
Hope was raising his voice again. “I
don’t know why I even had anything to
do with him, I’ve known him seven years.
I knew something was screwy but he’d told
me snake bite would cause his wife to
lose a kid. He'd told her that, too. But
he had her tied up. I thought he wanted
her to lose a kid she was going to have.”
“The box,” insisted the district attorney,
“what did you do with the box of snakes?”
Hope glared at him wildly. “He opened
it,” he shouted. “He opened the box, The
rattlers stirred in it. They was coiled
ts dry lips and turn:
‘- stenographer. He
in an awed whisper ¢
ormity of the story
mt on:
wo He put the box
He lifted one of her
into the box. He
knee and the bare {
the box with the
was awful. I saw
head go back and th
quick as a flash a:
Mrs. James strugg!
ropes. I saw her
purple with the st
went on rattling.
down there in the
there with them.
He spat out the |
simulating the hissi
He twisted in his
poisonotis fangs de
flesh. But his sto
a calmer voice he
“He told me to
the snakes back
car. I was wond
make her drop 4
came back, I dro
and he met me. }
key and we took
with me,’ he told
more time.
I'm going to dr
running board o
knew he had it
cause I'd got tl
while he came
her in .the bath
to clean up the
he made “a
lily pond. e
blankets and pu
he was afraid t
he left her in
of his other w
E took t
see Jam
edge of his co
told ’em,” the
you done with
I've spilled it
James half
down abrupt
rted ina g
ba don’t kno
Was Hope
wildest, the
heard. Men
strange tales
sole view of
tors. - Such
subjected to
tion.
But Hop
Pasadena “:
C4. -
The two seven-year-old dead-
ly diamond - back rattlers,
each nine feet long, which
were used to bring death ~
to the lovely young victims.’
HE last hangman's noose to
be slipped around the soft
neck of a killer in California
is soon to be used. In the six
years since the killer destined
for it: was sentenced, hanging
has been outmoded. Instead,
now, the Executioner prepares
a chair—either one which sends
jolting bolts of electricity
through the murderers bound in
it or one which holds them
steady while wisps of deadly
gas sweep up and rush into their
lungs. By the time you read this,
on May Ist, 1942, Major Ray-
mond Lisenba, alias Robert S.
James, the rattlesnake killer,
will be dead.
The body of the green-eyed
WHAT
barber dangling from the end
of the last hangman's rope is
a fitting end to the most fan-
tastic murder in the history of
America. And, strangely, there
is now only this unbelievable
monster left to keep the rendez-
vous. With only a few excep-
tions, everybody concerned with
the lust-crazed man who brought
death to at least three people
and who wrecked and twisted
the lives of uncounted others, is
gone.
Cornelius Wright, the smiling,
laughing nephew, has been dead
‘since 1933, His mangled body was
wrenched from the wreckage of an
automobile which crashed under
strange circumstances. The ver-
COULD BE MORE
WRITHING, HISSING RATTLESNAKES
AS THE INSTRUMENTS OF
TORTURE AND DEATH
dict was “accidental death” but
Robert James collected $5000 in in-
surance from the “accident”.
Winona Wallace James, his fifth
wife, has been dead since 1934.
She too crashed in an automobile
hurtling down a three hundred
foot cliff on famed Pike’s Peak.
But she didn’t die then. It was
two weeks later when her nude
body was found in the tourist court
cabin in Manitou, Colorado, her
head beneath the faucet, her
shapely legs dangling from the
other end, Robert S. James sobbed
long and loud—then, grinning, col-
lected $13,000 in insurance.
Mary Busch James, wife Number
six, has been dead since that
strange hot Sunday afternoon of
August 5, 1935, when she became
the victim of the most diabolical
FIENDISH THAN
By Malden Grange Bishop
Special Investigator for
Sensational
Detective Cases
murder plot ever hatched in the
lust-filled mind of a man.
A young relative of James who
shared his insatiable orgies and
who, too, was marked for death,
has changed her name and filed.
Still another woman intimate of
the killer, who dared public scorn
to finger him, is gone. And so are
scores of other women whose
nights were filled with the strange
hypnotic stare of tiny green eyes
holding them under a spell until
their snake-man lover cast them
aside for newer conquests. :
Charles H. Hope, the blabbering
weakling who helped James carry
out his ghastly plot, is serving his
sixth year of a life sentence for
his part in the murder of Mary.
Oddly even most of the men from
Los Angeles’ District Attorney’s
TO USE
James asked me to
‘ow what he wanted
re aghast. They had
a series ‘of evasions.
© questioning around
seen him wince. But
‘d the slightest. con-
age tale he had told
sociate nine months
¢ bookshelves of a
er can be found a
ag as that to which
tstwhile sailor un- .
‘t, I firmly believe,
Angeles has such a
‘incerely hope, never
gain, ji
* Joe’s in Pasadena.
€ repeated, “but I
vould use them for
itts leaned forward,
hed a pencil on his
trained and eager.
r sat with pad and
w what?”
iadly as he stared
wore. Then he ad-
’ to the -stenogra-
1 who dictates the
dramatic moment
nscribed correctly,
efore they found
lower, his breath-
nday before they
t to James’ house
| borrowed it. It
the morning. I
James had his
iouth taped. She
Her feet were
t breakfast nook
tingling near the
vered with tape,
rack,”
‘wandered pRain
Inquisitors, He
ion back to the
o talk again in
a box that was
said. “I went
rought the two
snakey Joe’s in
to him. I put
and shuddered.
\tized me,” he 5
gnonme. He
. me.” .
3’ voice broke
ilence. “What
t the box into
that guy did,”
ice again. “I
d anything to
m seven years.
y but he'd told
: his wife to
that, too. But
sht he wanted
ving to have.”
trict attorney,
x of snakes?”
'. “He opened
the box. The
¥ was coiled
Pu ares ae
Peo #
ih Aas Bachna 2
and rattling. God! how they was rattling.
I saw one raise its head over the edge of
the box then duck it back. Then the
other raised its head and they rattled. The
rattlers sounded like they’d gone mad inside
the box.”
The sailor ceased talking. He licked
his dry lips and turned his hot eyes upon
the stenographer. He breathed heavily and
in an awed whisper as he realized the en-
ormity of the story he was telling, he
went on:
“He put the box under her bare feet.
He lifted one of her feet and he pushed it
into the box. He pushed down on her
knee and the bare foot and leg went into
the box with the snakes. The rattling
was awful. I saw one strike. I saw his
head go back and then forward. It struck
quick as a flash and then the other hit.
Mrs. James struggled and strained in the
ropes. I saw her face go red and near
purple with the strain. But the snakes
went on rattling. They rattled and hissed
down there in the box with her foot in
there with them.”
He spat out the last words as if he were
simulating the hissing of the deadly snakes.
He twisted in his seat as if he felt their
poisonous fangs deep in his own quivering
-flesh. But his story was not finished. In
a calmer voice he resumed :
“He told me to take ’em back. To take
the snakes back to Joe’s. I left in his
car. I was wondering if that would really
make her drop a kid, That night when I
came back, I drove the car in the garage
and he met me. He had a bottle of whis-
key and we took a drink, ‘You are in this
with me,’ he told me. ‘I ain’t wasting no
more time. The snakes didn’t kill her and
I'm going to drown her.’ I sat on the
running board of the car, and thought. I
knew he had it on me if I squawked be-
cause I’d got the snakes. Then after a
while he came out again. ‘I’ve drowned
her in the bathtub,’ he said. ‘I’m going
to clean up the mess!’ Then after a bit
he made me help him carry her out to the
lily pond. He'd wiped her all dry with
blankets and put pajamas on her. He said
he was afraid the police would get wise if
he left her in the tub on account of one
of his other wives died that way.”
E took the man to the county jail to
see James. The barber sat on the
edge of his cot and glared at Hope. “I’ve
told ’em,” the ex-sailor said, “just what
you done with them snakes and everything.
I've spilled it all.”
James half rose from his cot, then sat
down abruptly again. His heavy lips
parted in a grin. “You're crazy,” he said.
“I don’t know what you mean, snakes.”
Was Hope crazy? His story was the
wildest, the most fantastic I had ever
heard. Men under questioning often offer
strange tales, sometimes I think with the
sole view of entertaining their interroga-
tors. -Such stories crumble quickly when
subjected to the first strains of investiga-
tion.
But Hope’s tale stood that strain. In
Pasadena “Snakey Joe” was located with
AMERICAN DETECTIVE
ease. A ‘neighborhood character, J. C.
Houtenbrink was a well known dealer in
reptiles in Pasadena during 1935.
Houtenbrink looked once and once only
at Hope as he stepped from the Deputy
District Attorney Williams’ car. Asked
the ‘first important question which would
strengthen or destroy the sailor’s story, the
snake dealer replied:
“Sure, I remember that guy. He got
a couple of snakes from me last August.
Next day he brought ’em back. I never
knew why he brought ’em back after he
bought ’em for three bucks but he did.”
In the automobile again Hope an-
nounced: “You can prove-up on what I’ve
said some more. When he changed her
nightgown and wiped her dry, he put the
towels and gown in a bucket. There was
two blankets he’d used to dry her on, too.
Well, he drives out near La Crescenta and
there he dumps the bucket and the towels
and gown, I can show you the ravine. He
couldn’t burn them because they were too
wet. Anyhow the bucket might still be
there. And the two blankets he gave to
me. I still got ’em. I'll have my wife
bring ‘em down‘ if you telephone.”
“You're married?” Assistant District At-
torney Williams asked when we were set-
tled in Buron Fitts office again. at Ss
“Been married just a couple of months
replied Hope. “And I told my wife all
this too because ‘it ain’t right for a man
to hold anything back from his wife. I
told her everything, she’ll tell you.”
And she did. An attractive girl with a
quiet, well modulated voice, Florence Hope
told us that she had heard the story from
her husband but thought it a wild figment
of his imagination. The blankets, however,
she produced and they were added to the
list of evidence.
MONG the trash in-the ravine which
Hope pointed out were many buckets.
Our effort to strengthen his tale failed
there. Nothing he could find was distinc-
tive enough to be recognized as the bucket,
the dead woman’s nightgown or the towels
he said her husband had used to dry her
dead body.
With one informant telling the maddest
story homicide investigators had ever list-
ened to, the case of the rattlesnake mur-
der rested on the props which confirmation
of Hope’s tale had built under it. He had
been identified by “Snakey Joe.” He had
produced the blankets which he said James
had given him. To trace the blankets
through a store to a purchaser was the
next obvious move.
But District Attorney Fitts, his inves-
tigator Scott Middleton, the police who had
aided us so far in the case and myself
had other ideas. We decided to take James
and Hope out to the La Crescenta bunga-
low. We would let Hope tell his tale and
point out the places in the yard, the house
and -garage where the action had taken
place in this wild murder drama he had
unfolded. And while Hope talked and re-
enacted the terrible scenes he had beheld,
James should look on.
The re-enactment was as dramatic as
25
Hope’s confession had been. He showed
us where the woman had been bound to
the tiny table in the kitchen. He demon-
strated how her naked feet had_ been
plunged into the box with the snakes.
Then he demonstrated how her body was
placed in the lily pond, face downwards,
her stomach resting on the concrete edge,
the lower part of her body on the sun-
blasted grass.
And all the time James looked on and
shook his head and grinned weakly at
one of the police officers, at the deputy dis-
trict attorney, or at me.
“That guy Hope is crazy,” he said when
the gruesome act was finished. “He's
ie loco and you can’t believe a thing he
tells.”
That was the master barber’s attitude
throughout the next six hours of question-
ing. ‘Hope is crazy,” he repeated fre-
quently.
ND then suddenly, late on Sunday night
May 3rd, with Buron Fitts: still
knifing him with questions, and tripping
him when he gave evasive answers about
his association with Hope, Robert James,
the fat and‘amorous barber, finally blurted
out: i
“I had been drinking. Drink drives me
crazy.” He lapsed into shuddering silence.
“Then you admit the murder of your
wife,” Fitts flung at him. “You admit
the murder of your wife, while you were
under the influence of liquor.”
“Yes, yes,” James cried wildly. “I ad-
mit it. That’s all I’ll say, but I admit it.”
The man who used the deadly fangs of
-a rattlesnake for a murder weapon has
been indicted by the grand jury. He says
he waits now only for his appearance in
court to give full details of the crime on
his own account and take his sentence.
A pudgy barber with beady cyes, Robert
S. James had induced five beautiful women
to marry him. To his own moral level
he brought his charming niece.
But when this viper of Los Angeles
used rattlesnakes as his murder tools, the
very marks the reptiles left behind proved
the clew to his own undoing.
The brown book in the homicide detail
office is back on its shelf. Scrawled on its
cover are the words “homicide—rattlesnake
case.” It rests in its rightful place among
the files of murders committed in Los
Angeles county, ninety-five per cent. of
which have been solved by the sheriff’s
department.
In my opinion the cloth-bound book
should be in a file alone. It tells the story
of the most wildly brutal and coldly cruel
homicide ever investigated in America.
James’ niece views it as such. Round-
eyed and astounded, she heard all we had
learned about her uncle. She seems to
us to be as innocent as she is beautiful,
despite her experiences with Robert James.
“I must help you,” she whispers sadly.
“We must find out all the harm he has
done.”
And until that is done the brown book
in the homicide bureau will not be stamped
with the words “case closed.”
Office who worked for nearly a
year to bring James to justice are
gone. District Attorney Buron Fitts
has been retired from that office.
Chief Deputy District Attorney
Eugene Williams has resigned and
turned his brilliant legal talents
from criminal law to civil law for
the United States Government.
Chief Investigator Clyde Plummer
has left the District Attorney’s of-
fice to become Warden of Folsom
Prison. Captain Jack C. Southard,
who did much of the investigation
work, is dead. Investigators Little-
ton, Griffin, .Davis, Yarrow, they
are all gone—retired or resigned.
The men who led the rattlesnake
killer to the last rope are gone.
But the rope is there, carefully
saved, patiently waiting. Even in
the dim light the scrawled name
is still legible. It has faded some
The killer, as he looked
in court, listening to
‘the damning testimony.
Beautiful Mary Busch
James, who was the
victim of a sinister
and diabolical plot.
during these six years of legal bat-
tles but you can read it. Six years
during which the Appellate Courts,
California Supreme Court and
twice the United States Supreme
Court have upheld the verdict for
which the rope was cut.
Or MONDAY, August 6, 1935,
James. telephoned Miss Viola
Leuck and James Pemberton from
his prosperous barber shop in
downtown Los Angeles. Viola and
Jimmy were engaged and it had
previously been arranged that they
and the Jameses would have dinner
ogether.
“Look, Viola,” the red-haired
marber explained. “Mary hasn't
veen feeling well. Doesn't feel up
to coming to town, She wants me
to bring you and Jimmy up there
for dinner tonight.”
“Gee, Bob, I’m sorry to hear
that.” ;
“Oh, I guess it’s nothing to wor-
ry about. You know how some of
you women get the first few weeks
or months. Sick to her stomach
and dizzy spells, too. I'll Pick you
up at around seven thirty. Okay?”
“Why, sure, Bob. I hope we find
Mary all right.”
At 8:15 that evening the trio
arrived at the. attractive cottage
on Verdugo Road in La Canada.
The house was dark and James
wrinkled his brow. “Mary must not
be feeling well. Maybe she’s gone
to bed already.”
James, his arms full of groceries
they had stopped to buy for dinner,
stood back while Viola started to
open the door. “It’s locked,” she
said when the door refused to open,
“Maybe she’s asleep.”
His small green eyes were
described by women as
hypnotic and snake - like.
The murderer's hench-
man, who was the first
to break down and
confess the evil pian.
When there was no answer to
Viola’s calls, James suddenly be-
came very nervous. “Oh; if. some-
thing has happened to my dar-
ting,” he moaned. “Do you think
she’s had one of her dizzy spells?”
At James’s suggestion Jimmy took
a flashlight and went to look in
the back yard while Viola and
James made an attempt to enter
the house. A few Sweeps of the
light froze Jimmy in his tracks.
“My God!” he cried. “Here she is!
Come quick! I think she’s dead.”
The lovely body of Mary, clad
only in soft yellow and copper col-
ored pajamas, was sprawled across
a foot-and-a-half-high wire fence
around a fish and lily pond. Her
face was sunk well into the still
water and her silken blonde hair
floated among the water lillies.
“My darling, my darling,” sob-
bed James. “Call a doctor. Call
the police, Oh, do something for
11
a”
her,”
“Take it easy, Bob,” Jimmy com-
forted. “Don’t go to pleces, Help
me carry her in.”
Together the men lifted the cold,
clammy body of the girl-wife and
expectant mother into the house.
There was nothing a doctor. could
do. And when Deputy Sheriffs Kil-
lan and Grey arrived there seemed
little for them to do.
James explained that his wife
had been all right when he left
the house early that morning. Due
to her pregnancy she was subject
to dizzy spells and the usual morn-
ing sickness but he thought there
was nothing serious. That was all
he knew and there seemed no rea-
son to doubt or suspect his state-
ments.
On the table in the front room,
Viola discovered an unfinished let-
ter which apparently Mary had
been writing her mother. “Daddy
is so good to me,” it read. “He will
be home soon and I will be so
glad. While I was watering flowers
in the garden this morning an in-
sect bit me and my leg is swol-
MO ss
Except that the letter was
scrawled in uneven letters instead
of the usual neat hand of Mary,
it was unquestionably her writing.
However the autopsy report of Dr.
A. F. Wagner confirmed the bite.
On the big toe of the left foot were
two small punctures and the left
leg was swollen and slightly dis-
colored to the hip. The lungs were
filled with water, indicating that
without doubt death was due to
drowning.
In the face of these facts, cou-
pled with the pregnancy of Mary
and her dizzy spells, it seemed ob-
vious what had happened. Ill from
the bite and her condition, she
had started to write her mother
a letter. But her hand would not
remain steady so she had gone out-
side for a breath of fresh air. May-
be she had leaned over the lily
pond to watch the fish or maybe
she had just been standing there
when she fainted, fell and drowned.
But there were some _ things
which did not look quite right to
the investigators, Dr. Wagner also
found a few slight bruises on the
back of Mary’s legs up to the knee
and on the back of her neck. How-
ever they were not enough to mean
anything. They might have been
caused in any number of ways.
Puzzling, too, was the fact that
Mary had three life insurance poli-
cies paying her husband a total
of $21,400 for her accidental death,
These policies were new and crisp.
In fact they had been applied for
and issued before she and James
had been legally married, while
Mary was a manicurist in James’
shop.
“I wanted to marry her,” James
explained frankly. “But I’ couldn’t
because I had an annullment pend-
ing. I knew she wouldn’t live with
me without marriage. So I faked
a ceremony. A fellow.I knew pre-
tended to marry us. She thought
it was the real thing, Then when
I got my annullment, I told her
and we went and got married le-
gally.” :
“When was that?” Grey asked.
“July 19th,” James replied. “I
informed the insurance companies
because Mary had said I was her
husband at the time the policies
were issued. The companies
12
changed the applications and said
it was all right.” }
A check with the Insurance com-
panies confirmed this part of
James’s story. As a matter of fact
one company had returned a
$5000 policy to James on the very
day Mary was found dead in the
fish pond.
It was James himself who elec-
trified the officers by relating that
Mary was his sixth wife and that
pretty blonde “Winona Wallace
James, his fifth wife, had died the
year before by drowning in a bath-
tub.
“We were on a vacation trip,”
James explained. “On Pike’s Peak
something went wrong with the
car. I got out but Nona was nearly
’ killed in the plunge. She was in
the hospital for a couple of weeks.
Just when I thought she was going
to be okay, I came back from the
grocery store and found her dead
in the bath tub.”
“Drowned?” asked Killan,
James nodded. “Started to take
a bath, I guess, and slipped on
some soap flakes. The box was
there and the water was still
warm,” :
“You have hard luck with your
wives,” Grey commented drily.
“Yeah,” James agreed. “I sure
do.”
The Coroner’s Jury decided that
Mary Busch James died accidental-
ly and the case was officially closed.
However officers kept trying to
piece together the strange coin-
cidence of a man losing two wives
by accidental drownings, both
young, both beautiful, both former
manicurists in James’s barber shop
-and both heavily insured in his
favor. But try as they may they
could not break the “accidental”
verdicts, the letter written by Mary
to her mother apparently while
James was at his shop.
A few weeks after Mary was laid
to rest District Attorney Buron
Fitts received an unsigned letter
written in longhand. The letter pur-
ported to come from a woman who
Stated that she had spent a night
in a Hermosa Beach hotel with
James the week following the
strange lily pond death. James, the
writer said, told her he had killed
his wife for the insurance money.
Although this letter appeared to
be genuine, officers put it down
as a crackpot inasmuch as the
writer gave no address and no
name. However Chief Investigator
Plummer stuck it away in the
James file.
In the meantime James collected
$3,400 in insurance and started a
suit in Federal Courts to collect
the remainder, the: company con-
testing the double indeminity
clause. This suit was still pending
when a second letter, this one type-
written, was received from the
mysterious woman who admitted
her indiscretion with the barber.
Chief Deputy District Attorney
Eugene Williams studied the let-
ters. “I’ve a hunch,” he told Fitts,
“I think these letters are from
someone who knows something.
We've got to smoke her out.”
The writer mentioned in the sec-
ond letter that she had registered
with James on August 11, 1935, un-
der the name of “Joseph Wright
and wife, San Francisco,” and
stated that she had signed the
register because James was drunk.
Captain Southard and Investigator
Littleton were assigned to check
the hotel records, They were both
pleased and surprised when they
discovered the registration and
when they further found that the
handwriting on the register was
the same as that of the first letter
received.
“That confirms my hunch,” Wil-
liams pointed out. “We've got to
get this dame in here some way.”
But how were the investigators
to locate an anonymous letter
writer? The hotel clerk had not
the faintest idea of what Joseph
Wright and wife, who registered
seven months before, looked like.
It seemed an impossible task.
Lights on the sixth floor of the
Hall of Justice burned far into the
night as Williams and the Investi-
gators debated ways and means to
locate the mystery woman. Since
it was apparent that James him-
self was the only person who knew
who the woman was, an elaborate
plan was drawn up designed to
make James lead them to her. It
was an ingenious trap which was
fated never to be sprung.
First it was decided to tail every
movement made by James. The
telephone lines to James’s shop and
his residence were both tapped—
wire tapping was then legal—and
in addition a dictaphone was in-
stalled in the bedroom of James’
house at 3886 La Salle Street, Los
Angeles, where he was then living
with a pretty brown haired rela-
tive, twenty-two-years-old.
Next a very carefully prepared
newspaper story was written and
‘trusted newsmen called ‘into the
District Attorney’s office. The story
related that sensational develop-
ments had occurred in the James
case, that a mysterious woman had
come forward and given the Dis-
trict Attorney information.
“Now this is the idea,” Williams
outlined. “When we give you boys
the word, you spread this over all
the papers. James will see it. Our
mystery woman will see it. If
James is guilty he will make some
attempt to contact the woman to
stop her. When he does, we'll find
her.”
Luckily the Investigators were
able to rent a house next door to
James's La Salle Street residence.
And to prevent any suspicion, at-
tractive women Investigators Do-
rothy Adams and Margaret Fair-
child “moved in” to add a homey
note to, the new tenants.
For three weeks Investigators sat
with headphones glued: to their
ears and heard the most amazing
and revolting orgies of lust ever
discovered by officers trailing a kill-
er. An unsuspected side of the in-
credible life of Robert S. James
was discovered. Night after night
the neatly dressed barber brought
to the house a new woman. After
a pleasant dinner and expensive
wines at some exclusive hotel or
cafe, they would arrive early in
the evening. The officers gasped
at the ability of James to soon
lead them to his bedroom. And
the intimate details they heard
throughout the long hours of the
night made them sick with disgust.
“The man is insatiable,” said
Yarrow. “Unbelievable.”
On ‘two occasions the officers
listened to nights of unleashed lust
Neen ee a i er ee
{
|
j
special box away and returned to
the James house.
James was drunk and angry. “It’s
been four hours and she’s not dead
yet,” he growled. “Doesn’t look like
she’s going to die either.”
Hope poured himself a water
glass full of whiskey. He said noth-
ing. He just watched the green-
eyed barber. Suddenly James slung
the bottle to one side. “By God,
I’m going in and drown her in the
bathtub. I can make it look like
an accident in the fish pond. You
wait here. I’ve got a bright idea.”
While Hope slouched drunkenly
in the garage, James ran water
into the tub and held his wife’s
face in it until she stopped strug-
gling. Then he dragged the body
into the hallway, tore off the night-
gown and dried it thoroughly. Then
he slipped the dry pajamas onto
her and called Hope to help him.
The amazed officers listened to
Hope’s story and then proceeded
to check it in detail. It checked
perfectly. And then the mysterious
letter writer, as Williams had
guessed, came forward and agreed |.
to publicly testify that James had
offered her $2,500 of the insurance
money to testify that she had visit-
ed Mary on the afternoon she was
found dead, James’s confession to
her checked with Hope’s story.
Hope pleaded guilty to first de-
gree murder and received a life
sentence. But the wiry James re-
fused to admit his guilt. It took
twenty-five days and 2,600 pages of
testimony to convict him and Judge
Frickes pronounced the death sen-
tence first on September 10, 1936.
For nearly six years James was
able to stave off the sentence while
higher court after higher court up-
held the verdict. But the rope in
San Quentin was kept ready. On
February 20, 1942, James was re-
turned from San Quentin where
he was serving a part of the one-
hundred and fifty year sentence
he received on the incest charges,
and again Judge Frickes sentenced
him to be hanged. On May Ist, |
1942, the rope they had saved all
these years will be used. -
TEXAS' TOWHEADED
TRIGGERWOMAN
(Continued from page 15)
OW ose,
“Mayfield was murdered all
right,” Decker said, “but we may
find some interesting facts about
this murder.”
The car with the laboratory men
from the Dallas Police Headquar-
ters drove up. Chief of Police
George Welch was in it.
When he joined the Sheriff, he
said: “You’ve been working on
this case, Schmidt. What have you
learned?”
“Not much, except that John
Mayfield is dead,” Sheriff Schmidt
replied. ‘“Let’s find out who found
the body and what additional in-
formation we can get, while the
laboratory men examine the car
and the body.”
William Noe, who had reported
‘the body, was standing at the side
of the road. He told the officers
how his little son, playing with
other boys, had first seen the body,
and how when he was told, some
time later, he went to take a look.
The crowd along the road had
increased to a large number of
residents of that community, and
the officers started questioning per-
sons in the crowd.
They found a number of per-
sons who had seen the dead man
sitting in the car, but like the
children, they had believed him
only drunk.
But a local dairyman had more
definite information. “I saw this
car sitting here last night,” he ex-
plained. “It was around eight
o’clock and I was driving home.
Saw the car at the side of the
road, but there was a blonde wom-
an in the car and I figured a
couple was petting and I drove
past pretty fast.”
THER witnesses were found
who saw Mayfield and what
looked like a blonde in the car,
but none of them were able to
give any more definite information
than the dairyman.
A blonde! Sheriff Schmidt look-
ed at Chief Welch and the two
officers said nothing. Both had
known John Mayfneld intimately
and both knew that his reputation
as concerned women was spotless.
He was an elderly man, whose only
interest in life seemed to be his
large business and his own home.
In his preliminary investigation,
when Sheriff Schmidt had been
called by Mrs. Mayfield, he had
learned quickly that there had
been no domestic trouble between
Mayfield and his wife.
The laboratory men had _ pried
the doors of the car open and
Medical Examiner Joe Brown was
making a preliminary examination
of the body.
“Mayfield has been dead about
eighteen hours,” Brown announced.
“Means he was killed last night
around eight o’clock, was killed
right here’ because one bullet hit
his heart and there was not much
blood, and one went into the side
of his head and there was not much
blood around that wound either. No
evidence of a struggle, but some-
body propped him up after he
was dead and put a cigar in his
mouth. Funny sense of humor.”
While Medical Examiner Brown
was making these announcements,
Sergeant James Kerch, in charge
of the laboratory men, was making
another puzzling discovery.
“Looks like we can rule any
theory of robbery out,” the Ser-
geant announced. “Here. are a
number of twenty dollar bills
scattered around in the back of
the tar and the dead man Is wear-
ing a wrist watch that must be
worth a nice little sum.”
This discovery only served to
cloak the murder in more mystery.
Mrs. Mayfield had said she be-
lieved her husband was carrying
a thousand dollars on him, though
the fact he had not collected the
money from R. O. Smith at the
McKinney and Hall Streets sta-
tion, which Smith had - said
amounted to around three hun-
dred dollars, might indicate that
he didn’t have that amount with
him.
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LISEMBA , Major, white, hanged San Quentin (LA), 5-1-1942...
The killer (right) and Deputy
Sheriff Killion at fishpond
spirits
throug
Angel
fire of
gers—.
Miss \
“Jin
to tak:
The
exchar
“Soc
Pembe
“We
I ough
mt”. B
sure gi
Bals, h:
Miss
She th:
exceed
liberati
“Hov
“Mai
lately.
come o1
maybe
For ;
ously e
was a }
| gentle
fragran
against
where James’ simple trusting young
relative was James’ partner. And
once they heard her ask _ him.
“What has become of Smith, the
fellow who stayed at your house
just before Mary died?”
The mention of Smith was some-
thing new to the officers and the
fact he had been a guest at the
James house shortly before the
tragedy seemed important. But at
no time did they hear mentioned
any name which might have been
the unknown writer of the letters.
And checks on each of the women
who shared James’s bedroom net-
ted them nothing.
They were about ready to spring
their trap when Williams, who was
by then devoting all of his time
to the case, had another idea.
“What’s going on between this
beast and this young girl he’s re-
lated to is incest,” he said. “We
can send him to prison for fifty
years for that.”
“It’s @ murderer we want,”
Southard reminded him.
“Right,” Williams snapped. “And
it’s my guess that that’s what we'll
get. We've got not only our mystery
woman to locate but also this
‘Smith’, whoever he is. It looks
like there are several people who
may know something. Why don’t
they talk? A thousand to one the
Deputy Sheriff Willard Killion (left),
Deputy DA Eugene Williams (center), and
Captain Jack Southard (right), look over
the scene of the crime at the James house.
answer is that they can’t talk for
fear of James.”
Plummber nodded his head slow-
ly. “If we lock this monkey up,
convict him of incest, then the un-
known people can talk.”
The other officers agreed with
him. “But when we take him,”
Williams warned, “we’ve got to
have an ironclad case. We can't
muff the case.”
“We'll catch him in the act, if
you want it that way,” Southard
promised.
“Do it!” Williams instructed.
The next day, while the James
house was empty, officers dressed
in telephone linemen’s clothing and
carrying ladders started working
down the alley behind the James
house. Totally unnoticed by neigh-
bors, one of them slipped into the
house. Within a few minutes he
had quickly and expertly arranged
the house for a sudden raid.
First he fitted keys into the door
locks until he found the ones which
worked. Then he oiled the hinges
of doors and Soaped the facings
80 they could be opened without
.@ sound. Then he jimmied window
locks so they couldn’t be locked and
loosened screens. He sketched a
quick .but detailed floor plan of
the house and the location of each
piece of furniture. He sprang his
weight on floors and steps to find
any squeaky boards. With expert
care he set the scene for the in-
tended raid. t
The listening investigators in the
cottage next door did not have
long to wait. Two evenings later
they heard James and Lois return-
ing from a late closing of the bar-
ber shop. During’ the night as they
listened, additional investigators,
Deputy Sheriffs, Williams and Fitts
arrived on the scene. Silently,
tensely, the officials waited.
It was early Sunday morning,
April 19th, 1936, that the time ar-
rived. With amazing efficiency the
officers closed in and before ei-
ther James or the girl realized it,
officers were in the bedroom.
James, too surprised to speak, grin-
ned slyly while Women Officers
quickly escorted the young girl
away.
“All right,” James . said. “You
caught me. But what’s so wrong
about that?”
“Just. a matter of incest,” Wil-
liams said coldly. “We have you
for three separate counts. Each of
them are good for fifty years.”
James turned white. His tiny
green eyes flashed slits of hatred
and contempt for the officers. But
he held his tongue. He would not
be so foolish as to start talking.
There were charges tougher to beat
than incest.
The officers didn’t waste much
time questioning the tight-lipped
James. Instead they questioned the
girl. She sobbed out a story which
boiled the blood of hard-bitten of-
ficers.
James had first seduced the girl
before she was eighteen—and in
another section of the country.
Then he had brought her to Cali-
fornia and for several years had
kept her to use as he wished when
the whim struck him,
“Don’t cry,” Williams told her,
“You're safe now. But tell me who
is the ‘Smith’ you mentioned,”
However, despite their hopes, the
officers were doomed to disappoint-
(Continued on page 26)
13
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SAGA OF THE SEX-CRAZY
SNAKE-MAN SLAYER
(Continued from page 13)
ment. All she could tell them was
that the ‘Smith’ was a young fel-
low who had come often to the
barber shop and who had spent a
few days at the James’s La Canada
home just before Mary’s death.
James had introduced him as a
medical student and she thought
he was going to perform an abor-
tion on Mary. ‘
Armed with a description of
‘Smith’ the officers questioned bar-
bers who worked for James. They
had never heard of medical student
named Smith but they did know
of a “Chuck” Hope who answered
the description. However they did
not know where he lived nor what
he did. One of the barbers remem-
bered that he formerly drove a
Durant automobile but was last
seen driving a new Buick.
From the State Motor Vehicle
Department the officers obtained a
list of every automobile owner
named Hope in the Los Angeles
area. This they narrowed down to
all the Hopes owning Buicks. Then,
assuming that “Chuck” was a nick-
name for Charles, they picked thé
name Charles H. Hope on North
Normandie Avenue.
Locating the Buick and _ the
apartment of Hope, officers staked
out and shadowed an attractive
woman for several days without
results. Never did they catch sight
of a man and the woman ap-
parently lived a normal life, going
to the movie, the grocery store and
beauty parlor.
Had Hope skipped town? Or were
they tailing a dumb lead?
Finally, Southard decided to
force the issue. Posing as a Los
Angeles Traffic Police Officer he
knocked on the door of the Hope
apartment. “A Durant automobile
owned by your husband has been
involved in an accident,” he said
boldly.
The woman flushed. “Why, we
don’t own a Durant. My husband
traded it off a month ago.”
Feigning surprise, Southard said,
“Oh; then he must have forgotten
to have the registration changed.
I'll notify the Department. Is this
his correct address?”
“Yes,” the woman said. “But he’s
not here now. He’s in Hermosa
Beach.”
Southard coughed to hide the
light in his face. “Then tell him
not to worry about it,” he said
quickly. “Just give me his address
down there and I’ll mail him the
slip.”
Southard scribbled the address
and ran down the stairs to his
waiting companions. “Watch that
woman that she doesn’t leave or
phone anyone,” he ordered Griffin
and Yarrow. “The rest of us will
get to Hermosa as fast as we can.”
An hour later they had the ex-
sailor in the private office of Fitts.
The nervous trembling of his hands
and the twitching of his weak face
told the officers they had their
man. But even they were not pre-
pared for the weird story which he
was to begin babbling to them af-
ter a few questions.
“I haven’t slept a night since,”
he cried. “I’ve wanted to tell some-
one. But I keep seeing his eyes.
They bore into my mind all the
time. It’s like he’s had me hypno-
tized. I’m going crazy, I tell you!”
Hope’s story was $0 fantastic that
the officers thought he might be
crazy. According to him he had
known James for several years. In
June, 1935, James had asked him
to get him some rattlesnakes, ex-
plaining that a friend of his want-
ed ‘them. He offered Hope $100 and
expenses for obtaining the snakes.
Hope first bought three hissing
rattlers from a snake dealer in Long
Beach. But after he delivered them
to James, James returned them,
saying, “I want some snakes that
are hot. Them things you got can’t
kill a chicken. I tried them.”
James then went with Hope and
picked out two seven foot Dia-
mondback rattlers at a snake-farm
in Ocean Park. He then had Hope
live at his house for a week, os-
tensibly tb build some chicken
coops and work around the place.
But the real purpose was to ar-
range for a cabinet-maker to build
a@ special box with a sliding door
for the snakes and to take care of
them in the meantime.
Gradually Hope became aware
that there was some sinister pur-
pose behind James’s action. He be-
came frightened. On Sunday, Au-
gust 5th, he returned to the James
house for the purpose of getting
the snakes back and washing his
hands of the matter, whatever it.
was.
James was in the garage when
Hope arrived. He was drinking and
poured Hope a stiff drink. “Man,
we've got the real thing now,” he
smiled. “These babies are hot.
Come here, I’ll show you.”
In another part of the garage
James pointed to three dead chick-
ens. “I was testing out the snakes.
Them chickens didn’t live ten min-
utes after one of the rattlers bit
them. Boy!”
Hope told him that he was get-
ting out. “No you’re not,” James
suddenly snarled. “You're in this
and you're staying in. I’m going
to kill my wife. I'll take care of
you when I collect the insurance.”
He leaned closer and closer to the
cringing Hope. “You'll do as I say
or I'll kill you, too. Now pick up
that box and bring it in the house.”
Obediently, Hope lifted the hiss-
ing box and followed. Inside the
house, roped to the breakfast nook
table, her eyes and mouth sealed
with adhesive tape, was the
squirming body of Mary, each love-
ly detail concealed only by a thin
pink nightie. Without word James
pointed to her dangling feet, in-
dicating that Hope should hold the
box near.
James grabbed Mary’s left foot,
jerked open the box and pushed
the foot inside. There was a vio-
lent singing of the rattle, a sicken-
ing hiss and the big snake struck!
“Okay, take the box back to the
garage,” James ordered, his tiny
green eyes gleaming with satisfac-
tion. Phas
Later Hope took the snakes and
sold them back to the man he'd
bought them from for seventy
cents per pound, the standard
wholesale price. Then he threw the
FTO Ee
z
oe Bob James—red-haired,
Pe pasty-complexioned master
barber—was apparently
brimming over with high
yirits. While skillfully steering his car
‘rough the congested traffic of Los
Angeles streets, he kept up a running-
ire of conversation with his two passen-
sers—James Pemberton and his fiancée,
Miss Viola Luecks.
“Jim, when are you and Viola going
‘0 take the fatal leap?” he bantered.
The man and the girl in the rear seat
sxchanged amused glances.
“Sooner than you think, perhaps,”
Pemberton replied.
“Well, there’s nothing like married life.
lought to know—this is my fifth shot at
i” Bob James laughed heartily: “I’ve
ure got what it takes when it comes to
tals, haven’t I, Jim?”
Miss Luecks was slightly embarrassed.
Ste thought Bob’s comments sometimes
exceeded the bounds of good taste. De-
iberately she changed the subject.
‘§ “How’s Mary?” she asked.
“Mary hasn’t been feeling any, too well
ately. That’s why I wanted you folks to
come out home with me tonight. Thought
naybe you might cheer her up.”
For a while he drove in silence, obvi-
sly engrossed ‘in his own thoughts. It
vas a perfect August night, cooled by a
ntle breeze scented with the delicate
fagrance of orange blossoms. Etched
gainst the star-studded sky were the
CLUE OF
THE
rugged outlines of the foothills that form
a picturesque backdrop for the peaceful
little community known as La Canada.
“Well, here we are,” James said, finally
stopping the car in front of an attractive
white stucco bungalow set well back
from the street and almost surrounded
by tall shrubbery. “But the honeymoon
cottage is dark!” he exclaimed. ‘Gosh!
I hope Mary’s not asleep!”
“If she is, it’ll be just too bad for her,”
Viola laughed. “We’ll wake her up.”
A moment later the trio entered the
darkened house. James snapped on a
light.
“Mary! We’ve got company!” His voice
echoed hollowly through the silent rooms.
Swiftly the bewildered husband made
a survey of the entire house. ‘“She’s not
here,” he said. “I don’t’ know what to
make of it.”
“Probably visiting some of the neigh-
bors,” Pemberton suggested. :
“Not a chance. She doesn’t know any
of them.” James walked into the kitchen,
took two large flashlights from a cabinet,
and handed one to Pemberton. “The
truth is, Mary’s going to have a baby.
She’s been having dizzy spells, and I’m
afraid the. poor kid may have fainted.
We’ve got tofind her. You take the front
yard Jim, and I’ll look out back. She may
have fallen down somewhere.”
Pemberton hurried to do his friend’s
bidding, while Viola Luecks stood on the
front porch, suddenly possessed by fear.
e
The bride’s drowning was tragic, but none suspected
demonic implications until the barber talked too much
“She’s not out here,” Pemberton called.
“I’ll look around this side of the house.”
Meanwhile James had made an inspec-
tion of the rear grounds, where his wife
often went to feed the chickens and rab-
bits.
“Bob!”
It was Pemberton calling him. Beads
of sweat glistened on Bob James’ sallow
face as he started toward the front of
the house.
“Bob, old man,” Pemberton said
gravely, “better brace yourself. She’s
gone.”
“Gone! What d’you mean? Where is
she?” i‘
“She’s dead, Bob, drowned. I just
found her lying face downward in ‘the
fishpond.”
“Oh, Lord!” James broke into sobs,
covered his face with his hands.. “I was
afraid—I knew something had happened
to her. Oh, Jim, what am I going to do!”
“Buck up, oldman. It might have hap-
pened to any woman in her condition.
Now, pull yourself together. We’ve got
to notify the authorities.”
James shook off his friend’s restrain-
ing arm. “Let me go to her!”
He ran to the edge of the fishpond,
knelt beside the still form of his twenty-
seven-year-old bride, who lay with her
head and shoulders submerged in the
shallow pool, blond hair entangled in
the water-lilies that grew in thick pro-
fusion over the surface of the pond. His
yen Oe
RATTLERS
By EUGENE WILLIAM Ss, Former Deputy District Attorney of Los Angeles County, Calif.
as told to M. K. ARNOLD
48
Mrs. Mary Busch James, who was murdered
shortly after marriage to Robert James
“At that time,” he declared, “I saw a tall, blond woman
standing near the chicken Coops on the James property. I
think she was Mrs. James,”
Mary James was tall and distinctly blond. According to
that day until closing time,
The county autopsy surgeon reported that in his Opinion
the deceased came to her death “ag g result of drowning, with
acute cellulitis of the left foot and leg following laceration of
the left great toe, asa contributing factor.”
On August 16th, at the coroner’s inquest, J. ames offered
testimony to the effect that he believed the fatal accident was
due to his wife’s physical condition,
“Mary loved to watch the goldfish in the pool,” he said,
wiping moisture from his eyes. “She seemed fascinated by
them and watched them by the hour. We had been married
just three months. Mary told me seven weeks before she died
that she was expecting a baby. She became ill and I put
her under a physician’s care, She must have fainted and fallen
into the pool.” :
Dr. James George corroborated the statement that Mrs.
Miss Blanche Rowe, brown-eyed, attractive twenty-year-
old close relative of Robert J. ames, testified that “Uncle Bob”
had been in his combination barber and beauty shop during
the entire day of August 5th from 8: 30 a.m. until 7 P.M. Miss
Rowe gave her occupation as manicurist in his shop. Her
However, the accidental drowning theory was eventually
accepted by the authorities, and the case was automatically
closed. :
James freely discussed his previous Marriages with investi-
gators and newspaper reporters.
Shortly after the close of World War I, he had wooed and
ended in the divorce courts,
In July, 1932, he was wed in Los Angeles to Miss Winona
Wallace after a persistent courtship that had its beginning in
his place of business, where he specialized in the cutting and
shampooing of women’s hair.
side and came to rest on a rocky ledge,
“The steering-gear must have broken,” James explained. “I
was thrown clear of the car and escaped without a Scratch. My
wife went down with it. She suffered a skull fracture and was
in a hospital for several weeks. Soon after leaving the hos-
pital we stopped at an auto camp near Manitou. One after-
noon when I returned from the post office, I found Winona dead
in the bathtub of our cottage. She had evidently tried to wash
her hair in the tub, although the doctor had warned her not to
attempt it. She must have fainted and drowned.”
In 1934, James Said, he married a girl in New Orleans. That
Mary James’ pitiful remains were buried in beautiful Forest
When forced to stay in room near tub (above)
one witness confessed his part in the crime .
‘
Police officials, listening to conversation in suspect's
ouse by use of dictpgraphs, learn important information
won Miss Maude Duncan of Birmingham, Alabama. A few
years later they were divorced. Miss Vera Vermillion of Em-
poria, Kansas, had been his second wife. That Marriage also
» Was at the wheel
As she attempted to steer
around a curve of the perilous down-grade, the car went out of
control, plunged one hundred and fifty feet down the mountain-
Pree
Lawn
James
Los
of the
paper;
suranc
of a ¢s
James
Rob
Court
heard,
riage i
“Tt
policy
Mrs.
legally
Ina
had m:
policy,
“She
gone t}
month:
beer p
pronou
haven"
moniou
I’d bett
the firs:
Marrie<
Co-author
(glasses)
as Captai
ard point:
hands tugged frantically at her rigid body.
Pemberton forcibly pulled him aside.
“Stop it, Bob,’ he commanded sternly.
“We'll have to leave her just as she is
for a while. It’s the law.” Taking the
distraught man by the arm, he led him
into the ‘house where Viola Luecks, her
face white with terror, awaited them.
“Vi, you stay here with Bob while I go
and notify the sheriff’s office. I'll be back
in a few minutes.”
Pemberton returned shortly afterward
with Deputy Sheriffs J. P. Twohey and J.
H. Jones, of the Montrose substation. He
had explained the known facts to the
officers. Mrs. James had been subject to
nausea and dizziness as a result of her
condition; evidently, while watching the
goldfish in the pond, she had fainted,
toppled over into the water and drowned.
Bob James sat near by with his head
buried in his arms, shoulders heaving
occasionally as dry sobs racked his pow-
erful frame.
Twohey and Jones made a cursory ex-
amination of the dead girl’s body before
telephoning the coroner. She wore a
thin, flowered, silk dress and blue bou-
doir slippers. Her skirt, pulled well over
her knees, revealed bare legs.
“It’s been a terrible shock to Bob,”
Pemberton explained. “She was appar-
ently feeling all right when he left for
work this morning at 7 o’clock.”
Twohey shook his head in perplexity.
“It’s a strange thing that she could have
drowned in this pool. The water’s only
eight inches deep.”
“And notice that left leg,” Jones said.
“Swollen to twice the size of the other
one. Had she been ‘in an accident?”
“Not that I know of,” Pemberton re-
plied.
“She must have been.
See?” The
Photograph of the fiendish murderer taken as he
awaited trial in Los Angeles County for his crime
officer held his flashlight close to the
girl’s lower extremities and pointed to
the darkly discolored skin. ‘Blood has
coagulated there.”
“Maybe Bob can tell you something
about it.”
But Bob James was still unable to an-
swer any questions. He could only shake
his head negatively.
From a small table Twohey picked up
an unsealed envelope addressed to a Mrs.
R. H. Stewart at Las Vegas, Nevada. He
withdrew a sheet of paper from the en-
velope. A brief note was scrawled un-
evenly across the page. Twohey read
aloud:
“Dear Sis: Just a line to let you
know I am pretty sick. My leg is all
swollen. Something bit me while
watering in the garden. Am having
lots of bad luck. This is old blue
Monday, but my daddy will be home
early tonight, and he takes good care
of me.”
The note was signed “Mary.”
“So that accounts for the swollen leg,”
Twohey remarked. “It must have been
some insect, to cause all that swelling
and discoloration. I think we’ll send for
a doctor.”
However, the physician who arrived
soon afterward could throw but little
additional light on the subject of the
swollen limb.
“She was probably bitten by a black
widow spider,” he said. “I’m not familiar
with that type of poisoning, but a chemi-
cal analysis would very likely establish
the fact definitely.”
In the meanwhile, Deputy Sheriff A. L.
Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s
Bureau of Investigation had arrived at
the James bungalow,
Deputies Twohey and Jones. The un-
mailed letter Mrs. James had written
to her sister was turned over, and all ‘
known facts in the case relayed to him.
The coroner, notified of the death, or-
dered the body removed to an undertak-
ing parlor, pending an inquest.
After a brief conversation with James,
Mr. Pemberton turned to Hutchinson.
“Bob is naturally pretty badly
shocked,” he said.
more we can do here, I’d like to take him
home with me for the night.”
“T guess it’s all right. We’ll wait for
the undertaker.” :
On the drive back to Los Angeles, Bob
what from the terrible ordeal he had just
undergone. He seemed principally con- |
summoned by >
“If there’s nothing }
. James appeared to have recovered some- |
cerned over the fact that: he might in >
some way be held accountable for his ;
wife’s death.
“You see,” he said anxiously, “my |
third wife drowned in a bathtub in Colo- >
rado about three years ago. It doesn’t
look so good for me. If Mary had to die,
I wish it had happened some other way.
The cops will ask a lot of questions.”
Viola Luecks turned horrified eyes
upon‘him.
he could think only of a possible incon-
venience to himself when his young bride
lay dead.
On the following morning Captain Nor-
ris Stensland, Chief Inspector of the
Sheriff’s Bureau of Investigation, de-
tailed Deputies Virgil Gray and Willard
Killion to investigate the death of Mrs,
Mary James.
The victim’s husband was brought to |
headquarters and asked a number of
pointed questions, all of which he an-
swered with apparent willingness.
<
It struck her as strange that |
¥
Picture (below) of diamond-back rattlesnakes similar to |
those used in this case. Joseph "Snake Joe'' Houtenbrink ...
Hie ve
Robert §
“My re
explaine
never li
years agc
‘Bob Jan
“How
this wor
“Abou
I’ve bee:
record fi
old, wou
“Yes, -
terested
you’ve hi:
cumstan«
“T unc
you abo)
wouldn’t
I'll say t}
She was
“Did
“Yes, :
It sort
happen -
right in:
Mary mi
drowned
“We're
Killion s
she carry
“She fb
ried dou
accident:
Questi
of the Ja
tion thai
sibility «
the case.
A nei;
officer, s
morning
at the r:
,
He volunteered the information that
Robert S. James was not his true name.
“My real monicker’s an awful one,” he
explained. “It is ‘Major Lisenba.’ I’ve
never liked it, and dropped it twenty
years ago. Since then I’ve used the name
‘Bob James.’ Suits me better.”
“How long have you been married to
this woman?”
“About three ‘months. Incidentally,
I've been married five times. Quite a
record for a man only thirty-nine years
old, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes, ’d say it is. But we're not in-
terested at this time in how many wives
you've had. We’re investigating the cir-
cumstances of this death.”
“I understand, but I thought I’d tell
you about my other marriages so you
wouldn’t think I was holding out'on you.
I'll say this: Mary was the best of the lot.
She was a fine girl.” ‘
“Did Mrs. James carry any insurance?”
“Yes, and in a:way, I’m sorry she did.
It sort of puts me on the spot. But I
happen to be able to prove that I was
right in my own barber-shop at the time
Mary must have fallen in the pond and
drowned.”
“We’re not accusing you of anything,”
Killion said. “How much insurance did
she carry?”
“She had two $5,000 policies that car-
ried double indemnity clauses in case of
accidental death.”
Questioning of residents in the vicinity
of the James bungalow elicited informa-
tion that seemed to eliminate any pos~
sibility of foul play in connection with
the case. °—
A neighbor, a retired English’ army
officer, stated that at 9:30 the previous
morning he had gone to the incinerator
at the rear of his estate to burn trash.
... (at right), with one of his
"nets''—but not the one rented
Arrow points to spot in the lily pond
where the victim's body was discovered
Rites ce
84
Hope said he and his wife s
evening Playing
lowed by an acquainta
Hope’s car, Hope drove
white cottage in La
1 o’clock Monday mo
After berating Hop
car so long, James said:
t
He accepted
S as an advance fe
On Beach. There he
TS which he promptly
pent Sunday
with friends, Fol-
nce who drove his,
in James’ car to the
Canada, arriving at
U foreed her lo write
r that made t
an accident—g
Said the auth
chance to obtain the
a letter to her q
twenty dollar.
hing look like 3
ave him a perfect alibi. He ;
brocured three rattle orities would
delivered to James.
the pitiful note left E
I could visualize the :
wly dying of a snake's ©
writing the words her
having kept his
“She’s not dead
venom, laboriously
fiendish mate dictate
The reference
on the toe, the
to conceal her ow
at he told the
glad of that,”
“I'm going in
Hope virtuously declared th
would-be wife Slayer he
whereupon Ja
and drown he
to the swollen leg, the “cut” 4
mes replied: insect” bite—al] designed
more. I gave
like the first €y wouldn’t bite
“Were they all rattlesnakes?” Mr, Fitts
ked.
“Yes, sir, diamond-
James gave me
me to bring hi
that is, the kin
A moment later
r. The snake didn’t
Tous crime his.
“I kept on dri 6:30 he shook d, his face went «
me by the sho
dead since 4 0’
up. Come and
nking and at
ulder and sai
clock. The hous
cc.
“do you know this
help me carry
“Yes, I know him,” he said.
i I repeated to him the gruesome
Bob’s barbershop Ope. His eyes re.
As he got in
no third party in
Some insuranc
woman’s toe.
and towels in a “Then,” I continu
“He told me to get rid of
He had his wife
reakfast-room t Over to you any
ames kill his wife?”
stuck her bare foot in it.
e rattlers back to ‘Snake Joe’s’
“That is the story
to us. Have you an
Hope has just dictated
the woman?” ything to add to it?” before going to |
r make any kind of an hing. By that sin
ttle moan once.
se with that ta
She couldn’t
pe over her
“She gave a li
make much noi room table?”
“Yes, he did. As w
morning, after we'd
pond, he told me n
e drove into town that
put her in the fish-
ot to be so nervous,
“Go on with your story!” Mr, Fitts said
finally in a voice trembling
“think-
for several weeks |. ‘
ission of the crime, rang fir
was in Long Beach told Hop
Better Than Eyer!!!
THE DICK HAYMES SHOW
Lops in Music! with Martha Tilton
Gordon Jenkins’ Orchestra—Clift Arquette
Carried insurance, }2 dt
or I told him, 1/)9nd the
Show gets more
Dick's beautiful serenading,
arbling and Cliff's comedy
y night a holiday of music
it this Thursday night,
No wonder the Dick Haymes'
Popular each week!
Martha's rhythmic w
make every Thursda
CBS Stations
THURSDAY NIGHT
a coup
himsel|
rattlers
walking ;
same wa}
his rattle.
them.
“Then
kept it a;
drunk anc
have to do
and they’)
threw his .
“Finally
could get .
Was on Sat
and he wen
My Barage ;
and was Pp)
the next mo
“Now, he
went on co;
7 Was pregna:
health and \
j Posed as a m:
Perform an a,
taped and ti
himself, | ‘le
Sunday after;
was in bed ;
Performed th
into the helpless | foot in the bos
her, but the
aside from mz
“Naturally, i
4 all night, Abo
ing he came be
Over and I saic
he thought we
‘They'll know
80ing to talk.
smokes cigaret;
"People die by
the house up’,”
According to
took a long driy.
Hope called for
the fact that M:
James inquired
had been burned
“He said, ‘No, ]
and drowned her
4¥the worst thing
ad a wife drown
a little while ago!
on extenuatingly,
If he had, he wou}
When the consc
story, in
8 on Hoy
e he had '
James, would tak,
weren’t enough m
ney’s office to ma}
re wouldn
“James,” Mr. F;
making this statem
if you will. Did y
ack in Colorado?’
“No, that was all ;
“You admit, how.
were to split the m
ary’s insurance pe
“That's it,”
“And although you
the actual killing, 4
it be done? That w:
“That was all righ;
He was questionc:
82
CLUE OF THE DIAMOND-BACK RATTLERS
(Continued from page 49) Mr. Fitts were
Chief Plummer, Captain of Detectives Jack
Southard, Investigator Scott Littleton and
myself. Mr. Fitts had told me that if suffi-
cient evidence was obtained from which to
base an indictment, I would be assigned
to prosecute James. For that reason I
worked side by side with the officers dur-
ing the entire investigation.
“It looks as if we’re up against a blank
wall,” Mr. Fitts said. “Has anyone a sugges-
tion to offer?” :
Jack Southard, youthful and energetic,
and with a fine record of achievement al-
ready to his credit, spoke up:
“T’ye been doing some scouting around,”
he said, “and I find that this fellow James
is living with that young woman relative
of -his out on LaSalle Avenue. The house
next door is vacant. Now, if he killed his
wife, it’s possible he’d discuss the subject
with this girl. My idea is to install a mike
in their bungalow, rent the house next door,
and listen in on their conversations for a
while.” :
Mr. Fitts and Chief Plummer enthusias-
tically agreed that the suggestion was both
sound and feasible. Southard and Littleton
were at once ordered to make the necessary
arrangements.
Chief of Police James E. Davis was re-
quested to lend the services of Detective
Captain Earle E. Kynette and Police Lieu-
tenant W. R. Morgan, both expertly quali-
fied in the installation and operation of dic-
tographs. The request was immediately
granted. :
On April 3rd, Southard and Littleton paid
a month’s rent in advance for a house lo- -
cated in the 3800 block on LaSalle Avenue,
and moved into the dwelling. Later that
same day Captain Kynette and Lieutenant
Morgan arrived, equipped with the neces~-
sary sound-recording instruments.
Careful watch was kept on the house next
door. When the red-haired Romeo was seen
to drive away the next morning, the in-
vestigators went into action.
Entrance to the James bungalow was
effected by means of Southard’s passkey.
The officers worked swiftly, cautiously.
Within a matter of minutes two microphones
had been installed: one in the bedroom, the
other in the living room.
Wires, ingeniously concealed, led to re-
cording and amplifying instruments next
door. Two sets of earphones and dozens of
blank phonograph records were on hand.
An: expert stenographer had been sum-
moned from the district attorney’s office.
From the first conversations overheard it
was evident that Robert S. James exerted a
powerful and evil influence over his young
kinswoman.
From his own salacious remarks the in-
vestigators learned that James was addicted
to unspeakable vices. He delighted in in-
flicting physical torture upon his loves, and
in turn demanded that he be lashed with a
small, supple whip kept for that purpose.
Frequently Blanche Rowe was absent
from the house during the evenings, and on
those occasions he substituted other women
as his companions. ~
Finally Southard and Littleton heard the
lecherous barber mention the subject of his
wife’s death. They caught only a fragment
of a sentence—but enough to convince them
that murder had been.committed.
« |... I suppose,” he was heard to say,
“your mammy thinks I disappeared after I
killed Mary.” The comment was followed
by ribald laughter on his part.
On another occasion he was discussing
with Blanche the fact that a woman ac-
quaintance had recently spurned his offer
of marriage.
“She’s afraid of me,” he said. “She don’t
need to be. Does she think I’d kill her the
same way I killed my other wife?”
Several times the name ‘“‘Hope” was in-
jected into James’ conversation. It ap-
peared that he and “Hope” had once been on
very friendly terms, but now relations be-
tween the two were strained because of
“Hope’s” frequent demands for money.
“I’ll ‘see him in hell before I give him
another dime!” James threatened.
We felt that the jumbled pattern of the
puzzle was at last taking definite shape. If
only we could get a line on the man named
Hope!
At last Captain Southard overheard a
reference to Hope’s “green Buick automo-
bile.” He was elated. It should not be too
difficult to trace Hope’s address from the
automobile registration department of the
State Division of Motor Vehicles.
For fifteen days Southard, Littleton, Cap-
tain Kynette and Lieutenant Morgan stuck
to their posts in the vacant house, nerves
strained almost to the breaking point in
their efforts to miss no single word coming
to them over the wires from the sensitive
instruments in the house next door. Assist-
ing them from time to time were District
Attorney Fitts, Assistant Chief Charles
Griffen of the Bureau of Investigation, In-
PERFECT CRIME
Every day, Joseph Belasich goes
to the post office at Riverside, IIli-
nois and picks up the mail for
the Riverside National Bank. For
several days he had noted two men
in the vicinity about the time he
called. He didn’t realize they had
been watching him until one
morning when they stopped him
at an alley soon after he had
picked up the mail. One of them
had a gun.
Belasich didn’t resist as the
other man took his satchel and
emptied it of many fat envelopes,
stuffing them into a bag. The rob-
bers then fled, making a clean get-
away.
The fat envelopes contained
about $75,000 in checks—all
canceled. —wW. T. Brannon
vestigators Harry Dean and Everett Davis
and myself:
Finally on Sunday morning, April 19th,
it was decided to spring the trap.
All of the above-named officials, together
with several others, had gathered at the
La Salle Avenue house, prepared for any
emergency.
Lieutenant Morgan sat with ears glued
to the receiver. At last he lifted his right
hand....
“Now’s the time to take them!” he whis-
pered excitedly.
Kitchen chairs, to be used as ladders,
were swiftly placed beneath two windows
of the bungalow occupied by Bob James
and Blanche Rowe. Southard leaped up on
one of them, silently pushed up the previ-
ously-soaped bedroom window-frame and
swung himself over the sill, gun in hand.
For a moment James and the girl were
unaware of his presence.
“Put up your hands!” barked Southard.
The girl screamed wildly. .Half-fainting,
she could only moan and sob as she realized
the significance of her plight.
“What the hell is this,” James demanded.
“A stickup?”
By this time Investigator Dean had en-
. me to California in 1933, I begged mother to
tered through a rear window. é
“We're officers,” Southard said. “Get your
clothes on!”
“What’s the rap?”
“You filthy rotter! Isn’t that girl your
own flesh-and-blood relative?”
“What of it?” James sneered. :
The still blustering barber and the sob-
bing woman were taken to the county jail. ©
The girl was held as a material witness.
On the following day James was indicted ©
by the Grand Jury on statutory charges. |
Bail was set at $25,000, and the accused or-
dered to appear for trial on May 25th before |
Superior Court Judge Joseph Vickers.
As may be surmised, only an unusual |
combination of tragic circumstances had |
conspired to entrap an attractive, gentle-
mannered girl in the bitterly humiliating
position in which Blanche Rowe now found
herself. It was a pity that this human beast
had ever got hold of her. According to the
story she told Marjorie Fairchild, District
Attorney’s investigator, Blanche had known
nothing but poverty and household drudg-
ery in a large family in Alabama until
“Uncle Bob” had condescended to take no-
tice of her existence a few years before.
“In my whole life up to the time he came
to visit us,” Blanche said, “I’d never done
anything but work, work, work! We were
so poor we had to accept charity. I wanted
to get away from home, to be like other
girls; have pretty clothes, go to dances and
have beaux. So when Bob offered to take
let me go. She finally consented and we
started for California in his car. I was
eighteen then. We lived in auto camps till
we got.to Los Angeles, where we rented an
apartment for a month.
“Then he took me back to Alabama. In
January, 1934, he came and got me again
and we returned to Los Angeles. We lived
together until May, 1935, when he was sup-
posed to have married Mary Busch. ‘I took
an apartment by myself then. All that time
I was working as a manicurist for Bob. He
didn’t pay me anything for the first six
months while ‘I was learning the business,
but after that he let me keep what I made,
except for my half of the rent, which
amounted to fifteen dollars a month.
“Six months after Mary died he rented
this bungalow on La Salle Avenue and again
took me to live with him. I’ve always had to
do what he wanted. I didn’t know how to
go about finding another job, and he kept .
reminding me of how much I owed him.”
Sometimes the girl forgot her embarrass-
ment and launched into bitter condemna-
tion of the beast who had wrecked her life.
“Believe me, I paid for all I got from him!
I hated him! He was mean, overbearing,
beastly in every way! But I was afraid to
try to get away from him. I never had
enough money to strike out for myself, and
anyway, he’d have followed me. I was afraid
he would kill me.”
While. I was engaged in preparing my
case against James, weird, shocking rumors
had reached the ears of our district attor-
ney. It was whispered that Mary James had
been tortured to death by the sadist.
Accordingly Mr. Fitts ordered that every
resource of his office be used in a final effort
to clear up what remained of the mystery
concerning the death of Mrs. Mary James.
Southard and Littleton, under Chief
Plummer’s direction, undertook the assign-
ment. ’
A few days before, Southard: had re-
quested the State Motor Vehicle Depart-
ment at Sacramento to forward to him by
telegraph the addresses of every person in
the state named Hope to whom an automo-
bile was registered.
It was on the evening of May Ist that
Southard received his list. A few minutes
later, he started on his quest.
At each address listed, he searched for a
doors he
locked wi
At 7 O’cavcen
dresses remain
that of Charl
mandie Avenu:
car registered
Weary to th
ard went hom«
and had a hot
then back to tl
to Mr. Fitts an
night. ad
He called his
at 11 a.m. they
unchecked add
ing on South N
Southard indic
parked a few
number 7U552(
“There’s our
It was decid
a traffic invest:
ment, should gc
ing in an ende:
He was dire:
Hope apartmer
answered his k
“Mr. Hope in
“T’m investigati
I'd like to talk
“Why,” the v
surprise, ‘we
And besides, M
“Well, I’m ve
information in
the record, I'll |
present addres:
“Well,” the w
fully, “just now
mosa Avenue é
Southard jott
Twenty-two
ton pulled up i
seventeen mile:
As they ente:
a_ thick-should:
thirty-five vear
a counter.
“You're
ton asked.
“That’s me. ‘
‘Do you kn
James?”
The blood s|
face. “I know
what about it?”
“You're unde
Mrs. Mary Jam
Hope, obviot
straight to the
where he was
several of us ta!
him.
Stubbornly t!
knew nothing
James.
“Somebody’s ;
“T don’t know v
“Hope,” I said
You’re just wa
when you put «
going to get al!
not come clean ;
He lifted hage
“Well,” he saic .
went out to see |
night or early M
wife was dead a
her body out to :
that she’d drow:
he was afraid he
her. For that r
as if she’d dro:
pretty drunk, bi
carry her body o
“And that’s no
cused. “Keep or
“T’ve told you
me!”
We hammeréd
green Buick sedan. Some of the 7
-
\
indow.
lard said. “Get your
'sn’t that girl] your
ative?”
neered,
arber and the sob-
‘ to the county jail.
naterial witness,
James was indicted
statutory charges,
ind the accused or-
on May 25th before
seph Vickers,
only an unusual
circumstances had
attractive, gentle-
itterly humiliating
e Rowe now found
t this human beast
. According to the
Fairchild, District
slanche had known
household drudg-
in Alabama unti)
ended to take no-
W years before.
the time he came
. “T’d never done
. work! We were
charity. I wanted
to be like other
g0 to dances and
'D Offered to take
begged mother to
onsented and we
his car. I was
n auto camps till
ere we rented an
labama. In
% me again
‘pvaed. We lived
hen he was sup-
y Busch. “I took
‘n. All that time
‘ist for Bob. He
or the first six
ng the business,
‘Pp what I made,
ie rent, which
a month,
died he rented
venue and again
‘e always had to
‘'t know how to
b, and he kept
. I owed him.”
ler embarrass-
‘ter condemna-
recked her life.
got from him!
1, Overbearing,
‘ was afraid to
I never had
tor myself, and
ne. I was afraid
preparing my
\ocking rumors
district attor-
lary James-had
le sadist.
red that every
ina final effort
ft the mystery
Mary James.
under Chief
ok the assign-
hard had re-
‘hicle Depart-
ard to him by
ery person in
man automo-
May Ist that
\ few minutes
hed for a
e garage
doors he tried were open; others he un-
locked with Passkeys. He worked all night.
At 7 o’clock next morning only two ad-
then back to the office, where he explained
to Mr. Fitts and me how he had Spent the
night.
He called his Partner, Scott Littleton, and
.
at 11 a.m, they drove up to one of the still
He was directed by the Manager to the
Hope apartment. A pleasant-faced woman
answered.his knock.
“Mr. Hope in?” Southard asked politely.
‘T’m investigating an automobile crash and
Id like to talk to him.”
“Why,” the woman exclaimed in genuine
‘
And besides, Mr. Hope’s out of the city.”
“Well, I'm very glad to be able to put that
present address,”
“Well,” the woman said somewhat doubt-
fully, “just now he’s running a cafe on Her-
mosa Avenue at Hermosa Beach.”
Southard jotted down the address,
a thick-shouldered, flat-nosed man about
thirty-five years of age slicing bread behind
a counter,
“You're Charlie Hope, aren’t you?” Little-.
ton asked,
“That's me. ‘Chuck’ Hope to my friends.”
“Do you know a barber named Bob
James?”
The blood slowly receded from Hope’s
face. “I know him,” he faltered. “What—
what about it?”
“You’re under arrest for the murder of
Mrs. Mary James!”
Hope, obviously unnerved, was driven
straight to the D.A.’s office in Los Angeles,
where he was interrogated for two hours,
several of us taking turns firing questions at
him,
Stubbornly the man reiterated that he
knew nothing about the death of Mary
James,
“Somebody’s made a mistake,” he insisted,
“I don’t know what you're talking about.”
“Hope,” I said finally, “we know the Story,
You’re just wasting your ‘time and ours
when you put on the innocent act. We're
going to get all the facts anyway, so why
not come clean and 8et this over with?”
He lifted haggard eyes to mine,
“Well,” he said, “all I know is that when I
went out to see Bob James late that Sunday
night or early Monday morning, he said his
wife was dead and asked me to help carry
her body out to the fishpond. I got the idea
that she’d drowned in the bathtub and that
he was afraid he’d be accused of murdering
her. For that reason he wanted it to look
cused. “Keep on talking,”
“T’ve told you all I know about it, so help
me!”
We hammered away at him for another
hour in a futile effort to elicit further ad-
“If you'll let me
Hope said finally,
more about it in
t
have a few hours’ sleep,”
“I may be able to tell you
the morning. I’m worn
As it was Nearin.
to accept his pro
booked under an
ina suburban jail
At 6 o’clock on
& midnight, we decided
The prisoner was
me and lodged
€ woman who
red the use of he
by the shoulder
her out to the fi
no use for me
Plummer ord
moving the d
to the fishpon
ead girl’s body from the house
Chief Plummer urged, “let’s
How did she die?”
angled nerves snapped
have the rest o
At last Hope’s j
under the strain,
“We killed her!”
heaven’s sake, take m
Stand it! I'l] tel] you
Promptly the officer
to the district attor
presence of several]
his almost unbeliey,
grim narrative riva
ever written by Edg:
In answer to pre
he screamed,
e€ out of here,
the whole story!”
S escorted Hope back
ar Allan Poe,
have you known Bob James?”
he was asked.
“T’ve been acqu
seven years, but |’
timately since |
n stated that }
ainted with him about
ve only known him in-
1e had called at
t June, at which
time he was nemployed,” and
if he would like
explaining that
Pay that sum for
ndred dollars,
nd who would
some live rattlesnakes,
Hope admitted that he had jumped at the
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~
ia. A few
ion of Em-
rriage also
iss Winona
‘ginning in
utting and
d his bride
th Dakota,
eak, famed
t the wheel
2d to steer
went out of
mountain-
slained. “I
cratch. My
ire and was
ig the hos-
One after-
Jinona dead
ied to wash
i her not to
eans. That
itiful Forest
suspect's
faemation
Lawn Memorial Park, Los Angeles, not far from where Winona
James lay in eternal sleep.
Los Angeles had all but forgotten the “fishpond” drowning
of the young wife when, in November of that same year, news-
papers carried a brief item to the effect that a well-known in-
surance company had petitioned the courts for a cancellation
of a $5,000 policy issued on the life of Mrs. Mary Busch
James.
Robert James vigorously opposed this action. To Superior
Court Judge Frank G. Swain, before whom the case was being
heard, he made a surprising admission in regard to his mar-
riage to his last wife.
“It is true,” he said, “that we weren’t married when the
policy was applied for last June 3rd, and she gave her name as
Mrs. Mary James and named me as beneficiary. But we were
legally married on July 19th, 1935, in Santa Ana, California!”
In answer to the insurance company’s claim that Mrs. James
had made false representations at the time of applying for the
policy, James said:
“She didn’t know she was making false representations. I’d
gone through a fake marriage ceremony with her a couple of
months before that. It was performed by a man I met ina
beer parlor the night before, and he came to the house and
pronounced us man and wife. I gave him ten dollars and
haven’t seen him since. Then,” James continued with a sancti-
monious smile, ‘after Mary applied for the insurance, I decided
I'd better tell her it wasn’t a real minister who had officiated at
the first ceremony. I did so, and on July 19th we were legally
married. That was seventeen days before she died.”
Co-author Williams
(glasses) watches
a Captain South-
ard points to clue
Despite the callousness of this admission, which revealed
James as a dishonest, scheming trickster in his relations
with his deceased wife, his testimony uncovered nothing
that would enable the insurance company to successfully
combat his claim. At least so it must have appeared, for on
the following day, November 20th, trial of this lawsuit
ended abruptly when attorneys for both sides requested
that the case be marked off the calendar, pending settle-
ment negotiations.
A few days later it was reliably reported that James had
accepted the sum of $3,500 from the company in an out-of-
court compromise.
Once more the name of the romantically inclined barber
disappeared from the newspapers—but not for long.
On March 6th, 1936, from the window of his establish-
ment at Eighth and Olive Streets in downtown Los Angeles,
James saw a pretty woman standing on the corner. With
unprecedented boldness he sallied forth from his shop and
accosted her.
“Hello, Babe,” he said, grinning. “How about going to a
dance with me tonight?”
The woman addressed turned amazed and scornful eyes
upon him. “Certainly not!” she snapped. “And if you
speak to me again, I’ll have you arrested!”
“Oh! The high-hat type, eh? Think you’re too good to
go out with me. Why, you. fe,
Almost before the insulting words were out of his mouth
he had received a resounding slap across the face.
Like an infuriated animal the would-be masher struck
back, at the same time shouting vile curses.
The traffic officer on the corner, attracted by the woman’s
screams, promptly arrested James on a charge of disturbing
the peace. Efforts of his attorney to have the case dismissed
proved unavailing, and on April 8th James was found
guilty as charged and fined $50.
Meanwhile the dashing widower had brought suit against
another life insurance company in an effort to collect
double indemnity on the second $5,000 policy on the life
of his lately deceased wife.
However, he failed to convince a jury that his claim was
valid. The insurance company proved that false represen-
tations had been made by the insured at the time the policy
was applied for, and a decision was rendered in favor of the
company. : .
Disgruntled, but helpless to change the verdict, James
resigned himself to the loss of the ripe plum that had
seemed within his grasp.
It was a few days later that a representative of this last
insurance company called upon District Attorney Buron
Fitts and suggested a reopening of the investigation into
the death of Mrs. Mary James. Mr. Fitts ordered Clyde
Plummer, Chief of the Bureau of Investigation, to make
an exhaustive inquiry into all phases of the eight-month-
old case. ,
Chief Plummer detailed Investigators Lloyd Yarrow and
Jesse Winn to assist him in this task.
Asked again to relate all the facts in connection with his
wife’s death, James turned on his interrogators defiantly.
“Listen,” he said. ‘You’ve got nothing on me, but of
course I know you’d like to pin a murder rap on me if.
you could. That seems to be the main ambition of guys
like you, but in this case you can’t get away with it.”
“You’re mistaken in thinking we’re trying to .persecute
you,” Yarrow said evenly, “but I don’t mind telling you
that if we dig up any facts linking you with your wife’s
death, we’ll bring you to trial.”
“Yes? Just try and do it!” James retorted contempt-
uously.
Step by step Winn and Yarrow rechecked all the facts
brought to light by previous investigators, without unearth-
ing a single new clue indicating that Mary James’ death
had been other than accidental.
The neighbor who stated he had seen a tall blond woman
in the back yard of the James residence at 9:30 on the
morning of August 5th, 1935, was re-questioned, but he
could add nothing to his original story. All witnesses
who had testified at the coroner’s inquest were again
interviewed. No new information was obtained.
Finally District Attorney Fitts.called a conference in his
, office for the purpose of determining what further action
could be taken. Present, besides (Continued on page 82)
LISEMBA, Major, white, 1:7, hanced San Quentin (Los Angeles) May 1,%
NO DEATH MORE HORRIBLE
Once every blue moon, so to
speak, a murder is committed
which, for breath-taking horror
and sheer diabolical ingenuity,
surpasses even our most cynical
appraisal of our fellow men.
Such a classic among the annals
of crime is the following; a true
story of murder which we don’t
believe you’ll ever forget. Read
it, and see if you don’t agree.*
: Los Angeles, Calif.
O BOB JAMES, barber and
man-about-town, murder was
more than a mere avocation. It
was a way of life, and a profit-
able profession. too. For, as he was the
last to admit—he was practically at the
door of the Death House before he
would admit anything—there’s nothing
like a carefully thought out killing to
fill the bank account to the bursting
point.
Of course, his needs were modest.
*
Even such an imaginative man as Mr.
James might have had difficulty in
keeping his larder stocked with caviar
and champagne. But, as a reasonable
character, his needs were small. All he
wanted out of life was an opportunity
to avoid too much hard work, and to
satiate his overwhelming yen for the
physical charms of his young and
shapely niece, Linda Warner.
Right at the beginning, however, it
ought to be made crystal clear that
Linda had nothing to do with the gory
details. Although she was obviously
aware of what was going on, neither
legally nor anyway else could she be
(a
cording to specifications.” f
THE BLONDE IN THE SNAKE PIT continued
a hundred bucks, cash down, if you
can get me a pair of the meanest,
strongest, deadliest rattlers in Los
Angeles. Whattaya say?”
“Gimme the money!” Charlie was as
direct as his friend.
“Hold on. Not so fast. I want re-
sults. Here’s twenty on account.” Bob
handed him a crisp bill. “You get the
rest later, when you’ve delivered ac-
Actually, the hundred dollar invest-
ment, if it came to that, would be well
worthwhile. For example, he had net-
ted a solid $14,000 from Winona’s
murder and, true to type, he had
taken out two $5000, double-indemnity
insurance policies on Mary, from the
moment he had persuaded her to move
in with him.
He had made one small mistake at
that point. In his rush to get Mary, he
had asked another friend of his—for
$10—to pose as a minister. So that at
the time the policies were purchased,
Mary was not actually his wife.
But that was easily rectified. In a
burst of romantic tenderness, he had
suggested that to prove his undying
love for his new wife (and it was un-
dying on his part—though very much
dying on hers), they should further
solemnize their life together. She
agreed, ecstatically. And so, two
months after their “marriage,” they
were finally legally hitched.
But now, the swiftly greased skids
that Bob had placed under his “eter-
nal” marriage began to develop a few
obstacles. Charlie Hope, in short, was
more interested in rum than rattlers.
He had a great tendency to drink up
the cash that James gave him, and then
return ‘to his patron and pal with
snakes that were less than overwhelm-
ingly poisonous.
One pair, when tested with a rabbit,
merely lay quietly in their cage and
contemplated their terrified prey as if
it were a bladezof grass. Another set
Like many professional lovers he got overconfident; made fatal error.
was so docile they could actually be
fed by hand. And the third time, Char-
lie had drunk so much of the cash, that
all he could afford to purchase were
some black widow spiders.
However, on the Saturday night of
August 3rd, 1935, as James was pre-
paring to shut up shop for the night,
he saw his buddy beckoning to him
from outside the window. Giving niece
Linda, his manicurist, a playful pat on
the rump in farewell, James hurried
to join Charlie.
The drunk was . . . well, drunk! He
bowed low in a cavalier manner, sweep-
ing his hat grandly toward the ground
as he greeted Bob James. Then, point-
ing to a glass-covered box he was car-
rying, he announced grandly, “Meet
Lethal and Lightning, the two most
vicious rattlers in Los Angeles County.”
In confirmation, he tapped the box.
The three-foot diamondbacks slashed
at the glass, their forked tongues strik-
ing viciously, and a trickle of wet-
brown venom spattered the window.
James grinned and patted his friend
happily. “That ought to do the trick,”
he grunted in pleasure. “Those rattlers
ought to be able to kill—rabbits. Come
on around to the house tomorrow morn-
ing and we'll try them out. If they
work, you'll get paid. OK?”
Charlie, looking pleased with him-
self, and licking his lips in anticipation
of a fortune of folding money, depart-
ed.
Never let it be said that Bob James
was backward. His innate interest in
science was delicately piqued by the
sweeping possibilities inherent in his
forthcoming experiment. It isn’t often
that’ a man gets to practice on his wife
with a real live rattler.
Getting his wife in “condition” was
easy. The very fact of snake bite, alone
provided the answer. Mary had a nat-
ural liking for alcohol, and feeling the
nauseous pangs of pregnancy made her
fall right in with his suggestion that,
“What you need is a drink, honey!”
She had her drink—a good stiff one.
And she had another, and still another.
When Charlie Hope arrived at the
house the next morning, the drinks
were still flowing free. And, since he
had a bad case of the shakes, the re-
sult of a wild Saturday night, he was
only too happy to accept Bob’s offer of
a fresh pint of whiskey.
But, after finishing the bottle and
entering the kitchen, Charlie turned
dead sober. For the sight was hardly
what a decent drunk might expect.
There, lying on the kitchen table, her
mouth taped tightly with adhesive, her
body secured with thick ropes, lay
Mary James.
She was wearing only the sheerest
kind of a nightgown and every lush
curve of her pin-up queen beauty was
‘
ch oC ee a
> next
hance
i him
iquor.
‘ed to
h_ his
drive.
>ering
‘ames,
til his
gray
y.
‘Come
your
g the
en no
ither,”
them
ler in
udder
James
nakes.
know
Help
darber
morn-
lf. He
d and
yp. He
vented
in the
vith a
1
viola
in the
ive to
seven
there
e, and
2d the
side of
found
in pa-
ry lay
loose,
r pads.
ssed to
“Dear
I am
Some-
e gar-
This is
will be
3 good
d J. H.
.e dead
ot. The
y puz-
in the
bite of
insect.
3t 16th,
autopsy
$ opin-
awning,
vot and
‘t great
Ithough
at the
t satis-
‘im had
facts in
oarber’s
ingham,
ud name °
t west.
1es. His
an
re-
in
» cuued
arried a
&
Winona Wallace of Denver, who died un-
der mysterious circumstances, drowning in
a bath tub. ;
A fourth marriage to a New Orleans
girl was later annulled in the Los Angeles
courts. Mary Busch, the blond manicurist,
was wife number five. When the cops
learned that there were two $5000 double-
indemnity insurance policies on Mary’s
life, they were suspicious, to say the least.
Nevertheless, they were helpless to act.
Bob James was able to prove through in-
controvertible testimony that he was in his
barber shop from eight o’clock on the
morning of August 5th until closing time.
A neighbor had seen Mary alive at nine
that same morning.
Though haunted by doubt, the authori-
ties called the death accidental drowning
and marked the case closed. Thus it re-
mained for eight long months. During
that time there were two interesting de-
velopments. They concerned Bob James’
efforts to collect on the insurance policies.
Both companies had refused to honor
these policies, claiming that there were
misrepresentations in the original appli-
cations. James, in applying for the policies
the previous June, had stated that he and
Mary were married, whereas in actuality
a legal ceremony did not take place until
July 19th. The companies contended that
at the time of the issuance of the policies
James had no insurable interest in Mary
and had obtained the policies by fraud.
James fought both cases, candidly re-
vealing in court the chicanery he had em-
ployed to induce Mary to live with him
as his wife. He frankly admitted he had
later gone through the legal ceremony in
order to validate the insurance. The claim
on one policy was settled for $3500 out
of court. The second claim went to trial
and was decided against James.
When this. latter case was thrown out
of court, the insurance representatives
asked District Attorney Buron M. Fitts
to initiate another investigation into the
death of Mary James. This Fitts agreed to
do, turning the matter over to Clyde
Plummer, Chief of the Bureau of Investi-
gation. Two of the chief’s crack investiga-
tors, Lloyd Harrow and Jesse Winn, started
the ball rolling. By this time, Bob James
had moved and was living in the 3800
block on La Salle Avenue, sharing a small
house with his niece, Doreen Maysworth.
The investigators noted that the house
next door was vacant. Having failed to
crack the barber’s story by ordinary
means, they decided on a new tactic. They
conferred with Fitts, Plummer, Captain of
Detectives Jack Southard and Investigator
Scott Littleton. It was agreed that the
vacant house should be rented and that
microphones be planted in James’ home.
On April 3rd, 1936, the cops installed
themselves in the vacant house. Detective
Captain Earle E, Kynette and Police Lieu-
tenant W. R. Morgan, dictograph experts,
ran wires across the lawn and céncealed
strategically placed “bugs” in the ‘living
room and bedroom of the James home.
During the next few days, some highly in- -
teresting and informative conversations
were recorded on the wax discs next door.
One shocking circumstance soon became
evident. James and his pretty niece were
intimate with each other! The “bug” in
their bedroom revealed this sordid union.’
Although the crime of incest was grave,
the cops were primarily interested in
trapping a killer, so they continued their
vigil at the dictograph, making steno-
graphic reports of the conversations they
overheard. There were references to a
man named Ralik and his demands for
money. There were other snatches of con-
versation pregnant with significance: “I
suppose your mammy thinks I disappeared
after I killed Mary,” the barber was
heard saying to his niece. On another
occasion, the two discussed a woman
James was thinking of marrying. “She’s
afraid of me,” he said. “She don’t need to
be. Does she think I’d kill her the same
way I killed my other wife?”
After two weeks, the officials felt they
had sufficient evidence to make their first
move. They broke into the bedroom of
the James home and surprised the barber
and his niece unclothed in bed. The pair
were taken to the county jail where James
was charged with incest and Doreen was
booked as a material witness. The Grand
Jury indicted James the next day, and bail
was fixed at $25,000.
Details of the barber’s perversions
shocked even the veteran officers. He had
practiced erotic rites of monstrous de-
pravity. In him were oddly blended the
hideous vices of sadism and masochism.
He not only enjoyed inflicting pain on
his lights of love, but strangely took a
lustful pleasure in being similarly flag-
ellated. He kept whips and lashes in his
home which were in constant use during
the wild orgies which took place there.
Bob James was an unholy monster, the
officials now knew, but murder still had
to be proven against him. Who was this
man _ Ralik, and what secrets lay behind
his demands for money? From the records
of the State Motor Vehicle Department,
the police compiled a list of all automo-
bile owners named Ralik in the Los
Angeles vicinity. The methodical investi-
gators doggedly checked every person on
the list. On the morning of May 2nd, they
reached the home of a Peter J. Ralik on
South Normandie Avenue. Ralik was listed
as the owner of a green Buick sedan.
Mrs. Ralik told the investigators that her
husband was the night manager of a hot-
dog stand at Hermossa Beach. The officers
went there and talked to him, and Ralik
admitted that he knew Bob James.
It was in the murder house where Mary
Busch James had been subjected to a day
long ritual of torture that Pete Ralik final-
ly broke down and told his tale of de-
moniacal murder and his unwitting role
in it. He was brought to the county jail to
confront the diabolical Bob James. The
barber could no longer pretend when the
details of that fiendish Sunday were un-
folded by Peter Ralik in his presence.
James confessed, but tried to shift the
guilt to the shoulders of his erstwhile
tool. He insisted that it was Peter Ralik
who actually drowned Mary and carried
her to the lily pond, after pulling off her
nightgown and substituting pajamas.
On June 19th, 1938, Peter Ralik pleaded
guilty to murder. On the 22nd of that
month, Robert James was brought to trial
after recanting his confession. In the weeks
that followed, an overwhelming prepon-
derance of evidence—including the snakes,
Lethal and _ Lightning—was arrayed
against him. Peter Ralik told his story,
and the jury listened in stunned attention
to the macabre recital.
On July 25th, they convicted Robert
James of murder in the first degree. The
death sentence was mandatory, although
the monstrous barber stalled off his fate
for more than six years with one legal
maneuver after another. At last, May Ist,
1942, he mounted the blue stairway of the
scaffold, the trap was sprung and he
plunged into eternity. Peter Ralik was
sentenced to spend the rest of his life
behind prison bars.
Eprror’s Note:
The names, Doreen Maysworth and
Peter Ralik, as used in the fore- .
going story, are not the real names
of the persons concerned. These per-
sons have been given fictitious names
to protect their identities.
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1M
held to blame. The courts decided that.
If Bob James was proud of himself,
he had a right to be. Six women at
least—and that’s not counting Linda—
had so far succumbed to his heavy-set
charm as to follow him to the altar.
Four, luckily for themselves, had found
an easy road to escape. They had di-
vorced him. The other two? Well, their
paths to peace had not been quite so
easy, but frankly, they had served their
husband better. How? Thereby hangs
a tale.
Mary—Mrs. James #6, was a shapely
‘blonde. From every description of her,
it might.be fairly stated that what she
didn’t have, just wasn’t necessary. Even
niece Linda, the ever-understanding
true-love, was more than a mite jealous.
And that’s believable, even though,
right from the beginning, Bob assured
the youngster that everything was un-
der control. All he ever meant to do
was wait a decent length of time be-
fore carrying out his plans of ultimate
disposal. Haste makes waste, as wise
men have always known.
But now Mary had carried the ro-
mance ‘a little too far. She had actu- ©
ally become pregnant. If things pro-
gressed much further, Bob might be
tied down even tighter than _ before.
Action, immediate action was called
for. And James, never the laggard,
began letting his imagination roam free.
He was a bit limited. Winona, Mrs.
James #3, had gone the way of all flesh
via the drowning route. That had been
quite a messy business, holding her
head under water. It might not look
good to have another wife follow the
same road to oblivion. As for auto
accidents, he had tried that, twice al-
ready. Cornelius Warner, Linda’s broth-
er, had succumbed that way, only a
few months before. And Winona had
only missed death by a fraction of an
inch when her car, toppling over a
By Walter T. Pinkerton
She lay bound
to the table,
unable to move;
her heart and mind.
filled with the
horror and shock of
betrayal by a loved
one... Bob, her
husband, whose baby
she carried, was
preparing to murder
her in cold blood!
ledge in Colorado, had caught on an
overhang. :
But novelty came readily to Bob’s
brain. And so, a few days later, he
found himself in conversation with one
Charlie Hope, an inveterate drunkard
who was eternally short of funds.
“I’ve got a problem, Charlie me
boy,” Bob stated frankly. “I made a
damn fool of myself the other night,
and if I don’t figure something out
pretty soon, I stand to lose a heavy
heap of money. Now I wouldn’t want
to be dishonest, mind you, but if you
were to help me out, Charlie, I’d be
more than willing to pay for your time
and trouble.”
Charlie’s interest was immediate.
“Yeah?” he said. “What is it and how
much?”
“Well now, the way I see it—but
let me explain it to you. Ever seen a
rattler kill a rabbit? How long would
you say it would take? Five minutes?
Fifteen? Half an hour? It’s tricky. I’ve
looked it up. Anyway, I made a bet,
never mind with whom, that it would
be all over in fifteen minutes or under.
Now I find out that snakes vary. Some
have such strong poison that they can
do the job in five or ten minutes, oth-
ers’ venom is so thin that it can take
an hour or more. To settle the bet,
we're gonna carry out the experiment
next week sometime. And I want the
strongest venomed snakes around I can
find. So here’s what I’ll do. Pl] pay you
) e
and shy. She talked with an Alabama drawl.
“Oh, that poor, poor man!” she said. “He
loved his wife something fierce!”
The girl appeared to be very fond of her
boss, also a native Alabaman. Two years ago,
when she was 18, James had brought her west .
after he’d seen and liked. the work she was
doing in a beauty shop in Birmingham.
He’s a wonderful man,” the manicurist said,
“and he loved her so much. .
Mary James’ doctor, questioned later, con-
firmed that she had been an expectant mother
and: was receiving medication and treatment
for attacks of nausea ‘and dizziness.
The deputies returned to headquarters.
There they read a report from a forgery expert
who said. that the. letter written by, Mary
James to her sister in Las Vegas was indeed
in the dead. woman’s handwriting... -
On August 16 ah inquest jury convened, lis-
tened, and announced itself unable to conclude
-whether Mary James’ death was accidental,
suicidal or homicidal. With some misgivings," '
the sheriff’s bureau filed the case away as an
accidental drowning—but did not forget,
. about it. ~
Nor did the. insurance companies from
whom James was supposed to collect some
$20,000 following his wife’s death. ZN
Insurance sleuths went to work and came
up with evidence pointing to frayd. They
learned that James and Mary had actually
gotten married on July 19—only 17 days be-
fore her drowning—that they had ‘been living
together unmarried when she hesaty for ‘the
insurance policy. |
ferns MATTER was brought to court and,
after much legal wrangling, it was re
ported that’ James’ had © accepted: pete in:
settlement’ of the claim. +
The hairdresser next brought suit ciuhiak a
second insurance firm. But here he failed
completely when’ the case came ‘to trial. in.
March of 1936 and when a jury upheld the
company’s contention that the policy had been
obtained. through falsification. va
Two days later an executive of the com-
pany visited District Attorney Buron Fitts in‘.
the Hall-of Justice and requested a re- ropenine.
of the investigation, peta
‘
“All our own investigations point to a pat-.
tern of deceit and crookedness, an abnormal
craving for money,” the executive said. “We're
\
sconvinced Mary James’. death was murder _
and we suspect the same thing about the third -
wife, Winona Wallace James.”
‘Then he let. go the bombshell. .
His investigators, he. said, had just learned ”
that James, some months before Mary’s
drowning, had received $5000 as beneficiary
in another “accidental” death—that of: his’ -
nephew, Cornelius Wright.
downtown traffic—a . car which James had
volunteered to “tune” for his sister’s boy!
The. district attorney summoned’ Clyde
Plummer, his chief investigator, and ordered a °
full-dress inquiry into the case. Plummer dele-
gated two of his top men, Jesse Winn and
Lloyd Yarrow, to work with the sheriff’s de-
“partment .in backtracking along a trail now
more than seven nionths old.
At the same time De
Southard was ordered to find out everything
possible about James’ third-wife, Winona. +
~The sheriff’s officers, in the initial probe, had
of course concluded ‘that if Mary James were +
murdered and ne per Sausbend were involved in
Se ol ( ! es
the. murder, ‘then the actual crime could only . And as the intimacies continued, ‘the officers
“have; been perpetrated ‘by an accomplice. Time became aware of. something else: James’
of death had been estimated at between 4 a.m, domineering tones, purring and threatening by
and noon Monday. . turns, _making increasingly sordid demands on
True, Major Dinsley; oe Englishman who... the. protesting girl.
lived next door, said he-had seen Mary as late This went on night after. night. Every once
‘ as 9:30 that morning, alive) But as Winn and in a while the girl cried out in pain. Then one
. Yarrow continued to backtrack they realized: night, James himself screamed, delightedly,
that the major might have been mistaken. _
Another neighbor, Mrs. William D. Cruick-
shank, from whose: property’ an even clearer
view: of the ‘James’ backyard could be had, >
with frenzy, after he’d ordered the girl to
take the belt from his trousers and beat him,
hard, across the chest.
ive Captain Jack’.
testified that she’d been sunning herself at 9: 30°
and hadn’t seen a trace of Mrs. James,
On the tw2lfth night, finally, the couple got
around to just plain talking.
“So after proposing to this girl she turns
-me_ down,” James’ said to the girl. “I
: Wuics of the two Srlseaia: then; each guess she’s afraid of me. but she doesn’t need
equally Positive, was right?
While’ police were trying to work ‘out an;
answer to. this), Detective: Captain Southard.’
investigating Wife Number Three’s’ death:
came up with some unexpected answers: of. his’
“own, |»
the mountainside car: wreck in- which Winona |
had been found, unconscious, with a concussion -
_in her brain, One of the officers told him that °
he remembered finding a hammer in the wreck-
age, “I didn’t * think. ‘anything of “it ‘at the
time,” he’ said, “because _ practically -every~ ©.
- thing i in ‘the car was splattered with blood,”
picture became clear. The'man had hammered
_ his bride unconscious, then guided the rolling —
~ vehicle over-the~side, Then, weeks later—and
further * investigation’. proved: this—a_ local
~_ grocery clerk’ had accompanied James to. the
cottage where he and “Winona were. staying”
‘ ‘when the’ body. was “discovered” in the tub, =
“The ‘similarity between the two discoveries, °
those of Mary and Winona, both with’ wit af
; Nesses present, wasn’t half so startling, as‘ was, °
-the news that Winona, like Mary, had written
a letter'to a sister just before her death, -
< In “her letter, also” “declared authentic;
Winona had written that she was dying to :
wash her hair, that it was unkempt and bloddy.
- from her “auto ‘0_accident”—but that her hus-
band’ had Strictly’ forbidden it because’ she °
was still weak: from ‘Toss of blood and amight
~collapse in the’ water! | Renton
Captain Southard wondered, Here were ‘two
adult, intelligent women and each in her" own. .
hand had penned an alibi for the man about
to murder her! It was incredible. (>
How ‘had ‘it been. picoolished ¢ Force:
threats ¢. drugs?
Southard. shrugged and returned to Los. ;
“Angeles, (is
Here - he learned! so sah young bitnetie
manicurist who worked at James’ beauty shop ‘she knew about
had moved . in-with Aer peas ostensibly * as
-his housekeeper...‘
Southard’ came up with ‘an idea. iwhich he
Young Wright had been killed when his broaclied to District “Attorney Fitts and Chief—
- car suddenly ran out of control in heavy |
He’ talked to officers who_ had discovered ;
“Now, with James suspected of murder, the -
to be. Does she think I’d kill her the same
Bac I killed my wife!”
The officers doused their cigarets and lpikad
forward to listen.
“A little while later James said,-“I suppose
your ’ mother thinks I disappeared. after I
killed Mary!" >
Then there were reference to a man. named
” Hope and to a green Buick the man apparently
owned. From what the officer could make out,
“Hope ‘was blackmailing James.
‘ “Money, money, ‘money !” tote shouted ° :
at one ‘point. “He ‘thinks I’m made of the
stuff. Tl see him in hell before I give him
another dime.” .
' The following niorning, Chief Plummer tele-
" graphed a’ request to~the State~ Division of
Motor Vehicles at Sacramentd for the address _
of every man last-named Hope, in Los Angeles
county; who owned a car.
District Attorney’ Fitts, meanwhile, ordered °
‘that James. be arrested and held on a morals
‘charge. *
\ that night. At headquarters later the brunette;
held: as“a material witness, wept as she told
~ how she really hated Jatnes -but how he had
‘forced his attentions ‘on her almost from the
time they'd first met perk ‘in the Alabama
“beauty parlor. a
“I hated him, - ; but I ‘had - ‘to hide what I
felt, ””, she sobbed. “You don’t know what he’s
- like, you’ wouldn't believe it, nobody would
“believe it.” ;
They asked: thes about Mary J ames, and the
fatal, accident involving James’ nephew,,. Cor-
nelius Wright, and about the: man James had
referred to as Roped
(THE GIRL swore ‘that she Baral few of
the details of Cornelius’s death and that
'-Hope was only a last name to her, a«name
‘James ‘frequently used in anger, and that all
» earphones, eae
District “Attorney - Fitts, meanwhile, ee
impatiently for the’ list from the Motor .Ve--
Plummer, “Let’s wire the place,” ‘he said,“and — hicle Bureau in Sacramento. It arrived a few
listen in: to some of. the conversation between ;
“those two.”
‘It was” worth a> try and the following day,
April, 3, Southard . and. Investigator Scott’
Littleton, rented the cottage’ adjoining James’.
with sound ‘recording equiment, The next
motning, after James and the. girl had’ gone, ©. operator was named Charles H. Hope. He-
the ‘three men let ‘themselves into the cottages
_with a passkey. Two hours. later, microphones
ead psn tastalled ie lvine rom and bed
: goom and Seat was: any to roll,
That ‘night an electronics specialist arrived
days later—an ‘imposing number of people
- named | Hope, together with their addresses
and license numbers. *”
_ = The canvass got under way.
~ It. was a little after noon of May ; 2 iy
Southard and Littleton: walked into a tiny
restaurant ‘in Hermosa: Beach. The «cafe's
‘owned a’ green Buick. “My friends call. me
Chuck,”-he’ said, smiling, even as’ he looked |
down at the officers? badges, (i
“Tell us something, ‘Chuck, " Southard asked,
a. fellows by the mn of. Bob
He ahd the manicaeist were arrested in edi
James’ death was what
the” police » themselves, had heard over the
REN
BD.
he said cautious
“About him
Chuck, Get vor
with tl 4?
At E fic
know any und
James’ or any!
“You were
Chuck. We knc
He didn’t want
' did he?”
For hours -
their questions.
U
“¥70U GUYS
Sova, oke
to James’ plac
trouble, his wi
drowned and h
believe it. He
to the fishponc
an accident. S:
That’s the wh
' Fitts shook |
to do better t
In the mor
Canada, to t
Mary James’
months ago al
when Chief }
house and the
him down on '
“J thought
memgry in he:
it again—how
out.”
. “But I alre
times!” Hope
him down, !
belly. “Please
_ Plummer s!
derstand it, C
talk! Who wv
her -head unc
Suddenly,
thre L246)
falk d
A qe
mosv vcisavle
one of the o
‘Hope said
dead broke,
to see Jame:
- several years
dollars. Jam:
how he’d li)
friend of his
some live 1
bucks!
Hope jun
him a $20 :
box with a
A cabinet
Hope bough
delivered th
rest of the
James te:
in a cage \
the time I «
. James coulc
“would have
“wceatures al
So Hope
~ snakes. But
and worth!
, the officers
else: James’
ireatening by
demands on
. Every once
in. Then one
delightedly,
the girl to
nd beat him,
1e couple got
rl she turns
ne girl, “I
doesn’t need
er the same
_
ae
s and leaned
, “I suppose
red after I
man, named
n apparently
\d make out,
nes shouted
nade of the
I give him
ummer tele-
sion of
address
Angeles
iile, ordered
on a morals
ested in bed.
he brunette,
as she told
how he had
st from the
he Alabama
lide what I
w what he’s
rx0dy would
aes, and the
‘phew, Cor-
James had
aew few of
h and that
er, a name
ind that all
h was what
1 over the
hile, waited
Motor Ve-
rived a few
of people
4 addresses
Z
vay 2 when
to a tiny
he cafe’s
Hope. He
ids call me
i he looked
asked,
~~, »f Bob
tle. “Yeah,”
~<a
‘know anything about a murder, he said—Mary .
: (oi... three pounds.
\ - Hope drove Back to the beauty parlor and,
_That’s the whole story.”
hs
he said cautiously. “What about Bob James?”
“About him murdering somebody -maybe, :
Chuck. Get your coat on. You’ve got a date
with the D. Ao? 90 i Soea 9
Houtenbrink.
wanted. The dealer sel
*rattlers\ named Lethal and Lightning—three->-
” Joe” :
“S foot-long . diamond-backs which Snake Joe
At Fitts’ office the man p ntested. He didn. sold for a special price of..70 cents a pound. .
J ames’ or’ anybody’s. , i
“You were’ getting money from’ James,
*! Chuck. We know aot more than you think.
‘He didn’t want you shooting your mouth off,
t did: he?” ae. a ae
For hours -the man_ successfully parried
their questions. ‘
“¥70U GUYS never give up,” he said, finally.
“Well, okay. Here’s the deal. I went out
to James’ place one night. He said he was in
trouble, his wife had fainted in the tub and
drowned and he was worried the cops wouldn’t
believe it. He asked me to help carry her out
to the fishpond where it would look more like
an-accident. So I did. That’s all omg ‘to it.
Fitts shook his head and told him he’d have
to do better than that. ne
In the morning, Hope was hustled to La
Canada, to the little backyard pool where
Mary James’ body had been found ~ nine
months ago almost to the day. Hope squirmed
when Chief Plummer dragged him into the
--house and then into the bathroom and pushed
him down on the rim of the tub.
“I thought it’d be easier ta ‘refresh your
memgry in here,” Plummer said. “Now go over
it again—how you and James carried the body
‘oubee Bh aa
_ “But I already told you fellows a hundred
times!” Hope tried to get up. Plummer held
him down, his eyes staring into the. tub’s
belly. “Please—I can’t stand it in here. . .. vad
Plummer strengthened his grip. “As I un-
derstand it, Chuck, she drowned in here. Now,
talk! Who was it—you or James—who held
her head under water?”
Suddenly, Hope lurched to. his feet and
threw himself back against the \ wall. He’d
talk, he said; he’d talk... . -
‘At headquarters he told his story—“the
most terrible, fantastic story I’ve ever heard,”
one of the officers said later. - :
Hope ‘said it had all begun last June when,
dead broke, he dropped into the beauty shop
to see James, whom he’d known casually for
-several years, and asked for a loan of a few
dollars. James had taker him aside and asked
X
how he’d like to make some real money. A~
friend of his would pay a hundred dollars for
some live rattlesnakes, he said. A hundred
bucks! 2 Peis,
Hope jumped at the chance. James gave
him a $20 advance, instructing him to get a
box with a sliding glass top.
A cabinet maker. constructed the box and
Hope bought three diamond-back rattlers and
delivered them. to James, who promised the
rest of the money in a few days.
James tested the snakes, by putting them
in a cage with a rabbit. “If they kill it by
the time I count 50, they’re all right,” he said.
James could:have counted to 1050 and nothing
would have happened. The rattlers were tired
“wceatures and barely moved. ra ;
So Hope went out and bought three more
snakes. But these, too, proved themselves lazy
and worthless. — : i
Then James gave him a hundred dollars and
told him to get the “hottest” snakes available
—“real killers,” heSaid. - - x6
Hope made a third trip—this time to a
‘Lamanda Park reptile dealer:known as “Snake
<~gaid, “Aren’t you interested in knowing what»
RAS | killing his wife. and. had talked it over with
Each of the snakes weighed a little more than.
James came’ out..and: transferred the snakes .~
«to his gwn car.. Then he turned to Hope and >
I want these snakes for?” | - tg:
“Yeah,” Hope said, “I guess.” a
_ “Well, I’m out to collect. some insurance...”
he winked “. ... and now you're in on it —
with mel” oe EP i Srepiand
Hope was’ uneasy,. and late. the following _
~ morning—Sunday, ‘August 4—he drove out’
to La Canada, i fn eS ed
) “1 was .crocked. to the ears but I.-sobered
fast,” he told the police. “James had his wife
roped to the breakfast-room table, on her
back, with her mouth and eyes taped with ad-
hesive. All she had on was a-silk nightgown
with a big rhinestone buckle. The nightgown
was drawn up around her middle, with her.
legs spread-eagled over the sides of the table.
‘She kept pushing against the ropes.
“James said\the snakes were in his car and
for me to get them. I brought the box in and
cHe set it, beside the table. He said to ‘me, ‘You
can’t get out of this thing; we're in: it.
together !’. ; ; %
“Then he slid open the glass top and stuck a
stick in the box and rattled it around until
those snakes were hissing and jumping. like
crazy. All the, time. he kept yelling at_ his
wife, about her being too sick to have a baby
and everything would be quick—the shock ‘of ,
snake poison would cause her to fose the
baby. She twisted against the ropes but she
was helpless. Dero:
“Then he did it. ~
“He grabbed ‘her bare foot and shoved it~
down into the box. She struggled ‘against the
ropes, and gave sort of a little moan. Then
James. said for me to get the box the hell
out of there.” Ug
Hope returned the two rattlers to Snake Joe .
and got half his money back. Then he went.
_ home. > :
He began. to drink to calm his nerves. He
“polished off’a fifth of. whisky. It ‘didn’t ‘help.
At one o’clock Monday morhing he drove to
“La Canada and pulled into J ames’ garage. He
blew his horn. 3 :
&
yoMes came rushing from the house a few
J minutes later. He looked angry. He: said
that hig wife was in great agony but that she
didn’t show any signs of dying. “And don’t you’
worry—we got a sure-fire alibi,” he told Hope.
“When the cops find the letter I forced her
to write they'll figure the whole business was
just an unfortunate accident. Now I’m going
- “in and ‘drown her!” * ;
Hope waited in the garage. Half an hour
later James came out again and said, “Well,
I did it.”
Both men went into-the house and carried
the body out ‘to-the fishpond. Then Hope
drove home. Later that day he burned Mary
James’ nightgown—a pink one with a rhine-
stone-buckled belt—with which. James had
mopped. up the bathroom. (The buckle was
found later in Hope’s furnace.) 3
- . “He promised to cut me in on the insurance,
Hope said now, “but all I wound up with was
‘a grand total of-$226—and some of that went '
wh
for, the snakes.” -
* Robert Jams. was brought into the room.
. He shook his head.;“No, nothing. I have
\
He stared at. Hope but he made no attempt~
to speak to him. ee ee
He listened impassively as ‘Hope’s ‘statement A
was read aloud. Then he was asked, “Anythin .
you'd like to add to that?” ;
|
nothing to add.” , ae |
A few hours later, he decided to speak up. i
To District Attorney Fitts he admitted i
that it was true—that he’ had thought of»
|
Chuck Hope. But it was Hope who plotted BS
and planned the whole thing. ;
“Hope Suggested various means of killing ~
Mary,” he-said, “everything from black widow
spiders in her bed to shooting her in a framed
stickup, to burning down the house: When ..
Hope mentioned rattlesnakes, I agreed that aai'
if he carried out the idea by himself, he
could have half the insurance money.”
Fitts told James to save the malarky, not. to
bother trying to pawn thé, responsibility off _ / |
on someone else. Then he said, “You know
they can’t hang you twice, James. What
about, Winona?”.
AMES gave him a tight, crooked smile. "No,
sir, That drowning was on the level.” ie
- “And you forced her to write that letter to }
her sister, the same as Mary—right? Isn’t 7 |
that what you did?” ie |
James looked away. the |
“And the car accident in which your nephew \5
died,” Fitts said. “That wasn’t accidental aii
either, was it?” :
James threw up his hands. “Look, mister,”
he said. “Haven’t:I got troubles enough for
one man?” me
“Two weeks later James went to trial on a
the three morals counts. It required only ten i
minutes of a jury’s time.to convict him. The i
defendant offered no defense and was sen- |
tenced to a maximum term of 150 years. tL
Then, a few days later, Chuck Hope pleaded |
guilty to Mary James’ murder and agreed to i}
testify against James. | %
James was brought to trial, a trial high- i
lighted by the appearance in court of twd sen-
sational witnesses—the two rattlers, Lethal
and Lightning, which. Snake Joe positively
identified as the snakes he had sold to Hope
and. then later taken back. ie |
Step by step, through the testimony of a it |
flood of witnesses, the state painted the “de- et
fendant as a foul, money-lusting fiend, a merci- ;
less monster.
On July 25, 1936, the case went to the jury.
The jury deliberated for nine hours and re-
turned the expected - verdict: guilty of first-
degree murder without recommendation of
mercy. ,
The death sentence was mandatory and i
James, was sentenced by Superior Judge it
Charles W. Fricke to be hanged. : |
For his aid to the state, Chuck Hope escaped Al
with a life sentence, and in 1946 was paroled
front San Quentin.
Meanwhile, the condemned slayer began a
legal battle that was to. span six years and take it
his case through endless courts and, finally,
before the United States Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court was just as adamant as
the others. It refused to reverse the’ sentence
and said that James must die. i
On May 1, 1942, his features dead-white, i
Robert James’ mounted the 13 well-worn ik
steps to the gallows of San Quentin+the 215th’ H
‘and ‘the last man to. be legally executed by '
. hanging .in the state of California. i
43 a
BstiJe 1
bi: ee male
Mary Busch James—Venom Victim
sy District Attorney Buron Fitts
Los Angeles County, California
AS TOLD TO SELBY LANE
N THE GARDEN of the home of Rob-
ert James at La Canada, a picturesque
ttle town nestled in the foothills north
Los Angeles,
nome stared out with unseeing eyes over
re quiet water of a fish pond where
rater lilies raised their white heads. A
»w hours before, the water that spread
» peacefully about the tiny rocky inlet
vhere the plaster gnome sat, puffing ata
mokeless pipe, had been strangely trou-
led. Now the ripples had stopped trem-
ling across the pool, and the lilies had
‘eased swaying on their slender stalks.
The August afternoon sun was sending
TINY MARK ON A DEAD WOMAN’S FOOT BETRAYS
a grotesque plaster _
long rays across the garden when Robert James came
home from his barber shop, accompanied by two friends,
James Pemberton and Viola Lueck. :
He opened the door of the bungalow and called: “Mary
—Mary! Where are you?” 4 i :
There was silence in the bungalow—silence in the
garden, broken only by the twitter of birds.
“She must be somewhere outside,” said James. ‘-
The three of them walked around the house into the
garden, the plaster gnome watching them, as they came,
with his sightless eyes. They neared the pool.. Suddenly
James cried out harshly and staggered back. Miss Lueck
followed his gaze and screamed. :
There, on the rim of the pool, her crimson pajamas
making a spot of vivid color against the grass, lay Mary
James. She lay very still, her head and shoulders dan--
gling limply over the rim, her face hidden among the lily
pads that were crushed and broken.
“Mary! Mary!” cried Robert James.
Gently the two men lifted the limp body of the twenty-
seven-year-old woman from the pool and laid her on the
grass. Frantically they tried to revive her, rubbing her
hands, peering into her half-closed eyes for signs of life.
A doctor came, but there was nothing that could be
done. Mary James was dead. Robert James appeared to
be broken with grief. He wept when he was told that
his wife was past reviving.
“Oh, I warned her—I warned her to be careful!’ he
sobbed. “She. wasn’t very well. She was expecting a
baby. She had dizzy spells sometimes. But she loved to
oe the garden and stand looking into the pool,
h atching the goldfish. I was afraid that something would
“Teer test: she would faint—just like this.”
thras ec with the abandon of a man whose bride of
rag ps had just died tragically.
Gon Rasy cases of sudden death, the routine investiga-
gnietiiaine ce an inquest was ordered, and the usual
Si tapi ook place. James wept again at the inquest.
becletinieens € witness stand, shielding his face with his
Tchief, shaken with sobs; telling how he left his
wife at home that M i
ond ed
and found her dead. a meine, hom Mk 2eee
As a ma
his own
wife’s q
Ouse ea
tter of routine, he was questioned concerning
whereabouts during the period preceding his
eath. He explained that he had left the
rly, as usual; that his wife was alive when he
ROBERT JAMES, SEX-CRAZED MONSTER OF MURDER!
-
left, and although she was not feeling
very well, this was to be expected be-
cause of her condition.
His story was supported to some ex-
tent by the statement of Alfred Dinsley,
retired army officer and a neighbor of
the James family, that he had seen a wo-
man whom he took to be Mary James in
the garden about 9 a. M. -
Only one thing developed at the in-
quest that stood in the way of an out-
and-out verdict of death from natural
causes, and that, ironically enough, was
something that at the time seemed of
minor importance but later took on tre-
mendous significance. That one thing was
a mark on the dead woman’s foot.
Dr. A. F. Wagner, veteran autopsy
surgeon, examined Mary James’s body
and pronounced death due to drowning.
But, making his usual detailed report of
every feature, he’mentioned that he had
found, on her left foot, marks like the
~
“eat
oaseett
Py haa i
bite of an insect, and that her. foot and leg were swollen '
and discolored. It seemed to fit in with the picture of acci-
dental death—even to complete it.
‘Suppose, while she was walking in the garden, she had
been bitten by a poisonous insect, perhaps a black widow
spider. Wouldn’t it have been entirely natural for. the ©
poison, spreading through her system, to have made her
suddenly dizzy and faint, so that she stumbled and fell
into the pool? .
And James, when he heard about what Dr. Wagner
had found, produced what at the time appeared to be
confirming evidence. He gave us a le{ter which he said
his wife had been writing to her sister. ,
It read: . : CAUGHT!
“Dear Sis: Just a line to let you aie ne a ae
,
know I am pretty sick. My leg is all L Webeht
swollen. Something bit me _ while od ‘ awe dus
watering the garden. Am having lots
of bad luck. This is old blue Monday,
but my daddy will be home early to-
whisperings were
picked up by a
police dictograph.
night and he takes good care of me.”
Perhaps it was the uncertain scrawl of the letter that
gave us an uncomfortable feeling about the case. Mary
James was a well-educated girl. And the handwriting,
wandering, irregular, wavering up and down, somehow
didn’t look like the writing that should have been hers.
: James answered that unspoken question. “She wasn’t
feeling well.” -
There was a logical explanation for everything at that
stage of the case. And yet, without any specific reason, we
felt that something was wrong. We had that maddening
impression that we were on the wrong track but couldn’t
prove it.
So Mary James was buried in Forest
Lawn Memorial Park, a white silk
dress shrouding her still form and a
bouquet of flowers in her hands. And
Robert James, the bereaved husband,
wept beside her grave. It seemed as if
the case was closed as permanently as’
the grave which shut Mary James from _
sight.
But cases—and graves—can be re-
opened. Just on general principles, we
kept the James case in mind. And then
two things happened.
[AMES TRIED to collect double in-
demnity on his wife’s life insur-
ance. She was insured for five thou-
sand dollars, with double indemnity
BOGUS?
Killer James said
his wife wrote this
note.
THERE!
Left to right:
Charles Hope,
District Attorney
Fitts, Robert
James, Deputy
District Attorney
Eugene Williams
and Deputy Sher-
iff Willard Killion
stand at the pool
where Mary
James was sub-
merged,
ee
@ Robert J
barbershop
bar down
friends met
for a pick-
them. Afte
HAVE |
SOME
~ RATTL
seep
Her feet
‘MORE VENOM FLOWED THROUGH THIS SHREWD: SADIST’S VEINS
THAN EVER WAS SPAT FROM THE MOUTHS OF THE
DIAMONDBACKS HE RENTED TO DO THE
FOUL WORK HE HAD IN MIND
by W. W. WARD
*. hig iz ae
Unmark duby worry suBpect waits for DA's questions.
86
after deliberating only
ten minutes, convicted James on all three
statutory counts in the case involving him
and four women,
twenty-one-year-old relative,
Blanche Rowe. Superior Judge Joseph
W. Vickers, in imposing the maximum
sentence of three to one hundred and
fifty years, said: “The obnoxious picture of
the crime is aggravated by testimony that
showed the defendant began his advances
toward the woman when she was little
more than a child. Testimony showed that
the acts went on Over a period of years,
and might have continued indefinitely, if
they had not been interrupted by the raid
of the investigators,”
It was significant that James’ attorney
offered no defense whatever in behalf of
his client.
Before James went to trial for murder,
still another death was indirectly chalked
up against him. According to newspaper
accounts, on June 8th, 1936, Mrs, Anna
Busch, mother of Mary Busch James, died
at her home in Geneseo, Illinois, Relatives
there said her death was due to sustained
shock and grief over the tragic fate of her
daughter.
On June 22nd, in a courtroom filled to
capacity, with the learned and erudite
Judge Fricke presiding, James went on
trial for his lif , having entered a double
Plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason
of insanity. A jury of ten men and two
women was selected.
Counsel for the defendant consisted of
Attorneys William J. Clark, Samuel Sil-
verman and Russell E. Parsons,
Associated with me in the prosecution
was Deputy District Attorney John Barnes,
one of the most brilliant and capable men
of our staff. He, too, had made an -ex-
haustive study of the case, and together we
felt we were Prepared for any surprise
move the defense might make.
Early in the trial James, through his
attorney, withdrew his plea of not guilty
by reason of insanity, it being clear, even
to him, that we were in a position to es-
tablish his sanity beyond any reasonable
doubt. °
During the month-long trial that fol-
lowed, the Pasty-faced barber listened
calmly, almost indifferently, as witness
after witness took the stand in an effort to
convict him of one of the most horrible
crimes ever committed. It was only while
his érstwhile friend, Chuck Hope was testi-
fying that James showed any marked in-
terest in the proceedings, By malevolent
glares and muttered imprecations, he in-
dicated that he regretted not having car-
ried out an earlier conceived plan to murder
Hope too. To one of the investigators he
confided that the idea had occurred to him
and had been abandoned only because of
the risks involved,
Most interesting of all the exhibits were
“Lethal” and “Lightning.” Housed in a
glass-topped, coffin-like box, the reptiles
whirred and buzzed as they lashed about
their narrow container while their Owner,
“Snake Joe” Houtenbrink, Positively identi-
fied them as the two he had sold to Chuck
Hope a few days before Mary James’ body
was found in the fishpond of her La Canada
home.
Fortunately for us, the terms of a recent-
ly enacted law gave us the privilege of
introducing into evidence against the de-
of the circumstances
Winona James’ death.
we made full use of this
privilege, despite heated objections on the
counsel. Pike’s Peak
and his
Rogers was followed to the stand by
Gerald Rogers, grocery clerk who was
with James at the time he “discovered”
Winona’s drowned body in the bathtub of
their auto court bungalow. Three other
witnesses from Colorado who gave testi-
mony damaging to the defense were Grace
Yarnell, cousin of Winona Wallace James;
Irene Snider, record clerk at the Beth-El
Hospital at Colorado Springs where Win-
ona ‘was treated for head injuries suppos-
edly received in the automobile accident;
and Dr. D. B. Gilmore, coroner who had
performed an autopsy on the drowned
girl’s body.
Insurance company representatives tes-
tified that James had collected $14,000 on
the “double
Winona’s life.
he had expected to collect $21,400, but had
been forced to accept only $3,500 in a
mobile accident while driving a car to
which James
Could the murderously inclined barber
have tampered with the steering apparatus
of his nephew’s automobile? It was the
obvious, but unproved, implication.
In a desperate defense maneuver, the
the stand and
sullenly denied all knowledge of how his
actually came to her death.
the fact that his confession
had been admitted into evidence after a
four-day battle betwéen his attorneys and
Ourselves, during. which counsel for the
defense repeatedly had charged that the
confession was obtained under duress and,
on the last day of her life, and that if she
had not accidentally drowned in the gold-
fish pond, Hope must have Killed her
himself,
On Friday, July 17th, the defense rested,
and my co-prosecutor, John Barnes, began
his opening argument to the jury. Calmly,
dispassionately, he demanded ‘the death
Penalty for Robert S. James, whom he
characterized as the most vicious, ruthless,
cold-blooded murderer ever to be tried
in the state of California. He declared
James was a “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,”
able to turn on crocodile tears as one
would turn water on and off at a faucet,
“Send this man to the gallows,” Barnes
begged the jurors. “End the life of this
cold-blooded killer—this .man who killed
without compunction and now has the
brazen effrontery to come into this court
and tell you he is innocent.”
For two and one-half days Barnes
pleaded the State’s cause before an atten-
tive jury. At the conclusion of his impres-
sive address, attorneys for the defense
began their arguments as to why the life
of their client should be spared. They des-
cribed James as an innocent victim of cir-
cumstances over which he had no control,
and pointed out that Charles Hope, who
had already admitted his guilt, should
alone pay the penalty for the crime, if any
had been committed.
On July 25th, the case went to the jury.
Before long it returned with the verdict,
“Guilty of murder in the first degree.”
As the jury did not recommend impris-
onment, death on the gallows was man-
datory.
After many legal battles, at 10:01 on the
morning of May Ist, 1942, six years and
walked up the thirteen pale blue steps to
the death trap in the gallows chamber on
the top floor of the prison. Thirteen min-
utes later, Dr. Alex Miller, the prison phy-
sician, pronounced him dead,
Charles Hope, James’ accomplice, was
given a life sentence for his admitted part
in the crime,
Epitor’s Nore
The name Blanche Rowe, as used in
this story, is not the real name of the
person concerned. This innocent person
has been given q fictitious name to pro-
tect her identity. A picture of the
| Pave 46.” Robert James, appears on
page 46,
THE MAD CHEMIST’s SECRET
(Continued from page 11) and Smith kept
on doing nothing. .
“How about this woman?” I asked Smith,
“T don’t remember,” was all I could get
out of him.
Later in the day the two wives, at the
request of Mrs. Edith Smith, were intro-
duced. They shook hands. Neither seemed to
hold a grudge against the other.
“Was John very bad in Kansas?” asked
the first Mrs. Smith.
“No,” replied the Kansas wife. “He was
like a preacher or a Sunday School teacher
all the time.”
In September, 1931, seven months after
the “accident,” John Smith was brought be-
fore the court on an insanity charge. Drs,
Max Witte, of Clarinda, Iowa, and George
Donohoe, of Cherokee, superintendents of
the Iowa State Insane Hospitals, conducted
the examination. Then both testified Smith
was insane. Judge W. C. Cooper of the
District Court thereupon sentenced Smith
to the ward for the criminally insane at the
Anamosa, Iowa, penitentiary. 'The provision
was made that, should he ever be declared
sane, Smith would be tried for attempting
fraud on an insurance company.
But about the dead body that was found
in Smith’s automobile.
Smith continued to deny all knowledge of
the automobile fire and to refuse any infor-
mation concerning the body. “I don’t re-
member,” was his only answer.
Part of the country were appealed to. Rec-
ords in morgues were investigated. Death
reports in health departments were looked
into. Medical colleges came in for question-
ing by the authorities,
it is the general belief that he either robbed
Some country graveyard of a newly buried
body, or that he Purchased the body from
some undertaker who had been too fright-
ened to make a confession. The fact that the
body had been embalmed precluded the
an undertaker,
No description of the dead man could
be secured because of the condition of the
body, and the charts of the teeth, which are
retained by the dentists, are the only means
of identification the officers possess.
With John Smith in the prison for the
criminally insane, and the burned body of
the stranger safely buried in the Perry
Cemetery but no longer in the Smith burial
lot, State Agent Tuller looks upon the case
as closed, even though the dead man has not
been identified,
\
(Contin
gotten |}
ing, say
Dearybu
anythin;
replied
The di
and his
sence of
they dep
1} Mrs. Me
furnishe:
Mrs. Ji
had not :
for work
previous
“He m,
off duty
not been
room Sa
clothes h
appeared
left it Fi
take in ;
young ms
have the :
She furt)
her new rc
to her that }
Rather, he ;
his job and
ville.
“May we }
Gilreath as)
“Of cours:
to a large
that looked
A careful
order with .
ings of the
young man
Places. The
with neat st:
chiefs and t}
the closet, a:
were lined u
top shelf of -
case was foi
The contents
writing desk
departure, 4
salutation, “
Pleased the \
Swing of his
Deputy Br:
fellow meant
letter,” he sa;
“It certain):
companion.
The two off
requested her
once, should
whereabouts
Calls to eac}
ville showed
his descriptio)
“Let’s try
Sarages now,’
There are ma:
size of Gaine
It was late i;
vice station jin
the answers to
ished a fruitle:
m™ Robert James locked his Los Angeles
barbershop carefully and walked to a
bar down the: street. He and several
friends met there each night after work
for a pick-up drink. He joined two of
them. . After several rounds, he com-
plained of the quality of: the liquor ard
suggested that the three of them drive
of La Canada, where he would serve
them a brand of imported Scotch which
he promised was. excellent. They
agreed.
They parked in the drive, by the
garden, and he called from the garage
for them to proceed to the house.
Mary would let them in. |
They knew Mrs. Mary James, a
Her feet held puzzling punctures.
/D SADIST’S VEINS
E MOUTHS OF THE
ENTED TO DO THE
K HE HAD IN MIND
out to his house’ in the nearby suburb.
pretty, shapely. woman of 28 wip had
been, until her marriage last spring,
the manicurist in Robert’s barbershop.
They were a happy couple and Robert
had just: told them, in the bar down-
town, that sometime that winter he
would become a father. The two friends
entered the garden and started for the
rambling house. They were approach-'
ing a small, shallow fish pond when the
first. of them’ stopped./
“Look!” he said, pointing. °
A woman was lying on the terrace,
-with her head and shoulders over the
- rim of the pond and her face under the
‘water. They quickly pulled her: out.
While one of them felt for a pulse, the
other ran to tell Robert. .
“Hurry!” he gasped.
““Your wife
. . drowned!” ‘
.
James’ expression, incredulous, turned
to horror when he saw the body.
“Call. our doctor!” he said. “His
number’s on the cover ,of the phone
“book in the hall!”
He knelt and took Mary in his arms.
“She must have had a fainting spell,”
he mumbled. “Mary! Mary! . Open
your eyes... !”
The doctor arrived within minutes
and pronounced Mrs. Mary James dead.
As her physician, he had been aware
of her infrequent fainting spells.
~ “She must have fallen into the pond,”
he’said, puzzled, “but that wouldn’t ex- .
plain the cut on her big toe or those
little punctures on her leg and foot.”
The limb was badly swollen and dis-
colored. “Either the cut became in-
fected, which it doesn’t seem to be, or
‘she had an allergy to insect. bites.”
James was inconsolable.
“We were so happy,” he said, “with
the baby coming. I shouldn’t have left —
her alone, knowing that she had faint-
ing spells. It’s my fault.”
Hs friends tried to comfort him but
he still was inconsolable when the
ambulance from the funeral. ‘parlor
came to take his bride of four months
away.
“There will have to be. a hearing,”
the doctor told him later, after he had
' quieted the barber with a mild seda-
tive. “A coroner's inquest after the
autopsy—”
“Inquest? Autopsy? But she drowned!
You said so, yourself!”
The doctor explained patiently. He
could not sign a death certificate which
was required before burial without
being certain that there were not other
, factors ‘contributing to™ “Mrs, James’
strange. death: ;
. “A weak heart, perhaps, or possibly
she had a stroke. Maybe the leg swell-
ing had something to do with it. But
I’m positive the police officials will in-
sist on the hearing and post-mortem
examination.”
‘ He explained, again, that all cases of
death resulting from other than natural
causes had to be reported. When the
other three men left, Robert James was
sitting in a chair,.his head in his hands,
crying like a baby.
‘ At the inquest, he was still unable to
control his tears. He told his story in
a choked voice and his testimony was
corroborated by the doctor and the
two friends. He showed the jury a
letter he had found later, on his wife’s
writing desk, to her sister, in which
she explained that she had cut her toe
several days before and was alarmed
over the swelling that had developed
in her lower leg. She was afraid, she
said, she would have to tell her hus-
.band, since it would require medical
treatment. But she hated to, because
he fussed and worried over her so,
since her pregnancy.
The autopsy report was read to the
meeting. Drowning was given as the
cause of death, but the pathologist
listed an “acute cellulitis (soft tissue
inflammation) of the left leg as a
contributing factor,” which could pos-
sibly have resulted from insect bites
or infection from the cut on the toe.
A Los Angeles detective from the
homicide squad was present, as well
as Pat Foley, a veteran police reporter
from the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner
who had been in the building and
dropped in on the hearing on the off-
chance of a story. But the jury failed
to agree on the cause of death. Some
of the panel expressed doubt that a
person in a faint could fall into cold
water and not be revived by the shock
of it, at least to the point of raising
her lips out of water. Robert James
stalked from the room in a rage.
“My wife was an extremely happy
woman,” he had told the jury. “With
the baby coming, she had every reason
-to want to live so she couldn’t have
committed suicide. As for murder...
it’s completely ridiculous. Why would
anyone want to harm anyone as sweet
and lovely as my Mary? It had to be
an accident.”
Foley had listened to the proceedings
carefully.
“Are you going to do anything?” he
asked the detective.
The officer shrugged.
“Since the jury couldn’t reach a de-
continued on next page
35
PoE eT
,
ter to her
Teer ~ look like
‘fect alibi. He
ind the letter
right.”
itiful note left
visualize the
g of a snake’s
the words her
1 leg, the “cut”
—all designed
hideous crime.
dicated a dia-
seal the actual
boiled at the
irber, smugly
norals charge.
e’s statement,
s office in the
James brought
at his reaction
confronted by
vung open and
‘ by a guard.
who had aided
‘ous crime his
_ his face went
ou know this
the gruesome
His eyes re-
heard me ac-
vife to a table
1 mouth with
her bare left
> rattlesnakes,
one of them
the helpless
»venteen hours
suffer excru-
ited hopefully
ines the death
Finally,
le was to
_ t at your
ual hour, you
carried her to
sly filled with
id under water
your ghastly
3 just dictated
add to it?”
ord Robert S.
is status in tke
iat of the ser-
sist him in his
his bride.
several hours,
3s wife’s death
: for the actual
d been “think-
several weeks
nm of the crime
in Long Beach
uly, acting as
had
-ntion, he
ype.
ried insurance.
I told him,
ggested several
41 he’d take“he
.ook as if it had
old him lots o
that. Then he
wder and said
a couple of good snakes and do the job
himself.
“It was agreed that if he did that, I would
give him half the money that I collected
from the insurance. I gave him twenty
dollars and he went out and bought the
snakes. It was dog days for the snakes,
though, and they were blind. They wouldn’t
bite anyone. He-put a rabbit in the box
with them. The next morning one of the
rattlers was dead and the rabbit was
walking around! The second batch was the
same way—no good. I laughed'at him about
his rattlesnakes, and said we would lay off
them. ‘ ;
“Then one morning he took my car and
kept it about three days. He came back
drunk and told me he’d gone to Phoenix
and got a jar full of black widow spiders.
He showed them to me and said, ‘All you
have to do is to throw them in bed with her
and they’ll do the work.’ I laughed and
threw his spiders out.
“Finally he told me he knew where he
could get some really ‘hot’ snakes. That
was on Saturday. I gave him some money
and he went and got two more, put them in
my garage and then left. I drank all night
and was pretty tight when he got there
the next morning, Sunday.
“Now, here’s something else,”
went on confidentially. “Hope knew Mary
was pregnant and that she was in poor
health and was afraid to have a baby. He
posed as a medical student and told her he’d
perform ‘an abortion on her. As to her being
taped and .tied up, he took care of that
himself. I left. the house about 1 o’clock
Sunday afternoon and returned about 4. She
was in bed covered up. He said he had
performed the abortion and had put her
foot in the box of snakes and one had bitten
her, but the poison hadn’t taken effect
aside from making her leg swell up.
“Naturally, I was all upset and I drank
all night. About 6 o’clock the next morn-
ing he came back. We talked the situation
over and I said we’d better call it off, but
he thought we’d gone too far. He said,
‘They'll know it’s a snake-bite, and she’s
going to talk. You leave it to me. She
smokes cigarettes occasionally and lots of
people die by smoking in bed. I'll burn
the house up’.”
According to James’ statement, he then
took a long drive in an effort to “sober up”
before going to his shop. At noon, he said,
Hope called for him and informed him of
the fact that Mary James was now dead.
James inquired whether or not the house
had been burned.
“He said, ‘No. I threw her in the bathtub
and drowned her.’ I said, ‘You fool! That’s
the worst thing you could have done. I
had a wife drown in a bathtub in Colorado
‘ a little while ago!’ Of course,” James went
on extenuatingly, “he didn’t know that.
If he had, he wouldn’t have done it.”
When the conscienceless James had fin-
ished this story, in which he sought to place
’ the killing on Hope, he added that he had
told Hope he had “played hell,” but that he,
James, would take the rap. “I said there
weren’t enough men in the district attor-
ney’s office to make me talk,” he boasted,
“and there wouldn’t have been if he hadn’t
! blabbed.”
“James,” Mr. Fitts said, “while you’re
making this statement, let’s clean it all up,
if you will. Did you kill your third wife
back in Colorado?” .
“No, that was all on the level, absolutely.”
“You admit, however, that you and Hope
r
f
:b a little bit in were to split the money you received from
would die 1M yary’s insurance policies?”
was ridiculous.
didn’t pay an
“Thats it,”
Y “And although you claim Hope is guilty of
Soon after thatthe actual killing, you were willing that
rattlesnakes 0
rattlers coul
att be done? That was all right with you?”
“That was all right with me.”
ves; that he'd get pe was questioned ‘regarding the letter
y
¢
James.
his wife had written her sister.
“I dictated it to her. She wrote what I
told her to write.”
“After she’d been bitten by the rattle-
snake?”
“Yes.
After James was returned to his cell, the
statement he had just made was thoroughly
discussed.
It was obvious that James had lied, and
most unconvincingly, tn an effort to depict
Charlie Hope as the murderer. Hope was
a.weak-willed, spineless, not-too-intelligent
individual who had participated in the
monstrous plot solely because of the “easy
money” that had been promised him. He
had neither the brains nor the initiative
to conceive or carry out the satanic scheme
unless directed by someone of superior
mentality.
On the other hand, James was wary,
cunning, aggressive. Aside from the stupid-
ity displayed in his selection of a partner
to assist him in the bestial undertaking, he
had shown a marked cleverness in planning
and executing the diabolical deed. In fact,
he had come very close to committing the
“perfect crime.”
After both James and Hope had been
indicted by the Grand Jury on charges of
first-degree - murder, Mr. Fitts, Captain
Southard and I packed our bags and left
Los Angeles.
Southard traveled to Colorado Springs,
where he uncovered facts that revealed
a striking similarity between the deaths of
Winona and Mary James. ’
Both women had died soon after being
married to the redheaded master barber.
.Both had been heavily insured, with James
named as beneficiary. Both had written
notes to relatives a few hours before their
deaths. Winona, it was revealed, had stated
in a letter to her sister that the blood from
the wound in her head, incurred during
the automobile “accident” on the Pike’s
Peak grade, soiled the bed sheets, and that
she was anxious to wash her hair but had
been forbidden to do so by her husband.
Assuming that James had murdered
both wives, the motive and modus operandi
were almost identical.
Southard learned from J. D. Rogers,
Pike’s Peak highway superintendent, who
had personally investigated the accident at
the time it occurred, that a bloodstained
hammer had been found in the car which
carried Winona James over the mountain
side. It was the only tool not in its proper
place in the tool-box. The upholstery in
the driver’s seat,, where Winona James
was said to have been sitting, was streaked
with blood from top to bottom. Rogers
said the car plunged down the road at a
thirty-five degree angle, at a point where
it would normally have dropped ten thou-
sand feet. However, by some freak of
chance, the car had swerved a little and
crashed into a boulder only one hundred
and fifty feet below the road. On the
highway, Rogers had followed the tire
tracks eighty feet to the place where the
car had plunged over the cliff. Alongside
the tire tracks he had found the footprints
of a man, grim indication that James, after
battering his wife’s head with the hammer
until she was unconscious, had deliberately
walked beside the car while steering it to
the edge of the embankment, then pushed
it over. When Winona had miraculously
managed to survive the terrible head
wound, James had waited only until she
was removed from the hospital to com-
plete his temporarily frustrated plan.
He had then, presumably, drowned her
in the bathtub of their auto-camp cottage.
When the rattlesnake bite had failed to
prove fatal to Mary James, he had drowned
her in the bathtub of their La Canada
cottage.
On May 28th, 1936, a jury of eight men
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How to kill a wife
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LISTEN TO HER
BEG WHILE YOU
STICK HER FOOT
INTO A BOX OF
~ RATTLESNAKES!
tically to tug at the body. Recovering from his first shock,
he lifted the body gently and laid it on a plot of grass at the
lagoon’s edge. Quickly they felt the heart, but there was
no sign of life. Then James hurried into the house. and
telephoned the Las Encinas sanitarium nearby for a doctor.
HE doctor arrived almost simultaneously with two uni-
formed policemen. The doctor immediately announced
that the woman was dead and the policemen carried her
into the house. There the doctor looked at the body again
and noted the missing shoe and stocking. Examining the
lower limb, he was obviously confused. He found it terribly
swollen and ‘discolored and on the foot, near the «
made out a pair of minute, pin-point breaks in ¢!
around which the flesh had turned a sickening gree:
“Sprained ankle?” one of the policemen inquired
“I thought so, at first,” the doctor replied, “but
as if she might have been stung by something . . aps
by a snake.” be
“A snake!” Patrolman Burke exclaimed. “There are
rattlers out here sometimes.”
The officers began a.routine check of the premises. As
they searched, James ‘sat in a chair beside his wife’s body
on a bed and stared at her, his face ashen, clasping and
unclasping his hands. ‘Then one of the officers, stopping
momentarily over a writing desk, called out: “What’s this?
She’d been writing a letter—”
“A letter?” James lifted his head to stare at the paper
in the officer’s hand. He reached for it. The officer hesitated,
then handed it over. James read it, bit his lip and slowly
passed it along to the doctor with the guttural, plaintive
comment: ae
“Poor baby . . . it must have been terrible!”
The doctor read the letter. It was: addressed to a “Dear
Sis,” and it told of Mary’s plan to visit the sister. Apparently
the letter had: been written as the pain of infection mounted
in the woman’s system,’ The early part was clearly legible,
but as it went on, the hand became less steady and finally
’ trailed off, leaving the note unfinished.
The last paragraph was the important one—or such of it
as had been completed. It read: “. . . I’m waiting for Bob
to come home and he’s bringing some people. But I feel
so terrible . . . something must have bitten me because
my leg is swelling terribly. I thought I heard something
when I went out to empty the garbage this morning and
then I felt something sharp and hot on my foot .. . I didn’t
wear any stockings. It’s been getting worse every hour and
now I’m feeling weak and sick. . . . I think I'll go out to the
lagoon and sit there where it’s cool. Oh, if my darling would
only come to me...”
On the desk near where the officer had found the un-
finished letter,, was an envelope. It had been addressed to a
sister of the dead woman. Even the stamp had been carefully
pasted on, apparently before the letter had been written.
An ambulance bore away the body of Mary James.
James watched it go, apparently too stricken to give intelli-
gible instructions for its disposition. The coroner of Los
Angeles County was hurriedly summoned to the city morgue
to perform an autopsy on the body.
Late that night a telephone call informed the bereaved
husband that his wife had died from acute poisoning and
strangulation, the latter from the water as the attractive
housewife lay face down in the lagoon.
It was apparent, the coroner’s report said, that Mary
James had staggered to the pool, had either swooned or
slipped as she reached the bank and had fallen with her
head and shoulders in the water. She had been too weak from
the ravages of the snake venom, to save herself.
EVEN months after the death of Mary James, a brilliant
young assistant district attorney of Los Angeles County
by the name of Eugene Williams found himself momentarily
with time on his hands. He and a crew of special investi-
gators had just wound up a case which was to. become
historic in Los Angeles County, a case resulting in the
conviction of a woman for the murder, seven years before,
of her husband.
It had been one of the many splendid accomplishments
which had marked Williams as an outstanding officer.
Scanning the Los Angeles Law Journal one afternoon,
he came upon a notation concerning a suit decided in
favor of a life insurance company and against one Robert S.
James of La Canada, in the Sierra Madre foothills. The
name struck a spark in Williams’ intelligence and he began
to muse over the strange. happenings in the quiet suburb
on that evening. seven months before.
And suddenly the belief grew in Williams’ mind that all
was not as it had seemed in the death of Mary James. In
the first place, the insurance company which had won a
victory in the suit of James revealed some startling informa-
tion. James had insured his wife for a total of $15,000 on
a double indemnity for accidental death—an unseemly sum
considering their station in life.
Shortly after the discovery of this excessive insurance,
Williams learned something even more disturbing. In 1922,
James had married one Winona Wallace in Los Angeles. He
had been a barber then, but had not owned his own shop.
Instead, he worked on a weekly salary and had been known
as a man of considerable talent for getting into financial
difficulties. His income was never sufficient. ,
He had managed, however, to buy a car and in it he
had taken Winona on a honeymoon trip to Colorado. They
were driving near Glen Cove, in the Rockies, when Winona,
at the wheel, suddenly felt faint and before James could
snatch the wheel from her, had swerved from the mountain
road. James, fortunately, managed to leap from the car and
save himself, but the machine plunged over an embankment
and disappeared with Winona slumped over the wheel.
Shortly thereafter James had made his way to police
headquarters at Glen Cove and reported that his wife had
. died in the accident. Police officers and a physician sped
to the scene and discovered that the catapulting car had
caught on a projecting rock formation about fifty feet
down the embankment and held there. Winona was found
grievously (Continued on page 54)
31
“Dear Sis,” tl » note read. “Just a line
this morning to :t you know I am pretty
sick. My leg i all swollen, something
bit me while w itering my flowers this
morning. I cu my toe yesterday and
having lots of | id luck, this is old blue
Monday, but n » Daddy will be home
early tonight ar | he takes good care of
me. Be sure an! write me soon and I'll
let you know h w I get along.”
Letter Part Of Plot
HE letter to Mary James’ sister. Mrs.
R. H. Stew: rt, in Las Vegas, Nev.,
was part of Rob rt James’ diabolical plot.
Prosecutor Wil ams contended. I had
previously obta ned the service of a
handwriting ex pert who was of the
opinion that another hand had guided
Mary’s when se wrote it. Probably
after James had .tupefied her with liquor,
he had forced her to write that note to
provide the “perfect alibi” should the
snakebite plot reveal itself—and even be-
fore he had actually subjected her to the
inhuman torture with the deadly viper!
Then there was the almost unreadable
scrawl of the no’e and the misspelling of
the word “watering.” Marv James, we
knew, had had a fair education, while on
the othér hand her dashing husband,
while suave and sophisticated on the sur-
face, had never «ven completed grammar
school.
The sheriff's « fice contribued still an-
other fact which \elped to point the finger
of wholesale iurder-for-insurance at
Robert S, Jame:.
A short time before the raid on the
bungalow when Lois and James were ar-
rested, the barber had opened negotia-
tions with an insurance company to un-
derwrite a large policy on his niece!
It was a logic: |, damning case the state
steadily built up against James, and yet,
as the trial drev near a close, the state
still lacked that definite, concrete factor
on which to sen 1 the barber to the gal-
lows. At every turn the same obstacle
reared up to co: found the prosecution.
Hope’s word : gainst James’,
With summations only a few hours
away a distinct air of cheerfulness
hung over the legal battery at the de-
fense table.
Dark clouds of doubt hovered nimbus-
like over the weary state’s attorneys. De-
feat lurked just beyond the horizon.
Then, in the eleventh hour of a seem-
ingly losing fight, Mrs. Connie Zimmer-
man and her daughter, Elaine Preston,
stepped into the picture.
The state placed mother and daughter
on the stand and both swore that early
on the afternoon of that grimly marked
Sabbath when James claimed Hope was
setting the stage for. Mary James’ bputal
murder, they saw Hope and his wife,
many miles from La Canada.
They swore they saw Hope across the
street from their home on Willowbrook
avenue in Los Angeles as he picked up
his wife in James’ tan roadster.
So unexpected was the appearance of
mother and daughter that the defense
was unprepared to offset their testimony
beyond a vigorous extemporaneous cross-
examination which failed to change their
story.
It was the turning point. Soon there-
after the case went to the jury.
A short time later Foreman Frank T.
Allen led the solemn ten men and two
women into Judge Fricke’s court. It
wag early evening and the night lights
winked from the street outside. Fore-
man Allen handed the formal written ver-
dict to the court clerk who handed it to
the judge, ;
“We find the defendant, Robert S.
James, guilty of murder in the first de-
gree,” it read.
James received the verdict calmly. He
blinked once. The verdict meant only
one thing—the gallows. As he was be-
ing led away to his cell he blithely re-
marked to his guardians:
“Well, boys, I guess you won't have
to bother about me much longer.”
And as the iron gate of his cell clanged
behind him he made another wry ob-
servation:
“They kind of hung it on me, didn’t
they?”
The case was over as far as Robert
James was concerned. Under the laws
of California such a verdict carries a man-
datory sentence of death. James is now
awaiting that death in San Quentin.
And what of the others?
They led the ex-sailor into court. He
had pleaded guilty but Judge Fricke had
previously ruled he would not set the de-
gree of Hope’s guilt until after the James
trial was concluded. :
“This court,” said Judge Fricke, “finds
you have pleaded guilty to murder in the
first degree.”
Hope collapsed and sobbed. He had
expected a lesser degree of murder would
be charged against him for his part in
the heinous crime, but he was mistaken.
He did, however, escape the noose.
Because the judge, and not a jury, had
set the degree of guilt, it was not manda-
tory for Judge Fricke to impose the death
penalty.
“Life imprisonment!”
A-few days after Hope was sentenced
I saw Lois Wright. In the two months
since that night when the bungalow she
shared with James was raided, she had
matured considerably, although she still
remained the lovely little Southern belle
who had sobbed so brokenly on the wit-
ness stand.
“I’m going to change my name and go
away,” she said. “I’m young and people
forget. I’m going to try and find a new
happiness, clean and fresh—not like that
other—”
The vibrant ring in her voice and the
light which shone from her big eyes, told
me a secret.
“Tf I’m not mistaken, young lady,” I
said, “you have a pretty definite idea of
where you're going to find that happi-
ness. And I’ll bet he’s a swell person.”
“Yes,” she replied and her voice
dropped almost to a whisper while a faint
pink flush touched her fresh young
cheeks, “He—he’s what you said—a swell
person. He knows all about this but he
doesn’t care. He loves me and wants to
marryane. I know I’m going to be happy
with him.”
“I’m sure of it,” was all I could echo.
going to get some money tonight!”
Atkinson clainied he then drove Kelly
to South Main street, to the west side of
the railroad reservation. There they
stopped and Kelly got out.
“He told me :o drive around to Gal-
veston avenue, on the other side of the
on and wait for him,” Atkinson
said.
“IT drove around there and stopped
my car. I waited a few minutes. Then,
back on the reservation, I heard shots.
I was scared. I threw in the clutch and
started up, an’ drove home. I had
hardly got therc when Kelly came run-
ning in.
“He had his giin in his hand. - He said,
‘I’ve killed a ma: !’ And he went into the
bathroom and lroke the gun and ‘took
out two empty shells!”
A day or two later, Atkinson claimed,
Kelly vanished. He hadn’t seen him
since, couldn’t magine where he had
gone.
60
“What sort of clothes did Kelly wear
that night?” I asked.
“He had on a cap, a dark coat and
sweater and light pants.”
It checked with the description of the
shadowy slayer. But there. was one
thing about Atkinson’s story that stuck
in my mind as a big question mark. He
said that when he heard the report of
gunshots he had sped his car homeward
and that he had just arrived at his house
‘when Kelly came running out of the
darkness.
But from where Loper was slain, a man
would have had to run nearly four blocks,
and according to Benny Atkinson’s story
this mystery man-had raced that distance
and arrived there almost as speedily as the
car!
I scratched my head. I wanted time :
to look into this recital. ,
“All right, Benny,” I said. “Take him
back, men.”
The officers returned him to the cell.
I believed he could be held there in Niles
City jail, while we checked his tale with
less danger of some lawyer getting word
of his predicament and bringing him into
court with a writ of habeas corpus. We
weren’t ready for the court stage yet.
The officers and I turned our attention
to the hunt for a man named Blackie
Kelly. "We drew blank.
Police knew of no such character. The
name was unknown to the district attor-
ney’s office, to our best sources of under-
world information, Blackie Kelly was a
name, a description and nothing else. Or
was he just imagination—Atkinson’s im-
agination?
I talked. to Atkinson again. “Think
hard,-Benny,” I urged. “Try to think
of some lead you can give us on Blackie
Kelly. If your story is true we want to
get you out of this jail, and if it is true,
then Kelly can be found.”
The despondent Atkinson had no idea
_where the mysterious Blackie could be.
No clue,
brightened
speak abot
below Wa:
of Forth \
So the r
tective H:
train that
later he w:
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ported.
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T WAS
had. |
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Benny
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Mpa , Major, hanged Calif.
ETEOT
* ROBERT JAMES was taking two friends to his La
Canada bungalow for dinner that sweltering evening of
August 5th. Tooling his convertible along the winding
road that leads to the foothills of the Sierra Madre range
of mountains east of Los Angeles, the sandy haired driver ;
said, “I picked up four of the most beautiful steaks you
ever saw. You're sure to enjoy them because nobody can
cook a steak like my wife, Mary.”
Easing the open car into a short lane and stopping
smoothly before a rambling little house, he blew the horn
enthusiastically and called out in an unmistakable drawl,
“We're here, honey child . . . and mighty hungry!”
The guests slid out of the car with Robert James and
started toward the bungalow. James called out again to
his wife, but, as in the first instance, there was no reply.
A depressing silence pervaded the house and against it the
glad whoops of the merry barber sounded unaccountably
ominous.
James pushed open the door and entered the house, his
friends following. :
Mary was not in the kitchen. A look of alarm overspread
James’ face.
He went quickly to the bedroom, only to find it empty.
He knocked gingerly at the bathroom door. There was no
reply and he opened it carefully. The bathroom was empty.
Stunned into a foreboding silence, he tried the second
bedroom, used principally for storage, with the same results.
Finally he turned towards his friends and said weakly:
“Che can’t be far. Let’s take a look around the place.”
The three went outside. James turned off to the rear
of the house, searching through the underbrush, the roses
and berry bushes and the overgrowth of camellia and rho-
dodendron shrubs. One of his friends went out around the
front of the house where there were still more rhododen-
drons, camellias and roses and some lilacs. There also was
a small pool there, more of a lagoon than; a pool, perhaps.
Not fit for swimming, but stocked with a few ornamental fish
the couple had picked up from time to time.
Soon James heard a shout: ‘Here! Come here, quick,
Bob... back here. . .”
James hurried toward the sound, The friend was standing
at the edge of the lagoon, his face white, a trembling hand
‘pointing at the water.
James’ gaze followed the line of gesture and there, her
head and shoulders in the water, her feet on the wet bank,
he saw the body of a woman. She was clothed in light
summer dress, but there was no shoe or stocking’ on her
left foot.
“Oh, no, it’s Mary!” James exclaimed and began fran-
In this monstrous slaying, a rattlesnake was the murder weapon!
30 a vee
Dy.
by PHIL BRYANT as
LIVE DRAGNET MAGA ZINE, April, 1970
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The dramatic episode closed with
Hope himself enacting the réle poor
Mary James played. He stretched out
on his back and demonstrated how the
pretty victim’s leg had dangled over the
edge of the table before it had been thrust
into the box of coiling death. As Hope’s
leg plunged into the empty box a shud-
der ran through the courtroom.
When it had been fully demonstrated
for the jurors, Hope got off the table and
resumed his seat between two -burly
guards. x
“I wouldn’t have cared,” he was heard
to mumble, “if there had been a live rat-
tler in'that box. I almost wish—” -
A woman’s piercing shriek echoed
through the courtroom. Then a deep,
masculine voice cried out: ;
“Look! Look! It’s out of the box!”
It was true! From the box which con- -
tained “Lethal” and “Lightning” one of
the reptiles — “Lethal” —had somehow
escaped. How the glass top had slid back
to permit this remains a mystery to this
day ; but the next moment an angry fugi-
tive was swiftly writhing across the stone
floor of the courtroom. Pandemonium
filled the place. Several women fainted
and everyone was filled with concern.
Snake Joe sprang from his place ori the.
long bench of waiting witnesses... He
shouted a warning for all to remain quiet
and still but he might as well have. or-
dered Niagara to retreat.
“Lethal” slithered across the floor and
under a bookcase. While every armed
official in the room whipped out a gun,
Snake Joe fashioned a wire loop on the
end of a window pole.
Capture Escaped Snake
¥ HE youthful snake expert poked gin-
gerly under the bookcase and chased
the deadly fugitive into an open space
where he finally effected the capture and
er was restored to the glass-topped
Ox. .
Then, for days and weeks, the case
settled into a tremendous legal battle.
Witness after witness paraded across the
stand. They came from Alabama and
Colorado, from Texas and upstate Cali-
fornia. j
The big thing, of course, was to get into
evidence the confession James had made
to us after holding out for more than a
week following the bizarre talc Hope
had related. The, shrewd members of
defense counsel were prepared. to fight
this to the last ditch and for four days
staged an opposition which prevented in-
troduction of the James statement.
The brilliant defense lawyers used
every legal weapon at their command to
halt the prosecution’s effort to place the
statement before the jury. They raised
the oft-heard cry of “duress,” claiming
brutality had been employed.
In his repudiation of a statement as yet
unintroduced, James declared dramatical-
ly he had been beaten and starved.
“I told the officers finally that I would
gladly admit murder if they wouldn't beat
me up again,” James cried. “I told them
I couldn’t stand another beating like the
one they gave me. I—I, well, I signed
some sort of a statement.”
“When was this so-called beating ad-
ministered?” asked Prosecutor Eugene
Williams.
“On May 2, several weeks after my
arrest,” said James.
“Who were the witnesses?” demanded
Williams. ‘
“Well, Southard and I were alone at
the time,” said James sullenly.
~
“Call Captain Jack Southard to the
stand,” snapped Williams... Southard, a
detective attached to the district attor-
ney’s staff, took the oath,,
“What have you to say about this, Cap-
tain?” asked Williams. I felt my heart
sinking because I knew what. was com-
ing. ‘
“I Did Hit Him”
oe AMES applied a foul epithet to the
young woman I believed he killed,”
replied Captain Southard calmly. “It
was a name so vile that I lost my temper.
Her body was even then in the coun
morgue, after we had exhumed it to loo
for the snakebite on the foot.. He called
her—well, I don’t care to repeat the ex-
pression—”
“But did you beat him?” persisted Wil-
liams,
“Well,” said Captain Southard ‘evenly,
“I did hit him with my open hand. As I
say, his revolting remark aroused my
temper. It was an impulse.”
It was a staggering blow for the prose-
cution but Williams was not dismayed.
The smirk that never left the face
of Robert James, the rattlesnake
Romeo, all during his trials on
morals and murder charges is shown
here. But it faded when the jury
brought in its verdict. ;
“You say this beating occurred on
May 2?” he asked James. “That's right,”
said James with a smirk at the jury.
“And you say that is why you signed ©
a statement?”
“Right again.”
There were signs of fidgeting at the de-
fense table. For a moment I was puzzled
over the prosecutor’s line of cross-ex-
amination and then I realized what he
was driving at.
James had signed the statement several
days before the affair between the barber
and Captain Southard!
f and when’ the statement was ad-
mitted’ to the proceedings, it would be
simple for Williams to show that the
“beating” had nothing to do with James’
statement.
Relatives of James were called to the
stand to support the “insanity” phase of
the barber’s plea. Out of the Alabama
backlands came testimony to show that
James was not entirely rational on many
occasions in his past life. The defense
was conducting its case under a rule of
law known as the voir dire, which per-
mits an attack on a confession before it
is actually introduced. It amounted to a
courtroom filibuster, and the defense
brought from the musty records of the
old Tuscaloosa courthouse in Alabama
a transcript of proceedings held in 1882
in the matter of the sanity of Susan A.
Davis, a cousin of James’ grandfather.
The depositions rendered by J. S. Tar-
water, county clerk at 7 uscaloosa, told
of eerie wanderings by Susan Davis over
the Alabama hillsides.
“She went about in her nightgown at
night like a lost soul,” the document
stated as it'was read to the jury. “She
nigh scared the life out of a lot of folks.”
A sister of the accused barber gave
strong testimony to support the conten-
tion her brother was not sane.
“He was always a frail child,” she told
the jury. “He suffered from sick head-
aches. He was afraid of the dark. I have
believed him insane since 1924,”
. “At the end of his last visit to Birm-
ingham in 1934,” the state's attorney con-
tinued, “your brother proposed taking
our niece, who also is his niece, Lois
right, a girl then 17 ye:rs old, to Cali-
fornia, did he not?”
“He did.” °
“And at that time yo
insane?” ©
cl id.”
“And you allowed this insane man to
take your niece, who you | ave said you so
dearly love, from Birmingham to Cali-
fornia, stopping togetlier in tourist
camps?”
The woman answered:
“Lois Wright had never had an oppor-
tunity before to make a trip away from
home. All her opportunities were very
limited in Birmingham. We thought it
was a gorgeous chance for hier. We never
believed my brother woul! lead her into
trouble, even though we knew him as an
irresponsible person.”
It was not necessary for the prosecu-
tor to question the witness further. He
had established his point. And at the
end. of four days Judge Fricke ruled that
the confession from Jame: had not been
obtained through brutality and third de-
gree methods and permitted the state-
ment to be read to the jury.
believed him
Charge Hope Insane
7 Be defense immediately changed its
tactics and announced the insanity
plea was dropped. “We insist, however,”
declared Attorney Samuel J. Silverman.
“that our client is entirely innocent and
that the insane man is the state’s princi-
pal witness, Charles Hope, who says he
was hypnotized by our client.”
It was a master stroke and I could see
the jury seemed impressed. Hope’s story
was fantastic to say the least and his er-
.Yatic behavior had caused doubt in more
than one mind. James, meanwhile, had
remained cool throughout the trial.
Toward the end of the fifth week of
the sensational trial, there was a notice-
able trace of pessimism in the district at-
torney’s office. The state had not been
able to disprove many of the angles of
ae age story that it was lope and not
e, who had murdered M ry James. It
was Hope’s word against ames’ and we
all were ready to admit ti at James had
made a far better impressi n on the jury
than the ex-sailor.
Grimly the prosecuti n hammered
away at the mass of circv nstantial evi-
dence we of the sheriff’s office had so
diligently amassed. Williims used as
evidence the strange note w hich had been
found in the James home ‘he day I an
swered the first call.
59
Inspecting the fish pond, from left
to right, Charles Hope, D. A. Buron
Fitts, Robert James and Dep. D. A.
Eugene Williams and William Killion. Hy
T was a sweltering August evening
—August 5, to be exact—that
Robert James, a reasonably pros-
perous Los Angeles barber, tooled his
convertible along the winding road
that leads to the foothills of the
, Sierra Madre range to the east of
the City of the Angels.
With James were two -° friends
whom we shall know here as Al Har-
ris and Tommy Small. Since they
at no time were involved criminally
in the events which occurred before
that day and subsequently, their
true identities are withheld.
James, a tall, slender, sandy haired
man of thirty, was taking his
friends to his La Canada bungalow
for dinner. His wife, Mary, he said,
was expecting them and he was tak-
ing four huge steaks. Mary, he ex-
plained, with notable exuberance,
was the best steak cook in California.
Whirling the convertible into a
short lane and stopping with a
flourish before a rambling little
house, James blew the horn en-
thusiastically and called, in an un-
D odhill ;
mistakable Southern drawl, “We’re here, honey
child ...and mighty hungry!”
The guests slid out of the car with James and
started toward the bungalow. James called out
again to his wife, but, as in the first instance, there
was no reply. A depressing silence pervaded the
house and against it the glad whoops of the merry
barber sounded unaccountably ominous.
i : James pushed open the door and entered the
ae pag . house, his friends following.
“a : Mary was not in the kitchen. A look of alarm
overspread James’ face.
He went quickly to the bedroom, only to find it
empty. He knocked gingerly at the bathroom door.
There was no reply and he opened it carefully. The
bathroom was empty. Stunned into a foreboding
’ Silence, he tried the second bedroom, used prin-
cipally for storage, with the same results. Finally
he turned towards his friends and said weakly:
here must have
arguments, many
exchanged and
; shed between
before he made
sious plan to be
ind for all time.
Beautiful Mary James, the victim of one of the most
cold blooded and fiendish crimes ever perpetrated. ©
15
432 The Mammoth Book Of Murder
grounds, and he receivéd a'sentence of from one to fifty years sq
on three counts. The murder of Mary Busch James remained
unsolved.
It was Charles H. Hope, a friend and drinking companion of 4 |
James, who finally supplied the answers. Pulled in, Hope finally ©
broke down and the whole frightful story came out.
James had paid Hope one hundred dollars to buy a pair of
rattlesnakes for ‘a friend’. The first pair James placed in his -
chicken-coop wouldn’t even kill a chicken. The second, ina
cage with a rabbit, died the following day, leaving the rabbit ~""
with a slightly sore leg. The third set was put to the use for which . ~
they had been obtained.
On August 4, Hope arrived at the James bungalow to find
Mary, ina thin night-dress, gagged and blindfolded and strapped -
to a table. James opéned the lid of the box containing the =
rattlesnakes and placed Mary’s left foot in the box. Hope left
the house. He came back that night and the two men did some
drinking in the James garage. Robert James said that the snakes
hadn’t done the job; his wife was still alive. He watched the
black spiders for a while. He was very restless. Presently he left
the garage and went into the bungalow. At about four o’clock
a morning James came out and told Hope that his wife was
ead.
The two men carried Mary to the fish-pond and pushed her
head into the water.
“How did she die?’ Hope asked.
J ames replied: ‘She died in the bath-tub.’
Disappointed by both the rattlesnakes and the spiders, he
apparently had recalled the manner of his third wife’s death
and decided to profit from it again.
Hope pleaded guilty, turned State’s evidence, and received a |
life sentence.
James, after the Supreme Court of the U.S. ruled against him
was the last man to die by the rope in California. He was hange
in San Quentin. “
Classic Crimes 433
1936
ALBERT FISH
The Cannibal Killer
Horrific murders may be monstrous, but their perpetrators are
not by definition monsters. They are human beings. Some of
them are good-looking human beings. Some of them have
charm. :
It would surely be logical to suppose that a type of crime which
a normal person rightly believes he could never, under any
circumstances, even be tempted to commit would automatically
lead him to consider a person who did commit it so grossly
abnormal as to be incapable of responding to punishment or
deserving of it. But the opposite is true. The more horrific a
murder the greater the general desire to see its perpetrator
punished as severely as, or more severely than, the law permits.
This is no doubt due, in part, to a terror of the unthinkable,
but it is none the less perverse for that. A prime example
is afforded by the notorious case of Albert Fish, which is
excellently described by Dr Fredric Wertham in his book The
Show of Violence. In 1928, Albert Fish, who was a mild-
mannered man approaching 60 and the father of six children,
called at the home of a Mr and Mrs Budd in New York on
the pretext of offering their son a job. The Budds also had a
daughter, Grace, who was aged 10. Fish said he would like to
take Grace to a children’s birthday party which his sister was
giving, and the Budds, a little hesitantly, consented.
They never saw her again. But six years later they received
an unsigned letter, which read in part: ‘. . . I came to your flat
On the third of June, 1928, and under the pretense of taking
your daughter Grace to a party at my sister’s I took her up
to Westchester County, Worthington, to an empty house up
there, and I choked her to death. I cut her up and ate part of
her flesh.’
This letter was eventually traced back to Fish, and provided
an accurate account of what he had done. He subsequently
elaborated in it six signed confessions and in statements to
,
My
Certainly there must have
been many arguments, many
harsh words exchanged and
bitter tears shed between
the couple before he made
his final, vicious plan to be
rid of her and for all time.
Inspecting
to right,
Fitts, Rob
Eugene V
T was i
—Aug
Rober’
perous Lo
convertib
that leac
' Sierra M
the City
With
whom we
ris and
at no tin
in the ev
that day)
true iden
James,
man of
friends t
for dinn:
was expe
ing four
plained,
was the |
Whirli
short la
flourish
house, J
thusiasti
430 The Mammoth Book Of Murder
guests arrived home at around eight-fifteen. To Bob’s surprise “st
there were no welcoming lights. The house was dark and Mary
didn’t come running to meet him. They went inside. Mary wasn’t 2
in the pretty living-room or in the orchid-tiled bathroom or in the
bedroom or in the immaculate kitchen.
They went out under the pepper trees—and found her.
In the garden was the fish-pond, with goldfish darting about |
in the clear water, on which pink and white waterlilies floated. -
A bearded little cement gnome in the middle sat cross-legged .
contentedly smoking a pipe. The gnome was smiling down at ™
Mary Busch James, dress in pyjamas of crimson silk, sprawling
— down, half in and half out of the pool, her head ‘in the
water. :
Jim Pemberton rushed to the phone. His call brought radio —
cars zooming. A doctor arrived. Mary was dead. i:
At first glance what had happened seemed plain. Tears
streaming down his face, Bob James cried: ‘The baby ...
Mary got dizzy spells . . . She loved to watch the gold-fish .. .’
Apparently Mary had fallen forward into the water, perhaps
striking her head on the stony rim of the pool as she went
down. Alone, with no one to come to her assistance, she had
drowned.
There was no head injury, but the dead woman’s right leg
was swollen and discoloured to the knee, and there was a gash
a quarter of an inch long in the pad of her right big toe. The |
medical verdict was that she had been cut by a sharp instrument, cg |
or bitten by a powerful insect or a snake. —
In the house the police found a note that appeared to be in —
Mary’s writing. It was to her sister. It said, in part: ‘Dear Sis,
Just a line to let you know I am pretty sick. My leg is all
swollen, something bit me while I was watering the flowers e
this morning. This is my old blue Monday, but Daddy will he
home tonight, and he takes good care of me. Be sure and write
me soon...’ ae
Robert James was dazed, couldn’t seem to get it through his
head that his wife was dead. She had been so happy when ‘he ©
kissed her good-bye that morning. The only thing that troubled
her was nausea, which in her condition was natural. He gave 4
straightforward account of his movements. He left the house at
seven-thirty and was at the shop all day except for a ten-minute _ .
Classic Crimes 431
interval round noon. Viola Lueck, Jim Pemberton, and the shop
personnel corroborated this.
Then one of the detectives made a discovery. He found a
cluster of black widow spiders in a dark corner of the garage,
that shouldn’t have been there. The authorities went into a
huddle. They were about to proclaim the death of Mary Busch
James suspicious because of the spiders, the toe gash, and the
swollen leg, when they were stopped cold..
A neighbour, a retired English Army officer named Dinsley,
told the police that he had noticed a woman walking around
the Jameses’ garden that morning and that she was alone. As
a result, the coroner’s jury split on whether Mary Busch James
had died by drowning, or whether her death was accident,
suicide, or murder.
The bride of three months was consigned to her grave and
there the case rested, for a while. Then James tried to collect
insurance policies on Mary’s life amounting to $21,400. Payment
was refused and he entered suit. The police went on digging into
the past of Robert S. James. They found plenty.
Mary was Bob’s fifth wife. His real name was Lisenba. The
first, second, and fourth marriages ended in divorce. The
third wife, Winona Wallace James, had died, like Mary, from
drowning, but in a bath-tub in a tourist cabin.
On their honeymoon James and Winona were driving in
Colorado when the car went out of control and over an
embankment. James managed to escape by jumping. Winona
was in the car, alive, her only injury a temporary loss of memory.
She and James went to a tourist cabin. On the following day
Robert James and a delivery-boy who helped him carry in
groceries found Winona dead.
The verdict was accidental drowning. James collected
eighteen thousand dollars.
In 1933 he collected on policies on his mother’s life. In .
1934 Oneal Wright, a sailor nephew, was killed in a motorcar
a James was the beneficiary to the tune of five thousand
ollars. ;
_ In February of 1936 District Attorney Fitts ordered an all-out
investigation. The house in which James was then living was
Wired, with the police on the receiving end. Women, women,
and more women. They got James with a young girl on statutory
' that much insurance .
The bridegroom told the story with interpolations from
the girl and man, ‘The only explanation he could suggest was
that his wife had grown dizzy and fallen into the pool. “She
was expecting a baby,” he explained brokenly.
The untimely death of the beautiful 26-year-old bride was
written down as a tragic accident. All that seemed left to
do was to complete a routine investigation. Officers went
through the house. On a desk in the bedroom they found an
unsealed letter :
“Dear sister,” it read. “Just a line this morning to let
you know J am pretty sick. My leg is all swollen. Some-
thing bit me while | was watering the flowers today. But
my daddy will be home early tonight, and he takes good
care of me, Jimmy does .. .”
This letter seemed further to explain why she might have
fainted.
Officers questioned neighbors. Major Alfred Dinsley, a re-
tired British Army surgeon whose home overlooked the
Verdugo Road house, said, “Why, yes. I’m sure I saw a
woman walking around in the garden this morning. Seems
as though she wore some sort of reddish costume.”
With this added information police made out reports list-
ing the death of Mary Busch James on August 5, 1935, as
apparently accidental.
At the inqtiest, Los Angeles County Autopsy Surgeon A. F.
Wagner testified that there was evidence of cellulitis, or
poisoning which might have been caused by the bite of a
poisonous insect or the fangs of a snake, although the im-
mediate cause of death was drowning.
“I found a small laceration approximately one-quarter inch
"long on the left big toe. The leg was swollen to the knee.”
_-?nder questioning he stated, “It is possible that Mrs.
James could have fainted and fallen into the water.”
And several hours later, on August 15, the jury’s verdict
was returned. Two jurors favored accidental death, but five
men could not decide if the honey-haired bride had died as
result of “an accident, suicide or homicide.”
It was some months later when an insurance company
detective called on the Los Angeles County district attorney,
Buron Fitts.
“On this Mary Busch James death case.” the insurance
man began. “She died August 5 and the husband, Robert
. James, has been trying to collect $21,400 in policies on the
woman. They had only been married several months, and
we're not satisfied with the death.”
Fitts’ trained legal mind instantly recalled the case. “I
remember very well,” he said. “So he’s trying to collect
99
The insurance man broke in. “We've spent several months
working on the case, but haven’t gotten anywhere. I guess all
we can do is try to compromise if we can’t prove anything.”
One insurance firm had already compromised a policy on
the blond bride’s life for $3500.
Buron Fitts quietly reopened the investigation. He ordered
several of his staff of detectives to shadow James and others
to check into the man’s background.
The men tailing the red-haired barber quickly reported back
to the district attorney. “This guy James certainly isn’t
doing any grieving for his wife,’ one detective said. “He
leaves his barber and beauty shop in Hollywood every night
with’ a different good-looking babe. They usually go home
and spend the night with him.”
‘Fitts looked quizzically at the detectives, “Does he seem to
have any preference?”
The second detective spoke up. “He has the same little
brunette with him. about half the time.
crazy.”
Fitts decided to take drastic action. Perhaps by learning
the suspect’s innermost thoughts he could solve the enigma
of Mary Busch James’ death.
ND SO on April 4, 1936, Captain Earl Kynette of Police
Chief Davis’ secret squad led a crew of ace technical
men to a newly rented bungalow at 3883 La Salle Street.
Lieutenant W. R. Morgan and District Attorney’s Detectives
Jack Southard, Everett Davis and Scott Littleton carried large
suitcases into the house. ;
Quickly they strung wires beneath a heavy mat of ivy vines
to a nearby house where James, who ran a barber shop, had
moved after his wife’s death.
Quietly opening the back door with a master key, they hid
The man’s girl- |
microphones in the bedroom, livingroom and every other
room in the house, After soaping windows so they would
open soundlessly, the detectives hastened back to the bungalow ~
two doors away. i
There they connected the wires with recording and ampli-
fying instruments. Shortly before James was scheduled to
7
#
eh
return home, Miss Dorothy Adams, a stenographer from -
Fitts’ office, arrived at the rented house with her chief.
After the district attorney inspected the setup carefully he
gave his orders to Kynette. “Don't: leave this place unpro-
tected day or night. You'll have to work in shifts, but we
want every word said by anyone who comes into James’ house,
Get descriptions of them and arrange to have any suspicious
ones followed so we can locate them later. We want every-
thing possible on the case.”
With these words Fitts left his investigators. He did not
feel the assurance with which he spoke. Was he on the
right track? After all, just because a man carries on many
love affairs he is not necessarily a murderer.
Half an hour later detectives from their hidden vantage:
point’ watched the red-haired barber drive into his driveway
and park. A slender blond girl in a form-fitting sports costume
hopped out of the car and arm in arm the couple entered the
house.
was no response, Suddenly the fittle
house seemed ominously quiet. A
worried look came over James’ face as
he took his guests’ hats. “I wonder
where Mary is? I] phoned her that you
were coming.”
Rapidly he made a survey of the
bungalow and then came back to the
living room, a relieved Jook in his eyes.
He laughed apologetically. “She's prob-
ably in the garden. Come on out. |
want you to see it.”
The trio walked through a rear door
and stepped into a verdant paradise
diffused in the last rays of the setting
sun.
“Mary,” Jamies called again. There
was still no reply except for the faint
sighing of the summer breezes through
feathery bamboo and eucalyptus trees.
Catching sight of the peaked hat and
head of a little elfin figure which looked
as though he were peering over a row
of nearby shrubs, the girl cried, “Oh,
how cute !”
She started toward the little cement
gnome, then suddenly stopped short
with a scream of horror, There in the
rock-rimmed fish pond Jay the body of
Mary James, watched over by the quaint
little dwarf,
She lay face down, clad in’ red. silk
lounging pajamas. Ter long, honey-
colored hair was intertwined with the
pink and white waterlilies. Several gold-
fish flashed through the clear water
nervously as though they knew the hor-
rible secret locked in the heart of the
slender young bride of only a few weeks.
With a low moan Robert James leaped
into the shallow pool and lifted the drip-
ping, limp corpse of the blond girl out
to the grassy bank. Frantically he called,
“Mary, Mary! Wake up. Wake up!"
After a brief instant of indecision, the
young woman guest ran into the house
and telephoned police. When she _re-
turned to the garden that no longer
scemed like a paradise, the men were
attemping to revive Mary James,
Moments later a squad car and an
emergency ambulance screeched up to
the house at 1329 Verdugo Road in La
Crescenta, a foothill suburb of Los
Angeles. Uniformed men hurried to the
back garden.
James was cradling the blond girl's
head in his lap and moaning, “Speak to
me, Mary. Speak to me,” when the
doctor reached his side. He knelt and
swiftly examined the body, then shook
his head. ‘Not a chance. She’s gone,
apparently drowned.”
As police crowded closer, the doctor
said, “When did this happen? When
did you find her ?”
_ Did Robert James plot to kill
his bride with poison spiders
and
snakes—then end by
drowning her instead?
CALIFORNIA CALLE
ERIE AEN SARC RCM OB
CHARLES HOPE (left) he told a story so fantaatle and hor.
rible that District Attorney Buron Fitta could scarcely believe it,
At the dictagraph, Kynette motioned to the stenographer
who sat with pencil poised over her notebook. More than an
hour passed and the conversation was of trivial matters, |
And then, as detectives listened tensely, the conversation
grew more intimate. The secretary's face grew red, Ques-
tioningly her eyes sought Captain Kynette’s face.
He read her unspoken question, “Yes, I'm sorry,” he said.
“The chief wants every word.”
And into the curlicues of shorthand notes and the wax of
the recording discs went the shameless record of a libertine’s
way with a girl. Finally as detectives watched, the lights in
the bungalow went out and the dictagraph was silent.
The following night a vivid little brunette of perhaps 19 or
20 years accompanied Robert James to the house. Detectives
watched as she entered with the barber. “Say, that’s the girl
who works in his barber shop,” one said. “Her name is
Betty Maynard.”
Investigators wondered how well this innocent-appearing,
childlike girl knew James, but they had not long to wait. The
recording machine caught each inflection of their love‘making.
From the conversation it appeared they had been intimate
for several years, perhaps even before blond Mary Busch had
met the red-haired barber. .
For two weeks Fitts kept his men constantly at the secret _
rendezvous, and during this time it became apparent that the
master barber was a master lover as well. The record of
every whispered word and nuance was in 270 pages of short-
hand notes and scores of wax discs. His line changed with
the girl. Sometimes he stressed adventure. Sometimes it»,
was a little love cottage and children,
And during this time petite little Betty Maynard was most
often an overnight guest at James’ house. But, besides her,
six other girls surrendered themselves to James. ;
District Attorney Fitts shook his head in disgust as he
heard the recordings. However, he was most interested in a
conversation between James and a statuesque brunette identi-
fied by detectives as Hazel Brack, one of the “party girls.” a
“T’ll let you make $1000, the easiest money you ever earned
in your life,” the man’s voice said.
. “How ?” the girl’s eager voice asked.
“My wife died seven months ago. All you have to do is to
swear that you visited her the day I found her.”
There was a brief silence. Then (Continued on page 56)
ATTENDANTS are seen exhum-
ing the body of Mary Busch
James after Hope's story had
convinced officials that her
death was no mere accident. .,
Ca
BYRONS OF THE BIG HOUSE
Sex-Crazed Killer
(Continued from page 19)
PRISONERS incessantly study the
topography and general layout of the
institution where they happen to be con-
fined to see if there is any way by which
they can “beat the place” and make a
getaway. No matter what ‘safety ap-
paratus or appliance is installed, there
always seems to be one prisoner who
sees a flaw and acts upon it.
One of the cleverest men of this type
I have ever known in twenty-five years’
penal experience throughout the countr
was a man confined in Leaveaworth
Penitentiary, Kansas. We will call him
Osgood.
The older cell houses of this prison
contain blocks of five tiers, and there is
a space 6f about eighteen feet between
the ceiling of the top tier and the roof.
It would of course be out of the ques-
tion for a prisoner to get an ordinary
ladder to the top of the cell block with-
out being seen. Then again, the escape
would have to be made at night, and
the inmate would be faced with the task
of getting out of his cell, getting to the
top tier if he happened to be housed on
a lower one, and then bridging this
eighteen-foot gap. :
Osgood studied the situation. He
tried to get hold of a file or saw, but
was unsuccessful. So he decided to try
and saw out of his cell with a piece of
yarn taken from his sock. He took this
yarn to the shoe shop where he worked.
Here he dipped it in glue, and then in
emery powder. Then he allowed the
length of yarn which he had so treated
to harden. The bars-of his cell were
of “soft” steel, which is the name prison
‘men give to all steel which is not tool-
proof.
Each night after lights were out Os-
good did a little sawing. It was slow
progress. He had to keep a_ constant
lookout for the cell house guard. The
latter made the rounds every half-hour,
but sometimes he would go at more
frequent intervals, while occasionally he
would retrace his steps unexpectedly for
the purpose of trapping any inmate who
might be up to something..
So, while he worked, Osgood kept
a small mirror projecting an inch or so
through the bars. Immediately he saw
the guard round the corner of the cell
block to make his rounds, the inmate
would leap into bed and feign sleep.
Then, when the officer's footsteps had
died away, he would again project the
mirror, see that the coast was clear, and
begin sawing again. It was slow and
painful work. Always there was the
fear also that the cut bar would be
discovered. To guard against this he
plugged the cut with wet bread crumbs
mixed with lamp black. There was still
danger that one of the guards, testing
for cuts by rapping (an uncanny ability
which a few guards have) might get on
to what he was doing.
But he was lucky. The four cuts
necessary to remove two pieces of bar
so that he could squeeze his body
through, were completed after months
of the hardest and most patient kind
of work. Osgood waited for the proper
night. It came at last, cold and rainy,
and with a heavy mist. Waiting until
about one in the morning, Osgood, right
after the patroling guard had rounded
the end of the cell block, silently re-
moved the bars which he had severed,
stepped on to the gallery and raced
down to the end opposite which the
guards had gone. Here he ran up the
steps until he reached the top tier. Then
he leaped on the gallery rail and drew
himself up to the cell block roof. He
had of course replaced the bars so that
his absence would not be noticed, and
had left a dummy in his bed.
The cell house roof, dimly visible,
yawned eighteen feet above him. Os-
good was not at all discouraged. He
had provided for this. He lifted up the
leg of his trousers and took out a queer-
looking contrivance which he had
strapped on to his leg. In the shop,
under the very eyes of the guard and
foreman, he had been working on this, a
bit at a time, for many weeks.
It consisted of several thongs of heavy
leather, each piece about eighteen inches
long. But the pieces were fastened to-
gether, end to end, exactly like a car-
penter’s rule, so that when they were
let out, instead of having .a piece of |
leather eighteen inches long, he had a
leather pole about twelve feet in length.
To keep this contrivance from wig-
gling at the joints, he had fastened a
draw string through each piece, so that
he could pull the apparatus taut. To
the end piece he had fastened a hook.
He stood upright, projected the sway-
ing leather pole up into the air, and
grasped with the hook the projecting
knob of a skylight in the roof. Slowly,
inch by inch, he drew himself up, listen-
ing for any sound from below which
would inform him that his absence had
been noted.
He reached the skylight at last,
pushed open a ventilator with one hand
while he hung, swaying perilously, with
the other. Then he wriggled through
the ventilator on to the roof of the
building, softly drew the leather pole
up after him, attached the hook to a
rainspout which ran along the roof, then
lowered himself hand over hand to the
roof of an adjoining prison building. He
again released the pole, attached it to
the roof of the lower building, and slid
to the ground. He had no difficulty get-
ting off the prison reservation and away,
as he had a start of at least six hours.
It was an exceptionally clever escape.
But it availed him nothing, because he
was recaptured in Seattle through a
sheer accident. He had been picked up
as a vagrant. The county jails, with
some exceptions, do not take finger-
prints. In all probability, had not this
accident occurred, Osgood would have
gotten at the most a sentence of ten
days. But, as he was taken down the
row of cells there happened to be a
prisoner in one of them who had done
a stretch in Leavenworth, and who
recognized him. He sent for the jailer.
“You know who you've got, don’t
you?” he inquired. “That’s Bill Osgood.”
“From Leavenworth!” exclaimed the
astonished officer.
“That's the bird”, the prisoner said.
So Osgood went back—to try to think
up another new one.
—JosernH Futitinc FisHmMan
. doors or windows.
the girl said, “Why so much money for ‘
such a little white lie?” iy ‘
“Because the insurance companies aré *
disputing payment of her policies, J can an
afford to give you the thousand since I'll)
get more insurance money that way.” a
However, the girl seemed nervous and >:
James dropped the subject. i:
Fitts closed his eyes thoughtfully as he ~
played that part of the wax disc over a”
second time. Then he went into action, .
giving orders to his men to raid the -
barber Lothario’s love nest at daybreak ©
the following morning. There was plenty {.
of evidence now to hold James legally.
of the cottage. Southard slipped open a
bedroom window and vaulted into the.
room. At the same instant other investi- |
gators charged into the house or guarded.” 4
James woke first, with a start. He‘!
leaped from the bed and snatched at a
flower-filled vase on a table nearby. “Hold ;
it,” a detective ordered brusquely, covering
him with a gun. “Police.”
Slowly the mad light in James’ green
eyes subsided, but the brunette, Betty:
Maynard, was now sitting up in bed. rte a.
“What's wrong, Jimmy?” she asked (y=
drowsily. Then the meaning of the raid ~
dawned on her sleep-drugged mind. With sy
a low cry of anguish she buried her face: “2
in a pillow and wept bitterly. “he
Mrs. Marjorie Fairchild, a police ma- 94,4,
tron, led the girl into another room while 7%
detectives hustled James into the living irs
room. Under the matron’s questioning “7%
Betty Maynard admitted that she had been ~~: ,.
intimate with James over a period of two wif p
years. Phi.
“IT don’t know why,” she sobbed, tears (70:
running down her pale cheeks. “It seemed -
as though he hypnotized me. I tried and?
tried to break his spell but it just seemed =
as though he made me come with him. I “%
didn’t want to.” ee
James, however, denied everything until
hard-faced detectives led him to the con- |
cealed microphones in his bedroom, and i
showed him the fine wires leading to the >
recording apparatus in the nearby house...)
And when he saw books of shorthand notes »
and through the loud speaker recognized -
Betty Maynard’s voice that very moment ©
confessing her relationship with him back /
at the house, the red-headed Lothario ad-
mitted his many clandestine romances.
“Just because a man’s human,” he ©
growled, “you can’t hang him, can you?”
He was promptly booked on three morals
charges.
HE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S in-
vestigators took the house apart, remov-
ing every scrap of paper and other evidence,
There was a list of women’s names, com-
piled by a “matrimonial club” along with
correspondence from various women.
By the time investigators had finished
with the correspondence and the leads it
provided they had a fairly complete idea
of James’ life.
There were two things that stood out in
strong relief. One, he was woman-crazy.
Secondly, he had been associated far more
than any normal man with “accidental”
deaths.
James’ first adventure with legal matri-
mony seemingly had begun in Birmingham,
ees ee te
om
©
‘lowed by Ralik with the wooden snake box. Behind the
garage, James halted next to a chicken wire fence which
enclosed an improvised rabbit hutch. eS
“Raise the screening,” James told Ralik. “Ill fish out
one of the rabbits.” :
Ralik set down the box. He frowned. “What you gonna
do, sport?” :
James had stepped over the chicken wire and was
reaching into the white-painted hutch. “I want to see
what your rattlers can do.” ~
_He extracted a rabbit, a black and white spotted Eu-
ropean Lepus, and cradled it in the crook of his arm.
Ralik, meanwhile, had loosened the screen mesh at one
corner of the snake box and was peering in at the three
reptiles coiled in one corner.
“Okay,” James said. “Let me take a squint in. there
and see what they look like.” He pushed Ralik aside.
Bailiff Fred Wolfe (top) and Dr. Frank
Weinburg study “Lethal” and “Light-
ning,” the “hired killers” in the torture-
slaying plotted by sadistic barber (r:)*
' <r,
<
if
o
The rabbit, sensing the presence of its most fearsome
hereditary enemy, began to quiver violently. The barber
stroked its back. “Hell,” James exclaimed, “they don’t
even look alive!. You sure these didn’t come out of a
pickle jar?”
“Just stick your hand in, sport,” Pete bantered. “You'll
find out whether or not they’re lively. Snakes always take
it easy around sundown. Put in that rabbit and they’ll
wake up fast enough.” .
The rabbit squirmed frantically in an effort to escape.
The barber held it firmly by the ears and lowered it into
the box while his companion gingerly lifted a corner of
the mesh. The two men peered into the shadowed depths
of the box, watching for some display of reptilian interest
in the tangle of green and yellow patterned coils. There
was none. The rabbit huddled in palpitating terror in
the farthest corner of the box.. From the snakes came no
ef
Cayenne g
ct rt
Ylh Lode ae ied
fratl¢:
edt
movement at all. James turned. to
Pete.
“Give ’em a chance,” Pete said to
the barber. “Let’s go in and have
that drink you were talking about.”
They walked to the darkened
house. James took out a key and
fitted it into the lock of the kitchen
door.
“Isn’t the wife home?” Ralik
asked.
“She’s at the Dentists’ Conven-
tion,” James told him. “She’s got a
modeling job for a few days. I’ve
. been batching it since. she’s gone.”
Half a bottle later, the two men
went back to the garage with a flash-
light and looked into the box. The
rabbit was still alive: The snakes
were still sleeping.
Black Widow spiders were found in the
killer’s garage by detectives—deadly
insects he had discarded in favor of a
pair of poisonous diamondback rattlers
“It’s just an off day,” Pete’ Ralik
apologized for his reptiles. “When
they do get ready to strike, that
rabbit won’t last ten minutes.”
‘James shook the box trying to
urge'the inert coils into some show
of movement. “You come back
early tomorrow morning,”’ he
snapped. “If the rabbit’s still alive
then, you can take those snakes back
where you got them.”
Ralik raised his hand in a drunken
salute and shambled off to his car.
The barber threw a last dubious
glance at the snakes and went inside
_ the house.
‘Alone in the cottage, he poured
himself a stiff drink, then went to
the bedroom and opened the bottom
drawer of his bureau. From under-
neath a pile of shirts he took out a
long supple riding whip which he
fondled with trembling fingers. He
- consulted a long list of names in his
address book and made a telephone
call, flexing the whip until a woman’s
voice answered at the other end of
the wire. : :
“Honey?” The barber struck at
his calf with the whip, and shud-
dered ecstatically. “I been thinking
about you, can’t get you off my
mind. Hop a cab and come on out
to my place. The night’s young and
Mary’s away—let’s you and me live
a little, kid.”
Next morning, true to his word,
Pete Ralik showed up at the white
cottage on Verdugo Road. It was
early, and Bob James was still in bed
when the doorbell rang. He hastily
pulled a bathrobe over his nakedness
and winced when the rough cloth
rubbed against the welts on his back.
He closed the bedroom door softly
behind him and went out to greet his
‘seedy pal. Together they went to
inspect the snake box. They were
flabbergasted at the strange turn
their macabre experiment had taken.
The rabbit was still very much alive.
One of the three snakes, however,
was véry much dead!
“Tll_be hogtied and hornswog-
gled!” the barber exploded. “What
do you make of that?”
Ralik rubbed his bleary eyes.
“That sure beats the dutch,” he mut-
tered. “I don’t get it. They were
guaranteed.”
“Get. your money back,” James
told him. “Those snakes couldn’t
poison milk. My friend wouldn’t
give you tworbits for a dozen like
these.”
He took the victorious rabbit out
of the box and restored him to his
companions in the hutch. Then he
came back and kicked at the box
with a slippered foot. “Get rid of
those angleworms,” he snapped. “We
ain’t going fishing.”
- Ralik shrugged resignedly. “Okay,
sport,” he said. “I'll trade them in
on some good ones. I’m going to give
that dealer a piece of my mind.” -
When Peter Ralik had gone, Bob
James went over to his desk and
took out some papers. His lips
thinned to a cruel line as his eyes
skimmed the fine print. The papers
were two insurance policies, each in
the sum of $5000, on the life of Mary
James. The barber checked the
name of the beneficiary, making sure
that his own name was spelled cor-
rectly. Then he carefully read the
double-indemnity clauses which
provided for recovery of twice the
. amount of the face value of the
policies should Mary, the insured,
die as the result of an accident.
It was while he was examining the
applications attached to the policies
that his eyes became suddenly
troubled. There was a stipulation to
the effect that any misrepresentation
by the applicant would void the re-
sponsibility of the insurance com-
panies, who would then have the
right to cancel the policies.
The printed words drove home like
a hammer blow the sudden fear that _
all his careful planning might come
to naught, even if he got away with
the “accident” he planned to have
happen to Mary. He reviewed the
circumstances under which he had
taken out the insurance. The seed of
ree
Ot N aw d st Sw LOM MR ee
a
PSHYsthorrsewsan
2k on
h
m
th
i
}
|
his scheme had been planted back
in the days when Mary Busch had
first come to work for him as a mani-
curist in his barber shop. Her amia-
ble nature had made her easy prey
for his fast line. He was able to
sweet-talk her, and she soon suc-
cumbed to his master technique.
After a whirlwind courtship, she
agreed to marry him, but James,
leery of matrimony after four pre-
vious marital ventures, had been
wary of getting into another. It was
an easy enough matter for him to.
deceive the trusting girl. It had
seemed the smart thing to do at the.
time. Why marry her legally? Ina
barroom he met a man named Stin-
son who struck him right from the
start as looking like a professional
do-gooder. All Stinson needed to
take up a collection was a turned-
around collar. They negotiated over
several whiskeys and James ce-
mented the transaction with a $10
bill. The next day Stinson, properly
turned out and equipped with a_
Gideon Bible, went through the mo-
tions of a marriage ceremony in the
white cottage on Verdugo Road.
Mary thought it was the real thing
and settled down happily to her new
duties as a housewife. That had
been in late May. On June 3rd, Bob
and Mary had prepared the appli-
cations for the insurance policies.
“I must have been out of my
head,” James told himself vehe-
mently. “These policies aren’t worth
the paper they’re written on. Sup-
pose the companies ask for copies of:
the marriage certificate when Mary
kicks off?”
_ It was something to worry about..
There seemed to be only one way
out. There would have to be a legal
ceremony.
This second wedding took- place
in Santa Ana a few weeks later, on
July 19th. Mary hadn’t been too
difficult to handle. She had believed
his story about a technical flaw in
the first ceremony and was touched
by her husband’s sentiment in de-
siring a second one. James grinned
and ‘silently told himself that there.
never was a dame he couldn’t twist
around his little finger. In any event,
with the important impediment ef
the ceremony at last taken care of,,,
he could turn his attention once
more to the subject of diamondback °
rattlesnakes.
The barber placed another order
with the gullible Peter Ralik. Pete,
still waiting for the balance of the
$100 commission, promptly drove out
to the snake concession at Ocean
Detectives study lily pond where body
of Mary James was found, facedown in
the water, a drowning victim with odd
bite on her foot and badly swollen leg
Park and bought three more of .the
vividly-colored reptiles. These
proved no more aggressive than the
first set. They also lay sluggishly in
their box, free for some unexplained
reason from the inborn malice of
their kind.
“Listen,” James informed his un-
suspecting minion. “My friend isn’t
looking for household pets to follow
him around on a leash. He wants
snakes that'll put on a show with
rabbits.. What gives ‘with these
caterpillars you keep bringing me?”:
Pete Ralik blinked stupidly at the
barber. “Maybe it’s the dog-days,”
he offered. “Maybe snakes take it.
easy in the summertime. Can’t your
-friend wait until fall?”
_ James glared at him angrily. “He
wants them now,” he said. “And if
you don’t get them for me, I'll go to
someone else. That hundred bucks
ought to be able to get me some
action somewhere.”
There-was, however, no action for
more than a week. Pete. Ralik had
to take a trip to Phoenix, Arizona.
He promised to look around for some
really hot snakes on his return: In
his absence, the barber weighed
other possible methods by which he
could arrange his wife’s “accidental”
death. The lethargic snakes had
keenly disappointed him: Perhaps
there was some better way. At first
thought, it seemed that the means of
murder were infinite, but each, upon
consideration, had to be discarded
for any of a number of reasons.
Shooting her in the course of. what
could be made to look like a house
robbery was out of the question. In
the first place guns could be traced.
Then again, a shooting would initiate
a murder investigation—the one
thing James was trying to avoid. An
automobile “accident” was also out.
James didn’t have to think twice
about that. There was the small
matter of his third wife, .Winona,
who had plunged down the road
from Pike’s Peak in Colorado. The
cops were immediately suspicious
when James -told them he’d been
thrown clear and was miraculously ,
uninjured. After recovering. from
her critical injuries, Winona had
been found drowned in the bath tub.
Since James had collected $14,000
in insurance ‘at Winona’s death, it
would hardly do for Mary also to die
as the result of drowning in a bath
tub. So that method, too, was out.
James could easily see how two such ~
fatalities might prove embarrassing.
For a day or two, he flirted with
the idea of using-poison, but he gave
it up after acquainting himself with
the statistics on successful investi-
gations ‘by toxicologists connected
with the police crime laboratory. He
decided that the pathologists were
‘too hep to be fooled by a rank ama-
teur; no ordinary poison within his
power to obtain would mislead them
for very long.
James next turned his attention to
the possibility of using black widow
spiders. He’d heard they were really
deadly. He went so far as to actually
purchase a jar of the lethal insects,
but was not impressed. Lacking at
the small jet spiders with their dis-
tinctive orange markings, he decided
that their (Continued on page 80)
arb
—
DEATH WORE RATTLES
(Continued from page 55)
80
poison would not be powerful enough.
By the time Pete Ralik came back from
Arizona, Bob James’ mind had made a
complete cycle and returned to his orig-
inal choice. Diamondback rattlers, he had
decided, were still his best bet. There was
something about murder by snake , that
appealed to his sadistic nature. j
Pete, still anxious to pick up the prom-
ised easy money, told James of a place
he had noticed on Pasadena Avenue.
“They’re supposed to have really hot
snakes in that joint,” he said. “If you
want, I'll go out there and see what I
can find.”
“I want,” James said. “This pal of mine
keeps bothering the life out of me. He’s
done me a couple of important favors,
and I want to keep on his right side.”
Pete went home and built a new snake
box out of scrap lumber and glass. On
Saturday morning, August 3rd, he drove
to Pasadena Avenue, stopped at a reptile
house where he purchased two three-foot
diamondbacks at 70 cents a pound. These
snakes were guaranteed hot, and the pro-
prietor himself put them into the box
with hands protected by heavy leather
gauntlets. Inside their new enclosure, the
reptiles slithered animatedly from corner
to corner, their obsidian eyes glittering.
Pete Ralik delivered the box at the
barber shop. “Meet Lethal and Lightning,”
he told Bob James. “Your pal’s worries
are over.”
James stowed the snakes in the trunk of
his car, shut up shop early and raced his
sedan to the white cottage on Verdugo
Road. He parked in the driveway and went
inside the house.
“Mary?” he called.
“In the kitchen,” she answered.
She came out to meet him, a slim,
beautiful blonde with long shapely legs
and sultry eyes. She was wearing a thin,
blue silk wrapper and flat mules. James
kissed her.
“How do you feel?” he asked her.
“Awful,” she said. “I haven’t been able
to keep my food down all day.”
“What you need is a pick-me-up,” he
told her, “I’ll make some martinis.”
“I don’t know whether I ought to drink,”
Mary said doubtfully. “In my condition—”
“This once won’t hurt you,” he said.
The barber busied himself with bottles,
ice cubes and cocktail shaker. One drink
followed another. It was not the first
drinking orgy into which Bob James had
enticed his young wife. It continued all
through that night. By Sunday morning,
Mary was in a state of stupor. He put a
pen in her hand and dictated a letter to
her, by dint of wheedling, coaxing and
threats. The dazed woman had no under-
standing of the words she wrote.
Pete Ralik showed up at the James’
cottage at 11:30. He wanted to know
whether the barber had tried out the new
set of snakes on one of his rabbits, When
James opened the door, Ralik looked at
him wi surprise. He had never seen
James so distraught before in the seven
years he had known the barber.
“What’s the matter?” he demanded.
“Trouble,” James told him. “Bad
trouble.” He led the way to the kitchen,
and Ralik was staggered by what he saw.
Mary James, in a gossamer nightgown
which outlined every curve of her volup-
tuous figure, was tied to the kitchen table!
Her bare legs dangled limply over the
table’s edge. She had long since ceased to
struggle against the heavy ropes that
bound her, but she turned fear-widened
eyes in Ralik’s direction.
Ralik had enough drink in him to make
what he saw seem, momentarily, part of
a hangover. He tried to brush the sight
from before his eyes. It wouldn’t go away.
There was no doubt about it. The lovely
girl was tied to the table—and on a chair
next to her was the box of rattlesnakes he
had delivered to James!
“Hey!” he said with alarm. “What’s go-
ing on here?”
Bob James shoved a bottle of whiskey
into the stunned man’s hands. “Take a
drink, Pete,” the barber said. “You’re-go-
ing to need it.” .
Ralik drank deeply, swayed slightly as
he glared at James. “I don’t know what
you got on your mind, sport, but count
me out. I don’t want no part of this.”
“You got a part,” James rasped. “Mary’s
the ‘rabbit’ I’ve had in mind for some
time now. And you’re the guy who bought
the snakes. Some people might believe your
story, Ralik, but others will believe mine
—that I came home and found some bum
had tied my wife up and killed her with
a snake, then beat him over the head and
called the cops. Which way do you want
it?”
Ralik drained the bottle, reeled against
the wall as the realization of his pre-
dicament dawned on him.
“You need another drink,” James said,
grinning. “Come on in the dining room.
I’ve got a fresh bottle.”
Ralik followed him dazedly away from
the nightmarish scene in the kitchen. He
was trying to make some sense out of the
bizarre tableau he had: witnessed. Why
was James intent upon destroying his
wife? Why by snakes?
The edges of the picture blurred as he
gulped down four fingers of bourbon
which James poured for him. The grisly
picture seemed to hold less reality with
each successive drink. He was aware that
the barber was watching him with cold,
calculating eyes as the level of the bourbon
sank steadily in the bottle.
“Can’t kill a woman that way—.”’ he
mumbled incoherently just before the
bottle slipped from his fingers and numb-
ing darkness closed in around him.
How long the liquor held him in its
paralyzing clutch, Ralik wasn’t certain.
What he was sure of, as sure as death,
was the frightening whirring sound that
snapped him out of his slumber.
The rattlesnakes! The girl on the table!
Ralik stumbled to the kitchen door,
inched it open. The sight that greeted his
bleary eyes was one that would haunt
him forever. James had shifted the box of
rattlesnakes to a spot beneath Mary’s
dangling legs. His shirt was plastered to
his back with sweat as he kicked the box
savagely, making the angry buzz of the
snakes even more furious than before.
The girl stirred, worked weakly against
her bonds, sank back. James grabbed one
bare limb, wrenched the glass cover from
the box and thrust her foot down against
the writhing coils of the reptiles.
Ralik took half a step forward, stopped
as he realized that in his condition he
would be no match for James, that if he
interfered he’d be framed for the murder.
As he waited, he tried to tear his gaze
from the girl’s face—but couldn’t. There
was an odd look of mingled resignation
and horror in her glazed eyes. Then, sud-
denly, the waiting was over. A flood of
pain contorted her face, she strained her
body up from the table, then slumped back
in a dead faint.
Pete Ralik desperately staggered back
to the dining room, found the bottle and
sought refuge in an alcoholi¢ blackout. He
came to a number of times during the next
twelve hours, but he never had a chance
to sober up. Every time James heard him
stir, he came in and fed Ralik more liquor.
At one in the morning, Ralik managed to
stumble from the house and reach his
automobile, but he was too drunk to drive.
He fell into a fitful sleep over the steering
wheel.
He was awakened rudely by Bob James,
who shook him by the shoulder until his
.eyes opened. There was already a gray
glimmer of dawn in the eastern sky.
“She’s dead,” James told him. “Come
‘on, pull yourself together. need your
help to carry her outside.”
“Dead?” Ralik repeated, realizing the
nightmare he had witnessed had been no
* dream. “Dead?”
“Your damn snakes couldn’t do it, either,”
Jamets snarled. “I been working on them
all night. Finally I had to drown her in
the bath tub.” ;
The drink-drugged Ralik felt a shudder
of horror twist his stomach.
“You're in this as deep as me,” James
said quickly. “You got me those snakes.
Nobody’s going to believe you didn’t know
what I wanted them for. Come on. Help
me carry her out of the house.”
When Bob James opened his barber
shop at eight o’clock that Monday morn-
ing, he appeared his usual natty self. He
bought the papers at the newsstand and
stacked them on a chair in the shop. He
jested with customers and complimented
his lovely niece, Doreen. He stayed in the
shop until closing time, arranging with a
couple of friends to call for him and
drive out to his house for dinner.
B ha jor Pemberton and his fiancee, Viola
Luecks, noticed nothing untoward in the
barber’s manner on the short drive to
La Canada. Although it was after seven
when they reached Verdugo Road, there .
were no lights in the white cottage, and
no’ sign of Mary. The trio searched the
grounds. It was in the patio at the side of
the house that James Pemberton found
the barber’s young bride. Dressed in pa-
jamas and bedroom slippers, Mary lay
face down in the fish pond, her loose,
golden hair floating among the lily pads.
In the kitchen was a note addressed to
Mrs. R. H. Steward of Las Vegas: “Dear
Sis: Just a line to let you know I am
pretty sick. My leg is all swollen. Some-
thing bit me while watering in the gar-
den. Am having lots of bad luck. This is
old Blue Monday, but my daddy will be
home early tonight and he takes good
care of me.” It was signed, “Mary.”
Deputy Sheriffs J. P. Twohey and J. H.
Jones were at a loss to explain the dead
woman’s grotesquely swollen left foot. The
doctor who was called was equally puz-
zled, suggesting that the wound in the
dead woman’s toe resembled the bite of
a spider or some other malignant insect.
The inquest was held on August 16th,
and Dr. A. F. Wagner, county autopsy
surgeon, testified that death—in his opin-
ion—must be attributed to “drowning,
with acute cellulitis of the left foot and
leg, following laceration of the left great
toe as a contributing factor.” Although
there was nothing they could do at the
moment, the authorities were not satis-
fied with these findings. The interim had
revealed some highly. suggestive facts in
the life of Bob James.
First of all, James was not the barber’s
baptized name. A native of Birmingham,
Alabama, he had dropped his real name -
—Major Lisenba—when he went west.
James had been married five times. His
first marriage in Birmingham had been
dissolved in divorce court. Shortly after-
ward, he married a Vera Vermillion in
Emporia, Kansas. This union, too, ended
in divorce. In July of 1932, he married a
During
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3
136 FALLEN ANGELS
He turned up as Robert James in Emporia, Kansas, and opened a small
barber shop. The publisher of the Emporia Gazette, the noted writer, author -
and editor William Allen White, came to prefer Robert James’ close shaves to
any other available. a
i James married a movie cashier, Vera Vermillion, but their union didn’t last
long. One morning a local farmer made a scene in the James tonsoriah
establishment, claiming that his daughter was pregnant and that James was the.
cause. After dark that night James hit the road in his Model A Ford.
He stopped for gas in Fargo, North Dakota, and discovered there were. few’
barbers in town. He joined them, opening his own place. Soon he met willowy
Winona Wallace. She was blonde and beautiful, as open, trusting and unwary
as any small-town girl. The James charm flowed. It gushed. In August 1932
they were married.
While James was an excellent barber, he never seemed willing to work very
hard. Barbering took time—time he preferred to spend filling his life with new
women. But then he also needed quite a lot of money to enjoy life and women ©
the way they were meant to be enjoyed. It was a dilemma that was temporarily
resolved by his mother’s death. -
She had a small insurance policy and he was the sole beneficiary. It wasn’t a
lot of money—a few hundred dollars—but it was unexpected and hadn't cost
him any time. A few months later, one of his nephews was killed in an auto
accident, after a steering mechanism failed and the car went over a cliff. But
Robert James had, providentially, purchased a life policy for his nephew only a
few weeks earlier. He had also loaned the nephew his own car, after he had
personally repaired the steering gear. When James found himself so quickly
enriched, life insurance suddenly seemed a bargain to James. Or maybe much
more than a bargain. Maybe it could be the road to easy street.
His third wife, Winona, also knew about life insurance. She'd taken out a
$1,000 policy while still in her teens, naming her mother as heir. After she ; oy
married James, he convinced her to make him sole beneficiary. And he paid the —
first quarter's premiums on two new policies, both offering double-ndena 7
payments in case of accidental death. Dead accidentally, Winona would be- pol
worth upward of $14,000 to husband Bob. cS
He set out to make it happen on their Colorado honeymoon in September. is
Late one night, well-scrubbed and nattily attired, as usual, he walked into the ae
office of the Pike’s Peak Toll Road. To an increasingly skeptical company SU°
perintendent he told an incredible story. Winona had been driving. She lost ©
control and the car went over the side of a deep chasm. He had jumped at the
last moment. The superintendent eyed James’ spotless suit in disbelief, .
dispatched a rescue team. ' 150
Winona was lucky. The car had been snagged by a huge boulder only a
feet down the slope. Winona had been tossed out by the collision, and lay rate
to the car. The super noted the ground was soft but there were no footprint 2
THE RATTLESNAKE MURDERER: ROBERT JAMES (1936) 137
leading up the cliffside from the spot where James had supposedly leaped. And
one of the rescuers noticed a blood-drenched hammer behind the seat.
A Colorado Springs surgeon saved her life. But the doctor was puzzled by the
terrible wounds at the back of her head; he couldn’t recall ever seeing such
injuries from a car accident. Winona seemed not to recall how it occurred, and
the surgeon didn’t share his suspicions with anyone at the time. There was no
police investigation.
Winona went to recuperate with her husband in a remote cabin near
Manitou. She was young and healthy, and rapidly began to mend. Then she
suddenly died. James returned home one day with a grocery clerk who was
helping him carry supplies up to the cabin, and they found Winona naked and
dead, with her head and shoulders in the cabin’s bathtub. Apparently, she had
fallen in and drowned.
Despite these peculiar circumstances, there was no police investigation.
James collected the insurance company’s $14,000. He’d never seen that much
money at one time in his whole life. Some of it went to a new car, a Pierce-
Arrow convertible coupe. More went for fancy clothes and a fine set of luggage.
And then the widower Robert James headed home to Birmingham to show it all
off.
He really enjoyed Birmingham. He treated his family to new clothes, he
bought groceries and restaurant meals. He enjoyed throwing his insurance
money around. But most of all he enjoyed comely, 18-year-old Lois. His older
sister's daughter. His niece. James promptly seduced her, and when he drove to
Los Angeles, Lois left with him. He introduced her to motel clerks and others
along the way as his wife.
In 1934 he opened a five-chair shop at Eighth and Olive, a prime location in
the midst of the Los Angeles business district. He sent Lois to school to learn
inanicuring, and soon she was working in his shop.
The shop was well situated and busy. Considering it was the middle of the
Great Depression, and that 25 percent of American workers were jobless, James
was making a good living.
But not good enough to pay for his endless affairs. Bob James liked to
overwhelm female conquests with visits to expensive restaurants, costly gifts,
and ostentatious spending. Soon he was facing a cash crunch. He tried to
remedy that when he married Helen Smith in 1934. But Helen objected to
visiting a doctor to satisfy the requirements for a life insurance policy. “I don’t
believe in insurance. People who have it always die of something strange,” she
told James. He insisted on an immediate annulment.
While the annulment was pending he began to court a sexy, 25-year-old
strawberry blonde, Mary Busch. He hired her as a manicurist. Soon she agreed -
to marry him. But there was one small problem: the annulment from his
Marriage to Helen Smith hadn't yet been confirmed. ~
‘
140 FALLEN ANGELS
guaranteed. James put chickens into their cage. They were promptly bitten and
soon died. James was satisfied and paid Hope his $100.
But James had another mission for Hope. He had pursuaded the pregnant
Mary that she should have an abortion. It would take place in their kitchen.
Hope was to play the role of the doctor.
On August 4, a Sunday, Mary, clad only in a slip, lay strapped to the kitchen
table. Her eyes and mouth were taped shut. James had convinced her that since
abortions were illegal, the doctor demanded protection from her as a possible.
witness. After James gave her several ounces of whiskey to drink for
THE RATTLESNAKE MURDERER: ROBERT JAMES (1936) 141
characterization of a psychotic killer in an upcoming movie. Hope was the
state’s star witness. One of James’ lovers testified that he had offered her $2,000
to swear he’d been at his barber shop the day Mary died.
The jury’s deliberations were short. Both men were convicted of first degree
murder. Hope got a life sentence. James, whom the state now referred to by his
legal name, Major Lisenba, was sentenced to hang. During the six years his
appeals wound their way through state and federal courts, he became known to
San Quentin inmates as “Rattlesnake Lisenba.” In 1942 California eliminated
the gallows in favor of the gas chamber. On May 1, 1942, Robert James was
“anesthesia,” Hope came into the kitchen carrying a box with a sliding glass hanged, the last person so executed in California.
door. He opened it. James thrust Mary’s leg inside. The snake promptly bit her.
Hope left. He threw the boxes away in a vacant lot and sold Lethal and Lightn-
ing back to Snake Joe for half price.
Meanwhile, Mary went through increasing agonies. Her leg swelled to twice - ~
normal size and an ugly purple arrow of dying cells inched its way upward from
her leg to her vital organs. It passed her knee, her thigh, her hip. Jameskepther
strapped to the table while he tidied up the house, getting rid of incriminating —
evidence. Toward evening Hope returned and both men sat around drinking
whiskey in the garage while Mary writhed in agony on the kitchen table.
James grew impatient. Mary was taking too long to die. “The snakes were no
damned good,” he said. Hope suggested calling a doctor. James said he thought
they’d both be strung up if they did. After more whiskey he decided to end
Mary’s agonies. He went into the kitchen, carried her limp but living body to
the bathtub, and drowned her as he had drowned Winona. At about six in the
morning of August 5, he got Hope to help carry her out to the fish pond. They ni
put her body in, head first, to look as though she had tripped on the path and ll
LOCATION:
Thomas Brothers map reference: Page 19 at B3
Take the Glendale Freeway (State 2) and exit at Verdugo Boulevard, La Canada/
Flintridge. Follow Verdugo east to the 1300 block. There is no longer a house at
1329, the former site of the James bungalow. The whole block has been
redeveloped into a secluded residential area behind large old trees and a low stone
wall, parts of which date back to the mid-30s, to the era when Robert James
brought rattlesnakes home to kill his pregnant wife.
fallen in. ]
Hope was to dispose of the tape, towels, blankets and rope. He incinerated all | tH
but the blankets. They were almost new. He took them to a dry cleaner’s shop. ‘: a |
Arrested on incest charges, James at first laughed when police accused him of : in} | iH
2 murdering Mary. “There’s no such crime,” he protested. He refused to even talk ate | | tH
, | 1)
about Mary’s death. “It was an accident,” he said. After 11] days in jail, James
was shown Hope’s statement. That shook him and he agreed to talk. It had all |
been Hope’s idea. Hope had offered to kill Mary in return for half the insurance | HH
money. He, James, had tried to back out at the last minute. “I couldn’t kill her.
She’d been too good to me,” he told prosecutors. He denied any knowledge of pe
the details of Mary’s death, claiming he had left Hope to perform an abortion _
and returned to find his wife dead. i
James and Hope told their stories in a packed courtroom with a nervous jury
eyeing Lethal and Lightning, in attendance as evidence. Though it was a brief
trial, it attracted national press interest. Walter Winchell came from New York y
to report on the proceedings. Actor Peter Lorre spent half a day watching James ~
testify, hoping to find something in his manner that he could use in his ~~ Td
a
THE RATTLESNAKE
MURDERER: ROBERT
JAMES (1936)
lall and beefy, with jug-handle ears and skin somewhere between pale brown
and sickly yellow, he wasn’t handsome in the conventional sense. But his dark
ted hair was well oiled and perpetually curled into an undulating landscape.
"ore importantly, he dressed well, as befitting a slickly suave, free-spending
cllow, a courtly Southern gent with that special note of pleading in his voice
that few women could long resist. In fact, barber Bob James was a lady’s man, a
; i str genuine lady-killer who always seemed to have one too many women
N his life,
He called himself Robert S. James, but his real name was Major Raymond
4senba. Bor
unall Ala n in 1895 to a sharecropper father who had a large family and a
Wins - ama cottonpatch, Major went to work in a cotton mill at age eight.
tent jor by the husband of an older sister, a Kindly master barber who
e pr _ 4 Birmingham barber “college,” then hired him as an apprentice.
ved an able barber. He took an early interest in women. He married
her ie of Birmingham in 1921 but couldn’t confine his attentions to
' kinky i d 0on he was involved with others. He began to develop an acutely
tation, a manner; when Maud filed for divorce, she cited numerous
: fingemail. a n he had become aroused by shoving hot curling irons under her
ty
See r ticies to fil i Megane their divorce, a few of his pregnant paramours—there were
Raymond James: A barber who used life insurance pe jor ates Pa Press him for marriage. Or at least some.financial support.
(
kinky extramarital affairs. Photo: Courtesy UCLA Library ? , for hims . It was shortly afterward that he decided to invent a new
self.
ab
138 FALLEN ANGELS
So James found a wino named Joe Riegel, who for $50 played the role of
minister. He stole a Gideon Bible from a skid-row flophouse, rented
appropriate attire, and conducted a credible ceremony. Mary applied for a
$10,000 life insurance policy, and James paid the first premium. Several weeks
later, when the annulment was granted, James told Mary a fanciful tale and
marched her before a real minister for a legal wedding.
Robert and the last Mrs. James rented a secluded bungalow in La Canada, a
cozy place with a small fishpond screened behind thick hedges. While he never
gave up all his other women, James found in Mary a kindred sex partner. He
loved to inflict pain in the bedroom—and also loved receiving it. According to
accounts obtained later from curious neighbors attracted by the nocturnal
screams, by mid-1935 Robert James.required a sound thrashing with a leather
whip before he could achieve sexual arousal. Mary, appropriately attired in
leather, cooperated by beating him regularly. She soon became pregnant.
By July 1935, James was getting desperate for a new infusion of cash. But he
had a plan. On the evening of August 5, 1935, James invited two friends over
for dinner. His house was a little hard to find, he explained, so he’d just pick
them up on his way home from work downtown. He’d be bringing the steaks.
Mary would have prepared everything else by the time they all arrived.
But Mary wasn’t in the kitchen. Nor in the bedroom, the bath or the living
room. James found some flashlights and his guests went looking for her in the
garden. Mary was face down in the fishpond, dead. Drowned in six inches of
water. Strangely, her left leg was a hideous purple and swollen to twice normal
size.
An insect bite, decided the coroner. Some weird bug. Poor Mary had
probably become dizzy from her pregnancy, had fallen while watering the,
garden, hit her head and drowned. Accidentally.
James filed for the insurance money. The insurance company, with no
thought of foul play, conducted its usual routine records check. They dis-
covered Robert and Mary James were not legally husband and wife at the time
he paid the first (and only) premium. An insurance investigator tracked down
Joe Riegel, who for $50 was glad to tell about his short career as a minister in the
service of Bob James.
But Mary was dead. The coroner had ruled it accidental and the insurance
company decided to see how little of the $20,000 Bob would settle for. He
agreed to $3,500.
These peculiar events did not entirely escape the attention of the police and
prosecutors. Detective Captain Jack Southard, the district attorney's chief in- 4
vestigator, was tipped by an insurance investigator: something smelled. But it
was not until March 1936 that the district attorney’s office was able to turn its
full attention to the mysterious death of Mary James.
They started with copies of James’ insurance records. The mysterious death
of Winona was ample reason to send a man to Colorado. Interviews with the
‘
THE RATTLESNAKE MURDERER: ROBERT JAMES (1936) 139
doctor and Pike’s Peak Toll Road officials made it clear that Winona hadn’t died
accidentally.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Eugene Williams ordered 24-hour
surveillance on Bob James. Detectives rented the house next door, and
surreptitiously installed listening devices in the James house. After a month
they had learned nothing whatever about Mary’s death. But they did discover
that Bob was regularly having sex with several women, including, most often,
his niece Lois. Sexual intercourse between uncle and niece was incest. The
district attorney had no case against James for murder, but he could arrest him
for the crime of incest.
Williams was certain Mary had been murdered. He decided to shake the tree
- and see what might fall out. He ordered his men to carefully loosen screens and
jimmy windows in James’ bedroom. Andon April 19, they broke in to arrest
Bob James in the midst of a sex act with his niece. He was charged with incest.
Williams gave reporters not only the juicy details of James’ kinky sex life, but
also the sensational story of the many curious parallels between the deaths of
Winona in 1932 and Mary in 1935.
And when it hit the front pages, the fruit that Williams had hoped for came
tumbling down. A liquor store owner told a Herald-Express reporter a curious
tale about a sometime customer who had come into his store in August, sorely
in need of a drink and babbling about buying and testing rattlesnakes. About a
pregnant woman who had been bitten by these snakes. A woman who hadn’t
died of snakebite but instead had been drowned in a bathtub and her body put in
a fish pond.
But who was the customer? The shopkeeper knew him only by his last name:
Hope. And one thing more: He owned a rather distinctive car. The reporter
took the tip to Williams.
The California Motor Vehicle Department performed a laborious manual
check of car registrations. ‘There was only one Hope who owned that particular
car in Los Angeles County: Charles Hope, a short-order cook at a Hermosa
Beach hamburger stand. The police brought him in for questioning.
At first Hope seemed unwilling to talk. Investigators took him for a visit to the
James residence. That shook him up. When he regained his composure, he
seemed almost relieved to tell his tale.
In June 1935 Hope had chanced into the James barber shop and asked for a
haircut on credit. James agreed. While he was cutting, he asked Hope if he
knew anything about rattlesnakes. Why? asked Hope. James told a tall tale
about a friend who wanted to bump off his wife by having her bit by a
rattlesnake. If Hope could find him a couple of mean and deadly snakes, there
was $100 in it for him.
After some difficulty, Hope got hold of two Colorado vipers named Lethal
and Lightning. They belonged to an Ocean Park herpetologist named Snake
Joe Houtenbrink who sold them for seventy-nine cents a pound, venom
92
Even the fact that Hope told him he
had “thrown her in the fixh pond"
failed to placate James. It was the
worst thing he could have done, and
Hope had made a fool of them both,
But the confident husband believed
that the error might not be fatal. He’d
“take the rap,” he told Hope. He’d face
the questioning—‘“there weren’t mén
enough in the district attorney's office
to make him talk.”
That was his mistake.
The fact that the two stories con-
tradicted each other on many points
made no difference. Naturally, both
men were lying in parts of their state-
ments, Naturally, each tried to throw
all the blame on the other. But, lies
or not, we had enough for a murder
’ charge against both men.
.From snake men in Ocean Park and
Long Beach. we obtained identifica-
tions of James and Hope as men who
had visited their establishments, had
shown great curiosity as to the killing
power of rattlesnakes, and had bought
deadly reptiles. ~
From “Snake Joe” Houtenbrink, we
got. éven more-—we got the snakes
themselves.
“Snake Joe,” who has spent years
Studying reptiles, can tell one snake
from another. So, after he identified
Hope, he led us into his exhibit and
pointed out two huge, squirming rat-
tlesnakes.
“There they are—the two he took
and the. two he brought back,” he said.
“Lethal and Lightning, I call them.
Sure, I can tell them apart! That’s
Lethal and that’s Lightning.
* THE NAME of the law we bor-
rowed Lethal and Lightning and
FRONT PAGE DETECTIVE
brought them to Los Angeles, securely
housed ina ylans-topped box, buzzing
and rattling all the way, striking at
the walls of their prison.
They were made to strike at a piece
of rubber sponge and the venom was
extracted from the sponge and -in-
jected into guinea pigs. Both guinea
pigs died, and we knew that Lethal and
Lightning, the snakes that Hope took
away and returned, were potential in-
struments of murder. :
There remained the task of linking
the snakes with the poor, tortured body
of Mary James. An exhumation order
was Signed, and her casket was brought
from the quiet grave in Forest Lawn. ;
In the hospital whiteness of an au--
topsy room, the lid of the casket: was
lifted. .
There lay the body of Mary James,
nine months dead, but startlingly life-
like and untouched by months in the
grave, Her face was peaceful. Her
white silk dress shrouded her. In her
hands she still held a bouquet of faded
flowers. ;
Dr. Wagner and Dr. Gustav Boehme,
toxicologist, carefully studied the
marks on the dead woman’s left foot—
the marks that had seemed so unimpor-
tant at the autopsy but that were so
horribly significant now when we knew
what they might mean. The two sur-
geons looked at each other and nodded.
“That” said Dr. Boehme, “is the bite
of a snake!” ;
More evidence piled up that Robert
James had an unholy interest in in-
surance—on the lives of other people.
Lois Wright told us that when they
were living in the bungalow, after
Mrs. James's death, James had talked
to -her very -often about insuring
INSTRUMENT
OF MURDER
“Lightning,” a killer rattlesnake, with its deadly companion was carried to the
, James home by Charles Hope to
sink venomous fangs into Mary James’s, foot.
‘snarled, “You plead
: by reason of insanity, as the California
‘law permits. Hope pleaded ‘not guilty,
their lives, each for the other's beneft
An Insurance man threw. anothe
light on that matter. He said th
James inquired about insuring hi
niece’s life but said not a word abou
his own. The insurance company be
came suspicious and refused to m
further.
Perhaps Lois Wright was the net
one marked for a mysterious death
after which a sorrowing uncle would
collect the insurance. Perhaps only th
humiliating experience of her arret
saved her. ,
Vitally significant became a tele
gram which James sent a year ago tt
the mother of Lois Wright and Co.
nelius Wright, Lois’s brother. It read:
“Lois and Neil killed in automobile a
cident.” / Q
The grim point of that was thal
there had been no automobile accident
and Lois and her brother were stil
alive. But three weeks later an auto :
mobile did go off the road on the high
way between San Rafael and Sant
Rosa in northern California. Neil
Wright was killed in the crash. -
“Defective steering gear,” said
James, pointing out that he was noi
where near the scene of the crash. I :
was the same thing he had said whet
Winona Wallace James was almost
killed in a crash on the Pike's Peak :
road. ia
Hard to prove anything now, so lon
after the event, but something ts
think about. ... 4
The grand jury quickly indicted the
pair. James was ugly when he cam
before the grand jury, stubbornly and
sullenly refusing to talk.
Meeting Hope in the corridor, ‘he
guilty, and I’
break your neck!” .
He pleaded not guilty and not guilty
The earliest possible trial date was se
for both of them. }
James began an attempt to build up
his insanity defense by claiming “pains Be
in his head.” He was moved to the jail
hospital and kept under medical ob.
servation, after which the “pains” dis-
appeared. His trial on the morals
, charge became a secondary affair, al-
though under other circumstances it
would have been an outstanding case
As things were, it served merely asa
preliminary.
I know that the jurors and the
courtroom crowds, when they saw B
James walk in under guard, thought §
of him not so much as a man who had
led his own niece into a sordid situa
tion but as a man who had plotted the
death of his beautiful young wife un-
der circumstances of unbelievable
horror.
They looked at James and they
thought of rattlesnakes whirring and
Striking.
For one, I know that I shall never
be able to look at a snake again
without thinking of a helpless girl &
bound and gagged and blindfolded— §
her tortured mind filled with the
menacing buzz of rattles, her bare foot 4
moving nearer and nearer to a clam. §
my, writhing mass of death.
eee
co wall ws
Here Are the Astounding Revela-
tions of the Girl Killer James
Intended to Make His Sixth Wife
ULY 10, 1935, is a date indelibly
‘branded upon my memory. On
the afternoon of that day I met
Robert S. James—the man who, less
than a year later, became known as
the most infamous killer California
has ever seen!
My girl friend, Norma, and I went
to the Italian Village that afternoon.
The Italian Village is a popular down-
town cafe in Los Angeles. Wednesday
afternoons it had “tea dancing.” July
19 was a Wednesday and Norma and
I liked to dance.
Soon after we got there a broad-
shouldered, auburn-haired, good-
looking man stopped at our table and
asked Norma for a dance. He looked
harmless enough, so she accepted the
invitation. Then she introduced him
* to me.
His eyes, small and dark and pierc-
ing, went over me ‘with X-ray
thoroughness. They frightened me, yet
they fascinated. .
“May I have this one?” he asked
as the music started again.
After a few steps I stopped. He was
holding me embarrassingly close!
“If you don’t mind,” I said sharply,
“we'll sit this one out. I, don’t believe
you’re in any condition’ to dance!”
“Okay, baby,” he replied. He wasn’t
sore. “Anything the little girl desires.”
He followed me back to our table.
“Let me buy a drink,” he pleaded.
“The best they’ve got.” And he
flashed a thick roll of bills. “I’m from
Kansas. Out here on a little spree. So
go as far as you like. The sky’s the
limit.”
I hesitated, but the appeal was too
strong. The occasion was such a rare
one. It wasn’t often that Norma and
I went on a lark such as this. My
sense of adventure was awakened.
He gulped his drink down and or-
dered another. By four o’clock he
was so intoxicated he could not stand.
“Listen,” he said thickly, “I’m crazy
about both of you. If you girls will
come with me, I’ll give you twenty
dollars apiece. Whadda y’say?”
We should have left him then. But
he had been at our table for some
time, and he was so drunk he might
have caused a scene.
“I’m not interested,” I replied.
“That goes for me, too,”’ said Norma.
“Oh! So that’s the kind of gals you
are, eh? Well, just to show you I’m
a regular guy, I’ll overlook it.”
“How ’bout one of you driving me
home?” he asked a minute later.
“I’m staying with my sister out in
La Canada. Can’t drive m’self .. .
cops’d pick me up. Will you do that
much for an old friend?”
Norma and I went into a huddle.
We decided we’d better get him out
of there before he did make a fuss.
So, with one of us on either side of
him we half carried him up _ the
steps and across the street to where
his car was parked. Norma then
pleaded another engagement, and it
was up to me to act as chauffeur for
the inebriated Kansan.
When Norma left, I felt a help-
lessness and. bewilderment creep over
me. I felt lost. It was not often I was
called on to cope with such a situa-
tion. What ought I to do? What would
any decent girl do? Leave him there
of course! I walked away. Yet after
a few steps I hesitatingly turned back.
I couldn’t just leave that man there
alone. When I returned the cool air
had revived him somewhat.
E TOLD me his wife was in Kansas,
that they had not lived together for
some time and that he intended to
divorce her. His name was Robert S.
James.
“Do you know,” he said suddenly,
“I’ve been looking for a girl like you
all my life! You’re just my type: tall,
slender, good-looking and a_ brunet.
This may sound a bit premature, but
Robert S. James: “Once you've been loved by me, you’ll
never look at another man.
OFFICIAL BREVECT) VE
/ Ve vEtn BELL, | IBZ
Let me teach you how to love”
4
NEXT VICTIM .
By
The Girl Who Broke the Case
I’m going to say it anyway. If I di-
vorce my wife, will you marry me?”
He was so drunk that it was funny,
not insulting.
“No, I won’t,” I replied, laughing.
“Tomorrow you'll be sorry you talked
like this. You’re still drunk.”
“I’m perfectly sober now. Listen.
I’m expecting a settlement from a
large estate. If you’ll marry me, we’ll
tour the country and have a swell
time. What do you say?”
“T’ll answer that when I know you
better,” I told him. I had no idea I’d
ever see him again,
Finally we arrived at our destina-
tion on Verdugo Road in La Canada,
a suburb of Los Angeles. He lived in
an attractive, white stucco bungalow
.,Set well back from the road and al-
most hidden by a luxurious growth of
shrubbery. ;
James staggered to the bedroom,
threw himself across the bed and im-
mediately fell sound asleep. I sat in
the living-room, waiting for him to
awaken and drive me over to Mont-
rose where I could catch a bus for
Los Angeles.
At seven o’clock I heard light foot-
steps on the front porch. A gay voice
called out, “Hello, honey!”
His sister, I thought. Perhaps she
would drive me to Montrose. I
opened the front door. ‘A girl, tall,
slender and sweet-faced, stood there.
“I’m Madge Reed,” I hastened to
announce. “Bob’s (that’s what he
called himself) sleeping off a drunk.
Are you his sister?”
Her beautiful blue eyes looked
straight into mine.
“No,” she said calmly, “I’m not his
sister. I’m Mary James, his wife.”
My knees went limp. I remembered
having seen a gun lying on a night-
stand in the bedroom. Would she be-
lieve my story? It didn’t even sound
plausible to me, although I knew it
was the truth!
.
Mrs. James smiled, put her hand
on my arm.
“Don’t be frightened,” she said. “Sit
down and tell me all about it. How
did you happen to meet him, and
where? I knew he’d been cheating, but
this is the first time I ever caught
him at it.”
Gratefully I accepted her invita-
tion to sit down.
“He said his wife was in Kansas,
but that he was separated from her
and intended to get a divorce,” I said
weakly.
“He’s right about part of it,” Mrs.
James said sadly. “I haven’t told him
yet, but I do intend to divorce him.
He has certain ideas and habits—
Madge Reed: ad Md
wake everybody ir
this hotel if you don’t
leave me alone
You'll be = arrested’
«
horrible habits—that make it impos-
sible for me to live with him. I can't
leave him just yet—there’s something
I must do first, but as soon as that’s ,
over I’ll get my divorce. I’ve been
in Long Beach for a few days, model-
ing at a dentists’ convention. I thought
I’d surprise Bob by coming home un-
expectedly.”
She sat silent for a moment, then
turned to me with a mischievous light
in her eyes.
“I think I’ll wake the young man up!
It'll do him good to know I’ve found
you here.”
She went to the bathroom and re-
turned with a glass of water. Together
(Continued on Page 35)
Marshall Kearney, Blair
stood before the bar of
courtroom of Criminal
Hurke,
men,” said Judge Burke,
is ready, Your Honor,”
is one man.
‘here was a whispered
ing on among the four
d their lawyers. Pres-
of the court called out:
he, Durland Nash, Emil
livingston, at the March
‘he grand jury indicted
f you for murder. Are
ot guilty?”
wered Goethe.
oed Nash.
growled Reck.
snarled Livingston.
promptly sentenced
ish to the penitentiary
ich. The defiance of the
rt-lived. On the early
/ 20, a jury found them
's given 199 years and
y years,
cock murder was no
ry. Gone was the ob-
1 conceaied the weird
e. Cleared of all impli-
ae of a man who had
f sick children his life
1 untarnished. Down in
f Bowen, Illinois, Mrs..
ling over some sheets
*n manuscript. It was
pleted : report of her
research into scarlet
{ been almost ready to
1 as it lay on Dr. Pea-
‘ night of January 2
1 forth into the black
r night to see a sick
vith the dry, unmis- :
death. ve
mes. hear them? Did
sound of the rattles?
iat was going to hap-
said, -went calmly
1 his wife’s bare foot,
over the table. He =:
rust her foot into the
held it there.
gave a grunt,” said
us story.
Hope, the compliant
(rer of rattlesnakes,
fiction could Surpass
es of his own state-
d you ever conceive
‘ea?’ and James an-
new way to knock.
‘ued about this and
his car and got my
k-the snakes back.
‘hat had happened. -
played cards that
a,
WTAE PEN TERT RET RI IRENET RL TENET ”
‘ (
They played cards, and if the soft
slither of a shuffled deck sounded like
the faint whisper of scaly bodies,
squirming and writhing in their box,
it didn’t trouble Hope. He went back
to the James house after Sunday, mid-
night and found James in a_ bad
témper.
Mary James wasn’t dead. _
The two men argued and talked in
the garage, with the assistance of a
pint of whiskey. Just before daylight,
James made up his mind. He went
back into the house and.there, with
the dawn growing gray outside, he
finished the job.
Was Mary James unconscious from
the effects of the rattlesnake venom
when she was thrust into a bathtub
fill of water and left there until she
died? Did she still cling to enough
shreds of consciousness to struggle
weakly against the grip of strong
hands, holding her down under the
water? ‘
‘No one knows except the two men,
James and Hope, each of whom
vehemently accused the other of the
actual murder and insisted that he
was not there when it happened.
It was all over, Hope said, when
James called him to come into the
house. Mary James was dead and “the
mess was all cleaned up.”
‘She was lying on the floor just out-
side the bathroom door. Her body was
clad in dry pajamas of vivid red, but
her blonde hair was still wet. A pile
of soaked bath towels and wet clothing
and three damp blankets told of ef-
forts to remove all traces of a bathtub
drowning.
In other La Canada bungalows, early .
morning alarm clocks were ringing
and housewives were preparing break-
fasts when the two men carried Mary
James's limp body'into the garden and
" to the edge of the lily-filled pool. James
set the stage for the grim masquerade
‘of accident, Hope insisted. He, Hope,
helped carry the dead woman into the
garden and lay her beside the pool,
but then he went back to the car, leav-
e
ing James alone with his murdered —
wife.
Then James came back to the car,
‘bringing the bucket full of wet cloth-
ing and the blankets, and the two men
drove into Los Angeles.
“T’ll take care of you on this,” James
told Hope. “You just forget me.”
“I hope I can forget you,” Hope an-
swered. ,
James left him, and Hope went
home, taking charge of the soaked
‘clothing. He took his wife to work,
saying nothing about the fact that in
the car with them were the drenched
garments of another wife—a woman
who was lying dead with her face in
the water of a garden pool. Alone, he
thrust the clothing into an incinerator
and set fire to the pile. Among the
-ashes investigators later found frag-
ments of silk and a buckle.
It was a twenty-five-dollar murder,-
so far as Hope was concerned. That
was the sum he said James gave him.
He might have had a thousand dollars
more if he had been willing to agree
to the demand he said James made
FRONT PAGE DETECTIVE
later on: that he would testify to wit-
nessing the marriage of James and
‘Mary Busch, giving his testimony in
connection with the insurdnce claim,
But Hope, who could go meekly along
In a murder plot, suddenly developed
a conscience and refused to‘lie for one
thousand dollars. ;
The lame excuse that Hope gave for
his willingness to abet murder was that
James had a “hypnotic eye.”
AMES, confronted by Hope’s story,
broke after a few hours of sullen
silence and told us a tale that, while it
agreed in general outlines with what
Hope had said, reversed the roles of
the two men. Hope was the instigator
of the crime and the actual murderer.
He, James, merely knew that it was
going to happen and warned Hope
against one or two methods that he
considered unsafe. But James brought
in a new culmination of horror.
‘Mrs. James was expecting to become
a mother—we knew that. James in-
sisted that she did not want a child, and
that the conspirators used this desire
on her part to induce her'to submit to
an. “operation” to be performed by
Hope, posing as a medical student.
The operation, which Mrs. James
was told consisted of an inoculation
in her leg, was the bite of a rattle-
snake.
That is another question to which
_the answer is forever shrouded in
mystery, locked. in the dead brain of
Mary James. Did they actually tell her ©
that incredible story, and did she sub-
mit willingly? Did she think that the
sharp sting on her foot was the prick
of a needle, or did she guess the hor-
rible truth? :
According to James, Hope, knowing
that Mary James’s life was insured
and that she was ill, said: “She’s going
to die, anyway. ‘Why don’t ‘you kill
- her?”
And ‘then they calmly discussed
ways and means, James, he insisted,
refusing to do it himself but unhesi-
tantly accepting Hope’s offer to “do
the job.” .
There is a ghoulish, macabre atmos-
phere to the argument over how Mary
James was to die, as James related it.
Hope suggested shooting her in a hold-
up. James said that was too risky; that
“lots of people have been hung: for
that.” Mary James had to die, but with-
out risk to anyone but herself.
They staged “trial. performances”
with rattlesnakes and rabbits, and the
snakes wouldn’t bite. Hope, James
said, turned up one day with a glass jar
full of black widow spiders—those
shiny black, deadly creatures that
spin their tangled, sticky webs in se-
cluded corners and bite viciously when
they are disturbed.
He suggested that they put the spid-
_ ers in Mary James’s bed and let them
do the rest. James laughed at him, he
said, and threw the spiders out.
When our investigators searched the
James garage, after the crime had
been established, they found an enor-
mous black widow spider, sulking ven-
omously in her web. Was she a sur-
vivor of that glass jar full of death?
91
Had she been cheated of her prey, not
because James had any objection to
death for his wife, but merely be-
cause he didn't think that method
would work?
James admitted that he was get-
ting impatient. He told Hope that some-
thing would have to be done before
suspicion was aroused.
“I told him we would fool around
until we got into trouble,” he said.
So Hope at last managed to get the
“hot snakes” from “Snake Joe” Hout-
enbrink. He brought them to the James
house when he arrived ostensibly to
perform the operation that would dis-
pose of the unwanted baby.
“She was very much pleased,” said
James.
James was “pretty tight” when Hope
arrived, and he developed another at-
tack of scruples—or, perhaps, of con-
sideration for his own safety. He went
away, he said, and when he came back,
Mary James was in bed, her foot and
leg swollen. Hope told him that he
had thrust Mrs. James’s foot into the
box of snakes and that one of them
had bitten her.
So, after Hope left, James and his
sick wife drank together all night, he
said. And still she wouldn’t die. He
watched her with cautious glances and
frequent inquiries as to how she felt,
‘but she persisted in living on.
In the morning Hope came back and
talked things over with James. Some-
thing had to be done about the woman
who wouldn't die. And Hope, the re-
sourceful, had another suggestion, the
husband said. Mary James smoked a
good deal. What would be easier than
to set fire to her bed and blame a
dropped cigarette? Suppose it did burn .
the house. It was only a rented house,
anyway. :
*- So James went off to his barber shop ©
with the understanding, he said, that °
his wife was to be burned to death.
He shaved: customers with a steady
hand, talked about the weather and
politics and sports, and waited for
* news.
About one o’clock, he said, -Hope
came to the shop and casually re-
marked: “Everything’s all. right.”
So they went to lunch.
That was one of the most horrible
things about the stories these two men
told: the incredibly casual manner in
which these commonplace incidents
drop suddenly into the midst of grim
frightfulness. .
Hope saw James thrust. his wife’s
foot into a box of snakes, and he spent
the evening playing cards.
James heard from Hope that his wife
was dead at last, and they went to
lunch.: f
But James, according to his ‘story,
wasn’t pleased with Hope's, report.
_Mary James was dead—that was all
right. It was the means Hope had used
that annoyed the husband. Of all
methods that he. might have chosen,
Hope had elected to drown Mary
James. And Winona Wallace: James
had drowned’ in-a bathtub. Anyone
might lose a wife by drowning, but to
lose two wives that way—James was
downright cross about it. ;
them out and rolled her up tn them and
started te climb out What a time Twas
having trying to climb up a mountainside
with a Jame Jeg and in total darkness, 1
looked every montent to fall. [ was scared
to pieces to leave her there. But I knew
it was certain death for her if I didn’t! 1
couldn't tell which way the road was. But
I figured I would cross it if I kept going up
the mountain.
After I had gone quite a long way, some-
thing let out a scream that nearly stopped
my heart from beating. T didn’t know what
it was for I] had never heard such a distress-
ing noise in my life. I stood still and soon
saw it coming down the mountain toward
me. I picked up some rocks and waited
until it got close to me. I couldn't see any-
thing but its eyes. When it got close to me
I threw a rock at it and J think I must have
hit it for it ran back up the mountain a little
ways. I started climbing after it and it just
kept going up the mountain. Finally I found
the road and started down the road. It fol-
lowed me which I was glad in a way for
I just knew it would go and tear my wife to
pieces if it didn’t follow me.
It wanted to leap on me several times,
for it would run all around me. But every
time it got too close to me I would throw
a rock and it would run. Finally there was
a flash of lightning, and I saw what it was,
‘for it was light as day for a moment. And
to add to my terror, I saw it was a mountain
lion longer than I am.
I almost fainted, but kept walking and it
kept trotting along in front of me. In a
few minutes I saw a light and I began to
holler for all I was worth, About 10 men
came running to me. I told them what had
happened, and about the lion, They got a
‘truck and guns and we went back to get
my wife.
Someone called an ambulance and by the
time we located my car the ambulance was
there. I held my breath until they got to
her. And when they hollered up to the truck
where I was waiting that she was safe, I
fainted !
The next I knew, we were in a hospital
in Colorado Springs. She was in one room
and I was in another, I could hear her talk-
ing and could tell by her talk she was still
unconscious. Next morning about seven
o'clock I heard her ask the nurse what had
happened, and the nurse told her. She
asked if I was badly hurt and the nurse told
her no, I knew she had regained her con-
sciousness, so I got out’ of bed and went
to her. I was surprised that my leg felt as
good as it did, for I could use it.
They tried to get me to stay in bed that
day, but I told them I was o.k. and stayed
up. I knew I had to wire my people and
her people, and I had lost my pocketbook
with every cent of money we had!
That afternoon a friend took me up to
the place where the accident happened to
look for my pocketbook. We never found
one thing that I had lost.
I went back to town and made out a loan
on an insurance policy I had that I bought
from Frank Johnson in Emporia in 1921.
I knew I would need more money than I
- could take out of my business.
My wife got along splendid. Her father
and mother were separated, and he lived in
Fargo, North Dakota. I wired him and he
came to see my wife and stayed two or
three weeks. She told him she was driving
the car at the time of the accident. She
wrote her mother and many friends the
same thing a few days after the accident!
What really caused the accident was that
she fainted from the high altitude.
After about five weeks in the hospital,
the doctor told me I could take her home,
that all was needed now was to keep her
quiet and in bed until her skull was healed,
for she had several bad fractures on the
head. I rented a furnished house and took
. (No. 1 of a series.)
IN NO FIELD have human beings shown more ingenuity and efficiency ~
‘than in the discovery and invention of methods of ‘killing their fellow-*
~ humans. This applies not only to their enemies in war, but also to their,
; enemies in peace—namely, criminals. It is only in comparatively recent, -
». years—and this only in certain countries—that new ways of executing crimi- >
; ~~ nals to make death as easy as possible have been created. Most of the others
f
had just the opposite purpose in view—to cause the criminal to suffer the.
utmost in physical agony until the permanent anesthesia of death relieved him. -
_.._ That this actually was the intent was well illustrated when a man 1
__... Damiens attempted to assassinate Louis XV of France. When Damiens was.
| + sentenced to death, the king invited members of his parliament to submit ~
gy aon and tabulated.
‘exquisite agony than this innocent-appearing apparatus—a piece of iron
_ .. moulded into the shape of a boot which is fitted on to the leg of the victim,
/ into Ari sides of which wedges are driven between the iron and the condemned.
man’s legs.
’... For an hour ard a quarter the shrieking, quivering Damiens was subjected noe?
to this ghastly torture. Then he fainted. His sweet-tempered executioners,
“with the help of physicians, tried to bring him back to consciousness, sO...»
“that they could give him still more. But nature was kind to the tormented) |
- man. He died an hour or so later without regaining consciousness. bd
| The last sardonic: touch came when the monarch, who had condemned,
+, Damiens to this kind of death, severely criticized his executioners for not
-*” prolonging the torture, As proof of their “bungling,” he cited
_° true ones—where men had been subjected to the ” for five or six hours:
)." before death reached out a kindly hand to them. aig ‘aint i:
“The boot was one of the more commonly used forms of execution. Another’
not .so well known, but extensively practiced in England for many. years,’
> was called “the irons”, This gentle method of inflicting a slow death was
*\~ to strap the condemned, man to staples in the floor and then place a wooden.
- platform on his body. On this platform were piled gradually—sometimes very
gradually—additional pieces of iron, a pound or two at a time. uel
* As the weight increased the breathing of the man beneath became more
-— difficult and labored. With every breath he had to lift 40, 50, even 100 of
more pounds of the cpereasve metal. His gasping struggles for air couid
4 frequently be heard throughout the prison. ith every strangling effort
“he became pipgrestive weaker. Slowly, bit by bit, his overstrained lungs.
* would rebel. But still he fought on, as men must fight when faced with
* strangulation or smothering, whether they will it or not. ‘
“The moment came when the sadistic executioners, watching the
battle, knew the end had arrived—a sudden dropping of the weigh
form, a gurgking exhalation of breath, and silence.
"It was the moment which added still another to the long list of those
vé fallen victim to the inhumanity of their fellow-creatures, 9 |.
ROT sta hai ta Os PM A al Josern Fuu.ine Fisuman,
4 : (nO ee ea aa
Ore tga
t,
Rave
A 2 PERE
ae
say
They only feed condemned men twice a
day. But they give us two kinds of meat
for dinner and TP alwaya save enotigh for a
sandwich about seven,
We have a large room to ourselves and
we are on the fourth floor, which is the top
one. We are kept in our cells 22 hours each
day. We have two hours outside for exer-
cise, from twelve until two. But we don’t
go out of the room. It is two hundred feet
long. Cells all the way across it. Our cells
are eleven feet deep, four and one-half feet
wide. Each man has a cell to himself. We
keep our own dishes, There is plenty ot
room to walk back and forth in the cells.
We get much exercise that way.
While we are outside we play ball,
dominoes and cards. We can turn our light
on and off as we please. Some of the men
sleep lots during the day and read most all
night. But I don't do that. I go to sleep
around ten every night. We have a radio
and can get both church and popular music.
Condemned men have many more privileges
in a way than the others. Writing long
letters is ‘one. I think the rule in the yard
is one letter each day and one sheet. We
can write as many as we wish.
I correspond with lots of people, so I
spend much of my time writing letters and
studying my Bible. I don’t read anything
else except the daily paper. They give us
a morning paper and we pass it from one
cell to another until all have seen it.
We have 16 men here now. Only one
man is here now that was here when I
came. He will either go tothe yard or the
gas chamber within the next fifteen days.
We have a bathroom and have a complete
change of clothing each week. They give
us everything we use except stamps. The
men up here get all the tobacco they want.
I don’t use it. I quit smoking when I turned
Christian.
We have all the books and magazines we
want to read. The prison chaplain holds a
service up here quite often. They have a
Catholic priest here also and most any
other kind of minister one wants.
We always know when our date is set.
It doesn’t seem to bother any of them. They
laugh and joke about it the same as if it
was just a party. The ones that go to their
death are moved downstairs Thursday
night, next to the chamber, and there is a
guard with him all night. I think he can
play the radio all night if he wishes. I am
the only one here sentenced to hang. I
was convicted before the gas law was
passed.
I think that about covers everything. Our
quarters are nice and very comfortable. It
is painted a desert tan. Windows all around
the room, and we have good beds. I was
surprised to find things so very nice here.
I expected it to be a gloomy old place. We
have hot air heat, and if the weather is
warm, we can use the blower for a fan
for the air is cool when the steam is off.
You asked about my name. Major Jack-
son Lisemba is my real name. My mother
was married to a James after she and my
father separated. I never liked my first
name for everyone called me Jack, and no
one could remember my second name or
pronounce it. So when I enlisted in the
Marine Corps in the last war I took my
stepfather’s first name for I knew the Major
part of my name would be very confusing
in the service... .
I see where the two new judges have been
sworn in the Supreme Court and if none die
will have a full court in October. I surely
hope none die!
I was baptized into a Baptist church while
I was in the county jail. They used a large
laundry tub for a pool. It was shortly after
my conviction. I thought they were going
to take my life right away. So I decided
that if there was another life I would try
and get it. The Christian people go through
ple would support me. .
that jail every Sunday and hold one-hour
services at each tank, | had listened to them
preach five montha while waithy teal but
didn't accept Christianity until alter my
conviction.
No, Bill, I didn’t know the Christian peo-
.. But the reason
they happened to help me is because I was
permitted to stay there while waiting on
my appeal and got so well acquainted with
them, Lhe minister that led me to the Lord
told me in order for me to be saved I
would have to tell the truth about my wife’s
death. He said, “God will not forgive you
unless you contess your sins to Him and
man as the Scriptures say. But,” he said,
“I won't tell anyone what you say about it
_ for it is no one’s business what you tell me.”
When I told him how it was he looked
stunned. I suppose he thought 1 was telling
him an untruth, for most every man in this
prison says he is innocent. He came to see
me twice each week and we had a half-hour
visit each time. I told him all about what
they did to me just as I told you in the
letters, and I said, “If you are interested
in it, investigate it and you will see that
I am telling the truth.”
So of course he kept telling the other
Christians about it and many of them be-
came interested in it.
* When that body of people investigated
other things and were thoroughly convinced
that I was innocent, they were all willing
to help me. I lost all interest in the things
‘ of this world and to tell you the truth, I
don’t want to stay here. I feel that it is
my duty to do all I can to save my life,
for the Scriptures teach us that. But down
in my heart I want to go and be with the
Lord, for I know that is far better than
to live here if I owned the whole world.
Yes, I know that our Creator has pro-
tected my life.
You asked how I knew I was saved. On
September 1, 1936, this minister came to
see me. He prayed a long prayer that God
would save my soul and do it then. His
words sank into my heart like daggers.
He told me how to be saved and gave me a
Bible. I went back to ‘my cell and read it,
and I knew by that inward man that I was
saved, for I felt the spirit of God enter my
heart. He had some tracts made that tell
it in detail. I will have him send you one.
It has both of our pictures on it.
Your old friend,
Robt. James
REJECTED BY SUPREME COURT
San Quentin, Calif.
December 17, 1941
My dear friend and family:
Christmas greetings to you in the name
of Him Who loved us when we were in
our sins and was His enemy, our dear Lord
Jesus.
I received both of your cards, and the
reason I didn’t write is that I was expect-
ing the decision long before now. The out-
come of it surely was a Sad disappointment
to my attorney, for he said he would have
bet his life he had the case beat. He feels
that the retirement of Chief Justice Hughes
was the cause of my losing, for he feels
the two new judges were influenced by the
older members of the court. Two judges
that voted to free me a few months ago
voted last week to take my life. I don’t
understand such people and I don’t see how
anyone else can! :
My attorney calls me the man of fate,
for he personally knows that the State
Supreme Court had decided to give me a
new trial. But two of the judges that were
for me died two weeks before they were to
vote for me a new trial, That was fate
indeed !
I doubt if there is such a thing on record
in the history of the world. The chief of
the State Court told my attorney about it
when my attorney went to see him to get
scrminsion to take my case to Unele Sam,
Chen when Chief Justice Hughes retired,
the hand of fate fell on me again!
The two judges that were for me wrote a
vigorous dissent and my attorney feels that
will be of great help, for he is going to ask
them for a rehearing. Only one judge wrote
a dissent in the State Court and the court
gave me a rehearing, So | may receive a
rehearing and have some luck yet. If not,
he will ask for a commutation, and if it is
granted he will then ask the Governor to
review the evidence in my case, and if the
Governor feels that I am innocent he can
pardon me on time served.
We have a fine Governor here. He has
proven himself to be one of the finest men
the wotld has ever had. He does not be-
lieve in capital punishment and if there are
any extenuating circumstances, he will com-
mute anyone’s sentence.
Of course, he is under oath to carry out
the law to the letter, and unless he can
find a way out for a man, he must let the
State execute him. But before he does he
has his special board of five men inter-
view the prisoner and the prisoner is per-
mitted to tell them in his own way every- ~~
thing about his case. Then the Governor
sends men to investigate what the prisoner —
important, —
tells them about if it seems
Many times a prisoner can tell them about
important things that the judge ruled out
of the case at the trial. He will do plenty
of investigating when I tell him about my
case. He may even slap someone in jail
about it.
You say on your card you want to know
how I feel. Personally, I feel swell. But
I feel sad for my loved ones, for my trouble
is about to kill them. They wouldn't take
it so hard if they thought I was guilty. If
I wasn’t a Christian I would tell them I did
it to ease their hearts. But I cannot afford
to lie about it. I would be the happiest man
on earth if I knew I was going Honte to-
morrow, for I know that will be the most
glorious trip a man has ever taken. And
as you Say, it is over in a few seconds and
a man is on his way to the Father. Per-
sonally, I had much rather go that way
than to lie ill for weeks as some people do.
Death holds no horror for me at all. God
has told us we would have tribulation in
_ world, but nothing could touch our
souls. .
I must stop now, for I have many. - {
Christmas letters to write. I will keep you ©
well posted. Please write. My best wishes
to all,
Robert S. James
February 6, 1942
(Postcard)
Dear
Just a line to let you know that I finally
lost my appeal. My next step is to the
Governor for a commutation. It will be
4 or 5 months before it reaches him. The
Christian people are getting a petition
signed up for me and I feel sure I will get
a commutation. I go before the prison board
and tell them my story & if they recommend
a commutation I won't need the petition. —
—Sincerely, your friend,
Robt. S. James
San Quentin, Calif.
February 28, 1942
My dear friend —— and family:
I received your card and enjoyed hearing é
You asked if my case has ~~
from you again.
reached the goverrior’s committee yet. No,
not yet, for I haven’t filed for executive
clemency yet. My date for execution is set
for the first day of May. I may not file for
some time, for the committee won't see me
until I file and the governor can’t act
either way until he receives the report from
the committee. I have to file before May —
at
ieee ide oa St ar eee
Pe ee ey
ee
GAME OW WHEEL
RT RR 2%
~ be voy be *
that an insane man is on the loose if
Main Street with threé cops
_ dominoes on the sergeant’s desk.
. For state troopers of Illinois soon
- will have a precinct house on wheels—=
tion are expected to adopt quickly.
Hailed as a solar-plexus blow to the
» tains features of an army tank, comforts
‘ of a deluxe trailer, and facilities of a
hospital, a chemical laboratory, coast
Sat PR
a. guard rescue vessel and jail.
At a recent convention of the Inter-
' national Police Chiefs Association, Gov-
© ernor Dwight Green of Illinois stated:
; “Usually criminals are several jumps
_ ahead of the law, but our mobile unit
' should place the law right on their
»~ heels.”
_ | Enforcement officials listened in open-
* mouthed amazement as the strange
» hoosegow was described by the young
) and dynamic governor who, when Pro-
| hibition-era district attorney in Chicago,
“Scarface Al” Capone |
aided in taking
_ out of circulation:
b>. “Sounds ‘like’ something Rube Gold-
«berg would conceive,” observed a mem-
-’ ber of the audience, “but this roving
pPogie Zs. just what we need.”
©". traveli
t equi
» forming other police jobs.
ce.” Its body is of 20-gau
> windows of bullet-proof glass. Like the
"conning tower of a submarine, a re-
. volving observation turret crowns this
“ dreadnought of the highways.
-* The turret, which can
lowered, holds two machine guns and
» a motion picture camera. With the latter
+
wage
*
e
» the crew will photograph riots and
similar disturbances to secure ironclad
-. évidence against participants.
In addition, the battlewagon contains ;
Microscopes and chemical equipment
_-for comparative tests of blood, human
co
Sse
ae
Pont
Lapin,
ae
Ee
by
« skin, mud, paint, metal, etc.
'. An office furnished with a lie detector
| and a recording machine to take down
| the testim of thase interrogated.
' An identification department com-
ete with files of thousands of crooks’
ay
} DONT TELEPHONE police to bleat ©
; in the near future you hear someone
e” gay:
‘ “The police station just sped along
aying
“a Jules Verne innovation which hood- |
lum-fighting groups throughout the na- — I
' venture into burning buildings.
_underworld, the cruising calaboose con- ©
elaborate
‘steel with
‘the sher
raised or |
Paes
No. 12: A Cruising Calaboose :
4
An arsenal stocked with all types of -
firearms, dynamite and tear* gas. f
An X-ray to be employed in examin-
ing packages suspected of being bombs _
oh ependboet, fied with grappliic a
$s t fitt wi grappling.
hooks, and diving helmets to wear in.
rescue work or in recovering evidence
from beneath the surfaces of streams.
Fire-fighting equipment, and asbestos »
suits, which will enable bluecoats. to ©
Beds for crew members when’ on ;
overnight journeys or when stationed at
remote points without sleeping accom- —
modations, i
‘ Hydraulic jacks that will level the
truck, if it is parked at an angle, so that
the delicate instruments can be used.
And scores of other items—oxygen
tanks, an oxygen tent, pulmotor, lad-
ders, cutting torches; first-aid kits, —
ballistics equipment, loud.
speakers, cook stove, axes, shovels, |
high-powered ie rebi,2 a two-way
radio system, ultravoilet and infra-red.
lamps, , ..
“Even a small lockup for prisoners,”
; proudly added Leo Carr, superintendent
of the state force.
“In short, all a
modern police station has—except a
“permanent location.”
The mobile unit will give every Illi-
nois hamlet, no matter how tiny, an
up-to-date scientific department—an ex-_
pensive adjunct which only large cities
possess today. Stationed at a strategic
point, probably Springfield, the trav-
eling police headquarters will always be
fully manned and ready to race to a’.
_ crime scene on a moment's notice.
Big dividends are expected at once, ,
an, in some rural regions where. _
ffs equipment for investigation
consists only of a pair of handcuffs and ©
a six-shooter, But it will help metro-
politan police too,
“When our traveling laboratory gets ©
rolling,” said Chief Carr with assurance,
“we'll make homicide twice as dangerous —
as it is today.” f
Now under construction, the mobile
unit is expected to be in service within
six months. Much of the material go-.
ing into it is vital to defense, but the —
vehicle has been given a high. priority
rating, because it will be employed in
the investigation of sabotage. And to-
day the fight against sinister enemies
who seek to hamper production of war _
goods is the most important task fac- —
ng law-enforcement. officials of the
nation,
”
.to sleep on in those tourist camps. So I got —
Letters from the
Death House
(Continued from page 23)
membered was when I came to. ‘It was ee
black dark, The lights were still burning ieee
on the car! This is going to be a long
story and I will have to write another letter,0 2.
so I will stop here and write the other one»
tomorrow, the Lord willing. bd
Your old friend,
Bob James,
Box 64921, ie
San Quentin Prison ~ ;
1
MENACED BY A MOUNTAIN LION,
‘
i
x
“4
bs
San Quentin, Calif.
June 24, 1941 ,
Dear Bill: ;
J am sorry that I did not get to finish”
the letter next day as I had expected to do. ™
to answer right away. I don’t think I will °
ever promise to write this again, for it was 7°
such a horrible experience that it still givesamn aid
meanightmare. Rug ie
When I came to my senses I realized at 23%
once what had happened and, as quickly as
I could get myself together, I got up to go™. :
to my car. I think I must have been 20 feet 7%
from it. I didn’t think I was hurt until 972
I started to walk. I discovered that one of “G37 —
I made it to the car. I found my wife on the ©
ground just outside of the car on the same «|
side I was on. Bia hg
The car had only fallen about 200 feet. It @
crashed sideways into a large boulder rock, 7:
The side she was on caved in from the crash |
and we both fell out the door on the: side
I was on. I never knew how the door «:
opened, unless the crash into the rock caused | -
the car to buckle and the door was sprung
open. If we hadn't hit that rock we would ©
have rolled the full 700 feet, for there ”
wasn't anything to stop us until we reached:
the bottom of the canyon. We were at the
13,000-foot altitude. No timber grows there.
Everything is rock!
I saw my wife by the car. She was {g7.
soaked in blood. She had received a lick #%y
over the eye and was bleeding badly. I. %
started talking to her, but she wouldn't .~
answer, I thought she was dead. I took- 77"
hold of her and shook her and she said, | |
“Get a doctor,” and would never answer’.
me again. ‘ata
I could tell the way she was bleeding that «(4
she would soon bleed to death if I didn’t °¥5«.
get help. I didn’t know how long we had Nh
heen there for the sun was going down |” a
when we went over and it was black dark 9)
then. Both of us had watches, but both. ~,
were broken. s:
But the lights on my car were still burn- -%
ing, and I could see my wife by the lights. ©
I took a shirt and tied it around her head ae
tight to stop the blood. Then T tried to ~
put her in the car for I was afraid to leave 747
her on the ground on account of the wild 97%
animals. She weighed 160 pounds and when “f=
I tried to lift her I discovered my back .
was hurt and I couldn’t lift her to save me.
I had a pistol and a box of cartridges, and }
I decided if I fired a few shots someone -
would hear it, for there was a road camp —
about halfway up the mountain. eee
I looked for my pistol and I found out “9
that nearly everything in the car had been ‘9) |
thrown out. I had some blankets and pillows 97"
in the turtle back of my coupe that we used ~ :
eee"
hee to it on Saturday, the Jatter part of
October,
I did the housekeeping, for [can cook
better than most women, The doetor took
the bandages off her head because the out-
side was completely healed, I was surprised
to see that her head, or rather her hair,
was a solid ball of blood! J asked the doctor
why her hair had not been washed when
she was taken to the hospital. He = said,
“She was too near death to dress her hair.”
He said, “I spent most of the night picking
rock out of her scalp.”
The odor from the blood was terrible
after five weeks, and my wife begged the
doctor to let me shampoo her hair. But he
told me it was out of the question for at
least another 30 days. But he would just
tell her, “Maybe next time I see you I will
permit it if you are still improving!” -
You may wonder why I've gone into so
much detail about the whole thing. But you
will understand in the end. It will take
another letter to tell all. So will send it
soon, for I must stop tonight.
May the dear Lord richly bless you and
all your loved ones.
Robert S. James
DEAD IN BATHTUB...
San Quentin, Calif.
June 26, 1941
Dear :
Will try and finish my letter today.
When I started to move my wife from the
hospital, they objected because I couldn't
pay my bill. But [ moved her anyway, for
that hospital was like any general hospital
in a city. If you can pay, all right, but if
not, they must take care of you.
The doctor came out to the house on
Thursday before my wife died Friday and
said the hospital was sore because I hadn't
paid anything on our bill. I told him the
loan had not arrived from the insurance
company, but I would go in and see the
agent next day and try to find out what
the delay was, for it had been a month then
since I made out the loan.
Our house was at Manitou, a little sum-
mer resort at the bottom of the mountain,
Pike’s Peak. It took an hour to go to
Colorado Springs on the street car, and that
is the way I had to go for I sold my car
where it was wrecked for $25.
Next day I went‘to town, leaving home
about 1 P.M. I went to see the agent and
he said he didn’t know what caused the
delay, but said he would wire the company
and tell them about my great need.
I went from there to the ambulance com-
pany and told them I would soon pay them.
They charged me $35 for taking us to the
hospital and wanted their money. I went
from there to the hospital, told them I would
pay them as soon as the check came. I
caught the car and went home. When I
got to the end of the line I bought groceries,
got the mail and rode the grocery truck
home, for IT had an armful and lived on a
hill a half mile from the store and post
office. When I entered the kitchen I saw
my wife's feet hanging over the bath tub,
for the bath joined the kitchen. I dropped
my groceries and rushed to her. The tub
was full of water and she was dead,
I tried to lift her out but could not, for
she had put a box of soap flakes in the
water which made her slippery. Her eyes
were wide open and the water was luke-
warm. The grocery man helped me carry
her to the bed and he ran next door to call
a doctor, for we didn’t know if she was
dead or not, although I should have known
she was for her head was under the water.
The man next door happened to be a
doctor and came over. He told me as soon
as he felt of her she was dead. He called
the doctor that had been taking care of her
and he came and brought the coroner. They
examined the bathroom and found her othe
neawwn folded ono chadi She tied a two
carat engagement ring and she had removed
it and her wedding ring. They were on the
wash bowl The coroner said he believed
she had been dead only a few minutes for
the water was still warm. Ags cold as it
was there that day, the water in the tub
would have been cold in an hour, IT had
been gone about four hours.
I was dumfounded to find that shé had
gotten out of bed, for that was the last
thing I told her when | left the house, and
she said she wouldn't. I had never per-
mitted her to go to the bathroom alone for
I was afraid she might stumble or get dizzy
and fall. So I always helped her to and
from the bath, While we were in the house
she wrote several letters to friends and
relatives each day and I mailed them when
' T went to the post office each day.
The day she died I mailed several letters
for her. One was to her father in North
Dakota and one to her mother in Los
Angeles. In both of them she said, “Bob is
going to town today on business, and while
he is gone I am going to wash my hair.
The doctor won't let him do it, so I am
going to do it while he is gone.” She said
also, “He will surely be surprised when he
comes home and finds out that I have done
it.”
Of course I didn’t know what was in her
letters, for I never read her letters, and I
never dreamed of her doing such a thing.
I think she thought she was strong enough
to do it. But fractures of the skull are
always dangerous. The doctor that took
care of her told me his daughter had one
and after a month he let her sit up for
dinner at the table one Sunday and when
she had finished she slumped dead in her |
chair.
The coroner, doctor and everyone, includ-
ing father, mother, insurance company and
myself were satisfied that her death was
accidental. She had $7000 in insurance
which paid double for accidental death for
everything except drowning. But they paid
the double indemnity for they decided the
accident on the mountain was the contribu-
tary cause of her death. But they waited
six months before they paid the insurance.
I suppose they were investigating every
angle of her death, for all companies do.
I took her back to Los Angeles and buried
her in Forest Lawn. I was heartsick after
her death and just couldn’t get in shape
to go to work.
In January, 1933, I sold my shop to one
of the men that was working with me for
a thousand dollars. It was worth five. I
_ decided to go and see my mother after
all.
‘The day | was ready to leave I received
a telegram from my sister that my mother
was dead. She died from heart trouble.
After her funeral I was in bed sick for many
davs. The people in Colorado Sprines de-
cided T wasn't going to pay them and sued
me when they found out J had sold my
shop. They tried to ‘attach the insurance,
but they had just mailed me the check. I
got the check cashed and put the money
in my sister’s name so they couldn't attach
it. In suing me they had a five-hundred-
dollar attorney’s fee attached to my lien.
I refused to pay anything unless they would
strike that out. They wouldn’t do it and
I did not pay for a long time. When they
got ready to accept the money I told all of
them they had charged me too much monev
and because they had caused me so much
trouble I was going to be just as nasty with
them as they had been with me and I settled
the bills for 50 per cent on the dollar.
Of course. that caused them to feel badly
toward me. So when this wife (Mary Busch
James) died here and they sent an investi-
gator over there, those Colorado people
being sore at me they were willing to come
ha
The things they told made it look like oa
a real murder.
bring people here, 1 could have disproved
every thing they told. My wife's people /
know that I had nothing to do with her ©
death, and if the law there hadn't thought
the same they would have arrested me then,
I collected the $14,000 and paid her bills,
What was left I gave to her folks and to
mine. All that I got out of it was a car to
replace the one I wrecked. :
I stayed home the entire year of 1933 ~
because I didn’t feel like work. The records “4
show that when I came back to Los Angeles .
in 1934 that I sold my car to get money ©
to pay down on a barber shop, and I paid |
the rest of it out in monthly payments. A.
fool should know that if I had killed my
wife for her insurance I wouldn’t have
given it away ! “
The State brought a carload of those peo- ;
ple to this state and they tried me for mur- 7) 7%
der without giving me a chance to defend »
myself. After the jury listened to it two.
weeks, the judge said, “This is to show |
that the State believes the defendant mur- ? 4)
dered his wife in Colorado. To bring evi- + 9\%
dence from another state that way is against ©
a man’s constitutional rights.” And that is
one of the points my attorney is arguing .
- to the United States Supreme Court. He «—
has seven major points, and I believe he will ~
win. I have every reason to win, for. they (2%,
busted the Constitution of the United States ©
wide open in my case. ‘ :
But courts don’t always go according to
the law. Four judges are for me, but I have .
to have one more. If I get him, I am inno-: ©
cent and will go free. If I don’t, I ama‘
murderer and will be put-to death. *
But thank God there is a day that all © %
wrongs will be punished, and I think hell.’
fire is too good a place for some people ©:
that took part in my case. Several of them
are already there, and the rest of them are >
headed for it!
My letter is full now, and I won't have |
space to tell you about our place and to ™
answer the question you asked me on your
cards. When I catch up on my letter writ-
ing I will write you all about it.
I had to go into all those details so that |
vou could understand. I believe there is a ©
burning hell just as the Bible says. And
if every word I've written you isn’t the
truth, I hope God will strike me dead before
this letter reaches you and cast my sou
in it. ‘
As ever, your old friend
Bob
LIFE IN DEATH HOUSE
San Quentin, Calif.
July 20, 1941
My dear friend —— and family:
Greetings to you in the name of Him who ©
said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, —
but My words will never pass away,” our.
dear Lord Jesus. he
I have gotten so fat since I came here -
(to the San Quentin death house—Ep.) my
friends say I don’t look like myself. My
regular weight is 155, but-I weigh around ~
180 now, The reason for all this weight ©
is, they feed us most everything there is to ')
eat and give us all we want. I eat about
twice as much as I would if I was working,
for I eat when I am not hungry. Just to
have something to do! ‘
You said you would like to know what —
we do during the day. So will give you our
schedule.
We have breakfast at eight o'clock each
morning. It is brought to our cells on a
wagon. We have eggs every morning, all
ap of fresh fruit, breakfast foods of all)
inds.
on
why
g
If we don't want breakfast we just ee ¥
sleep on. We have dinner at two o'clock. Shake
tiie
Pn SEI ae a a
“nara:
tte
aN ie te:
“about this fellow Langsner...
“I saw the way he reached into
Booher’s mind for the picture of where °
the rifle was hidden—and I still don’t
believe it.”
That what the foppish little Viennese
mind reader did was a remarkable feat is
beyond dispute. But was it mind reading?
It may well have been, and at this dis-
tant date there is no way to prove it was
not. But the result for which there was no
other possible interpretation decades ago
is subject to other views in the light of
progress made in the field of extra-
sensory perception and related
developments since that time.
One of the likeliest explanations, if
Langsner was not really the mind reader.
he claimed to be, is that he was a skillful
hypnotist and extracted the information
from Booher unknown to the subject.
Arguing against that is the oft-heard claim
that no person under hypnosis can be
forced to perform an act or utter a word
contrary to his innermost desires or strong *
moral code. The fact is, that is a claim of
limited truth. .
It has been proved repeatedly that a
skillful practitioner of hypnotism can
work ona subject and impose on the sub-
ject a set of circumstances that will induce
him to say or do virtually anything. In
Booher’s case, Langsner was with him for
nearly six hours. Without meaning to ac-
cuse the man unfairly at this late date, one
can hypothesize certain subterfuges that
might have achieved the desired results.
A clever hypnotist could have convinced
the subject under hypnosis that he was a
priest, come to hear -his confession that >
would cleanse his soul and win God’s
forgiveness. He could have claimed 'to be
the voice of the man’s conscience, urging
_ him to purge himself of the sin of murder-
* to recapture peace of mind. He could
even have convinced the subject that he
was the girl he had lost through the
malicious interference of his mother, and
that if he only admitted what he had
done, she would take him back, their love
would be as strong as ever it was, and
they could get married and live happily
after.
Such things are possible. The itinerant
Viennese may very well have read Ver-
non Booher’s mind, as he said he did. On
the other hand... ooo
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Mark Campbell and Mabel Clark
are not the real names of the persons so
named in the foregoing story. Fic-
titious names have been used because
there is no reason for public interest in
the identities of these persons.
Plotted to:
Kill His Wife
(Continued from page 32)
When Peter Ralik had gone, Bob .
James went over to his desk and took out
some papers. His lips thinned to a cruel
line as his eyes skimmed the fine print.
The papers were two insurance policies,
each in the sum of $5,000, on the life of
Mary James. The barber checked the
name of the beneficiary, making sure that .
his own name was spelled correctly. Then
he carefully read the double-indemnity
clauses which provided for recovery of
twice the amount of the face value of the
policies should Mary, the insured, die as
the result of an accident.
It was while he was examining the
applications attached to the policies that
his eyes became suddenly troubled.
There was a stipulation to the effect that
any misrepresentation by the applicant
would void the responsibility of the in-
surance companies, who would then have
the right to cancel the policies.
The printed words drove home like a
hammer blow the sudden fear that all his
careful planning might come to naught,
even if he got away with the “accident” he ~
planned to have happen to Mary. He
reviewed the circumstances under which
he had taken out the insurance. The seed
of his scheme had been planted back in
the days when Mary Buschhad firstcome _
to work for him as a manicurist in his
barber shop. Her amiable nature had
made her easy prey for his fast line. He
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was able to sweet-talk her, and she soon
succumbed to his master technique. After
a whirlwind courtship, she agreed to
marry him, but James, leery of
matrimony after four previous marital
ventures, had been wary of getting into
another. It was an easy enough matter for
him to deceive the trusting girl. It had
seemed the smart’thing to do at the time.
Why marry her legally? In a barroom he ©
met aman who struck him right from the
start as looking like a professional do-
gooder.They negotiated over several
whiskeys and James cemented the tran-
saction with a $10 bill. The next day the
man, properly turned out and equipped
with a Gideon Bib. , went through the
motions of a marriage ceremony in the
white cottage on Verdugo Road. Mary
thought it was the real thing and settled
down happily to her new duties as a
housewife. That had been in lateMay. On
June 3rd, Bob and Mary had prepared the
applications for the insurance policies.
“I must have been out of my head,”
James told himself vehemently. “These ~
policies aren't worth the paper they're
written on. Suppose the companies ask
for copies of the marriage certificate
when Mary kicks off?”
It was something to worry about.
There seemed to be only one way out.
There would have to bea legal ceremony.
This second wedding took place in
Santa Ana a few weeks later, onJuly 19th.
Mary hadn't been too difficult to handle.
She had believed his story about a
“technical flaw in the first ceremony and
was touched her her husband's sentiment
in desiring a second one. James grinned
and silently told himself that there never
was a dame he couldn't twist around his
little finger. In any event, with the impor-
tant impediment of the ceremony at last
taken care of, he could turn his attention
once more to the subject of diamondback
rattlesnakes.
The barber placed another order with _
the gullible Peter Ralik. Pete, still waiting
for the balance of the $100 commission,
promptly drove out to the snake conces
~ who had plunged down the road from
Pike’s Peak in Colorado. The cops were
immediately suspicious when James told
them he’d been thrown clear and was
miraculously uninjured. After recovering
- from her critical injuries, Winona had
* been found drowned in the bath tub.
Since James had collected $14,000 in in-
surance at Winona’s death, it would hard-
ly do for Mary also to die as the result of
_ drowning in a bath tub. So that method,
too, was out. James could easily see how
two such fatalities might prove em-
barrassing. :
For a day or two, he flirted with the
idea of using poison, but he gave it up
after acquainting himself with ‘the
statistics on successful investigations by
toxicologists connected with the police
crime laboratory. He decided that the
+ pathologists were too hip to be fooled by
a rank amateur; no ordinary poison
within his power to obtain would mislead
- them for very long. f
- James next turned his attention to the
possibility of using black widow spiders.
sion at Ocean Park and brought three
more of the vividly-colored ‘reptiles.
These proved no more aggressive thas
the first set. They also lay sluggishly im
their box, free for some unexplai
reason from the inborn malice of their
kind.
“Listen,” James informed his ur
. suspecting minion. “My friend isn't look“
ing for household pets to follow him
around ona leash, He wants snakes that'll
put on a show with rabbits. What gives
with these caterpillars you keep bringing
me?” ;
Pete Ralik blinked stupidly at the
barber. “Maybe it’s the dog-days,” be
offered. “Maybe snakes take it easy in the
summertime. Can't your friend wait
fall?” ,
James glared at him angrily. “He
wants them now,” he said. “And if you
don’t get them for me, I'll go to someone ~
else. That hundred bucks ought to beable
to get me some action somewhere.
There was, however, no action for ”
more than a week. Pete Ralik had to take
a trip to Phoenix, Arizona. He pro’
to look around for some really hot snakes
on his return. In his absence, the barbet
weighed other possible methods by
which he could arrange his wife's “#®
cidental” death. The lethargic snakes
keenly disappointed him. Perhaps there =
was some better way. At first thought,
seemed that the means of murder wet
infinite, but each, upon consideratios
had to be discarded for any of a num
of reasons. Shooting her in the course ® =
what could be made to look like a hows ~
robbery was out of the question. In Be
first place guns could be traced.
ie
again, a shooting would initiate a murd@’ 9%
gain, g past 5
' investigation—the one thing James
trying to avoid. An automobile
dent” was also out. James didn't have
think twice about that. There was °*
small matter of his third wife, Wino®®
, He'd heard they were really deadly. He
+ went so far as to actually purchase a jar of
* made a complete cycle and returned to
@ Ais’ original
i Promised easy money, told James of a
3 ‘Saturday monring, August 3rd, he drove
SS
house where he purchased two three-foot
the lethal insects, but was not impressed.
Looking at the small jet spiders with this
distinctive orange markings, he decided
that their poison would not be powerful
enough,
é ‘
‘B, the time Pete Ralik came-back
ftom Arizona, Bob James’ mind had
choice. Diamondback
~ tattlers, he had decided, were still his best
bet. There was something about murder
by snake that appealed to his sadistic
tature.
Pete, still anxious to pick up the
Place he had noticed on Pasadena
Avenue.
“They're supposed to have really hot
snakes in that joint,” he said. “If you want,
Nl o out there and see what] can find.”
“I want,” James said. “This pal of
mine keeps bothering the life out of me.
He's done me a couple of important
he and I want to keep on his right
e.
Pete went home and built a new snake
out of scrap lumber and glass. On
“to Pasadena Avenue, stopped ata repitle
i diamondbacks at 70 cents a pound. These
“wakes were guaranteed hot, and. the
Proprietor himself put them into the box
th hands protected by heavy leather
Sauntlets. Inside their new enclosure, the
tiles slithered animatedly from corner
corner, their obsidian eyes glittering.
Pete Ralik delivered the box at the
ber shop. “Meet Lethal and Light-
% he told Bob James. “Your pal's
Orries are over.”
James stowed the snakes in the trunk
s car, shut up shop early and raced his
|
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Face in dirt, Eugene Hurst is handcuffed behind book after capture.
Pretty
t Ske,
Mrs. Jackson is comforted by husband after her fearful ordeal.
3-HOUR SNATCH
m™ FOR THREE HOURS Mrs. Robert A. Jackson of Pueblo, Col.,
was held prisoner by a pistol-waving kidnaper. Police came to the
rescue, tackled and subdued Eugene Hurst, 28. Wounded in the leg
during the fighting, Hurst was taken to hospital and charged with
kidnaping. A mother of three children, Mrs. Jackson was luckily
unharmed except by fright. Her husband aided in the rescue,
suffered minor wound.
nasty way of trying to pay off an old score.
But the red-headed barber began to lose
his assurance when, bit by bit, the evi-
dence supporting Hope was brought out.
James grew more nervous. He was caught
several times in contradictions. At last he
broke like a pricked balloon.
“That skunk Hope is in it just as much
as I am!” he yelled.
He thereupon made a complete confes-
sion. He and Hope, he said, had for some
time laid plans to murder the unsuspecting
bride in such a way that it would appear to
be a natural death. They had considered
using black widow spiders. They had de-
bated the idea of using poison, or of killing .
her in a fake holdup. At last they had
settled on the snake idea. And Hope, James
insisted, was right along with him in the
whole business. Hope, being unemployed,
was to get a cut in the insurance—a pay-
ment he had not received yet because the
inconsiderate insurance companies were:
holding out on James.
The red-haired barber angrily denied
there was anything sinister about the’
death of his previous wife in Colorado
Springs: Fitts and his men were not con-
vinced about that, but it made little differ-
ence now if James could be convicted in
the La Crescenta slaying.
The stories of Hope and James did not
agree, each of them shifting the blame on
the other. Both were held on murder
charges while the body of Mary Busch
James, nine months in its grave, was ex-
humed. A new examination was made by
the eminent toxicologist Dr. Gustave
Boehme. Dr. Boeheme found the marks of
the snake’s fangs on the toe. The bite un-
doubtedly would have been fatal, he ex-
plained, but this would have taken some
hours because of the lack of large blood
vessels in the toe.
The investigation wasn’t quite over even
yet. Detectives learned that James had
made application with five insurance com-
panies for policies of $1000 each on the
life of the girl he had shamed, Betty Mur-
dock. The operatives were willing to lay
bets that James’ next move would have
been to marry Betty, and that her life
‘would have ended not long thereafter.
Hope pleaded guilty and drew a life term.
But James, after thinking things over,
wasn’t ready to quit. He said loudly that he
was an innocent man, that the confession
had been forced from him. When he went
to trial in July, he portrayed himself as
a kind and loving husband and blamed
Hope for the murder. On July 24, 1936, he
was nevertheless found guilty and sen-
tenced to be hanged.
Through his attorneys, James stubbornly
fought the case into higher courts, making
use of every legal technicality. It finally
went to the United States Supreme Court
itself, and when that august body voted
against him, he was doomed. His long fight
gave him six more years to live, all of it
in the San Quentin Prison death house,
where he sought comfort in religion and
regularly led other condemned convicts
in prayer.
He was hanged in 1942.
Editor’s Note: The names Betty Mur-
dock and Jeanne Purvis, as used in this
narrative, are fictitious.
Ww
laughing at
made him
He didn’t
He was bi;
lacking in
drubbing at
the protectic
his books a:
for his seet!
striking bac!
spend hours
istic ways tc
One of hi
him unpred
been fascina
ings of Edg:
felt himself :
his classmat:
good student
the social ac
for any of t)
no interest ir
were eating
quently duri
getting up in
was phenom
afternoon $s:
heavy meal {
When Fra
school, his fa
at the plant \
held onto th:
parents, whe
completely, “
got wilder a)
who examin<
In Decembs
ents by gettin
their disappr:
his mother sa
of the family
to “that wom
The unfort:
of 21. And s!
lem’s parents
to the marri:
angry, spitefu
in his life, it ;
der his cont)
around, slapp:
The marriag
the girl retur:
slinking back
that Francis |
told him she «
said he didn’t
force her to a
adoption whe:
E SHOWF
was infor
wife had give:
evidently did
child, for his :
got a job. He
but she refuse
gious reasons.
gious scruple:
concerned,
In the summ
within months
of cancer. His
gave a trust c
ey ereere Mon hak plat ie rade NRO
© dene anus ae
OMEN DORAL: +t
A ce leaded a aed Oa ae
OU OLA ARAS Hinet an taht nee Rgn Mane CURR HRS mea—teN tape em
Dutectives learned that shoulish’ killer
kill wife with Black Widow ebiders like the one shown
James shook the box trying to urge the inert coils
- show of movement. “You come back early tomorrow mor
he snapped. “If the rabbit’s still alive then, yous can n taki
snakes back where you got them."
ene
Alone in the cottage, he poured himself a stiff “aria
went to the bedroom and opened the bottom drawer, of
bureau. From underneath a pile of shirts he took out along:
~ at the otherend of the wire.
“Honey?” The barber struck at his calf HEE ‘he wh.
HI
P Police became suspicious of two insurance policies totaling shuddered ecstatically. “I been thinking about you, cant
$10,000 that Bob James (above) had taken out on wife’s life ~ off my mind. Hop a cab and come on out to my place. Ther
Senet oe young and Mary’s away—let’s you and me live a little,
Next morning, true to his word, Pete Ralik showed up, )
. ; . white cottage on Verdugo Road. It was early, and BobJar
: The rabbit squirmed frantically in an effort to escape. The still in bed when the deorbell rang. He hastily pulled aba
{ | barber held it firmly by the ears and lowered it into the box while _ over his nakedness and winced when the rough cloth bbe
i his companion gingerly lifted a corner of the mesh. The two men against the welts on his back. He closed the bedroom doo
- || ~ peered into the shadowed depths of the box, watching for some . behind him and went out to greet his seedy pal. Togeth
i display of reptilian interest in the tangle of green and yellow . went to inspect the snake box. They were flabbergasted
i patterned coils. There was none. The rabbit huddled in strange turn their macabre experiment had taken. The -rabl
palpitating terror in the farthest corner of the box. From the _ . still very much alive. One of the three snakes, however W:
i snakes came no movement at all. James turned toPete.“Give’em - much dead! .
j } a chance,” Pete said to the barber.’ “Let's goin and have thatdrink “Tl _be hogtied and Seer oceeeR ‘ the barber ope
you were talking about.” ° .. “What do'you make of that?”
They walked to the darkened houe. James took outa rie and Ralik rubbed his bleary eyes. “That sure fat the du
fitted it into the lock of the kitchen door. : muttered. “I don't get it. They were guaranteed.”
“Isn't the wife home?” Ralik asked. “Get your money back,” James told him. “Thos
“She’s at the dentists’ convention,” James told him. “She’s got couldn't poison milk. My friend would. t give you. two: Nis
a modeling job for ; a few days. I’ve > been batching it since she’s dozen like these.” at
. gone. He took the victorious rabbit GbE af the bar and rest
Half a bottle later, the two men went back to the garage with to his companions in the hutch. Then he came back and
a flashlight and looked into the box. the rabbit was still alive. the box witha slippered foot. “Get rid of those ang)
| The snakes were still sleeping. snapped. “We ain’t going fishing.” pies
| “It’s just an off day,” Pete Ralik aS Woctied for his reptiles. Ralik shrugged resignedly. * ‘Okay, “sport, he Sid
~ “When they do get bce to strike, that rabbit. won't last ten .. them in on some ee. ones. ’'m going to give | that deal
minutes.’ : . ae “of my mind.”,.. Se ites
ij 32 a
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by ELLIOTT CAMERON
were all empty. Music filtered from a midget radio
mounted on a bracket next to the chromium autoclave.
An oscillating electric fan swept an arc of sultry breeze through
the inert air. Doreen Maysworth, the manicurist, sat at her glass-
topped table surrounded by the tools of her trade. Through the
wall mirror, the barber eyes the shapely girl with unusual in-
terest. Her silk-clad legs were crossed and she rested her palm in
her lap as she buffed her nails for the lack of something better to
do. She was an attractive girl, he decided; artfully made up and
hygienically demure in a crisply starched white uniform just a
shade too tight for the molded curves underneath. A green voile
handkerchief was pinned to her lapel, bringing out the arresting
red-brown of her eyes and the burnished glints of her sorrel hair.
She was youthful, exciting—more exciting than his wife.
Standing in front of the mirror near his chair, the barber, Bob
James, appraised his reflection and found it to his satisfaction. It
flattered him to think that in his natty white uniform with the
short sleeves and standing collar, he looked more like a dis-
tinguished surgeon than a barber-shop owner. He smoothed his
hair with the tips of his fingers; a full head of hair, nearly the same
color as the girl's. It was an important asset toa barber to havea
good head of hair—and an equally important asset to a man
whose frank and admitted avocation was the habitual pursuit of
the ladies.
“How about it, Doreen?” he asked. “If you didn’t know,
would you ever take me for thirty-nine?”
The manicurist smiled with cynicism in her eyes. “I'd like you
no matter how old you were,” she said.
“Thirty >ine is too close to forty.” He examined his pasty
complexion w.ih morbid interest.
“The sun lamp is what I need. It’s a bad psychological effect
to be pushing forty. A fellow loses his confidence.” He looked at
the girl with compelling, sadistic eyes. “How about it?” he
demanded again. “Do I act like a guy who's middle-aged?”
Doreen held his gaze for a fraction of a second, then flushed
and dropped her eyes. “No,” she said softly. “Not you, Uncle
Bob.” ’
oS gc WERE four chairs in the barber shop, and they
Authorities were astounded to learn that suspect had planned
to use this pair of snakes in the torture-slaying of his wife
Dpritiy st
His cruel lips twisted into a complacent smirk. “You ought to
know.” :
He was about to say something else when the door opened
and a seedy, shabbily-dressed man walked in. Bob James turned
to him, a flicker of recognition in his eyes. “Hello, Pete,” he said:
Peter Ralik halted on the threshold of the barber shop. He
rubbed his thumb over the stubbles on his chin, then cleared his
throat. “Bob,” he said. “I haven’t got a dime in my kicks. How
about doing an old friend a favor?” i
There was a minute of awkward silence before the newcomer
began to talk quickly. “Wait a minute,” he said. “This is no touch.
All I want is to get cleaned up so I can go look for a job. I sure
could do with a haircut and a shave.”
Bob James studied him curiously. “Okay, Pete,” he said
“Climb into the chair.”
Ralik hung up his coat and settled into the chair. Bob fastened
along white barber cloth around his neck. “Things been tough?”
the barber asked. .
“Terrible.”
Bob James began to strop a straight-bladed razor. “Interested
in making a few fast bucks? A pal of mine wants to get hold of
some snakes.”
“Snakes?” PeteRalik echoed in surprise. ,
“Yeah.” James turned to his niece, still manicuring her nailsat
the back of the shop. “Doreen,” he called to her, “go get yourself
’ amalted or something. My pal and I want to talka little business.” ”
The girl put down her buffer and smoothed the wrinkles in *
her uniform. Then, picking up her pocketbook, she walked
silently out of the shop.
“What's all this about snakes?” Peter Ralik wanted to know.
James smiled. “Can you find me a couple?”
“Maybe. What kind of snakes?”
“Rattlers. Diamondbacks. This friend of mine keeps rabbits
and wants to have a little fun. I told him I'd ask around.” He
whipped up lather in a porcelain shaving mug and lowered the
chair to a horizontal position. ‘
“There’s a snake house out in Long Beach,” Pete told him. _
“What's in it for me?”
The barber spread lather on the reclining man’s face. “A hut
dred bucks,” he said, “for-a couple of real good lively, ones.”
“For a hundred bucks I'll get you snakes that talk,” Ralik said
effusively. “I hear you got yourself hitched, sport. How's the new
wife?”
_James began to shave him with long, even strokes. “Mary's
fine. She’s gonna have a baby.”
“Golly, that’s wonderful,” Ralik said, “Now getting back to
them snakes—I'll need some dough to pick them up.” 7
_ James went to the cash register and touched the no-salekey:
When the till sprang open, he selected a $20 bill and extended itto
the man in the chair. Ralik’s hand darted from under the barber
cloth to claim it, James let him clutch it, but did not relinquishit
for the space of a second. :
“This is on account,” he said. “You get the rest when my friend
sees how the snakes work out.”
Four hours later, Pete Ralik again pulled up in front of Bob
James’ barber shop on Olive and Eighth Streets in downtown Los
Angeles. He beckoned the master barber outside to his
ramshackle sedan and showed him a wooden box, covered with
tacked-down wire screening.
“There they are,” Pete said “Three of ‘em, Every om
guaranteed.”
Strange lights danced in Bob James’ eyes. “Fine,” he said =
“Let's take them out to my place. “I’m ready to close up anyW!
I'll buy a couple of bottles of rotgut on the way.” : j
It was shortly before 7 p.m. that Friday, June 28, 1935,
Pete Ralik drew up in his car behind Bob James’ coupe on Vet
dugo Road in La Canada, a suburb of Los Angeles. The hot
itself, a white stucco bungalow set well back from the sidew
was almost screened by poinsettia hedges and eucalyptus trees
Bob James led the way up the drive, followed by Ralik with Oi
wooden snake box. Behind the garage, James halted next ye
chicken wire fence which enclosed an improvised rabbit hut
“Raise the screening,” J ames told Ralik. “I'll fish out one
a
Toe
ae es er A
fr
’
§. sabbits while you watch the others.”
, + Ralik set down the box. He frowned.
“What you gonna do, sport?”
James had stepped over the chicken
wire and was reaching into the white-
painted hutch. “I want to see what your
__ fattlers can do.”
He extracted a rabbit, a black and
“white spotted European Lepus, and
cradled it in the crook of his arm. Ralik,
Meanwhile, had loosened the screen
i Mesh at one corner of the snake box and
i
:
was peering in at the three reptiles coiled
in one corner.
It was a long, hard, frustrating -
investigation, but in
the end Los Angeles County
homicide probers proved
: that the philandering sex psycho
PLOTTEDTO
KILLHIS
WIFE WITH
| RATTLESNAKES |
“Okay,” James said. “Let me take a
squint in there and see what they loqk
like.” He pushed Ralik aside.
The rabbit, sensing the presence of ijs
most fearsome hereditary enemy, began
to quiver violently. The barber stroked its
back. “Hell,” James exclaimed, “they
don't even look alive! You sure these
didn’t come out of a pickle jar?”
“Just stick your hand in, sport,” Pete
bantered. “You'll find out whether or npt
they're lively. Snakes always take it easy
around sundown. Put in that rabbit and
they'll wake up fast enough.” ¥
wer
Mary James was a happy bride, not knowing
that her. marriage certificate was a phony
x
31
=e ange.
THE BEST OF TRUE DETECTIVE |
Another Classic in TD’s Golden Ariniversary Series |
ein et ageh anki cM NN ms aS A
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2
on
sedan to the white cottage on Verdugo
Road. He parked in the driveway and
went inside the house.
“Mary?” he called:
“In the kitchen,” she answered.
She came out ot meet him, a slim,
beautiful blonde with long shapely legs
and sultry eyes. She was wearing a thin,
blue silk wrapper and flat mules. James
kissed her.
“How do you feel?” he asked her.
“Awful,” she said. “I haven't been able
to keep my food down all day.”
“What you need is a pick-me-up,” he
told her. “I’ll make some martinis.” &
“I don’t know whether I ought to
drink,” Mary said doubtfully. “In my
condition—”
“This once won't hurt you,” he said.
The barber busied. himself with
bottles, ice cubes and cocktail shaker.
One drink followed another. It was not
the first drinking orgy into which Bob
James had enticed his young wife. If con-
tinued all through that night. By Sunday
morning, Mary was in a state of stupor.
He put a pen in her hand and dictated a
letter to her, by dint of wheedling, coax-
ing and threats. The dazed woman had no
understanding of the words she wrote.
Pete Ralik showed up at the James’
cottage at 11:30. He wanted to know
whether the barber had tried out the new
set of snakes on one of his rabbits. When
James opened the door, Ralik looked at
him with surprise. He had never seen’
James so distraught before in the seven _
years he had known the barber.
“What's the matter?” he demanded.
“Trouble,” James told him. “Bad trou-
ble.” He led the|way to the kitchen, and
Ralik was staggered by what he saw. ~
Mary James, clad in a gossamer
nightgown which outlined every curve of
her voluptuous figure, was tied to the
kitchen table! Her bare legs dangled
limply over the table’s edge. She had long
since ceased to struggle against the heavy
ropes that bound her, but she turned fear-
widened eyes in Ralik’s direction.
Ris had enough drink in him to
make what he saw'seem, momentarily,
__ part of a hangover. He tried to brush the
sight from before his eyes. It wouldn't go
away. There was no doubt about it. The
lovely girl was tied to the table—and ona
chair next to her was the box of
rattlesnakes he had delivered to James!
“Hey!” he said with alarm. “What's
going on here?”
Bob James shoved a bottle of whiskey °
into the stunned man’s hands. “Take a
drink, Pete,” the barber said. “You're go-
ing to need it.”
Ralik drank deeply, swayed slightly as
he glared at James. “I don’t know what
you got on your mind, sport, but count ~
me out. I don’t want no part of this.”
f
i
“You got a¢ part,”
“Mary’s the ‘rabbit’ I’ve had in mind for
some time now. And you're the guy who
bought the snakes. Some people might
believe your story, Ralik, but others will
believe mine—that I came home and
found some bum had tied my wife up and
killed her with a snake, then beat him
over the head and called the cops. Which
way do you want it?”
Ralik drained the bottle, reeled
against the wall as the realization of his
predicament dawned on him.
“Y ou need another drink,” James said,
grinning. “Come on in the dining room.
I’ve got a fresh bottle.”
Ralik followed him dazedly away
from the nightmarish scene in the kitchea.
He was trying to make some sense out of
the bizarre tableau he had witnessed.
Why was James intent upon destroying
- his wife? Why by snakes?
The edges of the picture blurred ashe
gulped down four fingers of bourbon
which James poured for him. The grisly
» picture seemed to hold less reality with
each successive drink. He was aware that
the barber was watching him with cold,
calculating eyes as the level of the bour-
bon sank steadily in the bottle.
~ “Can't kill a woman that way—” be
mumbled incoherently just before the
bottle slipped from his fingers and num
bing darkness closed in around him.
How long the liquor held ‘him in ts
James rasped.
TRUE DETECTIVE
peralyzing clutch, Ralik wasn’t certain.
What he was sure of, as sureas death, was
the frightening whirring sound that
sapped him out of his slumber.
The rattlesnakes! The girl on the
thle!
“ Ralik stumbled to the kitchen door, in-
ched it open. The sight that greeted his
bleary eyes was one that would haunt him
forever. James had shifted the box of
nttlesnakes to a spot beneath Mary’s
dangling legs. His shirt was plastered to
his back and sweat as he kicked the box
savagely, making the angry buzz of the
sakes even more furious than before.
The girl stirred, worked weakly
wainst her bonds, sank back. James
gabbed one bare limb, wrenched the
gass cover from the box and thrust her
foot down against the writhing coils of
the reptiles.
Ralik took half a step forward,
stopped as he realized that in his condi-
ton he would beno match forJ ames, that
fhe interfered he'd be framed for the
nurder. :
A s he waited, he tried to tear his gaze
from the girl’s face—but couldn't. There
} was an odd look of mingled resignation
id horror in her glazed eyes. Then,
+ wddenly, the waiting was over. A flood
of pain contorted her face, she strained
| be body up from the table, then slumped
beck in a dead faint.
Pete Ralik desperately staggered back
the dining room, found the bottle and
} wught refuge in an alcoholic blackout.
He came to a number of times during the
text 12 hours, but he never had a chance
’ 4 wsober up. Every time James heard him
4 tir, he came in and fed Ralik more liquor.
At one in the morning, Ralik managed to
“| Stumble from the house and reach his
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P to carry her outside.”
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~ Sshtmare he had witnessed had been no
“Seam. “Dead?”
4 “Your damn snakes couldn't do it,
Sher,” James snarled. “I been working
y*them all night. Finally I had to drown
ake in the bath tub.”
“7, The drink-drugged Ralik felt a
~Sudder of horror twist his stomach.
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bought the papers at the newsstand and *
stacked them on a chair in the shop. He
jested with customers and complimented
his lovely niece, Doreen. He stayed in the
shop until closing time, arranging with a
couple of friends to call for him and drive
out to his house for dinner.
James Pemberton and his fiancee,
Viola Luecks, noticed nothing untoward
in the barber’s manner on the short drive
to La Canada. Although it was after seven
when they reached Verdugo Road, there
were no lights in the white cottage, and no
sign of Mary. The trio searched the
grounds, It was in the patio at the side of
the house that James Pemberton found
the barber’s young bride. Dressed in pa-
jamas and bedroom slippers, Mary lay
face down in the fish pond, her loose,
golden hair floating among the lily pads.
In the kitchen was anote to an address
in Las Vegas: “Dear Sis: Just a line to let
you know I am pretty sick. My leg is all
swollen. Something bit me while water-
ing in the garden. Am having lots of bad
luck. This is old Blue Monday, but my
daddy will be home early tonight and he
takes good care of me.” It was signed,
“Mary.”
Deputy Sheriffs J.P. Twohey andJ.H.
‘Jones were at a loss to explain the dead
woman's grotesquely swollen left foot.
The doctor who was called was equally
puzzled, suggesting that the wound in the
dead woman’s toe resembled the bite of a
spider or some other malignant insect.
The inquest was held on August 16th,
and Dr. A.F. Wagner, county autopsy sur-
geon, testified that death—in his
opinion—must be attributed to “drow-
ning, with acute cellulitis of the left foot
and leg, following laceration of the left
great toe ‘as a contributing factor.”
Although there was nothing they could do
at the moment, the authorities were not
satisfied with these findings. The interim
had revealed some highly suggestive
facts in the life of Bob James.
First of all, James was not the barber's
baptized name. A native of Birmingham,
Alabama, he had dropped his real
name—Major Lisenba—when he went
west. James had been married five times.
His first marriage in Birmingham had
been dissolved in divorce court. Shortly
afterward, he married a woman in Em-
poria, Kansas. This union, too, ended in
divorce. In July of 1932,\he married a
Winona Wallace of Denver, who died un-
der mysterious circumstances, drowing
in a bathrub.
A fourth marriage to a New Orleans
girl was later annulled in the Los Angeles
courts. Mary Busch, the blonde manicur-
ist, was wife number five. When the cops
learned that there were two $5,000
double-indemnity insurance policies on
Mary’s life, they were’ suspicious, to say
the least. /
Nevertheless, they were helpless to
act. Bob James was able to prove through
incontrovertible testimony that he was in
his barber shop from eight o’clock on the
76
morning of August 5th until closing time: -
A neighbor had seen Mary alive at nine
that same morning.
Though haunted by doubt, the
authorities called the death accidental
drowning and marked the case closed.’
’ Thus it remained for eight long months.
During that time there were two in-
teresting developments. They concerned
Bob James’ efforts to collect on the in-
surance policies. Both companies had .
refused to honor these policies, claiming
that there were misrepresentations in the
original applications. James, in applying
for the policies the previous June, had
stated that he and Mary were married,
whereas in actuality a legal ceremony did
not take place until July 18th. The com-
panies contended that at the time of the
issuance of the policies James had no in-
surable interest in Mary and had obtained
the policies by fraud.
James. fought both cases, candidly
revealing in court the chicanery he had
employed to induce Mary to live with
him as his wife. He frankly admitted he
had later gone through the legal
ceremony in order to validate the in-
surance. The claim on one policy was
settled for $3,500 out of court. The second
. claim went to trial and was decided
against James.
i
\ V hen this latter case was thrown out
of court, the insurance representatives
asked District Attorney Buron M. Fitts to
, initiate another investigation into the
death of Mary James. This Fitts agreed to
do, turning the matter over to Clyde
Plummer, Chief of the Bureau of In-
vestigation. Two of the chief's crack in-
investigators, Lloyd Harrow and Jesse
Winn, started the ball rolling. By this
time, James had moved and was living
in the 3800 block on La Salle Avenue,
sharing a small house with his niece,
Doreen Maysworth.
The investigators noted that the house
next door was vacant. Having failed to
crack the barber's story by ordinary
means, they decided on a new tactic.
They conferred with Fitts, Plummer,
Captain of Detectives J ack Southard and
Investigator Scott Littleton. It was agreed
that the vacant house should be rented
and. that microphones be planted in
_James’ home.
On April 3rd, 1936, the cops installed
thernselves in the vacant house. Detective
Captain Earle E. Kynette and Police
Lieutenant W. R. Morgan, dictograph ex-
perts, ran wires across the lawn and con-
cealed strategically placed “bugs” in the
living room and bedroom of the James
home. During the next few days, some
highly interesting and informative con-.-
versations were recorded on the wax dis- ~
cs next door. :
-One shocking circumstance soon ~
became evident. James and his pretty
niece were intimate with each other! The
. “bug” in their bedroom revealed this sor-
{
did union. Although the crime of incest
was grave, the cops were primarily im
terested in trapping a killer, so they con
tinued their vigil at the dictograph, mak
ing stenographic reports of the con
verstaions they overheard. There were
references to a man named Ralik and his
demands for money. There were other
snatches of conversation pregnant with
significance: “I suppose your mam
thinks I disappeared after I killed Mary,”
. the barber was heard saying to his niece
* On another occasion, the two discusseda |
woman James was thinking of marrying.
“She's afraid of me,” he said. “She dont
need to be. Does she think I'd kill her the
same way I killed my other wife?” -«_
After two weeks, the officials felt they
had sufficient evidence to make their first
move. They broke into the bedroom of
the James home and surprised the barber
and his niece unclothed in bed. The pair
’ were taken to the county jail where James
. was charged with incest and Doreen was
booked as a material witness. The Grand
Jury indicted James the next day, and ball
was fixed at $25,000. /
Details of the barber's perversions ~
shocked even the veteran officers. He -
had practiced erotic rites of monstrous
depravity. In him were oddly blended ~
the hideous vices of sadism and
macoshism.
He not only enjoyed inflicting painos
his lights of love, but strangely took alust-
. ful pleasure in being similarly flagellated.
He kept whips and lashes in his home
which were in constant use during the
wild orgies which took place there.
Bob James was an unholy monster,
the officials now knew, but murder still
had to be proven against him. Who was’
this man Ralik, and what secrets ky]
behind his demands for money? From
the records of the State Motor Vehicle
Department, the police compiled a list of
all automobile owners named Ralik in thé
Los Angeles vicinity. The methodical it
vestigators doggedly checked every pe
son on the list. On the morning of May
2nd, they reached the home of a Petet}-
Ralik on South Normandie Avenue. Ra!
was listed as the owner of a green B
sedan. Mrs. Ralik told the investigatot —
that her husband was the night managet
of a hotdog stand at Hermosa Beach.
officers went there and talked to him,
Ralik admitted that he knew Bob Jame
It was in the murder house whet %
Mary Busch J ames had been subjected ©")
a day long ritual of torture that PeteR:
finally broke down and told his tale
demoniacal murder and his unwitting |
role in it. He was brought to the county —
_ jail to confront the diabolical Bob Jame
The barber could no longer pr
when the details of that fiendish Sunday g 4
were unfolded by Peter Ralik in bi
presence. James confessed, but tried ve
shift the guilt to the shoulders of bit
erstwhile tool. He insisted that it Ww"
Peter Ralik who actually drowned Matls
f
EA ‘
and carried her to the lily. pond, |
ar ‘
@ pulled off her nightgown and substituting
pajamas. ~ vty
-,OnJune 19th, 1938, Peter Ralik plead-
“ed guilty to murder. On the 22nd of that
month, Robert J ames was brought to trial
after recanting his confession. In the
weeks that followed, an overwhelming
preponderance of evidence— including
the snakes, Lethal and Lightning—was
grayed against him. Peter Ralik told his
sory, and the jury listened in stunned
} attention to the macabre recital.
On July 25th, they convicted Robert
James of murder in the first degree. The
death sentence was mandatory, although.
the monstrous barber stalled off his fate
for more than six years with one legal
maneuver after another. At last, May 1,
1942, he mounted the blue stairway of the
xaffold, the trap was sprung and he
plunged ‘into eternity. Peter Ralik was
sentenced to spend jthe rest of his life
behind bars. oo4
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Doreen Maysworth and Peter
Ralik are not the real names of the per-
tons so named in the foregoing story.
Fictitious names have been used
because there is no reason for public
interest in the identities of these per-
sons.
| Dixie’s Pied Piper Pimp
ae \ (Continued from page 35)
x
received another call, and this time there
was a direct threat: “She’s in school now,
but she won't be long. We'll either get her
‘@ get you.” ;
It was disturbing to say the least, and
fonths later, Detective Dorothy Butler
ould observe that if anything, the calls
tereased her resolve to keep her head
and work harder.
Unknown to the public, the in-
YWstigators had a lead. From the time the
ies had been found, it was decided
tween Sheriff Williams and Chief J en-
Sings that the probe would be pursued
tly. The missing person report on
thy Smith had been filed in the city and
bodies had been found in the county.
Ati such time as something definite was
etmined about the death of Kathy
th and the other two victims, jurisdic-
fn in the case would be shared equally.
} Although he had every available man
"Forking every available hour on the case,
iff Williams assigned detectives
ames Holloway and Clyde Norris to the
“#%e full time. Detective Billy Crane of
detective division was assigned to the
se, along with city officers Dorothy
*utler and Dave Carver.
@* An informant had delivered.a single
ime to Sheriff Williams as a possible
MSpect in the case. “Goldie,” the infor-
Mant said, “is a likely suspect.”
t single nickname was all the in-
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NAME
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77
nett eee
—
SE MbA-
Colin Walson
and Patricia Pitman
ENCYCLOPEDIA.
OF MURDER
FOUNDED 1838
GPPS
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
New York VY
4 @
AO Php
JAMES
several times with the hammer. Then, terrified with what he had done, he
fled, washed the handle of the hammer and returned it to the tool bag, and
went to bed. The body was discovered the next morning, and for several
days, the police were baffled. Finally, Jacoby confessed—of his own accord
—and was arrested. He was tried at the Old Bailey before Mr Justice
McCardie on 28 April 1922, Mr Percival Clarke prosecuting, and Mr
Lucian defending. He was found guilty and sentenced to death, but there
was considerable agitation for a reprieve. His ultimate execution caused
much rancour, especially as Ronald True was reprieved at this time;
people said that riches had procured favour. Jacoby met his end bravely.
It is, in many ways, a pathetic case. Even an agitation to give him a
Christian burial failed, and he is buried in Pentonville prison under an
inscription on the wall: H. J. 382.
JAMES, ROBERT (Rattlesnake Murderer)
Thirty-nine-year-old barber, charged with the murder of his wife in
1935. When Mary James (his fifth wife) was found dead in the lilypond
at the James bungalow (named la Crescenta) near Los Angeles, it was
thought she had committed suicide. The grief-stricken husband said so,
and not until the police received an anonymous letter eight months later
was the widower’s anguish suspect. The letter. (found afterwards to be
from a woman friend of James with whom he had been boastfully indis-
creet) claimed an immoral relationship between James and his niece (a
criminal offence in America) and alleged that Mary James had been
deliberately killed. James was quickly brought to trial on an immoral
conduct charge, found guilty and imprisoned. The body of his wife was
exhumed, and the cause of death confirmed as drowning; but several
punctures on the left foot were noticed and upon closer examination the leg
was found to contain rattlesnake venom. Investigations into James’ past
revealed that histhird wife had drowned in her bath, James collecting £5,000
insurance money. Police also learnt of a friend of James, ‘Chuck’ Hope,
who had been seen frequently at la Crescenta around the time of the
tragedy. Hope was proprietor of an eating house at Hermosa beach, and
two G-men went to interview him, deciding that bluff was their best plan.
Accordingly, when asked for their order, they replied ‘Rattlesnakes’, to
the obvious consternation of ‘Chuck’. They immediately inquired if he
knew barber James, and soon the unhappy Hope was escorted to la
Crescenta where his nerve broke; he told detectives the whole story, while
seated glumly on the closed closet seat in the bathroom.
Soon after James’ fifth marriage he had asked Hope to get him a couple
of rattlesnakes; a friend of his wanted to kill his wife, he said, and ‘Chuck’
would receive a hundred dollars if he secured a ‘hot’ pair. The obliging
Hope (he said afterwards that James had ‘hypnotized’ him) went the round
306
JAPANESE WAR CRIMES
‘of local rattlesnake vendors, but his purchases were puny. specimens;
James, getting progressively furious, would test their lethal efficacy on
hordes of rabbits and chickens who seemed to thrive on rattlesnake bites.
Eventually James told Hope to go to Snake Joe in Pasadena, a more
reputable snake dealer and soon two livelier snakes in a wooden box were
delivered by ‘Chuck’ to la Crescenta. James tried them out on some
chickens, who died. Delighted, he told Hope his real intention, saying he
needed Hope’s help to finish the job. (‘I was helpless and couldn’t resist
the look in his eyes,’ said ‘Chuck’.) Mary James was placed, conscious,
across the kitchen table, tied down with a clothes line and adhesive tape
stretched across her mouth and eyes—under the impression, it was said,
that she was to undergo an abortion. James then forced his wife’s left foot
into the box of snakes (‘I saw at least one of them stick its fangs into her,’
said ‘Chuck’) and then retired to the garage with Hope to eat sandwiches
and drink rye. Still alive, however, upon their return, Mary James was
dragged by her husband to the bathroom, where he drowned her in the
bathtub.
Robert James, confronted in prison with this story, accused Hope of
devising the whole scheme, but complicity between the two was proved,
and they were handcuffed together when they heard the decision of. the
Court of Los Angeles: sentence of death for James and life imprisonment
for Hope.
JAPANESE WAR CRIMES .
Though lacking the technological implementation of the Germans that
resulted in the extermination of millions of human beings, the Japanese
war crimes were unsurpassed in sheer horror, brutality, ferocity, and blood
carnage. The path of the invading Japanese Army was one of humiliation,
degradation, sadism, wholesale massacre, refined individual torture, rape,
mutilation, and exploitation regardless of age or sex, POW or civilian. As
with the Germans, there is an almost total absence of remorse, pity, or
individual responsibility, and the note struck by the following diary ex-
tracts is a very rare one. ‘I have already killed well over a hundred guerr-
illas. The innocence I possessed at the time of leaving the homeland has
long since disappeared. Now I am a hardened sinner and my sword is always
stained with blood. Although it is for my country’s sake, it is sheer brutality.
May God forgive us. May my mother forgive me.’ A Petty Officer having
difficulty in carrying out his part of a mass execution of prisoners on board
ship recalls, “Then, realizing that I was acting on orders from the Emperor
of Japan, I closed my eyes, raised my sword and brought it down
““whang”’ His head was severed from his body. I had carried out
Captain Saito’s orders.’
As with the Germans, these war crimes were backed by a certain, and
397
PERE
The Mammoth Book of
MURDER
Pree es fat ! ee ye
Edited by
Richard Glyn Jones
Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc.
New York
Paroxysms of weeping. One had the impression of a man at the
428 The Mammoth Book Of Murder
Be
(although not completely) two female bodies, was undertake} ™
by Professor James Couper Brash, Professor of Anatomy in4 F
the University of Edinburgh. He was one of a brilliant team of ;
professors in the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow whose"
work on this case—the reconstruction and examination of the:
bodies, and the systematic establishment of their identity in”
yeh ~ aes a = been taken to efface every recognizable! ,
uliarity—has long been. tof.
ae ee eee g been regarded as a classic acevcnea oI é
The trial of Dr. Buck Ruxton for the murder of his “4
wife was opened at Manchester Assizes before Mr. Justice
(afterwards Lord Justice) Singleton on 2nd March 1936, 220
It lasted eleven days. Two of those eleven days—or the
greater part of them—were occupied with the examination:
and cross-examination of Dr. Ruxton. An early exchangé, ‘
between himself and Mr. Norman (afterwards Lord) Birkett @
K.C., the distinguished counsel who appeared in hj a
? in his def
set the tone for much that was to follow. a
Mr. pre : “ suggested here by the Crown that on the §
morning of the Sunday after yo if %
Gina nday your wife had come back you 9
Dr. Ruxton: That is an absolute and deliberate and fantastic _
story; you might as well say the sun was rising in the west and
setting in the east. _
Mr. Birkett: It is suggested by the Crown that upon that Bs 4
morning you killed Mary Rogerson? ial
Dr. Ruxton: That is absolutely bunkum, with a capital B, ifI |
may say it.,Why should I kill my poor Mary? a
The high-pitched note is characteristic. Dr. Ruxton made :
the worst Possible witness. He was voluble, discursive, and) e
often hysterical, his evidence being repeatedly interspersed with,
edge of total collapse who was fighting for his life with increasing |
desperation—and mounting despair. The jury found Dr. Ruxtoa™
guilty; he was hanged at Strangeways Prison, Manchester, 08
12th May. ayer.
Classic Crimes 429
1935
ROBERT JAMES
The Reluctant Rattlesnakes
The case which I call in my own mind ‘The Case of the Reluctant
Rattlesnakes’ began in early August of 1935. On the third, which
was a Sunday, Mary Busch James took off her starched white
smock for the last time in a beauty parlour and barber shop in
down-town Los Angeles, owned and operated by her husband,
Robert S. James, with whom she worked side by side.
Mary was a very pretty woman of twenty-seven, softly curved,
with heavy honey-coloured hair and sunny blue eyes. Everybody
liked her. Her husband was busy with a customer. Bob James
was a slim, well-groomed fellows with a clever, sensitive face
and a marvellous pair of hands. He could do anything with hair,
and woman as well as men flocked to him. Mary drew Bob aside
and said: ‘I don’t feel well, Daddy, and I think I had better go ©
home.’
The Jameses had been married three months, and Mary was
expecting a baby. Bob agreed at once. He wanted to go with her,
but Mary wouldn’t let him leave the shop. She told him with a
smile that she’d be perfectly all right once she got off her feet.
Bob James called a taxi and put his wife into it. The taxi drove
off in the direction of suburban La Canada, where the Jameses
lived, and, as far as the shop was concerned, that was the last
seen of Mary Busch James—alive.
Bob James came in on Monday morning, but Mary was still
a bit under the weather. She had said she’d be in later if she
felt better. Mary didn’t appear. Customers kept Bob James a
bit later than usual, and he didn’t leave the shop for home
until seven-thirty. With him were two friends he had invited
for dinner, Viola Lueck, an old pal of Mary’s, and Viola’s boy
friend, Jim Pemberton.
The James house was pink stucco with gaily striped awnings,
Set well back behind shrubbery in the middle of a grove of
Pepper and bamboo and eucalyptus trees. It had a flower garden
and a fish-pond. Mary loved her goldfish. Bob James and his
Bie Bei i oui
- looked at me despairingly.
“Oh, he couldn't do that. It must
have been an accident, like the paper
says.”
“Don’t be silly. He’s been building
up to this with that line he handed
you.”
I hung up, too shaken to argue with
Norma.
On the Sunday following his wife’s
death, Bob James phoned me.
“Don't believe what they’re saying
about me,” he pleaded. “They’re per-
secuting me! Darling, I've got to talk
to somebody. Can I see you tonight?
I have something very important to
tell you. It’s of vital interest to me.
Please don’t say no.”
I don’t know why I didn’t. I had
been trying to get rid of him ever since
that first afternoon when I met him.
I hadn’t seen him since then and I
didn’t want to see him again.
But there was something about that
appeal of his, something in his voice,
that made me hesitate. Norma thought
he had killed his wife. Perhaps other
people thought so, too. Perhaps he
was being’ hounded, railroaded to the
penitentiary or the gallows. I never
thought he looked like a murderer...
Little I knew that afternoon.
EVEN at that I intended to tell him
to stay away. I opened my mouth to
say those very words—instead I gave
him my consent! No doubt it was the
spell of curiosity that. prompted. me.
Could this man be a murderer? I had
to find out! Say
At eight o’clock that night he ar-
rived at my apartment, pale and hag-
gard. He looked as if he had lived
a nightmare. And he stared at me
with those piercing eyes of his.
“T can’t talk here,” he said. “Let's
drive down to the beach. I want
absolute privacy for what I have to tell
you, and your folks may come in any
moment. For God’s sake, do this much
for me! I’m in terrible trouble.”
All I could think of then was those
frightful stories about innocent people
in jail. So I went with him.
And then, when I was in the car
with him, I got frightened. He didn’t
say much, but I couldn’t help thinking
about what Norma had told me, about
the fact that he might be a murderer.
He might even kill me if.I crossed him.
So when he drove directly to a hotel
at Hermosa Beach and stopped, I did
just what he told me. I went in with
him and registered for him.
“I’m taking you here,” he said, “so
we can talk privately. You have noth-
ing to fear from me. I won't. bother.
you in any way. You register for us,
Madge. They might trace my hand-
writing and I’ve got to be very careful .
now because the police are watching
every move I make. Register as Mr.
and Mrs. Joseph Wright of San Fran-
cisco.”
And I followed his instructions.
HE ORDERED ice and ginger-ale as
soon as we were in the room. He
had a pint bottle of whisky.
“IT need a drink,” he explained.
“These last few days have been hell
for me.”
“Here’s what I wanted to tell you,”
he said, after he had mixed some
drinks. “There’s a possibility that I
may be indicted for the murder of my
wife. I’m absolutely innocent, of
course, but they may try to frame me.
Now, Madge, I need just one witness
to prove that my wife was alive on
Monday morning after I left for work.
I’ve got to prove that she was.
“Will you testify that you met Mary.
and me five weeks previous to the time
she died? Will you say that we all
met at the Italian Village and that you
became friendly with Mary? That——”
“I can’t lie for you,” I said. But I
was afraid. When he looked at me...
“You won’t do that much for me,
when my very life may be at stake?”
He ran his hands through his hair and
“Do you
know that innocent men have been
hanged? _ You’ve got to help me!”
“But, Bob, I——” .
“Listen! On the morning of the day
she died, you drove past our place.
You saw Mary lying in a hammock on
36
«you I love, darling.
the porch. You stopped to talk with
her, She complained of dizzy spells,
1t won’t hurt you, Madge, to say that.
And it may save my life!”
“Albright, allright, Vi perjure my-
self for you. But I don’t see why it
should be necessary.”
“One thing more,” he said tensely.
“Whatever you do, don’t mention her
sore leg! It was just a little bite—an
insect bite—but she complained about
it so much she nearly drove me crazy.
Just don’t mention that sore leg.”
HAT sore leg? For the first time I
suspected that Bob James had mur-
dered his wife. Why shouldn’t I men-
tion the sore leg? Until he told me, I
hadn’t known anything was wrong
with Mary James’ leg. What had he
doné? Injected a deadly poison into
her body while she slept?
“Tl do what you ask,” I said. But
I was terrified now, and afraid that he
might read in my eyes the fact that I
shared his dreadful secret.
“Okay, baby.. And now let’s get
down to business. I’ll pay you $2,000
whether or not you have to testify in
my behalf. If you marry me I’ll give
you more. than that.”
“How can you talk about marrying
me when your wife’s been dead less
than a’ week?”
.*“I don’t believe. in mourning over
the dead,” he replied. “Mourning
won’t. bring Mary ‘back. Besides, we
were’ about ready to get a divorce. It’s
I respect you and
I want you to be my wife.” -
Suddenly his eyes narrowed. He
took another drink, straight whisky
this time.
“Once you’ve been loved by me,
you’ll never look at another man. Let
me teach you how to love!”
I pushed him away. The rest of that
night was horror for me.
“You promised you wouldn’t,” I re-
minded him. “Besides, it’s late and
I’m. tired. I can hardly hold my eyes
open.”
“Take a nap,” he suggested.
“Can’t we go home now?”
_ “No, I’m not through -talking yet.
But you have’ your nap. . Don’t be:
afraid. I won’t touch you.”
I took off my shoes and lay down on
the bed. An hour or so later he awak-
ened me. He had finished the rest of
the whisky, and now he demanded that
I submit to his love-making.
“Tl wake everybody in this hotel if
you don’t leave me alone!” I cried.
“You'll be. arrested!”
Suddenly he regained control of
himself.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s the whisky
that makes me act like that. I forgot
myself. I apologize.”
I begged to be taken home.
“All right, I’ll take you pretty soon.
But I’m tired, too. Just let me sleep
a few minutes and we'll go.”
I got up, put on my shoes and sat
down in a chair. Almost immediately
he fell into a sound sleep. Presently '
he began to talk.
“Just a poisoned leg,” he repeated
over and over again. “Just a poisoned
leg. Dumb cops. Dumb cops.”
Finally he woke up and stared at me
suspiciously.
“Did I talk in my sleep?” he in-
quired. ._
“No,” I answered.
“Are you sure? I’ve had an awful
nightmare.. I thought I might have
said something.” ‘
By this time it was daylight. I in-
sisted that he drive me home at once.
u KAY, you’re the boss. Have you
got it all straight? Do you know
what you’re supposed to say if I sub-
poena you as a witness?”
“T’ve got it.”
He insisted, so I made notes of the
testimony I was to give if called to
the stand.
“And now,” he said, “I’m going to
make a down payment on that two
thousand dollars, just, to show I’m in
earnest.” He withdrew his wallet and
extracted $60 in currency, “Take this,
and remember there’s a lot more where
that came from.”
I didn’t want his money. I wanted
to get home as fast as T ¢ould. But T
was afraid not to take it. L knew by
that time that he had killed his wife,
and T knew he wouldn't hesitate to
Kill me if he thought b was going lo
talk.
We checked out of the hotel at six
in the morning. And on the way back
to Los Angeles I found out that I was
going to be his next victim!
“Tm a great believer in insurance,”
he explained. “I carried it on my last
wife and now you see what a wonder-
ful thing it is. If Mary had to die it’s
fine that she left me this insurance
money. When you and I get married
I'll take out ten thousand dollars on
my own life right away. And you’ll do
the same thing for me!”
He told me how his third wife,
Winona, had drowned in a bathtub.
And how Mary had been drowned in a
fish-pond. And he wanted me to take
out ten thousand dollars on my life
as. soon as I married him!
Right then and there, while he was
telling me about how he was going to
marry me, I made up my mind that I
would turn him over to the police.
But how was I going to do that? I
was deathly afraid of him. If he
learned of my intention I was doomed.
He would find a way to seal my lips
forever!
And if I didn’t tell the police they
could arrest me. I might be an ac-
cessory after the fact, or something
like that. I didn’t know what to do.
I didn’t think anyone would believe
my story anyway, even though it was
true.
For several days I worried and
tossed in my sleep. Finally I decided
to write an anonymous letter to the
District Attorney and tell him every-
thing that had happened.
I disguised my handwriting as well
as I could. I told them that the secret
to Mary James’ death lay in her
poisoned leg! I told about Bob James’
attentions to me since the day I be-
came acquainted with him, and of the
night we spent at the hotel in Hermosa
Beach less than a week after his wife
died. And I told them that he had
murdered his wife. i
But nothing happened! I waited for
a week, and then I decided that they
had considered my letter the work of
a “crank.”
In the meanwhile investigators from
the Sheriff’s office had concluded that
Mary James’ death was accidental and
the case was automatically closed.
A then James resumed his court-
ship of me! He haunted me day
and night by telephone.
I was afraid to see him and I was
afraid not to see him. I put him off
each time and trembled lest he become
suspicious. I told him that I was ill,
that my aunt wouldn’t let me go out,
that we had company. I said that I
didn’t want people to see us together
so soon after the death of his wife. I
told him it would look bad for him.
He insisted, and once in a while I
would, go down to his car and talk to
him. Nothing could have induced me
to get into that car. I dreamed of a
one-way ride from which I never
would return.
Meanwhile, Mary James’ life insur-
ance policies were the subject of much
discussion. One company, which he
sued in an attempt to collect $10,000,
had compromised by paying him $3,-
500. The other company was bitterly
contesting his claim on the grounds
that he had not been legally married
to Mary at the time she made applica-
tion for the policy. She had, they said,
falsely represented him as her husband
when she named him beneficiary of
her $5,000 “double indemnity” policy.
A jury rendered a decision in favor of
the insurance company, and James had
to be content with a paltry $3,500 paid
by the other company,
Then I had another inspiration. I
wrote a second anonymous letter, this
time to the insurance company that
had resisted James’ efforts to swindle
them. In it I gave practically the
same information I had given the Dis-
trict Attorney.
This letter got results. A represen-
tative of the company ‘took
to District Attorney Buron
suggested that the case be
Mr. Fitts dugo out of his tiles ow...
1 had written him. ‘The handwri
was similar.
Then the D. A. went into act
One of his investigators went to
hotel in Hermosa Beach that I
named and took possession of that »
of the register on which I had sig
the names “Mr. and Mrs. Jos:
Wright, San Francisco.” There w
certain characteristics in that sig
ture that tallied with those in the «
guised handwriting of the anonym
letters.
But the investigators had no i:
who had written those two letters
mine. For many weeks they puzz
over this, but in the end the joke \ *
on me.
However, on the strength of the
sertions made in those anonym »
communications, Mr. Fitts decided
place James under surveillance.
vestigators rented a house next di
to the one James now occupied w
his niece, Lois Wright. Dictogra)
were installed. Every word of cc
versation between Bob and Lois v
overheard and recorded carefully.
April, 1936, James was arrested
morals charges involving his you
niece!
| Aves I learned that Investiga:
Jack Southard of the District Attc
ney’s office employed a clever ruse a
induced James to reveal the ident
of the anonymous letter-writer.
“James,” he said, “you’ve told
many lies that I want to find out 1
myself whether or not you can tell t
truth. I have a letter here signed |
someone you know. I’m going to re:
parts of it to you and then I’m goi)
to ask if you know who wrote it. We
see if you can tell the truth for once
He withdrew my anonymous lett
from his pocket and read excery
from it aloud. When he reached t!
place where I had mentioned stayi)
with James at the beach hotel, the su
pect threw back his: shoulders ° a:
laughed.
“Hell,” he said, “I know wl
that letter! It was Madge R
double-crossing littl——_!”
Thus was my identity Giocivoc
.And thus did ‘Bob James disclose ho
dumb he really was.
On the following morning, aft:
reading in the papers of James’ arre
on the morals charges, I was not sw
prised when two burly detectives fro
the District Attorney’s office called :
my apartment.
I was escorted to the D. A.’s offic
and there I admitted having writte
the anonymous letters. Now th:
James was safely behind bars, I felt
had nothing to fear. I talked free)
in an effort to be of as much assistanc
as possible.
A few days later District Attorne
Fitts, Investigator Jack Southard an
other officials uncovered informatio
that enabled them to charge Jam:
with the fiendish “rattlesnake bite
bathtub drowning” of his beautif:
young wife. This was after Charl
Hope, his accomplice, was arrested an
had confessed his guilt. Details of th:
horrible crime are too well known th
country over to need repeating her:
My connection with the case wa
almost ended. I saw Bob James onl
once after that. That was when I wa
called as a witness by the State to tes
tify against him.
During cross-examination, Defens
Attorney R. E. Parsons, in an effort t
embarrass me, stood directly behin:
James and compelled me to look at th:
grinning, smirking wife-murdere
while I was questioned about my for-
mer association with him. It was :
loathsome ordeal.
Not until the jury brought in its ver.
dict, “Guilty of murder in the first de-
gree,” with the death penalty recom-
mended, did I really -feel free of th:
hideous menace that had hung over m«
for months. I am convinced that it
was only through luck that I escaped
from the deadly coils of “Rattlesnake”
James, . :
and finally Police Chief Leslie Quigg
of Miami. The killer had not been in
that area. They were positive of that.
Other cities in Florida, Georgia, the
Carolinas, Alabama, were notified.
Tampa, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, At-
lanta, Raleigh, Charlotte and others
were asked to watch for a suspicious
man, six feet tall, slender and wiry,
who might be connected with the
Nazis and who might be earrying a
2 automatic and a .38 revolver and
who might be wearing gloves on a hot
evening.
Another day went by. Rewards
that the driver of the Ford was wear-
ing long rubber gloves.
The driver squirmed in the seat. He
thrust his rubber-gloved hand into his
pocket and tried to pull it out. But
the glove kept sticking and catching.
Branch wasted no time.
don’t!” he exclaimed, and swung his
huge fist into the face of his captive.
The man fought back, savagely and
with unsuspected
had his hands full for a moment. But
so you could let me have it, eh?”
stared at -the prisoner.
“No, you
car, isn’t it?”
strength. Branch luck in questioning him.
pockets, he found a .38 caliber, short-
barreled revolver. aah or
“So, that’s it!” exclaimed Branch.
“Trying to get to your hold-out gun,
The prisoner was sullen and silent,
and the other detectives had no better
“Get him down to Headquarters,”
obeyed; but he had talked and talked.
He had, he told: the police, finally
prevailed on the holdup man to take
the six dollars and the car and let him
He alone—and_ ‘had promised not to tell
“Where’s
Strauss?” he demanded. “This is his
anyone about the holdup until morn-
‘ing. , . :
But a neighbor had seen what had
happened and reported it. And so a
desperate holdup -artist came to the
Jacksonville Police Headquarters. And
here he faced one of the country’s
shrewdest manhunters, Detective In-
spector E. L, Acosta, ©
“Highway robbery, eh?” said Acosta,
mounted to $1,400 for this killer. The
tips became more frequent, then, grad-
ually, they slowed down,
Finally came the day when no more
tips were received. The police were
stumped. Someone had invaded Mi-
ami, shot and murdered four persons
and slipped away scot-free. Every
angle, every effort of the police de-
partment had been in vain.
The hot Florida day of September
9, 1942, was ending in the River Road
section of Jacksonville, Florida. Lieu-
tenant H. V. Branch and Detective
Sam Newsome were cruising in a po-
lice car on a routine assignment. They
had been notified, along with other
officers, to watch for the Miami killer.
“That's a funny case,” the Lieuten-
ant said. “A guy who wears gloves
so he won't leave prints—”
The radio in his_ car sputtered.
“Watch out for 1941 Ford tudor sedan
with white side-wall tires,” the radio
dispatcher said. “Two men in it, one
tall, slender, hawk-like nose, wearing
panama hat. gloves. The other man—”
“Gloves! That description!” said
Lieutenant Branch. “The Miami kill-
er!”
He pulled his car to the curb and
while Detective Newsome watched
passing traffic carefully, Branch called
the office to learn what had happened.
Plenty had happened.
Ernie Strauss, the owner of Ernie’s
Bar, a tavern on Ashley Street in
Jacksonville, had been standing in the
doorway of his home. A stranger had
stepped up to him, spoken a few words
to him. The stranger had produced a
gun and shoved it against Strauss’
chest. Then he and Strauss had en-
tered Strauss’ car parked at the curb
and had driven away.
The stranger was tall and wiry and
had a hawk-like nose. And he had been
wearing gloves, on a hot day.
‘Across the street, a Jacksonville res-
ident had witnessed the holdup. He
had called police. And the Jacksonville
officers, When they heard about the
gloves, thought of the Miami killer
immediately.
Lieutenant Branch heard this story
and ran back to his car. Slowly
and Newsome drove down Main Streét,
going north into Jacksonville, tovfard
the scene of the holdup. Their feyes
were kept low, looking first for hite
side-wall tires.
They saw them.
tudor
white
LSY looked up and saw a 19
Ford sedan, the car with tho
side-wall tires.
Only one man was in the
he fit the description of the gugman—
tall and slender with a hawk-lilfe nose.
The car passed Lieutenant
Branch swung around wide as other
cars slapped on their brakes. He \nade
Up to the Minute
E beac Nazis’ cunning plot to sell to Americans recut diamonds
which were seized by Axis agents in the Low Countries after
the Hitler army had conquered them, was revealed in the story,
“Hitler’s Diamond Slogan: Bleed Europe, Cut "Em Up, Sell "Em |
Here.” This story was published in the August, 1942, issue of
OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES Magazine and told how the Nazis
planned to use this money to further Germany’s war effort and
to pay for propaganda in this country. Werner Von Clemm has
been convicted of conspiring with the Nazis to carry out this
plot and was sentenced to two years in a Federal prison’ and
fined $10,000. : :
John Pantano, youthful leader of a Chicago gang, recently was
electrocuted for the murder of Policeman Charles Williams, whom
Pantano shot during a holdup. The killer’s two companions, Joseph
‘ Moreale and Charles Theos, both were convicted. Moreale was
given a 20-year term for his part in the killing and ten to 20
years for robbery and Theos, fourteen years for the slaying and
ten to fifteen years for robbery. The story on this case was called,
“Rounding Up Chicago’s Three Hat Gang,” and appeared in the
August, 1942, OrriciaAL DETECTIVE Stories Magazine. .
Sentenced to death in San Quentin’s lethal gas chamber, Court-
ney Fred Rogers awaits the date of his execution while his case
is being reviewed by the California Supreme Court. The young
organist was arrested after his mother and father, Courtney C.
and Lillie Rogers, and grandmother, Sophie Spiegelman, had died
under mysterious circumstances. An exciting account of the detec-
tive work done in this case appeared under the title, “Pa’s Daffy
Over Spooks and Booze,” in the July, 1942, OrFIcIAL DETECTIVE
Srortes Magazine.
For the massacre of the Calcote family—Henry, Emma, Dar-
danella and Patsy Irene—near Eldorado, Texas, Emelio Bena-
videz has been electrocuted in the State itentiary at Huntsville.
The account of this investi Nn appeared in OFFICIAL
Srorres Magazi ber, 1941, under the title, “Why
Kill The’ f Dardanella?” .
ing Sing Prison in New York, Thom
jtor, was electrocuted for the callous f
year-old Genevieve Conno Sof the investigation into this
atrocious_crime= € carried in the account which appeared in
March, 1941, OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES Magazine. “It was en-
titled, “The Strange Disappearance of Genevieve Connolly.”
Nearly seven years after he murdered his wife, Robert S.—
Rattlesnake Bob—James was hanged in San Quentin for the slay-
ing. James was convicted of killing his wife in Los Angeles by
drowning her, after an attempt to slay her by thrusting her foot
into a box with two rattlesnakes had failed. The complete story
on this weird case appeared in OFFICTAL DerecTive Stories Maga-
zine for November 1, 1936, under the title, “I Was to Be Rattle-
snake James’ Next Victim.” ; 3
This department appears from time to time tp keep readers
posted on the outcome of cases which are ‘carried before final
legal disposition is made of the criminals involved. eat
as Conroy, a Bronx
looking over the silent prisoner pierc-
ingly. “What’s your frame?” - ;
- He gave his name as Vincent Christy,
35, of California. :
‘Acosta examined the sullen Christy
who knocked off those four people in
Miami, aren’t you?”
Christy refused to answer,
; ph Acosta. was positive. Word was
D sent to Miami immediately. Finger-
_ prints were taken, photos snapped, and
the investigation swung into full
speed. * ‘
First, however, Inspector Acosta
learned, from an FBI report then in
his office, that the prisoner was want-
ed as Vincent Christowski by parole
authorities at Los Angeles, California,
and Albany, New York. Christowski
had served several prison terms at
San Quentin, California, and Attica,
New York. _ :
Captain Edward Melchen, Detective
Sergeant John Deas, both of Miami,
and Investigator
Jacksonville the following morning.
But while the prisoner confessed to
he denied any knowledge of the Miami
slayings, maintaining that he had no
recollection of any other events during
the past few months.
old insanity racket, eh?” -said Mills.
“Must be a reason. Well, let me see
have to say about that.”
and the .38 caliber revolver found on
Christy and caught a plane for Wash-
ington. With him he had the eleven
slugs taken from the bodies of Irving
Leopold, his wife, his stepson, and
from the body of Ralph Morin.
The FBI laboratories made fast work
of it. They positively identified the
guns taken from Christy as those
the four victims. Mills flew back to
cksonville, convinced. now, beyond
doubt, that he had his man. The
cheéking ballistics. :
Witnesses from Jacksonville came
living, in a boarding-house directly
across} the street from Strauss’ bar.
y.
ps. he had done the same thing
i. Perhaps he had attempted
the Leopolds, had shot one of.
_and then killed the others to silence
them.
Confronted with this theory, and
with the FBI reports, Christy still kept
i He was taken back to Miami
repfrted, he finally broke down and
onfessed. :
a U-turn in time to see that ord
head east at the corner.
Branch turned east at that corne
Ahead traffic. had stalled, waiting: for
a traffic-light. The tudor Ford was the
last car in line.
Branch pulled up behind him, leaped
from his cruiser and landed on the
running-board of the Ford.
The Ford spurted forward and swung
out, trying to get away from the wait-
ing traffic. By a fraction of an inch
Branch missed being swept off against
his own police cruiser.
But the Ford could not make the
turn, It stopped. Branch opened the over.
door, seized the driver by the coat- some,
collar and yanked him out. on it,
A quick glance told Branch that a
sun, with a silencer on it, was lying
on the seat of the car. He saw, too,
36
e swung again, and another punch
Detect
to join in the
moment later, Police
Powell, who had been driving toward
the bridge, joined the two. He had
jumped from his car when he saw the
action and recognized the officers.
“What have we got here?” demanded
Branch; holding the still struggling that.”
prisoner at arm’s length to look him
“Get that gun on the seat, New-
” he directed. “It’s got a silencer
trying so hard to reach with that rub-
ber glove, Buddy. .
Shoving his hand into the captive’s
all right—and talk about plenty.”
At Police Headquarters Erni
was waiting. The ba
d his opponent to the street.
wsome came running up
if necessary.
up man, cramming
Strauss’ side.. “We'll talk later.”
too. Let’s see what you were
tioning Strauss that the first move,
”
where it would hurt.
said Branch, “and this bird will tal
‘ er holding him
up at the point of°a gun, demanding
“I haven’t -got. twenty-five dollars,”
Strauss had protested. “All I’ve got
with me is six-dollars. You can have
“Get in the car,” snapped the hold-
his gun_ into
The stranger had driven away, a :
e tion.
. first outery, would get him a bullet means that Christy. faces the electric ©
Strauss had
e express purpose of settling an old
elaborate on that statement. He would
not tell what that old score was. He
Leopold because she screamed and. the
old clung to Leopold’s knee.
They could find no previous connec-
tion between Leopold and Christy.
Christy was indicted on four counts.
of murder. He recanted his confession
and pleaded not guilty.
But after a long trial, on October 29,
1942, a jury found him guilty of first-
degree murder, without recommenda-
According to Florida law, this
chair in Raiford -Prison, ,
* OD—1lla
with a curious frown: “You're the man. .
Mills appeared at :
his holdup attempt. in Jacksonville, .
“Oh, laying the groundwork for the
what the boys in the FBI laboratory . >
Mills took the .22 caliber automatic =:
which had fired. the bullets found in.
isn’t given to making errors in «
forward. Christy, they said, had been.
cased this job carefully and .
them jin his anxiety or nervousness, -
to fdce a murder charge. There, Mills.
¢c +. ; ‘
He had come to Miami, ‘he said, for ..
‘core with Leopold. He would not. :
had shot Leopold and he killed Mrs. -
child accidentally while the six-year- .
Police half doubted this statement.
Cee)
eo verifeation that Arridy had been
the city the day of the crime.
With our case complete, there re-
uned only two things that called
immediate attention. © First, we
ist get our prisoners out of the city
l away from the hands of a mob,
! second, we must try to obtain a
ifession from Aguilar.
E KEPT Arridy at the state
hospital until almost dawn Satur-
y morning. During the night we
sught them face to face. Arridy
nted to Aguilar and said, “That’s
ink.” But Frank declared that he
1 never seen his accuser. Just before
ybreak we loaded them into auto-
biles and raced to the state peni-
itiary at Canon City, where they
re locked up, safe from the hands of
cblo citizens, who were openly
eatening a lynching.
Yarden Roy Best and our Pueblo
ectives kept Aguilar under almost
istant questioning. At length the
:e-tried tricks of police interroga-
n made him break. We showed him
w the hatchet-head found in his
me matched the wounds on the
ls’ heads. Then we produced. the
eralls he was wearing the night of
2 crime, and showed him the blood-
ins we had found in the hip-pocket,
‘ere he had carried the hatchet away
m the Drain home.
‘Now, weren’t you with Joe Arridy
it night?” we demanded.
After a long, ‘stubborn - silence he
ally spoke.
‘If I say yes, you'll hang me,” he
d, reluctantly.
We made no promises and repeated
» question. And finally he dictated
complete statement of guilt to a
nographer. This was on September
19 days after the murder.
Aguilar said that he and Arridy
‘t at Northern and Evans avenues, in
eblo, at about 9 o’clock on the eve-
1g of August 15. They overheard a
iversation indicating that Mr. and
‘s. Riley Drain would attend a dance
it evening. 5
Aguilar had done odd jobs at the
ain home, and he had seen the
Is several times. Immediately they
nned their attack. When darkness
| they went to Aguilar’s home and
ked up the hatchet-head, and then
nt to the Drain bungalow. They
cered the yard from the alley and
ited in the darkness until they saw
: parents leave. From there they
tched the girls enter their bedroom,
dress and retire. They waited until
‘y had sufficient time to get to sleep,
i then crept up to the rear screen
rv. °
Chey found it locked and went
sund to the front of the house, where
» screen was unlocked: They en-
ed, turned out the floor lamp and
nd their way.to the bedroom by
ating matches. There Aguilar un-
sitatingly struck Dorothy with the
int end of the hatchet on the side
of her face. The blow stunned her,
Aguilar began his assault.
Arridy meanwhile turned on the
bedroom light. This awakened little
Barbara. “Get out of here!” she
screamed, but the horrible sight made
her voice almost a whisper, Aguilar
made a threatening gesture with his
fist. The little girl shrank back into
her pillow. Aguilar leaned over and
struck her on the back of the head
with the blunt end of the hatchet.
The confession, five pages long, con-
tinued:
Q. Where did you hit the little girl?
A. On the back of the head.
Q. You hit her with the blunt side
of the hatchet?
A. Yes.
- Q. Then what did you do?
A. When I hit her?
Q. Yes, after you hit her.
A. Finished what I was doing.
Q. You finished what you were
doing? You finished assaulting the big
girl?
A. Yes.
Q. When you got up from finishing
Sealing the big girl what did Joe
‘0? .
A. I got out on the side.
Q. Then Joe assaulted the big girl,
didn’t he? ‘
A. Yes,
Q. Did you assault the big girl
again?
i 0.
: Q. After Joe got through assault-
nee big girl what did you do to
er?
A. I hit her. :
Q. That was when you hit her with
bas ep part of the hatchet?
. Yes, :
Q. After you hit the big girl with
the sharp part of the hatchet what did
you and Joe do?
A. Got out.
Under further questioning, Aguilar
said that Arridy had taken his clothes
off before it came his turn to ravish.
After Aguilar had paused long enough
to strike Barbara unconscious, Arridy
attempted unsuccessfully to assault the
younger girl. .
In reciting details of the crime, the
two men claimed that they left the
house by the front door. This differed
from our. deductions, but obviously
Mrs. Drain, in her excitement, unlocked
the rear ‘screen herself when she ran
to summon police and then forgot that
she had done so. The two fiends fixed
the time of their crime as around 1:15
a.m., which corresponded with the
time we had set. The illiterate Aguilar
signed his confession with an “X.” Joe
Arridy, who. had been taught to scrib-
ble his own name at the feeble-minded
school, also signed the document.
District Attorney Taylor announced
that he would ask the death penalty
for both men. Arridy’s committment
to a home for mental defectives will
have no bearing on his acceptance by
the court as a competent witness
against Aguilar, it is believed. How-
| Was to Be Rattlesnake James'
went into the bedroom where her
sband lay sprawled across the bed:
wy sprinkled water on his face,
0k him, asked him to wake up
1 take me home. But he only
inted, rolled over on his back and
gan to snore. Mouth open, face
shed and mottled from the cock-
ls he had consumed, he presented
most unlovely sight. I wondered
at I had seen in him from the
‘y first.
*“inally Mary gave up. “I’ll drive
41 to Montrose,” she offered, “and
7’t worry about all this. I under-
nd how you happen to be here, and
1 not angry with you.”
Che next morning James telephoned
“Honey,” he said, “I’m sorry I lied
you last night. It must have been
IFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES Now Is Published on the First and the Fifteenth
f Every Month. Watch the News Stands—See That You Get Your Copies Early
bg
the liquor. But I meant. most of the
things I said. Mary-and I are going
to get a divorce. What did she say
when she found you there?”
“She was more generous than I’d
have been in her place,” I stormed. “I
think you’re a heel to cheat on a love-
ly girl like that.”
“Oh, you do, do you? Well, we
haven’t been getting along for some
time and I don’t see anything wrong
in my having a few girl friends. She’s
my fifth wife, you know, and I haven’t
found the right one yet! Something
always happens to my wives. I just
have tough luck. I’m going to divorce
Mary before something happens to
her.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“T’ll explain when I see you again.
You’ve got to see me. I’ve been think-
ever, ib seems likely Chat insanity pleas
will be entered for both culprits, and
mental examinations will held up the
date of final sentences indefinitely.
Neither Miss Hren or Mrs. Adkins,
the women who had reported attempt-
ed attacks on the night of the Drain
murder, could identify either of the
confessed killers. Because the pair
probably were standing outside the
Drain home at the hour when the
* women were seized, they were climi-
nated from suspicion in these cases.
And some detectives held that Aguilar
was not implicated in the Crumpley
slaying. Arridy was at the feeble-
minded home on the date of that
crime.
The most cheerful announcement of
the whole investigation was made at
almost the hour when Joe Arridy was
confessing. Doctors at Corwin hospi-
tal reported that little Barbara Drain
had regained consciousness just twelve
days after she was struck so unmerci-
fully. A few days later she was re-
moved to her grandparents’ home, and
physicians reported that she was out of
danger. She appeared well on the way
to full recovery, but doctors were care-
fully guarding her against knowl-
edge of her sister’s horrible death.
Arridy, we learned, had spent sev-
eral of his days of liberty before and
after the murder at a railroad camp
near Cheyenne.. We obtained a blood-
stained shirt which he had left’ there,
and which was marked as an exhibit at
his trial. The youth had been com-
mitted to the home for mental defec-
tives at the age of ten, after he had
failed to progress at school, and had
been caught in the most vicious sexual
perversions of which a boy his age was
capable.
WHEN he was 15 he was paroled
from the institution. A short time
later James D. King, then probation
officer of Pueblo County Court, had
demanded that he be returned: to the
institution, and had pointed out that he
was a potential killer. King wrote a
bristling letter to the superintendent
of the institution, which said in part:
“, .» He is one of the worst mental
defective cases that | have ever seen.
He cannot read or write and is not al-
lowed to go to school for the reason he
does not accomplish anything. | picked
him up this morning for allowing some
of the nastiest and dirtiest things done
to him that | have ever heard of. It'is
so dirty that I cannot mention it in this
letter... The boy MUST be returned.
| do not in any way mean to criticize
the actions of the institution but I can-
not understand why boys of the men-
tality of this one are allowed to return
home. Some day one of these boys is
going to commit some crime that will
be somewhat like the Hickman
case...”
- Even as a child Arridy had the rep-
utation of being a dangerous maniac.
He had been known at the feeble-
minded home as a “bad one.” We
could not understand why we had not
been notified of his escape. I would
have assigned policemen to search for
him, and it is quite possible that he
would have been arrested before he
found opportunity to ravish and kill.
Governor ld C. Johnson, aroused by
the fact that Arridy had slipped by his
guards, demanded an explanation from
Dr. B. L. Jefferson, superintendent of
the Grand Junction institution. The
governor wired Dr. Jefferson:
“Please make full report Arridy
case. Why were Pueblo peace officers
not notified of his escape? Why was
this pervert, who was not adapted to
training in your school, not transferred
to the Pueblo asylum as ordered by
me months ago in my general order to
transfer such cases to the Pueblo in-
stitution? Have you any more dan-
gerous persons in your school who
should have closer supervision than
you are equipped to furnish?”
Dr. Jefferson made a complete re-
port, and also made public the copy of
a letter which he stated had been
mailed two days after Arridy’s escape
to Hubert Glover, Pueblo County
judge. The letter requested the judge
to notify the sheriff and the police, and
gave the youth’s Pueblo address.
Judge Glover was on vacation at the
time the letter was mailed. Employees
of the county clerk’s office,\who han-
dled his mail during his absence, re-
ported that they had not received the
letter. Judge Glover announced that
he could not find it in his mail when
he returned. ;
Students of psychopathic behavior
may be interested in the fact that Joe
Arridy’s parents had been first cousins
before their marriage in Syria. Joe
was the only one of their three chil-
dren, however, to be declared’'a mental
defective.
The Aguilar family is even a more
interesting study. All members of the
family, which came to Colorado from
Old Mexico in 1920, have an extremely
low intelligence quotient. Frank
Aguilar, the killing maniac, can bare-
ly write his own name. His brother
was confined in a state insane asylum,
and upon his release was deported.
Repeated but unsuccessful efforts had
been made to deport the remaining
Aguilars, including Frank, his mother,
his wife, Mary, and their three chil-
dren, aged six, four and two.
It is indeed a rare occurrence when
two sexually perverted maniacs join
forces outside an institution, and even
a rarer occurrence when they combine
to commit a sexual crime. The Drain
murder undoubtedly will find a place
in medical history as one of the most
unique crimes of the ages. It may be
the means of bringing about improve-
ments in our methods of controling
homicidal degenerates. 7
However, all the good it may do for
posterity will compensate: poorly for
the precious life of pretty little Doro-
thy Drain, or for the living horror
which is the lot of little Barbara.
Next Victim (Continued from Page 9)
ing about you ever since I woke up.
How about going on a little trip to San
Diego with me?” .
I declined his invitation.
URING the next two weeks he
phoned no less than a dozen times,
begging permission to call. Each time
I put him off with some excuse. ‘On
Saturday, August 3, he phoned again.
“My wife’s sick,” he said, “and I’m
about nuts. I’ve got to talk to you.
Please let me come over.”
. I replied that as long as he was liv-
ing with his wife I had no intention of
seeing him. :
“And that’s final!” I added. I meant
it, too.
Tuesday morning, August 6, I picked
up a newspaper. '
On the front page I read that Mrs.
Mary Busch James, beautiful, blond
bride of a few weeks, had been found
dead in the fish pond of her La Canada
home. Her husband, Robert S. James,
the paper said, was prostrated with
grief. The authorities were<investigat-
ing the mysterious accident.
My heart seemed to stop beating.
Mary James, the girl I had met less
than a month before, was dead!
The telephone rang. Still clutching
the paper to me, I picked up the re-
ceiver.
“Madge?” (It was Norma calling.)
“Did you read about Bob James’ wife?”
“I did,” I answered. “I was just
going to call you.”
“He killed her,” Norma said posi-
.tively. .“I’m as sure of it as I am that
I’m alive! He was planning it all the
time!”
The follawing is an account taken
from records of the case of Robert
James, undoubtedly the most astonish
ing crimimal investigation tn California
annals, It 1s suggested that the reader
read this story first, then turn to page
20 and read “Letters From The Death
House,” a remarkable sertes of letters
written by James and published exclu-
sively in’ INsioe = Derecrive.-~ THE
Evrror,
HE DAY’S WORK was done. Al-
ready the soft evening air suggested
relaxation and good fellowship as
two men and a girl walked up the drive-
way of a California Spanish house.
Robert James unlocked the door and
led the way in, followed by the young
couple.
“Here we are, Mary,” he called. There
By FRED DIEFENDORF
CTIVE, July, 1912.
dered as ‘‘tools.’’
ner’s inquest. Most
1an so obviously a
Foley thought it
. A hunch, maybe,
get once in a while
was excited, then,
at another relative
vy named Cornelius
killed in an auto-
r Santa Rosa, Cal.,
t out of control—
a broken steering’.
collected $5000 on
detective asked.
said Foley.
as all this was, it
tantial. They would |
thing more if they
' him with murder.
s neighbors in La
he had come from
\ check there with
that Robert James
| boy. He had been
1umane society. for
> death for fun. At
from home. Other
he had been mar-
twice in Alabama
, Kan. Mary Busch
2en his sixth wife. .
learned from one
es was keeping a
use. She had seen
She was positive
nights there. She
20s, the neighbor
tty. :
i until they saw
drive up one night |
Lage
and enter the house. They waited an-
Victim's nightgown used to wipe up blood, then burned.
other hour, until all of the lights went ,
out, then they ‘pounded on the door.
After a time, James opened it. Behind -
him, in matching pajamas, was the
pretty girl, yawning and smiling. James
was furiously indignant when they told
him he was facing a morals charge.
“She’s a relative of mine from th
South,” he stormed.
He had asked her to come and live
with him after his wife’s death, to keep
house and prepare the meals.. The girl
nodded agreement.
“T’ve a notion to sue you,” James told
them. “I’m a respectable man. and I
dislike your. accusation.” 3
They -apologized and. left, a little
ashamed of- themselves. A © check
proved. that Robert James was telling |
the truth. The girl was there with the
knowledge and consent of her parents.
But the officers felt there was some-
thing a little too pat in the set-up—the
matching pajamas, for instance—and
two of them took turns watching at the
James’ home. Both noted ‘one peculiar
thing. The lights only came on and off
in one bedroom. If the relationship
was strictly avuncular on James’_part,
then one of them was undressing and’
going to bed in the dark!
One watcher also happened to note
that James was advertising his barber-
shop for sale in the classified columns.
call on him, and was\he ‘getting ready
to leave town? They couldn’t arrést
him’ yet of: suspicion of murder, but
‘they might get something on him that
would put him under’ wraps while
the homicide (Continued on page 59)
-Had he become suspicious, after their .
& a ee a
Scie Ls eae
Investigators surprised suspect with his paramour. _
N
In cell,. killer read Bible, became known as Holy Joe of Death Row.
Lee ees
ic, allt
36
“Lightening” and “‘Lethal” were deadly Exhib
HAVE
SOME
RATTLESNAKES,
LOVEY cconines
cision, I'll need -a report on him.”
“Keep me posted,” Foley requested.
Mary Busch James had died on Au-
gust 5 and was buried four days later.
During that time, the detective had
learned that Robert James had come to
Los Angeles three years - before. and
secured a job as a barber. He married
a girl named Winona Wallace, then, a
short time later, married a New Orleans
girl, whose parents had the wedding
annulled. The detective phoned Foley
at the newspaper office. Ba
‘T’d like to know what happened ‘to
Mrs. Winona Wallace,” he told-the re-
porter. “We have no record of a. di-
vorce or her death here.” 4
Foley went to work. It took him
several days to discover. that Winona
Wallace James- had drowned in the
bathtub of a motel at Manitou Springs,
Colo. Death was assumed to be from a
sudden lapse of consciousness. while
bathing, due to a fractured skull she
had received a few weeks before in an:
automobilé accident. She had been
driving and her husband was with her,
when the car suddenly went out of
control and plunged over a cliff on the
road to Pike’s Peak. James had been
thrown clear. Examiners discovered
a
‘that a steering knuckle on the car had
been broken. nen
“I also found,” Foley said, “that
Robert James colected $14,000 in life
insurance and shortly thereafter he
bought his barber shop.” ;
Two wives drowned ‘accidentally?
The two men decided the case needed
further checking. They kept away
from James for the present,. though
Foley had several haircuts from the
dapper barbershop owner. He found
that the man had considerable charm,
probably most effective on women, was.
immaculately, neat and had:a fund of
glib, off-color stories which he told to
‘his customers. ~ :
- James, _meanwhile,. was having
trouble with an insurance company. He
had demanded double indemnity on the
“ $5000 policy he held on Mary’s life, but
' the’ company refused to pay it unless
‘the death was legally established as an
accident by either the attending physi-
cian in a death certificate or a coroner’s
‘jury. James. took the company into
court. Insurance examiners discovered
that his marriage to Mary the previous
May had been a fake, and that they
were not legally married until July, a
short time before’ her death. J. ames,
disquieted, settled the claim for $3500,
With.the drownings of two wives on *
his hands, James became the subject
‘for further investigation by homicide
detectives, with Foley following every
“Move. The newspaper man was puzzled
by his conviction that James-had mur-
dered his wife. He had been certain,
almost from the start. Why? * Perhaps
because he couldn’t like the man and
had been subconsciously repelled by :
it A. ’ Possibly black widow spiders were considered as ‘‘tools."’
him even at the coroner’s inquest. Most
men don’t like a man so obviously a
lady-charmer. But Foley thought it
was more than that. A hunch, maybe,
that newspapermen get once in a while
about a story. He was excited, then,
when he learned that another relative
of James, a nephew named Cornelius”
Wright, had been killed in an auto-
mobile accident near Santa Rosa, Cal.,
when his car went out of control—
again because of a broken steering |
wheel knuckle.
“And guess who collected $5000 on
‘the insurance!” the detective asked. -
“Robert James,” said Foley.
[NCRIMINATING as all this was, it
-was only circumstantial. They would _ -
have to have something more if they
ever were to charge him with murder.
They questioned his neighbors in La -
Canada and learned he had come from
Birmingham, Ala. A check there with
local police revealed that Robert James
had been an unusual boy. He had been
picked up by. the ‘humane society. for
tromping-chickens to death for.fun. At
nine he’d run away from home. Other’
records’ showed that he had been mar-
ried and divorced twice in Alabama
and once in Emporia, Kan. Mary Busch
James, then, had been his sixth wife. .
They also had learned from one
neighbor that James was keeping a
young girl in his house. She had seen
them come and go. She was positive
that the girl-spent nights there. She
was in her early 20s, the neighbor
stated, and very pretty. ; .
Detectives waited until they saw
James and the girl‘drive up one night
Victim’s nig
and enter th
other hour,
out, then tk
After a time
him, in ma
pretty girl, y
was furious:
him he was {
“She’s a 1
South,” he s:
He had as
with him aft
house and p:
nodded agre
“T’ve a not
them. “I’m
dislike your
They apo!
ashamed of
proved. that
the truth. T'
knowledge a)
But the offic
thing a little
matching pa
two of ‘them
James’ home
thing. The li
in one bedr
was strictly ;
then one of
going to bed
One watch
that James w
shop for sale
-Had he beco
call on him,
to leave tow
him yet on
‘they might g
would put |
the homicide
rolled them once, but was too drugged to make
much of a protest. Then James brought the
specially made cabinet with the snakes over
and set it on the floor. He slid open the door
and jammed his wife’s foot into the opening
‘before the snakes could get out. They had
rattled and squirmed and hissed in the box.
After about five minutes, James pulled the
foot out. There were several deep punctures in
the flesh, each. marked by a droplet of blood
and each beginning to have purple’ swelling
around it. ; :
“That should do it! That should surely do
it!” James had cried.
But it hadn’t. They finished the bottle and
started another and Mary James still breathed,
James got so frustrated and excited, waiting
for her to die, that he dropped the .whisky
bottle on the floor. At last he could stand it
no longer.
“Start the water in the bathtub!” he said.
“Tve got to get this over with.” ° |
They had filled the tub and carried Mrs.
James to the bathroom. She slid down along
the way and cut her big toe on 3 piece of
broken glass. James had dumped her into the
filled tub and held her head under water. She
wriggled a few times, then relaxed, dead.
“T killed one wife this way,” James had said.
“Might look suspicious if I do it twice.”.
He had carried her out to the garden and
laid her down with her head under the water
in the fish pond. They had returned to clean
.up the mess they had made.
“The next day I took Lightning and Lethal
‘ ‘
\ -
_ back to Snake Joe and got'a dollar and a-half.
back.” bits §
James had paid him, he said, when he got
the insurance check, “,
The body of Mrs. Marty James’ was ex-
humed on court order and this'time medical
examiners definitely discovered the marks made
by the fangs,of the.snakes, : ‘s
James, when ‘shown ‘the conféssion and
confessor, admitted ‘the story was true. He
was immediately charged with the ‘first-degree
murder of his’ wife. But before the trial, he
repudiated his confession, stating it‘ had been’
taken from him under duress and force and he
announced his plans to defend himself on the
grounds of insanity, \ ;
’ His trial, during the summer of 1936, lasted
five, weeks and outranked any spectacular
turned out in nearby Hollywood. Newspapers
hired top movie writers to play up the bizarre
story, to lend it a weird drama it didn’t really
. neéd, The accomplice turned state’s evidence
and told his horrible story before a hushed and
incredulous court, “Lightning” and “Lethal”
were kept in a glass cage for the awe-struck
spectators to gaze upon, and once, to highlight
an already effervescent trial, “Lethal” got loose
and slithered about the packed room for ten
minutes before she was caught. James, his
eyes bulging in fright, leaped up on his chair.
Medical testimony ‘stated that the snakebites
unquestionably would, have killed Mrs. James,
except that their deadly toxic effect probably
was'alleviated by the overdose of drugs.
At ‘one point in the trial, the accomplice
Quick-Draw Kid
continued from page 25
Still, Johnny Russell couldn’t get the ammu- -
nition himself. Someone else would have to do
that. He looked at Violet McBeth.
Handing the money to her, he gave her ex;
plicit instructions. She was to drive to a
shopping center in Southeast Denver, There
was a sporting goods store there. She was to
go into the store and buy all the ammunition
she could with the money.
Johnny Russell explained calmly that Violet
McBeth would go out. to the store, but that
Mary Sarchet and her little daughter were
staying in-the house—with him. Violet Mc-
Beth was to say nothing to anyone about what
was going on in the Sarchet house. And the
sooner she went to the store and bought the
ammunition and got back, the better off every-
one would be. pferen) ‘ :
She didn’t need a map. Violet McBeth knew
what might happen if she didn’t follow Johnny
Russell’s directions. And she didn’t want that
to happen. : iy
So she drove to the sporting goods store and
she bought the ammunition, and she came
back without saying a word to anyone about
what really was’ happening. After all,- she fig-
ured, she couldn’t say anything. If she told
the police and they tried to capture Johnny,
he might harm his hostages. Or a wild shoot-
out might develop and police or innocent by-
standers might be killed. She had to chance
it, she decided, and bravely headed back to
the house. y ‘
At the Sarchets’, Johnny Russell paced back
and forth, back’ and forth. . . .-
\
‘Then Violet’ McBeth pulled up outside: the
house, ' ES ;
Johnny Russell took the ammunition, stuffing
the shells into his gun belts and into his pock-. |
them it was time to go. - ‘
Johnny gathered the guns together, and the
sandwiches, and steered the women and little
girl out to Violet McBeth’s car. *
“Get in the front,” ‘he told the women.
When the two women and the. little girl
were in the front seat, Johnny: Russell climbed
into the back’ with’ his sandwiches: and his
arsenal, ‘ po eaes
“Drive out on Airline Road,” he told Violet
ets. Then he looked at the women, and told
‘McBeth. “Drive at 30 miles an hour... and
don’t stop!” \
‘The two women looked at one another.
There was fear in their eyes, If they had: been
_ worried before, they were scared to death now.
After all, there wasn’t much out on Airline
' Road but barren prairié and desolation, Why
did Johnny Russell want them out there?
The women could. only guess. But: their
guess left them cold, helpless, afraid for their
‘lives. There seemed only one reason Johnny
Russell: wanted them out in that desolate’
country—that reason was death!
.. The women drove on, out into the rugged
farm country. One mile . ... two «i+ + three
+. it seemed like 50 miles,
, “What are you going :to do?” Mary Sarchet
The answer from the back seat. was terse,
frightening.
_e A 7 » : t
stretched himself out flat on the witness table
to. demonstrate how he and James had held
Mrs. Jamies while they shoved her foot down
among the rattlesnakes. James, pretending in-
sanity, laughed uproariously. ’
The verdict of guilty. was brought in on
July 25 and Robert James was sentenced to
_ hang for his wife's horrible murder. But for
the next six years his attorneys fought’ the de-
cision up to two appeals to the United States
Supreme Court. The defense lawyers contended
that keeping the live snakes in view had in-
fluenced the jury.
the meantime, James had embraced re-
ligion to the fanatical point where he was called
“Holy Joe of Death Row.” When the hanging
date neared, he asked to talk to reporters.
“Just say I can take it,” he told them calmly,
“Say that Rattlesnake Bob is not afraid to die.
‘ I’m glad to get it over with. My Bible has
shown me the way home.”
He was the calmest man at his hanging,
later that year, at San Quentin. And down
through the trap with him went the question
of how many others he might have killed.
Foley, the veteran police reporter, turned from
the dangling body and wrote the story his:
subconscious had told him was there all along.
The accomplice was given a life sentence,
but good behavior won him a parole after ten
years, He is now employed out of the state
and has made a good readjustment of his life.
If he ever remembers the night that he helped
hold Mary: James’ foot in the rattlesnake box;
only he knows about it. |
“That’s my business,” Johnny Russell said.
Ahead of them, suddenly, the women saw
an abandoned farm house. As they saw it, they
heard a voice from the back ‘seat.
“Stop here!”
, Violet McBeth slammed her foot on the
brake. She wondered what would happen now.
So-did Mary Sarchet.
Then there were strange words coming from
the back seat, from this youngster with the:
four guns; Jf you promise not to tell anyone
‘where I am, I'll let you go.
They promised. Just as fast and sincerely as
they could. P
Johnny Russell climbed from the back seat
of the car. He gathered his guns and his sand-
' wiches, then started’ off across the soft dirt
of the prairie, headed for the abandoned farm
house, .
Violet McBeth, almost. amazed to be alive, '
whipped her car,around and headed back—as
-far away from Johnny Russell and his guns as
she could get. ;
At Mary Sarchet’s home, she ‘wheeled the
\car into the drive. Both women jumped from
the car and raced inside,-running for the tele-
- phone: ‘despite their promises, they knew
Johnny Russell had to be stopped!
It was 1:40 in the afternoon. Mary Sarchet
had been under that gun since nine in the
‘morning—almost five hours! ,
Violet McBeth had answered Mary Sarchet’s
Phone call about 11, which meant. she had
spent almost three hours under the threat of
, Johnny Russell’s guns. :
.| And Johnny Russell still was at large and
dangerous.
\ The Parker Road home of Mary Sarchet was
outside Denver, in Arapahoe County. That
meant she had to call the Arapahoe County
sheriff's office, in’ Littleton, just across. the
‘Denver line, ,
/
Investigator R--- *
detective who Ic
movies in Holly
sheriff’s office, raced t
talked quickly with t!
“He never put a ha
said. “But I think if
cited, he would have
Vogt headed swiftly
house. There, he took
for assistance.
Vogt’s call for aid:
the dark-haired, scow
chief investigator for
Foster. Maraggos liste:
quickly for all the hel
, F'sst, he ordered
to the scene, to si
farm house.
Second, he called t)
group of dedicated hor
in the use of firearms)
Maraggos and the
abandoned farm house,
was owned by a long-ti
family who lived abo
It already was late ir
when Maraggos and hi
As near as the office
Slinger still was inside :
talk, though. Maraggos
_eral times, but there v
Maraggos and Vogt
rounded the old house
rush it. As far as they
was a berserk gunman
ons and an untold amo.
“If we rush that hou
said, “someone’s liable
have to do is bottle bh
hungry . ... he'll come
"That was the strateg
holed up, let him r-~"--
Maraggos and hi
cover as they rin;
They didn’t want ww ra
target. They had done ;
and heard about his r.
quick-draw kid with a ;
As it began to get da
Mounted Posse began
horses and their guns.
The officers knew tha
that desolate prairie, it
despite their efforts—fo
slip through their cordo
much darkness a deput:
. But Maraggos figured
_did slip through, he mig
sells and the family who
were friends—head for
friends lived.
Just in case, Marage
Sergeant Chester Hallig:
deputy to the friends’ h.
’ The night chill set in o:
ing officers. The moon
moon that should have
young lovers but insteac
across the men gnd the
and the prairie and the o]
Maraggos tried calling
sel again. But there was
There were almost 20
the .old house and more y
80S saw the new arrivals
the highway. He drove b:
to the ancient farm hous
light of .the moon.
“Tf he
er has,”
‘be he’s
charge.”
y. They
ae early
changed
agency.
experts
ind find
ippeared -
reck the
in their
ore any
on the
val slips
nothing.
m sight.
n. What
ck pass-
2 forcib-
r hand-
United
xington,
ing nar-
previous’
secution
He
up
ssted on
BI soon
> perfect
ne char-
id come
aks ever
of bank
onfront-
entifica-
ow they
ve to get
; soon it
ould for
‘ampbell
: caused
‘ampbell
1 him to
‘more.
1a full
awarded
Eighty-
Bertram
a four-
charge
ag for a
ons had
x Thiel
He was
nt back
-y for a
‘or $100
1e police
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,
Have Some Rattlesnakes, Lovey
continued from page 37
investigation continued. They drove out to
James’ house early one evening while he and
the girl were out and hid a microphone in the
bedroom. A recording device attached to it was
set up in a neighbor’s garage. They tuned in
on the midnight conversations of James and
the girl for several weeks before they arrested
them.
Both protested their innocence at the trial,
but both turned white when the prosecution’s.
evidence was produced. It consisted of 270
pages and 200 recordings of unmistakable pur-
port. The shocked judge quickly sentenced
James to from three-to-100 years on a morals
charge and sent the girl back to her. home on
parole to ‘her parents.
When details of the sentence were ‘published,
another woman reported to the police that
James had asked her to marry him only six
days after his wife died.
“For a wedding present, he was — es
give me a $10,000 life insurance policy .
me,” she told them.
With James in jail, the investigation pro-
ceeded, but there was nothing further to in-
criminate the barber in the death of his wife
Mary. It was an irritating situation for: the
newspaperman and the detectives. They knew,
in their own minds, that James was guilty but
they lacked sufficient concrete evidence to
prove it. They talked to the physician, the
coroner, the two friends and the owner of the
funeral parlor without getting anything to
help them. They went over the garden arid pool
painstakingly but found nothing. They went ,
for months with nothing new, until finally,
the following May, one of those things hap-
pened that shows that perhaps the Lord is on
the side of policemen.
Pat Foley stopped by a favorite saloon’ for
a beer one afternoon. Hé and the bartender
-Started talking. “This might make a story for
you, Pat,” the barman said, chuckling.
A customer very much in his cups had been
in earlier and confided to the bartender that
he had once helped a man kill his wife for her
insurance money. Foley felt his heart jump.
But the bartender did not know the man nor
where he lived nor had he ever. seen him be-
fore. Foley grabbed his arm in exasperation.
“Think hard!’ he said. “Wasn’t there some-
- anything to go
thing he might have said .
on?”
"THERE was, the man recalled. The drunk
mentioned he recently had traded. an old
convertible in on a new station wagon. Foley
ran out, his beer unfinished. He checked all of
the station wagons sold in the county within
the previous three days at the state motor
vehicles bureau, then the convertibles in old-'
er models, He found two issued to and from -
the same car dealer the day before. The cus-
tomer, he leatned from their records, was an
ex-sailor and currently the manager of a
hotdog stand at a city beaeh."
Foley immediately reported his find to the
district attorney and the man was picked up
that night. He was a meek, jittery fellow who
started to shake when they asked him about
the murder he had helped commit, the one he
had mentioned to the bartender. He denied it
at first, but a little pressure broke him.
wh
“I was drunk!” he raved. “This guy offered
me a lot of money—”
“What was his name?”
“James, Robert James.”
Foley laughed aloud. It was almost too good
to be true.
“Get’on with your nog? he said.
It was one of the most bizarre arid macabre
tales in Foley’s long and varied newspaper
experience. The informant said he occasionally
had his hair cut in James’ barbershop and they
became acquainted. One day he had tried to
charge the haircut and James had asked him
to’meet him after the shop was closed. He
might have a job for him, the man explained,
so the ex-sailor met him that night.
“He did!‘And what a job!” the ex-sailor
grimaced.
James wanted him to help murder his wife
for Ket insurance money, he said. He was to
receive a part of that.
“I was shocked, at first, and turned him
dowh cold. But I needed the dough real bad.”
James had decided to. kill his wife, using
live rattlesnakes, the man said. Even Foley’s
skin prickled at this.
“He gave me the money to buy two snakes
from a reptile farm,” the man said. “I bought
two middle-sized ones. But. James insisted we
try them: first on a rabbit, to be’ sure their
venom was strong enough to kill. He bought
a live rabbit somewhere and we put it {n the
box with the snakes, and each of them struck
it. But the rabbit didn’t die. It swelled up like
a balloon; but it didn’t die.” ”
They had tried two other. snakes and a fresh
rabbit, but that one lived through the bites,
» too.
“I even drove over to Arizona and came
back with a bottle full of black widows,” the
man went on, “but James was afraid they
’ weren’t potent enough, either. He didn’t want
to shoot or stab or poison her. He wanted it
to look like an. accident, like she died from
a snake-bite,”
The informant said he was getting dis-
couraged, by then, so James gave him a $100,
dowh payment. At: last he had located two
large rattlesnakes at the J. C. “Snake Joe”
Houtenbrink’s snake farm that were guaranteed
to be deadly. One was “Lightning” and the
other was named “Lethal.” They were five feet
long dnd four inches thick dt their middles!-
James was pleased. He had the purchaser order
a special cabinet for them, with a sliding panel.
They, paid “Snake Joe” three dollars ‘rental
for’ two days. Then they. drove to James’
house,
“He introduéed me to his wife. She was a
sweet, pretty woman and I felt a little sorry
‘for het. Me and James started drinking. I knew
I couldn’t do what I had to do ‘sober. He final-
ly got his wife. to take a few drinks with us,
though she didn’t want to on account of she
was going to have a baby. I saw him put some
sleeping pills in her glass, a lot of them. Pretty
soon she passed out and we kept on drinking
for a couple of hours.”
At last they were! drunk énough to do what .
they intended. They tied Mary James, who
was now mumbling incoherently, to at
fast nook table and covered her mouth with
adhesive tape. She had opened her eyes and
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that they had been taken from the farm
a week before Mary James’ death and
returned on the very day she had suc-
cumbed in the pool intrigued Williams.
It was entirely possible that someone
else, perhaps some jilted suitor, had
conceived the diabolical scheme by
which Mary had come to the most hor-
rible of deaths. But what of the note?
The letter to her sister? By what re-
markable bit of skullduggery and con-
niving had such a person managed to set
the deadly serpent upon the unfortunate
woman without her having knowledge
of its having been premeditated, or at
least intentional?
EMPORARILY balked, Williams
determined to see what James was
doing with himself, besides operating
his barber shop. He had learned that
the grieving hubsand, although thwarted
by one insurance company after Mary’s
death, had managed to get a $5,000
settlement of a $10,000 claim from an-
other. Williams wondered how this
windfall was being spent.
He checked the house at La Canada.
Yes, James was still occupying it. Ap-
parently his grief hadn’t driven him
from. the scene of tragedy. There was
more news and this intrigued Williams
almost as much as the discovery of the
snake loan. A girl, now just 18, had
been living with him in the bungalow
since Mary’s death and the neighbors
were not inclined to speak kindly of
his apparent relations with the child.
In fact, Williams learned, those liv-
ing on both sides of the bungalow had
reason to believe that the teen-ager
was Sharing his bed; there had been
evidence—especialy during week end
carousals—to indicate that such was
true.
Now Williams resorted to a device
which has come into considerable no-
toriety. He had a dictaphone installed
in the James house and conductor wires
strung to a hideout a few yards from
the walls where the conversations could
be registered on a record, not to mention
listened to by those skulking there.
By this means, Williams hoped to
learn, from unguarded talk, something
that might lead to a ‘solution of the
death of Mary James.
For thirty days Williams or one of
his: men remained at the hidden re-
ceiver. What they heard in the James
bedrooms burned their modest ears.
Not only was James enjoying the fa-
vors of his pretty young friend, but
on such nights as he could arrange for
her to be away, he also indulged in
sex orgies with such other women as
he could lure to his nest.
Unprepossessing in appearance,
crude, unlettered, loud in his dress, it
was amazing the success he had with
women. All seemed to adore him and
one fascinated creature, described by
an officer who had seen her enter the
house as nothing less than gorgeous,
was heard to exclaim, “My soul, Bob
you're the most terrific man I’ve ever
known.”
It went to constitute a part of the
sad record of Robert James’ indulg-.
56
ences and after thirty days, and re-
peated evidence of his intimacy with
women, Williams prepared to spring
the trap. True, he had heard not one
word of the death of Mary James, but
he wanted James in jail and an incest
charge, a crime in California, would
effectively place him there.
Then Wiliiams and his’ aides picked
up something really ‘artling. James
was entertaining one of his numerous
women friends when suddenly he
broached the subject of his wife’s death.
Clearly Williams overheard the conver-
sation. ‘4
“Baby, I’m afraid I’m in a little.
jam. You know about my wife...
how she died. Well, I had some in-
surance coming and one of the com-
panies got tough and I’m afraid they’re
going to try to frame me, to make it
look. like maybe I killed her. You
know how silly that is and so do I, but
you never know what those rats will do
to keep from paying off.
“So I want you to say that you
drove by my house at about ten o’clock
the Monday morning she died and saw
Mary sitting on the porch. I’ll pay you
. . . I'll give you a hundred clams and
when you say that, they can’t pin any-
thing on me because I[ was at the shop
all day Monday.”
The woman, understandably aston-
ished, nevertheless seemed to agree to
the plan and a few minutes later Wil-
liams had the recording neatly tucked’
away. The following night, when words
of love and excitement came over the
conductor wires that apparently issued
from the ecstacies of James and his teen-
aged baby doll, Williams and his men
rushed the house and caught the pair.
“You’re under arrest for the crime
of incest,” Williams told James as a
husky detective dragged him from bed.
“Don’t make me laugh .. . there
ain’t no such crime,” James argued, but
Williams and the detectives convinced
him that there was and he went to the
Los Angeles city jail while baby doll
went to the Juvenile home.
HE story of the raid was spread
over the Los Angeles newspapers
and the effect on numerous persons
who heretofore apparently had re-
garded James as only a rather skillful,
but personally objectionable barber
was spectacular. By noon the day fol-
lowing the raid, a bartender in the La
Canada district had contacted a Los
Angeles reporter and told him a weird
story of the preceding August 4th, a
story which involved a strange char-
acter.
‘He said the man had appeared at
his bar, where he had been observed
half a dozen times before, and ordered
three quick double bourbons. He had
gulped them down and seemed woozy
from their effect. Also he had been
notably upset, and as the potions took
effect, he became tearful.
“It was awful,” he said. “That snake
biting that poor dame. And her a good
looking dame and all taped up so she
couldn’t see or talk or anything!”
The bartender had accepted the
¢
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it because I was supposed to be a medi-
cal student.”
He hesitated then, asked for a cig-
arette, and launched into one of the
most shocking stories of human sad-
ism ever recounted before a law offi-
cer. He told his story raggedly, part
of the time choosing his words well,
at other times becoming angry, or ex-
cited, or a little terrified, perhaps, and
lapsing into vulgarity and even the ver-
nacular of the gutter.
But he told the story and when he
had finished even so hardened a crime
expert as Eugene Williams was cold
with rage and shock.
“We went into the house that night
and Bob got his wife out of bed,” he
said. “He told her that the operation
would be performed, but that we would
be taking a long chance and that I in-
‘sisted that her eyes be taped shut so
that she could never identify me as the
one who had operated on her if the
police or anybody should ever come
into the case.
“The poor dame believed him and
even believed him when he told her
she’d have to be strapped down to a
table and her mouth taped shut so she
couldn’t yell and attract attention. Then
he told her that it was a new kind of
abortion, that I woulu shoot some se-
rum into her foot and that the junk
would take care of everything without
having to do the usual stuff they do.
“He taped her eyes tight and then her
mouth so she couldn’t make a sound
and then he got some belts and some
rope and strapped her down onto a
kitchen table so she couldn’t move her
her arms or legs. When he had her all :
tied down he told me to go with him
and we went outside and he told me to
bring in the biggest of the two snakes
that was in a box in a shed with a glass
top on the box... a sliding top.
“I asked him what he meant to. do
and he said that snake bite wouldn’t
kill her, but that the poison would kill
the kid and she’d get rid of it and every-
thing would be jake. The poison would
go into the kid’s blood because it was
weaker, he said. I went out and got
the box and brought it in.
“I was shaking like a leaf and he
took that box and put it on a chair close
to her feet and then he pulled the glass
top back and pushed her foot into the
box.. I couldn’t tell you which foot, I
was so scared ... and the rattler let
out a rattle and you could hear the
crunch ten feet away when he hit that
poor dame on the foot.
“I saw her twitch all over and her
foot jerked out and she knocked the
box on the floor, but that louse picked
it up quick and shoved her foot into
it again. The snake made another pass
at the foot and then she kicked the box
,Off again. He yelled ‘Get it quick,’ at
me. I grabbed the box and slammed
the glass back over the top and ran
out the door with it.
_. “He said I could take the snakes back,
then, that the job was done, and I took
it back to the shed. Well, we sat around
for two or three hours after that, with
that poor babe’s mouth still taped and
€
her eyes taped and her leg swelling up
like a ham. It was the worst sight I
ever saw, but when she wasn’t dead by
midnight, he said we’d have to drown
her, and he made me help him carry
her out to the pool.
“But first he took the tape off her
eyes and told me to duck out a while.
- I watched through the window and saw
him making her write some kind of a
note. Finally, she keeled over and it
was then we dragged her outside. He
made it look like she had slipped and
then stuck her head and shoulders into
the pool, and he was smart enough to
wash the tape marks off her mouth and
eyes before ‘he left her.”
James was brought in, but not until
after he had read a transcript of the
cook’s story. He held it in his hand and,
a snarl on his lips and threat in his
voice, he said: “So you did kill her with
the snakes, you little—” Turning to
Williams, he added, “I knew he’d done
it because he was the one that got her
pregnant.”
Williams got murder warrants against
both men. When he walked into James’
cell with the warrant in his hand and
James read it, the philandering barber
added one more gem to the hideous
record of .the case by saying: “Holy
gee, a murder warrant for a lousy little
dame like her? You want to hang me
for getting rid of her! Why all the fuss?
She was lucky I kept her as long as
I did!”
The woman he scorned as a clinging
vine had become his nemesis once he
coldbloodedly turned her into a corpse.
She had more of a hold on him in death
than she’d had in life.
A year. later, Robert James
added one more gruesome distinction
to his Escutcheon of Evil. He walked
up the thirteen steps with a faltering
tread to become the last man. ever
hanged in San Quentin prison. After
that the gas’ chamber came into use,
but all agreed it was much too humane
for such a depraved felon as the vil-
lain born Major Raymond Lisenbee. *
BREAKOUT NIGHT
(Continued from page 33)
“Let’s give them coffee,” Borghetti
said to his superiors, “coffee with
‘knockout pills in it. I know just the guy
to brew up such a batch for us. George
Wimberly, the head druggist for Buice’s
Pharmacy at Stifft Station. He’s co-
operated with us before.”
Young and Cox bought the sugges-
tion ,at once»and Buck. Griffith of the
Little Rock Police Department was
dispatched to-ask Wimberly’s aid.
The druggist was aroused from his
DISCOVER AMERICA
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(Continued from page 31)
bruised and battered, but still alive.
Desperate measures by physicians
saved the woman’s life, but her mind
was sadly muddled. She remembered
nothing of the accident and seemed
not to recognize James when he came
to see her in the hospital. Her con-
dition continued thus for weeks and
when she was released from the hos-
pital, James took her to a remote cabin
above Manitou where she could have
absolute quiet in which to recover. ~
He obtained a job as a barber in.
Manitou, but was unable to provide
a regular nurse for his wife. She re-
mained obediently at home while he
went to work, until one night he ap-
peared at a Manitou store and ar-
ranged for one of the clerks to drive
him up to his cabin, on the plea that
he was too weary to drive.
At the cabin a shock awaited them.
The pair entered the house and James
called, much as he was to shout later
at La Canada, his wife’s name. There
was no answer and he hurried to the
bedroom to find it empty. Then he went
to the kitchen and finally to the bath-
room. There, as ‘the terrified grocery
boy followed him, he found the body of
his wife in a water-filled bath tub. Her
feet were hanging over the end of the
tub and her head was completely im-
mersed.
“My God!” James had exclaimed as
he saw the body. “She said she would
do it and she did...”
The. verdict in this case had been
death by suicide and James’ days of
penury were ended by the payment to
him of $14,000 “in insurance on_ his
wife’s life. Shocked and grieving, he
buried Winona on the lonely mountain
side and drove back to Los Angeles.
There he had purchased a new car
and set off for his old home in ‘Birm-
ingham, Alabama, where he had been
known, not as Robert James, but as
Raymond’ Lisenbee. He had changed
his name when ‘he had been forced to
leave Birmingham after becoming in-
volved with a fifteen-year-old girl.
He splurged in Birmingham and
paid especial attention to pleasing a
pretty, 17-year-old girl. He persuaded
her parents that she needed’ the ad-
vantages he could give her in Cali-
fornia and when he left Birmingham,
she rode with him, attired in a new
outfit of clothes, a fine wrist watch and
DISCOVER AMERICA
a coat with a pretty fur collar—finery’
she’d never expected to possess.
RMED with these facts, Williams
A now became profoundly interested
in the habits of California snakes. It
occurred to him that La Canada was
a too thickly populated area to be in-
fested with rattlers. Moreover, there
were few rocks in the vicinity of the
James bungalow and rattlers every-
where make their homes in_ rocks.
Grass is not their dish and Williams
knew it.
He now sent for the herpetologist
who had, at the time of death, iden-
tified the venom in Mary James’
blood specimen as coming from a snake
of the genus Crotalus Atrox and asked
him what type of rattlesnake flourished
in the La Canada sector. The herpe-
tologist said he had heard of none
there for several years, but that some
time before a small type of only
slightly venomous diamond back had
been seen among the rolling foothills.
“How about the Crotalus Atrox?”
Williams asked. “Don’t you ever find
them there?”
“They come from the Colorado
mountains, chiefly, although there are
some in Utah and Arizona. And they’re
bad. Very bad.” :
“You're sure they don’t live in this
area?”
“Asbolutely,” the scientist replied.
Investigation now revealed to Wil-
liams that poisonous snakes could be
purchased from snake farms for com-
paratively small sums. He found the
names of several such farms and sent
his men to check. Out in Ontario, in
the desert East of Los Angeles, he
found a farmer who. had sold two of
the large Crotalus Atrox variety sev-
eral months before, only to have them
returned a week later.
A check of his records showed that
the snakes had been purchased on July
28th, and returned on August 5th. The
purchaser had not asked for his money
back, only that the seller take the snakes
and do as he liked with them. The pur-
chaser had used them, he explained, in
making a motion picture .. . a small
project of his own. . . and had no desire
to destroy them.
“Do you know the man you sold
them to?” Williams asked.
“Nope,” the farmer said. “He didn’t
give me no name and I didn’t ask him
for none. The law don’t ask me to get
the names of people I do business with.”
“T guess not, but it should,” Williams
said. He then gave the man a complete
description of James and asked him if
the snake purchaser resembled the
barber in any way. ;
“Nope,” the farmer said. “He was
black headed and kind of husky .. .
that is, he was solid built, but looked
kinda hungry and mean. Kinda man
I don’t want around too much.”
“Tall?” Williams asked.
“Maybe five feet, eight, maybe less.”
Obviously, the purchaser of the
snakes was not James. But the fact
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blubbering as the result of too much
alcohol and had refused to serve his
Customer once more, whereas the man
had become hysterical.
“He made me do it! He made me
do it and I can’t stand it. I gotta get
rid of them snakes, too,” he shouted
and then lurched out of the bar toward
an automobile which the bartender be-
lieved to have been a Pierce-Arrow
convertible.
The reporter carried the story di-
rectly to Williams. i
Williams now assigned detectives to
check on this man. He returned to
the snake merchant of Ontario for a
more complete description of the man
who had bought the rattlers from him
seven months before: and passed the
description along to his investigators.
Four days later, detectives located the
suspect working as a cook in a short
order restaurant in nearby Hermosa
Beach. Proceeding to the cafe, they
found a somewhat’ ancient Pierce-
Arrow convertible parked in front of
the place. Inside, they inquired about
its ownership and were told that it
belonged to the short-order cook.
Told that he was under arrest, he
went with the detectives without com-
plaint. As he was being led into head-
quarters in Los Angeles, he said sud-
denly, “Well, I suppose you’re going to
give me the screws on that Mary James’
business?”
The detectives told him he probably
was correct. They took him to Wil-
liams, and without preliminaries he
said that he had helped in the drown-
ing of Mary James—and that he had
been aided by a confederate.
“And who was the confederate?”
Williams asked.
Find out for yourself,” he replied,
recalcitrant.
Williams had noted that he had said
‘nothing about the snake bite. He asked
how he’d like to take a little ride into the
desert. Williams, accompanied by two
detectives for safety, drove out to the
Ontario snake farm. There the farm
keeper immediaely identified him as the
man who'd bought the two Crotalus
Atrox rattlers and later returned them.
“Okay, I had them, but not for what
you think,” the cook said. They started
back to the city. Williams began to talk
confidentially. He was shooting in the
dark, up to a certain point, but events
later proved that his ~'m-was amazingly
accurate.
“You know,” he said, “this fellow
James, the one whose wife was killed,
says a guy answering your description
came to his house and told him he was
an abortionist and could help him out
of a jam. He said the fella seemed to
know that Mary was pregnant and that
he wanted to get her fixed up and the
fella said he had a way of fixing it up
for a little money... .”
“That’s a damned lie,” he said. “I
didn’t go to his house to tell him any-
thing.”
“Then where did you go?” Williams
asked.
“If he’s gonna lie about me, I’m
gonna tell the truth about him,” the
cook declared vehemently. “I went into
his shop one day and I needed a hair-
cut and a shave to get a job. I’d
had work done there before and I told
him I would do some work in his shop
if he’d fix'me up and he put me in the
chair. I told him I was pretty much on
the beach and he started talking turkey.
“He asked me if I knew where he
could get. some rattlesnakes. Said he’d’
give me fifty bucks to get a pair and
anything I’ saved out of it was mine.
I could get a pair of rhinoceroses for
fifty bucks, so I didn’t ask any ques-
tions, just told him I was his man.”
Williams’ nodded and said, “It makes
sense. Tell me the rest.”
“I got a couple of snakes for him
and took them out to his house. I had
them in-a box and put a chicken in
with one of them and the snake bit
the chicken, but it didn’t die. Got a
little wobbly, but was all right pretty
soon. Then he tried another chicken in
the box with the other and the same
thing happened.
“He got sore and told me he had
tried black widow spiders and they were
no good either. He said to get some
good snakes that could kill something,
and gave me ten bucks more. I went out
to that guy in Ontario and got two big
fellas for six bucks and took them back
to him. He tried the chickens and the:
big boys hit 'em once and they keeled
over and died. James was tickled pink
and told me that now I was-in a mess
with him and had to help him out, but
that it would be good for a hundred, at
least, when he got the insurance.
“I asked him what insurance and he
told me he was going to use the snakes
to get rid of his wife because she was
pregnant. I said.no soap, but he told
me I’d brought the snakes and, so I
was already in the deal with him. Then
he said he’d make it two hundred as
soon as the job was done. I was scared
and broke, so I said I'd go along. . .”
“And then what happened?” Williams
said, quietly,
“Nuts .,. 1 wanta see him... I
don’t believe he told you anything,”
he suddenly bridled. “I don’t even be-
lieve you got him in the can.”
“Okay,” . Williams said. “We'll go
back to the hall and let you face him.”
sf liaear cook changed his story slightly
when he saw that James actually
was in jail. What he said then was that
he had obtained the snakes for James,
but had not: known that they were to
be used to kill anybody. He said that
he had agreed to pose as a medical stu-
dent who could and would perform
an illegal operation on James’ preg-
nant wife, and that James had told
him that Mary had. agreed to allow him
to go ahead with the operation, believ-
ing him to be a student as he claimed.
“I was at ‘his house on August 4th,”
he said, “when he told me that the
time had come to perform the operation.
I told him I didn’t know anything about
such things and couldn’t do it, that I
might kill someone. He told me I
wouldn’t be doing it, that he would, but
that I was to pretend that I was doing
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Niece of James figured prominent-
ly in the final solution of murder.
seemed incredibly shocked by the
whole incident.
“It’s terrible,” he told Gray.
“We'd only been married a few
months, and we were going to be-
come parents. Mary was so happy
about it all, but she was having a
tough time. She was quite sick in
the mornings, and she had faint-
ing fits.”
“Do you think she fainted near
the pool, Mr. James?” the deputy
asked slowly.
“I can’t see what else could have
happened. She liked to walk near
the pool, and it isn’t deep enough
to have drowned her otherwise.
It’s only about twelve inches to the
bottom.”
“I see,” Gray answered.
“Was your wife all right yester-
day morning when you left for
work?” he next asked James.
“She was still in bed. It was
only eight o’clock. I work in a
barber shop in the city, and I
have to leave fairly early. She must
have gotten up soon, though, be-
cause I found a letter on the desk
that she wrote to her sister.” He
walked over to the desk, picked up
the letter and handed it to Gray.
“Here, you can read it if you
want to.” ”
The deputy took the letter a
little reluctantly and opened it. It
was written in an untidy scrawl.
“Dear Sis,” it said. “Just a line
this morning to let you know I am
pretty sick. My leg is all swollen,
something bit me while watering
my flowers this morning. I cut
my toe yesterday and having lots
of bad- luck, this is old blue
Monday, but my daddy will be
home early tonight and he takes
good care of me. Be sure and write
me soon and I'll let you know how
I get along.”
10
Gray studied: the wavering lines
of the writing and on a hunch
slipped the letter into his pocket.
He had to have something to show ~
Inspector Stensland, and he certain-
ly wasn’t getting any vital infor-
mation from the distraught James.
“Okay, Mr. James,” he said. “I
guess that’ll be all for now.”
As he was leaving the house, he
noticed’ a discreet looking man
climbing out of a large, black
limousine. The man advanced to-
ward him, hand outstretched.
“Mr. James,” he flashed a. head-
ful of teeth. “I’m from Colton
Brothers. I’m glad I caught you be-
fore you went out.”
Gray was puzzled for a moment.
Then he remembered that Colton
Brothers was a large funeral es-
tablishment in the city. He explain-
ed to the man that Mr, James was
still inside and excused himself.
THE deputy explored _ the
grounds of the James house and
then decided to call on a few of
the neighbors. Mrs. Henessey, who
- lived down the block, told the de-
tective that she had not been per-
sonally acquainted with the
James but that they seemed like a
nice enough young couple.
“Mr, James seemed to be very
friendly. He would always tip his
hat and say good morning when
he passed by. I always intended to
call on Mrs. James some day, but
I just never got around: to it. The
poor woman.”
Mrs. Henessey would have chat-
ted. on further, but Deputy Gray
thanked her for her help and de-
parted,
The other two close neighbors
Detectives sifting furnace ashes
in basement, hoping to find clue
to the death of Mary James. The
first break came when they heard
about man who sold rattlesnakes. d
were not at home, so he could learn
nothing further.
Back at headquarters Gray gave
his report to Inspector Stensland.
“J can’t say I found anything
very unusual, inspector,” he said.
“James seemed to be terribly
broken up over this thing — the
woman was going to have a baby.”
“Yes,” Stensland answered. “So
the medical examiner reported.
“Wasn’t there anything at all?”
“Well,” Gray said. “I have a
letter here that Mrs. James wrote
to her sister just before she died.
The handwriting seems rather un-
tidy. Perhaps you can get a com-
>
LISEMBA
POLICE RECORD DETECTIVE,
Spring, 1952
THE death of Mary Busch James
was first reported as an accident.
but diligent and persistent police
work later proved that she was
killed by one of the most ingenious
and unusual murder methods ever
used.
On the evening of August 5,
1935, around seven o’clock, Robert
S. James was returning to hie
home in La Canada, California, a
suburb of Los Angeles, accompan-
ied by two friends, Jim Pember-
ton and ‘his fiancee, Viola Lueck.
They were planning to pick up
James’ wife, Mary, and have dinner
out to celebrate the engagement of
Miss Lueck and Mr. Pemberton.
“The house is dark, Bob,” Pem
berton commented as they went up
the front walk. “Wasn’t Mary
supposed to be waiting for us?”
“Why, yes,” replied James. “That
-is strange.” He opened the front
door and called out, “Mary, we’re
here. here are you, dear?”
Silence ‘was the only answer he
got.
Quickly the three of them look
ed through the house. Then they
met back in the hallway.
“She doesn’t’ seem’ to be any-
where around, Bob,” Viola Lueck
said. “Should we ‘look outside?”
Bob James accepted the sugges-
Mary James had no intimation of
the strange death that awaited.
She and her husband were very
happily married and ‘thrilled with
the thought of the expected child
—
A former wife of James and a
family friend, who told stories to
police that put them on the trail of
a bizarre and ghastly murder. |
tion eagerly. “Yes, let’s. She may
be sitting in the, garden waiting
for us and didn’t hear the car
drive up.”
They went outside into the back
yard. Viola Lueck walked toward
the fish pond. Suddenly she gave
a startled scream. Bob James and
Jim Pemberton came running to
her side.
“What is it?” they chorused.
Her finger pointed in horror to-
ward a body wearing pajamas
lying on the edge of the pool with
face and shoulders in the water.
“It’s Mary!” she shrieked.
Bob James bent tenderly over the
woman’s form. “Yes,” he murmur-
ed. “It is Mary. We must get a
doctor, She must have fainted.”
“Fainted?” Viola Lueck said in
a puzzled voice.
“She’s going to have a baby,”
James said quietly. “Help me with
her, Jim.”
The two men gently raised the
inert body and lay it on the grass.
Viola Lueck ran inside and phoned
a doctor.
WHEN the doctor arrived, he
told James and his friends that the
woman was dead. From the stiff-
ness of her body he judged that
she had been dead for quite a
number of hours.
“She can’t be dead,” Robert
James moaned, his face contorted
in misery. “She just can’t be. Are
you sure you haven’t made. some
mistake?” His eyes looked plead-
ingly into those of the doctor.
“No, I’m afraid not, Mr. James.
{ll have to have her body taken
to the county. morgue. That’s re-
quired in all cases of accidental
STRANGE AND
WEIRD MURDERS
FROM POLICE RECORD FILES
The lily pond in the front yard of the James home where
death. They’) release it when
they’re finished with their examin-
ation.”
James seemed numbed. He didn't
even reply to the doctor’s state-
ment. Viola Lueck helped him
quietly back to the house while
Pemberton stayed with the body.
The next day Deputy Sheriff
Virgil Gray of the Los Angeles
County Homicide Detail was in-
structed to look into the © facts
surrounding Mrs. James’ death.
There was no indication of ir-
regularity, but the inspector had a
hunch. And when Inspector Norris.
Stensland had a hunch, it was
Gray’s job to follow it up.
The first thing he did was to
interview the husband of the dead
woman. Robert James seemed tv
be in a state of near collapse. He
could barely speak coherently and
body of Mary James was found.
parison with other samples of her
script. And, oh, yes, a man from
Colton Brothers mortuary came up
just as I was leaving. I think it’s
rather odd he should pick a place’
so far away.”
“Hmm, you may have something
there,” the inspector murmured.
“T’ll check on that. Meanwhile why
don’t you look over the autopsy
report.” .
The coroner’s report stated that
there had been a number of
bruises on the dead woman’s body,
several on the head and one on the
upper arm. Gray also noticed that
the coroner had reported the marks
of a venomous insect bite on her
left leg and signs of infection in
the left ankle. She had _ acute
poisoning of the system, but the
cause of death was listed as drown-
ing.
After studying the results of the
autopsy, Gray went back to see
Stensland.
“T’ve got something for you,
Virgil,” the inspector said. “Colton
Brothers told me that they hand-
led the burial arrangements for
James’ first wife, Winona Wallace
James, who drowned in a bathtub
in Manitou, Colorado in 1932 and
was brought to Los Angeles for
interment.”
“She drowned? Well, maybe the
police there can tell us a little
more about it,” Gray . replied
excitedly.
“T’ve already sent them a wire.
And here’s something else. Mary
James worked as a manicurist in
the same barber shop as James,
and they were living together: at
least three months before they got
married. I don’t like the looks of
that at all. I want a complete in-
vestigation of Robert P. James’
past activities.”
“Yes, sir,” said Virgil Gray. He
no longer felt that Inspector Stens-
land was barging up a blind alley.
“Should I check and see if Mary
James had life insurance?”
“An excellent idea,” the inspector
smiled. “Get right to it.”
AFTER several false starts, De-
puty Sheriff Gray hit pay dirt.
He discovered that Robert James
held two policies of $5,000 each on
his wife’s life, with double in-
demnity in case of accidental
death. He also discovered that
James had had similar coverage,
amounting to $14,000 on Mrs.
Winona Wallace James, who had
died three years ago.
The Colorado police reported the
circumstances of this death, and
they were strangely parallel to the
present case.
Winona James had died after
accidentally falling into a full bath-
Dramatic scene in courtroom when District Attorney demonstrated way Mary James was bitten by the rattlesnake.
tub of water. She had been in a
weakened condition as a result of
an automobile accident. The
peculiar circumstances of the
accident had interested the high-
way patrol. but since Mrs. Winona
James had recovered from her in-
juries, they had no reason to in-
vestigate further.
Mrs. James had been in a car
that: went over a mountain road
down a steep embankment. Her
husband had been with her, but he
managed to jump clear before it
went over the side and was un-
injured. There were several suspi-
cious circumstances in connection
with his miraculous escape and the
near fatality of the wreck to his
wife.
Several weeks afterward, while
recuperating in her home, Winona
Wallace James had _ drowned.
James had been doing some shop-
ping in town and discovered the
body when he returned, accompan-
ied by a delivery boy.
Stensland and Gray found this
information very interesting, but
since it had no actual bearing on
the present case, they were eager
to find something that would in-
dicate foul play in the death of
Mary Busch James.-
“Both times he had a witness to
the discovery of the body,” Stens-
land noted. “Both women were
aes 2
heavily covered by accident in-
insurance. There’s a definite pat-
tern, but how could James have
drowned her when he was already
at work? There’s something miss-
ing, Gray, and we’ve got to find
it.”
Deputy Gray went a second time
to visit the bereaved husband.
James met him cordially and seem-
ed in better control of his
emotions, but obvious signs of grief
still kept coming to the surface.
“Mr. James,” the detective
questioned, “was your wife insur-
ed?”
“Why, yes, I guess she was,” he
admitted candidly. “I’d forgotten
all about that.”
The ready openness of the an-
swer confounded Gray. He had ex-
pected all sorts of evasiveness. He
then questioned the man about the
death of his first wife and her
insurance. Here again, James
readily admitted everything that
had taken him hours of investi-
gation to discover.
“Look here,” James finally said.
“T think you’re getting a little out
of line on this. I have nothing to
hide. Mary’s death seems doubly
horrible after what happened to
Winnie.” He buried his face in his
Continued on Page 44
B)
out your mustache, we recognize
you. You’re wanted for the mur-
der of Aida Hayward up in Maine,
Now get dressed and come along,”
Keliher spoke quietly.
Kirby looked at the still-drawn
revolvers and got his things.
When he was ushered into Chief
Sanborn’s office, later that day, he
appeared bewildered by the whole
thing.
“Well, Kirby,” Sanborn - said.
“Suppose you tell us why you
murdered Aida Hayward and tried
to kill her aunt. There’s no use
denying it. We’ve got enough evi-
dence against. you.”
“I didn’t kill anybody,” Kirby
said. “You can’t frame me.”
“We found the body in your
cabin. How can you explain that?”
“I found the body in the woods.
| didn’t know what to do with it,
so-I took it to the cabin. I was
afraid to tell anyone. I didn’t kill
her.” His voice was low and plain-
tive.
“You have a criminal record,
Kirby. And we found the jewelry
that was stolen. You might as well
confess,” his tone was hard and
demanding.
“I ‘knew you’d suspect me be-
cause of my record. I did take a
few little things from some of the
cottages around here, but I didn’t
kill anyone.”
His utter casualness about the
robberies confounded Chief San-
born. He persisted in his question-
ing, and finally Kirby broke. He
admitted that he had been rifling
Mrs. Townes’ cottage because he
heard they kept unguarded valu-
ables there. When he had been
surprised in the act of burglary,
he lost his head and shot Mrs.
Townes. Then he had to take Aida
Hayward with him to avoid dis-
covery.
“1 went back and looted the
cabin, and then I set fire to it so
that the murder wouldn’t be dis-
covered. I wasn’t really thinking
about killing the girl. I had her
in the bedroom when those men
started coming up to the house.
She tried to scream, so I strangled
her. It was the only thing I could
do,” his tone was .calm, as though
he were talking about somebody
else. Then he grew tense, and his
voice rose hysterically. “But you'll
never bring me to trial. Never. . .”
He was taken from the room still
shouting and wild-eyed >
He was right.. The morning of |:
the scheduled trial Harry Kirby
was found bleeding to death in his
cell, his wrists slashed with a
razor blade. He died a few hours
later. ate Au
—THE END— ae
_ THE RATTLESNAKE
KILLER
(Continued ‘from Page I!)
hands. “It doesn’t seem possible
that a man could lose two ,. .”
Gray interrupted. “Possible or
not, Mr. James, it happened, He
was still puzzled by the man’s
openness. Finally he decided that
there was nothing more he could
learn here, so he left.
THE investigation ‘into James’
past continued with some _inter-
esting facts developing. Mary
Busch James had been the man’s
fifth wife, not his second. Winona
Wallace James had been number
three. The search for the other
three wives turned up only one,
Mrs. Vera Vermillion James, who
had been the second of the’ long
line.
She told the police, “I lived with
Robert James for seven years. We
were very happy, but Bob just
couldn’t’ stay away - from other
women, Finally I got so I couldn't
‘stand it, and’ I divorced him. I .
haven’t. seen him since,”
She could offer no clues that
would help in Mary James’ death.
But. the picture of the - man’s
character became increasingly
clear. He: was an incurable phi-
landerer.
Grace .Yarnell,- a cousin , of
Winona Wallace James who had
visited her frequently after her
automobile - accident, told Deputy
Gray that James had tried to make
love to her several times when he
drove her: to the hospital.
“Winnie was lying there near
death,” she said, “and that horrible
man’ ‘cared’so little’ that she ‘could
make .adyances to another - “woman.
He made ~Winnie very. “unhappy
that way, always making a play
for any attractive. girl that. hap-.
pened to be around. Sometimes
they had terrible fights.”
Then Stensland and Gray got a
break. A woman named Madge
Reed wrote the insurance company
which held the policies on Mary
James’ life and told them they
would be wise not to pay.
It occurred to them that it could
be strictly a crank letter, but when
they contacted the police and dis-
covered that there was so much
doubt in the mind of Inspector
Stensland concerning the “acci-
dental” death, they decided to hold
up their check, despite the fact
the coroner’s jury had given a ver,
dict of accidental death by drown-
ing.
Deputy Sheriff Gray went to see
the writer of the letter. She told
him an interesting story.
“I met this man, Robert James,
in Hermosa Beach and: spent a
weekend with him right after his
wife’s death. He got quite drunk
one night and offered me a thov-
sand dollars to say that I had seen
his wife alive at nine. o’clock on
the morning of her death.”
“Why ‘are you. telling. me all
this?” Gray asked suspiciously.
“He got very nasty when I re-
fused.” she said. “I don’t like to
be treated the way he treated me.”
Madge Reed was an attractive,
determined looking woman; she
didn’t look like the kindwho could
be pushed around easily. - -
The next day Gray went again to
see Robert James. He was not at
home. A young, pretty sani answer-
ed the door. «—
‘“[’'m Deputy Sheriff - Gray ” he
said. “When do you expect Mr.
James to return?”
The girl . seemed’ nervous.- “}
don’t know, sir,” she answered,
and seeing the questioning look in:
his ‘eyes, she said. “I’m Lois
Wright, Mr. James’ niece. I'd .. .
I'd ask you to wait, but I don't
know when he’ll be back.”
“Could I speak to you for a few
moments, Miss Wright?” he asked.
“Yes . .. I guess so, but what
about?” she kept looking furtively
over his shoulder. :
“It’s about. your aunt, Mrs.
Mary James. I'd like you to tell me
a little bit about her.”
“Aunt Mary .
She was so “happy about the baby.
But Uncle Robert didn’t .”. .” she
stopped and looked at him plead-
ingly out of large, luminous eyes.
“Do I have to tell you about it?
After all, -he is my mother’s
brother. I wouldn’t want to put
him in a bad light.”
““Do you think he killed your
Aunt Mary?” Gray asked gently,
“Oh, no, nothing, like that. It’s
just; that he didn’t want her to
- Was very sweet. ;
a en ae | ne ea yn
5 sca rec corny
have the. baby. .He hada doctor
here hanging around .a_ lot, Dr.
Smith. But I’m sure he wouldn’t
Gray said.
“Well; he was a very strange
man. I didn’t like him, and I think
Aunt Mary was afraid of him,
though she never said anything.
He had sort of funny, shifty eyes.
And he kept talking about snakes
all the time. It gave me _ the
creeps.”
“Snakes?” Gray’s voles ‘held a
note of interest and excitement.
He remembered the bites on ‘Mary
James’. leg and the poison in her
system. 4 }
“Yes,. he told Aunt Mary that
snake venom ‘would cause a mis-
carriage. I never heard of that, but
Uncle Robert seemed quite pleased
with the. idea.”
“Where does this Doctor Smith
live?” Gray questioned.
“I’m not sure, but I seem to re-
member him mentioning Hermosa.
Beach.” The girl started to. cry. “I
hope I haven’t done wrong by tell-
ing you all this.”
GRAY went directly to Hermosa
Beach, but he could find no Doctor
Smith anywhere in the city. Then
he decided to canvas the snake
dealers and see if any of them had
a customer by that name. —
Finally one man, named J. C.
Houtenbrink, reported that he had
sold two sets of snakes to a man
about a month before and that a
man named Max Sherman had
been commissioned to make a
special box for them. “Snake Joe”
Houtenbrink, as he was called,
didn’t know the name. of his cus-
tomer, but he thought Sherman
might.
After several more hours of in-
tensive searching, Sherman was
located.
“Sure I remember the customer.
His name is Chuck Hope. He just
opened a restaurant here in town.
He was a sailor, but he told me
he used to be a medical student.”
Gray’s ears perked up at this in-
formation. He went to see Hope.
“Tell me, Mr. Hope,” he said to
the tall, well built man, “do you ;
know Robert James?”
“Yes, I know him. Why do you
want to know?”
“Did you ever get any snakes for
him? To use on his wife, for in-
stance?” Gray saw the man’s
eyes widen with fear.
“Il... 1 don’t know what you’re
talking about. What would I be
doing with snakes?”
“Well, just come along to head-:
quarters with me, and maybe we’ll
find the: answer to that question.”
Back jn his office Virgil Gray
got in touch with Lois Wright and
asked her to come downtown.
When she got there, he said, “Miss
Wright, could’ you identify this
me’ about this doctor.”
Doctor Smith?” | ’
“Yes, 1 guess 20. L-paw him
several times at my uncle’s house.”
She appeared very fidgety.
Gray took her. into the , room
where Charles. Hope was sitting.
“Is this the man you knew as
Doctor Smith, Miss Wright?” As
he spoke, he watched the reactions
of the man and woman. Hope’s.
eyes dilated with fear, and. Lois
Wright’s
with white-knuckle intensity. She
spoke slowly. .
“Yes, that’s Doctor Smith. I’m
sure of it.” Then she closed her
eyes and started to sway.
Gray .took her. by: the elbow,
steadied her and ushered her out
of the room. “Thank you, Miss
Wright. You’ ve been a great deal
* help to us.’
WHEN he _ returned, Charlés
Hope had his ‘face buried in his
hands. Gray said sternly, “Well,
Hope, are you going to tell us the
whole . story?”
“Sure, why ‘not. I didn’t do any-
thing, and I don’t see why I should
protect that rat James. Here’s
what happened. I’ve known Robert
James several months. I met him
through a girl friend of mine. He
knew I didn’t want my wife to
find out about this girl, so he
asked me to help him with some-
thing in return for his silence.”
He looked up. “I: guess she’ll
find out about it now, but that’s
better than getting pinned with a
murder rap.”
“Murder!” Gray muttered.
on. ” 4
“He told me. his wife was
pregnant and that he didn’t want
the kid. He said snake . venom
would cause her to lose it without
any trouble. I believed him. I didn’t
think there was. anything more to
it than that. So I got him a pair
of rattlers. He had me come
around the house and pose as a
doctor. That’s where I saw that
girl.
“The first pair of snakes
apparently didn’t do the trick. He
said they weren’t killers. That’s
when I found. out what he was
“Go
really up to. I wanted to back out, |
but he told-me it was too late. |
“He said, ‘Don’t worry, Chuck,
it’s a foolproof method. ‘Nobody
would ever suspect it wasn’t an
accident. I’ll give you.a thousand
bucks when the job is done. But
you try ratting on me, and you'll
get just what Mary’s going to get.’
I had no choice; I had to go along.
“The next day I got two more
snakes from Joe. I carried them
over in the special box we had
made. Snakes. don’t bother me. I
like them, But I know what a
rattlesnake bite can do to you. 1
tried to talk him out of it, but he
wouldn’t .listen. 1, don’t know why.
the first. batch didn’t kill her.”
Hope mopped his brow with a
hand clutched her purse,
handkerchief. Stensland had come
into. the room, and both detectives
listened with repellent’: fascination
to the wierd and horrible story.
“What day did you take the
second Bet of snakes over?” Gray
asked. ©
“It. was August 4th, the day be-
fore she was found dead. I left
them there, and that’s all I know.”
GRAY made another trip out
to La. Canada, The James house
was lighted when he arrived. He
knocked on the door, and Robert
James answered.
“Oh, it’s you,” he said. Obvious-
ly he had. been expecting somebody
else. “What do you want?”
Three uniformed police men be-
hind Gray moved forward.
“We want you, James,”
plied.
snapped the handcuffs on his wrists
before the man’ had a chance to
protest.
All night the inspector and Gray
questioned the husband of the
murdered woman. They told him
he re-
all the evidence against him but
couldn’t break him down. 5
The body of Mary Busch James
was exhumed, and the medical
examiner modified his original re-
port by ‘stating that death fad
actually occurred from a poisonous
insect bite in spite of the water in
the lungs.
When he heard this, Robert
James finally gave a full con-
confession,
“Yes,” he said wearily, “I killed
her. She‘ was getting to be a
nuisance. We had been living. to-
gether for several months. When
‘ phe discovered that she was going
to. have a baby, she made me
marry her, I.didn’t want to, and
I didn’t like the idea of having
a kid around the house.
“We'd always had a good time,
Mary and me, and now she’d
suddenly gone domestic. I didn’t
-“Come along quietly.” He.
want. to be tied down. So 1 decided
to. get rid ‘of her since she
wouldn’t get rid of the baby.
“Chuck was always talking about
snakes, so I made him. get me
some, just like -he told you. The
first pair didn’t work. I got some
more. She was in the bathroom
that morning, and the snakes
were in the tub. I threw her in
with them and held her down while
they bit her.
“She tried to struggle, but
after the snake bit her, she lay
still. I took her out, dried her off
and put on clean pajamas.” He
looked around in __ satisfaction,
pleased with the startled silence
that. greeted his bizarre story.
“What about that letter?” ques-
tioned Gray. “Our handwriting
experts report that it was written
by a guided hand.”.
“Oh, yes,” replied James, “I al-
most forgot. After I finished dress-
ing her, I propped her at the desk
and put the pen in her hand and
wrote it. Too bad I forgot to mail
it. That would have made it per-
fect.” He seemed to have no re-
morse over what he had done. His
voice was proud, almost gay.
“Then what?” asked Gray.
“Then I: took her out ahd put
her half in the pool. And I took a
taxi to work so I would be there
on time. I had already left the
house ‘once, at eight o’clock, and
snuck back through the kitchen
door. That’s in case any of the
neighbors happened to be watch-
ing.”
Robert James signed the state-
ment he had made and was placed
on trial in Los Angeles County
Court. Two months later, having
been found guilty of murder in the
first degree, he died in the electric
chair, the first murderer in the
history of the county to have used
a rattlesnake as the murder
weapon. :
—THE END—
Are you the party who wishes a phone installed?”
45.
LBSEMBA
RIS es EET 2
Mary .
poiso!:
only tc
' a hapely bl
Accused murderer Charles Hope reclines on ; uw m4 } Gh sas ial
courtroom table while prosecutor shows how de- AG" q j making it. t
fendant and Robert James (right) tried to induce Not surpi
{
’
i
poison into woman's foot.
by BILL KELLY
Robert James, a success-
ful Los Angeles barber, often
surprised his wife Mary with
his vast variety of antiques.
When he wasn’t collecting
enameled saints or antique
clocks, he was making
friends. So there was no
reason to believe his wife
would be astonished, on the
night of August 5, 1935,
when he opened the door to
his home at 5:30 p.m. and
announced: ‘‘Mary, I’ve
brought company for din-
ner!”
**Mary’s a fine cook,”* Robert said of his
twenty-five-year-old wife, Mary Bush, a for-
mer manicurist. **Just wait until you taste one
of her meals."’ ;
But Mary would prepare no more meals.
outside.
24
“When Robert and his guests heard his dog.
‘parking loudly in the garden, they hurried
3
%
|| ae
CORPSE
IN THE
LILY
OND.
Bary ee ane MT.
Juinadlidabceds
STARTLING DETECTIVE, February, 1982
es
‘
dickies
There they found Mary... floating face
down in the lily pond. ©
Within a matter of minutes. a physician
arrived dwarfed by two burly Los Angeles
policemen. The doctor confirmed that poor
Mary James*had drowned in ten’ inches of
lily-padded water. Her left Jeg was not a pret-
ty sight. It was swollen like a balloon. ~
**She’s been bitten by some strange in-
sect,’* the doctor commented. In the opinion
of an investigator, Mary James who was preg-
nant at the time, had had a dizzy spell while
tending her garden, and fell in the lily pond.
There was no reason to suspect foul play. Her »
devoted husband Robert was no suspect. As
many could verify. he had been clipping hair
at his plush five-chair barber shop in down-
town Los Angeles at Olive and Eighth Street
at 8.a.m. — the certified time of Mary's
**accidental death.’ So far as police were
concerned, the case was closed. Suffering
agonies. Robert returned to his barber shop.
His insurance claim was investigated. three
months later the claim was approved ‘and
Robert received a check for $3.500.
Then oddly, on the Saturday after Mary's
burial, Robert was clipping a customer's hair
and looking out the window. Suddenly he
spotted a ravishing beauty, The chunky six-
footer dropped his clippers. quickly shed his
apron and ran out the door — leaving. his
puzzled customer.’ Neer 05 fauna
In a matter of seconds he caught up with the
sie ay eae | De
SISOS Uh ect AIR a
AeA | 1 Ree
police. -
Almost aj
his barber s
gone. Minut
a policeman
**That’s
masher! Art
Robert Jai
looked so n
control of hi
him a small
not to be af
been forgott
ard, Chief «
District Att
graph about
ind Mary... floating face
ond,
r of minutes, a physician
y two burly Los Angeles
octor confirmed that poor
drowned in ten inches of
Her left leg was not a pret-
vollen like a balloon.
tten by some strange in-
:ommented. In the opinion
Mary Jamés who was preg-
ad had a dizzy spell while
1. and fell in the lily pond;
yn to suspect foul play. Her
Xobert was no suspect. As
. he had been clipping hair
hair barber shop in down- :
at Olive and Eighth Street
certified time of Mary’s
* So far as police were
‘se. was closed. Suffering
‘turned to his barber shop.
m was investigated. three
claim was approved and
check for $3.500.
the Saturday after Mary's
clipping a customer's hair
he window. Suddenly he
2 beauty. The chunky six-
clippers, quickly shed his
t the door — leaving his
-onds he caught up with the
: police. -
_ gone. Minutes later the woman appeared with
> masher! Arrest him!"*
looked so much like Mary that he had lost
‘control of his senses. The crushed judge gave 2
him a small fine and cautiously wamed him
‘not to be a further nuisance. All would have
~. been forgotten, had not Captain. Jack South-
: graph about the incident in the paper. Sensing -
Mary aries survived: aitacks: by
poisonous snakes and spiders’
only te to be droped In inher part
shapely blonde: grabbed her fragile atm, and:
asked blandly, **How's about you and me
making. it. beautiful?"
Not surprisingly, the gil pated for the
‘ Almost apologetically, James petreated to.
his barber shop.. His customer was already
a policeman.
‘That's him!"* she cried, “‘That's the ,
Robert James told the judge that the woman
ard, Chief of Detectives in the Los Angeles’
District Attorney's Office, saw a small para-
- that James was either a crackpot ora heartless
cad making a play with his poor wife not yet
cold in her grave’ he decided to run a check
into James's past. .
His first professional encounter was with
the insurance firm. Here he discovered that
the firm had contested James's claim on his
wife, according him much less than the policy:
granted. The barber, Southard was told by
insurance officials, took out the policy when -
he was not legally Bia to the former Mary
Bush.
Robert, it seems, met the manicurist while
she was working next door at a beauty salon. -
Getting her into bed was no problem, but
when Mary became pregnant. the barber
dumped her — until’ she screamed matri-
mony. He promised to marry her. One night a
panhandler approached James asking for a
handout. When Robert offered him fifty dol-
lars to impersonate a minister, the bum
flashed an appreciative smile.
That Saturday the mock wedding was held
in James’ s barber shop with a few old custom-
et on next page)
Robert James, right, stubbornly
denied killing his wife when ques-
tioned on the witness stand.
25
Lie A Te ee ee eT
This ¢
rattler
to j
pocketed rec
man with tt
Houtenbrink
The relent
residence in
| : ; f pe Oh batted an ey:
| ers as witnesses. Mary accepted the bum. was, Robert bought a ten-thousand-dollar in- An insurance snooper looking into Mary‘s purchased t\
Joseph Riegel, asa bona fide-reverend. True, —_ surance policy on Mary's life. and then talked —_ untimely death eventually dug up Joe Riegel, him in July
| he was dressed for the occasion, and had her into a church wedding with all.the trim-. the avaricious marriage-maker, who made . unfortunate «
| - ‘swiped a Gideon Bible from a flophouse. For mings. The thing he failed to tell her was that. another fifty dollars by telling the agent about profitable, S
{| their honeymoon the couple drove to La- he was already married. When his divorce’ his phony role as a reverend. The delighted vipers. nam
\ Canada, a suburb of Los Angeles. and rented —_ edict was finalized. Robert once again mar- claims adjuster reported his findings to his him seventy
i a cottage. Bourgeois businessman that:he — ried gullible Mary — this time for real. office and was quickly awarded the com- Before Ho
| pany’s highest decoration — the desk closest guarantee th
to the window. He proudly spoke of this hon- lers,’* Snake
{ or to Southard, who decided to dig further “A few wec
into James’s. jumbled biography. mad and wai
Among friendly people that Southard ques- said “they dic
tioned was Al Dinsley, a retired major of the by that.”
British Army who. lived next door to the Jack Soutt
James's in LaCanada. He unleashed dossiers James as his
of personal data on his next-door neighbors D.A.°s offic:
and Southard’s eyebrows lifted. arrest of Jac}
The investigator sat in a trance as Dinsley was booked «
, related how he was awakened early one night der. It took ju
‘by hysterical screams penetrating the thicket break throug
of brambles dividing his house from that of him name B.
their new neighbors. After a few nights. of Hope told
this. the major lost his composure and drag- 1935, he en
| ged his limp figure through the brambles and being down
| placed himself beneath the James's window. haircut on th
| ' Southard sat tense as a.whipcord as Dinsley **What are
| told him: *‘They were both stark naked.** merchant ob!
| With'each loud crack of the whip. James himself comt
yelled with the ecrie cry of a screech owl. you know an)
When Dinsley could stand the shricking and you can pock
| disgusting scene no longer, he scampered - The poorly
back to the safety of his house, almost losing :
—_— - wedindion
his badly-fitting dentures.
Southard listened attentively and agreed
the conduct was indeed nightmarish. His in- -
formation coincided with that of another
neighbor who heard the unnatural screeching.
That person said she saw a turtle-green Buick |
sedan parked in the driveway of the James
place the night before poor Mary’s deccased
body was found in the lily pond. A check of
telephone records showed that’ Robert ‘had /
gotten numerous calls from a weak-willed.;
part-time barber: ngmed Charles Hope. ,
A methodical check of State Motor Vehicle
records showed: that Hope bought .a: fancy...
‘Buick sedan on time, while he. flaunted, his -
ability as a dishwasher in a. profitable res- +
taurant. One day when he was out carousing,
Southard searched his flat and founda receipt,
in a desk drawer for two rattlesnakes. The -
. Handyman Charles Hope, Robert.‘
« James and unidentified detective ..
(left to right) inspect lily pond
where woman's body was found. .
OMe Ce ae) or
\
ng into Mary’s
up Joe Riegel,
er. who made
the agent about
The delighted
findings to his
rded the com-
he desk closest
»ke of this hon-
hy.
Southard ques-
ed major of the
xt door to the
zashed dossiers
door neighbors
2d.
ince as Dinsley
early one night
ting the thicket
se from that of
few nights of
ysure and drag-
e brambles and
mes's window,
:ord as Dinsley
tark naked."
1¢ whip, James
a screech owl.
e shrieking and
he scampered
2, almost losing
zly and agreed
marish. His in-
hat of another
ural screeching.
tle-green Buick
y of the James
fary’s deceased
md. A check of
aat Robert had
a weak-willed.
‘les Hope.
> Motor Vehicle
sought a fancy
he. flaunted his
profitable res-
s out carousing,
| found a receipt
ttlesnakes. The
‘e, Robert
detective .
lily pond
as found.
to dig further
Siete inre R N a
/
Ns
This hots of dne of the deadly ©
: rattlers was enlarged and shown
to jurors in the murder trial. ©
pocketed receipt was signed by a Long Beach
man with the peculiar name vse Snake Joe ©
Houtenbrink.
The relentless detective was at Snake Joc"s
residence in nothing flat. Snake Joe never.
batted an eye in telling that Charlie Hope had ~
purchased two Crotalus: Atrox rattlers from
him in July of 1935, shortly before Mary's
. unfortunate demise. The reptile business was
: profitable, Snake Joe said, and the Colorado
vipers. named Lethal and Lightnin’. earned.
him seventy-nine cents a pound.
Before Hope bought the snakes he wanted a .
guarantee that they were ‘‘sure-enough kil-
lers.’* Snake Joe told an enthralled Southard.
“A few weeks later he came back hoppin*
mad and wanted his money back because he
said “they didn't work* — whatever he meant
by that.”
Jack Southard had by now marked Robert
James as his man. A pleasure jaunt:to the
D.A.°s office was abruptly followed by the
arrest of Jack Conti, alias Charlie Hope. He
was booked on suspicion of first-degree mur-
der. It took just a few hours of questioning to
break through Hope’s feeble lies and make
him name Bob James as the killer.
Hope told an interesting story. In June
1935, he entered James's barbershop, and
being down on his luck. _asked Bob for a
haircut on the cuff. ’
**What are friends for? — Sit down,"* the
merchant obliged. Hope had no sooner made
himself comfortable when James asked: *‘If
you know anything about rattlesnakes, | think
you can pocket a hundred bucks."
The poorly-clad, Depression-torn custom-
er knew little about snakes, but he was fabu-
lous with fibs. ‘‘I wrote the book on rattle-
snakes,’’ the liar boasted. ‘‘Shoot!’’
James then concocted a story about a friend
whose wife was nagging’him and he wanted a,
couple of snakes to do her in. This seemed
like the logical way to handle the issue, so
Charlie said, *‘I°ll see what I can do.’
That week his short fingers flaked through
countless snake-books at the library. When he
returned to the barber shop, Hope was an_
_ expert on rattlers. He was also somewhat of a
detective, for he had- figured .out that Bob:
James himself was ‘‘the friend‘* who wanted
his wife dead,
, Hope's cunning brain led him to aidimiy-tit
carnival sidedrama in downtown L.A. He
rented the serpents, bought a live chicken,
and caged them together. To his regret the
crawly vipers cowered. Then Hope chanced
upon another creepy reptile and caged it with
a bullfrog. The next day when he peeked into
Deadly black spiders found In kil-
ler’s garage were set on the vic-
tim’s bare foot.
the cage the powerful jumper was still leaping
about. as frisky as ever. He tried it with a
rabbit. but the rabbit killed the snake. Drifting
the L.A. streets, he finally ran across Snake
Joe Houtenbrink, whose slimy pets were
guaranteed.
Mary's stew made quite an impression with
her houseguest that night. and Robert intro-
duced Charlie. as an esteerhed physician.
Again, long hours at the library had warmed
him to his work.
With dinner over, the three retired to the
living room of the LaCanada cottage, where
Hope. in appreciation of the wonderful hospi-
tality. agreed to give pregnant Mary a free
examination. In the privacy of her bedroom.
Hope gave her a check up. then summoned
her husband. *‘! don't want to alarm you
folks, but in. my professional opinion. your
wife will die if she tries to give birth,’’ Hope
said dolefully. Mary was terrified. Robert
faked panic. ‘‘My God. doctor, what is your
advice?’* Robert wailed. *‘An abortion,’
Hope suggested. **And I can do it here and
now.*’ It seemed practical. This way the
neighbors wouldn't be the wiser.
Mary insisted on a pain-killer, and since
_the only thing available was in the liquor
(continued on page 50)
27
Robert took his wife toa’
‘ou, Colorado, for a rest.
flagged down Highway
Rogers. **My poor wife
1 accident,** he told the
\at his wife had sustained
3 since their accident. He °
1 the bathtub, apparently
spell. Sad-faced author-
2r load his wife's casket
r sunny California. She
lestial garden of Forest
:. Before the flowers on
wilted, Robert was wav-
ance policy, which he
trip to Alabama to see
»ert married small. dark-
h, while in a state of
k his fourth wife to Los
eymoon. He had to talk
er to whip him, and as
uthard: ‘*He yelled and
dnt enjoy sex without a
was jeopardized when
examined for an insur--
, happen to people who
derstitious girl told her
in Santa Ana, Robert
if she didn’t agree to
: looking for a way out
e divorced.
2 living with his Santa
obert decided fortunes
: in insurance transac-
him in mid-1934 with °
itted nephew Cornclius
1, located in San Diego.
istory was an usual one
ames with laughter. If
nt-prone, it was his
been run over by cars.
der one day to prove he
and a scaffold fell on
cked him out of the
\spital while watching a
while observing. buil-
1 site, he felt into the —
mbulance was called:
ght into the Navy. Dis-
le was on leave, quietly
oar, minding his own
sted and he got beaned
ng bottle. Two months
h a bad concussion. He
octor ordered for the
his back to the wall.
ornelius,’* James said,
/e you can use my car,
- use my pad. I'll sleep’
\0p."” Exactly two days
as found at the bottom
‘d auto. He was rushed -
pital which specialized
Two operations failed
n next page)
to save him, and when he momentarily came |
ih
out of his coma, he murmured: “Something
wrong with the steering wheel."* James col-
lected $10,000 on a new insurance policy he _
had privately acquired. Days later he opened .
a swank barber shop in L.A.. with an expen-
sive lighted sign.
In a crowded courtroom he.was sentenced
to hang for the murder of his snake-bitten
wife. His co-conspirator.. who had turned ©
State’s evidence. Charlie Hope, drew life in
San Quentin. ‘
In the Los Angeles County Jail. where he
remained for four years, while his attorney
fought to save him from the gallows, Robert
James was. known to his fellow inmates as
**Rattlesnake’’ Lisemba. With all hope ex-
hausted, he was finally transferred to San
Quentin in March, 1940.
In the course of his incarceration in L.A..
the'law regarding-capital punishment in Cali-
fornia was legally altered from hanging to the
gas chamber. Unfortunately for’ Robert
James, the ‘change came too late to effect his
case. ‘
For seven years’ James waited
apprehensively for the noose. fighting to the
Supreme. Court, which disapproved his peti-
tion for a life sentence. When his last appeal
drew a blank. James unsuccessfully tried to -
bash his brains out against the iron bulkhead
of his cell. He went raving mad when his last
hope, California Governor Culbert L. Olson
turned thumbs down on his commutation
order. While awaiting the inevitable, James
, headed a Bible class on Death Row, and
preached sermons on the evils of villainy.
‘- Then one day he grievously told Warden Duf- -
fy: **] would rather die than spend the rest of
my life in prison. It will soon be over and I
ST ee ee Ee ae
will be with the Lord.”
But when the time came, James had to be
dragged from his cell. ‘*You can’t hang me
for something I didn’t do!** he screamed.
**You'll have to carry me up those thirteen
steps — I'm not going to help you put a noose
around my neck!""
Two burly jailers dragged him kicking up
to the platform. Warden Duffy whispered
something in his ear, and Robert James alias
Majot Raymond Lisemba, protested no more.
He quietly went to his death on May |, 1942
— the last man to be hanged in California.
As he later told it, Warden Duffy had mur-
mured in the. frightened man’s ear: ‘*Just
think, Robert: as the last man to ever be
hanged in California. you will be recorded in.
history, and will be remembered when all
here are long forgotten. This seemed to
soothe him,’’ sighed Duffy.
12 Handless Murder Victims!
(continued from page 23)
fied girls, Julie Hue and Barbara Pilkington,
had provided the names of victim and killer.
The victim; Barbara's lover, was Martin
Johnstone, a handsome. high-living drug
racketeer who had incurred the fatal enmity of
his near-worldwide smuggling syndicate.
In-his profligate way, Johnstone gambled
. heavily, indulged in only the best, including
flights by Concorde, frittered away 2,000
pounds a month and during one madcap three-.
_ month»adventure spent 100,000 pounds.
In the easy-come,. easy-go world of the
drug overlords. such profligacy might have |
been tolerated, but Johnstone made an unfor-
givable mistake. In a way, it was poetic jus-
tice.
He had become hooked himself on the stuff
~ he peddled ‘and thus unreliable. In his de-
teriorating condition, he even was duped into
paying 750,000 pounds for a shipment of
cocaine — which turned out to be sugar. Then
he started holding back on payouts to the
syndicate’s runners and in one, year stole
‘almost 50,000 pounds for himself.
Finally, word came to the syndicate that the
New Zealand police were about to arrest.
Johnstone. His associates knew that he could
not stand up to grilling, and to save their own’
skins. he: would have to be permanently si-
lenced. |
‘‘There was nothing personal about this,’’
the jury in the. marathon trial subsequently
heard. ‘They all loved him. It was simply a
matter of business.’
The actual killer was named as 27- -year-old
Andrew ‘Maher, an ex-marine of Leyland,
Lancashire, who was arrested shortly after
returning to Great Britain from Singapore.
Maher, who subsequently pleaded. guilty,
maintained that he had been forced by the
syndicate's boss to dispose of Johnstone.
. ‘Thad no option but to become a killer,”
he later, spnniced in prison. hey made ft
+
clear that if I didn’t see Martin off, 1 would be
eliminated and so would Barbara and our
baby.”’
And who was Terry? He was a sad-eyed,
balding, round-shouldered little man whose
undistinguished appearance masked a bril-
liant criminal mind.
From penny-ante criminality, 36-year-old
Terry Sinclair, another New Zealander, had
built up'a fantastically lucrative drug opera-
tion in heroin, cocaine and marijuana.
"Terry fade his first ‘score when, down to
his last thousand pounds in 1975, he gambled
it all on buying marijuana in Thailand — and
repeddled it in Australia for 650,000 pounds.
If he hadn't been so greedy, he could have
retired right then and there, but instead he
returned with his killings to the ‘Golden
Triangle’’ in Laos, Burma and Thailand, and
‘ bought more drugs with it. Buying cheap.
selling dear made him a multimillionaire in
less than two years.
As he was building up his operation, he ran
into fellow drug runner Martin Johnstone,
whose family conducted a prosaic dairy busi-
ness in Auckland. In an equally prosaic way,
Johnstone was working as a store assistant
when he started dabbling in drugs.
In just one coup, he helped dispose of four
million dollars worth of marijuana, and after
‘that there was no stopping him. He acquired
fast racing cars and fast girls, and reportedly
secreted several million dollars in a Swiss
bank account.
' Together, the mousy but brainy Sinclair
and the dashing but unreliable Johnstone
made a ruthless, unbeatable team — up to a
point.
Once their, uinderlings became unreliable,
they were dispatched and their hands chopped
off as a grisly caution to other members of the
. gang. Australian authorities put out a warrant
for Sinclair in the murder of a New Zealand
‘y
couple, and two of the gang's victims, it was
believed, were interred under a runway at
Sydney Airport.
As Sinclair deposited. dollars, pounds.
francs and other currencies in safe Swiss and
Hong Kong banks, he built up a pettycoat ring
of couriers, some of whom were delighted to
escape from sordid work in massage parlors.
All they. had to do was to hide drugs —
perhaps 250.000 pounds worth! — in the
false bottoms of their suitcases or affix the
envelopes to their bodies. For this, they re-
ceived 5,000 pounds per trip. :
It was highly dangerous work, if they rec-
ognized that, but Sinclair did want to protect
them, or rather his property that they were
smuggling. He bribed police, narcos and cus-
toms agents to keep his deadly traffic moving,
and even maintained a law firm on standby
with a 50,000-pound retainer in case of any
slipups.
A rather frousy little widow, 49-year-old
Leila Barclay, was a critical element in the
farflung operation. There were deals in exotic
parts of the world, but she functioned in a
very ordinary suburban home in Briar Close,
Finchley, North London.
With her paramour, Frederick Russell, ten
years her junior, she served as the syndicate
banker, handling messages and payoffs, and
subsequently in court was tagged as ‘the
black widow spider at the center of the En-
glish web.”
Sinclair had built up this amazingly effi-
cent operation that any corporate leader could
admire in only a few years, and now because
of a dangerously self-indulgent partner. his
syndicate — his very freedom — was
threatened.
It was intolerable, and he moved with the
lethal ‘speed of a cobra to avert the menace.
In September, 1979. he summoned Andy
Maher to a sitdown in London, and there he
confronted the ex-marine with a choice: Kill
or be killed yourself. and lose your girl and.
child, too. Maher felt that he had no choice.
The following month, the plotters induced
(continued on next page)
51
Deatly Coils Of The Snake Laty
(continued from page 49)
ounce of will power not to raise my voice in
outrage and disbelief.
‘*The sensationalism with which this and
the Raye Wood trials were covered by the
press has, beyond doubt in my mind, ren-
dered it impossible for me to receive a fair and
impartial hearing.”’
The defense counsel gave notice of an
appeal. Judge Peter Breen ordered that he be
held in the county jail rather than the state
penitentiary until such time as the appeet
could be heard.
At the conclusion of the trial, the smart
money boys in Reno just shook their heads
sadly. Many of them lamented that they had a
chance to make a bundle betting on a convic-
tion and blew it. One commented, ‘*Kaplan
wasn’t able to pull off what looked té‘be the~
perfect caper. It just goes to show you, crime
doesn’t pay sometimes.’
The Corpse In The Lily Pond a
(continued from page 27)
‘cabinet. Mary proceeded to get drunk. With
the final triumph of deception underway, the
two men strapped the naked womah to the
kitchen table. When she was insehsible,
James hurried to the garage and retricved
Lethal and Lightnin’. Mary’s foot was placed '
in a cardboard box with the creepy, slippery
reptiles. With this done, the two men cele- |
brated in the living room by drinking them-
selves senseless.
When they had become inebriated. Hope
demanded his hundred dollars. *tLook."*
James told him, **don’t worry about no hun-
dred bucks. When I collect the ten thousand
life insurance money, Ill cut you in for two
grand.’ That seemed fair.
During the course of the night the two men
staggered back and forth to the kitchen to see
if the venomous crawlers had done their job.
The aggressive rattlers had injected their
poison by striking at her leg with needle-like
fangs. But the poisonous creatures had not
killed Mary. Her leg had swelled to twice its
size. ‘‘Why the hell don’t she die?’’ the wry-
faced husband asked. Then Hope remem-
bered something he had read at the library. ‘I
should have thought of it before — whiskey is
an antidote for snakes.’’ While returning the
serpents to the garage. James noticed a group
of black widow spiders crawling about.
‘Here, let’s try these,’ he said, as he placed
Mary’s foot in the box. But in daylight. this
also proved unsuccessful. ‘*That does it!”* the |
querulous barber said. *‘I’m going to drown
her.”’ 2 ; :
**Something must, have bitten me,’* Mary
said:as she hobbled to the breakfast table. Her
insouciant spouse looked up from his news-
- paper. sipped his coffee and mumbled,
don’t think it’ s anything to worry abqut."* “It
feels awful,” " Mary said lifting her bloated
leg.
Mary James’ S gray leg turned green as she —
hobbled about in pain. Finally, Robert got an
idea. He filled the bathtub with water and told
Mary to soak her leg. ‘*That should make the
swelling go down,”’ he said. As she got into
the tub, Robert pulled her legs from undef
her, submerging her head, He held her like
that until she was dead. He removed her limp
body. dried her off, dressed her, and dragged
“her to the lily pond. After arranging her body
td appear as though she had suffered from
labor pains and: collapsed into the pond,
James went to work as usual, opening his
shop at 8 o'clock. His alibi was his first cus-_
tomer,Charlie Hope: :
After Hope signed the confession. Capt.
Southard went to the barber shop and subdued
the astounded barber. -
‘It had been a smart bit of detective work.
While scrutinizing James's background,
Southard stumbled onto some maddening in-
formation, news that persuaded him that
James was more than just a murdering roguc.
His actual name was Major Raymond Lisem-
ba, born in an ‘Alabama cabin in 1895. After
amassing $2.000. by the death of an uncle,
who named him heir, he left the slavish cotton
fields and used the money to put himsclf
through barber's college in Birmingham. In
1921 he, changed his name to James and mar-
ried a waitress,.Maud Duncan. This union
ended in divorce when she discovered Robert
was.a Sadist, In court she, weeped that Robert
. stuck hot curling. irons under ‘her fingernails
and whipped her’
Blamed for siring a number of bastards
around Birmingham, James beat a path to
Emporia, Kansas, where he opened up a bar-
ber shop next door to a theater. He married the
movie cashier, Vera Vermillion. but this un-.
ign was also short-lived. Vera cited sexual
abuse,
James sped away from Kansas in a “Model-
A Ford when the brothers of a pregnant farm
girl came looking for him witha shotgun. He
set himself up in the barber business, i in Fargo,
North Dakota. In nothing flat he met and
married ‘a buxom blonde, Winona Wallace.
While on their honeymoon in Pike’s Peak,
Colorado, their car missed a turn and hit a tall
hemlock. Winona was rushed to the Beth- El
- Hospital in Colorado ‘Springs. “|
a) sagt
Natl Mi ice ta tial
After her release. Robert took his wife toa °
tural area near Manitou, Colorado, for a rest.
A few days later he flagged down Highway
Super-intendent J. D. Rogers. * ‘My poor wife
has been killed in an agcident.”* he told-the
official.
_ James Sabianlad that his wife had sustained
several fainting spells since their accident. He ©
found her drowned in the bathtub, apparently
the victim of another spell. Sad-faced author-
ities helped the barber load his wife's casket
on a train headed for sunny California. She
_ was buried in the celestial garden of Forest
Lawn Memorial Park. Before the flowers on
Winona’s grave had wilted, Robert was wav-
ing a $14,000 insurance policy. which he
promptly collected.
While on a return trip to Alabama to sec
relatives in 1934, Robert married small, dark-
skinned Helen Smith, while in a state of
drunkenness. He took his fourth wife to Los
Angeles for their honeymoon. He had to talk
persuasively to get her to whip him, and as
she told detective Southard: ‘‘He yelled and
screamed, but he couldn't enjoy sex without a
whipping. ‘
The perfect plot was jeopardized when
Helen refused’ to be examined for an insur-'
ance policy. **Things happen. to people who
are insured,’’ the superstitious girl told her
husband. Encamped in Santa Ana, Robert
threatened a divorce if she didn't agree to
insurance. Helen was looking for a way out
anyway, so they were divorced.
Edging a miserable living with his Santa
Ana barber shop, Robert decided fortunes
were more promising in insurance transac-
tions. Fate smiled on him in mid-1934 with ~
the visit of his dim-witted néphew Cornelius
Wright, a Navy ensign, located in San Dicgo.
Cornelius’ accident history was an usual one
— often viewed by James with laughter. If
anyone was accident-prone, it was his
“nephew.
Four times he had been run over by cars.
He walked under a ladder one day to prove he
was not superstitious and a scaffold fell on
him. A pop fly knocked him out of the
bleachers and into a hospital while watching a
baseball game. Once while observing. buil-
ders at a construction site, he felt into \the
excavation pit. An ambulance was ‘called:
The jinx followed Wright into the Navy. Dis-
patched to Honolulu, he was on leave, quietly
sipping a beer in a bar, minding his own
business: A-fight erupted and hé got beaned
on the head with a flying bottle. Two months
in a Naval hospital with a’bad concussion. He
was just what the doctor ordered for the
penniless barber with his back to the wall.
**Here’s the keys, Cornelius,’* James said,
‘While you’re on leave you can use my car,
Pick up some dames — use my pad. I'll sleep’
here on the cot in my shop.’* Exactly two days
later ensign: Wright was found at the bottom
of a cliff in the mangled auto. He was rushed -
to the Santa Rosa Hospital which specialized
in difficult operations, Two operations failed:
(continued on next page).
42e ity pois
to save hin
out of his
wrong wit!
lected $10.
had private
a swank bz
sive lighte:
In a cro’
to hang fc
wife. His
State's evi
San Quent
In the L
remained °
fought to s
James wa:
**Rattlesn:
hausted, |
Quentin ir
In the c
fied girls
had prov:
The vi
Johnston
racketcer
his near-'
In his
. heavily.
flights b:
pounds a
month ac
In the
drug ove
been tole
givable n
tice.
He hac
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terioratin
paying 7
cocaine -
he starte
syndicat
almost 5
Finall:
New Ze
Johnston
not stanc
skins. he
lenced.
‘**Ther
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matter 0
The ac
+ Andrew
Lancash
returmin;
Maher.
maintair
syndicat
“Tha
he later
ie,
10
hat settee
Using a witness as model, an attorney at trial demon- 4
} strates how Mrs. James’ foot was. thrust into box’ con- j
j taining snakes. James (right) looks on impassively. ||
Sate
well hardened to this sort of thing. A good thing, too.
“Now, that brunette out there,” he would say, working
away with his razor or clippers. “She doesn’t know it,
_but the sun shines right through her dress so that there
are very few secrets about her. I located my shop here
because of the advantage of the sun. You'll notice her
thighs are very well formed, and she’s wearing a small
girdle. I have an idea...” i
And he would go on from there, until the next object
of his examination came along.
Despite his schoolboy preoccupation with the feminine,
James must have been a canny business man because he
did a thriving trade and showed unmistakable signs of
prosperity. He had a weakness for loud checked suits,
two-toned shoes and neckties that hurt the eyes. He
This is "Lethal," one of the deadly rattlers that willingly
joined plot, striking at Mary James’ extended left foot.
»
m3 *
%.
ere
drove a snappy red convertible. And in the early summer
of 1935 he leased'a very fancy Spanish-type house on
Verdugo Road in La Crescenta, a foothill suburb of Los
Angeles. While this place hardly compared with the
palaces of the movie stars, still it was pretty swank and
was complete with a large garden at the rear which had
in its center a pretty fish pond inhabited by water lilies
and goldfish.
Into this setting James moved with his brand-new
bride, the former Mary Busch. Mary was an attractive,
24-year-old blonde who had worked as manicurist in
James’ shop and therefore must have known him quite
well. Possibly she saw something solid underneath his
slap-happy exterior. It must have been quite a change,
being suddenly transformed from barber-shop manicurist
to mistress of the place in La Crescenta. Unfortunately,
it was not to last long.
On August 5, 1935, James rolled to a stop in the palm-
bordered driveway. He opened the door of the con-
vertible and escorted a couple of friends to the house.
“Mary’s in an jnteresting condition, you know,” he
grinned. “She’s taking it easy these days—be glad for a
little company.” :
He called to his wife as they entered. There was no
answer. They walked through the place and found it
vacant. “Funny,” James muttered. Then his face cleared.
“She must be out in the garden.”
They strode out there and soon found her. She lay
face down in the fish pond, her blond hair undulating
gently in the water, her scarlet silk lounging pajamas
darkened by immersion.
“My God!” James yelled. “Mary! What happened?”
They pulled her out of the shallow pond in a matter
ke
of sec
his lap
to the t
with a
A qu
had dic
that s!
deal of
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which
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The
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tives, .
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This
Sp ieiae. C s a og ie
ait Robert S. James grinned when he was
brought up on three morals charges. But the
charges soon became more serious—murder.
laugh as well as a shave and haircut. James,
show as the barbers worked on them.
- There were five chairs in the shop, and James
the one next to the window for himself. This was so that
he could keep a sharp eye on passersby outside, particu-
larly women of interesting age and appearance.
James could shave a man without looking. His gaze
{ \ was glued on the window, and when a woman passed by
~ - he would regale his patrons with a series of speculative
and highly cheeky remarks about the quality of her
figure and other even more personal things. James had
a rare sense of humor in a one-track way, and most of
his customers couldn’t help laugh at the sly manner in
which he could size up a woman from: head to foot as
she walked by oblivious of his X-ray scrutiny.
In fact, many of his remarks were on the raw si
would have caused the pretty manicurist who worked in
the shop to blush except for the fact that she was pretty
H HE BARBER SHOP of Robert S. James in Hollywood
was a place where a man could get a good belly-
prietor, was a grinning, red-headed jokester of 39 who
made no secret of the fact that his prime interest in life
was women. He had the shop hung with calendars of
the racy variety showing the female form divine in vari-
ous attitudes of nudity, so that customers got a free art
“LOVER BOY" BOB JAMES
WAS SURROUNDED BY DEATH,
ALWAYS MADE IT PAY
the pro-
reserved
ide and Mary Busch James—a coroner's jury couldn't agree
enlaces
j
1
i
that her strange fish-pond death was accidental.
What poisonous creature had bitten her foot? ©
idn't agree =} '. City Health Officer Decker looks spec-
accidental. sais i Agha sh RUNS? i tate deere tral as: he cdllustrates:.the head injuries
her foot? ae 1s Ne habs that killed the barber's previous wife.
Jahren psa ramen wetdeanen wv nmnanrSramN”
‘ly summer
» house on
»urb of Los
| with the
swank and
which had
water lilies
brand-new
, attractive,
inicurist in
1 him quite
erneath his
e a change,
) manicurist
fortunately,
n the palm-
of the con-
» the house.
know,” he
.e glad for a~
1ere Was no
and found it
face cleared.
er, She lay
- undulating
ing pajamas
happened?”
in a matter
z
é
of seconds. James sat there groaning, her wet head on
his lap, imploring her to speak. One of his friends ran
to the telephone, and pretty soon a doctor was there along
with a half-dozen policemen.
A quick examination showed that Mary Busch James
had died of drowning. In broken tones James explained
that she had been expecting a baby. She spent a good
deal of time in the garden, and it seemed she must have
suffered a dizzy spell and fallen into the pool.
The body was taken away to the morgue while a
routine investigation was made. A neighbor recalled
seeing Mrs. James strolling through the‘ garden alone,
wearing some kind of bright-red garment. Inside the
house detectives found a letter, dated that same day,
which Mrs. James apparently had started and not quite
finished.
“Dear sister,” it read in part, “I’m not feeling quite
right today. Something bit me when I was out tending
the flowers, and my foot is swollen. But my daddy will
be home early, and he’ll take good care of me... .”
An autopsy surgeon examined the body. He found a
quarter-inch laceration on -the great toe of the left foot,
which he believed was caused by the bite of a poisonous
insect or snake. The foot and leg were considerably
swollen up to the knee, bearing out the theory that she
had suffered a poisonous bite of some kind.
On August 15 a coroner’s inquest was held. The jury
listened to the surgeon’s testimony and the other evidence
in the case. Two of the jurors believed it an accidental
death, but the other five were not so sure. In the end it
was decided that Mrs. James came to her death “from
accident, suicide or homicide.”
This left the case open for possible future investiga-
tion, even though the opinion of most officers who had
worked on it was that the death was purely an accident.
Awe SEVEN MONTHS later, an investigator for
a large insurance company called on District Attor-
ney Buron Fitts of Los Angeles County. He brought up
the subject of the James case, which Fitts recalled be-
cause of its unusual nature.
“We think there’s something fishy about it,” the investi-
gator said.
“Fishy?” Fitts pricked up his ears. “How do you
mean?”
“Well, that’s the trouble. We can’t prove much. Our
company wrote a policy on Mrs. James’ life. James has
been trying to collect on it, but there’s a technicality
there. It seems that when James took out the policy on
his wife, they weren’t yet legally married. Their marriage
took place later. However, she was named in the policy
as Mrs. James, which she wasn’t at the time.”
Fitts asked the amount of the insurance. He was sur-
prised to learn that Mrs. James had been insured for a
total of $21,400 on policies written by two different com-
panies. :
The other company had already settled with James by
paying him $3,500, less than half the amount named in
the policy.
All this seemed unusual to Fitts. For one thing, James’
wife was heavily insured for a new bride. For another,
why should James settle for anything less than the face
value of a policy unless he was unsure of his own ground?
The district attorney decided a new scrutiny of the
affair might not be amiss. He assigned three of his detec-
tives, Jack Southard, Scott Littleton and Everett Davis
to the job.
This trio began with a little spadework on James him-
4 %* ot ‘f i is a ad <s i
Officials gather around the disinterred coin of Mary
James. Among them is Dr. Gustav Boehme left), toxi-
cologist, and Coroner Frank Nance (third from left).
.
self. Anyone with eyes could see that the red-headed
barber had one subject on his mind to the -xclusion of
all else—women. He was, as Southard « scribed it,
“skirt-crazy.” Almost every evening after |» locked up
his shop he would hop into his convertible, ‘ressed like
a tailor’s dummy, and call on a woman.
Not just one woman. Many different wo. ien. James
was obviously a believer in the theory that « change is
good for a man. It was also clear that he h.d spent no
great time in mourning the late Mary Busc! James.
Since the blonde’s strange death, James had moved
from the. La Crescenta place to a neat b ngalow on
LaSalle Street in Los Angeles. This was where his dates
invariably wound up. Shadowing him, the investigators
saw him come home late night after night with his com-
panion of the moment. James and the woman would
enter the house. Soon the lights would go out. Often
the woman stayed the entire night, althoug): the detec-
tives checked a few instances when the Loth«rio squired
his companion to her own home in the wee hours.
While all this proved James to be a double-dyed ladies’
man, of course it did not prove that he had murdered
his wife. Nevertheless, Southard and his mates were
interested enough to begin probing into the suspect’s
background. They did this with great discretion, talking
privately with persons who knew James and cautioning
them to secrecy. What they learned after a few days of
this sniffing made them think they were on the right
track.
For one thing, James wasn’t James at all. His real
name was Raymond Lisemba, and he had changed it for
reasons best known to himself. A native of Birmingham,
Ala., he had operated a barber shop in Emporia, Kan.,
for several years before heading for California.
Queer things always seemed to be happeniny, lo James
—queer and tragic things—yet he seemed to profit by
them. It turned out that if the amount of money he had
fa rattler
Ls * x ‘ E 3
n prescription &
Iurpose | zz
a
»
ce
by BERTMURRAYS ©
<=" at one of the neighbors,” the woman, Viola: Luecks, said.
Ne ks
=e!
switch. “Mary!” he called out. He waited. “Mary!” (+ 5
«|. He turned to the couple. “You look around in-back,” he»...
“said to the man, Jith Pemberton. - “Tl take the front.”
~ * _ Viola ‘stood watching. She was worriéd’, .. Mary, preg-.
“nant the way she was... gone... 7) Rie Beet a
In the back yard Pemberton, ‘walking slowly, peering
under. bushes, paused beside’ a fishpond. He was about to
_ Walk on when he saw it, partly submerged—the body. =
ae It'was Mrs. Mary James. Sate fa te on
¥- James ‘came running’ over. .“There’s.
PRY é
-., But she loved to go there . . . she loved the goldfish: She.
‘
a |
a
m
‘
_.." station. in nearby. Montrose—arrived. se
aa
pe
~
yt
«if
_
os . _Said. “And the water’s no more than eight inches deep. She...
ae
: { ;
<His fifth wife died about the way third one did, Robert
APS. med: i # . a beet
<
m “Funny,” the man. said:
“The place is dark.” -\
‘as he walked up the pathway. eed
The couple-with him peered at the house.““Maybe she’s
pS
bahay
“Maybe she’s “napping.” ./ Biter iS inti An
Robert S. James opened the front door:and flicked.a ,
va Pemberton.said when
‘No pulse. The ‘body’s. «
like ice. She’s beeri-dead for ours. 220 ee eae ae ech ie:
He led James, stunned and weeping, into the house. He. *
whispered’ something to ‘Viola. She stood frozen for: an’ f
instant. She walked over towards James and took his arm...
“I’m sorry,” she began to.say:. Then she phoned the police.
During the long minutes of waiting, James, the dead”
woman’s husband, lay back on a couch, his fingers digging ~ -
into his chest. “Mary . .~’ he moaned. He called out the, ’
name over and over again. Then, he said, “I made. her ‘
.Promise not to go near the lily pond. because of her spells... *_
There’s nothing we can do, Bob,”
7
‘Must have-fainted./She must’ have toppled into. the water.” ~~
He looked over at Jim and Viola. “And here I’d been gee
planning this surprise for her tonight—having you people, .
over.” He shook his head: “I should nevér have left her, »
alone. .°. .” ¢s oe ke | GA? are
FINALLY the police—headed by Deputies J or Jones and
J. P. Twohey of the:Los Angeles County sheriff's subsei¢* 5 7
ae
Pembérton accompanied them to the pondsThe-body of ~
Mary’ James—a_ woman. of 27, tall,_blonde,.good-looking— it Sees
“Was laid out on the grass. ~ Sh: oa RCA sae
Jones examined the woman’s left leg; the limb was @
swollen’ and’ discolored: 2409) Soe). Ma oe i a
““Was~ Mrs. Jamies in an-accident recently?” he asked.
“Pemberton: shook’ his head. “Bob never mentioned it.”
~ “She could have hurt her leg when she. keeled over,” the
officer said, looking down at the body again. “Strange,
though, that the shock of the water didn’t bring. her-out
of the faint.” he R
“P've~been~wonderi g that myself,” Deputy : Twohey! peer
must have passed dut: cold. Too bad the spell came on ;
without warning.” 34%) 2)s"as RE ee, ceo cali
The deputies concluded an inspection of the grounds,
then returned with Pemberton to the house. i a
continued on next page
“Dear Sis,” she wrote. “Something
James, center, admitted, A tragic coincidence, he added. bit me while watering the garden.”
A BOX FULL oF RATTLESNAKES
continued
wer
=a,
=
; reef.
e- * a, * we *
They couldnt hang him a second time. The drowning was on the level, he said.
a. alli
James was still on the couch, stil]
moaning and sobbing. “I’ve lost them
both,” he said now, “Mary and the
baby... .”
Twohey looked away from James
and. his eyes focused slowly on an
envelope which lay on the end table.
He walked over and picked it up. It
was unsealed and had -been addressed
to a Mrs. R. H. Stewart at a street
number in Las Vegas, Nev.
Inside the envelope was a note. It
read: :
“Dear Sis:
Just a line to let you know that I
am pretty sick. My leg is all swollen.
Something bit me while watering the
garden. Am having lots of bad luck.
This is old Blue * Monday, but my
daddy will be home early tonight and
he takes good care of me.”
It was signed: “Mary.”
“That explains the swollen leg,”
Twohey said after he’d shown the note
to Deputy Jones. “Could have been a
black widow Spider, judging from all
that discoloration. The widows are
mean this ‘time of year,”
Mary James’ untimely passing
doubtless then was what it appeared
to be—a simple, tragic accident.
But the law demands proof. And so.
a few minutes later, the sheriff’s crime
laboratory technicians arrived. Then
came a carload of Sheriff’s Bureau of
Investigation men, among them Dep-
uty A. L. Hutchinson.
While flash bulbs flared in the gar-
den, Hutchinson sat in the living room,
talking to Robe James, the grieving
widower. ‘ .
James spoke slowly, incoherently.
All Hutchinson could make out. was
that that morning—Monday, August 5,
1935—James had kissed his wife good-
bye at 7:45,had arrived-at his shop, a
ladies’ hairdressing salon in Los An-
Beles at 8:30 and remained there until
7 P.M., when he’d Picked up his friends,
Viola Luecks and Jim Pemberton,
His wife, he said, had appeared to
be in good spirits, although she’d been
suffering from one of the frequent at-
tacks of nausea for which she was
being treated.
Hutchinson rose when James began
to cry again. He paused for a second
then he went out to the fishpond,
brightly illuminated now, and crouched
beside the coroner’s official as he ex-
- amined Mrs. James’ body.
The following morning James ap-
peared at Los Angeles sheriff’s head-
quarters and Deputies Willard Killion
and Virgil Gr
tinue the ques
James look«
understood t!
investigation
he told the t
the end of hi
two damp fing
He wanted
he said, that
born in Alab<
was Major
that his marr
his fifth.
“My third \
he started to
“What abo
“Winona a
same kind o
only it was
it swiftly, as
it out of his s
But the o
chance to s
Winona,” ons
HERE we
said. The
thought they
married. That
tober of that
the mountai
wheel. Sudde
car went off t
He was
and found
highway, uns
lucky. She wz
and suffered
She was i
than a mont}
James said,
rented a cott:
month so tha
/ peace and qu
Re where Winor
i and quiet.
| Returning
j found his br
her head unc
dications she
| hair in the
; the blood sti
accident—dis
strict orders
fainted.
a “That’s at
f a sigh.
He was ask
- insurance.
James nod
4 ona had tak
one which p
case of (C
said.
“But I
ve them your
i grabbed her
aid. She shook
Oo get excited
ile, the young
‘tist: and gave
at. The sketch
e front pages
lapers.
calls poured
ce headquar-
y Officers hit
had seen the
ng the same
ike a young
» Ionia Hos-
of common-
hospital on
‘rs. Perkins’
before she
ued for the
lief Herbert
Acer on the
murder
an 500
’e that
announce-
' the street
male es-
) out after
lice escort
the west-
»r-stricken
rter, “I’m
e street to
nore.”
"ar comes
SNOW, we
definitely
ot funny
u hear at
y lighted
se telling
rch light
he meter
+”
igust 19,
listened
ed they
it urged
y infor-
it might
axed up
still at
ng offi-
t night,
8 a com-
ned off
dren to
edroom
ked
vise
ito the
porch
kicking at the screen in a front window. She
stood terrified as the screen ripped and the
man stooped and crawled through the window.
His right hand grabbed for her face. She
pulled back and he scratched her face and
chest. The woman screamed and ran through
the house and out the back door.
She ran to a neighbor’s house where she
almost collapsed from shock.
The neighbor called the police.
S HOWN the artist’s sketch of the rapist,
Mrs. White burst into tears. “It looks
like him,” she sobbed. “It looks like him.”
She said the man wore a grimy T-shirt and
oily pants, that he was about six feet tall
and weighed about 180 pounds, was young-
looking and had brown hair. ‘And he had
a glassy, wild-eyed look,” she added.
As word of the new attack spread through-
out Pontiac, the feeling of terror grew more
intense. Men working the night shift in
factories called in and said they refused to
come in until the rape-killer was caught, that
they wouldn’t leave their wives alone at
night. Police broadened the house-by-house
check still further, showing the artist’s sketch.
It was shown often over the three television
stations covering the Pontiac area.
At 5:15 p.m. of August 21, it looked as if
the case, the worry, the anxiety, might be,
over.
Detective John DePauw, who. had _ been
named investigation coordinator by Chief
Straley, drove the 16-year-old rape victim to
Detroit for a showup. Police eagerly watched
the girl’s reaction when Franklin was placed
in a line-up with five other men. The girl
studied the faces for a few seconds, then she
shook her head. “It’s none of them,” she
said. “I’m positive.”
Franklin was eliminated as a suspect.
Officers, left without any prime suspect,
pushed back into the investigation. By this time
more than 2000 tips by phone and mail had
come to Pontiac police. They had all led
nowhere.
On August 24, Huntington, Ind., police
called Pontiac headquarters. They had a hot
suspect, they said, who fitted the descrip-
tion of the rape-killer.
A Pontiac motorist had picked up the man,
who was hitchhiking. The motorist noticed
that the man looked like the one in the police
artist’s sketch. When he got to Huntington
he pulled up to a-police car and had the man
arrested. ‘
Two officers were sent to get the young
rape victim and drive her to Huntington.
Right after they left another call came into
headquarters. A 32-year-old waitress re-
ported that a man had tried to attack her
early that morning in Avon Township. She
Detroit police arrested John Franklin. -
was leaving the restaurant where she worked
and the man had rushed up to her and grabbed
her by the arm and threatened -her life if she
screamed. “I screamed, anyway,” the waitress
said, ‘‘and the man fled.”
She was asked to come to headquarters im-
mediately and was shown the artist’s sketch.
She nodded. Yes, she said, there was a re-
semblance.
In Huntington, meanwhile, the hitchhiker
was placed in a showup. The girl, however,
failed to.identify him. And the police were
back where they started—still without a sus-
pect.
Weary officers plowed on into the case.
As the days passed, tips continued to pour
in, and suspect after suspect. was picked up,
questioned and released.
Then, on ‘the night of September 9, Mrs.
Mary Forgette, 45, was walking home after at-
tending a movie. She was cautious, and a little
nervous, She breathed easier, though, as she
approached her house and started across the
yard,
Suddenly a man appeared out of the shad-
ows. “How do I get to Saginaw Street?” he
asked.
Before Mrs. Forgette could answer, the man
leaped at her. His hands circled her throat,
half-choking her screams. As he started to drag
her into the tall grass of a nearby vacant lot,
she screamed again. The man struck her on the
head and dropped her.
- “I’m sorry,” he said, looking down at the
terrified woman. “But I have to do this.”
Across the street, Mr. and Mrs. James L.
Brown and their son, Jim, 18, were sitting in
the living room. They had-heard the muffled
screams. Mr. Brown ran to the telephone, and
Jim and Mrs. Brown dashed outside.
The assailant heard their footsteps. He froze.
“Get that man!” Mrs. Forgette shouted.
HE ASSAILANT stood there for a second,
immobile. Then he began to run down the
street,. with young Brown right behind him.
After a block chase the youth gained:on the
man and dove at him with a flying tackle. It
was a perfect tackle. Brown caught him at
the knees, and the man crashed tothe pave-
ment, the impact stunning him momentarily.
Another neighbor, Jack Seebald, 48, heard
the commotion, and ran to Brown’s aid. They
both sat on the man. :
The elder Brown, meanwhile, had called the
police. Three patrol cars arrived at the scene
simultaneously.
The assailant was taken to police headquar-
ters. He said his name was Donald Vincent
O'Brian.
Questioned ikibubhend the night, he denied
any previous attacks in Pontiac and the Per-
kins slaying. At 7:30 a.m. he was taken: to the
State. police post in Pontiac, and questioned
by Oakland County Prosecutor Frederick C.
Ziem and his chief assistant, George Taylor.
Then, after four more hours of questioning,
O’Brian broke down. He admitted slaying and
raping Mrs. Hallie Perkins, two other rapes
and three attempted rapes in the Pontiac area.
UT I didn’t mean to kill her,” he said,
weeping. “She struggled so hard. I had
my arm around her neck. I didn’t mean to kill
her.”
The officials looked at O’Brian in amazement.
“Why did you do it?” Ziem asked.
O’Brian spoke softly, looking down at his
shoes. “It’s the urge,” he said. “Something
comes over me. It makes me do it against my
will. It’s stronger than I am. I’m not belliger-
ent. I always liked animals. I was good to
them,”
O’Brian said a high-school football head in-
jury-might have brought on the urge. It first
came over him when he was 16, he said. But it
wasn’t until four years ago that it grew so
strong that he tried to attack a girl.
When he got the urge, he said, he took long
walks, then drank beer, then walked some
more. “Then it’s always the first woman I
bump into,” he said. He sighed and looked up.
“Tm glad I got caught,” he said. “Now I won't
be able to hurt anyone else.”
Then he asked if he could talk to his wife
and see his two children.
That afternoon the 16-year-old rape victim
viewed O’Brian in a police showup and posi-
tively identified him.
O’Brian denied any connection with the
JoAnn -Gillespie slaying when questioned by
Detroit police.
Later that day, Jim Brown, the hero of Pon-
tiac, modestly told police, “It was only what
anyone would do in my shoes.”
Brown is registered as a freshman at Michi-
gan State College. “I’ve always played base-
ball,” he said, “but after that tackle I’m think-
ing of taking up football, too.”
A $5000 reward for information leading to
the killer’s capture which had been posted by
the Pontiac City Commission will probably be
divided between young Brown and Seebald,
authorities said.
O’Brian was charged with first-degree mur-
der of Mrs. Perkins, and with the rape of the
16-year-old girl.
At this writing he is in jail awaiting action
on the charges, and folks are breathing easier
in Pontiac.
Epiror’s Nore: The name John Franklin is
not the actual name of the person who was
in fact a participant in the incidents described
in this article. The name is used to avoid em-
barrassment to this innocent person.
A
Box Full of Rattlesnakes
continued from page 27
accidental death. He believed in insurance.
And Mary, his fifth wife—was she insured,
toe?
Mary carried two double indemnity poli-
cies, each of $5000, James said.
The questioning ended a few minutes. later.
and the two deputies reported to Sheriff’s
Detective Captain Norris Stensland.
Stensland didn’t like what he heard. “Go
get me all the facts,” he told the two depu-
ties. “Talk to everybody who ever heard of
this James and come back with everything
they say!”
One witness, Albert Dinsley, a retired British
major who lived next door to the Jameses,
placed Mary in her back yard, alive, at 9:30
on the morning of her death. She was putter-
ing around near the chicken coops.
James’ own claim of having been at his
shop between 8:30 aM. and 7 P.M. ‘was
verified beyond question. Employes, customers
and‘neighboring merchants had accounted for
every minute, even to a brief 20 minutes out
for lunch.
Deputies Gray and Killion were satisfied
James could not have driven home and back—
through 30 miles of congested traffic—and not
have been missed.
The deputies questioned James’
next, a dark-haired, pretty girl,
manicurist
brown-eyed
41
the couch, still
“T’ve lost them
‘Mary and the
y from James
slowly on an
the end table.
icked it up. It
deen addressed
irt at a street
ev.
vas a note. It
know that I
is all swollen.
watering the
of bad luck.
lay, but my
’ tonight and
wollen leg,”
own the note
have been a
ing from all
widows are
ely passing
it appeared
>cident.
of. And so,
eriff’s crime
ived. Then
Bureau of
them Dep-
in the gar~
ving room,
1e grieving
‘oherently,
> Out. was
August 5,
wife good-
ais shop, a
Los An-
here until
us friends,
2rton.
peared to
he’d been
quent at-
she was
es began
a second
Ashpond,
>rouched
; he ex-
nes ap-
s head-
Killion
ee _ si olla a —
and Virgil Gray were assigned to con-
tinue the questioning.
James looked nervous and tired. He
understood the need for exhaustive
investigation in a tragedy of this sort,
he told the two officers as he rubbed
the end of his black silk tie between
two damp fingertips. ie
He wanted them to know, right off,
he said, that he was 39,. that he was
born in Alabama, that his real name
was Major Raymond Lisenba, and
that his marriage to Mary had been
his fifth.
“My third wife, Winona. Wallace. . .”
he started to say.
“What about her?” Killion asked.
“Winona also died by drowning—
same kind of accident as Mary’s—
only it was in a bathtub!” He said
it swiftly, as if he couldn’t wait to get
it Gut of his system and sit back.
But the officers didn’t give him @
chance to sit back. “Tell us about
Winona,” one of them said.
(THERE wasn’t much to tell, James
said. They’d met in his shop,
thought they’d fallen in love and got
married. That was in July 1932. In Oc-
tober of that year they were driving in
the mountains. Winona was at the
wheel. Suddenly she lost control. The
car went off the road, down a steep hill.
He was tossed clear, James said,
and found himself sprawled on the
highway, unscathed. Winona wasn’t so
lucky. She was trapped in the wreckage
and suffered a deep skull fracture.
She was in the hospital for more
than a month. When she was released,
James said, he told her that he had
rented a cottage near a lake for another
month so that she could recuperate in
peace and quiet. It was at the cottage
where Winona found the long peace
and quiet. ;
Returning one day, James said, he
found his bride draped over the tub,
her head under water. There were in-
dications she had been washing her
hair in the tub—she’d complained of
the blood still matting it from the car
accident—disregarding her physician’s
strict orders. Apparently she had
fainted.
“That’s about. it,” James said with
a sigh.
He was asked if Winona had carried
- insurance.
James nodded. Yes, he said, Win-
ona had taken out a $7000 policy,
one which paid double indemnity in
case of (Continued on page 41)
“Snake Joe” Houtenbrink, center, produced his two most vio-
lent-tempered pets, Lethal and Lightning. Neither was lethal.
Pauls
Spider bites. could have explained a swollen leg. Detectives
probe nest of black widows found under the garage window.
Buckle from nightgown was
found in an_ incinerator.
Detectives who wired bed-
room showhow they entered,
27
By Lieutenant Jack Killion
Los Angeles, California, County Sherift’s Department
As told to Jack De Witt
N THE office of Inspector William Bright, Chief of
the Homicide Detail in the Los Angeles sheriff’s de-
partment, was a cloth-bound file which told of a
woman’s death, by accident.
The file was fitted into its correct alphabetical place
with hundreds of similar brown-covered books which form
probably the most bizarre library in the world. A library
of sudden death.
A perfect filing system, the homicide detail’s brown-
bound books are at the same time a complete history
of every murder that has occurred in two decades in Los
Angeles county.
The file on a woman’s accidental death by drowning
in a lily pond at her attractive home in the La Crescenta
neighborhood, would normally have no place in the files
18
of a homicide detail kept constantly busy solving the weird
and fantastic crimes for which Los Angeles has long been
infamous.
The fact that the file was there was plain proof that
Inspector Bright and members of his highly skilled detail
of homicide sleuths were suspicious of the case and awaited
only a clew or a hint to reopen their investigation.
When Mrs. Mary Emma Busch James, the beautiful
blonde wife of a La Crescenta barber, was found face
downward in her garden pond at 1329 Verduga Road, La
Crescenta, August Sth, 1935, the Los Angeles county
sheriff’s force, of which I am a member, lost no time exam-
ining every angle of the case for signs of murder.
On that hot August afternoon, with the California
sunlight a harsh glare among the flowers in the little gar-
W«
fan
str¢
ani
den, I stoo
death as I -
and chest :
pajamas.
sun, spread
flower, the
the brutal
In the sit
tive and n
exterior so
sat with h
Robert .
featured n
ving the weird
‘s has long been
lain proof that
v skilled detail
ise and awaited
“stigation.
the beautiful
vas found face
duga Road, La
\ngeles county
t no time exam-
nurder.
the California
the little pat
Was the man mad? His story was the wildest, the most
fantastic ever heard—but his narrative withstood the
strain of investigation, becoming the most sensational
and bitterly cruel murder ever listed in a library of death
den, I stood beside the fish pond and read the story of
death as I saw it. Prone the young woman lay, her face
and chest in the shallow water. She’ was clad in silk
pajamas. A water lily, drooping under the blast of the
sun, spread its wax-like petals near her hair. Like the
flower, the drowned woman seemed to be shrinking from
the brutal heat into the tepid water of the lily pond.
In the sitting room of the small stucco bungalow, attrac-
tive and neat in spite of the psuedo-Spanish ugliness of
exterior so common in southern California houses, a man
sat with his head on his hands.
Robert James, master barber, a heavily built, heavy-
featured man, with the aroma of his pomades and_ his
soaps like an aura about him, was bowed with grief.
“She must have slipped,” his voice was a husky rattle
in his throat. “God, it’s awful! I can’t get out there
and look at it. She must have slipped, got dizzy or some-
thing. She was—she was going to have a baby.”
He sobbed and lifted his heavy face to stare with
strangely dry eyes into mine. “IT told her to keep away
from that pond,” he said. “It was dangerous.”
The shallow pond with its blooms so attractive in the
cool of dawns and dusks, but so pitifully tortured in the.
white glare of the California noons, was dangerous in the
opinion of this grieving man. I studied him with more
interest. But his sorrow was absolute.
19
EE ee
20 AMERICAN DETECTIVE
There was a suspicion of murder in my mind because
I am a murder man. There was a suspicion of murder
in the mind of Inspector William Bright when I dictated
to a stenographer the first pages of the report which would
finally rest between its two cloth covers in the library
of death. .
Sweet and gloriously beautiful had been the wife of
Robert James. Her fine blue eyes looked out at us from
the photographs we assembled, as the homicide detail pre-
pared its evidence for the coroner.
| talked to the neighbors who had seen the young
woman walking in her
garden in the brief
cool of early
~ morning, the
Lois Wright,
material wit-
ness in the
case.
air perfumed by flowers which clung bravely to the fresh-
ness of last evening's irrigation. A bride of less than
two months, her husband had told us. A bride of two
months who became dizzy and fell into an ornamental
pond to die.
“Because she was pregnant?” A physician of whom
I enquired raised his eyebrows. “It is possible, of course.
But the time was very brief, you say. However, there is
a possibility that she may have been sick and dizzy in the
garden that morning.”
Before the coroner’s jury received the case two days
after the enquiry into steadily strengthening evidence of
accidental death, Dr. A. F. Wagner, Los Angeles county
autopsy surgeon and one of the most skilled and_pains-
taking of scientists, examined the body and made his report.
“There is an acute cellulitis,” Dr. Wagner said, “prob-
ably caused by the bite of a venomous insect on her left
ankle. ‘There are small marks on the ankle. Dizziness
brought on by this infammation of cellular tissue prob-
ably was a contributory cause to her death; causing her
to stumble into the pond. Death was due to drowning.”
An insect bite. The doctor suggested that the cellulitis
was extensive enough to have been caused probably by a
“black widow” spider or a venomous reptile.
“There’s been snakes in that garden once or twice. I
warned her,” said Robert James, his heavy face the color
of wet ashes, as he sat in the jury room during the
coroner’s inquest.
Doctor Wagner finished his autopsy with a thorough
examination of the dead woman’s lungs and stomach.
No poison was in the stomach. Evidence in the lungs
was that she had died of drowning. The swelling
of her left leg and thigh and plain proof of the bite
of a poisonous insect or reptile accounted for her
stumbling into the pond without the question of
her pregnancy arising.
Accidental death. The evidence was complete. A
jury thought it was sufficient. The first suspicions
of a homicide detail detective, engendered only be-
cause of the nature of his trade, were quieted.
, “But it’s still queer,” said Inspector William Bright.
“\ He discussed the case with Norris G. Stensland,
'\ chief of the burglary and robbery detail and a
‘\ shrewd investigator.
“If I were you, I'd keep the file open,” sug-
gested the other detail chief. “Something
may turn up.”
Thus the bound, typewritten pages
which formed the file in the case
of the accidental death of
beautiful Mary Emma
James, found its
place among the
sinister records
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stained mechanic’s hammer. Cushions in
the car also were blood-smeared.
The coroner at the time of the death,
reviewed the newly-found evidence and
said he was willing to go to Los Angeles
and testify that he did not regard the
death of James’ fifth wife as accidental.
This never was necessary, however.
N the meantime Fitts had begun a
thirty-hour quiz of James. Surround-
ed by his assistants, the veteran prose-
cutor never let the man rest during that
time.
James seemed undisturbed and undis-
mayed with the whole affair. Not once
did he allow himself to be tripped up
by the questioners, It seemed that noth-
ing would break. his iron will or tire
him to the point where he would make
an incriminating admission.
Finally Fitts motioned his aides to
silence. For a long time he sat staring
at James, wondering whether he ever
would be able to master the defiant per-
scnality before him. Finally he began
to speak. His words came in slow meas-
ured tones.
“Bob,” he said, “ycu are going to
hang. You are going to march slowly
from a cell in ccndemned row. It will
be just thirteen steps. Then you will
climb a flight of stairs. There will be
thirteen steps in those stairs. When you
reach the top a man will put a hood
over your head. But before he does
that you will Icok around and do you
know what you'll see?
“You will see Chuck Hope standing
out there in the crowd—Chuck watch-
ing to see how you take it.
“After a brief moment the platform
on which you will-be standing will drop
from under you. It won't let ycu drop
far—not far enough to break your neck.
They know just how far to drop a man |" ff
cf your weight to prevent that. But it
will sretch your neck and you'll writhe
in pain—pain for your friend Chuck
Hope to see.
“For, Bcb, Chuck was smart. He told
the true story and he isn’t going to
hang.”
As the official painted the grisley
picture, Jamies forthe first time showed
signs of weakening. His face blanched
and he twisted in his chair, unable to
control his imagination.
“The dirty—All right, I’ll talk,” he
told the officers.
His story did nct differ greatly from
‘the one told-by Chuck Hope, except
that he tried to place the blame upon
his friend.
He was unable to convince a jury,
however, and he was found guilty of
first degree murder and sentenced to
hang. Hope received a sentence of life
impriscnment from which he has been
parolled.
JAMES fought execution by every le-
gal means possible. On April 7, 1941,
more than five and one half years after
the death of Mary Busch James, the
barber lost an appeal to the United
States supreme court.
Except for the guilty conscience of
his friend, Chuck Hope, James would
have collected $21,000 on _ insurance
pclicies carried by his seventh wife. He
actually had been paid $3,500 before
being arrested.
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jar of powdered coffee. And this particu-
lar coffee contains added preservative
chemicals which minimize the odor and
taste of various potash derivatives.
Goering may have had poisoned coffee
with his last meal. He may have saved
it, without drinking it, until later—per-
haps to stimulate him for a last-minute
“squeal” ‘and appeal for commutation
cf sentence,
Frau Emmy Goering may have had
seme similar idea when she told re-
porters after Goering died that: “Amer-
icans at the prison may have been re-
sponsible for providing the poison that
killed my. husband.” She added that
no German would have given him the
poison.
O “suicide note” allegedly signed
by Goering, or any other seeming
proof of suicide, will convince many
Germans that Goering was not murdered
to silence him. They speculate on
whether poison was administered in his
food, or by injection, or in water—
or even whether any poison was in-
volved. They say reports from the pri-
scn were false, in the fitst instance.
That the world was notified that Goering
actually had been hanged, when he had
not been. They inquire why no pho-
tograph of Goering in his cell was taken.
And they go even further, and say:
Even if he killed himself, it was mur-
der—he was driven to suicide.
And Goering’s chaplain found it dif-
ficult to believe that he had killed him-
self. “He had apparently made a sin-
cere return to religion,” he said.
There is no doubt that suicide was
considered by Goering. It is admitted
now, that at one time he took the metal
diaphragm, a. sharp-edged, round disc,
from his earphone in the courtroom and
hid it in his cell. And it is generally re-
called that when he was captured Goer-
ing had with: him a vial or bottle of
poison.
In official and semi-official circles
there are scores of theories as to how
Goering could have obtained—and kept
hidden—the poison, if indeed he did
kill himself.
‘The official announcement by the
prison chief gives this version: “Goer-
ing was nct hanged, he committed sui-
cide by taking cyanide of potassium.
He was discovered at once by the sen-
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an odd noise and twitch. The sentinel
called the doctor and chaplain who were
in the corridor and who found him dy-
ing. There were pieces of glass in his
mouth and an odor of cyanide of potas-
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seen to go to his mouth. The cyanide
was contained in a small’ cartridge-case
similar to those found before on other
Nazis and like the one found on Goering
a year ago last May at Mondorf prison.
At that time it was hidden in a can of
Nescafe.”
If the theory of suicide is to be be-
lieved—and to this writer it seems to
be the most substantial of a bad mess
of ill-supported conjectures—Goering
cculd have obtained poison, even if the
only food and drink he got came from
the guarded prison kitchen. It does not
cast.any aspersion on the United States
Army to say that men working in pris-
ons have been bribed; in fact, local
residents are always used in some capa-
city in a foreign-controlled prison. 'There
were Germans close to Goering every
day ‘he was in prison.
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THE BLONDE IN THE SNAKE PIT continued
Police officials and courtroom witnesses interestedly examine “Lethal’’ and
“Lightning,” the two diamondback rattlers used in ‘committing murder.”
the bathtub..Now come on. Help me
drag her to the fishpond.” Charlie
helped.
The next evening, James closed his
shop punctually. By taking a slightly
out-of-the-way route home, he just
“happened” to run into an engaged
couple he knew rather well, Jim Pem- -
berton and Viola Luecks.
“Boy, am I glad to see you two,” he
“
announced happily. “Mary told me to
invite the pair of you to dinner tonight
and do you know, I plumb forgot.
She’ll be boiling mad at me—and her
in her condition preparing the meal.
Please come. Mary'll be mad at me if
you don’t.”
But Mary wasn’t around when the
threesome showed up at the bungalow.
There were no lights, and although
Assistant: District Attorney Eugene Williams and Detective Captain Jack
Southard examine black widow spiders; they, too, were used in murder plan.
they searched in room after room, Mary
appeared to have vanished. Bob was
definitely worried. Finally, taking some
flashlights, he suggested they search
the grounds.
“T don’t know,” he said in a bothered
tone. “You know she might have faint-
ed.”
They found her, of course. She was
right where the boys had put her—face
down in the goldfish pond. But it took
quite a bit of maneuvering before Pem-
berton could be needled into spotting
her. They tried giving her artificial
respiration. And Pemberton called for
help.
But she was quite dead. Coroner, po-
lice, and the medical examiner were
unanimous on that point. But they were
a bit disturbed, at first, about the con-
dition of her left leg, swollen to twice
normal size, as well as a puncture in
her big toe. But in the end, someone
found the note, which seemed to ex-
plain everything quite satisfactorily.
“Dear Sis;” it read. “Just a line to
let you know I am pretty sick. My leg
is all swollen. Something bit me while
watering the garden. Am having lots
of bad luck. This is old Blue Monday,
but my daddy will be home early to-
night and he takes good care of me.
Mary.”
James wept bitter tears. Pemberton
and his girl friend comforted the “be-
reaved” gentleman. And the police left
without, apparently, a doubt in their
heads. After all, it’s a long way from
Colorado to Los Angeles. And years
had passed since sweet Winona had
met her untimely end.
But then James overplayed his hand.
Suddenly turning a bit pale, he an-
nounced, “You know, Winona, my third
wife also died by drowning. In the
bathtub. I hope no one thinks there’s
any connection.”
Nobody would have, if Bob hadn’t
brought it to their attention, least of
all Viola Luecks. But, after brooding
about the strange statement all night,
she telephoned Deputy Sheriff Jones
and expressed her doubts.
Despite this, Bob seemed well on his
way to freedom. His own testimony,
strongly supported by his loving niece
Linda Warner, apparently convinced
the coroner’s jury. For they pronounced
the death “accidental.”
It was left for the insurance com-
panies to make the last feeble com-
plaint; $20,000 in double indemnity
was a lot of moola. And they took their
own time about paying off. This left
James in a tender position. He had to
continue the act as the self-righteous
beneficiary. He filed a civil suit to
collect.
That was a bad mistake. The two
companies began a little investigation
(continued on page 66) |
‘ i en
wiper ’
Paes ion
Ye
Skull of defendant's ex-wife, Winona, is
introduced as courtroom exhibit at trial.
plain to see. But Charlie wasn’t inter-
ested. If anything, he suddenly remem-
bered , something he had to do, some-
thing on the other side of town that
could only be accomplished between
right now and five minutes from now.
He offered his apologies, explained,
and prepared to depart.
Hope (I.) and barber (third from |.) reveal secrets of the goldfish “Nonsense,” replied James. “This
pond for Los Angeles D. A. Buron Fitts (pointing) and other officials. isn’t anything serious. It’s just that
she’s pregnant and this is the quickest
a Lo, . way to get rid of the baby!” And with-
Hope, on table, assists in courtroom re-enactment of victim’s leg being out further ado, the thoughtful host
forced into box of rattlesnakes. Bob James (r.) watches proceedings.
kicked viciously at the box of rattlers
and then, drawing back the top cover,
forced his wife’s foot down in next to
the striking rattler’s fangs.
Charlie Hope grabbed a fresh bottle
of whiskey and drained it dry.
Bob James was not amused. Grab-
bing Hope by the lapel, he dragged
him upright, pushed his face close and
growled, “Now you're in it as deep as
me. If you ever go to the cops, I’ll tell
“em I came home and found you had
tied her to the table. Now, who do you
think they'll believe? A respectable
businessman like me, or an old drunk
like you?”
Hope didn’t answer. He noticed that
James had another bottle on the table.
He took it and started drinking. After
awhile, he passed out. When he came
to again, it was night. James was shak-
ing him.
“You damn fool,” the barber was
complaining, “what kind of weak
snakes did you get me? They hardly
even fazed her. I had to drown her in
17
—s
. OO is bast
"She felt him in her arms before she
knew he had entered the room. But being
strong, she freed herself from his grasp
and started striking, biting, and scratch-
ing. Afraid that she might call out, he
tried to stop her mouth with bedclothes.
But this he found impossible; for when
she saw that he was using all his strength
to work her shame, she did as much .”
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Joe Lemieux. siaring ai his visionary
television screen. saw the heroine's face
fade away into the pattern of crazy dots
and lines and then the bright speck
of Jight at the center of the screen
growing smaller and dimmer the way
it always does when the set has been
turned off.
On November 17th. three days later.
two boys hiking along Beacon Street
noticed the shiny sedan still parked in
the pine thicket. They stared into the
front seat and then. terrified at what
they had seen. raced off to call for help.
John Dyermond and Joseph E.
O'Brien. patrolmen on the Andover
police force, were at the scene twenty
minutes later. Immediately they sum-
moned Dr. Julius J. Burgiel. the de-
partment medical examiner. While
waiting for him. O’Brien noticed that
the rear trunk compartment of the car
was not locked. He opened it. glanced
inside. and hastily closed it again.
When Dr. Burgiel arrived he first
examined the body sprawled out on
the front seat of the sedan. Joseph Le-
mieux had died of carbon-monoxide
poisoning. A length of tubing had been
placed over the. cars exhaust pipe and
the deadly fumes had been led into
the rear window. Dr. Burgiel’s verdict
was suicide: In the trunk of the car
was the body of 36-year-old Pauline
Atspins. She had been strangled.
After tracing Lemieux’s recent acti-
vities and piecing together the medical
examiner's report and an interview with
the victim’s husband. police were able
to reconstruct the crime. It was murder
and suicide.
One seemingly irrelevant observa-
tion noted on the police report con-
cerned the rented car's radio. It had
heen turned on and the battery had
run down. Apparently Joe Lemieux
was listening to a radio drama. the
only available substitute for television.
when he died. THE END
The Blonde In The Snakepit
(continued from page 18)
and came up with some interesting an-
swers. For one thing, they discovered
that he had not been married when the
policies were drawn. For a second, they
uncovered the fact that Bob James’ was
not his real name, he being officially
christened Lisbena. For a third, the
similarity in death with Winona stood
out all too clearly.
Still, Bob brazened it out. He had, it
seemed, an answer for everything. And
his attitude actually convinced one
company to settle out of court, for
$3500. But not the other.
They, instead, convinced that things
were hardly what they seemed, went
to Los Angeles County District Attor-
ney Buron Fitts and requested him to
reopen the case. After examining the
slim shreds of evidence collected so far,
ne consented.
James had moved. “How,” he had
asked his neighbors, “could any man
live in a house so connected with trag-
edy?” How, indeed? So, he had taken
up residence with his niece in a bun-
galow on LaSalle Avenue. He over-
looked the fact that right next door was—
an unoccupied home. The DA rented it
for a month and on April 3rd, Captain
Jack Southard and Lt. W. B. Morgan
moved in. By nightfall, they had plant-
ed bugs all over the James home. A
24-hour-a-day dictaphone watch was
begun.
What a pity that the record cannot
be reproduced here. For what the off-
cers heard in the next few weeks would
have caused the fabled Marquis de
Sade to blush. Bob was a confirmed
masochist and now, living in openly
incestuous relationship with Linda, he
was carefully instructing her in the
use of his favorite instruments of tor-
ture.
He seemed to have an insatiable ap-
petite, because on those evenings when
Linda was away, he called in some
husky young tart to use the whip on
him instead. His shouts and cries, his
obscenities and curses as the whip bit
into his flesh were awe-inspiring.
But there were other things, too.
There were references to one Charlie
Hope, of whom James stated, “I’ll see
him in Hell before I give him another
dime.” There were references to black-
mail, and to the decease of his former
wife. There were also allusions to an-
other, a future Mrs. James. And his
frank discussions with Linda indicated
that the youngster was more than ac-
quainted with his modus operandi. The
seventh prospective bride, however,
appeared to be hanging back, coyly,
for James told Linda, in obvious
annoyance, “You know, she’s afraid of
me. She doesn’t need to be. Does she
think I’]] kill her the same way I killed
the other two?”
There were other references, too. By
the 19th of April, the police had gotten
about all the evidence they could ex-
pect. They decided to proceed with the
arrests.
To poor Bob, it was all a great shock
and surprise. There he was, in bed
with his niece, minding his own busi-
ness—which by the way was extremely
intimate business—when suddenly up
_ popped the window, and in climbed the
two minions of the law. To say that he
was put out, would be putting it mildly.
For Linda screamed and tried to
duck beneath the covers. Bob, who was
in no condition to cope with this sud-
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a
den reaction on the part of his niece,
had no alternative but to jump to the
floor, screaming in righteous indigna-
tion—and with some justification, “You
dirty rotten coppers, how low can you
get?” He started to rush Southard,
but that worthy discouraged the at-
tack. Decisively, and in short order,
both Bob and Linda were dressed,
handcuffed and on their way to jail.
There, for the time being, James was
booked on a charge of incest, and
Linda was held as a material witness.
Bail was set at $25,000.
That charge was easily proven, and
on May 28th, he was convicted and
sentenced to the maximum term of 3
to 150 years.
But the murder was a bit more com-,
plicated. For Bob James wriggled
around like an eel. He denied every-
thing. He tried to claim hereditary in-
sanity. He pleaded an alibi.
But the entire defense began to
break down when Charlie Hope was
finally picked up. If James had made
a mistake, it was trusting a drunk with
such a vital part of his plans. For
Charlie broke apart at the seams, the
first time he was taken back to the
murder scene. He told everything, get-
ting the snakes; how Mary was bitten;
and even how she was drowned in the
bathtub and then dragged to the fish-
pond.
Hope was permitted to plead guilty
with the understanding that his sen-
tence would depend on his cooperation
at Bob James’ trial.
And still James fought. Now he tried
to blame Hope, claiming that while he
may have tried to poison her with rat-
tlers, the drunk had actually drowned
the woman.
“I left,” he pleaded. “Hope and my
wife were alone together. If she drown-
ed, he must have been responsible.”
But nothing he could say, nothing
he could alibi, was able to stand up
against the dictaphone recordings, on
which he had admitted boastingly to
Mary’s murder. On July 25th, he was
found guilty and sentenced to hang.
Legal maneuvers delayed matters for
six years. But finally, on May Ist,
1942, he was aided, pale and trembling
up the thirteen steps to the scaffold.
The trap was sprung a few minutes
later. And that was the end of Bob
James.
Murder may be fun; murder may be
profitable. But unfortunately, Bob
James forgot to arrange to pay for his
party, ahead of time. But that’s the
way it goes. Some guys get everything.
Bob certainly did—every last thing he
had coming to him. The State of Cali-
fornia saw to that.
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—
sRAY
you could see the
indsome features
2 lines etched by
wearily. He led
Beside a sunken
rointed to a spot
\s floated and an-
ook him.
said huskily. “She
y submerged?” I
id shoulders were
of her was lying
ye very deep,” I
welve inches. The
: for it is that she
he walked beside
G DETECTIVE
Pretty
mother,
at the rear of the J
band
and two friends, apparen
m accidental drowning,
the pool or bent over to watch the gold-
fish. She loved the goldfish and spent
hours watching them.”
“Had Mrs. James been subject to
fainting spells ?”
“We—she was going to have a baby,”
he said simply. “In the morning hours,
I am told, women in such condition have
spells—but perhaps you are a family man
yourself and know about those things.”
I nodded. I was beginning to feel a
surge of sympathy for Robert James. He
had previously informed me they had
been married only three months and,
calloused as men of my profession have
to be, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for
him and‘ sharing in a small way the
tragedy which had overtaken him. It
was a pitiful situation. A young couple,
still enthralled with the exquisite passion
of early marriage; the delirious joy of
knowing there presently would be a child
to bind them still closer . . . Fate, I re-
flected, had served him a rotten trick.
A feeling akin to resentment toward
the law which I served crept over me.
If ever there was an accident, surely this
was one. Yet Inspector Stensland had
been quite emphatic in assigning me to
check up on the drowning of Mrs. Mary
ADVENTURES
James. It was now twenty-four hours
after her body had been taken, on August
5, 1935, from the fishpond in the garden
of the James home on Verdugo road in
La Canada, attractive residential suburb
of Los Angeles.
“Indications point to an accident,” In-
spector Stensland had said.
“T was under the impression,” I said
dryly, “that lam supposed to be a ranking
member of the homicide detail of the
sheriff’s office.”
There was brittle sarcasm in the chief’s
retort.
“And I was under the impression,
Deputy Gray,” he said, “that you’ve been
in homicide work long enough to know
that some homicide cases develop from
seeming accidents. The preliminary re-
port is not complete. Hop out there to
the James place.”
Properly squelched, I mumbled some-
thing and drove out to La Canada. And
here I was now, trying to do my duty
and feeling sorry at the same time for
this poor devil who'd lost his bride.
“Here’s a letter Mary wrote, probably
just a few minutes before she fell into
the pool,” James said. We were back in
the house again as he handed me a note
Photo by
Los Angeles
Illustrated
Daily News
with an envelope addressed to “Mrs.
R. H. Stewart, Las Vegas, Nev.”
“That’s Mary’s sister,” James said.
“It’s quite all right—go ahead and read
it. It was here on the table when we
came home last evening and found her
out there—” His voice trailed off into
a husky rattle and I was only too glad to
take my eyes from him and focus them on
the paper.
Studies Final Message
“D EAR Sis,” the letter began. “Just
a line this morning to let you know
I am pretty sick. My leg is all swollen,
something bit me while watering my
flowers this morning. I cut my toe
yesterday and having lots of bad luck,
this is old blue Monday, but my daddy
will be home early tonite and he takes
good care of me. Be sure and write
me soon and I’ll let you know how I get
along.”
I studied the note for a much longer
period than was necessary, partly be-
cause I wanted to delay resumption of
my talk with the heart-broken husband
and partly because of the unusual scrawl
of the dead woman’s handwriting. I’m
not exactly a graphologist, but I’d never
seen a literate woman reveal such pecu-
liar penmanship. Most women are fairly
neat with their writing, but this was
scratched all over the paper. Out of the
corner of my eye I saw James had
dropped his head into his arms on the
table, so I quietly slipped the letter and
envelope into my pocket.
“You said something just now about
11
‘we’ finding Mrs. James in the pool,” I
said. ‘Who was with you last night?”
oo raising his head, Taenes
said:
“It was Jim Pemberton and Viola
Lueck, his fiancee. I picked them up in
the city last night after closing the barber
shop and we drove out here to pick up
Mary. We were all going out to dinner
to celebrate Jim’s and Viola’s engage-
ment. When we arrived here a few
minutes before eight we were surprised
to find the place in darkness, Naturally,
I was alarmed. I couldn’t imagine where
Mary had gone. When we discovered
she was not in the house we walked into
the garden and as we reached the pool—”
Once more. he broke into sobs,
There didn’t seem to be much more for
me to do. In my mind I was perfectly
satisfied the death of Mrs. Mary James
was an accident, pure and simple. I had
learned that James left for work at his
barber shop in Los Angeles early on the
‘morning of August 5. Some time during
the day the accident had occurred. Ob-
viously then, there was nothing. else for
me to do but drive back to the office and
turn in a routine report.
But I knew that wasn’t enough. [
knew Inspector Stensland would want
12
to know what else I’d done beside ques-
tion the bereaved husband. Had I
checked on all angles of the case?
The neighbors, for instance. In homi-
cide cases you always check up on the
neighbors. ‘But this was an accident. I
knew the chief too well, however, not to
carry my investigation further.
Questions Neighbor
MAJOR ALFRED DINSLEY was
the nearest neighbor. He lived on
the next street but from his rear patio
could overlook the James garden and the
tatal fishpond. Dinsley, a retired army
officer of the British Colonials—“just an
old campaigner from South Africa,” he
informed me in his clipped English
accents—had never known the Jameses
personally but had often seen the couple
about the place. He seldom visited people,
he said, and in all the six months James
and his wife had been his neighbors, he
had never made an effort to become
acquainted. That last remark caused me
to interrupt his amiable flow of words.
“How long did you say they’ve lived
there, Major?” I asked.
“Why, about six months, I should say.”
_ “But James said—” I bit off the ques-
tion just in time.
“I beg your pardon?” Major Dinsley
asked.
I recovered from my momentary con-
fusion. “I was going to say James said
they’d been very happy since they were
married and came to live out here.” With
Nee iat
A
' James was away.
ss te rt mehr. Ox a pt
Mrs. Viola Pemberton was one of the trio’
‘which found the body of Mrs, James in the
ores: Directly above, Robert James, © ':
hus of the dead woman, covers his’
face as he weeps unrestrainedly at the)’
“Me: coroner’s inquest into
Sik}
4
‘1
that I murmured a hasty thanks and left
him,
Six months, the Major anid! But
James had said they had been married
less than three months!
Why had James made that statement?
Or had the Major been mistaken? A
small item, of course, and in unconven-
tional Los Angeles, where illicit love
frequently is the rule rather than the ex-
ception, there was even less cause for
concern. But in this grim business of
mine, this profession of murder-probing,
you simply mustn’t overlook a single
angle. Then there was Inspector Stens-
land and his insistence for details. I
checked with the James’ landlord.
The Major had not been mistaken.
Six months the Jameses had lived in the
La Canada home with its ornamental
fishpond. I returned to the house but
While debating
whether or not I should wait for his
return, I stood in the garden and con-
templated the fishpond, quiet and serene
in California’s blazing August sun,
its lilypads lying motionless as death
itself.
In the center of the pool sat an odd
figure. It was a grotesque gnome about
two feet high, made of cement or some
such stuff, one of those figures you see
in the illustrated stories of Rip Van
Winkle. The ugly little fellow was
puffing complacently on a huge cement
pipe and gazing toward the very spot
where Mary James had died. As I gazed
at the gnome I thought: “If he
could only speak and tell what he has
seen,”
“I beg your pardon,” said a voice with
such startling suddenness that I almost
fell into the pool. I wheeled to face an
individual dressed entirely in black.
web |
tragedy. Dee ae
i.
STARTLING DETECTIVE
“Hope I
newcomer s
I stood t
natural inst
fication of
assume I w
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* from the m:
me for Jam
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the case. ©
“How da
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must be a
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Brothers b:
Back in
Inspector $
“I’m wa
I said. “T
died in 192
for burial.
And in the
riage reco:
The chic
“There’:
tinued. ‘“
broken up
that it occ
broken up.
Another
Inspector
C
BOU]!
Man
through a
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and then
the day cl
I was a
passed on
“Gettin
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It was
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and the r:
a long ti
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womian’s
ADVEN
ty thanks and left
fajor said! But
aad been married
le that statement?
en mistaken? A
and in unconven-
vhere illicit love
ither than the ex-
on Jess cause for
grim business of
¢ murder-probing,
verlook a single
: Inspector Stens-
‘e for details, I
’ landlord.
t been mistaken.
s had lived in the
h its ornamental
to the house but
While debating
uld wait for his
garden and con-
quiet and serene
ig August sun,
ionless as death
pool sat an odd
que gnome about
cement or some
> figures you see
ies of Rip Van
ittle fellow was
1 a huge cement
‘d the very spot
died. AsI gazed
mught: “If he
tell what he has
said a voice with
ss that I almost
eeled to face an
ty in black,
* DETECTIVE
“Hope I didn’t startle you, Mister James,” the
newcomer said, “I came to make the arrangements.”
I stood there a moment, gazing at the man. My
natural instincts as an officer forbade instant identi-
fication of myself. For the time being I’d let him
assume I was James.
“I’m from Colton Brothers,” he said after a pause.
Then I understood. This was a representative
from the mortuary. Quite innocently he had mistaken
me for James. I explained the mistake and for a few
minutes we stood there beside the fishpond, discussing
the case. Then a thought struck me.
“How does it happen,” I said, “that Mr. James
engaged Colton Brothers to bury his wife? There
must be a dozen undertaking establishments between
here and your place.”
“I thought of that; too,” he said, “and when they
sent me out here I asked about it. It seems Colton
Brothers buried Mr. James’ first wife.”
Back in the main office that night I reported to
Inspector Stensland.
“I’m waiting for a wire from Manitou, Colo.,”
I said. “That’s where Mrs. Winona Wallace James
died in 1932, Her body was shipped to Los Angeles
for burial. I got that dope from Colton Brothers.
And in the morning I’ve got to check on some mar-
riage records.”
The chief nodded.
“There’s another thing, too, Inspector,” I con-
tinued. “I had quite a talk with James and he’s all
broken up. That’s quite natural, of course—except
that it occurred to me a couple of times he was too
broken up, if you get what I mean.”
Another nod. “Better stick with it a while longer,”
Inspector Stensland said.
Checks Insurance Companies
Fae rede’ noon the next day the wire came from
Manitou, Colo. I had spent the morning going
through a list of leading insurance companies. After
four false starts, I hit a number. Two more blanks
and then another score. I spent the remainder of
the day checking with insurance companies.
I was at my desk again that night when the chief
passed on his way out.
“Getting anywhere ?”
“Not sure,” I answered wearily. “But I’m having
another chat with the widower in the morning.”
It was late before I checked out for some much
needed sleep. During the day the coroner’s report
and the result of his autopsy had come in and I spent
a long time going over it. The coroner’s surgeon
reported discovery of several bruises on the dead
woman’s head and a bruise on the upper arm. Death,
ADVENTURES
! At left and below are shown facsimiles of the
en) note written by Mrs. James to a sister just
before she died. What peculiarities did this
note (contents given in text) reveal to officers
investigating her death?
Mrs. R.H. Stewart,
a sister, to whom
the note was ad-
dressed, helped
sleuths check the
handwriting.
‘
fy i ok
Ai aH)
oe a
13
| Crp .-
Face down in a fishpond
lay the body of Mary
Busch James, apparently
a drowning victim.
But her death launched
aninquiry, weird beyond
belief, and unmasked a
series of love crimes un-
paralleled in years.
>>
A cage of rattlesnakes furnished
a bizarre angle to the case. What
was their connection with Mrs.
James’ drowning?
Love Secrets
STARTLIA C-
of California’s
ATTLESNAKE
By Deputy Sheriff VIRGIL P. GRAY
Los Angeles Homicide Detail
As Told To MARK GIBBONS
EVER have I seen a man so
bowed with grief. Dry, racking
sobs shook his well-built frame.
His thick shock of red hair was awry
and his soiled shirt and rumpled clothes
plainly told of a sleepless night of sor-
row. I was having difficulty drawing
from him details of the previous day’s
tragedy—the accidental drowning of his
pretty young wife. Midway through the
interview, he was verging on a state of
collapse.
“T hate to do this, Mr. James,” I said,
trying to be gentle, “but I must clear up
these few details. Please try to pull
yourself together.”
Robert James lifted his eyes to mine.
In this gripping story Deputy Sheriff
Virgil P. Gray describes his probe
into the fishpond death.
For all of his anguish you could see the
well defined, almost handsome features
of the man beneath the lines etched by
sorrow. 7
“All right,” he said wearily. He led
me into the garden. Beside a sunken
pool he paused. He pointed to a spot
over which lazy lilypads floated and an-
other convulsive sob shook him.
“Right in there,” he said huskily. “She
was lying face down.”
“Was she completely submerged?” I
asked.
“No, only the head and shoulders were
in the water, the rest of her was lying
on the edge of the pool.”
“That water can’t be very deep,” I
said. ;
“No, it’s only about twelve inches. The
only way I can account for it is that she
must have fainted as she walked beside
STARTLING DETECTIVE
the pool
fish. Sl!
hours w
“Had
fainting
spells—t
yourself
I nod
surge of
had pre
been m
callouse
to be, |
him an
tragedy
was a p
still ent!
of earls
knowin;
to bind
flected,
A fe
the law
If ever
was on:
been qu
check u
ADVE
:d a day’s work had
e had frankly told me
ars of work to ferret
mbered the telegram
officials,
wife, Mr. James, the
olerado in 1932, the
ed in a bathtub—was
w I'd drawn another
r lifted an eyebrow.
our duty to learn all
he said quietly with
zgestion of contempt
n inquisitive copper
ig tree. “Yes, Win-
. I suppose that if I
pletely crushed by
‘| apprehensive about
1G DETECTIVE
.e "fr
the thorough way you’ve checked up on
me and my past. I’ve read about murder-
for-insurance cases in the past.”
It seemed I was out of luck. I had one
more card to play but there weren’t many
chips riding that final bet. I told him of
the discrepancy between the date of his
admitted marriage to Mary James and
the time they rented the La Canada
home.
This time the man’s eyes narrowed as
they gazed squarely into mine. I sensed
a sudden hostility even before James
spoke.
“You should be in the movies,” he said
and this time he made no attempt to hide
the sneer which accompanied his reply.
“But if it will help you get a promotion,
I don’t mind telling you that Mary and
I lived together for three months before
we were married.” Another uncomfort-
able pause—uncomfortable for me, I
mean. There was a challenging ring to
his tones as James resumed: “And if
you want to know why—you can find
out yourself. I’m fed up with you and
your snooping. I’ve answered the last
question for you, unless you want to put
me under arrest on some fool charge or
other. Do I make myself clear?”
All too clear, I told myself bitterly. As
far as I could see, I was all washed up
onthe case. Yet in that final defiant out-
ADVENTURES
burst from James there remained an in-
tangible theory of doubt and, of course,
a resentment against the man for turning
the tables on me to such unpleasant dis-
comfiture.
The next day the coroner’s jury re-
turned a verdict of “death by accidental
drowning.” James wept as he testified
on the witness stand. His grief was
genuine and I was thankful that I was
not called upon to testify.
James Case Is Reopened
N THE weeks that followed I was
buried in work of all sorts. Murders
and violent death. Bizarre cases of rape
and assault—the grist which the sprawl-
ing county of Los Angeles daily grinds
out for the largest sheriff’s bailiwick in
Beautiful Vera Vermillion James (left) was the second wife of the Los
Angeles barber. Apparently happy, they lived together for seven years but
divorce finally ended their romance, Photo above shows Lois Wright
(right), James’ youthful niece, questioned during the investigation, in the
company of Policewoman Velma Newsome (in dark blouse).
the world. One day Inspector Stensland
sent for me. ' :
“Remember that James case up in
La Canada last August?” he asked.
“Yes.” 4 ;
“Well, your heartbroken widower is
having a court battle with an insurance
pani Seems they don’t want to pay
off.
“They haven’t got a leg to stand on,”
I said. “The coroner’s jury returned a
verdict of accidental drowning. What
else do they want? They must be crazy
to risk the costs of a litigation.”
“Suppose you find out just how crazy
a million dollar. insurance corporation
can be,” said Inspector Stensland.
“There must be something to warrant
their action.” p
[Continued on. page 59]
15
the report concluded, undoubtedly had
been caused by drowning. I was about
to shove the report into a drawer when
a small paragraph caught my eye: :
“There is an acute cellulitis,” the
report stated, “probably caused by the
bite of a venomous insect on her left leg.
There are small marks of infection on the
left ankle.”
Acute cellulitis ! That meant poisoning
of the system. I remembered the note
I'd purloined, the one Mary James had
written to her sister in Las Vegas—
“Something bit me while watering my
flowers this morning—”
It strengthened the explanation James
had given. us. An insect, probably a
black, widow spider, had bitten: the
woman, The poison had coursed through
her system, not sufficient to kill her but
enough to render her dizzy as she stood
beside the fishpond.
Somehow I felt relieved that the case
was obviously an accident—until I re-
membered the fruits of my day’s work in
the insurance companies’ offices and the
lengthy telegram from the police depart-
ment at Manitou, Colo. I went home to
sleep but I might as well have joined the
night shift in a steel mill, Thoughts
tumbled through my head all night as I
tossed on my pillow and the next morning
DIRECTED INVESTIGATION
Insisting that no death could be called acci-
dental until it was proved so, Inspector Norris
C. Stensland kept his men plugging away at
various angles of the case. At right, attractive
Madge Reed, whose story materially aided the
police and reopened the investigation when
all other leads seemed to be exhausted.
14
when I visited Robert James, he was
quick to notice my bloodshot eyes and
tired expression.
“You look washed out,” he said.
I said something about overwork and
then plunged in.
“Mr. James,” I said, “would you mind
telling me if your wife was insured?”
I watched him closely but detected no
change in his expression as he quietly
answered,
“Yes, poor Mary was insured. Two
policies, both for $5,000.”
Suddenly his features. changed ab-
ruptly. “I’ve just remembered some-
thing! They both carry accident in-
demnity clauses which double the amount
of the policies in the event of sudden
death.”
ae
Bleakly I realized a day’s work had
been shot because he had frankly told me
what had taken hours of work to ferret
out. Then I remembered the telegram
from the Colorado officials.
“And your first wife, Mr. James, the
one who died in Colorado in 1932, the
one who was drowned in a bathtub—was
she insured, too?”
Right then I knew I’d drawn another
blank, James never lifted an eyebrow.
“TI suppose it’s your duty to learn all
about these things,” he said quietly with
just the faintest suggestion of contempt
in his voice for an inquisitive copper
barking up the wrong tree. “Yes, Win-
nie was insured, too. I suppose that if I
were not so completely crushed by
Mary’s death I’d feel apprehensive about
ot
STARTLING DETECTIVE
the thorough
me and my pa:
for-insurance
It seemed I
more card to f£
chips riding tl
the discrepan
admitted mar
the time the:
home.
This time t
they gazed sq
a sudden ho
spoke.
“You shoul
and this time
the sneer wh
“But if it wil
I don’t minc
I lived toget
we were ma:
able pause-
mean, The:
his tones as
you want t
out yourself
your snoopi
question for
me under ar
other. Do |
All too ch
far as I cov
on the case.
ADVENTU
—
‘she had fallen
The human ferret! I’d alf but forgot-
ten the fishpond drowning. But inspec-
tors and elephants, it seems, never for- .
get.
The insurance. officials were glad to
see me. They had cause for’ worry.. As
I told the chief, they had. no alternative
but to pay the policy on the life of Mary
James after the corner’s jury had officially
decreed the death an accident. In fact,
they had drawn a check for $10,000 in
favor of Robert James, The morning the
check was to go out in the mail, however,
a letter was delivered to the company.
It was a strange, anonymous epistle in a
woman’s handwriting. On the strength
of that letter, delivery of the check to
James was stopped.
They showed me the letter. It was a
long, rambling account of vague accusa-
tions, of suggestions that something was
wrong with the death of Mary James
There was a hazy description.of a “hot
party” in a hotel room at Hermosa Beach,
of a man’s brutal treatment of his light
o’ love for the evening.
It didn’t make sense to mé,
“That’s what we thought too, at first,”
an insurance official told me. “But we've
done a little checking on the matter. We
believe we have identified the writer of
this letter, although we haven't been able
to locate her. She’s a girl. by the name
of Madge Reed. And we know that a
girl by that name registered at a hotel
in Hermosa Beach with Robert James
less than a week after his wife’s death in La
Canada.”
My mind flashed back to the illicit re-
lations between James and his wife, Mary,
before they were legally married.
“Suppose you let me check up on this,”
I suggested. “How much time have you
got before the case-is called for trial?”
“Less than a week. You'll have to
work fast, if you’re going to save us any
money. We were taking a blind chance
on this letter when we decided to contest
the policy but as matters stand we have
very little chance of beating the case un-
less something turns up in a hurry.”
“T’ll do my best,” I promised.
It took me two days to find the anony-
mous letter writer. It was a tedious task
of running down leads, of doubling back
over the trail, checking on names and tele-
phone numbers,
An Interesting Story
M ADGE REED was a willing talker.
She was also an exceedingly hand-
some woman, dark-eyed, sophisticated
and stunningly dressed. She admitted
lr the dashing, red-headed
barber, although at the time of the hotel
incident she did not know that he was a
heartbroken widower. of a few days.
“Sure, I had a party with him at the
hotel,” she admitted. “But that guy is a
devil. He’s got a swell line, but he can
be the meanest guy in the world. He—”
I interrupted. I was far more interested
in the details of what prompted her let-
ter to the insurance company. As diplo-
matically as I could, I steered the con-
versation pertaining to the sadistic na-
ture of the barber to the other matter.
“You wrote a letter, didn’t you, to the
insurance company?” °
“Sure, I wrote it. I'wanted to square
accounts with that guy. And I’ve’ got
something on him, too!”
“About what?’”
“About the drowning of his wife in La
Canada,”
I tried to conceal the sudden excite-
ment stirring within me as she paused to
let the full significance of her statement
register.
“Tell me about it, Miss Reed.”
“Well, in the first place, he was afraid
he was going to have trouble collecting
the insurance. “Said that he’d have to
prove his wife was drowned after he
left for work that morning.”
“And did he tell you he hadn’t left for
work before his wife drowned?” I in-
terrupted.,
“Well, not exactly,” she said, “but he
was awtull anxious to have somebod
rove that he wasn’t there when she died.
just figured it out for myself, He said
that if a letter to his wife's sister had been
mailed everything would have been all
right. I don’t know what he meant by
that but I do know that he offered me a
grand.” ;
“A thousand dollars! For what?”,
“For an alibi.” °
Lois Wright, an important figure in the
“What-sort of an alibi?”
“Well, he said if I’d go into court and’
swear that I’d seen his wife alive after 9
o’clock in the morning, so that he could
collect the insurance without any more
trouble, he’d give me a grand.” -
“What did you say?”
“T told him nothing doing, I’m not get-
ting mixed up in any funny business with
the court.”
Insurance Company Settles
M42cE REED was a voluble and
willing talker but beyond what I
have told there was nothing else she could
offer that would be of any help. In fact,
I realized that in view of her affair with |
James, there was small likelihood that
any jury would place much credence in
her testimony. Obviously she was seeking
revenge against the barber but for what
reason I was not sure, unless it concerned
her dark hints of James’ abnormal bes
havior while they were registered at the
Hermosa Beach hotel. As a matter of
fact, Madge Reed was not called as a wit-
ness by the insurance company. The
officials finally arranged an out-of-court
settlement for the policy on Mary James’
fishpond investigation, looks on with |
interest as Captain E. E. Kynette shows her the location of a dictaphone con: *
cealed in the James bungalow.
,
death. The husband collected about a
third of the full amount provided in the
two policies.
Meanwhile Madge Reed thad opened
up a case for me that I had virtually
abandoned. True, she had supplied
no information pointing to guilt of
murder but she had definitely convinced
me that James was a man who would bear
investigating from every angle. The first
thing I did was to dig up that letter Mary
— had left on the table the day she
ed.
A handwriting expert, to whom I took
the scrawling note, said he believed the
hand which wrote it had been guided by
another. “But I’d have to have a sample
of the woman’s writing before I could be
positive,” he said.
From the dead woman’s sister, Mrs.
R. H. Stewart in Las Vegas, Nev., I ob-
tained excellent specimens of Mary
James’ handwriting. The.expert com-
pared them with the scrawling death note.
“It is quite obvious that a stronger and
steadier hand guided the pen of the writer
of this letter,” he said.
But what did that prove? And of what
use could I put the sensational story
Madge Reed had told me? I had a long
talk with Inspector Stensland.
“Thete’s only one thing to do,” he said
after we'd gone over the whole case from
beginning to end. “Go out and get the
complete history of this man. Find out
where he came from, what he did. Don’t
pass up anything. In the meantime I'll
put Killion on t is end and we'll keep a
tail on him day and night.” Killion—
Deputy Sheriff Willard Killion—is one of
the homicide detail’s most efficient opera-
tives and we have worked together as a
team on many big cases. Inspector Stens-
land continued: “Get a full account of
the death of James’ first wife in Colorado.
Find out if he collected any insurance on
her. I’ve gota hunch we're going to blast
this case wide open. We'll get the dis-
trict attorney’s office and the police de-
partment to work with ps. op to it,
Gray.”
e
Finds Deadly Parallel
I STARTED out by picking up the trail
which led into Coloradp, And when
assembled the details of the death of Mrs.
Winona Wallace James in a bathtub at an
auto camp in Manitou, it was a strange
account,
Driving into Colorado after a trip across
the country from Birmingham, Ala.,
James and his first wife had an auto acci-
dent on the side of Pike's Peak, Septem-
ber 22, 1932, That is, Mrs. James had the
accident, according to the report on file
with the Colorado officials. Their car
had plunged off the road and over an em-
bankment. James had jymped clear as
the car went over. ,
Mrs. James sustained 3 deep gash on
the top of her head and for more than a
week hovered between life and death in
the hospital. But finally she recovered
and the Jameses moved into the Manitou
auto camp. A few days’ later, while James
was in town buying groceries, Mrs, James
had fainted and fallen into a bathtub. She
was found drowned on his return to the
camp.
There was a deadly parallel between
that tragedy and the accidental drowning -
of the second wife in the fishpond, nearly
four years later, according to the explana-
tion James offered to the coroner’s jury °
which heard the evidence in the Manitou
death. “The cut on her head from the
auto accident had made her subject to
dizzy spells,” James had testified. “I »
think she meses have had one of those
spells when she fell into the bathtub.”
I discovered still another peculiar paral-
lel between the two wives’ accidental
drownings. In La Canada, James was ac-
companied by two persons—James Pem-
berton and Viola Lueck—when Mary
ag +4 body was found in the fishpond.
n Manitou, James was accompanied by
a grocer’s delivery boy when Winona
eT, was discovered dead in the bath-
tub.
Thus, in both instances, the deaths were
discovered by the husband, but each time
in the presence of witnesses!
Somehow, as I turned my attention to
the next phase of my haresieat es, I knew
the answer in advance. rs, Winona
—s had been insured by two policies
or $14,000, which James collected.
A Peculiar Auto Accident
Bh information on file with the au-
thorities concerning the details of the
auto accident was fragmentary and did
not piece together a story clear enough
for my liking. I went after some first-
hand information, which was supplied by
J. A. Rogers, superintendent o: Pike’s
Peak highway.
Mr. Rogers said that James re orted
the accident to him after the car plunged
off the road. “Winnie was driving up the
mountain while I looked at the scenery
through a pair of binoculars,” Mr. Rogers
said James told him, “All at once the car
swerved and I jumped just as it went over
the side. There wasn’t anything I could
do to help Winnie.”
Superintendent Rogers was an observ-
ing man. He recalled that the clothing of
the dapper barber was neat and unsoiled.
This seemed strange to him after the
wild leap James must have made to
escape with his life from the plunging
car.
“There were a lot of peculiar things
about that accident,” Superintendent
Rogers said. “If Mrs. James had died I
uel
\) a) ¥
ay ae oY «me WY os
‘ t ‘|
»
“Get a load of dat
y! He must be
packin’ one of dem anti-aircraft
guns!”
would have brought them to the atten-
tion of the officials. But she didn’t, of
course, and naturally there was nothing I
could do.” .
“Just what were some of the peculiar-
ities of the accident, Mr. Rogers?”
“Well, I thought it was rather queer
that James should be looking at the scen-
ery through a pair of binoculars while his
wife did the driving.”
“What's queer about a thing like that?”
“Ordinarily, nothing. But it was almost
dark when the accident happened!”
“Anything else?”
“Well, when we took Mrs. James from
the car at the bottom of the incline, I
noticed a hammer on the floor of the car
in the front. There was some blood on it,
although, of course, blood could have
splashed on it from the cut in her head
after the accident.
“Then I went back and examined the
tracks with a flashlight,” he continued. “It
seemed to me that there were footprints
alongside the tire marks just where the
car went off the road—”
ey if somebody had been pushing the
car?”
“I’m not saying that’s the way it hap-
ened,” he said, but I suspected Super-
intendent Rogers had his private opin-
ion of the affair.
The amorous nature of the marrying
barber was further revealed after I lo-
cated slender Grace Yarnell in Colorado
Springs. She was a cousin of the late
rs, Winona James and during the lat-
ter’s stay in the Colorado Springs hospi-
tal after the auto accident had been a con-
stant visitor at her bedside.
During the course of our conversation
I sensed that the young woman nursed a
feeling of dislike for her cousin’s hus-
band. By careful questioning I discov-
ered the reason for this dislike.
“He made advances toward me,” Miss
Yarnell finally said. “Twice while I was
driving him to the hospital to see Win-
nie. He kissed me but they were not the
kisses of a relative. I objected both
times and then, when he tried to kiss me
in his hotel room, I told him to cut it out.
He’s an awful beast.”
Sets Up Love Nest
BAS in Los Angeles, meanwhile, a
» new and sensational development
had occurred in the affairs of Robert S.
James, master barber and Casanova ex-
traordinary.
Deputy Killion had picked up the trail
of the man and it led to a vine-covered
bungalow on South La Salle avenue.
“Mr, and Mrs. Robert James” was the
inscription on the doorplate.
Killion traced the identity of Mrs.
mic She was Lois Wright, dazzlingly
eautiful 21-year-old girl from Birming-
ham, Ala.
And the daughter of Robert James’
sister!
It was an open and shut case of incest
and it would have been a simple matter
for Deputy Killion to arrest both under
the morals statutes. But my partner
played a far shrewder game. He notified
the district attorney's office.
“We can always make a pinch on the
incest charge,” Killion pointed out, “but
T’ve got a better idea. Gray is working
on the murder angle and he’s got a lot of
hot stuff, Why not put a dictaphone in
the place and listen in for a while? May-
be James will drop a word here and there
that may prove interesting.”
The district attorney agreed to the
plan. Accordingly the vacant bungalow
pee
adjoining th:
Mrs, James
but nov- 7‘
official
ingap
their 1----.
cretly instal’
lows and ste
shifts to list ,
and night.
While thi:
ing the trail
raphy penne
been half s
tesque as t!
the name w!
He had b
times for
These arres
blotters of
James, as !
quite a tray
ering a pe
James had
Winona \
in Manitot
Mary Busc
Canada, ha:
The fina!
his illicit Ik
mingham °
three mon
manicurist
-shop—Mar
ames in tl
ing violati:
Alabama w
living as “
on La Sal!
I searche
of the muc
only one,
had been ?
Blonde,
the seven
She descr:
of great ¢
happy wit
persistent
mitted th:
caur-* *
wor
ied
hea., -~--
While :
was poss:
said he v
displayed
money.
she addex
“But h
added.
leave oth
him."
sations b
niece,
had dec
learned :
But they
to convi
times 01
“Didn’
death?”
“Sever
knew a!
believes
—that :
There's
indicate
cript co:
betwee:
er
they carried her into the garden and
paused beside the ornamental fishpond.
Hope was carrying the dead woman’s
feet. As the two men and their ghastly
burden reached the pool, Hope sensed
what the self-made widower planned.
He dropped the woman's feet.
“I’m not having anything to do with
putting her in that pool,” he cried,
James merely laughed. With his wife’s
legs trailing on the ground, he dragged
the body to the edge of the pool and
dropped it so that the head and shoulders
fell face down in the shallow water,
“That’s all right,” James said, calmly
eyeing his fiendish handiwork.
In his odd, flat voice, Hope continued:
“James gathered up the wet blankets
and sheets from the bed on which we'd
changed Mary's pajamas and he put them
into a bucket w ith the sheets and blankets.
He told me to take them into the city
somewhere an’! burn them, He said:
“*You keep vour mouth shut and just
forget about this!’
“T said I hoped I would be able to for-
34
.
>>
Snake Joe Houtenbrink extracts
the venom from one of the’ rattle-
snakes used in the murder of Mary
James. Prosecutor Eugene Wil-
liams is at left, Dr. Gustav Boehm,
toxicologist, right.
get him and I took the wet things away.”
The awful story was finished. To me
it sounded too horribly fantastic to be
true. Naturally, we took Hope to con-
front James in the cell the barber had
occupied since his arrest for his illicit
relations with pretty Lois Wright, his
_ Niece.
As the two men came face to face, I
studied James’ features closely. His
small, green eyes—they reminded one of
a pig’s—never batted a lash.
“Who’s this, another cop?” barked the
barber,
“You know who I am,” said Hope
harshly ; but he was careful to keep close
to two of the biggest officials in the room.
I could see the ex-sailor was afraid, or at
least feigning fear, of the smaller man
with the porcine eyes,
The two comely women
shown here were elev-
enth-hour witnesses in
the rattlesnake Romeo’s
murder trial. Mrs. Con-
nie Zimmerman, left,
and her daughter, Elaine
Preston, bolstered the
Prosecution case. What
was the startling testi-
mony they gave?
rm
STARTLING DETECTIVE
Below is a
the murd
A vital lin
doomed ¢
was fou
James gaz
Hope, and as
damning accu
bathtub drow
sinking fear
mind, that his
“This man
without emot;
crazy. I ney
life. And if
to frighten m
all wrong—as
panied the las
Inspector N
shared my wor
later.
“It’s Hope’:
said. “And wu
to substantiate
no jury would
: to the barber.”’
So I took uy
that Hope had
meantime, Dis:
. before the gra:
dictments agai:
morals charges
rigid in offense
and the penalt
ADVENTURE
Ne
‘S | of Calif
V
eriff
GRAY
ide Detail
Months of relentless
i: : OS) a police investigation
H fo reach a climax as a sa-
j tanic killer goes on trial
and a courtroom drama
is staged whose sensa-
tional revelations rocked
the nation.
ae
sant
oO
BONS
Pretty Mary James,
victim of the rattle-
snake-bathtub mur-
der, is shown here
with her hair dyed
_red. She fixed her.
hair that way to
please the man who
plotted her death.
re ae ee Bh
- Chuck Hope, (center) star. state witness, is shown
searching a field with officers for snake boxes which
were discarded after the murder attempt: Inspector
Scott Littleton is at left; Captain Jack Southard, right.
ing to ask what had happened. Presently, it was
- about 6 o’clock in the morning, James walked
4 into the house and returned almost immedi-
©. ately.
+ “Well,” the barber told Hope. ‘“That’s that.”
“What is what?” Hope asked fearfully.
“She’s dead,” replied the barber calmly. “She’s
been dead since 4 o’clock. Now come and help
me carry her out.”
/ “You really killed her?” Hope cried. -
“Sure, I killed her. I drowned her in the bath-
; tub. She was drunk. Now, come on. You're
in this just as deep as I am.”
“I had nothing to do with it,” Hope wailed.
‘“That makes no difference,” James replied
casually, “you can’t prove it, so come on in now
and help me carry her out.” pe
| _ Like a man in a trance—Hope had sworn to us
» before that James always had him hypnotized—
, the ex-sailor then followed the barber into the
house.
On the hallway off the bathroom lay the body
* of Mary James. She was clad in flaming red silk
+ .pajamas on the breast of which shone a rhinestone
| fuckle. Water trickled in tiny rivulets from the
| prostrate form. The two men lifted the: body
» trom the floor and carried it into a bedroom and
placed it on the bed. Then they stripped off the
wet pajamas, dried the nude beauty with towels
and then re-dressed her in dry pajamas. Next
ADVENTURES
DETECTIVE
to the atten-
¥ he didn’t, of
vas nothing I
the peculiar-
gers?”
rather queer
rat the scen-
ars while his
ig like that?”
it was almost
ned!”
. James from
he incline, I
or of the car
¢ blood on it,
could have
in her head
‘xamined the
ontinued. “It
re footprints
st where the
| pushing the
way it hap-
ected Super-
orivate opin-
he marrying
1 after I lo-
in Colorado
1 of the late
ring the lat-
rings hospi-
ena con-
ersation
nan nursed a
‘ousin’s hus-
ng I discov-
ike,
‘d me,” Miss
while I was
to see Win-
were not the
jected both
‘-d to kiss me
to cut it out.
neanwhile, a
development’
of Robert S.
lasanova ex-
| up the trail
vine-covered
valle avenue.
ies” was the
ity of Mrs.
tt, dazzlingly
om Birming-
sbert James’
‘ase of incest
imple matter
t both under
my partner
He notified
pinch on the
_ ted out, “but
y is working
- sgotaloto
jictaphone in
while? May-
ere and there
to the
ungalow
.
adjoining the love retreat of “Mr. and
Mrs. James” suddenly became occupied
but none of the neighbors suspected the
official status of the new tenants. Dur-
ing a period while the pair was away from
their place, dictaphone wires were se-
cretly installed between the two bunga-
lows and stenographers were assigned in
shifts to listen every minute of the day
and night.
While this was going on I was follow-
ing the trail of James’ past life. No biog-
raphy penned by a Rabelais could have
been half so bizarre, so sensually gro-
tesque as the career of Major Lisenba, .
the name under which James was born.
He had been arrested no less than 22
times: for offenses involving women.
These arrests stretched across the police
blotters of the nation, because Robert
James, as he chose to be known, was
quite a traveler, During this time, cov-
ering a period of about fifteen years,
James had been married five times!
Winona Wallace James, who drowned
in Manitou, had been his third wife.
Mary Busch James, who drowned in La
Canada, had been his fifth.
The final police account of James and
his illicit loves was recorded on the Bir-
mingham blotter early in 1935, about
three months before he married the
manicurist in his Los Angeles barber-
shop—Mary Busch. The girl named with
ames in the Birmingham warrant charg-
ing violation of the morals statutes of
Alabama was Lois Wright, the niece now
living as “Mrs. James” in the bungalow
on La Salle avenue in Los Angeles.
I searched for the three surviving wives
of the much-married barber. I could find
only one, Vera Vermillion James, who
had been Mrs. Robert S. James No. 2.
Blonde, pretty and witty, she told of
the seven years she had lived with James.
She described her ex-husband as a man
of great charm and apparently she was
happy with him for a long time. Under
persistent questioning, however, she ad-
mitted that their final parting had been
caused by James’ insatiable desire for
women.
“A pretty woman could always turn his
head,” she said.
While admitting her former husband
was possessed of a violent temper, she
said he was not cruel nor had he ever
displayed any unnatural desire: for
money. He never spoke of insurance,
she added.
“But his weakness was women,” she
added. “Bob James simply couldn’t
leave other women alone, so I divorced
him.”
Raid Love Bungalow
I RETURNED to Los Angeles the day
before the scheduled raid on the La
Salle avenue bungalow. After three
weeks of listening to the nightly conver-
sations between f. ames and his enamored
niece, Killion and the district attorney
had decided there was nothing to be
learned about the La Canada drowning.
But théy had gathered sufficient evidence
to convict James and his niece a dozen
times over for incest.
“Didn't he ever. mention his wife’s
death?” I asked Killion.
“Several times. Apparently the niece
knew all about it but I’m convinced she
believes what the rest of the world does
—that it was an accidental drowning.
There’s only one thing in this stuff—” he
indicated the voluminous stack.of trans-
cript containing the nightly conversations
between James and his mistress—“that
isn’t clear, Almost every time they
talked about the drowning in La Canada,
they mentioned a woman’s name—a Viola"
Somebody.”
“You can cross that off,” I replied.
“That’s Viola Lueck, or rather it’s Mrs.
Viola Pemberton now. She and the man
who later became her husband were with
James the night they found the body in
the fishpond. They know absolutely
nothing beyond what they’ve already told
us. You see, James always makes it,a
point to have a witness around when one
of his wives is found dead.” (Later de-
velopments proved the absolute accuracy
of these statements.)
There was little mirth in my attempt
at grim humor, And there was little
comfort in the nine months of effort I’d
expended on the case as far as a solution
to the fishpond drowning was concerned.
Not a scrap of tangible evidence could
be used in a courtroom, and nobody knew
that better than I.
Grace Yarnell, cousin of James’ first
wife, Winona Wallace James, told
Deputy Gray an astounding story.
The district attorney’s men staged the
raid on the bungalow. James blustered
and Lois Wright wept but both were
bundled: out of their bed, into some
clothes and down to the jail. The girl was
terrified; but James, a veteran of morals
raids, lapsed into a sullen silence.
That night I sat for hours with In-
spector Stensland. I spread out the re-
— of nine weary months of investiga-
tion,
After studying the fruits of my labors,
the chief rewarded-me with one of his
rare compliments. ~
“You've done a very thorough job on
this!” he said. “But the all-important
thing lacking is proof of foul play. This
stuff might be of value to the district at-
torney when he asks for incest indict-
ments against James and that Wright
girl but I’d hate like blazes to ask any
grand jury for a murder indictment on
the fishpond ahing. I don’t say you
haven’t done your best and I don’t deny
you have done a good ob of turning over
every stone in this omeo’s past.
course, there is always the possibility
we are all wrong. It may have been an
accident—two accidents, in fact. But we
can't stop until we give James a clean
bill of health—or bust this case wide
open. We've got to find a break if there’s
a break to be fotind.” /
“I could build up a better case {n Colo-
rado against James on the evidence the
Pike’s Peak highway superintendent fur-
nished,” I said gloomily.
“Our job is the La Canada drowning,”
he reminded me. “I agree with you that
there is a. close parallel between the
drownings of his two wives but we’ve got
to concentrate on this one.”
‘ Million Dollar Tip
HE telephone rang. The chief an-
swered,
A curious expression crossed his fea-
tures as he listened for perhaps three
minutes. He replaced the receiver.
“Gray,” he said slowly, “I think the
break is coming. That was the district
attorney’s office. They just got a tip
that looks like a million dollars.”
“Go on,” I said excitedly.
“Just a minute,” he said, drawing an
official form from his desk. He un-
screwed the cap from his fountain pen
and I waited wiile he filled in the blank
spaces on the printed form.
“For the love of Pete,” I cried, “what's
this all about? What are you doing with
that sheet?”
“This,” said Ihspector Stensland with
devastating calrh, “is an application for
an order to have the body of Mary James
exhumed. I’m beginning to think that
you haven’t been working for nothing
after all!”
“Then James did—” I began.
“For the time being,” the chief said,
“James is out of the picture. And in or
out, we know he is where he'll be safe
for a while in case we want him. There’s
a new face in the picture.”
“But what has all this got to do with
exhuming Mary James?” I cried.
“Merely to check up on a point that
was overlooked in the beginning,” he
said. “But I'll tell you all about it on
- the way down.”
“Down where?”
“You and I,” said Inspector Stensland,
“are going down to Hermosa Beach.
We're going to have a little talk with—”
What was the nature of In-
spector Stensland’s “million
dollar tip”? Who is this new
figure in the bizarre case?
Will the Hermosa Beach trip
break the mystery? Read the
sensational answers to these
questions in the next instal-
ment of this incredible story
in the November issue ‘of
Startling Detective Adven-
tures, on sale ‘at all news-
stands September :29.
61
Love Secrets ,
ATTLESNAKE |F
CONCLUSION
RANSFIXED with horror we
sat there and listened as Chuck
Hope continued his grim and
ghastly narrative of the rattlesnake
Romeo’s murder of his pretty wife. We
were seated in a circle around the bull-
necked ex-sailor who had told in all its
grisly detail the manner in which he had
procured deadly rattlesnakes for Robert
James, the marrying barber, so that
James might kill his wife, Mary, in their
La Canada home and collect her insur-
ance.
When the venomous bite of a rattler
had failed to kill the young woman as
she lay tied to a table in the breakfast
Here the nakebite murder 0!
‘James is re-enacted in
nook of the James home, the barber’s
voice was full of wrath as he told Hope:
“Well, you got yourself in a fine mess
this time. That girl isn’t dead—yet !”
“I’m glad of that,” Hope said he re-
plied. “I should hope she isn’t dead.”
Then James, Hope’s story continued,
gave a short laugh and started to walk
back toward the house.
“Where are you going? What are you
going to do?” Hope called after him.
James stopped, turned around and said
evenly :
“I’m going to drown her.”
James was gone for a long time. When
he returned to the garage where Hope
remained he had a bottle of whisky. The
two men had many drinks, Hope not dar-
By
Deputy Sheriff
VIRGIL P. GRAY
Los Angeles Homicide Detatl
As Told To
MARK GIBBONS
per, 1936
wt Ne ol 9
also Denning, the hinker. The women
were young, attrac ive and typical of the
middle west gang ter’s idea of what a
moll should be. A ard-boiled, gin-drink-
ing, sex-warped cr wd.
With guns held at the ready we ad-
vanced, made a cor -erted dash and broke
in upon the mob. S: me dove for the doors
and windows. Sc ne reached for their
guns.
There was a d afening exchange of
shots as revolvers, utomatics and sawed-
off shotguns blazc 1. A man fell in the
en and lay in a crimson pool on the
oor.
Keeling’s Career Ends
HEN the smoke had cleared away
we saw that Tom Limerick, the
leader, and Denning, the thinker, had es-
caped. The man on the floor was Earl
Keeling. He die shortly afterward in
a hospital.
Hugh Barry, in handcuffs, talked. He
told us of two members of the gang,
ride through the ills to try and sober
up. I opened the »arber shop about 8:45.
At noon Hope s! owed up and we had
lunch together.
“T asked him: ‘ Well, did you burn the
place down?’
“He said: ‘No, threw her in the bath-
tub and drowned ier and then I put her
in the fishpond.’
“T said to him: ‘You fool! I had an-
other wife drown in a bathtub in Colo-
rado Springs.’
“But it was to» late then and I was
afraid to go to the police because Hope
had warned me | was in the whole mess
as much as he ws. Sol just arranged
for a couple to :o home with me that
night. The rest f the story you know.
We found Mary i: the fishpond and called
the sheriff’s offic.”
And that was ] obert James’ story.
“He’s lying, of course,” the chief said
later. “And long before he goes to trial
he’ll repudiate a: ything that implicates
him in the actu:l participation of the
murder.”
The chief was right. James and Hope
were indicted and brought to trial: but
only Hope clung to his original story,
And so began the most sensational trial
Los Angeles has witnessed for years.’
Hope went be/ore the court, pleaded
guilty and thus became eligible as the
state’s star witness.
Buckle Is Identified
EANWHILE we of the sheriff's
office had worked day and night for
proof to back up Hope’s story. Hope
helped us as much as he could. He even’
took us out to a ¢ :serted field of tall grass
and weeds into v hich he had thrown the
empty snake bo. But we never found
it. ®
The rhineston buckle I’d taken from
the incinerator i: Hollywood was identi-
fied—even by Jaines—as that which had
been worn on tl: red pajamas by Mary
James.
58
Frances Harper and Ernest Verhull, who
were not in the house at the time of the
raid. It wasn’t long before we tracked
Harper to a Kentucky farm and carried
him off a captive.
I took the trail of Limerick, the leader,
and followed him through Iowa, Indiana,
Michigan and into Wisconsin. I dogged
his footsteps, a jump behind him all the
way, until Christmas. I watched his home
in Omaha, trusting to the: paradoxical
sentiment peculiar to gangdom to bring
him home to his family at Yuletide. Agent
Haight meanwhile was doing the same
thing at Denning’s home in Neola, Iowa.
Neither the leader or the thinker, how-
ever, was lured home by the sentiment of
the season.
When the new,year arrived we received
reinforcements from powerful _ allies.
ohn Edgar Hoover’s G-men joined us
in the search for Limerick and Denning.
The famous federals took up the trail in
_Iowa because government bonds had been
stolen in the bank robberies.
Limerick’s trail was the easier to fol-
We visited the Allman Brothers Snake
Pit in Ocean Park. Jack and Mike All-
man supplied us with one of the strong-
est'clues we had to offer the district at-
torney.
James had visited the Allman pit with
’ Hape during the time the ex-sailor was
“shopping” for vipers!
“Sure, that’s the guy who came down
here with Hope,” the brothers told us.
At length our case was complete and
James was brought to trial. i
After a bitter and acrimonious battle, a
jury of ten men and two women were
sworn in to hear the evidence in Superior
Judge Charles W. Fricke’s court. James’
formal plea was “not guilty, and not guilty
by reason of insanity.”
Before Hope-could be placed on the
stand as the key witness for the state,
the defense desperately attempted to
preclude the ex-sailor from the trial.
First a sanity test was demanded for
Hope. This was denied. Then defense
counsel warned the court that James
would have to be carefully guarded
against a possible assault on Hope.
At last, however, Hope took the stand.
Pale and haggard, he started to tell his
story. He told the preliminary details
of the diabolical plot to kill Mary James
for her insurance. His dull voice droned
lower and lower as he recounted the first
two purchases of snakes which had not
been “killers.” In barely audible tones
he continued:
“I saw James in his barber shop last
ugust 3 and he told me:
“*Those snakes you got me are no
good; I want hot snakes.’ So I went to
Pasadena to a fellow called Snake Joe
and got two more rattlers. Then I went
back to James’ barber shop and we drove
to a drug store and he had me go in and
buy some adhesive tape to put over
Mary’s eyes and mouth when he tied her
to the table—”
Hope’s voice trailed off. His eyes
rolled convulsively. Mottled green
patches spread over his features and he
pitched forward in a faint!
low. He was traced at last to a rooming
house in St. Joseph Mo., where relentless
G-men captured him on May 25, 1935.
The federals also caught up with Ernest
Verhull and captured him in Indiana.
Tom Limerick went to Alcatraz for
. twenty years with four “hold over” re-
quests waiting at the “prison on the rock”
against the day when his first stretch
ends. Pabst, the squealer, went to Iowa
penitentiary for life. Verhull and Harper
also drew terms in Alcatraz and another
member of the mob, Edgar Caseberry,
was sentenced to fifty years for bank
robbery.
One by one the torture bandits were
put away for long terms—all but Den-
ning, “brains” of the mob. But Denning
cannot escape. His photo and description
have been widely circularized. Police
and sheriffs everywhere. have been ac-
quainted with his features. Denning’s
number is up and it will probably be
erased in a blast of gunfire. Knowing
his despicable record police will probably
shoot first and ask questions later.
Judge Fricke hurriedly adjourned
court. ;
’ The next day, still pale but somewhat
composed, Hope continued his ghastly
story.
The grim drama was staged in all its
graphic detail. Spectators saw two long,
glass-topped boxes on a table before the
judge’s bench. They were replicas of
the original snake box and had been con-
structed by the cabinet maker who had
fashioned the box Hope said he had used
to carry the snakes to the James home.
One ofrthe boxes was empty. In the
other were two buzzing, diamond-backed
rattlesnakes—“Lethal” and “Lightning!”
—the vipers Snake Joe had sold to Hope
and then re-bought.
As the reptiles coiled and lashed and
struck futilely at the sliding glass top
of the box, Prosecutor Williams told the
shrinking men and women of the jury
that here were the reptiles James had
hoped would kill his wife. Tenseness
gripped the thronged courtroom.
Then followed one of the most amaz-
ing crime re-enactments ever seen in the
courtroom. While James glowered his
hatred for the man who was testifying
against, him, Hope arranged the empty
snake box on a chair beside a table. He
«was setting the scene as it had been that
August day a year before in the La Can-
ada home. James was instructed to go
over to the table and lie on it in the same
manner as poor Mary James. The bar-
ber adjusting his tie, strolled jauntily over
‘to the improvised setting, a guard on
either side.
He was about to stretch himself on the
table when Hope suddenly recoiled.
“I won’t touch him,” he shrilled in
that odd voice of his, “Nothing can make
me put my hands on that—”
Hope’s words became an angry mum-
ble as he cowered behind a burly uni-
formed court attache. James arose from
his position on the table with eyes nar-
rowed and his jaw muscles taut. The
lance he gave Hope was laden with
ury but he remained silent.
The dr
Hope hir
Mary Jam
on his bac
pretty vict
edge of the
into the bc
leg plunge
der ran th
When it
for the jur
resumed
guards.
“T woul
to mumbl«
tler in tha
A wor
through t
masculine
“Look!
It was t
tained “Li
the reptil:
escaped.
to permit
day; but t
tive was s)
floor of t
filled the
and every
Snake J
long ben
shouted a
and still |
dered Nia
“Lethal
under a |
official in
Snake Jo:
end of a
C
HEy
gerly
the dead)
where he
“Lethal”
box.
Then,
settled ir
Witness :
stand. 1
Colorado
fornia.
The bis
evidence
to us aft
week fo!)
had rela
defense |
this to t!
staged ar
troductio
The bi
every leg
halt the
statemen
the oft-t
brutality
In his
unintrod:
ly he ha
“T told
gladly ac
me up ap
I couldn
one they
some so
“Whe:
minister:
William:
“On }
°
comely women
here were elev-
ur witnesses in
‘lesnake Romeo’s
trial. Mrs. Con-
mmerman,
left,
daughter, Elaine
4
bolstered the
ition case. What
e
iy they gave?
startling testi-
>i
VG DETECTIVE
Below is a rhinestone buckle from
the murdered woman’s pajamas.
A vital link in the evidence which
doomed the slayer, the buckle
was found by the co-author.
Robert James, husband
of the rp ie.
points it above) to
the fatal fishpond on
a’ map of his La
Canada home. Left,
the bathtub in which
Mrs. James was
drowned before her
body was placed in the
fishpond,
‘
James gazed calmly and steadily’ at
Hope, and as that dull voice repeated the
damning accusations of the snakebite and
bathtub drowning I was seized with ‘the
sinking fear that Hope was out of his
mind, that his story was a mad dream..
“This man, gentlemen,” said James
without emotion as Hope concluded, “is
crazy. I never saw him before in my
life. And if this is your idea of trying
to frighten me into a confession you are
all wrong—as usual.” A sneer accom-
panied the last words.
Inspector Norris Stensland, my chief,
very my worry as we discussed the case
ater.
“It’s Hope’s word against James,” he
said. “And unless we dig up something
to substantiate Hope’s story, I’m afraid
no jury would believe Hope in preference
to the barber.”
So I took up the task of finding proof
that Hope had spoken the truth. In the
meantime, District Attorney Fitts went
before the grand jury and obtained in-
dictments against Robert James on the
morals charges. California’s statutes are
rigid in offenses involving such crimes;
and the penalty for incest, with which
ADVENTURES
James was charged, is one of the most
serious on the State’s books.
A Spectacular Trial
‘THE trial of the barber was brief but
spectacular. Women thronged the
courtroom as he was formally accused
of immoral conduct with his beautiful
young niece. James, although he must
have been aware of the heavy penalty
facing him in the event he should be found
guilty, deported himself in the manner
of a modern Don Juan, a boudoir hero .
who should be lauded instead of con-
demned for his sexual achievements. He
pléaded “not guilty” but made practically
no attempt to refute the charges against
him,
True to her word, little Lois Wright
took the stand for the state and became
the prosecution’s star witness in the
charges against James. Her testimony
spelled her uncle’s doom but the barber-
Casanova showed no emotion. Nor did
his expression change when the maxi-
mum penalty was imposed by the court.
He preserved his same smug smile as he
heard the judge sentence him to from
three to fifty years on each count with
the sentences to run consecutively. That
‘meant James could no: possibly leave the
nitentiary for at least a hundred years
use the board of pardons is powerless
to grant a parole to any convict who faces
additional sentences.
Starts Pajaria Search
WITH that phase of the case ended
we plunged even more deeply into
the murder investigation. We were
chiefly concerned about the story of
James’ alleged accomplice.
There were a number of points in
Hope’s story which, if they could be
verified, would go far toward establish-
ing the truth of the ex-sailor’s confession.
The first step in the effort to substantiate
the story led me to an apartment house
in Hollywood, on Virgil avenue, behind
which stood an incinerator for burning
rubbish,
I spent more than three hours rum-
maging through the debris of that in-
cinerator in which Hope said he had
burned the pajamas which Mary James
had worn at the time of her ‘death.
Charred articles of all sorts were care-
fully raked from the bottom of the in-
cinerator. I was almost ready to give up
when the late afternoon sun suddenly
struck a small object which threw back
a scintillating gleam from the pile of
embers and burned articles. I pounced
on it exultantly and 1 ushed back to In-
spector Stensland’s of ce.
“You're just in tin ec,” said the chief
before I could annov ice the discovery
I’d made. “We've ji st got word from
the D, A. that James s ready to make a
statement.”
The two of us hur
attorney’s office.
Almost a week ha
ed to the district
elapsed since the
35
arrest of Chuck Hope and hardly a min-
ute had elapsed without some official or
another raining questions on the barber.
The man’s will power and nerve had been
amazing as he steadfastly denied every
detail of Hope’s accusations. But, as
the chief explained to me while we were
rushing to the D. A.’s, several new links
had been forged in the chain of circum-
stantial evidence during the week.
“We've proved conclusively,” said In-
spector Stensland, “that James has
known Hope for seven years. And now
he’s admitted he lied when he told us
Hope was a stranger to him.”
“Do you think the break is coming at
last?” I asked.
“Frankly, I don’t,” said Stensland.
“James is far too shrewd to give up as
easily as that.”
Inside the district attorney’s office we
found James again the center of a relent-
less ring of inquisitors, But this time
he was not the dapper, defiant figure we
had known in the past. His small, green
eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed, his
thick shock of red hair was awry and red
bristles. stuck out of his jowls for want
of shaving. His voice was haggard and
husky.
Barber Accuses Sailor
“VY DIDN’T kill my wife,” James
started as we sat silently around him.
“It was Hope. And at first I didn’t know
he planned to kill her.
“Hope had told Mary that he had been
a medical student during his time in the
navy. In fact, he said his real name was
Smith and that he had been called ‘Doctor
Smith’ for a long time. Mary told him
she was going to have a baby and she
was afraid it would kill her and she asked
him if he could do anything to prevent its
birth.
“At that time I knew nothing about
these conversations between Hope and
my wife.
“Then, somehow or other—perhaps
Mary told him—Hope found out she was
insured for twenty thousand dollars. He
came to me and said:
“‘She is going to die, anyway. Why
don’t you kill her?”
“T told him I couldn’t do such an awful
thing. We were both drinking pretty
heavy. So then Hope said to me, ‘Well,
if you don’t want to kill her, let me do it.’
“ “How would you do it?’ I asked him.
“He said: ‘I’ll shoot her in a holdup.’
“I told him: ‘Lots of people have been
hung for less than that.’
“Then Hope sprang the rattlesnake
idea on me. I told him I’d never actually
heard of anyone dying of a rattlesnake
bite and he said these California rattlers
will kill in fifteen minutes. I must have
been out of my mind not to have turned
him over to the police right then but I
was drunk and I stayed drunk for more
than a week after that.
Tears and sobs shook attractive
Lois Wright as she gave the shock-
ing testimony that convicted her
uncle on charges of immorality.
STARTLING DETECTIVE
“One &
to the ho
and he tc
the snake
her. Thi
tying her
bare foot
I don’t &
because |
“T saw
said the :
it was tl
were blin
those sn:
more ba
poison.
cause he «
He put a
two snak
bit was >
snakes w
it to deat
“Next
gone for
back wit
spiders.
“ “All
the bed
Hope tol
them all
“Then
up with <
he said }
got then
in Pasad
and the
drank f
to come
form th
seemed \
drunk al
was goir
Tel
si Abo
ir
house.
and can
afternoc
seemed
had ino
formed
away a!
we just
“Hop
6 o’cloc]
were st)
side an
snakes |]
some ch
don’t se
“T sa:
to do?’
“Hoy
go tow
she’s re
house a
in bed.’
“IT dr
a
hardly a min-
ome official or
on the barber.
nerve had been
y denied every
ions. But, as
while we were
veral new links
iain of circum-
the week.
ively,” said In-
it James has
ars. And now
1en he told us
im,”
ik is coming at
said Stensland.
1 to give up as
rney’s office we
nter of a relent-
But this time
efiant figure we
tis small, green
red-rimmed, his
as awry and red
jowls for want
as haggard and
3 Sailor
wife,” James
atly around him.
‘st I didn’t know
that he had been
r his time in the
s real name was
en called ‘Doctor
Mary told him
a baby and she
er and she asked
ng to prevent its
vy nothing about
ween Hope and
other—perhaps
yund out she was
sand dollars, He
, anyway. Why
do such an awful
drinking pretty
‘aid to me, ‘Well,
her, let me do it.’
it?’ I asked him.
her in a holdup.’
people have been
- the rattlesnake
I’d never actually
of a rattlesnake
california rattlers
tes. I must have
ot to have turned
right then but I
d drunk for more
100k attractive
zave the shock-
convicted her
of immorality.
G DETECTIVE
“One Sunday morning he came over
to the house with a box of rattlesnakes
and he told Mary he was ‘going to use
the snakes to perform the operation on
her. The story he told you about me
tying her to the table and sticking her
bare foot in the rattlesnake box is a lie.
I don’t even know if that’s what he did
because I wasn’t in the house.
“I saw him several hours later and he
said the snakes were no good. He said
it was the ‘dog days,’ that the snakes
were blind and wouldn’t bite. So he took
those snakes away and brought some
more back but they didn’t have any
poison. The reason I know that is be-
cause he experimented in the garage first.
He put a live rabbit in the box with the
two snakes. The next morning the rab-
bit was walking around and one of the
snakes was dead—the rabbit had kicked
it to death.
“Next he borrowed my auto and was
gone for two days into Arizona and came
back with a jar full of black widow
spiders.
“All you have to do is throw them in
the bed and they'll bite her to death,’
Hope told me. I just laughed and threw
them all out. .
“Then one Saturday night he showed
up with another box of snakes. This time
he said he had real killers. He said he
got them from Snake Joe Houtenbrink
in Pasadena. He left them in the garage
and the three of us, Mary, Hope and I,
drank for several hours. He promised
to come back the next morning and per-
form the operation on Mary and she
seemed very happy about it. I was awfully
drunk all this time and hardly knew what
was going on.
Tells Of Snake Operation
sf Asovr 11 o’clock on Sunday morn-
ing he came back and I left the
house. I just drove around in the car
and came back about 4 o’clock in the
afternoon. Mary was in bed but she
seemed to be all right. Hope told me he
had inoculated her in the leg and -per-
formed the operation. He took my car
away and after a while Mary got up and
we just sat there and drank all night.
“Hope came back to the house about
6 o'clock the next morning. Mary and I
were still drinking. He took me to one
side and said: “ ‘Those were real hot
snakes I tised because I tried them out on
some chickens and rabbits first. But they
don’t seem to bother her at all.’
“I said: ‘Well, now what are we going
to do?’
“Hope said: ‘Just leave it to me. You
goto work. Mary smokes a lot, so when
she’s really passed out I’ll set fire to the
house and they’ll think she did it smoking
in bed.’
“I drove into the city after taking a
[Continued on page 58]
Charles Hope, ex-sailor and the
state’s ace witness in the trial of
the rattlesnake murderer, is shown
after he fainted on the stand while
telling his ghastly story.
ADVENTURES
t ——
PS
RE aT ok
=
a
Sep stay A oi AO
living on both sides of the bunga-
low had reason to believe that the
niece was sharing his bed; there
had been evidence—especially dur-
ing week end carousals—to indicate
that such was true.
Now Williams resorted to a device
which has since come into consider-
able notoriety. He had a dictaphone
installed in the James house and
conductor wires strung to a hideout
a few yards from the walls where
the conversations could be register-
ed on a record, not to mention
listened to by those skulking there.
By this means, Williams hoped to
learn, from unguarded talk, some-
thing that might lead to a solution
of the death of Mary James.
For thirty days Williams or one
of his men remained at the hidden
receiver. What they heard in the
James bedrooms burned their mod-
est ears. Not only was James enjoy-
ing the favors of his pretty young
niece, but on such nights as he could -
arrange for her to be away, he also
indulged in sex orgies with such
other women as he could lure to his
nest.
Unprepossessing in appearance,
crude, unlettered, loud in his dress,
it was amazing the success he had
with women. All seemed to adore
him and one fascinated creature,
described by an officer who had seen
her enter the house as nothing less
than gorgeous, was heard to exclaim,
“My God, Bob, you’re the most ter-
rific man I’ve ever known.”
It went to constitute a part of the
sad record of Robert James’ indulg-
ences and after thirty days, and re-
peated evidence of his intimacy with
Connie, Williams prepared to spring
the trap. True, he had heard not one
word of the death of Mary James,
but he wanted James in jail and the
incest charge, a crime in California,
would effectively place him there.
Then Williams and his aides pick-
ed up something really startling.
James was entertaining one of his
numerous women friends, not Con-
nie, when suddenly he broached the
subject of his wife’s death. Clearly
Williams overheard the conversa-
tion, which ran as follows:
“Baby, I’m afraid I'm in a little
jam. You know about my wife...
how she died. Well, I had some in-
surance coming and one of the com-
panies got tough and I’m afraid
they’re going to try to frame me,
to make it look like maybe I killed
her. You know how silly that is and
so do I, but you never know what
those rats will do to keep from pay-
ing off.
“So I want you to say that you
54
drove by my house at about ten
o’clock the Monday morning she
died and saw Mary sitting on the
porch. I’ll pay you... I'll give you
a hundred clams and when you say
that, they can’t pin anything on me
because I was at the shop all day
Monday.”
The woman, understandably as-
tonished, nevertheless seemed to
agree to the plan and a few minutes
later Williams had the recording
neatly tucked away. The following
night, when words of love and ex-
citement came over the conductor
wires that apparently issued from
the ecstacies of James and his niece,
Williams and his men rushed the
house and caught the pair en fla-
grante.
“You're under arrest for the crime
of incest,” Williams told James as
a husky detective dragged him from
bed. r
“What do you mean,
James demanded. -
“Having relations with a blood
relative,” Williams explained.
“Don’t make me laugh ... there
ain’t no such crime,” James argued,
but Williams and the detectives con-
vinced him. that there was and he
went to the Los Angeles city jail
while Connie went to the Juvenile
home.
incest?”
HE story of the raid was spread
over the Los Angeles newspapers
and the effect on numerous persons
who heretofor apparently had re-
garded James as only a rather skill-
ful, but personally objectionable
barber, was spectacular. By noon the
day following the raid, a bartender
in the La Canada district had con-
tacted a Los Angeles reporter and
told him a weird story of the pre-
ceding August 4, a story which in-
volved a strange character by the
name of Charles Hope.
Hope, he said, had appeared at
his bar, where he had been observed
half. a dozen times before, and or-
dered three quick double bourbons.
He had gulped them down and
seemed woozy from their effect. Also
he had been notably upset and, as
the potions took effect, he became
tearful and maundering.
“It was awful,” he said. “That
snake biting that poor dame...
and her a good looking dame and
all taped up so she couldn’t see or
talk or anything .. .”
The bartender had accepted the
blubbering as the result of too much
alcohol and had refused to serve his
customer any more, whereat the man
had become hysterical. ’
“He made me do it... he made
.
me do it and I can’t stand it. I gotta
get rid of them snakes, too...” he
shouted and then lurched out of the
bar toward an automobile which the
bartender believed to have been a
Pierce-Arrow convertible.
The reporter carried the story
directly to Williams.
Williams now assigned detectives
to check on every man named
Charles Hope in the Los Angeles
vicinity. He returned to the snake
merchant of Ontario for a more
complete description of the man who
had bought the rattlers from him
seven months before and passed the
description along to his investiga-
tors. Four days later, detectives lo-
cated a Charles Hope working as a
cook in a short order restaurant in
nearby Hermosa Beach. Proceeding
to the cafe, they found a somewhat
ancient Pierce-Arrow convertible
parked in front of the place. Inside,
they inquired about its ownership
and were told that it belonged to
Chuck, the short-order cook.
Chuck proved to be none other
than Charles Hope, a man of about
five feet, eight inches, rather bony
but with a strong frame, a pair of
shifty eyes and, all in all, a most
evil and repellent appearance.
Told that he was under arrest,
Hope went with the detectives with-
out complaint. As he was being held
into headquarters in Los Angeles,
he said suddenly, “Well, I suppose
you're going to give me the screws
on that Mary James business?”
The detectives told him he prob-
ably was correct. They took him to
Williams, and Hope, without prelim-
inaries, said that he had helped in
the drowning of Mary James—and
that he had been aided by a con-
federate.
“And who was the confederate?”
Williams asked.
“Find out for yourself,’’ Hope re-
plied recalcitrant.
Williams had noted that Hope had
said nothing about the snake bite.
He asked Hope how he’d like to take
a little ride into the desert, Hope’s
reply was that he didn’t see how he
could refuse if Williams should in-
sist. Williams did insist and they,
accompanied by two detectives for
safety, drove out to.the Ontario
snake farm. There Hope was con-
fronted by the farm keeper who
immediately identified him as the
man who'd bought the two Crotalus
Atrox rattlers and later returned
them.
“Okay, I had them, but not for
what you think,” Hope said. They
started back to the city. Williams
began to talk confidentially to Hope:
he was she
a certain
proved tha
accurate.
“You kno
felow Jam
was killed,
your descri
and told h
and could
He said tr
that Mary
he wanted
the fella sa
it up for e
“That’s ¢
“I didn’t g:
anything.”
“Then wv
liams aske
“If he’s
gonna tell
Hope decl:
into his sh
a haircut :
I’d had wc
I told him
his shop i
put me in
was pretty
he started
“He aske
could get
he’d give
pair and a
was mine
rhinoceros:
n’t ask an
I was his
Hope pa’
said, “It 1
rest.”
“I got a
and took
had them
en in wit
snake hit
die. Got a
right pret!
other chic
other one
pened.
“He got
sakes, to 5
could kill
ten bucks
guy in On
for six bi
“to him. F
the big bx
keeled ov
tickled pi
I was in
to help h
be good fc
he got th
“T askec
he told m
snakes to
she was
it. I gotta
0...” he
out of the
which the
ve been a
the story
detectives
in named
»s Angeles
the snake
xr a more
e man who
from him
passed the
investiga-
sectives lo-
rking as a
staurant in
Proceeding
. somewhat
convertible
ace. Inside,
ownership
‘elonged to:
cook.
none other
in of about
ather bony
, a pair of
all, a most
rance.
ider arrest,
ctives with-
; being hetd
os Angeles,
, I suppose
the screws
iness?”
m he prob-
took him to
10out prelim-
a helped in
James—and
i by a con-
onfederate?”
f,’ Hope re-
at Hope had
snake bite.
| like to take
esert, Hope’s
t see how he
s should in-
3t and they,
etectives for
the Ontario
pe was con-
Keeper who
him as the
two Crotalus
ter returned
but not for
e said. They
ity. Williams
‘tally to Hope;
he was shooting in the dark, up to
a certain point, but events later
proved that his aim was amazingly
accurate.
“You know,” he said to Hope, “this
fellow James, the one whose wife
was killed, says @ guy answering
your description came to his house
and told him he was an abortionist
and could help. him out of a jam.
He said the fella seemed to know
that Mary was pregnant and that
he wanted to get her fixed up and
the fella said he had a way of fixing
it up for a little money .. _
“That’s a damned lie,” Hope said.
“J didn’t go to his house to tell him
anything.”
“Then where did you go?” Wil-
liams asked.
“If he’s gonna lie about me, I’m
gonna tell the truth about him,”
Hope declared vehemently. “I went
into his shop one day and I needed
a haircut and a shave to get a job.
I’d had work done there before and
I told him I would do some work in
his shop if he’d fix me up and he
put me in his chair. I told him I
was pretty much on the beach and
he started talking turkey.
“He asked me if I knew where he
could get some rattlesnakes. Said
he’d give me fifty bucks to get a
pair and anything I saved out of it
was mine. I could get a pair of
rhinoceroses for fifty bucks, so I did-
n’t ask any questions, just told him
I was his man.”
Hope paused. Williams nodded and
said, “It makes sense, tell me the
rest.”
“T got a couple of snakes for him
and took them out to his house. I
had them in a box and put.a chick-
en in with one of them and the
snake hit the chicken, but it didn’t
die. Got a little wobbly, but was all
right pretty soon. Then he tried an-
other chicken in the box with the
other one and the same thing hap-
pened.
“He got sore and told me for Pete’s
sakes, to get some good snakes that
could kill something, and gave me
ten bucks more. I went out to that
guy in Ontario and got two big fellas
for six bucks and took them back
Ao him. He tried the chickens and
the big boys hit ’em once and they
keeled over and died. James was
tickled pink and told me that now
I was in a mess with him and had
to help him out, but that it would
be good for a hundred, at least, when
he got the insurance.
“Y asked him what insurance and
he told me he was going to use the
snakes to get rid of his wife because
she was pregnant. I said no soap,
{
but he told me I'd brought the
snakes and, so I was already in the
deal with him. Then he said he’d
make it two hundred as soon as the
job was done. I was scared and
broke, so I said I’d go along .. .”
“And then what happened?” Wil-
liams said, quietly.
“Nuts ...I wanta see him... I
don’t believe he told you anything,”
Hope suddenly bridled. “I don’t even
believe you got him in the can.”
“Okay,” Williams said. “We'll go
back to the hall and let you face
him.”
HUCK HOPE changed his story
slightly when he saw that
James actually was in jail. What he
said then was that he had obtained
the snakes for James, but had not
known that they were to be used to
kill anybody. He said that he had
agreed to pose as @ medical student
who could and would perform an
illegal operation on James’ pregnant
wife, and that James had told him
that Mary had agreed to allow him
to go ahead with the operation, be-
lieving him to be a student as he
claimed.
“JY was at his house on August 4,”
Hope said, “when he told me that
the time had come to perform the
operation. I told him I didn’t know
anything about such things and
couldn’t do it, that I might kill
someone. He told me I wouldn’t be
doing it, that he would, but that I
was to pretend that I was doing it
because I was supposed to be a med-
ical student ... you know, a croak-
er Ld
Hope hesitated then, asked for a
cigarette, and launched into one of
the most shocking stories of human
cruelty ever recounted before a law
officer. He told his story raggedly,
part of the time choosing his words
well, at other times becoming angry,
or excited, or a little terrified, per-
haps, and lapsing into vulgarity and
Mrs. William Swartz (left) whose sixteen-year-old daughter, Pat,
was stabbed to death, tries vainly to comfort Mrs. Ruby Jenko,
mother of the boy who allegedly confessed to the brutal slaying.
55
2)
OF RATTLESNAKES
|
‘He used the cunning of a rattler
.
siete ianiait
The “hottest snakes available” : Hea ; é ? ;
went for only 70 cents a pound. . _ In twisting women to his - me
\
: will,-and the devil’s own prescription
‘
after they'd served his purpose
waLitvelaL
ITECTIVE, December, 1953
56
‘A LTHOUGH murder by poi-
son is incredibly simple to —
detect, once.suspicion has been:
aroused, it is difficult to con-
vict upon, by the very nature
of the crime. There are seldom.
witnesses present when the .
poison is administered, and.
since dropping a little arsenic .
into the soup can be managed
‘by the merest flip of the wrist,'..
even when a witness is present
he usually doesn’t know what
is going on.
However, once let motive, op-’ :
portunity and ownership of the’
poison be proved; and the’
poisoner, however
usually is a gone gosling—no
matter how cleverly he man-’
aged.
A perfect example of this was
dentist Dr. Perley Mordecai.
Mordecai, although fairly suc-
cessful in his profession, had:
picked up a few expensive hab- .
its that his practice could not
afford. He decided to supple-
ment his income. by murder-
ing his father-in-law, thereby:
gaining an inheritance. So he
suggested the old man stop in»:
and have his teeth examined, ©
Mordecai found a tooth that
was beginning. to decay and
made a temporary filling for it.
in which he placed a healthy’
dose of aconite, one of the
most deadly of poisons. The:
filling dissolved shortly after-
cunning,’ ;
wards, as Mordecai’ had plan- ~
ned, and the father-in-law
died in painful convulsions,
However, because death was
so sudden and so terrible, an
examination was made, and it -
was found that the stomach‘ '
contained aconite. Even then:
Mordecai’s plan might have
gone through, but further ex-
amination disclosed bits of °
dental wax.in the stomach.
From dental wax to owner-. .
ship of aconite to motive was
a short jump, and Mordecai.
was convicted of the murder.
4
even the vernacular of the gutter.
But he told the story and when he
had finished even so hardened a
crime expert as Eugene Williams
was cold with rage and shock.
“We went into the house that
night and Bob got his wife out of |
bed,” Hope said. “He told her that
the operation would be performed,
but that we would be taking a long
chance and that I insisted that her
eyes be taped shut so that she could
never identify me as the one who
had operated on her if the police
or anybody should ever come into
the case.
“The poor dame believed him and
even believed him when he told her
she’d have to be strapped down to
a table and her mouth taped shut
so she couldn’t yell and attract at-
tention. Then he told her that it
was a new kind of abortion opera-
tion, that I would shoot some serum
into her foot and that the junk
would take care of everything with-
out having to do the usual stuff they
do.
“He taped her eyes tight and then
her mouth so she couldn’t make a
sound and then he got some belts
and some rope and strapped her
down onto a kitchen table so she
couldn’t move her arms or legs.
When he had her all tied down he
told me to go with him and we went
outside and he told me to bring in
the biggest of the two snakes that
was in a box in a shed with a glass
top on the box... a sliding top.
“T asked him what the hell he
meant to do and he said that snake
bite wouldn’t kill her, but that the
poison would kill the kid and she’d
get rid of it and everything would
be jake. The poison would go into
the kid’s blood because it was weak-
er, he said. I went out and got the
box and brought it in.
“Y was shaking like a leaf and he
took that box and put it on a chair
close to her feet and then he pulled
the glass top back and pushed her
foot into the box .. . I couldn’t tell
you which foot, I was so scared...
and that rattler let out a rattle and
you could hear it ten feet away when
he hit that poor dame on the foot.
“T saw her twitch all over and her
foot jerked out and she knocked the
box off the floor, but. that louse
picked it up quick and shoved her
foot into it again. The snake made
another pass at the foot and then
she kicked the box off again. He
yelled ‘Get it, quick,’ at me. I grab-
bed the box and slammed the glass
back over the top and ran out the ©
door with it.
“He said I could take the snakes
=
back, then, that the job was done,
and I took it back to the shed. Well,
we set around for two or three hours
after that, with that poor babe’s
mouth still taped and her eyes taped
and her leg swelling up like a ham.
It was the damndest sight I ever
saw, but when she wasn’t dead by
midnight, he said we'd have to
drown her, and he made me help
him carry her out to the pool.
“But first he took the tape off her
eyes and told me to duck out a while.
I watched through the window and
saw him making her write some
kind of a note. Finally, she keeled
over and it was then we dragged
her outside. He made it look like
she had slipped and then stuck her
head and shoulders into the pool,
and he was smart enough to wash
the tape marks off her mouth and
eyes before he left her.
“J took the snakes back to the
farm. He told me that he’d pay me
as soon as he got the insurance.
Half of what he got, he said, if I’d
keep my mouth shut. Well, he ain’t
paid me and I ain’t kept my mouth
shut.”
James was brought in to confront
Hope, but not until after he had
read a transcript of the cook’s story.
He held it in his hand as he faced
Hope and, a snarl on his lips and
threat in his voice, he said:
“So you did kill her with the
snakes, you little—” Turning to Wil-
liams, he added, “I knew he’d done
it because he was the one that got
her pregnant... .”
Williams got murder warrants
‘against both men. When he walked
into James’ cell with the warrant in
his hand and James read it, the
philandering barber added one more
gem to the hideous record of the
case by saying:
“Holy gee, a murder warrant for
a lousy little dame like her! You
want to hang me for getting rid of
her! Why all the fuss?”
A year later Robert James added
one more gruesome distinction to his
Escutcheon of Evil. He walked up
the thirteen steps with a faltering
tread to become the last man ever
hanged in San Quentin prison. Af-
ter that the gas chamber came into
use, but all agreed it was much too
humane for such a depraved felon
as the villain born Major Raymond
Lisenbee.
Hope, the dope, got life imprison-
ment.
Editor’s note. The name Connie is
fictitious as used in this account.
had been t
would coo, ‘
At first th
and other m
contempt fc
sions. Finall
San Francis
mately beca
in every bro
in the Eng)
It was i
growing up
quake and
a specific se
the prostitu
purchased, ‘
lists. They
to business
London and
the superio
and many
guarded dis
journals of
stranger ir
have at le
finding con
sioned ...
recourse to
of the hac
cisco, the
cards bear
dresses of t
some even
girls availa
“Fifty of
ful and a
nations an‘
enjoyment,
Jerome Ba
Mansion I
this super
ranging f)
tablishmen
It was
there was
tion of th
scruples to
the propri
tionalism
naming th
ter Grant
sign procl
and an o]
side depict
on a silke
males in s
pily about
T was
Bassity
gave the
Room. N
profits fr:
_ scream.
now. Bring those snakes in here.’
-and shaking their rattles.
- again.”
deadly
he received a phowe call from a younp Los
Angeles attorney. A man named Charles
Hl. Hope, a friend of James, bad come to
hin stating that he had dmiportant titorma
tion about the fish pond death. “He's in
my office now,” the attorney. said,
“Thanks. I'll have him rushed over here
right away.” the district attorney ex-
claimed.
A slightly bleary-eyed man was ushered
into” Fitts’ office. “You're a’ friend of
Robert James?” the district attorney began,
“Yes. I've known him = seven years.
Figured it was only the right thing to tell
you everything TP know,”
Fitts nodded and Hope continued. “A
few days before they found Mrs. James
dead,” he said quietly, “I went to Houten-
brink’s snake farm in Pasadena and bought
a box of rattlesnakes.”
“Rattlesnakes?” Fitts “What
for?”
“I'm getting to that. The next Sunday
morning | took the box to James’ house
and when I got there he had this girl tied
to a table.” .
Fitts leaned forward tensely. “What girl?
What do you mean?”
Hope wiped his forehead although it was
cool in the office. “His
echoed.
"James... .
“Tied, you say?”
“Yes, sir. He had adhesive tape over her
eyes and mouth so she couldn’t see or
She had on only a thin nightgown.
He told me, ‘You can’t get out of this
I got
the box out of the garage and set it down
in the kitchen.
“The snakes were all coiled up, hissing
He Stuck his
wife's bare foot into the box.”
Fitts stiffened. “He did what? Say that
“That’s right. He forced her foot into
_the box of snakes and one of them struck.”
Fitts looked at Hope unbelievingly. Was
Hope mad? If this were a figment of the
soft-spoken man’s imagination it rivaled the
most fantastic horror tale ever conjured by
Poe. °
The district attorney pictured all too
vividly the blond bride's last moments of :
life, if Hope's story were true. Blind-
folded, bound and gagged, struggling des-
perately to scream for help, she must have
heard the warning rattles of the, snakes.
She must have sensed her husband’s fiend-
ish purpose. ,
“Go on,” Fitts said coldly.
Hope told of three times trying to buy
snakes, and finally firiding two
vicious reptiles in Pasadena, paying 70
cents a pound for them. “I thought he
wanted them for experiments,” he said.
“After the snake struck her,”” Hope con-
tinued, James gave me the box and told me
to take them away. I took them back to
Houtenbrink's snake farm and returned to
the cottage. James came out of the house,
scowling, ‘She's not dead yet,’ he snapped,
‘That snake poison isn't) working, Von
stay here. I'm going to drown her,’
“In about half an hour he came out and
said, ‘Well, that’s it.’ I said, ‘My God,
man. You really killed her?
“He nodded. ‘Come on in and help me
carry her out.” TI went in and the girl was
lying on the floor by the bathroom in red
pajamas and with slippers on... .”
Fitts interrupted. “Then she was drowned
in the bathtub?”
“T feel sure of it,” Hope answered calm-
ly. “Her hair was still wet. -I took her
feet and he carried her by the shoulders.
We went out to the fish’ pond. He asked
me to help him drop her into the pool but
I couldn’t go for that.”
ITTS WOULD HAVE been completely
incredulous of this fantastic story except
for two things. He remembered the autop
wife—Mary,
ay teport that the blond bride's left foot
had been swollen and there had been evi.
denee of poieatt from “at dimeet ar analee
bite” Atso, Charles Tlope wore the ali
Mitts often had seen of a man greatly re:
lieved oat petting something off — his
conscience,
The quickest wav to check Hope's story
was to take him to “Snake Joe” Houten-
brink’s farm, There the proprietor prompt-
ly identified Hope as the purchaser of two
deadly serpents, “Lethal” and “Lightning,”
which he said were “Two of the hottest on
the coast.”
“What do you mean ‘hottest ?’
tive asked.
“Deadliest.
at anything.”
With this support of Hope's almost un-
believable story, the district attorney
reasoned that he might trap James into a
confession with a surprise accusation.
In the county jail James listened to the
accusation without batting an eye. “Hope’s
screwy,” he said when Fitts had finished.
“He’s lable to tell you anything. I know
nothing about it.”
With this challenge, Fitts and his de-
tectives set out to verify Hope's state-
ments. They found Mrs. Robert Strick-
land, employe at a cafe near James’ bar-
ber shop, who told of a violent quarrel
James had with his wife over insurance
policies he wanted to take out on her life.
Hope had been a former insurance agent
but recently had been unemployed and was
virtually penniless.
must have supplied him with money to buy
the snakes. Also Hope bought adhesive
tape and a sedative for “Mrs. R. James”
from a drugstore at Wilshire Boulevard
and Vermont. The proprietor identified
Hope.
And a retired Hollywood cabinet maker,
Max Sherman, identified Hope as_ pur-
chaser for five dollars, of two specially
prepared glass-top boxes 20 by 12 by 9
inches with air holes “to keep white mice
in,”’
Burned fragments of the pink nightgown
the blond bride had worn during her ghast-
ly murder were recovered from an incin-
erator behind a real estate office on North
Vermont Street near Hope's home.
a detec-
Most vicious. They'll strike
This meant that James’
With this évidence that Hope's story Was
not “screwy,” Burton Fitta again confronted
dates in the county jal
At fist James maintained stolidly that >)
he was mnocent. But Mitts kept doggedly ©
firing questions at the red-headed barber, :
At last James broke.
litts shot a question at him. “When
you and Hope first discussed and arranged
the murder of your wife, Mary, it was for ~
the purpose of collecting: $21,000 Tife ine
surance 2"
“It wasn’t $21,000.
James admitted. ;
“Then you two agrecd to have the snake’
bite her. Is that right?” (
“Yes,” James said sullenly. He described”
how he and Hope had talked over plans ’
to do away with his unsuspecting bride;
how they had considered black widow
spiders, an “accidental” murder during ait
illegal operation, a swift acting poison,
shooting during a “holdup,” and death by’
fire in the house.
Finally they had discarded all
modes of murder. in favor of the diabolical:
plan of an “accidental” bite by a venomous -
snake.
murder.
District Attorney Fitts realized that no
matter whether James’ or Hope's version.
was correct, Charles Hope had also in-
volved himself in the bizarre slaying. The ©
district attorney ordered both James and *
Hope booked on charges of murder.
The next morning the body of blond ~
Mary Busch James was exhumed from its
resting place in a Pasadena cemetery... Al- _
.though nine months to a day had passed
“since her death, it was possible for Dr.
Gustave Boehme, eminent toxicologist, to
make positive findings. :
He found the marks of snake fangs on —.
the left big toe. Obviously the swelling |
was caused by cellulitis, the poisoning ef-
fect. Unquestionably this would have been ~
fatal, Dr. Boehme explained, in time. The :
lack of large blood vessels in the big tae
had caused the virulent poison to spread
more slowly.
And now it was learned that James had
made application with five companies for
life insurance policies of $1000 each on the
“life of his paramour, Betty Maynard. When
a
’
ES
of
ba |
eat Red.
Dr. Gustave Boehme (left) and other officials are shown as they were about to open the
coffin of Mary Busch James. Would the body reveal a secret?
It was only $10,000," 4
these %
James accused Hope-of the actual
j
i
Alabama, with Maude Dunent, (rome wher
he had beet divorced in LOL Next enme
Vera May Vermillion, of Piiperti, Ian
sas, married In 120 and shortly divorced
Winona Wallace he had married in 1922
at Glendale, California. She had been
drowned at Manitou, a small resort town
near -Pike’s Peak in Colorado, in 1932,
A marriage to Ruth Thomas in 1934 at
New Orleans had been annulled, and the
marriage to blond Mary Busch on July 19,
1935, at Santa Ana, California, had ended
in her mysterious death in the shadow of
the droll litthe cement gnome in the fish-
pond.
By some weird quirk of fate, James also
had been closely linked with five persons
whose untimely deaths had benefited him
in one way or another.
There was Cornelius Wright, his nephew,
who crashed into oblivion in an auto acci-
dent near San Francisco in August, 1934.
James had received $5000 in insurance.
He had also collected $5000 in insurance
on the death in Alabama of his grand-
mother, Mrs. Mary Lisemba.
Cecil Allen, who had been engaged to
marry Betty Maynard, crashed mysterious-
ly to his death shortly after the well-known
young speed flier took off to attend the
Bendix Trophy speed races in 1935, James
had been in the hangar shortly before Allen
took off.
Then there were the two wives, Winona
Wallace and Mary Busch. Their deaths
had Ween strikingly similar. Winona had
drowned in a bathtub, Mary in a fish pond.
James had received substantial insurance
from each death: $15,000 from Winona, so
far only $3500 from Mary. He had blamed
“fainting spells” for each. Strangely, each
wife, just before her demise, had written
almost identical letters to relatives.
All this looked very suspicious but was
not evidence the district attorney could use
in court. So Fitts began preparing for
James’ trial on the moral charges.
“At least we'll be able to hold him until
we can really get to the bottom of his
latest wife’s death,” the district attorney
said.
The sensational morals trial a few weeks
later resulted in James’ prompt conviction,
The barber was sentenced to indeterminate
terms at San Quentin Prison of from three
to 150 years, but he was held in the Los
Angeles County jail.
Fitts was pondering his next move when
A spectral note in James’ trial: City Health
Officer Charles Decker illustrates the injuries
on the head of Winona Wallace James, pre-
vious wife who died in bathtub.
puny, 1942
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57
the girl heard this her face blanched
“T guess I was pretty lucky at that,” she
shuddered, "TP omlyht even be dead now."
AMES REPUDIATED bis confession,
claiming it had been forced from him,
and tried to Jay all the blame on Hope as
the murder trial opened in Los Angeles
Superior Court before Judge Charles W.
Fricke and a jury of ten men and two
women,
The case was so sensational that thou-
sands of curious people fought daily to get
into the courtroom. Some of the spectators
got more than they bargained for when a
snake wriggled free from the grasp of an
expert and fell writhing to the floor in
the packed room. Forked tongue darting
in and out, it slithered toward the spec-
tators.
Panic gripped the courtroom. Several
‘screaming men and women were injured
before the snake expert recaptured the
reptile.
On July 24, 1936, the jury found Robert
James guilty of murder in the first degree
without recommendation of mercy. Judge
Fricke sentenced James to be hanged on
the gallows .at San Quentin prison. And
promptly he appealed to the California Su-
preme Court. Pending decision of the
appeal he was remanded to the county jail.
Charles Hope had pleaded guilty before
the trial started. He was sentenced to a
life term at San Quentin Prison, despite
his protests.
Los Angeles County jail attendants were
amazed and a little bit cynical when the
red-headed libertine and murderer began
to “get religion.” Daily he prayed loudly
with members of a religious group. Fi-
nally he requested and received permission
to be baptized in the jail laundry tank.
This was done October 5, 1936.
Robert James’ attorneys fought bitterly,
After many legal technicalities the Cali-
fornia Supreme Court affirmed his con-
viction and death sentence on March 21,
1939, three years later.
Promptly he appealed to the United
States Supreme Court, and on April 7,
1941, that court disagreed four to four.
This was tantamount to reaffirming the
conviction, but once again the case was
taken back to the Supreme Court in Wash-
ington, D. C. On December 8, 1941, that
august body upheld the execution verdict
for the murder of blond Mary Busch James
by a vote of seven to two. ;
In San Quentin prison’s death row,
James spends his time in conducting scrip-
ture classes for other condemned men, with
* the permission of Warden Clinton Duffy.
As this goes to press he is scheduled to be
hanged May 1, 1942. And if Robert James
falls through the gallows trap he will be
the last legally hanged murderer in Cali-
fornia. Since his conviction the state has
substituted the lethal gas chamber.
At this writing, James has still refused
to give up hope. Almost seven years have
passed since the death of Mary Busch
James, and Robert James is still living,
From his death house cell he has directed
a campaign aiming to have thousands of
people sign a petition requesting Governor
Olson to commute James’ sentence to life
imprisonment. rom his cell he has also
written a remarkable series of “letters from
the death house” to a former acquaintance
in Emporia, Kansas.
(These letters are: presented exclusively
by InsipE Detective on page 20 of this
issue. It is suggested that the reader, after
finishing this factual account of the James
case, turn to page 20 and read James’
letters —THE Enitor.)
For obvious reasons, the names “Betty
Maynard” and “Hazel Brack,’ as used in
this narrative, are not actual but fictitious.
lowa’s Poison Pair
(Continued from page 29)
“I'd like to show you fellows a picture
of Elta,” he explained, tears rolling down
his cheeks. “She was so sweet. I miss
her 80.”
He opened the pocketbook.
“My God!" he said, staring inside it.
“What's the matter?” County Attorney
Warin inquired. He could see nothing but
the usual cosmetic articles and a_ small
pellet of newspaper.
“It's a plant!’’ Horton went on, his voice
shrill with hysteria. “You might as well
take me and hang me now. I’m innocent—
but that old JoRnson woman has framed
me!”
Horton chen unrolled the little piece of
newspaper and held up an empty capsule.
Warin noted that Horton’s fear had
apparently muddled his mind: He had put
on his act before opening the paper and
finding out what was in it.
The officers left him still sobbing and
raving, and went down to question Anna.
“Could it be possible Anna was in love
with Floyd and wanted Mrs. Horton out
of the way?” one of the officers asked as
they entered the farmyard. “Maybe she
hated Elta because she was pretty. Maybe
Anna was the one who filled those capsules
with strychnine.”
But Anna said she wasn’t—and she could
prove it.
She had filled the capsules in the presence
of Ruth Slagle and the hired man, Frank
Ladd. The quinine was in a new bottle
and the cap so tight that she had asked
Ladd to open it. Both Ladd and Ruth
remembered noticing the label and seeing
that the bottle contained greyish quinine.
As soon as Anna filled the capsules, she
had handed them to Ruth, telling her to
put them in an envelope and seal it. Ruth
had done this, writing on the outside direc-
tions for taking them, and jokingly signing
it: “Drs. Johnson and Slagle.” She -had
then put the envelope in an -empty fruit
jar which belonged to Mrs. Horton, and
shortly thereafter Floyd had taken them
away. Apparently Anna had had no time
to switch the capsules. Floyd had had
five hours.
But the officers, still circulating through
the neighborhood, asking questions about
Floyd's love affairs, soon learned that Anna
might not be as innocent as she claimed.
They learned that Floyed, who thereto-
fore had stuck to young, good-looking wo-
men, had fallen hard for fat. plain) Anna
Johnson, He had told a friend of his about
the affair.
“Anna is the sleepy kind, but, boy, when
she wakes up!” he remarked.
When the officers accused Horton of hay-
ing illicit relations with Anna, he looked
at them in amazement,
“Me have an affair with that old battle-
axe?” he scoffed. “Say, a guy would have
to put a sack over her head!”
But the officers knew he was lying and
soon they were able to prove it. Hotel
registers were examined in nearby towns
and across the Missouri line, and hotel
proprietors were questioned. Due to Anna
Johnson's weight, few people forgot having
seen her, and it was easily established that
she and Horton, over a period of three
months, had been renting rooms under as-
sumed names in various hotels—she regis-
tering and paying for the room sometimes
—at other times, he.
Most of the proprietors remembered the
couple so well that they could point out the
signature, and the officers soon had a col-
lection of aliases, signed by both Floyd
and Anna.
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By Deputy
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; :UGENE D. WILLIAMS [3
Los Angeles County, Calif.
As told to
KELLEY
a:
(pee WERE FOUR CHAIRS in the barber shop,
and they were all empty. Music filtered from a midget
radio mounted on a bracket next to the chromium auto-
clave. An oscillating electric fan swept ‘an are of sultry
breeze through the inert air. Doreen Maysworth, the
‘manicurist, sat at her glass-topped table surrounded by
the tools of her trade. Through the wall mirror, the bar-
ber eyed the shapely girl with unusual interest. Her silk-
clad legs were crossed and she rested her palm in her
lap as she buffed her nails for the lack of something better
to do. She was an attractive girl, he decided, artfully made
up and hygienically demure in a crisply starched white
uniform just a shade too tight.for the molded curves
underneath. A green voile handkerchief was. pinned to
her lapel, bringing out the arresting red-brown of her
eyes and the burnished glints of her sorrel hair. She was
youthful, exciting—more exciting than his wife.
Standing in front of ‘the mirror near his chair, the
barber, Bob James, appraised his reflection and found
it to his satisfaction. It flattered him to think that in his
natty white uniform with the short sleeves and standing
collar, he looked more like a distinguished surgeon than
Illustrated by WALTER POPP
BY JONAS BAYER
a barber-shop owner. He smoothed his hair with the
tips of his fingers; ‘a full head of hair, nearly the same
color as the girl’s. It was an important asset to a barber
to have a good head of hair—and an equally important
asset to ‘a man whose frank: and admitted avocation was
the habitual pursuit of the ladies. es
“How about it, Doreen?” he asked. “If you didn’t know,
would you ever take me for thirty-nine?”
The manicurist smiled with cynicism in her eyes. “I'd
like you no matter how old you were,” she said.
“Thirty-nine is too close to forty.” He-examined his
pasty complexion with morbid interest.
“The sun lamp is what I need: It’s a bad psychological
effect to be pushing forty. A fellow loses his confidence.”
He looked at the girl with compelling, sadistic eyes. “How
about it?” he demanded again. “Do I act like a guy who’s
' middle aged?” :
Doreen held his gaze for a fraction of a second, then
flushed and dropped her eyes. “No,” she said softly. “Not
you, Uncle Bob.” i tn
His cruel lips twisted into a complacent smirk. “You
ought to know.”
the first, but any time between now and = two sisters since 1915 that were left widows.) 6%
etitiedeie erento te ee
2 age Se
Tn er a ee ere ne =
,
oe ae
He ‘Now 6 ‘of a P series.ye |
Wes, HAYDEN POPE, a young’
man in his early twenties, died ing
' Streetsville, Ontario, he was laid to rest %
in the local cemetery. Two days later - e
iM Mi ‘ade “Robert Edwards, one of his rela- |
es, went to visit his grave. She was £
to seé that the dirt had been |
Paked off the coffin and that the li of |
“it stood open. One panic-stricken ook 7
-assured her that Pope’s body was gone. ©
* Mrs, Edwards ‘rushed to inform the”
4 ‘police, The. latter, on going to investi- —
P gate, ‘were. as ed to find a note:
; lying, in in the coffin. It was addressed to |
‘ope’s. parents, and it informed them ©
‘that the body of their son had been “kid- 4
enaped,” and would not be returned, until
the kidnaper_ had been given $100. The
“note stated, in real “natch” style, that ©
they would be informed later on how to
“proceed, and contained the usual threats
bot ‘what would happen to them in. the © a
“event they tipped off the police. ~~ be
The citizens of Streetsville were in-
furiated. Every man in the town left .
“his job to track down the heartless ghoul ©
“who had stooped low enough to desecrate | 4
'a grave in order to obtain a few dis- 4
honest dollars.” The usual arrangements ;
-were made to “watch the telephone of |
; Pope's parents, and cars were held in
eadiness to. hurry to any point from
. hich a call might come, —
{The next day, however, several: Nschoat
children. found the body of Pope lying
“in a ditch about ten miles from Streets- ,
An le.” Evidently the “idnaper’~ had be- 4
Brome frightened and fled.
~ Stealing dead people from graves,
4 however, isn’t quite as bizarre as live | 4
“ones Voluntarily going into tombs. Such |
an oat Tene took pplace 3 in Baltimore”
along about 1920. ‘The city had just,
een shocked by, the hold-up and killing ,
of the treasurer of a contracting com-_
“par famed Norris... The police were
‘the lookout for Jack Hart and Walter |
ESotolow, alleged to be two of those in”
the: stick-tip | mob. Chief Burns received M
a eaten call! from. a _ notorious,
You're loking Poel ‘Hart pi Soco- °
low, aren't ‘chief? They’re in the ©
_ Home, sisweet ome Cemetery They're
phe ding out in the old Rudel 4 tomb.” ig
The! Home.,Sweet Home etery.
used for years. pains, P
a
PI
‘a
4
group. bras is men, jumped into
sate and, ‘ore, ‘out, to. the
is Died tomb, was em ity. But it had been }
-used—used as a hiding place by these |
_ two desperadoes! The floor was littered, |
Lwith scraps of food, bottles, boxes, sar-.
dine’ cans and newspapers. The latter |
told. ‘the story. For they were all of ©
(that very afternoon, and all were turned.
ito the story of the Norris case. As the | ‘
papers had not been on the streets more ,
i than an hour, the two thugs must have »
' fled just prior to the officers’ visit. "
‘Burns and his men, all of whom had |
shad years of experience in pote work,
? pe that it was one of t strangest |
" they had ever heard of,
Othat, left to their own spall and ‘with |
out the aid of a stoolpi hey never |
eel have. ea aa searching for:
ted eee a Patt oli hat
then is ok. Tf the report hasn't reached
the governor by then and he hasn't had
time to investigate the case, he will grant
a 60 or 90-day stay. That is the reason
you always see a stay in cases here.
The Christian people in Los Angeles and
San Francisco are getting a petition signed
for me. My attorney has asked them for
25,000 names. That is a large petition to
get signed in such a short time. But out of
state names are good on it, and my brother
and two sisters that live in Alabama are
helping them! The prison chaplain and the
chaplain at the county jail in Los Angeles
and my sister will go with my attorney to
see the governor and present the petition
and make the final plea for a commutation.
ASKS FOR PETITIONS
You asked if you can help mein any way.
I think you can and I will greatly appreciate
it if you will. You can help me much in
two ways. First, by getting some names on
the petitions for me, for every name I get
will help. I am sure that some of my old
friends there will be glad to help me unless
they have been misled by the newspapers
and are prejudiced.
My attorney said if you could get Mr.
White (William Allen White, famous
Emporia editor—Ep.) to sign my petition,
it would be a big help, for he is well known
all over the country. If he will, I will give
him an inside story about my case when I
am commuted that will be very interesting,
and I expect it will make headlines all over
the country. I will surely give him the
chance to break it if he will help me. If
Mr. White will sign, please have him sign
the first line.
I have asked my Bible teacher to mail
you some petitions. But you will notice
that the printer didn’t leave space enough
for two names on each line. So my attorney
said write all the way across the petition,
and instead of getting 50 names on each
petition, you can only get 25, for it has to
be done this way.
FULL NAME ADDRESS OCCUPATION
Robert Sherwood James 601 Commercial St., Barber
Emporia, Kansas
The petitions must be signed with ink and
must be back in Los Angeles not later than
April the 10th.
You will see on the heading of each peti-
tion that both courts have said that no man’s
life should be taken on the evidence in my
case, Which is a confession of doubt! That
is very much in my favof for a commuta-
tion.
(James ended this letter with a further
claim of innocence in the case of Mary
Busch James —Eb.)
San Quentin, Calif.
March 13, 1942
Dear ——— and family:
Christian greetings to you in Jesus’ pre-
cious name,
The Governor's office has asked my attor-
ney to file the petitions with him by the
25th of this month if possible, so his office
will have plenty of time to investigate my
case. So you will have to send yours in
right away, whether you have them fully
signed or not.
I am going to file my executive clemency
papers next week. So if you will write
your letter to the Governor now, I will
greatly appreciate it, for it will be turned
over to the advisory pardon board for con-
sideration, and I feel sure it will have much
weight on them.
Here is a few things that might help you
to construct your letter. I was in business
there (Emporia) for mvself from 1920 to
’25. I enlisted in the Marine Corps when
war was declared in 1917 and served for the
duration of the war. I have helped support
One has four children and one has aix,
used to give a hundred dollars a month of °
my earnings for their support, I sent one
of the boys through college (Auburn) and
I sent two more of the boys through busi-
ness school and two girls through beauty
school.
I have never been in any kind of trouble,
before. Both of those sisters live in Bir-
mingham. I became Christian when I was
convicted and was baptized in the county
jail. Since that time | have led many pris- ’
oners to the saving knowledge of our Lord.
I have a Bible class here and had one all
the time I was in the county jail.
much doubt in the minds of several judges
in both State and U. S. Supreme Courts 28
as to my guilt, for several of them wrote a.
descending opinion and said no man’s life
should be taken on the evidence in my case!
I was married there, and we separated /
here. I had insurance on that wife as same - © «
as the one here, for I was a strong believer
in insurance. I have $7000 on myself and I
always carried it on all of my relatives that
I was responsible for, for I knew if any-
thing happened to them I would have to
bury them, and it was much easier to pay
insurance than a thousand-dollar funeral bill
all at one time, for that is very hard to do.
I think that covers everything.
I will close now for I have many letters
to answer, for I am receiving many letters
since I lost my appeal. I trust this will find
all of you well and happy. I am feeling fine. _
I will let you know when I go before the
board. Am enclosing a stamped envelope
and a clipping from a Los Angeles Christian | ‘
paper, and a picture of my class now. I[ |
wish you would attach them to your letter
to the Governor, or the one from the ‘
Christian paper.
Please give my very best wishes to every-
one, and may the Lord richly bless you for
our kindness to me. I greatly appreciate
it and so does all my loved ones. —.
Robert S. James
For obvious reasons, the name “Betty
, Maynard,” as used in these letters, ts not
real but fictitious.
“RATTLESNAKE
SLAYER" HANGED
‘Turning a flinty eye on frantic last-
minute appeals for mercy, the State of
California inflicted the extreme penalty
upon Robert S. James, condemned to
the gallows in 1936 for the rattlesnake
slaying of his wife, Mary Busch James,
and the ex-barber, who'd lived on “bor-
rowed time’ for more than half a -
decade, wos hanged at San Quentin
- Prison at dawn, May I, 1942, the last
person to be executed in that state
under the old gallows law.
The springing of the trap marked the
close of one of California's most sen-
sational and widely-read cases, one
which was twice carried to the United
States Supreme Court for review during
James' desperate six-year fight to
evade the noose. On December 8, 1941,
the highest court in the land handed
down its final decision; upholding the
execution verdict, and James, branded
libertine and murderer, was doomed to
hang on the first day of May the fol-
lowing year.
~ As the final moment approached and
the shadow. of: the gallows drew inex-
orably closer, the red-haired death- |
house minister, finally convinced that
his last chance at a commutation of
sentence was gone, said, "I've led a
bad life, but I'm ready to meet my
Maker on the other side."
There is «24
%
SHE WAS BLONDE AND LOVELY—BUT
TRAPPED IN THE COILS OF MURDER
Unable to resist as her bare foot was thrust
into the box, the girl heard the angry buzz,
waited, horrified, for fatal fangs to strike
a
WNyez. SR DETECT VE WV
scEmBER 1%
ve; hanged Calif. (Los Angeles) 5/1/4248
LaCA 2 (ME
—-
HER?
and t
radio mo
clave. A:
breeze t
‘manicuri
the tools
ber eyed
clad legs
lap as she
to do. Sh:
up and }
uniform
undernez
her. lape
eyes and
youthful,
Standir
barber, I
it to his :
natty wh
collar, he
He was about to say something else when the door opened
and a seedy, shabbily-dressed man walked in. Bob James
turned to him, a flicker ‘of recognition in his eyes. “Hello,
Pete,” he said. ‘
Peter Ralik halted on the threshold of the barber shop.
He rubbed his thumb over the stubbles on his chin, then
cleared his throat. “Bob,” he said. “I haven’t got a dime in
my kicks. How abgut doing an old friend a favor?”
There was a minute of awkward silence before the new-
comer began to talk quickly. “Wait a minute,” he said. “This
is no touch. All I want is to get cleaned up so I can go look
for a job. I sure could do with a hair cut and a shave.”
Bob James studied him curiously. “Okay, Pete,” he said.
“Climb into+ the ‘chaiw.”
Ralik hung up his coat and settled into the chair. Bob
fastened a long white barber cloth around his neck. “Things
been tough?” the barber asked.
“Terrible.” ° .
Bob James began to strop a straight-bladed razor. “Inter-
ested in making a few fast bucks? A pal of mine wants to get
hold of some snakes.”
“Snakes?” Pete Ralik echoed in surprise. :
“Yeah.” James turned to his niece, still manicuring her
nails at the back of the shop. “Doreen,” he called to her,
“go get yourself a malted or something. My pal and I want to
talk a little business.”
The girl put down her buffer and smoothed the wrinkles
in her uniform. Then, picking up her pocketbook, she walked
silently out of the shop. ‘
“What’s all this about snakes?” Peter Ralik wanted to know.
James smiled. “Can you find me a couple?”
“Maybe. What kind of snakes?”
“Rattlers. Diamondbacks. This friend of mine keeps rab-
bits’and wants to have a little fun. I told him I'd ask around.”
He whipped up lather in a porcelain shaving mug and‘ lowered
the chair to a horizontal position.
“There’s a snake house out in Long Beach,” Pete told him.
“What’s in it for me?”
The barber spread lather on the reclining man’s face. “A
‘ hundred bucks,” he said, “for a couple of real good lively
ones. °
“For a hundred bucks I'll get you snakes that talk,” Ralik
said effusively. “I hear you got yourself hitched, sport. How’s
the new wife?”
James began to shave him with long, even strokes. “Mary’s
fine. She’s gonna have a baby.”
“Golly, that’s wonderful,” Ralik said, “Now getting back
to them snakes—I’ll need some dough to pick them up.”
James went to the cash register. and touched the no-sale
key. When the till sprang open, he selected a $20 bill and
extended it to the man in the chair. Ralik’s hand darted
from under the barber cloth to claim it. James let him clutch
it, but did not relinquish it for the.space of a second.
“This is on account,” he said. “You get the rest when my
friend sees how the snakes work out.”
Four hours later, Pete Ralik again pulled:up in front of
Bob James’ barber shop on Olive and Eighth Streets in
downtown Los. Angeles. He beckoned the master barber out-
side to his ramshackle sedan and showed him a wooden box
covered with tacked-down wire screening. |
“There they are,” Pete said “Three of ’em. Every one
guaranteed.” °
’ Strange lights danced in Bob James’ eyes. “Fine,” he said.
“Let’s take them out to my place. “I’m ready to close up
anyway. I'll buy a couple of bottles of rotgut on the way.”
It was shortly before 7 p.m. that Friday, June 28th, 1935,
that Pete Ralik drew up in his car behind Bob James’ coupe
on Verdugo’ Road in La Canada, a suburb of Los Angeles.
The house itself, a white stucco bungalow set well back from
the sidewalk, was almost screened by poinsettia hedges and
eucalyptus trees. Bob James led the way up the drive, fol-
ea
stops Lis
igre!’
vase
“id
’
Pa ares,
5 eee el
ae
“My daddy will be home early tonight and he takes good care of
me,”’Mary wrote, her will power destroyed by the killer’s liquor
nurderer who worked
plot so that with a
| be free and rich.
: Woman was dead
n carried her into
the doctor looked
in and noted the
stocking. Examin-
b, he was obvious-
found it terribly
dlored and on the
nkle, made out a
in-point breaks in
vyhich the flesh had
ig green.
», Doc?” one of the
‘d.
it first,” the doctor
dks as if she might
by something ...
ike.”
Tolman Burke ex-
re rattlers out here
an a routine check
As they searched,
ulr beside his wife’s
wnd stared at her,
clasping and un-
ds. Small went to
returned with a
swallowed it ab-
> of the officers,
ily over a writing
the’d been writing
es lifted his head
per in the officer’s
for it. The officer
handed it over.
his lip and slowly
9 the doctor with
alntive comment:
The dupe in the case. He was scared,
he was broke and there was money in
the offing, so he became involved.
“Poor baby ... it must have been
terrible .. .”
The doctor read the letter. It was
addressed to a “Dear Sis,” and it
told of Mary’s plan to visit the sis-
ter. Apparently the letter had. been
written as the pain of infection
mounted in the wretched woman’s
system. The early part was clearly
legible, but as it went on, the hand
became less steady and finally trail-
ed off, leaving the note unfinished.
The last paragraph was the im-
portant one—or such of it as had
been completed. It read:
“...Im waiting for Bob to come
home and he's bringing some people.
But I feel so terrible... something
must have bitten me because my leg
is swelling terribly. I thought I heard
something when I went out to empty
the garbage this morning and then
I felt something sharp and hot on
my foot ...I didn’t wear any stock-
ings. It’s been getting worse every
hour and now I’m feeling weak and
sick. .. . I think I’ll go out to the
lagoon and sit there where it’s cool.
Oh, if my darling would only come
to me...”
On the desk, near where the offi-
cer had found the unfinished letter,
was an envelope. It had been ad-
Dramatic moment during the trial as
Charles Hope demonstrated how the
foot of the unconscious woman was
thrust into box containing a snake.
dressed to a sister of the dead wom-
an. Even the stamp had been care-
fully pasted on, apparently before
the letter had been written.
An ambulance bore away the body
of Mary James. James watched it
go, apparently too stricken to give
intelligible instructions: for its dis-
position. Small and Harris decided
to remain with him in the bungalow
for the. night. The coroner of Los
Angeles County was hurriedly sum-
‘“moned to the city morgue to per-
form an autopsy on the body.
Late that night a telephone call
informed the bereaved husband that
his wife had died from acute poison-
ing and strangulation, the latter
from the water as she lay face down
in the lagoon.
It was apparent, the coroner’s re-
port said, that Mary James had
staggered to the pool, had either
swooned or slipped as she reached
the bank and had fallen with her
head and shoulders in the water.
She had been too 'weak from the
ravages of the snake venom, the re-
port said, to save herself.
EVEN months after the death of
Mary James, a brilliant young
assistant district attorney of Los An-
geles County by the name of Eugene
Williams found himself momentarily
with time on his hands. He and a
crew of special investigators had
just wound up a case which was to
become historic in Los Angeles
County, a case resulting in the con-
viction of a woman for the murder,
seven years before, of her husband.
°
It had been one of the many
splendid accomplishments which had
marked Williams as an outstanding
law enforcement officer.
In March of 1936 the hour came
... the first time in several years
. when he could sit down and
contemplate life about him. In fact,
he contemplated a vacation, but with
true detective instinct, his first ven-
ture in leisure was fated to lead
straight to what he conceived to be
a trail of shocking murder.
Scanning the Los Angeles Law
Journal one afternoon, he came
upon a notation concerning a suit
decided in favor of a life insurance
company and against one Robert S.
James of La Canada, in the Sierra
Madre foothills. The name struck a
spark in Williams’ intelligence and
he began to muse over the strange
happenings in the quiet suburb on
that evening, seven months before.
And suddenly the belief grew in
Williams’ mind that all was not as
it had seemed in the death of Mary
James. In the first place, the insur-
ance company which had won a vic-
tory in the suit of James revealed
some startling information. James
had insured his wife for a total of
$15,000 on a double indemnity for
accidental death—an unseemly sum
considering their station in life.
Shortly after the discovery of this
excessive insurance, Williams Jearn-
ed something even more disturbing.
In 1932, James had married one Wi-
nona Wallace in Los Angeles. He
had been.a barber then, but had not
owned his (Continued on page 52)
lized what
we Taylor
f a drawer
Id blood.
, according
r spent his
g to entice
affair with
Taylor was
ee murder
: a robbery.
1e this fall.
2, Clarence
needless lie
lew George
ned_ police
n truly be
1y into the
d needless
ont parties,
am Boden-
and Mrs.
uilty by a
orld maga-
tylor to be
of murder.
‘ent to the
bathroom.
rocery boy
ne body of
bath tub.
er the end
was com-
had been
exclaimed
e said she
had been
es’ days of
e payment
urance on
ind griev-
the lonely
e back to
a new car
e in Birm-
he had
2rt James,
>». He had,
langed his
forced to
becoming
n-year-old
n resolved
by the girl’s marriage to another
‘swain and he was now safe.
He splurged in Birmingham and
paid especial attention to pleasing a
pretty, 17-year-old niece. He per-
suaded her parents that Connie
needed the advantages he could give
her in California and when he left
Birmingham, she rode with him, at-
tired in a new outfit of clothes, a
fine wrist watch and a coat with a
pretty fur collar—finery she’d never
expected to possess.
RMED with these facts, Williams
now became profoundly inter-
ested in the habits of California
snakes. It occurred to him that La
Canada was a too thickly populated
area to be infested with rattlers.
Moreover, there were few rocks in
the vicinity of the James bungalow *
and rattlers everywhere make their
homes in rocks. Grass is not their
dish and Williams knew it.
He now sent for the herpetologist
who had, at the time of death, iden-
tified the venom in Mary James’
blood specimen as coming from a
snake of the genus Crotalus Atrox
and asked him what type of rattle-
snake flourished in the La Canada
sector. The herpetologist said he had
heard of none there for several
years, but that some time before a
small type of only slightly venomous
diamond back had been seen among
the rolling foothills.
“How about the Crotalus Atrox?”
Williams asked. “Don’t you ever find
them there?”
“Cripes, no,” the herpetologist
said. “They come from the Colorado
mountains, chiefly, although there
are some in Utah and Arizona. And
they’re bad. Very bad.”
“You're sure they don’t live in
this area?” Williams insisted.
“Absolutely,” the scientist replied.
“Not a chance.”
Investigation now revealed to Wil-
_ Hams that poisonous snakes could
be purchased from snake farms (the
original type, not the present day
whisky cure asylums) for compara-
tively small sums. He found the
names of several such farms and
sent his men to check. Out in On-
tario, in the desert East of Los An-
geles, he found a farmer who had
sold two of the large Crotalus Atrox
variety several months before; only
to have them returned a week later.
A check of his records showed
that the snakes had been purchased
on July 28, 1935, and returned on
August 5. The purchaser had not
asked for his money back, only that
the seller take the snakes and does
as he liked with him. The purchaser
had used them, he explained, in
making a motion picture ...a small
project of his own... and had no
desire to destroy them.
“Do you know the man you sold
them to?” Williams asked.
“Nope,” the farmer said. “He did-
n’t give me no name and I didn’t
ask him for none. The law don’t ask
me to get the names of people I do
business with.’”
“I guess not, but it should,” Wil-
liams said. He then gave the man
a complete description of James and
asked him if the snake purchaser
resembled the barber in any way.
“Nope,” the farmer said. “He was
black headed and kind of husky...
that is, he was solid built, but looked
kinda hungry and mean. Kinda man
I don’t want around too much.”
“Tall?” Williams asked.
“Maybe five feet, eight;
less.”
Obviously, the purchaser of the
snakes was not James. But the fact,
that they had been taken from the
farm a.week before Mary James’
death and returned on the very day
she had succumbed in the pool in-
trigued Williams. It was ‘entirely
possible that someone else, perhaps
some jilted. suitor, had conceived
the diabolical scheme by which
Mary had come to the most horrible
of deaths. But what of the note? The
letter to her sister? By what re-
markable bit of skullduggery and
conniving had such a person man-
aged to set the deadly serpent upon
the unfortunate woman without her
having knowledge of its having been
premeditated, or at least intention-
al?
maybe
EMPORARILY balked, Williams
determined to see what James
was doing with himself, besides op-
erating his barber shop. He had
learned that the grieving husband,
although thwarted by one insurance
company after Mary’s death, had
managed to get a $5,000 settlement
of a $10,000 claim from another. Wil-
liams wondered how this windfall
was being spent.
He checked the house at La Can-
ada. Yes, James was still occupying
it. Apparently his grief hadn’t driv-
en him from the scene of tragedy.
There was more news and this in-
trigued Williams almost as much as
the discovery of the snake loan.
James’ niece, Connie, now just eigh-
teen, had been living with him in
the bungalow since Mary’s death and
the neighbors were not inclined to
speak kindly of his apparent rela-
tions with the child.
In fact, Williams learned, those
Ee LTHOUGH few Americans
shave ever heard of Joseph
; Philtpee, the Parisian vampire,
che kept the continent of Eu-
* Yope both thrilled and terrified
ie ’ for six whole years. He com-
v mitted at least eight murders,
inflamed by his erotic passions
ihe pend. his lust. for blood, and it
| been slashed from ear to ear,
“but examination proved that
® the actual cause of death was
_ -Strangulation. The throat cut-
ie “ting had been an unnecessary
*° operation.
It was not. until three more
¢ 4 girls were found in more or less
‘the same condition, all first
“murdered and then mutilated,
| that the police fully realized
/they were seeking a diabolical
). monster who murdered so that
» he could drink the blood of his
“victims. -
One girl on whom his at-
«police their first tip—the mur-
~;derer who had aroused Paris
“into, a frenzied panic, bore a
‘tattoo on his right arm reading
_ “Born under an unlucky star.”
“.. It was this tattoo mark that
finally trapped him. He was
“discovered to be a very ordi-
,; Mary workingman, quiet and
“ostensibly respectable, except
- “for his increasingly frequent
. drunken sprees.
‘Doctors ‘who examined him
. before his execution said it was
the, alcohol which had caused
‘- the development of his mur-
derous blood-debauching lust.
: tack was not. successful gave
53
ia
so far as to pretend to sterilize the tools. Then he taped her eyes and
"All along she believed his story about the operation, and he even went
mouth and strapped her down onto the kitchen table so she couldn't move."
“She can’t be far. Let’s take a
look around the place.”
The three went outside. James and
Harris turned off to the rear of the
house, searching through the under-
brush, the roses and berry bushes
and the overgrowth of camellia and
rhododendron shrubs. Small went
out around the front of the house
where there were still more rhodo-
dendrons, camellias and roses and
some lilacs. There also was a small
pool there, more of a lagoon than
a pool, perhaps. Not fit for swim-
ming, but stocked with a few orna-
mental fish: the couple had picked
up from time to time.
Soon James and Harris heard
Small shout: “Here! Come here,
quick, Bob... back here. . .”
James and Harris hurried toward
the ‘sound of Small’s voice. They
found him standing at the edge of
the lagoon, his face white, a trem-
bling hand pointing at the water.
16
James’ and Harris’ gaze followed
the line of Small’'s gesture and there,
her head and shoulders in the water,
her feet on the wet bank, they saw
the body of a woman. She was
clothed in light summer dress, but
there was no shoe or stocking on
her left foot.
“Oh, God, it’s Mary!” James ex-
claimed and began frantically to tug
at the body. Recovering from his
‘first shock, Small pulled him away
and then he and Harris lifted the
body gently and laid it on a plot of
grass at the lagoon’s edge. Quickly
they felt the heart, but there was no
sign of life.’ Then Harris, taking
charge—for James seemed to break
completely under the burden of his
loss—hurried into the house -and
telephoned the Las Encinas sani-
tarium nearby for a doctor.
The doctor arrived almost simul-
taneously with two uniformed pou-
licemen. The doctor immediately an-
The philandering murderer who worked
out the gruesome plot so that with a
single stroke he'd be free and rich.
nounced that the woman was dead
and the policemen carried her into
the house. There the doctor looked
at the body again and noted the
missing shoe and stocking. Examin-
ing the lower limb, he was obvious-
ly confused. He found it terribly
swollen and discolored and on the
foot, near the ankle, made out a
pair of minute, pin-point breaks in
the skin around which the flesh had
turned a sickening green.
“Sprained ankle, Doc?” one of the
policemen inquired.
“I thought so, at first,” the doctor
replied, “but it looks as if she might
have been stung by something ...
perhaps by a snake.”
“A snake!” Patrolman Burke ex-
claimed. “There are rattlers out here
sometimes.”
The officers began a routine check
of the premises. As they searched,
James sat in a chair beside his wife’s
body on a-bed and stared at her,
his face ashen, clasping and un-
clasping his hands. Small went to
the kitchen and returned with a
drink and James swallowed it ab-
Sently. Then one of the officers,
stopping momentarily over a writing
desk, called out:
“What's this? She’d been writing
a letter...”
“A letter?” James lifted his head
to stare at the paper in the officer’s
hand. He reached for it. The officer
hesitated, then handed it over.
James read it, bit his lip and slowly
passed it along to the doctor with
the guttural, plaintive comment:
es
my oe
oy
The dupe
he was br:
the offing
“Poor b
terrible .
The doc
addressed
told of M
ter. Appa)
written a
mounted
system. T
legible, bu
became le
ed off, le:
The las
portant o
been com)
Gg ot ED
home and
But I feel
must have
is swelling
something
the garba;
I felt som
my foot .
ings. It’s
hour and
Sick. ...
lagoon anc
Oh, if my
to me...
On the «
cer had fo
was an er
Dramatic n
Charles He
foot of th.
thrust into
= a ta
empty oil drums were to be seen.
On an off-chance, Detective Sew-
ard moved first one and then an-
other. And suddenly, with a sharp
grunt, he knealt down and came
up with a newspaper wrapped pack-
age. He unfolded it and held a
thin sheaf of bills up to the light.
There was $215 in the stack, and
each bill was clearly stamped with
the indelible red trade-mark of
George Baldwin!
A moment later, under another
drum, a .45 caliber revolver was
uncovered. :
It was a 45 slug that had been
removed from the body of George
Baldwin.
Faced with the damning evidence
against him, Clarence Taylor broke
down and confessed, first orally and
then in a written statement.
According to his story, Baldwin
had dropped into his shop on Mon-
day morning. At the time Helen
Jordan had been visiting in the
back room with Taylor, and when
the latter left the room for a mo-
ment, Baldwin made a pass at the
girl.
Taylor and Baldwin had then had
words, ending with Taylor grabbing
own shop. Instead, he had worked
on a weekly salary and had been
known as a man of considerable
talent for getting into financial dif-
ficulties. His income was never suf-
ficient to his needs and he had often
complained of his lot.
He had managed, however, to buy
a car and in it he had taken Winona
on a honeymoon trip to Colorado.
They were driving near Glen Cove,
in the Rockies, when Winona, at the
wheel, suddenly felt faint and before
James could snatch the wheel from
her, had swerved from the mountain
road. James, fortunately, managed
to leap from the car and save him-
self, but the machine plunged over
an embankment and disappeared:
with Winona
wheel.
Shortly thereafter James had
made his way to police headquar-
ters at Glen Cove and reported that
his wife had died in the accident.
Police officers and a physician sped
to the scene and discovered that: the
catapulting car had caught on a pro-
jecting rock formation about fifty
feet down the embankment and held
52
slumped over the
WORLD
DETECTIVE
‘
pa tis des
up a gun from his desk drawer
and shooting Baldwin. Then he had
taken the dead man by his feet and
dragged him down the cellar stairs.
He had left the body there two
days. Then, with money he had
taken from the dead man, he bought
a second-hand car, intending to
drive out into the country and hide
the body. But when he came to
lift it, it was too cumbersome and
heavy, so he had cut it in half with
a saw.
Early Thursday night, as soon as
it was dark, he loaded the two parts
of the body into the back of the
car and drove off towards Chicago,
where he dumped the body in the
outskirts of the city’s suburbs.
Before starting out, he had look-
ed up Helen Jordan and asked her
if she wanted to come along for
the ride, but she had declinedi
The story Helen Jordan had to
tell, however, was somewhat dif-
ferent. She placed the time of Bald-
win’s appearance at Taylor’s shop
at seven in the evening of Monday,
March 13. Taylor had asked Bald-
win for the loan of a few dollars,
and Baldwin had coldly refused,
saying he never loaned money.
there. Winona was found grievously
bruised and battered, but still alive.
Desperate measures by physicians
saved the woman’s life, but her mind
was sadly muddled. She remembered
nothing of the accident and seemed
not to recognize James when he
came to see her in the hospital. Her
condition continued thus for weeks
and when she was released from the
hospital, James took her to a remote
cabin above Manitou where she
could have absolute quiet in which
to recover.
He obtained a job as a barber
in Manitou, but was unable to pro-
vide a regular nurse for his wife.
She remained obediently at home
while he went to work, until one
night he appeared at a Manitou
store and arranged for one of the
clerks to drive him up to his cabin,
on the plea that he was too weary
to drive.
At the cabin. a shock awaited
them. The pair entered the house
and James called, much as he was
to shout later at La Canada, his
wife’s name. There was no answer
and he hurried to the bedroom to
“BABY, 'M IN A JAM”
(Continued from page 17)
Then, before she realized what
was happening, Clarence Taylor
had taken a gun out of a drawer
and shot Baldwin in cold blood.
The rest of that week, according
to the girl’s story, Taylor spent his
time drinking and trying to entice
her into having a love affair with
him. ‘
On April 4, Clarence Taylor was
indicted for first degree murder
during the commission of a robbery.
He will be tried some time this fall.
And in the meantime, Clarence
Taylor can think of the needless lie
—his denial that he knew George
Baldwin—that first turned police
suspicions his way.
If found guilty, he can truly be
said to have lied his way into the
chair!
Editor’s Note: To avoid needless
embarrassment to innocent parties,
the names Sadie and Sam Boden-
heim and Helen Jordan and Mrs.
Lee Adams are fictitious.
Until he is proved guilty by a
court of law, Detective World maga-
zine assumes Clarence Taylor to be
innocent of the charge of murder.
find it empty. Then he went to the
kitchen and finally to the bathroom.
There, as the terrified grocery boy
followed him, he found the body of
his wife in a water-filled bath tub.
Her feet were hanging over the end
of the tub and her head was com-
pletely immersed. She had been
dead for several hours.
“My God!” James had exclaimed
as he saw the body. “She said she
would do it and she did... .”
The verdict in this case had been
death by suicide and James’ days of
penury were ended by the payment
to him of $14,000 in insurance on
his wife’s life. Shocked and griev-
ing, he buried Winona on the lonely
mountain side and drove back to
Los Angeles.
There he had purchased a new car
and set off for his old home in Birm-
ingham, Alabama, where he had
been known, not as Robert James,
but as Raymond Lisenbee. He had,
he was to explain later, changed his
name when he had been forced to
leave Birmingham after becoming
involved with a fifteen-year-old
girl. The matter had been resolved
by the girl
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22 True Detective Mysteries
to know-—this is my fifth shot at it!” Bob James laughed
heartily. ‘I’ve sure got what it takes when it comes to gals,
haven't I, Jim?”
Miss Luecks was slightly embarrassed. She thought Bob’s
comments sometimes exceeded the bounds of good taste.
Deliberately she changed the subject.
“How’s Mary?” she asked.
“Mary hasn't been feeling any too well lately. That’s
why I wanted you folks to come out home with me tonight.
Thought maybe you might cheer her up.”
For awhile he drove in silence, obviously engrossed in his
own thoughts. When the lights of Los Angeles had been left,
behind, the car sped through Glendale and the fashionable
Oakmont Country Club district, skirted the town of Mont-
rose and turned right on Verdugo Road.
[' was a perfect August night, cooled by a gentle breeze
scented with the delicate fragrance of orange-blossoms.
Etched against the star-studded sky were the rugged outlines
of the foothills that formed a picturesque backdrop for the
peaceful little community known as La Canada.
“Well, here we are,’’ James said finally, stopping the car
in front of an attractive white stucco bungalow set well back
from the street and almost surrounded by tall shrubbery.
“But the honeymoon cottage is dark!’’ he exclaimed. “Gosh!
I hope Mary’s not asleep!”
“Tf she is, it’ll be just too bad for her,” Viola laughed.
“We'll wake her up.”
A moment later the trio entered the darkened house. James
snapped on a light. ,
“Mary! We've got company!’’ His voice echoed hollowly
through the silent rooms.
Swiftly the bewildered husband made a survey of the
entire house. ‘“She’s not here,’’ he said, puzzled. “T don’t
know what to make of it.”
“Probably visiting some of the neighbors,”
suggested.
“Not a chance. She doesn’t know any of them.’ He
walked into the kitchen, took two large flash-lights from
a cabinet, and handed one to Pemberton. “The truth is,
Mary’s going to have a baby. She’s been having dizzy spells,
and ’m afraid the poor kid may have fainted. We've got
to find her. You take the front yard, Jim, and [ll look out
back. She may have fallen down somewhere.”
Pemberton hurried to do his friend’s bidding. A semi-
tropical growth of shrubs and flowers impeded his progress
as he trained the rays of his flash-light beneath every bush
large enough to conceal a human form.
Viola Luecks stood on the front porch, suddenly possessed
by a nameless fear.
“She’s not out here,”’ Pemberton called.
this side of the house.’’
Meanwhile James had made an inspection of the rear
grounds where his wife often went to feed the chickens and
rabbits.
“Bob!”
It was Pemberton calling him. Beads of sweat glistened
on Bob James’ sallow face as he started back to the house.
What had Pemberton found? What caused that note of
terror in his voice?
Pemberton walked slowly up to him, laid a hand on his arm.
“Bob, old man,” he said gravely, ‘better brace yourself.
She’s gone.”
“Gone! What d’you mean?
“She’s dead, Bob . drowned.
face downward in the fishpond.”
“Oh, lord!” He broke into sobs, covered his face with
his hands. “I was afraid... I knew something had hap-
Pemberton
“P}] loék around
Where is she?”
I just found her lying
(Below) Robert S. James, the
master-barber who had strange,
satanic ways with women, and
with wives!
profusi
hands
Pen
it, DB
have
It’s the
by the
Viola
awaite:
while
OB JAMIiS—stalwart, red-haired, pasty-
complexioned master-barber—was appar-
ently brimming over with high spirits.
While skilfully steering his car through
the congested traffic of Los Angeles streets, he
kept up a running fire of conversation with his
two passengers—James Pemberton and his fianceé,
Miss Viola Luecks.
“Jim, when are you and Viola going to take the
fatal leap?” he bantered.
The man. and girl in the rear seat exchanged
amused glances.
“Sooner than you think, perhaps,’ Pemberton
replied.
“Well, there’s nothing like married life. I ought
(Above) Mrs. Mary Busch James,
pitiful victim of as diabolical a
plot as was ever conceived in the
imagination of man. (Left) The
killer’s niece. She was another en-
gulfed in the woman-mad_ tor-
turer’s fantastic web of doom.
(Below) Arrow points to lily pond,
among the leaves of which an
alarming discovery was made
Pemberton
them.’”’ He
lights from
he truth is,
dizzy spells,
We've got
['ll look out
a, A semi-
his progress
, every bush
nly possessed
| lo6k around
of the rear
chickens and
veat glistened
to the house.
that note of
nd on his arm.
‘race yourself.
?
und her lying
his face with
hing had hap-
ie
pened.to her. Oh, Jim, what am I going
to do!”
“Buck up, old man; it might have hap-
pened to any woman in her condition. Now,
pull yourself together. We've got to notify
the authorities.”
James shook off his restraining arm. “Let
me go to her!’
He ran to the edge of the fishpond, knelt
beside the still form of his twenty-seven-year-
old bride’whoflay with her head and shoulders
submerged in the shallow pool, blonde hair
entangled in the water-lilies that grew in thick
profusion over the surface of the pond. His
hands tugged at her rigid body.
Pemberton forcibly pulled him aside. “Stop
it, Bob,” he commanded sternly. . “We'll
have to leave her just as she is for awhile.
It’s the law.’ Taking the distraught man
by the.arm, he led him into the house where
Viola Luecks, her face white with terror,
awaited them. “Vi, you stay here with Bob
while I go and notify the Sheriff's Office. I'll
be back. in a few minutes.”
Pemberton returned shortly afterward with
Deputy Sheriffs J. P. Twohey and J. H. Jones
(Above) The bathtub in the honeymoon cottage in
La Canada, California, which the demon husband used
to expedite his infernal plot
(Above) ‘Snake Joe” Houtenbrink, famous reptil
collector of Pasadena, with one of his “pets” doubt
less NOT the “hot” one rented for the heliish crime
a3
sae ais - one — = ass a
True Detective Mysterves
of the Montrose sub-station. He had explained the known
facts to the officers. Mrs. James had been subject to nausea
and dizziness as a result of her condition; evidently, while
watching the goldfish cavort in the pond, she had fainted,
toppled over into the water and drowned.
Bob James, it appeared, was so crushed with grief that
he was unable to talk coherently. He sat with his head buried
in his arms, shoulders heaving occasionally as dry sobs racked
his powerful frame.
Twohey and Jones made a cursory examination of the dead
girl’s body before telephoning the Coroner. She wore a thin,
flowered silk dress and blue boudoir slippers. Her skirt,
pulled well up over the knees, revealed bare legs.
“It’s been a terrible shock to Bob,’ Pemberton explained.
“She was apparently feeling all right when he left for work
this morning at seven o’clock.”’
Be ood shook his head in perplexity. “It's a strange
thing that she could have drowned. in this‘‘pool. . The
water’s only eight inches deep.” ~
“And notice that left leg,’ Jones said. “Swollen to twice
the size of the other one. Had she'been in ‘an accident?”
“Not that I know of,” Pemberton replied.
“he must have been. See?” He held his flash-light close
to the girl’s lower extremities and pointed to the darkly dis-
colored skin. ‘Blood has coagulated there.”
“Maybe Bob can tell you something about it.”
But Bob James was still unable to answer any questions.
He could only shake his head negatively before abandoning
himself to another uncontrollable fit of weeping.
From a small takle Twohey picked up an unsealed envelope
addressed to a Mrs. R. H. Stewart at Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Mind if I read this?” . Without waiting for permission, _
he withdrew a sheet of paper from the envelope. A brief
note was scrawled unevenly across the page. Tywohey
read aloud: ' ;
RRR TS
Sy PE
‘ (Left) Charles Hope (with-
i ‘out hat) and Robert James
(at. extreme right). accom-
panied by detective offi-
cials look down over a pit :
of diamond-back —rattlers © sea ait)
with conflicting emotions
(Right) Deputy District
Attorney Williams (hat-
less), the co-author, and
Captain Southard ‘discover -
. in the -barber’s garage a
deadly black widow spider
believed to have been im-
ported for his fiendish plan
-
(Below) Police cars parked
in the drive of the bridal
bungalow, near the spot
where the young wife’s
body was found
,
Dear Sis: Just a line to let you know
I am pretty sick. My leg is all swollen.
_. Something bit me while watering in the
. garden. Am having lots of bad luck.
‘This is old blue Monday, but my daddy
will be home early tonight, and he takes
good care of me.
The note was signed “Mary.”
“So that accounts. for the swollen leg,”
Twohey remarked. “It must have been
some insect, to cause all that swelling and
discoloration. I think we’ll send for a
doctor.”’
- However, the physician who arrived soon
afterward could throw but little additional
light on the subject of the swollen limb.
“She was probably bitten by a black
widow spider,’ he said. “I’m not familiar
with that type of poisoning, but a chemical
analysis would very likely establish the fact
definitely.”’
In the meanwhile, Deputy Sheriff A. L.
Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s
Office Bureau of Investigation had arrived
at the James bungalow, having been sum-
moned by Deputies Twohey and _ Jones.
The unmailed letter Mrs. James had written
to her sister was turned over to him, and
all known facts in the case relayed to him.
The Coroner, notified of the death, ordered
the body removed to an undertaking parlor,
pending an inquest.
After a brief conversation with James,
Mr. Pemberton turned to Hutchinson.
“Bob is naturally (Continued on page 88)
25
88
True Detective Mysteries
The Rattlesnake and the Barefoot Bride
pretty badly shocked,” he said. “If there’s
nothing more we can do here, I’d like to
take him home with me for the night.”
“I guess it’s all right. We'll wait for
the undertaker.”
On the drive back to Los Angeles, Bob
James appeared to have recovered some-
what from the terrible ordeal he had just
undergone. He seemed principally con-
cerned over the fact that he might in
some way be held accountable for his
wife’s death.
“You see,” he said anxiously, “my third
wife drowned in a bathtub in Colorado
about three years ago. It doesn’t look
so good for me. If Mary had to die, I
wish it had happened some other way.
The cops will ask a lot of questions.”
Viola Luecks turned horrified eyes upon
him. What manner of man was this, who
could think only of a possible inconve-
nience to himself when his young bride lay
dead, victim of a tragic accident? And
how quickly he had regained control of
his emotions since leaving the house of
death! Could it be possible he had not
really loved Mary? That his exhibition
of grief had not been sincere?
On the following morning Captain Nor-
ris Stensland, Chief Inspector of the
Sheriff’s Bureau of Investigation, detailed
Deputies Virgil Gray and Williard Killion
to investigate the death of Mrs. Mary
James.
Tee victim’s husband was brought to
Headquarters and asked a number of
pointed questions, all of which he an-
swered with apparent willingness.
He volunteered the information that
Robert S. James was not his true name.
“My real monicker’s an awful one,” he
explained. “It is ‘Major Lisenba.’ I’ve
never liked it, and dropped it twenty years
ago. Since then I’ve used the name ‘Bob
James.’ Suits me better.”
“How long have you been married to
this woman?”
“About three months. Incidentally,
I’ve been married five times. Quite a
record for a man only thirty-nine years
old. wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes, I'd say it is. But we’re not in-
terested at this time in how many wives
you've had. We're investigating the cir-
cumstances of this: death—”
“T understand, but I thought I’d tell
you about my other marriages so you
wouldn’t think I was holding out on you.
T’ll say this: Mary was the best of the
lot. She was a fine girl.”
“Did Mrs. James carry any insurance?”
“Yes, and in a ‘way, I’m sorry she did.
It sort of puts me on the spot. But I
happen to be able to prove that I was
right in my own barber-shop at the time
Mary fell in the pond and drowned. I’m
positive some of the neighbors saw her
about the place after I left for work yes-
terday morning, because she always went
out in the back yard to feed the chickens, -
and rabbits. and someone would be bound -
to see her.” :
“We're not accusing you of anything,”
Killion said. “But getting back to the
insurance ... how much did she carry?”
“She had two five thousand dollar poli-
cies that carried double indemnity clauses
in case of accidental death.”
Questioning of residents in the vicinity
of the James bungalow elicited informa-
tion that seemed to eliminate any possi-
bility of foul play in connection with
the case.
A neighbor, Major Alfred Dinsley—re-
tired English army officer—stated that at
(Continued from page 25)
nine-thirty the previous morning he had
gone to the incinerator at the rear of his
estate to burn some trash.
“At that time,” he declared, “I saw a
tall, blonde woman standing near the
chicken-coops on the James property. I
think she was Mrs. James.”
Mary James was tall and distinctly
blonde. Her body had been discovered
in the fishpond at exactly éight-thirty on
the night of August 5th, 1935. According
to Major Dinsley’s statement, she had
been seen in her yard at nine-thirty that
morning. Bob James could prove by a
half dozen witnesses that he was in his
shop at that hour and had remained there
all that day until closing time.
Dr. A. F. Wagner, county autopsy sur-
geon, reported that in his opinion the de-
ceased came to her death “as a result of
drowning, with acute cellulitis of the left
foot and leg following laceration of the
left great toe, as a contributing factor.”
On August 16th at the coroner’s inquest,
James offered testimony to the effect that
he believed the fatal accident was due to
his wife’s physical condition.
“Mary loved to see the goldfish play
about in the pool,” he said, wiping mois-
ture from his eyes. “She seemed fasci-
nated by them and watched them by the
hour. We had .been married just three
months. Mary told me seven weeks be-
fore she died that she was expecting a
baby: She became ill and I put her under
a physician’s care. She must have fainted
and fallen into the pool.”
Dr. James George corroborated the
statement that Mrs. James was an ex-
pectant mother, and that he had pre-
scribed a mild sedative as well as a remedy
for nausea.
ISS LOIS WRIGHT, brown-eyed, at-
tractive twenty-year-old_ niece of
Robert James, testified that “Uncle Bob”
had been in his combination barber-and-
beauty shop during the entire day of Au-
gust. 5th from 8:30 a. M. until 7:00 Pp. M.
Miss Wright gave her occupation as mani-
curist in her uncle’s shop. Her fresh young
beauty and modest manner made a pleas-
ant impression upon jurors and specta-
tors as she spoke in soft Southern ac-
cents of her uncle’s devotion to his wife,
Mary.
At the conclusion of the testimony of
all witnesses the Coroner’s Jury declared
themselves unable to determine whether
Mrs: James’ death had been accidental,
suicidal or homicidal. However, the
accidental drowning theory was eventually
accepted by the authorities and the case
was automatically closed.
James freely discussed his previous mar-
riages with mvestigators and newspaper |
reporters. #/,
Shortly after the close of the World
War he had wooed and won Miss Maude
Duncan of Birmingham, Alabama. A few
ears later they were divorced. Miss Vera
‘Vermillion of Emporia, Kansas, had been
his second wife. That marriage also ended
in the divorce courts. 5
In July, 1932, he was wed in Los An-
gles to Miss Winona Wallace after a per-
sistent courtship that had its beginning
“in his place of business where he special-
ized in the cutting and shampooing of
women’s hair, ‘
Three months after they were married
James and his bride started on a belated
honeymoon-tour to Fargo, North Dakota,
where they expected to visit Winona’s
father. ..
In.,Colorado they drove to the, top of
Pike’s Peak, famed mecca for tourists.
Winona, an expert driver, was at the wheel
as they started the return trip. As she
attempted to steer around a curve of the
perilous down-grade, the car went out of
control, plunged 150 feet down the moun-
tainside and came to rest on a rocky ledge.
“The steering-gear must have broken,”
James explained. “I was thrown clear
of the car and escaped without a
scratch. My wife went down with it. She
suffered a skull fracture and was in a hos-
pital for several weeks. Soon after leav-
ing the hospital we stopped at an auto
camp near Manitou. One afternoon when
I returned from the postoffice, I found
Winona dead in the bathtub of our cot-
tage. She had evidently tried to wash
her hair in the tub, although the doctor
had warned her not to attempt it. She
must have fainted and drowned.”
In 1934, James said, he married a girl
in New Orleans. That marriage was later
annulled in Los Angeles.
Mary James’s pitiful remains were
buried in beautiful Forest Lawn Mem-
orial Park, Los Angeles, not far from
where Winona James lay in eternal sleep.
Los Angeles had all but forgotten the
“fishpond” drowning of the young wife
when, in November of that same year,
newspapers carried a brief item to the
effect that a well-known insurance com-
pany had petitioned the courts for a can-
cellation of a $5,000 policy issued on the
life of Mrs. Mary Busch James.
Robert James vigorously opposed this
action. To Superior Court Judge Frank
G. Swain, before whom the case was be-
ing heard, he made a surprising admis-
me in regard to his marriage to his last
wife. .
“Tt is true,” he said, “that we weren’t
married when the policy was applied for
last June third, and she gave her name as
Mrs. Mary James and named me as bene-
ficiary. But... we were legally married
on July 19th, 1935, in Santa Ana, Cali-
fornia !”’
In answer to the insurance company’s
claim that Mrs. James had made false rep-
resentations at the time of applying for
the policy, James said:
“CHE didn’t know she was making false
representations. I’d gone through a
fake marriage ceremony with her a couple
of months before that. It was performed
by a man named Reagle. I met him in
a beer-parlor the night before and he
came to the house and pronounced us
man and wife. I gave him ten dollars
and haven’t seen him since. Then,” James
continued with a sanctimonious smile,
“after Mary applied for the insurance I
decided I’d better tell her it wasn’t a real
minister who had officiated at the first
ceremony. I did so, and on July 19th
we were legally married. That was seven-
teen days before she died.”
Despite the callousness of this admis-
sion, which revealed James as a dishonest,
scheming trickster even in his relations
with his deceased wife, his testimony re-
vealed nothing that would enable the in-
surance company rasan 4 to combat his
claim. At least so it must have appeared,
for on the following day, November 20th,
trial of this lawsuit ended abruptly when
attorneys for both sides requested that
the case be marked off the calendar, pend-
ing settlement negotiations.
A few days later it was reliably reported
that James had accepted the sum of
$3,500 from the company in an out-of-
court compromise.
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90
All witnesses who had testified at the
corcner’s inquest were again interviewed
No new information was obtained.
Finally District Attorney Fitts called a
conference in his office for the purpose of
determining what further action could be
taken. Present, besides Mr. Fitts, were
Chief Plummer, Captain of Detectives
Jack Southard, Investigator Scott Little-
ton and myself. Mr. Fitts had told me
that if sufficient evidence was obtained
upon which to base an indictment, I would
be assigned to prosecute James. For that
reason I worked side by side with the
officers during the entire investigation.
“It looks as if we’re up against a blank
wall,” Mr. Fitts said. “Has anyone a
suggestion to offer?”
Jack Southard, youthful and energetic,
and with a fine record of achievement
already to his credit, spoke up:
“T’ve been doing some scouting around,”
he said, “and I find that this fellow James
is living with that niece of his out on La
Salle Avenue. The house next door is
vacant. Now, if he killed his wife, it’s
possible he’d discuss the subject with this
girl. My idea is to install a mike (mi-
crophone) in their bungalow, rent the
house next door, and listen in on their
2
Chief Plummer and Investigator Littleton examining ashes in an incinerator in a
True Detective Mysteries
conversations for a while.”
Mr. Fitts and Chief Plummer enthusi-
astically agreed that the suggestion was
both sound and feasible. Southard and
Littleton were at once ordered to make
the necessary arrangements.
Chief of Police James E. Davis was
requested to lend the services of Detec-
tive Captain Earle E. Kynette and Police
Lieutenant W. R. Morgan, both expertly
qualified in the installation and operation
of dictographs. The request was immedi-
ately granted.
On April 8rd Southard and Littleton
paid a month’s rent in advance for a
house located in the 3800 block on La
Salle Avenue and moved into the dwell-
ing. Later that same day Captain Kynette
and Lieutenant Morgan arrived, equipped
with the necessary sound-recording instru-
ments.
Careful watch was kept on the house
next door. When the red-haired Romeo
and his niece were seen to drive away in
James’ automobile the following morn-
ing, the investigators went into action.
Entrance to the James bungalow was
effected by means of Southard’s pass key.
The officers worked swiftly, cautiously.
Within a matter of minutes two micro-
' search for charred bits of Mary James’ nightgown
phones—tiny round disks—had been in-
stalled: one in the bedroom, the other in
the living room.
Wires, ingeniously concealed, led to
recording and amplifying instruments next
door. Two sets of ear-phones and dozens
of blank phonograph records were on hand.
An expert stenographer had been sum-
moned from the District Attorney’s office.
From the first conversations overheard
it was evident that Robert 5. James ex-
erted a powerful and evil influence over
his young niece—daughter of his own
sister.
From his own salacious remarks the in-
vestigators learned that James was ad-
dicted to unspeakable vices. He delighted
in inflicting physical torture upon his loves
and in turn demanded that he be lashed
with a small, supple whip kept for that
purpose.
Frequently Lois Wright was absent from
the house during the evenings and on
those occasions he substituted loose wo-
men for his companions.
Finally Southard and Littleton heard
the lecherous barber mention the subject
of his wife’s death. They caught only a
fragment of a sentence—but enough to
convince them that murder had been com-
mitted.
«I suppose,” he was heard to say
to his niece, “your mammy thinks I dis-
appeared after I killed Mary.” This com-
ment was followed by ribald laughter on
his part.
On another occasion he was discussing
with Lois the fact that a woman acquaint-
ance had recently spurned his offer of
marriage.
“She’s afraid of me,” he said. “She
don’t need to be. Does she think Id kill
her the same way I killed my other wife?”
Several times the name “Hope” was
injected into James’ conversation. It ap-
peared that he and “Hope” had once been
on very friendly terms, but now relations
between the two were strained because of
“Hope’s” frequent demands for money.
“T’l] see him in hell before I give him
another dime!” James threatened.
We felt that the jumbled pattern of
the puzzle was at last taking definite
shape.
HY should “Hope” demand money
V from James? Was it a form of black-
mail? ‘Was Hope in a position safely to
demand money because he shared some
incriminating secret with the red-headed
tonsorial artist? ’. . . If only we could get
a line on the man named Hope!
At last Captain Southard overheard a
reference to Hope’s “green Buick automo-
bile.” He was elated. It should not be
too difficult to trace Hope’s address from
the automobile registration department of
the State Division of Motor Vehicles.
For fifteen days Southard, Littleton,
Captain Kynette and Lieutenant Morgan
stuck to their posts in the vacant house,
nerves strained almost to the breaking-
point in their efforts to miss no single word
coming to them over the wire from the
sensitive instruments in the house next
door. Assisting them from time to time
were District Attorney Fitts, Assistant
Chief Charles Griffen of the Bureau of
Investigation, Investigators Harry Dean
and Everett Davis and myself.
Finally on Sunday morning, April 19th,
it was decided to spring the trap.
All of the above-named officials, to-
gether with several others, had gathered
at the La Salle Avenue house, prepared
for any emergency.
Lieutenant Morgan sat with ears glued
to the receiver. At last he lifted his right
hand....
“Now’s the time to take them!” he
whispered excitedly.
1 clear
out a
it. She
a hos-
r leav-
n auto
n when
found
ur cot-
> wash
doctor
t. She
a girl
is later
were
Mem-
r from
| sleep.
ten the
ig wife
e year,
to the
e com-
a can-
on the
ed this
Frank
vas be-
admis-
his last
weren’t
lied for
ame as
s bene-
married
1, Cali-
npany’s
lse rep-
ing for
ng false
‘ough a
. couple
rformed
him in
and he
iced us
dollars
” James
smile,
rance I
t a real
he first
ly 19th
3 seven-
admis-
shonest,
‘elations
ony re-
the in-
nbat his
ypeared,
er 20th,
ly when
ed that
r, pend-
reported
sum of
out-of-
Once mote thé name of’ the rorhanti-:
cally inclined. barber disappeared’. from*
the newspapers—but not for long.
On: March’ 6th, 1936, from ‘the window
of his establishment at Eighth and Olive
Streets in down-town Los Angeles, James
saw a pretty woman standing on the
corner. With unprecédented boldness he
Fey forth from-his shop and accosted
er.
“Hello, Babe,” he said, grinning. “How
about going to a dance with me tonight?”
Mrs. Rose’‘Hunter, the woman addressed;
turned amazed and scornful eyes upon:
him. “Certainly not!” she snapped. “And
if you speak to me again I’ll have you
arrested!” : )
“Oh! ‘The high-hat type, eh? Think
you're too good to go out with me. Why.
you ——!” j ad he ae ate
Almost before the insulting words ‘weré
out of his mouth he had received a re-
sounding slap across the face.
Like an infuriated animal the would-be
masher struck back, at the same time
shouting vile curses.
The traffic officer on the corner, at-
tracted by Mrs. Hunter’s screams, prompt-
ly arrested James on a charge of. dis-
turbing the peace. Efforts of his attorney,
Samuel J. Silverman, to have the case dis-
missed proved unavailing, and on: April
8th James was found. guilty as charged
and fined $50.
Meanwhile’ the dashing widower had
brought suit against another life insurance
company in an effort to collect double
indemnity on the second $5,000 policy on
the life of his lately deceased wife.
Hoe. he failed to convince a
jury that his claim was valid. The in-
surance company proved that false repre-
sentations had been made by the insured
at the time the policy was applied for, and
a decision was rendered in favor of the
company.
Disgruntled but helpless to change the
verdict, James resigned himself to the loss
of the ripe plum that had seemed within
his grasp.
It was a few days later that a repre-
sentative of this last insurance company
called upon District Attorney Buron Fitts
and suggested a re-opening of the investi-
gation into the death of Mrs. Mary James.
Mr. Fitts ordered Clyde Plummer, Chief
of the Bureau of Investigation, to make
an exhaustive inquiry into all phases of
the eight-month-old case.
Chief Plummer detailed Investigators
Lloyd Yarrow and Jesse Winn to assist
him in this task. ;
Asked again to relate all the facts in
connection with his wife’s death, James
turned on his inquisitors defiantly.
“Listen,” he said. “You’ve got nothing
on me, but of course I know you’d like to
pin a murder rap on me if you could.
That seems to be the main ambition of
guys like you, but in this case you can’t
get away with it.”
“You're mistaken in thinking we're try-
ing to persecute you,” Yarrow said even-
ly, “but I don’t mind telling you that if
we dig up any facts linking you with your
wife’s death, we’ll bring you to trial.”
“Yes? Just try and do it!” James re-
torted contemptuously.
Step by step Winn and Yarrow re-
checked all the facts brought to light by
previous investigators, without unearthing
a single new clue indicating that Mary
James’s ‘death had been other than acci-
dental.
Major Dinsley, the neighbor who had
stated he saw a tall blonde woman in the
rear yard of the James residence at nine-
thirty on the morning of August 5th,
1935, was re-questioned. He could not be
shaken from his original story.
True Detective Mysteries
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Her Skull fractured by ol
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pees:
) “Shes was drowned - in» the: bathtub,”
wasn’t she?” Chief. Plummer persisted,
“Comein here and: show. us:how she died,
Did: you}. or James,! hold her head | under
the water?” . _ >}
\.“For »the> thousandth ; time,” Hope‘
shouted, “I don’t) know how she died!
And ‘there’s’no use for.me to go. into that
d— bathroom again!” )\ oo oe Bey
“Do-asI say!” Plummer ordered, And
when . Hope’ had- reluctantly: crossed. the
threshold into the little room,: Plummet
slammed the door shut: wes n BL
“Now,” he ‘informed Hope, “you'll istay
right here till you make up your; mind
to_tell the whole: truth about this: case.”
For more ‘than an hour the officer ‘and
the suspect remained closeted while, :at
Plummer’s insistence, yee described over
and over: again how he had assisted
James'in removing the dead: girl’s body
from the house to the fishpond. 19
“Come on,”. Chief Plummer urged, “let’s
have the rest of it. How did she die?”
At last Hope’s jangled nerves snapped
under the strain. ny
“We killed her!” he! screamed. “For
heaven’s sake, take’ me out of here: I
can’t stand it! I'll’ tell you the whole
story 1?!) 03 f + ed
Puen, the officers escorted Hope
back to the. District Attorney's office,
In the presence of Mr. Fitts, Chief
Deputy District Attorney: Robert: P.
Stewart, Chief Plummer, Captain South-
ard, Investigatots Littleton ‘and Griffen,
Deputy Sheriffs Gray and Killion and my-
self, Hope’ dictated his almost unbeliev-
able confession to’ Statement Reportet
E. F. Lytich of the Sheriff’s Office. tod
We listened in sttmned' silence as Hope
revealed‘in blood-chilling detail‘the chain
of events that. led to the murder of ‘Mary
James. -'The’ gruesome ‘natrative’ rivaled
any horror story éver written by Edgar
Allan Poe. The most refined tortures ‘of
the Spanish Inquisition paled into insignifi-
cance beside the demoniacal methods em-
ployed to put that young bride to death.
In answer to preliminary questions by
Mr. Fitts, Hope said he was thirty-seven
years old, ’a native of Kansas, and had
served many years in the United States
Navy as a sailor.
“How ‘long have you known Bob
James?” he was asked.
“T’ve been acquainted with him about
seven years, but I’ve only known him
intimately since last June.’
Hope then stated that he had-called at
Bob James’ barber-shop last June,’ at
which time he was “broke and unem-
ployed,” ‘and requested a free hair-cut and
shave. On that occasion James asked if he
would like to earn a hundred dollars, ex-
plaining that he had a friend who would
pay that sum for some live rattlesnakes.
Hope admitted that he jumped at the
chance to obtain the money. He accepted
twenty ‘dollars as an advance fee and
drove to a reptile house in Long Beach.
There he procured three rattlers which he
promptly delivered to James.
A few days later when he sought to col-
lect the balance of eighty dollars due him,
James informed him that his friend had
complained that the snakes were worth-
less. One had died and the other two
“had no pep,”—refusing to fight even a
rabbit placed in the box with them. The
maniacal barber ordered him to buy two
or three more reptiles and to make sure
they were vicious.
“He told me his friend had made a bet
with a man that a California rattlesnake
could kill a rabbit in fifteen minutes,”
Hope explained. “So I went to the snake
concession at Ocean Park and got two or
three more. I gave them to James, but
they were like the first batch. They
True Detective: Mysteries *: |
be--anythingMides Cala epi
ll rattlesnak ae MrbFit
on “odd 40 Satgiaegn
ond-back;:rattlers.je Fis
nally:James gave rmeciy-tundred
and told’ me to bring i
‘hot’ vsnakes}> that: is, -the ckind’ with:ireal’
.
‘Snake Joe’s'ion Pastidend Avenué anditold!
him what I wanted>! Hetpicked ont twos of ©
the hottest snakes hé had ‘and ‘sold-them;td ,
glass:topped:2 box: mades tionput:themicint
shop with them: He’came:dut.niAsjhe got
and you're in ie withetiaye Sydareahsap!
o! Hope: didn’t ‘know | exactly; what’ James °
meant, he declared, but. gaye: the! matter .
little thoughtjat the timeas 1% od'T®
going ato do iwiththosé; snakes,+and snext:.
morning I went out to) his house.’ oy! 0!
‘I got. there about: eleven-thirty. “He
had his ‘wifd) roped’ to the breakfast-room
table. . There: was adhesive tape ‘over her
mouth and sees. Wheh he: sawsme'jhe
said, ‘You can’t» get. out: of this: thin ;
bring those snakes in here!’ I brought the
box in'and'set it down. He -stuck! her
bare foot; in it.” Jee 6. beiagpiin,
I felt a sharp pain in the’ pit of imy
stomach as I heard these words; And. I
was not alone in my reaction. si.) With
the exception of Hope himself, ‘everyoman
in the room: had: turned: a)\grayish-white. -
:“I took-the rattlers back) to ‘Snake Joe’s’ |
in’ Bob’s..car—” sel rig «: bebe ert
“Just a moment,” Mr. Fitts interrupted.
“Did you see the snakes: bite the,womanh?”
“No, sir, I didn’t look’. 4 oO. 29ers |,
“Did) she moan. or make any: outcry?”
é its RIS $3
HE | gave a little moan ‘orice,'!:She
couldn’t make much noise withithat
ne over her mouth”. 3
The: veteran, District Attorney ‘shud-
dered, rose and: paced nervously, back and
forth across the floor for, several.minutes.
“Go on with your story !”*he said finall
in a voice trembling with rage. “Go on!”
Hope said he and his wife spent Sunda
evening playing cards with friends, .. Fol-
lowed by an acquaintance who drov his,
Hope’s car, Hope drove in James’: car
to the white cottage in La Canada, arriv-
ing at one o’clock Monday morning... ..
After berating Hope for having ‘kept
his car so long, James: said: » “She’s: not
dead yet.” i thy % of gg
Hope’ virtuously declared that he: told
the would-be wife-slayer that he was “glad
of that,” whereupon James feplied:’ “I’m
going in and drown her!”
According to Hope’s statement he gat in
the car from 1:00 a.m. to 4:00 A.M.,
drinking whiskey supplied by James. As
his senses became more befuddled, he had
only a dim recollection of what transpired
during the night. The man who followed
him to the James house, he said, had
fallen asleep in the other car during the
long wait.
“But at four o’clock in the morning,”
Hope said, Bob came out to the garage
she we talked for ten or fifteen minutes.
Then he went back in the house and
stayed a short time. When he came out
again, he said, ‘Well, I dtéwned her. The
snake didn’t do the work fast enough.’
“I kept on drinking and at half past six
he shook me by the shoulder and said.
‘She’s been dead since four o’clock. The
house is cleaned up. Come and help me
carry her out.’ I asked if he really killed
her. He said: ‘Sure I killed her-tand
you're in just as deep as I am.’ So I went
i ret
“hitnenothing cbut %
venom that could killy I. drove ottto 4!’
me for seventy ‘cents #tpound. sV’dvhad a4)
I\drove::down! in: fronts of Bob's; barber’
in the:car‘he said, ‘There’s\noithirdparty |:
tn this!. T,want to collect sore finsurance;, -
» “After Dileft: James::I):went; toskeepsan |)
appointment ;with !imy wifes s\Thatiyiwas |:
Saturday night, August .\third./y Latetiv I’ |:
got to.'worryirig aboutswhat:James!iwas ||”
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een sum-
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overheard
‘ames ex-
nee over
his own
is the in-
was ad-
delighted
his loves
de lashed
for that
sent from
and on
oose wo-
ym heard
2 subject
t only a
1ough to
een com-
d to say
ks I dis-
his com-
ghter on
iscussing
icquaint-
offer of
It ap-
ace been
relations
cause of
aoney.
sive him
ttern of
definite
money
f black-
afely to
‘d some
-headed
ould get
heard a
1utomo-
not be
‘ss from
ment of
‘les.
ittleton,
Morgan
> house,
eaking-
‘le word
om the
se next
to time
ssistant
reau of
Dean
‘il 19th,
ils, to-
athered
repared
s glued
is right
a!” he
’ Kitthen“‘chairs,“ tobe uséd as ladders,
were swiftly placed beneath two windows
of ‘the bungalow occupied by Bob James
and Lois Wright. Southard leaped ‘‘on
toone of them, ‘silently pushed ‘up’ the
previously soaped bedroom window-frame
and swung himself over the sill, gun in
hand.) © ,
- For a moment James and the girl were
unaware of his presence. rade
- “Put up your hands!” barked Southard.
The girl screamed wildly. Half fainting,
she could only moan and sob as she’ re+
alized the significance of her plight.
James hastily donned pajamas, “What
the h— is: this,” he demanded, “a stick-
up?” - i i
By this time Investigator Dean had en-
tered through a rear window.
~ “We're officers,” Southard said. “Get
your clothes on!” ° ‘
“What’s the rap?” aif
*. “You filthy rotter! Isn’t that girl your
own flesh-and-blood niece?”
' “What of it?” James sneered.
' The still-blustering barber and his sob-
bing niece were taken to the county jail
where the former was: booked on three
counts of incest. The girl was held as a
material witness.
- On the following day James was indicted
by the: Grand Jury on statutory charges
based on the blood relationship between
himself‘and his’ niece. Bail was set” at
$25,000 and the accused ordered to appear
for, trial on May 25th before Superior
Court Judge Joseph Vickers, bal ale
4 combination of tragic circumstances
had conspired to entrap an attractive, gen-
tle-mannered girl in the bitterly humiliat-
Ing position in which Lois Wright -now
found herself. It was a pity that ever this
human beast gét hold of her. TRE
: sponding to“'the story she told Mar.
jorie Fairchild, District Attorney’s inves-
tigator, Lois had known nothing but ‘pov-
erty and household drudgery in a ier e
family in Alabama until “Uncle Bob” had
condescended to take notice of her exist-
ence.a few years before. - i
“In my whole life up to the time ;he
came to visit us,” Lois said, “I’d never
done‘anything but work, work, work!:We
were so poor that we had to accept: chat-
ity. I. wanted to get away from home, to:
be like other girls; have pretty clothes, go
to dances and have beaux. So when Uncle
Bob offered to take me to California in
1933, I begged mother to let me go. She
finally consented and we started for Cali-
‘fornia in his car. I was eighteen then.
We lived in-auto camps till we got: to;Los
Angeles, where we rented an apartment
for a month. yo!
: “Then he took me back to Alabama, ‘In
January, 1934, he came and got me. again
and we returned to. Los Angeles. }.-We
lived together until May, 1935, when he
was supposed to have married Mary Busch:
I took an apartment by myself then. -All
that time I was working as a manicurist
for Uncle Bob. He didn’t pay me ‘any-
thing for the first six months while I-was
learning the business, but after that the
let me keep what I made, except: for
my half of the rent which amounted to
fifteen dollars a month. - +
“Six months after Mary died he rented
this bungalow on La Salle Avenue ‘and
again took me to live with him. I’ve ‘alt
ways had to do what he wanted. I didn’
know how to go about finding another
job, and he kept reminding me of how
much I owed him.” Sometimes the girl
forgot her embarrassment and launched
into bitter condemnation of the man-beast
who had wrecked her life. “Believe me,
I paid for all I got from him! J hated
him! He was mean, overbearing, beastly
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92
in every way! But I was afraid to try
to get away from him. I never had enough
money to strike out for myself, and any-
way, he’d have followed me. I was afraid
he would kill me.”
While I was engaged in preparing my
case against James, weird, shocking ru-
mors had reached the ears of our District
Attorney.
It was whispered that Mary James had
been tortured to death by the beast-man
sadist.
So persistent were these rumors that
they could not be ignored, fantastic as
they seemed.
Accordingly, Mr. Fitts ordered that
every resource of his office be used in a
final effort to clear up whatever remained
of mystery concerning the death of Mrs.
Mary James.
Southard and ‘Littleton, under Chief
Plummer’s direction, undertook the as-
signment.
It was not until they interviewed Mrs.
William D. Cruickshank, next door neigh-
bor to the James couple at the time of
the tragedy, that doubt was cast upon
the statement made by Major Dinsley to
the effect that he had seen a woman
whom he believed to be’ Mary James
standing in the back yard of her home at
nine-thirty on the morning of the day her
body was discovered in the fishpond.
his: Cruickshank declared that at that
exact time she was at the rear of her own
place in a spot to command an unob-
structed view of the James property; if
Mrs. James had appeared in the vicinity
of the chicken-coops at any time between
nine-fifteen and nine-thirty that morning,
she, Mrs. Cruscleahianie; would certainly
have seen her!
After again questioning Major Dinsley
on this all-important point and hearing ~
him reiterate his original statement,
Southard and Littleton could form but
one conclusion: either Dinsley or Mrs.:
Cruickshank was confused as to the actual
date involved. It was evident that both -
were sincere in their efforts to aid in -
solving the mystery.
A few days before, Southard had re-
quested the State Motor Vehicle Depart- ©
ment at Sacramento to forward to him by
telegraph the addresses of every person
in the state named “Hope” to whom an
automobile was registered.
It was on the evening of May Ist that
Southard excused himself from a dinner-
party and telephoned. higscoffice.
“Anything for me?” he asked.
“A telegram,” the clerk replied.
“Open it and read it to me.”
“IT’S from the State Motor Vehicle De-
partment and has a long list of auto-
mobiles registered to people named
Hope.”
“Hold it!” Southard shouted. “I'll write
down those addresses.” \
A few minutes later, after hurried apolo-
gies to his hostess, he took his departure.
Then, having arranged the numerous ad-
dresses in such a manner that no time
would be lost in having to retrace his
steps, Southard, still garbed in a tuxedo,
started on his quest.
At each address listed he searched for
a green Buick sedan. Some of the garage-
doors he tried were open; others he un-
locked with pass keys. He worked all
night. ;
At seven o’clock next morning only two
addresses remained to be checked. One
was that of Charles H. Hope, on Seuth
Normandie Avenue. The license number
of the car registered in that name was
7U5520.
Weary to the point of exhaustion,
Southard went home, snatched three
hours’ sleep, had a hot shower and
Rhinestone buckle and shreds of silk
from the victim’s death dress
changed to business clothes. A_ light
breakfast, then back to the office where he
explained to Mr. Fitts and me how he
had spent the night.
He called his partner, Scott Littleton,
and at 11.a.M. they drove up to one of
the still unchecked addresses—an apart-
ment-building ‘on South Normandie Ave-
nue. Excitedly, Southard indicated a
green Buick sedan parked a few feet
away. It bore license number 7U5520.
‘“TINHERE’S our car, Scotty!” he exulted.
“Now, all we’ve got to do is sit here
‘and wait for our man.” )
They remained until four o’clock that
afternoon. No one appeared to claim the
green Buick.
_ It was then decided that Southard, pos-
ing as-a traffic investigator for the police
department, should go inside the apart-
ment-building in an endeavor to locate
the suspect.
He was directed by the manager to the
Hope apartment. A pleasant-faced woman
answered his knock. i
“Mr. Hope in?” Southard asked po-
litely. “I’m investigating an automobile
crash and I’d like to talk to him.”
“Why,” the woman exclaimed in genu-
ine surprise, “we. haven’t been in any ,
crash! And besides, Mr. Hope’s out of
the city.”
“You say your car hasn’t been involved
in a collision?”
“Positively not.”
“Well, I’m very glad tp be able to put
that information in ‘report. But to
complete the record, I'll have to have
your husband’s present address.”
“Well,” the woman said somewhat
doubtfully, “just now he’s running a cafe
at 2620 Hermosa Avenue in Hermosa
- Beach.”
Southard jotted down the address,
Twenty-two minutes later he. and
Littleton pulled up in front of the beach .
cafe—seventeen miles distant from Los
Angeles.’ .
“As they entered the restaurant,’ they
saw a thick-shouldered, flat-nosed man -
about thirty-five years of age slicing bread -
behind a counter... :
“Hello, Charlie,” was Littleton’s greet-
ing. “How are: you?”
“ih
e man’s eyes remained blank.
“You're Charlie Hope, aren’t you?”
Littleton asked,
“That’s me. ‘Chuck’ Hope to my
friends.” ;
“Do you know a barber named Bob
James?’
The blood slowly receded from Hope’s
face. “I know him,” he faltered. “What
. . what about it?”
“You're under arrest for the murder of
Mrs. Mary James!”
Hope, obviously unnerved, was pushed
into the investigators’ car and driven
straight to the D. A.’s office in Los
Angeles, where he was grilled for two
hours, several of us taking turns firing
questions at him.
Stubbornly Hope reiterated that he
knew nothing about the death of Mary
James,
“You’ve got the wrong man,” he in-
sisted. “Somebody’s made a mistake. I
don’t know what you're talking about.”
“Hope,” I said finally, “we know the
story. Youre just wasting your time and
ours when you put on the innocent act.
We're going to get all the facts anyway,
so why not come clean and get this over
with?”
He lifted haggard eyes to mine.
Pe make a deal with you,” he offered,
“Get me a drink of beer—and I'll
talk.”
From the office cooler I drew a glass of
cold water. “We don’t keep beer on hand,”
I said. “Try this.”
Gratefully he drained the glass.
“Well,” he said, “all I know is that
when I went out to see Bob James late
that Sunday night or early Monday morn-
”
‘ing, he said his wife was dead and asked
me to help carry her body out to the
fishpond. I got the idea that she’d
drowned in the bathtub and that he was
afraid he’d be accused of murdering her.
For that reason he wanted it to look as if
she’d drowned in the pond. I was pretty
drunk, but I remember helping him carry
her body out of the house.”
“And that’s not all you remember!” I
accused. “Keep on talking.” a
“T’ve told you all I know about it, so
help me God!”
We hammered away at him for another
hour in a futile effort to elicit further ad-
missions.
“Tf you'll let me have a few hours’
sleep,” Hope said desperately, “I may be
able to tell you. more about it in the
morning. I’m worn out.”
As it was nearing midnight, we decided
to accept his proposal. The prisoner was
booked under an assumed name and
lodged in a suburban jail for the night.
At six o’clock on the following morning
all of us were in Mr. Fitts’ office. After
a brief consultation it was decided to visit
the scene of Mrs. Mary James’ death.
An hour later Chief Plummer, Southard,
Littleton and the prisoner, Charlie Hope,
stood on the porch of the little white cot-
tage on Verdugo Road in La Canada.
Almost nine months had élapsed since
the frail young wife of Robert James had
been found dead in the ornamental lily
pond of her home, and the bungalow was
now occupied by another family.
However, the woman who lived there
graciously offered the use of her house
and grounds for the purpose of re-enacting
what was later revealed to be the most
atrocious crime, for sheer, inhuman
cruelty, ever committed in Los Angeles
County.
Again and again Hope was ordered to
demonstrate the part he had played in the
hideous drama enacted during the early
morning hours of August 5th, 1935.
“She was laying right here,” he said, in-
dicating the floor just outside the bath-
room door. “I picked up her feet, Bob
lifted her by the shoulders, and together
we carried her out to the fishpond.” °
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94
inside and helped get her out of there. 1
carried her feet; he carried her head. We
laid her in the fishpond.”
With an almost moronic lack of feeling
the serpent buyer told of having taken
Mary James’ wet nightgown, the wet two-
els and blankets that James had used to
mop up the bathroom floor, to his own
car and later that day burned the gown
and towels in an incinerator,
“He told me to get rid of the blankets
too,” Hope said, “but I had an idea that
some day I’d have to straighten this thing
out, so I kept the blankets. I’ll turn them
over to you any time.”
“Why did James kill his wife?” I asked.
“Well, first he said he wanted to collect
some insurance. Then later he told me it
was the quickest way to get rid of “an un-
wanted baby.” He told Mary that too.
While she was laying there bound and
gagged, and he started to shove her foot
into the box with the snakes, he said he
thought the shock would cause her to lose
the baby.”
“What size were the snakes?”
“Oh, I’d say about three feet long.
James used to go down to Ocean Park to
the snake-pit and watch them by the
hour.”
Southard asked a question. “After Mrs.
James died, did James say anything about
a certain letter that was found on the liv-
ing room table?”
“Vk, he did. As we drove into town
that morning after we’d put her in the
fishpond, he told me not to be so nervous.
Said he’d forced her to write a letter to
her sister that made the whole thing look
like an accident—gave him a perfect alibi.
He said the authorities would find the let-
ter and think everything was all right.”
With fury I recalled the pitiful note left
by Mary James. I could visualize the
doomed woman, slowly dying of a snake’s
venom, laboriously writing the words her
fiendish mate dictated.
The reference to the swollen leg, the
“cut” on the toe, the “insect” bite...
all designed to conceal her own husband’s
hideous crime. The words “blue Monday”
indicated a diabolically clever intent_ to
conceal the actual time of death. My
blood boiled at the thought of the smirk-
ing barber smugly awaiting trial now on
moral charges involving his young niece.
“Have you ever told this story to any-
one else?” I asked, when I felt I could
control my voice. 7
“T told a man named Sands about it
six hours before they found the body!”
was the astounding reply. “Sands runs a
wine shop. I was so jittery after the job
was done that I went to his place and
asked for some wine to settle my nerves.
He kidded me about having the jitters,
and I told him I’d just seen a man kill his
wife by letting a rattlesnake bite her. He
laughed and said I was crazy.”
“Ts Sands the only other person you
told?”
“No, sir. About a month ago I went
to an attorney that I know and told him
the story. He asked me if I wanted to go |
down and talk. to the D, A., and»I said my
tale sounded so d— fantastic that nobody
would believe me. He said he’d see what
he could: do.” ety
Incidentally, the attorney in question,
whose name is withheld at his request,
at once informed: Mr. Fitts of:the-weird
confession, but expressed doubt that much
credence could be placed in it.
At the. conclusién of Hope’s statement
I took ‘him to the Chaplain’s office*in the
County Jail. Next I ordered James
brought from his cell. I wondered what
his reaction would be when suddenly con-
fronted by Hope.
A moment later the door swung open
be te Se ee, ae
True Detective Mysteries
and James entered, accompanied by a
guard.
At sight of the accomplice who had
aided him in executing the monstrous
crime his cunning brain had conceived, his
face went ashen.
“James,” I began, “de you know this
man?”
“Yes, I know him,” he said.
Briefly, I repeated to him the gruesome
facts just related by Hope. His greenish,
lack-lustre eyes—not unlike those of a
cobra—remained expressionless as he heard
me accuse him of tying his ailing wife
to a table after covering her eyes and
mouth with adhesive tape; of thrusting
her bare left foot into a box of writhing
rattlesnakes, agitating the reptiles until
one of them sank its deadly fangs into
the helpless woman’s toe.
“Then,” I continued, “for seventeen
hours you permitted your wife to suffer
excruciating agony while you waited hope-
fully for the snake’s venom to produce the
death you had planned and desired. Final-
ly, realizing that if your hellish crime was
to go undiscovered you must report at
your place of business at the usual hour,
you lifted Mary from her bed, carried her
to the bathtub you had previously filled
with water, and there held her head under
water until you had accomplished your
ghastly purpose.
“That is the story Chuck Hope has just
dictated to us. Have you anything to
add to it?”
“Nothing.”
Nothing. By that single word Robert S.
James had definitely fixed his status in
the social scale as lower than that of the
serpents he had employed to assist him
in his maniacal scheme to destroy his
bride of a few weeks.
After being questioned for several hours
James, at his request, was escorted to a
down-town cafe by Deputy Sheriffs Wil-
lard Killion and Virgil Gray. Between
mouthfuls he gave his version of his wife’s
death. ad
ATER in an official statement dictated
4 in the aay of District Attorney
Fitts, myself and other investigators, the
craven-hearted murderer repeated the
story in an attempt to shift the blame for
the actual killing from himself to Hope.
James admitted that he had been
“thinking about killing her” for several
weeks prior to the actual commission of
the crime, and that while his wife was in
Long Beach during the first week of July,
acting as model at a dentists’ convention,
he had discussed the matter with Hope.
_ He suddenly digressed then, to relate an
incident that had no bearing on the mur-
der itself, but served to indicate that his
wife knew of his philanderings with other
women and tolerated them because she
was deathly afraid to do otherwise.
“One night while Mary was in Long
Beach,” James said, “I went to a night-
club and danced all evéning with two girls.
I got drunk and one of them drove me
home and put me to bed. I thought my
The -James’s bungalow—ideally lo-
cated for the demon _ husband’s
criminal activities ..-— is
wife was still in Long Beach, but she had
come home!” The egotistical barber
grinned as he spoke, and it was evident
that he was pleased over having been
caught in the indiscretion.
“Mary saw this woman coming out of
the bathroom. The girl asked her if she
was my sister. Mary said no, that she
was my wife. I’d told the other woman
that I lived there with my sister, you see.
It was a funny situation, but Mary kept
her mouth shut.”
James was curtly informed that his
marital escapades did not interest us, and
told to proceed with his statement con-
cerning his wife’s death.
“Well,” he said, “Hope knew my wife
carried this insurance. Whether she told
him or I told him, I couldn’t say. Any-
way, he suggested several ways of killing
her. He said he’d take her out and shoot
her—make it look as if it had been done
in a hold-up. I told him lots of people
had been faeaed for that. ‘Lhen ne
showed me some white powder and said
you could break the skin, rub a little bit
in the wound and the victim would die in
five minutes. I thought that was ridic-
ulous, He’d been drinking and I didn’t
pay any attention to what he said. Soon
after that he sprang the idea of the rattle-
snakes on me. Said these California rat-
tlers could kill a person in fifteen minutes,
that he’d get a couple of good snakes and
do the job himself.
Fie was ogreed that if he did that 1
would give him half the money that I
collected from the insurance. I gave him
twenty dollars and he went out and
bought the snakes. It was dog days for
the snakes, though, and they were blind.
They wouldn’t bite anyone. He put a
rabbit in the box with them. The next
morning one of the rattlers was dead and
the rabbit was walking around! The sec-
ond batch was the same way—no good.
I laughed at him about his rattlesnakes
and said we would lay off them.
“Then one morning he took my car and
kept it about three days. He came back
drunk and told me a cock-and-bull story.
Said he’d gone to Phoenix and got a jar
full of black widow spiders. He showed
them to me and said, ‘All you have to do
is to throw them in bed with her and
they’ll do the work.’ I laughed and threw
his d— spiders out.
“Finally he told me he knew where he
could get some really ‘hot’ snakes. That
was on Saturday. I gave him some money
and he went and got two more, put them
in my garage and then left. I drank all
night and was pretty tight when he got
there the next morning, Sunday.
“Now, here’s something else,” James
said confidentially. “Hope knew Mary was
pregnant and that she was in poor health
and was afraid to have a baby. He posed
as a medical student and told her he’d
perform an abortion on her. She was very
happy about it. As to her peng taped
and tied up, he took care of that himself.
I left the house about one o’clock Sunday
afternoon and returned about four. I
went in to see her and he had her full of
liquor. There were two or three bottles
in the room. She-was in bed covered up.
He said he had performed the .abortion
and had put her foot in the box of snakes
and that one had bitten her. but that the
poison hadn’t taken effect aside from mak-
ing her leg swell up. .— -
“Naturally, I was all upset and Mary
and I drank all night. I don’t think she
ever felt her snake-bite. About six o’clock
the next morning he came back. .We
talked the situation over and I said we'd
better call it off, but he thought we’d gone
too far. He said ‘They’ll know its a
snake-bite, and she’s going to talk. You
leave }
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have
96
three to 150 years—said: “The obnoxious
picture of the crime is aggravated by tes-
timony that showed the defendant began
his advances toward his niece when she
was little more than a child. Testimony
showed that the acts went on over a
period of years, and might have con-
tinued indefinitely, if they had not been
interrupted by the raid of the investiga-
tors.”
It was significant that James’ attorney,
Samuel J. Silverman, offered no defense
whatever in behalf of his client.
Before James went to trial for murder,
still another death was indirectly chalked
up against him. According to newspaper
accounts, on June 8th, 1936, Mrs. Anna
Busch, mother of Mary Busch James, died
at her home in Geneseo, Illinois. Rela-
tives there said her death was due to
sustained shock and grief over the tragic
fate of her daughter.
On June 19th, Charles H. Hope, repre-
sented by Public Defender E. E. Cuff,
pleaded guilty to a charge of murder in
Superior Judge Charles W. Fricke’s court.
He was permitted to do so with the un-
derstanding that he would formally con-
fess his guilt and testify against James
at the latter’s trial. The degree of his
own guilt would be determined later.
On June 22nd, in a court-room filled to
capacity, with the learned and erudite
Judge Fricke presiding, James went on
trial for his life, having entered a double
plea of Not Guilty and Not Guilty by
Reason of Insanity. A jury of ten men
and two women was selected.
OUNSEL for the defendant consisted |
of Attorneys William J. Clark, Sam-
uel Silverman and Russell E. Parsons.
Associated with me in the prosecution
was Deputy District Attorney John
Barnes, one of the most brilliant and ca-
pable men of our staff. He, too, had made
an exhaustive study of the case, and to-
gether we felt we were prepared for any
surprise move the defense might make.
Early in the trial James, through his
attorney, withdrew his plea of Not Guilty
by Reason of Insanity, it being clear, even
to him, that we were in a position to
establish his sanity beyond any reason-
able doubt.
During the month-long trial, that fol-
lowed, the pasty-faced barber listened
calmly, almost indifferently, as witness
after witness took the stand in an effort
to convict.him of one of the most horrible
crimes ever committed. It was only while
his erstwhile friend “Chuck” Hope was
testifying that James showed any marked
interest in the proceedings. By malevo-
lent glares and muttered imprecations he
indicated that he regretted not having
carried out an earlier conceived plan to
murder Hope too! To one of the inves-
tigators he had confided that the idea had
occurred to him and been abandoned
only because of the risks involved.
Most interesting of all the exhibits were
two rattlesnakes, appropriately named
“Lethal” and “Lightning.” Housed in a
glass-topped, coffin-like box, the reptiles
whirred and buzzed as they lashed about
their narrow container while their owner,
“Snake Joe” Houtenbrink, positively iden-
tified them as the two he had sold to
“Chuck” Hope a few days before Mary
James’ body was found in the fishpond:
of her La Canada home.
Fortunately for us,éthe terms of a re-
cently enacted law gave us the privilege
of introducing into evidence against the
defendant an account of the circumstances
in connection with Winona James’ death.
Needless to say, we made full use of this
privilege, despite heated objections on the
True Detective Mysteries
art of defense counsel. Pike’s Peak
ighway Superintendent Rogers took the
stand and described in detail the accident
in which Winona all but lost her life
while her husband escaped unscratched.
Rogers was followed to the stand by
Gerald Rogers, grocery, clerk who was
with James. at the time he “discovered”
Winona’s drowned body in the bathtub
of their auto court bungalow. Three
other witnesses from Colorado who gave
testimony damaging to the defense were
Grace Yarnell, cousin of Winona Wallace
James; Irene Snider, record clerk. at the
Beth-El Hospital at Colorado Springs
where Winona was treated for head in-
Juries supposedly received in the automo-
bile accident; and Dr. D. B. Gilmore.
coroner who had performed an autopsy
on the drowned girl’s body.
Insurance company representatives tes-
tified that James had collected $14,000
on the “double indemnity” policy cover-
ing Winona’s life.. That when Mary died,
he expected to collect $21,400, but had
been forced to accept only $3,500 in a
compromise settlement of his claims. Fur-
thermore, that a few months before,
ADDITIONAL FACT
DETECTIVE STORIES
will be found in Masrer
Detective, a Macfadden
Publication. MAasTER
DETECTIVE is on sale at all
newsstands on the 15th of
each month.
James received $5,000 insurance on a
policy covering the life of his nephew
Cornelius Wright—brother of Lois—who
had been killed in an automobile accident
while driving a car to which James had
recently had access! Could the murder-
ously inclined barber have tampered with
the steering apparatus of his nephew’s au-
tomobile? It was the obvious, but un-
proved, implication,
In a desperate defense maneuver, the
defendant himself took the stand and
sullenly denied all knowledge as to how
his wife Mary actually came to her death
. .. this despite the fact, that his confes-
sion had been admitted’ into evidence
after a four-day battle between his: at-
torneys and ourselves during which coun-
sel for the defense repeatedly charged
that the confession was obtained under
duress and as such was inadmissible.
James declared that “Chuck” Hope was
alone with Mary on the last day of her
life, and that if she had not accidentally
' drowned in the goldfish pond, Hope must
have killed her himself.
On Friday, July 17th, the defense
rested, and my co-prosecutor John
Barnes began his opening argument to
' the jury. Calmly, dispassionately, he de-
manded the death penalty for Robert 8S.
James whom he characterized as the most
vicious, ruthless, cold-blooded murderer
' ever to be tried in the State of California,
He declared James was “a Dr. Jekyll and
October, 1936
Mr. Hyde,” able to turn on crocodile tears
as one would turn water on and off at
a faucet.
“Send this man to the gallows,” Barnes
begged the jurors. “End the life of this
cold-blooded killer—this man who killed
without compunction and now has the
brazen effrontery to come into this court
and tell you he is innocent.”
For two and one-half days Barnes
pleaded the State’s cause before an at-
tentive jury. At the conclusion of his
impressive address attorneys for the de-
fense began their arguments as to why the
life of their client should be spared. They
described James as an innocent victim
of circumstances over which he had no
control, and pointed out that Charles
Hope, who had already admitted his guilt,
should alone pay the penalty for the crime,
if any had been committed.
Just as this issue went to press, the Los
Angeles Times published the following
dispatch:
DEATH PLEA
STUNS JAMES
State Sums Up in Plain
Words
Williams Quotes Barber’s Own
Phrase on Hanging: Jury
to Begin Today
Bewildered, Robert James, the barber,
walked from Superior Judge Fricke’s
courtroom up the jail steps yesterday
blindly dabbing at his face and neck with
a soggy handkerchef,
Perspiration beaded his pale counte-
nance. Dinning in his ears were the ter-
rible words: “And he shall hang higher
than a kite.”
Eugene Williams, deputy District At-
‘torney, who a few moments before had
spaced those words far apart and with
deadly effect, was mopping his face, too.
INSTRUCTIONS TODAY
He was smiling—he was receiving con-
gratulations on an orderly, effective two-
hour demand that James die on the gallows
for the so-called rattlesnake death of his
fifth wife, Mary Busch James,
It was late in the afternoon. The jurors
had just been dismissed for the night to
await Judge Fricke’s instructions this
morning. Then it will be their decision
whether James is to hang as Williams
asked, A quick verdict today is expected,
On July 25, the case went to the jury.
Telegraph report, last minute flash:
Jury: returns verdict, “Guilty of murder
in the first degree,”
As the jury did not recommend im-
prisonment, death on the gallows is man-
datory unless there is a reversal on appeal.
FAMOUS DETECTIVE CasEs Maga-
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MYSTERIES beginning next month.
Don’t fail to buy TRUE DETECTIVE
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Oe eee
Que
Robert James, master barber, turned out to be a
LISEMBA, Major (CA)
os ae eS aa
master of love making with snakes as a side line.
day found Robert S. James,
38-year-old master barber,
tired. He admitted his weariness
as with his guests, he drove to his
home at 3129 Verdugo Road in
La Crecenta, Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia, suburb.
“Mary will be glad to see us,”
the host said wistfully. ‘She is
fond of barbecue dinners in the
back yard, and it was so good of
you folks to bring the steak to
broil. . . But what’s this! The
house is dark!”
Consternation filled his voice as
he jerked the car to a halt and
leaped to the curb, followed close-
ly by his guests. Late that after-
noon he had invited his friends to
his home, and they had accepted
eagerly, knowing the higher alti-
tude of the half-rural community
would provide relief. from the
city’s heat.
It was 7:30 on the evening of
August 5, 1935. Darkness already
had come, andthe absence of
lights where lights had been ex-
pected cast an eerie pall over the
house.
James unlocked the door and
the trio entered in breathless fear.
The host switched on the lights
and called out. There was no re-
sponse.
Glancing hurriedly through the
26
Bos of the late summer
VITAL
house, they found a brief note. It
read:
Why don’t you stay at home?
The note was unsigned.
“But Mary was at home. I am
sure she had no intention of going
out,” James said, perplexed. Look-
ing further, they found an unfin-
ished letter which was addressed
to Mrs. James’ sister, Mrs. R. H.
Steward of Las Vegas, N. M. In
part it read:
“I am feeling sick. My leg is
swollen, Something bit me while
watering my flowers. Also some-
thing bit my toe—”
AS James finished reading the trio
was doubly conscious of the im-
minence of tragedy. The barber called
again. There still was no answer. “I’m
afraid—afraid—you know Mary was ex-
pecting a baby,” James said.
Quickly they found flashlights. The
men hurried to the spacious backyard.
James went one way around a well-
stocked fish pond; His guest followed
the beam of his light the other way
around.
“My God!” his voice suddenly pierced
the night’s stillness. “Come quick!”
James jumped at the call of his
friend, throwing a finger of light ahead.
Instantly the beam fell upon a pros-
trate body—the body of Mrs. Mary
Busch James!
It was lying face downward in the
pool. The face was slightly immersed,
DETECTIVE, April, 1947
nee eee
“i ¥ - mal
Detective Jack Southward sifts ashes from inciner-
ator in a search for clues in the bizzare case.
the rest of the body lying well out of
the water.
James knelt quickly beside the body,
half rolling the form until the face
was lifted from the water, but it was
too late. :
“She’s—she’s dead,” the bereft hus-
band sobbed. “What will I do without
Mary!” James appeared greatly shock-
ed and became so violently ill that he
had to be helped into the house.
The barber seemed stupified by the
incident. His guest telephoned the near-
by Montrose sheriff’s substation, sum-
moning Deputy Sheriff Jack Toohey to
the scene. The officer made a prelim-
inary investigation, then notified the
county coroner. The bereft husband as-
sisted in every way possible, Toohey re-
ported.
“Mary was fascinated by the fish
pond,” James recalled. “She would sit
by’ the hour watching the fish. Often I
cautioned her against sitting too near
because she was subject -to fainting
spells.”
HE body was found late Monday
evening. Two days later Deputy
Sheriffs Virgil J. Gray and Willard L.
Pretty Mary Busch was
James’ seventh wife.
Killion were assigned to the case by
headquarters. The tragedy somehow had
aspects of being something other than
an accident. However there appeared
absolutely nothing to get a start on.
Apparently James was correct in his
assumption that his wife had fallen into
the pond accidentally and drowned.
The coroner's verdict supported this
theory in part. Police Surgeon A. B.
Wagner performed the autopsy, later
testifying at the inquest that he had
fcund a small amount of water in the
weman’s lungs. It was less than is nor-
mal in the bedy of a drowning victim,
but it could have caused death.
A slight swelling and discoloration of
the left ankle also was noted, and there
Was a superficial lacerAtion en the great
toe of the left foot. These seemed to
explain the unfinished letter. And yet—
The coroner's jury returned a. split
verdict. Five of the men serving on the
jury were skeptical. Because of Dr.
Wagner's report on the condition of
the lungs they returned a verdict that
death had been caused by drowning,
“with cellulitis of the left leg a con-
tributing cause. But they could not de-
cide whether death had been accidental.
homicidal or suicidal. The other jurors
held to the accidental-drowning theory.
—™
a, OI al
~~ GALIFORNIA
| LAWS mpl
James wept voluably at the inquest,
as did Miss Lois Wright, his comely
21-year-old niece, who attended. The
verdict was returned August 15, ten
days after the tragedy, and four days
later the body was fittingly interred in
Forest Lawn cemetery, in Glendale,
California.
During the period of the investiga-
tion, and for some time afterward,
James lived with friends. He appeared
disconsclate. The officers continued
quietly with efforts to learn what they
could about the man and his friends.
They questioned neighbors. interrogated
acquaintances. None could give them
information which did not substantiate
James’. theory of what had happened
to his wife.
From one neighbor the officers learn-
ed that a man named “Smith” had been
a frequent visitor at the James home.
This neighbor recalled that the visitor
drove a black Buick car, a fact that
was to become important later. “Smith”
appeared to be orderly and the neigh-
"I was infatuated,”
sobbed Lois Wright.
bors had paid no particular attention
to him. Officers Killion and Gray were
anxious to locate the man, but he had
disappeared completely.
The missing man was described as
being somewhat smaller than James. He
weighed about 145 pounds, was light-
ccmplexioned, had small eyes set al-
most flush with his face, and thin light
hair.
James was entirely different in type
His features were massive under a great
shock of red hair. Eves were nicely set
under well-arched brows. His chin had
that positive tilt needed to mark him
as a man of decisiveness; his mouth
was strong and set squarely under a
straight, neatly-chiseled nose. It was
easy to understand why he was a master
barber—a man in charge of his own
shop.
Always he appeared the picture of
sartcrial splendor. This fitted well with
his business of keeping other men well
groomed, and probably was a contribu-
ting factor in another phase of the
man’s life.
James said he had been married seven
times, Mary Busch having been his
seyenth bride. Of all those he had led
to the altar; however, Marv was the one
who had meant the most to him, he de-
clared devotedly
His first dip into matrimony had been
in 1916, when he married Maude Dun-
can in Birmingham, Alabama. his na-
tive state. This union led to the divorce
court, as did the next three. But the
fifth terminated in a tragedy that in-
terested the operatives
2?
leave it to me. She smokes cigarettés oc-
casionally and lots of people dié by smok-
ing in
According to James’ statement, he ‘then
tock a long drive in an effort to “sober
” before going to his shop. At noon;
he ‘said, Hope called for him and informed’
him of the’ fact that Mary James:was now
dead. James inquired w ether or not the
house had been: burned. : -
“He said, ‘No. I threw tile in the bath-
tub and drowned her’ -I said, ‘You d—
fool! That’s the worst thing you. could
have done. I had a wife drown in a bath-
tub in ,Colorado a little while ago!’ Of
course,” James went on extenuatingly, “he
didn’t know that. If he had, he wouldn’t
have done it.”
When the conscienceless James had fin-
ished this cock-and-bull story in which he
sought to place the killing on Hope, he
added that he told Hope he had “played
hell,” but that he, James, would take the
rap. “I said there weren't enough men
in the District Attorney’s office to make
me talk,” he boasted, and there wouldn’t
have been if he hadn't blabbed.”
As he spoke, his every word was re-
corded by pretty Dorothy Adams, expert
shorthand reporter. .
“James,” Mr. Fitts said, “while you re
making this statement, let’s clean it all
up, if you will. Did you kill your third
wife back in Colorado?”
“No, that was all on the -level, abso-
lutely.” Then, for the first time the brutal
slayer indicated what his defense would
be. “I know my sister—Lois - Wright’s
mother—thinks I killed Winona and Mary
both. The same thing is affecting her that
is affecting me . . . insanity.” ;
“You mean, it is hereditary?”
“IT think it’ is.”
“You admit, however, that you and
Hope were to split the money you re-
ceived from Mary’s insurance policies.”
‘That’s it.”.
ND sidhong you baie -Hope., _is
guilty, of the actual killing, you. were
i that it be done? That was all right
wit
OT hat | was all right with me.”
He was questioned vaparding ‘the letter
his wife had written her sister. ~~
“JT dictated it to her. She’ wrote. what
I told her to write.”
“After she’d been bitten by, the rattle-
snake?”
“Yes.”
After James was returned: to ‘his ~cell,
the statement he had just made was thor-
oughly discussed.
It was obvious that James had lied, and
most unconvincingly, in an effort to ‘dépict
Charlie Hope as the murderer. Hope’ was
a weak-willed, spineless, not-too-intelli-
gent individual who had articipated ‘in
the monstrous plot solely og of the
“easy money” that had been promised
him. He had neither the brains nor the
initiative to conceive or carry out. the
satanic scheme unless directed by some-
one of superior mentality.
On the other hand, James was wary,
cunning, aggressive. Aside from the stu-
pidity displayed in his selection of a part-
ner to assist him in the bestial undertak-
ing, he had shown a marked cleverness in
planning and executing the diabolical
deed. In fact, he had come very close
to committing the “perfect crime.’
In reviewing the case I was amazed at
the ease with which he had thrown investi-
gators off the trail at the time Mary
James’ body was discovered. By the sim-
ple expedient of compelling his helpless
victim to write a note to her sister briefly
mentioning the facts that she was ill, had
been bitten by “something” while water-
ing the garden, and that it was “blue
Monday,” he had closed every avenue of
I'll burn the house up.’”’.. >»
True ‘Detective Mysteries
investigation that might; in’ an st iM ons
nect him with her death: he ‘chosen
an accomplice with Sumidinne ‘intelligence
nifhiiay Be é horrible’ secret forevér locked
in his heart, the crime would, in all. prob-
ability, never have been’ discovered.
Afte# both James’ and ‘Hope’ had’ ‘Baer
indicted by the Grand ‘Jury of’'a’ charge
of first 'dégree'‘murder, Mr. Fitts, Captain
Southard: and I packed our bags an left
Los Angeles. hit
--Southard thiveled’ to Colorado’ Sprites:
hers he uncovered facts that révealed a
striking ‘similarity between the deaths of
Winona and Mary James.
Both women had died soon ‘after’ hae
ing married ‘to: the red-headed:' master
barber. Both had been heavily’ ‘insured,
with James named as beneficiary. Both had
written notes to relatives a few ‘hours be-
fore their deaths. ‘Winona; it’ was re-
vealed, had stated in a letter to: her. sis-
ter that the blood ‘from the wound ‘in’ her
head, incurred during the automobile /“ac-
cident” on the Pike's Peak grade, ‘soiled
the béd-sheets and that: she was anxious
to wash her hair but had been’ forbidden
to'do so by her husband: «
Assuming that James had murdered
both wives, the motive and modus op-
erandi were almost identical.
GournaRD learned from J. D. Rogers,
Pike’s. Peak. high way, : | superintendent
who had personally investi ated. the acci-
dent.at the time it occurre »-that.a blood-
stained . hammer -had’ been . ‘found . inthe
car which carried Winona’ James over the
mountain side. It was the only tool not
in its proper place in the tool-box. The
upholstery in the driver’s seat, where
Winona James was said to have-been sit-
ting, was streaked with blood from top to
bottom. Rogers said the car plunged down
the road at a thirty-five degree angle, at
a point where it would “normally have
dropped ten thousand feet.’ However, by
some freak of chance, the car: hHad:swerved
. a little and crashed into a boulder only
two hundred feet below’ :the-road. .On
the highway Rogers had followed: the tire
tracks eighty feet to the place where the
car had plunged over the cliff: Alongside
the tire tracks he found the footprints
of a man, grim indication that James,
after battering his wife’s ‘head. with the
hammer until she was ‘unconscious, had
deliberately walked beside thé ‘car ‘while
steering it. to:.the edge: of. the embank-
ment, then pushed it over. »When Win-
ona had miraculously managed: to. sur-
vive the terrible-head. wound, James had
waited only until she was removed from
the’ hospital. to complete~ his. temporarily
frustrated plan. He had: then; presum-
ably, drowned -her in the bathtub of their
auto-camp cottage.
When the rattlesnake bite gant failed to
prove - -fatal to Mary. James; -he:. had
drowned her in the bathtub of, their La
Canada cottage.
While Southard was in. Colorado, Dis-
trict Attorney Fitts and I were,in Ala-
bama, James’ native state, for the express
purpose, of defeating James in his e orts
to’ prove himself a victim of hereditary i in-
sanity. We returned to Los Angeles armed
with a dozen depositions and affidavits
from persons who had known ‘him since
boyhood, all of which indicated thatthe
accused, though possessed of a violent
temper and. cruel. by natwre, was perfect-
ly sane and more than ordinarily intelli-
gent.
On May 28th a jury of eight men and
four women, after deliberating. only ten
minutes, convicted James on all three stat-
utory counts in the case involving him
and his twenty-one-year-old niece Lois
Wright. Superior Judge Joseph W. Vick-
ers, in imposing the maximum sentence—
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take the ‘snakes. After that Hope and
his wife. went to a picture show.
Sunday morning, August 4, broke
bright and clear. The air in the desert
foothills around La Crescenta was in-
vigorating and made one feel that it
was good to be alive.
But Hope did ‘not feel good. He again
dreve to the James home, determined
now to wash his hands off the whole
affair.
“T want you to take those snakes
back,” -he told James.
“Ycu're in this just as deep as I am.
You bought snakes all over the country.
People have seen you with me,” the
barber protested. “You bring those
snakes in here.”
When he returned to the James home
after taking his innocent wife to their
residence, Hcpe found Mrs. James tied.
across the breakfast table with ropes.
Her eyes and mouth were tightly closed
with adhesive. She wore only a light-
weight nightgown.
“I asked James how he got his wife
on the table,” Hope related.
“It was easy,” Hope quoted the
barber. “‘I told her a doctor was com-
ing to examine her and that we had
to get ready.”
Within the boxes the snakes rattled
until the room was filled with terrifying
sounds.
James winced as he reached for one
of the boxes, then drew back.
“Bring one of those bexes here,” he
ordered. .
“T set one on the breakfast-nook
seat,” the confession continued. “James-
grabbed his wife’s left leg, slipped back
the glass lid and shoved her foct into
the box. The snake struck twice, on
the toe .and the ankle.” .
The succeeding hours were horror-fill-
ed for Hope. His innocent wife objected
to having the snakes arcund the house
and he finally took them back to the
dealer. That afternoon he went again
to James’ home where the barber gave
him a pint of whiskey, telling him to
remain in the garage.
“She’s not dead yet,” James was
quoted in the confession. ,
Perhaps an hour later James returned
to the garage and said, “Well, that’s it!”
Even though he had known what was
happening, Hope was shocked.
“My God! You mean you've killed
her,” he said, subdued.
The barber nodded affirmatively.
“He asked me to help carry the body
cut,” Hope’s story continued. He said
the body, now dressed in pajamas, lay
on the floor at the bathroom entrance.
The pajamas were dry, but the woman's
luxuriant hair was quite damp. Adhesive
marks had been removed from the face.
Hope carried the feet, James took the
head, and together they carried the body
to the fishpond. Hope said he refused
an order from James -that he help put
the body in the water. ;
After that Hope said he went back
to the garage. He had been drinking
heavily and he felt stupid. and sleepy.
Presently James came with a bucket
cf wet clothing and three blankets.
“ ‘Better. destroy these and get out
of town,” the barber was quoted as
saying.
Hope said he burned the clothing in
an incinerator at 253 Nerth Vermont
Street, Los Angeles. The blankets he
had cleaned, returning cone to James and
Keeping the others. These two blankets
later were found in Hope's home and
introduced as evidence.
UBSTANTIATING his story. Hope
took the officers through the James
home, pcinting out minutest details to
support his frightful narrative.
“That's it, boys,” he said finally.
“I've told you everything I know. My,
it feels good to be able to tell some-
one.”
Conclusion of this. remarkable tale
left the officers gasping in sheer horror.
The picture of. Mary Busch James roped
across the table, her eyes and mouth
taped, her foot thrust into a box with
a writhing, angry rattlesnake, was be-
yond belief. As nearly as the officers
could estimate, the woman lived six-
teen hours after -being bitten. What
torture and agony she endured during
that timé challenged the imagination.
This, of course, was assuming the con-
fession to be true. The officers wanted
to know at once whether it might be
the creature of a madman’s mind.
Back at District Attorney Fitts’ office
they related their story to their chief.
He ordered James brought in.
“Chuck Hope is stark raving mad,”
the barber declared when confronted
with a transcript of the confession. He
did not appear in the least troubled
and later he curled his lip disdainfully
when Hope repeated the confession in
-his presence.
But it would require more than a
steadfast denial to get Fitts’ teeth out
of the story now. He ordered his in-
vestigators into the field at once to
check Hope’s story. as
Under direction of Dr. Wagner, Los
Angeles ccunty autopsy surgeon, who
had assisted in the post mortem in|!
August, the body of Mrs. James was
exhumed. Dr. August Boehme, toxicolo-
gist, joined with Wagner in finding that
“this woman had been bitten by a poi-
sonous snake.”
Because cf the location of the wounds
‘in an area not generously supplied with
veins and arteries, Boehme explained,
death had not occurred for some hours
after the bite.
Operative Southard visited the in-
cinerator where Hope said he had burn-
ed the clothes and sifted the ashes for
evidence. Nothing significant was found.
however.
Other investigators visited the Long
Beach snake dealer, who remembered
Hope well. The Ocean Park dealers re-
called their transactions with Hope as
did the dealer who produced “Lethal”
and “Lightning,” which were among the
most terrifying exhibits ever assembled
in a crime case. Of course none of the
dealers were involved and did not know
of the evil purpose for which the snakes
were sought.
The carpenter, produced the receipt
copy frem his files and identified Hope
as the man for whom he had made the
snake boxes. 2
Southard decided to look further into
the death of James’ fifth wife in Mani-
tour, Colorado. From James A. Rogers.
superintendent of the private road over
which James had been driving prior to
the purported accident, Southard learn-
ed another harrowing tale.
On September 22, 1932, two hours
after the James car had cleared the
Pike control on the Pikes Peak highway..|(_
James appeared afoot at the Glen cove
control. He seemed greatly disturbed
and said his wife had driven their car
off the grade. The machine had rolled
1,000 feet down the mountainside, com-
ing to rest amid a mass of boulders.
James himself had been thrown clear
of the car’ as it bounded down the
slope, he said. Rogers said James show-
ed no signs of having been in a wreck.
Rogers said he had gone at once to
the scene of the tragedy where he
found a man’s footprints in dust along
the left side of the road a distance 185
feet before the car had gone off the
grade. He expressed the belief that the
car had been pushed that distance and
finally shoved over the bank.
In the car, he said, he found a blood-
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53
In 1932, James said, the car which
his wife, Winona Wallace James, was
driving, went off the grade on the Pikes
Peak highway in Cclorado. Mrs. James
suffered serious injuries, but her condi-
tion was not considered sufficiently
alarming to warrant hospitalization.
The couple rented a cabin at Mani-
tcur, Colcrado, to give the injured wom-
an a chance to recover. On October
14, 1932, James said, he returned to
the cabin after taking a walk and found
his wife had drowned in the bathtub.
Deputy Sheriff Killion telegraphed
Colorado Springs for more complete
information, but the quest developed
nothing significent.
P to this point the officers had to
admit that they had discovered
nothing which would warrant action.
Suddenly District Attorney Buron
Fitts decided to draw a hand in the
case. He assigned Jack Southard, one
of his ace operatives, to the investiga-
tion with orders to clean up once and
for all.
“The James case has been hanging
arcund long enough,” he said. “If there’s
anything to it, lets see what it is, and
if there isn’t, let's clear the records
of the matter.”
Fitts was stimulated to enter the in-
vestigation when he learned that James
had collected $14,000 from insurance
policies on the life of his fifth wife,
28
Deputy D. A. Eugene Williams (L) and Dr. August Boehme watch
Joe Houtenbrink extract the venom from a vicious rattlesnake.
Winona Wallace James. This seemed to
have been an exorbitant amount of in-
surance for a more or less ordinary bar-
ber to have carried on his wife.
Operative Southard and his aides
.made an immediate discovery.
During the interval following the
death of his seventh wife and the be-
ginning of the investigation ordered by
Fitts, James had set up housekeeping
in a rented cottage at 3886 South La
Salle Street, Los Angeles. Not onlv that,
but he. had taken into the enterprise his
pretty niece, Lois Wright, who had wept
so profusely at the inquest to determine
the cause of Mary Busch James’ death.
Southard rented the cottage next door
to the James residence and brought
Capain Early Kynette into the case.
Kynette was in charge of the Los An-
geles dictograph detail at that time.
Miss Wright, the detectives learned,
worked as a manicurist in her uncle's
barber shop. Usually they came home
together. Sometimes they entertained,
but more often they spent the evenings
alone.
During their absence Captain Kynette
installed a series of small microphones
in the James home. Southard hoped
that the couple would let fall some
werd which would give him a lead.
Night after night the operative and
his aides sat with earphones clamped
to their heads. They heard nothing con-
cerning the case upon which they were
working, but they picked up some other
information which seemed to warrant
action.
Dercthy Adams, court reporter, was
one of the listeners. She took down
every word she was able to hear. This
record revealed that James and his niece
were living in a “charming” state of
friendliness.
N the night of April 18, 1936, near-
ly eight months after the death of
Mary Busch James, police entered the
James ccttage through a window and
arrested the debonair barber on feloni-
ous relations charge. Lois Wright, again
tearful, was held as a material witness.
The incident, while constituting a
complete case in, itself, had a decided
bearing upon the other -investigation.
It was one of these things which often
reveal how much the work of the de-
tective still is a matter of chance.
Newspapers of Los Angeles gave con-
siderable space to the case and injected
into their accounts rewrites of the pre-
viously reported facts in the mystery of
Mrs. . James’ death. For several days
the papers were full of the story, car-
rying pictures of James and his niece.
James was held on three counts.
The barber attempted to deny the
charges and sought to explain away evi-
dence which the officers felt was irre-
futable. Lois Wright testified. When the
case came to trial she stated that her
uncle Icng had shcwn a great interest
in her.
James had induced his niece to go
‘with him from Alabama to Los Angeles.
He had talked much of prospects for
work in motion pictures, of fine clothes,
‘cf important men she would come to
know in Hollywood.
“T.was very much taken in,” she sob-
bed bitterly.
She had gone to Los Angeles in 1933
with her uncle. They had roomed in the
same house until he married Mary
Busch. Then Miss Wright had lived
alone in an apartment until she and
James had set up their final housekeep-
ing venture.
“I paid half the rent,” she testified
on the stand. “Uncle Bob paid the
other half and all the other expenses on
the house. At the shop I kept all the
money I took in.”
James offered no defense. Judge W.
J. Vickers, before whom the trial was
held, said in pronouncing sentence:
“The defendant should receive as long
a sentence as the State Board of Prison
Terms and Paroles believes should be
given in extreme cases. The court is so
firmly convinced that this case merits
along sentence that it fixes the three
terms to run consecutively.”
made
a eyes
me o i,
The sentences were fixed at five to
fifty years each, or a total of fifteen
to one hundred and fifty years!
Long before this case had gone to
trial the yeast had begun to work’ in
the other case.
ys a few days after James’ ar-
rest Deputy District Attorney Eu-
gene Williams received a telephone call
frcm a young reporter of his acquaint-
ance.
“I've got a story so fantastic you'll
think I’m crazy,’ the reporter said.
“You won't believe it and maybe it
isn’t true, but you ought to hear the
yarn, I believe. The story is about
the James case.”
Williams had assisted in the investi-
gation thus far completed, and he had
a fair knowledge of the case. The re-
porter was well known to him, and he
decided to hear the story, no matter
how unbelievable it promised to be. He
made an appointment.
The repcrter explained that he had
picked up the story from a friend who
wee said Hope-
was a criminal attorney. The attorney
had a client named Sayles Sands, a wine
salesman, who had sought legal advice
after overhearing a story in a Hermosa
Beach restaurant.
restaurant proprietor, known to
Sands only as “Hope,” had been intoxi-
cated and talkative. The restaurant
man insisted on relating a weird and-un-
believable story about the death~ of
Mary Busch James.
Sands told the attorney he tried to
stop the man. He didn’t want to listen,
and frankly told the restaurant man
he didn’t believe the story.
After listening reluctantly, Sands be-
came conscious of his own responsibilty.
He might be in possession of criminal
knowledge. What should he do? He de-
cided to go to an attorney.
In checking over James’ acquaintances
the operatives learned that.a man named
ORiveway
1}
VEROUGO BLVD, hie
S
map
arg District Attorney Eugene Williams points to
showing where murder action started in kitchen.
eee
Hope, D. A. Buron Fitts, Robert James, Williams and
‘Deputy Sheriff W. L. Killion, inspect the fish pond.
Hope frequented the James barbershop.
The description of this man tallied well
with that of the missing “Smith” who
Deputy Sheriff Killion wanted to ques-
ticn following Mrs. James’ death.
The man had disappeared from his
restaurant by the time the officers ar-
rived. But they had a clue—the mys-
terious “Smith” drove a black Buick.
The officers asked he California Mo-
tor Vehicle Department to give them
addresses of all persons in Southern
California named Hepe, if they drove
black Buick cars.
Only one such perscn was found. He
was Charles H. Hope, known to his
friends as “Chuck.”
Hope soon was located and taken to
headquarters. He denied any knowledge
cf the fish-pond death of Mrs. James,
cther than what had been in the papers,
although he admitted knowing James.
Hepe said the barber had given him
free trims and shaves for several years,
“Scunds fishy to me,”- Detective
Southard muttered. “You're going out
with us to the place where Mary Busch
James died.”
On the way he was willing to talk
about any subject, but he insisted stead-
fastly that he knew nothing that would
aid the officers.
Up to this point the officers could
claim no definite information which
would explain how Mrs. James met
death. One crime, it is true, had been
‘detected and the culprit had been pun-
ished, but that was strictly a side issue.
In that case the investigators were in
the position cf the hunter who shot at
a bear and bagged a skunk.
Now as they neared the James home
in Las Crescenta they began to sense
a change coming over Charles Hepe. He
was losing his assurance. He grew nerv-
ous. The color left his face and his
eyes were flighty.
Ts party hardly had entered the
house when he broke.
“Tl talk,” he checked. “I'll tell every-
thing. It was James who did it. He made
me help. He hypnotized me with his
‘green eyes.’ He gave me liquor. and
made me help.”
The confession he unfclded lived up
fully to the statement of the reporter
It was so bizzare, so fantastic that even
the hardened officers shuddered and re-
fused to believe.
Hope said he had known the barber
about seven years during which the bar-
ber had given him free haircuts and
shaves. Hope said his wife had gone
with him to the James home on differ-
ent occasions.
During much of the time covering his
acquaintance with James, Hope said. he
had managed a small restaurant in Her-
(Continued on page 52)
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TLY.
A man identifying himself as
an electrician inspected the Detroit
apartment of Mrs. Rose Slobasky
for faulty wiring. After a half
hour of wall-pounding, he left to
“get a fuse.” When Mrs. Slobasky
checked, she discovered that it
was not a circuit that was short,
but she—of her $3,000 savings,
which the “electrician” had pil-
fered from her safe.
i *x * *
Nobody can say that the thieves who
stole Henry Falk’s safe in Moonachie,
New Jersey, were pigs: They helped
themselves to $1,500 in cash and valu-
ables, but spurned $10,000 worth of
negotiable bonds.
* * *
When a burglar invaded the
cottage of Mrs. Floretta Cum-
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Mrs. Cummings promptly reached
under her pillow for the black-
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such contingencies. The intruder
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head, he admitted he was the un-
fortunate who had tested Mrs.
Cummings’ preparedness.
* * *
Police of Anaheim, California, would
be delighted to consult a fortune teller
who cculd lead them to the person who
swiped a crystal ball from a landscaped
garden in that town, —
* * *
Thomas C. McDowell, of Mer-
cersburg, Pennsylvania, paid $10
for a~traffic violation. The fine
was imposed by Thomas Mc-
Dowell. Same man, the offender
“being the Justice of the Peace.
52
tis West
+ ee
Deh SAR RR gh
THE
BARBER T
; iis ee
mosa Beach, working the night shift.
Prior to that he had been a sailor.
In June, two months before Mrs.
James died, and even before her mar-
riage, James had gone to Hope with a
request that he obtain a couple of rat-
tlesnakes for him, Hepe said.
““Pve got a friend who wants to
kill his wife,’ the ex-sailor quoted the
barber. “‘It’ll be worth $100 to you
if you can get a couple of hot ones.’ I
said all right. I didn't care what he
wanted them. for.”
Hope first thought of trying to cap-
ture snakes in the desert, but he gave
this up. He didn't know anything about
that business.
He had received $20 in advance for
his enterprise, and he decided to go with
this to a snake dealer.
Hope knew nothing about transporting
snakes, but he knew they must be made
secure. He went to a carpenter on La
Mirada Drive, Hollywood, whom he
hired to make two boxes. Each box
was twenty inches long, twelve wide and
nine high. The lids were of glass and
were made to slide. Hope told the car-
penter the boxes were to be used for
transportation of rabbits. The carpenter
receipted a duplicate bill. when Hope
paid him $5 for the work, retaining a
copy for his own files.
Hope then went to the home of a
Long Beach snake collector, from whom
he bought two snakes. The dealer threw
in one for good: measure.
“But it was no good. It died,” Hope
recalled. The check Hope gave the snake
dealer also was no -good. It bounced,
and the dealer later related that he was
“pretty sore.” But soon afterward Hope
appeared and took up the check.
Hope also obtained from the dealer
scme dried snake venom and a deadly
black widow spider. For the lot he paid
$3.50.
“This dried venom was supposed to
be very deadly,” Hope explained to the
Gfficers. .
He delivered the reptiles to James,
who could see no use for either the
venom or the spider. The latter was
thrown from a windew and Hope said
he still might. have the venom at home.
A few days after accepting the snakes
James reported that they were unsatis-
factory. He asked Hope to go to Ocean
Park where a snake pit was being oper-
ated. The operator of the pit personally
selected two of his most vicious rat-
tlers. Hope told him he had a $500 bet
that none of the snakes were killers,
and he asked the dealer to demonstrate,
using a rabbit as a victim. This the
snake operator refused to do, saying’ he
didn’t want to get into trouble with
the Humane society.
One of the reptiles previously cbtained
in Long Beach was traded for one of
. the new snakes and Hope paid for the
other,
James, the confession continued, took
the snakes home. A few days later Hope
was at the James home where he hap-
pened to go into the garage. There he
fcund a couple of dead chickens.
“I tried the snakes cut. They're no
good. They don’t work fast enough,”
Hope said the barber explained. “This
time get me some real killers. These
California -rattlers, if they are good,
will kill in fifteen minutes.”
The: snakes were returned to the pit,
where Hcpe was directed to a snake
farm in East Pasadena.
Nearly two months had ‘elapsed in
these dickerings and experiments. In the
meantime .James and Mary Busch had
been married.
tS day of August 2 arrived. Mrs.
Hope expressed a desire to go for
a ride, and Hope took her along on
the trip to the snake farm. She sat in
the car while her husband went in to
purchase two vicicus reptiles, which la-
ter were to become kiicwn in the case
as “Lethal” and “Lightning.”
Later, Hope continued, he picked up
James, and. with the snakes still in
the car they drove around Los Angeles.
Stopping at a drugstore at the sugges-
tion of the barber, they bought a roll
of adhesive tape and had a prescription
filled for sleeping powders. The store
manager, waited on them. He later veri-
fied this and identified Hope.
The men then drove in the general
direction of La Crescenta. At the corner
, of Beverly Boulevard and Vermont Ave-
nue, Hope recalled, James stopped the
car. The barber said:
“You know there isn’t any third party
that wants these snakes. I am going
to collect $5,000 insurance on my wife.”
James went to his home, but did not
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OES. kak. cores dono... .. State H
te ee ee er =
another insurance man was getting a haircut and heard it.
When the first insurance man left, the second one told my wife
if she wanted a policy he could deliver her one next morning,
that his company didn’t care where she had been the past five
years. She said, “Wait until he returns my money.” But he
said, “I can’t write it after that company turns you down.”
So he sold her a policy.
A few days later, here comes the first man with his policy.
She told him she had bought another one and didn’t want it.
But he said, “My company has issued it and I can’t get your
money back.”” So when she died she had the two policies with
double indemnity for an accidental death which amounted to
$20,000.
When I tried to collect the insurance, both companies refused
to pay. Said my wife had frauded them in her application.
I told them I would have to sue them and they said, “If you
do, we will hang you.” I sued them and immediately after
the suit a man that had been a barber shop patron of mine
over five years came to me one day and wanted to borrow five
hundred dollars. But I didn’t let him have it and he said, “I
1949
FOR ALMOST alx years Robert Jomen
has lived on borrowed time, eluding the
rope repeatedly. He is not afraid to dle,
by (This photo posed by professional -
modeL) ;
know something about your wife’s death, and if you don’t let
me have the money [| will tell it to the newspapers for they will ~
give me more than that for what I know.”
I realized it was a shakedown and told him to never come
around me again. About six months later, one Sunday morn-
ing I went to Betty Maynard’s to get her up to fix my break- "
fast... . I sit on the side of her bed teasing her about being so
sleepy for she had been out late that night. All of a sudden
the windows began to fly up. The doors opened and about 30
people came in them. District attorney, sheriffs, police, police-
women, news reporters with cameras. I realized quickly what
was going on....
They arrested me then and took me to a house next door |
that they had rented. They had dictaphones in my house and
had been listening in about a month. They kept me there from
Sunday morning until Wednesday night, questioning me.
They were trying to make me say I had killed my wife... .
When I would tell them nothing, they took me to jail and
booked me on a morals charge.
Three weeks later I was taken to a room, and here was this
41
bu! wants to vindicate himself, he says. | oy
3k
wort g trent
SS EE ee
- ; *
fellow that tried (6 abake me down for the hive hundred dollars,
They had a confession from him that he and TE killed my wife
that morning before TP went to work and threw her inte al fih
pond, He said also that we tried to kill her the day before with
a rattlesnake bite. He said he was to get $2000 insurance.
They tried to make me confess again. But I wouldn’t do it. 1
could see then that the insurance company had a good start
on hanging me as they had said.
(Here James claims that he was entirely innocent but that
a confession was forced out of him—a claim that was later
rejected at the trial.—kv.)
There was three pieces of evidence in my favor that should
convince a halfwit that I couldn’t possibly have killed my
wife.
One is that a doctor that lived next door testified that he
talked with my wife about ten o'clock the morning of her
death. I proved that I was at my shop at eight o’clock that day
and never left it long enough to go home. It was an hour’s
drive from the shop home.
Second, they found a letter that she had written to her sister
that day telling her I was at work but would soon be home.
Sounded as if she wrote it late in the afternoon. I didn’t
close my shop until six o’clock.
Third, a real estate man was at my house at nine or near ten
and said my wife didn’t answer the door bell. He walked
around the fish pond and said she wasn’t in it then. That is
about the time the doctor said he talked to her at the back of
our lot which was quite a long ways from the house.
I would think those three pieces of evidence would clear
any man but it didn’t. Of course, I denied killing her at the
trial and told the jury how they abused me but they didn’t
believe me. The fellow that said we did it pleaded guilty and
got life in prison. Since that time he has changed his
story. ...
After I became a Christian I told those Christian people
what they did to me. They investigated my case and they
know I am telling the truth. So they have been fighting my
battle, or I would have been hanged long ago and forgotten
: about. For it is as you say on your card, it must have cost
a fortune. I was broke when I got through the Superior Court
and couldn’t have taken it further. The State Court had a
terrible time deciding on it. It was argued before thém about
six times. Three judgés were for me and three against. One
neutral. There are seven judges in a State Supreme Court.
They argued over it for 25 months. Finally one of the judges
that was for me went on a vacation and they voted on-my
case and gave a decision against 3 to 2.
My attorney filed it back to them and they gave me a re-
hearing. It made the neutral judge mad, because they took
advantage of me and he said, “EF will vote for him now and
give him a new trial.” But before they had time to vote on
it, two of the judges that was for me dropped dead and I lost
my case. That surely was a bad break for me. Of course,
two new judges was appointed to the court, and when it came
time to vote on the case they said, “We don’t know anything
about it, so we vote to leave the decision as is.”
Well, I never dreamed of writing you a book when I started,
and I don’t think I ever wrote anyone a letter this long before,
not even my sweetheart. But I did appreciate your card and
the nice thoughts you had about .me and I wanted to tell you
something about my trouble. I surely hope I haven’t bored
you. Please excuse my writing and spelling for it is terrible.
Also the mistakes, for this letter is entirely too long to reread.
If I receive a reversal in the U. S. Supreme Court, I will be
a free man, for they don’t have any evidence now to try me
on. I remember Bill White very well there. He used to come
to my shop for his haircuts. He might be glad to run an
article about me in the Gazette. If you know any of the boys,
ask them about it. They have my permission to print any
part of this letter that they wish. There are many people there
that would probably like to know something about me or the
case. My attorney is confident he will win it in October!
You don’t need to worry about them taking my life, for if I
don’t beat it, I feel sure that body of Christian people can get
my sentence commuted.
I haven't told you anything about the place here. But if you
answer, I will. I surely hope you get this letter, for it would
break my heart to write one this long and then not have you
receive it. You didn’t put your address on the card. So I am
sending it general delivery. Ask me any question about any-
thing you wish. Now before I say good night I want to tell
22
you that I have been ordained a minister, and if I am lucky
enough to go free, I am going to spend the rest of my life.
preaching the Gospel. ; :
It was nearly a year after my wife died before I was arrested.
The autopsy found nothing wrong with her at the time of
her death. He kept her body two weeks and analyzed every
organ in it.
has had a snake bite, for in twenty-four hours it will look
terrible.
Must stop now. Will be glad to hear from you real soon. |
Tell me more about the home town. May the dear Lord richly |
bless you and your family and may you follow His ways before.”
you get into a mess like I am in, ts my prayers for you!
Your friend
. Robert S. James
Be sure to put this number on my letter or it will be delayed
several days. Box 64921. }
‘San Quentin, Calif.
June 20, 1941
My dear friend—and family:
Greetings to you again in the precious name of Jesus,
‘,., the one that cleanses us from all of our sins in His own
blood.” I Peter 1:18,19.
How glad I was to receive both of your cards and to know
that you received my letter, for I was afraid you wouldn’t |
get it because I didn’t have your street number on it. -
I am glad to learn that the Gazette published the letter so that ”
a few of my old friends could really know the truth. I am
enclosing two stamps for postage and would greatly appreciate
it if you would mail me three copies of it, for I want two
copies for some friends out here.
EXPLAINS PREVIOUS WIFE'S DEATH
You asked me to tell you about my wife that died in Colorado
Springs, (Winona Wallace James). So here it is. I met the
girl and her sister when they came to my beauty shop to have 3
their hair dressed.
In 1931 she was a bookkeeper for Howard Motor Company, a .
and her sister worked in a book store about three doors from"
INSIDE DETECTIVE
Any old country pill doctor can tell if anyone »
Rs
LISEMBA, Major, white, hanged San Quentin
(Los Angeles) on May 1, 192.
The following are letters written by Robert S, James in the ®%
San Quentin death house, to a former friend in’ Minporta, ~:
Kansas, who asks that his name be withheld. The friend, an-
opponent of capital punishment, gave INSIDE DETECTIVE ex-. °
clusive right to publish the letters in the hope that their publi- -
cation might help save James from going to the gallows. We
print them herewith exactly as James wrote and spelled them, 5
deleting only parts that are repetitious or have no bearing on © 4
the case. To better understand them, the reader should first ©
peruse the narrative of the James case beginning on page 16. .
Written by a man convicted of the strangest crime in Cali-—
fornia annals—a man who may have been hanged before this.
magazine is published—these letters are among the most. %
absorbing documents we have ever printed. The reader must
bear in mind that James’ claims that he is innocent have thus
far been rejected by the courts —TueE Epiror.
San Quentin, Calif.
June 5, 1941
Y DEAR friend and family:
I was glad indeed to receive the card from you, for ©“
it seems good to hear from someone you know from the
old home town. ... Yes, I often think of the fun we used to ee
have. Those were good old days! Am glad to know you 94.
are married and have a good wife and a couple of fine young- ~ ties
sters. Please take every precaution to protect your happiness, |»
for if your family is ever broken up your life will be ruined. 4,
I meant to write you sooner, but I’ve been so very busy I '
didn’t have time. You may wonder what a man sitting in a —
cell all day should b& busy doing. So I will try to tell you.
Since I got into this trouble I have become a Christian and © |
when IJ receive unfavorable news many of them write to me ce
and I try to answer their letters. I stayed in the Los Angeles
County jail nearly five years after my conviction and met
thousands of them for they came to the jail and preached the
Gospel every Sunday. :
Then my attorney took some of my time, for he filed for a
rehearing and the court granted it. I suppose the clipping told
you that the Supreme Court voted a 4-4 tie, but when they do
that the judgment stands as is. The court is supposed to have
nine judges, but was short one at that time. My case will be
heard again October 15th, and I hope there will be a full court
this time, for I will soon die from old age if my case isn’t
settled soon, There is two vacancies there now. The Chief
Justice Hughes retired this week. I think that is in my favor
for my attorney thinks that he voted against me. If that is
right the score stands 4-3 in my favor. I will only need one.
of the new judges to vote for me to win.
Well, I think I will tell you something about my case for if — .
you have been reading the newspapers you don’t know the «. 9%
truth. They write lie after lie and convict a man before he. ©.
ever goes to trial. oe
In the spring of 1935 my wife applied at my place fora 4%
position as a beauty operator, for I had a barber shop and, >
beauty shop together the same as I had in Emporia. She was |:
a beautiful blond girl and we fell for each other from the.
beginning. In just a few months we were married, and in ©
about three months she became pregnant and had to stay ©»
home. She was having a very hard time for she was so sick ,%
nothing would stay on her stomach.
- Thad a doctor with her. He told her she would just have »
to wear it off. We had a beautiful home with lovely ground |
around it, a fish pond, chicken yard and everything that makes
a home lovely. I loved dogs and chickens and she loved cats « j)s
and goldfish. I came home from work October 5, 1935, and
found her dead in the fish pond. She was taken to the morgue +” *
ie eae
Co Re
“VM INNOCENT!” SAYS ROBERT
JAMES IN THESE r RIPPING LINES ; and they performed an autopsy on her. The autopsy said she or
died from drowning. I buried her and immediately the news- ~ #
papers began to insinuate that she had met foul play,
The reason for this was that she had two five-thousand-dollar |: Ry
insurance policies. You well know how insurance men pester eG
people to sell them insurance. So one of my patrons sold hera
policy. She paid him for it and waited about three months and
PENNED IN THE SHADOW OF THE
fees < a a yi: fe eae : * : i ' {is : é ee ‘ ~ never came. This was before we were married. She kept — a
NOOSE . ... WILL CALIFORNIA RRRMetiarskenamennaten ecmccennea uid
of A hae al a asta aah last five years, and because you haven’t been working I don’t . +!
ti Cee Sy a oe oa eure Bib cote ( think they will accept your application. She said, “Return ~
P BELIEVE HIM OR EXECUTE HIM?
my money, then.” And he said he would. wkd
INS THD Sthat ahi yay ons on in the barber shop,
i eee
and very delicious. So everyone was drinking it like water,
Hot realtebig it wan apileed,
When [| saw the minister take the second glass, [ called him
to one side and told him it was spiked. He said, “I thought
something was wrong, for I never felt so good in all my
life!”
We danced until midnight and then had coffee and all kinds
of sandwiches. I had some colored women there to serve them.
During the day and night we had over five hundred guests.
The reason we had so many is that she and J sent ont an-
nouncements to all the people where she worked and to all that
I knew well that were patrons at my place of business. But
we told them on the announcement that it was a non-gift
wedding, for we didn’t want them to think we wanted a gift
and we didn’t! What we wanted was a good party! And we
really had it, for people that were there still tell me they had
the best time they ever had in their lives. What we said on the
announcements didn’t mean a thing, for most everyone that
came brought a gift. After the wedding we had silverware
to give away, for we had a piece of most every kind I’ve ever
seen. I think we had five sets of cream and sugar bowls lined
with gold. They brought a roomfull of pictures, blankets,
silverware, radios, lamps, floor lamps, small rugs, curtains and
many, many other things that can be used in a home.
The reason I told you about the lovely wedding is to show you
that we were two of the happiest people in the world and that _
no such thought as murder could possibly be in my mind! ‘
We didn’t take our honeymoon then because we wanted
.to go to Birmingham, Alabama, to visit my people, and I
thought it wise to wait until Fall so the weather would be -
cool in Alabama, for a person that lives out here that wasn’t
reared in the South can’t hardly stand that heat in the summer,
for it is different from any other heat. The girl that I married
in Emporia almost died from the heat. We drove down to
Birmingham one summer and she was ill all the time we were
there !
This Los Angeles wife and I decided to make the trip in |
September. So we left here about the middle of September.
We had to go by Colorado Springs and take care of some
business for her mother.
My wife said, “I want to take you up on Pike’s Peak
Mountain, for it is beautiful up there and I want you to see
where I used to play when I was a child.” I agreed and we
drove up there. We found the weather freezing cold and .
snowing up there. The high altitude gave us both a terrible
headache. We had overcoats and sweaters, but still it was cold.
I had three pints of whisky in my car that I was taking to my
old feeble mother in Birmingham, for they have prohibition
in that state. We had it here at that time too. But I had
gotten this on prescription.
I opened a bottle and took several drinks for my headache
and thought it would warm me up a bit. My wife had never.
taken a drink*of whisky in her life and didn’t take one then.
I had a Studebaker Commander coupe at that time. I drove
my shop. We started going together and went together over _ the car up there and started to drive down. But my wife was
a year before we were married. In 1932, the 5th of June, nervous because I had taken a few drinks and kept insisting
we were married. We had the most wonderful wedding poor that I let her drive down. She didn’t know that I had driven
people ever had. We rented a swell six-room house and had = many times when I was so drunk I could hardly see the road.
it beautifully decorated a month before we were married. The But you know how people are that don’t drink. They are —
place where my wife worked was a large concern. The girls nervous when someone is driving that has had a drink. To
gave her a shower and they just loaded her down with beautiful please her I stopped the car about two miles down the. road
dishes, towels, table cloths, sheets, pillow slips, bed spreads, and let her drive. She could drive as good as I could and I
and most every kind of utensil for the kitchen that a woman knew it was all right for her to drive. ups
could ever use. ; I had a field glass that you could see many miles with. So.
We got our house all furnished nicely and was married in when she started driving I got my field glasses and started look-
it. We had a wedding picture made of everything that day. A ing down at different cities that I could see. The sun was just,
dance orchestra played from four that afternoon until mid- going down and we were the last car on the mountain. 4
night. We had a thirty-five-dollar wedding cake, baked by Just a couple of seconds before the terrible accident hap-. >
Combell’s bakery. It was as large as our dining table. But it pened, she said, “Turn on the lights, please.” ie
was good. The guests ate every bite of it. We served 30 I had my back to her for I had my head out the window. I -
gallons of Combell’s punch. ‘A delicious drink—and it was wondered what she wanted the lights'on for, for it was still
spiked with a quart of alcohol to the gallon. But you couldn’t plenty light to drive without lights. Knowing where the lights
taste the alcohol. were, I just reached over with my left hand without looking
I remember that a good Christian woman came with my or asking her any questions and turned the lights on.
wife’s mother and she was drinking a large glass of the punch. Just then the most terrible thing that ever happened to any- ©
All of a sudden she threw glass and all away and said to my one happened to us. The road up there has what is called —
mother-in-law, “I might have known that Bob James would switchbacks in it. I guess you know what they are. One
have spiked the punch!” hairpin turn after another. :
A preacher friend of mine was there. I went in the dining When she got to that switchback, she drove straight over the
room and saw him drinking a large glass of the punch. The — cliff which was about 700 feet to the bottom. I didn’t have
weather was very warm that day and the punch was ice cold _ time to say or do a thing. Sometimes (Continued on page 46)
uy
found to be true.
Fremont officials alerted police in Kan-
sas City, Mo., where Tannyhill had said
he was heading, but no trace of him was
found. Contact with Tannyhill’s_ rela-
tives was maintained in case he should
try to get in touch with them.
On May 20 Amy Berk and Betsy Stev-
ens were released from custody, agreeing
to remain in Fremont until Tannyhill was
captured. They hoped this wouldn’t be too
long, for their jobs in Rolla were still
waiting for them.
A week later new wanted circulars were
sent out. On Tuesday, May 31, one of
them reached the desk of Sheriff Everett
E. Baumgartner of Wellington, Kas., 30
-miles south of Wichita. Baumgartner
recognized Tannyhill’s photo right away.
He put through a call to Fremont.
“You won’t have any trouble getting
your hands on Tannyhill,” he told Sheriff
Paul. “He’s in the state prison at Lans-
ing.”
- Baumgartner explained that Tannyhill
had been arrested in Wellington on May
11 a few hours after robbing a liquor store
of $155. (The crime bore striking simil-
arities to the Bradford murder. Tanny-
hill had forced the storekeeper into a car,
bound him with wire and dumped him
outside of town.) Tannyhill had beet
quick to plead guilty to a charge of armed
robbery. Three days later he was on his
way to the state prison to serve a term of
from ten to 21 years.
Officials in Fremont requested extradi-
tion of Tannyhill, and Kansas authorities
agreed on the condition that a holder be
placed against him so that he could be re-
claimed in the event he was not convicted
of the Ohio murder.
On June 1 Sheriff Paul, McGuire and
Prosecutor Dewey arrived at the Kansas
state prison and picked up their man.
Throughout most of the trip the officers
acted almost casual, avoiding any mention
of the Bradford murder. Tannyhill seemed
to feel at ease and proceeded to enter-
tain them with stories of his romantic
affairs. He considered himself quite a
Romeo.
It wasn’t until the car had crossed the
Ohio border that Sheriff Paul brought up
the slaying. He laughed and said, “You’re
the first murder suspect I ever heard of
who made a getaway with two women.”
Tannyhill didn’t laugh. He said he didn’t
know what Paul was talking about. The
sheriff didn’t press him but continued the
soft-glove treatment, pointing out quietly
that they had a good case against him.
Finally Tannyhill said he was ready to
talk. Yes, he admitted, he had killed
Shirley Bradford. He hadn’t planned to,
but she forced his hand by revealing that
she knew him. All the time he was in
the restaurant he was under the impres-
sion that he was a stranger to her. At no
time, he claimed, had he revealed his
identity.
After the cabbie had left the restaurant,
he said, he pointed a gun at Shirley and
demanded the money in the till. She
’ obeyed, putting the money in a hamburger
bag. He then forced her to accompany
him in his car.
“I intended to drop her off along Wilson
Avenue,” he said. “That would have giv-
en me time to get back to the hotel or out
of town ...I figured she didn’t know who
I was.”
BY THEN, according to his story, Shir-
ley mentioned his sister’s name and
said, “What’s your sister going to think
about this when I tell her?”
Tannyhill said the remark scared him
but he kept on driving. He really got
rattled when Shirley, a few minutes later,
said her husband once had worked at the
same factory with Tannyhill’s brother-in--
law. He parked the car near the bridge
and began slapping her.
“Then I lost my head,” he said. “I don’t
remember much after that.”
If what Tannyhill said was true, Shirley
Bradford, ironically, would still have been
alive if she had not revealed the fact that
she knew him. .
Questioned further, he admitted bludg-
eoning her with the post from a tire jack.
After throwing the weapon into a creek
some distance from the river, he returned
to the hotel, climbed in through a rear
window, washed his shirt and blood from
his hands.
He was questioned about the stories
given by Amy Berk and Besty Stevens,
and the officers concluded that the girls
had told the whole truth. They were in
no way implicated in the murder.
The next day Tannyhill led officers to
the creek and Captain McGuire waded
into the muddy water and retrieved the
tire jack post. Tannyhill identified it as
the weapon.
On June 7, 1955, the thin Tannyhill was
arraigned on a murder charge, entering
no plea.
A few weeks later Tannyhill and an-
other prisoner slugged two deputies in
an escape attempt. They didn’t get far
before they were recaptured. A search of
Tannyhill’s cell turned up a variety of
items: a hook fashioned to hang from a
cell window and strong enough to lift
such items as saws and hammers; a gun
carved from a piece of wood; a piece of”
plastic with a razor blade fixed at one
end; two metal clubs.
When he was finally tried he took the
stand and told the jury that he robbed
Widman’s restaurant, forced Shirley Brad-
ford to accompany him to the river and
bludgeoned her to death. He said he had
not shot her. He killed her, he said, be-
cause she knew his identity.
This testimony came as a_ surprise.
Though he had previously admitted the
murder to investigators, he had _ stead-
fastly refused to sign a confession.
It didn’t take the jury long to deter-
mine Tannyhill’s guilt, returning a first-
degree verdict. He was sentenced to die
in the state’s electric chair.
Eprror’s Nore: The names Al Larkin,
Betsy Stevens and Amy Berk, as used in
this narrative, are fictitious.
THE MAN WHO COLLECTED NUDES
got the report on the night’s work, he
nodded slowly.
“Not a word about the murder,” he said.
“But we already have evidence to hold
James on a morals charge if need be. Keep
at it. This may be a long job, and I just
hope it pans out.”
The following night James followed the
pattern. This time he brought with him
a petite girl with chestnut hair and dark
eyes who was no more than 19—a girl a
couple of the detectives recognized. She
was Betty Murdock, whom they had seen
in James’ company on several previous
occasions.
Here was a girl who was a puzzle to
them, for although she was strikingly at-
tractive she had a definite air of innocence
and good breeding about her. It seemed
incongruous that she could have any
‘guilty relationship with James.
(Continued from page 13)
She was not long inside the house be-
fore the microphones betrayed the fact
that she was no more innocent than the
blonde of the night before. In fact, the
conversation between her and the barber
indicated that they had been intimate for
something like two years—well before the
time James had married Mary Busch—
and that the intimacy had continued dur-
ing the period of James’ marriage to Mary
Busch.
Betty Murdock remained all night. In
the morning, James followed what ap-
peared to be a set routine with him and
drove her home on his way to work.
The next night it was still a different
girl—a curvaceous brunette who worked
at a downtown store and was identified by
detectives as Jeanne Purvis. With her,
James followed his usual amorous proce-
dure, but this time there was a difference.
As the pair chatted over highballs, James
dropped his light-hearted talk for the
moment and suddenly became serious.
“Look, Jeanne,” he said, “could you use
$1000?”
There was a moment of silence. Then
she replied, “Could I use $1000! Who
couldn’t? What are you driving at?”
“Well,” he explained in careful tones,
“you know my wife died about seven
months ago. She drowned in the fish pond
behind our house. Since then the in-
surance companies have been holding out
on me. They won’t pay up on her in-
surance.”
“But I don’t understand what you mean.”
“You see, I was working at the shop
when it happened. Insurance companies
are nasty outfits. Now, all you’d have
to do is make a statement that you visited
my wife that morning, and she was all
right at the
guys would h.
hear of an «
grand?”
There was
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even met you
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Mary James 0:
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O THE SI
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Plans were la
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Miss Murdock ji
and were: ques:
tried to brazen
nothing on him
when several of
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played back to }
“All right, so
he growled. “It
a man that way.’
Betty, shaken
had been practi
James for two y:
“I don’t know
it almost seemed
promise myself :
but I couldn’t do
ay & y
A confessed accomplice charged that snakebite had not
killed Mrs. James quickly enough, so James drowned her
in bathtub (shown), then left the body in the fishpond.
collected in insurance after the deaths of various people
were put end to end, it would add up to quite a fancy
figure.
A few years earlier, James had collected $5000 in in-
surance on the death of his grandmother, Mrs. Mary
Lisemba of Alabama. His grandmother had been an
elderly and ailing woman, and there was nothing suspi-
cious about this, but the same could not be said for other
people who died around him.
Southard and his colleagues discovered that in 1934,
James had urged his young nephew, Cornelius Wright,
to take out insurance on his life. Young Wright had
heeded his uncle’s advice. In August of 1934, precisely
a year before the death of Mary James, Wright was
killed in an’ automobile accident in San Francisco. James
collected $5000 in insurance as the beneficiary.
Even that, of course, could have been one of those
strange coincidences. After all, James wasn’t with his
nephew when the accident occurred, and there was no
evidence available that James could have tampered with
Wright’s car. :
The real stunner was what had happened to his previ-
ous wife, Winona Wallace James, who originally came
from Fargo, N. D. This Mrs. James, of all things, had
died by drowning, although it occurred in a bathtub
rather than a fish pond. This bit of ill luck, which
occurred in Colorado in 1932, had netted James a tidy
$15,000 in insurance.
OUTHARD was interested enough in the Colorado
incident to make a trip there and inquire into it. He
learned that in September of 1932, James and his current
wife had set out by car on a belated honeymoon trip.
They drove up Pike’s Peak, and on the way down some-
thing happened: The car went off the road at a switch-
back and: would have hurtled over a cliff had not a huge
boulder stopped it. James luckily came out of it with no
more than a bruised leg, but his wife was unconscious
with severe skull injuries.
After spending three weeks at a hospital at Colorado
Springs, she was well enough to leave although still under
doctor’s orders prescribing rest and limited activity.
James put her up in a furnished house in Colorado
Springs. A few days later, he arrived home from town
to find her drowned in the bathtub.
Since Mrs. James still suffered dizzy spells from her
head injury, there was no suspicion. It seemed obvious
that she must have been seized by one of these spells as
she was about to bathe.
Southard, however, had other ideas. It looked to him
as if James might have tried to murder his wife in a fake
automobile accident after clubbing her about’ the head.
Failing in this, he could easily have arranged to have her
drown in the tub.
Southard talked with some of the Colorado investiga-
tors about it. They agreed that this could well have been
the case. In fact, several of them were so sure of it that
‘they volunteered to testify against James should he be
brought to trial.
However, Southard was primarily interested in the
fish-pond death of Mary Busch James, knowing there
was much more chance of a conviction in this case.
When he reported his findings to District Attorney Fitts
in Los Angeles, Fitts was in a quandary. While deeply
suspicious of James, the D.A. well knew that the evidence
against the gay barber was suspicion and little more.
Fitts had to get more on the suspect before he could
make a move. He turned the problem over in his mind.
Finally he decided on a course of action that was little
short of sensational.
On April 4, 1936, Captain Earl Kynette of the Los
Angeles police secret squad led a crew of technicians
into a cottage on LaSalle Street. By a lucky chance, the
cottage happened to be vacant at the moment, and the
police department had rented it. Their interest in it arose
from the fact that Robert James’ bungalow was just a
couple of doors away.
In the cottage they quickly installed recording and
amplifying devices. Then they ran wires across a back
lot to the James place, taking advantage of shrubbery and
vines to conceal the wires.
They next entered the James bungalow, making use
of a skeleton key. Robert James at the moment was
several miles away at his barber shop, following his usual
custom of looking out the window, so they had no worries
about him. They proceeded to wire the place for sound.
They installed hidden microphones in the kitchen, living
room, bedroom—in fact,.in every room in the house.
A couple of hours later, when they were finished with
their work, District Attorney Fitts came out to the rented
cottage. He looked over the set-up and nodded in
approval.
“We want an official record of everything that is said
in the James place,” he informed Kynette. “Every single
word. It may be that James will drop incriminating re-
marks about the death of his wife. It will be necessary to
take a complete description of each of his guests. If
anyone of them seems to have information we can use,
they must be shadowed to their homes so they can be
located later.”
Just to make doubly sure that all conversations were
heard correctly, two independent methods of taking them
down were used. A dictagraph would record them on a
wax disc. Also, an efficient girl shorthand expert from
Fitt’s office was installed in the cottage, equipped with
earphones and instructed to write down everything she
heard. -
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That evening around 7, the red convertible pulled up
in front of the bungalow. James, clad in a noisy tweed
jacket, flannel pants and a green shirt, got out with an
attractive blonde woman who appeared to be in her
middle twenties. James, amorous as usual, had his arm
around her waist as they walked up and entered the
house. In the cottage a short distance away, the dicta-
graph clicked on and the stenographer put on her ear-
phones.
Over the wires came James’ voice: “Baby, I really go
for you in a big way. What'll you have—gin or whiskey?”
“I guess a good stiff martini wouldn’t do any harm,”
Baby replied.
“You're a girl after my own heart,” he boomed. “You
don’t ask for these fancy drinks full of fruit and stuff.”
From the kitchen the slamming of the refrigerator door
could be heard. There was the clinking of ice. James
obviously was mixing drinks, humming a tune as he did
so. The pair were heard to return to the living room,
where they indulged in small talk as they drank. But
every now and then the red-headed barber would inter-
ject a flattering or personal remark that showed he had
a good deal more than small talk on his mind.
“Honey,” he said on one occasion, “you're really built
to my specifications. You’ve got a figure that’s—well,
exciting.”
“Thank you, Bob,” she replied banteringly, “but Vil
bet that’s what you tell all the girls.”
He
Condemned to die, James sought comfort in religion. He
is seen (second from left leading eight other doo
men in: prayer in the San uentin Prison condemned row.
“No, no,” he said in earnest tones. “You got me all
wrong. I don’t fool around. I’m the serious type.”
TS HAD ANOTHER drink, and another. James,
who seemed to have a remarkable ability to absorb
alcohol, was drinking almost two to the girl’s one, but by
9 o'clock they were both growing intoxicated enough so
that it was clearly evident over the wires.
James turned on the radio, saying, “Let’s dance.” Other
sounds were lost for a time as the radio music took over.
Finally it was turned off and James’ voice could be heard.
“Come along with me, sweetheart,” he said huskily. “y
-want to hold you in my arms.”
They retired to a bedroom, where another microphone
picked up their conversation. The light went out. Now
their talk became personal—very personal indeed.
The girl stenographer in the police-occupied cottage
flushed. “Please,” she murmured. “Do I have to—record
all this?” -
“[’'m sorry,” a detective nodded. “It’s orders.”
The stenographer that night had the most embarrassing
job of her life, but she did it. Painfully unhappy, she set
her jaw and took down every word of the most intimate
utterances between a man and a woman.
After a time, all was silent. In the morning, the blonde
made coffee for James and then he drove her to her place
of work before he opened his shop.
When District Attorney Fitts (Continued on page 64)
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the fish pond
hen the in-
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right at the time. Then the insurance
guys would have to pay up. Did you ever
hear of an easier way to make a cool
grand?” 3
There was another pause‘from the girl.
“But I wasn’t there,” she said. “I never
even met your wife.”
“I know, but you can say you did.”
The brunette Miss Purvis thought it
over for a moment and decided she would
rather not stick her pretty neck out that
far. James then quickly changed the sub-
ject and concentrated on lovemaking.
District Attorney Fitts listened to the
recording of this. conversation next day.
He played it over twice. It was easy to
see James’ motive in trying to persuade
the girl to swear that she had visited
Mary James on the day she died. The foxy
barber was attempting to prove that his
wife was in good health after he left for
work that day, for it was pretty well estab-
lished that he had remained at his shop .
until he came home and found her dead.
It was an interesting revelation of
James’ cunning, but still it was not mur-
der evidence. Fitts told his’ operatives to
keep listening.
Soc THE SECRET eavesdropping con-
tinued for a full two weeks. Disap-
pointingly, not another word was heard
about the death of Mary James. More
than 250 pages of shorthand notes were
taken of conversations in the bungalow,
plus dozens of wax recordings, All they
proved was that Robert James was one of
the greatest rakes alive.
During this time he played host to seven
different women at his home. A few of
his visitors were obviously women of easy
virtue, but others were of a type who
seemingly should have known better.
His most frequent guest was petite Betty
Murdock, who remained all night with him
on several occasions. At last District At-
torney Fitts decided that the microphone
method had served its purpose,
“We'll raid the place,” he said, “and
bring James in on morals charges. Possibly
he will confess the murder of his wife. In
any case, we’ve got to take the chance.”
Plans were laid carefully. On the night
of April 19, observers saw James enter his
house with Betty Murdock again. At dawn
the next morning a half-dozen investiga-
tors slid open windows and swarmed into
the bungalow. James, in the bedroom
with the girl, leaped out of bed with a
strangled imprecation when a detective’s
flashlight shone on him.
The pair were taken to headquarters,
Miss Murdock in tow of a police matron,
and were: questioned separately. James
tried to brazen it out, claiming they had
nothing on him. He changed his tune
when several of the recordings of his most
intimate conversations with Betty were
played back to him,
“All right, so I was playing around,”
_ he growled. “It’s a lousy trick to spy on
a man that way.”
Betty, shaken with sobs, admitted she
had been practically a love slave of
James for two years.
“I don’t know why,” she wept. “It—
it almost seemed he had me hypnotized, I'd
promise mynelf to stay away from him,
but I couldn’t do it.”
It was decided to hold James on three
morals charges and prosecute him on that,
meanwhile making use of the time to get
murder evidence against him. The bar-
ber’s home was given an inch-by-inch
search. Nothing was found relating to
Mary James’ death, although scores of
letters testified to James’ uncommon suc-
“cess with women.
Brought to court in a lurid morals trial
in May, James was speedily found guilty
on all three counts, drawing a one-to-50
year term on each. That meant he would
-be behind bars for a few years at least.
But when he was questioned about the
death of Mary James, he did not budge.
“Maybe you got me on this trumped-up
charge,” he snarled, “but you have noth-
ing on me about Mary. I’m innocent.”
An appraisal of the startling similar
deaths of two of his wives made the in-
vestigators regard him as a liar. Mary
James had drowned in a fish pond at La
Crescenta. Winona James had drowned in
a bathtub in Colorado Springs. Each had
been believed to have suffered “dizzy
spells.” Each had left unfinished letters
that appeared to support the innocence of
the husband. Each had been heavily in-
sured.
A puzzling item in the second case was
that bite on the foot, whether snake or
insect. Some of the officials were inclined
to believe that it had no real connection
with the case—that Mary James had been
accidentally bitten before her husband
drowned her in the fish pond. Detectives
were now canvassing every one of James’
friends and neighbors—including his num-
erous lady companions—in ‘the hope that
someone would come up with the answer.
James, it was found, was in the habit
of having lunch at a small restaurant not
far from his barber shop. The woman
proprietor recalled a provocative item.
“Several times when James and his wife
ate here,” she said, “they quarreled quite
heatedly. I remember thinking how
strange it was since they had only re-
cently been married. It seems he wanted
her to take out some insurance policies,
and she saw no reason for doing so.”
Here was another intriguing little drib-.
let, but it was not murder evidence. Scores
of the barber’s friends were questioned. It
was learned that for several years he had
been on close terms with a Los Angeles
man named Charles H. Hope. In fact,
Hope and James had often been seen to-
gether during the weeks before the death
of Mary James. Since then, apparently,
their friendliness had cooled.
A quiet check was begun into the affairs
of Hope. The interest in him was in-
creased when it was learned that he had
once been an insurance agent, although of
late he was unemployed.
With THAT, all of a sudden the case
broke wide open. Probably Hope sensed
that he was being investigated. In: any
case, he went to the office of a Los Angeles
attorney and began telling a story so weird
that the attorney at once telephoned Dis-
rict Attorney Fitts. A few minutes later
Hope was ushered into Fitts’ office. Hope,
4 nervour-looking man in hin early fortion,
yulped.
“I—I want to tell you what I know
about this James business,” he said.
Fitts nodded. “Shoot.”
“Well—he murdered her, I’m sure of
that. But I tell you I didn’t know what
his plan was.”
Hope then launched into a tale so
fantastic that it had the D. A. all but reel-
ing. He said James paid him to go out
and buy a couple of deadly rattlesnakes—
for what purpose, Hope did not know at the
time, but he thought they were for ex-
periments of some kind. Hope tried a
couple of places, and finally bought a pair
of rattlers at a snake farm in Pasadena. He
put the snakes in a specially constructed
box with a sliding top. Early on the morn-
ing of Mary’s death he drove to the James
house.
“James was there,” he went on. “He
had this girl—his wife—tied to a table.
‘He had adhesive tape stuck over her
mouth and eyes so she couldn’t see or
scream. He said to me, ‘Gimme those
snakes. And don’t forget you’re in this as
much as I am.’”
Thereupon, according .to Hope, James
opened the lid of the box. The snakes
were hissing, their rattles whirring. James
seized his wife’s foot and thrust it into
the box. One of the snakes struck im-
mediately, and James removed the foot,
saying, “That does it.”
But, Hope went on, that didn’t do it. The
poisonous bite did not work fast enough
for James. His wife was still wriggling,
and at last he carried her bodily into the
bathroom and drowned her in the tub.
Then, with Hope’s assistance, he carried
her out into the garden and dropped her
in the fish pond. However, Hope insisted,
he had balked at actually putting her in’
the pond. Hope refused to do it, so James
tossed her in himself. In fact, Hope
made himself out to be a man who had
unwittingly walked into a murder plot
and had been afraid to pull out of it.
All this sounded like a fairy tale, but
Fitts resolved to look into it. Hope was
placed under arrest while a dozen detec-
tives got busy on. the checking job. They
soon discovered that Hope’s story, fantas-
tic as it was, was borne out by facts.
The snake farmer in Pasadena quickly
identified Hope as the man to whom he
had sold two vicious snakes, Hope had
said they were to be used for “experi-
ments,” the snake man said. He had re-
‘turned the two serpents not long after-
ward, saying he was finished wtih them.
A Hollywood cabinet maker identified
Hope as the man for whom he had built
a special box with a sliding top and
equipped with air holes. Hope had told
the artisan the box was to be used to hold
white mice.
From an incinerator behind a building
near Hope’s home, sleuths pulled out semi-
_ burned fragments of the pink silk night-
gown Mary James had been wearing when
the snake struck her.
Robert James was now brought in and
put on the carpet. Informed of Hope’s
story, he sneered.
“You believe that fellow?” he scoffed.
“Hope is crazy, I tell you. He’s liable to
say anything. It’s all a lic.” >
After being friendly with Hope for seven
years, James said, they had quarreled over
a money matter, and this was just Hope's
65
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