Reenactment of J. Belton Kennedy murder scene (copy), Los Angeles, ca. 1921

Title: Reenactment of J. Belton Kennedy murder scene (copy), Los Angeles, ca. 1921
Date Created: [circa 1921]
Date: 1921
Publisher: Los Angeles Times
Language: No linguistic content
Collection: OpenUCLA Collections
Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection

Description: According to early reports of the case, Madalynne Obenchain and J. Belton Kennedy arrived late at Kennedy's summer cottage in Beverly Glen. In the darkness, Obenchain asked Kennedy to retrieve a lucky penny she had left nearby and while he was attempting to find it, an unknown figure shot and killed Kennedy while hidden among brush beside the staircase leading to the cottage.
Madalynne Obenchain and Arthur C. Burch were tried and acquitted for the murder of J. Belton Kennedy in 1921. Obenchain served a prison sentence but was released shortly after her conviction.
A man and a woman are seen at the bottom of the stairs, arm in arm, and another man is pictured at the top. Numbers are drawn onto the photograph, possibly for a caption. "1" corresponds to Obenchain and Kennedy; "2" corresponds with where the murderer was hiding; "3" indicates the summer cottage.
Caption: Text from negative sleeve: Obenchain, Madeline [handwritten:] Obenchain, Madalynne

Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections
Local Identifier: uclamss_1429_6818
ARK: ark:/21198/zz002cx3q2
Manifest url

Rights statement: copyrighted
Rights Holder: UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections, A1713 Young Research Library, Box 951575, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575. E-mail: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu. Phone: (310)825-4988
Rights Country: US
Funding Note: Access to this collection is generously supported by Haynes Foundation funds.
Access to this collection is generously supported by Arcadia funds.
License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .