Louis Rude Payne, with father Lucius Payne at his side, at his inquest for the murder of his mother and brother. June 6, 1934.
- Description:
- Louis Payne covers his face with his hands and his hankerchief at his inquest, with father Lucius F. Payne at his side.Louis Rude Payne, 21 years of age, used a camping axe to kill his mother, Carrie L. Payne, and 15-year-old brother Robert in their Westwood mansion home. Louis R. Payne turned himself in for the killings of his mother and brother four to five days after their deaths, at a Huntington Beach police station. When he turned himself in, detectives found on his person both a letter and a telegram addressed to his father Lucius Payne, a St. Louis businessman, confessing to the crime, apologizing for his actions, and explaning that he did not know what impulse it was that drove him to the murders.Payne was convicted of the two murders, but found to be insane at the time of the crimes. He was confined to psychiatric treatment at the Mendocino State Hospital at Talmadge, in Mendocino County, CA. His father stood by him throughout his trial and conviction.
- Date:
- June 6, 1934
- Resource Type:
- still image
- Collection:
-
Los Angeles Daily News Negatives
