Hal Takaoka testifying on the witness stand about the murder of his sister, dancer Midi Takaoka. Judge Irvin Taplin was presiding. The dancer's throat was cut by her jilted lover, waiter Raymond Johnson. Johnson later was sentenced to life in prison.
Homes and palm trees underwater in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles. After heavy rains lasting more than 36 hours, between 1200 and 1800 homes in the Venice area were underwater on January 1, 1934.
John D. Kennedy, 62, appears with Municipal Judge George S. Richardson in relation to charges he attacked Arthur C. Burch. Burch was tried twice and acquitted for the shooting death of John D. Kennedy's son.
Judge Benjamin J. Scheinman marries Bobby Burns Berman and Betty Jane Hardesty. Berman operated a night club and Hardesty was a Washington D.C. socialite.
The children of William F. Gettle, millionaire and kidnapping victim, posing on tricycles for a photograph after their father's safe return. Circa May 15, 1934.William F. Gettle, Beverly Hills millionaire, was kidnapped from the grounds of his Arcadia ranch home during a housewarming party on the eve of May 9th. The kidnapping attracted a great deal of attention in the community, with Mrs. Gettle even addressing the kidnappers through the pages of the Los Angeles Times. The kidnappers demanded a $60,000 ransom for the return of Gettle, which Mrs. Gettle agreed to pay. However, before the ransom was paid, two detectives of the LAPD, Chester Burris and H.P. Gearhardt, broke the case after installing a dictaphone in the home of a bank robbery suspect. Information from the dictaphone led them to a La Crescenta home where Gettle was held. He was returned, unharmed, to his family on the eve of May 14th.
A line of radiator grilles, affixed with Studebaker's distinctive "lark in circle" hood ornament, at Studebaker's Los Angeles assembly plant in Vernon, Ca. Studebaker's Los Angeles plant was established in December of 1935, and its first completed car rolled off the assembly line on January 2, 1936. The plant closed on June 8, 1956.
Los Angeles District Attorney Buron Fitts, second from right, sits with his defense lawyer Jerry Geisler, second from left, along with his chief deputy Robert P. Stewart, far left, and deputy District Attorney, William Simpson.
