Subject: Crime - UCLA Library Digital Collections Search Results

Description:: Robert S. James sitting in the witness stand with a map of his home behind him. An unidentified man is visible in front of him. He was most likely testifying in his own defense for the murder trial of his wife Mary Emma James. He purportedly had an affair with his niece, which spurred him to tie down his wife and have a rattlesnake bite her, and then later drown her in their fish pond. He was supposedly helped by his friend, ex-sailor Charles H. Hope, who was also charged with murder.
Date:: [circa May 1936]
Resource Type:: still image
Collection:: Los Angeles Daily News Negatives

Description:: Robert S. James sitting in the witness stand with a plan of his home behind him. An unidentified man is visible in front of him. He was most likely testifying in his own defense for the murder trial of his wife Mary Emma James. He purportedly had an affair with his niece, which spurred him to tie down his wife and have a rattlesnake bite her, and then later drown her in their fish pond. He was supposedly helped by his friend, ex-sailor Charles H. Hope, who was also charged with murder.
Date:: [circa May 1936]
Resource Type:: still image
Collection:: Los Angeles Daily News Negatives

Description:: Robert S. James sitting in the witness stand with a plan of his home behind him. An unidentified man is visible in front of him. He was most likely testifying in his own defense for the murder trial of his wife Mary Emma James. He purportedly had an affair with his niece, which spurred him to tie down his wife and have a rattlesnake bite her, and then later drown her in their fish pond. He was supposedly helped by his friend, ex-sailor Charles H. Hope, who was also charged with murder.
Date:: [circa May 1936]
Resource Type:: still image
Collection:: Los Angeles Daily News Negatives

Description:: Robert S. James standing next to an unidentified man in court. He was most likely testifying in his own defense for the murder trial of his wife Mary Emma James. He purportedly had an affair with his niece, which spurred him to tie down his wife and have a rattlesnake bite her, and then later drown her in their fish pond. He was supposedly helped by his friend, ex-sailor Charles H. Hope, who was also charged with murder.
Date:: [circa May 1936]
Resource Type:: still image
Collection:: Los Angeles Daily News Negatives

Description:: Swiss chauffeur Fred Stettler, accused of the arson murders of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Barbour, showing Det. Lt. Miles Ledbetter (left) and Capt. Bert Wallis of the police homicide squad (center) $34 in silver hidden in a potato sack at Stettler's home. Stettler confessed to stealing the money from the Barbours after murdering them with a heavy object and setting a timing device which would set the bodies on fireNote: text on the nitrate sleeves and handwritten on the negative likely transcribed "Bert Wallis" incorrectly as "Bert Wallace"
Date:: February 21, 1936
Resource Type:: still image
Collection:: Los Angeles Daily News Negatives

Description:: Cowboy motion picture extra Jerome "Blackjack" Ward kisses his wife Mickey Ward during his trial for the murder of fellow extra John Ainsworth Tyacke (Johnny Tyke) in Gower Gulch. Gower Gulch is the name given to the area near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street where film extras hang out waiting for work; many of the nearby studios produce westerns so often actual working cowboys come here to break into the film business. Ward entered a plea of not guilty based on self defense and temporary insanity. He was ultimately set free after many witnesses attested to Tyke's violent nature.
Date:: between July 15 and July 18, 1940
Resource Type:: still image
Collection:: Los Angeles Daily News Negatives

Description:: Deputy Sheriff Bess Bailey escorts Betty Flay Hardaker through the courtroom during the inquest conducted by Deputy Coroner Frank Monfort. Mrs. Hardaker was convicted of murdering her 5 year old daugher, Geraldine Hardaker, in a Montebello park washroom. The jury convicted her of committing the crime while of unsound mind.
Date:: February 23, 1940
Resource Type:: still image
Collection:: Los Angeles Daily News Negatives

Description:: Charles Hardaker at the inquest for his wife, Betty Flay Hardaker, who was accused of murdering their 5 year old daugther. Charles Hardaker went before a jury and Police Judge Paul G. McIver to testify about his wife's mental state. He told of many quarrels, seperations, and suicide attempts. Betty Hardaker was convicted of murdering her 5 year old daughter, Geraldine Hardaker, in a Montebello park washroom. The jury convicted her of committing the crime while of unsound mind.
Date:: February 23, 1940
Resource Type:: still image
Collection:: Los Angeles Daily News Negatives

Description:: Betty Flay Hardaker sits at the Los Angeles County Jail wearing boots, trousers, and a sport jacket. Mrs. Hardaker was convicted of murdering her 5 year old daughter, Geraldine Hardaker, in a Montebello park washroom. The jury convicted her of committing the crime while of unsound mind.
Date:: February 20, 1940
Resource Type:: still image
Collection:: Los Angeles Daily News Negatives

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