Feb. 27, 1947: Terry Tate, of 123 N. San Pedro Street, is arrested in the death of his wife, Mary, at 107 Weller Street, described by the Sentinel as a rooming house or hotel. Tate was strangled and beaten Jan. 18, 1947. In July, Ocar J. Hallgren was arrested in the killing, which was never solved.
 |
 |
ladailymirror.com 
Hallgren lived in Compton, which in the late 1940s was a mostly white middle class neighborhood. Residents included George and Barbara Bush!
LikeLike
Larry
Thank you for the Mary Tate update. I was very curious to know more. No “flower murder” nickname for Mary. It’s is very interesting to note that the murder site is a rooming house in February and a hotel in July. A substantial number of the small downtown “hotels” evolved into flop houses.
The only previous notes I had on Mary Tate was killed in a rooming house so i assumed she ‘lived’ where she was murdered. (more of a Georgette Bauerdorf situation rather than a hotel tryst gone wrong)
Hallgren was found not guilty. I am curious about the trial. I would be interested to know the what racial mix of the jury might have been. (OJ trial reversed.)
It was a fun story to learn that Weller Street used to be called Wilmington because of the Stage Coach “races” from San Pedro as you know.
LikeLike