Category Archives: Suicide

Champagne flight II

Posted on July 26, 2007 by lmharnisch

Another picture of the damaged Western Air Lines plane, showing a detail of the hole made by the explosion.

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Champagne flight

Posted on July 24, 2007 by lmharnisch

July 25, 1957Las Vegas There was no room for retired jeweler Saul F. Binstock, 62, on the chartered flight to Las Vegas, so he boarded a Western Air Lines plane at Burbank. As always, he bought insurance naming his wife, … Continue reading →

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A bill of goods

Posted on July 12, 2007 by lmharnisch

  July 12, 1957 Los Angeles Harold D. Jensen was apparently quite a salesman, because he certainly sold his fiancee a bill of goods. Before marrying Barbara Jean Burton, 26, 8343 Clarence Ave., Jensen wrote a prenuptial agreement promising her … Continue reading →

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Lawyer drowns in pool

Posted on June 26, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 26, 1957 Los Angeles The lawyer drove up to the cabin in Tick Canyon, north of Saugus, in his Cadillac. He should have been home in Beverly Hills by now, but he phoned his wife, Mary, that he was … Continue reading →

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Reds freed!

Posted on June 17, 2007 by lmharnisch

Note the suicide of Stanford scientist William K. Sherwood. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

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Kill crazy

Posted on June 13, 2007 by lmharnisch

    June 14, 1957 Los Angeles Charles Hilbert Dodd was eager to kill someone. If he couldn’t find his estranged wife, Dolores, then he’d shoot whomever he could get. Armed with a 16-gauge shotgun, Dodd, 47, of 6415 Balcom … Continue reading →

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Suicide on Crenshaw

Posted on June 10, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 10, 1957 Los Angeles Elsa Klumbis O’Neil saw no hope. The 37-year-old woman wanted a divorce from her husband, Mark, who was due back in a few days from a voyage with the merchant marine. But since she … Continue reading →

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Suicide note

Posted on June 9, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 9, 1957 Los Angeles James R. Shepard decided it was better to kill himself than be prosecuted for a crime so shameful that it could not be published in The Times. A few hours after  the 32-year-old insurance … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates–Confidential File

Posted on May 21, 2007 by lmharnisch

May 21, 1957The note was found next to the man’s body. It was addressed to the dead man’s sister. "Dear Fanny," it read. "I am sorry to say goodbye, but it is best this way. I leave all I got, … Continue reading →

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Shotgun slaying

Posted on May 18, 2007 by lmharnisch

  May 18, 1957 Alhambra She was going to leave him, so she had to die. In fact, he killed all of them. Marilyn Ockman, 25, and Sally, their 4-year-old daughter, were in the dining room of their home at … Continue reading →

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Reading the palms

Posted on April 21, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 21, 1957 Los Angeles I think about his hands. I don’t know, but I would imagine that at the age of 78, they were old and worn from a lifetime of custodial work for Los Angeles County. Gnarled, maybe, … Continue reading →

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Sorry It Had to Happen This Way

Posted on April 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 4, 1957 Los Angeles By Larry Harnisch Sometime in the night, Robert Tunis Palmer, a 27-year-old meatpacker from Marysville, Ohio, sat on the steps of the church at 14th and Union, finished his can of beer, put the muzzle … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Pico-Union, Suicide | 3 Comments