My Dark Places

19

A night owl called it in. The San Dimas desk logged it at 2:35 a.m.

The guy said he was out coon hunting. He saw a body by the road at Don Julian and 8th. His name was Ray Blasingame. He lived and worked in El Monte. He was calling from the gas station at Valley and 3rd.

The desk man buzzed a patrol unit. Deputy Bill Freese and Deputy Jim Harris rolled to Valley and 3rd. They followed Ray Blasingame to the dump site. He was driving a Ford pickup with four coon dogs in the back.

The site was secluded. The road was paved with crushed rock. A dirt shoulder and a barbed-wire fence ran behind it. The road led to a water-pump station.

It was cold. It was dark. The Puente Hills were due south. Valley Boulevard was one half-mile north.

The woman was laid out face-up. She was stretched flat on the dirt between the road and the fence. She was wearing a charcoal-gray and black sweater, a black skirt and open-toed black shoes. A red overcoat covered her legs. A horse-and-jockey pin was attached to the left shoulder. A black plastic purse was propped up by the fence.

She was white. She was medium-sized. She had short blond hair. She was 45 to 50 years old.

Her face was bruised. A nylon stocking was lashed around her neck.

Harris radioed the San Dimas Station. The desk man called Sheriff’s Homicide. Lieutenant Charles McGowan, Sergeant Harry Andre and Sergeant Claude Everley rolled out. A patrol lieutenant and a print deputy arrived two minutes later.

Andre saw the Jean Ellroy crime scene. He told Everley that this one looked similar. The Ellroy killer tossed the victim’s coat across her legs. This guy did the same thing.

A morgue car arrived. A photo car arrived. A coroner’s assistant checked out the body. A photo deputy lit the crime scene and shot it.

The morgue man noted signs of early rigor mortis. The victim’s head and neck were stiff. Everley pulled up her outer garments and examined her underclothes. She was wearing a red slip, a red bra and a red pantie girdle. Her legs were bare.

Andre emptied the purse. He found a pair of glasses, $1.32, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a hair brush, a pair of light-blue wool or wool-cotton-blend gloves, a tin of aspirin, a plastic key fob, a ballpoint pen, a pocket mirror and a brown leather wallet with a white-and-silver horse embossed on the front. The wallet contained snapshots of the victim, a bus ticket stub, a clipping from a horse racing scratch sheet and identification cards for Elspeth Evelyn Long and Bobbie Long. The cards listed addresses in New Orleans, Miami and Phoenix, Arizona. The cards listed the victim’s DOB as 7/10/06 and 7/10/13. An insurance ID card listed an L.A. address: 2231V1 West 52nd Street. The card was dated 2/18/57.

The morgue crew removed the body. Andre called Sheriff’s Homicide. He told the desk man to send some guys out to the victim’s address. Everley got his flashlight and searched the area. He didn’t spot any tire tracks or discarded weaponry.

Ray Blasingame went home. The photo man took some more shots. The sun came up. Andre and Everley walked the road in full daylight.

They didn’t see anything new.

The victim lived in a small apartment house. Her place was at the bottom floor rear. Ward Hallinen, Ray Hopkinson and Ned Lovretovich tossed it.

They woke the manager up and badged him. He let them into the apartment and went back to bed. They tossed both rooms. They found a box of nylon stockings and a stack of silver dollars and half-dollars. They found a stack of newspaper articles on horse racing. They found a camera with the dial set at exposure #6. They found an address book. They found a payroll check for $37.00. It was dated 1/21/59. It was issued by Bill’s Cafe—1554 West Florence Avenue. They found some horse racing programs and scratch sheets and letters from a horse-race tipster.

The apartment was clean. The victim’s belongings were neatly arranged. The stockings totaled up to even pairs.

They grabbed the camera and the address book. They woke the manager up and told him to keep the place locked. He said they should talk to a woman named Liola Taylor. She lived next door. He hardly knew Bobbie Long himself. Liola knew her better.

They found Liola Taylor and questioned her. She said Bobbie Long lived next door for four years or so. She worked at a restaurant on Florence. She knew lots of men. She wasn’t loose. She liked male companionship. She was going out with a rich guy. She said she was after his money. She never mentioned his name. She never mentioned her own family.

Hallinen, Hopkinson and Lovretovich drove to Bill’s Cafe. They talked to the boss—William Shostal. He said Bobbie Long was a good waitress. She was friendly. She loved horse racing. She hung out with a waitress named Betty Nolan.

Shostal gave the cops Betty’s address. They drove to her house and questioned her.

She said she saw Bobbie at work on Tuesday. That was three days ago. Bobbie said she was going to the track on Thursday. That was yesterday. Bobbie knew a guy named Roger. Bobbie knew a guy who worked at the Challenge Creamery. Betty said she didn’t know their last names. Betty said she didn’t know any “rich guy.” A man brought Bobbie to work two weeks ago. He had slicked-back hair and a mustache. He was driving a white-and-turquoise car. Betty said she didn’t know his name. She never saw him before or since. She said they should contact Fred Mezaway—the cook at Bill’s Cafe. Fred dropped off Bobbie’s paycheck Wednesday or Thursday.

Hallinen called Bill Shostal and got Mezaway’s address. Shostal said he’d probably be home now. Hallinen, Hopkinson and Lovretovich drove to the address and questioned Mezaway.

He said he planned to drop off Bobbie’s check early Wednesday night. He got involved in a card game and postponed the errand. He dropped the check off Thursday morning. Bobbie scolded him. She said he had no business playing cards.

Mezaway said Bobbie dated around. He couldn’t supply any names. She owed a bookie $300. He didn’t know the bookie’s name. He didn’t know any “rich guy” or any guy named Roger or any guy with slicked-back hair or any guy who worked at the Challenge Creamery.

The cops drove back to Bobbie Long’s apartment. They went through Bobbie’s address book and started calling her friends. They got a string of no-answers. They reached a woman named Freda Fay Callis. Freda Fay said she saw Bobbie on Tuesday. They got together and picked up their friend Judy Sennett. They ran Bobbie by her doctor’s office. Bobbie was having bad headaches. She bumped her head on an iced-tea dispenser at work. The doctor X-rayed Bobbie’s head and took a blood sample.

The girls drove out to Rosemead. They dropped Judy off at her son-in-law’s place. Freda Fay drove Bobbie back to L.A. and dropped her at her apartment. Bobbie called her yesterday morning. She said, Let’s go to the races. Freda Fay said she was broke and declined the invitation.

Freda Fay said Bobbie was a racetrack fanatic. She took the bus out to Santa Anita habitually. Sometimes she’d meet strangers and get rides home. Bobbie was friendly. She wasn’t man crazy. She liked men with money. Freda Fay didn’t know any “rich guy” or any guy named Roger. She didn’t know Bobbie’s bookie. She didn’t know any guy with slicked-back hair or any guy who worked at the Challenge Creamery.

The cops made some more calls. They reached Bobbie’s friend Ethlyn Manlove. She said Bobbie never mentioned any family. Bobbie told her she was married a long time ago. She got married in New Orleans and divorced in Miami. Ethlyn Manlove said Bobbie dated around. She couldn’t supply any names. She didn’t know any “rich guy.” She didn’t know Bobbie’s bookie. She didn’t know any guy with slicked-back hair or any guy who worked at the Challenge Creamery. The name Roger tweaked her. Roger might be this married guy Bobbie palled around with.

It was 2:00 p.m. The Long snuff made the afternoon papers. A man walked into the LAPD’s 77th Street Station. He said his name was Warren William Wheelock. People called him Roger. He read about the Bobbie Long murder. He knew Bobbie. He thought the cops might want to talk to him.

The desk sergeant called Sheriff’s Homicide. The watch commander called Bobbie Long’s apartment and talked to Ray Hopkinson. Hopkinson called 77th Street and talked to Warren William Wheelock.

Wheelock said he met Bobbie at Hollywood Park Racetrack in May ’58. He said he went by her apartment Wednesday morning—two days ago. He invited Bobbie down to San Diego. He was going down there with his wife. Bobbie brushed him off. She said she wanted to go to the track on Thursday. Wheelock and his wife went down to Dago. They visited his brother-in-law. They went to the jai alai games down in T.J. He had a ticket for game #7—dated last night.

Wheelock said he didn’t know Bobbie’s bookie. He didn’t know any “rich guy” or any guy with slicked-back hair or any guy who worked at the Challenge Creamery. Hopkinson thanked him and said he’d be in touch.

Hallinen, Hopkinson and Lovretovich drove to the Hall of Justice. They checked the bus ticket in Bobbie Long’s purse. Lovretovich called the L.A. Transit Authority. He explained his situation and read off the numbers on the ticket. His contact did some checking and called back. He said the ticket was issued yesterday—1/22/59. It was purchased at 6th and Main in downtown L.A. Their stub was the unused portion. Somebody took an M-line bus to Santa Anita Racetrack and did not take the bus home.

Hallinen walked down to the morgue. Deputy Coroner Don H. Mills ran the autopsy by him.

Bobbie Long died of acute asphyxiation. She took some bad shots to the head. Her skull was fractured in four places. One fracture wound was crescent-shaped. The killer might have hit her with a crescent wrench. Her sixth cervical vertebra was fractured and separated. She had partially digested beans, rice and cornmeal in her stomach. She had semen in her vagina. Her external genitalia were not bruised or abraded. Her blood alcohol registered at 0%. She died cold sober.

A teletype went out that night.

BROADCAST NO. 76 1/23/59 FILE NO. Z-524-820

MURDER INFORMATION WANTED EMERGENCY

FOUND AT APPROX 2:30 AM 1/23/59 VICTIM BOBBIE

LONG FWA 45-50 5/554, 135 LBS., BLUE EYES, SHORT

DISHWATER BLOND HAIR. DRESSED IN CHARCOAL AND

BLACK BLOUSE, BLACK FELT SKIRT, BRIGHT RED FULL

LENGTH COAT WITH COSTUME JEWELRY HORSE PINNED

ON LEFT SHOULDER. VICTIM’S PANTIE GIRDLE, BRA,

AND SLIP WERE ALSO BRIGHT RED. WORE OPEN-TOE

BLACK SHOES AND CARRIED BLACK PURSE. VICTIM WAS

FOUND LYING ON BACK BESIDE A DIRT ACCESS ROAD

NEAR A PUMP HOUSE OFF DON JULIAN ROAD AND 8TH

AVE., LA PUENTE AREA, FULLY CLOTHED, STRANGLED

WITH A NYLON STOCKING. HAD ALSO BEEN BEATEN ON

THE HEAD WITH AN INSTRUMENT LEAVING CRESCENT-SHAPED

MARKS. HAD HAD INTERCOURSE OR HAD BEEN

RAPED. ATTENDED RACES AT SANTA ANITA ON 1/22/59.

PURSE CONTAINED GLASSES AND CAMEL CIGARETTES,

PLUS USUAL FEMININE EFFECTS. SUSPECT’S CAR MAY

HAVE BLOODSTAINS. PLEASE CHECK YOUR FIELD

INTERROGATION CARDS FOR THE AFTERNOON AND

EVENING UP TO 12:00 MIDNIGHT OF 1/22/59.

ATTN/TEMPLE STATION

ATTN/SAN DIMAS STATION

ATTN/SAN GABRIEL VALLEY POLICE DEPTS.

ATTN/SAN GABRIEL VALLEY AREA CHP

REFER MCGOWAN, ANDRE, EVERLEY HQ DB HOMICIDE

DETAIL

FILE Z-524-820

PETER J. PITCHESS, SHERIFF DC SNDG 600 PM

Ward Hallinen met Harry Andre and Claude Everley at the Bureau. They discussed the Long case 14 hours in. They all thought it resembled the Jean Ellroy job.

Jean Ellroy was probably raped. Bobbie Long most likely engaged in sex willingly. Her undergarments were properly in place. That fact implied consensual sex.

Both women sustained head wounds. The body dump locations were six miles apart. Santa Anita was two miles north of Arroyo High School. Both victims were divorcees. The crime scenes looked almost identical. The Ellroy killer dropped the victim’s coat on her legs. The Long killer did the same thing. Bobbie Long was blond. Jean Ellroy was seen with a blond woman. Jean Ellroy ate chili at Stan’s Drive-In. Bobbie Long ate Mexican food. The time lag between homicides was seven months and one day.

The Ellroy killer used a sash cord and a nylon stocking. The Long killer used a stocking only. Nylon stockings were common strangulation tools. The MO might link the two murders. The MO might not.

Andre and Everley called every police department in the San Gabriel Valley. They laid out their case. They asked patrol supervisors to check field interrogation cards and traffic reports. Bobbie Long was out with a man last night. They were looking for possible sightings.

They removed an ID photo from Bobbie Long’s wallet. They canvassed the restaurants and bars near the dump site. They hit some joints along Valley Boulevard. They tried the French Basque, Tina’s Cafe, the Blue Room, the Caves Cafe, Charley’s Cafe and the Silver Dollar Cafe. They came up empty.

They hit the Canyon Inn. They heard a guy talking up their case way too loud. They braced him. The guy was drunk. He was trying to impress some women.

Andre and Everley called it quits and went home. Ward Hallinen dropped Bobbie Long’s camera off at the crime lab and told a tech man to develop the film. Ned Lovretovich worked late at the Bureau. He kept calling the names in Bobbie Long’s address book.

He talked to Edith Boromeo. She said she knew Bobbie 20-some years. They waitressed together in New Orleans. Bobbie was married to a laundry truck driver. He used to beat Bobbie up. She didn’t remember his name. She didn’t know Bobbie’s bookie or any “rich guy” or any guy with slicked-back hair or any guy who worked at the Challenge Creamery.

He talked to Mabel Brown. She said she used to waitress with Bobbie. Bobbie was very outspoken and rude. She went to the track with Bobbie quite a few times. Bobbie blew all her money on bets and never chipped in for gas. Bobbie accepted rides from strange men all the time. She didn’t know Bobbie’s bookie. She didn’t know any “rich guy.” She didn’t know any guy with slicked-back hair. She didn’t know any guy who worked at the Challenge Creamery.

He talked to Bill Kimbrough. The guy said he owned a grocery store near Bobbie Long’s apartment. He saw Bobbie at the bus stop yesterday. She was alone. She said she was going to the track.

Lovretovich drove back to Bobbie Long’s apartment. He tossed it again. He found two liquor bottles stashed below the kitchen sink.

The Long job was one day old. Everybody thought the same thing.

Bobbie met some freak at the track. He cooked her some chow at his pad or took her to a restaurant. He fucked her at his pad or fucked her at a motel or raped her at the crime scene and forced her to put her undies back on. They had to canvass Santa Anita. They had to hit all the restaurants and motels in the San Gabriel Valley.

Andre and Everley drove out to the track. They contacted the concessions boss and showed him their Bobbie Long snapshot. The guy said she looked familiar. He saw a girl like that on Thursday. She was kissing a man with thin blond hair and a big bulbous nose. She was wearing some kind of dark outfit. She wasn’t wearing a coat. There were five checkrooms at the track. Maybe she checked her coat.

Santa Anita was big and spread out. The concessions guy showed Andre and Everley around. They hit all the checkrooms, bars, betting windows and lunch counters. They flashed Bobbie Long’s picture. A dozen people said she looked familiar.

Andre called the Bureau. Blackie McGowan said they got an early-morning tip.

Somebody found a nylon stocking in a suit at Bedon Cleaners in Rosemead. The stocking guy read the morning paper. He knew Bobbie Long got choked. He figured the odd stocking had to be somewhere. He called the Temple City Station. A patrol unit picked up the stocking and rushed it to the Sheriff’s Crime Lab. A technician examined it and compared it to the stocking that choked Bobbie Long. The stockings did not match.

Andre and Everley drove to the Bureau. They called in their sketch man, Jack Moffett. They told him to draw a picture of Bobbie Long in her snazzy red-and-black ensemble. They told him to draw it in full color and get some glossy prints made up.

Moffett went to work. Andre called Metro and requested two deputies. The duty sergeant sent Bill Vickers and Frank Godfrey over. They canvassed bars and restaurants on the Jean Ellroy job. Andre told them to blanket the San Gabriel Valley. Hit all the restaurants serving Mexican food and hit all the motels. Look for couples checking in Thursday night. Get their car license numbers and contact the DMV. Get complete registration stats. Contact the registered vehicle owners and find out who they shacked up with. Motel clerks were required to write down license numbers when their guests checked in. Get that information and follow it up.

Vickers and Godfrey rolled out. Ward Hallinen rolled out to El Monte. He found Margie Trawick. He showed her a photograph of Elspeth “Bobbie” Long. Margie said no. She wasn’t the woman she saw with Jean Ellroy.

Claude Everley called the crime lab. He told a technician to photograph Bobbie Long’s clothing and make up some color glossies. The man said he’d developed the film in Bobbie Long’s camera. He got six shots total. They showed Bobbie alone and Bobbie with a few other women. One shot showed a woman and a two-tone ’56 Olds.

Everley told Andre. Andre said the Ellroy suspect drove a two-tone Olds. Everley called the lab guy back. He told him to route the car photo to the Information Bureau. They could plant it in the L.A. papers. They might ID the car that way.

Andre liked the car bit. He figured the same guy choked Bobbie and that redheaded nurse.

Vickers and Godfrey canvassed motels and restaurants. Andre and Everley canvassed the track all weekend. Ned Lovretovich called the people in Bobbie Long’s address book. They all said the same thing.

Bobbie loved horse racing. Bobbie was frugal. Bobbie disdained all forms of sex. Bobbie was married two to four times. Nobody knew when, where or who to. Nobody knew her bookie. Nobody knew the “rich guy” or the guy with slicked-back hair or the guy who worked at the Challenge Creamery.

Blackie McGowan assigned four more detectives. He told them to canvass full-time. The San Gabriel Valley was large and full of fuck-pad motels.

A tip came in on Monday—1/26/59. The tipster ran a hay mill out in La Puente.

He fingered a truck driver. The guy was shooting his mouth off. He said he screwed a girl at 8th and Don Julian. He said he screwed her goooood. He screwed her early Friday morning.

The truck driver was Mexican. He lived up in Beaumont.

Harry Andre called the Beaumont PD and told them to bring the man in. They did it. Andre and Everley drove up to Beaumont and grilled him.

He said he screwed the girl early Thursday morning. Her name was Sally Ann. He met her at Tina’s Cafe on Simpson and Valley. He went to her pad before he screwed her. It was on 8th Avenue. He saw the name “Vasquez” on the mailbox.

The man stuck to his story. He said his pal Pete could verify it. Pete lived in La Puente.

Andre and Everley drove to La Puente. They talked to Pete. They found the house with the “Vasquez” mailbox. They talked to Sally Ann. They cleared the Mexican.

A tip came in on Tuesday—1/27/59. A man named Jess Dornan snitched off his neighbor Sam Carnes.

Sam was acting weird lately. Sam was a racetrack fool. Sam defaced his car upholstery two days ago. Maybe he was hacking out some bloodstains.

Andre questioned Sam Carnes. Sam had an alibi for last Thursday night.

Vickers and Godfrey canvassed. Andre and Hallinen canvassed. Sergeant Jim Wahlke and Deputy Cal Bublitz canvassed. Sergeant Dick Humphreys and Deputy Bob Grover canvassed. They hit the El Gordo Restaurant, Panchito’s Restaurant, the El Poche Restaurant, the Casa Del Rey Restaurant, Morrow’s Restaurant, the Tic-Toc Restaurant, the County Kitchen, the Utter Hut, Stan’s Drive-in, Rich’s Cafe, the Horseshoe Club, the Lucky X, Belan’s Restaurant, the Spic & Span Motel, the Rose Garden Motel, the End-of-the-Trail Motel, the Fair Motel, the El Portal Motel, the 901 Motel, the Elmwood Motel, the Valley Motel, the Shady Nook Cabins, the 9331 Motel, the Santa Anita Motel, the Flamingo Motel, the Derby Motel, the Bradson Motel, the El Sorrento Motel, the Duarte Motel, the Filly Motel, the Ambassador Motel, the Walnut Auto Court, the Welcome Motel, the Wonderland Motel, the Sunkist Motel, the Bright Spot Motel, the Home Motel, the Sun View Motel, the Mecca Motel, the El Barto Motel, the Scenic Motel, the La Bonita Motel, the Sunlite Motel, the El Monte Motel, the Troy Motel, the El Campo Motel, the Garvey Motel, the Victory Motel, the Rancho Descanso Motel, the Rainbow Motel, the Mountain View Motel, the Walnut Lane Motel, the Covina Motel, the La Siesta Motel, the Stan-Marr Motel and the Hialeah Motel.

They got hazy information and no information. They checked 130 car registrations. They hit married couples and one-night couples and adulterous couples and prostitute-and-customer couples. They couldn’t locate some people. They ran up a substantial call-and-clear list. They came up dead short on hard suspects.

A tip came in on Wednesday—1/28/59. A woman named Viola Ramsey snitched off her husband.

His name was James Orville Ramsey. He abandoned Mrs. Ramsey last month. He called her Monday night. He said, “If you want to put me on the goddamn spot, your ass is going to lay next to that waitress in the Puente Hills. If your friends miss you for three or four days, tell them they will find your ass laying in the sand next to hers.”

James Orville Ramsey was 33 years old. He was a fry cook. Mrs. Ramsey said he hated waitresses. He thought they were cheap and no good. He liked horse racing and Mexican food. He was a drunk. He served time for burglary and GTA. He liked older women. He threatened to kill Mrs. Ramsey and “spit in her blood.” He drove a ’54 Chevy two-door. His last known place of employment was the Five Points Bowling Alley in El Monte. He was shacked up with a 19-year-old girl named Joan Baker. She waitressed at Happy’s Cafe. Mrs. Ramsey waitressed at Jack’s Bar in Monterey Park.

Claude Everley questioned James Orville Ramsey. The tip was vindictive bullshit.

The LA papers ran the car photo on Thursday—1/29/59. They ran a sidebar piece requesting information and listed the Sheriff’s Homicide phone number. The Long case was six days old. It was going absolutely nowhere.

Andre and Everley canvassed the track again. A coffee-counter girl said she saw Bobbie Long last week. She pushed to the front of her line. She was quite rude.

Another coffee girl told the same story. Bobbie pushed to the front of her line. She was rude. She refused to wait in line like everybody else.

A cashier said he saw Bobbie last week. She cashed a ticket at his window. She “acted rummy.”

A security guard said he saw Bobbie last Thursday. She was alone.

A bartender said he served Bobbie last week. She was “half drunk.”

A bus driver said he saw a woman resembling Bobbie Long last week. She got into a ’53 Ford with two male Negroes. The car was powder blue. The passenger door squeaked.

The lab guys did some good work. They hung Bobbie Long’s coat, blouse and skirt on pegs and shot them in full color. Ward Hallinen picked up two dozen prints and drove out to the San Gabriel Valley. He left copies at the Temple City Sheriff’s Station, the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station and the Baldwin Park, Arcadia and El Monte PDs. He talked to five detective squad lieutenants. He asked them to run separate canvasses within their jurisdictions. They said they’d try to squeeze the work in.

Ethlyn Manlove came into the Bureau Thursday afternoon. Ray Hopkinson interviewed her. A stenographer transcribed her statement.

She said Bobbie Long lied about her age. She said Bobbie was married twice. Bobbie married a guy in New Orleans and a guy in Abilene, Kansas. She didn’t know their names. Bobbie had two brothers and a sister. She didn’t know their names. She said Bobbie had no need for love or sex. Bobbie loved money. Bobbie was “very mercenary.”

Hopkinson asked Miss Manlove if Bobbie would trade sex for money. She said she would. She said a sea captain “kept” Bobbie during World War II. He paid for her clothes and apartment. He sent her $250 a month.

Miss Manlove said Bobbie would demand good money. She’d want $25 or $50 a throw. Maybe she put out for some guy. Maybe he stiffed her. Bobbie threw a fit. The guy killed her to shut her up and keep his money.

Hopkinson said it was possible.

A woman called Sheriff’s Homicide on Friday—1/30/59. She identified herself as Mrs. K. E Lawter and said she saw the picture in the papers. The woman was her former tenant Gertrude Hoven. Gertrude used to live in a building she owned.

Ward Hallinen called Mrs. Lawter. She said Gertrude Hoven lived in San Francisco now. The picture was taken outside her building in the Crenshaw District. The Oldsmobile belonged to Mrs. Henry S. Nevala. She still lived in the building.

Hallinen called Mrs. Nevala. She said she remembered the incident. Bobbie Long took the picture. It was cheeky behavior. Bobbie should have asked permission first.

They discussed Bobbie Long. Mrs. Nevala said Bobbie used to bet with a bookie named Eddie Vince. Eddie worked out of a restaurant at 54th and Crenshaw. He died in a car wreck last year. Another guy took over his business.

The Long case was one week old. It was all loose ends and misinformation.

They cleared all the motel guys. They checked reports on choke murders going back five years and came up empty. They hauled in some of the sex fiends from the Ellroy case and leaned on them again. They leaned on 22 brand-new registered sex offenders. They came up dead empty.

Other murders occurred. The Bobbie Long crew dispersed. They worked fresh cases and snagged occasional Bobbie Long tips.

They got a tip and identified the Challenge Creamery guy. His name was Tom Moore. He was working at the Challenge Creamery the night Bobbie got choked.

They got a tip on 2/14/59. Two East L.A. deputies popped a clown named Walter Eldon Bosch. He was holed up in a motel room. He was jacking off and making dirty phone calls. They checked him out and cleared him as a suspect.

They got a tip on 2/17/59. Norwalk Patrol popped a guy named Eugene Thomas Friese. Two deputies caught him dragging a woman into an alley. He had a rape jacket dating back to 1951. He took a polygraph test on the Bobbie Long case. The examiner called the result “inconclusive.”

They got a tip on 3/29/59. The Temple City squad called it in. A woman named Evelyn Louise Haggin said a man named William Clifford Epperly kidnapped her, raped her and performed sex perversions on her. Harry Andre interviewed Evelyn Louise Haggin. She said Epperly choked her unconscious. Her neck was unmarked. She said she had sex with Epperly two or three times before he raped her. Andre talked to Epperly. Epperly said he just served a year county time. He was in custody from 2/20/58 to 2/8/59. Andre confirmed the dates and cleared Epperly.

They found Eddie Vince’s partner and cleared him. They traced Bobbie Long back to New Orleans and Miami and got no concrete answers. The Long case sputtered out and went inactive.

They got a tip on 3/15/60. Two creeps kidnapped a teenage girl. They forced her into their truck and drove her out to the boonies. They raped her, went down on her and forced her to blow them. They released her. She told her parents what happened. They called the San Dimas Station. The girl talked to two squad detectives. She described her assailants. One of the guys sounded like a local jerk named Robert Elton Van Gaasbeck. The detectives took the girl by Van Gaasbeck’s pad. She identified Van Gaasbeck and his ’59 Ford pickup. Van Gaasbeck snitched off his pal Max Gaylord Stout.

Harry Andre grilled Van Gaasbeck and Stout pro forma. He cleared them on Bobbie Long and Jean Ellroy.

They got a tip on 6/29/60. A male Mexican tried to rape a woman at a trailer park in Azusa. The victim’s name was Clarisse Pearl Heggesvold.

The male Mexican entered her trailer and pulled her outside. He dragged her behind the trailer and pulled off her dress and slip. He stated, “I’m going to get some.” The victim started yelling. Her neighbor Sue Sepchenko ran over. She started hitting the male Mexican with a broom handle. The male Mexican released Clarisse Pearl Heggesvold and ran toward Sue Sepchenko. Clarisse Pearl Heggesvold picked up several four-by-six masonry blocks and threw them at the male Mexican’s car—a ’55 red-and-white Buick two-door, license number MAG-780. She broke the windshield and two side windows. The male Mexican ran to his car and escaped. Sue Sepchenko called the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station. She reported the incident and the suspect’s license number. Patrol deputies traced the number and arrested the vehicle’s owner: Charles Acosta Linares, AKA Rex.

Al Sholund handled the tip. He grilled Linares and cleared him fast. Linares was fat and overtly psychotic.

They got a tip on 7/27/60. A guy named Raymond Todd Lentz broke into a house in La Puente stark nude. He saw Donna Mae Hazleton and Richard Lambert Olearts asleep on the living room couch. Donna Mae and Richard woke up. Lentz ran outside. Richard called the San Dimas Station. Patrol deputies found Lentz and arrested him. Lentz said he’d been drinking with Donna Mae’s ex-husband. He knew Donna Mae was a hot divorcee. He thought he could walk into the house and have sex with her. His own wife was pregnant and could not give him satisfaction.

Claude Everley interviewed Lentz. He cleared him in record time.

A woman was strangled in Baldwin Park in May ’62. The case went unsolved. It was a manual strangulation. It looked like a quickie choke-and-run job. It didn’t look like the Jean Ellroy and Bobbie Long murders.

An attempt rape occurred on 7/29/62. The victim was named Margaret Jane Telsted. The rape-o was named Jim Boss Bennett. They connected at the Torch Bar in Glendora.

Bennett and Miss Telsted drank some beer together. Bennett invited Miss Telsted to his pad in La Puente. They drove over in her car. They had a beer in the kitchen. Bennett maneuvered Miss Telsted into the bedroom and threw her down on the bed. He stated, “Come on now, you know what I want. You’ve been married.” Miss Telsted said, “I am not a tramp.” Bennett slugged her in the chest and tore off her Capri pants, blouse and underpants. He disrobed himself and exposed his private parts. He said he wanted intercourse. He threw Miss Telsted down on the floor. He forced her legs apart and achieved a minor penetration. Miss Telsted struggled. Bennett banged her head on the floor. He failed to achieve a complete penetration.

Miss Telsted ran into a back bedroom and saw a man asleep on the bed. She ran to the kitchen. Bennett stopped her. She said she’d submit to sex if he let her get dressed and move her car. She said her ex-husband might be out lurking. She wanted to cover her tracks.

Bennett said okay. Miss Telsted put her clothes on and walked outside. Bennett followed her. Miss Telsted jumped in her car. Bennett tried to grab her. His dog ran out of the house and growled at him. Bennett backed off. The dog jumped into the car and sat down beside Miss Telsted. Miss Telsted drove to the West Covina Police Station and reported the incident. She took the dog home with her.

The West Covina cops called the San Dimas Sheriff’s and relayed the complaint. Two detectives popped Jim Boss Bennett. They brought him to the San Dimas Station and grilled him. He disputed Miss Telsted’s story. He said he never really got inside her. The detectives booked him. The detectives checked him out real good. They thought he looked like an old Identi-Kit portrait. They called Sheriff’s Homicide and gave him up as a murder suspect.

Ward Hallinen drove out to the San Dimas Station. He stood behind a one-way mirror and observed Jim Boss Bennett. Bennett looked like the suspect in the Jean Ellroy murder. He ran Bennett through the DMV and CII.

He got two fast replies.

Bennett had no registered vehicles. Bennett had a two-page rap sheet.

He was 44. He was born in Norman, Oklahoma. He had assault convictions dating back to 1942. He got popped for drunk driving on 3/16/57 and 7/7/57. The second bust occurred in nearby Baldwin Park.

Bennett was driving a ’47 Merc. He almost plowed six pedestrians outside the Jubilee Ballroom. A patrol unit chased him. He ran his car up on a dirt embankment. He stopped the car, stumbled out of it and almost fell to the ground. Two deputies grabbed him. He resisted arrest and was forcibly restrained.

Bennett got popped for battery on 2/22/58. The bust occurred at the VFW Hall in nearby Baldwin Park.

Bennett was dancing with a woman named Lola Reinhardt. He started yelling at Miss Reinhardt for no apparent reason. He told her he wanted to leave now. Miss Reinhardt refused to leave. Bennett dragged her outside and shoved her into his car.

He slapped her and yelled at her. He said, “I’ll kill you or you’ll kill me.” A man named Lester Kendall approached the car. Bennett wrapped an arm around Miss Reinhardt’s neck and tried to choke her. Kendall grabbed Bennett. Miss Reinhardt broke free. Someone called the Temple City Sheriff’s. A patrol unit arrived. A deputy arrested Jim Boss Bennett.

Hallinen ran a public utilities check. He turned up six prior addresses for Jim Boss Bennett.

He lived in Baldwin Park, El Monte and La Puente. His employment record showed big gaps between jobs. He worked at Hallfield’s Ceramics. He worked at United Electrodynamics. He was a laborer and a tractor driver and an electrical assembler. He was married to a woman named Jessie Stewart Bennett. They lived together on and off.

Hallinen interviewed Bennett. He never mentioned Bobbie Long or Jean Ellroy. He brought up the VFW caper. Bennett contradicted Lola Reinhardt’s statement. He said a crazy guy smashed his car with a Coke bottle. Another guy smashed the windshield with his fist. Bennett’s story made no sense.

Hallinen decided to run a five-man lineup.

He called Margie Trawick and told her to stand by. He located Lavonne Chambers in Reno, Nevada. She was dealing cards in a casino. She agreed to fly in. Hallinen told her the Sheriff’s Department would cover all her expenses.

He found four county inmates who resembled the Identi-Kit portrait. They agreed to stand in a lineup.

Lavonne flew in. Hallinen picked her up and drove her to the Temple City Station. Margie Trawick arrived.

Five men were standing in an interview room. Jim Boss Bennett was standing in the #2 position.

Margie and Lavonne stood behind a one-way glass wall. They observed the five men separately.

Margie said, “Number 2 is the image of him. Face looks like the face I saw that night. Hair looks like the man’s, and his hairline and face looks a little thinner. He looks familiar, like the man I saw that night.”

Lavonne pointed to Man #2. She said, “To me, that is the man I saw with the redheaded woman.”

Hallinen talked to Lavonne and Margie individually. He asked them if they were absolutely sure. They hedged and equivocated and hemmed-and-hawed and said not absolutely.

Hallinen thanked them for their candor. Bennett was a good suspect/longshot hybrid. He looked like the Identi-Kit portrait. He did not look Greek or Italian or in any way Latin. He looked like skinny white trash.

They couldn’t hold him any longer. They couldn’t file a murder charge on him. The attempt rape case was flimsy. The complainant was a barfly. They had to cut Jim Boss Bennett loose.

They released him. Hallinen still tagged him as a viable suspect.

He talked to Bennett’s wife and his known associates. They said Jim was bad—but not awful. He never told them Jim was a sex-murder suspect.

He had no proof. He had two shaky IDs. He ran Bennett in on an assault charge. He wanted to sweat him and lean on him.

Bennett bailed out. Hallinen decided to drop the whole thing. Nuisance tactics backfired routinely. Harassment was harassment. Hard-core suspects deserved it. Bennett missed that mark. Lavonne and Margie were solid. Lavonne and Margie weren’t quite sure.

It was 9/1/62. The Long case stood inactive. The Ellroy case was four years, two months and ten days old.