Quote:
Originally Posted by Tourmaline
Quote/Paul Wright, an aviation company executive, and his friend, John Kimmel, attended a private club meeting on the evening of November 9, 1937. After the meeting they went out for a nightcap at Clara Bow's "It Cafe" in Hollywood. It was getting very late so Paul suggested that John accompany him home, ostensibly to provide back-up when his wife Evelyn questioned him about where, and with whom, he had spent the evening. It was after 2 a.m. when they pulled up to Paul's hilltop home in Glendale. Once inside Paul said he felt fatigued and went to the bedroom for a nap--leaving Evelyn to entertain John. Paul later recalled the events of that night, "I was awakened by some sort of sound--like a piano. It started me out of my sleep. I went to the living room door and saw that the lights were still on. Johnny was sitting at the piano. I could just see his head. He was looking downward. I couldn't see Evelyn and I wondered where she was." It didn't take him long to figure out where his wife was. At that moment everything inside of Paul exploded in what he later described as a "white flame." He got his gun and shot John and Evelyn to death. Paul was put on trial for the slayings. His attorney, Jerry Giesler, had conceived of a creative defense for his client. He said that Paul's WWI service (during which he was gassed), a post-war tuberculosis attack, and a voluntary vasectomy combined to make him emotionally unstable--capable of more violent reactions to shock than normal men. At the time of his arrest Paul had confessed to the murders, but when he got to trial his story changed and his memory conveniently began to fail him. How would the jury view his shifting story? The jury of eight men and four women listened to the x-rated testimony and contemplated Giesler's vasectomy defense. In the end, they found Paul Wright guilty on two counts of manslaughter. But there was a twist--the jury also found that he had been insane at the time of the murders so he was not guilty. When the Lunacy Commission examined Wright they concurred with the jury that Paul Wright was no longer insane. He was freed and would never serve a single day in prison.
Nov 10, 1937
 http://jpg1.lapl.org/00127/00127991.jpg |
Great noir... Love all the dancing around "Kimmel was sitting on the piano bench looking down...Mrs. Wright was not in view..."... "In death her head was positioned under the piano bench." Hmmm wonder what she up to. Well, maybe Kimmel died with a smile on his face. Anyway, a few items from various publications from around the country. The case was very well covered....
Mirror as periscope... celebrities in a photo... lying in bed until after noon...
Wright appears to have been living in New York in the 1940 census (at the Hotel Winslow at the NE corner of Madison & 55th). The Times reported that the shooting took place at 1830 Verdugo Vista in Glendale. The Mediterranean-style house remains there today. A GSV aerial of it dated 2016 conforms to a schematic of it that appeared in the Times on Jan 20, 1938:
The murders took place in the far corner... Pic from a real estate site for the house:
verdugovistadrive.com
Architectural details etc are in this report on the proposal for the house to be included in Glendale's Register of Historic Resources:
http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/governm..._021915/7a.pdf
Couldn't locate Kimmel's cute little house--rented from a Chris Hansen, a U.S. narcotics agent --at first. There was a Times reference to it being at "1424 Townsend Ave" in Glendale-- the number matches the one over the house's door; the reporter must have mixed up his addresses, relying on a directory with the misinformation. Anyway, the house was, and is-- seemingly unchanged--at 1414 THOMPSON Avenue in Glendale:
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