- 2 days ago
- #bloodybabs
- #barbaragraham
- #deathrow
Back in 1953, Barbara "Bloody Babs" Graham along with other associates, attempted to rob and ended up murdering an elderly woman.
#bloodybabs #barbaragraham #deathrow
#bloodybabs #barbaragraham #deathrow
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LearningTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the Dark Mystery Lounge.
00:03Happy New Year's everybody.
00:05Let's start off 2023 with a vintage murder case.
00:09Barbara Graham aka Bloody Babs.
00:12A woman who just couldn't seem to keep herself out of trouble
00:15and because of one horrible night ended up paying the ultimate price.
00:23Barbara Graham was born Barbara Elaine Ford on June 26, 1923.
00:30In Oakland, California to mother Hortense Ford,
00:34a teenage unwed Portuguese immigrant who earned a living as a prostitute.
00:39She was the eldest of three children.
00:41Her sister Claire was born in 1925 and then Hortense married Joseph Wood,
00:48changing Barbara and Claire's surname to Wood.
00:51Soon she gave birth to Joseph Robert Wood in March of 1930,
00:55but a few months prior to little Joseph's birth,
00:58Joseph Sr. died.
01:01When Barbara was two years old,
01:02her mother was in her late teens.
01:05She was arrested and sent to reform school.
01:08Barbara was sent into the foster care system.
01:11Once her mother was released at age 21,
01:14Hortense refused to allow Barbara to live with her,
01:17so Barbara continued to bounce around from foster home
01:20to extended family members and orphanages.
01:23Barbara claimed while she was in foster care
01:25that she was treated poorly and beaten.
01:28Barbara was a very smart child,
01:30but she had limited education.
01:33As a teenager, she was arrested for vagrancy
01:35and sentenced to serve time at Ventura State School for Girls,
01:40the same reform school where her mother had been.
01:42Upon release from reform school in 1939,
01:51Barbara tried to make a fresh start for herself.
01:54She married Harry Killhammer, a U.S. Coast Guardsman, in 1940,
01:59and enrolled in business college and soon had her first two children.
02:03But the marriage fell apart.
02:05They were divorced in 1942,
02:07and Harry got custody of both sons.
02:10Over the years, Barbara was married two more times,
02:14but these marriages also didn't work out.
02:17Trying to be a normal housewife just didn't stick with her.
02:20During World War II, she got into prostitution just like her mother.
02:25She led the life of a seagull,
02:27a term for women and girls who hung around the naval yards
02:31of Oakland, Long Beach, and San Diego
02:34to meet sailors on shore leave.
02:36At 22, with her good looks, red hair, and sex appeal,
02:41she worked for a time in San Francisco
02:43for a brothel madam named Sally Stanford.
02:47In the same time period,
02:48Barbara also accumulated a record of petty offenses.
02:52She was arrested for disorderly conduct in 1940 and 1942
02:57under the names Barbara Radcliffe and Barbara Killhammer,
03:01and for vagrancy and suspicion of prostitution in 1941, 1943, and 1944.
03:09As Barbara Killhammer, she was charged with perjury in 1947
03:14for supporting a false alibi for Mark Monroe and Thomas Sidler,
03:19who had been charged with assault with intent to commit robbery.
03:23She spent one year in the San Francisco County Jail for that offense.
03:27In 1951, she was arrested on suspicion of narcotics violation,
03:33but was released the next day for lack of evidence.
03:36She had no record of violent offenses.
03:38She did, however, frequently associate with men
03:42who had records of violent crimes.
03:45After her stint in state prison, Barbara moved to Nevada.
03:49She obtained work in a hospital and as a waitress,
03:52but soon got on a bus for Los Angeles
03:55and returned to prostitution.
03:57That's when she met and married Henry Graham,
04:00a bartender at the bar that she frequented.
04:04He was a drug addict and a low-level criminal.
04:06With him, she had her third child named Tommy.
04:09Well, I guess now we know why those other marriages didn't work out.
04:13She was prostituting and getting into trouble while married.
04:16Through Henry, Barbara met his friends,
04:18Jack Santo and Emmett Perkins.
04:20She started an affair with Perkins,
04:23who told her about a 64-year-old widow named Mabel Monaghan,
04:27who was alleged to keep a large amount of cash and jewelry
04:30in her Burbank, California home.
04:33Mabel Monaghan was a retired vaudeville performer
04:36who had previously worked the Keith Albee circuit.
04:40Her ex-son-in-law was 74-year-old Luther B. Tudor Scherner,
04:45a multi-millionaire who was well-known through his ownership of various gambling clubs
04:51in locations such as Palm Springs and casinos in Las Vegas.
04:56It is speculated that he had deep ties to various crime syndicates.
05:00Mabel's daughter Iris divorced Scherner two years prior
05:03and received a Burbank residence in the divorce settlement.
05:08Iris shortly thereafter married a different man and moved to New York,
05:12leaving her mother to reside in their former home.
05:16Mabel and Scherner had remained close friends after the divorce
05:20and their continued friendship piqued public interest, gossip, and rumors
05:25that would later prove deadly.
05:27One rumor that was widely circulated amongst criminals and in local bars
05:32was that Scherner, due to his deep trust in Mabel,
05:36had left $100,000 cash stashed in a safe within the residence
05:41just in case he needed it.
05:43A plan was forming to make a quick buck off this widow
05:46and figured it was going to be an easy score.
05:49On March 8, 1953,
05:52Barbara, Emmett Perkins, Jack Santo, and two other associates,
05:56John True and Baxter Shorter, a safe cracker,
06:00had dinner and discussed the plan.
06:03Baxter stated that he initially did not want Barbara to participate
06:06because she was a dame,
06:08but Emmett convinced him that it was the only way
06:10the old woman would open up the front door
06:12because she was a little paranoid about security
06:15and spooked easily.
06:16On the evening of March 9, 1953,
06:28Mabel had been spending a quiet evening reading a mystery novel,
06:32The Purple Pony Murders,
06:33when she was interrupted by a knock at her front door.
06:37She opened the door to find Barbara explaining that her car broke down
06:41and asked if she could use her phone to call for help.
06:44Mabel was a little reluctant,
06:46but let Barbara in once she was sure that the young lady was alone.
06:50The moment Mabel let Barbara in,
06:52Emmett, Jack, and John barged in.
06:55The gang demanded money and jewels from Mabel,
06:57but she refused to give them anything.
07:00Barbara reportedly pistol-whipped Mabel, cracking her skull.
07:03She then suffocated her with a pillow.
07:06Baxter claimed that when he entered the home,
07:08Mabel was already bleeding and her mouth was gagged.
07:11The gang tore up Mabel's home looking for the safe, money, and or jewels,
07:16but to no avail.
07:18The gang left in two separate getaway cars,
07:21Barbara, Jack, and Emmett in one car,
07:24John and Baxter in the other.
07:26Baxter found the nearest gas station, pay phone,
07:28and dialed zero for the operator.
07:31He told the operator to send an ambulance to 1718 Parkside Drive,
07:36then hung up the phone before the operator could ask any further questions.
07:40He forgot to mention that the city was in Burbank and not Los Angeles,
07:45so they tried to send help to an address that didn't exist.
07:48Mabel's body was discovered two days later,
07:51when her gardener came by to pick up his paycheck,
07:54and he found her laying on the floor by a closet,
07:57and Mabel's Labrador retriever, Ziggy, was whining at the back door.
08:02Later on, the gang found out that there was $15,000 stashed in Mabel's purse
08:07in the closet close to where they left her body.
08:14On March 26, 1953,
08:17police arrested and questioned five men
08:20in connection with the murder of Mabel Monaghan.
08:23Three were known associates of L.A. gangster Mickey Cohen,
08:27along with another man, M. Baxter Shorter.
08:30All of the men knew Mabel Monaghan through Tudor Scherer.
08:34However, they were released due to lack of evidence.
08:37Baxter, who was shaken at the thought of going to the gas chamber
08:41should the police figure out his involvement,
08:43volunteered to turn state's evidence
08:45and gave the police details of the Monaghan murder and attempted robbery.
08:50He stated that he had seen Emmett Perkins hit Monaghan with a gun
08:54and that he was shaking having witnessed the murder.
08:57However, Baxter's statement was leaked
08:59and he was later kidnapped and murdered by Emmett and Jack
09:03after his release from police custody shortly after his confession.
09:08Baxter's wife witnessed the kidnapping
09:10and was able to identify them.
09:13Police were able to find the car Baxter was kidnapped in
09:16and it was in the same location that Emmett, Jack, and Barbara were arrested.
09:20The car was also registered in Jack's girlfriend's name.
09:24The three were arrested there on May 4, 1953.
09:28Baxter's body was never found and was legally declared dead in 1960.
09:33John True agreed to become a state witness
09:36in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
09:39In court, John testified against Barbara,
09:41who continually protested her innocence.
09:44The press nicknamed Barbara Bloody Babs,
09:47reflecting the public's disgust for her alleged actions.
09:51The other two men didn't get as much press coverage or a creepy nickname.
09:56Barbara doomed her own defense
09:57when she accepted another inmate's offer to pay $25,000
10:01to the inmate and a friend who would provide a false alibi.
10:06The inmate, however, was working to reduce her own sentence
10:10and the friend who offered to say he was with Barbara the night of the murder
10:14was a police officer.
10:16Meeting with Barbara to plan the alibi story,
10:19he insisted that she admitted to him
10:21that she had indeed been at the scene of the crime.
10:24The officer was recording the conversation.
10:27This perjury attempt,
10:28admitting to being at the scene of the murder,
10:31plus prior perjury convictions,
10:33killed any credibility Barbara had in court.
10:36When questioned about her actions at trial,
10:38she said,
10:39Oh, have you ever been desperate?
10:41Do you know what it means not to know what to do?
10:43At the conclusion of their trial,
10:46the three defendants were found guilty
10:48of all charges against them in the Mabel Monaghan case
10:51and were all sentenced to death.
10:54The jury made no recommendations for life sentences.
10:57They were indeed screwed.
10:59Oh, and the informant was immediately released from jail
11:02when her sentence was commuted to time served.
11:10Barbara was sent to the California Institution for Women in Chino, California.
11:15Of course, she filed an appeal for her case,
11:18but it was denied.
11:19On June 2, 1955,
11:22she was transferred to San Quentin State Prison.
11:25Her last meal was a milkshake and a hot fudge sundae.
11:28On June 3, 1955,
11:31she was scheduled to be executed at 10 a.m.,
11:34but there was a stay of execution
11:35by Governor Goodwin J. Knight
11:37until 10.45 a.m.
11:40At 10.43 a.m.,
11:42Governor Knight stayed the execution
11:44until 11.30 a.m.
11:46Barbara protested,
11:47The reason for this back and forth
11:54about her stay of execution
11:55was because her attorney was attempting to save her life.
11:59At 11.28 a.m.,
12:01she was led from her cell
12:02and strapped into the gas chamber.
12:04She requested a blindfold
12:06so she would not have to look at the observers.
12:08She was given a sleep mask.
12:10Barbara was the only person
12:12ever to ask for a blindfold for the gas chamber.
12:15One of the guards advised her
12:16to take a deep breath
12:18after the cyanide pellets were dropped
12:20to make her death easier.
12:21She replied,
12:23How the hell would you know,
12:24you silly rascal?
12:25Her last words were,
12:27quote,
12:27Good people are always so sure they're right.
12:30Unquote.
12:31The cyanide pellets dropped at 11.34 a.m.
12:34She gasped and threw her head up twice.
12:37Then came another gasp.
12:38Then her head tipped far back,
12:40her mouth agape.
12:41Again and again,
12:42she gasped until her head pitched forward
12:44for the last time at 11.37.
12:47Her gasp came slowly and fainter
12:49and finally stopped.
12:51At 11.42 a.m.,
12:53Barbara Graham was pronounced dead.
12:55A couple hours later,
12:57Jack Santo and Emmett Perkins
12:59went to their deaths
13:00in the same gas chamber
13:01with very little fuss and no drama.
13:04It was reported that the two men chatted
13:06as they were being strapped
13:07into their respective chairs.
13:09And when they were ready to go,
13:11Perkins allegedly said
13:12to the assembled cops,
13:14quote,
13:15Don't you boys do anything
13:16I wouldn't do?
13:17Unquote.
13:18Even though Barbara's trial was packed,
13:20the same can't be said for her funeral.
13:22Very few people showed up.
13:24One of them that did
13:26was her husband, Henry,
13:27who claimed her body.
13:28But he left her son, Tommy, at home.
13:31Barbara Graham was buried
13:32in Mount Olivet Cemetery
13:34in San Rafael, California.
13:36She was 34 years old.
13:42There was a movie made about Barbara
13:44in 1958 called I Want to Live.
13:48It was a fictionalized version of events
13:50which suggests that Barbara
13:52was innocent since it was based
13:54on letters she wrote to a journalist.
13:56The film is from Barbara's point of view
13:58and includes details differing
14:00from real life.
14:01In particular,
14:02the manner in which the police
14:04found and arrested her.
14:05Actress Susan Hayward
14:06won the Best Actress
14:08at the Academy Awards
14:09for playing Barbara in the movie.
14:11There was also a book
14:12written in 1961
14:14titled The Case of Barbara Graham
14:16by Bill Walker.
14:18But don't even bother
14:19trying to buy that book
14:20because it's out of print
14:21and the price is within
14:23the $300 to $500 range
14:25for the original copies
14:26of the book.
14:27Also, there was a
14:28made-for-TV movie version
14:30of I Want to Live
14:31in 1983.
14:33Barbara was portrayed
14:34by actress Lindsay Wagner.
14:35It seems like everywhere
14:42Barbara went,
14:43trouble followed her.
14:45She just couldn't stay
14:46on the straight and narrow path.
14:47Maybe if her home life
14:49was a little bit more stable,
14:50things could have changed for her.
14:52But who really knows?
14:53Sometimes playing the what-if game
14:55to try and figure out
14:57a person
14:57and how they got into
14:59a life of crime
14:59can lead you
15:00to just a dead end.
15:02I'm guilty of playing that game
15:03when researching these cases.
15:05For Barbara,
15:06I don't think she would have
15:07calmed down at some point
15:08with the path that she took.
15:10She was just gonna burn out
15:11and get caught.
15:12And because she was
15:13a beautiful redhead,
15:14she caught the eye
15:15of the news media
15:16and they blew her up
15:17from there.
15:18It's interesting to learn,
15:19had she not died
15:20in a gas chamber,
15:22she would have turned
15:22100 years old
15:23as of June of this year,
15:252023.
15:27So what'd you think
15:27of this case?
15:29If you found this video
15:30interesting,
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15:38so that you don't miss
15:39the next episode.
15:40You never know
15:41who I will cover next.
15:42Thank you for hanging out
15:43with me in the Dark Mystery Lounge.
15:45This is Phoenix,
15:46signing out.
15:47Have a good evening
15:48and stay safe.
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