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Posted Aug 1, 2016, 11:44 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 4,275
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Here's a noirish tale I found in an LAPL picture description. The title is "Rattlesnake bandit" apartment building.
"In August of 1933, 19-year-old Burmah White, a hairdresser and former Santa Ana High School student, and her husband of less than one week, twenty-eight year old Thomas White, an ex-con, spent their honeymoon on a crime spree. The couple perpetrated ten stick-ups, seven in a single evening; but the worst of their crimes was the shooting of a popular elementary school teacher, Cora Withington, and a former publisher, Crombie Allen, who was teaching her how to drive his new car. They were stopped at a light when a car driven by a young blonde woman pulled up alongside them, and a man brandishing a gun jumped out of the vehicle. The bandit pointed his weapon at Withington's head and said, "Shell out, sweetheart..." Just as Withington and Allen were handing over their valuables there was a gunshot - and it tore through Miss Withington's left eye, came out near the right eye and ripped a hole in Allen's neck. Despite his injury, Allen memorized the license plate number of the bandit's car. Both victims survived their wounds, but Allen was permanently blinded. White's lack of remorse and abrasive demeanor were great fodder for the press, but earned the young widow a guilty conviction on eleven felony counts, and she was sentenced to a term of from 30 years to life. She began serving her time at San Quentin, but was ultimately transferred to the Women's Prison at Tehachapi where, in 1935, Aggie Underwood interviewed her and a few of the other inmates for a multi-part series on women in prison. Underwood noted that her attitude had completely changed and White even wrote an open letter to young women entitled "Crime Never Pays." White was denied parole a few times before she was discharged on December 1, 1941. She'd served less than eight years for her part in the 1933 crime spree. Upon her release, White vanished from public view." The summary gives the address: "Rear of apartment building at 236 So. Coronado Street, where Thomas and Burmah White lived; he on the 3rd floor and she on the ground floor. Photograph dated September 6, 1933."
LAPL
The description with the picture above did leave me wondering what became of Thomas White. I think this picture answers the question.
Photograph caption dated September 7, 1933 reads, "Here is the end of the trail for Thomas N. White, described by police as the 'rattlesnake' bandit, who shot down his helpless victims 'for no reason at all.' This photo shows his body in the shadowy hallway of a South Coronado Street apartment house where he was felled by two straight shooting police officers, Detective Lieutenants Arthur Bergeron and B. G. Anderson. White fired first, but as Bergeron said: 'He turned yellow and missed us.'" This is the apartment building at 236 So. Coronado Street.
LAPL
A couple of days later and Mr White's middle initial has changed. As well as showing us Thomas White's body, this picture also gives us a look at Burmah White.
Photograph caption dated September 9, 1933 reads, "This photo shows the cold-eyed blonde viewing bullet-riddled body of Thomas D. White, her husband of five days, who was trapped and killed by detectives last Wednesday after a 2-night reign of terror. With her are her attorney, Donald Mackay, at left, and Detective Lieut. Leroy Sanderson. She haughtily walked into the morgue and posed with icy indifference, then like an actress going into a 'sob scene' she managed to sniffle a bit." Upon his death, White was taken to Edwards Bros. Colonial Mortuary, located at 1000 Venice Boulevard.
LAPL
Regarding who was injured, the record is set straight with this picture. I'm assuming that "20-night reign of terror" is a typo, as the description above says "2-night reign of terror".
Photograph caption dated September 9, 1933 reads, "In this picture the body of White, whose 20-night reign of terror was ended by two police bullets, is being viewed by a group of robbery victims in an attempted identification. Many of them recognized him. Yesterday Crombie Allen, publisher, who was wounded at the same time the rughless bandit blinded Cora Withington, school teacher, said: 'Yes, that is the man. It serves him right.' As a result District Attorney Fitts, convinced that the evidence is positive, is preparing to mete out swift justice to White's alleged 'moll.'" Here White lies in state at Edwards Bros. Colonial Mortuary, located at 1000 Venice Boulevard.
LAPL
I'm not going to overload you with pictures, but LAPL has a couple of dozen photos of Burmah White (née Adams) on trial and in jail. It even has a couple of her as a brunette from a year earlier. You'll also find pictures of the murder weapon with bullets, some of victims, a reconstruction of the hold-up, and Thomas White while he was alive.
Here's the back of 236 S Coronado Street looking remakably similar today.
GSV
The building records give a build date of 1927 for the 100-room 236 S Coronado Street. The CDs show that at the time of the Whites' crime spree it was known as the Casa Del Monte Apartments.
GSV
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