Long said she enjoyed gambling at the race tracks and was in debt to a bookmaker. She was described as secretive regarding her personal life and family history. Long routinely lied about her age and after her death was determined to be eight years older than she had often claimed. Long reportedly enjoyed being escorted socially by various men, but was described as unlikely to become sexually involved unless she had believed the contact would somehow be financially lucrative for her. A search of Long’s apartment after her death revealed hidden liquor bottles. Long was described as having an outgoing assertive personality.
Long’s body was discovered at approximately 0230 hours on Friday, January 23, 1959, lying near the side of a road in the city of La Puente. The previous day Long had taken a bus to the Santa Anita Race Track where witnesses reported seeing her betting on various races throughout the day. Persons familiar with Long believed it quite possible she would have accepted an offer of a ride home from a stranger she met at the race track if she found him acceptable.
The area in which Long was last seen was described as having a “low crime rate” with no previous abductions, sexual assaults, or similar crimes reported.
Long’s risk level of becoming a victim of a violent crime was elevated by her assertive personality, involvement with gambling and subsequent indebtedness, and willingness to accept rides from strangers.
Overall, based upon the above circumstances in both cases, we believe the offender was socially acquainted with the victims to some degree, and that for some undefined initial period of time, the victims were willing to be in his company.
MEDICAL EXAMINER’S REPORT
The Medical Examiner’s Reports provided an evaluation of the injuries sustained by the victims and there is no need to reiterate those findings. However, a few points will be addressed and should be considered in the overall analysis of these crimes.
The pathologist listed victim Ellroy’s death as asphyxia due to ligature strangulation. She also had deep lacerations to the scalp, a minor abrasion to the upper lid of her right eye and her vaginal smear was positive for spermatozoa. The victim was noted to be in a late menstrual phase. The toxicological tests performed showed she had a blood alcohol level of .08 percent.
Victim Long’s cause of death was also asphyxia due to ligature strangulation. However, victim Long had a skull fracture with cerebral contusions as a result of distinct incision lacerations caused by blunt force trauma. These lacerations had a somewhat crescent shape with fairly incised like borders. The victim also had a fracture separation of the 6th cervical inter-vertebrate space.
Both victims were strangled with nylon stockings. In addition to the nylon stocking, victim Ellroy had a “clothes line” type cord tied tightly around her neck. Victim Long’s vagina also contained spermatozoa. Her blood alcohol content was zero percent.
CRIME SCENE ANALYSIS
Although no attempts will be made to construct precise chronological scenarios of these crimes, certain observations about the crime scenes and their significance as they relate to the offender will be described. When examined individually, the two crime scenes do not provide an abundance of forensic evidence. However, when analyzed, the behavior exhibited by the offender at the crime scenes becomes more significant.
Victim Ellroy was last seen alive at approximately 0215-0230 hours on June 22, 1958, in the company of a male she had been with earlier in the evening.
She was later discovered at 1000 hours the same day lying on the ivy covered parkway of a high school in the city of El Monte. The victim was dressed, however her underpants were missing and her brassiere was unfastened and pulled up around her neck. The stocking on her left leg was pulled down around her ankle and the other was tied around her neck along with a length of cord. The victim’s coat had been placed over the lower portion of her body.
It appears that the victim had engaged in consensual intercourse even though she was menstruating. A tampon was found in the victim’s vagina at the time of the autopsy.
Shortly after intercourse was completed the offender struck the victim with a blunt force object, which was readily accessible, after which he applied the cord and finally the victim’s stocking. Due to an obvious lack of defense wounds, it is unlikely that any struggle occurred initially. From witness reports the victim appeared at ease with the offender and she most likely never perceived the offender as posing a physical threat.
After leaving Stan’s Drive-In the offender most likely drove directly to the location where the victim was found. The offender was familiar with the location and selected it for its isolation from public view and because it had been used as a “lovers lane” and his vehicle would not necessarily stand out.
The sex act would have occurred inside the offender’s vehicle, hence the victim’s underpants remained in the vehicle because the victim never had the opportunity to put them back on. Whatever circumstances triggered the offender’s anger occurred after the victim had reinserted the tampon.
After the victim was strangled, the offender removed her from the vehicle and dumped her body on the ivy. In the process, the victim’s pearl necklace broke and fell in the street. The offender’s last act was to place the victim’s coat over the lower portion of her body.
In respect to the death of victim Bobbie Long, and in the absence of any witness information, the specific chronology of events leading to the death of this victim cannot be recounted with any degree of specificity and/or detail; therefore, no attempt will be made to reconstruct the crime. There are however certain factors that are relative to the crime scene that suggest specific activities.
A return bus ticket found in the victim’s purse supports witnesses’ statements that the victim had planned to attend the horse races at Santa Anita Race Track on January 22, 1959.
Assuming the victim went to the horse races, she may have met the offender at the races that day or even been previously acquainted with him and accepted a ride. Since the victim had accepted rides from men she did not know well in the past, she did not apparently worry about her personal safety.
The victim was secretive about her personal life, but what little was known about her indicates that she was willing to take whatever a man had to offer.
The victim appeared to have consumed a Mexican dinner sometime in the early evening as evidenced by the autopsy report. The victim appeared to have participated in consensual sex with the offender. She was fully dressed, with the exception of her stockings, and her clothing was intact and not torn.
The victim was found lying on the grass shoulder of a dirt access road one-tenth of a mile off of a main road in the city of La Puente. She was lying on her back and the lower portion of her body was covered with her coat (similar to victim Ellroy). It appears she too was dumped on the ground after her death had occurred.
Victim Long’s death occurred in very much the same manner as victim Ellroy’s. After consensual sex, which may have also taken place in the offender’s vehicle, she was unexpectedly struck with a blunt force object to the head numerous times, with an object the offender had readily accessible. After sustaining the blows, the offender
