Prior to the early-morning meeting with her husband, the victim had been seen by an operator of an all-night vegetable market at Mission and Main Streets. The merchant told police that she had telephoned for a taxicab from his business between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m., and while she was waiting for the taxi to arrive, a male in a darkcolored coupe drove up and spoke with her. She then canceled her cab and left with the man.
The day after her nude body was found, police located her dress at the corner of 26th and Griffin. Police told reporters, 'The dress had been ripped from her body and was undergoing examination at the police lab.' Her body was found just one mile from the Winters crime scene, and within two miles of both my father's medical office and Fred Sexton's 1947 address. Mondragon's murder was never solved and remains 'open' in LAPD case files.
Marian Davidson Newton (July 16, 1947)
Marian Newton, age thirty-six, was an attractive divorcee from Vancouver, British Columbia, who was vacationing in San Diego.
On the afternoon of Thursday, July 17, 1947, her body was discovered by a young married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Ward Robbins, who were on an outing to Torrey Pines Mesa just north of San Diego. While hiking in the afternoon, they discovered her body lying at the side of an isolated dirt road near some high brush.
San Diego homicide detectives responded to the crime scene and discovered that Marian Newton had been strangled to death with a thin wire or cord.
Bruises were found on her body, and she had been forcibly raped. Tire tracks were visible nearby, and a coroner's examination estimated the time of death to be between midnight and 4:00 a.m. that day. Two men's handkerchiefs were found nearby the body. One of them had stains, the other did not.*
The victim's purse and identification were later discovered on the sidewalk at University and Albatross Streets, near the downtown area of San Diego. The suspect had apparently thrown her purse out of his vehicle after he had disposed of the body.
Upon checking the last known movements and sightings of the victim, authorities were able to establish a description on the probable suspect and piece together the last hours of her life. Incredibly, her story would mimic — in details, actions, and words — the circumstances of Ora Murray's murder in 1943. From newspaper accounts and public records, here is a summary of what was known of her murder.
On Wednesday, July 16, 1947, the victim, accompanied by Miss Edna Mitchell, whom she had met at the hotel where she was vacationing, decided to go to Sherman's nightclub. Sherman's was a popular military men's club and tourist attraction, famed for having nine different bars and the largest indoor dance floors in the world.
During the evening, the two women met and danced with a number of military men. Miss Mitchell told detectives that at one point a civilian male began dancing with the victim. She described him as 'tall, over six foot, thin, possibly in his thirties, with dark hair, wearing a tan sport coat and slacks, and a bright colored tie.'
The victim introduced him to Miss Mitchell, who could not recall his name for the detectives. When the suspect left momentarily, Mitchell told Marian Newton that she 'didn't like the look of the guy,' and warned her 'not to get into any car with
Working in conjunction with San Diego FBI agents, homicide detectives discovered that the description of this suspect closely matched that of someone previously known by them who had been frequenting downtown San Diego dance halls and nightclubs in the weeks and months preceding the murder of Marian Newton. The suspect was believed to be using various names and aliases, including 'Michael Vincent Martin.' Representing himself at different nightspots both as an FBI agent and as a naval officer, the suspect was known to have used stolen and false identification in San Diego, and had rented a vehicle using fake ID. A Wanted Special Bulletin was circulated within the law enforcement communities requesting information on the suspect.
Authors Janice Knowlton and Michael Newton (no relation to the victim) make reference to an interview, purported to have been conducted by Knowlton, of a retired sheriffs deputy, Thad Stefan, on July 12, 1993, during which Stefan referred to his original field notes dating from 1947. Stefan had documented an unusual incident that had occurred in Hollywood, at the Hub Bar and Cafe on Santa Monica Boulevard, in the sheriffs department territory. The incident was reported to him on January 26, 1947, and included a statement by a waitress, Dorothy Perfect, who reported that a man identifying himself as 'George' came to the cafe and initially propositioned her, telling her, 'I can fix you up with your own apartment on the Sunset Strip.'
Ms. Perfect described 'George' as 'a male Caucasian in his early forties, with wavy hair and glasses.' She indicated 'that while he did not appear drunk, he may have been under the influence of narcotics.' 'George' identified himself as 'an FBI agent assigned to work the
Initially, San Diego detectives considered the possibility of a connection between their victim and the Los Angeles wave of killings of lone women, including that of Elizabeth Short, but again LAPD discounted and denied any connection.
Though the first known to occur outside of Los Angeles County, this crime is identical in M.O. to the Ora Murray killing. Coupled with physical description of the suspect, it must be included with the rest of George Hodel's suspected serial killings.
Viola Norton (February 14, 1948)
The headline of the Saturday morning
At approximately 1:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, Mrs. Viola Norton, thirty-six, left a cocktail lounge in Alhambra, a community immediately east-southeast of the Los Angeles city limits. 'Two men, both appearing to be approximately 40 years of age, approached her in a car and asked her to get in.' She informed the two men that 'she was walking home.'
Both men exited their vehicle, dragged her inside, and drove off. The victim stated she 'remembered a tussle, but nothing else.'
