THE TRUNK MURDERESS: WINNIE RUTH JUDD. The Truth About an American Crime Legend Revealed at Last.

Hardback, 1st US edn. Along with Bugsy, Dillinger, and Lizzie Borden, Winnie Ruth Judd entered the pages of true crime history when, in 1931, the 26-yr. old medical secretary allegedly shot and killed her 2 best friends in their Phoenix home, dismembered one body, stuffed them both into trunks, and checked them as baggage on a train to Los Angeles. That night - Friday October 16, 1931 - marked the beginning of her nightmare and the birth of the crime legend known as "The Trunk Murderess". At her trial, never once was she allowed to speak in her own defence. Winnie was sentenced to hang, but was saved from the gallows when her lawyer persuaded her to plead insanity. She repeatedly escaped, only to be found and returned for the next 39-yrs. of her life. Finally, in 1971, after spending more time in prison than any other convicted murderer in the history of the USA, she was paroled. The author uncovered a phenomenal amount of information, documented for the first time in this book + the original transcript of Winnie's testimony to the sheriff; hospital and police records; forensic reports and personal letters + 16pp. of photographs. Illus. 270pp. 8vo. h/back. F. in Nr. F. dw.