CA CA - Los Angeles County, WhtFem 225UFCA 1 of 2 Children killed by dynamite, 1921-1951

[Bit of hope]

Ok, thank you for the prompt clarification. Will get back to you all.

Thank you Whiskers16,

 

[Whiskers16]

Can I post the photographs here?

I hit the button and asked the moderator if this pictures could be added to this thread.

No, the DoeNetwork page for the girl states the book as the source of information in this case (scroll down at almost at the bottom at the page).

Hi all, thank you for asking. Since the pictures are published in a book, it would be a copyright violation for us to post them here. I think it is fair to link to the book in case a sleuther is curious enough to purchase the book or check it out at a library or something. Thank you

 

[whorton]

The pictures comes from a book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Scenes-Homicide-Detectives-Scrapbook/dp/0922915296

Apparently, the photo's in this book were from a police officers scrapbook and collected over the years of roughly 1930-50. While many were taken by the subject of the book, former detective Jack Huddleston.

I will defer to your decision on the postings.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

It could be worthwhile to look at the older posts in this thread, although I haven't checked out all the links myself CA - Los Angeles County, WhtFem 225UFCA 1 of 2 Children killed by dynamite, 1921-1951

 

[Tssiemer]

Well I was hoping based on clothing we could narrow down the time frame. Unfortunately he’s just in a suit. She looks to be wearing late 30’s-pre war attire.

 

[Tssiemer]

Also, I don’t know why but “gore” has never bothered me. This stuff just doesn’t get to me. I mean sure I feel for the loss but looking at it (in pictures and in real life unfortunately, the smell is a different story) has never gotten to me. The boys injuries are horrific but a bit muted by the black and white of the photo in my opinion. He obviously had it close to his face examining it.

My question is what detonated the dynamite.

 

[whorton]

Also, I don’t know why but “gore” has never bothered me. This stuff just doesn’t get to me. I mean sure I feel for the loss but looking at it (in pictures and in real life unfortunately, the smell is a different story) has never gotten to me. The boys injuries are horrific but a bit muted by the black and white of the photo in my opinion. He obviously had it close to his face examining it.

My question is what detonated the dynamite.

Tssiemer,
It could have been many things. Given that abandoned dynamite (nitroglycerine absorbed into diatomaceous earth) over time tends to ooze NTG and form crystals, it becomes very sensitive to touch or movement. Literally, just picking up an old stick can cause it to detonate.

Of course, we know nothing about the young man, or what he was doing at the time. As you noted, it does appear his head was very close to the explosion, which would indicate he was picking it up. But he may have been involved in some nefarious activity as well.

I am guessing we will never know.

 

[dodgerchick]

Can we narrow down which dam these young people might have died at?

List of dams in LA county:

Category:Dams in Los Angeles County, California - Wikipedia

Of the ones listed, these were built between 1921 and 1951:

Mulholland Dam (1923-1924)
Rindge Dam (1924-1926)
St Francis Dam (1924-1926) (Failed in 1928, Demolished in 1929)
Santa Anita Dam (1924-1927)
Bouquet Canyon Dam (1934)
Hansen Dam (1939-1940) (US Army Corps of Engineers)
Santa Fe Dam (1941-1949) (US Army Corps of Engineers)
Sepulveda Dam (1941-1949) (US Army Corps of Engineers)

Of those 8, I think we should be looking at the 5 pre-war ones. Those are the ones that would have used civilian labour and are most likely to account for 2 kids or teenagers, ie family members of employed labour, mucking about. I'm guessing that site security would have been much tighter at the 3 built by the army just before and during wartime. Also, it seems likely that inventory of explosives would be much more closely controlled during wartime than during peacetime so it seems less likely that dynamite would just have been left lying around during and after construction.

I'm not sure this really gets us any further forward but the speculation is interesting in itself.

The failure of the St Francis Dam is also interesting. I imagine it's well known in the US but for the rest of us it's an interesting read.

St. Francis Dam - Wikipedia

What's particularly interesting is that local farmers and landowners in the Owens Valley carried out a number of what today we would call terrorist acts, dynamiting parts of the nearby aqueduct which carried water from the mountains to Los Angeles so it's clear that at least some local people had access to substantial amounts of explosives.

Does anyone know what would have happened to the remains of the victims in LA county during this time period? Would they have been buried and if so where? Without having access to the bodies (and thus DNA) there's probably no way to push this case forward.

Morris Dam, in the San Gabriel mountains north of Azusa, isn’t on that list. It was completed in 1935. It was also a naval weapons test site from WWII through the 90s.

 

[dodgerchick]

Of the ones listed, these were built between 1921 and 1951:

Mulholland Dam (1923-1924)
Rindge Dam (1924-1926)
St Francis Dam (1924-1926) (Failed in 1928, Demolished in 1929)
Santa Anita Dam (1924-1927)
Bouquet Canyon Dam (1934)
Hansen Dam (1939-1940) (US Army Corps of Engineers)
Santa Fe Dam (1941-1949) (US Army Corps of Engineers)
Sepulveda Dam (1941-1949) (US Army Corps of Engineers)

List of dams in LA county:

Also... Morris Dam is in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s jurisdiction.

 

[glamourkitty1922]

In the 20s and 30s California was embroilled in many water wars. They had Arizona actually declare war upon them, and in the state, farmers were angry because the governor was taking all their water in an attempt to make Los Angeles an oasis. Many of the viaducts were dynamited by the farmers and dams were definately targeted. Perhaps the two children were trying to help stop California from stealing the farmer's water? Californians were on the whole very sympathetic to the people who were being deprived of water and jobs. I keep researching old newspaper archives for California dynamite deaths of that period, and lots of information comes up about the water wars.

 

[LucyOso]

I couldn’t find the pictures...unfortunately people get curious and pick up things they should not. Sounds like some teens exploring and touched the wrong thing sadly.

 

[Tatsachen]

It seems that the clothing the children wore will be the best thing to go on, as someone with a keen eye for fashion history could have a good idea as to what era certain articles belong to. I'm definitely *not* one, but when I looked at the boy's photo (nothing graphic, just the clothed bottom half of his body that was intact), I noticed that his boots seemed to be unique. Perhaps that may give a better idea of what time period we're looking at? My guess would be 1930s-pre WWII 40s, but that's guesswork at best.

<modsnip: not an approved source>

 

[Bit of hope]

It seems that the clothing the children wore will be the best thing to go on, as someone with a keen eye for fashion history could have a good idea as to what era certain articles belong to. I'm definitely *not* one, but when I looked at the boy's photo (nothing graphic, just the clothed bottom half of his body that was intact), I noticed that his boots seemed to be unique. Perhaps that may give a better idea of what time period we're looking at? My guess would be 1930s-pre WWII 40s, but that's guesswork at best.

<modsnip: not an approved source>

I think they are loafers. For an example; These are 1930 Loafers. The boy's shoe looks more pointy, and doesn't have stiches as far as I can see. Shoe's were much more "pointy" in the '20's.

 

[LkjAndersen]

I think they are loafers. For an example; These are 1930 Loafers. The boy's shoe looks more pointy, and doesn't have stiches as far as I can see. Shoe's were much more "pointy" in the '20's.

The more I look at the picture, the more I think that the 'pointedness' is actually distortion in the photo.

Anyway, I looked a bit on wikipedia, and it seems that Loafers weren't really made on a larger scale in the US until at least the mid thirties. In any case, I am almost leaning towards the footwear being some sort of slippers, rather than shoes.

 

[Fuuro]

Beverly Sharpman fits the age and date missing requirements (went missing at 16 in 1947) and is believed to have been with a male companion and to have "travelled all across the United States", but she looks nothing like this girl. The doe has a long face with a pointed chin and a slightly upturned nose; Beverly has a square-ish chin and a much shorter face.

I think that this girl was probably at least 15 and that she might have run away with home to be with the guy who died alongside her. She could have been a bit older than that (18-19+) and just left home. It looks like she had minimal supervision.

 

[ladyballplayer]

I don't understand how there they have a likeness of the boy if he head was blown off? And his head looks like it was smashed not "blown off". There's no brain matter in the vicinity. That photo doesn't look like the damage was caused by something exploding in his hands at all.

I can't wrap my head around how these injuries could have happened at the same time. Was she holding the stick with her hands and feet next to his head while he was lying on the ground?

 

[Fuuro]

I don't understand how there they have a likeness of the boy if he head was blown off? And his head looks like it was smashed not "blown off". There's no brain matter in the vicinity. That photo doesn't look like the damage was caused by something exploding in his hands at all.

I can't wrap my head around how these injuries could have happened at the same time. Was she holding the stick with her hands and feet next to his head while he was lying on the ground?

Wait, they have released a likeness of the male companion?

If they did, it would have to solely be based off eyewitness accounts, because his head was totally destroyed by the explosion. There are pictures, but I haven't seen them.

 

[ladyballplayer]

My mistake - I actually looked at this and thought the picture on the right was a sketch of the boy.

 

[Bit of hope]

My mistake - I actually looked at this and thought the picture on the right was a sketch of the boy.

That's definitely not the boy. WARNING (retouched) Post mortem picture Jane Doe 1921 - 1951 (retouched).jpg Member Whorton describes the pictures from the book very well. Up the thread in #70

 

[TmmEye]

Does anyone own the book, pictures of Jack Huddleston death scenes? There are a few pictures from the book online, but not from this case. I searched and searched but couldn't find them. The ones I saw have dates on it.

I do!