Title supplied by cataloger.; Photograph was edited for publication purposes. Shortly after 9:00 pm on June 18, 1928, John Irving Glab was found lying next to his car fatally wounded by a .32 caliber bullet, which entered his chest, severing an artery. Unable to name his shooter, he bled to death while being rushed to the Van Nuys Emergency Hospital. When police arrived at the scene they questioned his wife, Hazel Glab; her niece, Ethyl Kaser; the gardener/chauffeur, M. A. Wilson; the maid, Mrs. Wilson; a neighbor, Mrs. J. Goodrich, and F. A. Krupp, a business owner from across the street. Both Mrs. Glab and Ms. Kaser stated that they were playing pinochle and had not heard anything unusual, but the neighbor and employees gave opposing declarations. The Wilson's stated the Glab's had been quarreling for several days prior to the killing, and Mrs. Goodrich insisted she saw a woman dash from the murder car and into the Glab home at the time of the shooting. In reconstructing the crime, police believed that the slayer was concealed in the automobile and as John Glab, 40, a wealthy retired Chicago Druggist, stepped to the running board and opened the left door, the pistol was thrust to his body and fired. The victim cried out for help and collapsed into the street, his left foot remaining on the running board of the car, with the car's ignition key laying near his right shoulder. Hazel Belford Glab was detained at the time by police for questioning, but she stuck to her original story as did her alibi Ms. Kaser. Detectives could not prove her guilt or involvement with the murder and eventually police dropped their pursuit. Glab moved on, managing to evade arrest for another eight years. Her luck would run out when her "new" wealthy fiance´, capitalist Albert L. Cheney, died mysteriously in early 1935 in Nevada while on an intended honeymoon with Mrs. Glab. Cheney had bequeathed her his estate in a will written in purple ink. It was discovered she crafted the bogus will days after her fiance´s funeral, forging the testament by which he willed her his entire $400,000 estate. Glab was arrested and during this trial, authorities reopened the investigation into her 3rd husband's shooting death. On December 27, 1935, she was found guilty and was convicted of forgery and preparing false evidence, and was sentenced to Tehachapi Women's Prison for a term of 2 to 14 years for that crime. Shortly thereafter, in April 1936, Glab was convicted of second-degree murder for killing John I. Glab, the sentence being seven-years-to-life. Surprisingly, though, she was out of prison in 1943 after serving only 7 years. Photograph article dated February 11, 1930 reads, "In Glab Case - Police declare that Russell D. Frank, former policeman, shown in top photo, today supplied the missing links which complete the solution of John I. Glab's murder. Frank is held as a material witness. Police assert that his actress wife Mrs. Madalyn Frank in lower photo, also has given valuable information in the case."
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;25 x 19 cm. on sheet 26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
Glab, Hazel--Trials, litigation, etc Witnesses--California--Los Angeles Trials (Murder)--California--Los Angeles Trials--California--Los Angeles Murder--California--Los Angeles Mariticide--California--Los Angeles Herald-Examiner Collection photographs
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
