Used in the Exhibit: The First with the Latest! Aggie Underwood, the Los Angeles Herald, and the Sordid Crimes of a City. On December 15, 1927, twelve year old school girl Marion Parker was unwittingly handed over to a monster by the school registrar at Mt. Vernon Junior High School. Her abductor had come to the school that day and said that Perry Parker, the girl’s father, had been seriously injured in an automobile accident and was calling for his youngest daughter, but Marion was a twin—which girl had he meant? Marion happened to be the easiest to reach that day and so it was she who went with the man. Two days after Marion’s kidnapping, Perry received a telegram reiterating an earlier demand for $1500 in exchange for his daughter’s life. That evening Parker took a call from the kidnapper. The man instructed him to drive to the corner of 5th Street and Manhattan Place and told him not to inform the cops or the girl would die. Parker was to sit in his car and wait for the kidnapper to pull up next to him to show him that Marion was alive. The kidnapper would then collect the ransom money and drop Marion off a block down the street. Parker followed the kidnapper’s instructions to the letter. He waited briefly at the designated meeting place for a few minutes before a Chrysler coupe pulled up beside him. He looked over and caught a glimpse of Marion sitting in the front seat. Parker sensed that something was wrong—maybe she was bound or drugged. Nothing could have prepared him for the reality. The driver of the Chrysler had a white handkerchief over his face and pointed a large caliber weapon at Parker. He said, “You know what I’m here for. Here’s your child. She’s asleep. Give me the money and follow instructions.” The money was exchanged and Parker followed the coupe down the block. The passenger door of the car opened and Marion was pushed out onto a lawn. The Chrysler roared off and Parker ran over to Marion. He felt a few moments of relief, but when he took her in his arms he saw that not only was she dead but she had been savagely mutilated, eyelids sewn wide open and her limbs hacked off. His screams made an unholy sound that reverberated throughout the neighborhood. Marion’s killer was identified as William Edward Hickman, a former employee at Parker’s bank. Aggie Underwood was in the newsroom at the Record when the law caught up with him in Oregon. He was returned to Los Angeles where he was tried and convicted of first degree murder. The firestorm of activity around the Hickman case inspired Underwood to become a reporter. Hickman died on the gallows in San Quentin on October 19, 1928. William Edward Hickman's hands in handcuffs.
Hickman, William Edward,--1908-1928 Hands Handcuffs--California--Los Angeles Criminals--California--Los Angeles Men--California--Los Angeles Herald-Examiner Collection photographs
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