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Title
Bernice Day, acid bride
Alternative Title
Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection
Date Created and/or Issued
Circa 1925
Contributing Institution
Los Angeles Public Library
Collection
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Rights Information
Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Description
Title supplied by cataloger.; Photograph was edited for publication purposes.
Darby Day Jr. and Bernice Lundstrom were from Chicago. He was the son of the wealthy head of the Life Insurance Underwriter's Association and she was a 21 year-old divorcee looking for another husband. They met in 1924, married and moved to Beverly Hills, California to escape the cold Chicago winters. Her family and his mother also moved to Beverly Hills. Lundstrom grew demanding and erratic in the marriage, insisting on a separate home for herself and threatening suicide. In February, 1925, Lundstrom threw nitric acid into Day's face at his home. The acid permanently damaged his face and he lost vision in one eye. Lundstrom was later arrested and stood trial. Defense experts claimed she had the mind of a ten-year-old, but when the jury saw the gruesome photos of Day's injuries, she was convicted and sentenced to 1 to 14 years. Her appeal was denied and she was sent to San Quentin Prison in Northern California in August, 1926. Day divorced her in December, 1926. Shocking those who knew him, Day made a plea to the Gorvernor to pardon Lundstrom, but he was denied. She served 14 months and was out by the end of 1927. Day died in Santa Monica, California on February 4, 1928 during surgery to remove an abdominal abcess.
Photograph used for an article dated June 16, 1929; the caption reads "This photo shows Day's divorced bride, Bernice Lindstrom (sic) Day, who is serving a term in San Quentin Penitentiary for disfiguring her husband by hurling acid in his face during a quarrel." Day is wearing pearls.; Photograph used for an article dated October 28, 1932; the caption reads "Bernice Day, who seven years ago threw acid in the face of her young husband, Darby Day Jr., today had revenge against her father-in-law for having her prosecuted and sent to prison."
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 16 cm. on 26 x 16 board.
Photographic prints
Identifier
00106662
Herald Examiner Collection
HE box 272
CARL0005347832
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/32139
Subject
Day, Bernice Lundstrom
Day, Bernice Lundstrom--Trials, litigation, etc
Day, Darby,--Jr.--Trials, litigation, etc
Assault and battery--California--Beverly Hills
Crime--California--Beverly Hills
Criminals--California--Beverly Hills
Women--California--Beverly Hills
Pearls--California--Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills (Calif.)
Portrait photographs
Herald-Examiner Collection photographs

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