Photograph was edited for publication purposes. Mrs. Kate Hayden, 71, wife of real estate developer Samuel Hayden, was murdered in her Beverly Hills mansion on February 9, 1955. Police initially questioned two men, one a former butler who had been fired two weeks before the murder. Both men had alibis, however, and were released after taking lie-detector tests. The family's maid, Peggy King, also known as Margaret Moore, took a lie-detector test as well. King's test was not as conclusive, and after questioning she broke down and confessed to the killing. She told police she and Mrs. Hayden had been arguing about the preparation of a meal. After striking the older woman with the ax many times, she staged the crime scene to make it look like a robbery and told police she hadn't seen anything. Photograph caption dated February 11, 1955 reads "Maid Mrs. Peggy King says argument over how to trim a roast led her to kill Mrs. Katie Hayden." King is shown with one hand on her chin.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
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