Robert S. James, convicted in Lois Wright morals case and suspect in Mary Emma James murder case, at sentencing, with lawyer Samuel Silverman, 2 filmstrip images, Los Angeles, 1936
Access to this collection is generously supported by Arcadia funds. Robert S. James' real name was Major Raymond Lisenba. He was known as Robert S. James during his marriage to Mary Emma Busch James and at the time of her death in 1935, and, after her murder by rattlesnake bite and drowning, as "Rattlesnake James." Robert S. James and Samuel Silverman, both in suits and ties, standing, with chalkboard or easel at right, bailiff and another man behind them, man at rolltop desk in foreground, crowded courtroom in background Related to Los Angeles Times article, June 2, 1936, James Given Prison Term, Barber Assessed Three to 150 Years in Morals Case Conviction. Imposing the extreme penalty for what he termed an extreme offense, Superior Judge Vickers yesterday sentenced Robert S. James, also accused as the rattlesnake-drowning slayer of his wife, to a term of from three to 150 years for mistreating his young niece. … These 2 images are duplicated in uclamss_1429_0078 and uclamss_1429_0079 Text from nitrate negative sleeve: 1738, NITRATE, June 4, 1936, Robert S. James, Being sentenced
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