Title supplied by cataloger.; Photograph was originally taken on April 28, 1930 to capture the Indian grinding stones and holes in the lower center, but was used for this murder story over two years later. Ivemae Cerney was a 21-year old waitress who lived at 3037 La Clede Avenue in Atwater Village with her husband Gus. Investigators initially believed that she was killed by gansters who did not want her to come forward with incriminating information against them. Her body was discovered 13 miles northwest of Victorville by Fred W. Schwarm, a prospector from San Pedro. In the end, it was learned that Gus committed the murder. In his confession, Gus claimed that the two had quarreled, and he departed shortly thereafter. He eventually returned and while Ivemae was still in bed, he struck her over the head with a car spring leaf, crushing her skull. He then rolled her body up in a carpet and drove it out to the desert to be dumped. Photograph caption dated October 27, 1932 reads, "Who killed pretty titian-haired Ivemae Cerney, and why? Southern California detectives today were working desperately to solve the weird tragedy of the girl who was brutally beaten to death and her nude body left in the 'gangsters graveyard' on the Mojave desert. The spot where the victim was found received name because abandoned wells in the vicinity are believed to contain the bodies of missing 'big shot' racketeers taken for one-way rides."
Type
Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
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