Title supplied by cataloger.; Right side of photograph damaged.; Photograph used for articles dated June 29, 1927 and May 24, 1932. In 1922, Clara Phillips, a former chorus girl, learned the identity of her husband's mistress, Alberta Meadows. Fueled by jealousy and rage, Phillips went on to purchase a claw hammer, then, in the company of her friend Peggy Caffee, sought out Meadows and assaulted her. The animal-like attack against Meadows, who was left disemboweled and with a severally mauled face, earned Phillips the name "Tiger Woman." Phillips was found guilty and sentenced to ten years in prison for the crime of passion. She escaped from the Los Angeles County prison in 1922 and was found in Honduras in 1923. She was an inmate at San Quentin from 1923 until 1932, when she was transferred to the original California Institution for Women in Tehachapi. She was released on parole in 1935. First photograph caption reads, "Here is the 'tiger girl's' cell from which she escaped through sawed bars. She was taken to Central America by accomplices, but was found and taken to San Quentin for the rest of her days." Second photograph caption reads, "Photo shows the interior of Mrs. Philipps' cell and an opening made by cutting three bars. The theory was that she sawed them, aided by Carson. But he declared, 'She didn't saw any bars. I just drove up, she walked out with a man and got into my car.'"
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
Los Angeles County Jail (Los Angeles, Calif.) Prisons--California--Los Angeles County Escapes--California--Los Angeles Herald-Examiner Collection photographs
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