Amador ledger., 1907-03-29
A NOTORIOUS ADVENTURES
MEETS A VIOLENT DEATH
Mrs Martha 0dell Shot to Death by
Her Husband. l.

Mrs Martha E. Odell, whose shady
career is known in part at least to
many residents of Amador county,
met a tragic death in Oregon last
week at the hands of her latest hus-
band whom she had deserted, after
securing his hard earned savings.
She had been regarded for many years
as one of the most daring, shrewd
and unscruplous adventuresses that
ever operated in this state. Amado1
county was the theatre of number
of her adventures. She first came
Into notorlety in this county some
twelve years back, when McManus, /
her hubsand at that time, was shot
and killed by her alleged father, j.
ID. Maxwell.
The McManuses were at that time
renting the farm of II. Page, below
Drytown. Maxwell was occupying
cabin, alone, on the Cosumnes river.
several miles distant. MoManus
went to the Maxwell cabin one morn
ing, and soon after reaching there
was killed by Maxwell. The slayer's
version Of the tragedy was that the
killing was done in self-detense, but
some circumstances did not support
this tory. However, there was no
eye witness to contradict the defend !
ants story, and the jury acquitted
him. Mrs McMauus appeared as the
prosecuting witness. In after yearsf
she represented to her matrimonial
dupes that she owned rich mines in
Amador county. She did own some
alleged gravel claims in the neigbhor
hood of Lockwood's IS station, and
other places in this county. They
were never known to produce any
gold worth mentioning, nevertheless
they were made to play an important
part in furthering the schemes of
this designing woman III dipping into
the pockets of her victims. :. The
following account of her career, and
of her tragic end, taken from the
Sacramento Bee, will be read with
Interest by our readers:
Oregon City (Ore. }, March 23.-As
result of trightfGl tragedy hero
this morning, Mr. and Mrs William
Henderson are dead and John Max
we'll, reputed father OF the dead
woman, is wounded, probably fatally.
Henderson, half craZed because his
wife persisted in her refusal to live
with him, fired five shots from 49,
calIber Colts revolver, killing his
wife, seriously wounding Maxwell,
and then blew out his brains. 1he
Hendersons were married in Sau
Francisco March 81, 1906, and prior
to the fire kept a lodging house. there
Their married life was unhappy,
however, and Mrs Henderson went to
MaxwelI's home at Latrobe, Ell
Dorado county, California. Maxwell
is we'll known there, being a member
of the Grand Army of the Republic |
and past noble grand of the indie
pendent Order of Odd Fellows.
Married Many Times.
Mrs Henderson had been married
four or five times and a former hus-
band was named Odell. At his death
he wilied her a 160-acre farm at
kerby, Josephine county, Oregon,
and she had considerable money, as
-, 700 belonging to her was found in
MaXwell's pockets.
Last January Mrs Henderson COM
menced suit for divorce in this city.
This morning Henderson entered the
William Tell House, where his wife
and Maxwell we're staying, and after
some words shot both, and then
killed himself. The woman had
married Henderson to keep him from
testifying against her In suit
brought by John A. Horn in an
Oakland court April 3, 1906 to re-
cover $500, which Mrs Henderson,
who was then Mrs Martha Odell, had
induced him to put INTO mining
scheme of hers.
AS far as can be learned the woman
began her career of crime IN this city
and figured in almost every grade of
human degradation, from the picking
of pocket to murder. She first
became known to the police in 1895,
when her father, Joseph d. Maxwell,
killed her husband, Daniel McManus,
and escaped punishment for the
killing, although the woman herself
used every endeavor to secure her
fathers conv7etion, for the reason
that had he been sent to the gallows
she would have had free control of
number of small mines in which be
WAS Interested.
Married Expressnan.
Some two years before this killing
the woman, known as Martha e.. Max
we'll, was earning her living as a
nurse and hOus ekeePer in this city.
About this time she married Dan
McManus, an eXpreS5man, whose
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