Evening star., 1953-08-16
by the Associaisd Press

I
| LOS ANGELES. Aug. 15.-In
the annals of weird crimes the
diabolical story Of the lady
killing barber, Robert S. (Rattle-
snake) James, has a niche all its
own.
Eleven years ago the red
haired James. neatly tonsured
and dressed. went to his death
on the gallows at San Quentin
Prison for the snake-bite-and-
drowning murder of his sixth
wife. He had been shared by
his own lust and greed, and the
sharp work of a newspaper re-
porter.
It had taken justice nearly
seven years to catch up with this
latter-day Figaro who wooed the
ladies with a conniving eye on
their insurance money. And
James took with him in death
the answer to a question which
local officers still argue: How
many others did this big barber
with the soft hands kill for their
insurance?
The crime for which James,
then 48, was hanged was the
1885 Staying of his pretty wife,
Mary Busch, %, former mani
curist in his Los Angeles barber
shop. On Monday, August 5,
she was found drowned, head
down, in a fish pond in the yard
Of their suburban La Canada
home.
Fourth Wife Drowned.
In the investigation that fol-
lowed, officers learned that
James real name was Major
Raymond Lisenba and his fourth
wife, Winona Wallace James,
had drowned in a bathtub. The
autopsy surgeon gave drowning
as the cause of the sixth Mrs.
James death. but noted "acute
cellulitis (soft tissue inflamma-
tion) of the left leg as a con-
tributing factor" He said this
could have resulted from a cut
on the big toe.
At the inquest James testified
he had been at work all day and
came home late with two friends,
one Of whom found the body.
They backed him up and re-
ported finding a letter in Mrs.
James handwriting to a sister
that she had cut her toe and
been bitten by an insect in the
garden.
They also testified Mrs. James
an expectant mother, had been
subject to fainting spells. James
wept during officers testimony
The coroner's jury was unable to
agree whether the death was an
accident, suicide or homicide,
and James went free. But au-
thorities remained suspicious.
Settled Claim.
For one thing, James pushed
for double indemnity on a $4,000
insurance policy he had taken
out on his wife June 3. The case
went to court and insurance
company lawyers made James
admit he had perpetrated a fake
marriage in May but had not
legally married Mary Busch until
July 10. He settled for $4,000.
Meanwhile. officers foun d
James had taken up residence
with another manicurist in his
shop. This proved to be his 21-
year-old niece, Lois Wright, a
Hollywood-struck Alabama girl
he had brought here two years
before.
Detectives put a dictaphone in
the house, installed recording ap-
paratus in a neighbor's garage
and for weeks listened in on
James and his niece. In April,
1886, they we're arrested. The
misunderstanding 270 pages and
200 records-was so disgusting
that a judge quickly sentenced
James to three to $50 years on
his conviction of morals charges.
But the big break came in
May, nine months after the
death. A Hollywood bartender
mentioned to Pat Foley, veteran
Los Angeles Herald Express po-
lice reporter, that a patron in
his cups had been boasting Of
helping a man kill his wife. The
bartender didn't know the man.
but he had mentioned trading
in his car recently for differ
ent make.
Suspect Talks.
BY checking registration trans
ferS at the State Motor Vehicles
Bureau, Mr.. Foley narrowed the
possibilities to one man: Charles
H. Hope, ex-sailor and night
manager of q hot dog stand. On
Mr.. Foley's tip, the district at
torney picked up Hope and was
rewarded with the following
macabre tale:
James, deciding to kill his