Murder and Menace: Riveting True Crime Tales (Vol. 3)

By R. Barri Flowers

R. Barri Flowers, award-winning criminologist and bestselling author of Serial Killers & Prostitutes and The Sex Slave Murders, brings together six of his best previously published true crime stories in this captivating third volume of Murder and Menace: Riveting True Crime Tales.

Murder of the Banker's Daughter: The Killing of Marion Parker tells the tragic story of a child's abduction in Los Angeles in 1927, her brutal murder, and the intense manhunt for and capture of a young and elusive killer.

Murder in Calaveras County: The Horrific Tale of Serial Killers Leonard Lake and Charles Ng recounts the vicious crimes of the deadly pair in Calaveras County, California, during the mid-1980s, including kidnapping, rape, torture, and videotaping their murdered victims.

The Xerox Repairman Mass Killer: The Story of Byran Koji Uyesugi is the disturbing tale of Honolulu, Hawaii's worst mass murder as a disgruntled employee opened fire on coworkers in a tragic case of workplace violence that reverberated around the country.

The "Sinful" and "Folsom Wolf" Killers: The Tale of James Marlow and Cynthia Coffman relives the cross-country rape, robbery, and killing spree of a career criminal and white supremacist and a troubled woman before their terror came to an end.

Murder in Mission Hill: The Tale of Carol Stuart and Charles Stuart is the heartbreaking story of a pregnant Boston lawyer's untimely death, uxoricide, use of the race card to mislead authorities, and the unraveling of the murder mystery to a shocking conclusion.

The Boney and Claude Murders: The Serial Crimes of Alvin Neelley and Judith Ann Neelley tells the twisted story of a serial killer couple who likened themselves to Bonnie and Clyde in the modern era as they tortured and murdered their victims till justice was served.

Included is a bonus excerpt from the historical true crime reference book, Murders in the United States: Crimes, Killers and Victims of the Twentieth Century, by R. Barri and H. Loraine Flowers.

Other bonus excerpts include the bestselling crime thriller novel, Before He Kills Again, and the psychological thriller novel, Killer in The Woods, by R. Barri Flowers.

A bonus short story mystery thriller, Kill and Say Goodbye, is also included with the collection.

Be sure to read as well the first two gripping volumes of Murder and Menace: Riveting True Crime Tales, available in eBook, print, and audio.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R. Barri Flowers
• Release date: Jan 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370986897

R. Barri Flowers

R. Barri Flowers is the award winning, bestselling author of mystery and thriller novels, true crime books, relationship fiction, young adult mysteries, and children's books. Follow R. Barri Flowers on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Goodreads, LibraryThing, and YouTube. Learn more about the author on Wikipedia and www.rbarriflowers.com.

Book preview

MURDER AND MENACE

Riveting True Crime Tales

Volume Three

By R. Barri Flowers

MURDER AND MENACE

Riveting True Crime Tales

Volume Three

Copyright 2017 by R. Barri Flowers

All rights reserved.

Cover Image Copyright Vadim Bochkarev, 2017

Used under license from Shutterstock.com

For all of my fans around the world who have supported the many books and short stories I have written over the decades.

And for all lovers of true crime and criminology in general.

Last, but not least, this is dedicated to the memory of all the victims of crime whose lives were cut short prematurely and deserved much better.

* * *

TRUE CRIME BOOKS BY R. BARRI FLOWERS

The Dynamics of Murder: Kill or Be Killed

Masters of True Crime: Chilling Stories of Murder and the Macabre (editor)

Murder and Menace: Riveting True Crime Tales (Vol. 1)

Murder and Menace: Riveting True Crime Tales (Vol. 2)

Murder and Menace: Riveting True Crime Tales (Vol. 3)

Murders in the United States: Crimes, Killers, and Victims of the 20th Century

Prostitution in the Digital Age: Selling Sex from the Suite to the Street

Serial Killer Couples: Bonded by Sexual Depravity, Abduction, & Murder

Serial Killers and Prostitutes: True Crime Series

The Sex Slave Murders: The True Story of Serial Killers Gerald & Charlene Gallego

CRIME AND THRILLER NOVELS BY R. BARRI FLOWERS

Dark Streets of Whitechapel

Dead in Kihei

Dead in Pukalani

Dead in the Rose City

Fractured Trust

Justice Served

Killer Evidence Legal Thriller 4-Book Bundle

Killer in The Woods

Murder in Honolulu

Murder in Hawaii Mysteries

Murder in Maui

Murder of the Hula Dancers

Murder on Kaanapali Beach

Murdered in the Gourmet Kitchen

Murdered in the Man Cave

Persuasive Evidence

Private Eye Bestselling Mysteries

Seduced To Kill in Kauai

Serial Killer Thrillers 5-Book Bundle

State's Evidence

* * *

PRAISE FOR TRUE CRIME BOOKS BY R. BARRI FLOWERS

Must read for all true crime fans. — Amazon reviewer on Serial Killers and Prostitutes

Selected as one of Suspense Magazine's Best books. — John Raab, CEO/Publisher on The Sex Slave Murders

A gripping account of the murders committed by husband-and-wife serial killers Gerald and Charlene Gallego. — Gary C. King, true crime author on The Sex Slave Murders

Vivid case studies of murder to complement this well researched criminology text. — Scott Bonn, Ph.D., criminology professor on The Dynamics of Murder

A model of exposition not to be missed by anyone interested in the annals of American criminal behavior. — Jim Ingraham, Ph.D., professor emeritus of American Studies at Bryant University on The Pickaxe Killers

R. Barri Flowers always relates an engrossing story. — Robert Scott, true crime author on The Sex Slave Murders

Striking, well-written tales sparkle in this ocean of murder. — Diane Fanning, true crime author on Masters of True Crime

Exhaustively researched, each storyteller brings their own unique prose to these pages, creating what will soon become a true crime classic. — Kevin M. Sullivan, true crime author on Masters of True Crime

This book should be a mandatory purchase and read for any true-crime buff. — Steven A. Egger, Ph.D., associate professor on Masters of True Crime

Incredible cases, psychopathic killers, unwitting victims, along with the very best writers, make for an exciting, no-holds-barred, soon-to-be true-crime classic. — Dan Zupansky, host of True Murder on Masters of True Crime

An indispensable sourcebook for anyone interested in American homicide, from law-enforcement professionals to armchair criminologists. — Harold Schechter, true crime historian on The Dynamics of Murder

* * *

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1: Murder of the Banker's Daughter: The Killing of Marion Parker

Chapter 2: Murder in Calaveras County: The Horrific Tale of Serial Killers Leonard Lake and Charles Ng

Chapter 3: The Xerox Repairman Mass Killer: The Story of Byran Koji Uyesugi

Chapter 4: The Sinful and Folsom Wolf Killers: The Tale of James Marlow and Cynthia Coffman

Chapter 5: Murder in Mission Hill: The Tale of Carol Stuart and Charles Stuart

Chapter 6: The Boney and Claude Murders: The Serial Crimes of Alvin Neelley and Judith Ann Neelley

Murders in the United States: Crimes, Killers and Victims of the Twentieth Century – bonus excerpt

Before He Kills Again: A Veronica Vasquez Thriller – bonus crime novel excerpt

Killer in The Woods – bonus psychological thriller novel excerpt

Kill and Say Goodbye – bonus mystery thriller short story

Notes

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

Murder and Menace: Riveting True Crime Tales, Volume Three is the third book in a series that includes bestselling historical and modern-day true crime stories that have been previously published by award-winning criminologist and bestselling crime writer R. Barri Flowers, but are now together in one powerful collection for the first time as some of the author's most highly regarded narrative nonfiction real life tales of criminality and victimization.

Murder of the Banker's Daughter: The Killing of Marion Parker tells the tragic story of a child's abduction in Los Angeles in 1927, her brutal murder, and the intense manhunt for and capture of a young and elusive killer.

Murder in Calaveras County: The Horrific Tale of Serial Killers Leonard Lake and Charles Ng recounts the vicious crimes of the deadly pair in Calaveras County, California, during the mid-1980s, including kidnapping, rape, torture, and videotaping their murdered victims.

The Xerox Repairman Mass Killer: The Story of Byran Koji Uyesugi is the disturbing tale of Honolulu, Hawaii's worst mass murder as a disgruntled employee opened fire on coworkers in a tragic case of workplace violence that reverberated around the country.

The Sinful and Folsom Wolf Killers: The Tale of James Marlow and Cynthia Coffman relives the cross-country rape, robbery, and killing spree of a career criminal and white supremacist and a troubled woman before their terror came to an end.

Murder in Mission Hill: The Tale of Carol Stuart and Charles Stuart is the heartbreaking story of a pregnant Boston lawyer's untimely death, uxoricide, use of the race card to mislead authorities, and the unraveling of the murder mystery to a shocking conclusion.

The Boney and Claude Murders: The Serial Crimes of Alvin Neelley and Judith Ann Neelley tells the twisted story of a serial killer couple who likened themselves to Bonnie and Clyde in the modern era as they tortured and murdered their victims till justice was served.

Included is a bonus excerpt from the historical true crime reference book, Murders in the United States: Crimes, Killers and Victims of the Twentieth Century, by R. Barri and H. Loraine Flowers.

Other bonus excerpts include the bestselling crime thriller novel, Before He Kills Again, and the psychological thriller novel, Killer in The Woods, by R. Barri Flowers.

A bonus short story mystery thriller, Kill and Say Goodbye, is also included with the collection.

Chapter One

MURDER OF THE BANKER'S DAUGHTER

The Killing of Marion Parker

On Thursday, December 15, 1927, twelve-year-old Marion Parker, the daughter of a successful banker, was boldly abducted from her junior high school in Los Angeles, California. Two days later, the girl's dismembered remains were tossed about the city like garbage by her abductor and murderer.¹ This caused pandemonium, as the vicious killer managed to evade immediate capture, leading to a manhunt by authorities unlike any in recent memory. The horror of the crime was reminiscent of one that occurred fourteen years earlier involving thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan, who was murdered at a pencil factory in Atlanta. It was also similar to the crime five years later when the twenty-month-old son of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh was abducted from the family's New Jersey home and brutally slain. The killer of Marion Parker was identified as former bank employee William Edward Hickman, age nineteen. The career criminal's capture, trial, conviction, and execution captured the public's imagination, while putting attention on the vulnerability of children in this country targeted by child predators and the often tragic consequences.

* * *

Marion Parker, age twelve, was born on October 11, 1915, along with her twin sister named Marjorie, to Los Angeles, California, banker Perry Marion Parker and his wife, Geraldine Heisel Parker. The Parkers also had an older son, Perry Willard Parker. The elder Perry Parker was the chief clerk at the First National Trust and Savings Bank in downtown Los Angeles. The family lived comfortably in a residence at 1631 South Wilton Place. The home was less than a mile away from the 17th Street location of Mount Vernon Junior High School in the Lafayette Square area of the city where Marion and Marjorie attended classes.

On the morning of Thursday, December 15, 1927, Marion was attending a Christmas party in a classroom at her junior high school—likely as a prelude of what she could expect ten days later when the family gathered at home for the holiday—when she was abruptly taken out of the classroom and brought to the school office. It was there that the school registrar, Mary Holt, informed Marion, who was wearing brown Oxford shoes and stockings, that her father had been involved in an automobile accident and was seriously injured. She was supposed to go with the curly brown-haired, slender young man in the office wearing a gray overcoat—who had identified himself as working for Perry Parker as a bank employee—to be with her father.

The fact that her twin sister Marjorie was not present must have seemed odd to Marion, as well as Mary Holt. But the young man had apparently handled this satisfactorily by indicating that Parker requested that he pick up the smaller one.² He had even invited Holt to call the bank for confirmation of his identification and story, a gamble which could have changed the course of history. Instead, the registrar took that as an indication of his truthfulness and released Marion to his custody without making the call. Holt would later say that she would never have let Marion go but for the apparent sincerity and disarming manner of the man.³

For Marion's part, the desire to go to her injured father made her oblivious to the danger the man presented. Unfortunately, her innocence collided with a calculating and ruthless killer, who would see to it that Marion Parker would never live to see her thirteenth birthday and, in the process, put the entire nation on edge.

Sadly enough, one of the last people to see Marion alive was her twin sister Marjorie when she happened to see the stranger walking Marion out to his car. At the time, neither sibling realized that their connection would be broken forever.

* * *

After what turned out to be a daring abduction, a telegraph was sent from a Western Union office in Alhambra, California, to Perry Parker at his home that evening, informing him that his daughter had been kidnapped for ransom. The telegraph read: Marion [is] secure. Use good judgment. Interference with my plans dangerous.⁴ It was signed, George Fox.

The following day, a special delivery letter was sent to Parker, in which the kidnapper demanded $1,500 in order to get his daughter back. The cryptic letter read: Fox is my name, very sly you know. Get this straight, your daughter's life hangs by a thread and I have a Gillette ready and able to handle the situation.... Fulfilling these terms with the transfer of the currency will secure the return of the girl. Failure to comply with these requests means no one will ever see the girl again—except the angels in heaven. The affair must end one way or another within three days—seventy-two hours. You will receive further notice.⁵ This one was signed Fox Fate.

In a second ransom letter, Parker was ordered to collect $1,500 in $20 gold certificates to be delivered that night. There was also a special delivery letter from Marion, pleading with her parents to do as he asked, so that her life would be spared:

Dear Daddy and Mother, I wish I could come home. I think I'll die if I have to be like this much longer. Won't someone tell me why all this had to happen to me. Daddy please do what this man tells you or he'll kill me if you don't. Your loving daughter, Marion Parker. P.S. Please Daddy I want to come home tonight.⁶

Though there was a massive police effort underway to try to locate the missing girl while discouraging Parker from succumbing to ransom demands, authorities eventually came to believe that the best hope for getting the girl back alive was to pay the kidnapper the money. Perry Parker agreed to meet with The Fox at 10th Street and Gramercy Place on the evening of December 16, with the ransom in hand while prepared to follow instructions to the letter in making the exchange.

However, the meeting never occurred. Apparently spooked by the presence of police on the scene, the kidnapper aborted the plan, never showing up at the exchange location, leaving Perry Parker without his daughter or even knowing if she was still alive.

Parker breathed a sigh of relief when the kidnapper contacted him again by telegram the following Saturday morning on December 17, with assurances that the girl was alive and well for now, while placing the blame squarely on Perry for the botched first attempt to exchange the money for the return of his daughter.

The kidnapper warned: I will be two billion times as cautious and clever, as deadly from now on. You have brought this on yourself and you deserve it and worse.⁷

A renewed ransom demand was made, with the kidnapper threatening to kill Marion should Parker not come alone this time.

At seven-thirty p.m., The Fox phoned Perry Parker at home with instructions to bring the $1,500 in $20 gold certificates to the corner of Fifth and Manhattan Place in Los Angeles. There, the kidnapper would drive alongside Parker's vehicle, demonstrate that Marion was alive and well, grab the money, and release the girl on the next block.

Not wanting to take any chances, Parker followed these orders without informing the police about the exchange.