1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:05,119 Speaker 1: This story contains adult content and language. Listener discretion is advised. 2 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 2: What is it about her? 3 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 3: Though? 4 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 2: I don't know. It's hard for me to understand. Is 5 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:21,960 Speaker 2: it that she was charming? Did she wink? Did she flirts? 6 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 4: Cutting? 7 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 5: Whatever it took, and in her case, what it took 8 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 5: was to use her feminine wiles. It worked on men. 9 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:32,480 Speaker 5: It didn't really work on women, but it worked on men. 10 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 6: Clara was one of these women that men sort of 11 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 6: wanted to take care of, that needed protection. And because 12 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 6: of this, she wasn't responsible for her actions even though 13 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 6: she did it, but they were trying to shield her. 14 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: Clara Phillips adored the attention of men. She had demanded 15 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: it her entire life, and now once again she had it. 16 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: Her charm could secure her release if the male jurors 17 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: in her case believed her tears on the stand, and 18 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 1: if that happened, many people could be in danger. Nine 19 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 1: men and three women locked the door behind them in 20 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: the courthouse in Los Angeles on November sixteenth, nineteen twenty two. 21 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: Clara Phillips seemed confident. Daniel Phillips says that she focused 22 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,679 Speaker 1: specifically on the men, especially when she was on the stand. 23 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:35,639 Speaker 5: I would say, that's good supposition because nine men, three women. 24 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:37,199 Speaker 4: You knew the women were not going. 25 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 5: To be on her side, and all she had to 26 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 5: do was charm the men. She knew that this is 27 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 5: the way for me to get out of this is 28 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,320 Speaker 5: to have a hung jury, and then they'd have to 29 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 5: have another trial, and keep going, keep going, keep going, 30 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 5: to everyone wears out. 31 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: As Clara sat in jail, Shan Armour celebrated their ninth 32 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: wedding anniversary. Had spent their entire adult lives together. Clara 33 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: and Armor were once a couple with promise their lives 34 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: could have gone so well, even without having the children 35 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: that Clara had wanted so badly. But now she watched 36 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 1: her husband fred about their future. Though he was mostly 37 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: focused on his future, Clara worried for him. She could 38 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: hardly think of anything else. Frankly, she really wasn't helping 39 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: her defense team by blaming Peggy Caffey in court. Clara 40 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: could have told the jury all about her medical problems, 41 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: even if they were exaggerated or more than likely made up, 42 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: and the jury didn't seem to question her honesty. There 43 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: were suspicions that her claims she had been kidnapped when 44 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: she was a child was all a lie to gain sympathy, 45 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: but that didn't seem to come up in jury deliberations, 46 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: and her family had insisted that she was traumatized by 47 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,800 Speaker 1: the event, but then we know that her family was 48 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: willing to say anything to protect her. Clara's mother and 49 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: her sisters were absolutely unreliable sources. Clara was now twenty 50 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: five years old and alone. Remember that she and Armour 51 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: had gotten married back in Houston, Texas when she was 52 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: just sixteen. Their relationship had rescued Clara from an unstable childhood, 53 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: but clearly that stability hadn't lasted. The jury had so 54 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: much to consider that it was nearly overwhelming. Lawyers for 55 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: Clara Phillips claimed she suffered from something called epileptic insanity. 56 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: Alienists had used that diagnosis throughout the eighteen hundreds to 57 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: label patients, so it was well established in criminal cases, 58 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: and five forensic psychiatrists had testified that Clara was insane. 59 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: But on the stand, Clara blamed her friend Peggy Caffy 60 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 1: for the fatal beating of Alberta Meadows. Clara sat in 61 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: the defendant's chair day after day, acting erradically much of 62 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: the time. She shifted constantly from being a perfect lady 63 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: to being an absolute terror, depending on who was testifying. 64 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: The prosecutor argued that Clara had planned and executed the 65 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: murder with precision. It was absolutely premeditated. She bought a hammer, 66 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 1: she had stalked Alberta the night before. The DA accused 67 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: Clara of dragging Peggy along to serve as a scapegoat, 68 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: and the media constantly chronicled her every move. There were 69 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:31,279 Speaker 1: no fancy forensics and no surprise witnesses, just loads of 70 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: circumstantial evidence and conflicting testimony. But jury deliberations in criminal 71 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:41,360 Speaker 1: trials are not always simple. Actually they're rarely simple, and 72 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: first degree murder cases because the stakes are so high. 73 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: Clara's life was literally in the hands of the jury. 74 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: But author Claudeine Burnett reminds us that this trial was 75 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:58,279 Speaker 1: even more unusual, and this just seemed unheard of back then. 76 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 6: It was unheard of. That was another thing that made 77 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 6: the case so sensational was that it was a murder 78 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:06,840 Speaker 6: that had been so brutal, carried out not by a 79 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 6: man but by a woman against another woman. 80 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: To the jury's credit, they spent hours pouring over evidence 81 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: and testimony. I've spent years writing about criminal cases in history, 82 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,479 Speaker 1: and during some of those murder trials, jury's returned a 83 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:25,840 Speaker 1: verdict in less than ten minutes. Clara's jury deliberated for 84 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: twelve hours, and she sat in the courthouse much of 85 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:34,520 Speaker 1: the time and wept. Spectators sat behind her, passing time 86 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:37,039 Speaker 1: by knitting or smoking or gossiping. 87 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:40,159 Speaker 2: So ultimately, what happens with the jury. 88 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 4: They went to the jury room. 89 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 5: They discounted what Clara said because it just didn't fit 90 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,840 Speaker 5: the facts. And that's really what the jury was supposed 91 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,280 Speaker 5: to do, is determine the facts. 92 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 4: Who killed Alberta Meadows. 93 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 6: They didn't believe Clara. They believe Peggy. 94 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: That was the easy part. Clara Phillips had killed Alberta Meadows. 95 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: The jury had no doubts about that. But was this 96 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,159 Speaker 1: first degree murder? Did she plan it or was she 97 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:13,160 Speaker 1: actually joking inside the hardware store? Did she intend to 98 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: only threaten Alberta with a hammer? Did Clara kill her 99 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:19,280 Speaker 1: in a fit of rage? Or was Alberta ambushed? 100 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 5: They came to a compromise on the verdict. Originally it 101 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:26,800 Speaker 5: was first degree murder. Other women that had killed husbands 102 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:29,719 Speaker 5: or boyfriends and people like that in that time were 103 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 5: candidates for the death chamber. 104 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: It seemed straightforward. There was plenty of evidence, and there 105 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: were precedents from other cases. But there was a problem. 106 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: The jury issued several rounds of ballots every time they 107 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,599 Speaker 1: were split. In fact, there were initially four votes for acquittal, 108 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,159 Speaker 1: and they were certainly not from the three women. The 109 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: women on the jury were determined to not let Clara 110 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,239 Speaker 1: Phillips walk away. She wasn't that charming. 111 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:01,359 Speaker 6: The three women jurors have none of that. They just 112 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 6: said she did it. This is ala bluff, I guess, 113 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 6: because they knew women better than the men did well. 114 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 1: But to me, what's interesting about that is you would 115 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:13,800 Speaker 1: think the women jurors would empathize with her more for 116 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 1: being the victim of a cheating husband. 117 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 6: I think that the women jurors might have seen through 118 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:24,120 Speaker 6: her and seen her whole actions in the courtroom as 119 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:26,480 Speaker 6: being something that was made up of pretense. 120 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: But writer Joan Rinner says the nine men just didn't 121 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: want to convict her. They kind of swooned over her. 122 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: One of them would later say that Clara had the 123 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 1: most magnetic smile he had ever seen. 124 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 7: Men I think found it difficult to believe that a 125 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 7: woman was really capable that you could actually have committed 126 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 7: that crime. There had to have been some other explanation. 127 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 7: But they reached a sort of a compromise verdict. 128 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: Daniel Phillips says that in the jury room, the women 129 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:02,040 Speaker 1: were interested in giving her the death penalty and the 130 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: men were interested in letting her go, so the attorneys 131 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: had to get involved. The jury ultimately convicted Clara Phillips 132 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: of second degree murder. She would receive a sentence of 133 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:17,120 Speaker 1: a minimum of ten years, maybe even life. 134 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 5: This was like a negotiated verdict. It gave everybody something. 135 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 5: It gave the folks that didn't want to see or die. 136 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 5: She has a chance of serving her time and coming 137 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 5: out and having a life. The women, you know, yes, 138 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:34,559 Speaker 5: they wined it to see her killed. There is still 139 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:36,400 Speaker 5: that potential that she was going to get at least 140 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 5: ten years, and she was going to get the potential 141 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:41,440 Speaker 5: of having to stay in prison for the rest of 142 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 5: her life. 143 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 1: Police historian Glenn Martin says that he's not at all 144 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 1: surprised about this because this type of verdict still happens. 145 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 8: The verdicts particularly split down gender lines as it was 146 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:57,320 Speaker 8: speaks to me of probably the social mores that the 147 00:08:57,360 --> 00:08:59,959 Speaker 8: male jurors were raised with, that we defend and care 148 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:02,720 Speaker 8: for our women. And to this day it's difficult for 149 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 8: Jeris to return death verdicts for women. 150 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:07,880 Speaker 1: Even if she beats somebody to death with a claw hammer, 151 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: it is still a difficult cell. 152 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 8: In a case where a murder, even as brutal as 153 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 8: this one has happened, that is just a tough cell 154 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 8: for somebody that has that ingrained is that they take 155 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:17,960 Speaker 8: care of their women. 156 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,079 Speaker 1: We've seen this type of gender bias throughout history. 157 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 9: Lizzie took an accent her mother forty wax saw she 158 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 9: gave her father forty one. 159 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:38,360 Speaker 1: Lizzie Borden was probably the most well known example. In 160 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety three, an all male jury acquitted her of 161 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:45,120 Speaker 1: murdering her father and her stepmother. Despite a lot of 162 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:49,120 Speaker 1: convincing evidence. The jurors noted that Lizzie appeared modest and 163 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: well bred, dressed in all black. Most historians think that 164 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: she got away with murder because the men refuse to 165 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: believe that Lizzie was strong enough or morally corrupt enough 166 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:06,320 Speaker 1: to commit such a brutal crime. Clara Phillips's niece, Janet 167 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:10,240 Speaker 1: Collins says her sentence in nineteen twenty two is still baffling, 168 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: almost one hundred years later. 169 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:15,319 Speaker 10: That's weird that she could murder someone and be out 170 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 10: in ten years. 171 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:17,720 Speaker 2: What do you think about that? 172 00:10:19,559 --> 00:10:20,319 Speaker 10: Something's wrong? 173 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,320 Speaker 1: In nineteen twenty two, much of Los Angeles was captivated 174 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 1: by Clara Phillips because she seemed to eclipse a popular 175 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:33,680 Speaker 1: perception that women should be submissive, and Clara Phillips was not, 176 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:38,440 Speaker 1: and so sexualizing real women like Clara was problematic for 177 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:43,360 Speaker 1: conservative America because these women became synonymous with the jazz age. 178 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:48,679 Speaker 1: University of Texas film historian Caroline Frick says Tinseltown became 179 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: a popular target for conservatives. 180 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:55,360 Speaker 9: Hollywood becomes the focus of let's say a national and 181 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:58,720 Speaker 9: I would say international concern over the jazz age, over 182 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 9: the morals of the post World War One generation, their partying, 183 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:08,160 Speaker 9: they're out of hand. It's the quintessential Hollywood story in 184 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:11,320 Speaker 9: a way of that era, which is everything that is 185 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:15,320 Speaker 9: anti Victorian in a sense, I think she is a 186 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:18,959 Speaker 9: part of that Hollywood story of mayhem. 187 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:21,360 Speaker 1: I'm sure that Clara would have been thrilled to be 188 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 1: part of any Hollywood story. She had always craved the spotlight, 189 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 1: dreaming of being an actress and a chorus girl, and 190 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:37,480 Speaker 1: now she'd become a celebrity criminal. In the courtroom, Clara 191 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:40,000 Speaker 1: sat at the table near her attorneys during the reading 192 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 1: of the verdict, and she was clearly unnerved. She wept, 193 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,679 Speaker 1: and she told reporters that she had expected to be acquitted, 194 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:51,320 Speaker 1: but then she insisted that her attorney would immediately file 195 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 1: an appeal and this whole nightmare would be corrected. 196 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:58,960 Speaker 5: Clara pretty much took it almost in stride, like, Okay, 197 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:01,840 Speaker 5: I was hoping they'd by my story, but they didn't. 198 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:05,440 Speaker 5: I'll come up with something else. So I didn't see 199 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,360 Speaker 5: her being completely defeated. It was kind of like, well, 200 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 5: this is kind of one round in an overall championship fight, 201 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:14,400 Speaker 5: and so far I'm still in the fight. 202 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 1: So in a way, her family's plan worked. Clara wouldn't 203 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:21,559 Speaker 1: be executed, and she would likely be out after ten 204 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:27,800 Speaker 1: years for good behavior, maybe even sooner. Clara was sent 205 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 1: to the Los Angeles County Jail to wait until her transfer. 206 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: She would serve her sentence in San Quentin State Prison 207 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 1: in northern California, about four hundred miles away from her home. 208 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 1: At first, the local jail didn't seem so bad. 209 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 5: Well, when she got there, she actually was kind of 210 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:49,559 Speaker 5: positive in the respect she felt that everybody was very 211 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:52,320 Speaker 5: happy and very jolly and was trying to make the 212 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 5: best of it, at least giving everyone the impression that, yeah, 213 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:56,560 Speaker 5: it's not where I want to be, but you know, 214 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:58,719 Speaker 5: I can live with it temporarily. 215 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:02,680 Speaker 1: And the jail would certainly have been preferable to San Quentin. 216 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 1: Joan Rinner says that the infamous prison was a miserable 217 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:09,679 Speaker 1: place for inmates, especially in the nineteen twenties. 218 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:13,600 Speaker 7: It was a scary place, a scary San Quentin still 219 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 7: a scary place to my mind. But then it just 220 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,560 Speaker 7: looked like you'd think a prison would look. It was foreboding. 221 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 7: I would expect it no matter what time of the year. 222 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:25,520 Speaker 7: I would expect to drive up to the gate, have 223 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:29,120 Speaker 7: dark clouds form over it and lightning flash, because it 224 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 7: just seemed like such an awful place. 225 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:33,480 Speaker 10: And then it was. 226 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:38,040 Speaker 7: It really was, and especially for the female prisoners. 227 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 1: And Clara didn't have a choice. That's where she would 228 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:42,520 Speaker 1: live for at least ten years. 229 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:45,640 Speaker 7: There was no women's prison in the state of California, 230 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:48,600 Speaker 7: so all the women who were in prison were sent 231 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:52,760 Speaker 7: to San Quentin. There was a women's wing at San Quentin, 232 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:57,960 Speaker 7: but it was an environment just rife for abuse on 233 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 7: both sides, abuse of the women, guards and others, some 234 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:05,920 Speaker 7: women trying to gain favor by using their sexuality. It 235 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,000 Speaker 7: was just not a good situation. But that's where Clara 236 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:09,560 Speaker 7: was going to go. 237 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,040 Speaker 1: Who knows what would happen to her there, but it 238 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:16,480 Speaker 1: was difficult to tell if Clara was concerned. She never 239 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 1: seemed angry or upset, at least not for very long. 240 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 1: Her attitude changed constantly. She adapted so well to new 241 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:28,960 Speaker 1: situations that most people might struggle with, but still she 242 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:32,400 Speaker 1: really disliked people having power over her. So she did 243 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 1: something very characteristic of a self serving personality, and it 244 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: seemed like a terrible idea, even by Clara's standards. She 245 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 1: sought advice from someone in very very similar circumstances. 246 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 5: She had a jailmate who was a murderous The lazy's 247 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:53,080 Speaker 5: name was Open Jane. She I think was waiting on 248 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 5: her second trial to begin. Her first trial ended up 249 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:58,680 Speaker 5: in a hung jury. I'm sure she got some pointers 250 00:14:58,720 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 5: from her. 251 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: Madeleine Obenchain and Clara Phillips had so much in common. 252 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 1: About a year earlier, oben Chin became a newspaper sensation 253 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: during her multiple murder trials. Yeah, she had several of them, 254 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,240 Speaker 1: five in all. Oben Chain was in the middle of 255 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 1: trial number three when she and Clara became cellmates in 256 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:21,400 Speaker 1: the La County jail. Police accused Madeleine of murdering her 257 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 1: fiance by convincing another man to shoot him with a shotgun. 258 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:29,040 Speaker 1: And it was all because John Belton Kennedy kept waffling 259 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 1: over whether to marry her because his mother hated her, 260 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:36,720 Speaker 1: and it sounds like for good reason. He was spineless, 261 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 1: and Madeleine was furious. The media dubbed her a vamp, 262 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:45,280 Speaker 1: a devious woman with absolutely no morals, But Madeleine's good 263 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: looks and charm had managed to hang every jury because 264 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 1: they were all filled with love struck men. And now 265 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:54,480 Speaker 1: Madeleine was locked away with Clara Phillips. 266 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 5: She also had missus Obenchain sitting there in the sale 267 00:15:58,680 --> 00:15:59,000 Speaker 5: with her. 268 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 1: Givener point, it was so strange to see them both 269 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,720 Speaker 1: in the same cell, two women who had seduced American 270 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:12,800 Speaker 1: newspaper readers with their looks and their charm. Spectators lined 271 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:15,080 Speaker 1: up outside the jail to meet them, and some of 272 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 1: their biggest fans were other women. One fan appeared in 273 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:22,960 Speaker 1: the jail cell near them and smiled. She had received 274 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:25,880 Speaker 1: a fifteen dollars speeding ticket the day before. The judge 275 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:28,320 Speaker 1: gave her the option to either pay the fine or 276 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:32,840 Speaker 1: spend fifteen days in jail. She chose jail. She said, 277 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 1: I haven't anything to do, and I have always wanted 278 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:39,120 Speaker 1: to meet missus oben Chain and Missus Phillips, So I 279 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 1: guess I'll take the fifteen days. 280 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 10: Wow. 281 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 1: That was the power of their celebrity status, and part 282 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:50,560 Speaker 1: of that status came from the media's portrayal of dangerous 283 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:54,280 Speaker 1: women in the nineteen twenties. Kathy Fullercili is a professor 284 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:56,680 Speaker 1: of media studies at the University of Texas. 285 00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 3: Going back into the nineteen teens, in the nineteen twenties, 286 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 3: what was the media output regarding women who had mental instability? 287 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 2: I mean, what were the kind of things we were seeing? 288 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:11,560 Speaker 2: How were they portrayed? 289 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:17,120 Speaker 11: Many times mental instability was connected or woven into depictions 290 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:22,640 Speaker 11: of bad sexuality, dangerous sexuality. Theda Bearra, the vamp who 291 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:26,679 Speaker 11: burst on the scene in film in nineteen fourteen, represented 292 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:30,520 Speaker 11: pure sexual desire, but we would recognize her as very 293 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:35,639 Speaker 11: goth today. She was very much associated with exoticism and death, 294 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 11: and she would attack men and suck all their life 295 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 11: out of them like a spider and leave them dead 296 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:45,760 Speaker 11: by the side of the road. So it was justifying 297 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:48,840 Speaker 11: why she had to be gotten rid of why she 298 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:50,639 Speaker 11: needed to be killed or banished. 299 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:54,920 Speaker 1: Are there ramifications for these for us in a society, 300 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,920 Speaker 1: for these types of images coming out. 301 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 11: I think it justifies things like pull decisions. The Creole 302 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:06,120 Speaker 11: Committee stops any circulation of birth control information, so there 303 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:10,280 Speaker 11: is much women belonging back in home. The outrage about 304 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:14,400 Speaker 11: these women becomes a target that lets very conservative religious 305 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:19,280 Speaker 11: groups ban dancing, really restrict the actions of the young 306 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 11: women in their groups. So yes, I think it does 307 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:26,960 Speaker 11: have public ramifications increasing danger to women in the public 308 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 11: that if you are acting one way, or dressed one way, 309 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 11: or in a public in one way, those who disagree 310 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:35,119 Speaker 11: can say you must be punished for it. 311 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:41,119 Speaker 1: Madeline and Clara represented the dangerous, beautiful fem fatales of 312 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:44,919 Speaker 1: the nineteen twenties, but they were real women and the 313 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:47,640 Speaker 1: men and women who adored them were willing to help 314 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:52,000 Speaker 1: them just to be closer to them. But the two 315 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:55,400 Speaker 1: killers viewed all of the people in their lives as dispensable. 316 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,400 Speaker 1: Madeline and Clara talked about the men in their lives, 317 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:04,879 Speaker 1: their friends and plans. So once again, Clara Phillips began 318 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,000 Speaker 1: to scheme. She refused to go to San Quentin, which 319 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:12,159 Speaker 1: sounded like a horrible place. She resolved to escape before 320 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:17,400 Speaker 1: her transfer. How does she even communicate that she wants 321 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:18,520 Speaker 1: this to happen. 322 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:19,440 Speaker 2: Because of the visitors? 323 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 5: Yeah, the visitors. She had lots of visitors. Most of 324 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:24,640 Speaker 5: the visits were not supervised. 325 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:26,360 Speaker 2: Why were they supplied? 326 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:27,480 Speaker 4: I don't know. 327 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:31,240 Speaker 5: It could have just been anything from general incompetence to 328 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 5: the fact that they looked upon the good side of Clara, 329 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:38,040 Speaker 5: not what she had done. I think she was planning 330 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:40,960 Speaker 5: all this while keeping a happy face. She played a 331 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:43,359 Speaker 5: lot of people, including the jailers, be it you know, 332 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:46,159 Speaker 5: the matrons or even the turnkeys. 333 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:51,159 Speaker 1: That seems ridiculous. How could a jail allow unsupervised visits 334 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,320 Speaker 1: to not just one manipulative killer, but two of them. 335 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 5: She was making some promises as to her virtue. Also 336 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:03,800 Speaker 5: her alone ledged holdings that she had assets oil land, 337 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:07,719 Speaker 5: possibly using the Melon family as a way to say, hey, 338 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 5: I'm a member of the Melon family. Will compensate you 339 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:12,640 Speaker 5: if you just help me get out of here. 340 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,919 Speaker 1: And so for several weeks after Clara's conviction, a stream 341 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:19,200 Speaker 1: of people came in and out of that jail. 342 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:21,080 Speaker 4: She did it pretty quickly. 343 00:20:21,119 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 5: She was convicted in November, early in November, and this 344 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 5: happened like a month later. So everything ran pretty quickly, 345 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:30,920 Speaker 5: and she couldn't have done it by herself. 346 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:35,160 Speaker 4: She needed help. I think she was cunning. 347 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:37,600 Speaker 5: Enough to be able to have all of this array 348 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:39,560 Speaker 5: of stuff that she could use, and she would just 349 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:43,919 Speaker 5: use whatever worked for that particular situation. But she always 350 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,439 Speaker 5: had more than one option on how to get someone 351 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:48,160 Speaker 5: to do what she wanted them to do. 352 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:52,920 Speaker 1: And that's exactly what happened. Author Claudeine Burnett says that 353 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:56,000 Speaker 1: one of those visitors secretly left something. 354 00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:59,359 Speaker 6: Behind somebody had smuggled in a file. 355 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:03,680 Speaker 1: Much of the story sounds like it was lifted from 356 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:08,560 Speaker 1: a B movie script, particularly this next part. Clara received 357 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:12,000 Speaker 1: a metal file to saw the bars on her cell's window. 358 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:15,960 Speaker 6: Clara went ahead and worked on the bars at the 359 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:18,439 Speaker 6: prison and was able to go ahead and fool the 360 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 6: prison guards because she used chewing gum to put the 361 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:21,800 Speaker 6: bars back. 362 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: Together, seriously chewing gum to hold the cut bars together. 363 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:29,960 Speaker 1: And could a petite woman really saw her way through 364 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:34,440 Speaker 1: thick bars on a window. Daniel Phillips says, yeah, maybe, 365 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:37,560 Speaker 1: at least inside the La County jail in nineteen twenty two. 366 00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:42,119 Speaker 5: In those days, most jails had steel bars, but not 367 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:45,359 Speaker 5: the kind of quality steel that hacksall couldn't get through. 368 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:48,160 Speaker 2: So she finally gets the bars now and then. 369 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:52,040 Speaker 5: What December fifth, nineteen twenty two, She got the bars off, 370 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:55,679 Speaker 5: was able to get herself through the opening, and there 371 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:59,159 Speaker 5: was someone above her since her cell was on the 372 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:01,639 Speaker 5: top floor, they were on the roof of the jail 373 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:05,600 Speaker 5: to reach down and pull her up to the roof 374 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:08,120 Speaker 5: of the jail. And then she went through a series 375 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:11,920 Speaker 5: of roof tops of buildings that were adjacent to the 376 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 5: jail until they got to the ground floor. And I 377 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,399 Speaker 5: think part of the ground floor was getting through like 378 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:20,320 Speaker 5: a trapdoor into one of the buildings to come out 379 00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:22,920 Speaker 5: either through the back or the front, until she could 380 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:24,960 Speaker 5: get in that car that was going to take her away. 381 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:28,240 Speaker 7: There's a wonderful, nifty little picture in one or more 382 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:31,399 Speaker 7: of the newspapers that show her alleged route as she 383 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:33,879 Speaker 7: makes her way across the roof of the building and 384 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 7: then down along the side, and she supposedly escapes. 385 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:43,119 Speaker 1: Joan Renner seems skeptical because she thinks this version is 386 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:47,399 Speaker 1: more fiction than fact. Steel bars and chewing gum seem silly, 387 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: and author Claudeine Burnett agrees. 388 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 6: There was also quite a drop from where her prison 389 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 6: was down to the ground, too, which also makes that 390 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:59,920 Speaker 6: story suspicious. What came out later was that the family 391 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,920 Speaker 6: had gone ahead and paid a prison guard to release her. 392 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:07,959 Speaker 1: Who knows. But none of that really mattered, because on 393 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: December fifth, nineteen twenty two, Clara Phillips vanished. Glenn Martin 394 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,040 Speaker 1: says that the police had no clues to her location 395 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:18,720 Speaker 1: and no help from witnesses. 396 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:24,320 Speaker 8: Clara wasn't in jail alone. Somebody heard, somebody saw, somebody knew, 397 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 8: and then they remained mute about it, not having anybody 398 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:29,800 Speaker 8: ratch out as equally as interesting. 399 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:34,240 Speaker 1: Catherine Ramslin is a forensic psychology professor and an author 400 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:38,359 Speaker 1: who has spent her career interviewing murderers, including Dennis Rader, 401 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:40,720 Speaker 1: better known as bt K. You might have heard my 402 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:44,119 Speaker 1: interview with her on Wicked Words. Ramsland says that in 403 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:48,239 Speaker 1: Raider's case, he was motivated by violent fantasies, but it 404 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:50,960 Speaker 1: was also clear that he had a lust for fame 405 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:54,680 Speaker 1: and power. He sent disturbing letters to the police and 406 00:23:54,760 --> 00:24:00,680 Speaker 1: the media. Now there's well established research on Maisie psychopaths, 407 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:04,640 Speaker 1: but Ramsland says that female psychopaths like Clara Phillips are 408 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:06,800 Speaker 1: an enigma even to experts. 409 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:11,399 Speaker 12: Well. The difficulty with categorizing a female psychopath is that 410 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:14,560 Speaker 12: we haven't done that much research on them, and the 411 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:18,399 Speaker 12: tools we've used have were developed from male psychopaths, with 412 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:22,480 Speaker 12: the mistaken idea that anything that comes out of research 413 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:25,160 Speaker 12: with males will apply equally to females. 414 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:28,840 Speaker 1: Doctor Craig Newman says that his research shows that there 415 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:33,280 Speaker 1: might be more similarities than differences, but there are definitely differences. 416 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:38,679 Speaker 13: Women with psychopathic features propensities may tend to be higher 417 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:42,520 Speaker 13: on manipulative features, and males may tend to be higher 418 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 13: on the more disregulated, the impulsive, aggressive sorts of components. 419 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:52,080 Speaker 13: Seventy percent of the female offenders were the manipulator type 420 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:56,200 Speaker 13: and only a small percentage were the aggressive subtype. 421 00:24:56,240 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: For female psychopaths, manipulation is key. It seems to be 422 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: their main form of achieving their goal, whatever that is, 423 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,520 Speaker 1: and many times women find out early in life that 424 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:10,399 Speaker 1: they can get their way without being violent. Control is 425 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:13,600 Speaker 1: crucial to someone with psychopathy. It can be all consuming, 426 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:16,919 Speaker 1: regardless of the danger it puts them in. We now 427 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 1: know more about women with psychopathy, but experts say there's 428 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:22,159 Speaker 1: still so much to learn. 429 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 12: So now we have to rethink the idea of how 430 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,280 Speaker 12: a female psychopath might operate. And it turns out that 431 00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:32,560 Speaker 12: a lot of women who are diagnosed with borderline personality 432 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 12: disorder might in fact be psychopaths. But we've tended to 433 00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:39,159 Speaker 12: think of borderline as being a female disorder, and we 434 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:42,760 Speaker 12: tend not to think of females being psychopath And I 435 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:44,560 Speaker 12: think this has a lot to do with many of 436 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:47,240 Speaker 12: the theories are developed by males who really did not 437 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 12: want to think about women being psychopathic. 438 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:55,080 Speaker 1: So that means that there are more female psychopaths out 439 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,719 Speaker 1: there than we thought. But doctor Ramslan says that society 440 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:02,439 Speaker 1: has a difficult time believing that Eileen Warnos might be 441 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:06,200 Speaker 1: a good example. The serial killer murdered seven men between 442 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:09,680 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty nine and nineteen ninety in Florida before being 443 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:13,600 Speaker 1: convicted and then executed in two thousand and two. Eileen 444 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:18,640 Speaker 1: Warnos definitely had psychopathic traits, but the Hollywood movie about 445 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 1: her life made it appear that she was violent because 446 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:26,440 Speaker 1: of her circumstances, not her psychopathy, and that actually irritates 447 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:27,280 Speaker 1: doctor Ramseln. 448 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:30,920 Speaker 12: They gave her every out that they would never give 449 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:35,760 Speaker 12: to a male psychopath serial Kellery. In a way, I 450 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:38,840 Speaker 12: thought it was unfair, first of all, to women to 451 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:42,159 Speaker 12: believe that they are in some way can't rise to 452 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:46,439 Speaker 12: some kind of criminality that males can rise to. I 453 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 12: think they absolutely can and have. But when I saw 454 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,440 Speaker 12: that movie, it was clear to me people just don't 455 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:56,840 Speaker 12: want to accept that a woman can be just a cohearted, remorseless, 456 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:01,280 Speaker 12: angry killer. And she even said that about herself. She said, 457 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 12: if you let me out, I'll do it again. 458 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:09,000 Speaker 1: Clara Phillips certainly proved that women can be just as 459 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:11,680 Speaker 1: violent as men. And now she was in the wind. 460 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:22,639 Speaker 1: Where had she gone and what was she planning? 461 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:31,959 Speaker 5: Jails are always big about doing head counts at different 462 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:34,840 Speaker 5: times of the day. I think the la jail was 463 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:38,200 Speaker 5: a jail that didn't vary it, so it's easy to gauge, okay, 464 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:41,560 Speaker 5: between this time and this time, I don't have anyone 465 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:45,719 Speaker 5: watching me. She probably went between bedcheck and the morning 466 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:47,760 Speaker 5: when the folks came around. 467 00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:51,879 Speaker 1: And just like that, she was gone. The escape of 468 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:54,600 Speaker 1: Clara Phillips in December of nineteen twenty two was so 469 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:58,359 Speaker 1: well planned out that her family had to have been involved. 470 00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:00,880 Speaker 1: Daniel Phillips has no doubts about that. 471 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:04,720 Speaker 5: She probably had a lot of tentacles out to a 472 00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:07,840 Speaker 5: lot of people, and she was kind of having layers 473 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,320 Speaker 5: of people involved in the process, including her sisters. I've 474 00:28:11,359 --> 00:28:14,159 Speaker 5: got to feel that the sisters were actively involved in this, 475 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:17,400 Speaker 5: at least Ola and Adam for that matter. 476 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:24,040 Speaker 1: Ola May was Clara's older sister, and soon she would 477 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:30,959 Speaker 1: be her partner in crime literally. Of course, one person 478 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:35,000 Speaker 1: who is now under scrutiny once again was Armor. The 479 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 1: sheriff immediately tracked him down and stuck him in his office, 480 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:40,960 Speaker 1: and a sheriff's office is never a good place for 481 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:43,880 Speaker 1: a conman to be. But when they looked at the evidence, 482 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: Armor seemed to be in the clear. 483 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 5: I still don't have any evidence of where Armor was 484 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:52,959 Speaker 5: that involved in it. He may have supplied some money 485 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 5: so that people that would actually be helping her escape 486 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,959 Speaker 5: could be paid. He was right on the edge of it. 487 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:02,560 Speaker 5: In my opinion. He wasn't one of the guys that 488 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:05,520 Speaker 5: was up there helping her out of the cell and 489 00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:08,320 Speaker 5: working her down, helping her get to the car and 490 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:09,280 Speaker 5: leaving the jail. 491 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,200 Speaker 1: I think that much of this would have been difficult 492 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 1: to do without Armor, that seems clear. But he had 493 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:18,400 Speaker 1: been the one who initially turned Clara in, why would 494 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:19,520 Speaker 1: he help her escape now? 495 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:23,520 Speaker 6: I think that Armor felt an awful lot of guilt 496 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:26,560 Speaker 6: because of the murder, because of what he had done 497 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:27,280 Speaker 6: to his wife. 498 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 5: I think Armor may have been looking for a way 499 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,600 Speaker 5: to atone for turning her in when he had put 500 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:37,040 Speaker 5: her on the train to get her out, So it 501 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 5: could have been some guilty feelings. But I think, on 502 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:42,000 Speaker 5: the other hand, if he looked at it as a 503 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,480 Speaker 5: self preservation, her being in the lime night was doing 504 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:48,000 Speaker 5: him no good and it would be better for her 505 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:51,000 Speaker 5: to all of a sudden disappear and be able to 506 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,840 Speaker 5: kind of go and start a new life. 507 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:57,920 Speaker 1: One person who was surprised about Armour's involvement with Clara's 508 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,680 Speaker 1: jail break is his niece Collins. 509 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:06,000 Speaker 2: She had all this help. Different man armor was involved. 510 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:10,080 Speaker 10: He was involved in getting her out of prison. What 511 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:12,760 Speaker 10: a slap ball. So you didn't know that though I 512 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:13,520 Speaker 10: did not know. 513 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:16,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think there's a some of There is a 514 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,440 Speaker 1: good reason why people keep things from families, I guess. 515 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:22,840 Speaker 3: But you couldn't trust him, no, no, And if you 516 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:25,200 Speaker 3: can't truse somebody in your family, well was. 517 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:27,400 Speaker 10: There to trust? He disappeared and then all of a 518 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:30,560 Speaker 10: sudden he appeared. I mean he just I think the 519 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:36,160 Speaker 10: term blowhard pretty well described him. 520 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:40,200 Speaker 1: But not all of Clara's associates were happy about her escape. 521 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:44,320 Speaker 6: And when Clara escaped from prison, Peggy found out, she 522 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:47,800 Speaker 6: was terrified. She left a note for her husband that 523 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:50,800 Speaker 6: said I'll be back in an hour, but she didn't 524 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:54,960 Speaker 6: come home. She instead got on a train and went 525 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:58,440 Speaker 6: as far away as she could, back to Pennsylvania, to 526 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:03,280 Speaker 6: be as far away from Clara and possibly Clara's revenge. 527 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:06,480 Speaker 1: Peggy Caffy was right to be frightened. Clara had threatened 528 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:10,640 Speaker 1: her life several times. Even in court. Clara despised Peggy 529 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 1: just about as much as she hated Alberta. 530 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:17,200 Speaker 6: Peggy is the one whose testimony convicted Clara, and I 531 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:20,520 Speaker 6: think that Clara was very upset at that. If Peggy 532 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:24,520 Speaker 6: hadn't come forward, and if Armor hadn't come forward, Clara 533 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:27,640 Speaker 6: might never have been found out because the woman's body 534 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,680 Speaker 6: was unidentified until there telling the police what had happened. 535 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:35,959 Speaker 1: Now, Peggy Caffy was gone too, and that's where her 536 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 1: story ends. The journalists who had hounded Peggy could no 537 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:48,000 Speaker 1: longer find her. She had disappeared, and so had Clara Phillips, 538 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:51,120 Speaker 1: with the help of at least three men. Her husband 539 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:54,480 Speaker 1: was rolled by police, but this time Arma refused to 540 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:57,080 Speaker 1: turn her in. He even told them that he hoped 541 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:00,840 Speaker 1: she would never be recaptured, and then began a very 542 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:05,040 Speaker 1: well orchestrated plan that would take Clara to two different continents, 543 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:11,960 Speaker 1: using people all along the way. She traveled from Los 544 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,120 Speaker 1: Angeles to New Orleans to Mexico. 545 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:18,720 Speaker 5: No one got wise until they were able to finally 546 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:23,600 Speaker 5: get into Mexico. Even then, the Mexican authorities weren't really 547 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:26,360 Speaker 5: brought into the picture. They were in Mexico, I think 548 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:30,400 Speaker 5: several weeks. One account said that the Mexican authorities were 549 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:33,120 Speaker 5: aware that she's there, but they had no authority to 550 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:33,720 Speaker 5: pick her up. 551 00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:37,080 Speaker 1: Daniel Phillips says armor mailed things to Clara while she 552 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:40,400 Speaker 1: was in Mexico. He would send money to Galveston, Texas, 553 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:43,560 Speaker 1: and his older sister Sadie would mail it on to Clara. 554 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:47,560 Speaker 5: And actually they had my dear aunt Sadie the unknowing 555 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:51,480 Speaker 5: conduit on getting stuff mailed out to wherever the place 556 00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:54,600 Speaker 5: was in Mexico. She did it with no ill intention 557 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:57,760 Speaker 5: in the fact that this was her brother's wife and 558 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:01,000 Speaker 5: there was a lot of family loyalty there, and. 559 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:04,160 Speaker 2: There was family loyalty within the We were family too. 560 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:07,320 Speaker 5: Oh, absolutely, well, that's why adam A brought some of 561 00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:11,240 Speaker 5: the money to Mexico when she joined her sister on 562 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:15,480 Speaker 5: their continued journey from Mexico City to Vera Cruz and 563 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:19,120 Speaker 5: then from there to Guatemala since Alvador. All the way 564 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 5: into Honduras. 565 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:26,200 Speaker 1: Clara was spotted and wore as Mexico by police. They 566 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:29,560 Speaker 1: described her as a heavily veiled woman in an automobile 567 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:34,240 Speaker 1: on the outskirts of the city. After less than a 568 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:37,480 Speaker 1: week in Mexico, Clara met her sister Ola May in 569 00:33:37,560 --> 00:33:41,760 Speaker 1: Honduras as Daniel Phillips told me earlier, Clara might not 570 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:45,440 Speaker 1: have been very book smart, but she was absolutely prepared. 571 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:47,240 Speaker 2: Ed. 572 00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:52,000 Speaker 5: May and Clara had Guatemalan passports. They also had the 573 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:55,880 Speaker 5: wherewithal to learn to speak Spanish because they, I guess 574 00:33:55,960 --> 00:33:57,960 Speaker 5: realized this is where we're going to end up. 575 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:00,280 Speaker 4: You know, we can't go back to America. 576 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:07,080 Speaker 1: In the meantime, investigators in Los Angeles were scrambling to 577 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:10,160 Speaker 1: explain to the media how one of the country's most 578 00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:15,000 Speaker 1: famous women managed to escape their jail. Daniel Phillips and 579 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:17,720 Speaker 1: Glenn Martin say that the press seized on the story 580 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:22,200 Speaker 1: of her escape and constantly revisited the details of the murder. 581 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:24,880 Speaker 4: Every day that she was gone. 582 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:30,000 Speaker 5: Made them look bad, not just the LA Police, the DA, 583 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:33,240 Speaker 5: all of law enforcement, all the way up to the 584 00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:36,879 Speaker 5: US goverront. Everybody was getting tarred with this brush and 585 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:38,920 Speaker 5: it was making everybody look bad. 586 00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:40,120 Speaker 4: That was an authority. 587 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:43,120 Speaker 5: So whether she knew it or not, this was going 588 00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:46,239 Speaker 5: to work against her because that made the pursuit that 589 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:50,000 Speaker 5: much more persistent, and that they were just not going 590 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:51,000 Speaker 5: to let it go. 591 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:53,960 Speaker 2: And what's happening with the American media at this. 592 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:57,839 Speaker 5: Point, they are just as voracious as they were when 593 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:01,839 Speaker 5: she was on trial and convicted. It just didn't let up. 594 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:05,920 Speaker 5: Everybody and their mother was trying to figure out where 595 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:09,280 Speaker 5: is she. They were constantly going in and doing more 596 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:13,359 Speaker 5: stories that were kind of background, bringing people that may 597 00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:17,960 Speaker 5: not know the details up today, injecting new theories as 598 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:20,240 Speaker 5: to how this was done, and if she was guilty 599 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:22,640 Speaker 5: or not, was she treated fairly or not? All of 600 00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:25,719 Speaker 5: the angles that kept the life of this story going. 601 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:30,320 Speaker 2: What do you think about the media circus that ensued. 602 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:35,640 Speaker 1: Does that speak to Herston newspapers in nineteen twenty sensationalism media? 603 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:38,000 Speaker 2: Why are they attracted to the story. 604 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:43,799 Speaker 8: Well, I think my response would be what's changed? We 605 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:48,160 Speaker 8: have just this very enduring interest in crime, particularly something 606 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:51,480 Speaker 8: that is a little bit different. There is a mass 607 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:53,759 Speaker 8: of humanity that has an interest in it. 608 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:01,400 Speaker 1: Clara was traveling with them, the most important person in 609 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:04,360 Speaker 1: her life aside from Armor and now she was living 610 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:08,200 Speaker 1: in Honduras with Ola May, and there they stayed as 611 00:36:08,239 --> 00:36:11,600 Speaker 1: detectives in America felt more and more pressure. Clara and 612 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:14,400 Speaker 1: Ola May lived off the money Armor and her family 613 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:18,200 Speaker 1: were sending them. It was an incredible conspiracy. 614 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:21,600 Speaker 6: They must have loved her dearly or cared about her 615 00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:24,480 Speaker 6: in order to help her, and I think that they 616 00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:27,719 Speaker 6: realized that she did commit the murder. Though they might 617 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:31,080 Speaker 6: have wanted to fool themselves it had been Peggy, but 618 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:33,600 Speaker 6: they also knew that this was a woman that they 619 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:37,120 Speaker 6: had protected throughout her entire life, and they needed to 620 00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:37,800 Speaker 6: do it again. 621 00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:41,359 Speaker 5: Right or wrong, It is blood, blood is thicker than water, 622 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:43,600 Speaker 5: all of those things that you hear all the time. 623 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:47,000 Speaker 4: In their case, I think that was loyalty gone wrong. 624 00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:53,600 Speaker 1: Clara Phillips and her sister Ola May spent Christmas in 625 00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:57,880 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty two in Honduras incognito. It was such a 626 00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:01,839 Speaker 1: smart choice for a hiding place. Hondours had no extradition 627 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:05,080 Speaker 1: treaty with the United States, so if Clara were caught, 628 00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:08,560 Speaker 1: she might actually be able to stay there and she 629 00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:11,520 Speaker 1: could always wiggle out of trouble with her charm and 630 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:14,440 Speaker 1: perhaps a little bit of money for a bribe. Clara 631 00:37:14,560 --> 00:37:16,319 Speaker 1: knew that she had a better chance of doing that 632 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:18,840 Speaker 1: in Central America than she did in Los Angeles. 633 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:23,239 Speaker 7: They're just amazed and amused by the sightings of them worldwide. 634 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:27,920 Speaker 7: She's seen everywhere from China to Europe, you name it, 635 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:29,200 Speaker 7: and Clara's there. 636 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:33,480 Speaker 1: So in less than six months, Clara Phillips had achieved 637 00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:35,520 Speaker 1: quite a lot, if you want to call it. That 638 00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:38,920 Speaker 1: she had brutally murdered a woman who was in fact 639 00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:42,360 Speaker 1: not sleeping with her husband. She tried to escape to Texas, 640 00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:46,040 Speaker 1: but was ratted out by armor. She threatened her best friend, 641 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:49,520 Speaker 1: the only witness, and then accused her of the murder. 642 00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:52,680 Speaker 1: She convinced male jurors to give her a lighter sentence, 643 00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:55,399 Speaker 1: and then she convinced at least three men to help 644 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:59,520 Speaker 1: her escape to Central America. Doctor Craig Newman says that 645 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:02,480 Speaker 1: this is the model playbook for a psychopath, and it's 646 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:05,200 Speaker 1: a playbook that Clara would continue to use. 647 00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:08,360 Speaker 2: This is a scary lady. 648 00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:12,120 Speaker 13: That's the thing about psychopathy. That's the thing about personality pathology. 649 00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:15,800 Speaker 13: If it's not dealt with, it becomes worse. 650 00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:22,000 Speaker 1: On the final episode of this season of Tenfold War Wicked. 651 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:26,960 Speaker 13: If you run into a psychopath who potentially is going 652 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:29,520 Speaker 13: to try and put hooks in you, they lie, the deceitfuld, 653 00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:32,440 Speaker 13: their manipulative, They can be charming, and so you've got 654 00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:35,680 Speaker 13: a document you can't open yourself up to be vulnerable 655 00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:38,960 Speaker 13: to these people, and in many cases you have to escape. 656 00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:41,400 Speaker 2: This is like family loyalty going bad. 657 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:44,439 Speaker 5: It is it's the old adage, family right or wrong, 658 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:48,600 Speaker 5: and in this case, the family was more interested in 659 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:49,680 Speaker 5: protecting their own. 660 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:53,040 Speaker 10: I'm not even sure the family even knew about. 661 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:56,319 Speaker 2: Her, that's how much they wanted to stone Lak. 662 00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:59,080 Speaker 10: I don't even think that my grandmother knew her name. 663 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:00,959 Speaker 2: What was the Feaver? 664 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:04,680 Speaker 10: I don't know. Maybe she wasn't a Southern madist. 665 00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:08,120 Speaker 2: I think that's probably fair to say. 666 00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:12,520 Speaker 1: My new book, All That Is Wicked is available for 667 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:16,239 Speaker 1: pre order now in hardback and ebooks. More information on 668 00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:17,200 Speaker 1: the audiobook later. 669 00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:18,000 Speaker 10: All That Is. 670 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:21,280 Speaker 1: Wicked is based on our first season of tenfold More Wicked. 671 00:39:21,840 --> 00:39:23,960 Speaker 1: You might think you know the whole story of killer 672 00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:28,080 Speaker 1: Edward Ruloff's crimes, but there's so much more. My book 673 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:32,040 Speaker 1: American Sherlock is also available. This has been an exactly 674 00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:37,000 Speaker 1: right tenfold more. Media production producers Jason Whaling, Alexism Morosi 675 00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:41,640 Speaker 1: and Laura Sobole. Sound designer Eric Friend, composer Curtis Heath, 676 00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:47,000 Speaker 1: artwork Nick Toga. Executive producers are Georgia Hartstark, Karen Kilgarriff, 677 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:50,440 Speaker 1: and Danielle Kramer. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at 678 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:53,880 Speaker 1: tenfold more Wicked and on Twitter at tenfold more. And 679 00:39:53,960 --> 00:39:55,879 Speaker 1: if you know of a historical true crime that could 680 00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:59,880 Speaker 1: use some attention, email us at info at tenfold more Media. 681 00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:06,120 Speaker 1: Subscribe now on Amazon Music, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 682 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:06,960 Speaker 1: you like to listen