LA First Blue-beard Murder Case. James P. Watson, age 41 yrs, married twenty five wives and killed sixteen of them. He would take their money, jewelry and bonds. Watson would dig a grave, put acid on the body before he buried them. He was sentenced to life in San Quentin on 5/18/1920. he died in San Quentin hospital 10/16/1939.
He used the following names as aliases, and probably scores of others:
- Joseph Gillam
- Joseph Gilliam
- Dan Holden
- James P. Watson
- JP Miller
- James R. Huirt
- Andrew Huirt
- James T. Huirt
- Richard Huirt
- Charles Newton Harvey
- Charles W Gordon
- Lawrence Gordon
- Laurence Harry Gorden
- Lawrence Harris
- HL Gordon
- HG Lawrence
- HR Gardner
- Walter Andrews
- Walter Andrew Watson
- Harry Lewis
- Harry M. Lewis
- Milton E Lewis
- Milton Lewis
- Andrew Hilton
- Louis A. Hilton (or Lewis Hilton)
- Jack Hilton
- Robert Dixon Boyd
- DB Maurice
- James Wood
- James Lawrence
- Possibly JJ Howlett
The Early Life of Joseph Gillam:
Watson was born in Arkansas in 1870 to George (also said John) Gillam, a farmer, and an unknown mother, Gillam claimed he was a member of a "respectable family" in Arkansas. Watson was a pathological liar, as described by psychologists who had examined him later in life, and he told various tales of his birth, no one knows for sure which was the truth or if there are kernels of truth hidden in between the lies.
He said that at the time of his birth, there had been some gossip of "negro strain" in the family. An anonymous letter writer had informed authorities Watson had told her that he was a "quadroon", a person who is one-quarter black by descent, and had been "raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana." His father was supposed to have been living near what is now Paris, Kansas, a small settlement in Lincoln County, even smaller 100 years ago. He claimed his mother was already dead and that he had a half sister who had also died, who he thought had the surname of Wharton or Horton and whose family had a farm near Goldman, Missouri.
In another confession, he stated he was born in Tennessee and had been brought up in an orphan's home for about 10 years, then lived with a family named Harper and remained with them until he moved to Pittsburg, Kansas about five years later. In another totally different account, he said he was brought up by an uncle.
The only fact that we can know for sure is that his parents had separated when he was 9 years old. His mother remarried to a man named John Holden, a rural blacksmith, who had a small farm and she brought her young son to live with him. It seems that the blacksmith, John Holden, had abandoned his wife Elizabeth and ran off with Mrs. Gillian on May 3, 1878 and went south. It is said that
"The following notice has been sent to us, and the advertiser, Mrs. Holden, vouched for by responsible parties as a deserving and suffering woman. LOST HUSBAND. My husband, John Holden, aged forty-five, heavy built, 5 feet 8 or 9 inches high, dark hair and heavy beard,; blacksmith by trade, has gone off with a woman, Mrs. Gillian [sic]. They left Pleasanton on may 3d, going South. Mrs. Gillian is a tall, slim woman, rather good looking, 28 years old and has two children. Any information of the whereabouts of John Holden will be thankfully received by his wife. Elizabeth Holden. Direct in care of WH Boggs, Olathe, Johnson County, Kansas. Papers in Bourbon, Crawford, and Cherokee counties, please copy."
I did find that in 1862, John and his first wife Elizabeth had lost their farm located in Doniphan County, Kansas, in an auction to settle debts. In an issue of The Border Star (Columbus, Kansas) newspaper a notice was published on 21 Jun 1878, Fri:
"Elizabeth Holden, advertises as follows in the border Star, for a husband who has strayed off from the said Elizabeth. As no reward is offered for the return of the stray or any information that may lead to his recovery, it is not likely that Mrs. Holden will find her "man"."
"Elizabeth Holden, of Pleasanton, advertises for her husband, John Holden, who says has skipped put with another woman a few days ago. What in the name of matrimonial sense, does she want the man for? She had better law low for his scalp."
Watson said that he had been christened "Joseph" other sources claim it as "Charles", but the first name he could remember being called was "Dan Holden", as he was given his stepfather's last name. He could not remember what age he was at the time saying,
"I had no way of really remembering my age. I suppose I must have been a boy."
But we have the newspaper notice which helps us with the date to being 1878. His earliest recollections are of a very unhappy home, strife between his parents and finally a separation and divorce. He claimed his stepfather John Holden, was a man with a furious temper who beat him almost everyday. He remembers being whipped so hard, blood oozed from the slashes on his back. Apparently, his mother was also abusive towards him. During an interview, he said he was abused
"because I hadn't done the work they had mapped out for me before supper. They used to beat me and scold me and at times I did not get anything to eat because I couldn't do my class well."
He added that his stepfather
"used to make me work on the farm. He used to have me stand on a box and pull the bellows. I would carry water and I helped people around the town. He was liable to knock me over for something I did not realize I had done wrong. In other words, he has beat me with my head between my legs until I prayed to die. If I didn't do my work, I didn't eat, and they whipped me besides. That is the truth, and I was beat so much, I used to study how I could make away with myself and as a boy I thought I would get out of torture.""
He also said that he explains how he had gotten a head injury when he was a boy.:
"One day while the blacksmith was working around I was playing and swinging on the corner of the anvil and the anvil unfortunately was not nearly down, or the nail spur on the side, was too far away to hold it and I pulled the anvil over on me. The horn came down and the whole weight of the anvil struck my head. I was unconscious for some time. I must have been several hours and I know I bled more or less. I only wear a 6 3/4 hat."
He said he had experienced confusion and nausea, sure signs of a concussion. Sometimes these were followed by convulsions in which he lost consciousness.
"About a year afterward. I ran away because they were so cruel."
He said he ran away from home after his mother forbade him to go to Sunday-school, claiming that they hadn't wanted him to go to school of any kind, and wanted him to remain at the farm doing various chores. He found his home life had been unbearable for too long. He claimed that this was at the time he was still known as Dan Holden. He changed his name because in his words,
"I didn't want anyone to find me. It was about when I was 12."
As a boy he remembered having had an attack of some kind of "fever", and later on a very severe illness from typhoid. Still later he had what was called "slow fever" which was no doubt the local name for malaria. Symptoms of malaria include fever and flu-like illness, including shaking chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may also occur. Malaria may cause anemia and jaundice (yellow coloring of the skin and eyes) because of the loss of red blood cells. The symptoms of both typhoid and malaria differ considerably. For example in the case of malaria patient can experience nausea, vomiting, chills, fevers and diarrhea sometime but symptoms of typhoid are different in different stages. Although caused by very different organisms – one a Gram negative bacilli, the other a protozoa, and transmitted via different mechanisms – ingestion of contaminated food and water and via the bite of an insect vector respectively, both typhoid and malaria share rather similar symptomatology and epidemiology.
The boyhood home of Watson was Eureka Springs, Ark, according to information furnished to police at the time of Watson's arrest, by two former residents of that town. Watson had professed he could not remember where he had lived as a child. James Kirkendall and RS James suggested that the officers ask if he remembered "hitching an old gray mule to an old street car in Eureka, Ark." Watson answered that he "remembered the mule but not the men."
I did find that there was a James Kirkendall from Eureka Springs, Ark, born in 1870, married in 1893, to Constantia Gaber.
Job Opportunities:
To support himself, Watson traveled the country in a variety of odd jobs. He told the district attorney at his trial that he worked on various farms as a youngster, since he already had experience from home. These farms were located in Sarcoxie and Monette in Kansas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas and Missouri towns such as Verona, Exeter and Neosho. His duties were mainly as a farmhand, a blacksmith's helper and other manual jobs. Families at these farms seemed to feel sorry for him and took him in trading food and board for chores around the farm. "They worked me too hard," he said.
He got a job with a Mr. Putnam in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, first working with pick and shovel for $1.10 a day, then being promoted and put in the care of one of the company directors and allowed half a day in school.
"He was one of the worst men in the world. He made me work night and day. I was supposed to have my evenings. He had three little children and he and his wife would go out and leave me to take care of the children."
Apparently, Watson wasn't the "lovable kind" and his residence with them never seemed to have been of any considerable duration. He said that he always received smaller portions than the family members and endured physical abuse so he looked around for something more substantial in pay.
It was at a job stint in Seligman, Missouri where he said he had saved an enormous sum (at the time) of $1.80 his wages. He was very diligent and devoted to his work, he claimed he did not drink and this helped him to gain a promotion to a job on a surveying gang.
Then he decided he wanted to be an educated man and took up arithmetic and reading. This landed him an office boy job for a Dr. Regan, who owned a drug store and had a traveling patent medicine show . He even got to wear the doctor's old clothes, including a long-tailed coat, and was fortunate enough to be able to travel around with him. He received a dollar a week in wages, which was paid back to the doctor for "book learning." Not wanting to waste time, he still kept up with his studies during his spare hours. I am not sure what years that Watson worked for Dr. Regan, but in 1885, a tornado moved the drug store from its foundation and ruined its stock.
I found a book which said Watson killed his first victim in 1893, when he killed a girlfriend who had gotten inconveniently pregnant.
He quit his high paying job and accepted a traveling representative position with a mercantile agency whose headquarters were in Chicago, the Consolidated Adjustment Company. At this time, he represented his business college in the state oratorical contest, unfortunately he lost the contest, he remembered a boy who's last name was True who was going to high school in Eureka.
"Later I went to a business college. It was in a building where I'd worked at the foundation with pick and shovel. At the finish I was in the oratorical contest. My subject was "The Possibilities of the Future". I was mentioned with two or three others for third place."
Working for Consolidated Adjustment, said he went to
"Fort Smith wearing a long tailed coat of the doctor's. I was promised the state agency. Mr. White had several men there that he wanted me to meet because he was going to make his headquarters in Dallas. Mr. White [his boss] told me in a letter he was going to be frank with me. I had made much better than he thought and he was going to give me something better. So he sent me to Gainesville, Texas."
After his divorce, things seemed to get a little worse for Watson. He was taken ill with a case of inflammatory rheumatism and was placed in a hospital by the YMCA.
"I had one of the most severe spells of inflammatory rheumatism in Gainesville. I was so bad they had to keep me in a sheet for three weeks. I must have been 22 years old at that time."
Properly named rheumatoid arthritis, it is a chronic inflammatory disorder affecting many joints, including those in the hands and feet. They had sent him to finish recovering at the home of "an old couple" with whom he stayed with for nearly two weeks. When he recovered, he spent many of his evenings at the YMCA, as he said,
"I went there to meet the better boys, going down to do my writing and reading and I would go to church occasionally."
The "meet better boys" comment makes me wonder if he had any bisexual tendencies or if this is an innocuous statement, perhaps he meant business men or men with connections.
By now, Dan Holden began his own mercantile agency in Chicago, which was seeking contracts to collect debts for various firms. He had become successful in this new venture and decided to change his name, to that of his father's name John Gillam (it may have actually been Gillian). He admitted that he used both the Dan Holden and John Gillam names during his time with Consolidated.
It was during this time that he entered into his first marriage. According to his marriage record, he was 25 years old, and his bride, Miss Marie Hollingsworth of Coffeyville, Kansas was 22. He had married her in 1899 under the name of "Joseph Gillam" and it was not long after that they would be separated.
"The firm sent me to Colorado and then to Kansas where I married Marie Hollingsworth and later separated from her and took the name of Lawrence Harris ."
He said that she had "a former sweetheart" who she couldn't get over. He said he never had any inclination to harm her in any violent way.
"We got along very badly, and she seemed to still care for this fellow quite a little, that even to the extent when we would go out socially at different times, he would go. He used to be a railroad man. She was so awful, extravagant - exceedingly so- in fact, I would give her practically double what other men were giving their wives and still it was not enough, and at last I had some property and signed it over to her. I just simply signed it over, and she was divorced and married again."
His job had him traveling all over the Midwest states, he went to Texas, kicking the dirt around in such towns as Hillsborough, Dallas and Austin. Leaving Ft Worth he headed over to Oklahoma, then up to Denver when he traveled for the Chicago firm. After traveling through Colorado, he went back to Kansas, then Oklahoma, and back to Missouri.
During this time, he had gotten into a little trouble with his first wife over a real estate deal and skipped town using his alias, "Lawrence Harris".
"I had bought some property and I signed it over to her and said I was going to end it all because she had caused me to lose everything. I wrote and told her I was simply going to end it. I think it was probably 1907."
He apparently hadn't finished paying the mortgage on the house when he signed it over to her.
Under his Lawrence Harris name, he traveled out of St Louis, for a the St Louis Rubber Stamp and Seal Company.
I believe he was using the Milton E. Lewis name to work for a Kansas City company, Publisher's Adjusters Association in 1905, where he traveled to Oklahoma.
Canadian Connection:
While conducting a mail order business in the US, he was indicted for using the mails to defraud, but before he was arrested, he
"simply dropped off the earth and went to Canada. But I kept up with the papers just to keep track and then later on I saw a divorce action and I didn't marry until I saw that."
At Moose Jaw, Canada, he needed a new identity, and after some careful thought, he settled on the name James P. Watson. The year was about 1912, he said. At Calgary, he worked for the Robin Hood Mills for a year as a flour salesman.
"I was always a good business man, I landed in Moose Jaw Saturday night, saw some business men Sunday and started on a good job Monday morning, selling flour for the Robin Hood Mills."
In 1914, he was known as living in Calgary with his Canadian Protective Association business with an office at 502 Beveridge block. This was a collective agency and maintained offices in Edmonton and also in western American cities. Watson while he had residence in Calgary, traveled back and forth a great deal between the agencies. From 1914- 195 he had Kate Kruse as his wife, who relocated in Otanville, Minn.
In 1915, we know he was living as James P. Watson, traveling adjuster, Mercantile Agency, residence, No. 6 Trent Apartments, 10018 112th Street, Edmonton. A businessman, GR Porte, said
"when I first met him, he was living in the Trent apartments on 112th Street, and was engaged in some sort of a commercial collection agency. Later, he was connected with the People's Loan and Mortgage Company. It was while he was running this concern that he had offices in the McLeod block. he appeared before the public utilities commission in 1916 some time with an application to be allowed to sell stock in the company. His request was refused. He also was interested in a concern he called the Canada Protective Association."
The two ads below were placed in Canadian newspapers in 1916:
It was at this time he also organized the Gusher Oil and Gas company, which had its offices in the same suit in the Beveridge block. The other directors of this company were Chas England, J. Bruce Murray. Paul E Slawson, LD Stephenson, all of Calgary. Watson was arrested in 1915 on a complaint from Fernie, BC, from a client of his collective agency. He was taken to Fernie to stand trial but the charge was dismissed. The ad below was placed in Spokane, Washington newspapers in 1914 and 1925.
GA Trainor, who practiced law in Calgary said
"I incorporated an oil company for Watson in 1915, and have transacted some of his law business for his collection agency. Only the other day, I had a letter from Mrs. Katherine Watson, who is living at Ortonville, Minn, inquiring of some matter in connection with the collection agency, which I presume still exists. I know nothing of Watson outside of what legal business I had for him, He did a great deal of traveling, back and forth. He was in Calgary as late as last October, and at that time he was endeavoring to interest me in the promotion of a trust company."
In 1915, he was using the name Arthur Melrose, went to Spokane, saying he was going to open an office there for the Gusher Oil & Gas Co, and advertised for a stenographer. He became acquainted with Mrs. Margaret Burns who applied for the position and he married her in October 1915. He disappeared with $500 of her money and never returned. She went insane.
In 1916, James P. Watson was President and manager of the People's Loan & Mortgage Company, limited; resident, 10024 106th Street, Edmonton. The People's Loan & Mortgage Co, limited with JP Watson as president and manager were relocated to 714 McLeod building, Edmonton. He shared the building with a public stenographer, Florence Knapp, for some months, then he moved into the Tegler block, occupying the office at 636. His friends in Edmonton described him as a "little chap, nervous" and other said he was "a peculiar little man", still others said he was a "small, pale man" . They said what mostly impressed them was the utter devotion that Watson had inspired in his "wife" Kate Kruse.. Watson was a traveler, he used to leave Edmonton for trips ranging in length from two weeks to two months.
He told Kate Kruse that he had extensive property in California, mentioning Oakland, and that he had to look after it, but that very soon he and his wife would go there to live and forget all their troubles. Many a time Watson, when returning from one of his trips, would bring home with him women's clothing and jewelry. This, according to the explanation given by Kate Kruse to her friends in Edmonton, was seized in payment for overdue debts or mortgages. One one occasion, Watson, returned from a trip to Seattle. He brought with him on this occasion some jewelry and some fine clothes. These he stated belonged to the wife of a soldier on active service who owed him money. The wife, he stated, had just died and so he had taken some of her goods in part payment of the debt.
When he first came to Edmonton, he told several people that he had been living in Calgary and that had been in the oil business there. He was a likeable chap, his wife Kate Kruse was quiet and was never seen in the company of other men, even on her husband's long absences from the city. The couple were well liked, and at one time, Watson talked of joining the First Baptist Church there, where his wife was a regular attendant. While he was on his trips, Kate Kruse ran the office for him and kept the business going.
There is no trace of him in Canada in 1917. In 1918, there was no city directory issued. In 1919, James P. Watson is listed as a traveler, residence, No. 14, 10524 100th Ave, Arlington Apartments, Edmonton. The rent was paid here from Jan 1, 1919 to May 1919. Agents for the Arlington apartments has said that his rent was paid regularly during the whole time he resided there and he came and departed in the same manner as any other attendant.. The business he carried on here was the Canadian Protective Association. An unidentified woman from the apartments said that Watson and his wife Kate Kruse had frequently played cards at her home.
After resigning from the mills, he entered a commercial agency business for himself in Vancouver. He said then that his activities were confined to western Canada and the Pacific Coast states. He conducted collection and protective agencies in the Trent Apartments, McLeod block and the Tegler buildings in Edmonton. He ran what he called a protective agency in the Birks building in Vancouver, Wash. He was cleaning up pretty well, he patriotically invested in Canadian bonds.
"I had a nice little bank account and went into a bank and bought a couple thousand dollars of bonds. Then things went against the allies and the bottom dropped out of business. Property had no value. I bought a quarter section of land for $500. I have an equity in it still. Business went on the rocks. Thousands failed. I hung on."
"I married Katharine Kruse. No. I didn't make away with her. She was in the office part of the time. We had two girls helping. I kept the office open just to keep old business alive. A little money kept coming in. My Edmonton office was still open at the time of my arrest here, with a girl in charge to answer letters. Katharine Watson attended to most of the mail. She's in Oregon now. I was moving around, in Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary. I came down to California a year ago, February or March. But I was up there several times."
He also operated the Canadian Protective Association in Edmonton. The address was merely a PO box, which had been opened in 1917 and was still being rented under the CPA name in 1920. The rental had always been paid by a woman, but the name or location could not be obtained. A former secretary and a present employee of the CPA, 1917, used to collect accounts and that several complaints were made by clients that money collected was never satisfactory handled. Headquarters of the company could never be learned by the Canadian Credit men although inquiry was made and an invitation extended for an interview with their representative.
At the start of the first world war, he moved back to Calgary, the government restrictions practically closed his business, and he lost most of his savings through the slump in the markets. His business was foundering but not a total loss, it decreased in revenue so he abandoned it.
After he was arrested, it was discovered that he was being sued by the Sandon branch of the Slocan Mercantile Company in Nelson, BC, who furnished him was a $60 suit of clothes, for which, he evaded paying by stating he had been called away in a hurry, and would settle on his return. From his record in the district as a collector, which resulted in at least one appearance in court, is it doubtful whether he would volunteer payment. At least one tradesman, however, had something good through Watson's patronage, a Silverton jewelry had a turquoise ring which Watson had left with him for repair.
A Slew of Marriages:
To test the matrimonial waters again, he placed lonely hearts ads in newspapers describing himself thusly:"A gentleman, neat appearing, of courteous disposition, well connected in a business way, has quite a little property and is well connected with several corporations. Has a nice bank account as well as a considerable roll of government bonds. Would be pleased to correspond with refined young lady or widow. Object matrimony. This advertisement is in good faith. All answers will be treated with respect."
Well, with an advertisement like that, what woman would refuse? Not many it seems. He had so many replies that he decided to engage with most of them, changing his name each time to avoid detection of previous marriages. He told various stories to all the women, sometimes he said he had an estate worth $400,000. In fact, he was married to four women at the same time in Tacoma, Washington. He devised a plan to pose as a United States Secret Service Operative, operating against diamond smugglers, or a major in the Army, which would help explain his many absences from home, and making sure the wives wouldn't be making any calls looking for him. Later a detective, Nick Harris, told the press that
"No man could remember the first names of so many women he had married. Therefore Watson hit upon the happy expedient of calling all of the 'dearie' or 'darling'".
An example of one of his "form" letters is as follows:
"Darling Sweetheart: I had to rush back to Mexico and now I am back again. Darling, I find I will be able soon to return north and may be able to come all the way to Spokane for you. Darling, we are going to have a lovely home in one of the most beautiful places you ever saw. Darling, all I have is for you and our boy Willie. I know you will be glad to have a home for him, so you can look after him as you like. Dearest, you can address Oakland, Calif, care Hotel Oakland. With all my love and kisses "LG"
Here are the main points in his wooing formula, as told to reporters and prosecutors:
- "Observe the little courtesies of life which so many of us are prone to forget or ignore."
- The one thing the feminine mind can never forget is inattention."
- "Never fail to let a woman know that you are proud of her, and that other men are envious of you."
- "Remove your hat when you meet a lady on the street and keep it off as long as you talk with her - she likes the little attention paid."
- "When you take her to a café or theatre devote your entire time to her. Make her feel that she is much to be desired, that you never saw anyone who was quite her equal."
- "Don't always agree with a woman upon subjects upon which she may have fixed opinions. Disagree with her at times, but show her that you recognize the weight of her arguments and allow the impression to sink in that she may be able to convince you that she is right and you are wrong."
He had a quite successful system of seducing and marrying these women. Correspondence or a personal meeting would follow an answer to his ads. Watson would then take up the financial affairs of the women finding out how much they possesses. He would then conduct a rapid-fire courtship with them and urge an early marriage. After marriage, he would obtain from his wife, a list of names of her relatives and friends, and would tell her his reasons for this were that in case anything should happen to his wife, he would notify her friends. As a general rule, he would prevail upon them to give him their bonds or money or deeds to property. telling them he would use these with his own property for various successful enterprises with which he was connected, also a very few days after marriage he would suggest that a will be made, each in favor of the other. He would then state that he was in the service of the US government as a secret service agent and therefore would be obliged to absent himself from home frequently.
While away from one wife on this pretense, he would usually be occupied in visiting or marrying another woman, sometimes nearby, sometimes at a distance. He would also induce a wife to sign blank bond writing paper at the bottom of the sheet. After he had murdered her he would continue to write her relatives or friends of the woman, using a typewriter above the woman's signature, explaining that she was just learning to use it. Strangely enough, this plan always worked and the suspicions of relatives were never aroused.
Each wife would be told that she would be taken on a long trip, some to Honolulu, others to South America, or again to Mexico. He would travel most of the time in a first-class automobile, carrying a very complete camping outfit, thereby enabling him to do what he pleased with the women without causing people to become suspicious of him. Letters received from the woman's relatives would show him leaving for a long trip to South America or elsewhere, consequently they would not expect to receive mail again for a long period. Some letters were of the following missives:
"We are going to South America. Don't expect to hear from me for three months."
The other part of the system included him turning his wives' money into Liberty Bonds, but in his name only. He hoarded the bonds and from all accounts was quite the spendthrift and lived modestly.
He specialized in widows, he was alleged to have married only two or three women who had not had previous matrimonial experience. Authorities said his preference was probably due to the fact that widows usually had a little property, whereas single women were not so provided. He said he had been married so many times, that he could not remember names, places nor dates. He confessed that in Spokane, he married three women who knew each other and each of whom knew of the marriages of the other two and he managed to keep them from discovering that all of them had been married to the same man. In his second confession, he admitted he had lived with three "wives" in San Francisco and risked detection by escorting them to restaurants and theatres and had done practically the same thing in other cities.
He kept track of them by carrying around index cards, giving their names, hobbies, foibles, tastes, likes and dislikes, their photographs were attached to each index card. As well as letter forms into which only the first name of the "wife" in question had to be filled. He carried these "cheat sheets" in his black valise which he jealously guarded.
April 14, 1920 - Deputy Sheriffs Harvey Bell & R. Lee Couts uncovered evidence indicating that Harvey may have sold several of his wives into an immoral life below the Mexican border in Tijuana. By May 20, 1920, customs and immigrations officials recognized a photo of Watson as that of a man , who with a woman had crossed into Mexico. The man returned a few days afterward and explained that his companion remained in Mexico. The supposition is further strengthened by the fact that Watson maintained a suite of rooms at the Hotel Rosslyn, where he took several of his wives on "honeymoons". he was known to have maintained a whole host of suites in hotels and apartments in Los Angeles, San Diego and beach resorts. Police thought that his last victim, Nina Lee Deloney may have been sold into sexual slavery, but turned out to be a false clue as her corpse was found in Borrego Valley.
A bloodstained map found with his personal belongings showed a route into the desert of San Diego county and police believed it might have been a graveyard for the wives. It showed at least 20 routes into the "Borrego Valley." Most of the mapped routes led from San Diego into the valley near the junction of Coyote Creek and the St Felipe River.
The District Attorney asked Watson how many persons had he killed? Watson replied,
"Well, it is hard for me to remember everything, because something just tells me to go and marry them, and something told me not to. Yet I would go to it and then it seemed all at once an impulse came over me to go some place way off and make away with them. I seemed to have the strength of two or three men, and then after it was done, I just seemed at ease. Seemed like I had done something that I was ordered or told to go and do and I had done right, not wrong. That is God's truth. Just fascination came over me to take them, give them money to get clothes and then something would say, 'Well, go to it, go to it,' and I would do it. then, I would keep things belonging to them, things I could not use, put them away and go look at them often. The I would often try to reason with myself and say, 'Am I right or am I wrong?' and I often thought that I would go to the officers and tell them what I had done, and again i would say, I must not, and it would just keep on that wat. I would carry a grip full of letters and even marriage with some woman, and I have even left a grip all night with marriage certificates and all kinds of stuff."
The District Attorney asked "That is, belonging to persons that you had some away with?" and Watson replied
"Done away with or married, and I do not know why; just seemed to give me a kind of pleasure to look over them, to keep them."
District Attorney asked, "Now after doing away with a person would you feel any great sorrow over it?" Watson replied,
"It seemed instead that I had done something I should not to and that that was the best way. I cannot understand myself because instead of feeling bad, I just felt at ease. Then it just seemed I wanted to go out and sing and laugh."
He was asked just how many marriage licenses he had of persons he had made away with and he wanted to talk about something else,
"Can I tell you something first? The peculiar part is that people who have a lot of money I made no effort to get at, and as a rule no effort to make away with them, but it seems the parties I made away with were the very parties that had nothing to speak of."
He was then asked if he had any desire to do away with me, he said
"Never had any desire. It just seemed that there was an ungovernable desire came over me a few years ago just to do these things."
List of Wives
Marie "May" Hollingsworth
Marie "May" Hollingsworth of Coffeyville, Kansas he lied when he said she married him in 1904. I was able to find a marriage license notice in a Kansas newspaper with the date of 12/30/1899, where her age was given as 22 and his name was given as Joseph A. Gilliam of Topeka, aged 25. He said they had been childhood sweethearts, but unfortunately the love did not last and the marriage was an unhappy one. They soon divorced and his ex-wife remarried to another man, WG Coupland. She said that her and Watson were married for five years and that he was always kind and gentle, especially to dumb animals and never showed any disposition to be vicious, she thought he must have become insane during his later years.
Anna Merrill:
Anna Merrill, in Shelburne Falls, Minn, in 1905, married her under the name of Harvey.Louise M. Barklow:
Possibly Louise M. Barklow, of San Francisco in 1905, used Joseph H Gilliam name.Olive Greenlee:
Olive Green or Greenlee was wed sometime after his first wife. This too was a brief marriage as he said he "just simply couldn't get along with her." Divorce promptly followed so he said.Alice Freeman:
Alice Freeman in Alton, Illinois, daughter of CE Freeman of 4023 Scanlon Place, St Louis, in 1911. He was married to her for two years under his Lawrence Harris alias. He described her as "as fine a little girl as ever lived this time." He said he lived with her for two years in St Louis, doing business under the name of Harris in the Wainwright building. That is when the federal authorities indicted him. He said he had no inclination to do away with her. He said he deserted her when he"was indicted for using the mails to defraud and had to get out, going to Canada. I skipped to keep from being prosecuted. In canada I took a St Louis paper to keep track and saw a divorce action. I didn't marry again until I saw that."
"He deserted my daughter. He used the name of Lawrence Harris here."
Helen Gordon:
Marie (May) Austin:
Marie (May) Austin in Calgary, in 1912. After the marriage, he struck her on the head with a large rock and drowned her at Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho. This appears to be the first murder. She was born in 1891 in Canada. He proposed marriage, said had to leave, and sent her money to make the trip to Calgary. Then they honeymooned in Lake Coeur d'Alene.Katherine "Kate" Kruse
"James certainly knew how to get married quietly," she told one of her friends, adding, "we were married without any of our friends knowing anything about it. My parents did not know of it until sometime afterwards."
Alice Richmond
"He took all my money and left me, but I investigated and learned that his real name is Robert Dixon Boyd and that he came from a good family in Memphis, Tennessee, not Dallas, Texas. His sister told me he has made a practice of marrying women with money or jewels, robbing and deserting them. She said he had married scores of women and treated all of them after the same fashion."
Fanny M. Crawford
Margaret Burns
Alice M. Ludwigson (Ludvigsen)
"I did not pay much attention to them as they were camping out in the park grounds. They came in a Hudson automobile using a Washington license. They arrived in the evening and the next morning the man to me to rent a boat. In renting the boat I asked him his name and address. i do not remember what name he gave me but I remember he told me he was from Wallace, Idaho. I also remember that he was alone when he returned the boat and he departed alone in his automobile the third day after his arrival."
"I never saw the woman, but I saw the man several times. When he first came to my office to get a fishing license, he asked the depth of the water in the lake. He particularly asked if there were any places in the lake where the water was 100 feet deep or deeper. I told of several spots where I thought the water was that deep. the morning of his departure he came hurriedly into the store and asked for some stamps. I told him I was busy sorting mail, but would wait on him in a few minutes. He replied that he was in a great hurry and could not wait. I then told him he would have to get his stamped at the next post office, as I was too busy to stop my work then. He left, and I understood afterward, departed alone in his car. I do not remember the name he used here, but I remember he told me he was from Wallace, Idaho when I issued the fishing license to him."AJ Shoub of La Crosse, Wash, who was a camp neighbor of the man and woman at Chatcolet, believe Watson is the man. Mrs. Shoub who was with her husband, said over the long distance phone that although there was considerable talk over the mysterious disappearance of the woman, no investigation was made.
"We were camping in the park grounds, and this man and woman came the evening of Aug 4 or 5, I believe, and camped near us. The next morning they went out on the lake in a boat and were gone all day. The man appeared alone the next morning. I believe he came back the camp the night before at a late hour. He left alone in his auto. It was a Hudson. I never talked with the man and did not pay much attention to him, but Mr. Shoub talked with him. I don't know what name he gave Mr. Shoub, but my husband told me later that it was not the same name the man gave when he obtained his fishing license. There was considerable talk over the disappearance of the woman, but no official action was taken and there was no search made for her. Mr Shoub believes, after reading a description of the man under arrest in Los Angeles, that it was he who was at Chatcolet with the woman who disappeared."
Gertrude "Gertie" Wilson
Gertrude "Gertie" Wilson, was married in July of 1917, while in in Seattle, when he was using the JP Watson name. She was a widow with a young son and operated a large ranch in Alberta. She met Watson in Seattle. She was supposed to have gone to Honolulu. He left her and the boy on a farm in the Hood Canal region in July of 1917, when he was reported to have gone to Alberta to visit her son. In Oct, Watson returned to Seattle and sent for his wife and son to join him there. Nothing was further heard from either of them. Her whereabouts were unknown.Mary Ann Watt
"Naturally I told no one about it."
Agnes Wilson
"His occupation was always a mystery and he was always going away to the prairies or Chicago or New York, but would give no explanation for these visits."
"I would rather know definitely what happened to Agnes. We have had hopes that Agnes discovered the true nature of the man and had left him, for she was a girl that would, we felt, have borne her trouble in silence, but this report seems to indicate the worst. We will await some notification from the Los Angeles officials."
"There was Agnes Wilson that I married in Vancouver. She would write letters to certain people. I took her down to Lake Washington twice and I said to myself 'I will finish it.' But I didn't. I would have the impulse and fight it off, even when there was every opportunity. We had words nearly every day. The third or fourth time we went down there an dout in a boat, and discussed the matter and started to a landing. When we go near the shore, I hit her with the oar - the heavy end - holding it by the blade. She fell over into the edge of the water. I think I struck her a couple of times. She was stunned. I threw some rocks at her head I think. I put some small rocks in her pockets, and buttoned her coat and shoved some rocks under it. and sunk her n the lake. It was in the daytime, but nobody was along the shore. No, I didn't feel sorry. I felt a kind of relief."
Katherine "Katie" Merkley Gray Woolfolk
Emily J. Rose
Eleanor Fisher:
Unknown Jimmerfield:
Bertha M Lewis:
Bertha M Lewis was wedded on 4/1918, in Spokane, missingAlice Minnie Hunt:
Alice Minnie Hunt, a Los Angeles nurse, said she married him when she was 15 on 10/11/1918 in Mexico, under the name CE Huirt.Maude Ellen Knaggs Goldensmith
Maude Ellen Knaggs Goldensmith (also reported as Goldsmith) was married in 1/11/1919, in Pierce, Washington according to a marriage record, this appears to be the first time he married under the newly created name of Charles Newton. (also claimed it happened on July, 1919 in Wallace, Idaho). She was located alive and living in Wallace, Idaho and expressed a wish to prosecute Watson as a bigamist. She declared that her husband was either "a crook or crazy." She sent copies of two letters Watson sent her and the writing and phraseology were identical with letters he wrote to Nina Lee Deloney. Telegrams were also sent from Los Angeles on March 3, 1919, and from Long Beach Apr 5, 1919, they spoke of Watson having just returned from a trip into Mexico. Goldensmith also declared that after her marriage to Newton, she found a letter addressed to him as JP Watson, and that she saw his watch, which was engraved with the initials "CNH" and cuff links engraved with "JPW". Maude was born on 10/8/1872 in Wisconsin. She died on 3/24/1940 in San Francisco.Beatrice M. Andrewartha:
"I am writing you to see if you can give me any information of my wife's sister. Mrs. Beatrice Andrewartha, who married a man by the name of Harry M. Lewis at Tacoma, Wash, Feb 5, 1919. The last heard from her was a typewritten letter from Sacramento, March 25, 1919. The signature was not written by her, as we have compared it with her handwriting. I see by the Spokesman-Review, the Los Angeles police have some documents and marriage certificates of Harry M. Lewis, Could you communicate with Los Angeles and give us any information of her?"
"There was this Beatrice Andrewartha that I married in Tacoma last year as Harry Lewis. We were walking along the lake, Lake Washington, out from Seattle. I think there were some words. She might have said "I won't live here or I won't live there.' The impulse came over me. I threw her down and held her under the water with my hands. I don't remember hitting her. I took a stick and pushed the body off into deep water. The lake is deep. They don't come up."
Mattie Irene Root:
Mattie Irene Crockett Root was made his bride on 3/18/1919 in Sacramento, this time he was using the Harry Lawrence Gordon alias. She filed a suit for annulment on Aug 9, 1920. Her first husband was George A. Root. She remarried to Isaac Caleb Shipley. She was born on 7/7/1868 in California. She died on 6/28/1934 in Ukiah, Calif.Betty Prior (Pryor):
"he married her for her money and fine clothes. Mr.Allen and I witnessed the mutual will she and Lewis made. She willed him all her money, $1,800. I believe he murdered her and took that and all her fine clothes to the next wife. From the descriptions, I am sure the body is hers. After Watson married Betty, he went away, saying he was going to Canada to sell a big ranch. he promised to buy his wife a big wardrobe trunk for her many pretty clothes. When he returned after almost two months, he brought back a second hand trunk filled with clothes. He explained this by saying it was better to wait before getting a new one until they got settled. He told Betty he had bought the trunk at an auction sale. he explained the clothes by saying he had taken them in payment of money due him, and which he couldn't collect. It was filled with women's apparel of every kind. there were 14 house dresses, a lot of antique house furnishing, like a salt and pepper canister, five or six silver match safes, two of which he gave to the children, and other things."
Mary Louise Bourhis
"I was living on a farm outside Regina, when Mr. Gordon came from Winnipeg, or so he said. I had inherited one-third of an estate, amounting to $10,000. Following a brief but ardent courtship, I went to Winnipeg with him and we were married. He was a wonderful lover, but before I married him, I placed an inheritance of $10,000 in trust for my children where neither one of us could reach it for twenty years. Perhaps it was the inheritance he was after. Anyway, I returned to the farm, and eight days later Mr Gordon joined me there. He stayed until April 23 then said he was going to Vancouver to make a home for us.
He was a good correspondent, and wrote affectionate letters two or three times a week from Vancouver - until Christmas. He wrote me that he was a broker, and that he was trying to organize a bank. About Christmas, however, the letters stopped abruptly, and I heard nothing from him. Worried, I came to Vancouver with my children in search of him, an d unable to get any trace, I sought Chief of Police McRae's aid in January 1920. Subsequent search through the south resulted in obtaining a photograph of the man who attempted to commit suicide in Los Angeles, and I can positively identify him as my husband of 1912."
Bertha Goodnick:
"I married her in Washington. We were in a boat on Lake Washington. There came up a squall and the water splashed over it. She got scared and went over."
"There was Bertha Goodnick, that was at L:ake Washington. We were out near the lake, beside a driveway. An impulse came over me to hit the girl, without any really great provocation. There were people going up and down the lake in little boats. It was something about continuing our trip. I think she said 'I won't' and I said 'You won't?' We had planned going to different places, some places she wanted to go and some she didn't. I got up and took a rock and hit her. I dragged the body back into the brush out of sight. There were people going along the paths, coming from picnics. Something just said to me, 'Go ahead.' and I went ahead. About sunset I pulled the body to the water and fastened the end of the rope on the boat to her clothing and shoved the boat out and rowed some little distance out and just untied it there and let it sink."
Elizabeth F. Williamson:
"This is surely the worst blow of my life. Coming at a time when I was so perfectly happy makes it all the harder to bear. You can imagine how I feel, for all said about him I have found to be true. Well, I'll say I've had seven months of extreme happiness and with it all he's been lovely to me. He has been an ideal husband to me. Also a beautiful father to my daughter.. In fact, she loved him so much that I had her name changed from Williamson to Lewis. I offered my blood if a transfusion operation was necessary to save him from his suicide attempts."
"I met him as Harry Lewis at Spokane through mutual acquaintances in 1919. I believed he was attracted to me by hearing of $10,000 insurance policy left by my husband. We were married in Davenport, Wash, the same year and went to Sacramento. He left me for seven weeks then saying he was a secret service man. He returned December 1 and again left remaining away until after Christmas. Two weeks ago Tuesday he left e again, and I have not seen him since. He said he was going to Mexico. Since then I returned to Sacramento, where I received a telegram saying that he was doing well in business and was going to Mexico. Later, on April 8, I got a letter from him, saying he was going to Mexico and for me to write him at the Rosslyn Hotel, Los Angeles, in ten days.
He said he was happy that we (he and I) had decided to make our home in Santa Barbara. he had tried to form a bank at Los Molinos but did not succeed. he adopted my daughter, Jane, aged 7. She loves him very much. She says I loved daddy Williamson, because he raised me, but I love Daddy Lewis because he is so kind to my mother. This will be a shock to her. He often told of how easy it would be to take women in Mexico and lose them and now I can not help but feel that the very convincing manner with which he told these stories arose, partly at least, from actual experience.
I do not believe that he could have had 23 or even 15 wives in so short a time and in such a comparatively small territory with out some of them running on to others if all of them had been allowed to live. I think it was the ones who disagreed with him or balked when it came to money matters that disappeared mysteriously. He made many trips into Mexico and it would have been easy for him to "lose" women down there just as he said. I do not know whether he was connected with any band of robbers or not, but I do know that he had no regular employment to bring in any settled income.
When he told me that the things he kept locked in that little black bag were secret service affairs, government secrets, I thought it would be extremely dishonorable to even think of wanting to see into it and I felt the same way about the long black leather pocket book that he took out of an inside pocket put into his sock and under the pillow every night of his life. But the performance of this mechanically and monotonously, had something in it uncanny and made me feel very queer when it happened. Now they have found that this sacred black pocket book which he guarded so carefully had an inscription, "unworked prospects", and after that followed the names of 25 young women, some of them prominent in this part of the State.
Once he left me in a peculiar way in Oakland. That I never understood. He told many interesting talks about himself, for he has traveled all over the country. he said once he did a daring feat near Bartlesville, Okla. by hanging to a wire of a ferry and crossing a frozen river to take evidence in a trial, afterwards walking thirty miles to save a woman's honor. I had a home in Davenport, Wash, but he said not to ne encumbered with it and I sold it at a sacrifice."
Lillian Whitney:
Minnie E. Ballew:
Minnie E. Ballew (correct spelling), wedded on 10/29/1919 in Chicago, when he used the Major Charles W. Gordon alias. Minnie Ballew, of 1245 Wilson Ave, Chicago telegraphed Los Angeles police that Watson was the man who married her and disappeared shortly afterward with a valuable diamond ring. She said she responded to his newspaper ad and he appeared at her home, and after a 2 week courtship, they were married. She was his landlady. She said"He was a fast worker. He has a way about him - a something, I don't know what it was - that made him irresistible. I was a fool, all right, but if he was Huirt, I guess I was a lucky fool. My goodness, just think of all the women he is said to have killed. Even though his wives filled the hospital room, I should still cross the continent to win one of those dear kisses so sweet and warm. Oh, what a wonderful actor he was! He must have been acting all the time - because I understand all the other women feel just the same as I do. I never dreamed that there could be such lovemaking. He certainly could make love. He was an expert. His kisses were so sweet and warm. He showered me with such attentions.
He was the ideal lover. He never forgot the little things - the little things that mean so much. He was devoted to me. Wherever we stopped we had fine suites in the hotels. he always saw that there were vases filled with flowers. he gave me pounds and pounds of candy. There were taxis ready to take me everywhere. he made love perpetually. We were married here at my house and went on our honeymoon to Kansas City, Omaha and St Louis. It was in St Louis that he disappeared - deserted me on my honeymoon. I had a $1000 diamond ring. That's a cheap looking ring, dear,' he said, 'I'll get you one that will make that look like a piece of pop bottle, I'll take this along so I'll know the right size.' he kissed me affectionately - I never saw such an affectionate man - and left to get the ring.
That was the last I ever saw of him. The description of Huirt in the papers correspond to that of Gordon exactly. They say his other wives disappeared on their honeymoons or that he deserted them on their honeymoons. It sounds as if it was the same man. He told me he had been a major in the arm and that he had an estate worth $400,000. He had a lawyer, a Mr. McCollough, draw up a will bequeathing me $100,000 of his estate. I thought he was rich. He always seemed to have money. He was tall and good looking. I never can forget how he made love."
Unknown Widow:
"very near sighted, about 39 years old five feet eight, and about 16lbs."
Kathryn "Kate" Wombacher:
"no legal punishment could be severe enough for him; he deserves the worst that imagination could devise."
"He is always a gentleman. Remember that. He is a clever man, and intellectually bright. We met in Seattle. I was a business woman, and tired of living alone. So we were married last November [in 1919]. At Christmas, his Company transferred him to Los Angeles; so we moved there."
Nina Lee Deloney:
"there was nothing at all suspicious about their actions. they spent much of their time in their room and automobiling. The man had his own car. They introduced themselves here as CM Harvey and wife. There was nothing at all about their actions to excite more than passing notice. I never suspected anything wrong until Deputy Sheriff Al Manning came to our house today inquiring about them and I could tell him but little and nothing that had any bearing on the case."
"I had the car open at the time and I grabbed a hammer and hit her on the head several times and killed her. I wrapped her up with part of her own clothes and took a canvas blanket so the blood wouldn't show. When I got through I put it in the car and drove during the night to San Diego and went across the mountains. I put ropes around the body to have something to hold onto, and carried it. Sometimes I had to drag it over rocks. She'd weigh about 150 pounds alive. This side of El Centro, about 30 miles, I carried the body up a gulch. Worked it away up the side where the water runs over the sand and buried it there. "
"we are going to South America. Don't expect to hear from me for three months."
Eleanor Fraser:
Mrs. HR Gardner:
Mrs. HR Gardner, Red Bluff, Cali, married under the name of Matthews, missing.Margaret Myers?:
Margaret Myers, living with her husband in Vancouver, BC, married under the name Andrews, married to a Carl Stocke on April 6, 1920. She lived at 401 Spokane St. Her name appeared on Watson's list with the notation "property"Irene Erkison:
Irene Elnora Erkison (sometimes misspelled Erickson), Alameda, Cal, a nurse, married under the name of Harvey between July 4, 1919 to March 1920, was in San Leandro, Cal. She later denied marrying him., but her letters proved otherwise. A letter from "Irene" found in Watson's possession contained a threat by the writer to kill herself because she had learned she was duped. Her last letter to Watson is as follows:"Darling Sweetheart, you ask how I like the name sweetheart and I will tell you. But it is this way, without the word 'wife' I can scarcely believe I am your wife, but putting it with wife I have no objection to it and I may say I like it very much. And as to the rest of your letter I must say I am surprised. I do not want to find fault, but it seems to me you have started out already to deceive me. You promised to take me to Australia and I hope you are going to keep your word. I trusted you enough to marry you and let you leave me behind, believing all you told me about our going to Australia.
No sweetheart, I do not like the way you are walking now at all. What I want is to get away from everybody and to a new country., not some little California town. I went to my bank when I returned and found I had only $150 instead of $250 as I thought. So I guess it would have been better if I had used my revolver on myself instead of getting married. Taking this step when I was so near up against it and you going away off and leaving me was a rather risky thing to do. I do not want to make any threats, but if it should happen that you have deceived me, in what you have told me about yourself, your finances, etc, I will never get over it and I will surely use my gun on myself.
Remember I told you I had two other proposals about the time I had yours, men of means, but I did not care for them in the right way and they in no way could compare with you. With my finances so low and my hubby so far away from me, you should not wonder that I am despondent and blue. No one to kiss and hug me and tell me not to worry. Gee, how I miss those kisses like you know how to give, my husband...All my love and kisses and a big hug, my darling hubby. your loving little sweetheart wife."
Florence Adelaide Long:
Florence Adelaide Long, San Diego, Cal, married under the name of James Lawrence. Among the papers seized by the police in Watson's room, was a will made out by him in which he left the income from an $8000 investment to Florence, who disappeared after Watson's arrest. She was living in Santa Monica. Her father said about her that"there was absolutely nothing between my daughter and this man. He never saw her except in the presence of myself and my wife. Why he should have mentioned her in this so-called will I do not know. I detest having our names brought into such a nasty case and we've done nothing to deserve it. My daughter came to the beach for her health and she was getting along nicely. She is out of the city now and will not return for some time. Just when I cannot say, but it will not be for a few days at least."
Miriam Briggs:
Miriam Briggs (or Myrtle Briggs Fritch) Portland, Ore, married under the name of Harvey in March 1920, last known in Klamath Falls, Ore.Mrs. MJ Coburn:
Possibly Mrs. MJ Coburn, wife of Mike Coburn, former chief of police, may be one of the wives who Watson married, using an alias of Louis Golden. He disappeared after their marriage with $6,000 of his bride's money and $2,000 belonging to others.Florence Sherred:
Florence L. Sherred of 1205 East 32nd Ave, Spokane. She married Watson under the name of Lewis, mortgaging her property in Spokane and dropped out of sight. She told Mrs. Williamson she was in love with a man who knew her husband, and who afterward mortgaged her property and disappeared. According to a 1917 Spokane city directory, Florence was a dressmaker and a department manager of SE Carr & Co, a store dealing in general merchandise located at Riverside & Post.. Her address at the time was 1021 East 32nd Ave. Florence was born in Sept 1881 in Canada and came to the US in 1886, she died in July 1937. She was buried at the Fairmount Memorial Park
Appearance & Demeanor:
According to another one of his "form" letters, he described himself as:
"I am in the thirties, have brown hair, blue eyes and fair complexion. Weigh 150. Am 5ft 7in tall. I believe in the better and elevating things in life."
His appearance was said to not be in his favor, at the time of his arrest in 1920 he was 42 years old, he stood 5 feet 7 inches, tall, but was stoop shouldered, had arms which "hung nearly to his knees, walked on his heels, and weighed a slender 135 lbs. He had a fair, sallow complexion with blue gray eyes, his left eye is out of line, "his upper lip was too long and he had a hideous habit of baring his teeth when in anger," he had brown hair. He claimed his looks were due to him having come from English descent. He was generally smooth shaven, revealing a small scar like pock mark on left cheek. He liked to show off a large 1 1/2 carat diamond ring on left hand, and carried his pocket watch in outside upper coat pocket.
He was temperate in his habits but not a teetotaler. In religion, he was a Protestant, but had never been very deeply religious, although he had at one time attended church and had been a member of a Young People's League.
- Q - Have you ever committed any crime before this?
- A - Yes, I was insane for some time. I spent several years in an asylum in Ohio.
- Q - Where was that?
- A - I don't remember.
- Q - When was it?
- A - I don't remember that either.
- Q - What have been your habits? Have you ever taken drugs?
- A - I was a morphine addict 10 years ago, but have dropped it since that time.
- Q - How about alcohol?
- A - Always have used it to excess.
- Q - What other illnesses have you had?
- A - Epilepsy, loss of memory and dizzy spells. I have had lung trouble for several years and have been told by some doctors that I had tuberculosis. I have an aunt in an insane asylum.
- Q - Where is that asylum?
- A - I don't remember.
If he really did have an addiction to morphine, did he pick it up while working for that doctor?
A description of Gillam, given by a famous psychiatrist and alienist, Dr. Edward Huntington Williams at the time of his arrest.
"A medium sized, mild spoken man of about forty-two years of age, quiet and somewhat deferential in his attitude towards others. He is not cringing or servile, but rather gives the impression of possessing a humble and respectful attitude."
San Quentin prison physicians examined Watson and gave their result:
"He is under-developed, his chest is deformed-funnel-shaped, his weight is far below normal, his nerve is weak."
Also upon examination at the prison, it was discovered that he was what they thought at the time, a hermaphrodite (possessing both male and female sex organs). Two University California "Special Lecturers in Criminology and Mental Hygiene" correctly described Watson as suffering from sexual perversion and hypospadias - a condition in which the urethra exits not a the top of the penis, but rather underneath, more like a vagina. In the Death Scenes book, there is a graphic photo showing Watson's genitalia.
Dr. Leo L. Stanley, resident physician at San Quentin Prison hospital, remarked that
"One of our strangest and most sinister killers is so peculiarly malformed that he might belong more in the animal than the human category. It is difficult to imagine the shock he must have received when, as a boy, he discovered himself to be shamefully different from all other men. That burning humiliation may have served to turn his self-hatred upon victim...Since physically he is unlike the rest of us, mentally as well he is a creature apart. ..he was the most notorious mass-murderer we have ever had in San Quentin was close to being a hermaphrodite a" and "swayed between the mental processes of male and female."
He also described him as "effeminate". and in his opinion looked like the type that
"does not ordinarily care for the opposite sex. Basically speaking, the queer little fellow was a monster. The true hermaphrodite is rare in medical history, but Bluebeard Watson came close to being a bisexual monster." He is a sub-normal man who appears to be glad to be within the shelter of the prison."
Watson admitted that when he was a young boy he had "nocturnal incontinence" and did not get over this habit until he was "quite a boy", as he said. Since he had the abnormal genital condition, he said that the other boys always used to make fun of him at times, he always tried to conceal his deformity. For examples, he never learned to swim, because he would not go swimming with the other boys and thus expose himself.
Watson said he always had normal sexual impulse, but as a young man he was in some doubt as to this matter on account of his deformity. When he was 20, he fell into company with a woman of the streets and found that he was sexually normal. This experience was a great relief to his mind and later on when a doctor told him that he could be operated on and cured of his deformity, he said that this information relieved him so that his physical abnormality never worried him very much after that.
Most of his life he had been a salesman of one kind or another, frequently a traveling salesman and usually quite a successful one. At the beginning of the great war, he was in Canada living with his legal wife. At the time he was just starting a commercial agency, but at the outbreak of war, the government restrictions practically closed his business. He said that this worried him so badly that he had a nervous breakdown. According to him, this nervous breakdown occurred almost at the outbreak of the war and he remained more or less incapacitated for something over a year. As a result, he was unable to perform any great amount of work without becoming utterly exhausted bordering on complete collapse.
During that time his wife noticed and commented upon the fact that he seemed to be a changed person - "different from what he had been." He claimed that it was at this time that he started to feel the impulse to kill.
"I was very careful, they never would have convicted me on any evidence I left if I hadn't told them everything. It all started in a nervous breakdown. Dr. Tatham in Edmonton, told me pretty plainly if I didn't take care of myself, he didn't know what would happen to me. I was sick then. That was after the war. I went all to pieces."
He said he had began getting severe headaches, something he never had before, although he had several rather severe head injuries in the past. Such as the time the blacksmith's anvil tipped over on him, pinning him to the ground with a considerable portion of the weight of the anvil resting on his head. Around 1912, he said he was in a car accident and was thrown from the vehicle, striking the top of his head. He said he was not unconscious but he says that he felt as if something popped in the back of his neck just beneath his skull and was stunned and dazed for a short time. He did have a pain in the back of his head and neck for some time after the accident. In 1913, he fell out of an upper berth of a steamship, striking the top of his head yet again. It did not make him unconscious, only dazed him for a short time, but he did not believe he had experienced an bad effect from that fall.
Inquiries by authorities after his arrest in 1920 had went to establish any local identification they could find to prove his conflicting stories. Inquiries at the Kansas City Southern shops, the United Iron Works and Pittsburg Boiler & Machinery Company failed to disclose that any workman by the name of either Huirt or Watson had been employed there. Southern shop records did not show anyone who suffered an injury such as mentioned in the Los Angeles story at the time referred. The only suggestion tending to throw any possible light on the Pittsburg phase of the story is that a man named John Watson or JR Watson, who was employed at the old Ellsworth-Klaner steam shovel, was injured on Jan 8, 1913, by a fall from a gangway. He was employed at the mine for some time and left there a number of years ago. Other than these circumstances, there is nothing whatever to indicated he may be the man involved in the Los Angeles affair.
A short time before beginning his murder spree, he said he had a experienced such severe fright that he said it had left him in a terribly nervous condition for more than a month. He said the fright was caused by slipping on the icy deck of a steamship, narrowly escaping being projected into the dark, icy waters where he would certainly have drowned, as he couldn't swim. The strain and shock over this narrow escape from death completely unnerved him so much that it affected him for days, more than any other events in his life before and after.
Watson said he had epileptic fits (but in actuality these were not epilepsy seizures as he did not have epilepsy) at one time when he was a young man. He described their seizures as occurring several times when he was about 19 or 20 years old. He described them as "dizzy spells" in which he would be forced to sit down in order to avoid falling. But the attacks only lasted for a few moments and were followed by a feeling of nausea. This sounds more like he was experiencing panic attacks. A panic attack is a brief episode of intense anxiety, which causes the physical sensations of fear. These can include a racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling and muscle tension. Panic attacks occur frequently and unexpectedly and are often not related to any external threat.
Of significance of the time also, is the fact that he said developed mild delusions of persecutions, feeling that people were conspiring to injure him in his business, and described a condition of mild depression lasting several days, followed by a corresponding period of elation without any cause for either condition. This appears to have been the result of bipolar disorder with the alternating periods of mania and depression.
He said he did not get married until he was 33 because he had not accumulated sufficient means to support a wife. He said that there was no abnormal sexual element in this first marriage or in connection with any of his later marriages. He asserted that he had been intimate with most of his numerous wives before he married them and that sexual relations had been normal after marriage. He said that it was fully three years after his marriage to the first wife before he began his crimes, which we know not to be true, he was first married in 1899 and claimed he started in 1917. In 1917, he was still feeling the depression and mental unrest, he would frequently be obsessed with an indescribable impulse. As a result, he would sometimes get into his car and drive aimlessly miles and miles without any particular plan. Sometimes he would find himself five hundred miles from the starting point before he regained his normal equilibrium. I believe he was suffering from manic episodes during those times.
His first victim was the aforementioned Alice Ludvigson, whose body was never recovered and she was never reported missing. I think this method of death was easy for him, the chances of the body being found were slim and he figured he would be able to get away with it, so this became his modus operandi. He would later describe other murders for example, that when walking besides a lake or river, with this or that woman, he was seized with an impulse to kill her and accordingly to carry out the impulse. Or, again, he would describe in detail the manner in which he had knocked one victim senseless with an oar, held her head underwater until she was dead, then weighted her clothing with rock and tossed the body into the lake. He also used bludgeoning with a heavy instrument as another method, using an auto wrench for one and a hammer in another. He said that when seized with the lust to murder, his strength became superhuman.
As for his mental state, he said that "a desire to kill" came over him", "something just told me to do it." He said he did not have a direct motive in killing his victims. Some of the slayings were the results of violent quarrels, according to him. He obtained a certain satisfaction in the very act of murder. , according to his confession, about four years earlier, during the first world war, although he never participated in any military capacities. At one time, he claimed that he experienced little to no sexual feeling while murdering a woman. He said he had no desire to kill men, children or animals, only women.
"I was very gentle and kind as a boy and I liked children and kittens and birds. I never could look at a dog fight or see an animal hurt. Once I found a dog with a broken leg and I cured it with splints."
He asserted he was compelled to perform these acts by some dominating force that he could not understand. He felt some mighty power was instructing him and forcing him to kill. This feeling was so great that he would get no rest or relief until the deed was accomplished, then at once a great sense of relief would come over him - a feeling of satisfaction as though some great load had been lifted off his shoulders. At the same time this dominating force would seem to tell him or make him feel that he had "done well." This impulse was, he said, sometimes resisted for days, weeks or months, and at other times yielded to immediately without the least trace of emotion, but at the same time with no spirit of bravado.
He stated to the authorities that he "did not believe himself to be a sexual pervert" because all his misdeeds had been committed within the last three years. His argument was that if his crimes had been the result of sexual perversion, the tendency to commit them would have shown itself much earlier in his life. as it was his understanding of perversion was that it always began early in life. He stated that all but one of his murders had been committed within a period of ten months. After that, there had been a period of ten months in which he was able to resist the impulse to murder. Then he killed his last wife. According to this statement, therefore all his crimes were committed within twenty months between the last murder and the one just preceding it, which led him to argue (in all seriousness) that he was "getting better" and would eventually "recover", so that he would not be compelled to do any more murders at all.
He regarded his obsession for killing women as an "illness". He sincerely thought it would have been possible to be cured of it. he thought that because he had gone "almost a year without killing anyone", he felt he was "recovering." And he stated further that he believed
"when I am cured, I will be safer to be at large than most men are. When authorities find I am cured, they will be ready to help me."
Yet again, he admitted such excitement that he would "do things," he said that he experienced a great sense of mental and physical relief and an actual elation of spirit after his murders leads one to suspect he was suffering from sexual perversion which lead him to the life of a lust killer.
To me, it speaks of bipolar, a sizable minority of individuals experiencing a manic episode develop an internal rage that with almost no provocation can explode into verbal aggression or physical violence. Mania can lessen and distort judgement, whether social or cultural learned behavior, and stimulates a need for increased activity and excitement at the same time. In order to cope with these intense feelings of desire, grandiosity, anger and anxiety, the bipolar person behaves and makes decisions that are erratic and often dangerous in nature, no matter what the consequences could be. They can sometimes run up huge debts, buy or acquire enormous quantities of a single or unusual item, drive recklessly, engage in risky sexual activities with multiple partners, feel justified by disobeying laws or societal norms, go without sleeping or eating, drive aimlessly until the car runs out of gas, indulge in large quantities of alcohol, lose inhibitions, take countless and thoughtless risks, dress bizarrely and verbally and physically lash out at others.
Other issues include self perception of grandiosity and paranoia, judgement is severely suppressed, and a manic person can become extremely reckless, have impulsive agitated thinking and anger, which can induce suicidal thoughts or behaviors. Severe mania may trigger attempts to physically injure themselves or others or to unexpectedly destroy or damage property, which may not be their own. Severe mania can completely disrupt a person's working and short term memory, which they may find extremely frightening and disorienting. Without medication, a person's manic hyperactivity and psychotic state will evolve into a stressful fatigue, and a loss of psychological orientation to time and place.
Incriminating Evidence:
Officers discovered a room occupied at intervals by Watson, and which the landlord of the hotel said had been continuously retained for weeks. Also authorities discovered bank deposits totaling more than $8,000. They said they were also looking for a woman, Mrs. Florence Adelaide Long, who had been corresponding with Watson and who was living at a beach hotel when the news of his arrest became public. Mrs. Long had formerly lived in Venice, near Santa Monica. Watson is declared to have made a will in favor of Mrs. Long, and this document, found in his possession led to location of the Santa Monica room.
At the time of Watson's arrest, the officers found that he was carrying in his pockets, and in various "grips" (suitcases, bags or briefcases), many trinkets, rings, and pieces of jewelry, and also written documents, such as marriage certificates, which were most incriminating.
He kept track of his numerous wives by carrying around index cards, giving their names, hobbies, foibles, tastes, likes and dislikes, their photographs were attached to each index card. As well as letter forms into which only the first name of the "wife" in question had to be filled. He carried these "cheat sheets" in his black valise which he jealously guarded.
Also in the bag were letters addressed to fourteen women in Canada and England, scores of sheets of paper signed at the bottom with women's names. The latter were to be filled in by Mr. Watson with wills, or letters to reassure the relatives of these women - after they were dead. These articles were of no particular value intrinsically, and were the very things that the ordinary criminal would have taken great pains to destroy or conceal, yet he carried these things about him everywhere with apparently utter disregard of possible consequences. When asked why he did this, he replied simply,
"I don't know - cannot explain why I did it."
He said he knew they were very incriminating and were a constant menace that might put a noose about his neck any day. He had a compulsion to carry on his person, the various trinkets and clothing he had taken from his victims, which some might suggest fetishism or trophies of his victims. He had over a dozen wedding rings in various finger sizes and numerous articles of feminine jewelry were found in his effects. Police had found papers indicating he had married at least 27 women. Scores of wills, receipts, marriage licenses and business papers and in all feminine names appeared. He said,
"I carried around all these papers; sometimes my pockets were full. Any woman could reach in and get the papers, showing I was mixed up with other people; carried them right around."
Police were looking into establishing ownership of a silk shirt and a fur collar that were found in his Santa Monica hotel room. Dark bloodstain stains on the garments were said by the police to have caused them to attach particular importance to the discovery. The articles showed attempts had been made to remove the spots. Photographs of a number of his "wives" were found in the room, which Watson is declared to have occupied as "James Lawrence of Oakland, CA."
Officers found among Watson's possessions, five trunks containing valuable furs. They also found a man's suit, which they said had been made in Gateway, Montana, which bore the name of Young, which was the last name of one of her former husbands in Gateway, later she made her home is Eureka, Mont.
- Mrs. R. Kays, 4108 Forty-first avenue south, widow lady, has a farm.
- Pearl Rector, Charlestown, RFD. No.1, Box 126A
- Miss HR Alexander, 3708, East Pine St, nurse
- Alice Ludvigson, 2713 Rainier Ave, Grand Union Tea Company, 617 Western Ave.
- Mrs. M. Hall, 1633 Boylston Ave, has a large suit pending
- Mrs. SA Millett, has her own home
- Zoe Estees, 2450 Queen Anne Ave
- Miss Ida Tilson, 1522 Sixteenth Ave
- Miss Frieda Crowner, general delivery, has means.
- Miss Evalina Moser, Box 116, teacher
- May Warren
- Mrs. Frances Smith, general delivery, widow, 35, working out
- Mrs MF Gravis, San Telmo Apartments, general delivery
- Mrs AF Schramm, box 436, Bremerton
- Mrs. J Ellow, 443 Sixth St, Bremerton, has good property, wants someone to help her.
- Mrs AJ Coursey (or Soursey), 2619 East Union Ave, phone, nice income.
- Mrs. La Rena Swanson, Barrington, box 114
- Miss Anna O'Keefe, care of Wilson's Business College
- Grace Gay, 2825 Palton Ave
- Lillian Shoeklever, 1422 Barker
- C. Brittler, 1040 Denmark
- AM Pashley
- Mrs. F Burns, Sheldon Hotel, some means, did live in Portland
- Miss L. Hamer, room 17, Queen Hotel
- Ida Reich, 1615 Joy St
- Mrs M Briggs, Elbuge Apartments, 21st and Overton St, Portland (Nov 11,1919) - used his CN Anderson alias
- Mrs. Ella M. Eaton, 188 Caruthers St, Portland
- Sarah A. Dunham (or Durham), of 612 West 6th Ave, Spokane, a seamstress, corresponded with him under the name of Anderson, she denies marrying him.- used his CN Anderson alias
- Mrs. Lillian Piper of 4311 N Madison St, Spokane.- used his CN Anderson alias. She said "About three months ago in a spirit of fun I answered a matrimonial advertisement from a man by the name of CN Anderson. I wrote one letter and received one reply. He said he was in the lumber business and traveled a good deal. I was not interested and never answered it. The letter was written from Portland."
- Ruth Walker of Fresno, missing.
- Mrs. Jennie Leighton, who wrote a long letter answering his lonely heart ad, she said she had been previously married at the age of 15, she was 147lbs, possessed dark hair, pretty teeth, and a "starved soul." Watson replied to her first starting out formally, but progressed very warmly calling her the "girl of my dreams." He asserted his sizable bank account and his roll of Liberty bonds as well as "certain personal traits which have been considered different from most of my sex." He was rather vague in this description as he didn't want to appear "conceited."
- Miss Alma Estelle Snyder (Schneider) of Spokane, said that she had known Watson under the name of Lewis Gordon for more than a year. The police said that she recently received a suitcase and a money order from him. She told Spokane officers that Watson told her he was employed as a secret service agent protecting California banks. She denied that the suitcase had contained anything of importance. They were supposed to get married, but he was arrested before it could take place.
Arrest & Conviction:
April 9, 1920 - Watson was arrested at the request of Katherine Wombacher, one of his score of wives, who believed him to be unfaithful. He was taken to San Diego by officers on suspicion of complicity with various robberies. He claimed that he was the victim of a gang of Kansas City crooks, who made it a business of fleecing women by bigamous marriages. He said
"I am not altogether to blame for his. Oh there are others near Kansas City and if you take me there I can explain everything."
Two of the wives, Katherine Wombacher & Elizabeth Williamson met in Santa Monica and carried on some conversation.
Williamson: "I used to sit up at night and put up jelly, so he could take a jar or two in his grip, when he went on those trips."
Wombacher: "Dearie, was it currant jelly?"
Williamson said "yes."
Wombacher: "he used to bring it all to my house, and we would eat it."
April 10, 1920 - Attempts suicide en route to San Diego. Slashed his throat and wrists with a razor.
April 11, 1920 - Booked in the Southern City as "Jimmie Wood."
April 21, 1920 - returned to Los Angeles county hospital
April 22, 1920 to April 29, 1920 - Investigation of national character instituted in which the details of Watson's matrimonial ventures and the suspicion that he was guilty of murder were brought to light Body of Betty Pryor found.
April 29, 1920 - He confessed to four murders.
April 30, 1920 - Officers and county officials returned to Los Angeles after a fruitless search of the mountain canyons in Imperial Valley
May 3,1920 - Watson taken to El Cantoro to direct search.
May 4, 1920 - Body of slain Deloney woman found.
May 5, 1920 - Prisoner returned to Los Angeles.
May 6, 1920 - Indicted for first degree murder by Los Angeles County Grand jury. Pleads guilty.
May 7, 1920 - Watson confesses slaying five other wives.
May 10, 1920 - Sentenced to life imprisonment.
Gillam tried committing suicide twice in 1920 after being caught. He slashed his throat and later his wrists with a razor. He admitted he actually married 30 women, in USA and Canada.
Conviction:
He was sentenced to life in San Quentin on 5/18/1920. He was transferred from the county hospital to the county jail to await an early removal to San Quentin. He had spent a restless night and declined to eat the good the jailers offered him in the morning. He was taken to San Quentin via a Pullman car. His guards said he was a very "finicky" prisoner and balked when they told him he would not be riding in the first class state compartment. Sheriff Cline reported that "the law compels me to get either a compartment or a drawing room when transporting prisoners of this class, and I have been unable to secure such accommodations until Monday night."
He was taken under secrecy as he received numerous death threats from other prisoners at the county jail who were crying out "Lynch him!" He expressed great fear upon reaching the jail although he was placed in a cell by himself, he complained "I don't feel safe here!" he pleaded to be permitted to remain at the hospital. In a trembling voice he plead, "will I be safe in the jail? What on earth are you bringing me here for? I am afraid I will not be safe here. Do you think this move is best for me? Why not take me to San Quentin tonight? I could rest easier then." Apparently, the prisoners tormented him by enacting "ghost" scenes draped in sheets which gave him nightmares.
He arrived in San Quentin and became number 33,755. He was promptly shaved of his locks and beard, bathed, examined, photographed and fitted in the regulation prison garb to be sentenced to life and assigned to work in the jute mill. He expressed the fear that he would be lynched or that he would be retried for another murder and sentenced to be hanged. During his first week as a resident of San Quentin, he did not have a very pleasant time. He reportedly was so disturbed by the other inmates that when he slept, he would wrap a long towel around his head saying "Oh, I like to sleep this way. I sleep better."
The inmates did not take too well to the bigamist murderer. "The prisoners swear at him. They don't like him. He hasn't been well received." They yelled profanities at him, spat at him and tried to fight him. Since he was being continuously harassed, he was put in the prison hospital for at least three weeks. He wished to remain there in the shelter of the hospital. He got a job working in the hospital ward as a male nurse, where he spent most of his time. He was suspected of pilfering poison with the view of taking his life. Warden Johnson pointed this out to illustrate the prisoner's idiosyncrasy.
While at San Quentin, Watson underwent a voluntary vasectomy.
In 1922, he finished his memoir, which he tried to sell to newspapers. The prison chaplain OC Laizure was dismissed, being charged with having smuggled the memoirs outside the prison walls. The memoir was published in the January 1923 issue of True Confessions.
Upon his arrest, Watson had been a shy, self-effacing person. But soon after his first taste of publicity, he developed an insatiable craving for it. He seemed to be pleased with his notoriety and childishly proud of being called "Bluebeard." He was proud of his reputation and enjoyed being interviewed.
Watson continued zealously working in the prison hospital and tamed linnets, and earned himself the nickname of "bird man." Dr Stanley wrote about him:
"It will be centuries before anyone is able to give Watson's case justice. He is my head nurse over in the hospital. He makes pets out of birds. There's nothing that he won't do for a sick man. he nurses them as tenderly as a woman. I wish you'd say something about him. He's in here forever - he'll never get out - so all you can get him is a little understanding."
He was suffering from tuberculosis in 1931, as he worked in the tuberculosis ward of the hospital.
He died of pneumonia in the San Quentin prison hospital on 10/16/1939. It was also said that he died of bronchiectasis. Bronchiectasis is a long-term condition where the airways of the lungs become widened, leading to a build-up of excess mucus that can make the lungs more vulnerable to infection. The most common symptoms of bronchiectasis include: a persistent cough that usually brings up phlegm (sputum) shortness of breath.
After Watson's death, Dr Stanley wrote:
"Since he was my hospital helper, Bluebeard was under my daily observation for almost twenty years. During all that time I can truthfully say he did nothing that would have marked him as queer. His looks, of course, were against him. If I had not known his case history, I would have thought him effeminate."
His fellow prisoners in the yard said of him, "he was a ding-a-ling." In other words, a "ding-a-ling" was San Quentin prison speak for "a goofy prisoner, called "stir simple" after long years in prison".
He was buried in the San Quentin Prison Cemetery at San Rafael, Marin County, California.
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