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Ex-Newhall Deputy Convicted of Contributing to Delinquency of
Slain Saugus School Teacher Frances Walker.


Webmaster's note.

In 1935, the age of majority in California was 21. Read the story of Frances Walker's slaying here.



Caption reads: Dead Girl's Sisters Testify: Melba Walker, left, and Irene Walker, sisters of the slain Frances Walker, testify at trial of Archie Cater. The girl was shot at the Carter home in Placerita Canyon. (Click to enlarge.)

Guilt Fixed in Tragedy.

Archie Carter, former deputy Sheriff, yesterday was convicted by Superior Judge Tuttle of contributing to the delinquency of Miss Frances Walker, 20-year-old Newhall school-teacher, who was shot fatally in the Carters' Placerita Canyon home last April 1.

Commenting from the bench after the verdict, Judge Tuttle said he is "convinced that the trail of blood from her (Miss Walker's) violent deaths leads directly to his fingers."

Testimony was given at the trial by Frank E. Walker, father of the girl victim, County Autopsy Surgeon Wagner, and Irene Walker and Melba Walker, sisters of the dead girl.

Through the testimony of Florence Woodhead and H. Leslie Wildey, deputy District Attorneys, convinced the court that Miss Walker, while living in the Carter home as a boarder, became intimate with Carter and was an expectant mother at the time she was killed while Carter and his wife fought over possession of his service revolver.

Mrs. Carter was convicted of manslaughter for the shooting, but after establishing her contention that she was insane at the time of the slaying was released from custody.

Donald MacKay and George Shreve, defense attorneys, indicated they will appeal from the decision.

Carter's bail was fixed at $2,500 pending appeal. He faces the possibility of imprisonment for one year and a fine of $1,000. His sentencing was set for August 2.

News story courtesy of Tricia Lemon Putnam.



Caption reads: Mrs. Gladys Carter, convicted of manslaughter for the slaying of Frances Walker, a girl boarder in her home, who was released when a jury found she was insane at the time, yesterday disclosed she is aiding her husband, Archie Carter, in his appeal from a one-year sentence for contributing to the deslinqency of Miss Walker. Attorney David MacKay, left, is shown conferring with Carter, Mrs. Carter and their daughter Virginia, on Carter's appeal. (Click to enlarge.)

Wife Aids Husband Who Defended Her.

Mrs. Gladys Carter and her husband, Archie Carter, former deputy sheriff, yesterday were found by The Times living together in a modest apartment in San Fernando, happy again despite the legal troubles which have taken both of them through the courts.

Mrs. Carter recently was convicted of manslaughter for the slaying of Miss Frances Walker, 20-year-old boarder in her home. Later, Mrs. Carter was found to have been insane and was released from custody.

Then Archie Cater was tried in Superior Court, convicted of contributing to Miss Walker's delinquency and sentenced to one year in the County Jail by Superior Judge Tuttle.

Released under appeal bond, Carter disappeared for several weeks. Mrs. Carter supposedly had gone to the home of relatives in Concrete, Wash.

But yesterday they were found together. Archie, his wife and Virginia, their 8-year-old daughter [sic]. They later went to the office of Donald MacKay, attorney, who is directing Carter's appeal.

"I still love him," Mrs. Carter said, "because he is the father of my little girl and because he sacrificed his job on the witness stand to tell the truth when I was on trial. We are starting all over again and we're very happy."

"I may have to serve the year's sentence," Carter said, "but if I do, I still will feel that I have told the truth and that some one misunderstood the situation."

When Mrs. Carter was convicted of manslaughter on April 13, the prosecution charged that she killed the girl because she suspected intimacy between her husband and the girl.

Both Mrs. Carter and her husband testified the shot was fired accidentally as they struggled over possession of the gun. Then Carter testified he had been intimate with the girl.

It was upon this testimony that he was found guilty of contributing to the girl's delinquency.

The tragedy occurred in the Carters' former home in Placerita Canyon. Miss Walker, a school-teacher in Saugus, had lived with the Carters more than six months.

News story courtesy of Tricia Lemon Putnam.


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Piru Bank Robbery, Kidnapping 1922

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Frances Walker Slaying 1935

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