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The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd
 
 
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The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd [Paperback]

Jana Bommersbach (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Book Description

October 26, 2006
If history is right, a 26 year-old beauty named Winnie Ruth Judd murdered her two best girlfriends one hot Phoenix night in 1931. Then she hacked up their bodies, stuffed the pieces into a trunk, and took them by train to Los Angeles as her baggage.


If history is right, she was sentenced to die but "cheated the gallows" by acting insane. She spent nearly 40 years in Arizona's insane asylum-flummoxing officials by escaping six times.


If history is right, she only got her freedom at age 66-after serving more time than any other convicted murderer in the history of the nation--because Arizona was finally tired of punishing her.


But if history is wrong, Winnie Ruth Judd's life was squandered in a horrible miscarriage of justice.
Award-winning journalist Jana Bommersbach reinvestigates the twisted, bizarre murder case that has captivated the nation for decades. She not only uncovers evidence long hidden, but gets Winnie Ruth Judd to break her life-long silence and finally speak.


In telling the story of this American crime legend, Bommersbach also tells the story of Phoenix, Arizona-a backwater town that would become a major American city-and the story of a unique moment in American history filled with social taboos.


But most of all, she tells the story of a woman with the courage to survive.


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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book uncovers some ugly truths about one of the copper state's dirtiest secrets..." --Los Angeles Daily News

About the Author

Jana Bommersbach is one of Arizona's most respected and acclaimed journalists. She has earned numerous national, state and regional awards, including the prestigious Don Bolles Award for investigative reporting for the newspaper series on Winnie Ruth Judd that led to this book. She lives in Phoenix.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 280 pages
  • Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press; First Edition, 3rd Printing edition (October 26, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1590580648
  • ISBN-13: 978-1590580646
  • Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #295,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Read, June 17, 2008
This review is from: The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd (Paperback)
I was completely unfamiliar with this case when I read this book. The first section is quite dry with extraneous detail (a common foible of true crime books, I admit) about Phoenix of the 1930's and I almost decided to put it down. I'm glad I didn't. Although the details of the crime itself were interesting, I found the real enjoyment of this book came from following the bizarre course of Ruth Judd's life. I kept turning pages to find out what would happen to her next. About the time she opened up her own beauty salon in the insane asylum, I was totally hooked. What a fascinating life she led, albeit a sad one.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting account of murder and betrayal, July 1, 2009
By 
This review is from: The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd (Paperback)
In telling the complex story of convicted murderer Winnie Ruth Judd, Jana Bommersbach uses her expert investigative reporting skills - combined with compassion - to ask what really happened on that dreadful Friday night of October 16, 1931. Judd, a minister's daughter, was charged with killing her girlfriends, 24-year-old Hedvig Samuelson and 32-year-old Agnes Anne LeRoi.

In her riveting writing style, Bommersbach describes how the very popular and successful businessman, 44-year-old Jack Halloran, was protected by the Old Boy's Club, while most of the community turned their backs on Winnie Ruth Judd. It's a story of fear and betrayal that once again illustrates how the powerful and well connected in society often hide behind an aura of respectability, leaving the little people, like Judd, to pay the price.

I cannot help thinking that if Bommersbach was an investigative reporter in 1931, we might have seen a very different life for Winnie Ruth Judd. (The reviewer is the author of four novels, including Broken Trust - The Murder Of Basketball Star Jack Molinas.)
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Sensational!, November 16, 2010
This review is from: The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd (Paperback)
This book is great! usually books like these get repetitive and a little dull after a few chapters. Not this one! She has had an exciting life from beginning to end. I had one view of the case when I first heard about it but after reading all this, I have definitly chaged my mind!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
October 16, 1931, was a bloody Friday night in Phoenix Arizona. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ruth Judd, Los Angeles, Jack Halloran, Marian Lane, Lucille Moore, New York, Hedvig Samuelson, Grunow Clinic, Lloyd Andrews, Maricopa County, Mother Nichols, Brill Street, Stewart Thompson, Judge Speakman, Phoenix Gazette, Van Beck, Arizona State Hospital, Jack Williams, Larry Debus, Miss Samuelson, Attorney Willson, Evelyn Nace, Hugh Ennis, Dan Kleinman, Judge Niles
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