R. Barri Flowers - Murderess on the Loose: The 1922 Hammer Wrath of Clara Phillips (A Historical True Crime Short)

By R. Barri Flowers

MURDERESS ON THE LOOSE

The 1922 Hammer Wrath of Clara Phillips

A Historical True Crime Short

Copyright 2018 by R. Barri Flowers

All rights reserved.

Cover Image Copyright SimonGleeson , 2018

Used under license from Shutterstock.com

In memory of Mrs. Alberta Tremaine Meadowsand other tragic victims of historical as well as present day crimeand violence.

And to Michigan State Universitys esteemedCollege of Social Science and School of Criminal Justice that gaveme my start as a young and optimistic student and propelled me to alongtime and successful career as a literary criminologist andbestselling writer of narrative true crime books, criminologytitles, and mystery and thriller fiction.

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OTHER TRUE CRIME TITLES BY R. BARRI FLOWERS

Dead at the Saddleworth Moor

Kids Who Commit Adult Crimes

Killers of the Lonely Hearts

Prostitution in the Digital Age

Mass Murder in the Sky

Masters of True Crime

Missing or Murdered

Murder at the Pencil Factory

Murder During the Chicago Worlds Fair

Murder of the Bankers Daughter

Murder of the Doctors Wife

Murders in the United States

Murder of a Star Quarterback

Serial Killer Couples

The Amityville Massacre

The Dreadful Acts of Jack the Ripper

The Dynamics of Murder

The Gold Special Train Robbery

The Pickaxe Killers

The Sex Slave Murders

The Sex Slave Murders 2

The Sex Slave Murders 3

MYSTERY & THRILLERFICTION TITLES BY R. BARRI FLOWERS

Before He Kills Again: A Veronica VasquezThriller

Dark Streets of Whitechapel: A Jack theRipper Mystery

Dead in Pukalani: An Eddie Naku Maui Mystery(Book 1)

Dead in Kihei: An Eddie Naku Maui Mystery(Book 2)

Deadly Defense: A Grace Gaynor ChristianMystery

Justice Served: A Barkley & ParkerMystery

Killer in The Woods

Murder in Maui: A Leila Kahana Mystery (Book1)

Murder on Kaanapali Beach: A Leila KahanaMystery (Book 2)

Murder of the Hula Dancers: A Leila KahanaMystery (Book 3)

Persuasive Evidence: A Jordan La FontaineLegal Thriller

States Evidence: A Beverly Mendoza LegalThriller

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PRAISE FOR TRUE CRIME BOOKS BY R. BARRI FLOWERS

Must read for all true crime fans. Amazonreviewer on Serial Killers and Prostitutes

Selected as one of Suspense Magazines Bestbooks. John Raab, CEO/Publisher on The Sex SlaveMurders

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

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

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

R. Barri Flowers always relates anengrossing story. Robert Scott, true crime author on The SexSlave Murders

Striking, well-written tales sparkle in thisocean of murder. Diane Fanning, true crime author on Mastersof True Crime

Exhaustively researched, each storytellerbrings their own unique prose to these pages, creating what willsoon become a true crime classic. Kevin M. Sullivan, true crimeauthor on Masters of True Crime

This book should be a mandatory purchase andread for any true-crime buff. Steven A. Egger, Ph.D., associateprofessor on Masters of True Crime

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

An indispensable sourcebook for anyoneinterested in American homicide, from law-enforcement professionalsto armchair criminologists. Harold Schechter, true crimehistorian on The Dynamics of Murder

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TABLEOF CONTENTS

The 1922 Hammer Wrath of Clara Phillips

On the warm evening of Wednesday, July 12,1922, Los Angeles, California, was the scene of a shocking andlethal assault. The victim was a twenty-one-year-old attractivewidow named Alberta Meadows. Her death came as the result of avicious hammer and boulder attack on a twisting dirt road at thebottom of a hill in the subdivision of Montecito Heights on thecitys northeast side. The violent act was perpetrated by aromantic rival named Clara Phillips, who lured the unsuspectingvictim to the unlikely crime scene. The twenty-three-year-oldmurderesses actions were spurred on by jealous rage as Mrs.Meadows was the paramour of Claras husband, Armour Phillips, anoil stock salesman, three years her senior. The heinous crime waswitnessed by Peggy Caffee, a friend, who was too frightened to lifta finger to stop the attack. Afterward, Clara and Peggy fled themurder scene in the victims brand-new Ford automobile.Surprisingly, the killers husband, Armour, came to her aid byditching the vehicle and helping her escape from Los Angeles bytrain, before self-preservation kicked in and he reconsidered hisown actions after the fact, alerting authorities as to herwhereabouts, leading to an arrest. Clara Phillips was given themoniker Tiger Woman by the overzealous L.A. press of the day,after a police detective on the case suggested that Alberta Meadowslooked like she had been mauled by a tiger.1 But Claradidnt go away quietly; proving she was not only a cold-heartedkiller, but a fabricator and clever escape artist before justicefor the victim finally had a chance to be served in what proved tobe one the 20th centurys most disturbing acts of homicidalviolence.

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During the 1920s, Los Angeles, California,was one of the most happening places in America and representativeof the so-called Roaring Twenties and Jazz Age. These reflected anera of economic prosperity, a cultural and lifestyle shift, andtechnological advances. It was a time of speedy automobiles,aviation, motion pictures, telephones, speakeasies, bootleg liquor,new forms of dancing, jazz music, and uninhibited youth.

In the 1920s, the neighborhood in Los Angelescalled Hollywood became the centerpiece of the film industry in theUnited States, recognized the world over. Other notable eventsduring the decade in L.A. include the opening of the Los AngelesMemorial Coliseum and the Los Angeles Central Library, the entranceof cartoonist Walt Disney, the first Academy Awards ceremony, thelaunching of Amelia Earharts career in aeronautics and throngs onhand to see aviator Charles Lindbergh, the opening of UCLAs campusin the citys Westwood neighborhood, and the population of L.A.surpassing the one million mark. The end of the decade marked thebeginning of the Great Depression in Los Angeles and across thecountry.2

The 1920s L.A. saw its fair share ofmemorable crimes and criminals. This included serial killer LouisePeete, who was convicted of murdering Jacob Denton, a well-to-domining engineer, in 1920 as one of her victims.3 Anotherserial killer, Gordon Stewart Northcott, kidnapped and murderedseveral boys between 1926 and 1928 in the city, in a case dubbedthe Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, before Northcott was broughtto justice.4

Equally disturbing during the decade was thebrutal murder of twelve-year-old Marion Parker, a bankersdaughter, who was abducted from her junior high school in LosAngeles in late 1927 by teenage killer William Edward Hickman.Peete, Northcott, and Hickman would be executed for theircrimes.5

The year of 1922 had a number of high profilemurder cases occurring in Los Angeles. On February 1st, silent filmactor and director William Desmond Taylors body was discovered inhis bungalow in the citys Westlake neighborhood. Theforty-nine-year-old had been shot in the back with a .38-caliberpistol. In spite of many suspects inside and outside of theHollywood community investigated by police or mentioned by thepress, Taylors killer was never identified.6